Thursday, November 10, 2011
Winter Happy Thought II
This is only day #2 and I have another winter happy thought. You get better gas mileage! No A.C = less $$ on gas. Yay!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Winter Happy Thoughts
A few days ago, I wrote this big long thing about winter. It was mostly about how much I dislike different aspects of the season, such as how I don’t like being concerned with the conditions of the roads and planning my life accordingly and how much I dislike things such as coats, shoes, socks, etc. Instead of posting all of my winter grievances, I’ve decided to stick that one in my journal and not subject my (limited) internet audience to my hatred of beef with winter.
Instead, I will skip to the positive parts of that never to be published post. The whole point of it, before it turned into a vent-fest, was to share my winter plan. I have decided that it might be beneficial to note down anything that I think I like about winter. Any time I think “I love that…” or “It’s so nice that..”, and it has to do with snow or cold, I am going to take note and share it. At the end of the winter, I am going to compile it so that I can pull it out next winter and remind myself about all the happy things about winter.
As a side note, I believe in setting realistic goals. It is unrealistic for me to say that I will try to not have a negative thought about winter. Complaining is just going to happen. My realistic goal, for this year, is to take note of and appreciate the positive aspects of winter.
So my #1, favorite thing about winter is:
You get to LEAVE YOUR GROCERIES IN THE CAR!!! You can leave them there for hours! You can go to Costco, buy a bag of chicken, and then decide you aren’t quite ready to go home yet and that you should take advantage of being out of the house and the already spent gas and go to the mall. Not that you need to, you just want to walk around for a while and look at all the pretty things. Also you can buy your groceries, remember you were supposed to buy the dog his special, hypo-allergenic food at some other store besides the grocery store, and go (even take your time) because nothing’s going bad in a trunk that’s colder than your refrigerator at home. Honestly, this is the only thing I miss about winter when it’s over. Summer requires a little more planning in the sequence and timing of city outings.
Well, there’s my #1 FAVORITE THING about winter. Honestly, at this moment I am having a hard time even imagining that my list is going to be very long, but we’ll see. I am sure I will still snarl at the snow. I’ll curse having to drive anywhere with snow on the roads. I’ll swear about every time I have to gather all of the accessories necessary to keep a toddler (and myself) warm and healthy/alive in a trip out of the house. I’ll want to leave the state and realize we’re pretty much snowed in this (thankfully large) valley. By March I will feel completely distant from any sort of civilization that cannot see a giant rock wall (mountains) just to the east. By April or May, when it starts warming up just enough to guarantee that all of the moisture that comes through here will undoubtedly turn into a snowy mess, I will want to move someplace warm and sunny even if it costs me my right arm. But summer will come again (spring is just snow with the occasional teaser day of “warmth”). I’ll almost cry out of happiness when the tree outside starts to turn green. (Okay, Utah has more than one tree, but not by many. I will count them next time I have a good vantage point and let you know an exact number. Just kidding.) I’ll break out my slippers and enjoy another 4 or 5 months before it starts snowing again. Happy day!!
P.S. I don’t hate living here. There are a lot of pros. I just get a little grumpy when I think about winter, so I’m going to stop now and get back to what I should be doing.
P.P.S. Yes, this is shorter than the original post on the subject.
Instead, I will skip to the positive parts of that never to be published post. The whole point of it, before it turned into a vent-fest, was to share my winter plan. I have decided that it might be beneficial to note down anything that I think I like about winter. Any time I think “I love that…” or “It’s so nice that..”, and it has to do with snow or cold, I am going to take note and share it. At the end of the winter, I am going to compile it so that I can pull it out next winter and remind myself about all the happy things about winter.
As a side note, I believe in setting realistic goals. It is unrealistic for me to say that I will try to not have a negative thought about winter. Complaining is just going to happen. My realistic goal, for this year, is to take note of and appreciate the positive aspects of winter.
