Chrismtas 2006

How to catch up with all of the festive activities and my moods? They were both vast and frequent. Let's go back, back, back....all the way to December 23rd.

Christmas Eve Eve

Officially the busiest day of shopping the entire year. And who was out in the thick of it? Yours truly, someone who doesn't like crowds, stores or traffic. I started out going to Target, then grocery shopping for all of the holiday meals and onto a few different stores hoping to find that last minute perfect gift. Jay built a snowman with the boys with the perfect sticky snow.

Seth's pose. He always seems to be making this face for the camera.

Curious....

I captured the building of it but forgot to go back outside and take a picture of the final product. But they all had fun. I'm not sure Henry loves the snow but perhaps it was his big marshmallow outfit that impeded his movement. Once I got home, Jay realized we had never taken the boys to get gifts for each other. So we all loaded into the truck and drove up to the White Elephant (a junky store that has a lot of toys and games....along with guns, fishing equipment, and a whole lot of other random stuff). Back home for dinner and putting the boys to bed. Seth finished his final draft of his wish list and the number one thing he wanted was a Denver Broncos football jersey. Jay and I were fairly certain that Santa hadn't yet made this particular gift and discussed the pros and cons of Seth not getting his beloved item. Ultimately, we decided that Seth's disappointment was worse than spending money on a jersey he'd most likely grow out of this year, be uninterested in in a few months when march madness starts and which also has the number of a certain quarterback who won't be with the broncos after this year. We called around to several stores and found one out at the valley mall. Jay left on his own Saturday night shopping hell while I read tucked under a blanket.

Christmas Eve

Jay made the boys pancakes with homemade syrup for breakfast. Seth is a pancake monster. He can ingest about 4 whole plate pancakes. Of course, Sammy doesn't really like them so he's always a light eater on pancake mornings. After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, it was already time to get ready for choir and church. The boys took showers and I put Henry down for a catnap to help him cope with the upcoming brutal four hours of restricted movement. Our ward choir performed four numbers during Sacrament meeting including the prelude so I sat up on the stand the entire time and Jay came up after the sacrament. We asked a couple pregnant with their first child to hold Henry and had hoped that Seth and Sam would be happy coloring in our bench the rest of the time. Sammy had different plans, however, and immediately moved up to sit with them and torture Henry. He thinks he's loving him but all of the squeezes and tummy taps irritate Henry and he ends up screaming. Jay and I were in agony watching it all. The meeting went long (of course) by twenty minutes and eventually the young future father had to take Henry out. Merry Christmas Eve!

After church, I made chili for dinner and set about wrapping the traditional Christmas eve jammies.

Seth's Christmas pajamas

Sammy's Christmas pajamas

Henry's Christmas pajamas

The boys and I made some Christmas cookies for Santa and we sprinkled oatmeal out on the lawn for Santa's reindeer. Following dinner and some football watching, we started our Christmas Eve program of lighting candles, reading the Christmas story and singing songs. It was a lesson in patience and lowering expectations for Jay and I as we were the only ones participating. Henry wanted to crawl into the fire...

Seth on defense

tip over the tree...

Sammy on defense

and eat the cookies left out for Santa. Christmas Eve has always been my favorite part of the entire holidays, when family gathers and faces glow with twinkle lights.

Sammy was using Jay's scriptures to sing songs. Whatever works.

Jay and I sitting by the fire

I was a tad disappointed with the outcome but took comfort by reminding myself how young my children are and how much I'll enjoy these chaotic memories in years to come.

Attempt number 1 for our annual Christmas Eve ornament picture

Attempt #2

After about five more attempts, we just took out the problem:)

I hadn't wrapped any of my presents so spent the two hours after the boys went to bed doing that. Then I cleaned up the house so it wasn't a disaster before the real disaster started. Love being an adult! Woo hoo!

Christmas Day

Henry is ready to get the party started!

Henry had a rough night and woke up twice during the night. He was legitimately sick so he got out of bed both times for some medicine and soothing snuggles. Seth and Sam came downstairs at 6:45 and seemed perfectly content waiting to open their presents. I've mentioned before how odd Seth can be and he suggested we hold off until evening to open the presents and spend the day "singing Christmas songs, talking about Jesus...." Admirable but no. We asked him if he had looked if Santa had come and he thought he had because he saw a tennis racket. That got Sammy's attention and we all quickly went upstairs to discover what was in everybodys' stockings. Seth's dreams came true and spent the rest of the day being a Denver Bronco.

Checking out his new bronco calendar

All about the Broncos

Completely content

He wanted to make sure we had a picture of his jersey...

The pose

Again

Playing with new Star Wars Transformers

Opening up Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's present

Sammy was happy and went from toy to toy to toy all day (always conveniently leaving whatever he was already playing with out) and Henry could have cared less about it all. He slept in until 8:30 and all he wanted to do was go up the stairs, play with the paper or get in the fire.

Cleaning up Santa's left over cookies.

Cookie Monster

Henry's obstacle course.

I can't say this is my favorite age. He sure is cute but busy.

Henry's one new toy. That's all he needed.

Jay checks out his new office calendar

We had hot chocolate and toast for breakfast and leftover chili for lunch. The day was nice playing with new toys and games and football outside.

Jay running a perfect play

Seth setting up the perfect play...I think it was called "Dippity Do Dah"

Running in a touchdown

Avoiding the linebacker snowman

Future Quarterback

Again, I felt a bit lonesome for family and the festivity that comes with numbers. After cleaning the kitchen for what seemed like the 20th time that day and trying to get the living room back in order, I longed for more distractions. Cousins for my boys to play with, moms, someone to be in the kitchen with me while I made cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole. I didn't get to talk to my parents in Myanmar because of the weird time difference. It's like 14 hours (I think) and whenever I thought of it, it was an impossible time to call. We talked to most everyone in our family on the phone and it sounds like everyone had nice days.

Once the boys were in bed, Jay hooked up my new Video Karaoke System

Yikes...get that girl some makeup!

and we spent the next two hours rocking out. We had so much fun with just the two of us and both commented on how fun it would be with more. After each song, it gives you a score for your performance. After day one, Jay holds the record with a score of 95 singing Piano Man by Billy Joel. That'll be hard to beat but I have many more hours at home than he does. There is no shame in singing alone in the middle of the afternoon. No shame at all.

Singing "Queen of Hearts" of which I got a dismal score of 65.

