FOF - Vegetarian

Five reasons I'm going to become a vegetarian:

1.) It's cheaper.
2.) It forces me to eat healthier (more grains, fruits and vegetables) and it's helped me be more aware of making sure I get the nutrients I need.
3.) It's more sanitary. For some reason, I get grossed out after I cut chicken and put the knife cutting board in the sink. I feel like it contaminates my whole kitchen.
4.) It will help me lose weight.
5.) I feel so sad for the animals that are slaughtered.

Okay, so I'm not really a vegetarian. And I don't really want to lose weight nor do I care about animal slaughtering. But we have greatly reduced our meat intake around here(admittedly more because of budget constraints and not choice) and I've actually really enjoyed it. Thinking about chicken and red meat makes me feel full. I don't feel like I need lots of meat and I don't really miss it. However, I did realize I don't think I could ever give up bacon. I LOVE bacon. In salads, as a side, on sandwiches, in pasta, you name it. However you serve it, I'll probably like it. Bacon is good. And I also wouldn't mind a nice steak every now and then, but I don't really crave meat like I thought I would if I stopped eating it.

And since you've been waiting all week for another inexpensive meal plan, here you go (this week was probably below $25 --seriously it might be more like $15-- if you add it up because I made my own bread and we didn't use two cubes of butter):
M: Bean and cheese burros, enchilada style (I have the easiest homemade red enchilada sauce that is really good), Spanish rice, steamed carrots
T: Grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade bread and tomatoes, cucumbers
W: Nachos (cheese sauce from Costco, tomatoes, green onions, olives and sour cream), cantaloupe
R: Pizza w/ onions, mushrooms, olives & bell peppers (I found my beloved crust recipe I haven't used in forever... it's a good one), smoothies (frozen bananas, frozen peaches, tiny bit of cream, milk and a little ice)
F: Halloween candy (just kidding, but we won't eat here)

So you know: For breakfast we almost always have either cream of white, oatmeal, pancakes, cereal, toast and fruit or eggs. For lunch we usually have cheese crisps, sandwiches or leftovers.

For the record: I have always made fun of Angela when she says stuff about being a vegetarian. Here's my public apology: I'm sorry little sister, I shouldn't have made fun of you. I made fun of your idea before trying it. I guess in my ignorant state I thought all vegetarians were created equal and were all vegans. Not so. If I did decide to become a vegetarian, I'd be a Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian (eats eggs and cheese)... and I'd eat bacon.

You Are My Sunshine

I love to laugh (long, loud and clear ah, ha ha ha). But the reality is, there have been more days than I'd like to count in the past few months that would've passed without a laugh or smile if there hadn't been CLARA. I feel true joy every single day by being with Clara. She's so sweet, innocent and full of life. Her little personality is thick with mischievousness but love and concern (you should see the look on her poor face when she sees me cry). She's pretty much awesome. (See?) For the record, here are some reasons why (she's awesome)...

/.\ When Clara does "Itsy Bitsy Spider" with me, sometimes that spider walks right up her arm.

/.\ Clara reenacts when she gets hurt. If you get the full version, it's totally hilarious. She makes sound effects, has great facial expressions and will show you how she bonked.

/.\ She prances all over the house with other people's shoes on. Each time, she is so proud of her accomplishment./.\ At Tanner's baptism a little bit ago, they showed a slide show (projected on a screen in the Chapel) while we were waiting for his Ward's turn. In it they showed Christ healing a woman's eyes. The next day in Church, Clara pointed up where the projector would've been in our building and pointed to her eyes with a deeply concerned look and said "ow". Now when she sees Jesus, she'll do that too.

/.\ She dumped my peony beads for Scouts all over the floor. She'd grab a handful, look up to make sure I was watching, give me her look ("I'm just making sure you are watching so I can see your reaction") and drop them everywhere. I didn't mind, I just made her help me clean them up.
/.\ While I was trying to play the piano for FHE, Clara sat with me, pounded on the piano and sang her own version.

/.\ Last Friday night we went to Steve & Lindsay's house in South Phoenix for dinner. Clara loved playing dress up with their little girl, Ariel. Ha ha. Clara loves her accessories. We could always tell where she was headed because of the click-clack of her shoes on the tile. Before this, she was walking around with some sunglasses on saying "Cheese, cheese, cheese"./.\ I think water is the ONLY thing that will keep Clara occupied (inside) for more than 15 minutes. When I was making my bread bowls last week, I sat Clara on the counter to play in the sink. She climbed right in so she could have better access. /.\ This evening as I was walking with Roccy, I noticed something instantly rubbing on the tires. I stopped, looked over the sunvisor to see what I'd run over and saw Clara, face down on the seat, dangling her feet on the ground, head stuck between the tray and the seat. She thought she was going to escape the stroller by sliding right out of it. If only her head was a tiny bit smaller. We laughed and laughed after I got her unstuck and back in the stroller, the proper way.

Other funny things she does: puckers when she wants to kiss you or wants a kiss, but only her top lip "suctions" in, said "Yees" when I ask her if she wants a spanking (she had no clue), said "Yees" when she almost hit a little boy in Nursery and I asked her if she was going to hit him, drinks her milk from her cereal bowl, sees treats and says "poo poo" and will do whatever necessary to go potty so she gets the treat, kisses her own owies and squeals when she realizes were driving to Grandma's.

Things she loves: standing on stuff (I have a stool for her in the bathroom and she carries it all around the house so she can see on the counters, in drawers, etc.), her fingernails cut and barrettes and pigtails.