So my #1, favorite thing about winter is:
You get to LEAVE YOUR GROCERIES IN THE CAR!!! You can leave them there for hours! You can go to Costco, buy a bag of chicken, and then decide you aren’t quite ready to go home yet and that you should take advantage of being out of the house and the already spent gas and go to the mall. Not that you need to, you just want to walk around for a while and look at all the pretty things. Also you can buy your groceries, remember you were supposed to buy the dog his special, hypo-allergenic food at some other store besides the grocery store, and go (even take your time) because nothing’s going bad in a trunk that’s colder than your refrigerator at home. Honestly, this is the only thing I miss about winter when it’s over. Summer requires a little more planning in the sequence and timing of city outings.
Well, there’s my #1 FAVORITE THING about winter. Honestly, at this moment I am having a hard time even imagining that my list is going to be very long, but we’ll see. I am sure I will still snarl at the snow. I’ll curse having to drive anywhere with snow on the roads. I’ll swear about every time I have to gather all of the accessories necessary to keep a toddler (and myself) warm and healthy/alive in a trip out of the house. I’ll want to leave the state and realize we’re pretty much snowed in this (thankfully large) valley. By March I will feel completely distant from any sort of civilization that cannot see a giant rock wall (mountains) just to the east. By April or May, when it starts warming up just enough to guarantee that all of the moisture that comes through here will undoubtedly turn into a snowy mess, I will want to move someplace warm and sunny even if it costs me my right arm. But summer will come again (spring is just snow with the occasional teaser day of “warmth”). I’ll almost cry out of happiness when the tree outside starts to turn green. (Okay, Utah has more than one tree, but not by many. I will count them next time I have a good vantage point and let you know an exact number. Just kidding.) I’ll break out my slippers and enjoy another 4 or 5 months before it starts snowing again. Happy day!!
P.S. I don’t hate living here. There are a lot of pros. I just get a little grumpy when I think about winter, so I’m going to stop now and get back to what I should be doing.
P.P.S. Yes, this is shorter than the original post on the subject.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
MIA
I have been very much a MIA blogger this summer, but especially the last month. Working on two... I'm not going to try to catch up on everything we've been up to, just because that sounds like a lot of work to cover nothing particularly exciting.
In general, we're just doing our thing and enjoying summer! Nate is working and being employee extraordinaire.
I'm still working on becoming a real estate agent. I stink at test taking. Always have, so the last little bit of this process where I have to take and pass a bazillion tests is starting to get old. I'm making progress, but when you stink at testing plus you're out of practice, it can be difficult. If only I could just skip this part!
Henry is just busy growing up. We started potty training last month. We've now progressed to minimal accidents at home, occasional accidents outside (why would you stop playing long enough to go to the bathroom?), and knowing the location and quickest route to every restroom at all of the stores we even occasionally visit. I think today was our first accident free church block and it didn't involve me leaving primary every 30 seconds to pry him out of Nursery to visit the restroom! Go Henry!! Henry's been up to other fun stuff, but his birthday is coming up and I'll save it for then.
Due to the slow and painful death of our camera, I don't have many pictures from the last couple of months. It's not totally dead, but IF it doesn't shut off when you push the picture taking button, the display goes black so it's a surprise what comes out.
Here is what I do have pictures of. Don't worry. There really aren't many.
Sorry for the poor quality.
Moving toddler + dumb camera = this picture
I made that giant ruler! It's a growth chart that looks like an old wooden ruler. Now, if we ever move, we don't have to leave kids measurements in a door frame. I think it's darker in the picture than in real life.
I just thought that was funny. He walked around like that for a while that day. It was entertaining. You can see his training potty in the background. He picked it out and it sat in our kitchen until this past week. It makes sounds when you potty in it.
I made this too! It's car seat liner with a rubbery table cloth bottom to keep Henry's car seat from stinking up our car if he has an accident while we're on the road. I just take it out, put the other one in and wash the wet one.
We went camping in Idaho last weekend! Mama was up there, taking Chelsie back to school. This is the only picture we got because of our sad camera, but I think it's a sweet one. G.G. is reading Henry his new truck book. (Note the teeny bit of yellow under the blue blanket at the head of the bed. That is one of a few of Henry's trucks that he felt needed to be nearby while he slept).
In general, we're just doing our thing and enjoying summer! Nate is working and being employee extraordinaire.
I'm still working on becoming a real estate agent. I stink at test taking. Always have, so the last little bit of this process where I have to take and pass a bazillion tests is starting to get old. I'm making progress, but when you stink at testing plus you're out of practice, it can be difficult. If only I could just skip this part!
