Random Weirdness

Oh readers. What can I say? Things have been weird lately.

Being the Bishop's wife has changed my life much, and not much all the same. Thor has always been away from home a lot (in my opinion!) and things there haven't changed much other than the location of his body. Most nights he will get in about 9-ish. As for me, I have discovered that, for some reason, there isn't much I want to comment on, write about, share on the blog. I am trying to get rid of the block, but I think it may be stuck fairly well!

On the whole life is good. A few bumps in the road, some trials to learn from, some blessings in store. I am burdened a bit from things outside of our control; -that is life at times. I am trying to continue on in hope and trust in the Lord to bring us around as usual, just taking time.

I am working on a few projects which I hope to post on soon.

My awesome son, The Electrician, built me bookcases while Thor was in Washington D.C. recently. (did I already write about that?) They look and feel as though they were built right into the house, they look perfect to me. He had to raise them high enough to match the three inch base boards, and then wrapped crown molding around the top to cap them off perfectly. There about 7,200 nails and or screws that secure them to the wall...in an earthquake this is the new place to stand for security...they aren't going anywhere! All in all I still need -probably- two more book cases! We have too many books if that is at all possible. I can't justify throwing out a good book, so orphan books are always welcome to find a home here. I have more children's books than I thought I did, and man, there a lot of them! The Scholar has asked that we house her books while she is away at Duke, so inevitably there will be a need to install more book cases. I took a gander in her back seat where she has stashed "just a few of them...more to come next trip." I think she could use a tall case or two all by herself. Good literature, lots of things to keep her mother reading and, eventually, well read, while she is away learning. ( I just finished "In Cold Blood"-Truman Capote, and 1/2 through "Mrs. Dalloway" -Virginia Woolf)

I listened to "1000 Splendid Suns"...wow. I feel strongly about this book and don't really know how to process the feelings that came as I listened to the story unfold. If you have not read it, I suggest it to you. Block out a day or so, you won't easily put the book down. If you enjoyed "Reading Lolita in Tehran", you will find this book as interesting.

This is my main problem with reading. Once I find interest int he book I can't put it down until it has been exhausted, completed, finished and pondered. Reading messes with a schedule!

I have a huge blank canvas that stares at me from the front room wall, waiting impatiently for paint. I, on the other hand, am waiting impatiently for a muse to inspire me as to what to put on it.

We had a "service auction" at Enrichment Night the other day. It was fabulous fun. I offered to paint wood letter names or paint a name or small phrase onto a wall or furniture. In return I was offered a free ride to the nearest temple with three of my friends. I love that I ended up with this awesome service, it's the perfect day waiting to happen!

I also had a great time recently working at the Home Craft center tying quilts to be given away to those who need them. We had a blast sitting there, laughing, chatting and tying for a few hours. I plan on doing that again soon. Any takers? You can go to the Home Craft in Colton, CA every Monday through Wednesday, 9-12:00, and volunteer also!

I am making flower petals by cutting French Ribbon into small circles and ovals and burning the edges with a candle's flame...they are turning out better than hoped for and will end up (cross yer fingers!) as gorgeous additions to headbands for the women and girls in my life.

I also finished patterning (is that a word?) tiny wood blocks to make a 'puzzle' for lack of the correct description. Something I borrowed from an artist I admire on line...we'll see how that project turns out as well. I just need to spray them all (several dozen) with sealer so they stay pretty.

An out of town friend has called me and set up a visit...looking forward to that short brief but welcomed visit!

And took a long weekend up at the BY-U. My legs, knees and feet especially have puffed up quite weirdly due to the 'too many days in the car' routine I have inflicted upon them lately. Walking up and down staircases has also caused some agitation to the ol' knees, so I am wonky and wobbly and feeling lame...literally and figuratively! A few days more of driving around doing errands and then a day or two to be lazy and I'll be back to my weirdo self.

Well, that should catch everyone up (sort of) for now. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time

High School Meme

High School Meme

Robyn had this meme at her place so I thought I'd give it a try. Bit of blogger block lately so what the hey? Unlike my sisters and brother, I never got to go to the cool high school, just the one in the sticks. oy.

