That Hat!

Just taking a moment to show off my favorite 8 year old in his favorite crazy hat.

Oh how I love that darling little boy! Oh that face!!!

My Girlie Getaway!

Last week I really got to get away from it all and have a little girl time.

First, I got to spend a little time up at Girls' Camp with my cute young women.  I have such wonderful memories of going to Camp as a girl, and I was so excited to be back - if only for a day (and a night!)  I was so sad that I had to get up really early to head back down the mountain, but I had a plane to catch!  I drove from Big Bear straight to Dennis' office where he took me to the airport.  No time to loose!  I was leaving the fun of camp behind, yes, but I was off to where there was more fun to be had - the 2009 Stampin' Up! Convention!

Off I flew to Salt Lake City for the Stampin' Up Convention!  SU's conventions are always first-rate, and so very much fun!  Thousands of women (and a few guys too) gather to swap handmade cards, learn and share new stamping techniques and ideas, look at stamps, eat, and just have a blast!  (Plus we got a darling reversible convention bag and a bunch of free new stamps!)  Oh ya, and we also get to STAMP like crazy!

The theme this year was "inspire, create, share" and I got a lot of all three!

This was an exciting year for me, because I got to walk across the main stage and be recognized for my remarkable accomplishment. No, I didn't have high sales (HA!) or remarkable recruiting (ya, right!).  But I hung in there long enough and bought enough of my own stamps that I recieved my 10 year pin! (It will actually be 11 years come October!)  This was my 8th convention in 10 years. (I missed one when my twins were born, and another a few years ago, when all the slots filled up before I got my ticket.  So sad.)

I really enjoyed my moment in the limelight, since I'm sure I won't be recognized for anything actually important on stage ever again. I am just not the most motivated business women in the company.  I do the BARE MINIMUM it take to get my discount and go to convention.  Maybe I should try a bit harder.

Too bad I was having a bad hair day!

For me, the best part of convention was hanging out, in person, with my dear friend Diana.   Diana and I actually met last convention standing in line for the Make-and-Takes and hit it off immediately!  We got to know each other a bit that week, and then a lot more via blogging/email afterward.  She is an amazing, darling gal!  A speech therapist, a triathelete, an amazing singer and musician, the ward choirster, and a STAMPER too!  It was especially fun to see her in person becasue she has lost 40 lbs since last year!  Way to go Diana!  

Here are just several hundred pictures I took of the thousands and thousands of stamped cards and projects that were on display there.  It was pretty overwhelming!

Not wanting to get too stamp-crazy, Diana and I took an afternoon off from convention and pampered ourselves a bit.  First stop - pedicures!  Nothing says "I've had a girl weekend" like pretty polished piggies!  We kept looking at them for the rest of the trip.  (They are all messed up now since I went to taekwando class as soon as I got home, and had to kick the bag about a hundred times.  Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted!)

Of course, no girlie getaway would be complete without a shopping spree!  Our rounds included one of my favorite inspiring stops in Utah, Gardener Village.  I just love the cute little old buildings and pretty boutiques.  We also got to the Black Goose, the mall, the Rack, and Target (always Target!)

All that candy was for the kids, OK? For the kids.

And dinner was Diana's suggestion - Cafe Rio, where I was introduced to their pork salad.  Super yummy!  Wish I didn't have to go all the way to Utah to get another one!

And of course, there was one more element necessary to having the perfect girl weekend - talking to you girlfriend late, late, late into the night!  We had a few good chats, I must say!  Came home completely exhausted!!!  But Happy!

Dennis and the boys sure were happy to see me, and the house was clean too!  It was so great of them to let me have this time away!

I sure enjoyed myself on this getaway, and loved spending quality time with my friend Diana!  Again next year - definitely!

5 Things

Since I have been tagged an re-tagged by my sisters and my mom (seriously, guys, you have to get some more friends), I offer this:

5 things I have in my purse:

1. syrenges (doesn't everybody?)

2. Bath and Body Works Tropical Passionfruit Anti-Bacterial hand gel (smells like heaven once the alcohol has evaporated)

3. lipstick

4. a stack of various gift cards that I always forget to use.

5.  The instruction manuel for my new Canon 40D.  (I don't think it will help much.  You can't learn to drive a car by reading the car's owner's manuel, can you?  Cameras and cars require a bit more training behind the wheel, but the camera doesn't fit in my purse)

5 Things in my workroom (a.k.a. my Pink Room, my Studio, my Creative Space)

1. pink, lots of it, and black and cream toile.

2. my artwork

3. a tv/dvd player and a basket of chick-flicks

4. a window seat with lots of pillows

5. an entire wall of bookshelves stacked with stamps, thousands and thousands of them.  A wood and rubber wonderland!

One thing NOT in that room - ME.  I just don't have the time to go in there anymore. 

5 Things I Always Wanted to Do

1. Star in a musical 

2. Visit Vermont with my pal Alysa in the Fall

3. Spend a whole Summer in Italy with my hubby (and see Europe while there)

4. Go on a mission (I was swept off my feet before I got the chance.  Someday.)

5. Own a cozy antiques/craft boutique in an old barn.

5 Things I am Into Now (besides being a full time nurse)

1. my BIG SHOT from SU!  I am always thinking of fun ways to use my toy.

2. digital photography - there is SO much to learn!

3. opera (got a stack of great opera CDs last weekend at a GS for a buck each.  Love them!)

4. my fat clothes - well almost, which is why I am also again into swimming.

5.  my girls - I just love my calling, which is good since they take up so much of my time and brain power.

Of course, I am always into my boys. Love you boys!

5 People I Tag

1. Mindy - it is worth repeating

2. Dayna

3. Shannan

4. Madi

5. Diana  (I just remembered you tagged me months ago, and I promised I'd get back to you.  I will.  Promise.)

Mama Loves Mambo!

Vamoose Guitar Hero.  The Van Clan has a new favorite Wii game - Samba de Amigo!!!

It is so fun - like a mix between Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution - with a Latin twist!

You have to shake the maracas, up, down, and everywhere to the beat of the music.  You have to strike Latin pose for added points.  The maracas are played by the cutest monkey in a sombrero.  It is so colorful and the Latin rhythm music is terrific!  

You can even hit a pinata or play "Guacamole" - a Latin version of Whack-a-Mole.

FIESTA!

Cha Cha Cha!!!

