Scary Halloween!

I decided that in honor of Halloween today
I wanted to do something really scary.
I thought of various ideas,
but I'm not necessarily into haunted houses
or blood and gore.
I considered calling up complete strangers
on the telephone to discuss controversial topics,
but I had already done that this month.
I finally decided that the scariest activity
I could come up with would be
to spend some time in my own backyard.
Perhaps that doesn't sound all that scary
but just believe me
when I say it is.
I would show you pictures,
but you probably wouldn't
be able to sleep for a week
and I could never look you
in the eye again once you knew
how truly appalling this yard is.
It's that scary.
My back yard is so frightening
that I try to go out there
as little as possible
and unfortunately my neglect shows.
A lot.
However this morning
I decided to face my fears
and armed with clippers,
pruning shears,
a rake,
and a box of black trash bags
I stepped into the "yard of terror".
It is amazing what can happen to vegetation
when you choose to ignore it.
It becomes a horrendous, giant monster
or more accurately
lots of horrendous, giant monsters.
These beasts grabbed me
and attacked me
and took me down a couple of times,
but I stayed strong and brave
and got the better of a few of them.
After 3 hours I had 5 black bags full of weeds
and the entire fence in my alley
lined with branches and palm fronds.
I wish I could say that I now have
a friendly, subdued backyard
but that would definitely be an exaggeration.
If you look really close,
in a few spots though
it does look a little better
and I can truly say that I celebrated Halloween
in a completely frightening fashion.
The sad thing is
that the city workers came and
gathered up all my clippings
right after I got finished.
I don't think anyone in my family
will even believe how brave I was
or how hard I worked
because they avoid the backyard too
and don't know what
it really looked like out there
and the evidence has disappeared.

First Dates and Last Dates

We have been experiencing the dating spectrum in our home this week, along with all the subsequent emotions that accompany such associations with the opposite sex.

My youngest son announced to me the other day that he had asked a girl out on a date. His first date. This was planned in conjunction with some of his siblings, but it was definitely news to me. I remember a discussion I had with a friend exactly a year ago. She has a son who is about 8 months older than my son and I was questioning her about him driving and also dating. I told her I could picture my son driving a car much easier than I could imagine him being mature enough to actually go on a date. I still feel the same way today. I have accepted the fact that this son can drive, although I am still not convinced that he is actually ready for his real driver's license. However, this whole going out with a girl is a lot harder for me to comprehend. As this child's mother, I have seen him at his silliest, and I question what girl would consider him dating material. (Actually, he has some very mature, quite adorable moments, and I'm sure this is the side he reveals to the young ladies.) It's just hard for me to realize that my small one is growing up and moving on. Tonight was the date which included a visit to an elementary school carnival and feeding the ducks and playing on the playground at the local park (appropriately chauffeured and chaperoned by his sister) and apparently it was a good one, at least in my son's opinion.

On the same day that I received the first date announcement, I also began to realize that all was not well in my oldest son's dating life. While son #2 was experiencing the positive, hopeful side of dating, the other son was experiencing the extreme opposite. The girlfriend/roommate had decided that things weren't going where she believed they were meant to be going and had announced that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him. This has been a very challenging experience for him and one that he has to work through for himself. It is hard for me to watch him go through all that this entails.

I sometimes think that it is truly amazing that so many of us are able to find our future life partner through this challenging, frightening, exciting experience that we call dating. It often seems like the person that we can imagine spending eternity with is busy imagining spending it with someone else. Dating is hard work. It isn't easy. Dating is sometimes full of the highest highs and sometimes it brings with it the lowest lows. It is scary to open ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt or rejected. It definitely requires stepping outside of our comfort zone, and sometimes it doesn't turn out the way that we hope that it will (and then sometimes it does). However, I do know that dating is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us and that regardless of what happens he knows what that plan is. The important thing is to make sure that we have faith in Him and trust in His love for us, knowing that he will support us and uplift us through whatever experiences come our way.

I love you, my boys, and look forward to seeing both of you married in the temple to a special girl when the time is right in Heavenly Father's plan for you. Stay close to Him so you will be ready when that time comes.

Today I am grateful for

the comfort of knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of His children.
Children that support each other.
things I accomplish, even if they're tiny.

Yes For Marriage!

Tonight the hubby,

the youngest son

and I

had the opportunity

to volunteer

and make phone calls

about Proposition 102.

There were several reasons

why I wasn't very excited

about doing this.

#1. I hate talking on the telephone.

I mean absolutely detest calling

even my very best friends and family.