1. Did you date someone in high school? Yes, yes I did. Dear Mother somehow let me date in Junior High which proved to be unbelievably poor judgment on her part. I think she was trying to pawn me off even then, who knows, whatever her motive, even I knew-even then- that was not a good thing and eventually restricted myself from more dates than I accepted. Eventually I dated the one, so I guess it turned out well.

2. What kind of car did you drive? Unlike my siblings, by the time I was able to drive the money had run out...even for the junkers normally associated with our family vehicles. I was huge on walking and walked several miles to and from high school each day until I met Thor. Then I bummed a ride from him and or his brother from then on to graduation. I could tell you stories! The brother and I had some pretty hilarious experiences riding from seminary to school and then from school home. Let's just say I wasn't the best at encouraging safe driving. I also got a bike my freshmen year. I didn't ride it to school because I worried about it getting stolen, but on the weekends, well that was another story. I rode that thing solid for 8 hours on Saturday if I could get away. LOVED that bike. And the freedom.

3. Did you pass your driver’s license test the first time? Yes. I followed in big brother's footsteps and got a 100 on both written and driving tests, although by the time I did that they were no longer passing out wall plaques for achieving that.

4. Were you a party animal? No. Again, a huge misstep from my mother (IMHO) because I did go to a lot of parties, although I was not what would be considered a "party animal". I never ever had a problem with the Word of Wisdom, meaning I never was tempted in the least to even try alcohol, pot, cigarettes, or any other drugs, never appealed to me, actually loathed the thought of them. I had seem way too many adults make idiots out of themselves indulging in alcohol to ever want to be caught dead drinking, and cigarettes were just disgusting.

I went to parties all the time with friends and just hung out and stood in corners like a social misfit...until one night when two girls I knew from church, two of the girls who were considered "righteous and better than most"...those two girls were skinny dippin' at a football party. Upon entering the house there was the usual drinking activities and I wandered out to the pool when I noticed what was happening. At that point seminary training kicked in and all I could think of was that "I had to get out of there fast". "Avoid the appearance of evil!" went through my head over and over.

It was the last party I ever went to.

5. Were you considered a flirt? I didn't think I was, but evidently there are those who say I was. I am embarrassed at that label.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No. But I envied those who were. I wanted SO much to be in choir, or in the drama club like my big brother and my older sister. Alas, I was a misfit. I was in "Speech Club"! I was horribly shy and figured if I went to Speech class, it would cure me. It took several years after High School for it to kick in, but in the long run it did work! I went to "Congress" and won "Best Speaker of the House" by an impromptu speech defending the Mormon Church during a mud slinging fest that had nothing to do with the "bill" on the table (legalized gambling). Go figure.

7. Were you a nerd? I would classify myself more as a loner. By the time the second semester of my freshman year had come and gone, so had all my friends. On to greener pastures they went into the popular social circles I refused to be a part of.

8. Were you on any varsity teams? Believe it or not. My only friend in high school was Cathy W. A gorgeous strawberry blond who had transferred to our farm town hick High from one of the most infamous high schools in SoCAL, one of the best football teams in the state, and where she had been a cheerleader for three years. She wanted to try out at our school and begged me to try with her. Knowing it was a popularity contest and that I had absolutely no chance of winning, I said "o.k." 12 girls tried for 6 positions. 3 of the girls fell during their individual cheer, 1 threw up, which left he odds better and better. Cathy had taught me one of her former schools cheers, which was new, catchy, and different, and I won a spot. For the first three games I stood frozen on the fifty yard line with 5 other girls screaming in unison. I am still embarrassed that I was a cheerleader... on the varsity squad.

9. Did you ever get suspended or expelled? Never. That is not to say I didn't pull a stunt or two. I ditched more times than I can tell you. Even Miss Jarvis the attendance clerk knew that I was ditching, but never turned me in. Her famous line was "Oh S'mee. You see so much tragedy for someone so young!" Whenever I wanted to ditch, which was a heck of a lot of times, I would just read the obits, find a name and a time for the funeral and write myself an off campus pass, signing mother dear's name in her perfect handwriting and off I'd go to "Aunt/Uncle" Soinso's last event. Sad.

10. Is there anything you wish you would have done or participated in during high school, but didn’t? I wish I had taken more difficult classes than I did. I got mostly A's and a few B's all through school, and yet, never took a science class, never took any math above algebra, never took a language.

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Paulson, because he believed I could be better than I was... and he told me so in a way I knew he wasn't just being kind.

