Tuesday Thoughts-Random edition

*I went to the dr. today just to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be with my toe and that it was actually healing well. He took x-rays and it is good and truly broken. I sheered it right in half on the shank of the little toe. If it had been just a fraction lower I would have had to have surgery- again.  But the good news is that it is still in place where it should be and healing fine. I just need to keep wearing the lovely blue shoe and stay off of it as much as possible. The bad news- no hiking, no treadmill and limited yoga for 4-6 more weeks.

* I went to a counselor conference today where BYU was there to present all of there new enrollment requirements and to let counselors know what they have to offer our students. (I went to the one at U of U 2 wks ago). If I had known how inexpensive BYU-Hawaii is I may have gone there instead of BYU-Idaho (Ricks when I was there) Seriously, the plane ticket over there is almost as much as tuition. Maybe someday we will need to have a field trip there.

*BYU gives counselors way better stuff than the U does.

*Tell me why I can't have a simple conversation with my kids' dad? Why does the simplest exchange turn into an argument? Really, I am a grown woman, I can control my temper and my thoughts and my feelings. Until he walks in the room and then my blood just starts boiling and hate and venom spews out of my mouth- even if I am just answering a yes or no question and the temperature drops by about 30+ degrees.

*I get to see the marching band perform this year's show for the first time tonight. I am not sure I am going to stay for awards, though. I might stay and watch my niece. We'll see how cold it is because once my foot gets cold the toe starts hurting and I still have to drive home and I can't take pain meds because of a bunch of other stuff.

Brandi's team played their last game of the season last night. They lost. the ref was not fair, in my opinion. When the other team had one of our girls by the arm and was pushing our girl and hitting her in the back and then our girl shook the opponent's arm off, the ref called a foul on our girl? Really?  and gave our coach a red card for asking for clarification on the call? It was downhill from there. But our girls played well and fought hard (and fairly) for the entire game. Now it is indoor soccer and then the tournament in St. George in late Nov.

Remember, if you want to read Matt's mission blog, you need to request an invitation so I can add you to the list of those allowed to read it.

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Indeed.

Thoughts

*School counselors have to go to a lot of meetings. I think I have spent more time in meetings the last 3 weeks than I have the last 3 years.

*I am not sure I like my new washer's water saving load sensor setting. I don't think there is enough water to get my clothes clean. My towels are starting to look dingy. I think I will only use the setting when I am washing only 1-2 things- like Brandi's uniform.

* I do like the fact that the tub doesn't get unbalanced when I need to wash only a couple of things- like Brandi's uniform.

* I need to take Brandi's braids out. I am not looking forward to that 4-5 hour process. Especially since I will then have to take another 2-3 hours to do something else with it.

*Anyone know how to merge two Xcell documents into one? I need to do that for a data project for the counseling department review. I have about 6 files I need to merge into one.

*Counselors alos do a lot of data projects. Sometimes it feels like we spend so much time proving that we are doing our job that we can't do our job.

*I am glad I am not a teenager right now. So much stress and pressure. Or maybe that is just all the students in my portiion of the alphabet.

*Maybe I'll tell you about them sometime. But the names will have to be changed and all that, you know?

*I'm tired and going to go to bed.

*You know how long it has been since I went to bed before 11 p.m.? 

* 2 1/2 years. That's how long.

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Indeed.

Thought from the weekend

*This game was COLD

*Don't try and buy a suit for your future missionary the day after Thanksgiving. There won't be any in his size that he likes. And the salesman at Dillards will try to sell you an ugly $800 suit for $200. Who needs an $800 suit?

*If you are the coach of a soccer team and you have 2 great players that play well together and make a good team and they move the ball down the field and put it in the goal consistently and there is 5 minutes left in the game, why do you take one of them out and put in your worst player? The one that usually misses the ball and when she does kick it it is in a random direction because she doesn't know where her team mates are? Are you really trying to sabatoge your team? Just asking.

*I am not the only one that wonders the above, all the other parents were asking it too. (because I wasn't going to say anything because the player she always takes out is my child.)

*When you see a dead animal on the side of the road, do you ever wonder about their families? I did this weekend. I was wondering how long the left behind animals wonder about the dead one.

*I wonder what the pioneers thought about all the red landscape when they got to Southern Utah. Was it extremely different from their homeland? Did they think it beautiful or weird?

*There is no good (meaning healthy) fast food.

*Why do stores not carry swim suits year round? Do they really think that no one swims in the fall and winter? Have they not heard of indoor pools?

* I got a new phone. Matt & Brandi have been using it non-stop. But not to make phone calls.