There is a contest program that comes with the system. It chooses three songs for each "team" at random. I got three songs I've never heard of. One of Jay's "random" songs was piano man! This was after he had already scored the 95! He won and currently reigns as karaoke champ. Because he is the champ, I thought I'd share his Karaoke skills with all of you. We can all learn something from his exquisite technique. (As a disclaimer, he was aware that I had a camera in my hand:))




That's what's been going on in our neck of the woods. Jay is off again today and we are really having a nice day. Not doing much but the rest of the week looks busier so I'm going to enjoy the slow tempo.

Book Review #25 - Dancing at the Rascal Fair

The spine of this book and its companions in Ivan Doig's Montana trilogy have been staring at me in my parent's living room for years. I'd seen the books, have been told many times how good they are and how much I'd enjoy them, but still I never followed the advice.

While scrolling around amazon.com looking for books to read, I came across the review for English Creek by Ivan Doig. Rave reviews - so I decided to take the plunge and check it out. About a quarter way into it, I came across another review that suggested reading the second book in the trilogy (Dancing at the Rascal Fair) first because it is actually written earlier chronologically (a prequel). I returned English Creek and started Dancing at the Rascal Fair. The advisors were right on, this is a wonderful book. It's set in my absolutely favorite corner of the earth, the land around Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The time frame is the late 1800s until about 1920. The narrator is Angus McCaskill, a Scottish immigrant, who comes to America and Montana to homestead. He is joined by his best friend, Rob Barclay, who has an uncle in Montana that they are sure will be the key to their success. When they finally connect with Lucas Barclay, the uncle, their saga with Montana weather, women, rivalry, economics, war and school house dances begins.

This is much along the same vein as Angle of Repose, Christy, These Is My Words except more masculine. But the story's theme is about enduring as it seems many of the great ones are.

I am very much looking forward to continuing on with English Creek and Ride With Me Mariah, Montana after that. Ivan Doig has a new fan.

Parenting 101

I don't know exactly when I forgot all of the pearls of wisdom I learned from reading endless books and articles during the first few years of my firstborn's life. That was when I was the most motivated to be a "perfect" parent. Lately, it seems like being a perfect parent has been the last thing on my mind. It's everyone fend for themselves and don't bug me while you're doing it.

For example, I remember leaving Seth with my mother when he was almost a year to go to New York for a week with Jay. I left my mother with his bedtime routine which was a bath with lavender bath wash, three board books, a song, a warm bottle and then to bed (awake but drowsy).

Henry isn't quite so blessed. Most nights, he occasionally sips from a bottle while cruising around. Then I pick him up, put him in his crib and give him the rest of the bottle to finish in bed. No stories, no song, and rarely a bath (he has better hair if he bathes in the morning). And I'm astonished that he's, by far, my worst sleeper.

T.V. requests begin before I'm out of bed. Probably because most mornings I tell them to go watch a cartoon while I groggily get out of bed. Then the whole day its, "can I watch a cartoon? Can I watch football? Can I play a computer game? Can I watch a movie?" I can't stand watching them watch T.V. That sort of behavior is appropriate for thirty year old couch potatoes but not young children. And I'm so mean when I say no. And then comes the follow-up question, "But what can I do?" I usually answer "clean your room, clean downstairs, read, play a game" which brings tears.

I think during the last seven nights, Henry has slept through only three. And I used to consider myself quite a sleep guru. I helped other people solve their child's sleep problems. I don't know why I have such a hard time practicing what I used to preach. It's like the kid just outlasts me. He cries for forever and eventually I just get up and give him that bottle. He's so little, I figure he can use the extra calories but it's getting old. The last two nights I have been determined not to get out of bed to hold him and last night he actually slept through. I would NEVER have been in this situation with my first two. Who am I?

Today, I told my kids NO TV. NO computer. At all. All day. I got a few grunts and whimpers but amazingly, they have played great. They've made maps for treasure hunts, signs for football games, played Sorry together, Hungry Hippos together and all sorts of other games. They haven't bugged me all day. It's like I have some sort of control over their T.V. watching behavior or something. Who'd have figured?

With Seth, I had a membership to the Denver Children's Museum. Or I'd take him to the mall when it's cold and the park when it was warm. Daily walks in his stroller were a ritual. Heck, I even had "playdates" for my one-year old and we all know how pointless that is. But, my six and three year old could sure use a day like that. I need to be that parent again.

Hopefully, I'm not a candidate for SuperNanny quite yet but I realize I need a plan and I need to stick to it. Some day, when I'm spent, I'm going to cave and let them watch Backyardigans for three hours straight again. But I'm going to hope that those days are fewer and farther between.

What's the point?

I never blog at night because Jay usually needs the computer but he's gone right now helping someone move so I'm going to bustamove and jot down a few thoughts.

Thanks for all of the well wishes yesterday. While we had great tributes to each other on our blogs, the actual day was very anticlimatic. He had to be at the hospital by 7:00 am and didn't come home until 7:30 pm. He's doing neuroradiology this month and just gets slammed around 4:00 pm with head CTs and MRIs which, I guess, take a long time to read and dictate.

Anyhow, I went ahead and made visiting teaching appointments for last night because I knew he had a big presentation on Thursday that he was going to have to work on anyway. When he wasn't home at 6:00, I called the three ladies I visit teach and my companion to tell them that I'd be late but I didn't know how late. When Jay came home, we kissed, exchanged gifts and then I left. Jay bought me my first pair of diamond earrings and he got a garmin gps running/outdoors watch that he's been wanting. I really didn't want to go but it was the only night I could go for the rest of the month and I knew that each of the women I visit needed a friend, and the acknowledgement of a home visit. By the time I got to our first lady's home at 7:45, I told my companion, "let's just drop these goodies off, say hi and leave pretty quickly." But once inside, we could tell that she needed to talk so that's what we did. We left her house about 45 minutes later and went sheepishly onto our last home (one lady thankfully told us on the phone that we could reschedule). Again, this lady wanted to talk and I didn't get home until 10:30 at night. I was tired but Jay was exhausted. He'd been looking at radiology stuff for 16 hours and he was worn out. Pretty romantic evening.

Today has been a bit chaotic. I had a great start. I threw in a load of laundry, fixed the boys pancakes and cleaned the kitchen (including mopping my floors). My friend, Alisa, dropped her two children off at 9:00 and Seth and Sam merrily played with them for an hour until then we all walked to another boys' house for a clay party at 10:00. Everyone had a blast and this mom was a star for having such an ambitious play date right before Christmas.