We first played Samba Samba on Friday night.  Dennis took all the boys on a camping trip, but poor Dylan couldn't go because of his IV, etc.  He was really, really bummed.  So I let him plan our evening.  Dylan, Luke, and I watched a 3D movie, ate take-out Chinese, drank hot chocolate, and played Samba Samba until very late.  We all had a great time  much more fun than sleeping in the dirt in the cold.  Does that kid know how to plan a fun evening, or what?

Ole!

Back in the Swim of Things

Today I finally took the plunge!

As you are probably aware, I swim.  I am a swimmer.  I swim four mornings a week between the atrocious hours of 5:30 and 7 am.  At least I did until early November when I was dry-docked due to a sick kid..., well, you know the tale.

And even now that he is bouncing around and feeling fine, I still am up all night with his meds..., again, you know the routine.  Just 5 more weeks now.

SO.  So I am always tired and as much as I'd love to get back in the water, and I promise myself tomorrow will be the day, come early a.m., I am wiped out, and I just can't drag my poor sleepless body out of bed any sooner that I absolutely have to.  

However, lately I have come to realize that my malaise and touch of  melancholy may have as much to do with the lack of exercise as the lack of sleep.  The muffin top rising over my waistband, and the "zimm zimm" sound of my thighs rubbing together when I walk are also a good indicator that it is again time to get wet.

Last night, after we dropped off the twins at cub scouts, Dennis took me over to check out the new gym.  Not sure just why.  I already have a gym with a pool, and Dennis has a history of signing up for gyms and then never darkening the doors again.  But OK, what the hey?

So the guy gives us the "tour."  It is early evening and the place is packed with way too many sweaty bodies for my taste.  Fortunately, Dennis and I had just come from taekwando, so we fit right in with the stinky crowd.  Is is so nice to feel like you belong!  So we get the tour and to me it all sounds like "blah, blah, blah."  My lack of interest has everything to do with the fact that I despise any exercise requiring shoes (except maybe for volleyball, but then again, you can play that barefoot, can't you?), or that is dependant on machinery.  I knew that even if we got a membership, my rear would never, ever touch one of those sweaty seats.  My interest lay only in what lie beyond the big glass wall with the waves etched in it.  I was there about a pool.

Our tour finally got us through the etched glass door.  TaDa!  The pool.  

Uh.  I was less than thrilled that it was only two lanes (The pool I swim at has 4), and was turned off when the tour guide proudly announced that the pool was a constant 80 degrees - like that was a good thing.  80 is a bit tepid for my taste.  Warm water is great to jump into but after a few laps you feel like you are swimming in soup.  There's nothing like water that is a tad nippy (just a tad.  I don't belong to the Polar Bear Club!) to get your motor running.  The pool I swim in now is also set at 80 degrees too, so that is the same, but I was hoping for better here where there are maybe fewer old people who seem to like swimming in soup

Not convinced, at the end of the tour, that this was the place for me, I asked for a pass to come try the pool out for myself.  I wouldn't know if this was right until I actually swam in it.  The seven day pass began right then, so I knew this morning, tired or not,  I'd better take the shiny new pool for a test swim.  

5a.m.  I beat the alarm, and give Dylan his meds (I don't have to think about administering the IV anymore.  It has become as automatic and quick as changing a diaper, but much, much cleaner. Only you can let diaper wait until morning), then go hunting for my swimming gear, squeeze into my suit (ugh!), throw on my big chlorine-infused parka (ahh, the smell of chlorine in the morning!) and head out into the dark.

The new gym is further than my current one, but since it is right off the freeway it takes about the same time to get there.  By the way - I HATE that ridiculous Jefferson on/off ramp.  Who thought that one up, anyway?

So I get past the front desk with my wanna-be pass, and to the pool.  It is deserted.  Perfect!  I disrobe and unload at the one bench there.  I prefer a chair.  No hooks for towells. Huh?  I work my way down to the far end of the pool.  I line up all my gear (fins, kick board, pull buoy) at the edge of the pool, put on cap, adjust goggles (ugh, even my head has gotten fatter), and plug my earphones into my ears. (Yes, I have tunes - a waterproof iPod SwimMan; only my best discovery ever!  I get a rockin' underwater workout.  The problem comes when something from Wicked plays and I want to burst into singing - not a good idea while underwater, trust me.  My play list has everything from U2, to Gladys, to bluegrass, to classical.  As long as it moves, I move.  I must say, though, swimming butterfly to Tchaikovsky is truly sublime!)

So I plop into the water.  Not too warm.  Not bad at all.  Then I push off from the wall.  The old pool has one jet on the wall where the hot water comes out, so with each lap I had to swim through a stream of hot water.  Yuck.  But this is nice.  Nice.  Really really nice.  

The pool is a proper 25 yards.  The pool I had been using is short, an awkward 22.3 yards, or something, which makes calculating a workout a bit difficult.  My undeveloped math brain can only handle 4 laps = 100 yards, not 4.2 laps.  It was really hard to figure out how much I was swimming and to convert my workouts into 22 yard laps.  These 25 yard laps are right, and felt right.

And although there are only 2 lanes here, and thus no "good" middle lanes, the lanes are so very wide.  I can safely swim butterfly without scraping my knuckles on the wall, even with my wingspan.  A happy thing.

Oh yes, and the pool is just pretty - pretty and new.  Nice modern tilework.  The plaster is white and clean, and that is good since you see a lot of it swimming laps.  And when you do backstroke the acoustic ceiling tiles are not warped and water-stained.  Even the turn flags are pink - always a plus! Swimming in that pool was like wearing a fancy new dress when you are sick of the same frumpy old worn one - the kind that you know you look good in and you don't need to ask "Does this pool make me look fat?" It's like strapping a darling new pair of shoes that just fit.  Lucky me.

And so I swam, and it felt great!  Oh how I missed this!  I was a little rusty, but no fish out a water, to be sure.  I felt great all day.  Of course I'll be pooped tonight.  That is a given, but it just feels so good to be back in the swim again, after all this time.  And in a new pool to boot.

I canceled my old gym membership today.

After all, if I am going to be exhausted, I might as well be exhausted and fit, right?  I mean, if I have to have these bags under my eyes, I don't need to have bags on my thighs as well, do I?

We'll see how long this lasts.

So if any of you are looking for a swim partner, you know where I'll be.  But don't all sign up at once.  There are only two lanes.

From Twilight, to Midnight, to Morning

New Year's Eve.  Dennis planned a wonderful romantic night away.  He got us a hotel, made dinner reservations, and convinced his mom  to spend the night to babysit and take over my night-shift nurse duties for one blessed night!  I was so excited!

