The Fridge Shopping List

Look what I found today.  Poor Daddy.

Such mean children.  You could say he brings it on himself;  he lives with girls that can dish it out as well as he can.  :)
(Of course, I didn't erase it, so I guess I'm just about as bad as the whole lot of them.)
For the record, we love our handsome daddy just the way he is.

Stranger Things Haven't Happened, Apparently

The best part about rarely making a good dinner is that when you do happen to pull your sorry self together and actually cook a real meal, people are impressed.  Yesterday I made lasagna.

"Mom, thank you, thank you, thank you.  I love lasagna.  I love you so much.  I mean, I loved you before, but I'm just so excited!" exclaimed Snow White, jumping up and down.

A few minutes later:  "Wow!  Lasagna?  Who are you making that for?" queried Sleeping Beauty.

"Um, us.  For dinner,"  I replied.

"Really?!  Why?"

"Well, because we have the stuff and it was written down on the menu for a couple of weeks ago."  Yep.  I'm behind.  Just a little bit.

"So, who's coming over for dinner?"

"No one.  Just us."

"Weird."

Yep.  That's me.  Whipping up strange and weird stuff like lasagna.  Because I'm fancy like that.

Once every couple of years or so.

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I did not forget you.  Nor did I forget my few faithful readers and family members whom I love so dearly.  I have been busy.  And feeling a little sorry for myself on a few points.  Not major things, but I'm tired.  Can we take a break and still be friends when I can get back to you?  Good. 

Thanks much,
Me

p.s.  Remind me to tell you about the time that we watched that Babies show and the girls were scared to grow breasts, and that other time where we threw a great party and Cinderella turned 14.  See you soon!

A Cautionary Tale

In the last few days, I have discovered that there are some things better left undone.

• Don't listen to a pitch from a salesman.  Especially if you have a propensity for headaches coming on.

We had a nice person come to the door just as I was laying down with my ice pack and really good migraine drugs.  Somehow, in my drug induced nicety, I roped myself into a vacuum salesman coming by later that week.  My, oh my, there are some expensive vacuums out there.  And lots of disgusting dust in my carpets.  (We won't dwell on that part, but I will say I do need a new vacuum, that's for sure.)   

But, this poor kid.  My head hurt pretty bad when he got there, and just got worse.  I kept thinking I just wanted him to stop talking.  He'd say something like, 'Just think about how much healthier your family would be with our Hepa-filter.  All those doctor appointments would be avoided.  Just saving on that alone will pay for the sweeper.  How much did you pay on medical bills last year? How much could not taking your kids in be put toward this sweeper?' and I would quip back with, 'We have a free employee clinic that I took the kids to once last year.  So, zero dollars, really.'

Or, 'How much do you spend on coffee per week?' Me: 'Nothing.'  Him, 'Oh, how about Coke, Pepsi?  I spend a ton on Mountain Dew.'  And I smartly say, 'I drink water.  It's free.'  Smile. 'You should try it.'  Wink.  I was so charming.

And my personal (mortifying) favorite: he explains, 'If I sell just one more vacuum this month, the company is sending me and my wife on a trip.  We got married four months ago and didn't get a honeymoon.  Isn't that sad?  My wife would love the trip.'  And I said, 'Sorry, I don't really feel bad for you on that one.  My husband was in school when we got married.  We never went on a real honeymoon and we've been married seventeen years.  Happily, I might add.  You don't need a honeymoon for a good marriage.  You're not going to convince me to spend 2,000 dollars on a vacuum just so you can have a honeymoon.  Sorry.'  Big smile.

Oh boy, I was his worst nightmare!  I am sure he put a mark on the front of my house somewhere as he left.  Just to warn other salesman that the Tasmanian Housewife She-Devil lives here.  Just in case he forgot, I think I'll make my own:

Migraine in Progress

To avoid rude behavior, abuse, and possible bodily harm or death, salesmen should not enter.  

I'm not kidding.

That poor guy.  I hope he didn't have bad dreams about me.  I'm pretty sure he decided dropping out of college was a bad idea, though.  I'm pretty sure just about now he's thinking, 'Hard English class?  Pshaw!  I've faced the Spawn of Evil on a vacuum sale.  Chaucer can't scare me. Bring. it. on.'

General Conference Meme

My cousin over at Diapers and Divinity is hosting a General Conference Extravaganza.  And, me being one who never wants to miss a party, even if I am late, I thought I would finally get around to posting some of my thoughts on General Conference.  I loved it.  Didn't you?  Steph listed questions to answer as you reflected back on Conference.  Here are my answers.

