Don't Speak

You know those families that are PERFECT and the kids never move during church? Well the other day I was watching a family who has perfect children and two of the boys started doing something the older sister (I think she is 10) didn't like so she shot those boys a look that made me wince in fear.

The other day Jessie and I were making cookies and I think I did the same thing to her and she started laughing and made the observation that our lives would be pretty funny if they were silent movies.

That is so true.  Recently I've been looking and observing people and their actions speak loud enough for me to know what is going on.  It is really fun.  Everyone should try it.

It is like eves-dropping on people. My favorite pasttime.

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow

Happy Birthday Rodney!!!

Merry Christmas Adam!!

A couple of years ago on December 26th my friend Rodney left a message on my answering machine wishing Katy and I a "Merry Christmas Adam!"
Christmas Adam being the day after Christmas and Christmas Eve being the day before Christmas.
I thought that was quite clever yet fictional, until I was watching Jeopardy one evening and found out that Rodney had it halfway correct.
Christmas Adam is an actual legitimate day.
Adam comes before Eve and Christ came next. So it goes Adam-23rd, Eve-24th, Christ 25th.
So Merry Christmas Adam everyone!!

A Couple Cookies Short Of A Platter

I needed to get something out of my car today and I hadn't yet attempted to get into it after the ice mess.  I headed outside armed with a can of De-Icer and went to work.

I sprayed in all the hinges of the doors, trying to get at least one open.  I sprayed all 4 and cleared the ice away as far as I could tell and kept pulling at the handle and I swear I was about to rip the handle off the door I was pulling so hard.

I went inside to let the car sit for a sec, maybe it needed a rest.

As I was on my way back out the door I spotted my keys and decided to do a little trick I heard about once.  The trick? Unlock the doors, then try and open it.

I'm an idiot.

Walking In An Icy Wonderland

I have been hoping (sorry to anyone this inconvenienced) for a nice ice storm before I went back to Rexburg.  I think it is SO pretty and Rexburg doesn't get ice storms. (they claim to have bad winters but come on...a foot of snow doesn't compare to a 1/8th inch of ice)  

Well I got my wish! (again... sorry to anyone that inconvenienced) 

Nubbins and I went on a walk t see how pretty everything is and to visit Max the lonely dog out back.  Nubbins LOVES the snow and nothing makes him happier than slipping around on the ice!

I love how the ice coats every single branch on the trees and every individual pine needle.  

The trees look so pretty yet so funny because instead of the traditional point up branches everything is weighed down with the ice.

I tried to get a good picture of my Christmas Jack-O-Lantern 

because it looks like a pumpkin encased in a 1/2 inch of glass.  It didn't turn out so well but It is SO cool! Everyone should come by and check it out!  

 

Don't Ask Me W-H-Y

Have you ever picked up a habit and you aren't sure from who or where you picked it up?
Lately I've been spelling out words. For example, "I'm so E-X-C-I-T-E-D that we had an ice storm! I haven't seen one in F-O-R-E-V-E-R!" And of course these habits take forever to abolish. Every time I spell out a word I slap myself because I hate doing it. I sound like a G-E-E-K! I'm not sure where I picked it up but I know it is so A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G.

Happy Hallowe....I mean Merry Christmas!!!

I do enjoy a good white elephant gift!
Above is our Christmas pumpkin. It was a while elephant gift I won last night. Kind of a cute idea. Who would have thought there would still be good pumpkins in December?
We've been putting up and taking down Christmas decorations.
After Thanksgiving we put up all of our Santa ornaments and then after St. Nicholas Day (December 6th) we take down our Santas and put up nativities and such.
We usually set up a candy tree in the kitchen but this year we put up this tree instead.

Before you say, "Wow! That is an ugly fake tree." Keep in mind that my dad made. Out of turkey feathers even.
We put up all the Santa type ornaments we had on it. We have since taken them off and are just putting some of our newest ornaments on it.
I think we are waiting for Tuna to arrive before we put up the rest of the ornaments.
She'll be home on Wednesday!
Woot Woot!!

WHAT THE HECK??!?!

I hate blogging two in one day...in a matter of minutes actually... because I'm selfish and I want everyone to read all my blogs and I usually just read the blog on top, BUT as I stood up from writing my last blog I found this on my counter.

  

If this means nothing to you read this previous blog.

It's Not Mine...

Does anyone have things floating around their kitchen counters or living room that no one claims to know anything about.  As if the pair of bright pink socks magically appeared on the chair in the kitchen or the game piece crawled out of it's box all on its own and ended up in the middle of the living room floor?

About a week ago my parents and I returned from a grocery shopping trip.  I was getting stuff out of bags and then folding them in the handy way I learned from Laura when I spotted a piece of notebook paper amongst the other pieces of mail.  I picked it up and it didn't take much to decide it wasn't mine.  I asked my parents if they knew anything about it and of course they had never seen it before in their lives. 

 

So there it is.  Some random piece of paper that was on my kitchen counter.

I've decided that perhaps the universe stole this out of some little kids backpack and they went to turn in their art assignment and their homework was missing.

