Weight

Tomorrow Scouts resumes (I've enjoyed 3 weeks off) and I am in charge of the activity. The requirement we are working on is all about nutrition and cooking. I was on the mypyramid.gov website and wanted to see how much I should be eating and this is the notice I received upon inputting my information...

Please Note:
The weight you entered is below the healthy range for your height. This may increase your risk for health problems. Some people with a very lean body build or young adults who are still growing may not be at a higher risk. Check with your health care provider to see if you should try to gain weight. If you have recently lost weight, have health problems, or have difficulties with eating, speak with your health care provider.

It then gives me two options: a plan for my current weight or a plan to gradually work toward a healthier weight. I love how weight is such a false indicator of degree of health these days. There are people that are a little bit heavier than the norm that are healthier than those right on track just as there are those that are under that are healthier as well. I'm pretty sure they should ask me what I eat, how active I am, how much I sleep and how I feel. Wouldn't the answers to those questions paint a MUCH more accurate pictures of one's health?

Talents

Last week I called my parent's house. My dad answered and we had the following conversation:
Dad: What's up chaquita?
Me: Nothing, what's up with you?
Dad: Get it, chaquita, like banana, Anna banana.
Me: Yup, I get it... (I then procede to sing the Chaquita banana song)
Dad: That's like me singing the Oscar Meyer weaner song... (he then proceded to sing BOTH versions of the song to me).
He then got my mom after saying a few sarcastic things.

Lately I've been thinking about how happy I am my dad is my dad. At the wedding we went to, the dad and daughter had taken dance lessons and danced a few different ways. My dad has four daughters that have been married and I don't think he's danced with one of them at their weddings and I highly doubt he'd take dancing lessons even if someone paid him. I was thinking about this at the wedding and that everyone has different talents when I remembered our conversation and I had to laugh. My dad might not be a dancer, but he can be pretty goofy which I've always liked. Instead of being into the fine arts, he's equipped with a very logical brain jam-packed with anything I want to know. His playfulness defintely makes up for not being the dancing type!

To Thee I Wed...

Aren't weddings joyous occassions? Last night we went to the wedding of Jason's good friend from school. They got married at the Manor and then had a lovely dinner and reception there. I love that place and secretly wish I still worked there (if you haven't noticed, there's a lot of things I secrectly wish I still did...). The wedding was nice and I really like listening to the things that are said. It never hurts to be reminded of the imporatance of marriage. Both the bride and groom are very religious so they gave a lot of spiritual advice which I also enjoyed hearing. It's interesting how a lot of times it doesn't matter what your religious background is, you can find some common points in the guidance given. I was grateful knowing that my marriage is eternal because I wouldn't be content with my marriage ending at death. There was a little wait between the ceremony and the dinner so we left with another couple to go look at some houses. All that really did was make me wish I could buy a bigger house. One reason I love weddings is the amount of detail and thought that goes into creating a wonderful atmosphere. Nothing is overlooked and even the place settings are so intricate for being such a small part of the whole scheme of things. We got lucky and were seated at a table with another young couple (along with Jason's other friend from school and his wife). The girl we were with was actually the bride's hair stylist. She was totally nice and not that it's a surprise if you know me, but we visited most of the time (two hours). Her husband was a riot and just danced his little heart out without caring at all what anyone thought, even as we sat laughing at the table nearby. Perhaps someday our paths will cross again.
Speaking of dancing, the pastor was CRAZY! He danced more than anyone I'd ever seen at a wedding and was nothing shy of entertaining. He did backflips, back handsprings and did one of the best Micheal Jackson impressions I've EVER seen. The people sitting by us live in the same neighborhood as him and they say he's always like that. I think I'm going to invited him to my next party. Ha ha. I also LOVED the cake. I couldn't have the cake I wanted so I always notice the cakes. It didn't taste all that great, but I sure enjoyed the look of it.
What a special day for a beautiful couple. We got a good laugh at how young the groom looks, but really, he's 23 or 24, which isn't that young. I had lots of fun and am looking forward to the next one, maybe later this year! Now you ask, where was Clara during this fun? We took her to my mom's so she could watch her until Angela got off work. Then, Angela picked her up from my mom's and brought her to our house so her and Clint could babysit and put her down for the night. Thank you so much! It is so awesome to be able to enjoy a night with Jason and know Clara is in good hands. Don't worry Angela, I will pay you back someday when you have kids. :)When we got back, we talked with Angela and Clint and ended up playing a new game I bought called Pop5. It's by the Cranium makers and is very similar, but a little bit quicker. Now all of you can look forward to your opportunity to play with us. :)

