Hooray! It's all finished- ends tucked in, properly bound off, and given to Morgen to enjoy. Next project is a hat for Jared. He wants an orange one that he can wear when he goes hunting. :)I have absolutely NO neon orange yarn [I know- what a shock!] so I'll be picking some up tomorrow. That project is my "take with me" one. The at-home project is the Christmas Tree skirt I meant to finish before Christmas... and I promise I will be done with it before Christmas this year!
Other things we've done: over the past week, my 1st and 4th graders had their SEPs [student education plan? I think...] where I came into the classroom and talked with their teachers about the progress [or lack of it] that my child was making.
Morgen is talking more than she should, which interferes with finishing her in-class assignments. On the plus side, she is doing better in math than she was last term, and she is reading well. She's also doing fantastic at her piano lessons, a fact I can attribute to her piano teacher. Annalee is firm and competent, and challenges Morgen musically. She is also supportive and encouraging and excited about music. :)She has a gift! Well, two: she is incredibly musically talented, and she is a wonderful and patient motivator of children :).
Hyrum made 2 goals last term: work on coloring in the lines, and use the bathroom at appropriate times [recess, lunch] instead of in the middle of classtime. He has met both of those goals :)and is settling into his classroom well. Both Morgen and Hyrum are friendly with their entire class [no surprise] and are enjoying school. Hyrum loves his karate class. Well, actually it is Tai Kwan Do, not karate. He enjoys the practice, and is surprisingly good at it. When we missed it last week [for his SEP- and we made it up on Saturday], he was upset enough to cry!
I have decided that I like having all this snow. We get more snow here than we did in Iowa, but this snow stays put- no blowing winds to drift it over a previously shoveled driveway! And the road crews do a great job clearing the roads :) Jared's been talking about getting a tractor. He wants a front-end loader attachment on the front, and a backhoe attachment on the rear. Obviously we're settling into the rural life. My favorite part, today, is that we've had almost a week of early morning fog. I love fog. Really. I think it is my favorite weather event:).
Walker's SEP is this week; I'm hoping that he gets a good report. He gets pulled out of science and reading to do band, and has some missing assignments from those classes.
Gratitude List:
* Jared got back safely from Chicago. Someday we'll go there, just the two of us :)
* He brought me Ghirardelli. Have I said how much I love this man? I do. I really really do.
* Morgen's lizard is absolutely the best. pet. ever. Perky has been wrapped and tied in various rags, given a "fashion makeover," and talked and talked and TALKED to. And she puts up with all of that for lettuce and the occasional cricket or mealworm.
* Yarn and fabric. And knitting needles. And crochet hooks and sewing machines and paper and stamps and ink and glue and... :) I am so glad I have hobbies!
* Quotes that inspire me to do better.
* Hulu. :)It's my free version of cable, and DVR. LOL.
* Surprise visits from friends.
* the red ink lines crossing out items that I've finished on my "crafty to-do-list" I cannot tell you how good it feels to finish and cross off each item!
* all the patterns [free! and otherwise] that are available online. I may never need to leave my house again...
* ditto with the yarn/fabric/paper/embellishments also available online...
* that none of my kids still lick inappropriate things [there was a little girl in Church that was licking and licking her folding chair. Eeeeew! but funny ;)]
* good books to read.
* my family and friends.
* Jared, Walker, Morgen, Hyrum, and Myles. I am so grateful for each one.
* Pictures and journal entries.
* my Savior, Jesus Christ.
* God.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Projects completed and to do
I have a list of things to do; specifically, craft things. And, I'm sharing them here because my mom always taught me to share :). Also, if I share them here, I'm more accountable, which means they might actually get done!
* Knit Hyrum's scarf. This was supposed to go with his hat, but I didn't have time, so the scarves ended up being a 'post-New Year, pre-Valentine's Day present. I finished Walker's before school started. Morgen's scarf is in progress. Oh, and this is done, BTW
* Finish Jennie's album. I typed out everything I can read, and I'm waiting for Jennie's translation of words I cannot read, then I will copy everything in my best penmanship into her album and give it back to her :). I think I can call this one half-way-done.
