Lots of Smiles

Something that makes me smile? UPS trucks.

Something that gets a toothy grin? UPS trucks on Christmas Eve.

Something that makes me beam? UPS trucks on Christmas Eve with drivers running to deliver packages.

Think of all the Christmas packages getting there in the nick of time!

And finally, something that makes me shout for joy? Snow on Christmas Eve! IT'S SNOWING AGAIN! I'm loving it.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

*I feel that I should clarify: we didn't get any packages Christmas Eve. I just saw the UPS truck while I was on a walk.

Weekly Quote 12/22/08

"I hope he won't forget to clack his castinet,
And to his reindeer say,
'On Pancho! On Vixen! On Pedro! On Blitzen'
Ole! Ole! Ole! Cha cha cha!"

Originally by Augie Rios, perfected by Guster (in my opinion). Donde Esta Santa Claus! New quote up.

Come one, come all! It's free. F R E E. And who doesn't love Christmas music?

SNOWSNOWSNOWSNOWSNOWSNOW

Christmas came early for me this year. Last night seriously felt like Christmas Eve. First, I got to sing in the Forgotten Carols. I have never seen this production before, so it really was a special experience to be on stage, singing in the choir, watching everything unfold. I got all teary-eyed many different times, but especially during Sarah's song in the maternity ward. Oh man, I just about lost it. Once again, I am so grateful to have a daughter, to be a mother. I wanted it so bad for what felt like ages, and now it's like every day is a beautiful gift from God. Anyway, it sounds cheesy I'm sure, but the show felt magical.

And it was snowing! It started snowing at about 4:30/5 yesterday, and it snowed all night. When the show was over, there was quite a bit of accumulation on the ground, and someone in the choir got a phone call that school was canceled. Woo! Not that it affects us in any way, but for some reason it makes me feel like a kid again. It's a snow day!

After some late night cookie baking, Clark and I finally turned out the lights and headed to bed, only to catch a glimpse of this outside:

Do you see the size of those flakes?! And notice all the snow on the ground. I know, it doesn't seem like much to you northerners, but for St George? That is a lot of snow. The most we've ever seen down here.

This morning everything was so lovely and covered in snow, I decided that we just had to go for a walk. So we got all bundled up and headed out:

Julia fell asleep in the first 5 minutes, which is probably a good thing. But I tromped around the neighborhood, pushing the stroller through the snow. Again, cheesy as it sounds, it felt magical to be out in the snow. It felt like Christmas.

We went past a church and saw some kids building some sort of fort. Looks like they are planning on having a battle or something:
Can you see all the snow on the trees? We measured about 2 inches at our house. 2 inches!!!

Here is our backyard at 11am. Things had melted a bit by this point, and they've melted a lot more by now. But still, it's so white and beautiful!

In case you couldn't tell, I love winter. Love, love, love it. And I live in St George. *sigh*

And because it's been a little while, here is a video of my darling baby girl. Crawling, playing, babbling, waving hello, what more could you want in an 8-month-old?

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Talon Larson

I followed a link from Katie's blog and read this family's story. Their 6 month old adopted son, Talon, was taken away from them this past week. The details of their story are on the blog. I bawled when I read it. I can't imagine having your child taken from you, it's heartbreaking. I don't know anything about adoption law, let alone native american adoption law, but this seems ridiculous. I hope and pray that somehow they can get Talon back. I feel like there isn't much that I can do personally to help them, but I can try to spread the word. If you feel so inclined, you should do the same.

Snow Day

Alex wondered why there were no pictures of the snow yesterday. Well, when I posted, there really wasn't anything to take a picture of. Snow was coming from the sky, and melting at the ground. Really, that's a good kind of snow, because it doesn't make things icy or slick, but it's still pretty. And I figured that it would snow for an hour, and then clear up. Julia and I rushed outside (in our pajamas!) so that she could touch snow for the first time. She didn't seem terribly excited about it, but slightly intrigued. Anyway, I figured that would be that, and we'd have our sunshine back by the afternoon.

