Ten for '10

I'm sure I'm original and no other bloggers are a)doing this or b) titling it this way. Here are my New Year's Resolutions/Goals (organized by time frame because I am a geek).

1. Watch my freaking mouth. I've gotten better about not saying "the biggies" in front of the impressionable little copycat. I'd also like to cut the inappropriate "like" misusages from my vocabulary. I'm smarter than verbal crutches and I wish I sounded as smart as I can be. (Acting smartly will be a resolution for another year.)

2. Actually celebrate Alan's birthday for the first time in four years.

3. Organize my entire filing system for bills. Before tax time.

4. Actually see "New Moon" with my mom like we've been discussing.

5. Participate in a half-marathon. I've already started preparing and am off to at least a mediocre start.

6. Get back to not being the mom who yells. That would be good.

7. Actually decorate my family room and purchase comfortable furniture. Psh. You mean we're going to live here a while?

8. Be totally selfish and do something for myself. When pondering this, I had wild goals of purchasing a Kitchenaid or something. On reflection, it might be more simple like getting my hair cut more often than once a year.

9. Find a reason and send a thank you card to someone every week.

10. Stick with a project until the bitter end. This list counts, right?

Happy New Year!

The Geek Gene

We have a dry erase board on the fridge for quick jotting needs. This includes writing down something to be picked up from the grocery store when we use the last of it. Alan used the last of the half and half. He wrote it down. (No complaints there!) And I giggled that my husband is such a geek. Then I realized I have nothing to laugh about because I understood the joke without thinking. And have likely passed these geeky genes on to our kids.

What's in a name?

Not Claire. So I just wanted to let y'all know I'm changing our name to reflect our new family status. I'm going to change it on Wednesday, November 4th. If you wish to keep following our insanity, please update your bookmarks, links, feeds, etc. to:

http://beefourwewerecrazy.blogspot.com/

I've thought a lot about this so if you don't find it amusing, don't tell me. I'm assuming the significance is obvious. I'm not sure if this will change my email address or not, so standby for further details. Happy reading!

Note to Self

Don't do this again. You put the Mat Kearney tickets, still in their envelope, on the top of the bulletin board. If they aren't there, check beside the dryer as they may have fallen.

09/09/09

I was trying to think of something cool to post today. This is what I came up with. I listened to "Things That Must Go" on X96 today, so you get my "life" version first. Then, the second list is because I feel guilty ranting without acknowledging the good stuff.


Nine Things I Could Do Without

1. Snow -- hate it. Really.
2. Laundry -- the housework chore that never ends. As soon as I finish, I start again.
3. Whining -- the hallmark of a three year old. Even when you wish for silence.
4. Bills -- I wish we could have what we need without having to feel so overcharged for it.
5. Car Problems -- things should work properly when you pay tens of thousands of dollars for
them.
6. Stupidity -- if everyone saw the world the way I do, that would be boring. If everyone could
articulate what they were thinking in a way that doesn't bug me, it would be
much better.
7. Yardwork -- especially since it never looks like I did any.
8. Time -- I have no concept of it, and would enjoy not always feeling like I'm so far behind
the 8-ball.
9. Carpet in weird places -- I hate vacuuming my bathroom!


Nine Things I Couldn't Do Without

1. My family -- my husband, my kids, my parents, my in-laws, extended family... they all make
my life a pretty good place to be. Dogs are begrudgingly included (check with
me again when they haven't recently destroyed property while we were gone).
2. My Job -- you never know what you're going to get when I go to work. It's a crazy job and I
love it.
3. Music -- all kinds. Playing it, listening to it, introducing my kids to my favorite stuff.
4. Wipes -- baby wipes, Clorox/Lysol wipes. A good wipe can fix almost anything.
5. Pedicures -- feel good and make me feel good about myself. Plus it's an hour to read #6.
6. Books -- I have a go-to book for just about everything. Plus, there is such a feeling of
accomplishment to finishing a book.
7. Sleep -- so renewing. So necessary. And often so hard to come by.
8. Date Nights -- that allow me to appreciate the relationship I have with my husband, and the
fact that we can have an "adult" good time together on occasion.
9. Bunker gear -- firefighters are hot. Need I say more?

Murphy hates my freaking guts

So on top of all the other stuff, our car broke down last week. In the grocery store parking lot. Alan had to deal with me towing it (I'm not great at that sort of stuff...I've barely got normal driving under control). In the end, it had to go into the shop.

