So, can you?

"No" is one of the easiest words to say. Ask almost any two-year-old a question and it will be their response 9 out of 10 times, even if it your question is not the "yes or no" type. So why is it so hard for me to say it?

Can you teach my kid piano lessons?

uh, I really don't have time since I have an 8-5 job, a husband, a church calling, and current piano students, but I guess I can. (Doh! I'm up to 6 --or is it 8-- students now who I've committed to teaching. I have another who wants me to teach, though I really, really don't want to teach because of weird family dynamics and a really young student. I'm avoiding calling her back. Is it bad to screen phone calls?)

Can we reschedule this week's lesson?

sure. even though we've rescheduled every lesson this month for you. but what they heck?

Can you babysit this Saturday? Oh, it will be for my daughter and her friend, is that ok?

what time did you say? all afternoon? though i haven't seen my husband all week since he was traveling, and though this was going to be my first Saturday this month I wouldn't have to work at my job, that should be fine.

Can you work this Saturday [stay late/come early]?

yep. even if i have to copy for 5 hours straight, i'll do it just for you.

Can you play the piano for Primary/ New Beginnings/ my son's elementary Tuba competition/ It's Great to be 8?

I haven't said no to anyone yet. Why should I start now?

Don't get me wrong. I usually don't mind doing these things once I get past the dread or anticipation and actually do them; sometimes I really enjoy myself. And I do prefer being busy to sitting around by myself trying to come up with projects to make myself feel productive, but sometimes I wonder if I should put my foot down and say, "no" when it starts feeling a bit much. Is that bad?

Game Night Jewels

Earlier I started to write a svithe, but the words just wouldn't flow and I wasn't able to convey the message I wanted to. Luckily I was interrupted by some friends calling us to play games with them. We actually weren't in the game mood before we left, but we hadn't seen them in awhile and felt a little obligated to go. We ended up having a lot of fun, so it was worth it.

Here are a few little jewels from the night's gaming:

(While playing catch phrase the word was "breast enhancement")

• The clue given by one of the guys: "A lot of women in TX have this done."
• Immediate answer given: "Boob job!"

(After being kind of knocked by his wife he said, completely unaware of the possible underlying connotations)

• "I'll get you in bed tonight!"

Now you have to know that the couple who happened to say both of these things are some of the most conservative people I know. I was laughing so hard I was almost crying.

Sorry if I offended anyone by posting this over a svithe. I'll try to do better next week.

Blacklisted

Dear Quilter's Asylum,

I am at a point in life where I have about 5-10 friends pregnant at any given time, so I took up quilting two years ago to create unique baby gifts. I was very sad to leave my beloved Cotton Shop behind in UT when we moved. Soon after arriving in Texas I was happy to learn there was a fabric store in town. Not only was it a fabric store, but a quilting specialty shop! I was very excited to browse the store and find new things for my quilts.

I am sad to say my excitement was short lived. For a shop specializing in quilts you really do not have much "special." I have been in 3 times looking for what I thought were staples to a quilt shop. You have failed three times to produce what I need. Not only that, your employees were anything but helpful.

When I ask a simple question I expect a direct answer to that question, even if the answer is, "I don't know." I do not expect annoyed answers to questions I did not ask. Moreover, the answer "If you want to know that you'll have to take one of our classes" is totally lame.

You are now blacklisted in my book. I take ebay over you. I'm sorry it has come to this.

--A disappointed quilter

P.S. Your prices are outrageous!
--------------------------------------------------------

Dear Cotton Shop,

I miss you dearly. You always had helpful employees and great sales tables. You had what I needed, and on the off chance you didn't, you told me where I could find it. I wish I could have brought you with me when I moved. Thanks a million. I'll remember the good times.

--A customer estranged by way of proximity

The long and the short of it

Beginning in the fourth grade I had an intense desire for short hair. At the time my hair was mid back and a pain in the neck. I begged and begged my mom to cut my hair to my shoulders that year but to no avail. Finally in the 5th grade I wore her down, and we cut and permed my hair. (I didn't have naturally curly hair until I hit puberty.)

Short hair was everything I desired. It was quick, it was cute, and it was easy. What more could a girl want? The older I got, the shorter I wanted to go. While I lived at home my mom kept talking me out of cutting it any shorter than my shoulders. In an act of independence, while I was on a 3 week trip to Boston at age 14, I had my sister-in-law cut and dye my hair without telling my mom. My mom was not prepared for the short haired, red-head that stepped off the plane.

Home again, I let my hair grow back out to my shoulders, though I continued to ask my stylist (my mom) to go shorter. "But it's SO CUTE this length! You don't REALLY want to cut it."

I felt quite the adult when I walked into a salon at college, looked at a cute Meg Ryan cut and said, "That's what I want!" I went from shoulder length to super short bob in about an hour. At the end the stylist asked, "Are you so sad to see your hair on the floor? Most people are." "No way!" I replied. "I've been waiting my whole life for this!"

I haven't cut my hair since my birthday last April. It's getting quite long for me and I've wanted to chop it more than once. I kind of want to let it grow until I can't stand it so it will be a dramatic change. I love shocking people.

To celebrate my new scanner (thanks Brasfields!) I thought I'd show the hair progression throughout the years. I want your feedback. What was your favorite length in my 25 years of life? I'm interested.