General Conference Highlights, October 2010:

1.  Who were your three favorite speakers?  

 President Monson, President Uchtdorf, Elder Scott.  So many, really.

2.  Favorite talk?  

This is a hard one.  I really loved President Monson's talk about gratitude, but also loved President Uchtdorf's about steadying your course and Elder Eyring's about trust. 

3.  Favorite hymn sung during Conference?   

 Lead Kindly Light

4.  Who wore the best tie?   

I forgot to pay attention to that. 

5.  Do you think conference had a “theme”?   

I think agency and Prophets were both mentioned quite a bit, but to me there was not an overwhelming theme this time. 

6.  Share a few of your favorite quotes (paraphrasing is fine).

“Parents do not need to be perfect, just honest and sincere.”-Sister Wixom 

"Faith is a principle of action and power."-Richard G. Scott

"We bless generations when we reach out to others." -Garrett W. Gong

"Proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances."-Deiter F. Uchtdorf 

"Be still, and know that I am God."-Psalm 46:10, obviously-but it was quoted by three people and stood out to me.

7.  Something that made you smile during conference.

President Monson taking credit for "his" Tabernacle Choir and President Uchtdorf  saying, something like, "Well, that's all very well and good, but what does that have to do with airplanes?"

8.  Any evidence that your children paid attention?

Lots!  They did great.  We had them take notes and make up questions to ask each other after each session.  They got one piece of candy for each correct answer, and two if they stumped their sisters.  They each were able to tell us which talk was their favorite and which stories they liked.  We didn't even tell them they had to do it for all four sessions, but they made it through most of it.  It was fabulous.

9.  If you had to give a talk in General Conference (don’t faint, this is hypothetical), what do you think you’d speak about?

I think trusting God and letting your hope be in Him and his will for you.

10.  What are some of your post-conference goals?

*Proceed at the optimum circumstance for my circumstances, remembering that I need to focus what little energy I have on my family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I don't have to be perfect, just sincere. I can do that! Be grateful for what I can do, don't focus on what I can't. 

*Make the things I spend my time on reflect the commitments and covenants I have made to God.  Consecrate my life to Him daily, focusing on prayer.  Be more sensitive to the needs of others and see them (and myself) how God sees them.

*Be more diligent in "blacking out" from my home the evil things that will darken our lives.  Trust in Heavenly Father to help my husband and myself in making courageous decisions for my family.

*That's a pretty decent start, I think.  :)

Now, go to Steph's blog and submit your own answers, or leave the link in the comments on this post.  I'd love to hear your experience; it helps me learn when I see what stood out to others.  It was a great exercise to help sum up my thoughts and impressions I received as I listened.

My Favorite Fall Weekend

I love Fall.  And my very favorite weekend of every Autumn is the first weekend in October.  It's when I gt to hear the words and counsel from the Prophets of God.  Join me for some inspiration and rejuvenation!

Watch Here

Listen Here

Here's a great message from one of my favorite talks last General Conference to get you in the mood:

Better Like That

As I was working on the computer the other day, I overheard Snow White tell Sleeping Beauty how much she liked her gym teacher.  And then she said, "I'm going to go ahead and let my gym teacher think the reason I do track in the spring is because he told me I was a natural runner, and I should join the track team. I won't tell him that I was going to join anyway. It'll be better like that."  She's a smart one, that girl.  Keep those teachers thinking they know everything.

And then I find that this running thing is more important than I thought.  It is also Snow White's goal to outrun everyone in her gym class.  I found this out as she was running up and down the isle at the shoe store.  She said she was checking to make sure the shoes didn't "interfere with her performance."  (She cracks me up.)  Then she told me how she passed up all of the girls days ago, and had now finished laps before everyone but one boy.  One boy.  And she needed the shoes to help her beat him.  And all along, I thought she needed them because her old ones were too small and worn.

"Well, that too," she said, "But if I can beat [boy] then it will be worth the effort of going shopping for new shoes.  I hate shopping."

Obviously, she was extremely disappointed today when they did not run in gym class.  But, she assured me, [boy] totally noticed she had new shoes on.

I assured her that he probably had noticed and that he was probably shaking in his boots (or ratty old gym shoes) right about now.  And then I told her she would beat him tomorrow for sure.  I didn't remind her that he usually beats her by almost a full lap.  (It's better like that.)