Tia or Sarah Palin

This is my Tia.  Her history teacher is convinced she looks just like Sarah Palin.  In fact, when he asks her questions in class, or calls the roll, he calls the name Sarah Palin instead of Tia.  He even called the principal over during parent teacher conference to see if the principal could tell who she looked like.  The principal had no idea.  The funny thing is, when Tia went to California for a hair show, some random man on the street stopped her and told her she looked like Sarah Palin.  So, you can vote.  She figures it is good her history teacher thinks she looks like Sarah Palin because she gets away with turning things in late for full credit sometimes.  I think he's just a sucker for Tia's smile and her usual good humor.

Tia went to Preference on Friday.  She drove to pick up her date and so we didn't see him before the date, and then she dropped him off before she came home and so we never saw him.  We have met him before since he is one of Tia's friends.  Eventually I'll get to see pictures of them both together.  She demonstrated their dramatic poses which was good entertainment.  She had a beautiful corsage that matched her dress very well.  They went with a large group that was a different group than Tia originally planned to go with, but that is all a long, dramatic, frustrating tale of woe -- except that Tia and Tyler did enjoy the group they went with.

So who do I see when I look at Tia?  I see a fun, kind, faithful, and caring daughter who has a fabulous sense of humor and a good sense of fun.  I haven't once looked at her and wondered why Sarah Palin was here visiting.

Woe With a Crown

So today I had reason to think about the people in my life who have hard things happen to them and never blog about it, or write to all of their family about it, or really even let anyone know about it.  I'm really impressed with them -- because I'm not really like that.  So here is my woe of the week, but don't worry, there are blessings too.   Oh, and if you keep things to yourself, how do you collect help and sympathy?  Most humans don't read minds well!

Monday:  The MRI on my neck.  Loud but interesting.  The people were nice and Dan got to play with a cousin.
Tuesday:  A trip to the chiropractor.  A little painful but he was happy to see me.  I'm funding his fun I think.
Wednesday:  A trip to the Orthopedic Dr. Nurse Practitioner.  My neck is mostly fine.
Thursday:  A Nerve Conduction test in the morning and my worn out gold crown fell out in the afternoon.
Friday: A trip to the dentist for a new crown -- except it won't be in my mouth until Tuesday.  Dan got to play with more cousins. 

Can anyone say "Ching, ching?"  I'm feeling a little expensive this week.

On a happy note.
Our tax return came in to help out with the ching, ching part of my fascinating appointments.
I have awesome sisters-in-law who come to my rescue when I need somewhere for Dan to play.
I have terrific friends and family who write me, pray for me, and give me distractions from my pity parties.
I have great parents and parents in law who pray for me, encourage me, and give me helpful info and advice.
Derek and my kids are really very, very, nice to me and help me when I need help.
This computer is really handy.
Dan did some of his awesome moves today which made me smile.

So, this week has contained a bit of Woe -- but there is a crown on top -- one for my tooth -- and the better one of having a very supportive network of friends and family.  I hope that your week has been more of the crown part, and a little less of the woe.

The weekend -- with BOB

Friday was not a school day around here and so we have a few fun things to report.

Trisa came home and so she was here to search for my missing wallet.  She and Kayli enjoyed debating over who had earned the milk shake that Derek had promised Kayli if she found it.  Trisa drove over to Tia's cosmetology school to look in the car Tia drove that day.  Apparently there was an incident involving Trisa not unlocking a door and Kayli running over and diving on top of Trisa to retrieve the wallet.  Mostly we're just glad that the wallet was found but the dramatic search added a bit of fun.  I took a picture of Trisa to prove she was here.

The truck is lovely, and green.  This is a good color for it because we spend a lot of green dollars on it lately.  It is currently all fixed -- again.  Cross your fingers.

Tia had a date on Saturday with a tall "red devil" with redish hair.  He was a nice enough guy and was only admitting to being a red devil because that is his high school's mascot.  Tia didn't talk about the tall red devil much, just about all of the people she saw that she knew while she was out.  Apparently her friends have a habit of jumping into her arms when they see her.  She told us she needs to get a shirt that says "Do not jump into arms.  Not as strong as looks".