Supermom Rebecca helping all of the kids with their clay

Another angle

She even had toys to keep Henry happy

After their clay making, she fed them lunch and then let them make Christmas trees by using green frosting on an upside down ice cream cone with m&m's, candy canes, gum drops and chocolate chips for decorations. As soon as they were done, they ate them! Seth and his friend, Caleb started chanting that they wanted to continue to play together but Hank's mom (whose house we were at) suggested they just stay longer and play there. I couldn't believe she would want that and after a lot of "are you sure?s" I left him there. Alisa said she'd bring him back when she picked Caleb up which she did about an hour and a half later.

I have been trying all day to finish getting our Christmas cards ready to send out and it just takes forever! I don't know why. The letter was typed. The addresses ready to print out on labels and the pictures in a pile. I'm still not done. Andrea came over to pick up her Christmas gift and her daughter Emma and Seth started chanting that they wanted to play together. I told Andrea she could leave Emma and it seemed everyone else wanted to stay too. Anna eventually was the only other one that stayed (Jack and Lily wanted to work on their gingerbread train) and I took them back home at 4:30. Then I drove to the optical shop to get Sam's glasses fixed (the new lens came in) and to the library to pick up the books I had requested. I called Jay to see what time he'd be home but he was already home! So, I picked up some Mexican food for dinner and he ate and left to go help some people he used to home teach move. I thought I'd write a quick blog but at 7:00 (right after I wrote the first paragraph) my visiting teacher came. I had forgotten she was coming and you should see my house. That clean floor and kitchen? Not so much. And after a day of having kids here, the rest of the house isn't looking so hot either. But my kids were in bed until Kariann rang the doorbell at 7:05 and dropped her three kids off while she went caroling with the Young Women. Her husband was also moving the same people and it is so much harder to carol with kids so I told her if she needed me, to just drop the kids off. So, Seth and Sam got a happy surprise when their three buddies went into their bedroom and turned on the light.

That's what's happening right now. Kariann will be here any minute and Jay will be home and needing the computer for his radpath presentation tomorrow. I should clean but I need to finish these cards and I'm tired!

This sign that I got for KariAnn and Andrea is perfect. I know some of you don't live by its motto (Jen and Jenny!) but its my mantra. There is just no point.

Well said.

A Love Story. . .

I loved my new apartment, new roommates, new outlook on life. It was the start of winter semester my junior year of BYU. Kathryn and I had both just moved into the apartment but we were instant friends. We were relaxing in our living room when there was a knock on our door. Our home teachers were stopping by to introduce themselves and see how things were going. They introduced themselves as Rob and Jay from Promenade #3 but Kathryn and Rob were old friends from freshman year and immediately began reminiscing through old photo albums at the kitchen table. That left Jay, a cute, shy guy, and me in the living room to find something to talk about. He sat on the floor opposite the couch where I was sitting. He said he recognized me. That we were in Chemistry 106 together. I hadn't seen him there so he explained that he was a back row dweller while I sat pretty close to the front. We continued to talk for probably an hour when Rob and he eventually left. Kathryn was excited about reconnecting with an old friend and I was excited that our ward seemed friendly and nice.

Chemistry 106 was a MWF class so Jay and I had plenty of opportunities to see each other. I sat by my old friend, Doug, who was recently married to Jenny. Jay started talking to me in my seat before the bell rang and at the last moment would leave to go sit in his usual spot in the back. After a few weeks, he finally just plunked himself down beside me after the bell rang and from then on, the three of us sat together making fun of Dr. Bills.

In early March, I signed up to run in the Rex E. Lee fun run, a 5K. I had never run in a race before but had been running up around the temple for about five months and wanted to see how I'd do. I didn't sign up to run with anyone and didn't know anyone else running it but my roommate Kathryn came to see me finish. I huffed my way into the Law School parking lot where the race ended and saw Jay nearby with a group of runners. He came over to congratulate me on my 32 minute time (stellar) and I asked how he did. He said he did o.k....I asked for his time and it was like 15 minutes. My jaw dropped and I asked if he had won. He blushed and said with shame..."no. I came in second."

Now, it must be true that chicks dig guys with skills because his second place finish among the many hundreds in the parking lot impressed me. With the discovery of his impressive speed, I asked him if he wanted to go listen to a band with me that night. Maybe it was me without makeup, my hair in a bandanna and sweat on my brow, but somehow, I seemed alluring enough for him to say yes. Actually, he said he'd try to be back in time. He drove up to Logan to see his younger sister, Kelly, run in a track meet and hoped to be back in time.

I got myself ready but with a half an hour until the band started playing at Mama's Cafe, he still hadn't called. I realized how disappointed I was so when he called about ten minutes later I was very excited. We walked over to the cafe, waited in line and started talking about our families. He paid my cover charge which impressed me. I had asked him and was planning on paying but he was old fashioned and wanted to be a gentleman. He bought me a coke and we hardly listened to the band. We just sat there and talked and talked and I realized I had found someone familiar to me. Really. We were perfect together. We kept exclaiming, "me too!" all night and there was no turning back.

Our love grew listening to Alanis Morrisette, Tracy Chapman, Sting, George Strait and, of course, Bob Dylan. We visited each other's home towns and met each others' families. I decided to postpone my mission to see how this thing worked out. We ignored our friends and wondered if waiting until May was a good idea. December was looking better and better.

On September 21st, about three weeks after we had decided to get married, Jay asked me if I wanted to go for a drive. I knew he had ordered a ring but I had no idea when the asking was to take place. We picked up some Subway sandwiches and drove to the top of the Alpine Loop. We took our sandwiches over to an old log and sat and ate. Jay went back to his car and brought back his guitar. I sat there on the old log while he sat in the leaves and he played a song that he had written for me. It was beautiful and the last line was, "...if you'll be my wife" He pulled out the most beautiful ring that I had told him I wanted but had never seen.

September 21, officially engaged!


December 18th was crazy busy. I had finished my last final the day before and had packed, cleaned and moved all of my stuff to our new apartment on 400 E. He had one final the morning of the 18th so I finished moving his stuff and cleaning for him. My knees hurt from going up and down all of the stairs that exist in those retarded Promenade condos and I limped the rest of the day. We drove over to Logan where most of our family was waiting for us. I went through the temple at 3:00 for the first time and the session was filled with our family and friends. His family stayed at a cute bed and breakfast in Providence and mine were camped out at a Best Western in downtown Logan. We all met for pizza later that night and then said goodnight. I have a video of how the Johnson family spent the rest of the night. Asking Jay the same questions I had been asked at my bridal shower with a piece of gum for each incorrect answer. His family teased him and gave him advice. My family did what we do best....sit around a talk and laugh.