Cancelled

Church was cancelled today. Cancelled. I think this is the first time I've ever had church cancelled due to inclement weather. Did a huge blizzard blow in? Did a tornado hit? No my friends. It is raining. RAINING! It's been raining for about 3 days now and people are going nuts. On the news we saw people at the grocery stores stocking up on food and candles. Costco was the busiest I've ever seen yesterday.

You see, people here are super afraid of what is called freezing rain. This was not a form of precipitation I was aware of until moving here. According to wikipedia, it "begins as snow, falling from a cloud toward earth, and melts completely on its way down through a layer of warm (above freezing) air before supercooling in a small layer of cold air just before it impacts the surface...the water [then] freezes upon impact [forming ice] which can accumulate to the thickness of several centimeters." Three of the biggest problems caused by freezing rain are: slippery roads (and drivers who have no CLUE how to drive on slippery roads), downed powerlines and power outages because of the heaviness of the ice, and tree limbs fallings from the weight.

So far it has just been a lot of (much needed) regular rain. I don't know if they cancelled other wards or if ours was cancelled because it's dark when we get out of church and the likelihood of the roads being icy is greater.

It just is so odd to me.

A kindergartner's worst nightmare

This came from one of the property payments we processed today. These are the owners. Can you imagine trying to spell those names as a 4-5 year old?!

I'm concidering sending this into Jay Leno's headlines. It gave me a good laugh.

The skinny on the skinnies (and not so)

According to about.com, "statistics indicate that a full 90% of us have such good intentions [dieting or eating healthier] for the new year."

Now, since they don't reference any study, its hard to say if that statistic has any validity. But it sounds good, so I'm going to run with it.

I tried and failed to find a statistic on how many people actually follow through with those resolutions. I would imagine that it's probably around 5%. You can reference me on that statistic. Since it's so empirical.

You know, every body is different, so I'll try and include something for everyone:

First, I will start with the "starve yourself diet"

• pros: nice on your wallet--can't find anything cheaper
• cons: it has deathly side effects

Second, we have the " spam, spam, spam and spam baked beans and spam diet"

• pros: you always know what's on the menu. long shelf life. you'll be prepped and ready for Hawaiian cuisine.
  
• cons: what is spam, really?

Third, there is the "pickles and ice cream diet"

• pros: it'll give you some common ground with all your pregnant friends. 6 and counting right now.
• cons: are there any disadvantages? i think not.

Fourth, the "see food diet"

• pros: you can eat whatever you see. you can satisfy any craving while still sticking to your "diet"
• cons: unfortunately, you do not get your omega 3's with this kind of see food
  

And finally for this list, the "no carb, no sugar, no fat, no calories diet"

• pros: you can eat all the celery you want
• cons: you can eat all the celery you want

So, I hope you found something that fits your lifestyle.

In all reality, I'm one of the 90% who are vowing to be overall-healthy- this year. However, I am pretty anti-diet for myself. I say live a healthy balanced life (dairy, fruits, veggies, some sweets here and there, protein, grains) and nobody gets hurt.

Christmas Card and Year End Review

I know I'm late and that's why I'm doing it like this. I really did have good intentions of getting out Christmas cards, and a few of you were lucky enough to actually get one, but the majority missed out since I was quite stressed about traveling and working. So I decided to scan the card I made with the intention of sending it to you, and I also attached the letter I sent out with the few I sent out. Happy belated Christmas! Thanks to everyone who sent us a card! This year I'll try to be better. Maybe that will be one of my New Year Resolutions...but that's going to have to be another post.

Dear Family and Friends,

It is time for my annual semi-impersonal-but-not-so-impersonal -as-email-or-my-blog mass mail year end Christmas review. Because I am such a riveting writer, it is what you’ve all been waiting for, I’m sure. It’s hard to believe it has only been 1 year since last Christmas, but I checked, and it has. I’ve been known to be a little windy so I’ll try to keep it to a page.

From January to April we were still living in UT. Matt was finishing up his last semester of school and I was still cooking for New Haven. Our favorite pastimes included playing World of Warcraft and TA-ing for a BYU yoga class. Oh how I miss yoga. *sob*

After receiving my brother and sister-in-law’s LDotFMotNY (Last Day of the First Month of the New Year) booklet, I noticed a web address on the back directing me to their blog. Whatever the heck a blog was. I decided to investigate. It was an absolutely wonderful invention. They would write stuff. I would read it and respond. I’d never had so much interaction with them, and I was very much enjoying myself with this newfound form of communication. After a couple of weeks of reading, I found myself really wanting to write. So I’ve been a member of the blogging community for most of the year. I really enjoy writing, though I’ve found it more difficult to get myself to do it since working an 8-5 job.

April was a very exciting month. Matt graduated from BYU with a degree in Computer Science. His and my parents came to see us for that, and two weeks later we found ourselves in McKinney, TX. He got a great job with Raytheon; I quit my job in UT. We packed up our meager belongings, and we moved.

In March we did a whirlwind house-hunting trip. We saw probably 30-40 houses in a 2 day period and had to decide on one the 3rd day which so happened to be the day we flew back to UT. We were lucky and found a nice little house that was reasonably priced, and we took it. We signed the papers to become a “homeowner”, and we moved into our house a day after arriving. The next couple of months we dropped money like we’d never done before. A fridge, washer and dryer, lawn mower, sprinklers and hoses, blinds, and all of the little miscellaneous items we didn’t realize were necessary to maintaining your very own house. It was fun to feel like we were on a never-ending shopping spree, but for misers like us, it was also a little unnerving. We’ve held out on a couple of high-end ticket items, making do with our D.I. furniture that even the furniture mover commented on as having “been around the block a time or two”.

