Road Trip?

My life has been a little hectic lately. Math tutoring, piano lessons, voice lessons (for me--I'm not teaching them), Girls Camp (this week!), the Wasatch Back, Youth Conference, two family reunions, two college math classes (I have to take those to renew my teaching license), and trying to plan for teaching next year. I'm supposed to be running the St. George Marathon in October also, but I'm falling sadly behind in my training. Blah.

With all this...shall we call it resposibility?...I've decided that I'm ready for a break! I want to go somewhere. Somewhere I won't have to do laundry, or clean bathrooms, or even make the bed if I don't feel like it. But I'm not sure where to go.

So who out there has the perfect weekend getaway spot? I'm open for suggestions!

My Green(ish) Thumb

In the last couple of days, I've started getting veggies from my garden. The first to produce were the peas, followed by the wax beans. I've had a lovely time snacking on fresh peas, so much that I haven't actually cooked any yet. But I thought I'd give a garden update. I posted pictures from when my garden was pretty much just dirt, and here are two more sets...

My zucchini plants--which the birds promptly ate. So I planted more. The birds ate those also. So I bought a slingshot and some jelly beans. I actually hit a couple of birds, but I still have birds in my garden. The zucchini and summer squash plants are pretty much gone, but everything else survived.

Baby peas.

Itsy-bisty corn stalks. (Side note: I'm not sure why this picture is sideways. It's not like that on my computer.)
These are my mini pumpkin plants and the wax beans.

Corn. Although Kiirstin's corn is about a foot taller. Grr...

Peas. They look kinda scraggly. Are they supposed to look like that? They were definitely cuter when they were smaller. =)

Wasatch Back 2009

Okay, so I'm a little behind in my posts. But I had to share some pictures from our 31-hour, 187.5 mile relay from Logan to Park City. Our start time was 12:45 pm, Friday, June 19th. We ran through heat, rain, dark, animal sightings, hail, and cold. We had 12 people on our team, with 3 drivers. We lived out of our 2 vans, and catnapped when we could. It was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Our Fearless Driver, Matt

Mark after our 2 hour nap at Marcie's parents house.

Bill running like a mad man.

Cannon snoozing in the van. Believe me, he EARNED this nap!

Brent and me doing our chip commercial right after my second run. You gotta entertain yourself any way you can, right?

Stretching and waiting for the handoff before my 2nd run.

Mark handing the baton (slap bracelet) off to Cannon at 5:30 in the morning. We had to wear reflective vests and carry a flashlight or wear a headlamp during the dark hours. They were stylin'!

Brent and Cannon ran the "Ragnar Hill" which was in Wasatch Mountain State Park. It was a dirt road with about an 8% uphill grade if I remember right. Pictures just don't show how hard these two runs were. And it started raining during Brent's run. This picture was obviously before Brent started.

The handoff. These two definitely earned my respect!

Just before Brent handed off to me for my last run, it started hailing! And I must say that hail hurts bare legs! I passed this little snowman someone had made from the hail and made Matt go back and take a picture of it. It rained pretty hard for all of my 7.3 mile run. I was a popsicle by the time I finished. Then I handed off to Bill, who was our last runner, and we headed to the finish line to wait for him.

This is most of our team huddled at the finish line. It was still raining and cold, but at least we were finished running, right? Except that they have your entire team run the last few hundred yards to the finish line. So you wait for your runner and then join them so that they can take official pictures, etc.

Our team sporting our Wasatch Back 2009 medals. Don't we look tough?

Normal is Relative

Occassionally, I post pictures of me and/or Matt that are a little...well...creative. You may wonder why we take pictures like that. Here's your answer. All of the following were taken at a recent family barbeque at our house. None were posed. This is just what my family does when faced with a camera.

My brother Rodney.

My sister Valerie.

My niece Sydney.

My brother Brent.

Either Jackson or Jordan. I can't tell.