12. Where did you sit at lunch? I would grab a large apple from the lunch line and hide in the library until I started dating Thor. It was his last semester in school. So we would grab an apple and sit at a table in the commons and talk until class. When he graduated I went back to the library.

13. School mascot: My name is S'mee, and that's no lie. I'll be a Bulldog until I die.

Yes, that is the cheer every girl wants to yell as an introduction to the opposing team, who's cheerleaders actually cheer fabulously and their teams always win. You're great! You're a Patriot! I? I am a DOG! oy.

14. School colors: mustard and ketchup, with an occasional splash of white. It looked really delicious during graduation, not.

15. Did you go to homecoming and who with? Once with a boy my mom set me up with. A boy from a group home for bad boys...what was she thinking? And twice with Thor, his and then mine.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Not on your life. I hated high school. I hated pretty much everything about my life at that time...except meeting and dating, and eventually marrying Thor.

17. What do you remember most about graduation? That my mom and dad didn't attend, no one in my family did. But my boy friend's dad stood in the heat, in front of several hundred people and took a photo of every single graduate because he didn't know who were my friends and he wanted me to have a photo of my friends at graduation. He thought it was important that I remembered the day. I don't remember too much about it. I don't remember who I walked with, or what was said, I don't remember our class song or motto. But I do remember my now father law standing in the heat snapping up roll after roll of film to give me a memory.

18. Where did you go on Senior Skip Day? Who knows? I ditched so many days, "Senior Ditch Day" wasn't much of a thrill!

19. Were you in any clubs? Speech Club. See above. In the annual photo of our group we stood inside a planter with large leaves going up my skirt. I remember thinking my feet were getting dirty. And then, just as they flashed the photo, the girl next to me put her arm around me in a way that made me very uncomfortable; which you can tell by the expression of "WHAT THE HECK?" towards her, now captured for posterity on page 134 in the yearbook.

20. Have you gained weight since then? No. I am still 98 pounds. ahem.

21. Who was your prom date? Thor. Went to his: "Beginnings!" He went to mine: "From Here to Eternity!" He was my density.

22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I didn't plan on going to any reunions. I hated High School and wanted nothing to remind me of it. Then at, not the 10th, but the 20th, I was convinced by a friend to attend. It was a mistake. I regret that. ugh. I won't go to another one.

23. Did you have a job while in high school? yup. I was a "nanny/housekeeper/slave" for a Dentist and his Hippy-mother wife, was a hair salon grunt, lied about my age to work at Del Taco at 14 1/2 because mom said I had to "earn my clothes from then on!" Lucky for me big brother and older Sis both worked there already and backed up my lie. I also did laundry/ironing, and sold "Current Stationery" door to door.

24. Worst class? PE I didn't like to sweat, even back then. I didn't like getting naked and showering in front of other people. I didn't understand why we all had to learn all the different sports, just to be humiliated by the girls who could kick, hit, throw, bounce, whatever better than all of us. Why couldn't I just swim all year? Or do sit ups? Or run like a maniac? Noooooo! I had to learn how to run out to the parking lot, crawl under a car and grab a tennis ball every five minutes for three weeks until they could find another way to make me crazy.

25. Favorite class? Art. By far. I adored it. I got happily lost there. I got to paint the actual walls and doors of the art department, inside and out with murals I designed. (Some of those paintings were still there after 20 years!) It was amazing. I loved it.

O.k. folks, your turn if you wish! Let me know if you do, I'd love to hear your story!

Affluenza

Thanks (once again, seriously, this woman has so many great posts!!!) to Real Mom, I offer the following video. This is aimed at teenagers, but really, where do they get their life style from? Us.

Teenage Affluenza

back in the pink

oy. It's been a weekend, let me tell ya! We went down to San Diego for a wedding and afterward we went dinner with friend at the California Pizza Kitchen. I was the only one to get a house salad...and I was the only one who ended up getting ILL!

At first I thought it was the salad, food poisoning, but after three days of "recycling" food and then some, I guess it was indeed just a flu. Low grade fever, CHILLS, and lots of harsh "ralphing", "tossing my cookies" or whatever euphemism you choose, achy, stiff neck and joints, and MAN!--- I changed the diagnosis!

Today I feel much better, still stiff, but I think that is just the arthritis kicking me in the knees. So wahooo! Good to be back!

umm, WHAT?