* Cut out and sew Christmas stockings for Hyrum and Myles. My MIL made stockings for Jared, Walker, and I after Walker was born. She gave me the fabric, and I actually cut out and sewed Morgen's for her. Then I cut out another stocking for Hyrum when he was born. It sat with the rest of the material for SIX YEARS in my sewing stuff. I know that because Hyrum is 6 years old. Yep. That's the kind of prepared mother I am! Anyway, I cut out another stocking, and sewed up both of them, so Hyrum now has a stocking that officially matches the rest of the family's. Myles' stocking will hang with the rest of the stockings at Christmas, and we're going to put notes to him inside of it. I finished these today!
* Sew tree skirt. I have the fabric. I need thread. But, this project is next on my list of things to finish [when I'm at home, anyway].
* Knit Morgen's scarf. This is in progress. I had it about 1/4 of the way done, but didn't like how the pattern was turning out, so I frogged it [I love that word! Even if I don't love the reminder that I make a lot of knitting mistakes], and re-started. It's my 'traveling somewhere/waiting for kids' project. This one's on the needles right now, in progress.
* Make birthday cards. I always need more of these :)
* Knit orange hat for Jared. He needs a hunting beanie.
* Knit hat, scarf, mittens for me! And I already have the yarn and quite a few possible patterns in mind... I want to begin these now, but the point of having a list is to get the boring [or difficult] things done, then reward myself later.
* Sew skirt for baker's rack to hide board games. Have fabric, have thread, just waiting for its turn to come up.
* Finish knitting baby blanket.
* Knit 3 more washcloths for master bath. I have the yarn, but this isn't a necessity, so it's further down the list than I wish it was.
* Finish felt wall hanging. And I've added some applique patterns, so this may take longer than I originally thought.
I also have some "as there is time" projects that really don't have an ending date: knitting dish cloths, scrapbooking, etc. These don't really count as UFOs, since they will never be completely finished, but I put them on the list anyway. That way I remember to do them, and I also remember how much I am accomplishing.
and that's as far as I'm going to post, since that will probably keep me busy through March. At least.
Random comment: Morgen calls her lizard "Sweetheart"
Gratitude List:
* Snow. I don't like driving in it, but I don't have to, today. Instead I can sit inside my cozy house, making stockings and drinking hot cocoa, and enjoy the beauty of white, fluffy flakes.
* Jared is back for a few days- hooray! He's been in St. George this week. [It's a lot warmer down there, and I was mildly jealous.]
* I got to go on a "walking report card" with Hyrum. He had a packet of work to show me what he'd learned so far in first grade. I had a great time seeing how much progress he has made since the beginning of the year.
* Homemade whole-wheat bread with soup. Mmmm.
* A house :) with electricity and heat.
* 4-wheel-drive.
* Kids that shovel the driveway [because they're earning money for the book fair].
* Bath and Body Works lotion and shower gel. I feel so pampered whenever I use that stuff!
* Time to meditate this morning.
* Good books, and time to read them.
* Food storage :)
* Faith in God.
* Knit Hyrum's scarf. This was supposed to go with his hat, but I didn't have time, so the scarves ended up being a 'post-New Year, pre-Valentine's Day present. I finished Walker's before school started. Morgen's scarf is in progress. Oh, and this is done, BTW
* Finish Jennie's album. I typed out everything I can read, and I'm waiting for Jennie's translation of words I cannot read, then I will copy everything in my best penmanship into her album and give it back to her :). I think I can call this one half-way-done.
* Cut out and sew Christmas stockings for Hyrum and Myles. My MIL made stockings for Jared, Walker, and I after Walker was born. She gave me the fabric, and I actually cut out and sewed Morgen's for her. Then I cut out another stocking for Hyrum when he was born. It sat with the rest of the material for SIX YEARS in my sewing stuff. I know that because Hyrum is 6 years old. Yep. That's the kind of prepared mother I am! Anyway, I cut out another stocking, and sewed up both of them, so Hyrum now has a stocking that officially matches the rest of the family's. Myles' stocking will hang with the rest of the stockings at Christmas, and we're going to put notes to him inside of it. I finished these today!
* Sew tree skirt. I have the fabric. I need thread. But, this project is next on my list of things to finish [when I'm at home, anyway].
* Knit Morgen's scarf. This is in progress. I had it about 1/4 of the way done, but didn't like how the pattern was turning out, so I frogged it [I love that word! Even if I don't love the reminder that I make a lot of knitting mistakes], and re-started. It's my 'traveling somewhere/waiting for kids' project. This one's on the needles right now, in progress.
* Make birthday cards. I always need more of these :)
* Knit orange hat for Jared. He needs a hunting beanie.