My nephew Tanner. ( I might add that this is pretty normal for him, but I had to add the popsicle shot because he's a MOOCHER. Whenever there's food around, he mooches from anyone who'll share. It's kind of like grazing.)

My nephew Eli. Yep, we start 'em young.

Matt, the King of odd camera shots. (Also notice Eli in the background.)

Family Photo

It's really sad when you go to take a family photo and this is the best one...

Aren't Cars Just Moving Billboards?

I got this idea from someone else who recently adopted and thought that I would put my time stuck in traffic to good use! So my friend Kiirstin made this for me on her Cricut. (Thanks, Kiirstin!)

I hope we get the word out there a little more with this. We're so excited to welcome a little one to our family and its REALLY hard to be patient. I'm lucky to have nieces and nephews and neighbors to play with, but it's just not the same. I'm ready to change diapers and stay up all night!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Xazmin at This is the Year. I'm supposed to list 6 unimportant things that make me happy. Only 6? This list could go on and on. But I'll try to contain myself.

1. Turtle Brownies. Anything with chocolate, caramel, AND nuts has to be delicious, right?

2. Watching my garden grow. Except that the birds keep eating my zucchini plants. But I recently purchased a slingshot that has definitely been put to good use!

3. Wind in my face. I've always been a fan of wind. That's one reason I love my little pink scooter.

4. A capella music. I love listening to a capella music. Especially men. My current favorites are The King's Singers and Voice Male. Good stuff.

5. Clean bathrooms. Especially if I didn't have to clean them. (Now to get started on that clean laundry pile that keeps growing in my bedroom.)

6. Running. I love the feeling just after finishing a run (and realizing I'm still alive).

Now I'm tagging:
Dadra
Cassie
Valerie
Kiirstin
Jennifer
Heather

Snapshots of My Crazy Life

Wow. I've started this post half a dozen times, but I never know where to start. So I'm going to start rambling...

First off, I'm going back to teaching in the fall. I wasn't planning on it. I wasn't even looking for a job. I have connections to a charter school near my house and they needed a math teacher for their 7th and 8th grades. So I got a phone call. Not completely ecstatic about working full-time again, but I'm excited about the school. It's all about hands-on learning, and that makes it more fun to teach. Plus I'll only have about 100 students. Can't beat that. But...

In order to teach, you need a little thing called a valid teaching license. Mine expires at the end of the month. Blast! So now I'm taking two college math classes to renew my license. I'm trying to finish them ASAP, but we'll see how that goes! If anyone wants to brush up on their math, come on over! I'll let you do a few problems! I begged the teachers to let me join the online classes about 3 weeks late, so I have a lot of catching up to do before...

Youth Conference is this week also. It being a stake YC, I don't have as much that I'm in charge of, but I still get to go. Maybe they'll have wireless out there in the wilderness so that I can do my math homework. Then...

I have to leave YC early Saturday morning to head out to the Holgate reunion out in the Uintah Basin. I love these reunions, but it's too bad it's at the same time as YC. I'm excited to see all of Matt's family and see the amazing quilts they've made for the annual raffle. I'm pretty jealous. Maybe I'll sew one while I'm in the car for...

Next weekend is the Wasatch Back. I've posted about it before. But it's almost here!! I'm starting to get nervous because they changed the course and my legs got longer. Bummer. And they got more difficult. Bummer again. Well, if nothing else, I can walk, right? Our group secured a 15-passenger van, so we should have plenty of room to spread out, and I'm grateful for that!Last year was a little cramped. We start the race at 12:45 pm and are expected to finish at around 5ish the next day. After the race...

Girl's Camp is looming. It's a ward camp and I've never done one before. Neither have either of my counselors, my secretary, or my camp director. This oughta be a good learning experience! I'm just waiting to get up there only to discover we forgot something essential, like TP or forks or a tent! Only time will tell. But we'll definitely be prepared with lots of good snacks! And s'mores! Then back to life...