My Opinion

If you are offended by other's opinions, please, read no further. Last night I watched a bit of coverage on the Iowa Caucus. First, why did they have to make that word sound so much like carcass? That's really the first word I associate caucus with each time I hear it. Anyway, so I heard bits and pieces of the top three Democratic candidates' speeches along with the top two Republican's. I follow politics enough to participate in a conversation regarding such and so that I feel educated when it comes time to vote. I don't normally follow different things super close, but I think this is going to be an interesting election. It already has been interesting. I think by this time next year our country will have a president that is a first: either the first female, the first Black or the first Mormon president. How can the campaign get more exciting than that?

Anyone that knows me knows I don't think we should ever have a female president. Maybe there are females out there that are more manly, but I am a firm believer that women more typically follow their heart and that's a good thing so that when men use ONLY their brain and show emotion, the result is a pleasant neutral world. I don't want an emotional Commander in Chief because quite frankly, emotional decisions can't be beneficial when dealing with the USA (wars, health care, taxes, etc.).

With that said, here is my opinion of five of the presidential candidates, in order of probably least liked to most liked:

H. Clinton: are you serious? Last night she said something in her little speech that is still bothering me this morning. She said something to the effect that you should vote for her if your a Democrat, an Independent or a Republican who's seent the light. That just irritated me thinking that there are people out there that will vote for a candidate JUST because of their party affiliation when in fact they should elect someone that you feel will run the country in a way you'd be happy with, someone that isn't afraid to be unpopular for making a right decision and someone that will lay a foundation for a better future. The most important thing shouldn't be whether they are Republican or Democrat or one of the independent parties. She sounds like a man and I'd be afraid to be near her when she gets mad. Plus, someone should tell her having Mr. Bill stand next to her during her public appearances isn't helping her chances.

J. Edwards: good looking or not, this man is certainly trying to appeal to ONLY those that are in favor of government sponsored health insurance. He sat there and told story after story about unfortunate situations where individuals didn't have health insurance and suffered because of it. This seems to be his ONLY thing and to be honest, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy. If you are really truly poor, there is already government assistance to help you. If you are only kind of poor (like Jason and I :)), you can get insurance for pretty cheap. It won't be great, but it also won't bankrupt you if you have a medical emergency. Furthermore, I would be so bold as to say a lot of these people that "can't afford" insurance spend money on one of the following: cigarettes, alcohol, sattelite/cable, etc. I'm not saying everyone in this situation is at fault, but I would say there are definitely those that choose not to be able to afford insurance. Oh, and I would love to ask this man how he became so wealthy. I do believe it was suing the pants off of doctors and other's in the medical field... and we all know what that does to insurance premiums!

B. Obama: I actually don't know enough about this guy to complain too much. He just seems very inexperienced. He seems to try to appeal to the touchy feelies out there. He also doesn't seem to be realistic. He has hope for a perfect world... don't we all?

M. Huckabee: If I was voting based on names, this guy might win. Huckabee, that's a cool last name. Anyway, he also seemed like a fairly decent candidate. His voice sounds an awful lot like Romney's and he just spoke to the people at his speech, not really preaching his platforms like some of the other's. He also didn't seem genuine. He said some good things, but I felt like he was saying them to appease his listeners (I guess that means he's a true politician, right?).

M. Romney: I really do think this man is brilliant. I also didn't hear much of what he said last night, but every time I hear him speak I believe what he says. He seems genuine and so calm. I have much confidence in him and let me just say again, I think he's brilliant.

Happy New Year!

I feel so excited about a fresh new year ahead of me. New Year's Eve day was so fun only because I called Karen and convinced her she really needed to not be working but spending the day with me. I feel so influential when people listen to me. :) She came over, we went to Costco and then we visited and she helped me dip pretzels. Good friends are priceless, I just need to find out how to get her to move closer. At night, we headed over to Amy's to celebrate the approaching New Year. I had been looking forward to the food for some time. Having appetizers available to eat at any time all night long is such a treat for me. I love to eat and junk food is obviously the best. We played Mafia and Shout Out and visited. We took Clara and after crying for only five minutes or so, she went to sleep just fine in Ryan's crib. It was fun being able to just visit with mostly jadults. Amy has the perfect party house. I'm a little jealous but glad she lets me come to the parties!