I think this is very close to a phobia.

Talking on the phone scares me.

My most fear-filled memory of my mission

involves calling someone on the telephone.

Weird, I know.

#2. I hate it when people call me about political issues.

I will admit I usually just hang up

when I receive political calls.

#3. This is a controversial topic in Arizona right now.

I am not a controversial person

(although my husband may disagree

with that statement sometimes).

I don't like to argue with people

and even though I believe strongly in

the importance of marriage

being only between

one man and one woman

I don't feel like I am very good

at expressing my feelings about

this Proposition in a clear and concise way.

I was afraid to do this

but I decided that sometimes

I need to be willing

to leave my comfort zone and

speak up for what I believe in.

With that long preface

let me just say

that I had a positive experience tonight.

Even though my heart

nearly pounded out of my chest

each time I dialed a number -

I survived.

I spent 3 hours making phone calls

and probably spoke to about

25 actual people.

Of those 25,

probably 10 of them

were wrong numbers,

a few of them hung up on me,

and the others were all

willing to tell me they were

voting yes on Prop 102

and were quite pleasant

while doing so.

It didn't turn out to be

nearly as traumatic

as I had imagined

and I even got my

very own Yes on 102 sign

for my front yard.

Another step out of my comfort zone.

Today I am grateful for

sons who are willing to help me when I need their help.
a husband that lets me volunteer him for things and doesn't complain.
the privilege to live in a free country where I have the right and responsibility to vote according to my conscience.

Real or Man-made?

I found this interesting item
on one of my walks along the beach
when I was there this summer.


I find it really intriguing.
I have it sitting by my computer
and look at it everyday.
The base is made of sand
with lots of tiny holes
and seashells.

Some days I marvel at how nature
could create something so unique,
the "tree" is even "decorated".
Then other days I think
that some beach bum
fashioned this nick-knack
for me to discover.

I want to hear your opinion -
Real or Man-made???

The Day Dawn is Breaking

I have decided that I need a laptop computer that can hang around my neck so I can take it with me on my morning walks and blog while I walk. This is definitely when I have my most profound and blog worthy thoughts but by the time I get home, eat breakfast, bid farewell to the remaining family members, shower, get dressed and try to be productive for awhile those ideas have simply disappeared.

The past two mornings it has been absolutely beautiful when I have gone walking. As the days get shorter the sun rise comes a little later every day and when I walk at about 6:30 the sky is lightening with a golden glow but the sun has not quite made it over the mountains yet. There have been scattered clouds both mornings that start out so dark and forboding but become much friendlier as they slowly turn pink, purple and yellow.

There is something so hopeful about a sunrise.

No matter how dark things may appear one moment a few minutes pass and everything becomes brighter.

This morning as I watched this change occur a song popped into my head.

"The day dawn is breaking,
the world is awaking,
the clouds of night's darkness
are fleeing away.
The worldwide commotion,
from ocean to ocean,
Now heralds the time
of the beautiful day."

As I thought about this hymn I was reminded how truly blessed I am to live in a day when the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. I saw a movie in Sunday School a few years ago that depicted the following story:

An elderly gentleman, Robert Mason, had a strange vision. “I was carried away in a vision and found myself in the midst of a vast orchard of fruit trees. I became hungry and wandered through this vast orchard searching for fruit to eat, but I found none. While I stood in amazement finding no fruit in the midst of so many trees, they began to fall to the ground as if torn up by a whirlwind. They continued to fall until there was not a tree standing in the whole orchard. I immediately saw thereafter shoots springing up from the roots and forming themselves into young and beautiful trees. These budded, blossomed, and brought forth fruit which ripened and was the most beautiful to look upon of anything my eyes had ever beheld. I stretched forth my hand and plucked some of the fruit. I gazed upon it with delight; but when I was about to eat of it, the vision closed and I did not taste the fruit.”
At the conclusion of the vision, Mr. Mason had prayed that the Lord would give him the interpretation. “Then the voice of the Lord came to me saying: This is to show you that my Church is not organized among men in the generation to which you belong; but in the days of your children the Church and Kingdom of God shall be made manifest with all the gifts and the blessings enjoyed by the Saints in past ages. You shall live to be made acquainted with it, but shall not partake of its blessings before you depart this life. You will be blest of the Lord after death because you have followed the dictation of my Spirit in this life.’ ”

I still remember had sad I felt for this man as I watched this movie. He was searching so dilligently for the truth and yet was told that he could never enjoy its blessing during his lifetime. At that moment I realized how lucky I was to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

When I got home I looked up the hymn "The Day Dawn is Breaking". The rest of the words
gave me such a feeling of peace and hope.