I've started teaching piano again and I have lots of math tutoring (including math camps that go for a couple of hours for a week--anyone need an Algebra review or preview?) lined up for the summer. Plus, Matt's as whiny as ever. Just kidding. Matt has been absolutely amazing. He's been helping more around the house, running errands, listening to my incoherent babbling about sine and cosine and which one equals 1 where, AND he's been rubbing my legs after the hard runs! I have a fantabulous husband!

Overall, life is crazy right now (did I mention that my 17 year old niece might move in with us this week?) but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a wonderful husband, very supportive and highly entertaining family, amazing friends and neighbors, and a Heavenly Father that wants me to learn all that I can. Crazy? Definitely. But it's all mine.

A Post Stolen From My Sister--Thanks, Val!

I read this on my sister's blog and had to share. It made me laugh.
Another good one from
www.SixWise.com
A teacher of first-graders gave her students the first half of a well-known proverb, then asked them to compete the saying. What they came up with will make you smile, laugh and likely wonder at the wisdom that comes from the mouths of babes.
Don't change horses … until they stop running
Strike while the … bug is close.
It’s always darkest before … Daylight Savings Time.
Never underestimate the power of … termites.
You can lead a horse to water but … How?
Don’t bite the hand that … looks dirty.
No news is … impossible.
A miss is as good as a … Mr.
You can’t teach an old dog new … Math.
If you lie down with dogs, you’ll … stink in the morning.
Love all, trust … Me.
The pen is mightier than the … pigs.
And idle mind is … the best way to relax.
Where there’s smoke there’s … pollution.
Happy the bride who … gets all the presents.
A penny saved is … not much.
Two’s company, three’s … the Musketeers.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what … you put on to go to bed.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and … you have to blow your nose.
There are none so blind as … Stevie Wonder.
Children should be seen and not … spanked or grounded.
If at first you don’t succeed … get new batteries.
You get out of something only what you … See in the picture on the box.
When the blind lead the blind … get out of the way.
A bird in the hand … is going to poop on you.
Better late than … Pregnant.

St. George, Here I Come!

I am so excited to announce that I will be running in this year's St. George Marathon with my brother Rodney and my friend Heidi. I'm pretty stinkin' excited considering that I've tried to get in for the last 3 years. I ran it in 2006, but wasn't selected for the lottery in 2007 or 2008. They have a "3rd time's a charm" rule, so I got in this year! I've been training (casually, but still training) for the Wasatch Back in June, but this will give me incentive to kick it up a notch. Wish me luck!

Wow. I'm ready for a vacation. Anyone want to join me?

Garden

In my entire adult life, I've never really done a garden. I planted a watermelon plant once. Oh, and I harvested tomatoes from volunteer tomato plants.

But this year, I decided to actually plant a garden. Our new house has six beautiful planter boxes that I just couldn't let go to waste. (Also, my friend Kiirstin has a very green thumb and has inspired me to attempt to grow things.) So I planted. And planted. Why start small? We planted corn and peas and wax beans and zucchini and summer squash and tomatoes (for salsa-Matt and I don't actually eat tomatoes) and little baby pumpkins.

We have yet to find if I'm actually capable of keeping plants alive and healthy, but I'm ready to give it a try. Maybe Kiirstin will take pity on my poor plants and weed them every once in a while...

Riddle

What do you get when you mix 3 packages of cream cheese with 3 cups of powdered sugar?

A MESS!!

So much for wearing an apron!

Beauty and the Beast

Matt and I went to watch a production of Beauty and the Beast that my bro-in-law and two of my nephews were in. It was a community production but I thought it was very impressive. The twins were cast as "Chip" and cloves, and they alternated roles on different nights. It was so cute to see their "bio's" in the program! What cute little actors!

Here is Chip's costume. He got to be wheeled around all night. Pretty cushy!

Here are the cloves.

My bro-in-law played a spoon and a villager. Here he is as a spoon. The lighting is a little (or a lot) off here because he was in the aisle, but this is great!

Villager costume.

Matt and me with my sister during intermission.

