Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Hawaii
Okay. Here I go at trying to do the promised updates.
First, Hawaii.
No, I will not load this post up with pictures. Sorry. If you were hoping for that, the pictures are on Facebook. I've been frustrated at the fact that blogger has a limited capacity for pictures and every time I load a new one, it deletes an old one. If you click on an old post of mine, you will see where the photos have been replaced with a black rectangle with a gray dash in it. Thanks, Blogger, for destroying my blog. I would have switched to a different platform by now... but let's face it, I'm struggling to find the time to blog, let alone transfer to a new site.
Anyways, back to Hawaii.
Bill and I flew out on the Monday after Easter. It was Spring Break for Will and me. That was critical to the timing. Technically, our 20th anniversary has yet to happen (it's on May 8th... tomorrow!!), but there was no way I was going to take off during school and hope that Will would actually get himself to school for a week. So, we went during a school holiday. I felt horribly guilty about leaving the kids. I wanted to take them with us, but there was no way we could afford to. As it was, we stretched our resources to the limit just so we could go. Besides, taking the kids along is a real anniversary kill-joy. So, despite the guilt, we left the kids at home to fend for themselves.
That got some raised eyebrows from some of my coworkers and friends. They thought I was nuts leaving two teens at home alone for a week. But, hey, they are 19 and 16 (nearly 17). They don't need a babysitter. I was fairly confident they could handle themselves while I was gone. And I was right.
This was the first time I have flown since prior to 9/11/01. I know. It really has been that long. I have sent my kids off on adventures, but I have always traveled by car. It's not that I was afraid to fly, but I don't have to travel for work, and it's just too darned expensive to fly for fun! So, this was my first personal experience with the TSA security circus.
Flying has changed, but I thought the screening process was pretty non-intrusive and quick. Maybe because I wasn't singled out? Anyways, we were through security pretty fast and sitting down to a meal in the airport while waiting for our flight. It was cheaper to eat in the airport than pay for a meal mid flight. Oh, I will say this about security... on our flight home I packed a water bottle filled with sand into my carry on, not thinking anything of it. It tripped security measures. They had to pull it out, inspect it, pour some out onto litmus papers and test it with chemicals to make sure it wasn't, you know, bomb stuff, then send my carry on through the scanner again without the bottle... oi. In the end, they gave it all back to me with a smile and wishes for a safe journey. The whole thing was very friendly. I'm sure they've had to test plenty of bottles of sand. {rolling my eyes}
I spent the flight to Hawaii watching movies on the screen in the seat back in front of me. Nice! When we got to Hawaii, there was a glitch getting to the car rental place, due to poor communications. But, we finally go there and picked up our RED Mustang convertible! Bill hated it, but I enjoyed it very much! Except I think the steering wheel gets in the way of seeing the speedometer.
Well, I'm not going to really give you a blow by blow of the entire week. You'd fall asleep, and who really wants to read all about someone else's vacation?
I'll just say that it was sunny and wonderful and fun beyond all reason! Life is lived at a much slower pace there. We spent every waking moment outside, and even kept the sliding glass door of our room wide open all night long to enjoy the breezes and sounds of the surf. We surfed and snorkeled, hiked, biked, ran, and sunbathed. We did the traditional tourist stuff; Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, Valley of Temples, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. But we also did normal people stuff like grocery shopping for half our meals and jogging the local workout trails. We were even given the locals discout (Kama aina discount) once by a friendly server at an off-the-beaten-track hole-in-the-wall Jack In The Box.
Maybe it is because we just went through all the fuss of security at the airport, but I did notice the complete LACK of security at the resort. We stayed at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. The lobby was open air and there were no locks to the stairwells or elevators. However, despite that, I never felt it was a problem. Turtle Bay Resort is on the North Shore of Oahu. It is a rural setting. So peaceful! It really was the perfect place to get away and unwind. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
The only black spot on our whole vacation happened only hours before we left the island. We had checked out of the resort and finished touring the Byodo-In temple (the Buddhist temple in the Valley of Temples), but we still had a couple of hours to kill before heading to the airport. Since there was a movie theater across the street from where we were, we decided to take in a show. We were practically the only people in the theater, since it was a mid-day weekday showing. When we came out of the theater, we discovered that someone has hit our rental car and drove away! AURGH! We called the police, the rental agency, and my insurance. Everyone was very kind about it and even that stressful event didn't ruin my vacation.