Much to my delight, it snowed ALL DAY LONG!!! What a fabulous day! I love snow. And winter. Here is the picture I took of our backyard at about 4pm:

And here is our backyard this morning:

It pretty much quit snowing when we went to bed last night, but you can't take pictures in the dark, so we had to wait until morning. Yes, this is the result of a full day of snowing (and there were even some big, fluffy flakes in there, too). Ah, well. We'll be going up north in a couple of weeks, maybe we'll see some real snow drifts then.

In other news, Julia finally polished off a jar of baby food. We opened a jar of "Blueberries & Apples" Friday night, and we've been giving her a few bites at every meal. She is much more cooperative than she has been, but only to a point. Which is why it's taken 3 days for her to finish it. But we're making progress! Also, we gave her some mashed potatoes last night, and she gobbled those right up. Good girl!

And finally, I was searching the library's website for new movies to watch, and I came across this gem: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. Wow. Nothing like bikini-clad robots to spice up a movie.

Weekly Quote 12/15/08

"What sweeter music can we bring
Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heav'nly King?
Awake the voice!
Awake the string!
Dark and dull night, fly hence away,
And give the honour to this day
That sees December turn'd to May,
That sees December turn'd to May."

This was from "What Sweeter Music" by John Rutter. We're singing it in choir, or else I wouldn't know the words. New quote up!

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!

Haul out the holly

Christmas is in full swing at our house, which is delightful, but also quite busy. Here's a sampling of what we've been doing:

1. Our itty bitty 4 foot tree is up! It's worked nicely for us in the past, and I think it will serve us well once again this year. It's so small that we can put it up on a table, and then Julia can't get to any ornaments, lights, or presents. But I think next year we might need to spring for a bigger tree. Maybe we'll have to hit the day after Christmas sales.
   
2. We went to our ward party last weekend! We had us some yummy food, and enjoyed sitting with the Lowes. Also, they didn't have Santa, instead the bishopric dressed up as the Three Wise Men and gave out gifts to the kiddies, isn't that an awesome idea? I thought it was so clever.
3. The presents are (almost) all wrapped. I've only got a couple of things left to purchase, and it's only December 12! Woo! I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I was inspired by this woman and her desire to simplify Christmas last year. And so we are each receiving something we NEED, something we WANT, something to READ, and something to WEAR. And, of course, Santa will leave a little gift as well. I figured this would be a nice tradition to start, especially since I can see how easy it would be to go overboard on gifts for your children. Julia's gifts are all done and ready, and Clark's are almost done. We decided that our NEED would be the combined gift of a new vacuum cleaner. Thrilling, I know.
4. I've been singing, singing, and singing Christmas music! I'm singing with the choir in the Forgotten Carols next week, and my community choir (Lieto!) has its Christmas concert next Saturday. All of you who live in the area should come, because it's FREE. 7:30pm, Saturday December 20, at Pineview High School. It should be uplifting, I know it is for me every week when we practice. Oh, and then we have our ward choir stuff next Sunday. Lots of music, and I love it!
5. Tomorrow we are going to see all the nativity sets at the Green Valley Stake Center. We've done this the past 2 years, and I have loved it. They seriously have hundreds of these nativity sets on display, and they play beautiful Christmas music, it really is wonderful. You should go to that, too. It's open house today and tomorrow.

We still need to finish our Christmas card, and I am dying to make some cookie press cookies (thanks to Melissa!). Between all that, Julia boycotting naps (she looks so tired at the end of the day, but the girl just won't fall asleep unless someone is holding her; I think it's part of her recent stranger anxiety flare up), and my ensuing meltdowns, I haven't had much time to blog lately. But you all are probably too busy with your Christmas things to read it anyway.

Wreathy

I'm not what one might call "crafty." Occasionally I dabble in the craft arts, and usually it turns out looking like a first grade art project. I don't do scrapbooking for this reason. And most of our home decor is somewhat random. I like it, and thus it goes on my wall. Things don't necessarily match, per se.