*Remember when you got a phone and all it did was call people?

*Overheard, "I have to figure out how to use this new camera." Remember when you used to get a new camera, take it out of the box and just point and shoot? But of course you then had to remember to wind the film, take it out, get it developed, pick it up, hope you had some good pictures....

*I saw the end of the rainbow. But unfortunately the leprechauns had already taken their gold.

*I loved watching soccer this weekend, but am glad to be home.

* I don't have cable and after a weekend of having a bazillion channels and nothing to watch, I won't be getting it anytime soon.

*I hope you all had a great week and a happy holiday.

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Indeed.

Lists- again

I am going to do this post in list form because: a) I am in a hurry, b) I can't think of a post length thought right now- too much homework and tiredness from staying awake with a sick child for 2 nights in a row.

*It snowed again today. Cold, wet, heavy slush. I keep reminding myself I will be thankful for it in the summer.

*Two of my favorite blogs are marked as private- invitation only- today. I don't have an invitation to either. :(

*The sleep doctor called. I need to go back for another sleep study. Apparently I stop breathing, on average, 11 times/hour! No wonder I am exhausted!

*Brandi has strep. She got a shot of penacillan this morning after all the ginger baths and collodial silver were not working.

*I finished reading Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack last night. I will do a review soon, but know that I loved it. (and just an FYI, I helped with the recipies in the next Sadie Hoffmiller book, English Trifle, due out this coming August)

*Donovan just might get to come home when the baby is born. We are praying that everything will work so that he does get to come home and that she is born when he is here.

*I have a stupid journal entry to write for my stupid class tomorrow night. 3 more class periods. Not that I am counting or anything.

*I am listening to Jim Brickman right now and wishing that I could go to a concert again. I used to go to all of his concerts before he became such a big hit. I used to have backstage passes to all of his Utah concerts.

*Stir Fry for dinner tonight.

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Indeed.

When you can't make up your mind

I have all these thoughts jumping around in my head, but none that will gel into a glob big enough to warrant a post, so today will just be some random thoughts that I have had the last couple of days.

We had goose for dinner tonight. Actually, we were supposed to have goose for dinner tonight. My visiting teachers came over- I forgot they were coming- and the goose cooked too long. It has been decades since I made a meal that was unedible. The cat enjoyed it though.

Donovan went hunting and he shot the goose. We had to finish cleaning it because he got stung by a wasp and his hand swelled and he couldn't hold it anymore. When I was putting it in the pan, Brandi saw it. She promptly told me that she didn't like goose. I haven't cooked a goose in about 20 years. She's 9. She was glad it was overcooked. She enjoyed her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I don't often purchase chips just to eat but I found these and really like them.

The good thing is that Ethan and Jake don't really like them, so a bag lasts me longer than a day. I just realized that the bag I have in the pantry has been there for four weeks.

Or these. No salt and less carbs than regular tortilla chips.

Karlene and her daughter went on a road trip this past summer. They did a lot of driving, and stopping, and site seeing and blog posting. During the stopping parts they purchased souvenirs and then during the blog posting they gave them away. I won some of them and was supposed to blog about them. I didn't do that. OOps. Good thing Karlene loves me anyway, huh?

Here is what I won

Two Sobe Cranberry Grapefruit drinks, a box of Crystal Light, sugar free Russel Stover Noogie, Protein bars, a deck of Mt. Rushmore playing cards and a Marine bear pin.

I don't understand the whole bailout thing. I don't understand the hows and whys of it. Someone want to explain it to me in simple terms? (without the politics- I just want why we need it and how it works) And why does no one ever bail me out when my balance is low?

I am still looking for a pair of white pumps. I can't find any and now it is fall so I probably still won't be able to find any. I did find these at Mervyn's though. Too bad I can't wear heels that high anymore.

I'm glad homecoming week is over at the school. I didn't get home untl after 10 pm most nights last week. I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed.

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Indeed.

Random Wednesday

Today I really have nothing to post, just a bunch of random things I have been thinking about, but don't really have anything to do with anything else.

*If you make your living using words, shouldn't you know how to use them properly? A couple days after that big earthquake in China a heard a reporter say,
"They are still hopeful that they can find some living survivors."
Excuse me? What other kind would there be?

*I heard Tom Brokaw the other day in an interview. I don't remember exactly what he was talking about because it was on David Letterman, it was late and I was tired and only half paying attention but I do know they were discussing current politics in our nation. This one phrase caught my attention and I had to find a paper and pencil and write it down because I didn't want to lose it.
"It is time for everybody to re-enlist as citizens in our country."

