The Best Christmas Ever! - 2011

I am sorry I am late posting this!  I would make all kinds of excuses about being busy (because I was), but truthfully, I have been putting off blogging this post for a specific reason.

I am running out of photo storage on Blogger.

If you click to some ancient-of-days post (say, from 2009 or something), the photos will be missing and will have a blank space with a minus sign where the picture used to be.  Phooey!!!  Blogger uses Picasa Web Albums for photo storage, and apparently, I have reached the limit of what Picasa is willing to store for me for free.  I either have to pay for more storage space (boo!), switch to another blogging forum (a definite possibility), or cull my photos.  I may switch my school website to some other platform and that should ease the photo problem, temporarily.

Anyways, this post is going to be photo rich, so I hesitated to put it out there, knowing it would destroy the oldest photos currently in existence on this site.  Ah well.  You can't have it all, I guess.

So, here goes;

Christmas Eve

 We set a more informal table for Christmas than for Thanksgiving.  Still, we pulled out the wine goblets and nice silverware.

 Thanksgiving dinner is always turkey.  Christmas dinner is always ham.  If you do anything other than that, I am sorry, but you are not from the 'true' family!  ;)  We had a side salad, green beans, and some twice baked potatoes, too.

 To drink, we had several different flavors of sparkling 'cider' and egg nog.

 Yes, Helena and I had fun taking pictures of our food, again!  Oi!  It was way too much food!  My eyes are always bigger than my stomach.  I need to mention, too, that dessert was yummy individual little cheesecakes made by Helena!

 Later that evening, Will decided to try mixing some egg nog and some sparkling cider.  Yes, I took a sip and yes, it tasted NASTY!  He ended up with a stomach ache later in the evening because it was. in fact, a BAD combo!

 Like most people, we have a tradition of giving PJ's for Christmas Eve gifts.  Here are Helena and Will in their new jammies...

 Notice how much taller Will is than Helena now?!?  She is officially done growing and is 5'6".  He is 15, still growing, and over 5'10" at the moment.

Group shots with the momma!

We finished up the evening with the traditional Luke 2 reading, then went downstairs to play a family game before bed.  Helena chose Cranium.  It has been so long since we played this one, that the playdoh in the tins had hardened and was unusable.  So we just skipped any card that said it was a scupturade.  We had a blast!  It doesn't really matter what game you play, it just matters that you play together as a family!

Oh!  I have to share this!  Helena and I were a team and we were doing a pictionary challenge.  I was the drawer and she was supposed to guess.  The word was 'dung beetle'.  I drew poop (it was a masterpiece, let me tell you) and a bug.  Her guesses?

"stink bug?" (I admit, that one was a good guess, but it goes downhill from there)...

"poop bug?"

"Fecal insect?!?"

I thought Bill was going to pass out he was laughing so hard!

No, we did not win that particular challenge, but who cares?  We had such a fun time!

Finally, everyone headed to bed at a shockingly reasonable time because we knew we had to be up, eat breakfast, and have the present opening all done before 10 am church.

Christmas Morning

Most years, there are some 'big' gifts sitting out from Santa.  However, this year, everyone got their 'big' gifts early.  That wasn't intentional, it just sort of happened.  So, most of the gifts under the tree were smaller, less expensive, but still very well thought out for each person involved.

 My favorite gift this year was from my son, Will!  He saw that I wanted a knitting board (from my recent blog post, probably), so he went to the local craft store and got me one!!!  AHHH!!!  Sweater knitting, here I come!  In the meantime, I am working on making a blanket out of squares of various knit patterns so I can learn them really well, first.  It is going to be awesome!  The colors are oatmeal, charcoal, and barn red!

There isn't a picture of it, but my second favorite gift was a secret stocking stuffer from my husband... a waterproof lap timer watch for swimming!  I've already tried it out and I found I push myself so much harder when I know I am timing myself!  Ah, what a killer workout!

 The kids gave Bill some snow shoes, so now, if it ever actually decides to snow this year... he'll be ready!

 Helena's reaction to a gift...

 This is the gift that had her so happy... a Harry Potter charm bracelet!  I got it off of Etsy.com.  Each of the seven book covers are attached to the front of scrabble tiles that spell out H POTTER, and there are silver charms in between that go along with the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling.  Yup.  It is good to know what makes your kids tick!

 Will in front of the fireplace looking through his stocking.  I don't have any photos of him opening presents this year, because he sat right beside me, and that is an awkward angle for photography.  Still, he was thrilled with his mostly weaponry themed Christmas.  I just hope the new CO2 powered airsoft gun doesn't lead to new holes in walls and fences!  He was also thrilled with his new tomahawk and arrows to restock the quiver on his bow!

 Here is a story for you.  Helena's favorite author is John Green.  She follows his youtube channel and has been eagerly awaiting the release of his new book, The Fault In Our Stars, set to come out January 10th.  I pre-ordered a signed copy and was planning to place the receipt in her stocking so she could anticipate its arrival.  But then...

I got an e-mail notification that my order had been shipped.

???

Then, John Green announced to the world that someone at Barnes & Noble had mistakenly shipped out the books EARLY!!!  He was devastated and everything was being done to stop the shipments, but that it was simply too late, the damage had been done and some of the books got leaked to the public before the official release date.

HELENA GOT ONE OF THE LEAKED BOOKS!!!  And I put it under the tree.

She had known about the leak and had been 'devastated', too, because she was worried about spoilers being posted, so she was over the moon when she opened the gift and realized that she had won the luck lottery on this one.  She was going to 'seal' it and wait until Jan. 10th to read it.  That only lasted a day.  She has now read it and is honoring the author's request to not post any spoilers out there for those who are still waiting for their copies to arrive.

Christmas Day

Last year, Will and I spent Christmas Day skiing at Sundance.  That was quite the experience and I truly had a blast!  Christmas day is the best day to go skiing because there are so few people up there.  So, Bill and I decided that we would make it into a family tradition!  After church, we geared up and headed up the mountain for a day for sunshine and snowy adventure.