The summer here proved to be SUPER HOT and very dry. I’m pretty sure that this was a record-breaking year for heat and lack of precipitation.We found our large yard a little hard to care for when we were limited to watering only 1 day a week within certain hours. We ended up surviving, though a couple patches of our backyard grass weren’t so fortunate. Heat aside, we like it here well enough. It’s a good little place.

My grandma Grider passed away just two weeks after moving, and I found myself in AZ with my family.What a great little family I have! I love when we all gather from the 4 corners of the earth (sometimes I feel like we’re the lost 10 tribes we’re so spread out!), and we get to revel in the company of people with whom we share history and genes. Though it was a sad time, it was also a very happy weekend spent with people I love.

At the end of June Matt was misdiagnosed as having kidney stones. After a 10-hour marathon of vomiting, an entire day of being drugged up in the urgent care, and an ambulance ride, he finally got into the hospital to find out that he really had appendicitis. He had a laproscopic surgery and got it taken care of before it ruptured.

I had a really hard time finding work here once I started looking. After a futile attempt at locating a job, some friends from church offered me a part time job with their small Carpet Cleaning business. It was nice for the time, but after a couple of months I decided I really needed to find something else with more hours and stability. I’m currently working for the county as temporary help for the tax season. I’m waiting to hear about a full time position with them as an HR assistant, and if that does’t work out I’m going to apply for a couple other positions within the tax office. I like the people who work there and it’s really nice to feel like I’m contributing to our savings while I can.

That brings me now to the subject of little ones scurrying underfoot. We have none of those yet. We've been trying for awhile and since we've obviously been unsuccessful, we went to the Dr. We found out after various tests that we have a 10% chance per year of getting pregnant on our own. There is one medical procedure we can try before In vitro that has a good chance of helping us. Luckily it’s covered by insurance so hopefully that’s all we’ll need to get us on our way to our dreamed for 10-kid family. (Just kidding, more like 3-5 kid family).

I hope you’re all well and that this year has been kind to you. If you ever feel so inclined to hear more frequent updates on us, feel free to stop by my blog. http://down-the-middle-with-sillymarie.blogspot.com

Love, Celia and Matt

Blessings in disguise: a Christmas related svithe

Imagine how you'd feel when you discover your house filling up with black smoke at 11:30 pm on Christmas Eve Eve (that's right, two days before Christmas), not knowing the origin of the smoke. Panic might ensue with thoughts of a ruined Christmas, losing your home, and/or of your small children being endangered. You'd call 9-1-1 and stand by helplessly while you wait for professionals to do their thing, hoping your nightmares might not be realized.

Imagine your relief once you found out it was, in fact, just a minor wiring melt down in your dishwasher and not a full blown, all-consuming fire. Relief would wash over you, leaving you with a grateful heart that you avoided a near disaster.

This actually happened to the Bishop in my parent's ward. After relating this he said added a few more lines that that made me stop and think. He said, "Had we immediately known our dishwasher was the culprit, we may have been annoyed and frustrated at our unfortunate loss two days before Christmas. But because we thought we were going to lose so much more, we were very grateful it was just that. We could deal with a broken dishwasher."

It was a good look at perspective and how we perceive the situations and problems that arise in life. We choose how we respond and what we make of life.

Having said that, I'd like to relate another story that my family's already heard.

After 56 total travel hours (one way), we FINALLY arrived home.

Our trip should have been a relatively easy drive with only 4 roads spanning AZ, NM, and TX. It's normally about 14 hours one way-long, but do-able.

A little after 4 hours into our drive home, the snow began to get heavier and road conditions worsened. Just outside of Albuquerque we saw a suburban flipped over (not the actual flip, but it was soon enough thereafter to see them crawling out the back), and two multiple-car wrecks on our way into town. We were going to just forge ahead, at least until Amarillo, until we saw a sign saying I-40 was closed from ABQ to the Texas border.

We found a motel, ate a delicious dinner at Applebee's (I highly recommend their Cajun Lime Tilapia on the Weight Watchers portion of the menu) and hung out until the roads opened again. It snowed all night and ended up being the most snowfall ever recorded there in one day (see above). Needless to say, the roads didn't open right up. They actually didn't open them until 5 pm Saturday (24 hours after we arrived in ABQ). I was surprised they opened it so late because I figured ice would be beginning to form, but we really wanted to get at least a couple more hours of travel out of the way.

We crawled along at 10-30 miles an hour for 2 hours. 56 miles out of ABQ we came to a dead stop. Wrecks somewhere ahead of us. That was at 7 pm Saturday. We didn't move from that spot until 1:15 am Sunday. We were VERY VERY glad my mom suggested we bring a big blanket with us just in case something like this were to happen. We both huddled under the blanket and tried to sleep. The car was so cold that our breath began to crystallize and freeze on the inside of our windows (see right). It was cold.

A little before 1:15 am we saw cop car lights flashing and heard them yell "WAKE UP! Get a move on! Someone wake up that trucker in front!" Sweet heaven and earth we were on the move! We quickly tried to scrape the inside of our windshield so we could see, and we set off again. Around 2 am we neared a semi in front of us with its hazards on. Traffic was once again at a dead stop. Later we learned that there were 17 wrecks in the second round alone. Nothing like taking 18 hours to travel 60 miles.