It was wonderful.  We went to the mall to return a few things and get a few things.  I haven't been to the mall in forever.  I felt like a fish out of water.  Then we had a romantic Italian dinner at a small trattoria.  We reminisced about out trip to Italy together.  Anyone who knows me well enough knows that nothing speaks romance to me more than Italy.  I am a true Rome-mantic!

 Then we headed to the movie theater.  That's when things got iffy.

In the car he handed me a post-it note with two movies and playing times scribbled on it.  The first was a comedy, the second was a name I couldn't pronounce.  "Isn't that that Nazi war movie?"

"Um, ya, I think so." 

"But I told you I wanted to see Twilight."  I had so looked forward to the opening of Twilight, and then somehow I missed it when it came.  Where was I anyway? Oh, yes.  I was sleeping in a chair that night, wearing a yellow gown.

"I checked all the theaters.  Twilight isn't playing anywhere."

I was bummed!  So he chose the Nazis.

We get to the theater and up on the marquis it bold blue letters it says "Twilight."  Yay!

But it was 6:30.  Twilight didn't start until 9.  The Nazi movie started at 7.  He bought the Nazi tickets, and we walk into the theater.  I had lost a little bit of that loving feeling already.

"I heard this was a good movie," he offered.

"I'm sure it is." Silence.  " You know nothing turns me on like a Nazi war movie."

He frowns.

"Except, maybe... vampires."

He smiles as light dawns.

We trade the Nazi tickets for Twilight tickets, and go hang out in the hotel room for a few hours.

Brilliant move on his part!  Talk about win/win. Romance was rescued from the Nazi's grip.  My hero!

Now about the movie.  I have heard mixed reviews, so I was a bit afraid to see it.  But it turns out that I loved it!  Sometimes my literary training gets best of me, and I get nit-picky.  Drives Dennis crazy.  But last night, I just relaxed and went with my feelings.  Edward made my heart flutter, and the movie made me happy.  That's all it took to win me over.

When Bella sees Edward for the first time in the cafeteria, Dennis asks, "Do you really think that guy is good looking?"

"Edward?"

"Ya"

"Oh, ya!"

"Really?"

"Um...ya-ah.  Look at him."

"But I mean, the actor, if he didn't have the white makeup and the lipstick."

"Oh, ya."

"Huh."

I don't know why that baffled him so much.

Turns out Dennis liked the movie too.  Really.

We got back to the hotel room about 15 minutes before the new year arrived.  We were watching the New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square, as is tradition.  Some woman was singing (horribly) some nasty song.  The lyrics turned my stomach!  I was hoping my kids weren't watching.  So we turned the channel.  Found more coverage of Times Square on CNN, but they couldn't stop talking about the Clintons.  What a treat for NY, they said. Why?  Finally settled on an infomercial about a CD of 80's music.  Pathetic, I know.  I think we are old.

Midnight came.  Hurray for 2009!  We kissed and clinked the bubbly cider.  May '09 be better than '08!  Please, please, please!  There is a lot of wiggle room.  It can be a pretty crummy year and still be better than the one we just had.

2009 started out super great!  We went to sleep, and slept all the way to morning.  No alarms, no IV medicines, none of that.  What a treat to sleep 7 hour straight!  My Mother-in-law is an angel!!!

If the rest of 2009 is a good as what we have experienced so far, we are in for a treat!

Happy New Year!

TPT - Meant to Be

Have you ever experienced one of those serendipitous moments where everything just falls into place and works out just right?  You know it was meant to be.  That is what happened to me this week.   My new favorite store that I discovered in Utah (see my last Yellowstone trip post), Tai Pan Trading, had announced that they were opening their first store in So. California.  I have been anxiously following its progress and discovered to my great joy that it would open on Monday, October 20.  That was the day I would be flying home from Oregon into the Ontario Airport.  The new store is right across the street from the Ontario Mills Mall, which is just nearby the airport.  Our flight was coming in at 4:30, so we would have plenty of time to shop!  See.  Meant to be!

It really did work out just like I thought it would, and it was just fabulously fun!  I should have taken pictures. TPT is a Mormon-owned giant warehouse of super-great priced wholesale home decor.  Only it doesn't look like a warehouse, it looks like an out-of-control-huge boutique.   You know how when you walk into one of those pretty little boutiques, you just love to look at all the pretties, but you don't dare pick them up to look at the prices, because you just know they are too high, but then you look at the price anyway and are shocked because it is even higher than you expected?  Well, here the prices shock you because they are so low.  You love to check out the prices because it makes you so happy! And there is SO much to see!  It took us almost three hours to see it all.  Of course it was opening day, and crazy and crowded.  

The gal who worked there noticed my email address when she took it down and asked if I was with Stampin' Up!  She said she was Shelli Gardner's (the founder and chairman of SU) niece.  Moments later her mom and grandma (Shelli's sister and mom) walked in the store.  We started talking and I found out that she, Shelli's mom, was the very first SU demonstrator (her demo ID is #1, mine is #17373) and that I am her down line just 3 steps down - kind of a SU genealogy.  It was so fun talking to them, and they gave us each a gift certificate for $10 for TPT.  That was unexpected and exciting! 

 I got some really great deals that day and loaded everything up in an already luggage-packed car.  Don't you just LOVE it when things just work out so nicely?

Here are a few of my many fun finds from Tai Pan:

Artificial plants.  I have always wanted to have pretty little plants and herbs growing in my kitchen, but plants commit suicide in my care.  I say it is a good thing kids don't grow in pots, or mine would all be dead by now.  So I bought these very realistic looking potted cherry tomatoes ($14.95), eggplant, Roma tomatoes ($9.95 each), lavender ($7.95), and herbs in a peat pot ($2.95).  Tai Pan specializes in silk flowers, plants, and produce that look totally real, and are much cheaper than the not-so realistic flowers, etc. found at craft stores.  So now I can have a green thumb all year round.  How fun is that?

Also these yummy looking chocolate covered strawberries that can fool the eye, but not the taste buds, unfortunately.  A bag of 5 cost only $3.95!

Here was a souper deal.  8 tomato red soup bowls at $1.34 each = $10.74 for all of them!

OK. so now you can see what I mean.  It was all meant to be.  I was supposed to have those soup bowls.

So ladies, the offer is up on the table once again.. Who wants to take a trip up to Ontario to go to TPT with me.  We have to go before Christmas, definitely! They have Christmas decor galor!  Krispy Kreme is right across the street.  I'll buy you each a doughnut, OK?

One Man's Trash is ... Fabulous!