We got it back today, $500 later; it's sporting a new timing belt, a new water pump, a new serpentine belt, and a couple of other things I cannot name. Granted, it is an older car with many miles on it. We knew it would need some help. Still, don't believe the guy selling a car on KSL when he tells you he replaced the timing belt. Chances are, he's a liar.

On the bright side, our mechanic is awesome. Email me if you need a referral.

The Smell of Summer

Last night as I put Mason to bed, I took a moment to really breathe him in. I don't do it too often because he usually won't hold still that long. He smelled like an intoxicating combination of sun, grass, dirt, and sunscreen. It may not sound that pleasant, but it was the smell of summer and the smell of my little boy and I loved it.

I breathe in Claire on a regular basis. She doesn't smell like summer or little kid yet, just like a baby which is also wonderful in its own way.

What smells make you think of summer and childhood?

Murphy is my co-pilot

Our air conditioner went out, which really sucks. When I left to take Mason to swimming lessons, it was 87 degrees inside despite Alan's best efforts. Not to mention the fact that we haven't financially recovered from maternity leave yet, and I'm not back to working my normal number of hours yet. Safe to say I wanted to jump in the pool with Mason. Alan was a rockstar yesterday and got it fixed. It ended up being a capacitor. In our area, large power surges are not uncommon. According to the HVAC guy, he's repaired lots of these out here. Finding the part was easy and it was only a $15 part. The steep part was... are you ready for it?... labor at $95/hour. Seriously.

While we were working on that, Alan noticed that our water heater was running constantly into the drain next to it through a pipe. The pipe is not all that uncommon, but the valve being open isn't normal, either. A trip to Home Depot revealed the reason: the valve on the overflow commonly fails after a few years. They don't make 'em this way any more, so we will have to invest in an overflow tank. But don't worry, it's been leaking at least 5 gallons of water. Per day. In the summer. Alan inquired about our water bill, and I hadn't noticed a huge difference because I was expecting an increase anyway due to summer water usage.

In addition, we caught a large flying rock with Alan's windshield coming home from American Fork Canyon. With the drastic change in temperature from being parked in the sun to the garage, the rock chip turned into a crack. And registration is due by the end of July. We may have to buy a new windshield. Honestly.

They say things come in threes. I hope they don't mean multiples of three.

Life In Progress

A few random snapshots from our week:

Food coma

Shaving like Dad

Mason's a diaper-changing Big Helper

Mason=garbage truck

former toy golf bag=garbage can he's emptying

Burrito baby at her most content
The harrassee becomes the harrasser

Improvisational Skills

Alan was super sweet and brought me roses and this small bag with a little treat (that will be very good, and I think I'm going to enjoy it while I give myself a pedicure after Mason's bedtime tonight. Chocolate + a good foot soak= heaven.) as just a general thank you and a huge, really sweet surprise. The joke was on him, though. Apparently we no longer have any vases in our house. Any ideas where we can get a couple of cheap, unique vases to keep on hand for scenarios like this?

When it doesn't rain, we pour.

We got the prep work done for our concrete RV pad a few weeks ago, and then the weather has been horrible. It's been a long couple of weeks what with the dog getting out and all. I was so glad this was going to finally be done! Really, Alan and I did a fair amount of the prep work about four years ago and then there was a concrete shortage, and then there was a funding shortage on our end and, well... you know how yards can be when you finish your own one piece at a time. Our backyard has looked like a construction zone for the last four years. We're now a little closer to having a cute yard.

Mason was our big helper from the start. I think little boy's heaven is full of rocks, dirt, and shovels. The buckets, trucks, and wheelbarrows are optional.

Well, we knew this was going to be a big day for the truck-worshipping boy at our house. Since I can't (won't usually anyway) help with the heavy duty stuff, I was relegated to kid duty. It worked out well that the mixer truck in our front yard attracted my fun neighbor and her kids, too. It was a lot of fun playing with them while our yard was in chaos. Our other neighbor from up the street also came; they have a new pug puppy, Daisy, that the kids spent a fair amount of time loving on. I took lots of pictures, trying to make sure I had everything Mason would ask to view later. The first thing he asked for was Mason touching the wet cement; that didn't happen because he was too chicken. Oh, well!

