Open House....
Saturday -- January 29, 2011
4pm - 6pm
2908 West 1060 North, Provo
801-373-4364
Come & see the new house!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
More Grown Up Than Me
Everyone likes to receive $ as a gift, right? You can buy anything you want!! No more settling for something that someone else THINKS you might like or want... You get what you want. That's exciting....anything.
While thinking about what to get the kids for Christmas, and while asking them hypothetical questions one evening, Jeremy asks us if, instead of presents this year, we just give him the money.
Yeah, we know this drill...no presents, ask for the money, go and spend it on what you will. Because he knows I won't buy him a snake. Because he knows I won't know exactly which heat light or infrared lamp bulb to get. Because he knows he doesn't want any clothes. Why put up with that?
But again, I was wrong. (I seem to be wrong a lot lately!)
When asked what he would spend his money on, he replied, "I just want to give it away to someone who needs it more than me. I've got so much stuff already. Someone else needs it more."
How do you say NO to that?
The sadness that was experienced was actually by us, because he didn't want us to buy him anything. We did anyway, and then gave him $.
He's a lot more grown up than me.
P.S. I wrote this while on Benadryl....if it doesn't make sense or there's some punctuation or spelling error, that's why. Good Niiiggghhhhhh.....zzzzzzzzzz
While thinking about what to get the kids for Christmas, and while asking them hypothetical questions one evening, Jeremy asks us if, instead of presents this year, we just give him the money.
Yeah, we know this drill...no presents, ask for the money, go and spend it on what you will. Because he knows I won't buy him a snake. Because he knows I won't know exactly which heat light or infrared lamp bulb to get. Because he knows he doesn't want any clothes. Why put up with that?
But again, I was wrong. (I seem to be wrong a lot lately!)
When asked what he would spend his money on, he replied, "I just want to give it away to someone who needs it more than me. I've got so much stuff already. Someone else needs it more."
How do you say NO to that?
The sadness that was experienced was actually by us, because he didn't want us to buy him anything. We did anyway, and then gave him $.
He's a lot more grown up than me.
P.S. I wrote this while on Benadryl....if it doesn't make sense or there's some punctuation or spelling error, that's why. Good Niiiggghhhhhh.....zzzzzzzzzz
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Heartthrobs
My heartthrob in the 70's....Shaun Cassidy. I had posters of him all over my room. I used to write letters to his fan club.
My heartthrobs in the 80's....Steve Perry & Don Johnson. Who could resist Steve's tight jeans & that long hair? 
Who would say no to Don's casual Miami look & sunglasses?
My heartthrob in the 90's.....
Now, I get to experience Emily's heartthrob too. And it's kinda fun...and reminiscent.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Choir Christmas Concerts
I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when I was 10 years old. Some time around the age of 12, I began to have a dream of singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
All through Jr. High and High School, I sang. I was even selected to sing in the Texas State Choir, ranking #6 in the state in the Alto section. When I went to BYU, I sang in BYU's Concert Choir, directed by Mack Wilberg, for 3 years.
My singing fell by the wayside for several years, while I worked and became a mom, although I sang in church many times. I did participate in a community choir a few years ago.
When I was selected to sing in the Tabernacle Choir a year ago, I fulfilled a life-long dream. And it has been an amazing year. I LOVE to sing in a choir. I enjoy singing solo, but I get much more fulfillment out of singing in a choir. I love the harmony. I love singing with men. I love how everything fits together. It's like magic to me.
The Choir's Christmas concert is one of the most anticipated community events. Tickets are offered free through a random drawing process. But there is great disappointment if you aren't able to get tickets and this year people were actually selling their tickets. Shame on them and shame on the people who bought them.
So I've been looking forward to participating in these concerts. It's been a long week. We had rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday night was the first night it was all put together and it was so exciting to see it and sing in it. My family was all there and I was so happy. However, I went to bed extremely late.
Friday's concert was even better. It was fun and exciting. Again, I went to bed late.
Yesterday, I woke up feeling just exhausted...like a train had run over me. We had to be in SLC at 2p for a recording session and by that time, I wasn't feeling well. After the session, we were served a lovely dinner...turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, salad, pumpkin cheesecake. I ate about half of it, hoping it would help me feel better. I was beginning to wonder if I should just sit this performance out. After dinner, I went to lay down somewhere during our break. That helped me feel a little better so I decided to sing in the concert.
Wrong decision.
During Song #4, I felt like I was going to pass out, so as soon as it was over, I was going to leave the stage, but then David Archuleta came out for his song, so I just sat down instead.
And then I retched....and my dinner left me. Luckily for those around me, my dress caught and kept everything and nothing landed on anyone. All through David's beautiful song, I sat there bent over, waiting for a moment when I could run out. When his song finished, another one started and I had to sit there again. My neighbor kept her hand on my shoulder and from out of nowhere, someone handed me 2 tissues.