Like when a sock goes missing in the dryer, I'm sure it has turned up in some random location.  I found a sock in the middle of the potting shed the other day. (the potting shed, for those who don't know, is basically the central spot for everyone on the grounds at NRI where we have a sink and pots and tables and a fridge and no socks...usually) I'm sure that sock is missing from someones dryer.

So if anyone is looking for a wool sock, with a grey toe I know where it is. 

Shameless Plug

About a month ago we had our carpets professionally cleaned. The day before the cleaners were supposed to come I tried to clean my carpet so it didn't look too bad. They said we didn't have to worry about moving our couches but my dad and I moved and vacuumed underneath and around and put them back in the same exact position as if they had been sitting there untouched.
(isn't it typical to spend all day cleaning your house and as soon as someone comes over you say, "sorry the house is a mess, I haven't cleaned in a while." and it isn't as though your company doesn't know the truth cause she can smell the clorox wipes in the garbage can)
Anyway... after vacuuming and cleaning in anticipation for the cleaners to come I thought of how upset I'd be if my dog had "an accident" the day after the cleaners came.
My mom and I went to Wal-Mart in search of a new vacuum and walked away with a vacuum and a spot deep cleaner.
I got home and immediately opened the Bissell Little Green spot cleaner. I love vacuuming and I love gadgets so I was like a kid in a candy store. I assembled the very easily assembled parts, I mixed the very easily mixed solution, I plugged in the very easily plugged in machine and decided to tackle a dirt spot that had been on our carpet for years.
I turned on the machine, sprayed a little solution on the spot, put the vacuum piece to the floor and slowly (just like in the commercials/info mercials/home shopping network) moved it over the spot.
To my utter amazement there was a white strip right down the center of the stain.
I am not exaggerating here.
I know I/my dad has a history of exaggeration but I cross my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye promise that the Bissell Little Green is the most amazing effective spot cleaner I've ever used.
That spot had been on my carpet for more than a year and I know for a fact I've used spray on spot cleaners before and it hasn't done a thing for the stain but the Bissell sucked it up with no problems.
I went through the rest of my house doing demonstrations for my mom, my dad, my brother, my dog, myself, the imaginary TV crew right ahead of me. I was AMAZED!
I regret not having purchased one of these when we got our dog.
Not only does it do carpets though, it does upholstery too. My sister accidentally spilled some ranch in my brand new car and I Bissell Little Greened it right out of my car. Good as new!

I LOVE my machine and would recommend it to anyone! It is so lightweight and easy to use. And the vacuum sucker thingy sucks out the excess water on the carpet so when you are done it is practically dry already.
AND to make matters even better it isn't called the "Little Green" for nothing. The box it comes in is recycled cardboard, the machine has virtually no PVC and is made with recycled plastic.
ok...so I have no idea what the benefits of no PVC are but recycled plastics!!

Well this blog is getting long and I'm sure a little boring.
If only I could convey how amazing the machine is.
I'll give free demonstrations to anyone who wants one. I'll clean your couch or carpet or car or anything! Seriously, I love it that much.

Blog Happy and Bored

I've been kinda blog happy lately I guess.
At the moment I'm bored and playing around on a website I stumbled across called faceinhole.com.
It can be fun. I'm afraid to search too deepy though cause I don't want to find something I don't want to see, but for now here is my first creation.
good stuff


Create your own FACEinHOLE

Batteries Not Included

I have this song on my iPod called "The Twelve Pains Of Christmas"

One of the pains is "batteries not included".

I agree that is a pain.
It is also a pain when other things aren't included.
For example, the other day I was getting ready to wrap some presents and I found a hand dandy wrapping paper cutter that claimed to make the job a lot easier. I opened the never before opened package and couldn't figure out why it wasn't cutting.
Then I found a paper enclosed in the box.
I took a picture of it.
the box didn't say "razor not included". Good thing I had scissors on hand or I'd be pretty upset.
Who would think, "I'm buying a gift wrap cutter, I bet the blade isn't included."
Stupid.

Kenny and Rowdy and the Car

You know how sometimes things happen that are a once in a million thing. Like...Ok I can't think of an example so I'll get on with the point. Tonight Nathan was coming over to my house and he brought his dog with him and left the dog in the car. As Nathan was leaving the house he got about 20 feet from his car and his dog jumped up and his paw hit the door lock button and Nathan heard the doors lock.

He wasn't too concerned because the keys were in the ignition and his drivers side door doesn't lock with the keys in the ignition. Well this time it did. So we spent about 20 mins trying to get the dog to step back on the door lock button but he just wasn't quite getting there. We ended up calling Kenny, the NRI Security guy and he came and saved the day..err...night.
(forgive the picture quality. I left my camera at the Fudge Factory so I had to take pictures with my phone)

Speaking of once in a lifetime things! Have you ever noticed that if you put a picture on your blog that you end up wanting to delete sometimes it doesn't delete or it takes forever to delete. And then sometimes if you accidentally click the backspace button the picture you want to stay in your blog deletes and you have to go back and put it back in?
I had to put Kenny's picture in like 3 times because I kept accidentally deleting it, but with the tombstone picture from my earlier blog I had a different picture up and I couldn't get it to delete. I finally had to go the the edit HTML tab and delete it that way.
LAME!