"In many a temple
the Saints will assemble
And labor as saviors
of dear ones away.
Then happy reunion
and sweetest communion
We’ll have with our friends
in the beautiful day."

It so happened tht the man from the above story, Robert Mason, was a good friend and mentor of Wilford Woodruff, who became a president of the church. “The vision was given to him [Father Mason] about the year 1800,” Elder Woodruff wrote. “He related it to me in 1830, the spring in which the Church was organized. Three years later when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, almost the first person I thought of was this prophet, Robert Mason. Upon my arrival in Missouri with Zion’s Camp, I wrote him a long letter in which I informed him that I had found the true gospel with all its blessings; that the authority of the Church of Christ had been restored to the earth as he had told me it would be; that I had received the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands; that I knew for myself that God had established through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the Church of Christ upon the earth. He received my letter with great joy and had it read over to him many times. He handled it as he had handled the fruit in the vision. He was very aged and soon died without having the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the gospel at the hands of an elder of the Church. The first opportunity I had after the truth of baptism for the dead was revealed, I went forth and was baptized for him in the temple font of Nauvoo.”
Can't you just picture the sweet reunion of Wilford Woodruff and Robert Mason ? I wonder if Joseph Townsend, the author of this hymn, had any idea when he wrote these words how many temples he was actually refering to?

The song continues -
"Still let us be doing,
our lessons reviewing,
Which God has revealed
for our walk in his way;
And then, wondrous story,
the Lord in his glory
Will come in his pow’r
in the beautiful day."

These words from the 3rd verse describe exactly what I feel the general authorites were trying to share with me during our recent general conference.

Do what the Lord asks you to do, keep the commandments, follow the path that he has laid forth and no matter how unsure the future appears you will know how the story will end. The clouds may be dark and worrisome around me but if I just have faith and hope things will become brighter until Jesus returns and brings with him a truly beautiful day.

Beautiful day of peace and rest,
bright be thy dawn from east to west.
Hail to thine earliest welcome ray,
Beautiful bright millennial day."

Today I am grateful for

the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide my life.
reminders of what I need to focus on.
all the temples throughout the world and the saving ordinances that are performed there for those who died before they were able to partake of the truth and blessings of the restored church of Jesus Christ.

My Birthday Present

For my birthday this year I told my friends I wanted money so I could purchase a specific item that I was looking for. I wanted some kind or cupboard/drawer/hutch type thing to put place mats and tablecloths in since I don't have a good place to store these items. I had been looking for something that would work for awhile and hadn't found it, thus the need for money and not a gift card to a certain place. On Friday one of these good friends called and told me she had seen something that looked like a possibility at Terri's Consign and Design in Chandler. I went to check it out and liked it, but when I realized that the price would drop another $30 if I waited until after Sunday to purchase it I decided I would like it even better then. I have this theory that if you pass something up and then go back and it's still there then you know it was meant to be yours.
Well this morning I had to go to the doctor to have some blood work done and then I headed to Chandler to see if I was suppose to be the proud owner of a "gently used" hutch. I showed my faith that it would still be there by switching vehicles with my son for the day so I could easily bring my purchase home in the back of his handy truck. Everything worked according to plan. The hutch was still there, the price had dropped, the cost was now $1.00 less than the money I received from my friends and I made a decision (a very difficult thing for me to do) and bought it! It is now gracing my dining room wall. Now I just have to decide what I'm going to put on all the shelves and if I want to change the drawer pulls.

I was feeling pretty happy with my purchase until I saw my friend's mom's house and the cupboards that she just put in in her dining room (which is the same floor plan as mine). These are the more updated and costly version of what I have done. They look great, but maybe it is just the fact that she has already decorated them and also has a cleaner kitchen in the background. This is what I can look forward to when I get rich (and buy a lot more cookbooks).

Actually, I am still feeling pretty good about my cupboard. I'm sure I will like it even more after I add some personal touches and clean the kitchen of course.

Today I am thankful for

a phlebotomist who was an expert at taking blood .
a son that lets me borrow his truck.
Good friends that give me birthday money.