It's about time I have a "lighter (in context not length) side of life" post.

Grab a snack and prepare for extreme boredom...

Wanting to find somewhere that listed political issues and what each candidate stands for, I searched "who should I vote for?". This website came up. Who knew, a website with the url: whoshouldyouvotefor. I should've known.

Before I disect the issues, here are my general thoughts on our lovely presidential candidates, neither of which I'm super excited about:

Obama: Great speaker, very inviting charisma and picked a lousy running mate. That guy (Biden) just bothers me.
McCain: Seemingly older and wiser, not as outwardley passionate as Obama, strong "old fashioned" values (especially those related to economics) and picked a bizarre running mate. I think he picked a female to get female votes since Barack will get the black votes. Call me racist and sexist, but that's what I think.

Back to the little quiz... I think the questions present interesting discussion points. So here I go...

PERSONAL, CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCE
Long service in the Senate is good preparation for being President - I think there are plenty of people that can have the qualities and values of a good President for our Country that haven't served long in the Senate.
The nominee should NOT have taken illegal drugs - I actually don't really care, as long as they don't do them now!
The nominee should be less than 65 years old - Again, I don't really care how old the President is. Since when is someone younger than 65 more qualified?
The nominee should NOT be a divorcee - Some things don't work out. Without knowing the extent of the circumstances, you can't determine someone's character just from knowing they've been divorced.
The nominee should be a person of colour - This should NOT be an issue. Ever.
The nominee should have served in the US military - I will admit I think this is a plus, but at the same time, the upcoming Presidents are going to be from newer generations that didn't experience War like the older generations. For me, the only reason this is a plus is because I feel like someone who's served in the US military would recognize the importance of National Defense.

SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY
The USA should NOT have invaded Iraq - There are two very, very opposite stories coming from Iraq. From the "real" stories I hear, not from our lovely media, it seems more good has come from than this bad.
US troops should remain in Iraq for as long as is required to ensure peace in the region - I think the US has some responsibility to help other countries while ensuring that the US is protected. However, knowing that nowhere in the world will ever have 100% peace, there needs to be a more definitive plan on when the Troops will come home.
The President should be prepared to meet with the Iranian leadership without requiring them to meet any pre-conditions - I don't get why everything has to be so complicated. But since they are, if leaders aren't willing to agree to certain conditions, what's the point of meeting with them?
Waterboarding should be allowed as a means of interrogation - Um, no. Torturing someone is never okay in my mind.

LAW AND SOCIETY
A woman's right to an abortion as laid out in Roe vs Wade should NOT be limited - We all have the same rights. People that choose to have sex choose to take the risk of becoming pregnant. The only form of birth control that is 100% effective is abstinence. Once they've made their choice, they've exercised their right and now it's the unborn child's rights that are priority. Obviously the unfortunate event of rape and incest carry this into a different level of discussion.
Partial birth abortion should be banned - I dare you to read just one article about this practice. It is nothing less than murder.
The death penalty should be banned - I do not believe in "an eye for an eye" BUT, there are some terribly wicked people on this earth that will be a risk to anyone they come in contact with as long as they are alive. Last weekend Jason was watching "Lockup" (I think that's what it's called). Some of the guys were saying how they aren't sorry for murdering people and they will keep killing people any chance they get until they die. Some of these people kill more than one person (guards, workers, inmates, etc.) while in prison because "I'm already in here for life, so what do I have to lose?" Why is the federal government paying to keep these sickos alive? Marijuana should NOT be decriminalised - I don't agree with legalization of marijuana. Drugs just aren't okay. But my understanding is marijauna isn't addictive. So why not legalize this and ban alcohol, which seems to be more harmful to society?
The sale of assault weapons should be banned under Federal law - Aren't murder weapons usually stolen? People that buy and register their weapons typically aren't the crazy ones using them on other people. My favorite phrase to prove the point: Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Banning the sale of assault weapons won't decrease crime, I think it would increase because criminals would find ways to sneak guns into the Country.
The Federal Marriage Amendment (amending the constitution to define marriage as only being between a man and a woman) should be passed into law - You all know how I feel about this. I think defining marriage is important. It doesn't mean disallowing civil unions, it doesn't mean other relationships should be disallowed, it means not changing the definition of the word MARRIAGE.

IMMIGRATION
Illegal immigrants should have the right to remain in the USA and follow a path created to enable them to earn the right to citizenship - Hmmm, why do people want to pick and choose which criminals get away with their crime? I have met so many immigrants that I love. They bring intriguing culture and diversity to our Country. In fact, I'm related to one. Immigration isn't the problem, but ILLEGAL immigration. It's against the law. If the law is too restricting,reform the laws, but we still need the laws for order.
Illegal immigrants should NOT be given US drivers licenses - Seriously, some of these are SO ridiculous. Just like citizens have to obey laws and wait until they are 16 to get a license, people wanting to live in our Country should also have to wait until they have obeyed the law to get their's.

HEALTHCARE
There should be universal health coverage - The government can't run a program and I certainly don't want them running healthcare. It's already a mess, so reform the industry. It's expensive, I know. But, often people choose not to afford it because it's expensive and then they complain they can't afford it. There was a time where we didn't have healthcare through a group plan. We had an individual policy. It was expensive, but we cut other expenses so that we could afford it because we know it's important. Don't tell me you can afford cable, a cell phone and eating out regularly but you can't afford health insurance.
Health coverage should be increased through tax cuts enable personal choice rather than state provision - I'm not sure I completely understand, but I do think having the option to make personal choices is generally better than having the government make those choices for you.