"...And Then We Slowly Froze To Death"

I took my dog for a walk today.
It wasn't too cold outside but it has been so there is a little ice in places but most of it took the opportunity to melt today.
This summer my dad had water plants in pots outside our house.
As I was on my little walk with nubbins I realized that the pot which held the goldfish was completely frozen over.
Poor little guys must have frozen to death.

Making A Mountain Out Of A Molehill

I know this is nothing to get worked up about. To be honest I'm not really worked up I just felt the need to blog something.
I Hate the song I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.
Firstly, if I were a kid and I saw my mom kissing someone besides my dad I'm pretty sure I'd be upset, not watching through the stairs laughing about how fun it would be if my dad saw it.
Secondly, I have an Andy Williams CD and in the middle of the song he does a tap dance and says (right before the tap dance) "...and then a reindeer came in and began to dance."
That is a whole other level of disturbing because what is the joke behind I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus? The kid doesn't know that daddy is Santa Claus. BUT if there are dancing reindeer in my living room then mommy really is kissing santa and poor daddy is asleep dreaming of sugarplums.

Big Shoes To Fill

This year posed a certain kind of problem for me.

You see, each year at thanksgiving our family hosts a friend named Lois and a couple of years ago she told us that she always keeps the place card put on her plate. Every year Katy has had the burden of making the place cards. Katy isn't dining with us this year seeing as how she moved to Arizona.

The lot then fell on me.

I debated on sending Katy our guest-list and having her make some and mail them to me. Then I decided I'd just look at Wal-Mart in the Thanksgiving section to see if they had place cards.

What was I thinking?

You can't find Thanksgiving things at Wal-Mart after halloween! All I could find were some scrapbooking supplies in the clearance isle.

Pictured above is what I came up with.

Katy can be quite fastidious when it comes to things like this.

I hope she approves.

I Must Be Bored

I can tell I've been away from single attractive males for a long time. As soon as I see a good looking guy on TV or a movie I stare and smile. I hardly ever buy magazines but I bought the People 'Sexiest Man Alive' issue because I feel deprived of attractive men (plus Katy shared with me that there is a scratch and sniff sexy men section!! page 82). Not that there aren't plenty of attractive men around here but oogling over someone who is happily married is/should be looked down upon.
Also it has become very evident to me the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I don't think Leonardo DiCaprio is attractive at all. Or Michael Phelps, or Patrick Dempsey, or Seal (I'm flipping through my magazine, that is how I came up with the names) or any of the Jonas brothers.
PLUS, I'm sure I'll get over this very quickly, but it freaks me out when I see someone and think "Wow that guy is sexy!" and he ends up being younger than me. I know sexiness doens't depend on age and as I get older I might even be more attracted to people younger than me but at this moment it freaks me out.
Oh-I forgot to mention why this all came about. The guy pictured above is Jeremy Sisto from Law and Order. I walked in on my mom watching Law and Order (that makes it seem like I caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to) and his voice and his suit and his hair and everything about him made me stare. I think he is SO fine.

You Know You Live In A Small Town If...

The post mistress around here is pretty stanch. If a piece of mail came to PO box 412 to Tracy Nelson it would be returned to sender because there isn't a Tracy Nelson who lives there. The bank where I got my car loan from has been trying to send me my loan payment book for about a month but because it had my physical address not my PO box on it it was returned.
I for a while have suspected her of picking favorites and only picking on the people she doesn't like.
I think I have some pretty good evidence towards that.
I was cleaning off my counters when I found a piece of mail addressed to
Durell Nelson
Nauvoo, IL
No PO box, no street address, no zip code, nothing. But somehow it ended up in our PO box.
Maybe the key to the postal system is to not write the wrong address but just not put one at all.

Applebees Schmapplebees

Who wants to know about my Applebee's experience?

Tonight my mom and dad and I went to Applebee's for dinner and it was less than exciting.
Firstly it was FREEZING! Now I know that restaurants are usually on the chili side (who wants to eat when they are hot?) but I was FROZEN! I had to wear my coat and that is so annoying.
Secondly my mom ordered a Diet Pepsi and they were all out of Diet Pepsi. Weird? Yes, but sometimes your beverage machine runs out... I guess.
Thirdly our food came out (a million years after we ordered it) and my "well done" steak was in a pool of "medium" steak juices.
Then the waitress asks what kind of sauce I want and I say A1 (of course) but guess what, they were out of A1 so she brought me Heinz 57 sauce. Some people love Heinz 57 sauce but it is NOT a substitute for A1.
I went to dive into my mashed potatoes and they weren't really mashed. They were more like cubed potatoes smothered in sour cream. My vegetables were more mashed than my potatoes.
My mom went to take a big bite of her Bruschetta Burger and it was extremely dry and cold. Almost as cold as her french fries.
My dad's food was ok but he spilled it on himself so I'm going to go ahead and blame that on the restaurant too.
When we were leaving we heard a waitress tell someone their meal was going to be a little longer to prepare because all of the chicken they had was frozen.
Crazy!

But good news. I have been on a 3 year quest for a good pair of brown dress shoes. I have searched for a pair that fits me just right and finding a 9.5 seems like an impossible quest all together but tonight I found a pair.
I'm pretty excited. Now I can wear my brown outfits.