* Knit hat, scarf, mittens for me! And I already have the yarn and quite a few possible patterns in mind... I want to begin these now, but the point of having a list is to get the boring [or difficult] things done, then reward myself later.
* Sew skirt for baker's rack to hide board games. Have fabric, have thread, just waiting for its turn to come up.
* Finish knitting baby blanket.
* Knit 3 more washcloths for master bath. I have the yarn, but this isn't a necessity, so it's further down the list than I wish it was.
* Finish felt wall hanging. And I've added some applique patterns, so this may take longer than I originally thought.
I also have some "as there is time" projects that really don't have an ending date: knitting dish cloths, scrapbooking, etc. These don't really count as UFOs, since they will never be completely finished, but I put them on the list anyway. That way I remember to do them, and I also remember how much I am accomplishing.
and that's as far as I'm going to post, since that will probably keep me busy through March. At least.
Random comment: Morgen calls her lizard "Sweetheart"
Gratitude List:
* Snow. I don't like driving in it, but I don't have to, today. Instead I can sit inside my cozy house, making stockings and drinking hot cocoa, and enjoy the beauty of white, fluffy flakes.
* Jared is back for a few days- hooray! He's been in St. George this week. [It's a lot warmer down there, and I was mildly jealous.]
* I got to go on a "walking report card" with Hyrum. He had a packet of work to show me what he'd learned so far in first grade. I had a great time seeing how much progress he has made since the beginning of the year.
* Homemade whole-wheat bread with soup. Mmmm.
* A house :) with electricity and heat.
* 4-wheel-drive.
* Kids that shovel the driveway [because they're earning money for the book fair].
* Bath and Body Works lotion and shower gel. I feel so pampered whenever I use that stuff!
* Time to meditate this morning.
* Good books, and time to read them.
* Food storage :)
* Faith in God.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Keeping up
Well, I've finished one of my UFOs already. Hooray for me! In honor of this, I started a new project LOL. Well, not really a NEW project; I knit a headband over the holiday break, and discovered when it was finished that it was much too big for my head. So, I frogged it. [that means I pulled it apart] I planned on using the yarn to make another headband, but wanted to figure out another pattern before I began again. I have the pattern, and I'm over half-way done :) this is a pretty quick knit, thankfully.
Of course, that means [technically] that I haven't changed my "to-do list" status at all... but I'm choosing to focus on the positive ;)
Here's another picture of Morgen's new best friend:
and one more, wearing a stylish 'rag wrap' outfit that Morgen generously made for her. Can you see the long-suffering look in her eyes? Poor Perky.
Gratitude List:
* School tomorrow! [Hyrum was pretty excited about that, too]
* One less thing on my UFO list
* the flexibility to add projects to my UFO list ;)
* It snowed all day today, but was too warm for the snow to stick to my driveway.
* No shoveling!
* homemade pizza
* homemade vanilla ice cream
* oh, and homemade root beer floats ;) made with that homemade ice cream
* I've lifted weights this whole week [so far] and I'm pretending I can already tell the difference in my triceps.
* My husband was home last week. I love it when he's home!
* He fixed the dishwasher. I really love it when he's home!
* He took the kids sledding twice, to a really cool spot with a long hill and some jumps. I really REALLY love it when he's home!
* :) Celebrating 14 years of marriage last week. WOW.
* Good music.
* Healthy kids.
* We have all we need, and most of what we want.
* God is good.
Of course, that means [technically] that I haven't changed my "to-do list" status at all... but I'm choosing to focus on the positive ;)
Here's another picture of Morgen's new best friend:
and one more, wearing a stylish 'rag wrap' outfit that Morgen generously made for her. Can you see the long-suffering look in her eyes? Poor Perky.
Gratitude List:
* School tomorrow! [Hyrum was pretty excited about that, too]
* One less thing on my UFO list
* the flexibility to add projects to my UFO list ;)
* It snowed all day today, but was too warm for the snow to stick to my driveway.
* No shoveling!
* homemade pizza
* homemade vanilla ice cream
* oh, and homemade root beer floats ;) made with that homemade ice cream
* I've lifted weights this whole week [so far] and I'm pretending I can already tell the difference in my triceps.
* My husband was home last week. I love it when he's home!
* He fixed the dishwasher. I really love it when he's home!
* He took the kids sledding twice, to a really cool spot with a long hill and some jumps. I really REALLY love it when he's home!