But this year, I decided I wanted a Christmas wreath. We have a house, we should at least try to make it home-y. However, I was not willing to pay over $20 for said wreath, because, well, we already have enough stuff to buy for Christmas, and our budget is looking pretty sad these days.

Enter Roberts Crafts. I purchased a grapevine wreath and a sprig of fake berries for $7.42. I cut up the sprig and stuck the pieces in the wreath. And then I found a piece of ribbon lying around and tied it at the top. My mother was so kind as to provide the wreath hanger. And then, by a major stroke of luck, Holly had some extra vinyl lettering, so we put that in the middle. Voila!


Celebrate is right, I've got a cute wreath on my door! I am shocked, really, that it turned out so well.

Loads of Laundry

I think this picture should be part of an advertising campaign for laundry services:

"Do you feel buried in laundry? Let us do it for you!"

Or something like that.

It's Monday. Laundry day. And Julia is just now, at 5pm, asleep. Oy.

Weekly Quote 12/8/08

"Trends come and go, and your friends wanna know why you aren't just happy making crappy little gizmos; Every kid knows they'll just throw this stuff away."

Last week's quote was from the album Barenaked for the Holidays by BNL, the song "Elf's Lament." Excellent stuff. New quote up!

Silly Times with the Blockburgers

We finally put up our Christmas decorations today (Clark is working on some lights right now!), and I discovered that with very little effort this:


becomes this:

Utah's Hogle Zoo

Thanks to Aunt Suzanne, Julia got to experience the zoo for the first time last Friday. Woo! We went into it knowing that Julia probably wouldn't notice the animals, but she surprised me. Sure, there were a lot of animals she didn't seem to care about, but once we got in the small animal building, she was all over it. Probably because the small animals are always on the go, so she can see them better. And she wasn't in the stroller, I think that helped. Here is a video:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Remember how it is impossible to take a non-blurry picture of 2 squirmy kids? Yeah, this further proves the fact:But here is a solo shot of our well-bundled child. It was chilly, but not nearly as cold as I worried it would be. And cold weather means fewer people to fight with over window space.

Clark buying part of the coral reef. This was a big deal to him.


I took this picture to document perhaps the only time the whole weekend when someone other than Clark or I was holding Julia and she wasn't crying. Props to Carrie and the power of distraction.
Clark buying part of the rainforest. Again, this was a big deal to him.

Riding the carousel!


Sweet baby "Joo-ah," tuckered out from all the fun.

Seriously, Suzanne, thanks for taking us to the zoo. We all had a grand time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We survived Thanksgiving! We went up to the Salt Lake Valley to visit all our family up there. Our big turkey meal was at Grandma and Grandpa Hurst's house, and I thought it was wonderful to see so many aunts, uncles, and cousins there. Julia had other thoughts. The poor kid had a rough weekend, between having a cold, cutting a new tooth (we're up to 2 now!), and all the people trying to hold her. Her own grandparents might as well have been complete strangers who were trying to kidnap her. And even Clark got a taste of Julia's "stranger danger." I had to tell her more than once, "Hello! This is your father! You know, the guy who sees you every day!" It was all mama all the time. I decided that, since it was Thanksgiving and all, I'd be grateful for a daughter who loves me and wants me to hold her, rather than wishing for a break. Anyway, back to the big news. Oh yes, there is big news. JULIA ATE FROM A SPOON! It's a Thanksgiving miracle! My grandma kept saying, "I'll be Julia would like some of those yams, you should try it," and I kept saying, "Well, she hates to eat everything from a spoon." But I decided to just show everyone her dislike for spoons, and BAM! Suddenly the yams were in her mouth, and she was chewing them, and swallowing (swallowing!), and opening her mouth for more. Here is the evidence: See how she has yams on her face? And see how she isn't flipping out? As a side note, I also ate yams for the first time in many years, and I liked the yams for the first time ever. Bring on the vegetables, I'm a changed woman.