The final tally was 12 yards of concrete in two cement trucks, and two chunks of vinyl fencing were carefully ripped out and reconstructed. We opted to chance letting the truck drive on our lawn rather than pay the huge fee to rent a pumper; the real risk was the truck getting stuck (which would quickly be more expensive than the pumper!), but it didn't happen that way. There were some huge ruts in the area that is now under concrete because the truck was so heavy as it started pouring, but that is apparently normal and didn't cause any problems. We also had barely enough concrete in the second truck, and one of the workers literally climbed up into the spout to help it slide down to finish the job. Mason was basically in heaven the whole day, except for the part where it didn't occur to me that any of us would need sunscreen. So we also got our first sunburns of the season, but nothing major. I was in heaven because Alan took us out to dinner so I wouldn't have to deal with cooking and dishes. He also took me to look at rocking chairs for the baby's room, but I'll have more on that later in the week (or possibly next week at the rate I'm going).
Just finishing up


Mason helping dad rebuild the fence. He loves climbing ladders. Is that normal?


Mom and Mason shared the view on the front porch. I'm not so good at the self-photography.

Sometimes Mom spills, too. Sorry Mason.

I just knocked this tube of candy...

...on to the floor at my feet/behind me. Any guesses on how long I'll be finding these candies under my desk? They are about the size of a Tic Tac. I think it's going to be a while. And, at eight months pregnant, I'm not entirely positive I'll make it up off the floor when I'm done.

Bon Anniversaire a Blog!

Today is the one year anniversary of my starting this blog for our little family. I'm not really known for sticking with things, so I'm just as shocked as anyone that I continue to update this somewhat regularly. Thanks for sticking with me!

In honor of this, I'm posting 100 things about myself. I was going to do this for my 100th post but I forgot. I thought about adding more to make it the same number of facts about me as I have done posts in this first year, but on looking at it, I don't think I can come up with 200 things about myself so I'm sticking with the original information.


1. My maiden name was just about as uncommon as my married name.

2. My first name is spelled with two “n”s. My mom told me when I was 17 she didn’t know why she did that, and blamed it on postpartum medication.

3. I have found two other people with my first name in the state, and that’s all I know of. Neither of them spells theirs with two “n”s.

4. The first one worked at the same credit union I did before I worked there. I didn’t believe other employees who said a former employee had the same name until her dentist’s office called. They didn’t believe me that I wasn’t her, because “Who else has that first name?!”

5. The second one was a customer at Olive Garden. Telling her the law required me to put my legal name on my nametag if I served alcohol wasn’t enough proof. I showed her my driver’s license and she left me a huge tip just because she thought my name was cool.

6. I wanted to name my son Owen so badly I bought a book about a mouse with a serious blanket dependence to convince my husband. That obviously worked out really well for me.

7. We didn’t agree on Mason’s name until less than two weeks before he was born.

8. Mason was born three weeks early when I was induced at my doctor’s insistence. He was 9 lbs 8 oz, and I delivered without a c-section, forceps, a vacuum, or any of the other crazy tools they sometimes use.

9. I had an epidural and I would do it again, especially knowing that I might be giving birth to children that big.

10. My husband is the only person I ever officially dated.

11. I met my husband when I was 15. We lost contact and ended up in the same math class at the University of Utah 3 years later.

12. I didn’t go on an airplane until I was 14. My first time was on a school fieldtrip to San Diego. (as a note, a couple people have commented on this trip... for Carolee, yes it was that school trip. And Janae, I won't ever forget Darrell's freakout either! I was glad you were sitting next to me so I didn't freak the way he did.)

13. I am halfway finished with a Finance degree at the University of Utah.

14. I want to go to nursing school as soon as I can.

15. I have driven past the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Rotunda,
and Georgetown University—without stopping at any of them.

16. I nearly peed my pants when we landed at Ronald Reagan Int’l Airport. The runway starts just yonder from the Potomac and it looks like you’re going to land in the river from the rear of a plane.

17. I have run through an airport with my shoes in my hand because I didn’t have time to stop and put them on if we were going to make our connecting flight. That’s about all I’ve ever seen of Houston, TX.

18. I have never lived in an apartment. We built a house while we were engaged and took ownership just before our wedding.

19. I have never lived by myself (unless you count the fact that my husband works so often that at times it feels like I live alone).

