Table for Eight

Just when I restore my faith in humanity, I get a second virus on my computer. Only this one killed it. (Services will be held today at 1pm.) Fortunately there's a warranty on the little guy. He's on his way back to Dell today to see about a possible reincarnation. In the meantime, I'm tethered to the upstairs computer, using the family community computer. . . which is hilarious for me because last week Dave installed a second monitor for this computer in our kitchen. You see, he wanted us to be able to SEE what sites the kids are on as they work on the computer. So this second monitor is set up on our kitchen counter and it displays everything from the community computer. So now when the kids say, "I'm working on keyboarding," we can really see that they are, in fact, working on keyboarding. It's awesome, but kind of funny too. You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget you're being supervised. Like just now Kaya came upstairs...

Mattel's new "hottest toy": a Stealth Ride (I'm thinking a take-off of Transformer, kind of?) Paper Jamz. Sing-a-ma-jigs. (I'm sorry, but these are in the CLOWN category for me. This would scare the crap out of me to see my toddler carrying this around with a binky and a ba-ba. Hello . . . Children of the Corn.) I really think there's value in planning ahead/preparing for life. But I also really think there's something nutty about our society's constant need to be somewhere OTHER than where we are at the present moment. For example, this morning I woke up and was hoping to just read some good news and post a recipe on my blog. But no . . .  it's not enough for me to be enjoying the final days of September, fall, the Indian Summer, etc. You see, what I should be doing today--according to MSN, is be thinking about Christmas. Because as of September 29, the Hottest Holiday Toy List is OUT! For real.  ...

My deep thought for the day ( for real ), taken from the book "In Pursuit of Peace" by J. Meyer: No matter what upsetting circumstances are going on in life, if we get them off of our minds, they no longer upset us--it is as if they do not exist for us. When we recall them, they once again become part of our reality. No wonder Satan [AKA "Senor Cranky Pants"  or fill-in-the-blank for any other negative influence in your life--EGO, THE NEWS, etc. ] continually brings up things that steal our peace. If we want to enjoy peace, we need to be willing to tell people that we don't want to talk about certain things. . . . Don't let Satan use other people to steal your peace through giving you upsetting information you don't really need, and make sure that the enemy [aka Senor Cranky Pants] doesn't use you to upset other people the same way. The mind is an absolutely amazing organ. Thoughts affect our emotions, our health, our futures, our attitudes...

Since I am on a Bento Bender--and WAY into how to make the kids' lunches more appealing, healthy, and fun--I was WAY excited to find these Sara Lee "slider" or "mini hamburger buns." Aren't they CUTE? LuLu and I were cracking up when we saw them at the store last week. Don't they seem perfect for lunch boxes?  We're going to make regular sandwiches with them, but I bet your kids would love having tiny burgers with them too. (PS: Has Sara Lee suddenly taken over the bread "market"? I feel like she used to just do pound cake? What's up with that?) (PPS: The bread isn't super healthy, I know. Not 9 or 12 grain, but it is that whole grain white--whatever that means?)

I came across this quote in my reading last week--and I think it may very well change my life. (I know, I'm dramatic:  everything changes my life. Bear with me.) But for real--this quote/idea may change the way I view life: Make your problems your teachers,  not your punishment. Is that THE most beautiful idea ever? Imagine how different our lives would be if we would just change the way we view life's problems. What if we saw them [our problems] as TEACHERS? So here's my tiny example/application. Last night I was uploading a recipe on my blog and somehow I lost EVERY recipe I've ever saved on Blogger. With just one keystroke everything was gone.  No back, back, back arrow.  No history.  No refresh.  No cached pages to recall. Now, before reading the above quote, I would have looked at that problem and said: "SEE what happens when I try and preserve my recipe file, I get punished. I always try and do good and what do I get in return?"   ...

I don't know if I could feel more loved (or more full). Janeil (my friend/neighbor) just rang my doorbell and brought me a treat: CARRIBEAN COCONUT GELATO! She's so thoughtful--she knows I'm on "NO Coconut Treat Left Behind Tour," and so she said when she saw this at the store she had to get it for me . And so she did! Do you know how many times I have thoughts about doing nice things for other people,  but don't follow through? (1,000s). For the LOVE, Janeil! You're amazing! Thank you! Oh, and for the record, it was DELISH! Jonah and I ate it in 3.5 minutes. Not lying. SEE . . .