Henry is just busy growing up. We started potty training last month. We've now progressed to minimal accidents at home, occasional accidents outside (why would you stop playing long enough to go to the bathroom?), and knowing the location and quickest route to every restroom at all of the stores we even occasionally visit. I think today was our first accident free church block and it didn't involve me leaving primary every 30 seconds to pry him out of Nursery to visit the restroom! Go Henry!! Henry's been up to other fun stuff, but his birthday is coming up and I'll save it for then.
Due to the slow and painful death of our camera, I don't have many pictures from the last couple of months. It's not totally dead, but IF it doesn't shut off when you push the picture taking button, the display goes black so it's a surprise what comes out.
Here is what I do have pictures of. Don't worry. There really aren't many.
Sorry for the poor quality.Moving toddler + dumb camera = this picture
I made that giant ruler! It's a growth chart that looks like an old wooden ruler. Now, if we ever move, we don't have to leave kids measurements in a door frame. I think it's darker in the picture than in real life.
I just thought that was funny. He walked around like that for a while that day. It was entertaining. You can see his training potty in the background. He picked it out and it sat in our kitchen until this past week. It makes sounds when you potty in it.
I made this too! It's car seat liner with a rubbery table cloth bottom to keep Henry's car seat from stinking up our car if he has an accident while we're on the road. I just take it out, put the other one in and wash the wet one.
We went camping in Idaho last weekend! Mama was up there, taking Chelsie back to school. This is the only picture we got because of our sad camera, but I think it's a sweet one. G.G. is reading Henry his new truck book. (Note the teeny bit of yellow under the blue blanket at the head of the bed. That is one of a few of Henry's trucks that he felt needed to be nearby while he slept).Monday, August 8, 2011
Lunch!
Today I was looking on the Weight Watchers website for a good recipe that would use up the rest of our arugula. I found this exciting little recipe. I picked the tomatoes out of our garden and we even made bread this weekend, so I happened to have fresh french bread. I ate the tomato arugula mixture with a spoon and about ate it up before the toast part was ready. After I put the tomato mixture on the toast it was even more amazing. Yumm!! It was so yummy, I even blogged about it. Amazing, I know.
Just in case you're interested, here is the recipe.
4 med plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I did not seed them)
2 C fresh arugula, chopped
1/2 C grated Parmesan
1T extra virgin olive oil
2t balsamic vinegar, white variety (I did not use the white variety)
1/4t kosher salt
1/4t black pepper
4 slices of Italian Bread (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 clove of garlic, halved (I used the chopped garlic stuff from the bottle in my fridge)
Combine the first 7 ingredients. Let stand 20 min.
Preheat broiler or prepare grill.
Rub bread with cut side of garlic and toast 2-3 min.
Top with tomato mixture.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Teton Vacation! (Part 2)
Saturday, we failed to take pictures again. Nate, Henry, and I went to Jackson Hole and walked around. After walking around for about 5.2 seconds, we decided that it was Park City, a mall, and a town square with antlers, combined into one. We kept walking around (why not?) , but didn't for long. We then decided to ask a local where the best bbq place was. She directed us to the old Village Inn building (where we had eaten before). It was pretty yummy! Henry got corn on the cob and was in heaven!
Later, we met up with Mama, Daddy, Chelsie and Caleb, and went on a picnic on the Idaho side of the Tetons. It was a pretty camp site. I wouldn't mind camping there some day, but given the bear warning signs, I'll be taking some bear mace with me.
Sunday, we went to church.
We also went on a ride up the tram in Teton Village. Mama, Daddy, Chelsie, Caleb, Nate, Henry and I all went to the Wyoming side of the mountains. It was worth the view and the opportunity to take a short hike on top of one of the summits of the Tetons.
Daddy and Henry riding up to the top together and checking out the view! This is a closed in tram. There was no risk of falling out.
View from the top.
L-R: Daddy, Mama, Chelsie, Henry, Me, Random guy in pink shirt
You can see the little hike we went on. We walked down a big-ish hill, wrapped around, then walked back up a smaller hill.
We went up a lot higher than I thought we were going to. It was a fun little adventure!