Our niece was too young to be in the production, but she was excited to watch the show. And she was super excited to meet Belle and get a rose after the show!

Bring on the Disasters!

Matt and I have been married for over 8 years now, and I've been working on getting my food storage that WHOLE TIME! I've added a little here and there, and moved the whole collection a few times (thanks, Julie) in my quest for the perfect food storage set-up.

Our new house has a marvelous food storage room, complete with built-in shelves for the smaller cans and space for my 5 Superman-proof shelves for the #10 cans.
But I think a food storage just isn't complete without...you guessed it--CHOCOLATE!

I am now happy to report that we finally have our full year's supply! It only took 8+ years. (If anyone wants to come over to look at it and "ooooh" and "aaahh", I'm only too happy to oblige.)

Two-fer!

In making breakfast the other day, I found a two-fer in one of my eggs. Isn't it fun when you get an extra bonus. Kind of like finding a great sale!

Adoption Update

It's been a very long time since I updated about our adoption efforts and I figured it was about time. We've been approved for just over a year and since then have been on a waiting list of sorts through LDS Family Services. We've been very pleased with them and our amazing case worker, Rachel. We've had a couple of maybe's, but we haven't been able to adopt yet.

Since many adoptive couples find their children through friends of friends, we're grateful to all of you who have been handing out these pass-along cards with our information on them. (And for those who need some, just say the word and we'll get some to you!) As always, if you know of anyone who is thinking of placing a baby for adoption, we appreciate you giving them information about LDSFS through the website and/or our adoption email.

The Wasatch Back

"Picture this: You and 11 of your closest friends running day and night, relay-style, through some of the most scenic terrain North America could muster. Add in live bands, inside jokes and a mild case of sleep deprivation. The result? Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it a Ragnar Relay. Logan to Park City."

Sounds great, eh? Last year I was a last minute sub for a girl who broke her foot. I'd never even heard of this race. The Wasatch Back? What's that? But the minute we finished I started plotting for this year. I started to plan out how many hills I'd run to prepare, who I could con into running with me, what vans to use, and what team names were best.

And then the recruiting began. I'm sure there are people out there that I've asked at least a dozen times if they wanted to be on our team (if you'd just say yes the first time, we could have been spared!). We finally got a team together and decided who would run which legs. (But if you're interested, I know of other teams that still need runners.)

The race isn't until the middle of June, but I'm getting stinkin' excited about it. I've even made a spreadsheet for my training schedule (nerd meets running). Plus, as you may have noticed, I am now publishing my progress with my little runner, although she looks like she's running a LOT faster than I do. I'll take it.

After all this rambling, you may be asking yourself, "why is she posting this?" And here's the answer:

Our team name is IGNORANCE IS BLISSTERS and I'm looking for ideas to decorate our vans for the race. I'm not really excited about putting giant band-aids on the cars, and that's all I could come up with. We have 2 vans to decorate and many of the teams get really into it. But I'd like the vans to be usable afterward.

Any great ideas?

Recipe for Cinnamon Almonds

So, I've had a few people ask me for the recipe for the almonds (see previous post). Matt has tweeked it a bit, but here's the recipe we started with. We don't usually use vanilla. Matt has also tried it boiling the almonds a little before adding the cinnamon and sugar for softer nuts. Plus, he doesn't really measure. Let me know how you like them!

Cinnamon Almonds
2 c whole almonds
1 c sugar1
½ tbsp cinnamon
¼ c water
1 to 1 ½ tsp vanilla (optional)
Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle evenly over nuts in a non-stick skillet. Combine water and vanilla in separate bowl. Pour liquids over nut mixture. Mix and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to medium heat. Stir constantly for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and place on wax paper. Separate with a wooden spoon so that they don’t stick together, and cool. Nuts will be very hot-don’t eat until slightly cooled (even though they smell delicious and it will be very difficult to resist!).

Best Husband Ever!

I just have to say that I have the best husband ever!