*Another interview, this time with a woman that was living with terminal cancer. She was discussing what the doctor's told her when they told her that there was no treatment or cure for her particular, rare type of cancer. The doctor said, "You will die from this. In fact you may live your whole life with this."
Um, if this is what is going to cause her death, then I think it is pretty clear that she will her whole life with it.

*This same woman, though, was not living as a sick person, no she was living her life and doing things and being happy and eating healthy and doing the best she could to have what was left of her life be a good one. This is her philosophy: "We are all going to die- but how many of us really live?"

*Another terminal cancer patient on hope:
"Hope is not having a good outcome. Hope is learning how to deal with bad situations."

*Advice to your daughters when they start dating
"Ignore what they say and only pay attention to what they do."

*My mom used to always say:
"You may trust the person you are with, but you cannot always trust the situation."

*I was watching the Today show this morning. They were talking about what to wear to all those summer weddings you will be attending. This is one of the comments,
"There may be a spiritual aspect to the wedding."
May??? I was incredulous when I heard that. May? I think that your wedding should be the most spiritual experience you have ever had. I am saddened that it seems to be relegated to a big party and not the spiritual, reverent covenant that it should be. The only thing I can think of that is more spiritual is giving birth.

What makes you cry?

I usually have the news on in the mornings while I am getting ready for work. Sometimes it is just background noise and sometimes I only pay attention-sorta. And everyonce in a while something catches my attention and I pay full attention. Sometimes I am surprised, or angered or outraged or incredulous. There are even times that I want to throw something at the t.v. But the times I "hate" the most are when I already have my make-up on and something makes me cry.

The thing is, I never know what it is that is going to touch me that way. Yesterday? It was a story about girls softball. Now, if you know me, you know that I am not athletic at all (except if you count dance) so why would I even care about girl's softball?

Here's the story (read it in full here) Sara, from Western Oregon University, hit her first ever home run. However, she collapsed from a knee injury when she got to first base. It is against the rules for her team to help her make it around the bases. Basically, she was stuck there. If she made it to home plate, hers would be the third point brought in with the hit and her team would win. If she had a pinch hitter take her place, the hit would not be counted as a home run and only two of the points would count and the game would continue. Then, the amazing thing. Central Washington, the opposition, first base player, Mallory Holtman, and shortstop, Liz Wallace, picked up Sara and carried her around the bases, thus ensuring that Sara's team would win and theirs would lose! Now, if that isn't selflessness and sportsmanship, I don't know what is. And I cried when I heard it. Not just an Aww, isn't that nice, or a slight moisture in my eyes. No, full on tears running down my cheeks and causing me to have to redo the make-up.

Then, today there was a story about a company of Marines coming home and greeting their friends and family after alost a year being in Iraq. I was happy for them and not really paying attention- until they mentioned the name of the company. It was the company that my oldest son should have been assigned to. Would have been assigned to except he got sick in boot camp and was held back a couple of weeks. I cried realizing that he could be coming home instead of going out. And, I had to redo my makeup.

So, what are the unexpected things that make you cry?

Of Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

From Alice, Through the looking Glass and What She Found There

Complete poem can be found here

For some reason, this has always been my favorite passage from Alice in Wonderland. I especially like it when I have a jumble of unrelated things that are rumbling around in my head. Like today.

*The dr. gave me some new medicine along with the accompanying literature. I am not sure if I want to know the side effects or not because when they show up, how do I know if they are for real or just psychosymatic? Especially the side effects that only show up in .000001 of the population. Am I really always in that population, or just think I am? And if I'm not, then I can just ignore the side effects? Even the ones that say "if this happens get to a dr. or emergency room immediately"?

*Apparantly women only wear earrings during the Christmas season. I think I mentioned earlier that I had to go on a jewlery diet as my jewlery population was exploding. I need a new earring holder. I got the one I have when I was 13. So I headed to my local Wal-Mart to get one. They didn't have any and I was told that it is a 'seasonal item" and in stock only te 4 weeks before Christmas. After that, they are not sold there until the next Dec. The woman at the jewelry counter at Target had never heard of an earring holder- didn't have a clue what it was.I asked her where women usually put their earrings and she said, "In a jumbled mess in a jewelry box." Claires also only carries them at Christmas time. The Organization Place carries them, but they sell out within an hour of getting them in. I wonder why?

So I went to Ikea and got two of these:

and a set of these:

I am going to put the hooks in my closet and hang one of the baskets from one of the hooks. My necklaces can go on the other hooks. My bracelets can go inside the basket and then, because the basket is soft, I can put my earrings hanging on the outside of the basket.