Now we're home and I'm wishing I could live in Hawaii. But, at least I only have a few weeks left before summer vacation begins here at home and I can fill my days with fun in the sun, homestyle!
Summer
There are two versions of me. For most of the year, I keep to a fairly strict schedule. I do my hair and makeup. I even dress well. You know, making an effort to look like a professional, grown up, well put together person. That version of me gets up to an alarm every morning, works hard all day, and falls into bed at night exhausted, but pleased with the many things that were accomplished during the day.
The other version of me only exists during the summer months. June, July, and most of August. For nearly 12 weeks each year, I transform into someone else.
In the summer, there are no alarm clocks. I will get up early if I feel like it, but most of the time, I sleep in. Before I go any farther, I feel I need to throw in a caveat... This is where I am in my life now. This has been a long time coming, however. For many years, my sleep patterns and schedules were dictated by the needs of my children. I know I have friends and family who automatically roll their eyes when I say I sleep in as late as I want to. You who are still in the young children phase are saying, "yeah, right! As if my children would LET me sleep in!"
I hear you. I have been there. Done that. And I am here now telling you that there is an end in sight! There will come a day when your children no longer jolt you awake at 6 a.m. (or earlier) by pouncing on you and asking, "what's for breakfast?" In fact, someday, your children will grumble if you dare to try and wake them before noon.
So. Back to summer!
Most summers I do have a loose resolution list. Things I hope to accomplish. One summer I stripped the paint and stain off several of the old doors in this house and re-stained, varnished, and hung them. (There are still more to do.) Another summer I sanded and painted the outside window trim and painted the exterior doors red. (Again, still more to do.) You get the picture. This year is no exception. However, this summer, my resolution list is all about me. Get in shape. Train for a triathlon. That's it... So, other than my workout(s) for the day, I have no other ambitions or goals.
Nope.
None. Nada. Zip.
I wear a lot of exercise clothes. And swim suits. And just lounge around clothes. I don't care if they match or even look attractive on me. I wear makeup about once a week, if that. More often than not, my hair is piled up on my head and clamped down with a great big claw clip, or yanked back in a pony tail. Half the time it is wet from the pool, the lake, or the shower. My summer time perfume is a combo of chlorine and sunscreen. My skin is darkening despite the 50 SPF I wear daily. My hair is bleaching out.
And I am very happy.
As I said, I have no definite schedules. I have the time to soak in all the sights, sounds, and smells of summer.
I love the sound of lawn mowers and sprinklers. The sound of a little league game at the nearby park. Children's laughter drifting through the neighborhood. The sound of a train whistle in the distance on a summer evening. I love to listen to the crickets at night.
I love the smell of fresh cut grass, chlorine from the pool, and fresh summer rain on hot pavement.
I love going to the lake and watching my son windsurf, or lounging at the pool with my daughter and catching up on all her news. I love sitting in my back yard and watching the dragonflies dance. I love falling into a trance as I watch the birch wood slowly burn to glowing embers in the fire pit. I love pondering a midnight blue sky full of stars while a gentle summer breeze caresses me.
I love that I can spend an entire afternoon buried in a book and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
No cares. No worries.
Or, at least, all cares and worries put on hold. Time seems to stand still for just a little bit and the days run together into a blaze of sunshine and glory. Just for a little while, I feel young again.
And that is a very good thing.
The other version of me only exists during the summer months. June, July, and most of August. For nearly 12 weeks each year, I transform into someone else.
In the summer, there are no alarm clocks. I will get up early if I feel like it, but most of the time, I sleep in. Before I go any farther, I feel I need to throw in a caveat... This is where I am in my life now. This has been a long time coming, however. For many years, my sleep patterns and schedules were dictated by the needs of my children. I know I have friends and family who automatically roll their eyes when I say I sleep in as late as I want to. You who are still in the young children phase are saying, "yeah, right! As if my children would LET me sleep in!"
