Miscellaneous Monday

 Lori and I got together for lunch on the Friday of Spring Break, just like old times.

 Snow on our tulips, sad so sad.

I have Whitney doing a typing program as part of her job chart every week so she can get good enough to test out of Keyboarding in jr. high. She keeps looking at her hands though!! I am so grateful I had the scariest typing teacher ever way back in the day because I learned how to type without glancing at my hands ever.

Michelle sent me this cute thank you for  her birthday outing and gifts.

 I found Landon asleep on my bed again this week, he slept for two hours!



Friday's weather was gorgeous and our yellow tulips tried to soak it up.

Soccer started this week and man oh man am I glad I'm not coaching! It was so frustrating to watch the girls make the same crazy mistakes again. Randy and I sat in our chairs and yelled from the sidelines, but at least I didn't have wrangle everyone. Whitney scored our only goal (left footed shot even) and played goalie and saved lots of shots too.

Five for Friday

1. Last Saturday our Relief Society had an Education Day from 8-3, Michelle joined me until noon. I'll post some notes in my Sunday Thoughts.

2. Randy "helped" Whitney make a couple posters for her run for Student Council. They weren't what she originally envisioned, but I think they ended up looking better than our original plan.

3. I managed to surface from my gloom on Tuesday night for book club at Amy's house. We discussed Gold by Chris Cleave and had a heated discussion about modesty as well...interesting.

4. We took this feet self-portrait after our soccer game on Wednesday...I'm in flip flops and Whitney has the red laces, I kind of love this photo.

5. While waiting for Landon to finish football practice, Whitney did some dramatic leaf dancing in the wind.

12 on the 12th--September Edition

Michelle saved my bacon by making my grid for me this month since our computer is currently down with a virus.

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1. I listened to Elder Scott's talk from April's Conference while I got ready for work.
2. Landon took this shot of us reading scriptures.
3. My huge new computer at work!
4. Amie and I had a car lunch woohoo.
5. We're living in road construction hell around our neighborhood and I fear I'm going to lose my mind because of it.
6. I came home to find Landon on the computer...he Facebooks now yo.
7. Whitney and I managed to make each other completely mental while trying to figure out her skit for Student Council elections...our time together ended in tears (hers), but she regrouped later and all was well.
8. I consoled myself by reading in the cozy.
9. I dropped Landon and his friend Brian off at football practice.
10. I coached Whitney's soccer game (it was a 2-2 tie) then we had this self-portrait with my mom and Randy afterward.
11. Whitney and I got some carbs at Costco before picking the boys up from football.
12. I watched So You Think You Can Dance while eating cold pizza. 

Just Keep Swimming...

We had some glorious storms on Saturday, with blue skies and sun in-between, it was weird but kind of great too. We had a mellow afternoon at home together hanging out (very rare for a Saturday).

The weather is similar now so I just made 9 phone calls to cancel soccer practice, woohoo, bonus hours in my day! I am so weary, despite it only being a 4 day work week. I feel like I'm constantly review the "open loops" in my brain (i.e., pick up Whitney, buy posterboard, go to band, call about football carpool, make chicken salad for Saturday and on and on), I realize this is normal life but it is exhausting!

That's about all I've got to say.

Glutton for Punishment?

Remember how I used to coach Whitney's soccer teams but then decided to give it up because it felt like it brought too much conflict between us? After that I enjoyed several seasons of spectating and didn't feel many coaching pangs until last season when it seemed like her team wasn't making any progress. Still, I didn't want to add another thing to my plate so when I signed her up to play I checked the "coach if no one else will" box on the form.

Guess what? Now I'm in charge of eleven 5th/6th graders' soccer season. We've had two practices and two games and I've done a whole lot of yelling from the sidelines. (It is all I can do not to run out on the field to play myself.)

Whitney has become a really good goalie and is a great Forward when she chooses to run. She scored a perfect goal during last week's game!