Barking Dogs

There are a few dogs that I associate with on my morning walks around my neighborhood. One of them lives just around the corner, at the beginning of my trek. I have never actually seen this dog, but I hear it every morning. First I hear its running feet traveling quickly across the yard. If I announce myself with a loud "Good Morning Dog" that's the end of it, but if I try to just sneak past the barking starts and lasts until I am a good block away.
Around the next corner there is a good-sized white dog that insists on letting me know he is there. He is usually getting ready to go for his own walk with his owner and she daily assures me that he is just being friendly and saying hello. He is pretty obedient and will sit and be quiet when asked. I think he just likes to talk. There are several other houses where the dogs let me know they can hear me and a couple of other dogs who are usually walking around the neighborhood on leashes. One of the walking dogs actually hops because he only has 3 legs, but that doesn't slow him down. I am not a huge dog fan. I don't dislike them, but I don't really have any desire to have one of my own. I am more of a cat person. It is easy for me to tell if a cat is happy or unhappy to see me. They sound different when they are being friendly. To me dogs always sound like they are mad when they bark Of course, their body language gives some clues, but I always vacillate when an unattended dog is loudly running toward. I usually assume that they come in peace but I will admit I always question their motives the closer and louder they get. I am big on talking to dogs and letting them know that I am a nice person and I have found that to be effective.
I can pretty much assume that the rez dog who gave me this welcome on my leg when I walked past his house a couple of days ago really was mad. Apparently he and his buddies don't speak the same language as the Tempe dogs and didn't understand that I wanted to be friends. I was tricked into paying attention to his biggest companion, who was standing in front of me, while he attacked me from behind and then ran off. I had a pretty good stare down with the 2 mutts that stuck around and I have to admit I did maybe kick one of them before his owner came out and called him off. I guess I'll stick to walking in my own neighborhood from now on. Apparently those Native dogs still hold a grudge against white people and I have to say my leg was pretty white before it was black and blue.

The Son's Talk

Today my youngest son gave a talk in church. He was asked to speak on his favorite address from the recent General Conference. As an unbiased mother I thought he did an amazing job. I was impressed that he took the points that Elder Wirthlin talked about and personalized them with his own experiences. Here is what he said.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk I really enjoyed entitled come what may and love it. In his talk he shared a story of losing a particularly tough football game in which his team ultimately met its demise. He went home feeling very discouraged. When he arrived home his mother listened to his sad story and replied. “Joseph, come what may and love it.”
He goes on to say I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems the birds don’t sing and the bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.
He gives four things that can help us through times of testing and trial. I would now like to share them with you. The first is to learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though the person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? There is an antidote for this: learn to laugh. Not too long ago my mom’s cell phone fell out of her pocket when we were changing places so I could drive home from school. I unknowingly destroyed it with the front tire of the van. She didn’t realize what had happened until we got to our house. My mom could have gotten mad at me for running over her phone or at herself for putting the phone in a pocket that she knew it had a tendency of falling out of. Instead she turned the experience into a humorous story about my hit and run accident that she was an accomplice to.
The second is to seek for the eternal. We may feel singled out when adversity enters our lives. We may shake our heads and wonder, “why me?” But the dial on the wheel eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt. Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others. Remember the words of the savior to the prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in liberty jail. “My son, peace be unto thy soul: thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if you endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high: thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we.
The third is the principle of compensation. The lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the lord will be added unto them in his own way. When I was 9 my dad lost his job. As the Christmas season rolled around my parents were very worried about how they would be able to buy any presents for us. They knew the importance of paying tithing but needed all the money we had to pay the bills and there would be none left over to buy us kids presents. They decided to pay their tithing regardless. A few days later my mom went outside and on our van was an envelope with a target gift card worth $200. They were rewarded for their commitment to keep the commandments and were able to buy us presents. Despite the fact that my dad didn’t have a permanent job for over a year our family always seemed to have money to meet our needs.
And the fourth and final thing is to trust in the father and the son. Last week at the Bishop’s youth discussion we watched a video about President Thomas S. Monson’s life. I would like to share a story from it with you. It is about a young girl named Crystal Methvin. Crystal had cancer and her parents wanted her to receive a blessing from a general authority. They showed Crystal a picture of Thomas S. Monson. She said “he looks like a nice man. I think he is the one.” They planned to take a trip to Salt Lake to receive the blessing but because of Crystal’s condition they were unable to. When Crystal’s parents told her that they couldn’t make the trip her response was “well if I can’t go to elder Monson then surely he can come to me.” President Monson did in fact make it to her stake for a stake conference but because of time would be unable to travel the 80 miles to the Methvin home. As President Monson was preparing his notes to speak a voice spoke to his spirit. “Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of god.” President Monson asked a bishop close by him to call and inform the Methvin’s that he would be in their home the next morning. When president Monson arrived at their home he knelt down by Crystal’s side and said “Crystal I’m here.” To which Crystal replied “Elder Monson I just knew you would come.” I do believe that this little girl’s faith in Heavenly Father granted her the last wish of her young life.
In closing he say’s "as we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our heavenly father, we can endure hardship and trials. We can say as my mother did “come what may, and love it.”