When the song ended and the lights went down, I gather up the bottom of my dress, held the tissue to my face, and ran up the stairs and off stage....apologizing along the way to the dancers I passed who were getting ready to enter. I made it to the bathroom, to cry in humility and call Brian to come and get me...however we live 45 minutes away.
People backstage were so kind....from finding me a pair of scrubs to change into, giving me a bag for my lovely choir dress, to wheeling me in a wheelchair back to the dressing room. One choir member stayed with me the entire time and even sat in the hallway while I laid on the cold bathroom floor, waiting for Brian. She helped me to the car, carrying my other clothes and my purse. She went above and beyond the call of duty and should receive many blessings from Heaven for her kindness to me. I even received an email from another choir member after the concert that welcomed me to the "Throw up During a Concert" club. She also said, "You were very classy in how you handled yourself in a very difficult situation. There were very few who realized that you threw up. You were quite amazing." That made me feel better.
I wanted my first Christmas concert to be memorable & special. And it has been an amazing experience. I feel so blessed to be in the Choir and sometimes get overwhelmed by the joy I feel to be singing with such an amazing group.
Too bad it ended in such a "messy" way. One day soon, I hope to laugh about it. Right now, my stomach hurts too bad to laugh.
All through Jr. High and High School, I sang. I was even selected to sing in the Texas State Choir, ranking #6 in the state in the Alto section. When I went to BYU, I sang in BYU's Concert Choir, directed by Mack Wilberg, for 3 years.
My singing fell by the wayside for several years, while I worked and became a mom, although I sang in church many times. I did participate in a community choir a few years ago.
When I was selected to sing in the Tabernacle Choir a year ago, I fulfilled a life-long dream. And it has been an amazing year. I LOVE to sing in a choir. I enjoy singing solo, but I get much more fulfillment out of singing in a choir. I love the harmony. I love singing with men. I love how everything fits together. It's like magic to me.
The Choir's Christmas concert is one of the most anticipated community events. Tickets are offered free through a random drawing process. But there is great disappointment if you aren't able to get tickets and this year people were actually selling their tickets. Shame on them and shame on the people who bought them.
So I've been looking forward to participating in these concerts. It's been a long week. We had rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday night was the first night it was all put together and it was so exciting to see it and sing in it. My family was all there and I was so happy. However, I went to bed extremely late.
Friday's concert was even better. It was fun and exciting. Again, I went to bed late.
Yesterday, I woke up feeling just exhausted...like a train had run over me. We had to be in SLC at 2p for a recording session and by that time, I wasn't feeling well. After the session, we were served a lovely dinner...turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, salad, pumpkin cheesecake. I ate about half of it, hoping it would help me feel better. I was beginning to wonder if I should just sit this performance out. After dinner, I went to lay down somewhere during our break. That helped me feel a little better so I decided to sing in the concert.
Wrong decision.
During Song #4, I felt like I was going to pass out, so as soon as it was over, I was going to leave the stage, but then David Archuleta came out for his song, so I just sat down instead.
And then I retched....and my dinner left me. Luckily for those around me, my dress caught and kept everything and nothing landed on anyone. All through David's beautiful song, I sat there bent over, waiting for a moment when I could run out. When his song finished, another one started and I had to sit there again. My neighbor kept her hand on my shoulder and from out of nowhere, someone handed me 2 tissues.
When the song ended and the lights went down, I gather up the bottom of my dress, held the tissue to my face, and ran up the stairs and off stage....apologizing along the way to the dancers I passed who were getting ready to enter. I made it to the bathroom, to cry in humility and call Brian to come and get me...however we live 45 minutes away.
People backstage were so kind....from finding me a pair of scrubs to change into, giving me a bag for my lovely choir dress, to wheeling me in a wheelchair back to the dressing room. One choir member stayed with me the entire time and even sat in the hallway while I laid on the cold bathroom floor, waiting for Brian. She helped me to the car, carrying my other clothes and my purse. She went above and beyond the call of duty and should receive many blessings from Heaven for her kindness to me. I even received an email from another choir member after the concert that welcomed me to the "Throw up During a Concert" club. She also said, "You were very classy in how you handled yourself in a very difficult situation. There were very few who realized that you threw up. You were quite amazing." That made me feel better.
I wanted my first Christmas concert to be memorable & special. And it has been an amazing experience. I feel so blessed to be in the Choir and sometimes get overwhelmed by the joy I feel to be singing with such an amazing group.
Too bad it ended in such a "messy" way. One day soon, I hope to laugh about it. Right now, my stomach hurts too bad to laugh.
 |
| Here's a picture with David...I'm 4 rows above David's head, on the aisle. Thankfully, this was NOT the night I threw up and thankfully I was sitting in a different place where I was not as noticeable. |
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Animal Journey
Both BJ & I had dogs growing up. Nothing too special. Our parents took care of them mostly.
We looked forward to having a dog with our own kids, but when JBJ was little, we discovered he was allergic to everything.
Everything, except rats... & rabbits... & mice... & birds... & fish... & reptiles... & amphibians.