We weren't allowed to move again until Sunday morning at 11. There was a rough patch of snow for another 5-10 miles, but we had pretty smooth sailing after that. We'd hoped to get here Friday night, but we didn't get here until Sunday night at 10:20!

Even though it was really cold in our car that night, we weren't able to brush our teeth, we spent a total of 29 consecutive hours in our car, we ate beef jerky and Pringles for 2 meals, and we had to pee out in the cold snow while we were stranded, I'm glad we got through in that first batch on Saturday night. I'm pretty sure they didn't open that road until Monday to travelers not already stranded on I-40. Who wants to drive 10 hours on New Year day?

Christmas recipe

Before giving you this delicious Christmas cookie recipe I thought I'd divulge my naughtiest Christmas memory ever. I've always been an impatient girl. I couldn't STAND waiting to find out what we were getting for Christmas. I often went on gift hunting expeditions in my parents room. I'd look under their bed (found some nail polish there once), and their closet. It's no wonder I don't remember when I stopped believing in Santa. I probably found my Santa gift before Christmas. Anyway, once when I was young (not super young, mind you. I think it was in Jr. High) I was extra naughty. When everyone was gone for an evening (Nathan may have been an accomplice, I'm not sure if we did this together or if I was alone), I very carefully unwrapped one of my presents. It was a Mickey Mouse watch! Something I really wanted. I carefully wrapped it up again so no one would know. I put it back under the tree and was very surprised and excited on Christmas morning when I opened it.

I've gotten much better since then. We have a Christmas box of presents from my in-laws sitting half opened in our house and I haven't so much as peeked at it. We began opening it when it arrived since it was from NY. When we got it partially opened, we realized it was their gifts and we stopped. It's too big to really take with us to Snowflake so we'll open it here on Thursday night since we're leaving Friday. Patience is a virtue I'm finally beginning to get.

Onto the recipe. I made these last night. Oh man are they good. Allrecipes.com is one of my favorite places to find good food.

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Submitted by: Amy Sacha
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 640 members Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes
Yields: 24 cookies
"These are just what they say: big, soft, gingerbread cookies. They stay soft, too. My oldest son's favorite."

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. (this dough is not for rolling out or cutting into shapes. it is perfect if you follow the directions. )
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

The svithe I haven't written

It's been ages since I've written a good ol' svithe. It's kind of hard to want to do anything after church on Sundays since we don't get home until 6 pm and it's already dark. So I'm writing it on Monday when I didn't really get home until about 8:30 pm because of Christmas bustling and last minute visiting teaching (3 appointments).

This morning a co-worker and I were talking about the HR assistant position we both applied for. She told me that though there was only one opening right now that there would be another opening soon for the same position. We thought it would be fun if we both ended up filling those jobs since we enjoy working together. She then said, "We should both pray about it."

I like that she said that.

It's nice to live somewhere where people of two different faiths can pray about a common goal regarding work. We've talked quite a bit (for the little time I've worked there) about God and miracles and faith. She has such a great spirit about her and she has such a strong faith.

My supervisor talked to me today about the HR assistant position. She had me send the hiring HR coordinator an email telling her to call for a reference. I did, she did, and my supervisor gave me a glowing review. She said that the HR was impressed with what she had to say about me, and that she was going to talk with the hiring board about me. I feel good to know that someone who just met me a month ago is willing to stick her neck out for me because she sees some potential.

Out with the old and in with the new

I decided to finally take the plunge and switch to the new beta blogger thingy. We'll see how this goes...

Also, speaking of old, have any of you ever wondered why there are so many people still sporting horrendously non-flattering 80's style haircuts? Come on, you all know which hair cut I'm talking about. The poofed up, high bang/top, sprayed-so-heavily by aquanet-you'd-be-afraid-to-light-a-match- around-it hair.

I admit, I have lived through so pretty bad hair years myself. It was especially difficult trying to tame my curly hair when I didn't know was truly curly. I'm actually still trying to figure out what to do with hair in this humidity, but there are some hair styles (and clothes styles) that really shouldn't be resurrected regardless of location or time.

When we lived in UT we didn't see that hairstyle very often. There was, however, "UT hair" that Matt so detested (dyed blond with streak chunks with a bob cut that had the poof back), but that really doesn't rival some of the hair I've seen here.

In all honesty I can often take a good guess at why these people still do it. Some think they have a skinny face and want to give themselves a little more shape. It reminds some of their prime and what a fun time that was. It makes them feel a little younger though it often dates them and makes them look old. Or some people just have a hard time with change.

I often wonder if the same thing will happen to "my generation" 20 years from now with styles of "our day". If my peers will still be sporting the overly dyed (and eventually fried) hair accompanied by an orange leathery fake-and-bake tan.

Go to Girl

I've been at my new job now for 2 weeks. For those of you who didn't catch it, I'm working for the county as a temporary Property Tax helper. Tis the season for property taxes. I took this over a nanny position so I would still be available for the HR assistant position for which I've had two interviews and a test. I'll hopefully be hearing about that job shortly.

This is the first time in my life that I've worked an 8-5 job! I've been tired and I've had more headaches, but it's really nice to be busy and feel productive. My house is not as clean as it used to be, but such is life. At least I'll contribute to our bank account while I'm in a position to do so.