Exiting the Logan Temple with Jon holding the door.

My sealing ceremony is a blur. I can't remember any details...anything the sealer said, or who exactly was in there. I don't remember if I cried or if jay did. I remember being so happy. But married we were on that cold morning in Logan ten years ago today. I can't say I love having our anniversary in December. It always seems to sneak up on us and it's hard to remember to separate the gift giving from Christmas. I love being married to Jay. He's adorable. He's funny. He's capable and true. He's handy and interesting and responsible and passionate. My best times are when he is around.

Our Engagement photo




Our honeymoon in Banff, Alberta was freaky cold. But we didn't spend too much time outside:)

It's been a grand decade. Here's to an infinite more.





Celebrating our anniversary last Saturday night with the Fredericksons and the Hainsworths.

Here's Jay's gift to me - a video story.


I can't believe I'm linking to something that has pictures of me in a swimsuit but it's very sweet. If you have a couple of minutes to spare...

Writing Styles

When Jay and I were dating in the summer of 1996, we took a spring term technical writing class together at BYU. We both needed to fulfill an advanced English writing requirement and English316 was the class most science and engineering majors took. (As Jay was a Spanish major, I'm pretty sure he could have fulfilled the requirement by taking a much more fun class but I think taking a class with me was lure enough). For one project, we were instructed to pair up (happy coincidence for us) and write a paper together as a lot of technical writing is done in teams. We spent a lot of time in the library researching and finding articles in academic journals to copy in the copy center and take home to highlight. Once we were both on the same page, we set about actually writing the paper.

Have you ever tried to write something with another person? I think they should have it be a part of any marriage prep class to truly find out if two people are compatible and can work together. Well, maybe not since we aren't very compatible co-authors but have a great marriage. But it was an excellent exercise for developing patience and flexibility. Jay is a great writer, a better writer than me, but we have vastly different styles. He thinks my writing is a bit frou frou (not to mention wordy) and some of his phrases sounded stuffy and uncomfortable to me. We have different work ethics. I like to procrastinate and then work for hours straight getting something done and he likes to take a lot of breaks throughout the entire process. We didn't actually say those things to each other because we were still in that starry eyed stage of our new love but I remember coming home from a class to see what progress he had made on his part of the paper and finding him playing solitaire on the computer during one of his breaks. I remember being annoyed when he wanted to delete some of my carefully worded sentences. I remember thinking that we should never write anything together again.

I've mentioned before how I love the Christmas letter. Some techniques I enjoy more than others (no offense, but I don't love letters written from the dog's perspective) but I always appreciate some information and a note more than a simple "Love...so and so". I think the best ones include the good times as well as some of the bad. Keep it real, you know?

I always write the Christmas letter. This year, I asked Jay if he wanted to write our letter and he accepted the challenge. Several times since then, he's asked me what I want him to write about but I think that misses the point. If he's going to write it, it should be completely from his perspective.

Weeks passed and no Johnson Christmas letter had been made. About to take over, I asked if he still wanted to do it and he immediately typed out a draft last night. It reminded me of our first exposure to each other's writing. He said I had full editorial power and could change or add anything. I read it.. What about our trips? Projects to the house? It's great...but not how I would have written it. But wasn't that the whole point? It's hard to let go of control over something that I love but I hope everyone enjoys Jay's version of things.

Book Review #24 - Snow Flower and The Secret Fan

Set in 19th Century rural China, this story guides readers through the ancient and sometimes cruel rituals that befall women in both the families they are born into and the families they marry into. Girls are taught from birth that they are worthless and a drain on the family. Lily, the main character, hears her mother say that raising daughters is like "building a road only for others to use." Feet are bound to produce the desired "golden lilies" that make girls attractive and marriageable even while it handicaps them and makes their work so much more difficult to do. As compensation, women are allowed sworn sisterhoods or, in special circumstances, a laotong which means "old same". Lily, the narrator of the story, is allowed one of these laotongs whose name is Snow Flower. They are from different villages but born on the same day, same year, same height, feet bound on the same day etc... They sign a contract and learn a secret women's written language called Nu Shu and write to each other from the age of seven on a fan.

Here, the story becomes timeless as the two women grow, change and struggle through puberty, arranged marriages, childbirth and living with new familes to keep their friendship true. Although these women were taught to believe they are without value, except for pleasing their in-laws, husbands and sons, they display the same hurt and jealousy when they feel ignored, unloved or betrayed. The destinies of these two women are very different and their love for each other is challenged when both feel misunderstood.

You will learn so much about an ancient culture as well as recognizing some of your own weaknesses if you read this book. I sure did.

Running On Empty

Yesterday was a day when I should have been snapping pics all day but at the end of the day, the only picture I have is a pathetic one of me.

First photo op, Sammy's adorable preschool concert. It was low key but cute nonetheless. We were instructed to come inside to pick them up instead of waiting in our cue of minivans outside. Once inside, we were ushered into the church's worship area which was a floor above the classrooms. The kids came in last and immediately I noticed twenty other parents whip out the camcorders and cameras. I had brought Christmas presents for Sam's two teachers, Henry and his bottle and had left the camera at home. As soon as Sammy got to his place at the front, he gave me the biggest, closed mouth smile that produced two big dimples. He just kept looking at me with a shy, proud look until the singing started. His experience around primary programs, last week's ward party etc. prepared him for singing for a crowd. The other three-year olds looked distracted and frightened, but Sammy belted out his words strong and proud. They sang Jingle Bells, Away In A Manger, Up on the Housetop and We Wish You A Merry Christmas complete with actions. Then they brought us presents.

Later, I went to practice with Seth's class at his school for their class play to be performed that evening. I brought Sam and Henry with me and told Sam before going in that he needed to act "like a first grader" and be calm. He took that literally and wanted to be on stage with the rest of the class. Instead, I told him to sit and watch the play which he did until the end when they were practicing their songs for the sing-a-long. Then he went onto the stage and Seth put his arm around him like a protective mother hen. While I was collecting my songbooks and Henry (who was crawling around getting into everything), Sam got into line with Seth and went back to the classroom with him. Sneaky fella.