I made a deal with a friend and now I'm committed (not that kind of committed, although it can be argued that I should be) to going a

WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT CHOCOLATE!!!

I know. I'm still a little in shock myself that I agreed to it.

But when Matt learned about my deal, he fully supported me by making me my very own batch of Cinnamon Almonds (you know, those almonds that they sell at fairs and craft shows that smell so good you can't go within 200 feet of them without drooling)! Mmmm.....tasty! They are fantastic! And now I have a snack that I love almost as much as chocolate to keep the cravings at bay. It also doesn't hurt that our whole house smells like Cinnamon Almonds.

Thanks, Matt!

Favorite Movie Quotes

If you know me even a little bit, you've heard me quote movies. So I thought I'd give all of you a chance to learn some of my favorite quotes. I skipped a few of the more obvious ones, but if you know what movie they're from, just comment. Bonus points if you can also name the character that said it.

1. "I am a lone reed, standing strong against the winds of commerce."
2. "Do chickens have large talons?"
3. "And yet I am unmoved."
4. "There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness."
5. "Hey! No forcefields!"
6. "Ugh, he's doing his own theme music."
7. "I've played a lot of cards-obviously. Wanna see my hand?"
8. "I could have been at a BARBEQUE!" "And WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!"
9. "Thank you for saving my bride, peasants."
10 "These potatoes are so creamy..."
11. "Oh, Bruiser, honey, you just look parched!"
12. "You smell like beef and cheese." "You sit on a throne of lies."
13. "I wish I could speak whale."14. "Here I am, your own personal Greek statue."
15. "Here's your breakfast. And it's happy to see ya!"
16. "Oh, that's nothing, _________ can make it with a whole jar of spiders in her hands."
17. "Ain't nobody say, 'I don't like no parfait.'"
18. "Great! Real bullets! You're in big trouble, mister!"
19. "I wouldn't say that I am. I only know that my friends think so."
20. "This is our puppet burn hospital. It's relatively new."

3+9

I've been tutoring a lot lately. I had several people ask me to help their kids, so I decided I would just dedicate a few more hours each week and actually have a tutoring schedule. Mostly I tutor math, since that's what my degree is in. I have students ranging from 2nd grade to college right now, and I love the variety. I get to do something completely different each hour. Right now my 2nd grader is working on mastering her addition facts.

And I must say that there's just something about flashcards.

Why is it that you can study and study and not memorize until you put it on flashcards. Maybe I really am just a math nerd. I can accept that. But I still think flashcards are fantastic!

Wind and Picture Frames

I've LOVED the weather this week. 50s and 60s, kinda windy, a few sprinkles here and there. But I love it. I'm a storm girl. I grew up in Maryland (mostly) where they have real rainstorms. Not like the whimpy ones here.
Huge, heavy raindrops.
Lots of wind.
Bright lightening.
And especially big puddles to splash in barefoot.
I have several pictures of me as a kid standing outside in a rainstorm, holding an umbrella, and walking barefoot down the ditch in our front yard. It doesn't get much better than that!

Now, don't get me wrong. A beautiful, sunny day definitely lifts the spirits, I just don't mind the clouds and the wind.

So, the weather this week made me excited for spring and warmer weather (and a few rainstorms). It was warm enough to open windows. And that made me look at the walls around the windows and think, "Wow. That could use some sprucing up." So I've been working on tiny projects around the house. I've put up new towel hooks and rings, hung a few more pictures (although I still can't find the perfect spot for my framed melted-carpet-in-the-shape-of-an-iron), changed a couple light fixtures, rearranged furniture, and I've even broken out the power tools a couple times. Bob Villa, move over!

What are you doing for your "Spring Cleaning"?

Once There Was a Snowman...

tall,

Tall,
TALL!

Okay, so he's only medium tall, but there wasn't enough snow (or patience) to make a really tall snowman. But I felt the need to create whatever size snowman I could, since I haven't made one all winter! So I played in the snow while Matt used the snowblower to clear the snow from several driveways! Go, Matt!