lajendi

Melissa

Good day everybody. Life is just crazy. That's all I have to say, for now.

Unless you want to see what I wrote about my cousin Melissa over at Mormon Women. Aren't you just a little curious?

stuffy stuff

It's time to workout, then we're going to pick blueberries. But here I am, surfin' the net. You know how it goes, you get an email that takes you to a website, that leads you to another, then you wonder what's up at your favorite sites and before you know it an hour (or maybe two -wince-) has gone by.

kid stuff for your iphone - I can't decide if this is a good idea or not. As it is I can barely use the home computer for all their mouse clicking.

5 good things

The Edge of Motherhood cards. Funny. I like the Mom food pyramid.

Freakin Squirrels. They're into everything.

This guy is in competition with the 'I walked on the moon' guy for best story ever.

An article about midlife marriage that is deep and thought provoking.

Stuffed bunny pins, very cute, A would have fun making them.

I like these no-nonsense weight loss tips.

BTW, I did workout and take the kids berry picking before I finished this post. Lovely blueberries and blackberries on a lovely day! Looks like I have some jam to make and a couple of pies, perhaps a galette?

Stuffy stuff, end of vacay edition

Its the end of vacation so I'm becoming reacquainted with what the world is up to so that it doesn't bowl me over when I go through re-entry.

There was a gun control proposal up for vote, PA's own Arlen Specter (who recently became a democrat while still representing those who voted for his republican stances) was one of the deciding votes. This article, especially the second half, makes solid statements about upholding this important Constitutional Amendment.

Tips for flying with kids. SHUDDER! I get all 4 to myself, let's cross our fingers that there are TVs on this flight too.

My Neurologist is a beekeeper and has a collection of honey in collectable bottles from all over the world in his office. At my last appt he mentioned that he doesn't have any honey from Utah, and would I mind getting some for him on my trip? After I left the office I realized this is a huge hole in his collection, how could he not have honey from The Beehive State?! So tomorrow I'll go to Miller's Honey to get a cute jar of honey for him, I hope they have the beehive jars in stock. My in-laws love Miller's cream honey, yummy!

When I get home there is a good chance that I'll lapse into a sleep coma. I have tried to make the most of our time here and the result will be a dead woman if I don't stop soon. Just chalk it up to poor self-control and a lack of realistic expectations.

After all the junk we've eaten I'm surprised I still fit into my jeans. Tomorrow we'll have to visit Crown Burger, the last on our list of "must eat in Utah". Then I'll start on a new fitness regimen, or stop eating cheeseburgers, chocolate, and ice cream... on a daily basis.

R's MP3 player died just before we left, so I gave her mine. I've survived without it on vacation (thanks to 101.9 the end, there is nothing like it in PA!) but will start looking for a replacement once we get home. We use Napster so my choices are limited, suggestions?

Can I just burn the clothes that we've used here? That way I'll have less luggage to carry and no laundry to wash when we get home!

Who I am, in 10 words

Have you ever tried to define yourself in 10 words? It is an interesting process that forces you to think about who you are and how you want others to see you. DH and I had a discussion about this a while ago. The interesting thing was where "Mormon" fell on our lists (if you assume the first thing is most important, last thing least).

My list went something like this:

Woman, wife, mother, Mormon, daughter, sister, artist, friend... (those last few were hard to nail down).

 

My fear in putting "Mormon" so high on the list is that others would view my list and think I am a religious zealot or something. Not to mention, what does "Mormon" even mean?

To me, putting 'Mormon' high on my list gives homage to the wonderful influence the gospel has had on my life. It is hard to find some part of my life it doesn't influence. My parents were both raised Mormon, their lives impact mine greatly - how do I measure what part of them is due to the church's influence? Then there is my husband -the most important person in my life - he was also raised in the church, as were his parents. We teach our children the gospel and they, in return, impact my life. We go to church every Sunday, read scriptures, discuss the doctrine and how to apply it in our lives. Many of the intellectual concepts I hold dear have some root in concepts I first learned within the rich environments of the church. Some of the best people I've known in my life, who have greatly impacted me for good, would not have crossed my path without the vehicle of the church.

So whether you know what "Mormon" really means to me, or if you have a more sinister view, it remains a large part of who I am.

I am a Mormon Woman.

You may say, "What exactly is a Mormon Woman anyway?"