20. My husband and I dated for 3 ½ years before we married, which in local time is about half our lives. We were also engaged for almost six months, which is also a long time in the culture here. Although, we were both aged 22, so we were still quite young.

21. My husband and I watch our wedding video every year on our anniversary, no matter where we are. He thinks it’s really cheesy, but it’s one of the few things I absolutely insist he does with me.

22. We plan a special outing for our anniversary every year, and three of the times I’ve planned it, we’ve gone to Anniversary Inn. There was a joke about Anniversary Inn being the only trip I could plan, but I sure showed him last year! (and have now realized I never posted about what we did.... I smell a retrospective post coming....)

23. I started playing flute in 5th grade (at age 10). I can still do it, but Samson will howl because it hurts his ears, so I don’t practice often. Just to be fair, he also whines at cell phone rings, so it’s not entirely my poor playing.

24.I quit playing flute in school when I made Madrigals (by freak accident) my senior year. Trying out was a fluke, and Mads and Wind Ensemble ended up being the same class period.

25. I sing second alto. I can sing tenor and baritone if I think about reading Bass clef music hard enough.

26. I taught myself to play piano on an electronic keyboard. I eventually and briefly took piano lessons.

27. The most difficult song I learned for Piano was The Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams.

28. We had a choreographed Madrigal performance to a medley of James Bond themes during which I tripped over an AV cord in front of an auditorium full of people—including my parents, who still have the smooth moves on video.

29. I have sung songs in Latin, German, French, Arabic and Scat (jazz).

30. I have read the entire text of laws that apply to my job(s). The two I remember parts of are The Patriot Act (went into effect when I was a new accounts rep) and The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

31. I know the approved 10-code for Utah and the phoenetic alphabet. I also use them in conversation without noticing.

32. I can tell you where all fire departments in the Salt Lake valley are (with the exception of SLC Fire) and what kind of emergency vehicles run from each.

33. My husband and I are horrible about large purchases. We signed the paperwork to build our house three days after we walked through the model home. We purchased his truck the afternoon after we started talking about it. There are way more poorly researched things than this, and we have not yet found a better deal later or been completely screwed by our lack of long-term research.

34. My wedding ring was the first one I put on when we went shopping.

35. My favorite flower is a rose.

36. I couldn’t swim until I was 16.

37. I couldn’t ride a bike until I was 11.

38. I read Jurassic Park at the age of 11, because the movie was coming out on my birthday and I thought that was cool. At the same age, I also read an in-depth biography of Lizzie Borden. I have divergent interests in literature.

39. The longest I have ever worked at one place is my job at dispatch. I have been there for four years this month. The shortest time I’ve ever had on a job was six weeks. (Not including jobs that were short-term to begin with as long as I finished the original term.)

40. I am really good at writing letters of complaint. I had the vice president of our credit union call me personally within a half hour of dropping off one particularly vicious but well-deserved correspondence.

41. I can’t sleep with a blanket tag positioned near my face. I won’t lay Mason down with that side of the blanket near his face, either. I didn’t even notice this until my husband pointed it out.

42.My husband and I sleep in the exact same position, and have since before we started dating.

43. My favorite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

44. I watched Dirty Dancing as a child and didn’t realize what any of the plot actually meant until I was in high school.

45. I learned how to drive a manual transmission/clutch because it was all my family had when I was in high school.

46. I spent one New Years Eve (at midnight, no less) sliding up and down my friend’s driveway with her as I was helping her learn to drive a stick shift.

47.I have traveled on a bus full of hockey players more than once. I must have fit in okay because they played pranks on me while I slept just like “one of the guys”. I will never show anyone the pictures.

48. I have maintained the scoreboard and verified goals were good for hockey games.

49.I grew up listening to Abba and still have a special place in my heart for them. My favorite songs they sing are “Fernando” and “Dancing Queen”.

50. I once took soccer game stats in a concert choir dress. The soccer game was outside and I was one of the team managers. There was a Madrigal competition at my school at the same time as the game, so I went back and forth in that thing!

51. I once went on a blind double date where my friend and I (as the two girls) sat in the backseat together rather than by a date after discovering the driver had a Barbie’s head hanging from the rear view mirror by its hair.

52. My friend and I were so bored in choir one time we figured out that a septuply (is that even a word? We meant seven times.) augmented fourth is the same thing as an octave.