It's kind of amusing to be a coach for a Rec Center team because we don't require a whole lot. It's not a super competitive league like the kind parents pay a ton of money for their kids to join, yet at this age level it seems like we should be seeing some good progress and skills happening.

Who knows what this season will bring?

Miscellaneous Monday

Last weekend it occurred to me that I should check the library's website to see if this book was checked in or not. I was giddy to find that it was so I put it on hold and was in the library at 10:35am to pick it up the next day. I was so excited to read it, but made myself finished Girl Meets God first so I didn't actually get to it until Tuesday. But oh how delicious it was. I devoured it in 2 days time and loved it despite the spider (which had nothing to do with the story) on the cover!

Cathy and I recently discovered this dirt path that cuts through some neighborhoods nearby. It's nice to walk on a carless road that feels rather country yet is actually only a couple miles from home. I even walked it by myself while she was in South Carolina last week. We've gone from walking on Saturdays and holidays to every day before her husband goes to work (she has little kids) which meant 6:30 this morning...not too shabby.

One morning last week Landon found all of his friends unavailable because they were frantically working to earn the $80 they needed to earn to pay for Scout Camp (which is coming up next week). Landon had already earned his money (last summer actually) so he decided to go door to door through the ward to ask for miscellaneous work just to earn money in general. I got this text from a friend from church and found out that she paid him $6 an hour to weed their plot at the ward garden...that's a win/win no?

I got an email from Adam that same day with a work proposal for Landon (Adam didn't even know he was looking for work) which involved me driving him to Adam's house early Thursday morning (which was funny because the girls were staying at our house) so he could stain shingles all day. He ended up staying over night and working more the next day (Adam sent this photo) and came home $110 dollars richer and a bit sore. I was so grateful to Adam for giving Landon the opportunity to do some real work (i.e., tough, all day, precision-matters type stuff) and for letting him hang out with him. They went to 5 Guys for dinner that night and watched the Heat/Celtics game (a must for Landon..."Go Heat!"). My dad was kind enough to bring the boy...man home Friday afternoon. Landon is morphing into a man more and more every day, it's cool to watch.

Adam and Amy's girls were here from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday morning (though we originally expected them until Friday) so we had all kinds of creativity going on and this scene in our front yard (all 4 of them are in this picture).

Whitney spent Thursday afternoon at the pool with a friend, and since Landon was at Adam's house working that meant some serious solitude for me. I read outside for the first time this summer and was actually a bit chilled in the shade (it was breezy and high 70's). I found it to be quite loud because of all the road construction going on down the street, so though there were moments of bliss I ended up going inside after about 40 minutes.

Whitney went to the soccer camp sponsored by the high school girls' team all week from 10:30-12:30. She went to the class for goalies and learned how to dive, stand and hold her hands properly, I'm so excited to see how this helps her during Fall soccer.

I got this text from another church friend on Saturday morning, what an unexpected delight.

Whitney is constantly drawing, so I find papers like this all over the place and am always debating whether to keep them or recycle them (usually I recycle them) but sometimes elaborate pictures like this need to be scanned and blogged about. I'd like to spend some time inside her head so I could understand her better, but it might be kind of frightening.

Five for Friday

Miscellaneous posts seem to be all I can muster these days. I plan to catch up in the summer and post more frequently since I'll have more than work to post about!

1. Whitney had her first dance recital last Saturday! It bums me out that she never got to take dance when she was little but it we either had money, car, or interest issues keeping us from signing her up. We only did now because my tap teacher is in our ward and runs a low-key studio out of her house which makes it convenient, affordable and no pressure. Whitney performed in a tap number and a jazz number and did quite well.

2. My mom has saved our bacon and sewn a darling poodle skirt for the school dance festival today. If Whitney had to rely on me she would have been wearing capris and a t-shirt, instead she has a super cute poodle skirt in fabric she got to pick out herself.