Don't you just love getting up at the break of dawn on Saturday mornings?  What do you mean "no way?"  If your sleeping in on Saturday mornings, you don't know what you're missing!  There is a whole wonderful world of fantastic bargains and one-of-a-kind simply cool stuff out there, not to mention excitement, action, and high drama out on the streets of otherwise quiet neighborhoods in the early a.m.  I get up early every morning, but only on Saturday do I jump out of bed at 5:30a.m. smiling, (I guess that is sleeping in for me, because weekdays I get up at 5), so happy the alarm rang and Saturday morning has finally arrived.  I wait all week for this hour!  Garage sale time is here again!

My partner in crime is Alysa.  We have been "saleing" (I know.  People hear us talking about saleing and they think we have a yacht) together for many years, and have spent most Saturday mornings together almost since we met.  It is our time.  Both of us have such crazy lives, with huge callings, and 11 kids between us.  Saturday mornings are our time together.  Sometimes you have to carve out time for yourself and your friends, even if it is while your family is snoozing or watching cartoons.  If is wasn't for our saleing time, we'd hardly have time to see each other.

 It is kind of and obsession for both of us.  OK, let me rephrase that.  It is an addiction.  There, I've said it. Hello.  My name is Rachelle, and I am addicted to digging through the used and unwanted stuff of complete strangers.  I am very, very sick.  And I have been responsible for dragging many other people that I love, including my best friend, and my own parents, down with me.  Staci, Maria, Melissa - I have spied them all out on the trail, away from their warm beds, dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep, unable to control their urge to dig, DIG, DIG!  But I am not sorry.  If I have ever influenced anyone to go on the hunt, I feel I have done them a great service.  They have been enlightened.  Hey, as far as addictions go, if you are going to have one, this is the best, because you can only do it one morning, maybe two, a week.  Other addicts can smoke, drink, gamble, eat, and shop any day at any time.  But garage sales are limited to one morning a week.  True, we are continually going through withdrawals for the rest of the week, but we are still functioning- for the most part.  Many might not even know we are addicts, except when someone says "cute skirt," and I have to respond, "Thanks. J. Jill. 25 cents." (For real!  I had that conversation tonight.  The skirt I am wearing right now really is J. Jill, and I really did get it for a quarter this very morning, and it really is cute.)  Why do I do that?  I have to remind myself that normal people aren't as impressed by such a thing, and might even be turned off by it.  I guess it kind of defeats the purpose of wearing designer clothes if everyone knows you got it out of a cardboard box on a lawn rather than Sax Fifth Avenue.  I have no pride, apparently.  I am the hunter, and the cute skirt is my big moose head hanging in my parlor.  Other hunters can appreciate it and admire it, while non-hunters just think it is gross.

Saleing has warped my mind in other ways as well.  I have completely lost all sense of the value of the dollar.  I would bomb on the Price is Right.  I have a hard time buying things in actual stores, and malls make me crazy!  It is like I have gone to another country with a different currency.  Mall prices make no sense!  I need a currency conversion chart that converts real dollars to garage sale dollars, and vice versa.  The only thing malls are good for is to find out the value of the stuff I already got at garage sales.  That makes me happy.  Who buys that stuff in malls anyway?  Someone does, and I am glad, and I want them to keep buying it and then selling it at garage sales.  They are all enabling me in my addiction.  But looking at in another way, the real value is not what they charge in stores, but what one is willing to pay for it at a garage sale.  A $40 blouse I may pass up at $3 but snatch it up at $2, so the real value is $2, right?  If that same blouse was on a clearance rack at a store for $20, or even $10, I might snatch it up and think I got a great deal, but I will pass on it if it is $3 at a garage sale.  Warped thinking, maybe, but money is limited to cash on hand on Saturday mornings (no, the ATM is only a last resort.  It take too much valuable time.)  I might need that extra buck at the next garage sale, you just never know.  And when the cash is gone, the fun is over for another whole week!  Back to the topic of value.  If something has the actual tag showing the store price, then is is much more valuable because the evidence of you skill as a hunter is right there on the big game itself.  Tags are a premium, making items even double what they'd be worth without them.  For instance, the skirt Alysa wore tonight is just super darn darling with the tie in the back.  It is a CABI and still had the price tag - 100 bucks!  Because it had tags, I was willing to pay a premium $5 for it.  Something has to be pretty special for me to spend that much on it Saturday morning, but that skirt was special, and Alysa is special, so I felt justified in my splurge.  Love ya, Lyssy!

So here is just a sampling of some of our finds in the last few weeks.  Summer is over, and the saleing is getting good.  Today Alysa and I each got a pile of clothes, mostly J. Jill, and J. Crew for a quarter each.  Alysa's pile was much bigger than mine, but she does Ebay.  It's her thing.  But I usually buy almost as much as her, and I don't Ebay.  It is all for me!  Yikes.  Today I also got my Halloween costume which I won't tell you what it is, you'll have to wait and see.  But here's a hint - It won't make me 'popular' but I will be 'defying gravity' for sure.  And it doesn't take any 'brains' at all to see that Dennis is a little 'hung up' about his costume that is a companion to mine.  I am so excited!!!  Anyway, back to my log roll of great buys.  Last week I bought my boys a bunch of nice quicksilver shirts, two quick silver wallets, and quicksilver hat, and a quicksilver watch.  My boys LOVE Quicksilver.  Christmas!!!  Alysa has been finding a bunch of great stuff.  She is a seasoned hunter.  She beat me to the whole set of Pirates of the Caribbean large action figures.  There were about 20 of them, $5.  When it come to one of us finding something we both want, we have learned to be happy for the victor and just let it go.  Let it go and smile.  That has saved our friendship on many occasions.

But we don't just buy clothes and stuff for our families.  We also come across just simply cool stuff.  Just two weeks ago we found a whole stash of antique cameras, many with leather cases, for just $2 each.  This picture is only some of them, there were several more in the car. Some were more that 100 years old, and many were is good condition.  They are all so fun.  Check out my next post to see what I did with mine.

Sometimes we find fun stuff just for us.  Look at my totally exciting find from that same day.  Real nunchuks!  I was so excited!  Other people passed these puppies right up, but I LOVE nunchuks (what mother of six boys dosen't?)  My other nunchuks are foam.  These are cooler, but hurt a lot more when I hit mysef.  They'll just toughen me up, right?  Man, that was a fun morning!