53. My butt has been on every stair on one side of the pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico because I’m a freaking chicken.

54. I have been in a car (on a one-on-one date, no less—no other witnesses!) when the driver didn’t hit the brakes once as we drove down Millcreek canyon from the top. It was scary. I made him buy me ice cream afterward.

55. I usually make a special spot in my schedule to watch one trashy teen soap opera. My most recent addiction is Gossip Girl. When Laura and I watched The O.C., I wouldn’t even answer the phone if it was on and I would tape it when we went to the gym while it was on.

56. I didn’t attend a concert (besides choir or school band events-I mean a professional concert) until I was 19. The first one I went to was Tim McGraw with Kenny Chesney opening before he was huge. We cut a trip to Vegas short so we could go.

57. I got to play a shotgun in our high school production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown because I was playing bass on an electronic keyboard that had sound effects.

58. I was one of 17 people fit on one couch in Madrigals. It wasn’t comfortable.

59. I have driven to las Vegas in around 5 hours. My average speed was 95 mph.

60. I love baking, and have been known to make 3-4 varieties of cookies at a time because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to make.

61. The first time I ever cut class was my sophomore year of high school. We walked to the grocery store, and the three of us split a package of Oreos and a half gallon of milk (to have that metabolism again!!)

62. I am a Gemini. The major characteristics all fit into my personality.

63. When I was 5, my uncle told me that people could only say a certain number of words in their lifetime, and he told me I was going to run out. I believed him and I cried, imagining trying to speak and being unable to.

64. My first job was as a model for Salt Lake Community College. I pretended to be a student on a math telecourse.

65. During my first job at SLCC, we had a break and took the opportunity to find out if wintergreen Life Savers really do spark in the dark. They do.

66. When I was 15, I had a dream my house burned down and I watched. I made my mom sleep in my bed with me afterward.

67. I hate grape, apple, or banana flavoring, but I like actual apples, grapes, and bananas.

68. My favorite flavor is generally cherry, especially for Tootsie Pops, other suckers, or Starburst.

69. It is almost physically impossible for me to cook a bag of popcorn without burning it.

70. My husband and I both avoided soda and caffeine for over three years. We broke our “fast” together in Hawaii. He had a root beer, and I had the best Coke I’ve ever tasted. It was only good once my eyes stopped watering and my throat stopped burning.

71. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Cavalier with no A/C and an engine buzz in the tape deck/radio. That’s right, I said tape deck. I was a great little car (thanks again for letting me drive it, mom) that we always said kicked “ASH” because those were the exact letters on the license plate.

72. My favorite song to play on Guitar Hero is “My Name is Jonas” by Weezer. My only video game related goal at the moment is to hit 100% of the notes on medium difficulty.

73. My idea of making a snack in junior high was adding food coloring to vanilla ice cream. Don’t add all the colors. The result isn’t black like you would think, but it’s rather disgusting.

74.My skin is freakishly sensitive. I’m allergic to most jewelry (including my wedding ring—I have to take it off at night) and I’m Latex-sensitive, but I also react to random laundry detergents and soaps without warning.

75. I came to a major genealogy halt when I discovered my great-grandmother’s personal records (birth certificate, etc.) and those of her family had been lost in a fire at their local city hall in small town Minnesota, and then they moved to Canada.

76. I found out through genealogy in junior high that I was distantly related to a good friend. She and I have the same great-great-great grandfather.

77. I have been hit on by a teacher and received a better grade ‘just because’, even though I didn’t realize what was going on at the time. I was hit on again by him after graduation when I was the hostess at a restaurant he came to.

78. I realized it during sexual harassment training for my current job and went “Hey, wait a minute…”

79. The first meal I ever attempted in a crockpot took nearly two weeks to scrub out of the crockpot completely.

80. I can’t whistle.

81. I sang a song from Sesame Street under my breath during an AP test to help me concentrate. It was American History, and I passed.

82. I’m really good at history, English, and math without much effort. Everything else takes lots of studying.

83. I hate science.

84. My favorite recess pastime in elementary school was playing tetherball.

85. When I was in 5th grade, we did state reports (I got Vermont and New Hampshire, because they were both small). I remember nothing about either state.

86. I also did a 5th grade president report on William McKinley. I had never heard of him, and only remember he was one of a few presidents to be assassinated.