3. This week has been insane at work. My patience is almost gone, routines have been blown apart with end-of-the-year changes (locker clean out, Lagoon day, book returns) so I've been feeling a bit frazzled. But on Wednesday afternoon the grandmother to 4 of our students stopped by and gave me a handful of roses from her yard and 3 of the lip glosses I use!! Months ago she had come into the office for something and had complimented my lipstick color. It turns out we use the same brand of lipstick but she doesn't use the lip gloss that comes with it (which would be impossible for me). Somehow she remembered this conversation and brought me 3 new lip glosses (they're $4 each). I was so surprised by this highly random gift from an almost stranger (I don't even know her name). It was so nice and such a bright spot in my very crazy day. I really must pay this forward and delight a near stranger soon!

4. Whitney drew the right half of this picture, isn't it amazing? She thinks she messed up, but I can't even imagine being able to draw a wolf that actually looks like a wolf even when copying the other half of the face.

5. Landon had his last soccer game of the season this week (I'm always sad when soccer season ends) and did great. He has gotten so good the last couple years and has grown so much. It's fun to watch his team because most of the boys know what they're doing.

The weather was windy and cold and my mom was one of the few dressed appropriately. The rest of us thought we could get by with hoodies and blankets, but we were still cold. Never mind that I'd turned the air conditioning on for the first time just the day before!

12 on the 12th--May Edition

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1. Early morning balloon sighting as Cathy and I drove to our walking trail.
2. Cathy and I went an hour earlier at 7:00 to accommodate my busy schedule.
3. The sun was up by the time I got home at 8:00 and made everything beautiful.
4. Whitney had her last soccer game and the whole team played their best, I was ecstatic!
5. Landon's game was an hour later, this is him scoring one of his 3 goals!
6. My mom and I braved an insane day-before-Mother's Day crowd at Costco.
7. I enjoyed an hour in the cozy reading and napping.
8. I washed and trimmed a big container of strawberries.
9. My mom kissing Andrew at our Mother's Day party.
10. Amy took this photo of Landon and I at the gathering.
11. Amie gave me a copy of one of my favorite books! I had originally borrowed Michelle's and was bummed not to own it. 
12. The kids' closet gives me high blood pressure as I put their laundry away!

Five for Friday--Rather Summery Edition

1. Whitney, Austin and Olivia got to participate in the Soccer Camp put on by the High School Girl's Soccer Team. They went Monday-Friday for 2 hours each day. I was so excited for Whitney to get to do this so she could improve her skills and hopefully catch soccer fever. I just know she's great, but her motivation level isn't.

2. The missionaries are living in the basement of the house across the street from us, so we are super aware of their comings and goings throughout the day. I really need to talk to them and find out what their favorite treats are so we can hook them up with something.

3. I really wish I was a faster reader because there are just so many books that I am currently reading and want to read, despite the amount of time I spend reading every day I don't seem to be going through them at a very good rate.

4. I felt very accomplished for finishing Far From the Madding Crowd for book club this week. I ended up really liking it, but it took a lot of focus and some level of translation to understand everything I was reading. There's definitely a feeling of accomplishment for this one.

5. Holy crap, the house got up to 84 degrees the other day and I felt like I was going to lose it. It had been pleasant with the windows open all day even though it was hot outside, but whenever evening comes around the house has absorbed all the heat and there is no relief...we knew we wouldn't sleep well if we relied on open windows and fans alone so we turned the A/C on at 10:00pm.

6. Bella and Tess spent the night on Tuesday while Megan, Olivia and Ashley slept over at my mom's house. Of course it took many phone calls and organizing to figure out how to get everyone everywhere, so the return trip ended up like this.

My mom drove Olivia, Ashley and Megan to meet Robyn at the Anytime Fitness in Saratoga Springs, then Robyn drove them all to the Target parking lot in American Fork to meet me, then Megan got in our car and I drove the girls to the Kohl's parking lot in Draper to meet Amy! Good grief! It was the loudest 20 minutes and I am seriously going to bring ear plugs next time...there's just so much Megan! You'll notice that Megan is holding a plate of sugar cookies she made and decorated (generously) at my mom's house, well most of those sprinkles ended up on the backseat of my car.