We also visited the Blockburgers on Thanksgiving, and attempted to get a shot of Julia with Great-Grandma Meme. But this is what happened:

A pretty good example of what happened every time anyone tried to hold her at all. Christy asked if we had tried giving her something for sore gums (which we hadn't), but I couldn't help be notice that she's not upset all the time, just when someone besides mom is trying to hold her. In fact, she loved loved LOVED to see other kids. We were so glad to see the Shaefers, but I don't know if anyone was happier than Lauren and "Baby Joo-ah." Julia decided to demonstrate a new skill by full on saying, "Hi," when she first saw Lauren. And then she learned to wave at everyone. She also loved to watch Lauren run around, and Lauren liked to show Julia how to crawl. It was very cute. But how do you take a picture of 2 squirmy kids?
The answer is: you don't. But you can take a video! Mostly this video is of Julia crawling over to one of the the floor vents, but Lauren pops in as well.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Coming soon: our trip to the zoo.

Weekly Quote 12/1/08

"You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
And for everything you've done
You know I'm bound to thank you for it."

Bean was right, it was Natalie Merchant.

New quote up!

Crawling, Fives, and Go-gurt

We've been pretty busy around here, what with chasing after Julia, Relief Society activities, speaking in church, and choirs. So I'm playing catch-up with this little post. I've taken a bunch of videos lately, but I just haven't gotten around to posting them. Thank you, One True Media, for the powers of the montage. The first clip is an actual shot of her crawling, proving that she can indeed do it, she just has to be properly motivated. Next we have her latest new skill: giving me "five." I try to give her the chance to do it with either hand, but she simply prefers her right hand, much to Clark's dismay. And finally, we've found another solid food she'll eat: Go-gurt. Not yogurt on a spoon, no no. Has to be go-gurt in a tube. I was eating one last week, and she kept eying it and reaching for it, so I gave her a sample. She was hooked. I think she'd eat the whole tube, if I let her. This proves once again that she doesn't hate food, she hates spoons. Which is difficult when she can't really chew. It's a work in progress, hopefully she'll be eating regular food before she goes to Kindergarten.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And because everyone likes pictures of tubby time:

Weekly Quote 11/24/08

"And what about all the mountains in spring,
And what about all the choirs that sing,
And what about every mother that holds a new child."

For those of you who didn't understand the cryptic comments left by Sabrina and Clark, that was from the song What About by Peter Breinholt. He used to play a concert at Sundance every fall, surrounded by the changing leaves, it was lovely. We went a few years in a row, right Bean?

New quote up! (And I might mention, it's a quote that I don't really know, I had to look it up.)

The Mighty Meg

I think I've mentioned my friend Megan before. She is an amazing woman, who has been through a lot in the last couple of years. Namely cancer. Surgeries, chemo, pain, and lots of emotions.

I hate cancer.

And yet, she always seems so upbeat, always looking for the positive. I just love visiting with her, because I always leave feeling happy and uplifted. Yes, that's right: I leave feeling happy and uplifted, because of her optimism. Like I say, she's an amazing woman, with a delightful family, and they deserve the best in life.

And that leads me to this Saturday. The City of St George (Josh's employer) is putting together a Bake Sale/Yard Sale to raise money for medical bills and such. You can see the flyer here. So all you St Georgians should make the trip out to the Hurst Ben Franklin parking lot Saturday morning, and see what you can donate to the cause. I know we'll be there. My guess? We'll leave feeling happy and uplifted. And I know that I need more of that in my life, wouldn't you agree?

7 Months Old

Aunt Kim and Uncle Patrick brought Julia a most welcome gift:

Start 'em young, eh?

On Sunday, we decided to have a little photo shoot. By we, I mean me. I decided. Clark came out for moral support. Julia looked so cute in her dress. Things started out pretty good.

