Tag...I'm it

Hi! I happened to read one of my friend's blogs the other day and noticed she'd tagged me for another 'get to know you' thing. Good thing I check everyone's blog from time to time...LOL
Anyway, I've tagged some below. Just follow the directions and fill in the blanks and you'll be fine. Not that you've learned anything new from me this round...grin.

Remove the blog from the top, move all the blogs up one, and add yourself to the bottom.

Novembrance
The Lyon's Tale
Sundial in the Shade
A Writer's Ramblings
Musings from an LDS writing mom

What were you doing ten years ago? 1997 - well...My children had all been born, the youngest was going on two. We were thinking of moving - wanting to move to Lake Point, but it wasn't looking like it would happen. I was working part time at the Newspaper doing obituaries and data entry at home. Starting to think about writing again...

What were you doing one year ago? End of June 2006. We had just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! Our twins were turning 19, and we were getting ready to go on a cruise with my in-laws the beginning of August. Man...I wish that was happening again...

Five snacks you enjoy: 1) sliced apples and cheese 2) chocolate 3) carrot sticks 4) bread and peanut butter 5) chocolate...

Five songs you know all the lyrics to: 1) Forever by Kenny Loggins 2) Everything I do, I do it for you, by Brian Adams 3) Oh My Father (Hymn) 4) Wish they all could be California Girls, by the Beach Boys 5) a lot of songs by Chicago...

Things you would do if you were a millionaire: 1) Pay off our house 2) Take my whole family on a cruise. 3) remodel our house 4) start my own publishing house 5) Set up a trust

Five bad habits: 1) reading (when I should be doing other things) 2) chocolate 3) Wasting time on the internet. 4) Reading (did I mention that already?) 5) Spending money.

Five things you like to do: 1) Read 2) Spend time with hubby/watch movies 3) paint 4) Travel - I wanted to be a travel agent, but it didn't work out. sigh. 5) cook

Things you will never wear again: 1) blue eyeshadow 2) high heels 3) leg warmers 4) nylons 5) hair spray

Five favorite toys: 1) My digital camera. 2) my mp3 player (and I was soooo against it) 3) my car 4) my George Foreman grill (oh yeah!) 5) DVD player...I love watching movies.

Where will you be in ten years? That's hard to say. Hopefully published writer - more illustrations, and have all my children out of the nest. (with hopefully 4 missionaries) Getting ready to sell the back half of our lot and hopefully doing good in the savings dept for retirement...LOL

Five people to tag:

Nichole
Keith
Darvell
Cindy
Connie

Gabby Mouth

Well, I never would have thought of myself as a chatter box. But, having spent an hour and a half chatting with two neighbors, I decided I definitely fit the description. I told them it was probably the need to talk to an adult...since those in my home (the majority of the time) are under the age of 18...

Summer is probably the worse time for this, although, If I'm home by myself for great lengths of time, it would probably be even worse should I run into someone I know. I would bend their ear for a greater period of time, and soon all my friends would be avoiding me! sigh. At least one of my friends likes to talk as much as I do. Whenever I go to her house we have so much to talk about...it makes me feel a little better.

I knew I was a social type person, but never this bad. sigh. My hubby just laughs...he knows I'm going to be gone longer than I say when I have these visits. He plans on it.

It's a good thing he loves me... ;)

Life in the Slow Lane

Okay...I'm pretty sure of it now. There are only two kinds of seasons in Utah. The winter season and the road construction season. I would almost bet that every road in our little town has some kind of road work going on!

And then today, there was somekind of accident on the highway, and it took forever to get my son to work and back again! sigh. At least I know all the little by ways to get around stuff.

But it sure isn't life in the fast lane around here...

Headache woes...

Well...I had another blog I wrote at my other site, so I'm not going to do much here today.
http://stupidisas.blogspot.com/

I've had a headache all day, and it kind of drains me. It's hot...it's summer, and my children love their independence. What's a mom to do?
I need to get taxi signs for my car.

Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary...

Well, today is my 21st wedding anniversary. Surprised? I am. It doesn't seem like it's possibly that long unless I look at my oldest daughters...sigh. They turn 20 in 6 days, so, ya know, it's possible.