TAX AND ECONOMY
The Bush tax cuts for families making >$250000 a year should be repealed to fund tax cuts for middle class families - I don't make $250k or anywhere near that. However, I know several people that do and I know that they pay a disgusting amount in taxes. The Bush tax cuts were to take this tax bracket from 39% to 35% (I think those were the numbers). But they are still the highest tax bracket than the middle class and they still pay a higher percentage of taxes than people that make less. Also, for those people that make that much, they are lucky, a hard worker, or often times, both. Good for them! Just because I'm not making that much doesn't mean I expect them to subsidize my income. They earned it and they most likely deserve it. Plus, those people generally started where we are and worked their way to that point. Not to mention they are the ones investing in real estate, giving us jobs and buying things from the retail store we work at. So in a sense, they are helping out the middle class in a very natural way. Maybe someday I'll have my chance to work to that point, but until then, I don't expect someone else to share their success with me.
The US should retain CAFTA and NOT hold back from similar new trade agreements - Too tired to research this one... :)
Tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs overseas should NOT be abolished - This is a hard one. A really hard one. Outsourcing keeps our costs low but it also reduces the availability of jobs. I don't know if I have a solid opinion on this.
The minimum wage should be increased at a rate higher than inflation to return it to its historic spending power - This is another hard one. The whole root of economics, supply and demand, will generally keep minimum wage in check. Meaning, if the market down the street will pay you $5/hour and the one a block away will pay $6/hour, you'll go with the higher one. When the market down the street realizes this, they'll pay more. I'm pretty neutral on this point.
There should be tighter government regulation of financial institutions - I agree with this. However, I don't think the role ignorant borrowers played in the mortgage disaster should be disregarded. Nor the shady actions of the loan officers. Once again, accept responsibility, people. I happen to have a perfect example: our house in Utah. We were totally misrepresented when we got our construction loan and I found out later that the loan officer totally lied to the lender in an effort to get us the loan. He lied to us throughout the whole process and failed to mention several important factors. Now, over two years later, we still own the house. We could very easily just give up and walk away (okay, emotionally it wouldn't be easy, but financially it would) because we have a mortgage that is out of our league. BUT, Jason and I were both taught the importance of taking responsibility for decisions and working hard to get out of tight situations. So yes, more regulation of financial institutions, but that doesn't mean relieve other's of responsibility.
There should be no limit to offshore oil drilling - I'm a big fan of moderation and most things need reasonable limits, so to say no limit is too broad. Allow offshore drilling, but enforce certain regulations and restrictions, just like with anything else. In the meantime, I would also like to see more research done on alternative energy plans.

ENVIRONMENT
US greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by at least 60% by 2050 to cut global warming - Once again, I'm all about moderation. Yeah, we need to be better at conserving. But I'm still not convinced that global warming is that big of a threat. Just like we have record highs sometimes, we also have record lows.
$150 billion should be invested over the next 10 years to build a clean energy future - IF the budget allowed for this, I think it's a great idea. However, there are plenty of other things that are of higher priority in my opinion.

Conclusion: All of these issues are important, but some are more so in my opinion. If I had to prioritize, the economy/taxes, abortion, health care and national defense would be at the top of my list. Now, what does each candidate have to offer in these areas?
Economy/taxes - last night I read through both candidate's tax plans. Most of the things they are claiming they'll change won't effect me right now. However, if capital gains taxes are raised and if small businesses end up paying more taxes (both would happen if Obama's plan is realized), I think that will really hurt our economy. Those people won't be investing and they won't be able to stay in business. With small business shutting down, that is just more job loss. I feel like McCain has a better understanding of the economy. Unfortunately, so many people in our generation are ignorant when it comes to economic principles. (Side note: I don't think either candidate will carry out their plan in entirety, it's just not possible).
Abortion - After seeing an ad on Obama voting against the infanticide bills (it's true, I checked the voting record), I was totally disgusted. Having no respect for life is as low as you can go. I saw him field a question about this and he said there were other things written into the bill. All I can say, is what else was written in there that was more important than one, let alone thousands, of lives? Besides, who knows if he's just trying to make himself look like not such a lefty. Oh how I wish we could believe these presidential candidates.
Healthcare - Watching the debate on this topic made me so angry. Obama kept saying his plan would be to force all big businesses to offer healthcare, but that small businesses wouldn't fall under the same laws. Can someone please tell me of a "big" business that doesn't offer healthcare? Seriously!
National Defense - I feel safe living in America. I hope it stays that way. Obama hasn't convinced me that this is something of importance to him. From what I've seen/heard/read, it almost seems like he's naive to the potential threats of other Countries.

Now get out and vote. Whoever wins and no matter how the next four years go, R will blame D and D will blame R. I will say my biggest immediate fear if Obama gets elected is the economy. I think it will suffer more before it gets better. Unfortunately, too many people are ignorant about economics, so they don't understand the implications of Obama's tax plan.

The End (thank goodness).

The answer my friend...

There are some things I wonder.

Such as...

Why is it okay for someone to have a mannequin mimicking Sarah Palin hanging from a noose? Do you realize how fast someone would get busted for racism if they did that for Mr. Barack? And they are saying this isn't a hate crime. I seriously can't get over this.

Why can't politicians' ads spend time focusing on the qualities they have that makes them deserving of election rather than why their opponent isn't? Today I saw one, I don't even remember who it was, what political party it was or what the position was for, but it didn't say ONE single quality of whoever it was, only things ripping on the opposing candidate. Can't people say what they are and not who they aren't? Seriously. Grow up. And yes, both sides do this.