I hear you. I have been there. Done that. And I am here now telling you that there is an end in sight! There will come a day when your children no longer jolt you awake at 6 a.m. (or earlier) by pouncing on you and asking, "what's for breakfast?" In fact, someday, your children will grumble if you dare to try and wake them before noon.
So. Back to summer!
Most summers I do have a loose resolution list. Things I hope to accomplish. One summer I stripped the paint and stain off several of the old doors in this house and re-stained, varnished, and hung them. (There are still more to do.) Another summer I sanded and painted the outside window trim and painted the exterior doors red. (Again, still more to do.) You get the picture. This year is no exception. However, this summer, my resolution list is all about me. Get in shape. Train for a triathlon. That's it... So, other than my workout(s) for the day, I have no other ambitions or goals.
Nope.
None. Nada. Zip.
I wear a lot of exercise clothes. And swim suits. And just lounge around clothes. I don't care if they match or even look attractive on me. I wear makeup about once a week, if that. More often than not, my hair is piled up on my head and clamped down with a great big claw clip, or yanked back in a pony tail. Half the time it is wet from the pool, the lake, or the shower. My summer time perfume is a combo of chlorine and sunscreen. My skin is darkening despite the 50 SPF I wear daily. My hair is bleaching out.
And I am very happy.
As I said, I have no definite schedules. I have the time to soak in all the sights, sounds, and smells of summer.
I love the sound of lawn mowers and sprinklers. The sound of a little league game at the nearby park. Children's laughter drifting through the neighborhood. The sound of a train whistle in the distance on a summer evening. I love to listen to the crickets at night.
I love the smell of fresh cut grass, chlorine from the pool, and fresh summer rain on hot pavement.
I love going to the lake and watching my son windsurf, or lounging at the pool with my daughter and catching up on all her news. I love sitting in my back yard and watching the dragonflies dance. I love falling into a trance as I watch the birch wood slowly burn to glowing embers in the fire pit. I love pondering a midnight blue sky full of stars while a gentle summer breeze caresses me.
I love that I can spend an entire afternoon buried in a book and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
No cares. No worries.
Or, at least, all cares and worries put on hold. Time seems to stand still for just a little bit and the days run together into a blaze of sunshine and glory. Just for a little while, I feel young again.
And that is a very good thing.
Spring Break 2012
Sorry it has been so long since I posted on here. I have had several ideas about what to write about, but the moment has always passed me by and I miss my opportunity to record my thoughts.
There is lots to talk about, but I'm not sure how much of it I want to share. Parenting is never easy, and there are times when it is downright painfully difficult. We have had some difficult days around here, dealing with teens and school. I'd like to vent, but I don't think it is very productive and may, in fact, do more harm than good. We are in the home stretch now, with only 4 weeks remaining in the school year, so I think it will be best if I just hunker down and battle through to the end with a stiff upper lip and minimal commentary. Someday, when it is all safely in the past and can be laughed about, I'll share the ups and downs of getting teens through their high school years.
In the meantime, let's talk about Spring Break!
Originally, I had planned to take the family on a Mexican cruise for spring break this year. Unfortunately, finances weren't in line for that, so we didn't go. It turned out to probably be a good thing, because this year the cruise lines closed some of the Mexican ports for safety reasons and tried to compensate by adding a US port to the itinerary. Pfft. Who wants a US port? No thanks. Maybe we can do a cruise next year and, who knows? Maybe the ports will be back up by then.
So, we had a staycation. Most of the vacation was pretty lame, really. I spent half of it on getting the taxes done. Yippee. At least we are getting a refund this year. Last year we owed taxes. I was so stressed that we might owe again that I kept putting off the taxes, afraid of what I might discover. So it was a huge relief to discover that we didn't owe after all.