My hubby and I went away for the weekend up to the mountains where it's supposed to be cooler. All I can say is that I hope everyone down here was sweating bullets, because we sure were hot up there. Especially at night. sigh. It will be a good thing when ski resorts recognize that they are a summer attraction now and need air conditioning...or at least condos with ceiling fans in them! Instead, they build them all with walls of windows, most of which won't open, and if they do, only part way.

At least it was gorgeous and I had my hubby...that was all that mattered. We tried to go out to eat on Saturday night, because we wouldn't be doing it tonight. I got to pick, and I wanted steak. We called the restaurant and they took reservations. That should have been our first clue. Then we had a little struggle finding parking, but it wasn't too bad, we only had to walk 4 blocks. (Going back up the hill was the pain.) We get there and they seat us and then hand us the menus. Then she asks us if we'd like some water while we are waiting for our waitress - listing off at least 6 different types of water, including the town itself - tap water. We couldn't believe it. Um...bring on the tap water, huh?

We got a good look at the menus, and realized that we were out of our league. The phone book said their prices varied between $5.95 and $49. We figured somewhere in between was workable. We had no idea that the lower prices were only the appetizers and side dishes. The entrees - the cheapest was $24! The majority were over $30, and there was no price under the 'seasonal lobster'...scary.

So - we did what any red blooded cheapskate American would do...we left. It could have been really bad, but my hubby went up to the hostess and explained that we had misread the phone add, and we really were unable to afford their prices. Did they want to charge us a sitting fee? They were sweet and said no problem-thanks for coming...etc. We were out of there. We ended up finding a Bajio Grill and eating there for a total of $23. Wow. I knew a good steak was hard to find, but hello?

Anyway, we came home yesterday, to find our home still intact, no one injured, and everyone reasonably healthy. That's a pretty good trip in our opinion. And...last night we got to sleep much cooler...ahhhh. Life is good!

Summer time blues...

Well..I thought I'd get lots of writing done this month. I am not working (currently) and I have old enough kids that I don't have to be watching them every minute, and that means I'm supposed to have loads of time.

While I do have more time, it seems I have less inspiration. sigh. I haven't felt this dry in a long time. Part of it could be the two rejection slips I got last week, but that wouldn't count for the whole week. It's like all the stories have dried up in my head, and I don't know what to write. I don't want to work on anything I've already got going, and I don't want to start on something new, because that would drive my hubby crazy. (much as that's fun, I do try to avoid it.) lol

Sounds like typical writers block, huh? No. I could write...if I wanted to. That seems to be the problem this time. I don't want to. Me - the writer. I don't want to write. I have begun to feel like a fraud the other day. What am I telling people I'm a writer for, when I don't want to write? sigh.

I'm sure I'll get over it, I just hoped I would be more productive at this point in my life. Hopefully I'll get something written before I go out of town - which I've been looking forward to for a long time. At least where I'm going it will only be in the 80's instead of the 100's...groan.

Summer...ya got to love it- it doesn't go away if you hate it.

Foggy Mind

Today my mind is in a kind of stupor. I feel like a fog bank is sitting on top of me. I'm hoping that a shower will wake me up...I guess we'll see. My son had to work till midnight last night and was supposed to call if he did or didn't need a ride. He didn't call. He walks in a few minutes after midnight and wonders why I'm sitting there with all the phones next to me so no one else would get woke up when he called. The look on his face was almost worth it. Almost.
But now I'm paying for the late night...sigh.
Maybe I'll go back to bed...

Outright Immorality

I realize that in our current society, things are pretty relaxed. Everyone outside organized religion, and alot of those inside of it figure it's okay to sleep with someone outside of marriage. In fact, a lot of them think it's a great way to end a date. And, this attitude has been going on now for almost 30 years. It has become more prevalent in the past 10, but it saddens me. it takes away sooo much of our moral fiber as a nation.

I watched a movie this past weekend which was why I had these thoughts. It was the American President with Michael Douglas. Now, the idea is cute, the actors work well together, and I think it could have been even more cute and even wonderful if the whole sex before marriage hadn't been tossed in.

And the main character, the president played by Michael Douglas, was a wimp and could have done so much more. He finally states his case at the end of the movie, and where for most people he was rallying the nation back together, to me it was a little too late. Especially on winning the girl back. But she still came.