Apparently last year was a horrendous tax season. They started out behind and got backed up like crazy. This year is quite the opposite so far. I don't know why it's so different, but it is. We have about 10 temps helping process the influx of mail until mid-February. Right now we're getting enough mail for all of us to work until about 1:30. The majority of temps are then sent home.

I have thankfully been dubbed the official "go to girl." On my fourth day I was pulled aside by my supervisor; she told me they really liked me and were happy with my work and personality. They told me they needed someone to do miscellaneous jobs around the office to help out the full time people keep up with their work. She told me she wouldn't send me home early and would find work for me if I wanted it.

I'm happy about this for a couple of reasons.
1. I get a full 40 hours of work if I want it.
2. They like me! They really like me!
3. It gives me the opportunity to meet a lot of people and learn their jobs. I almost feel like a manager in training.
4. I'm hoping this will help with references later on.

I'm warming up to the job, and I really enjoy the people I work with. There's only one lady who's a little bitter that I've been getting to work full days. She's probably in her 70's and she will occasionally mutter things like, "I know they'll find things for you to do, but they won't find work for me." Sometimes I want to tell her, "Haven't you learned by now that life isn't fair?" But I can understand her frustration. That doesn't mean I'm volunteering to give up my "go to" status to her, however.

Shark attack

Many childhood memories of my dad involve sports, ESPN 2 minute replays, etc. I'd have to say that baseball was one of the more watched sports at home. Though I enjoy watching people I know play sports, I never caught the sports fan bug that requires you to know and watch every game on the face of the planet (or TV).

Matt's never been too into sports and takes little to no pleasure watching mainstream games. We don't follow football, he detests soccer and baseball, and basketball is out of the question. HOWEVER, he quite enjoys ice hockey. More specifically San Jose Sharks hockey (the one sport my dad didn't follow!). His dad's a die-hard season ticket holder. At the beginning of the season we checked their playing schedule against the Dallas Stars here in town. No luck. All the games here were on Sunday. Or so we thought.

Raytheon periodically offers discounts for sporting events and other niceties. They had two Stars hockey games at half price for employees. One of them happened to be against the Sharks. On a blessed Monday. We bought those tickets up quickly. Some friends of ours in our ward (he also works for Raytheon) decided they wanted to go so we ended up carpoooling last night.

Matt wore his Sharks jersey. I was a little worried we'd get beat up or something, but I would have worn one too if we had two. As we hopped on a shuttle from our parking, I whispered to Matt, "How many death glares have you gotten?" He whispered back, "I'm not making eye contact."

As the bus filled up we ended up sitting behind our friends. Behind us we heard someone say loudly, "I'd sure be embarrassed to be sitting by a guy in a SHARKS jersey!" In front of us our friend (a very funny guy) yelled "KILL HIM!!" (referring to Matt) We were cracking up. I kind of knocked him and told him to be quiet. Some people next to us whispered, "I think they must be together..." No beat downs thankfully.

When we got to the stadium we were sneaking in two bottles of water since outside food/drink weren't allowed. I know, I know. I'm a bad girl. Slap me on the wrist. Matt took his and put it in his oversized pockets under his jacket. I tucked mine in my pants under my sweatshirt. I had no belt on, no jewelry on, no change in my pocket, etc. so I thought I'd be peachy going through the metal detector. Matt got through with no problems. No such luck for me. I set it off. They had to wand me. It kept going off over my button on my pants (and coincidentally right over my contraband water!). GREAT! I was going to be found out, and that would be SO embarrassing. My ticket accidentally fell (honest to goodness) as he asked me what I had there, so I bent down to grab it . I kind of turned, set the water on the ground behind me and stood back up. I totally thought he saw this whole thing. But they didn't say anything more and let me go. I picked up my water as others walked through the detector and went on my way. Whew! I don't know how that worked out!

The game was fairly boring the first two periods. The Stars scored one goal in the first period. No goals in the second. No fights. Nothing good. The third period was quite intense and we were all on the edge of our seats with excitement. The Sharks almost scored like 5 times in a row in the last few minutes but with now luck! So we walked away defeated. 1-0. But maybe it was for the good of our safety.

We're going to check again for other games we may have missed on days other than Saturday. I say, if you're going to watch a sport, Hockey is the best. Not much better than a contact sport with checking and fights. So much more interesting than...

Maybe I shouldn't finish that. I don't want to offend any of you fly fishers or bowlers out there...

It's about the kids: Svithe

Every Sunday I have a little feeling of dread and some trepidation as I prepare for church. I teach the 4-5 year olds (CTR 5). Matt and I used to team teach until he was called into help with the Priests (16-18 year old boys). Then that left me. With the kids. All by myself. With the kids. You know, the kids that take the crazy pill before coming to church.

I've always been a lover of Relief Society and adult Sunday school, so I wasn't overly happy to receive this calling in the first place. But there was no way I was going to turn it down, especially since I know they have a hard time keeping primary teachers. It wasn't so bad when I had help, but now I generally feel quite frazzled by the end of the day.

Recently one of the other classes was having problems with two of their boys fighting, so they gave me one of them. I wasn't too happy since I already felt over extended by myself. And he had been a problem child in the other class. Great.

I was totally surprised to find that he actually listened to the lesson! He gives GOOD answers to my questions! It was amazing. He is now my star pupil and I rarely have to redirect him. (He does get off the topic sometimes with Scooby Do, but other than that he's great.)