: (

You know what is just as sad as being picked last?
Voting for someone who doesn't get picked.
Sad Day

The Pink Panther...err...Pekingese

I know everyone's pet has little quarks that make it loveable.  My dog is obsessed with the color pink.  He LOVES pink. My mom had a pair of pink slippers (not the ones pictures above) that were pink that nubbins basically claimed as his.  Whenever she had them on he would attack her feet.  The same goes for Jessie's pink piglet slippers and my mom's pink nightgown.  My mom since bought a new pair of slippers that are black and nubbins hasn't touched them.

For christmas last year I bought nubbins a pink teddy bear that he has ripped to shreds, he LOVES it!

This morning nubbins was in my bed trying to wake me up and get me to play with him. I finally sat up and he jumped out of my bed and dug around in my closet. He emerged a little while later with the pink slipper shown above. He literally had to dig for it because just last night I cleaned my room and i matched up all my shoes in my closet and I found that match to that pink slipper under two other pair of shoes.

What a dork!!

...

I'm going to let Katy post everything about the Pumpkin Walk so until she does that I just thought i'd let everyone know that Sage and I nursed a cocoon (i.e. put it in a jar with holes in the top) and it hatched!
Woot Woot

Nothing Nothing Tra La La

Ok, my title means I have nothing really important to talk about and doesn't have any further reference to The Labyrinth (sorry Katy)

At lunch time my dad always has a bottle of water into which he dumps about two cups worth of powders. Because of the insane amount of powder in his drink he is constantly shaking his water bottle because if he doesn't it will all settle to the bottom.
Today my dad skipped his powdered regimen and went for a plain bottle of water.
(who wants to guess the climax of this story??)
We caught my dad shaking his plain water bottle. It was SO funny!
He claims he was shaking oxygen into it.
Yeah Right!

I love moccasins. Actually I love fake moccasins (shout out to Ashlie).
I have three pair. One with jewels on the top part, one that is very fuzzy and used as slippers, and one plain pair with moderate fuzz, no jewels, and is used for everyday use.
The plain ones were very dirty so I threw them into the washer last night.
(which spurred the comment from my mom "what is in the washer? it sounds like a pair of shoes")
When I woke up this morning I went to get my work pants out of the dryer and noticed my moccasins were a little misshapen so I put them on to 'form' them. I was very very cold and putting the moccasins on warmed me up very quickly. As I continued getting ready for work I shuttered at the thought of taking off my warm comfy moccasins and putting on a cold, stiff pair of shoes. So........
(who wants to guess the climax to THIS story???)
I wore my moccasins to work today.
This wouldn't be such a big deal if it wasn't wet and muddy where I work.
Needless to say they are going back into the washer tonight.

Thank You Aunt Margie!

Who is Aunt Margie?

Aunt Margie was my mom's friend's aunt.

Why thank Aunt Margie?

I never knew Aunt Margie but she will live on in my heart because she passed down a recipe for cookies that now bear her name.  

Aunt Margie Cookies are really good with almond flavoring and a layer of melted chocolate on top.

I love Aunt Margie Cookies. 

I love recipes that bear the name of their owner.  Uncle Bill's Taco Casserole, Mom's Banana Bars, Suzan's Dip (none of those are real recipes but I'm sure they exist somewhere in the universe).

I never knew who Aunt Margie was until 5 seconds ago when I asked my mom who she was, (actually I asked my dad first and he told me she was my grandma's friend... what gives?) but she will go down in history as being a good cookie maker.  Isn't that kinda fun?  

I'm sure Aunt Margie never dreamed that one day her nieces friends daughter would someday in history be writing an Ode to her but it is what it is!  I'm going to try and get some recipes circulating with my name tacked on so hopefully sometime in history my niece's best friend's granddaughter's uncle will be writing an ode to me! 

ignorance IS bliss

Remember back when cell phones weren't existent so no one thought it was a big deal to travel without one? And these days it is considered crazy to travel anywhere without your cell phone. We didn't know what we were missing.
Same with old school Bic razors. I don't even know how many blades were in them, probably two or three but now a razor is no good unless it has 5 blades in it. Now your legs (or face or pits) just aren't smooth enough unless you have 5 razors.
This brings me to toilet paper. I'm sure everyone hates using public restrooms because they are nasty and publicly used but also because they typically have 1 ply toilet paper. Toilet paper isn't any good unless it is 2 ply. Well did you know that last month Quilted Northern launched a 3 ply toilet paper? I wonder how that is going to go over. Do we really need that extra layer? Do we really need 5 blades?
Ignorance really is bliss I guess because if you never knew how good a 5 bladed razor is then you wouldn't care.

All Or Nothing

I'm sorry I haven't been very regular with my posts. I don't have anything to say but I thought I'd update so people knew I wasn't dead.

Today at work Sage and I were helping tear out a garden we are redoing next year. This involved a lot of dirt and therefore getting dirty. Sage pointed out that oddly enough she enjoyed getting dirty. I have come to the conclusion that I want all or nothing when it comes to dirty. Nothing is more annoying to me than just being a little dirty or having just one wet pant-leg. I would much rather be totally immersed in water or a mud pit.
All or nothing.