Driving Home
Later, we met up with Mama, Daddy, Chelsie and Caleb, and went on a picnic on the Idaho side of the Tetons. It was a pretty camp site. I wouldn't mind camping there some day, but given the bear warning signs, I'll be taking some bear mace with me.
Sunday, we went to church.
We also went on a ride up the tram in Teton Village. Mama, Daddy, Chelsie, Caleb, Nate, Henry and I all went to the Wyoming side of the mountains. It was worth the view and the opportunity to take a short hike on top of one of the summits of the Tetons.
Daddy and Henry riding up to the top together and checking out the view! This is a closed in tram. There was no risk of falling out.
View from the top.
L-R: Daddy, Mama, Chelsie, Henry, Me, Random guy in pink shirtYou can see the little hike we went on. We walked down a big-ish hill, wrapped around, then walked back up a smaller hill.
We went up a lot higher than I thought we were going to. It was a fun little adventure!Monday it was time to go home. We packed up and cleaned out the condo "cabin" we rented, had lunch at a park in Rexburg, said bye to everyone and headed home. It was sad that Emily couldn't join us for a lot of the fun stuff and that Ian couldn't join us for any of it, but we're glad he's home from the hospital and getting better. I'm sure we'll do fun stuff again!
Driving HomeTeton Vacation!
Emily graduated from BYU-Idaho this month! So, to celebrate, we all met in Idaho for her graduation and a little family vacation. It is a little tradition that started when my whole family went to Hawaii for my graduation. We got a little "cabin" in Driggs, which was the perfect amount of in between from the Tetons and Rexburg.
Before we went up to Idaho, Mama, Daddy, and Caleb came down to our house to deliver our piano! We have a piano now! They had neighbors that were giving it away and they couldn't find anyone in Eugene that wanted it, so my parents gladly took it off their hands, stored it in their living room for at least a year, and then delivered it to us! We are very grateful to have this piano! It is a good piano and is even relatively in tune, even after it's nearly 1000 mile drive from Oregon.
Henry found this chair and dragged it most of the way to the piano. He loves playing it!
Before we went up to Idaho, Mama, Daddy, and Caleb came down to our house to deliver our piano! We have a piano now! They had neighbors that were giving it away and they couldn't find anyone in Eugene that wanted it, so my parents gladly took it off their hands, stored it in their living room for at least a year, and then delivered it to us! We are very grateful to have this piano! It is a good piano and is even relatively in tune, even after it's nearly 1000 mile drive from Oregon.
Henry found this chair and dragged it most of the way to the piano. He loves playing it!Oh! I forgot again. They came on my birthday. We all kept forgetting it was my birthday, but I got one heck of a present!
The morning after they came, we all left for Idaho. It was good to go up and see Chelsie, Emily, and Ian. Unfortunately, Ian was in the hospital the whole time and missed out on all of the action. Fortunately, he is out now! That's what really matters.
Thursday was not very eventful and we got zero pictures.
Friday, there was college student moving going on, so Nate, Henry, and I went to Bear World, near Rexburg. It is absolutely a cheesy tourist trap type of experience, but it was fun. I'll admit it.
You get to drive right by bears!
Our zoom doesn't work. He was right outside our car. Got even closer after we took the picture.
I wanted to step out and pet the sleeping bear. Probably a bad idea.
Baby bears! I want to pet one! You can actually bottle feed them for $35/person. It didn't happen this trip, but some day, I WILL hug a baby bear. It is on my bucket list.
There was also a petting zoo included in the admission price. This looks like Goatie!
We got to pet deer!
I got to feed AND pet a baby deer! This is, no, WAS on my bucket list. Check!
The morning after they came, we all left for Idaho. It was good to go up and see Chelsie, Emily, and Ian. Unfortunately, Ian was in the hospital the whole time and missed out on all of the action. Fortunately, he is out now! That's what really matters.
Thursday was not very eventful and we got zero pictures.
Friday, there was college student moving going on, so Nate, Henry, and I went to Bear World, near Rexburg. It is absolutely a cheesy tourist trap type of experience, but it was fun. I'll admit it.
You get to drive right by bears!
Our zoom doesn't work. He was right outside our car. Got even closer after we took the picture.
I wanted to step out and pet the sleeping bear. Probably a bad idea.