He's really helped me take another look at my kids. I've been wrongly labeling them and dreading their idiosyncrasies. In my mind I had little categories for them:

• The liar (seriously, she rarely says anything that's remotely true. at least it's so blatantly false that I don't have to decipher the truths from the lies "Yesterday my dad beat up these guys by my school. It was so cool." She also likes to bust out in the song "I like to move it move it" while shaking and slapping her toosh);
  
• the ADHD child(best quote from him: I HATE church! It's sooooo long! And I'm always hungry!) he frequently runs around, hits people, turns the lights on and off, etc. He's super cute and I love him to death, but he has a very, very difficult time sitting quietly for 3 hours and staying on task;
  
• the loud one (a total crack up when it comes to songs she knows. She sings so loudly that the kids around her have to cover their ears.) this one also is very disruptive when it comes to prayers (she's stolen another kid's shoes and hidden them during the prayer, she claps, she talks, and she pokes people during prayers);
  
• the tattletale (more than once a week "teacher, she had her eyes open during the prayer!!" or "teacher she poked me". I'm pretty sure he has some ADHD tendencies as well. A couple of weeks he kept standing up and slapping his rear in the middle of class. I'm not sure why.);
  
• the story teller (He's a pretty good kid, but he always has some off the wall tale to tell. "When I was a baby my brother threw up all over my mom and then I peed all over her." That was today's. Another classic from him when we were supposed to be drawing about sharing he drew the Incredible Hulk, his dad, and himself. They each had a head in their hand giving it to the next person. Wasn't quite sure what to make of that one...)
• the quiet and head strong (She can't keep her shoes on to save her life. This drives her mom crazy. She'll listen and participate for the most part. I don't have too many problems with her.)

After my new child, the star, moved into our class I noticed how often I got frustrated over silly things with the other kids. So today I really made an effort to go in with a good attitude. It was a much better day, though I was missing my two rowdiest kids. I had to just remind myself that they're only 4-5! Even if they weren't that young, I was in desperate need of an attitude change. I could have put me in my own category: the judgmental one. Not good. Must change that. I'm really trying to think of them in terms of "child of God" as opposed to my other categories. I just need to love them.

So you're telling me there's a chance

At our Dr.'s appointment last week we found out that on our own, at very best, we have 10% chance per year of getting pregnant. That means I might have 1 kid by the time I'm 35 without medical help.

Good new is, there's one surgery we can try before in vitro that will actually be covered by insurance. That surgery has 2/3 of a chance of helping boost our pregnancy rate to a "normal" range. We wouldn't see the results of that surgery (i.e. the hoped for pregnancy) for almost a year, however, because of internal details that I don't quite understand. If this doesn't help, the next step would be the $20K (+), not covered by insurance, in vitro.

We won't be able to get into surgery until next year because it's totally booked up this last month with people who want to get on this year's deductible.

Welcome to the Real World and Happy Thanksgiving

It's been quite the week. I guess I owe you an explanation for my infrequent blogs.

Looking for a new car.

A new job.

A trip to the Dr.

Possible food poisoning. (Before Thanksgiving. Not because of it.)

Thanksgiving.

So I've decided to make this one post in a series to catch up with the stories I should have told you. Since I've already related some of my car searching woes, I'll start with my job.

TIPS FROM THE MAIL ROOM

I arrived at the county tax office 10 min. early on Monday to make sure I knew where to go in the building. Upon entering, I asked the security guard if he knew where to find the woman who's name I'd been given as my contact. Annoyed, he told me he couldn't possibly know everyone that worked in the building. Great start. So I just sat in front of the tax office and waited until they opened, hoping that the woman I was supposed to meet was located there.

With my brown sack lunch in hand, I found where to go. Though my name wasn't on the list of temps. starting that day, they didn't seem phased and went on with the tour and orientation. There were 4 new people, including myself, to help with the surge of property tax season. Next Monday I think we acquire 4 more temps. We'll have over 250,000 pieces of mail to open and process this season. That many receipts to fold, stuff and sort. A bit on the dull side, but the women are all nice. I'm a spring chicken in the mail room. Of all the women there, the next youngest to me has 3 kids in High School. The oldest is probably in her 80's and is retired but works the tax season for extra travel money so she can go on road trips with one of her friends. Most of the ladies are in their 50's-60's and have been looking for full time work for about 1-1 1/2 years. The job pool here is pretty dry. And I thought Provo was bad.

I was in violation of the dress code 4 times over on my 3rd day there. I'd not seen their dress code, so I hadn't known I was a delinquent until my supervisor said, "Don't let Mr. Maun see you in those shoes..." (Some really cute brown suede shoes. I wouldn't consider them tennis shoes, but apparently they do.) After telling my friends in the mail room not to wear those shoes if they had any similar, they said, "Oh yeah. They're really picky here. Jan (another temp. that wasn't there that day) got jumped for wearing jeans one day and those crop pants another day. You can't wear either of those." My supervisor later brought around the official dress code, and after reading it I noticed I'd violated it not just once for the shoes, but also my pants (a nice dark brown cord--it has stitched on pockets that make them illegal), my shirt (technically it was a T-shirt, fitted though it may have been, it was of a cotton jersey blend and therefore illegal), my sweater (It was a very cute brown wintry looking sweater. But it had a zipper and a hood and was also illegal.) So, now I know it's more business than casual in the business-casual department. I'm going to have to go shopping. To work in a mail room. Where no one sees me but the ladies I work with.