 The pictures are all out of order, and I am too lazy to fix that, so you are getting a hodge-podge of the day.  These first two shots are actually later in the afternoon, during our lunch break back at the lodge cafe.

I can't begin to describe what a fun day it was!  All of us together on the mountain being active... nobody plugged in or shut off in an electronic world of their own!  

 Will is the only experienced skier in the family.  He took off for most of the day up on the real slopes, while the rest of us played around on the bunny hill all day.  He would come back and check up on us from time to time.

The bunny hill tow rope operator was named Casey.  He was friendly and helpful all day, especially to cute Helena, who was learning how to ride a snowboard for the first time.  Casey was 20 and very interested in learning more about Helena, too.  He took the photo of Bill, Helena, and I, then I took another photo with him in it.  BTW, Helena made her cute hat!

 This shot was actually taken at the end of the day.  The resort was shutting down for the evening, but Helena and Will wanted one more quick run down the final slope to the lodge, so they ran up the side on their own.

 Some shots of cute Helena giving snowboarding a try!

 She got compliments on her ski jacket from another woman on the slopes.

 Helena fell down plenty of times while trying the different tips and advice freely given to her by tow operator, Casey.  But she laughed it off and kept on trying.  She ended up doing really great by the end of the day!  I think she is ready to tackle the lift next time we go.  Bill is returning to skiing after a 20 year hiatus, so he didn't really need the bunny hill all that much, he just hung out with us anyways and went out of his way to 'crash' by going off into the bush instead of staying on the groomed hill.

 One of those rare moments when Will stopped by to see how we were doing.

 There has been no snow this year.  NONE!  Not even at the ski resorts.  It is pathetic, actually.  Last year there was tons of snow and the trees were all heavily laden with it!  This year, the only snow on the slopes is man made.  Still, we'll take it in order to have a fabulous Christmas day together!

I will admit, I am still a coward when it comes to skiing.  I ROCK the bunny hill!  I enjoy it immensely!  But when it comes to a real slope?  I am terrified!!!  Why do I want to strap boards on my feet and go careening at high speeds down a steep hill?!?  Because it is a fear I want to overcome.  So I will go back.  And back again.  And again.  Until I overcome that fear and am able to actually ENJOY skiing down a real mountain slope!

Christmas Evening

When we got home from skiing, we quickly changed and headed over to Erik and Deanna's house for a family party!  Peder and Jody are in town with their girls, so most the Weierholt siblings were there.  Only Trina and her family were missing.  It was a loud and boisterous night!  Most of the Weierholt cousins are young.  My kids are the oldest cousins except one.  Kai is older than Will, but not older than Helena.  But Kai is one of Trina's, and wasn't there, so most of the kids there were little.

Oh!  It was a great Christmas!  Full of fun and laughter, I can't wait to do it again next year!

Flashback Friday No. 5 - 1993

December 24, 1993


We are in Seattle.  Helena did pretty well on take off & during the flight; but she did not like the descent into Seattle.  It hurt my ears, so I'm sure it hurt hers.  There were an extra 5,000 feet to descend because of the difference in altitude level.


A really interesting moment occurred while we were waiting in the Salt Lake City Airport.  Everywhere I go with Helena, women look at me with a new light in their eyes.  Women with children have a knowing, friendly, conspirational look.  I didn't think much of it until the incident in the airport.  An Arab family walked by while I was holding Helena.  The wife/mother was heavily veiled so only her eyes showed.  Yet her eyes held that exact same look I had seen on other women's faces, and I am sure she was smiling. Her very foreign-ness made me realize that Motherhood is a binding universal sisterhood, as well.  A commonality that can bring cultures together in peace and joy.  It truly is the greatest calling of all.  What a wonderful world this would be if loving mothers controlled everything.  Perhaps it still could be if more children were as the Armies of Helaman who valued the words and teachings of their mothers.


Of course, I cannot write on Christmas Eve without reflecting on the birth of Him whom we honor on this day (or tomorrow, in any event).  As I hold Helena, I think; 'Christ was once a tiny baby, just like her."  Then I think of what he has done for all mankind and I marvel at it.


*****


Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bucket List

We all have one.  Things we want to do.  Most of the stuff on it is far off, possibly never to be accomplished.  Because, of course, a bucket list is a list of all the most amazing stuff we want to do BEFORE WE DIE.  Most of us are comfortable pushing off the stuff on this list because we have mundane, everyday kinds of stuff to get done in the here and now, and there will always be time later because death is no where near.

But the fallacy there is the statement that death is no where near.  We don't actually know when we are going to die.  Maybe when we're 100.  Maybe tomorrow.

So, how important to you is your bucket list and all the stuff on it?

My bucket list has some stuff that I hope to do, if I get a chance.  Like traveling to Norway.  But it also holds stuff that I really want to do/learn.

Like complete an Ironman triathlon.  And knitting a sweater.

I am working on the Ironman thing.  Every time I sign up for another race (whether it's a marathon, bike, or tri) I come another step closer to that goal.  A full marathon is on my bucket list too, and I'll be doing that one this June!

But the knitting?

I can knit hats on a 'knifty knitter' loom.  Whoopee.

I want one of these!!!

It is a knitting board.  It would allow me to create sweater panels.

I don't do the whole knitting with needles thing.  I have tried that and ended up with lumpy, irregular garbage.  The knitting board would keep the knitting uniform.  Then I could focus on learning patterns and designs for creating the sweater panels.

Why is it so important to me to learn to knit, you wonder?

My paternal grandmother knitted.  She knitted Norwegian sweaters.  I have a couple of the sweaters she made.  They are very precious to me because they came from her hands.

Oh!  I want that connection to her and my heritage.

She passed away when I was 1 year old and never had a chance to teach me.

Wouldn't it be great to see her again on the other side and have her be proud of me for carrying on that skill?

So, what's on your bucket list?

What's Christmas Without a Little MoTab?