This morning Clara slept in until 830, so that was nice since I went to bed after 200. We went to some friend's house for steak and eggs so the guys could watch football. We left a little before Noon so I could feed Clara and because she missed her morning nap so she was a wee bit cranky. I really don't get the concept of steak and eggs for breakfast. I think some guy invented it and the only reason you eat it with eggs is so you can say it's a breakfast food.

I really have a good feeling about 2008. It is a new, fresh beginning and I feel like I get to start out with a clean slate. I love setting goals and love working to achieve them. This year I'd like to accomplish the following:

1. Memorize 52 scriptures (one a week)

2. Cook dinner every night

3. Clean the house every day

4. Never get mad at Jason

5. Never get upset or frustrated with Clara

6. Stick to my budget exactly

7. Say only nice things about others

8. Stop complaining

9. Do all my work on time and stop procrastinating

10. Don't think bad thoughts about anyone

As you can see, by the end of the year, I plan on being pretty much perfect! Ha ha, just kidding. I have yet to assemble my realistic goals (I don't think there is a single goal above that I could stick to completely) and once I do, I don't know that I will share them with all of you (although now it is quite obvious what my weaknesses are). My goals are always very specific, individual and of course, something I believe I can accomplish. Setting goals that are unattainable leaves me feeling depressed when I realize how far I was from accomplishing my goal.

Here's hoping to a wonderful and relaxing new year for everyone!

Silly Goose Update

On Sunday before Christmas, we took a little family picture. My skin neck fat is not cute, but it was the best one of Jasona and Clara. I also tried to get the "perfect" picture of Clara in her "Christmas dress" (aka a hand-me-down from Rachel. It's actually the dress Emma wore at our wedding, but I'm glad I had one for her to wear). Instead I captured plenty of Clara's personality. When the lights on the tree are on, Clara can't resist crawling behind the tree to the extra lights that are in a little pile on the floor. She moves super fast and than once she's behind the tree, she turns around to smile at me.
Clara is very showy. She will do things then look around to smile at anyone around her. In church, she just will sit and smile at people, waiting for them to acnkowledge her. She gets so proud of herself when she reaches up and makes noise on the piano.

She often sticks her lips out and sometimes it's accompanied by scrunching her nose and breathing in and out very quickly.
Clara has always loved lights. Anything shiny or that has lights will surely captivate her.
And of course she's quite a silly goose. She really has a hilarious little personality and keeps us laughing. Lately she's become obsessed with books that have a spiral or comb binding. She'll sit forever and turn the pages and once there are no more pages to turn, she turns it around and starts all over. Also, today in church she would start to crawl away and if I grabbed her leg, she'd crawl backwards and go into sitting position. Her goofy little smile makes me laugh harder because of her teeth. I still am getting several comments that Clara is busy. I don't blame them, she never stops moving, but it keeps me entertained. She loves my hair and while I am feeding her she'll pull my hair in front of my face. She giggles so hard when we tickle her LOVES her blankets and pillows. She lays on them, loves them and buries her face into them.

She crawls the normal way 95% of the time, but still slithers sometimes. She doesn't seem to have any desire to stand without hanging on to anything, let alone walk. This morning I tried to get her to walk while holding just one hand and she wouldn't move the foot on the side of the hand I was holding, she just moved the opposite foot so she ended up pivoting in a cirlcle. It was awesome. She dances to music and rocks by herself on her horse. She gets very frustrated when I don't know what she wants (or she doesn't get what she wants) and I try not to laugh at some of her expressions when it happens. She squeals, grunts and sometimes will make two fists and stiffen her body so much she shakes (that's the funniest one). She can sign "more" and "finished" in sign language, but they look very similar. She loves to read and often has such a determined expression on her face. She says daddy, ohhhh and ah-oh. She loves dogs and can finally clap. She doesn't do it unless we do it, but she can. The day she decided to clap was the day she decided to finally start signing "more". Something must have clicked with her coordination. She loves to kiss and will even pucker sometimes. Sometimes I think of how long a year is and I wonder if I did enough. I wonder if I took every opportunity to teach her and enrich her life. So here's the Silly Goose herself in all her silliness.