Ah well. A good excuse to buy clothes and not feel guilty about it, right?

Now for the tips.

1. When paying your property taxes, please send it in the envelope sent with your statement. Also include the statement stub. Without this we have to manually enter in your account information. With this we can just scan.
   
2. Write your account number on your check's memo line. If you don't, I have to. If I miss it, I get in trouble for it.
3. Write a check for the correct amount, both numerically and alpha-numerically. The bank technically goes by what you write out in long hand, not by the numbers you write in the box. So make sure those two numbers match. If not I have to put you in a problem pile with a sticky note on it. My boss hates stickies.
4. We will send you a receipt after processing your payment. Please don't send us an envelope to send you a receipt. Unless it has pre-paid postage you won't be seeing that receipt any sooner than anyone else. Sending your own envelope may actually make it slower for you.
5. Please don't post-date checks. It's illegal and we don't have to wait until the date written to deposit them. (I received a $5000+ check post-dated for Dec. 28!). There's no guarantee I'll even see that you've post-dated it because I'm going through a huge stack as quickly as possible. Since the date is no longer mandatory by banks, it's not on my check list of things to look for.
6. If you have multiple accounts with multiple statement stubs, please include every single stub and a check for each stub. Unless you have a lot of stubs. Then you can do 1 check. But PLEASE make sure it's the correct amount when adding them all together.
7. Lady, if your ex-husband's on the statement and you're the one having to pay it, please don't take it out on us if we send a receipt made out to both of you. I know you don't like the scumbag's name touching anything you do, but it's just a piece of paper. Don't freak out.
8. It's handier if you send your payments in a long envelope rather than a short letter sized envelope.
   

I guess that's it. I hope this was helpful for any of you with property taxes coming up. Help your local mail room worker by following my advice.

Next episode: Dr.'s Appointment-a couple questions answered

Strike One.

Before moving here I had multiple people tell me you could get used cars for dirt cheap in TX. I am here to tell you it is NOT TRUE! At least not for my area. I've been searching and searching for a second car that we can buy outright for under $2000. Everything I've seen in that price range is either not running, older than me, banged in a bit, or is a huge boat car you see people turn into a ghetto mobile.

We've really hoped to get a truck since it would be handy. One ad came up two days ago that peaked my interest. An '85 Ford Ranger. It looked decent (though Matt correctly pegged it as a "Mexican work truck." Not quite PC, but true nonetheless). It was pretty far away, but we had a Dr.'s appointment in Plano so I figured we could swing on over to Garland to at least take a look. It was only $1350, and Billy (the old guy who answered my phone inquiry) told me there were no problems with it at all. What did we have to lose but a bit of time and a little gas?

The meeting was doomed from the beginning. It was a ghetto little mechanic shop with a trailer as the "office". Chiko (the Mexican who was in charge of selling the truck) handed over the key; I took charge since I have more experience with a stick shift.

"Make sure you pump the gas before you start it. It's been having a problem with the fuel (blah blah...couldn't understand) sticking."

Oh Great.

I got in and started it up. It was old, that's for sure. As I sat there, one foot on the clutch and one foot on the brake, waiting to take it out for a little test drive, I could smell a smokey smell. Chiko came and tapped on the window, telling me to tap the gas a little. The fuel (blah blah) was stuck. I pulled it out on the street and it immediately stalled. A car started driving up and Matt was yelling at me that we were going to get hit. I had to restart the car. Luckily the car drove around us (not bothering to slow down much). I tried to pull into the turning lane until I could get it going well.

I try to go and it stalls again. I start it again and man handle it (no power steering) into the parking lot of the Taco Bell next door.

It stalls again. I get it out of the Taco Bell lot, back on the street, and it stalls again. I promptly start it and pull it back into the mechanic lot where it stalled one last time.

Now, one may first wonder if I just don't know how to drive a stick. I do. Not only did I drive a stick shift 2 years in High School, but during that time I taught plenty of friends, my brother and his friends how to drive as well.

And then there was The Sube. The only car I've actually owned on my own that was given to me by my sister, who had it gifted to her by my brother, who had inherited it when he married his wife, who's grandfather bought it used for her when she was in High School. It was a '79. Older than me. Good old stick shift that got me through 2 years of college. (After I got home from China I "gifted" it to my sister's brother-in-law Troy. When he took it in to get the safety and emissions, they told him it would require hundreds of dollars worth of work to make it road worthy. Lol. Some gift, hu? He promptly left it on his street without tags where it got towed...or did he have Mexicans approach him for it? Not sure about that.)

So I know it's not my lack of skillz that was stalling it out. Just a bad car plain and simple.

Strike one. Too bad. I'm starting a job on Monday and it's going to be a royal pain with both of us working "real jobs with real hours" with only one car...

Hopefully there's something out there waiting for us.

We may just have to break down and actually buy something good that would require payments.

*shudder* payments. A profanity in my book of vocabulary.

I wish I could channel the spirit of my Great-grandmother, don some pearl earrings and a nice dress, go into a dealership with $500 cash and shmooze my way into a nice cute little car for that price. She had such a knack for that! Not a gene I inherited.

Follow the Leader

I have distinct migratory patterns. I am a follower pure and simple. Unless I'm in a group of people who can't make up their minds. Then I get exasperated and I start snapping decisions off left and right. (Unless it involves what should be made for dinner, but that is a different story all together. )

Anyway, back to my original train of thought.