Are there really people out there that want higher taxes? Or does everyone think that life is magical and the candidate they support offers an equally magical tax plan that will lower their taxes?

When are people going to start taking responsibility for their own actions and realize it's not the government's fault your child is in first grade and can't write the alphabet, it's not the government's fault you are overweight and it's not the government's fault you didn't go to college?

Why is it funny to me that our 401(k) has gone down nearly 37.5% this year?

Would there have been a more comparable number of Republican and Democratic jokes from Jay Leno and David Letterman if there was a different (meaning, not black) Democratic presidential candidate? I read those two late-night guys made 475 jokes about the GOP and only 69 about the Democratic team. I'm all about joking around, but slandering one side nearly seven times more than the other makes me think someone was afraid of being called a racist.

Why am I still awake?

...is blowin' in the wind.If I have the energy, you'll get my full-fledged opinion on this upcoming election later this week. If not, it just means that I'm totally worn down from work and life as I know it (an unpregnant life that is, all you folks that are waiting for the day that I actually am pregnant).

Wispy

It's no longer a surprise that I seem to be out of town non-stop for weddings/receptions. Not that I'm complaining, because I LOVE weddings/receptions. On Saturday Holly got married in Snowflake. We rode up with my mom and Lily first thing Saturday morning. We went straight to my Aunt Jana's to help, although nearly everything had been done. Tangent: We were looking for the sugar and my mom asked me where I'd put the sugar if I was Aunt Jana. I told her if I was Aunt Jana, I wouldn't eat sugar. If you know how healthy my Aunt Jana eats, you'd laugh too. After we chopped strawberries, we got lunch and then got ready.

I went with Lily to wait outside the temple. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, there was no wind, something that very rarely happens there. We all decided that Holly must just be extra special for such miraculous weather. Pictures while waiting for the happy little couple... Wow, really, there are trees that change colors in Arizona.Lovely ladies.Lovely Temple. For some reason, the Snowflake Temple doesn't look very grand to me from far away, but every time I'm up close and personal with it, I am awed by how simply beautiful it is. I love the windows. Definitely my favorite detail.Ankle crossing.Shawna, Mad White Woman and Michelle. Tangent: Shawna's hair used to be much lighter and SO many people have assumed that her and I are sisters. We're cousins and her and Michelle are sisters.Holly looked beautiful (Anthony is in this picture, he's just behind her fluffy dress). While they were taking pictures, we had our own fun photo shoot, jumping. Then Kara, Stephenie, Sarah and I tried to jump off the ledge, but we all just looked like we were falling. And maybe some of us did fall when we hit the ground.(PS Jason and Clara were home taking a nap. I decided not having them at the Temple was worth having a happier baby at the dinner and reception.) Fun, fun girls they are. After jumping, I put my shoes on and started to walk away, but realized (after far too long) that there was a slight problem. If only I could remember which shoe goes on which foot...We had to run back to my Aunt Jana's to get some stuff for the reception before the dinner. So we did. Why, you ask, is there a lame picture of a crow on your blog? Well, let me tell you. It's so I can tell you what we saw and you can imagine it easily. As we were driving down the dirt road, we saw a crow, on top of a wooden fence post, devouring a mangled rabbit. We tried to get a picture, but the bird flew away, so here he is, up, up and away.We went back to the Church for the dinner. Between dinner and the reception, the kids got to play with playdough in the "kid room". Some people just think of the greatest ideas. Clara meant business.And then there is the reception. It was all set up, so Cindy, Lori, my mom and I just had to prep and set up the food and then keep everything moving. They had peanut butter bars, brownies (with and without nuts), Zebras (aka Hello Dolly's), four kinds of cookies and sundaes with every topping you could imagine (Butterfingers, oreos, fresh strawberries, fresh raspberries, caramel, hot fudge, nuts, M&M's and Reese's pieces).
And then there were the mints. But these were not any ordinary mints. Mixed with the Junior Mints were "premium" mint M&M's (the shiny ones). I wish I would have got the memo on these things because they are awesome. YUM.Sarah, just hanging out. Braden, did your mom or dad teach you that trick?

H: Anna, look, I'm eating healthy! (As she shows me her ice cream topped with fresh strawberries).

C: .... (must've been some good ice cream)

J: Look how stinking cute I am in my bow tie.

Clara didn't recognize the girls from KS right away, but once she did, she couldn't get enough of Sarah. Kind of like when we're in the office. Good thing Sarah likes her, otherwise we'd have a serious problem.

Clara and I dancing... allow me to introduce to you, wispy. That's right, that lovely patch of hair encroaching on my forehead. Not sure why, but all day, my left horn decided to do that. It's cute, trust me.

P: I have the biggest brown eyes you've ever seen and my cheeks couldn't be more inviting. So just take a picture.

Cousin love.

Cindy and my mom. Happy (and good) little helpers. I helped when I didn't have Clara. Jason came and said he would scoop ice cream so I could socialize and watch Clara so he didn't have to.

C: I said, GIVE ME A COOKIE!

I'm not sure if Jason wore this black shirt so we could match... identically. Or if he did it to make me mad (it's not my favorite shirt).

Certainly it wasn't a near 30 year old father of two that hid a pile of Hershey Kisses underneath the cloth on the table. And definitely not one I'm related to.

As the reception was coming to an end, I was dreading the clean up. My feet hurt, I was running on five hours of sleep and I just felt exhausted. To my pleasant surprise, it only took about an hour. So many people helped so it was down in no time.