We had the St. George cousins here on Friday which was a big party -- especially for the kids.  Then on Saturday evening our two St. George nieces came again.  We'll call them "H" and "M" in case their parents don't want their names published.  They came here while the rest of their family went to BOB (the Battle of the Bands).  Trisa, Kayli, Connor and I went with Auntie Moogie (Megz) to BOB -- but we didn't have to leave as early as the St George cousins.  Before we left Dan said a prayer which had Kayli giggling.  "Thanks that M is here (pause) and her sister, and thanks that my sisters are bigger than her sister.  Thanks that T is going to BOB".  "T" here is also known as Veggie Teen on his Mom's blog but Dan used his real name.

And how was BOB?  LOUD!  Veggie Teen played the piano and keyboard and did a fabulous job.  The announcer guy even mentioned him specifically as having done well.  Then there were lots of other bands too.  I should have bought the ear plugs.  I have never been to a concert before and Trisa informs me that this was good for me -- but I doubt it was good for my ears.  So, while the fun Aunt (Moogie / Megz) yelled loud enough that Veggie Teen heard her and smiled and later she also rushed the stage to stand next to Veggie Teen and pretend she was really enjoying that obnoxious music (some was good but I really didn't think that particular song was one of them), Veggie Teen's other aunt (me) yelled as loud as her pathetic voice allows -- which means Megz might have heard me while she was sitting by me-- and I did NOT rush the stage.  Veggie Teen will have to be happy with the fact that I went somewhere really loud just for him and I even really enjoyed his part of the music.

Sunday we listened to our friends who are headed off to Hawaii on a mission and then we headed to the Homestead for a party for H.  The best part was the dancing at the end.  Dan, we all know, has awesome moves.  For one song people were taking turns leading the dancing.  Connor took a really long turn because he, like Dan, has so many awesome moves.  Megz now knows that there is possible competition for the family reunion job of  leading the line dance:)  I'm sure H had a good time watching her Aunti Megz and her Dad up leading the dancing.

On the whole I am thankful that I do not have to spend every weekend at BOB, but it was a fun adventure that was a part of a good weekend.  Dan had so much fun with the cousins that he was exhausted.

Dan says...

"Bacon is not pig.  It is squished chicken and then they put it in the oven, and then in there." He was pointing at the oven.  Hmm.  Isn't it nice that he can talk about things he knows nothing about with such confidence?

Sunny Days

It seems that, after reading my Q and A session, some came to the conclusion that it wasn't too sunny in Cancun.  Actually, it only rained one afternoon / evening and was beautifully sunny the rest of the time.  It's just that we mostly enjoyed it by looking out of the window.  Most people seemed perfectly warm in their bikinis.  I was one of the extreme few who felt a jacket was necessary during the day too.  I'm a wind wimp.  Derek did jog on the beach three days in a row -- until his feet couldn't really take it anymore.  So here are some more sunny pictures.

Here's the picture I took trying to get me and the lovely background.  I missed.

I did a little better on this one.

See the palm trees sway.  Wind was pretty constant -- except the morning before the thunder storm -- it was hot that morning.

Here's Derek right before we left.  Isn't it nice that he looks great even when he feels absolutely lousy?  He went back to work today, which doesn't really mean he's 100 percent better.  Alas, his phone didn't survive its toilet dunking.  He'll be getting a fabulous new one soon.  In the meantime I sent him a text message before remembering he wasn't going to get it.

So, now that we've been home for a few days I guess it's about time to move on to something else -- like SEP conferences which I'm going to be late for if I don't leave soon.  Have a sunny feeling day!

Cancun Q and A

Here are answers to the questions you've all been wondering.

Q.  Did you get a tan?
A.  No.  The weather was beautiful -- even the thunderstorm -- but it is hard to get tan working inside of the hotel / conference center.  It is equally hard to get tan during a thunderstorm.  We did get out enough for Derek to become a redneck again -- but I don't think I got anything in the way of even a healthy sun kiss.  One co-workers wife said "and the sad thing is that all of my friends think I'm lying on a beach -- and I'm inside wearing long sleeves!"