If Matt is in the computer room, I am in the computer room. If I have nothing to do in the computer room, I find something to do in the computer room.

If Matt is painting figurines in the living room, I find myself pulling out my craftsy stuff right next to him, even if I don't have a real project to work on.

If he has an errand to run, I am like an eager lap dog, waiting to go on a trip with my buddy. I don't know if he's gone grocery shopping on his own since before we were married. (I, on the other hand, have gone many many times on my own because he does not feel the same need to constantly be by my side.)

If he's watching TV, I'm watching TV. I watch TV shows I wouldn't watch on my own. Heck, before I married him I watched a total of 0 hours of TV a week. How I've digressed.

I don't even have to be talking to him or interacting directly with him (though that is a MAJOR plus). I just like knowing we're sharing something in common; I like being together even if we're not doing something together.

I don't like being alone for more than an hour or two. Unless I'm reading. And even then I feel like I'm not alone because I'm delving into other people's stories.

I flock to others. I hope they don't mind.

Ramblings: HELP ME!

OR

OK people. I need your help. Here is my dilemma. I have been looking for new employment, preferably something full-time. This is what I've been up against the last few weeks, and I'm guessing this is why I'm sick at the moment. (It sounds like I've been hacking up a lung all day. I have a headache from this. I've also been very congested and my ears have soooo much pressure it's driving me crazy!)

• About a month ago my friend told me about an on-call secretarial position for the county. I thought it might be able to work with my other part time job and would allow for some flexibility. So I applied for it without really thinking much of it.
  
• About two weeks ago, I randomly found a family on craig's list looking for a nanny. For some unknown reason, I decided to call them. They sounded nice, the hours sounded good, and they asked to meet me in person two weeks later (which just so happened to be today). I felt pretty good about that situation.
  
• Not long after talking with the nanny needing family, I heard from the county. They wanted me to come interview for the on-call secretary position.
• I went in for the interview and found out it was not an on-call position; rather, it was a temporary tax helper position lasting from mid-November to late February. Not what I was looking for, but more hours and more money than I'm currently getting, so it was an interesting possibility. ($10/hr, no benefits, 40 hours a week). They offered me that on the spot.
  
• At the end of that interview, the county lady told me she wanted me to also apply for a newly available position as an HR assistant ($30,000/year, benefits and PTO, 40 hrs/wk 8AM-5PM). It required a college degree (which I have), a physical (which I endured), a 3 1/2 hour test (which I took), and a second interview with the assistant HR Director (held two days ago). While I thought this position was going to close mid-November, I found out I would not know until mid to late December if I had the HR assistant job.
  
• That means that they want me to start at the temporary tax position this month and work there until I hear about the other position.
  
• That brings me now to the nanny position. I met with the mom-to-be today. I went thinking I was going to turn it down, but I wanted to keep my options open until I met them. She seems incredibly nice, they live in what I consider a mansion, and she and her husband are very, very established in their careers. She's due Nov. 22nd and would want me to start part time in December and go to full time Jan. 2nd. when she goes back to work. 40 hours/week, $10/hour, one little brand new baby girl name Gigi. She absolutely loves me. She told me I was a God send. It felt much more comfortable and good than I was expecting. That made this a whole lot harder.
  

This is where I'm stuck. You see, the two jobs I have for sure are the nanny position and the temporary tax position. Between those two I'd take the nanny position hands down. It's more stable, same pay, same hours, and I'd have a lot less stress and more flexibility. But throw in the unknown HR assistant position and I don't know what I should do. Say no to the nanny thing in hopes that I get it? I mean, it is $10,000 more per year. IF I get it. Say yes to the nanny thing and not look back?

Here's another little wrench in the mix. They were hoping to just pay me "under the table" for sake of ease. I completely understand and I don't feel like they're dishonest people. It sounded very nice at first. But then when I talked to Matt about it, that seems like a bad situation to be in. If we were to ever get audited, we'd be screwed. How can you explain away $20,000 extra income? Plus, it's not quite honest, so in my temple recommend interview when they asked if I am honest in all my dealings, I don't think I could say yes. And that's not good.

So that brings me to the question of filing as self-employed so as not to create difficulty for the family. But I don't really know what that entails. I wouldn't have anything I could deduct except maybe a cell-phone and transportation to work. I estimated that I'd be paying about $122 every paycheck for taxes. That means I would only end up making a little over $16,000 net. for the year. Nothing for a part-time employed person like me to scoff at. That's about what I made working at New Haven when I was the primary income in our family. Yet it's still a lot lower than the HR job. IF I were to get the HR job.

I'm not sure which one I'd enjoy more. I imagine the nanny position. The HR one seems a bit boring and potentially a lot more stressful, but it could provide some great secretarial experience for a resume. But I'm not thinking I'll be working outside the home the rest of my life, so what does it matter if I have it on my resume?? I am a little afraid I'll end up being a basket case from stress, but I won't know until I try, right?

I'm guessing the first few months of nannying will not be all that exciting either, though. It would, however, give me good life experience and hopefully help me be a better mom when I get that chance. I feel like I'd be more in my element with this job than with the secretarial stuff.

This is where you come in dear friends. Help me. What would you do in this situation? Any answers about taxes for me? Any thoughts? Gut reactions?