Sometimes we find a special surprise.  Last week I bought this.  Yep, it is cool - a shelf built out of an old stained glass window with crystal doorknob hangers.  I made this.  I mean I built this cool thing a few years ago, sold it to someone, and they had a garage sale and were selling it so I bought it back.  I'll sell it again if you like it.  I already have one in my guest bathroom.  Funny to find something I made myself at someone else's garage sale.  Once, my mom and I found a centerpiece that we had made for my sister's wedding, there was no mistaking it - but we had no idea who those people were who were selling it, and they had no idea where they go it.  Weird, huh?

Sometime we find something that we have no idea what to do with, but is just way too cool to pass up.  Last week I found this antique carnival wheel-of-fortune thing. It is bold and graphic and simply fantastic.  $5.  It still works. I think I am going to call it the wheel-of-chores, and assign a chore to each number and let my kids spin away.  What do you think I should do with it?

Of course, not every morning is so bountiful.  Some mornings are just bleak. We have seen it all over the years, and we have a lot of stories and wisdom to share.  We are fast, we are picky, and we know what too look for and when to stop looking and bail.  Onto the next sale.  We don't buy junk - there is too much quality stuff out there to ever settle for junk  We are seriously considering writing a book, like "The Girlfriends' Guide to Garage Sales," or maybe doing a web cast or something.  We want educate others on how to garage sale, and more importantly, how to have a garage sale.  This world would be a better place if people were educated on proper saleing technique and etiquette.  Even if we got one seller to make the printing on their signs large and dark enough to actually read, it will all have been worth it. It is a too edged sword, though.  We want to help people become great garage salers, but we also don't need any more competition our on the garage sale trail.  I don't suppose there is a way to mark our territory, is there?

So another Saturday has come and gone, and I spent every dollar, dime, and nickel I had today.  (You'd be amazed what we can get with those last few stray coins.)  Next Saturday is so far away!  But next Saturday is General Conference, and we always have great luck on conference Saturdays.  It is Satan tempting us to stay out away from our TVs, but if there is one thing Alysa and I love even more than saleing, it is General Conference.  Looking forward to next weekend!  Until then, I will white knuckle it through another week, and try to live life as a normal non-addicted person.  If...I...can...just...hold...on...'til...Saturday......

Forever Strong

Last night was opening night for the new movie Forever Strong (Click to see the trailer.) It is about a real LDS rugby coach in Utah and how he taught the boys on his team not only how to win at rugby, but also how to be honorable men and win at life.  It was absolutely wonderful!  Exciting, great story, great cinematography, great acting,  and so many of those lines that make you say, "Wow, that was good, I'll have to remember that for a talk or something."  I think it is the kind of movie every young person should see, because of the life lessons it teaches.  It is rated pg-13 because rugby is a violent sport and there was blood.  (My boys will never play rugby - unless they get this coach, then I'd make them play.)  They never say in the movie that the coach was LDS, but he is.  He reminded me of my swim coach in high school, Coach John Lowell, who cared more about the women we would become than the swimmers we were.  He would sit down and talk to us and taught us the important life lessons at every opportunity he could find.  He, too, was LDS and shared his testimony every day without ever coming out and saying it.

Unfortunately, there were only a handful of us in the theater, and we knew everyone there from church, including Dennis' uncle Marty and his family.  This is exactly the kind of quality, moral movie that we need to see more of in the theaters.  I encourage all of you to go see this movie and see it soon, so they will keep this movie in the theaters, and will continue to make movies like this.  Bring your older kids.  I'm definitely going to bring my 4 older boys to go see it, because I want them to be forever strong.  I promise you won't be disappointed!

My thoughts on the Twilight series

Let me just start by answering the question - Edward or Jacob?  I am definitely an Edward gal.  It is the romantic in me.  Love Edward!  Jacob was a little too rough around the edges for me (I'm not much of a dog lover), but he was a good guy, he's just no Edward (Who is?)  Let me just say that Alice rocks!  She is my kind of gal.  She has great taste, and knows how to throw a classy shindig.

I don't even know where to begin with my thoughts on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series books.  I have never been one to read the trendy, hot off the presses type books.  I tend to like to stick with the classics - figuring they are classics for a reason.  I haven't really gone wrong too much with the classics.  But this summer, all I heard about was the Twilight books, so I bought the first one to read on our long road trip to Wyoming, and well, once you start... 

 I read the first book pretty quick.  I was almost done with it by the time we got to Utah.  We happened to be in Wal- Mart late on the night that Breaking Dawn was going to be released.  I didn't realize it.  I couldn't figure out why that Wal-Mart was crawling with freaky people in strange prom dresses, wedding dresses, etc. - it wasn't even close to Halloween yet.  Maybe that was normal in Utah, after all.  But I figured it out when I saw the long line of customers, mostly pre-teen girls sitting on the floor waiting for the books to go on sale in only 2 more hours. I figured I'd better buy books 2 and 3 while there, but I wasn't waiting around until midnight to buy #4.

TWILIGHT  I loved it!  It was a fast, fun read, and I found it intriguing.  I really think that Meyers has helped vampires come into the 21st century.  Vampires are cool.  I was enthralled with the idea of falling in love with someone who was so perfect and still so dangerous at the same time.  Just a fun, fast read.

NEW MOON  I liked it over-all.  Of course the beginning was such a downer, but that was exactly the point.  I like the whole werewolf angle and of course I loved the whole Italy part.  I love Italy and when I say the cover page with a picture of an Italian plaza, I knew I was going to like it.  I did get mad at Bella.  She was being completely idiotic, but I guess it was forgivable, considering her state of mind.  I was reading this while on our road trip.  Dennis asked me what I was reading so I started to explain the plot to him.  He must have been intrigued because about every 30 minutes he asked me what was happening now.  Dennis isn't much of a reader, so he just had me fill him in.  

ECLIPSE  Nope.  Didn't like it at all.  "Tedious" is the only word for it.  Bella: Make me into a vampire.  Edward: No.   Bella:  Make me into a vampire.  Edward: No - repeated for hundreds of pages.  I couldn't stand Bella by book 3.  It was just time for Edward, and Jacob for that matter, to move on.  She was just torturing everyone she claimed to love.  Book 3 also got a bit too steamy.  I would definitely NOT let a daughter of mine (hypothetically speaking, obviously) read 3 or 4.  Period.  I get that Meyers was good enough to push the whole, not-until-we're-married thing, which is noble, I guess, but still, married or not, there are just some things that I think pre-teen girls should not be reading about.  Maybe I am  prude.  So be it.  But I was disturbed that this series is being promoted to teenage girls.