Q.  Did you eat too much?
A. I plead the fifth.  Derek ate too much until he ate the wrong thing.  He went to the Dr. today to get some help getting better from montezumas revenge which he has suffered from since Thursday.  This picture was taken Wednesday before he felt bad.

Q.  Was your whole trip that depressing?
A.  No.  It was beautiful there.  We did get to walk back and forth between buildings in the sun and we got to spend a couple of mornings in the sun.  We even went on a bike ride and saw an iguana.  I have the proof.

Q.  What was your room like? 
A.  Click here to take a tour.  It was more like an apartment than a room.  Here's a picture for those who wouldn't like to go touring.

Q.  What was your favorite thing?
A.  The times we didn't have duties and I could just relax in my p.j.'s with Derek in our awesome room.  I'd say it was being outside -- and that was nice -- but it was windy and winds almost always make me cold and so I wore a jacket to the beach one of the two times I went and regretted not taking one the other time.

Q.  Did Derek do well on the surprise presentation he had to give on stage in front of a thousand or more people?
A.  Of course!  If only the teleprompter had been higher it would have been perfect.

Q.  Why did Derek take his phone into the bathroom in the middle of the night and drop it in the toilet?
A.  He'd like to know that too.  It was the first night he was sick and he figures he was sort of sleep walking.  He can't figure out why he thought taking his phone with him was a good plan.  He was out of it enough to have had trouble getting the battery out fast.  It's still in rice so we don't know if it works.  If so Trisa figures people can now ask him if he uses a toilet seat cover on his phone when he uses it.

Q.  At the closing banquet why did they make an announcement looking for Derek?
A.  A bit of a misunderstanding.  Derek was sick in our room and I was at the banquet by myself.  I was a little too hungry and I was overwhelmed by the idea of trying to find somewhere to sit amongst 2100 strangers (and a few staff members who were there somewhere).  I was just deciding I'd skip over to the hotel restaraunt where I knew they'd seat me when I ran into a staff member who said hello and was a little too observant and asked if I was okay.  I had a bit of a come apart (sigh) and somehow, though I had actually been looking for my brother in law Jordan, the communication got all messed up and before long lots of staff thought I was sick and looking for Derek. They did find me a seat by a friendly staff member from Elk Ridge and so I sat by her and her husband and her three kids and their husbands.  They were all very kind.  I escaped as soon as possible to warn Derek that the next day, even though he was sick, people would be asking how I was doing:).  It was a little confusing for nice staff members when they asked if I was feeling better and I explained that Derek was the one that was sick -- I had just been hungry and needed a place to sit.  I'm sure that made no sense to any of them.  Ah well.  They were all very nice.  I never even saw Jordan.  Maybe he snuck over to the hotel restaraunt -- but likely he just got there more on time than me and was seated among the crowd.  I was rather glad they didn't find him since he would likely have been a bit alarmed that I was looking for him.

Q. How hard did the workers work to please us?
A.  Very hard.  They were not happy unless a drink of our choice was in our hand and they greeted us kindly and mostly in spanish.  I really liked that our servers the last night got to see fire dancers from the Polynesian Cultural Center who had flown over to Mexico for the company party.  They appeared to really love it and it dawned on me that they would likely never be in Hawaii themselves and so this may have been their only chance to ever see cool fire dancing.  Here is a random worker.  They mowed at 7 a.m. on Saturday.  That wasn't our favorite.

Q.  How much confidence did you have in the people working in the control tower at the airport?
A.  Considerably less once we saw that the tower is one big advertisement for beer.

Q.  Did you get a picture of the airplane that brought you home?
A.  How kind of you to ask.  Yes.  I did.

Q.  Do you want to go back
A.  Derek said, "Remind me never to go to Mexico again."  I, on the other hand, think it would be great as long as we pack all of Derek's food and water and take it with us.

Hair Meets Humidity

Derek and I are home from our trip to Cancun, Mexico.  I got a couple of complements on my hair while I was there.  Then we'd get back to our hotel room and I would look in the mirror and laugh and wonder how anyone who was talking to me managed to keep a straight face.  So here's a picture of my hair for your entertainmnet.  It was windy too.  I called it my heat miser hair (from the old Christmas special).  I'll tell you more about our trip later.