My stupidity continues to amaze me

The other day at work we were celebrating a c0-workers birthday. Before we could eat the cake (we didn't have candles because she said there would be too many) I told everyone we had to sing Happy Birthday. Not everyone was in the room so I sang a solo round of "For She's A Jolly Good Fellow! That, nobody can deny!" Then it hit me. For 22 years of my life I thought the last part of that song meant no one can say no to the jolly good fellow. Turns out no one can deny that the person being sung about is jolly good!

Good-Bye Laverne, Hello Lincoln

(imagine you'll be in my heart music)

Come stop your crying

It will be all right

Just take my hand Hold it tight 

I will protect you

from all around you

I will be here

Don't you cry 

For one so small,

you seem so strong

My arms will hold you,

keep you safe and warm

This bond between us

Can't be broken

I will be here

Don't you cry 

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on

Now and forever more 

You'll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart, always 

 

Well I guess this is where I say goodbye to my trusty old friend Laverne.

This is hard for me because I keep EVERYTHING so getting rid of something so big is tough.

I have a great button collection (see below) on Laverne's ceiling so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all those buttons.

It'll be hard to say goodbye and sell her but it was necessary.

If anyone knows anything looking for a car let me know : )

I guess this is the time where I introduce Lincoln to the world.

(before you say anything Katy and Tuna I have insisted that mom and dad buy a new car before I get a new car and they both agree I needed one first and there was no talking them out of it so don't try and make me feel bad)

Lincoln is a 2005 Jeep Liberty.

(his name came after a lot of thought. Firstly: he is a liberty and Lincoln fought for the liberty/freedom of the slaves, Secondly: his color is Patriot Blue and I think Lincoln was a patriot, Thirdly: Lincoln was a great president and during election time I keep thinking about Lincoln, Fourthly: Lincoln was from this wonderful state *sidenote, Bill O'Riley said Illinois was the most corrupt state in the union today, it was funny* Fifthly: Lincoln Burrows is a sexy sexy man on Prison Break)

I know that isn't an amazing picture but It works.

This blog isn't as fun as I wanted it to be.

It should be fun because Lincoln is my new car and I'm SUPER excited about it.

How can I spice up this blog....

Ok, I think that helps express my excitement

I can't think of a title

This morning I was eating a bowl of cereal when I saw what looked like a praying mantis on the ceiling in the kitchen.  I casually called my dad in to come get it. I wasn't too freaked out or anything, it was just a praying mantis.

He tried to grab it but it flew away from him and behind me.  He kept trying to grab it and then all of a sudden I felt it's claws of death latch onto my poor arm.  I screamed and pleaded for my life.  I felt it move into my hair and I kept screaming.

My dad retrieved it from my hair and I went on eating my cereal.

The Mower, The Snake, The Mud

I needed to update my blog so here is my morning:

I mow sometimes at work. My mower is cute little green John Deere #24 named JJ (John Junior)
Today I was assigned to mow the ditches along the roads and was told it was kinda muddy so watch out. (mowers are notorious for getting stuck in the mud)
As I was mowing I came upon a snake. In a previous blog you learned of my hatred for snakes, so imagine my fear. (i was trying to tell myself that I was much bigger then the snake and could over power the thing if I had to, but then I told myself "wait a shake!!!!! David beat Goliath, size has NOTHING to do with it") I had visions of mowing it over and snake guts flying everywhere and hitting me in the head, I'm sure my flesh would melt away and I'd die right there because I ran over the snake. So I sat there, scared that it was going to turn and fly up and bite me. The snake finally slithered it's way into the corn field and I was on my way.
I started mowing some other ditches and as I got halfway down the length of the ditch I realized there was water in the ditch. I started backing up so as to not get myself stuck but needless to say I did get stuck. I assessed the situation and decided to get off the mower and call for help (today of all days I didn't bring my cell phone to work). At this point I was thinking things couldn't get any worse, but then the clouds opened up and God said "I hate you Tacy!" I took a step off the mower and my foot slipped and I FELL off the mower. Yep, hands and knees in the mud.
I finally gathered myself and called for help. My rescuer, hero, knight in shining armor (call him what you will) noticed that my tire was flat so I had to go back and fill up the air in my tire. When I got back to the compound I noticed I had TONS of little bugs on me from going under the trees on JJ.
OK, my story dosen't have a good conclusion. I kept mowing, hit a few spider webs, got some funny looks as I sang at the top of my lungs, and went to lunch.

It's Gettin' Dirty

Round #2
(for round #1 see Sept 2nd's Blog)

I came home to find this in my kitchen. No longer was the centimeter section of cookie in the pan. My mom or dad (not sure who just yet) lovingly put it on a plate atop a fancy cake server thingy so I'd lose the game again. Well guess what! I'm not giving in this time. Two can play this game!