This morning we went to a Christmas concert.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon a request form for tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert online.  I decided it would be a fun holiday activity for the whole family, so I entered our request for 4 tickets.  There were 4 performance options and you had to list your preference order from 1 to 4.  My first choice was Friday night, followed by Saturday, Sunday, then Thursday.  The chances of getting the tickets was pretty slim, because it is a VERY popular free concert.

So, imagine my surprise and delight when 4 tickets for the Sunday morning concert arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later!

We woke up to a freezing fog.  It was probably only about 12*F outside.  There wasn't much traffic, seeing as it was a Sunday morning, and I bet at least 1/3 of all the cars headed north on the freeway with us were all headed the same place we were.  When we got to downtown SLC, the line of cars trying to get to the parking lots closest to the Conference Center was immense!  So we skipped it and drove off on our own to a parking garage farther away, then walked.  Yes, it was a cold walk, but I swear we got there sooner than if we had been in that monster line of cars.

Images of the Salt Lake Temple in the fog.  There were literally thousands of people all around us, so it felt festive and yet peaceful all at the same time.  I have to say, it is incredible how streamlined and efficient  the church volunteers are at getting everyone inside, through security, and seated!  The security is probably always there, but we were so lucky to have Sunday tickets for one special reason.  I think the security was there because the prophet and president of the church, President Thomas S. Monson, was in attendance at this performance!  When he walked in, the entire room silently stood in respect as he took his seat with the audience.

And when I say the entire room, that is no small thing!  The Conference Center has a seating capacity of 21,333 people!  Nearly every seat was filled for this concert (and I am sure for the 3 preceding concerts).  It is a truly immense space!  We were sitting on the terrace level.

The concert was a combination of singing by The Choir (there is really only one great American Choir) and an Opera baritone named Nathan Gunn, recitations by Jane Seymour, music by a master organist, the Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square, and dancing.  So really, a little of everything!  One interesting note, the large screens on the walls allow the audience to see the zoomed in images that are broadcast to TV, and when the cameras zoomed in on the ballet dancers in center stage just blow the choir, we recognized one of them!  Her name is Rachelle, and she just retired as the principal ballerina at Utah Regional Ballet, where Helena used to dance.  She is such a sweet girl and it was fun to recognize someone we knew personally in the performance!

At one point during the performance, the announcer came on stage to ask the audience a favor.  Apparently, during his rendition of "T'was the Night Before Christmas", Nathan Gunn does something funny that gets the audience laughing.  The audio recording department wanted a 'clean take' because they are creating a DVD of this year's performance to be released next year.  So they asked an audience of 21,000 to just smile and not laugh at the funny spot.  And you know what?  It was done!  Other than one or two people who seemed to have no self control, that is.  But they were up in the terrace, so I don't think it would have been a problem.

The first half of the performance was actually the live broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word".  "Music and the Spoken Word" is the longest running live broadcast program in history.  It first aired on the radio in 1929.  There is a blurb about it on the back of the second program (the one pictured below).  It says that the first announcer had to stand on a ladder to speak into the single microphone, which was hanging from the ceiling.  He stayed on that ladder for the entire performance.  He also had to wait for a telegraph signal to let him know when to start the show.

It is so incredible to think how much things have changed!  This was a high tech and VERY professionally run show.  If you have ever watched it (you can usually find it on your local PBS station) you would never know that there are over 20,000 people in a live audience watching it happen.

It was a fun morning and a great way to start off Christmas vacation!

Random Sampler

I don't have one  big thing to write about, so I'll give you a mosaic of quick moments over the course of the past week.

*****

When leaving the tutoring room early in the week during the transition to morning recess, I overheard one of my students ask himself "Does this coat make me look fat?" as he walked with the masses outside to play.  He is in fourth grade.  I just laughed at him and told him he was a goof.  When he asked again, I assured him that it did not and sent him on his way.

*****

In theory, holding tutoring sessions on the last day of school before Christmas break seemed totally doable.  And, for the morning session it was no problem.  But the afternoon session?  Those kids were on the biggest high you've ever seen!  Bouncing off the walls would not be a figure of speech, but rather a reality with this group.  I would rather have been thrown inside a burlap sack with a couple of fighting cats.  Yup.  It was, in fact, that fun.

*****

There weren't supposed to be any new teachers at our school this year.  We got downsized and many good teachers were forced out to other schools in the district.  However, this past fall there were a couple of teachers who quit unexpectedly, so there are a couple of new teachers.  The new teachers keep coming up against this wall of ignorance when it comes to school culture and traditions.  No one thinks to inform them because everybody else just knows from past experience.

For instance, class parties.  Everyone knows they are to be scheduled in the last hour of whole group instruction time, to make it easier for the moms throwing the parties to be able to take their kids with them when they leave, rather than having to make two trips to the school... one for the party, and another to pick up the kids.

Everyone knows except the new kids on the block.  Yesterday, I expected to only have one afternoon class, because of class parties.  Except I ended up having one of the classes unexpectedly because the teacher thought she had to hold her party early, in order to not miss art.

It's no biggie.  I didn't mind having them, of course.  She just felt sheepish because she didn't realize she could have held the party at the end of the day.  Instead, she was stuck doing routine educational stuff AFTER the party.  Honest-to-goodness, what a nightmare!  If you doubt me, let me refer you back to random sample no. 2.

*****

Bill brought me lunch at school again, yesterday.  Mostly so he could let me know that he decided to head to St. George for the weekend on a mountain biking adventure with Russ, the physical therapist.  He wanted to say goodbye, because he'd be gone before I got home from work.

I honestly don't mind him taking off into the wild blue all the time.  I occasionally get grumpy about being left with all the chores and child raising while he is off having fun.  But, truthfully, when he is gone, I am free to do selfish stuff, like stay up til four in the morning reading or (as was the case last night) having a movie marathon.  And, of course, there is no one there to make me feel guilty for sleeping in until 11:00 am the following day, either.