While sitting in traffic the other day I noticed this truck in front of me. Someone skipped out on Catechism a bit early. Amazing.

My head was spinning with the images before me. Was this person serious? (Imagine the back windows open! Hail Mary full of bow-chicky-bow-wow.) Hope this guy doesn't expect Mary to do him any favours...prob'ly not gunna happen.

How does he explain this to his mothers or sisters? Or Gramma? Oy.

I don't care what religion you are, this is disrespectful on too many levels.

Got Kids? Call Mom!

Real Mom has a great post today. Seems yesterday a case went to the supreme court. You can read about it at CNN and also at the WOW blog. To summarize, a 13 year old Jr. High student was strip searched while at school, without the notification of her parents, without being told what was about to happen. Her suspicious behaviour? Another student who had been caught with two Ibuprofen tablets revealed (lied) that she had gotten her "illegal" pills from Savanna Redding.

Savanna had never had any disciplinary action or negative reports in her file prior to this incident. She willingly allowed school officials to search her locker and her backpack, and then they asked her to remove all of her clothing so they could search through the clothes. She was not allowed to change in a private room, but had to strip in front of two female employees, then she was asked to show her breasts and also the inside crotch of her panties.

Nothing was ever found. There are no reports as to what disciplinary action was taken against the other young woman who accused Savanna. Savanna was told to put her clothes back on and go on with her day.

NPR has Savanna in a current day interview and the Why Homeschool blog has several interesting posts dedicated to the discussion.

The Denver Channel backs up the idea that your children have zero rights under the law. There, two 13 year old boys were asked to drop their pants and fully expose their under shorts while in a full school lunch room because two lunch ladies accused them of stealing money that was eventually found right where it was supposed be...in the cash drawer.

Remember Whitmore High School? The 20 or so kids in Michigan who were detained in a PE room and strip searched looking for money that had been stolen...you guessed it without finding anything.

Do you recall Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, CA? This is where the female students attending their high school prom were told to lift their skirts to prove they were not wearing thongs. This required them to show both front and back of their panties before they could enter and enjoy the evening. That action was appalling enough, until you find out the proof was had in view of both female and male teachers and some other students.

Back in the day one of my best friends had a daughter with a serious blood disorder (similar to what our son had, but different). Her daughter was under medical treatment and observation, and she had bruises all over her body. One morning the 5th grader was met at the curb and scurried into the school office. There she was met by school and county social workers who literally interrogated the 5th grader the entire school day- without mom or dad being called. At the end of the school day when mom showed up to pick up her children, she was arrested for child abuse. All of her children were taken into protective custody and separated into different foster homes. It took three or four days until doctors could convince the state officials that the bruising was due to her medical condition and not because of beatings.

Her daughter needed several years of therapy to heal from the messages the social workers had implied over the 8 hours at school. Things like her mother's punishments (time out and restrictions) were not normal parenting but rather her lack of love and abusive. The other children were also traumatized, being separated and isolated for days.

In our local schools, lockers have been removed because a group of ten or so kids were found with pot on campus. Not in their lockers, but on campus. Instead of removing the kids from the school and sending them to the school a few blocks away- the school designed to help kids who were having trouble, the board decided that all lockers were places to hide drugs, which means all the lockers would be removed; and coincidentally the kids stayed at the school.

A few years ago we all gave up specific civil and personal rights in effort to be more nationally secure, to feel safe, to keep the bad guys at bay. The problem with that is that we willingly gave up those rights without a second thought as to how they would or could effect us personally down the road. We continually heard the argument of "Well, if you haven't got anything to hide, you don't have to worry." If you aren't talking to, or e-mailing a terrorist, why should you care that your phone is being tapped? If you are patriotic why should you care if water boarding is a legal method of gathering information? Because eventually it does get down to you.

Explain to your daughter that if she has nothing to hide it it won't matter if she is required to strip to prove it. Tell your son it's o.k. to drop his pants for everyone in the lunch room to see to prove his innocence as well.

Your children have no rights. You have to teach them what to do. You have to protect them.