Good Boys and Good Dads

I just want to report that Connor is a fantastic shopping companion.  He was cheerful and when I'd go to pick something up he'd say "I can get that!"  I did tease him that even Dan doesn't try to sneak things into the cart.  Connor really wanted those Cocoa Roos.  I didn't get him any, but I did let him go drool over the electronic equipment and Wii games.  So, if you ever need a helper, Connor is a great one.  He'd probably take Cocoa Roos in payment.

Also, cousins and uncles should be flattered because Dan said to me the other day, "I wish that the cousins and their daddies could come and play tomorrow".  Above Dan is playing with his cousins -- you can just only see one.  Dan is always asking me "What are we going to do tomorrow?"  When I ask him what he wants to do he often names specific cousins he'd like to play with.  He doesn't understand distances and can't understand why I won't take him to play with Caleb, or Tyson.  He changes up the cousins he wants to play with.  He's one blessed little boy to have cousins for friends.

I should also mention Jake.  Yesterday Derek left so early and got home so late that Jake never got to see him.  (Derek did come home for a little while but Jake was off playing with a cousin).  I let Jake stay up with me for quite a while until he decided on his own that he really had better go to bed.  It's nice that he knows how to tell time and understands that he'll be too tired if he waits too long.  Jake loves his Dad.  He plays with him as much as he can and Derek makes him smile.  He was sad not to see him, but he was happy again this morning when he got a little time with Dad before school.

Hooray for good boys and good dads!

The Perks of Pain

I felt the need to blog about something, and besides that fact that Dan worked for 40 minutes solid at preschool today to make six puppets, and his teacher was really impressed with his attention span and ability to cut well left handed, I couldn't think of much else to say -- other than whining about how hard it is to sleep on your back.  It's easy to stay awake on your back but sleeping that way for long periods of time is tricky.  But, there are perks to pain, and I am going to tell you some of them.  And for all of you nice concerned people -- no worries -- I plan on sitting on the beach a lot of next week and getting lots better-- or at least more tan.

Back to the perks:

1.  My husband is nice and likes me to feel well.  So, when he heard that me hanging upside down like a bat might help, he looked for an incline machine thingy (not its official name).  I bought it.  The nice man at the store put it in the car, and Derek put it together.  Here's me standing on it.

This is actually the third picture Dan took.  The second one has me hanging upside down and I'm too vain to post it.  Talk about red in the face!  The first one is below.  It was meant to look like the one above only when Dan went to take the picture I leaned back -- forgetting what would happen.  Dan and I had a good laugh.

2.  One of my sisters in law told me once that our garbage is always full.  I think she is right.  Now that she has five kids she says hers is the same.  Anyhow, I think that I take out the garbage more than anyone else at our house.  Now, when I see the full garbage can, I can ignore it, even if it's overflowing -- if I go in another room.  Otherwise I am just pretending to ignore it.

 

I think we've had this garbage can for 20 years or more.  It has a lid to hide the garbage but, if your garbage is always full, the lid just gets in the way of shoving things in!  So, we keep the lid off, and I get a break from kitchen garbage removal.  Lucky me!

3.  I no longer need to push the heavy grocery cart when I go shopping or lift the heavy bags, and I always have company, and my kids get to learn my fabulous shopping methods (which consist of starting at the back of the store and moving forward and getting everything on my list and everything I see that I forgot to put on my list without having to move backwards to get anything I forgot--what a great method! :)  Besides, who wouldn't want to shop with Connor?

His hair looks fabulous even when he's been playing ball!

4.  I attended Kayli and Connor's band concert last night.  They both did well -- at least I couldn't hear them goof from where I was sitting.  I could see Connor's elbow occasionally and Kayli's face if I leaned a little.  Afterwards it was time to put away the heavy, uncomfortable chair that I had been sitting on.  Since I tend to tell everyone about my woes, my nice friend pretty much did a body block to keep me from stacking my own chair.  So, I get to sit in the uncomfortable chair, but I do not have to stack it!

5.  Okay, so really, how many perks to pain can there be?  Probably more than I listed here but if I'm going to take Connor shopping I'd best get the list made.  Here's hoping that the beach has restorative powers, or at least sunshine!