*****

Our school faculty does a treat potluck in the last week of school before Christmas.  Everyone signs up for one of the days and brings something unhealthy to share.  For the last three days, there has been a massive smorgasbord of cookies, cakes, candies, and cheese ball platters to clog even the healthiest arteries.  I submit that it is physically impossible to walk past that spread without partaking.  We all grazed every time we walked past it on the way to the work room.

I signed up for Friday.  I did not have any time whatsoever to cook anything this past week, so I figured I'd pick up a Costco container of peppermint bark, or some such thing.  That seemed lame, though, because someone else had done that on all the previous days.  Then I got a great idea!  We've been enjoying our Mick's pepper jelly around the house (I'm out, now, by the way, Mom... hint, hint!) and I suddenly realized that would be the PERFECT treat to bring!  Very few people around here have ever heard of pepper jelly.  So, I picked up crackers, cream cheese, and some pepper jelly at the store.  The only jar I could find, in fact.  Not Mick's, of course, but you can't have everything when you live so far from the Market.

I was all excited to set it up to share, certain it would be unique.

Two other people brought the exact same thing!  And they beat me in setting it up.  Drat!  I just ended up bringing mine back home.  It was certainly not needed, in any case.  Friday's sign-up had more people on the list than any other day and there was "no room in the inn", so to speak, for my plate o'goodness.

Incidentally, I think it was just an incredible fluke that we all brought pepper jelly on the same day.  Both of the other ladies who brought it told me they had picked up the liking for pepper jelly while visiting Seattle.  Is it regional, I wonder?  It was definitely a novelty for most of the rest of the faculty, who were pleasantly surprised by how yummy it is.

*****

I am now basically finished with Christmas shopping, save for one gift for my brother-in-law.  But I know what that is going to be and it will be simple to take care of this week.  He lives here, so shipping is not an issue.  I am also done with the wrapping, too!  So now I can sit back and RELAX this week!

That makes me so happy I am almost giddy!

Here's to a happy lead up week to Christmas, y'all!

Flashback Friday No. 4 - 1992 - AKA: "How I Met Your Father"

Helena has a new favorite TV sit-com.  It is called "How I Met Your Mother".  I thought I'd borrow the title (with a slight twist) for the title of this post.  My life is not a sit-com, of course.  But the title fits.

I promised last week that Flashback Friday this week would be a flashback to the day I met Bill.  So, in honor of that promise, here it is!

*****

December 6, 1992


Well, I've done it again.  I must be the most fickle girl in the world.


My relationship with Kevin has been developing slowly but surely.  We spend a lot of time with each other and I am very sorry to say, he has been a serious distraction to my studies.


On Friday night (tonight being Sunday) Kevin and I went ice-skating and had a good time.  Then, on Saturday, two of my room-mates and I decided to go ice-skating again.  Tina had never been, and Sheri had only been once, in 2nd grade.


So we went.  I was having a good time teaching them to skate, when all of a sudden, an extremely good looking man skated by.  I smiled at him and he smiled back.  I was smitten.  I smiled at him several times and even said "hi".  I noticed that he seemed to be alone and I decided to go up to him and strike a conversation.


I skated right up to him and asked "Are you here alone?"  Indeed he was.  We ended up skating together for the rest of the evening.  In fact, when my room-mates were ready to leave, he asked if I could drop them off and come back; because he wanted to skate with me some more.  So I did.


I found out his name is William Doyle Watson (Bill for short) and he is 22.  Unfortunately, he has not been to college.  I say unfortunately because I am extremely attracted to him and I have always imagined that I could not date anyone who is less educated than I.  (Oh, I was an arrogant idiot!  And it is rather ironic that my grammar is all shot to... well, you get the idea.)  Also unfortunately because my mother did not sound too pleased about the fact that I liked an "uneducated" man.


He may not know as much about ancient cultures and modern philosophies as I, but he knows how to be a perfect gentleman and there was nothing coarse or unrefined about his manners.


He held my hand while we skated, and he bought drinks for myself and my room-mates (at least, he would have bought my room-mates drinks, but they declined)  He is around 6 feet tall and has dark sandy blond (brownish) hair and beautiful blue eyes.  His smile would melt the hardest of hearts.  He is working as a construction worker, but that is not what he wants to do in life.  It sounded like he was interested in attending college.


Do I sound twitter-pated?


The rink was closed early due to all of the snowfall (it was snowing heavily the whole time), so Bill asked me to have dinner with him.  We went to a restaurant called Shashoney's (I am not sure if that is the correct spelling) [It was Shoney's, actually]  We had a wonderful time.  He kept holding my hand, opening doors for me, and being a total gentleman. 


After dinner, he drove me back to my car (which we had left at the skating rink parking lot), then he got out and scraped the windows for me!  Then I told him I had a wonderful time & he said "me too, I didn't expect to be going on a date tonight!"  Then he gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek.


It all seems so unreal!  It is like a fairytale or a dream!


Oh!  Once when we were going around one of the curves on the rink, some teenage girls (I'd guess they were 10th grade) hollered "Hey, is she your girlfriend?"; and Bill said "Yes"  I laughed and told him they were probably really disappointed.


So, now:  What do I do?  Should I tell Kevin about my "one night stand"?  He is the one who said he wasn't ready to be committed to dating just one person.  If Bill never calls me, then does Kevin really need to know?  Or, if Bill does call & I start dating him, how will I tell Kevin & what will that do to him?  Does the fact that I am extremely attracted to Bill mean that I have been fooling myself about my true feelings for Kevin?  So many questions!  Can I feel right about dating both of them; and is it moral/ethical to kiss two different guys at the same time?  I don't know why I am stressing, he probably will never call.


This has all come at the worst possible time.  Finals are this week and I am failing French.  C'est la vie.

*****

Some of that is embarrassing to put out there.  But, I promised not to self edit.  So that is the real deal.  Exactly what was going through my 22 year old head.

So weird to read that almost 20 years later!

I am so grateful for the journal entries I wrote while we were dating!  Life is not easy, and our marriage has been through some ups and downs (as it has for every one, I'm sure).  We were so young, full of life, optimism, and love.