Sunday we ate breakfast and then headed home. Michelle's a great hostess. Tangent: Her pantry made me want to live in our house in Utah so I too can have an awesome pantry in the basement. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was getting to spend so much time with my mom. We visited all the way up and all the way home. We visited while we went and got lunch. We visited while we cut strawberries. We visited while we got everything reaady to set up for the reception. And my favorite picture was of me and my mom. The sun was so bright so I told her and Lily to keep their eyes closed and then open them when I said three. On cue, my mom opened her eyes about twice the normal size. The picture is hilarious, but she asked that I not share it. I told her I wouldn't put it on my blog, but that it'd be the first page, full-size, on her Mother's day book next year. :)

We got home at Noon. I was thinking about just missing Sacrament Meeting and then I realized that would be silly. Why miss the most important meeting? Especially since we had 30 minutes to get ready (none of us had showered... and one of us never did, sorry). We were late, but we made it before the sacrament. After I did Singing Time in Nursery, I went to RS and just left Clara in Nursery. It's been so long since I've done that. The teacher in there held her and after a bit, she calmed down. Ahh, the start of a new phase, hopefully.

I have a lot of {heavy} things on my mind. But I have been trying to counteract it all with some thankful thoughts from my weekend...

I'm thankful that I got to go to Snowflake for Holly's big day.
I'm thankful for good cousins.
I'm thankful for beautiful trees that make me happy.
I'm thankful for people that listen to me whine and complain.
I'm thankful the two policeman were talking to each other when we came up over the hill going 85 MPH. The driver of our vehicle will remain anonymous.
I'm thankful that Jason has a job. Losing 20% of his hours/pay is better than 100%.
I'm thankful for Clara. Have you hung out with her lately? She's pretty awesome and keeps me smiling. More on her later.

FOF - Daily Meal Plans

Quite often I run across 'frugal' blogs and the people say they are able to feed their family of four for just $80 a week. What? Just? That's over half of my monthly budget. So I became determined that if needed (and, now that Jason is "20% laid off", I need to), I could feed my household for $25 a week. "Oh, but Anna, you only have two adults and a small person." No, no. We have four (Jason's brother lives with us, remember). Yes, four, as in two men that eat like four, one dainty lady that eats like a man and one toddler that eats like a woman. Another thing that irritates me is when you search for "inexpensive meal ideas" and all you get is a bunch of cheap, processed food. Beans, fruits and vegetables are great for you and inexpensive, so don't tell me you have to eat ramen every day (although once a week isn't bad... :)).

So, very determined to spend $25 and create a 5-day plan of meals that are relatively healthy, this is what I came up with. I stopped trying to keep track of how much, but I was at $25.09 (obviously there were some estimates in there) and hadn't figured in the ingredients for bread bowls. At that point, I felt I had triumphed and reached my goal, so I stopped wasting time on it.
Sundays aren't on here, nor Saturdays. We're lucky we go to my mom's for Sunday dinner and usually Saturday finds us rummaging through leftovers. There are plenty of leftovers.

Monday
b. toast & fresh peaches (my favorite breakfast: toast with fresh fruit)
l. cheese crisps w/ apples
d. baked potatoes & salad

Tuesday
b. toast & apples
l. cup-o-noodles (but only b/c Clara sat on one I bought for our 72-hour kits and it burst open)
d. beans & cornbread

Wednesday
b. cereal
l. leftovers
d. pasta w/ cream sauce & sauteed cabbage

Thursday
b. cereal
l. apples & PB
d. creamy vegetable soup in bread bowls

Friday
b. pancakes
l. leftovers
d. leftovers (actually, we're off to a friend's house tonight, but if we weren't, we'd eat leftovers)

A few disclaimers: The cost assumes we use 2 cubes of butter (gross, I know, but I put about a 1/3 cube on my baked potato, especially when we're out of sour cream), a gallon of milk (probably a little less), 1/2 box of cereal and 1/2 loaf of bread each week. Jason and his brother don't really eat breakfast and his brother rarely eats lunch. Jason brings leftovers for lunch. It might seem like a lot of leftovers, but in a typical week, I almost never eat the same thing more than twice. Even after all this, my original points remain: you can eat fairly healthy spending very little a week. Trust me, no one around here is withering away either.

Happy Weekend!

Law of Attraction. Whatever.

Earlier today I saw the phrase: Law of Attraction. I've heard about it, but never read about it, so I did a quick (3 min) research of it. And then I decided to try it out. All day long, I've been thinking of my specific wish. I've been imaging it came true. I've been sending out good vibes into the Universe and believing that it will happen and living as if it has. I have tried so hard to prevent any negative thoughts from getting in the way. My wish is mine. The only problem is, I've thought about it so hard and so much, that I now have a pounding, horrible headache. Apparently that's the only thing I can attract with all my good thoughts and vibes. Shucks.

Two-faced Tinkerbell

If I Could Do It Over Again

I've been thinking lately. I'm pretty opinionated. My life is crazy. I teeter, daily, between crazy and sane. I talk non-stop, often about nothing, and I pretty much feel like there's a constant tornado in my head. That is why I've decided my blog is being re-named to: Diary of A Mad White Woman. Nothing seems more appropriate.

Besides thinking, here's what else I've been up to.

Amy's Birthday
Amy's birthday was Thursday. We had lunch at Kathryn's and had fun visiting. Then Amy and Beka came over Thursday night to hang out. We ate lots of junk and laughed and laughed. Ahh, reminiscing about when we were "young" and eating is so refreshing. Knowing full well we wanted to get together for Amy's birthday, I gladly let her bring treats when she offered. She always gets the best snacks.