Lucky for us there is a new website dedicated to explaining just this. On Thursday one of my essays will be posted on the Mormon Women website. I could not be more flattered and humbled to be included with the wonderful mormon women on this site. Check it out, ask a question, leave a comment, or tell them if you're a mormon woman too! 

While you're still here, tell me - Who are you?

(in 10 words or less of course)  

What do ya wanna know?

-About how I got my eyebrows threaded in the middle of the mall? Yep, right there in the center isle where everyone could watch. Yea! me, for not caring... I think. My eyebrows are now presentable.

-About how wonderful a family movie "UP" is? We went to the drive-in with friends this evening to see it. Baby even stayed awake to watch because it has doggies.

-About everything I've been meaning to write about but haven't? There was a great writing prompt on a Writing Excuses podcast I listened to on Friday, about a golf analogy. I came up with a great one, but haven't taken the time to write it out. Last night at the bookstore I bought a book about writing.

-About how I am going to finish (REALLY!) my English class before my visit to Utah?

-About how I don't have any responsibilities at church tomorrow, and it has been so long since that happened that I feel like I'm missing a limb?

-About how my iphone may really be dead, as in forever departed this mortal sphere, and the Apple people won't do a thing to help me? So I've done a little research (youtube counts as reasearch!) and have ordered a $15 battery to attempt fixing it myself. What's the worst that could happen? My iphone paperweight may turn into an iphone paperweight.

I sound flippant and funny about this, but really, I'm pissed off. Apple will not have my business again, I'm underwhelmed by this line of products the world seems so infatuated with. Time for this infatuation to end, for us to wise up, and get in a real longterm digital relationship. (If I can get up the moxy to pay the moola to buy out of my contract with AT&T.) Someone tell me how this system isn't a monopoly.

See, I'm so mad I won't even link to them in my post.

I don't know what I'll do without it when I'm away from my computer for the whole month of July.

-About how important yoga is? Especially when dealing with my dead iphone.

- About how happy I'll be when DH's on-call rotation will be over tomorrow? Then I can stop making blog posts at midnight because I'll have access to the computer during normal blogging hours.

misc.

Here is something I haven't tried, until now that is. As you read this (if it is still March 25th) I am at the hardware store buying DampRid and compressed air. Slight signs of life but the Iphone is still in intensive care. (OK not really, the baby fell asleep when we went out to lunch with Daddy so I'll have to go buy those things this afternoon.)

An Iphone is nothing. Check out something they are calling "sixth sense" technology - amazing stuff! 

This site is new to me- Curbly. Lots of great things to make. Pretty flowers, or growing potatoes in a plastic trash can. Come on, everyone wants to know how to do that!

Kelly over at my happy little life has a great post about gardening, things I would say if I wasn't tired and had more brain cells.

This Turkey Chipotle Chili sounds so yummy, I might even cook dinner!

Looking for something a little different for your Easter eggs this year? Skip the dye and do paper decor to dress your eggs. No, not a paper shirt and tie. See how they do it.

 

Don't put things you care about in the toilet.

It makes sense to carry your cell phone around in your back pocket. Unless your cell phone is flat, very smooth and not water resistant. Because when you pull your pants down that cell phone will fall out. If you're lucky, it won't go into the toilet. If you're a little lucky it will fall into a clean toilet bowl (that's me!). If you're unlucky it will fall into a dirty toilet bowl (that's someone else I know). That person has dubbed their phone "the potty phone". I like that, but I will not be using it - copyright infringement and all that.

Iphones are under warranty for just about everything but water damage. They even have a built-in litmus paper in the headphone jack to tell if you've soaked it. If you look in and see a white dot at the bottom, your Iphone has never been wet. If it is pink, red or black you've been dipping your Iphone where it don't belong.

As for my Iphone, I'm still waiting to find out it's final condition. For now it is in a plastic bag with dry rice; that is supposed to suck out any toilet water that remained inside. I am so attached to my phone that I've been carrying it around in my purse all day, rice and all. Who knows if I'll get an important message! (Despite the fact that it is OFF!) 

This tragedy happens after I had finally taken the time to figure out the calendar feature and add a couple of applications. Getting a phone like this feels like a whole lifestyle change if you use it to the utmost. It has been a difficult transition because I just don't trust it if I can't lay my hands on it, paper and ink. I have aplanner, but what if I had switched over to my Iphone calendar only? I'd be in a world of hurt now. Maybe I should get one of those cool chains that would hook it to my belt loop, a toilet bowl life-line for my prized possession.