* :) Celebrating 14 years of marriage last week. WOW.
* Good music.
* Healthy kids.
* We have all we need, and most of what we want.
* God is good.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
We have a lizard!
Ooh, and a lovely lizard it is, too :) It hissed at me once, when I was picking it up to place it in its new home [probably because I scared it]. Since then, it has been handled [and mauled] many MANY times a day. It has been given a "tissue dress" and a "lizard blankie wrap" and has been carried around and placed on a bed and fed multiple times [all approved food, thank goodness]. It has a heating pad and a lamp to keep it warm, its own little water dish specially designed and made by Jared, and an awesome top to its cage, also designed and made by Jared. It has also been named "Perky" and given more love than any lizard should be asked to endure :)
Most lizards are active in the day, and sleep at night. I think ours will be sleeping when Morgen is in school, and hoping for after-school activities!
In other news, vanilla cupcakes are a delicious treat :) and a great way to keep children [both my own and visitors] entertained for a good 2 hours. BTW, chocolate buttercream frosting goes quite well with the above cupcakes. And, 3 days later, it tastes divine on graham crackers, too! [Assuming you forget to hide a stash of cupcakes especially for your own self] The stash of chocolate buttercream frosting is safely hidden in the fridge, in one of the left-over containers. Kids never check those :) so I'm thinking it's safe.
My New Year's Goals are as follows:
1. Exercise and lift weights 4 times/week. [the end result should be a healthier me]
2. Daily meditation
3. Finish all my UnFinished Objects [this means, specifically, every single craft that has already been started. I either finish it or find it a new, and loving, home.]
4. Keep to our budget :) and save for a down-payment on our next home.
5. Have a nice long bath every week :)
Gratitude List:
* Meditation time.
* I love having too much music to fit on my ipod :) so many choices...
* A fast new computer, which means less time online and more time for those UFOs...
* This quote:
Failures want pleasing methods.
Successes want pleasing results.
-Earl Nightingale
which reminds me that the reason I make goals is not because I enjoy the process, but because I want the outcome. Good thing to focus on while I'm riding my bike, with my leg muscles burning and sweat dripping down my back.
* Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
* Just got a call from my doctor's office :) and my cholesterol levels are [and I quote] "Great!" :)I love getting good news from my doctor :)
* Good friends and neighbors.
* A loving, supportive, extended family.
* A husband and children I love very much.
* Faith in God.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Recap of the Holidays
Mostly because I'm too lazy to stop what I'm currently doing [more on that later] and upload photos, this will be a photo-free post :)
We had a great holiday season, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Christmas Eve we had dinner with Nate and Caitlin and their boys. That was awesome- my kids LOVE their younger cousins, and I love that they have the same play style [rough & tumble and chase-around-the-house-giggling]. Caitlin made the most delicious pork roast, with sweet potatoes [they tasted like pumpkin pie- seriously GOOD], a yummy cheese dip, corn casserole, and green beans. We won't talk about dessert. That would make me want to bake, and my to-do list is already way too long :) [Oh, and Caitlin? I would love copies of those recipes :)]
We put the kids to bed, then took candles to the cemetery to put on Myles' grave, and on my grandparents' grave, too. I love this tradition- seeing the flickering lights in the snow, and feeling the quiet solemn peacefulness there. We also saw a few deer in the cemetery, avoiding the people and looking for green things to munch on. Then it was back home to let Santa deliver his presents to us.
Christmas day began HOURS before I was ready. Jared was up early to start the pull-apart bread [or monkey bread, if you'd rather call it that]. My gorgeous girl decided to get up and "help" him. Part of that help was being so loud that her brothers woke up. Jared fed them all breakfast, and came to wake me up several times :) so I could take pictures and watch the kids opening presents. Yeah. It took me a while to get out of bed, but we still began the unwrapping process BEFORE 6:30am. All I can say is: wait until next year. The Grinch will be taking presents away if mom has to wake up before 8am. Anyway, getting such an early [hah!] start meant that the entire process was over by 7:30am, so I went back to bed until I felt decent. After lunch, and a wonderful nap, we drove down to my parents' house to visit. I forgot my parents' gift, but I'm blaming that on my early start. Interrupted sleep is never a good thing for me :) We all got a lot of loot; my favorite gift [and the one that has eaten up a lot of my time since Christmas] was a new computer! Hooray! More on that later...