Then she wasn't quite so happy:

And then she wasn't happy at all:

She was temporarily mollified by her singing bear:


And then it all went to pot:

But on the upside, that is an excellent shot of her tooth. Still just the one.

So, Julia is 7 months old today (good gravy, where did the time go?). She is officially a crawler, even if she's not a pro yet. Yesterday she started blowing bubbles. She is much better at taking naps (2 a day, even!), and she is getting a little bit better about her stranger anxiety. She eats cheerios, and occasionally will gnaw on an apple. We're still working on the whole spoon thing. And by "working" I mean "not doing anything because she hates it." But she is so much fun to play with now, and we are so happy to have her here!

Reid Weekend!

My darling sister, Kim, and her dear husband, Patrick, came down to visit this past weekend. It was so great to have them stay at our house, play with Julia, and eat turkey with us. It was all too short of a weekend, and we hope they'll come again soon.

And guess what? I actually remembered to take pictures before they left!

Julia looks a little wonky in this picture.

And somehow her flower came out black in this picture. . .

Sandwich Kisses!
Thanks, Reids, for coming to visit. We can't wait to see you again at Thanksgiving!

Bring on Thanksgiving

Clark mentioned that we had Fatten Up for the Feast this weekend (Fatten Up for the Feast is the brainchild of Kimmie K [who now lives far away in TX], I can't take credit for such an awesome idea). It turned out so well! I was somewhat shocked at the fact that nothing went wrong, it was amazing. We had such good food, and even better company.

We took exactly one picture:


I guess you could say that we were having such a good time that we didn't even think to pull out the camera. But, boy howdy, we got a picture of the bird! So tasty.

Oh, and, AND, I made a pumpkin pie. Complete with homemade pie crust. And. It. Was. DELICIOUS! It's a miracle! After all this time, I've finally got a pie crust recipe that I like. And it's a double pie crust recipe, so I've even got some pie crust sitting in the fridge, waiting to be rolled out. Mmmm, I love pie.

And the winner is. . .

The results are in. And first, I must say, 30 votes? There are 30 people who read this blog and care enough to vote? Wow. I'm honored.

OK, so now the results:
Shannon's Shenanigans = 10 votes
Blogburger = 12 votes
Who's a Burger? = 5 votes
The B²s = 1 vote
The B²s +1 = 1 vote
Shanny's Life = 1 vote

So, it looks like Blogburger is the winner. I like it. Thanks for voting!

Weekly Quote 11/17/08

"When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun."

Sabrina was right, this was from Amazing Grace. We watched the movie last week, about the song, William Wilberforce, and the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, and it was excellent, I recommend it. I'll admit, it took us a while to get excited about watching it, but I am so glad we did.

New quote up!

It's Poll Time

Alright, folks, the poll is up and running. Thanks for your suggestions. May the best name win!

Name Me

I need a new blog name, because Shanny's Life? LAME-O. So get in your suggestions now. I'll put up a poll in a few days. Once I come up with a few ideas to put in a poll. (that would be where your suggestions would come in handy)

And That's Why I Don't Talk Politics

Today at the park I was chatting with one of my friends, and the topic of guns came up. Generally, I disagree with most Utahns on this subject, and generally I just keep my mouth shut and nod politely. In fact, this is how I respond to most political conversations, just listen to what the other person has to say and leave it at that. But today I decided to actually voice my opinion. And it was indeed not the same as her opinion.

In the moment, I was proud of myself for speaking up and saying what I think. But ever since, I've been feeling so bad, hoping I didn't offend her, replaying the conversation, hoping my side of it made sense, and really, really feeling bad. I just don't like confrontation, and I want everyone to get along.

And so, my friends, that is why you will never get political posts on this blog. 5 minutes of conversation = 24 hours of stewing. Can you imagine if the conversation was drawn out in blog posts and comments? I'd be a constant little ball of worry.