Everyone entertains the thought "If I knew then what I know now, would I have made the same choice?" ....at least once in their lives.  Most of us ask ourselves that question often.

The answer might change, depending on the circumstances at the time.  But at this very moment I can say I would do everything the same.  Love you, Bill!

Saturdays Should be for Sleeping In.

I like to sleep in on the weekends.

I like to sleep in any chance I get!

Today was not one of those days.

Will was being picked up by some friends, who took him with them up to Sundance for the first skiing of the season.  To make sure he was up and ready for them to come get him at 7 am, I got up at 6 am.  Good thing.  He was passed out on the couch in the family room in nothing but his underwear, with the fireplace roaring away, sound asleep.  I had found him dead to the world the night before on the floor in front of the same fireplace and had a difficult time moving him to his own bed.  Turns out he got himself up at 5:30 and fell back asleep in front of the fire.

My kids are constantly turning that thing on and turning the basement into a summer heat-fest.  They don't like to be cold.  Helena's room is downright toasty most of the time, because she keeps her heater vent wide open and her door shut as much as possible.  I get frustrated because I dread the bill to come from this basement heat wave.

Bill was eager to get up early today, too.  He wanted to see the lunar eclipse.  We watched it through the telescope from the spare room for a little bit, until it moved behind some trees.  Then Bill took the telescope out into the front yard.  I will admit, the eclipse was pretty cool.  We had the whole family up (Helena got rousted, too) and looking through the telescope and binoculars.

I had every intention of going back to bed once Will left to go skiing.  But, by the time he actually left, I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep again.  I was tired and wanted to sleep, but the sun was up by then, and I'd just lay there thinking of all the things I ought to be doing instead of laying there, you know?

So, Bill, Helena, and I went out to breakfast and did some Christmas shopping, instead.  We spent the morning at that, and I spent the afternoon wrapping gifts.  Bill picked up Will and his friends in the early evening, just as Helena was headed out for an evening with her best friend, Megan.  It was a good day for everyone, I think.

Flashback Friday No. 3 - 1991

December 10, 1991


I only have a few minutes in which to write, because today is the last day of my Physical Science class & I decided to attend for once.  Class starts in a little over 10 minutes.


Today is Natalie's 21st Birthday!  I've made her a cake & I'm bringing her a bottle of sparkling cider because she brought me a bottle for my 21st birthday.


Family Home Evening yesterday was a joke.  We tried to organize a trip to Temple Square, but couldn't find enough transportation.  So then no one wanted to go through with planning an alternative.  We ended up going to a movie again, as always, because we couldn't think of anything fun & cheap to do.  I should state, however, that Dave Peterson and Melanie Mills showed up out of the 10 members of the FHE group not living in Shipp 113.  I'm sick of FHE & my FHE group.


Tomorrow is the last class day & we've only a week until finals.  I'm going to have to study alot, & pray some, too, if I hope to do well on my finals!  I can't wait until they are over!  I want to go home.

*****

This was written while I was a student at BYU.  The first paragraph includes a confession.  There were certain classes in my college career that didn't get much face time from me.  I showed up on the first week, picked up the syllabus, and listened to the first lecture or two.  If the class didn't hold my interest, I did my studying at home in the textbook (following the syllabus) and turned up at the testing center on the dates listed in the syllabus to take the tests.  This only worked on those beastly large classes that every undergrad is required to take.  You know, the lecture hall filled with over 600 students all taking notes on whatever the minuscule dot of a man at the front of the room was droning on and on about.  I'd end up pulling a low B or a C in the class and just walk away grateful that one was over with.

In fact, here is an amusing side story about one particular class.  American Heritage is the beast of a class at BYU that EVERYONE must take to get an undergrad degree at that school.  I never went to the lecture.  But there were smaller lab classes that were required and attendance at those was mandatory, since they actually took roll there.  On the first day, the TA running the class called roll for the first time.  When he got to "Katharina Weierholt" on the list he paused and said, "Are you Norwegian?"  Thinking he'd said "Is your name Norwegian?"  I quickly responded with "Yes."  After a bit of reflecting, though, I realized I'd just told this guy that I was, in fact, from Norway.  Oops.

The class was deadly boring.  I decided I'd spice it up (for myself, anyway) by pretending that I WAS from Norway!  This, of course, meant I had to speak in an accent, if I was ever called upon to speak in class.  Which was never, so the accent thing was pretty easy...

...until the day I was sitting in the back of the room, not paying attention.

TA:  "...and has anyone here been inside a European cathedral?"

Me:  (thinking, 'hey, if I'm from Norway, I probably have.  I have no idea what he's even talking about, and I haven't really, but, more than half the class is raising their hands, so he won't call on me in the back.')  Raise hand.

TA:  "Katharina!  Will you tell us what it was like?"

Me:  ('Crap!  How does he even remember my name?  Now what?!?')  "Vell,  Eet vas verry, verry, beeg.  And I felt so verry, verry smøll.  Eet is so verry old.  Een zee aisles, zee floor ees ahl vorn avay, from ahl zee øthare feet who ahve been zaire beefore you.  You feel so  eensigneeficant."

No kidding.  (If any of my Norwegian cousins are reading this, I have to give you a great big apology!  I admit, I was a complete and utter idiot and you deserve better than to be related to me.)

And his response?

TA:  "YES!!!  THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!"

Me:  ('Whew!  I am NEVER raising my hand again!') As I slink down in my seat and hope a hole opens up and swallows me whole.

Back to the journal post.  The second paragraph is about my best friend, Natalie.  She was a best friend all growing up and was also at BYU.  We've known each other since we were 10.  We have grown apart over the years, but still keep in touch once a year at Christmas time.  I got her Christmas card in the mail, today, in fact.  She lives in Southern California now, a fact that I try not to be too envious over. ;)

The next part of the journal post is about Family Home Evening at school.  Family Home Evening is one evening of the week dedicated to spending time as a family.  Usually held on a Monday night.  Great for actual families.  Rather goofy and pointless for single college students.  I think it was just another BYU attempt at the 'mix and mingle let's help these singles find a soul mate' gig.  I did NOT find my soul mate at a single's FHE get together.  Obviously, from the tone of this post.