As we drove home Friday night, Morgen was complaining of a sore tummy. I told her I thought it might have something to do with all the eating that had occurred lately, but Morgen was sure I was being silly :). Then she threw up early Saturday morning. She was sick most of the morning, and insisted on getting up and slowly shuffling around the house, quietly moaning. I sent her back to bed. I'm unsympathetic like that :). I mostly worked on setting up my [fabulously fast] new computer, and doing laundry for our upcoming visit to Fallon. Hyrum was busy playing Plants vs Zombies on the old computer. Jared and Walker were taking Walker's hunter safety tests, which took them until after lunch. Yes, my 11-year-old is now officially allowed to go hunting. Good thing, since his father has been planning for this particular event since Walker was born. Seriously.
The rest of Saturday, we took decorations off the tree, and the walls, and the shelves. Jared wanted to get the tree down, and dumped, before I left for Fallon with the tree-hauling vehicle. I thought I was doing really good with the decorations this year- I packed them all up and had 2 boxes empty when I was done! Then I realized I'd forgotten a few things. Nevermind.
Sunday we had church, and I decided to drive to Fallon on Monday, which gave me another day to pack, and Morgen another day to fully recover from being grumpy about being sick. If this is even a small taste of her behavior as a teenager, I am running away to join the bookmobile. I thought about joining the circus, but my talents do NOT include tightrope walking or lion taming, so I'm using Plan B.
Monday, after we stopped for money and gas [and breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's]we left for Fallon, Nevada. We made it 500 miles with 2 stops: one for gas, and one for food and gas. No fights, no complaining, no arguing or throwing things or any of the many other incidents that make traveling long distances with children so umm, character-building. Yeah, I used duct tape.
Kidding! ;)We had an audiobook- "The Last Olympian"- to listen to, which meant that my kids were perfectly quiet and enthralled the entire 8-hour drive.
The week was filled with swimming and Wii time [LEGO Indiana Jones and Wii Resort]. We also visited and played with cousins- thanks Josh and Brooks for bringing Ethan, Sloan, and Mason with you- aunts and uncles, and grandparents. We got to see Jon and Melinda's new house [beautiful, guys], and see it snowing in Fallon! I think their annual precipitation is 4 or 6 inches. I bet they got at least 4 inches in snow while we were there, too. Snow is not the normal there- cold, yes, but snow, no.
We drove home Friday, after I looked at the weather report [stormy Saturday and Sunday] and decided not to risk driving in snow. We finished up the audiobook, and the character-building behavior returned, but I threatened them: "If you continue that behavior, I'm stopping the car and PLAYING BARRY MANILOW!!!"
Not really. The Barry Manilow, I mean. :) But stopping the car, and extending the torture of sitting in it, seemed to work fine as a threat.
When we got home, I made the kids unpack their clean [thanks to my MIL's washer and dryer] clothes and put them away. I, however, sat down at my new [!!] computer and began to work on retrieving the data from my old one, courtesy of Carbonite backup [thank you very much]. Picasa found all my pictures, no problem. I installed Quicken and retrieved all the financial data, again with no problem. I was able to transfer my podcasts and purchased music from Itunes, but ran into problems with the CDs I had uploaded myself. Now, before you tell me how I could do this easily, using only my ipod and some barbed wire and chewing gum, I need to explain. When I got my ipod, a few years ago, I tried to upload my [rather large] collection of CDs to my old computer. After 2 DAYS of sitting at the computer, and after I ran out of storage, I gave up. So, really, it's okay that this part didn't transfer, since there wasn't much on the old computer to begin with. But that brings me to my "more on this later" part of the post. I spent most of yesterday [that would be Sunday] uploading my CDs, and organizing my playlists. I started with my religious music, it being Sunday and all, then moved on to Christmas and Classical. I went to bed at 11:30pm, and hadn't finished yet, but I'd made a good dent in the stack of 150+ CDs I own.
Now, going to bed at 11:30 normally means it's a bit hard to get out of bed by 7:30am to get kids ready for school. I was okay with that, though. Unfortunately, what actually happened was this: when my handsome and hard-working husband [oooh, I can alliterate] got up at 4:00am this morning, I woke up, too. I managed to pretend to be asleep until 4:30, then gave it up as a lost cause. Normal for me is NOT pretending to sleep at 4am. It is ACTUALLY SLEEPING at that time. I finally gave up in disgust, did my meditation, and got up. I started uploading more CDs, and did dishes while I waited for the CDs to load. When I ran out of dishes, I checked my email. Then I thought, "I know! I'll update my blog!" So that's what I'm doing.