Matt was on leave and spent it up in Idaho trying to find a job and a place to live when he gets out of the Marines in a few months. We had hoped he could stop by here for at least a weekend. We didn't have a spare bed, though, and that bothered me. So, we upgraded Helena's bed to a queen size (her room will become my guest room someday when she moves out), and put her twin bed in the spare room for Matt. You'd think the spare room would be the guest room, but it will become part of the master suite in the remodel, part 2.
So, we were all set up for Matt to arrive, when he sent word that he wasn't able to come, after all. We invited him to Helena's graduation in May, so I hope he can come then.
Our one day of fun spring vacation happened on Thursday. Megan came over and joined us for a family fun day up in Salt Lake City. We went to the new City Creek Center. It is a big, fancy mall. Most of the stores were outrageously expensive. Still, the building itself was pretty impressive, and we all had a good time doing a whole lot of nothing.
The rest of Spring Break was spent at home, just relaxing, sleeping in, and enjoying the time off. To be honest, I don't even remember anymore what we did, because I didn't write it down right away. That is what happens when you let the stresses of life take over. Things fall through the cracks, including memories. :(
There is lots to talk about, but I'm not sure how much of it I want to share. Parenting is never easy, and there are times when it is downright painfully difficult. We have had some difficult days around here, dealing with teens and school. I'd like to vent, but I don't think it is very productive and may, in fact, do more harm than good. We are in the home stretch now, with only 4 weeks remaining in the school year, so I think it will be best if I just hunker down and battle through to the end with a stiff upper lip and minimal commentary. Someday, when it is all safely in the past and can be laughed about, I'll share the ups and downs of getting teens through their high school years.
In the meantime, let's talk about Spring Break!
Originally, I had planned to take the family on a Mexican cruise for spring break this year. Unfortunately, finances weren't in line for that, so we didn't go. It turned out to probably be a good thing, because this year the cruise lines closed some of the Mexican ports for safety reasons and tried to compensate by adding a US port to the itinerary. Pfft. Who wants a US port? No thanks. Maybe we can do a cruise next year and, who knows? Maybe the ports will be back up by then.
So, we had a staycation. Most of the vacation was pretty lame, really. I spent half of it on getting the taxes done. Yippee. At least we are getting a refund this year. Last year we owed taxes. I was so stressed that we might owe again that I kept putting off the taxes, afraid of what I might discover. So it was a huge relief to discover that we didn't owe after all.
Matt was on leave and spent it up in Idaho trying to find a job and a place to live when he gets out of the Marines in a few months. We had hoped he could stop by here for at least a weekend. We didn't have a spare bed, though, and that bothered me. So, we upgraded Helena's bed to a queen size (her room will become my guest room someday when she moves out), and put her twin bed in the spare room for Matt. You'd think the spare room would be the guest room, but it will become part of the master suite in the remodel, part 2.
So, we were all set up for Matt to arrive, when he sent word that he wasn't able to come, after all. We invited him to Helena's graduation in May, so I hope he can come then.
Our one day of fun spring vacation happened on Thursday. Megan came over and joined us for a family fun day up in Salt Lake City. We went to the new City Creek Center. It is a big, fancy mall. Most of the stores were outrageously expensive. Still, the building itself was pretty impressive, and we all had a good time doing a whole lot of nothing.
The rest of Spring Break was spent at home, just relaxing, sleeping in, and enjoying the time off. To be honest, I don't even remember anymore what we did, because I didn't write it down right away. That is what happens when you let the stresses of life take over. Things fall through the cracks, including memories. :(
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;
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.
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.
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!
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!
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
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.
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!
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 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!
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!
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!
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!
*****
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!
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.
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. 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!
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!
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!
Food Coma No. 2
Oh dear.
I am going to gain some weight this week.
It is inevitable.
Yesterday, I told you about my over stuffed gourmet shrimp tacos at Rubio's. That was food coma no. 1.
Today, I took Helena to Tucanos Brazilian Grill for her birthday dinner. Every person in our family is a member of the Tucano's birthday club. That means that we each get a birthday postcard inviting us in to the restaurant for a free meal during the month of our birth... with the purchase of another meal.