Now if he could just learn to walk the walk as well as he talks the talk. Someone told me today that they could tell he was my son. I'm sorry that I've passed on some of my negative traits along with the positive ones, but I'm even more glad there were some positive ones to pass on.

Tonight the roommate/girlfriend spoke in the 3rd Sunday Mission President's fireside for investigators of the church. Our family all went to listen and support her. She did a wonderful job sharing her testimony about how she came to know the church was true. Her mom also came to listen to her which was really nice. She has come a long way from wanting to crash the baptism to supporting her daughter's religious choices at least to some degree. I hope her heart continues to be softened.

Today I am thankful for

a church that gives young men and women the opportunity to speak in front of large audiences.
soft hearts.
beautiful music that brings the spirit with it.

Toenail Clip?

Now, I have heard of a paper clip





and a hair clip








and even a bag clip









but a toenail clip?

Could this be a new fashion craze?
I envision decorative little bows
clipped to some rather long toenails.
They would look great with flip flops.
If I created these I could make my millions.

Or perhaps this is a necessary item
that you use to clip all those stray toenail clippings together
before you dispose of them properly.
(This is when I wish I was an artist
and I could add some really nice illustrations for you.)

But no, a toenail clip is just the very common item
that I have inadvertently referred to
as toenail clippers
for my entire, uninformed life.

Here's the proof.

Read it right there
on the package -
Toenail Clip.

The things you learn
when your toenail clippers
magically disappear and
you are forced to go and
purchase a new pair.

Which brings up another question.
Why do I refer to this item as a pair
when there is just one of them?
(The picture may be confusing but the second item included in the picture is my absolutely free bonus fingernail clipper,
or would that be a fingernail clip?)

Along with the bonus fingernail clipper
this toenail clip also comes with
a LIFETIME GUARANTEE.
La Cross will repair or replace
(at their option)
implements defective in workmanship or material
unless they are abused or rusted.

However, if the clipper is suppose to be rust resistant
wouldn't rust indicate that perhaps the material
was indeed defective?
Also, does the company have to prove clip abuse?
Does it have to be documented like child abuse,
or can it just be assumed by looking at the resulting damage?

Anyway, back to the guarantee.

All I have to do is package my inferior merchandise and mail it
- post paid and insured- to them.
Now, I don't often insure items that I mail,
but it seems to me that the packaging,
the postage and the insurance
would far exceed the $2.99 that I paid for these clippers.
I'm thinking it would likely be more cost effective
to just purchase a new one.
Plus, I'm pretty sure I would have a hard time
keeping a straight face as I told the postal worker
that I would like to insure my defective toe clip.
And wait, what if I went to all the trouble
of mailing my broken clip to the company
only to discover that it was not defective at all,
but had just reached the end of its lifespan
and sucumbed to a natural death
thus voiding the "lifetime" guarantee.

I am going to go put this purchase
in a very safe place right now
to avoid having to deal with all of these issues
and to keep it from simply disappearing like the last one did.

Today I am thankful for

the ability to see humor in everyday things.
coupons that save me money.
a husband that cooks.

Lucky Shirt

I'm glad the son finally located his Lucky Shirt again because I was getting kind of tired of watching McClintock lose their football games. Hopefully he'll hang on to it now and the team will continue to win every game he wears it to.

Go Chargers!

Today I am thankful for

beautiful football game weather.
time to spend with my husband and kids.
McDonalds ice cream.

He Doesn't Bring Me Flowers...

When my husband and I were dating I lived in a house with 8 other girls. One of my roommates was being courted by a young man that had kind of a bad reputation and she didn't really know if she wanted to have anything to do with him or not. In an effort to sway her opinion he started sending her roses every day - every single day. We had vases of roses, in varying states of freshness, all over our house. One day I told my then boyfriend that these flowers were such a waste of money and also that I felt that this young man was trying to buy this young lady's affection. Little did I know that my boyfriend would take this comment to heart and it would have a noticeable impact on my future life. To this day he insists that I do not like flowers and that I think they are a waste of money. Now I will admit that I do think fresh flowers are not the best use of hard earned money, but every once in a while they are a nice gesture. This topic has come up in our home enough however that every once in a while now one of my children will suprise me with a boquet of flowers just because. These are courtesy of my eldest son.