And finally, you can tell from the final sentence just how homesick I was.  Living 900 miles away from all family is tough when you are young and single.  But it is interesting to note that in almost exactly a year, I would meet my future husband on December 6, 1992!  (Yes, there is a post about that.  Maybe you'll get that one next week.)

A Little of This and A Little of That

I want to tell you about my most awesome holiday decoration of all time.

It's a port-a-pot!

The gas company has been replacing a high powered gas line that just happens to run right in front of my house.  They notified us in the mail some months ago, and we have been watching them slowly work towards our house from both directions for over a month.  The segment of line they are replacing stretches from Lehi to Pleasant Grove and crosses through the heart of American Fork.  We are right in the middle and they seemed to decide to save us for last for some fun reason.  So we are under heavy construction for the holidays.  And to make it even more perfect?  The workers planted their Honey Bucket in our front yard!  Nothing says Merry Christmas quite like a portable toilet.  It is very National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, I must say, and I am itching to hang a wreath on the door and maybe even string some lights on that bad boy.

They should hopefully be done and gone before Christmas actually hits.  But in the meantime, we've had to park our cars at the rec. center lower parking lot and walk in to our house during the day, because there is a huge trench cutting off our driveway.  The construction crews place steel plates over the trench in the evenings before they leave for the day, so we can bring our cars home, and they wait til we leave in the morning before lifting the plates back off again.

That brings me to item no. 2 of 'This and That'.

My car wouldn't start yesterday morning.

Gah!

Everyone else had already left for work/school.  I really needed to get to work, but the car battery was dead.

Now, I had a momentary thought about asking the construction workers for help.  But, of course, I just had to be independent about it.  I texted Helena, instructing her to come back home with the Expedition so I could use it to get to work.  Helena was on her way home, when a construction worker knocked on my door.  They had noticed I was having car troubles and could they help?  I should have just asked them for help in the first place!

So, Helena was extremely late to first period, and I was 20 minutes late to work... which for most people's jobs would be no big deal.  I had students waiting for me.  Double Gah!

I was SO STRESSED OUT!  I was feeling very picked on that morning.

And then Bill sent a text.

He was working in the area and wanted to have lunch together.  He brought Rubio's to the school, we ate it in my classroom and had a little mini lunch date.  He had no idea I'd had such a rough morning (I hadn't told him about the car, yet).

That just turned my whole day around!  I don't know if it was coincidence, luck, or providence that prompted Bill to set up that lunch date on that particular day, but I sure was grateful!

Doctor Visits

I took my top off in three different venues, today.

That sound really, really bad, doesn't it?

I went to the doctor today.  It has been a month since that woman rear ended my car.  I have been going to physical therapy all of this time and I am happy to say that the muscle soreness is mostly gone, now.  Remember the spot in the middle of my back, though?  The spot that felt like someone had punched it with a pointy tool?

It still hurts.

The doctor wanted X rays.  That was the first top removal of the day.  Those weren't conclusive, so he sent me over to the hospital for a CT scan of my spine.  That was top removal no. 2.  I have to say that was kinda fun.  Not the stripping part!  Get your mind out of the gutter!  I've never had a CT scan before.  It is a big white donut looking thing with a platform sticking out of it like a tongue.  I laid down on the platform, that moved me through the donut while the whole thing whirred and spun like some futuristic Stargate portal.  I almost expected to come out of that thing in a different universe, or at least in a different time/space continuum.  Yes, I am an unabashed sci/fi geek.  But I seem to still be in the same universe since the ugly Honeybucket Christmas decoration is still in my front yard (more on that later).

What were they looking for with all this radiology?

The doctor suspects a compression fracture on the T7 vertebrae.

I may have a broken back?!?

Fabulous.

And the third time I got to strip?

Physical therapy, of course.  Every time I go I have to strip to the waist and wear a hospital gown so they can put electrodes, heating pads, and ultrasound waves on my back.  And don't forget the massage!  Today was the first time the therapist didn't do ASTYM on my back.  I don't know what that stands for.  It is a technique of scraping at the shallow muscle tissue and creating minor bruises to stimulate faster healing of the surrounding tissues.  No, it does not feel good and yes, it leaves marks all down the sides of my spine for about a day after each time he does it.  No ASTYM, but he did include some weight lifting exercises to strengthen my back muscles, and stood over me making sure I did them.  I will be sore tomorrow!

So, three.  That's how many times I had to take my clothes off, today.  I really should have chosen an easier bra/top ensemble.

Flashback Friday No. 2

December 11, 2005


We held our Family Home Evening with the "Jesus Present" last week.  This has been a family tradition ever since the kids were little.  We wanted to remind the children that Jesus should be the focus of our celebrations.  Every year, therefore, we discuss what we could give to Jesus in the new year.  We try to set goals to become more Christlike, or ways to make ourselves better disciples.  This year I plegdged to be more optimistic and look less grumpy.  I also pledged to write in my journal every Sunday this year (yes, today is Sunday).  My final gift is to exercise 3X each week.


That last one is my Achilles heel, so to speak.  I know I am happier when I exercise, I feel better about myself, too.  I struggle w/getting out of bed in the mornings.  I need to force myself to go to bed on time!  I will try to report on my progress each week.


Yesterday I had a fairly bad day.  Our clothes dryer is broken, Bill was gone all day helping Necia move, & Helena neglected to call me & ask if she could stay late at a party at Sis. Millward's house.  I sat at the computer fuming while waiting for the printer to finish.


Then I started watching my screen saver.  It cycles through all of the photos on my computer.  Image after image portraying happy children, family celebrations, & good times presented themselves to my view.  My mood lifted as I was reminded of sweet & happy moments.  I think that is one important reason to journal & keep photographic record of our lives.  It lifts our spirits and reminds us of better times when life has us down.