I had felt fluish all day and all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed. After practice, I went to a grocery store to get some decorations for snowman cookies and some cold medicine. I wanted some TheraFlu but it's behind a locked closet now (like cigarettes). I think it's actually harder to buy a gun than cold medicine with pseudo ephedrine now. No joke, it took about 10 minutes of paperwork to get me checked out. I don't know if they do that nationwide but here in Spocompton, meth abuse is pretty rampant so they are keeping a close watch on the sale of ingredients of crystal meth. I guess I could have been in disguise: two young kids, chocolate chips, frosting, and gum drops. Not to mention an actual hacking cough and squeaky voice. I finally got out of there and home to greet Seth off the bus.

Next photo op....the cute snowman cookies we made. We decorated frosty the snowman cookies for about an hour after school. It was delightful. Both boys said numerous times how much fun they were having. And they did a great job. I bought the white chocolate covered oreo cookies and then put white frosting on the front and sides. Then I cut up a bunch of gumdrops for earmuffs, mini-chocolate chips for eyes and mouth and those candy orange slices for the carrot nose. They were very excited to be involved and showed their cookies off proudly at the play. I really should do stuff like this with them more often.

Dinner was a sad affair with ramen noodles and a side dish of canned peaches. But the boys were oblivious and Jay didn't even seem to mind. Then off to the play. Seth put on his snowman costume and I went to the piano. Jay had his hands full with Sammy and Henry. He recorded with the camcorder but we didn't get any still shots. Oh well. Regardless, the play went great. Seth had a dance solo during Frosty the Snowman and all I can say is have you seen Riverdance? There was much frolicking and hopping. Sammy made his way up to the stage for the sing-a-long and them some mingling afterwards.

Jay took the boys home and put them to bed and I went with Andrea to the end of our Relief Society's Progressive Dinner enrichment activity. They were still at the second house so we went there even though that was the dinner and we had both eaten. We visited for about twenty minutes and then got back into my van to head to the last house for dessert and a program. To my great embarrassment, I ran out of gas on the way there!

Hitchhiking to relief society. We are needing some relief!

True, I had been driving around on empty for a day but it wasn't even that much past E! We hitchhiked with some other ladies onto the last house where I performed once again. (I'm sure to many people's chagrin). I did the spiritual that I had so much fun with a couple of weeks prior but with my cold, I sounded squeaky and powerless. But I'm not a perfectionist so I wasn't too distressed.

Then Andrea and I went to my house to pick up the gas can so I could go rescuemy abandoned van (once again, Andrea's great friendship came in handy). Jay tried to convince me to let him go do it but we convinced him it was all in girl fun. We went to a conoco station and started to fill up the two-gallon container. I didn't ever notice the trigger lock but it must have because when the level of gas was close to the top and I tried to let up on the trigger, the gas continued to pour out of the nozzle full force for several seconds. Andrea limberly leaped away and I frantically tried to turn off the blasted thing. Even seconds of gas flowing from a nozzle produces a large amount of gas and there was a large puddle of gas on the cement by Andrea's car. Not to mention all over the gas can and my shoes! I tried to clean it off with the window washer thing but we both reeked of gasoline. I haven't heard of any explosions at gas stations today so I'm also assuming I'm safe on that front as well. But I had my nightmares...let me tell you.

My hope is that all of the gas evaporated quickly due to gusts of wind we are experiencing. It is so windy that our power was out most of the morning. I've realized without gas and electricity, my life is quite limited. Thankfully, our water is heated by gas so we at least had hot water. It's still windy and dreary outside which has kept me indoors most of the day. I do need to go run a few errands but I'm dreading it. Of all of the elements, wind is my least favorite. I'm sure it serves a purpose in the great grand scheme but none to me personally.

Hope everyone else is enjoying their alternating current!

Book Review #23 - The Devil in the White City

Finished. Done. Finally. This book was too easy to put down. I had such hopes. He writes in such a way that you feel completely absorbed in his narrative. It seems so interesting, until you realize, he just wrote about landscaping or concrete foundations for five pages and then I felt so betrayed that I'd put the book down. It was false advertising. I wanted to read about how this psychopath wove himself into the 1893 World Fair in Chicago (dubbed the White City because all of the buildings built for the fair were painted white) but it never happened. Larson takes certain liberties and places H.H. Holmes (the devil in the title) at the fair with two women he murdered for a couple of days but it's the only time he ever connects the two stories. He wrote an interesting history of the development of the fair and a descent portrayal of Holmes and his frightening existence, but how he decided to throw them together into one book and title it so that the two seem related is too much of a stretch. They both happened in Chicago in roughly the same time frame but it's like writing about the Washington D.C sniper murders like it had anything to do with building the World War II memorial on the National Mall. They just aren't related. Some happened in the same city during the same time...but some didn't and I don't think one really had anything to do with the other. Well, it's not quite as random as that...but almost.

I did learn a lot about architecture, and about the impact the fair had on America's history. That was fascinating. It brought about the design of the Ferris Wheel (although the first one was frightening - like 52 cars that could fit a hundred people in each one - no thanks), shredded wheat and other product icons. I probably would never check out a book on the 1893Chicago World's Fair so if that was his intention...he succeeded. It's just too bad his talent for making even rose bed designs sound compelling couldn't produce the story he promised to tell.

100th Post!

I can't believe this is my 100th post. There is no way that I would have written 100 journal entries since July had I been keeping a paper journal. It's fun to look back and realize how much we've done, how my kids have changed and the ups and downs of my days. I really do highly recommend starting a blog if there are any readers out there that might be curious.

Last night was Sammy's preschool Christmas party. When Seth went to this same preschool, they did a big Christmas program with songs and a Santa. But this year, they rented out the downtown carousel for an hour and a half and had an exclusive all-you-can-ride evening for the kids and their families. Huge success and I'm sure way easier on the teachers. And more fun for the kids. They boys rode over and over. Jay and I each took Henry a few times. He loved it. I'd put him on the horse, he'd grab onto the pole and just start bouncing. Giddyup! He's a charmer and wooed everyone around him. Hot cocoa and cider and lots of sweets means a good time was had by all.

Seth and Sammy ready for action

Jay coming back from the goodies table being goofy.

Seth trying so hard to get one of those rings (his arms just weren't long enough)

A friendly carousel worker helping Sammy get unbuckled ('cause mom and dad are tired of riding the darn thing!)

Henry hanging out with his daddy. I'm sure Styrofoam can't hurt him....right?

The end of the evening. Can you tell who has just had it?

My weekend

I'm not sure I should write this right now because I'm feeling a tad irritable but there really isn't another good time (this isn't even a good time but I'm doin' it anyway!). I'll try to include the positive as well.

