Modern Day June Cleaver

I slept unbelievably great last night, which I think was due to the cooler air coming in through our open window. I curled up in the cozy and didn't move (which is so rare for me since I'm a notorious thrasher in my sleep) so I woke up feeling great and ready to take on the day. (I love it when that happens!)

I had to realign myself several times when the pull of the computer took over (I'd find myself sitting in the computer chair wondering how I got there), but I'd made a list of things I wanted to get done today and I gave myself computer time as my reward at the end of it all (hence I'm finally posting at 9:34pm).

I listened to the final 2 hours of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" while I worked, and ended up feeling so in love with that book. We read it for book club a couple months ago, but I had rushed through it and hadn't savored the letters so I missed some of it. But listening to it was great, especially because there were different narrators for each of the characters, complete with their British, American and Scottish accents.


I spent the morning doing a thorough dusting and vacuuming (under couch cushions and such), cleaning the bathrooms, and putting out the Halloween decorations. I usually wait until the middle of October to start feeling fallish, but since I was moving everything to dust it seemed like a good time to set things out.


I wisely decided to make the cookie dough before mowing the lawn, because I knew I'd feel wiped out afterward and would talk myself out of making the cookies. Kristi called, so we chatted while I got all my ingredients out, then the mixing went quickly when our call was done.


I spent over an hour mowing the lawn and listened to "50 Success Classics" while I worked. I find mowing the lawn very enjoyable, especially when it's not too hot outside, but I was glad I'd made the cookie dough ahead of time because my gimpy foot was hurting a lot afterward and I know I wouldn't have wanted to stand in the kitchen for a long time.


The kids and their friends were so happy to come home to freshly baked cookies. I felt like June Cleaver as I handed them their warm cookies. Of course, I was NOT wearing a dress and pearls...more like track pants and a t-shirt with wet hair and no make-up on. Oh well.


I helped Whitney with her math homework (which is always testy for us). She seems to think I should explain the problems thoroughly enough that all she has to do is write the answer. She's got the wrong mother for that.


I finally put Larry & Dani's family photo in a frame on our photo wall (I've been meaning to do this for over a month).


I took Landon and Parker to flag football practice and helped coached. At one point I was playing Quarterback and after doing a hand-off, foolishly decided to run. The other coach threw the ball to me, I caught it and then took off running (probably not very fast) and literally saw stars as my gimpy foot strained. As I fell to the ground thoughts of being an invalid in Paris flashed before my eyes, but once again after standing up and stretching it a bit it felt strangely better, like I'd snapped something into place. I was so relieved! That was a close call.

Fall is coming! The mountains are turning orange!

Gifford came over for dinner tonight and Randy grilled some chicken and made some very tasty, spiced red potatoes. (We tried to have a better dinner than usual because Gifford was coming, maybe he should come more often.) He's living on quesadillas, so we couldn't very well serve him those even though that's on our menu quite often.


We taught Gifford how to play our no-name game using Skipbo cards, and Randy had a rare moment of glory by being the big winner.

We also had a surprise visit from the Elder's Quorum President and one of his counselors. I felt like such a champ being able to offer them freshly baked cookies while being surrounded by the smell of our good dinner. I told them they'd come on the right day because this sort of thing doesn't usually happen around here.


This is the first load of laundry Gifford has done in the month he has been at BYU! Can you imagine that? Look how tiny this pile is? Apparently he has a lot of clothes and a lot of underwear, so he can go for a long time without washing things, but still.

He fit all of his laundry into this tiny bag! Boys!?

**Do you sleep great when the weather gets colder?
Do you listen to music or books when you clean?
When was the last time you made cookies?
What does your "June Cleaver" uniform look like?
Can you imagine not washing clothes for a month?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Do you ever look in the mirror and frighten yourself? Why are some days better than others in this regard? I'm having a scary-looking day for sure.