Broken Chair

I'm a fan of art, who knew that there was this awesome sculpture in Geneva Switzerland? Anyway... it fits with my blog today so enjoy.
Because I mainly work outside when it is raining there isn't much to be done. Luckily it is almost fall and we need to take cuttings of the plants so we have something to plant next year. My dad and Sage and I were all working on taking cuttings. I was sitting on one side of a table making labels and checking names off lists and my dad was taking cuttings and sage was trimming the plant when my dad was done. I got ahead of my dad so I decided to lean back in my folding chair. Somehow I got off balance and was balancing on the back left leg which didn't hold up very well on account of my size.
I felt myself going down as if it was slow motion.
My dad started laughing and Sage started laughing.
This is how she described my face (which she laughed about for the next 30mins).
"it was like you were a little girl and you had done something wrong and didn't want to get in trouble. I just wanted to say, 'don't cry, it is okay Tacy'."
I think the best part of the whole incident was that I was saying "Treguna, Mekoides, Trecorum Satis Dee" the lyrics from the bedknobs and broomsticks song Substitutiary Locomotion.

Hide And Pray For No Seek

I'm sure we've all uttered the phrase Oly Oly Oxen free while playing hide and seek during our youth. It is often yelled so everyone will come out of their hiding places.
Well after using it as my subject last time I looked up the origin.
I'm beginning to think that every rhyme intended for children has dark origins.
Ring Around the Rosie=The Black Plague
London Bridges=Something morbid with locking kids up
Oly Oly Oxen Free= Etymologists suspect it is a childish corruption of the German "Alle, alle auch sind frei!", (literally, "Everyone, everyone also is free!"), which is purported to have been a cruel joke often played upon Holocaust victims by their jailers. At any particular time, a prisoner might be released, immediately upon which the phrase would be shouted. Any other prisoners who also left would be killed further down the road by Nazi soldiers.

Oly Oly Oxen Free

#1: How did that phrase get started?
#2: I, like many people, love comments on my blog. I have received a few comments in person and I happen to know that some people read my blog and don't comment. So I'm saying, "Come out come out wherever you are!" and comment. You don't have to have a clever comment, you can just leave your name if you want to. I have made anonymous comments available but those are lame. You don't have to have a blog to comment just write your name in the name/url section and hit submit.
Thanks

On A Lighter Note

We play this little game in my house called "Don't Be The Last To Eat...".  Of course I've named it that all on my own but we all play it.  Someone makes a batch of brownies, or cookies, perhaps even a cake and the object of the game is to not have the last bite.  Why do we do this? No one knows. But I came home from work today to find this remaining of the brownies I made the other day. Very proficient people have come along and taken the last brownie apart sliver by sliver so as to not be the one to east the last bite. 

Good luck on the next round of "Don't Be The Last To Eat..." family, because I ate the last bite! 

Have You Seen My Sanity?

 I want to take the time to apologize to my mom and dad right now.  They have been my outlet lately and it really isn't fair for them to have to listen to my banter.  So instead my blog readers will get to listen (err... read) my banter.

Help!

Am I wrong in being stressed about the upcoming elections?  I think it is tragic the amount of apathy that has cursed this country.  The younger generation (my generation) seem to not care about anything. Am I wrong to care about who is going to be the next man (yep, sorry Hilary lovers it is going to be a man) to run our country?

Maybe I'm not giving my generation enough credit.  After all, I did hear a guy my age at work encourage some newly-of-age-voters to register and let their voice be heard.

During the last Presidential elections I was amazed to find that I was in the minority by being one of the people who pray about who to vote for.  One excuse given me for not praying about it was, "He will make happen what needs to happen anyway so why worry about it?"  Well why pray about anything then?  If He will really make happen what needs to happen then why pray about anything? No politician is "good" but isn't there a lesser of two "evils"? Isn't there one that would be better then the other in the grand scheme of things, provided you believe in a grand scheme of things.  And if you personally don't care about it then why not pray for the welfare of your countryman? Who would be the best president for them?

There is also the, "My vote doesn't really matter" excuse. 

Sure we don't have a popular vote (sorry Al) so it looks like your vote doesn't matter but come on.  Cliche as it is someone has to vote so why not make it you?

I am a McCain supporter in an Obama loving state and guess who is still going to put her McCain ticket in for counting on Tuesday November 4th.  

(that would be me)

Guess who is going to be watching the TV hoping for her state to be an upset to the Democratic campaign and turn Republican after an eternity of Democratic-ness.

(again, that is me)

Guess who is going to vote just to show that she does care. That she does understand the things that are being talked about. Who is going to vote for McCain even though she has predicted for a while that the damage George W. did on the GOP was going to be terminal, and that the country won't see a Republican president again for a while?

(in case you didn't get it earlier, the answer for all of these rhetorical questions is me)

So why not vote? Has our country become so lazy that we can't take one day every four years to move our butts to a polling place?

 

I'm blabbing.  I'm not making any sense. I'm typing in the heat of my stress.  So what I'm saying seems to be useless ramble but I really do care.

I want people to look at the issues and decide for them who the best candidate is.

Not Kanye West's opinion.  Not Jon Voight's opinion. Not your parents opinion.  Not my opinion.  Your own opinion.

I'm done for now.

I apologize

UPDATE!!

This is an update to my previous blog so read it first.
My dad informed me that as he was in the greenhouse previously mentioned watering this morning he noticed that the culprit of my horror had slithered it's way on top of one of the tables of flowers. He put on some gloves and grabbed it and walked it down to the creek and threw it is. My exaggeration of "huge" was not an exaggeration at all. It was about 2.5 inches wide and about three feet long. That is huge.