*****

So.  We've fallen out of the practice of using the "Jesus Present".  Perhaps we should revive that one.  On the surface, it looks a bit like a New Year's resolution gig.  However, it was really a way to try to focus the kids on the Savior at a time when they were constantly bombarded with advertisements for the hottest have-to-have-it piece o' crap toys of the season.  It was my bid at trying to get the kids to think of Jesus and not "gimme, gimme, gimme!"  The "Jesus Present" was always the first gift to go under the tree every year.  It was a wrapped gift box that could be easily opened each year.  During a family meeting, we would read aloud last year's gifts to Jesus and talk about how we did at living up to them.  Then we would talk about what we could do this year to become better Christians and write down the "gifts" each family member wanted to "give" to Jesus for the following year.  Often the kids gifts involved being nicer to each other.

The "Jesus Present" wasn't our only bid for a more Christ centered Christmas, of course.  But it was a really nice one.  We should bring it back.

As for the screen saver, I still have it (and still have that same slow old junky computer, in fact).  I occasionally get sucked into sitting there just watching it.  It never fails to bring warm happy remembrances of all the years of fun and laughter.  I need to buy one (or several) of those digital picture frames and place them strategically about the house.  I think it would build stronger family bonds and lift spirits around here to have constantly rotating reminders of all the good times!

Blah

Today was a blah day.

You know.  One of those days that just can't seem to go well, no matter what.

I have a sinus infection.  Blah.

It was hard to get up and get going this morning.  Blah.

Talking to students all day ran my throat ragged and now I have a 'sicky' voice.  Blah.

Dealing with crying first graders and hyper/frustrated third graders.  Double blah.

Really, it all boils down to not feeling well.  If I could just flush away this crummy feeling cold with gallons of water, I'd drink every drop!

As it is, feeling blah brings on binge eating of the worst sort.  I don't feel good, so I eat ice cream.  even though I know that is the WORST possible thing to eat right now.  (Dairy fats congest me, that's why I drink fat free milk)  And since cold symptoms keep me from wanting to work out, too... it's a double whammy.

So, I have to pick myself up out of the proverbial gutter and give myself a good shaking.  I'm going to have to have an iron will to make myself drink tons of water, eat my veggies, and avoid sugar if I want to heal quickly so I can stay on my plan.

Why is it so easy to give myself these little pep talks AFTER I've had the sugar?  And so freakishly impossible during a craving?

Heavy sigh.

An Early Christmas

I didn't go Black Friday shopping this year.  I didn't want to come down with pneumonia.  Also, there was no need.  These days you can do your critical shopping from home, so there is no need to go get all aggressive and scary out in the freezing pre-dawn cold.  I really do hate the hype and frenzied feeling it brings to the holiday season.  I had a calm day at home, instead.

Actually, I was supposed to go tailgating with Erik, Bill, and Will at the Utes game yesterday.  Unfortunately, I came down with a sinus infection right after Helena's birthday and wasn't willing to spend an entire day out in cold weather.  So I stayed home while the boys went.

Today we went to Doril's Thanksgiving party.  Doril is my Mother-in-Law.  Bill is the 10th of 11 children, all of whom live close by (meaning that none of them are out of state).  Most of his siblings had 6 children each.  You can image how big these gathering could get.  However, there are a lot of no shows these days.  Most of Doril's grandchildren are now married, too, with children of their own.  That makes it difficult for everyone to come to an additional gathering when there are so many other pulls and commitments during the holidays.  We have tried to convince Doril that it is time for her to rest on her laurels and just allow us to take turns hosting her as our guest... to no avail.  She doesn't do 'guest' well.

When we got home from the party, Bill wanted to go out again.  I asked him where he was going, and he said 'to the bike store'.  I thought he was after more parts for his bike, so I asked "Why?", just to harass him.  I certainly wasn't expecting the answer, "To look at bikes for you!"

"Oh!  Can I come?!?"  I replied.

We went to Bill's favorite local bike store, the Bike Barn.  It is owned by friends of ours.  We were just going to look, but then we discovered that they were selling last year's rental bikes!  For less than Bill thought he'd have to pay for my bike, we were able to get one for me and one for him, too!  Mine's 'nicer', apparently, which bemused Bill.  He is used to having the best bike in the garage, after all.  His mountain bike is still top dog, though, so I don't think he really minds.

Bill is working on them now, making sure everything is working just perfectly and is adjusted just right.  I am very happy, because I knew I'd have to get one in order to do longer triathlons.  I used my mountain bike for the sprint triathlon and discovered that I didn't have enough gears.  I had maxed out the gears and still had more ability to go faster, if only the bike was capable of it!  This bike will allow me to do that.  That will be especially important in an Ironman, where I'll need to maintain at least 20 mph for most of it in order to finish in a timely fashion.  After all at 20 mph, it would take about 5 1/2 hours to complete that portion of the race (112 mi.)!  I try not to think things like that because it feels so incredibly overwhelming to me.  I try not to use the word 'impossible'.

Of course, I am still thinking as positively as possible, since I am still way off on my training routine.  I am hoping that this will keep me motivated in my physical therapy so I CAN get back on track.  I keep telling myself that when the weather turns nice again in the spring, my back will be better, too, and I'll be able to ride and run!

Now, you might be asking "Why didn't Bill surprise you with it under the Christmas tree?"

Because we never make big purchases without talking it out, first.  While these were deeply discounted, being rentals, they still qualify as a 'big' purchase around here.

So, an early Merry Christmas!  I guess I'd better get the tree decorated, eh?

Flashback Friday

So, I got to thinking about all those old journals.  The bound book journals dating all the way back to 1979.  In the event of a fire, all of them would be lost.  While I was not a dedicated writer (in the earliest books, more than a year could go by between entries), there are thoughts and experiences in them that I have completely forgotten.  That is the power of writing, of course.  You can capture the moment and relive it years later, often with a chuckle.

So, I got to thinking, it might be fun to 'flash back' to some of those earlier versions of... well.. me!