BREAKING DAWN  Whoa!  I was frankly amazed how one book can be so tedious and wild at the same time. A bit too freaky for my taste.  I realized that while Meyers has and amazing mind and wild twists and turns in her plot, she is not a good writer.  Maybe I am spoiled by reading the classics and the beautiful artful language of the great authors.  I was a literature major, and love the beauty and power of the written word.  She has most certainly NOT mastered this skill.  She is no Jane Austin. Her dialog is just bad.  I don't know why I didn't notice so much before.  I think it is because I was too enthralled with the story to care, but the more books I read, the more it bugged me.  It got to the point, about halfway through the last book that I just put it down and couldn't read any more.  Too tedious.  I wasn't enjoying it anymore.  The book sat on my desk for two weeks before I finally had a day that wasn't busy (relatively.  All my days are busy!) and just sat down to finish and get it off my back.  (I just couldn't read 3 1/2 books and stop!)  Here are just a few of the things that bugged me about book 4, besides the tediousness.  Renesmee?  What kind of name is that?  It distracted me.  Every time I read it it pulled me right out of the zone because I thought "stupid name," and I couldn't figure out how the pronounce it.  I was much too uncomfortable with the imprinting thing, too.  I thought Bella's talent to not have to deal with the newborn vampire thing was a cop-out.  Didn't we all want to see her have to struggle with craving blood a bit more?  And the whole "don't ask don't tell" thing with Charlie was another huge cop-out.  She spent 4 books worrying what Charlie would do, only to have it be a non-issue.   I just think part of the genius of a good writer is not just in creating twists and turns in the plot, but also in tying them all up neatly in the end.  She tried, but not masterfully.   I must admit, I did like the end.  Go Alice! (oops, did I say too much?)  I was satisfied, and I was glad I talked myself into finishing the book.  It was just getting there that was hard.  Meyer could have said what she said in half the pages and it would have been better, I think.  Sometimes I read a series and I don't want it to be over, but in this case, I am fine with coming to THE END.

So those are my thoughts, if anybody cares.  I hope some of you Twilight fans don't hate me too bad.  I did give it a try though, and now I am going back to the classics.  I'm thinking Mansfield Park next.

Six Quirky Things About Myself

My friend Shannan tagged me to write 6 quirky things people might not know about me.  

1.  My first quirk is the same as hers.  I hate, hate, hate making phone calls.  I like taking on the phone, mind you, but I hate making phone calls, especially the short ones.  Weird, I know.  Appointments, phone lists, whatever.  I hate it and put it off all day.  And when I really have to make the call, it is so hard.  I have to talk myself into it.  Breathe.  Then hope that nobody answers and hang up.  This prop 8 calling is really testing my faith.  I don't know what the big deal is about making a simple phone call.  And the funny thing is, I love getting phone calls, except for telemarketers, of course.  Maybe it is because if I get the call, I didn't have to make the call.

2.  I always cross my toes, like whenever I am sitting with my feet up.  People cross their legs, or their feet.  I cross my toes.  So what?  My toes are so stinkin' long that I can cross them.  I do it all the time without realizing it.  It drives Dennis crazy.  I pick stuff up with my toes too, they are like fingers.  Maybe it is evolution.  My posterity will have actual fingers for toes.  No wonder it freaks Dennis out.

3.  I have a thing about jewelry.  It has to match - mainly my necklace and earrings.  And I can't just wear a necklace without earrings or vice versa.  If I lose and earring that goes with my necklace, or if I am given a necklace without matching earrings, it is such a shame, because I can't wear the necklace anymore.  If I really love it, I may keep an eye out for years for a pair of earrings that will match, or at least go with the necklace.  Even now, that I have a hairstyle that covers my ears completely, I still have to have matching earrings to my necklace.  Whatever!

4.  Sleeping - I have to have a blanket, or at least a sheet over me, even on the hottest nights.  But I also have to have one foot, or at least a toe sticking out, even on the chilliest nights.  (Sleeping bags drive me crazy!!!)  I always have to be partially covered, and partially uncovered.  I think I do that so I can regulate my body temperature while I am sleeping - I know where the air is if I get warm, and where the blanket is if I get cold.   

5.  OK here's another one.  I can't believe I even realized that I do this.  When I take a shower in a shower with a sliding door or shower curtain, I always enter on the side furthest from the shower head and exit on the side closest to the shower head.  Always.  Maybe it is like traffic, always stay on the right.  Only I don't usually run into a lot of traffic in the shower.  There must be a reason.  Maybe I come in the far door so I can get used to the water, and leave from the close door so I can stay in the water until the last possible moment so I won't get cold.  Sounds reasonable right?  Luckily, we have a swinging door on our shower.  Also, I always back into the water when I shower to wet my hair,  Dennis goes face forward.  He thinks I'm weird that way.  Is that strange?

6.  OK, maybe this isn't so quirky, but I always eat on a glass/ceramic plate.  This was a conscious decision I made back when I had four kids under four and I needed to do something to show myself that I was an adult and didn't have be be sucked completely into the washable, unbreakable world of Barney and Blues Clues.  I may be eating PB&J just like the kids, but I was going to do it on a glass plate - like a real adultish person.  So even now, kids eat on plastic and I eat on glass.  That's how I show myself a little self-respect.  Hey, a moms gotta do what a moms gotta do.  The one exception is paper.  I'm happy to eat on paper.  Anytime I don't have to do dishes, all self-respect goes out the window.

So there we go.  Not too freaky right? (well except for the toes thing).  I probably have way more quirky, freaky things that are way obvious to everyone else, that I think are completely normal.  Feel free to add those to my list in your comments.  I'd love to see myself through your eyes.

I tag 

1. Natalee

2. Mom

3. Diana

4. Jenie

5. Roxy

6. Shari (I know Mark does all the blogging for you, so you better get on it, or he'll tell us all your quirky things for you!) 

Oh, and Alysa, I know you've been tagged on this one already and I'm still waiting for your post.  If you need help, I can certainly point you the right direction (not that there is anything quirky about you.  You are the most normal person I know - seriously, no , seriously, I mean it, really.)