Guns & Snakes

Guns:

For those who don't know that I'm fat.... I am fat. Because I am fat my arms are HUGE! I am always self conscious about my arms and usually wear 3/4 length sleeves to cover my upper arm because from my elbow down is fine.  Yesterday I was in a huge hurry to get to church so I grabbed a shirt out of my closet that I discovered didn't cover my upper arms like I would like it to.

I got to the second hour of church and sat down with my primary class (5 boys).  I noticed two of the boys on my right side were looking at me and whispering with a sly little smile on their faces.  I couldn't figure out what they were whispering about so I said, "Gabriel, what is so funny?" And he looked at me and said, "Look at your muscle! You must be strong! Like a superhero."  And I said, "I wish it was muscle." And Xan cupped his hands around my upper arm and said, "Yeah, it doesn't feel like muscle, what is it?"  

It was really funny.

Snakes:

I work on a grounds crew which sometimes requires Sunday watering.  I was watering a greenhouse yesterday while my dad was watering some plants outside.  As I walked down one of the isles to water I heard something behind me move on the gravel.  I quickly turned around to see a huge black tail move in the plants under the table.  Thinking it was a raccoon or something (raccoons are vicious) I screamed, dropped the hose and ran outside.  My dad told me he would finish watering inside after I told him there was an animal with a huge tail chasing me (a little exaggeration but who cares).  We went inside and I showed him the table I saw the tail under.  He watered under the table hoping something would come running out but nothing moved so he chalked it up to my huge imagination.  As we were getting ready to leave I heard something squealing like a small animal caught in a trap.  My dad got a stick and started investigation the noise that came from under the table where I saw the tail.  Needless to say he found my tail.  It was attached to a HUGE Black Racer Snake (pictured below not the actual snake but a black racer snake).  

Scary? Yes! Will I go back into that greenhouse without seeing the dead black snake on a pole of some sort? No!

Editors Note

In a previous blog if one said "dream barf" she might have not meant barf but perhaps just the spewing up of a dream or two.

Catch up, dream barf, and tears of sadness

I'm frustrated lately because I want a new background/layout for my blog and nothing seems to please me. I can't figure out cutest blog on the block and sarah gallaher has a cute layout but I coudn't figure that out either. My current background is one that they supply you with on blogger. All the ones on pyzam look too myspacey. Is there no proverbial happy ending?!

Anyway...
I've been bored lately. My parents came home thank goodness. I started talking to my dog like he was a human, that isn't all that bad, but he started responding in a British accent. One more day with them gone and I'm I would have stared eating out of his bowl and he would be taking me out for walks.
The olympics are over (tear). But i'm glad to announce that my temporary obsession with my fiance is finally over! No more dreams with him in it. I did have a dream the other day though that my bedroom was haunted by a little boy who had the cutest little boy voice and we were basically best friends. I also had three dreams that I had a baby.

I was kinda sad the other day because I realized that I wouldn't be able to help with the car show this year. For the last couple of years I've helped John McCarty with the car show by entering info into his computer for him before and during the show. He asked me about a month ago if I'd help and of course I said yes (a free t-shirt is always involved). On Monday I remembered that this weekend was the car show and quickly remembered that I have to teach primary on Sunday so just going to the later meeting wouldn't be very responsible on my part. I found the mayor and told him I couldn't help but I did ask some other people to do it for me. So hopefully Amber Steen and Amanda Matthews will find it as much fun as I do (tear).

Well I guess that is it for the catch up. And the dream barf, and the tears of sadness.

Now that I re-read it for a proofread I realized it was REALLY boring so here is a video to hopefully make this post not so gay. My dad got it in an email and showed it to me. You have to watch for the elephant in the video it is my favorite! Plus it is a good song!

Katy?! What Happened To Your Face?

I was bored! This is what I ended up with.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Vintage pics - Family history

Vin+Tag=This Blog

Four Random Things I Like About My Husband/Wife
(future)
1. he shaves his legs
2. I love that he was sick during his first 2008 beijing race and didn't use it as an excuse for bronze
3. sometimes for photo shoots he oils himself up....
4. he swam against Michael Phelps and still tried his hardest even though we all knew Michael was going to win

Four Jobs I Have Had
1. Candy Confectioner
2. Master of Custodial Arts
3. Plant Polisher Extraordinare
4. Personal Pizza Deliverer

Four Movies I Have Watched More Than Once
1. The Land Before Time
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. The Little Mermaid
4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Four Places I Have Lived
1. Nauvoo, IL
2. 1215.5 Mulholland St
3. Rexburg, ID
4. 667 S 2 W

Four TV Shows I Have Watched
1. Lost
2. Pushing Daisies
3. 24
4. SeaQuest

Four Places I Have Been Most Recently
1. Big Sky, Montana
2. Des Moines, Iowa
3. Rawlins, Wyoming
4. Lincoln, Nebraska

Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly
1. Facebook
2. Old Navy
3. Corina Davis
4. Merriam-Webster

Four Favorite Foods
1. French Fries
2. Baked Potatoes
3. Mashed Potatoes
4. McDonals Hashbrowns

Four Places I'd Like To Visit
1. Venice
2. Ireland
3. The Cliffs of Dover
4. Maine

Four Things I Am Looking Forward To This Year
1. Pushing Daisies to start back up
2. Christmas
3. My parents to come home
4. The leaves to change colors

Four People To Tag
1. Heather Bird
2. Sarah Gallaher
3. Joanne Gallaher
4. Lydia
(I hate tagging cause I'm not sure who has done it already!)