And so, here is the birth of "Flashback Friday".  I'll try to find an old journal entry from roughly the same date, but from a different year.  I'll keep the original spellings, grammar, and punctuation.  I may even have some commentary, too.

Here goes!

*****

Nov. 26, 1988


     Thanksgiving was 2 days ago.  We had invited Aunt Avis & John to join us for the day & they graciously accepted.  They were to arrive at 1:00 pm, so we spent the morning finishing cleaning the house & getting ourselves ready.  Mom put the finishing touches on the dinner preparations
     They finally arrived at 2:00 pm.  We visited until 4:00, then sat down to enjoy the meal.  There was a huge turkey, squash, candied yams, peas, stuffing, bread (rolls that Avis made) & much more.
     After dinner, we visited for a while longer & then had dessert.  There was a choice of pumpkin pie, cherry pie, or chocolate cake, & you could have either ice-cream or whipped cream with it.
     John is still dating Diana & he said he sees her about twice a week.  He lives in Tacoma now, sharing an apartment with 2 other guys.
     About Jim.  He turned out to be a flake.  His one & only love is computers.  He also seems contemptuous about the "young" age of 18.  He never puts me down, but he certainly derides others.  You see, he's at the venerable old age of 26.
     Jim is much better looking than John, in appearance.  John, however, is a more beautiful person, inside.  I wish things could be different.
     However, I gave John my address & he promised he'd write.  I won't get my hopes up too high, just in case.

*****

Wow.  What a random blast from the past that was!

First off, "Aunt" Avis was NOT my aunt.  She was the mother of my dad's best friend growing up.  They lived near Poulsbo, WA at that time.  My dad helped dig the hole for their swimming pool when he was a teen.

John was her youngest son.  You may have gathered that I had a bit of a crush on him.  Not long after this, he became my first official boyfriend... and my first kiss.  That's right.  I had "virgin lips" (a phrase coined by my daughter and her friend) until I was 18 years old.  I wish I could tell you that my first kiss was magical.  It was so far from that!  He was a wet, sloppy kisser.  Ugh!  Our relationship was doomed to failure because he was a devout Lutheran and I was (and still am) a Mormon.  He felt it was his duty to explain to me all of the reasons my religious views were faulty and every date turned into a religious argument (he called them 'debates').  I never wanted to talk religion, he just couldn't let it rest.  I ended the relationship after only a few months.  My parents were relieved.  Dad always hated the idea of me dating John.

As for this Jim character, I don't even remember him at all.  I have no idea what he looked like or how I knew him.  I do know one thing, though, he was WAY TOO OLD!  Twenty six?!?  What was I thinking?!?  I obviously thought that 18 was a mature and grown up age, even though I was living with my parents, had no responsibilities, and driving one of their cars around.  Sheesh!  What is it about the teenage brain that is in such a hurry to be an adult?  Whoever Jim was, he had a right to be 'contemptuous'.  I was barely legal and he was completely right to steer clear of me.  So very creepy to realize that my daughter is the same age I was when I wrote this entry.  I can't imagine her interested in a 26 year old!  Ugh and double ugh!

There you go.  What did you think of "Flashback Friday"?  Is it worth a second go round next week?

Thanksgiving 2011

We had no special plans this Thanksgiving.  We didn't travel anywhere.  We didn't invite anyone over.

We just had a Thanksgiving with the kids.

In spite of the fact that it was so laid back, we did, in fact, cook the traditional Thanksgiving feast.  Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, and a salad (the spinach/almond/cranberry kind).  I set the table with the fine china, too.

Growing up, Bill and I had very different Thanksgiving experiences.  His family was large and very informal.  They ate off of paper to save on dishes.  Those who were done eating left the table.  It was more of a party atmosphere.

My family was (and still is) very European formal when it came to meals.  Everyone sat together for the entire meal.  You were not dismissed from the table until the meal was over.  If you wanted to leave the table early, you asked permission.  That was just for every day meals.  Special occasion meals were even more formal.  China and real silverware was used.  The serving utensils were made of pewter and were from Norway.  The table was set with every attention to proper etiquette.  We were expected to follow proper etiquette.  We dressed for dinner.  Even if no one else was coming over.

I railed over that last one as a kid.  I didn't see the need to put on a dress when it was just us.  I whined and belly ached over it, but always ended up obeying, because Mom and Dad wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.  However, once we were all sitting together around the table, our clothes seemed to match the table settings and I enjoyed the fancier feeling of the meal.

Now Bill and I sort of glom together our two experiences of Thanksgiving.  We are more casual around the table, and we don't force everyone to dress up.  But I do set the china, as a nod to my past.  I will admit, though, that I miss the formal feeling that dressing up for dinner creates.  The feeling that this meal is special and different.

Of course, the fact that we are all, in fact, sitting around the table together for a meal is special and different, since it happens so rarely these days.

This is my parents' old china set.  It is called 'Greenleaf' and is from Japan.  There are a few missing pieces and a broken creamer.  I have it registered at an online china registry, so if they ever find any pieces, they'll contact me.  It has been over 5 years now, and they still can't find any pieces.

When Mom and Dad got a new china set, I convinced Mom to give me this old set.  I absolutely love it for all the memories it brings back!  I have served Christmas and Thanksgiving feasts on it ever since it became mine, and I hope it brings fond memories to my children, as well.  I even bought a china hutch just so I could store it safely.

I tried a new sweet potato recipe this year.  It has marshmallows and pecans on top.

Bill and Will thought Helena and I had gone nuts because we kept taking pictures of the table settings and our food.  I guess it is just the artist in each of us, or the journalist... or maybe a little of both!

A couple of years ago, Kirsten and Paul had everybody over for Thanksgiving and she served the most amazing soufflé!  She was kind enough to give me the recipe and it has replace the traditional pies for us as a Thanksgiving dessert.  It is a spiced pumpkin soufflé with whipped cream and caramel topping.

I'm pretty sure Helena's photos turned out better than mine!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!