7. My mom took Austin and Landon to Trafalga Fun Center yesterday for the afternoon, so Whitney and I went out to find her some new shoes for church (she wears a women's 7.5!) and then to the cheap theater to see "Rio". She liked the movie but I thought it was kind of obnoxious and may or may not have dozed off for a bit.

**Do read very fast?

How hot do you let your house get?

Have you seen Rio?

Have you ever had sprinkles all over your backseat?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Oh my goodness, it's already July! That means it's only 8 more days until my 40th birthday, eek!

Miscellany--So Behind on Blogging

I finally loaded a ton of photos from my camera to my "computer" (I'm not sure this old laptop qualifies for the official title of computer) and was surprised to see just how many things I haven't blogged about. Also, I decided to finally switch my very old blog template (from 2006) to the new version so that I could do all the fancy things you're all doing on your blogs (fun widgets and what not), but see that it's going take me awhile to figure out how to do things. I may never get my sidebar links in place in again! This is my first post using the newer set up (not new to you guys, just to me) and I was able to load my photos into this post, but can't seem to move them to the chronological order I want them in...pesky learning curve. So here's my miscellany all out of order...

We're thinking about embracing the dandelions instead of fighting them, there's a certain beauty to them isn't there?

This photo is from just a few weeks ago when Whitney and I were freezing our nards off at one of Landon's soccer games.

Sweet blogging friend Jane sent Whitney these funny cat postcards because they reminded her of the pictures Whitney draws; she is totally right about this.

Whitney is just so Whitney! I bought a sticky, rubber skeleton from Eva (who was selling odds and ends with her friend for a penny) because I knew Whitney would be thrilled to have it. She informed me that she now has almost all the colors of the skeletons (who knew?).

I am officially in love with tulips!

This photos goes all the way back to Spring Break when the kids and I went to see "Rango". I laughed out loud numerous times during that show and thought the dialogue was hilarious. We've been quoting this line ever since,

"Is this heaven?
"If this was heaven, kid, we'd all be eating Pop-Tarts with Kim Novak."

I am thrilled NOT to be coaching Whitney's soccer team this season. Originally I chose not to volunteer to coach because I thought she might do better taking instructions from someone else, but after my iron-deficiency episode and now that I'm working it has been so nice to be able to just go to the games to watch them instead of taking care of everything.

I was finally able to get a pedicure last week after a couple months of wanting one. My heels were humiliatingly bad, in fact the guy (yes, it was a guy) who did my feet asked me if I'd ever been in before! I was a little insulted that he didn't recognize me since I've been in there so many times, but they do a lot of business and we probably all look the same to them (ha). Now that my heels have been restored to a dewy, soft state I am babying them with heel cream every day.

**So what's new with you?

How do you feel about tulips?
Are your heels dewy soft?**

Comment Window Tidbit: My cold is officially gone! Breathing freely feels so good!

F-F-Freezing

Whitney had her first soccer game of the spring season at 6:00 tonight and it was super cold thanks to the wind. I like it that soccer games are played no matter what the weather is (except for lightning), but it's crazy that we can be freezing at some of the games and then sweating at others even though they're part of the same, short season.


Whitney played goalie for the first half of the game, which involved standing around a lot peppered with several good saves and one ridiculously close call.


It's far more exciting when she plays Forward and has a chance to score, but that also means I yell a lot. My throat has gotten soft since the fall soccer season ended so it's raspy and sore after tonight's game. I am relieved not to be coaching this time around, but was still very vocal...I can't help myself.


Since the majority of the girls on her team this season have never played soccer before, we've been trying to help Whitney mentally prepare herself for possible frustration and losses. But they ended up being better than the team they played tonight (though not by much) and won 4-0. It may have been a fluke.


I apologize for the nostrily self-portrait, but this is the only one I was able to sneak in since I was sitting by so many people I knew (I had a bout of self-consciousness); but I think it shows my layers of attempted warmth quite well.

**Have you been to any sporting events recently?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I ran two different math classes today, this pretty much blows my mind.