Can I Get A Woot Woot for V-Ball?

So I just watched the women's beach volleyball final. I'm so pathetic. I kinda teared up a little I was so proud.
Ps: My hands are dirty and won't come clean. It is disgusting.

Darn those storm drains

I was in wal-mart the other day and over the intercom system a guy said "Will the lady who dropped her keys in the storm drain please come to the customer service desk." I thought it was kinda funny.

Science Experiment

I came home for lunch today and my house smelled really really bad.  It has smelled kinda bad lately when I've come home so I've been doing whatever I can think of for smell: Febreeze the couches, baking soda sprinkled on the carpet and then vacuumed, I washed nubbins (my dog) teddy bear he chews on, his bed, his favorite sleeping pillow.  I mopped the floor and washed the rugs in the kitchen.  I've done almost everything I can think of, so imagine my frustration when I came home to a smell.  I used my nose (it is pretty much amazing for identifying scents but the scent of my house has been unfamiliar to me) to sniff out the scent which led to the clothe-less laundry room.  I discovered the scent was the washer.  So I decided to run the washer without any clothes in it with baking soda instead of laundry detergent.  Then the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head and I remembered one time when a lady I work with said you can clean your washer by running it empty with a cup of vinegar.  

"Well," I thought to myself, "if baking soda gets rid of smells and vinegar cleans why not do them both at the same time??!"  So I proceeded to pour vinegar in the washer with the baking soda.  Umm.... anyone who has ever taken a science class ever probably knows the outcome of my little experiment.  There was some fizzy action and the fizzies filled the washer but eventually they died down.  And as far as I can tell the smell is gone but I might be used to it.  Skunks can't smell their own scent you know.

Temporary Obsession

Ok, So i'm suffering from a temporary obsession with Ryan Lochte. It is quasi embarrassing but I don't care that much because anyone one who reads my blogs knows I'm crazy.
I think it is sad he is in Michael Phelps shadow because Ryan Lochte is just as good a swimmer. Ryan Lochte is also 76% better looking than Michael Phelps which should earn him some air time.
While suffering from this temporary obsession with my finance, I did what any self respecting person would do who was suffering from the same sickness, I searched for his name in YouTube. I found this video which only makes me love Ryan Lochte more because he is SO fine! (watch for the Matthew Machoney comment and the picture that follows after) It also makes me love Gold Medal Mel cause he seems funny.

PS- I'm pretty sure Ryan Lochte and I would be good friends if he ever got to know me.

Well I hope others can enjoy it, I think sharing it with others is part of my 12 steps of recovery.

And I'm safe... Or am I?

I just thought I'd let everyone know that I was so excited by the US winning the mens 4x100 freestyle relay that I managed to lock myself out of the house as I took my dog out for one last walk before bedtime.  No worries though, I'm "safely" back in my house.  I say "safely" because I locked the door to keep people out and if I can get back in through locked doors who else can? Not that anyone would break in, I'm just home alone for two weeks and panicked for a second. 

I have a dream...

I had a dream last night (after watching the olympic swimming meets) that I was marrying this fella. His name is Ryan Lochte and I had never even heard of him until last night. He swims with the American team but being in Michael Phelps shadow doesn't leave much press for him.
I think that I think swimmers are sexy cause I hate hair (hairy legs, chests, pits, backs... eww!) so anyone that shaves his whole self is ok with me. Plus he is good looking anyway.
But the drama of this dream is that the crowd waiting to watch my wedding (at the catholic church here in Nauvoo) wouldn't let me in because I wasn't Chinese. And Ryan (in his swimming outfit, cap and all) kept waving his hand for me to come down the isle. It was sad and I woke up all depressed A) because I couldn't get into my own wedding, B) because I wasn't really marrying this guy.

I love the olympics

I Love the Olympics!
I have a playlist on my iPod called "I'm Proud To Be An American" and the Olympic Fanfare music is on it and people always say, "that isn't patriotic!" but I think it is because when am I the most patriotic?? (besides on the 4th of July?) During the Olympics.
Not only does it pull out my patriotism but is seems like, for a couple weeks, the world has one focus. Watching all the countries walk onto the field during the opening ceremony was...neat I guess you could say. Iraq walked out and there were cheers, Iran walked in and there were cheers, Saudi Arabia walked in and there were cheers. Countries I had never heard of, countries who had one person to represent them and even they got cheers.
It is very humbling.
It was also crazy that George W. was sitting next to Vladimir Putin and it was like they were just two normal people. No formal seating, they both had their jackets off, they were talking about the show they were watching. It was weird.
I like the Visa commercials that are out with Morgan Freeman's voice. This is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it too.