  

Phelps Phan

OK, I admit it, I am an Olympics junkie.  I have a problem.  It is true.  I absolutely LOVE watching the Olympics!  I have been looking forward to 8/8/08, 8p.m. since January when I realized it was an Olympic year.  I was so happy when they decided to have the winter Olympics on an alternating schedule from the summer games, so that I get my fix every two years rather that 4.  I have to say it is much better for my nerves.  The funny thing is that I am NOT a sports fan.  I think sitting to watch a baseball game is a form of torture, not to mention an incredible waste of time.  Maybe it is something about the nature of professional sports that cheapens it and takes all the drama out for me.  But there is something different about the Olympics and it goes way beyond the sports to the athletes themselves that I just love.  I am completely fascinated by all the different sports there are out there, and how different people get involved in the different sports.  I love to see all the type of athletes there are, old and young, and all the different body types from the tiny gymnasts to the tall swimmers, to those big shot-putters - there seems to be a sport for everyone.  I am fascinated to watch all the sports, to try to understand how they work, what the rules are and how they are judged.  I think it is a crying shame that they don't show more of a variety on prime time TV -  as it seems all they show is swimming, gymnastics, and a whole lot of female beach volley ball (gee, wonder why.  Do those gals really have to play in little bikinis?).

 

There is so much more to the Olympics than that. I think my Patriotic side loves the Olympics not just because I love to root for the home team, but because I really believe in America, and in the American way.  I believe that we don't have to take children away from their families at the age of three to train in camps whether they like it or not, like the Chinese do, to produce great athletes.  I think considering that and the population a China, the Chinese should be much better than they are.  But they aren't because that is not what sport is supposed to be about.  It is so sad, and those poor athletes are afraid to screw up. Here, people are free to follow their own passions, and compete for the sheer joy of it.  American gold represents freedom at its best.   

I also love to see records broken!  I am constantly amazed to see a world record smashed!  And they always get broken.  It just goes to show that the capabilities of the human being is limitless.   The only limits are mental.  When someone breaks a record, they break a mental wall, and time and time again, once someone breaks a record, then people began to reach that level more and more.  It is easier because people know it can be done.  When someone breaks a record it is good for mankind.  It is a victory over the mind as well as body.  I am also amazed at what the human body can do.  When I remind myself that these athletes are human, just like me, I am even more impressed.   a perfect routine on the uneven bars or a perfectly synchronized dive is just jaw-dropping to watch.

I think what I really love about the Olympics is the human side of it all.  I love hearing the stories of the athletes, to learn what their lives are like, wherever they are from, and see their passion for what they do. I love to learn what the athletes went through to get where they are and understand what either getting to the Olympics or winning or losing means to them.  And every athlete has a story.  I find that I cheer harder when I know the story.

This year I am enthralled with Michael Phelps.  Being a swimmer, I have some appreciation for what he is accomplishing in Beijing.  How does he do it?  I don't know what I like better - when he blows everybody out of the water, like the relay where the camera couldn't zoom out far enough to get the Americans and the rest of the teams in the same shot because the Americans were so far ahead, or when he comes from behind to snatch the victory away from another at the last second, like the unreal 100 butterfly race last night.  That was heart stopping - .01 seconds difference!  It was that last stroke he took while his opponent who was ahead glided into the wall.  That made ALL the difference.  That is why he is so great.  That is why he is unstoppable.  I love watching him swim, and analyze his flips and starts.It makes me want to swim just a little bit faster ans workout just a little bit harder.   I am impressed with his story - his father left when he was small, he had ADHD and teachers told him he'd never amount to anything , kids picked on him because he was so tall, and his feet were too big, his arms too long, and his ears stuck out.  Then he started swimming, and his coach saw something there.  We can learn a lesson from that.  We should all try a bit harder to see the potential in others, and ourselves.  Tonight I will be watching when he gets his 8th gold medal of these games in the medley relay- hopefully, and becomes the greatest Olympian ever.  I'm so excited! 

 I think I'll be sad to see it end, and I know I'll be so sad when the Beijing games end and the Olympic magic goes away until it comes to Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012.  But for now I am going to stay up past midnight (an incredible feat for me actually - I am NOT a night person) every night and cheer, and hopefully my jaw will drop and my heart skip a beat a few more times before the games come to a close. GO USA!

Christmas in July!!!

I am one happy mama.  Yesterday my sweet hubby surprised me with a new computer - a MacBook just for me!!!  I have always shared the computer with my kids, and recently this arrangement just wasn't working - too many people wanting to use one computer (the older they get, the more they need to use it), the computer kept running out of memory, and was packed with who-knows-what that the boys accidentally, or purposefully uploaded, kids messing with stuff they shouldn't touch.  I was having some real problems and getting very frustrated.  So my good man sensed my need and took action (HERO!).   Surprise!  He told me it is my early Christmas present, and even my birthday present too (I hope he means a late birthday present, not an early one!).  Needless to say  am completely thrilled and feel like a kid on Christmas morning.  I am having a ball playing with my new toy when I should be packing for our trip tomorrow.  Oh well.  Dennis, you've done it again!  Thanks Santa!

Eat My Wake, Mister!

Sometimes I am so bad, I surprise myself.

I swim most mornings. I usually go around 5:30 and am often the only one in the pool at that hour. But in the summer I take the luxury of sleeping in a bit and this morning I didn't get there until almost 7:00. There were already a couple guys using the good middle lanes, so I had to take a side lane. The guy next to me was about 40 years old, a solid swimmer, good form, nice flip turn. He was busy doing his thing. I jumped in and started my workout. I usually start with 50 laps straight of freestyle. So I was swimming along when the guy noticed that I was almost at his side and he suddenly kicked it in. He was pushing hard - not going to let me pass him. So I pushed it too and soon I was right beside him. He kept pushing hard for a few laps, straining to keep up with me. But then the wall was there, and flip, in a flash I shot out ahead of him. (I love a good flip turn!) Soon I was out of his reach. About a dozen laps later I was at his heels again. Once again I saw him punch up his pace. I kept my pace steady (you have to when your swimming distance) but made my strokes longer and stronger and within 2 laps I had passed him again. When I was on about lap 46 I caught the guy again and he, not to be outdone, pushed it HARD for the next two laps and kept up with me pretty good, but at the wall, I flipped and shot off the wall again, and he stood up. He had had it. I still had two laps to go, and was pretty tired, but even if I was on my last lap, I know I would have keep swimming until I had a good solid lead on him.

I don't know what it is, but I LOVE lapping guys in the pool. I never feel that way with women. I hardly pay any attention to what the gal swimming next to me is doing. But I HAVE TO out-swim the guys. Isn't that bad? I'm not a man-hating feninista or anything, but when a man is swimming next to me I just feel this competitive fire. (Dennis will tell you that he beat me in a race. But that was one length of a backyard pool. Come on. One hard push off the wall and you're on the other side. He's yet to take me up on my challenge for, say, 50 laps, or even 20, in a real lap pool.)