Even though my hubby may not buy me flowers, I do know he loves me and he shows his love in many other ways. By the way, where my roommate was concerned apparently the flowers were a positive thing. She and the rose giver have been happily married for 25 years now and he turned out to not be such a bad guy after all.

Tongue-ectomy

I've decided that perhaps
I should have my tongue surgically removed.

I'm thinking this would solve several of
my most pressing problems.
It would make it much more difficult
to eat

and to talk -
Two things that seem to be getting me into
a lot of trouble lately.

Perhaps I should just focus on
biting my tongue more.
If I bite hard enough
this could have the same effect
and it would probably be a lot cheaper.

Today I am thankful for

a sister who is willing to be my mom's nurse - still.

telephones that make communicating with people far away easier.

kids that ask my opinion and forgive me when I give it.

Signs of the Times

I would just like to say that I will be so happy when the upcoming elections are over - for so many reasons. One of which is the fact that I am very tired of seeing political signs on every street corner. For a city with a "No Signs" policy most of the year Tempe sure seems to have its fair share right now.

There do happen to be a few that have made me chuckle though. The red one below is my favorite sign. It says "Return Barry Wong".

There is just something funny about this statement to me. I'm not sure what it is. It could be that Barry Wong just sounds too much like Very Wrong to me, but I think it's the word "Return". This word does not say "Re-elect" to me. When I read it I think more "take back" ie. I returned the shirt to the store because I decided I didn't like it. It also conjours up visions of alien abductions in my head for some reason. Apparently I don't associate positive feelings with this word and that's why it doesn't look right as a campaign slogan to me.

Another one that made me laugh (even though it probably shouldn't have) was for Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Where it said Re-Elect someone had spray painted the word Deport over the top. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not condoning graffiti, but given recent events in the sheriff's department I could agree with the sentiment. I have voted for Sheriff Arpaio in the past, but he will not be getting my vote this year. He has outgrown his famous pink boxers, in my opinion.

Now, having shared with you my aversion to political signs, it may surprise you to know that I was a little upset to see a lot fewer of them as I took my morning walk around the neighborhood this morning. A member of our ward had posted a lot of "Yes on 102" signs in people's yards (with their permission of course) and I noticed today that many of them have disappeared along with a few McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden ones as well. Where did they go?? I can imagine sign thieves sneaking around the neighborhood in the middle of the night pulling up signs, but where do they put them when they are all done? Or maybe everyone just mowed their lawn this weekend and forgot to put the signs back when they were finished. It's a mystery. Just like these signs that I photographed on my way to pick up the son from school that were gone when I returned 15 minutes later.

I wish it were that easy to get rid of some of this years candidates. I wonder if I'd miss them too?

Date Night

When I was in Utah helping my mom we watched the Hallmark Channel on TV a lot. Every night they would show the trailer for the movie Fireproof that was "coming to a theatre near you soon". I decided I really wanted to see this movie. Today I talked my hubby into going to it with me. (I enticed him with some of my Harkins gift cards). I totally enjoyed this film. It had a great message and was also entertaining. You can watch the trailer here. It was so refreshing to see a movie that supports marriage and the family rather than putting them down. After the movie we went and checked out a new restaurant called Cafe Laguna. They specialize in Fry Bread and the hubby and I were big fans. Yum, Yum! I had the original with shredded beef and my other half had the original with ground beef. We had a coupon - buy one get one half off - but the owners were extremely nice and gave us the family and friends discount that turned out to be half off everything. $10.00 for two "indian tacos" and drinks. It was definitely worth it. If you're ever in the vicinity of Power and Baseline in Mesa check them out. You won't regret it. It was a great date night!! Today I am thankful for my husband that I love very much. movie makers with morals. seventy five degree high temperatures.

Pocket Change

In honor of the nation's bad economy I decided it was time to collect all the loose coins we had laying around the house and redeem them for some paper money. I sorted and counted and wrapped and ended up with $135.50.


It's amazing to me how a little pocket change saved here and there can really add up. Now, I believe it is my patriotic duty to go out and spend every penny of it. I'm sure my contribution is just the shot in the arm our economy needs.

Fall Break with the Boys

My boys are kind of boring.
They both have Fall Break this week
and I tried to talk them into
going somewhere fun with me
and they said no.
For some reason they don't think
anywhere would be fun with me.
Apparently they think I am boring.
The boys are content
to play football on the computer,
watch movies,
and go out to eat.
The oldest son is going to
Weight Watchers with his sisters
so he feels a little guilty about eating out
but not guilty enough to not do it.