Friday night was the ward party. It was pretty mellow. Our building is under construction right now so we can't use the kitchen. That ruled out any sort of dinner which I'm fine with. Trying to get a plateful of food in a buffet line with over a hundred people is not usually my favorite thing to do anyway. So they opted for a dessert table. Most everyone brought a dessert and set it on a table in the far end of the cultural hall. They had the overflow chairs set up in rows and a stage set up for the program. They had programs printed out and the first thing was a ward sing-a-long of the 12 days of Christmas with the different days being sung by different groups (YM, YW, bishopric, primary, those wearing red etc.) I played the piano for that one and messed everyone up by going faster on the last verse. I'm not sure why I did it. I kind of zoned out playing each verse over and over and in a lot of arrangements I've heard the last time you sing all 12 days, you speed up until the big "Five Gold Rings!" and then speed down to one again. So I played fast and pretty much lost everyone. After that, the primary kids sang. I think they sang about seven songs! Which was impressive and ambitious but a bit long. Especially since none of them were particularly "fun" songs so even the kids seemed a bit bored. Seth did his solo and he did swell. I really wanted to upload it to youtube and give you the clip but when I wanted to put it on my computer, I realized I don't have a cord that allows you to do that. I've never transferred any of our Mini DVs yet and I guess you need an IEEE cord that doesn't come with the camera. That seems a bit lame to me but I'm planning on going to get one and then I'll try to share Seth's song. Then the ward video.


I have to admit that it turned out pretty cute for something that seemed so dumb to me on the day of the tracksuit.

After the ward video, I sang and then there was a quartet who sang Angels We Have Heard on High. Then everyone sang "The First Noel" and THEN finally dessert. Party over.

Jay got home later that night from his resident party. He took home his own white elephant gift which was his plan all along. He usually buys something strange and funny but no one usually gets his humor so he decided to just get something he wanted. So he took an itunes gift card and made it back home with it. Definitely better than some things we've brought home over the years.

Saturday morning, we went and cut down a tree. I brought our camera to capture the moment of cutting but was holding Henry the whole time and then talking on my cell phone to Libby. Before I knew it, we were hauling the tree back to the truck and on our way home. We ate lunch at Longhorn BBQ (Jay loved it...but all the meat was on bones and I just don't gnaw) and then home to decorate. The first thing I did was string the lights....the wrong way! I got to the bottome of the tree and realized that I had the female end of the cord and had to take them all off and start again. I don't think my second effort was quite as good though. There are quite a few dark spots on the tree. I had to be at a new convert baptism by 4:00 so we really didn't have much time to decorate. I was supposed to conduct the music but we were about 10 minutes late and the opening song was already over. I did sing the special music though and conducted the last hymn. The baptism was for a nice teenage girl and there was very good spirit there.

We came home from that, fixed dinner for the kids and went to pick up the twins to babysit so that we could go to Jason's and Andrea's party. It was my kind of evening. No big agenda, just a lot of socializing. Andrea cooked enchiladas and other mexican dishes for everyone (I think there was 20 people there) which was so yummy. We had a phase 10 tournament later on and then back home on really slick roads. We pulled up into the driveway and there were the twins, sitting on our stairs. I could see them through the window. I really, really do not understand them. They are very odd.

Sunday was muy busy. Jay had ward council so I got the boys all ready. Then choir, church, tithing settlement, dinner, and out to the West Stake Center. There was a good turnout of our stake choir. I think between 40-50 were out there. We would have sounded great but for one small detail....our accompanist never showed up. I have no idea what happened but one of the choir members volunteered to play. She'd played two of the pieces before, one was sight readable but very few people can just sit down and play the Hallelujah Chorus. I'll just say that it wasn't our best performance. But there was no feeling bad because the choir did their best with a distracted conductor and tempos that were different than we'd practiced all along and someone who really was trying to save all our efforts and was very brave to forgo personal pride and play the best she could. But even the rest of the concert wasn't very good and I couldn't help but wish I had just said no in the first place. I didn't get home until 9:30 and was so grumpy that I just sat there and moped until eventually Jay just left me alone which made me feel worse.

Sammy also broke his glasses again yesterday. A screw came out of his glasses and so the frame came slightly apart and the lens fell out. Jay searched and searched for it but we still can't find it. So off to the optical shop again and it'll be about 10 days before a new lens comes in. He is just wearing his glasses with the lens over his good eye (which does still help with the crossing).

I also found out yesterday that someone in Seth's school class has accused his teacher of physically hurting him (I think a hard push but something to cause a bruise) and now there is this big controversy with the class. He's one of the kids that I've always been uneasy around because he is just a bit scary. Very vacant, unemotional and says really awful things. I feel torn because the boy's grandmother is in our ward and wholeheartedly believes her grandson but I can't help but doubt him. He's a very troubled child with a very troubled family life and watching him in class and in primary (on the very rare occasions when he came) when I was president gives me a bias against him. All of our kids were called into the principles office and not a single one can corroborate his claim. I asked Seth all about his play practice (where the alleged incident took place) and he verified that this boy got yelled at for messing around with the snowball props but always denied anything else happened no matter how I worded it. I don't know anything and would hate to dismiss something as serious as this but I really cannot imagine his teacher doing this. Regardless of who is telling the truth, the end result is sad. Either this teacher snapped and endangered our children or this child made up this horrific lie and is in need of some serious therapy.

On a happier note, one of my ebay items sold! I bought this rescue hero for $9.99 and just sold it for $29.99! Now I have to ship it...which will be the real test of whether or not selling things on Ebay really works for me.

Beware! Boring Stuff Ahead.....

The last couple of days have been pretty boring. Sammy is stuffy and snotty so I kept him home from preschool yesterday. Henry has been very congested and coughing a lot (and throwing up if he coughs too hard) so I didn't want to spread the germs around.