Tucanos is a $25-$35/person kind of place, so it isn't the type of place we would take the entire family. So, when taking one of the kids for their birthday meal, only one parent goes to save the budget a bit. Since Tucanos isn't very gluten-free friendly, that parent ends up being me.
Yup. I was a good soldier and took a bullet for the team.
Tucanos is SO YUMMY! It is a buffet style restaurant with a twist. The side dishes are on the buffet. The main 'dishes' are the various different cuts of meats that are brought around on skewers by servers. We had everything from teriyaki chicken wings, to battered cod in mango sauce, to chicken hearts, to fillet Mignon! OK, I did NOT have the chicken hearts, but Helena did. There is a wooden 'hour glass' on the table with two different colored sides. If you put the green side up, servers will keep coming around offering new items. If you put the red side up, you are telling the servers you want a break, or you're done.
I ate way too much! My stomach hurt. I have been watching portion control for so long that my body just about couldn't handle all that food. I thought I might be sick. But before the tummy ache, I started slipping into food coma no. 2.
The bad thing is, I expect there to be a food coma no. 3 event, a food coma no. 4 event, and possibly a food coma no. 5 event... all throughout this week. And I can't run it off.
I predict at least 10 lbs. gained. Oh, but they will be yummy pounds!
Here's to the Holidays!
I am going to gain some weight this week.
It is inevitable.
Yesterday, I told you about my over stuffed gourmet shrimp tacos at Rubio's. That was food coma no. 1.
Today, I took Helena to Tucanos Brazilian Grill for her birthday dinner. Every person in our family is a member of the Tucano's birthday club. That means that we each get a birthday postcard inviting us in to the restaurant for a free meal during the month of our birth... with the purchase of another meal.
Tucanos is a $25-$35/person kind of place, so it isn't the type of place we would take the entire family. So, when taking one of the kids for their birthday meal, only one parent goes to save the budget a bit. Since Tucanos isn't very gluten-free friendly, that parent ends up being me.
Yup. I was a good soldier and took a bullet for the team.
Tucanos is SO YUMMY! It is a buffet style restaurant with a twist. The side dishes are on the buffet. The main 'dishes' are the various different cuts of meats that are brought around on skewers by servers. We had everything from teriyaki chicken wings, to battered cod in mango sauce, to chicken hearts, to fillet Mignon! OK, I did NOT have the chicken hearts, but Helena did. There is a wooden 'hour glass' on the table with two different colored sides. If you put the green side up, servers will keep coming around offering new items. If you put the red side up, you are telling the servers you want a break, or you're done.
I ate way too much! My stomach hurt. I have been watching portion control for so long that my body just about couldn't handle all that food. I thought I might be sick. But before the tummy ache, I started slipping into food coma no. 2.
The bad thing is, I expect there to be a food coma no. 3 event, a food coma no. 4 event, and possibly a food coma no. 5 event... all throughout this week. And I can't run it off.
I predict at least 10 lbs. gained. Oh, but they will be yummy pounds!
Here's to the Holidays!
Halloween 2011
It has been a roller coaster of a weekend, which I guess is just normal for life with teenagers in the house.
Beautiful fall colors all around! I took this on my walk up to the rec. center on Saturday.
Helena and I were the only ones in the family interested in carving pumpkins this year.
We got part of it done on Saturday, but then she ended up leaving for a date, so we finished on Sunday evening.
Helena posing for the camera.
Helena's pumpkin was so thick that she was only at this stage when I was ready to carve the face on mine. She was blown away by how much 'meat' there was inside hers. The guts filled it all the way to the top!
Every year, we save the seeds and roast them after soaking them in a salt bath.
These are the boys from the Saturday date... although Helena insists it wasn't really a date, they were just 'hanging out'. Braxton is in the lederhosen, and Dallin is the nerd. Helena and Megan were in the basement putting together a quick costume for Helena.
Group shot before heading out.
Helena's pumpkin design.
My pumpkin design.
Look at how Helena's pumpkin seems to be welcoming everybody to the door!