Usually the guys never say anything afterwards. They'll act cool, pretending that they always swim that fast, weren't trying very hard, and that they didn't notice me lapping them time and time again. But today it was different. This guy pulled off his goggles in disgust and watched at me as I moved myself to the now vacant other middle lane. He was not happy! He was breathing heavy, his shoulders were slumped in defeat. "Man, you swim FAST!" ( But I'm NOT a man, that's the point.)

"Thanks," I say, trying not to sound too winded.

He just shook his head, clearly upset with himself. "I just can't believe I got my pants beat off by a woman."

"Your Speedos actually," I said. OK well, I didn't really say that, but I wanted to. I really just smiled.

"How do you do it?" he asked.

"Well, I have to do something to have enough energy up to keep up with my six kids," I replied.

His jaw dropped, and then his shoulders drooped even more when he realized that he had just been blown out of the water by the mom from Brady Bunch. Poor guy.

He climbed out of the water, deflated.

"See ya tomorrow, " I said as I readjusted my goggles.

"Yah, right," he said.

Then, just for good measure, while he was drying off, I did several laps of butterfly, shoulders nice and high out of the water. (That really was next on my workout - I promise.)

Poor guy. I think I ruined his day. .. but he sure made mine!

I Like My Birthdays, Every One

Last week was my birthday. I love birthdays, and this one was no exception! I don't need elaborate parties or fantastic gifts. My favorite thing about having a birthday is just being remembered. It is the cumulative effect of all the phone calls, cards, emails, visits, thoughtful gifts, birthday songs, and well wishes, even from strangers, that have such a powerful effect on me because they make me feel really loved. And I was showered with lots of love this year.

It started just hours before my birthday when my friends from taekwondo surprised me with a cake. Our class is late in the evening, and when my friend Michele went to buy my cake, the bakery counter was closed and the lady wouldn't put "Happy Birthday Rachelle" on the cake. With much begging the lady finally suffered herself to write a big "R" on the cake. That was the best she would do. Michele didn't know that I love monograms, so it was perfect!

The phone calls started early, and went to late at night because people didn't want to miss me. And I have never heard so many wonderful new improvisational arrangements of the birthday song, many from non-singers who wouldn't be caught dead singing otherwise (that was gift in itself). I could have had my own personal American Idol-Birthday Edition because the competition was fierce. Twice Alex answered the phone and listened to the whole birthday song before telling Nonie and Grandma Webster that he wasn't me. Poor Alex, I mean, lucky Alex, got to hear Nonie sing.

In the morning Dennis and the boys presented me with a fun Italian charm bracelet. The boys helped pick out all these mommy-love charms for it. I've never worn such priceless jewelry before, or even seen anything like it on the red carpet. Its priceless to me! Dennis and the boys also got me a new bicycle helmet with pink flowers on it, and a pocket sized digital camera to keep in my purse. It's not as nice a my full size Canon Rebel XT , of course, but this one is so small I can take it everywhere and snap photos whenever the need arises. Very fun! I'm glad to have both!

My sweet friend Jenie took Alysa, Denice, and I out to lunch at the Blue Coyote. We all had the fish tacos, and they were very tasty! We all had such fun talking and visiting with each other. I love those gals! It was perfect. Exactly what I needed on my birthday! Thanks ladies. You really made my day special!
Later Shari came over for a visit with a huge homemade cheesecake. Oh my! It was the most amazing cheesecake I have ever had. It made anything from the Cheesecake Factory taste like cardboard. It was SO good I ate almost that whole thing by myself! Yikes! Thanks Shari! The cheesecake fits me perfectly around my waist. It's a good thing her other gift was jewelry, because jewelry always fits no matter how much cheesecake I eat.

That night, Dennis and I went with my parents to Fisherman's. I had the yummy salmon Caesar salad, on Alysa's suggestion. Mom gave me a Cuttlebug - a very cool tool that I have been wanting for a long time.

Even after my birthday was over, the love kept coming. Alysa and I got together one afternoon and I opened a few thoughtful and surprising gifts from her. I am excited about everything! Let me just say, that girl knows how to think outside the gift box. She also helped me put together my fun new blog. I am so excited about it, thanks to all her help and advice. I love my sweet friend, Alysa.


A week later, Shari and Roxanne and I went out to lunch. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Those two ladies are hilarious! Oh, and Roxanne has the uncanny ability to give me EXACTLY what I wanted for my birthday. How does she do it? Let me just say, she is nimble with a credit card. Love ya Roxy!

Of course there were a lot more gifts, phone calls, and "Happy Birthdays," and I can't possibly write them all here. But I loved every one, and all the people who love me and let me know it on my special day. Still, as much as I love my birthdays, I am willing to wait a whole year for another one. Until then, I hope I can help celebrate as many others' birthdays as possible.

To Blog or Not to Blog?

O.K. I have finally done it. I have started a blog. Believe me when I say that I tried not to, I really did. For the longest time I have been avoiding it. I wouldn't look at others' blogs. When my girlfriends would talk about their blogs, and what they read on someone else's blog, I would just smile politely and nod, and pretend I was in their world, instead of floating around in my own little blogless universe. Why have I put off this moment for as long as I have? Am I blogist? a blog-snob? suffering from bolgophobia? No. It isn't that I hate the idea of a blog. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I LOVE the idea of a blog. Having a blog is just of the kind of thing that makes me giddy. It is the kind of thing that will keep me up way too late at night (and I already stay up late enough), will get me out of bed way too early in the morning (as if 5 a.m. isn't early enough).
You see, I know myself too well. I am a woman of passions. Of course I am passionate about my husband (yeah, baby!) and my 6 darling and energetic sons, my family and my friends, but I also have a litany of other activities, interests, collections, hobbies, traditions, etc. that I love passionately. How many all-consuming passions can one girl have anyway? When it comes to passions, I am like an old lady with a bunch of cats. When I see that scrawny little homeless blog sitting there in the rain, I can't just pass it by! After all, there is always room for one more, right? Not really. That is the problem. My poor little passions are being neglected terribly, and are getting quite skinny and some probably ought to be put out of their misery. For some strange reason, after I have rationed out my time to kids, husband, church, family, friends, chores, and taxi driving, there is little time left for my passions.
So, being the cautious soul that I am, I have talked myself out of blogging for as long as I could. But I am weak, silly and weak, and have finally given in to blogomaina, against my better judgement. And, being in danger of getting in way over my head, I jump with both feet into the blogosphere.