Lily's Birthday
Friday Lily had a party so we went and helped my mom. Clara LOVES Aunt Lily. I love her too. She's such a sweet person that loves to help other people and is genuinely concerned for others. There are pros and cons about being the youngest of nine. Pro: Mom goes all out for birthday parties. The theme was luau and it was great. I guess after you do receptions for four of your daughters, a birthday party is a piece of cake, right? Con: On the Sunday we celebrate your birthday with the family, don't expect more than a half-eaten pan of brownies to put your candles in.Blissfest
Saturday Clara and I went with my mom, Lily and Lily's friend to Blissfest in downtown Mesa. Truth be told, we went mostly to see Angela, but had a good time walking through the booths. Someday, when I don't have two houses, I'm going to only buy letterpress cards. Even a boring accountant can appreciate handmade beauty. Clara had a good time eating frosting (and part of the cupcake) for lunch. She let no frosting go to waste. When she dropped frosting in the street and it stuck to leaves and dirt, it didn't bother her one bit. We wanted lunch from Mango's, but didn't have time. So we tried Pete's and After that we settled for Jack-In-the-Box. So much for our dining experience at a non-chain local restaurant.

Bunco
This month was couples month and it just happened to be at a mortuary. Very fitting for Halloween. Afterwards, we got a tour. I know people that work there get desensitized, but still... I had a great time and Jason admitted he enjoyed it too. Do I ever not when it involves good food and socializing? I can't believe I didn't take pictures, though.

Party in a blanket
Sunday at my mom's, the three little girls got swung all at once in a blanket. They loved it. I loved it too because I discovered there's no better way to get all three girls looking at me with big smiles at the same time.Sick
Clara got sick and now I'm sick. Roccy, this is not an invitation for you to bring me dinner, so don't even think about it. I still haven't forgiven myself for stealing your bacon and bread. I just feel blah. You know when you have a headache, feel super tired and you have a sore, "hairy throat"? Clara's has progressed into coughing, so who knows what's in store for me. Ryan called and I told him I feel like crap. He told me I don't look any worse than I feel. I'm glad him and I are close like that. :) Here it is, barely after nine, and I can barely hold my eyes open. I have a few things I needed to do tonight but feeling this way provides me a good justification for not caring. After this, I think I'll go to sleep and dream about being able to lie around tomorrow and not work. If only in my dreams...

Ah-oh!

(Yeah, that's how my family says it and that's how I'll teach my kids to say it. Forget you, spaghetti-o's).

Most mornings, Clara wakes up happy. Before long, I hear her saying "Ah-oh". Normally this means she's thrown her blanket and/or dolly overboard.

Several days ago, neither the blanket nor the dolly were on the ground where she was pointing, but she still continued to say "Ah-oh" as if she'd dropped something equally important over the ledge. I picked her up, sat on her chair and she insisted she needed to get whatever had fallen. I let her down and told her to get what she dropped. She walks to her crib, bends down, picks something up and comes to show me what it is. Lovely. A giant, hard booger. She must've picked it and then dropped it over the side of her bed. Tragic.

However, a few days ago, moments after Clara woke up, her "Ah-oh's" seemed a little more frantic than usual. Completely expecting it to be an overreaction to a dropped dolly or blanket or worse, her exploring in her diaper, I went into her room. At that point, the ah-oh's were much more frequent and almost panicked-sounding. Her dolly and blanket were in her bed. I didn't quite understand because she was sitting with them. And then she showed me her dolly.
Yup, I'd be a little freaked out too. And yup, this is why it was so urgent that I find my card reader.

Until then...

I can't find my stinkin' card reader. Until I do and bless you with pictures and unentertaining stories, read this, this and this. And then tell everyone you know to read this, this and this. It might take a little time, but it'll be less time consuming than a.) homeschooling your children or b.) getting a second job so you can send your children to a private school if the Proposition doesn't pass. I'm too lazy to write my own version and I agree with what these women have said on the issue and they obviously write much better than I. So be grateful I'm lazy and do everything you can to fight to protect our precious children and their innocent minds.

Lucky Duck

What are the chances of my side-by-side freezer going out less than four months after having to purchase a new outside freezer? I bet they are pretty slim. Consider me lucky. That's right, lucky as a duck can be. Yesterday morning I noticed my fridge making a different noise. Not loud, but different. My first thought was to check the freezer. Sure enough, the thawing had begun. The fridge was fine though. I transferred most everything into my outside freezer. Every now and then it's not a bad idea to clean out your freezer anyway. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to go without an inside freezer until we could find a way to get it fixed.

This morning I noticed the fridge wasn't fine. Oh lovely. Jason went and bought some ice and I packed the ice chest full and had a few items take refuge at the neighbor's. After figuring out the problem, Jason got the part and fixed the fridge for a little over $40. Much better than buying a whole new fridge! While I give credit to Jason for diagnosing the problem and eventually fixing it, I must say that if I hadn't come home, taken one look at the first part he bought and told him it was the wrong part, he'd still be sitting on the kitchen floor with the wrong one. He was given the wrong part by "the new guy" (it's always the new guy's fault) and when he went to exchange it, they gave him two of the part we need. That was very nice of them because based on our history, we'll be needing it much sooner than the average fridge owner.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have the other kind of luck. But until then, I will be happy to have access to my favorite filtered water in the world.

FOF - Confessions

Sometimes I do things and wonder if anyone else does them. They are things you wouldn't normally know if someone else does it because they are "uncool" according to our society. So today, I offer five confessions...