Instead, we went to Andrea's and she showed me how to list things on Ebay. I listed three things and am feeling pretty excited. Listing things on Ebay has always intimidated me but my problem has never been a fear of the computer or how to do it. It's the shipping that is looming ahead in my future. I'm sure several of you are nodding right now knowing how delayed anything coming through the mail usually is when I am the sender. It just takes me forever to get to the post office, even when my package is taped, labeled and ready to go. Sometimes, I just end up holding onto if I'm going to see the person within the next couple of months! But I have a closet full of things I've thought I could sell so perhaps this experience will be just as fun for me as blogging has become. Not that I need a new hobby but if a hobby earns you a bit of cash, it can't be that bad, right? O.K...I see the error in that statement but still, Ebay is mostly harmless. None of what I'm listing is very glamorous. A pair of Robeez I got as a shower gift for Henry, some Nutramigen formula that I've never used because Henry just needed the soy formula, not the hypoallergenic stuff and an Ariel Flyer rescue hero that is now retired and apparently very hard to find. I've got tons of baby clothes and even some maternity clothes to list, as well as some household items but apparently, now is not the time to sell clothes. People aren't bidding as aggressively as they are on toys and Christmas gifts. Good thing I'm friend with Andrea, master ebay seller.

This week has been painfully long. Monday was fun due to Jay being home but not "real" so it seems forever ago. He didn't get home from work until 6:45 on Tuesday and then had signed up to go out with the missionaries at 7:00 so it felt like another call night. He did come home at about 9:30 and amuse me for a good half hour with tales of teaching alongside socially awkward elder. Wednesday, Jay worked at the VA and then had to do the shopping for the residency directors gifts for their Christmas party tonight. Kariann and I still did our kid swap but I decided not to go and volunteer because there was a substitute and they never seem to know what to do with volunteers. So I went shopping, sans kids. I even went to Walmart and wasn't even in a bad mood when I left. It was delightful shopping without kids. I rarely have that experience because I never go at night. I just don't like to be out and about doing errands at night and leave Jay again. Man, I sound a bit dependent. Jay didn't get home until 7:00 again and it just felt like a long day. Yesterday, he worked up in a small town about 70 miles north of here and again didn't get home until about 7:00. We put the kids to bed and then Andrea's husband, Jason, drove their two boys down to our house and we left them with our sleeping kids while we went to their house to watch Sunday's episode of Amazing Race that we never got to watch.

Tonight won't be any better as our ward party conflicts with Jay's residents Christmas party. Normally, I would have opted to skip the ward party and go with Jay but I didn't realize the conflict at first and committed Seth to sing a solo (second verse of The Nativity Song) and I am singing "Mary, Did You Know" So, Jay will miss us and he will have to go solo to his party. I used to really enjoy going to resident things because there were a couple of older residents who had wives I really liked being around. With them gone, there really isn't anyone to hang out with. Jay is chief so really needs to go, plus it is his last party with these people. The next one is graduation so we both thought he should go.

Tomorrow, we are going to go cut down a tree and get our Christmas stuff out. I don't think I've ever decorated before this but I can't help but feel way behind. Maybe it's this newfound blogger knowledge and knowing that 99% of you have your trees up, gifts wrapped and good deeds done. I feel a bit panicked but keep reminding myself, "it's only December 8th!" And then good times at Andrea and Jason's Christmas party! Whoohoo!

Like I said, pretty boring couple of days.

Book Review #22 - The Virgin's Lover

This is a historical fiction novel about Queen Elizabeth I who died never having married. The story covers the first two years of her reign and the people she surrounded herself by. A couple of years ago, our bookgroup read "The Other Boelyn Girl" and I liked it so thought I'd give Phillipa Gregory another shot. She claims to do a lot of research on her subject matter and as I know very little about Queen Elizabeth I, or really any monarch, I suppose I'll have to take her word. She portrays the royal court as filled with ambitious, jealous people, quite narcissistic and desperate to get ahead.

Simply, Robert Dudley was a man who had grown up as a childhood friend of Elizabeth (who was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn) but had been accused of treason after King Edward died and he tried to get Jane Grey (his widow) on the throne. I really don't know how succession works but apparently that was treasonous and off to the tower he went. When Queen Mary died (who was a staunch Roman Catholic and Elizabeth's half sister), Elizabeth becomes heir to the throne butshe is protestant. Rumors of wars from the French and potential suitors overwhelm Elizabeth and she turns to this slick Robert Dudley for comfort. Robert happens to be married but in his ambition, sees himself as King potential if he could just get himself out of his marriage. Drama, drama, drama....and things don't turn out to well for Robert Dudley or his wife.

I love historical fiction and this novel is very entertaining. However, the dialogue was so simplistic and thus unconvincing to me. But it puts you back into the middle ages with ease and she weaves historical fact into her story telling quite seamlessly. Most importantly, it was a nice diversion from my Devil in a White City that is killing me.

I guess I'm a cynic

Jay was home yesterday after being on call on Sunday. He took Sammy to his eye doctor appointment where he found out that he only needs to wear his patch for two hours a day now and his vision in his bad eye is improving. They aren't sure how good his stereoscopic vision is yet but thought it was improving as well, which is rare. Happy, happy, joy, joy! Jay came home and worked on the floor which is getting closer to being done. We watched the Bronco/Seahawks game from Sunday and had a nice, relaxing day.

We decided to take the boys to a matinee showing of "Happy Feet" when Seth got home from school.



I usually read up on movies but hadn't on this one and I am disappointed that I didn't. It's not a bad movie, per say, but it's not happy-go-lucky children's fun either. I loved the beginning. Lots of fun music you don't usually expect in a children's movie. Although I raised my eyebrows when Norma Jean was sveltely singing "Kiss" by prince while all of the male penguins swooned. Kind of seductive for the youth, donchathink? But the tap dancing and music was very fun. We had our tub of popcorn, sour skittles for the kids and a giant diet coke to share. Henry had other plans than sitting on our laps eating cheerios though. He threw up during the first 15 minutes (I think he has a hypersensitive gag reflex) and I had to go clean him and me up. Then Jay took over and he crawled out of our row. Jay moved to the end of the row to let him play on the wide stair until he fell down said stairs. I gave Jay a break in the hallway to the doors letting Henry crawl up and down the dirty carpet. Then he discovered the stairs again and it was over. I went back and tried the same thing Jay had (letting him play on a wide stair) but he discovered he could go up. If I pulled him back down to me he would scream. I don't really know why we thought we could all enjoy a movie. We don't do it very often and must have forgotten the intense torture taking a mobile baby to a movie is.