Really, though, this behavior is sick. And wrong. But mostly sick. Jared has always chosen to get up early, so he can finish working at a decent time and spend the evenings with me [and, later, our kids]. As a night person, I put up with this because I enjoyed having him home when I was awake enough to appreciate him. But I never, ever wanted to do it myself! *sigh* I guess, after 14 years of marriage [minus 7 days], it isn't a total shock that I should start acting like my husband. I'm not sure I would have chosen this particular habit, though. On the plus side, though, I have now uploaded successfully 140 CDs. My total music listening time is: 6.4 days. Bonus :) only 44 more to go...
Oh, and kids are up and showering now. Time to start my "real" day!
Gratitude List:
* Sleeping in [except I'm thinking this might be something I admire from afar, now].
* Friends, family, neighbors.
* Good food [and the exercise bike to work it off].
* my new computer!!
* music.
* that I stopped buying CDs [and started buying songs online] when I got my ipod.
* fog [but not to drive in, just to look at :)]
* meditation time.
* My husband and kids.
* God
* the possibility of a nap later today.
We had a great holiday season, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Christmas Eve we had dinner with Nate and Caitlin and their boys. That was awesome- my kids LOVE their younger cousins, and I love that they have the same play style [rough & tumble and chase-around-the-house-giggling]. Caitlin made the most delicious pork roast, with sweet potatoes [they tasted like pumpkin pie- seriously GOOD], a yummy cheese dip, corn casserole, and green beans. We won't talk about dessert. That would make me want to bake, and my to-do list is already way too long :) [Oh, and Caitlin? I would love copies of those recipes :)]
We put the kids to bed, then took candles to the cemetery to put on Myles' grave, and on my grandparents' grave, too. I love this tradition- seeing the flickering lights in the snow, and feeling the quiet solemn peacefulness there. We also saw a few deer in the cemetery, avoiding the people and looking for green things to munch on. Then it was back home to let Santa deliver his presents to us.
Christmas day began HOURS before I was ready. Jared was up early to start the pull-apart bread [or monkey bread, if you'd rather call it that]. My gorgeous girl decided to get up and "help" him. Part of that help was being so loud that her brothers woke up. Jared fed them all breakfast, and came to wake me up several times :) so I could take pictures and watch the kids opening presents. Yeah. It took me a while to get out of bed, but we still began the unwrapping process BEFORE 6:30am. All I can say is: wait until next year. The Grinch will be taking presents away if mom has to wake up before 8am. Anyway, getting such an early [hah!] start meant that the entire process was over by 7:30am, so I went back to bed until I felt decent. After lunch, and a wonderful nap, we drove down to my parents' house to visit. I forgot my parents' gift, but I'm blaming that on my early start. Interrupted sleep is never a good thing for me :) We all got a lot of loot; my favorite gift [and the one that has eaten up a lot of my time since Christmas] was a new computer! Hooray! More on that later...
As we drove home Friday night, Morgen was complaining of a sore tummy. I told her I thought it might have something to do with all the eating that had occurred lately, but Morgen was sure I was being silly :). Then she threw up early Saturday morning. She was sick most of the morning, and insisted on getting up and slowly shuffling around the house, quietly moaning. I sent her back to bed. I'm unsympathetic like that :). I mostly worked on setting up my [fabulously fast] new computer, and doing laundry for our upcoming visit to Fallon. Hyrum was busy playing Plants vs Zombies on the old computer. Jared and Walker were taking Walker's hunter safety tests, which took them until after lunch. Yes, my 11-year-old is now officially allowed to go hunting. Good thing, since his father has been planning for this particular event since Walker was born. Seriously.
The rest of Saturday, we took decorations off the tree, and the walls, and the shelves. Jared wanted to get the tree down, and dumped, before I left for Fallon with the tree-hauling vehicle. I thought I was doing really good with the decorations this year- I packed them all up and had 2 boxes empty when I was done! Then I realized I'd forgotten a few things. Nevermind.
Sunday we had church, and I decided to drive to Fallon on Monday, which gave me another day to pack, and Morgen another day to fully recover from being grumpy about being sick. If this is even a small taste of her behavior as a teenager, I am running away to join the bookmobile. I thought about joining the circus, but my talents do NOT include tightrope walking or lion taming, so I'm using Plan B.