Poppy Day

Today is Veterans Day. While I don't have any Veterans Day traditions, and nobody gets the day off work, I still think it's an important holiday. I'd wear a poppy if I knew where to buy one. We sang this song, In Flanders Fields, for my choir concert, and I thought the words (written by Dr. John McCrae) were just beautiful. In fact, I don't know if I ever made it through that song without tears coming to my eyes. And so I'm sharing them with you today. Thanks to all our servicemen and women for the sacrifices made so we can enjoy freedom. And even though they don't read blogs, thank you Grandpa H and Papa, for your service in WWII.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

"Is anyone puking at your house?"

This story is just too funny not to tell, sorry Steve.

Clark and I were watching a movie last night, when my phone started ringing. It was Clark's dad, Steve. This is odd because he never calls my cell phone, he just calls Clark's. So I answer, and he asks me if anyone is puking at my house. Um, no. Why? He proceeds to tell me that he just got off the phone with Melissa, and he always asks her that question. Not sure why he's telling me this. Weird. So we chat for another minute, and he tells me that he figured he would add me to the list of people to call on Sunday night. Again, weird. Then he asks, "Are you coming up for Thanksgiving?"

"Yes, we are."

"AH! We! That's what I was wondering."

"You think I'd drive up for Thanksgiving by myself?" (At this point I was wondering if he was on some sort of cold medication)

"Wait, who am I talking to?"

"This is Shannon."

"Ooooohhhhh. Hi Shannon."

He had meant to call Suzanne. And ask if Elliot was coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. Oh man, it was so funny, we were dying laughing. I think the funniest part is how long we carried on before he figured out his mistake. He couldn't understand why I wasn't reacting to his joke about puking (I guess it's a family thing?), and I couldn't understand why he was calling me. Maybe you had to be there, but we sure thought it was funny.

I don't think I sound much like Suzanne, do I?

Leaves

I guess it's time to buy a rake.

Weekly Quote 11/10/08

So, cast off the shackles of yesterday!
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!
Our daughters' daughters will adore us
And they'll sign in grateful chorus
Well done Sister Suffragette!"

I thought the Sister Suffragette song from Mary Poppins was appropriate for Election Week. New quote up!

Halloween

Halloween was a week ago! Happy Halloween a week ago! I'm just now getting around to loading the pictures on my computer. So here are some photos of our beautiful ballerina:

Look at that face!Giving you the side profile.

I love those chunky legs, stuffed into the tights!

Um. . . ok, I have a confession to make. It's all a lie. LIES! I didn't take a single picture of Julia in her costume on Halloween, or on the day before Halloween when we went to the old ward party. Yes, I'm a bad parent. I don't even document things like my daughter's first Halloween.

All these pictures are from today. I dressed her up again and took her picture. I just couldn't let that lie sit out there, I had to fess up. It's a well-known fact, I can't lie. Even if I wanted to.

New Look

Well, I broke down and changed my blog template. I got it from Smitten. It's fall themed, but I honestly want to keep it all year. What do you think?

And I Hate The Gym, Again

Life got crazy the day after I made my triumphant return to the gym, so I haven't been back since (I know, excuses, excuses). But last night, I finally made the time and went. I was so excited to get back on track! And then, I saw the sign just inside the door:

"The Cardio Cinema is closed. Sorry for the inconvenience. "

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! The Cardio Cinema is the only thing that keeps me plugging along! So I had to go to the second string cross trainers, where I could either watch music videos that I can barely hear the music for (and half of which are ghetto rap garbage anyway), the news, or CNN, neither of which have any sound, just closed captioning, which is a major problem when you are already blind, and then I was wearing my contacts to boot, which means my poor vision was fuzzy (I pray that this improves when I wean Julia - I want the old me back!). So I basically did the X-trainer for 30 minutes, while pretending to watch TV that I wouldn't watch anyway if I had the choice. It was a long 30 minutes. From now on, I'm bringing my MP3 player as a back up.