1. Lately when a load of laundry is done (which is on an as-needed basis), it gets left in the dryer until a.) all the items are used or b.) we do another load. I haven't folded laundry for almost two weeks.
2. I don't really flush the toilet every time I go potty (aka pee - just had to clarify because Jason refers to the other lovely stuff as potty and trust me, that stuff doesn't hang around). Yeah, that's my contribution to conservation. Jason hates it. I love saving 20 cents and a few gallons on a regular basis. It makes me feel good.
3. I haven't, not once, wiped the counters in my kitchen this week. I have gone straight from cooking dinner to eating to working (until tonight, which I proudly claimed as the beginning of being lazy for a day or two) and have literally not had the chance. They actually have so much junk on them right now that you can't really tell that they have dried food underneath the junk.
4. I mostly eat pretty healthy. But occasionally, I'll feed Clara healthy food, eat a bite or two of mine and then eat candy, treats and chips when she's not looking. Odd that I feel it's okay for me to do that, but not her. (Okay, sometimes I let her eat the junk too, but not until she's eaten some of her lunch).
5. Sometimes I put on shirts and see a spot on them... and don't change. As long as it's not super noticeable, I figure Clara will manage to get a spot on it shortly, so why bother?

Don't pretend like you don't do any of these. But if you really don't, pretend you do to make me feel better. Just kidding. I am actually okay with it and that's obviously why I'm sharing them with the world.

PS Kate and anyone else who's wondering, FOF stands for Five on Friday. And this is when it all began...

{Yawn}

Here's how my life's been the last three days. It's been crazy, but times like this help me realize how important it is to cherish and enjoy life when it's not totally hectic. It makes me appreciate down time and reminds me how grateful I am to have a job I can do from home. Life is all about opposition.

Monday
7:45 wake up (after about five hours of sleep, kind of my own fault, but I was dreading this week so I didn't want to go to bed), read
8:30 get Clara up, make breakfast, eat
9:30 get ready, pack up & off to KS for a little work; grocery store on the way home
12:30 put groceries away, make lunch, eat with Clara
1:30 read to Clara and put her to bed
2:00 phone call w/ client lasting 54 minutes
2:55 visit with my new Scout as I watch Kimball trim our bush and feel genuinely bad that I can't help and that Jason hasn't done it... but Jason has been busy these last few weeks.
3:30 process payroll for client
4:30 begin cooking dinner with the help of Clara (she's really good at opening all my cupboards and scattering dishes and hot pads across the floor)
5:50 eat dinner, play with Clara briefly
6:45 FHE
7:15 lock myself in my room to work
2:35 decide I've gotten enough done and begin to get ready for bed
3:00 bed time

Tuesday
6:45 wake up in order to not sound woken up for 7am conference call with client
7:45 shower
8:15 get Clara out of bed, make breakfast, work on client's stuff while eating
9:15 additional phone call with client
9:35 slice toe, get Clara ready, pack up and head to KS (call clients on the way)
10:00 work (friends and family at KS play with Clara... it's nice but I hope they know I don't expect them to babysit my child and when they do, I appreciate it)
10:30 meeting
11:00 finish what I need to at KS and visit for a little bit
11:45 drive to mom's
Noon eat lunch
12:30 work while Clara helps my mom plant her garden
1:00 realize I don't have everything I need to make any further progress, pull Clara in the wagon and then pack up and go home (call clients in the car)
1:50 put Clara down for a nap
2:15 back to work
5:00 start dinner
6:00 eat
6:30 go into room to work
8:50 decide I need to take a break, got to bookclub
10:30 back to work
Midnightish fall asleep with lights on

Wednesday
5:50 wake up & work, work, work
8:00 get Clara (who woke up at 7:30 after going to bed at 9:00... so I knew she'd be grumpy) 8:10 breakfast for Clara, more work for me (what, you wonder, or don't wonder, did Clara have for breakfast? 3 bowls of cereal AND two whole bananas)
9:30 pack up, gather stuff and go to work ... this time, no visiting and it still took twice as long as anticipated
12:30 leave to go to the post office (talk about double whammy*)
1:15 finally get home, have lunch and put Clara down for a nap
1:30 work and get ready for Scouts (I hate having to prepare right before, but I didn't have much of an option this week)
3:30 scouts
4:45 begin preparing dinner, visit with Angela
6:15 eat dinner
6:30 dinner is over, sit visit and get annoyed again at government by watching pieces of the debate.

Now
I haven't done anything productive all night. :) I am purely exhausted. Every time this happens, having a time period with not even five minutes of down time, I appreciate even more being able to have a little extra time to do things other than work/eat/sleep (very little)/cook. It feels so wonderful to be able to sit. I have a few things going on tomorrow and I have lots of catching up to do on cleaning and stuff. But then I'm going to be totally lazy on Friday and I can't wait. Plus, I'm going to go to bed early tonight and have tomorrow be the first day all week that my body isn't feeling so tired. Just the thought gives me renewed energy. Oh, and when I do go to bed tonight, I won't be sleeping with this:
* I was highly irritated by not one, but TWO government organizations today. Every time I do taxes, I get annoyed. I am annoyed the tax structure has to be so complex and have so many grey areas. I get annoyed that there is way too much info and no one could ever know everything in the tax code. I get annoyed that all these hard-working people pay too much in taxes. And when I am at the post office, I get annoyed that I am tempted to buy insurance or a delivery confirmation to ease my anxiety that things will arrive okay. Basically they make you pay for something but don't guarantee that the service you are paying for will be realized. I get annoyed when the workers move slower than most of the snowbirds even though there are about 15 (no exaggerations) people in line. I'm pretty sure you can't move too fast at the post office. I've never seen any of the workers move quickly. Ever. I've always wondered why it's okay for the government to have a monopoly like the post office. Anyway, it's rare that I go to the post office without leaving frustrated by the experience.