Please understand this is not an advertisement for Iphones. That just happens to be what I have. Some people sing Apple's praises like there are no other gods before them. I think they are like any other computer company - their hardware and software have bugs and flaws. The biggest exception with Apple is that they have great marketing and a extremely loyal following. Their products are very pretty and they use scent therapy in their retail stores - check it out if you don't believe me.

There is much to be learned about wet Iphones, just Google it. My advice to you is that if you ever get a really cool phone, don't drop it in the toilet. Since it was already wet I did attack it with a Clorox wipe. But I still may use the speaker feature from now on instead of putting it up to my mouth and ear.

more misc, enjoy

Put on your thinking caps, I sorted through the mess of the NYT for you and found this that is well worth reading. (WARNING- yes it is about the economy and is somewhat depressing but it is actually intelligent, authentic, and understandable.)

While we're being smart let's consider- where do Muppets come from?

How many years too late is this coming out? 20? 30?

I need to do this- seriously, the hand-me-down, we're puttin' it on the curb if you don't want it, sofa, has pineapples on it- no joke! But I told DH not to let me do any big projects. You can do it for me!

Ok, so no big projects, I could borrow ideas from renters to spruce up the place for spring. What would I do without apartment therapy? Sometimes it's enough just to look, it makes my eyes feel good. This is one site where the designs seem doable, they use IKEA, do it yourself and thrift store finds to make modern, unique and livable spaces. I could do that.

I've always wanted a wall like this in my house, packed with paintings that you could look at for hours. I've got enough artwork, that's not the problem. It's overwhelming to know what to put where to balance it all to look right. One day I'll have the courage to just jump in and do it.

enough already.

Are you confused yet? I keep changing the blog around. The look seems to be where I like it, maybe. Does it make you feel lost when you come here and it's changed again? That's how I feel when I wake up in the morning with a different symptom. Yesturday and today it's dizziness. Yes, I am dizzy. Tease me, I don't care.

Last week when J. was sick he stood up and announced, "I can feel the world moving!" I think he meant he was dizzy, but what a positive 'spin' to put on it!

There is a great post at Segullah today.

Do you know about Google scholar? You can search for scholarly articles in peer reviewed literature. You know, just in case you have a research paper looming too.  Or want to find out what a non-specific hyperintensity is.

I need to make this hot fudge sauce. But maybe I should buy some ice cream first. Or I could just eat it by the spoonful.

Time to go to IKEA again. Our two bottom dresser drawers have dropped (I dropped my drawers!). What a coincidence, those two happen to contain MY clothes!

Did you hear that IKEA thinks it should decorate the White House? How far will Obama take change?

Make a no-sew mesh bag. Really easy peasy. Might even be fun for the kiddos, kind of like a magic trick.

Lego does everything- including the inauguration (if you're not sick of hearing about it by now).

Another great family website. How could I parent without the WWW?

Signing off- either to lay this spinning head on a pillow or study (that'll make the spinning go away, NOT!).

shoppin' net style

This will be the year I buy more presents via the internet than any other. It isn't new territory, shopping on the internet, but this year there are many things that make traditional shopping next to impossible - 'the sickness' is now attacking J., I don't want to take a toddler to the mall, when I do go to the mall I don't find what I want anyway resulting in an angry mom and no presents, it reduces impulse buys, and with the internet you can almost always get free shipping. Those are just a few reasons, post Christmas I may have a pile o' presents that are ill-fitting or not what I thought they were so you'll probably need to remind me what a great idea I thought this was.

I'm roaming around Etsy:

 

at the spectacledsparrow

 

at homestudio

 

at reneesfunkycountry

Reminding you (and myself) that I'm shopping for others here.

Yesturday I spent time shopping virtual Macy's, they have great sales. Can't show you that stuff though, in case the kids spy the blog.

 

found these pretty things at Target. Not that I'm looking for myself or anything.

And for anyone who doesn't want to shop or bake but wants to do something- make a virtual gingerbread house.

Happy shopping because no matter how much we all may cry what the true meaning of Christmas is we eventually got to back up Santa. Unless you've found some way to give the old guy the boot without scarring your children for life. Because I'm all over that, with the exception of Hannukah, don't think I could do that and it doesn't even get rid of the gift delimas anyway.

PS- This font size is driving me nuts, way too small for normal eyes. And the links I put in this post are barely distinguishable from the regular font color. I can't tweak this design, it's this pretty page or back to the old. What do you think-  put up with it til' Christmas or change now?