Tagged...

A. The player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves - try to find 6 you haven't already posted about!
B. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules.

1. I like to cook. I like to try new things and I will even cook things I do not like, for people who do (except fish, I draw the line there-- no fish in the house unless I am not here!)
I would like to think I am pretty good at it too... hopefully no one is out there saying "if she only knew..." One thing I like to make the most is pie. I have a hard time buying pies because I just really like to make them (I should work at the Pie Hole!).

2. I love to read. I do have a hard time seeking new books-- I do get bored easy. I seek out the kind of books that I can not put down. I guess that is bad for my home life... But I can not read a book that is too detailed. I tried to read The Hobbit... twice. Love Lord of the Rings movies, but I can not do the books. And, since I have a hard time seeking out new authors (normally read Mary Higgins Clark, Clive Cussler, John Grishom, Dan Brown, and of course I LOVE the Harry Potter series... Thrillers, murder mysteries, and the like and I did enjoy the historical fiction church books), I would love suggestions (oh and I do have the Twilight books to read).

3. I am a freak and every time I leave the house or go to bed, I check (sometimes double) every door and window (well, only ones I open, in weather I would open them in) to make sure they are shut and locked. I guess I watch too much CSI & Criminal Minds and read to many thriller novels... and I keep my blinds by the door closed so that if anyone comes and I do not want to answer the door (solicitors), then I do not have to cause they cannot see me (even though they would have to be deaf to not hear the dog and children).

4.I love pumpkin. Many know this already, especially those who read Jody's weight loss column while I was pregnant with Ethan. While I have tried to stay away from Arctic Circle-- unless the playland is involved-- I love pumpkin ice cream. If you are like me and want to lose baby fat or just weight in general, the Dreyer's Slow Churned 1/2 fat ice cream is really good. I am an ice cream snob, I have NEVER liked low fat/low sugar ice cream. This one really is worth it, it is all I buy. I actually buy it on sale-- Smith's has great sales often-- and keep like 10 ice cream containers in my freezer outside. I hate to pay $5 for ice cream and I think it is worth it to get the GOOD low fat kind and help the waistline too. I served the pumpkin ice cream to my family and asked their opinion. They really had no idea it was low fat. The Dreyer's Loaded is good also (especially if you are looking for a lot of the cookie dough or whatever flavor).
Oh I love pumpkin anything, not just ice cream!

5. You could put any drink in front of me, but if you give me some good water, I will drink that over anything else, any day! I crave it and when I do not get enough, like the dad on Big Fish, I feel like I am drying up.

6. I love to host. I really enjoy having people over. It is a great thing for me, because it is the incentive I need to keep my house in good shape. I like to keep a clean house, but do not have the time or energy to keep it as spic and span as I would like. My floor gets mopped when I have guests. SO I guess I better have people over every week! Plus then I have people to cook for!

7. I love Martina McBride. She seems like she stands for good and I just like her music. Think she sounds great on the radio? She is AMAZING live. Love her. So I was sad, but the last time around, she only toured small cities. What does that say about a person? She is from a small town in Kansas and I am sure was spreading the love to a bunch of small places across the country. She really does seem like a genuinely good person. On top of all that, she is gorgeous!


I Tag:

Natalie, Kendra, Shelly, Heather, Carrie, Becky and Kristen.

It was Kelli's idea to do 7 people, ps!

The City in Which I Live

I guess it is not just the city, it is the state too. I like living here. I like Utah. But I am really frustrated right now. I do not want to argue politics with anyone, I just want to vent my feelings.
Since I fell asleep, I did not get to see the news and get the results from votes, but I should have just know what was going to happen. Basically, our school district has people who want to split because they already have all their schools and do not want to spend $ on the new areas' schools that need to be built. Nevermind that most of us who freaking live here LIVED THERE too. So then it came to a vote, but what is unfair? Not everyone who that affects was allowed to vote. Oh yeah, just the people who would benefit. Of course, it was passed. Then, the whole school voucher idea gave me hope. I really feel that if people really took the time to get to know what it is all about, it would have passed. But no. Of course not. Something needs to be done. Our property taxes went up 47%-- yes, not a typing error-- forty-seven percent from last year. So all the other people in the area, well I am sure there's went up drastically as well. Here is the kicker: when the district splits and our property taxes are raised more than the yearly raise (which is proving to be quite ludicrous already), we will be forced to sell our house. In fact, I am sure no one would want to move out here once they realize that their new prop taxes will make a 2nd job a necessity, so we will most likely foreclose. I know that many people here just can not afford that. It will be a crisis. In my opinion, it was already nearing that anyway. But now, I just can not believe it.
To top things off, I was reading a small local newspaper and it had an article about one of our city's neighbors and them whining about us (I called the other city's manager and left a 3 minute voicemail on the matter). They were looking into making the two roads into our city toll roads for our residents.... umm, can we say ILLEGAL?! Unconstitutional?
Then a couple pages later, another neighboring city (one I already can not stand! I need to meet a nice person that I like from this place because I just detest it and have a hard time feeling anyone nice and decent could come from there...) was complaining their little heads off about an issue that stems from their issues. But alas, it is all our city's fault and now they reversed a couple of road approvals. They do not want to let our residents to drive through their city to get anywhere. In fact some dumb trash of an IDIOT suggested building a wall * A WALL! * Seriously, who are these people??? If you think stupid things like this, please, do yourself a favor and refrain from telling anyone, let alone someone who is going to put it in the newspaper for everyone to read what an idiot would say.
So my property taxes are going to skyrocket more than they already have and I will not be able to leave this place cause I will be broke and not be able to afford a toll road and the other way will have a wall blocking....
So I guess you can understand why I may be frustrated about living here!