Dinner tonight. Homemade chili in a bread bowl, "butterbeer", and a caramel apple for dessert.
I wanted to make sure the little trick-or-treaters could find their way to my front door (since our front walkway has been temporarily destroyed). It worked very well.
Super salty roasted pumpkin seeds. I now have sores all over my tongue from eating too many of these!
The candy bowl. We ran out early in the evening (at about 8 pm). The weather was so mild that we had more trick or treaters than usual.
The secret "butterbeer" recipe... butterscotch/club soda + cream soda topped with whipped cream/caramel sauce mix.
So. I had a great day today. It was my day off, so I dedicated the entire day to enjoying Halloween. After dropping the kids off at school, I built some homemade chili in the crock pot, then headed back to the high school for Helena's SEOP. That's a Student Educational Occupation Plan, aka, let's-make-sure-this-kid-will-graduate-and-has-plans-for-after-high-school meeting. That went well, so next I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items for this evening.
I went back home and put in the first Harry Potter movie as background 'ambiance' while I roasted pumpkin seeds and made caramel apples. I was just really, really happy to be home and making stuff for my kids and their friends, who I expected to come by and hang out tonight.
I had told Helena we were lifting part of her grounding since she had fulfilled most of our requirements. She got her phone back and was allowed to enjoy Halloween weekend with her friends. She was allowed to invite someone to Preference, and we registered her for a college retreat weekend at Dixie State College with her best friend. So, things were getting back to normal.
After picking the kids up from school, things got a little sidetracked. Helena wanted the house clean for when her friends arrived, so the harassed her brother about helping out. He reacts badly when Helena 'bosses him around' and shuts down. When I follow up with a request for him to help, he is slow to respond. After getting that smoothed over, I took Will to get his Sundance ski pass for the season. Today was the last day of pre-season discount price. While there, we discovered a SCREAMING sale on last year's rental gear, so Will ended up with an early Christmas! We were going to get him skis for Christmas, but this was too good to pass up. $96 total for skis, binding, and boots! And they adjusted the bindings for free.
Home again. Time to set up the paper lanterns and shred cheese to go with the chili.
Will took off for a friend's house to watch scary movies. Later, I found out that instead of watching scary movies, they turned off the lights in the basement and were scaring each other instead. During the screaming and mayhem, one of the boys accidentally 'butt dialed' 911! Three squad cars showed up to investigate the emergency call of hysterical screaming! Oops.
Anyways, to make a long story slightly shorter (I do have work in the morning), Helena's friends came over and had a great time. They loved the chili and caramel apples, didn't like the "butterbeer", but were polite about it.
Then they wanted to watch a movie.
I have very clear rules about ratings. No rated 'R' in the house. The only exceptions are those rare times when the subject matter outweighs the rating. Like Schindler's List. Or Last of the Mohicans. In those cases, I have allowed it because there is an educational quality to the movie that is significantly important. But your run of the mill rated 'R' entertainment value only movie? No.
It has nothing to do with the age of the kids. They could be visiting me as 30 year olds and the rule would be the same. My house, my rules. I am the one paying for the streaming video service and I just don't want 'R' in my house. That is all. When they pay the bills in their own place, they can do whatever they want.
Helena wanted to watch a scary movie with her friends and complained that it couldn't be done without the 'R' rating. I repeated myself. No 'R'. Her friends heard me, too. No 'R'.
So, when Bill checked on them in the basement?
They are watching an 'R' rated movie.
Here is where the roller coaster takes one of those nasty nose dives. Not only did Helena let me down, so did her friends. They all knew they were disrespecting me after all the trouble I went through for them. Was their desire to watch an 'R' rated movie that much more important than treating me with respect? I admit, I had thought more highly than that of them. I hate being forced into the 'bad guy' roll. I told her to shut it off and that the party was over.
Now I have to play the role of disciplinarian again. I hate that. I feel like I have been manipulated and I anticipate another stressful week, now, because I can't let Helena drive and, oh! I wanted her to. All the good feelings of making a fun Halloween are completely gone, because what I offered wasn't good enough for them.
Why'd I even bother?
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