It Just Keeps Getting Better!

I don't normally use exclamation points in my titles, but this one is so deserving.

I just got an e-mail from a girl that wants to live in our home for free. Yeah, free, as in FREE. They'll furnish it, pay the utilities, clean it and take care of it until it sells. Well, without someone living in it, it will stay clean. A nicely furnished home would help it sell, but I highly doubt their furniture is of that caliber. And then after who knows how long of someone living in it (for free) I'd be trying to sell a used home. If anything was damaged (even accidental), I'd have to come up with the money to pay for it. Yeah, it'd be nice to have someone pay the utilities, but the benefit is pretty minimal relative to the cost. Her idea is clever, but seriously. I have a guy that would rent it for less than we're asking, but even that situation was too risky. And that's with $1600 in income every month.

What's next??

By the way, if you respond to a Craigslist ad, I wouldn't recommend including your last name. I found this girl's blog, which she doesn't really update, but still, I know more about her than I would have otherwise.

Q & W

Before I begin my weekend what-I-did-log, I just need to say a little something about my nose. My nose works pretty darn good. I didn't notice much of a heightened sense of smell when I was pregnant because I have always had, and still have, a pretty strong sense of smell. Twice this week I wished I didn't.

On Thursday night, I participated in a paid focus group study. As we walked in the room, I could smell smoke and figured it was one of the ladies walking in front of me. I opted to sit next to the creepy looking guy because I kind of felt bad for him and the second I sat down, I regretted it. He was the smoker and I thought I was going to die sitting next to him for an hour and fifteen minutes. I seriously can smell smoke no matter what. If you smoke a cigarette and then chew gum or eat mints, I can still smell it.

On Friday, I had a business meeting and was walking up the stairs behind a guy on his phone. The whole time, all I could smell was his breath.

Back to what I've been up to... Jason took Thursday and Friday off so it seemed like my weekend included three Saturdays. Friday I had a big meeting for work. Initially I thought I was going to have to defend myself, but it ended up having very little to do with me.

Saturday Jason's nephew Tanner was baptized so we went to that and then had dinner at Kevin and Chrystie's. They made homemade root beer and there didn't seem to be anyone not fascinated by the dry ice. Afterwards we just visited. Clara loved jumping on the tramp and getting wagon rides. I tried to get Jason's grandma to give me some advice, but nothing was coming to her mind. There's just something special about sitting close to and visiting with someone that's 91. They just seem to have such a calmness about them. I feel like I've seen so much in my life time... multiply that by 3.5 (exactly) and WOW!

Today I did Clara's hair. I put pig tails in her hair like six months ago and they just came out every five minutes. So I haven't even attempted for months. Her hair is a little thicker now, so I decided to try again. Plus, I had to prove a point to someone that I'm not "little girl hairstyling lame". :) We went out and took some pictures outside before church. Her hair stayed in for pictures and church. Angela got her this darling little dress a while ago and a lady at church asked me if I crocheted it. Ha ha! It was so bright out so I tried to get Clara to hide in the shade of the tree and bushes. The bush worked great until she tried to eat the berries. And the tree was great except our neighbor's dumb dog kept barking and Clara was trying to look around me to see it. But these pictures certainly show her curious and cute little personality.

Simply random thoughts I've had lately...

I always get confused if someone is telling me how to spell something with a 'q' or 'w'. I have to think twice about whether they are saying just q, just w or either with a u after it.

I love coming home on Fast Sunday night and being able to eat whatever junk stared at me in temptation during the day.

Cities should put "Speed enforced by radar ahead" signs everywhere. No cops or vans to actually give tickets, just the sign. Everyone slows down when they see those. That's a mighty cheap way to get people to watch their speed.

It's basically freezing outside. I was cold all day long today.

Sundays are more exhausting than most of the other days of the week. I kind of dread them and that's bad. Although we had a great RS lesson today. Ironic, because if I apply what I learned and do better at enduring, I probably wouldn't dread church.

FOF - Clara

I'm short on time this week and I have a full day tomorrow. Therefore, for my FOF, here are five pictures from this past week of Clara that I love and why.

The Zoo last Friday. Clara gets so excited, says "oooh!" and points when she sees certain things. I think this particular "thing" was a bird. I love how the lighting is kind of washing out the colors, but you can still see her reaction. Clara giving me a hug last Saturday. She gives really tight hugs and I love it. That's how a hug should be, all your energy. Monday before going to meet Jason for lunch. I look awful when I try "serious" faces. My face just doesn't work that way. Clara has such a happy smile, but she also has the sweetest "serious" face. I love her big beautiful blue eyes, tiny little nose and round face.
Thursday morning at breakfast. When Clara drinks from a cup, she always tries to keep an eye on me. She'll sit and drink and stare at me. When I see her and smile, she laughs. Anytime she thinks she's drawn the attention of someone she gets excited.
Wednesday morning. I don't have a lot of early memories (under 6 years old). But one thing I remember was loving to wear my dad's shirts to bed. I put one of my shirts on her to paint a little craft and remembered the good old days. She loved it and looked like an ewalk (I have NO clue how to spell that word, I don't even know if that's what I'm meaning to compare her to...). She's especially happy in this picture because she has her bagel in one hand and her gummy worm (bathroom treat or "teet" as she calls it) in the other.