OOPS...

Last night, I went to put Sydney to bed, and I fell asleep feeding her. Then I fell asleep singing Ethan his songs before he goes to bed. Then, I decided to lay on the couch for a few-- I had things I wanted to do before I go to bed. Well, I woke up at about 3 am to the sound of Sydney. But then she was quiet, so I got ready for bed and then logged on to do my blog and then she started crying. So I had to go in there and by the time I was done, I just wanted my bed.
I only lay on the couch when I am not ready to go to bed yet. I am the perfect patient-- my orthodontist told me to where my retainer EVERY NIGHT. Since I am an adult who had to endure wearing metal on her teeth when women already feel unattractive-- during pregnancy-- as well as being the adult who paid for them (as in not my parents), and that day I will not forget-- getting them off. I have sensitive teeth and I would rather not endure that again. So, needless to say, I have a great respect for retainers and I can honestly say that I have worn mine every single night since June 2005 except once when I forgot them and I went camping and maybe two other times. I also grind my teeth REALLY BAD and I can only handle sleeping now with my retainers on because my teeth do not hurt when I wake up.
So when I fall asleep on the couch, Jody is supposed to wake me up so I can go through my nightly dental routine, take my pills (one of which is keeping me sane... no, not an antidepressant, it is an anti pregnancy pill hahahaha), and check in on the kids (have to make sure they are breathing, hahaha, and check to make sure they are warm). He said he tried and I was mean to him (which is definitely likely) , so he gave up and went to bed. I guess he does not care if I get my pills....

Laundry and Trash

First off, I do not care if it is 12:36 am. It is still Monday to me. Hahaha. Anyway I suppose this goes along with Sunday papers. I was thinking today, as I took out some trash, how much I actually enjoyed it. Its like a cleansing- getting rid of excess in the house. If only everything were so easy, right? Put it in bag, take it outside so you don't have to look at it (or smell it) and then someone comes and picks it up every week.
My poor laundry room... well that is the opposite! I put all these dirty clothes in there, I wash them, but, unless they are to be worn immediately, these clothes can't seem to get out. I am goo at getting the clothes clean, but if I can't fold the stuff in 30 seconds or less, the stuff in the dryer just gets added to my counter space so I can dry the clothes waiting (you know, so they do not stink!). I worked on this today, too. My husband was out of clean underwear and I had to wash some (he has TONS- I hate washing whites), so I decided I would try to fold the whole load while I was cooking in the microwave. I was not fast enough, but at least I got it done and I put that load away. I actually do not mind doing the laundry, it is just easy to neglect because it is in a room and I can shut the door. But I absolutely love the feeling when my trash cans are empty and my laundry room is all clean.

Sunday Paper

So we get both newspapers-- The Deseret Morning News and the Salt Lake Tribune. I like the DNews because that is who signs the paychecks... but I loathe newspapers... really, for just one reason. Imagine 14 -- that is right -- 14 newspapers in your house each week. That is a lot of garbage. Especially to pick up. Arg. (We do recycle, by the way).
Something funny about Sunday papers is that Jody likes to read all the ads. I am not sure why, since we can not buy any of it, but he does anyway. Well, today, Ethan read the ads with Jody and many stores are advertising holiday gifts. TOYS. The sounds from the other room went something like this (while reading the Target ad):
I wanna be that. I want that, dad. Dad, that one, I want that one dad. Two dem. Two dem dad.
He had a great time- and now he thinks he is getting that whole ad. Look what Jody has done to our child! Hahaha, and so it begins.

a post a day...

Okay so maybe I will try this too, though I make no promises. That said-- the post that says November 3rd, I actually started before midnight, LAST night. So the Halloween slide show is November 1st and the after halloween slide show is for yesterday. That brings us to now.

If my sisters read this, like they are supposed to, then they will know I talked about them.. My sister Erica came up to help me today. She is a great helper, as are all my sisters and my little brother. Thanks to them for all their hard work (on my behalf)!

Jazz game a few years ago...2 years ago -- a pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

Sorry, this is not the best picture but I am so tired, I keep falling asleep.

After Halloween Fun

We decided to go to Target and see what we could get on clearance. We do not really have a stock of dress-up items, so I thought this would be a fun place to start. Ethan saw the pet costumes and had to get the superman one for Jake. I am so glad we did (though I am sure he is not!). We had a good time teasing Jake in his Super Pug costume today!