Perhaps he thought no one would recognize him
hidden behind that Oregano's menu.
I decided to go with them to Oreganos.
Their lunch menu is a great deal.
3 heck of a slice pizzas with toppings,
Pepperoni for one boy,
Pepperoni and pineapple for the other,
and Basil and Roma Tomatoes for me.
Drinks - Diet Coke for the oldest son,
water with lemon for the youngest,
and plain old water for me.
plus a pizzookie, to share, for dessert -
half white chocolate chip macadamia nut
and half chocolate chip
(except it tasted alot like peanut butter
with chocolate chips in it)
topped with vanilla bean ice cream.
All for $20 bucks.
It was an especially good deal
because the incognito son paid.

Today I am thankful for

clean laundry.
a washing machine.
Fall break, so I can sleep in.

Who Comes Up With These Ideas?

Today one of my teacher friends from the elementary school I use to work at asked me to come in and help her get some stuff accomplished. The school administration doesn't allow anyone to be in the building after 5:00 PM or on weekends and even though she comes in every morning at 6:30 AM (preceded by a 45 minute drive from her home) she was feeling overwhelmed. The powers that be had agreed to let the teachers into the school today and tomorrow to work from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM, even though it is their fall break. This teacher has a difficult 1st Grade class this year and she says if she turns her back to put a paper in her file cabinet all heck breaks loose so she had a lot of piles that she wanted to get rid of. I enjoyed helping her out and getting caught up on all the school gossip. Talking to her, and the other teachers there, raised some interesting questions though.

#1 - This whole "no school access" on nights and weekends. The principal says it is a district policy, but my daughter taught in this district for the past two years and they were allowed to be in the school at any time and I live next door to an elementary school in this district that also seems to have teachers visiting during the weekend. Now, I know ideally teachers should only have to work their compensated hours and be able to get everything done, but really there are times when that is ideal but definitely not realistic. For example, what if the copy machine is broken for three days and when it gets fixed all 40 teachers need to use it to run off next week's reading seat work that is required to be copied because the district can't afford to buy the workbooks. How many teachers can make their copies in the 1 hour after school on Friday??

#2 - This school has a no recess policy. NO RECESS. NONE. There is way too much learning that needs to take place for us to give the 4 through 10 year olds a 15 minute break. Who ever came up with that great idea has never tried to get a 4 or 5 or 6 year old to sit still for hours at a time.

#3 - This year the state of Arizona has adopted a new plan for the English language learners in all of the schools. All of the non English speaking children in each grade are put in one class and the English speaking children are put in another one. The teacher that I assisted has the English speaking first grade with 23 students and the other first grade teacher has the non English speakers in a class of 17. The non English teacher is required to teach English for at least 4 hours every day. Apparently the rest of the day is spent telling the students repeatedly "No Spanish. No Spanish. No Spanish." At the recent parent teacher conferences one of the non English speaking parents told the teacher "It appears from your class picture that all the children in your class are Hispanic." The teacher said "yes, I have all the non English speaking children". The parent said "where are the English speaking models?" Hmm, a parent that doesn't even speak English can figure out that this is probably not a good idea. Who in the state of Arizona thought it was? The non English kindergarten teacher is also my friend. She has 20 Spanish speakers and a little girl from Indonesia. She told me there has been great progress in her class. The child from Indonesia can now speak almost fluent Spanish. However, it gets even better. If a child in the non English class makes enough progress to pass the English language test then they are transferred out of the non English class to the English class. The non English teacher loses her best student and English role model that she has worked really hard to make proficient and the English teacher gets another student. Apparently the goal is that by the end of the school year the English class will be at 40 and the non English class will be at 0. That makes sense doesn't it?

#4 - One of my jobs today was to remove all the name tags, number lines and alphabet models off of the children's desks. This teacher attended several workshops this summer, offered by the district, that encouraged the teachers to let their students write their own name tags for their desks and decorate them in order to help them feel ownership of their desk and their belongings. A month into school, the district came in and told all the teachers that had attended those workshops that this was unacceptable and that the name tags needed to be replaced with computer generated D'nalian name tags. Also, they must use this specific number line and this specific handwriting model. Perhaps this information could have been shared before school started and not after the desks were all "decorated". It would have saved a lot of time and a couple of blisters, not to mention money, paper, tape and laminating film.

#5 - In this school no student work is allowed to be displayed that is not COMPLETELY PERFECT. Perfect - no misspelled words, no imperfect letter formation, no teacher corrections of any kind. Nothing that is predominately "coloring" can be hung up. Also art work is not a valuable use of time and therefore cannot be displayed. The walls in this school resemble an office building and not an elementary school.