Baby bears! I want to pet one! You can actually bottle feed them for $35/person. It didn't happen this trip, but some day, I WILL hug a baby bear. It is on my bucket list.
There was also a petting zoo included in the admission price. This looks like Goatie!
We got to pet deer!
I got to feed AND pet a baby deer! This is, no, WAS on my bucket list. Check!After Bear World, we went back to Rexburg for a pre-graduation pic nic with everyone (minus Ian). We then all went to change and head to graduation. I got no pictures of this on our camera because we were in charge of Emilys point and shoot and totally forgot ours. Oops. Emilys departments part was the coolest graduation thing I've ever been to. Instead of boring speaches about how "we made it!", we got performances and visual presentations. The dance part was weird, but it was still entertaining! Congratulations to Emily! I'm glad we got to be there for your graduation!
(The rest of the vacation will be continued in Teton Vacation! Part 2).
(The rest of the vacation will be continued in Teton Vacation! Part 2).
July Minus Vacation
I love summer! July is always full of stuff and so busy that it just flies by. I love that there is so much to do, but I do not love how quickly it disappears. August comes, kids go back to school, and before you know it, it's Christmas. (We're not thinking about though. I'm still bitter about snow and the length of this past winter.)
So, back to the sun, warmth, thunderstorms, holidays, vacations, movies coming out, yard work, and just completely enjoying everything about this summer.
I did not get many pictures of the 4th of July. That is because we didn't really do much. We did, however, make a birthday cake and enjoy the fireworks of family and several neighbors.
I got the idea for the cake off of Pinterest (check out my pins if you'd like to see the site I got the idea from). I'm not super happy with my decorating work, but I was pretty done with baking by the time I got to decorating. Also, next time I'm going to mix raspberries into the icing for the filing.
With Harry Potter 7.2 coming out in July, we decided to re-watch all of the previous movies. One Friday evening, we decided to have a Harry Potter Picnic Night. We went and got Subway sandwiches (bought one for $5 the had enough points to get one free!!), bought a bag of chips from the grocery store, went home and setup a picnic on the floor. It was a lot of fun. Henry especially enjoyed being able to eat on the family room floor. It took a couple of days to get him to go to the table when we said it was supper time.
Henry hadn't paid the least bit of attention to any of the previous movies, so we were a little worried about nightmares when he decided to pay attention to this one (#5, I think). He didn't seem to have any nightmares. Hopefully we didn't scar him for life.
We did have to do it again a different night. Monkey had to join this time.
Another "fun" July activity has been vacuuming. Almost every day, Henry will pull out the vacuum and want us to vacuum the whole house. Honestly, I do not vacuum every day. Nope. Not even. If Henry had his way though, we would!
So helpful!
So, back to the sun, warmth, thunderstorms, holidays, vacations, movies coming out, yard work, and just completely enjoying everything about this summer.
I did not get many pictures of the 4th of July. That is because we didn't really do much. We did, however, make a birthday cake and enjoy the fireworks of family and several neighbors.
I got the idea for the cake off of Pinterest (check out my pins if you'd like to see the site I got the idea from). I'm not super happy with my decorating work, but I was pretty done with baking by the time I got to decorating. Also, next time I'm going to mix raspberries into the icing for the filing.
With Harry Potter 7.2 coming out in July, we decided to re-watch all of the previous movies. One Friday evening, we decided to have a Harry Potter Picnic Night. We went and got Subway sandwiches (bought one for $5 the had enough points to get one free!!), bought a bag of chips from the grocery store, went home and setup a picnic on the floor. It was a lot of fun. Henry especially enjoyed being able to eat on the family room floor. It took a couple of days to get him to go to the table when we said it was supper time.
Henry hadn't paid the least bit of attention to any of the previous movies, so we were a little worried about nightmares when he decided to pay attention to this one (#5, I think). He didn't seem to have any nightmares. Hopefully we didn't scar him for life.
We did have to do it again a different night. Monkey had to join this time.Another "fun" July activity has been vacuuming. Almost every day, Henry will pull out the vacuum and want us to vacuum the whole house. Honestly, I do not vacuum every day. Nope. Not even. If Henry had his way though, we would!
So helpful!
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