Totally different subject: Amy introduced me to Tostitos flour tortilla chips and my goodness, they are so good. They are on sale at Fry's right now so I bought some for the first time and it's a good thing I don't have any cheese dip to eat them with, otherwise the whole bag of chips and the whole bottle of cheese would be gone. YUM! Maybe I'll go buy some tomorrow. :)

Parties, lunch & 8:15pm

Thursday night we went to a wedding reception for a couple in our ward. It was a small affair, but we enjoyed ourselves and the wondeful food. I was telling the bride that now that I've experienced certain things in life, I get so excited for others that have the same opportunity (marriage, having a baby, etc.) It also reminds me of my wedding day and how blissful it is to be a newlywed... and actually how blissful marriage can be (at times, ha ha) no matter how long you've been married. After that, we went to our very first Ugly Sweater Party. After attempting to find the best looking ulgy sweaters at Goodwill, I left empty handed after realizing the sweaters were almost as much as I pay for my "nice, non-ugly" sweaters. My mom watched Clara while we went to the reception so she loaned me a sweater and my dad loaned Jason one. I don't even know if someone got a picture of Jason in his because the party-pooper wouldn't wear it very long. We had fun at the party visiting with high school friends. Maybe someday we'll have everyone together, someday when everyone realizes Arizona is the happiest place on earth so they should move back. Thanks to Lindsay, Clara had her first Jello experience and LOVED it.I'm pretty sure Tyler won for the sweater competition. What was better when he walked in, with the sweater, leash in hand (dog on lease, of course) with his very nicely dressed brother... Hmmm, if I didn't know any better I really would've had some speculations. Lucky for him, Lisa showed up not too long after. And lucky for the rest of us Emily took charge and orchestrated a fun get together.

Today after I got some of my work done, I went and met my cousin Lisa and her little boy Travis for lunch at Wendy's. She's my only girl cousin on my dad's side and only one of three total cousins on his side. She's more my sister's age, but it doesn't stop us from having a good time. She brought Clara a birthday gift (some DARLING pj's, a sweet little outfit and wooden alphabet blocks... once again I wonder, why can't I ever seem to give the perfect gift?) and we just ate and talked, pretty much my two favorite things to do! Her little boy is at that age where he is so curious and asks every question imaginable and always has an answer for questions directed at him. I just love observing kids at that stage. You can just see the wheels turning in their heads. Hopefully it's not eight months until we see them again like the last stretch was!

So tonight, at 8:15pm... well, that's when Jason went to sleep. No jokes there. Seriously, you'd think he doesn't sleep at night. He went to bed kind of late last night, but not late enough to warrant going to bed at 8:15pm on a Friday night! How boring is that? He goes to bed a good hour or two before me most nights and I'm pretty sure I don't sleep in an hour or two more than he does, yet he ALWAYS seems to be tired. In his mind, it's because I stay home and sit around all day while he goes and works hard. That's funny, because I don't remember sitting around once today... even if I wasn't working as much as I do, I still wouldn't have time to sit around. Oh well, until he babysits for a full day or two, I don't think he'll understand. After he went to sleep I was going to read one of my new books, but I got a little carried away reading about different tax forms on the IRS' website. Who knew I could get wrapped up reading tax stuff like I can blogs... I want to take more tax classes. That's something that goes bye bye quickly if you don't stay up on it. Plus, there are always so many new laws and regulations, unless you are in that specific line of work, there's no way to keep up with the changes. Friday night at 8:15pm... husband asleep and wife reading various documents from the IRS. Anyone want to hang out with us next weekend?

Yippety Skippety!

On Saturday during the birthday party, Jason's friends from school started calling him to tell them they'd passed the "EIT"... which meant Jason's results were at home in our mail box. He anxiously waited until the evening when we headed home but opened it when he got back into the car after getting our mail out of the box. I think I was more nervous than him to see the results...Wahooooo!! I was so excited. This last semester has probably been the worst for me. Other semesters were worse for Jason because of the stress of his grades, but this one kept him away from Clara and me more than any other. He was working pretty much full time (always at least 30 hours a week, usually closer to 40), had four classes (two of them had labs) and was studying for the EIT. He was gone ALL the time and at times, went a few days without seeing Clara and even some without seeing me. I was glad when the semester was over and now I'm glad to know he passed so he won't have to be studying for the next EIT exam in April during next semester.

For those of you that don't know but might care, the "EIT" is actually now the "FE". EIT= Engineer in Training FE= Fundamentals of Engineering. After becoming an EIT (passing the FE exam and having a degree OR having the required four years of relative work experience), you have to work for four more years and pass the PE (Professional Engineer) exam to become a PE, which entails getting your engineering stamp. Jason has enough experience so once he gets his application approved, he will be an EIT, while his friends at school will have to wait until they graduate to be eligible. I'm so proud of Jason's accomplishment and hope I can be a little more supportive during the next phase in his career. :) He has certainly risen above his surroundings and I'm sure he'll continue to do so!