Because of personal anecdotal experiences -some described above- I chose to be the anti-policy mom. The rebel mom who put her foot down against school uniforms and then some. (As a person who worked in the schools I could tell you hair raising tales of what parents allow their children to wear in public.) The real point is that those same parents are the ones who will "opt out". There is small print in every school policy that says "School uniforms are mandatory! unless you don't want to comply, then just sign this release." Instead of reprimanding the specific child and enforcing the normal dress code, they ignore the few and make the whole wear a uniform. It's easier than dealing with unruly parents.

I was the mom who instructed my kids to not open their mouths -ever- if they were brought into a school office, not until I got there. I trained them to ask to call mom first,and they did. And I answered. I went down and met with angry and puffy faced administrators when my kid messed up- or not. (There is an incident where one of the kids was actually accused of "passive resistance"...I was a proud momma at that point! Better to be passive than to be abused.)

All of these problems could be better handled if we took the hard road instead of the easy way out. Ms. Redding would not be going through public humiliation years after the fact if one sensible head would have stopped and thought how to better solve the dilemma: Call Mom.

The boys in the cafeteria? Detain them in an open office and: Call Mom.

Catch a few nasty girls who showed off their slim nickers at the last dance? Ban them from all upcoming dances, enforce the existing dress code, and: Call Mom.

Rowdy teens suspected of stealing money in gym class? Separate them. Detain them. and Call Mom.

Potheads on campus? Detain and Call Mom first and the Police. If found guilty expel them from school and send them to alternative education.

let's refocus people : )

Ok. Check out this cutie pie: he's adorable...and check that hair! wow. He seriously is just a bundle of goodness and light.

And the beat goes on.

speaking of surprises....

I don't want to make a fuss, just kind of a "FYI" moment:

Thor has been called to be our Bishop.

That is all.

Carry on.

Don't you just love surprises?

Wow. Talk about an entrance! This little guy decided he would surprise everyone and arrive three weeks early...and we are so glad he's here!

At 6lbs. 5oz. this 19 1/2 inch blessing made his presence known yesterday afternoon. He has a great set of lungs, lots and lots of curly brown hair, and evidently his daddy's need for constant feeding.

Mommy is beautiful and doing well. Daddy has turned into a worker bee. You see, the night before the little guy decided to come, Daddy and Mommy signed the final papers for their new house. Daddy had moved in their bed, linens, 3 towels, 2 cats, a litter box and 1 roll of toilet paper; helped his wife to bed, slept a few hours and left for work.

Baby boy kicked boxed his mommy's "water" (trying to get breakfast one assumes) and there ya go. So while baby and mom hang out at the hospital, daddy will be moving in the rest of their things and hoping to set them all in the correct place.

Oh, and for anyone interested... we think the baby shower is still on for Saturday; we just have a new centerpiece!

My Blue Heaven

An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ

Natural Dye Easter Eggs (repost)

Aren't they pretty?

All you need are eggs, vinegar, alum, and your veggies!

Chop the veggies, cover with water, bring to a boil. Add alum and boil 10 or so minutes. (My pot was large so I added 2-3 tsp.) Add vinegar (I did 2-3 Tbl.) and turn off heat and cool. Add eggs and bring to a boil again for about 10 minutes. Shut off and let the eggs cool in the liquid.

I strained the liquid and put it in a smaller bowl and let the eggs cool and dye for a few hours.

My colours were a tad different than on the video, who knew? I still think they turned out cool.

The one up front is more periwinkle than blue or lavender (whole beets), the ones with the stripes and scrolls were supposed to be red, but came out more rust (red cabbage), the sage and olive greens came out fabulous and quick! (red onion, no alum, vinegar) Bright yellow (yellow onion with turmeric powder) were also very fast, almost immediate. The tutorial says you can get green from spinach, um no, not in my house. They came out perfectly white. grrr.

I made the stripes by using electrical tape, and the scrolls by painting the eggs with rubber cement, which actually the longer it sat in the solution, the more it was eaten away...just a heads up.

All of the dyes were much more intense before I rinsed them in water and dried them. Tip: PAT them dry, if you rub, the dye rubs off to a pastel colour.

All in all this was a really cool and interesting project. I am not sure a mom with a couple of kids would want to do it though. LOTS of funky fumes from the veggies. Seriously bad ones from the cabbage...ack! Also it took a lot more time than I remember.

That said, it is MUCH better to use the natural than the chemical dyes, but there you go.

Purple Haze

... quite rightly!

In the Pink!