After 8 hours with my teacher friends I was reminded of all the reasons I can't get excited about being a teacher. I miss being around the kids, but I hate all the dumb rules and the fact that the rules change every year. I admire anyone who continues to be a dedicated teacher despite all the setbacks.

On a happier note, I did get a chance to sit on "Cloud 9" for a couple of minutes today, but it wasn't quite the same without the 5 year olds checking on my happiness level.

Today I am thankful for

a friend who pays me to help her.
chances to spend time with old friends.
razorblades.

Girl's Night Out

I am so lucky!
I have had a girl's night out.
with my daughters and
my pretend daughters
two Saturday nights in a row.

Last week
we all enjoyed Pork Barbacoa Salad
provided by the Stake Relief Society
and then watched the General Woman's Broadcast.
It was a wonderful meeting
and even better because
I got to share it with my girls.

Tonight we all went out to dinner
at Charlestons
while the boys attended
the Priesthood session of General Conference
and went out to dinner afterwards.




As you can see, some of us take our eating
a lot more seriously than others.



We laughed a lot
at things that weren't
all that funny.
We ate a lot
of garlic mashed potatoes
and glazed carrots,
although we all agreed
that the carrots needed
to be "burned" a little bit more.
We drank a lot
of nothing stronger than
water or diet Coke.
We had a really fun time.

Thanks girls for including me
in your Girl's Night Out.

Today I am thankful for

the females in my life.
a living prophet on the earth.
a loving Heavenly Father who knows who I am and the counsel that I need to hear.

Gosh! I Raised Me a Smart Boy.

Today I asked my oldest son to drive me through the drive thru at McDonald's. I wanted to purchase a gift card to include in a letter I was mailing. I looked in my wallet to see how much money I had and I came up with $15.00. That sounded like an OK amount for what I needed.
The son pulled up to the speaker and asked for a $15.00 gift card. There was a pause and then "We have $5.00, $10.00 or $25.00 gift cards." Without even hesitating my smart boy asked for one $5.00 and one $10.00 card. The employee seemed extremely surprised that he could come up with such an intellectual solution. If that isn't proof enough of his great brain he was also smart enough today to know that going to the temple is a great way to spend a day off of work. I told you, I've sure got me a smart boy.

Today I am thankful for

the peace of the temple.
a wallet with money in it.
my boys.

Walking Backwards

Since coming back from Utah I have been very stressed. I'm not sure why. I think it's a combination of a lot of things. The fact that I really wanted my elimination diet to make me feel like a new woman, or at least better, and it didn't. My house that needs my full time attention and me having no desire to give it even 5 minutes worth. My kids and their individual challenges. The Hot, Hot weather that seems like it is never going to end. Just little stuff that seems to have bloomed into a big thing in my mind. I have been wound way too tight and everything has been seeming like more than I can handle. I have felt like I am tied up in knots or tangled up like the phone cord use to get when we use to have a phone with a cord. I've been tempted to hang upside down and spin like I use to do to untangle the phone cord, but I wasn't quite sure how to do it.

Today as I was driving back from dropping the youngest son off at school I was telling myself all the reasons why I should go walking when I got home. You know - it will make me feel better (even though it doesn't), it is cooler now than it will be later, it's good for me, it will give me time to think, it will be one less thing to feel guilty about today... As I was pondering all these thoughts I had the impression that I should walk backwards today, not literally backwards but counter clockwise rather than clockwise. I have some walking routes mapped out in my neighborhood for when I go walking. I have one that is a mile and one that is two miles and some others in between, but no matter which walk I take I always start out going the same direction - North. Going the other direction just seems unnatural to me. However this morning, after I got out of the van and threw the newspaper at the door, I headed off going the other way - South. As I walked I started picturing the playground at the elementary school where I use to work. I could see the kids sitting in the swings twisting them up into a tight knot. Now this was against the rules and normally I would have stopped them, but in my mind I let them twist and twist and twist until those chains were so tight they couldn't go another inch and then the kids lifted their feet and instantaneously began to rapidly unwind. As I walked "backwards" I could actually feel the same thing happening to me. The further I walked the more relaxed and unknotted I began to feel. I imagined a long, long twisted and bumpy rope slowly unwinding and becoming smooth. No more kinks or knots or tension. Just a long, straight rope.

I can't say that all my problems just up and disappeared, but I will say that I feel a lot less uptight about them. Sometimes it's good to just pick up my feet (one at a time) and unwind.