Moving on to the movie, the main penguin, Mamba or mumbo or something, can't sing which is essential to life as a penguin. He can't sing but he can dance. Dancing isn't a welcomed talent, however and he is shunned by his community. Unable to change or become a singer, he seeks acceptance in other communities. I thought we'd be able to go home and talk about how we are all given different talents and that even if we aren't as good at something as someone else, there is something we are good at and we should be thankful for that gift and share it with the world. Great moral for kids. I was right there with them. But then, the gears shifted and suddenly it became this pro-environment/anti religion movie. Of course, the religious leaders of the penguins are severe, unloving and hypocritical. They all are, right? There is just no joy in religion and definitely no acceptance, love or compassion....ever. Just rigid conformity to rules and tradition! Be gone heathens! Then there is the blatant humans bad/environment good message that I'm fine with when kids are at an age to understand world economics and ecology. But don't dress it up in a happy tap dancing movie for kids.

Regardless, my kids loved it. Sammy, my dancer, was doing his groove thing the entire time. Seth was unbelievably sad when Mumbo was being ostracized by his friends, family and community and wanted to go home. I had to convince him that happier times were on his way. And after the movie when Jay and I were trying to figure out what message he got from it, we were happily surprised that he got none of my above mentioned concerns. Not that I was fine with that. I don't support the "he/she doesn't get it so it doesn't matter if he/she watches it". Anyway, I'll move on. I would love the soundtrack though.

We went to Red Robin afterwards and had our usuals. We were given some balloons which were highly charged with static electricity. There was a green one that no matter where it was tied on Henry's high chair, made its way over to me and stuck onto my head. Jay graciously took them to another unsuspecting family and asked if their little boy wanted some balloons. Then back home listening to Seth's non-stop chatter about football and Henry crying.

We got the boys home and Jay worked on the computer while I watched Wife Swap and SuperNanny. I don't usually watch either but was totally fascinated by both shows. I came away with that sense of relief that comes with being married to a kind, normal guy who supports me and our family and kids who are lovable and obedient. I'm glad some people are willing to go on national television and show off their freakiness for all of our entertainment though.

Ingenuity

Thanks Jen for the great idea. I get so tired of all of Seth's second and third helpings of cold cereal that I finally just used a bigger bowl. Unbelievably, he still wanted more.

Success

It's all over! The pressure is off and now its time to have some fun. Actually, to be honest, the last couple of days have actually been pretty fun. I've asked a couple of people why that is. Is it vanity? I hope not. I hope the good feeling comes from a more noble place. It's very rewarding to perform music well and to know that you have pleased an audience. But more importantly, I love music and it's enjoyable for me to have some control over its presentation.

The Christmas party on Friday night was really fun. I drove out with my accompanist and her husband to the Coeur d'Alene resort and it was completely gorgeous out there.

Even prettier with all of the twinkle lights on all of the trees.

They have Chrismtas lights everywhere, the boardwalk around the lake was lit up and it was so cold. Everything that Christmas music describes was right there. Frosty snowmen, frostbite nipping at noses and fires roasting. We went to the ballroom where the Christmas party was and there was a bit of a disaster. They couldn't get the electric piano to make any sound. After about 20 minutes, some A/V guy came and switched chords and they got it going. They didn't have a music stand for the piano music though so we had to rig one up with a bunch of books and a table cloth to camouflage it. We had dinner first and it was a nice buffet. We had assigned seating and I sat next to my accompanist and this nice, single guy who couldn't get a date. He's the son of the boss and I felt bad because they left a space next to him. So everyone kept asking him where his date was. I'm so glad I'm not doing that anymore. I hope people didn't think that I was his date. He's nice but he's about 5'5" and I was wearing heels. When we were standing in line for the buffet, I felt like I had Seth with me. Kind of wanted to help him along the line...put some food on his plate. After dinner, they had a life insurance (that's the business) pep talk and then me. I sang three very mellow songs in a row and I could tell that the crowd was pretty lulled. Not bored....just sort of settled in. I was kind of expecting everyone to be nibbling on their desserts but no....all eyes were on me. I did some schmoozing in between songs...nothing elaborate....just some set up. The last number I did was this very fun spiritual and it was so much more fun to sing in front of people than alone in my living room. Everyone started wiggling their legs and bouncing their shoulders and that is when performing is fun. We had a sing-a-long after that and everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. Check that off my list.

Today was the Creche Choir concert and first presidency devotional. I had 63 people in the choir and everyone was coordinated. Women wore red tops and black skirts and the men wore long sleeved white shirts, red ties and black pants. They looked great. and they sounded even better. The chapel was standing room only. They had overflows set up in the primary room and the relief society room and they were standing room only too. And when people started spontaneously standing during the Hallelujah Chorus at the end, I could feel the response from the choir and they sang with that much more spirit and energy. Now, we will go and sing next week at the other stake event with pleasure because everyone wants to do it again. Even me!

My kids have been with babysitters both Friday and tonight because Jay has been on call both days. Really bad timing but they had fun with her. And it's been nice getting home to boys in bed rather than having to do it all by myself. So, Jay being on call hasn't even been that bad. Of course, I would have loved for him to come to both things but since that couldn't happen, I'm glad my boys were comfortable here and not making someone miserable at the church.

Now it's time to get the Christmas decor out and start doing something other than music. I'm looking forward to this week.

This picture is crooked but this is my trusty new red sweater...my performing outfit. I was presented with a corsage from the creche directors which is very pretty. Although it kept poking me all night.

Finally some Christmas cheer

I remember why I love Christmas. Christmas cards from friends and family. I think it's my favorite "tradition" of the season. Here it is, December 1st and I just received three Christmas cards today! Two from old college roomates' families and one from old BYU friends the Clouses!
I love it! Cute kids and happy people all over the country (we really do spread out, don't we?)

So, now I'm not nearly as stressed out as I have been the last two days trying to memorize these songs for the party tonight. Well, I'm still pretty stressed but at least I'm smiling:) I can't believe how nervous I am. I don't think I've ever been this nervous for something that I'm not getting judged for or auditioning for. It's just a party but I'm getting paid and it makes the pressure that much greater. I kind of wish I wasn't getting paid because I probably still would have said yes and then would have just gone about my business. But now, I'm thinking...I have to be charming and entertaining and professional! Or they might throw cabbage! I also fear I'm going to be boring since most of the songs I chose are pretty mellow. I have one great gospel song at the end (Jesus, What a Wonderful Child) that will wake everyone back up but then again, they might also think, "um...does she think she's black?" Hopefully everyone will just be thinking about how good their prime rib just was and not care about this stay at home mom posing as a party singer.

The other card senders don't even know about this blog site but Jenny does and I want to say, thanks for making my day brighter! Can always count on your card as one of the first! You all looked fabulous and it was so fun already knowing all about the beach trip! (I need to stop with the exclamation points but I'm feeling pretty chipper!!)