Toast, Cheerios, and Apples

Since Julia has no desire to ever eat anything from a spoon, we decided to try non-spoon methods of feeding her. First, Clark gave her some Zwieback toast last week (since we had some lying around, thanks to Carrie). She thoroughly enjoyed it, though I don't think she was enjoying the "eating" part so much as the "chewing on something" part.

Then today I decided to try a couple of different things. First I gave her some Cheerios, and she really liked those. Well, she really liked putting them in her mouth, and then she made a face indicating that she did not like them, but she kept going back for more, so I guess she didn't loathe them as much as she does spoon food.

Then I tried to give her an apple in this thing. She had no problem playing with it, but she didn't really want to put it in her mouth. And there is no way she'll let you put it in her mouth for her, not a chance. But then she saw me eating an apple, and she was all over it, totally wanted to eat that. Except that her face told me that she thought it tasted nasty. But then she'd grab for it again, give it a lick, and EW! But she just kept going after it. What a funny kid!

Thanks to Cheryl, I'm trying out One True Media. What do you think? Is it just me, or does it look kind of grainy? I suppose I could blame that on my camera, though. I put all 3 videos together, so it's kind of long, sorry bout that. But hey, no one is forcing you to watch it.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Weekly Quote 11/3/08

"He'll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity."

Sabrina was right, it was indeed Charlie Brown Halloween. New quote up!

And go vote.

Ice Cream Goodness

I went to Coldstone this afternoon to pick up some gift cards. (I may have just ruined the birthday surprise for a couple of people. But really, are you shocked to know that we bought you Coldstone for your birthday? That's classic Blockburger gift-giving. Who doesn't love ice cream?)

Anyway.

We walked in the store (Julia and I) just behind an elderly couple. It appeared that they had never actually been to Coldstone before, as they began sampling lots of different ice cream flavors. Sampling, and sampling, and sampling. Trying to make a decision.

Now, there have been days in my life when all this sampling on their part, and thus the waiting on my part, would have caused me great frustration. When waiting in line was the most terrible thing that could ever happen to me. When (I thought) I had places to go, people to see.

But that day was not today. I made the conscious decision to just relax, and enjoy watching them experience all my beloved Coldstone flavors for the first time. (A calm baby may have contributed to my sense of ease.) And honestly? It was totally worth it that I walked in after them. They were tasting the Sweet Cream, the Cake Batter, the Oatmeal Cookie Dough, the Pumpkin, all those flavors that I savor and crave, and it made me smile inside. And probably on the outside, too. The guy behind the counter was so kind to them, giving them suggestions, looking so happy to let them sample as much as they liked.

And then I saw that they were missionaries, and that made me smile even more.

And then, AND THEN, to top it all off, when they went to pay, he said, "You know what? Missionaries eat free today. Enjoy."

There really are good people in the world. And I am so grateful that I got to see some of that goodness in action today. Thanks Coldstone.

They did the Mash

As Clark mentioned, we carved pumpkins last night! Julia did not join in the fun, because she was being a crankypants and just needed to go to bed. Could she be getting another tooth already? Who knows.

Anyway, back to pumpy-kins! So, pumpkin carving has never been something I'm very good at. Basically, all my pumpkins end up looking like a 5-year-old 's handiwork, and a 5-year-old who hates art projects at that. However, it's one of those things that I get excited about every year, thinking that we just have to do it, it's an integral part of Halloween. I'm pleased to report that this year I've created a pumpkin that I'm proud of. And that we actually saved the seeds. Usually I want to save them, and then I have no idea what to do with them, so they just get thrown away. But this year, I've got a recipe from allrecipes.com. MMMMMMMM!!!!

On to the pictures! Here is Clark, hard at work:My cute little pumpkin, in the light. Do you know who he is?
"OH, YEAH!!!" That's right, I did the kool-aid man. I like it.
And then Clark got all fancy with the camera and tripod. I thought it was a neat effect.
Pictures of Clark's pumpkin are on his blog.