So that's what we've had. JBJ got his first rat when he was 5 years old. Since then, he's had at least 5-7 others. I like the little fellas. They were clean (believe it or not!) and they were fun.
Then we got rabbits. Our total has been 18. That includes 2 litters.... a litter of 10 and a litter of 4. But most of our rabbits have met an awful demise.
We got mice because we figured the rats were cute and then the mice were cuter. But WOW! they stink. They lasted 3 days in the house and were promptly put into the garage. But then they died. I think JBJ forgot to give them water.
We've had plenty of fish.
We've had 4 parakeets. We have 2 finches now.
Then JBJ got into reptiles and amphibians. Over a year ago, he caught 4 salamanders at a mountain pond while we were camping. They are still alive.... in a tank.... in his room. Then he got a Bearded Dragon. And he named him Norbert.
Norbert has grown on me. I kinda like the weird-looking thing. I LOVE to watch him eat. I get great satisfaction out of finding an escaped cricket in our house and tossing it into Norbert's cage....makes me feel powerful.... or morbid.
Well, today we added the ??? up-teenth animal to our collection. A FEMALE bearded dragon named Daisy. Guess what JBJ's plan is? Yep, he wants to breed them.... just like the rabbits.
I read somewhere that bearded dragons can lay an average of 35 eggs per clutch.
Heaven help us.
We looked forward to having a dog with our own kids, but when JBJ was little, we discovered he was allergic to everything.
Everything, except rats... & rabbits... & mice... & birds... & fish... & reptiles... & amphibians.
So that's what we've had. JBJ got his first rat when he was 5 years old. Since then, he's had at least 5-7 others. I like the little fellas. They were clean (believe it or not!) and they were fun.
Then we got rabbits. Our total has been 18. That includes 2 litters.... a litter of 10 and a litter of 4. But most of our rabbits have met an awful demise.
We got mice because we figured the rats were cute and then the mice were cuter. But WOW! they stink. They lasted 3 days in the house and were promptly put into the garage. But then they died. I think JBJ forgot to give them water.
We've had plenty of fish.
We've had 4 parakeets. We have 2 finches now.
Then JBJ got into reptiles and amphibians. Over a year ago, he caught 4 salamanders at a mountain pond while we were camping. They are still alive.... in a tank.... in his room. Then he got a Bearded Dragon. And he named him Norbert.
Norbert has grown on me. I kinda like the weird-looking thing. I LOVE to watch him eat. I get great satisfaction out of finding an escaped cricket in our house and tossing it into Norbert's cage....makes me feel powerful.... or morbid.
Well, today we added the ??? up-teenth animal to our collection. A FEMALE bearded dragon named Daisy. Guess what JBJ's plan is? Yep, he wants to breed them.... just like the rabbits.
I read somewhere that bearded dragons can lay an average of 35 eggs per clutch.
Heaven help us.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Another House Update
Our appliances are back in place. And work on the family room is coming along. It's almost finished. As much as I LOVE the tile, if I'd known this was going to be SOOO disrupting to our lives, I'm not sure I would have had the courage to go through with it.
That being said, I really love the way it looks and I'm very pleased with it.
Our new windows will not have grids & we are replacing the back door with a sliding glass door. I still have to paint the baseboards and have plenty of little paint touch-ups on the walls, which I plan to do over Christmas break. I also plan on painting my bathroom, finishing the paint/varnish on the kitchen cabinets, & possibly painting the kids' bathroom over the break. We'll see.
That being said, I really love the way it looks and I'm very pleased with it.
Our new windows will not have grids & we are replacing the back door with a sliding glass door. I still have to paint the baseboards and have plenty of little paint touch-ups on the walls, which I plan to do over Christmas break. I also plan on painting my bathroom, finishing the paint/varnish on the kitchen cabinets, & possibly painting the kids' bathroom over the break. We'll see.
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| This is how we eat these days. For the record, this is the first time our table has been out of storage in a month. |
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| Looking into the Family room. This tile has been set. |
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| From the Family room, looking towards the kitchen. For the next 48+ hours, we can't walk into this room past the table. |
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| Our friend, the tile guy, hard at work! |
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Update on House Journey
Well, we live in our house now. But we have no stove, so we still have to eat at my parent's house. The tile is done in the hallway, bathrooms, laundry room, & JBJ's room. So now, our kitchen is getting done.
Other good news....The window people are coming December 16!!!
And the new furnace/AC should be installed before Christmas as well.
WE ARE ALMOST DONE!
Other good news....The window people are coming December 16!!!
And the new furnace/AC should be installed before Christmas as well.
WE ARE ALMOST DONE!
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| The finished tile looking towards the kid's rooms |
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| The finished hallway looking towards the bedroom areas |
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| The almost-finished entry way...that spot had to be broken out because it got stepped on while the setting was still wet. |
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| The kitchen with no stove or fridge |
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| The kitchen, after the tile was cut & laid out and after I repainted |
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| Looking into the family room after it had been mostly emptied out |
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