Monday, after we stopped for money and gas [and breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's]we left for Fallon, Nevada. We made it 500 miles with 2 stops: one for gas, and one for food and gas. No fights, no complaining, no arguing or throwing things or any of the many other incidents that make traveling long distances with children so umm, character-building. Yeah, I used duct tape.
Kidding! ;)We had an audiobook- "The Last Olympian"- to listen to, which meant that my kids were perfectly quiet and enthralled the entire 8-hour drive.
The week was filled with swimming and Wii time [LEGO Indiana Jones and Wii Resort]. We also visited and played with cousins- thanks Josh and Brooks for bringing Ethan, Sloan, and Mason with you- aunts and uncles, and grandparents. We got to see Jon and Melinda's new house [beautiful, guys], and see it snowing in Fallon! I think their annual precipitation is 4 or 6 inches. I bet they got at least 4 inches in snow while we were there, too. Snow is not the normal there- cold, yes, but snow, no.
We drove home Friday, after I looked at the weather report [stormy Saturday and Sunday] and decided not to risk driving in snow. We finished up the audiobook, and the character-building behavior returned, but I threatened them: "If you continue that behavior, I'm stopping the car and PLAYING BARRY MANILOW!!!"
Not really. The Barry Manilow, I mean. :) But stopping the car, and extending the torture of sitting in it, seemed to work fine as a threat.
When we got home, I made the kids unpack their clean [thanks to my MIL's washer and dryer] clothes and put them away. I, however, sat down at my new [!!] computer and began to work on retrieving the data from my old one, courtesy of Carbonite backup [thank you very much]. Picasa found all my pictures, no problem. I installed Quicken and retrieved all the financial data, again with no problem. I was able to transfer my podcasts and purchased music from Itunes, but ran into problems with the CDs I had uploaded myself. Now, before you tell me how I could do this easily, using only my ipod and some barbed wire and chewing gum, I need to explain. When I got my ipod, a few years ago, I tried to upload my [rather large] collection of CDs to my old computer. After 2 DAYS of sitting at the computer, and after I ran out of storage, I gave up. So, really, it's okay that this part didn't transfer, since there wasn't much on the old computer to begin with. But that brings me to my "more on this later" part of the post. I spent most of yesterday [that would be Sunday] uploading my CDs, and organizing my playlists. I started with my religious music, it being Sunday and all, then moved on to Christmas and Classical. I went to bed at 11:30pm, and hadn't finished yet, but I'd made a good dent in the stack of 150+ CDs I own.
Now, going to bed at 11:30 normally means it's a bit hard to get out of bed by 7:30am to get kids ready for school. I was okay with that, though. Unfortunately, what actually happened was this: when my handsome and hard-working husband [oooh, I can alliterate] got up at 4:00am this morning, I woke up, too. I managed to pretend to be asleep until 4:30, then gave it up as a lost cause. Normal for me is NOT pretending to sleep at 4am. It is ACTUALLY SLEEPING at that time. I finally gave up in disgust, did my meditation, and got up. I started uploading more CDs, and did dishes while I waited for the CDs to load. When I ran out of dishes, I checked my email. Then I thought, "I know! I'll update my blog!" So that's what I'm doing.
Really, though, this behavior is sick. And wrong. But mostly sick. Jared has always chosen to get up early, so he can finish working at a decent time and spend the evenings with me [and, later, our kids]. As a night person, I put up with this because I enjoyed having him home when I was awake enough to appreciate him. But I never, ever wanted to do it myself! *sigh* I guess, after 14 years of marriage [minus 7 days], it isn't a total shock that I should start acting like my husband. I'm not sure I would have chosen this particular habit, though. On the plus side, though, I have now uploaded successfully 140 CDs. My total music listening time is: 6.4 days. Bonus :) only 44 more to go...
Oh, and kids are up and showering now. Time to start my "real" day!
Gratitude List:
* Sleeping in [except I'm thinking this might be something I admire from afar, now].
* Friends, family, neighbors.
* Good food [and the exercise bike to work it off].
* my new computer!!
* music.
* that I stopped buying CDs [and started buying songs online] when I got my ipod.
* fog [but not to drive in, just to look at :)]
* meditation time.
* My husband and kids.
* God
* the possibility of a nap later today.
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