In our church meetings yesterday we talked about integrity and honesty, something of which this country used to be famous for. Now, most people don't even think about it, unless someone else is honest with them. Then, they are surprised. Last summer we went to our state fair. The woman at the booth gave my husband too much change back. After being in the park for a while, he realized she had given him too much, and we stopped by her booth on the way out to return the money. She was flabergasted. She'd been so amazed that he would return it to her. My son works at a hamburger fast food chain, and one of the cash drawers came up over $200 short. No one has been fired yet...I couldn't believe it. He told me his drawer had been $57 short one day, but they also noted that he hadn't been the only one to use it, and he had been written up.

Honesty seems to be a disappearing trait. It's not being taught by the parents, it's not being encouraged in the schools, it's unheard up in most politicians. The word seems to go hand in hand with dishonesty.

It saddens me and makes me even more determined to teach my children a better way. Even if they end up being the minority, at least they will be honest in their dealings with others. They will always be trustworthy.

After all, isn't that the scout oath?

My Sons

My sons are actually excited to do their homework. It is bound not to last, but so far, it's amazing to see. They are both on the computers, doing electronic high school, which is an absolute for both of them to graduate -- especially the oldest. The miracles of modern times, and the motivation of Nintendo. sigh.

I don't know how long Nintendo will inspire them, but for now it's a sight to see. I'm loving it.

Wednesday

Ahhhh....Wednesday. I like this day usually, because it's the middle of the week, and the end is in sight! This weekend especially, I've been looking forward to. It's been a nice quiet morning, and I've been able to get some things done, but I still need to get some painting done today. sigh. I think I'm avoiding it. hmmm...sounds like one of my children. Okay...this is a short one, I'll go paint.
;)

Ahh...Now That's Nice.

It's only been one week of summer, and already I'm enjoying the quiet of a morning without my four sons around. sigh. That's not the best thing to think, but I'm enjoying it. They are going to be gone for two hours, and instead of using that time wisely, which I should be (okay, tomorrow!!) I'm frittering the time away reading my emails and petting the kitty that's sitting on my arms. Okay, that makes typing interesting, but he's a sweetie.
Just a moment ago I had a hummingbird flying outside my window, and it was a wonderful thing. Add to that, my daughter just left for school and another one is at work, and I have the HOUSE TO MYSELF for another hour and a half!! What glorious freedom! What to do...what to do?
That's the problem. I have so many projects and things that need to be done, I'm not sure where I want to start first. What a wonderful dilemma, huh? I'm enjoying it. I just popped in one of my favorite CD's...Classic Williams (classical guitar) and now I'm going to go write.
Have a wonderful day!

Summer School

Okay - so, every year (well, for the past three anyway) we've had kids in summer school. They usually give them a day or two off, and then it's to the grind. The only problem is, it's the parents that grind, not the kids. They have to get there at o'dark thirty, and then catch a bus (if we're lucky) home at which time we go meet the bus.
sigh. And then, the work they do is pretty basic, and they don't have any homework. So, we pay $45 per quarter credit for them to sit in a classroom, listen to some poor teacher that has to sit there for three hours (or however many classes they teach) and help the failing student make up credits so that perhaps they will graduate with the rest of their class.

I hate school. I never was tempted to home school my children, because I like having the time to myself (I know, I'm selfish - ask them) but sometimes I really hate school.
but...onward and upward.

Sleep

I want sleep. I normally (well, during the school year) have to get up at 6:30 am and stay up. Now I've been able to go back to bed for two days, and it's not helping. Of course part of the problem is my oldest son is working until 11 pm and I don't get to bed till about midnight...so, 8 hours is that so much to ask? sigh. And then of course, it's HOT. Already. Have I mentioned that before? Yeah...it's in the 90's already. And it's May. This is going to be one hot summer.
And I'm not going to get any sleep at all.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Summer Days of Pain

Well...my son likes to call Summer the 'time of torture'. This, because that is when we have a large garden, and everyone has to contribute to the care and weeding of it. (as well as the planting, etc.)

We got on his case for it, but I can see his point. We spend the winter in the house watching movies, reading books, and generally working on the house. It's much more laid back that summer work, and much cooler.

Now he has to be outside in the 90+ temp and pull weeds, and plant seeds, and spray his brothers with the hose...

Such torture. I'm watching it right now...sigh. Anyone want a teenager?