87. For my country report in 6th grade, I got assigned to research France. My favorite part of the report was a brochure I drew to advertise the country with a hand-drawn Eiffel Tower on the front.

88. My favorite kind of music is acoustic pop, but I can’t play an acoustic guitar to save my life. I have tried to learn on my own, but will require lots of private lessons if I want to do this.

89. I played bassoon for about 5 minutes my junior year of high school until I actually got in a full bass line and thought it sounded like a duck.

90. I played a flute solo in my last concert. It was the melody line of “Winter” by Vivaldi (part of The Four Seasons suite). I was so amazed and excited when I played it exactly right.

91. I love puzzles, especially Crosswords, Sudoku, and cryptograms.

92. I can figure out most Jumble puzzles at a glance.

93. I hate Disneyland, and will have to be dragged there when it’s time for Mason to experience it. When I was 9 or 10 and we went, my dad asked me where I wanted to go next and I told him “Home.”

94.I like scrapbooking and have tons of supplies. My favorite part is doing hand-made cards.

95. I have a freaky ability to remember names, both of people I know in person and have seen in all manner of movies and television shows. I have never, ever lost The Kevin Bacon game (also known as Six Degrees of Separation), and I’ve only resorted to IMDB once or twice.

96. My favorite animal is a meerkat. I could watch them every day but I have no desire to live in Africa.

97. Toes freak me out. I think they’re disgusting and I hate it when people touch me with them. The only exception to this is Mason, because his feet are so stinking cute.

98. I won the spelling bee in 5th grade, and made it most of the way through the district competition before I was eliminated. During the second round at the district, the microphone went out and we had to shout our answers to the judges. The phonetic alphabet would have come in handy then!

99. I have only been in one physical fight in my life. It was with a girl my same age who lived next door. When her mother came over to demand an apology, my grandfather told her where she could shove that idea and then gave me pointers should I be in a fight again. He had been in the military-he had some good tips!

100.I have ordered something from a late night infomercial. It was the Turbo Jam workouts. I haven’t been very faithful in following them, but they are sure a lot of fun compared to other workouts I’ve tried!

The Great Kelloggs Debate

With the preponderance of leftover Super Bowl food at our house (which we have mostly made it through now, by the way), we ended up having a conversation/debate I wanted to get your opinions on.

There was one night that leftovers just did not appeal to me. This pregnancy-no-appetite thing is getting old. Anyway, I told Alan that I would just have a bowl of cereal for dinner and he could have leftovers. Thus started his protest and the debate: a bowl of cereal is not a meal!

I maintain that it is. It's a great meal for when mom feels like total crap and Mason and I are the only ones home. It's a great meal for breakfast. It's also great for a midnight snack sort of meal when I desperately need something to quell the heartburn long enough I can (pretend to) fall asleep.

So here's the question: does cereal count as a meal? Often times we supplement with a piece of fruit (either cut up in the cereal or on the side), some yogurt, a piece of toast, etc. But sometimes we just let it stand. Keep in mind that I'm generally a stickler about the cereal we buy; Froot Loops ("Colors") are the highest in sugar that Mason will ever get if Mom is doing the shopping. We're big fans of Frosted Mini Wheats, Kix, Rice Krispies, or Cheerios of any variety. (Or at the very least, the cheap knock off bags that make you feel like you've eaten 5 gallons of cereal by the time it's finally gone!). Leave a comment or take a poll, or both. It's your choice!

Super (overboard on the treats) Bowl Party

So here is our Super Bowl spread. We threw together a quick, impromptu thing when we realized that we both had the day off. It was a great way to enjoy the company of a couple good friends as well as our new television and surround sound system. Although, the surround sound speakers toward the back of the room still freak me out; I have one ear that is more "in tune" from dispatching out of it all the time (we have personalized ear pieces that sit in our left ears at work) , and it's total habit to turn my head in the direction of the subtle noises that come out of the rear speakers. I hear it in individual parts instead of enjoy the "experience". I'm hoping it will go away at least while I'm at home.

Anyway, with Mason having cold and not wanting to "spread the wealth", we only invited a couple of kid-less people over. Maybe next year we can have a bigger shindig. As it was, I went way overboard and we will be eating Super Bowl food for what feels like a century. I used a family recipe from Alan's family to make dip with some chips, salsa, Little Smokies and Meatballs (crockpot), snickerdoodle cookies, and a cheeseball and crackers. That's just what is shown, that doesn't include the double-decker Papa Murphy's pizza we had from dinner. I will be posting some of these recipes on The Unpampered Chef later on.