Christmas Time

We had a lovely little Christmas. On Sunday our program at Church was mostly music, which I think is the best. Sunday night we drove around and looked at some lights. I spent Christmas Eve day shopping with Angela, wrapping presents and getting excited for Christmas Day. That night Jason and I read about the birth of our Savior and sang some songs. Clara wasn't really interested. Mostly she just wanted to smash my glass nativity pieces together. I missed going to my parent's and hearing the story of Wally. There was no reason we couldn't go, just a miscommunication. Hopefully next year I'll get to hear it. Jason and I cleaned and then watched a few Christams movies and then went to bed.

I woke up at 730am without my alarm because that's when Clara normally wakes up. She wasn't up so I decided to try to shower real fast so I'd be ready to go to my mom's when she did wake up. She still wasn't awake when I got done getting ready so Jason and I opened a few of our gifts. Finally, at 835am, we decided to just wake her up. I guess we could've just done our gifts later, but I just thought of that. Anyway, we had fun with our little family and then went to my mom's. I took more pictures than this but just realized they are on Jason's computer and I'm way too lazy to go get them right now. Clara almost was excited to open presents.We ate breakfast and then hung out there the rest of the day! On the way home, we stopped by Ryan and Kathryn's to say hi (their girls were sick so they didn't come over). Okay, Clara isn't looking at the camera, BUT, the important thing to note is her little pigtail. :) It was her first day of pigtails and my goodness it was cute. It didn't last long, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! And the little leggings from Auntie Angela are just too cute. Oh my gosh, I love having a girl!!I have thought a lot about why I like Christmas so much, even when I can't give the gifts I'd like to. Obviously, I enjoy it because I love to think of the birth of Christ. I love the spirit I feel when I think about what a significant and glorious birth that was. I love the cold weather, I love the feeling int he air and I love time off from work. I didn't work on Christmas but even better, I didn't feel guilty for not working like I normally do on days I "take off". I just love how life seems to slow for a few days and we get to spend lots of time with family and relax and just enjoy life. As the day came to a close, I did get a little sad thinking I would have to wait another year for Christmas, but I am also looking forward to the New Year. Each New Year is like a new beginning bringing the opportunity to start fresh and to set goals to be a better person.

Celebration

On Saturday, Angela's birthday, we celebrated her and Clara's birthdays. We had our little party at my mom's and got an 8-foot sub for lunch. Man, that thing was BIG! I spent way too long decorating my cupcakes but enjoyed every second of it. Perhaps that is really what my calling in life is. I was proud of them and even more proud when Angela noticed the little designs are to match the "flowers" that Angela put on the invitations.
We ate inside but migrated out front for the cake. I found this lady that bakes cakes in cans (see her book here) and using that idea, decided to make Clara and Angela mini cakes. I think they turned out totally adorable and look forward to the next excuse to make one. Clara's was more than once referred to as the leaning tower of Pisa, but it survived, even after she picked at it for several minutes. After we sang, I enjoyed watching Angela pick at her cake in front of everyone right along side Clara. Clara was hilarious. She began by, oh so inncocently, pinching little bits of frosting off and eating it. She really liked the frosting.
She picked and picked and from the spectator's point of view, she hadn't done much, but from her view, you can see she was getting plenty to eat.We turned the cake so she had a fresh slate of frosting to pick at and that's when the real fun began. She stopped being ladylike and started grabbing fistfuls of frosting AND cake. She LOVED it and was having a great time. When she had a mouthful, she still enjoyed the feeling of squishing cake and frosting through her little fingers.She was more than happy to share with anyone that wanted a taste.Lucy was a very loyal cousin and stayed by her side for quite some time making sure Clara was getting enough to eat and that what she was eating, did, in fact, taste okay.

Once there were no obviously large chunks of cake left on the plate, Clara tipped the plate and shook it. And then, she began licking and chewing on the plate. I guess I shouldn't lick my plate clean in front of her anymore... I didn't realize she'd copy me. Seriously, I've never done this and neither has Jason. It's interesting to see things that they figure out on their own, just using their common sense.
Now this is a very satsified little baby. I'm sure she can hardly wait until her birthday next year. Little does she know her cake and frosting intake will be moderated for birthday #2!
I totally forgot to bring an extra change of clothes, so Clara opened presents in her diaper. She got some fun toys and cute clothes. She was good and had a really fun day. Thanks to everyone that came and helped us celebrate her and Angela's birthdays. Thanks to my mom for letting us use her home... AGAIN (someday we'll have either a bigger home or a landscaped backyard to accomodate larger crowds) and for all the fun stuff she got. Clara is so blessed to be so loved and I'm so blessed to be her mom!