So, we were driving down the road....

.. or at least, the boy Bees were, and this is what happened. Alan reported hearing a pop and looking back over his shoulder. His window was cracked, but not a huge deal until a few minutes later when Mason started freaking out; the window was literally falling in.

As far as we could tell, there was nothing shot at it. The truck had been the garage, so there wasn't a drastic temperature difference. But Alan still had to abort the errand to return home with one hysterical child (Have I mentioned his fear of wind? He thinks the wind did it. Also, they were on the freeway when the window crumbled, so Mason caught a fair amount of wind to the face).

This happened last week, and Mason still keeps asking if the window in Mama's truck is going to fall apart, too. The only small comfort we could manage was Alan allowing Mason to help push the broken pieces of window out the gaping hole.

You may wonder why I chose to take pictures. Firstly, we were totally surprised (and more than a little irritated!) at the random nature of it. Apparently, these windows are not particularly budget-friendly to replace. Secondly, this is the messiest I have ever seen Alan's truck.

A Parent's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.

Instructions were studied and we were inspired,

In hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required."

The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,

While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:

A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's town house to boot!

And, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!
We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat....

Let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!

Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;

If we can't get it right, it goes in the basement!
When what to my worrying eyes should appear,

But 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,

With each part numbered and every slot named,

So if we failed, only we could be blamed.

More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,

All over the carpet they were scattered about.

"Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!

Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!

Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand."

"Honey," said hubby, "you just glued my hand."

And then in a twinkling,

I knew for a fact

That all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact

To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night

With "assembly required" till morning's first light.
We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,

Till our eyes, they went bleary; our fingers all hurt.

The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin

Before we attached the last rod and last pin.
Then laying the tools away in the chest,

We fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.

But I said to my husband just before I passed out,

"This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.
Tomorrow we'll cheer, let the holiday ring,

And not have to run to the store for a thing!

We did it! We did it! The toys are all set

For the perfect, most perfect, Christmas, I bet!"
Then off to dreamland and sweet repose I gratefully went,

Though I suppose there's something to say for those self-deluded...

I'd forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!

-Author Unknown

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!

Baking Frenzy

In the past few days, I've been on a roll with baking. I have made banana bread (not pictured), about 6 dozen rolled/cutout sugar cookies, English Toffee Bars (bottom left in top picture), and No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars (top right in top picture). I spent five solid hours baking on Sunday. I have yet to frost most of the sugar cookies (I only did the ones we're giving Alan's brother for his birthday treat) and I still have apple butter to make. Also, notice the picture Mason wanted me to take of him "looking at Paul's cookies." For these recipes and others, check out my recipe blog, The Unpampered Chef. Happy Holidays!

Lost in 8:15

This is both hilarious with the deadpan delivery and a great way to catch up on the first three seasons of Lost if you are a fan.

Taking it all off...

Wow, I just realized what that title must look like to those of you who follow via feed or email and just see the title. Hmm. Oh, well. You all know how I am by now!

So last week, after 45 minutes of effort with and end result of hair that still looked like I hadn't bothered, I decided I was sick of the long and it was coming off. That it did!

Some of you may remember when I was in high school and my hair never made it past my shoulders. For those of you that don't, this is even shorter than it was then! Heather, my fabulous haircutter, showed me where the 10 inches required to donate would fall and I was like "Hey, why not!" It seemed like a shame to be within an inch or two of donating and not going the extra. Besides, I'm taking pre-natal vitamins; my hair might have grown out that much by Thanksgiving. Probably not, but likely by Christmas.

Plus, when the "oompa-loompa" purple wears out (Alan can be very kind, can't he?!), it will be a more dramatic shade of red than I have tried. I like to think of myself as brave, even if it isn't true.

Also, please forgive the awkward self-portraits. I also ended up with pictures of the ceiling and the back of my chair during the photo shoot. I'm not so good at the self photography.

So I have a 10-inch long ponytail to donate, and if anyone knows of a good cancer charity, I would love the guidance (via comment or email, whatever works). I donated to Locks of Love last time (and one other time about 12 years ag0), but I have a work friend who died of cancer a couple of years ago so I feel a little closer to that cause.