I realized this morning that I'm having a major case of writer's block. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am sans-camera. I'm used to taking a lot of photos each day--and that usually sparks an idea for my writing. So wi thout the camera, I'm left to find images on Google, and that just seems sooooooooooooooooo boring. I think I'll have to look at cameras this weekend and get my groove back (not like Stella's Groove , my Blogger's Groove--tee hee). ************ In other completely self-centered news . . . * Today's the first day of Autumn and you can feel it here in Utah. * We've planned our first family vacation. (Which means I can hopefully cross another 2010 Resolution off my list. PS: So you don't think we've hit the lotto, we're not talking Hawaii, we're talking sleeping somewhere other than our home AND not working/schooling for a spell. I'm so excited!) * Dave went to 5 Parent/Teach...

I'm not sure what this means exactly, but I feel like it's time for a change with the blog. Stay tuned.

When you look at a page, white space is the empty space that surrounds the text. White space is very important. The amount of white space can make the text more legible. It can highlight a poem. It can set things off, emphasize them. When there isn’t enough white space, the text can be hard to read, hard to understand. The page is cluttered; the brain has a hard time sorting out what’s there. When we talk about overscheduled kids, I think about white space. When we talk about project learning, I think about white space. When we cram too many experiences into a child’s day/week/life, we don’t leave time for them to think about what they’ve experienced — they just move on to the next thing, letting the previous thing drop away. (This is true for ourselves, too, of course.) What is white space in a project? Doing something else for awhile … turning your attention to a different problem … relaxing … reading … being bored … maybe simply slowing the pace for awhile. Refilling the well, bein...

Jay (aka Jonah) had a major allergy attack at school last week and had to come home early as a result. I don't know that I've ever seen him more "allergic" to something in my whole life. He was sneezing like nobody's business and he couldn't breath out of his nose at all. I'm no doctor, but I think it may have had something to do with the 2.7 million squirts of AXE BodySpray that blanket the high school? Talk about Teen Spirit! You can honestly smell body spray THE MINUTE you enter the office. (If I were a high school teacher I would have two rules: 1. No electronic devices in class. and 2. NO AXE BODY SPRAY! Eeek! ) Anywho . . .  I realized something--having Jay home from school for most of the day. He's really funny. I mean, REALLY FUNNY! Even without a nose, he's REALLY FUNNY. I think the rest of our kids might ask him to "get sick again" and come home early . . . just so they can see what kind of shenanigan...

My new computer got a virus. I will get back to blogging once it's healed--or I learn to speak German (which is the only thing the computer does right now). Flippin' David Haselhoff. I'm sure this has something to do with him. ******* In other news, it's pumpkin season here! So, I made my first loaf of pumpkin bread yesterday . . . and my second this morning (just 12 hours later). Oh I love pumpkin season!

Ever since the "bento box" lunches last week, I find myself with the urge to decorate all of our food. Next thing you know, I'll be driving a Hello Kitty car . (Those are pears made to look like skulls. Oh yeah! Halloween Preview, baby!)

My mom sent me this email yesterday that was so cute. I wanted to post it on the blog today, but I couldn't get it copied right, and I didn't have time to copy it line-by-line in the blog browser this morning. Ugh. So, I hope it's okay, I looked it up on Google and found what I think is the same message. There may be some changes (no cute baby photos with each line). I can't really tell off-hand, but it looks the same. (Mom?) Anyway, I thought it was a great way to start the week! Thanks for sending it, mom. ************** 1. If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.   2. The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention. 3. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. 4. The best vitamin for making friends....B1. 5. The 10 commandments are not multiple choice. 6. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. 7. Minds are like parachutes...they function only when ope...

Got to keep it short today; we've got company (here for a short stay while they drop their son off at college). With that in mind, here's my High/Low for today: High Making a loaf of bread for Jeff and Christine. (It's been 4 years since we've seen each other--and I just can't believe how much I love them. I wish everyday could be a day we share a loaf of bread. Why does Kentucky have to be in Kentucky?) Low Hearing Dave say "Now, try your best not to spill the soda kids," as he opened a 2 liter bottle of rootbeer . . .   which then EXPLODED all over him (Oh--and the counter, the kids in the first 5 rows, the floor, the plates, and the dog. You name it.).

WARNING: Yes, another post about working out. Sorry, I just feel like I'm learning so much--in an area I knew nothing about until about 6 weeks ago. And, because the blog is a journal for me, I want to make sure and remember that this really is a good thing for me to do. A life-changing thing. (Because heaven knows I'm gonna forget.) I was listening to Dr. Oz on the radio the other day and he said often times when people start to get fit/healthy, they also start to get "fit/healthy" in other areas of their life--employment, parenting, relationships, finances, etc. And while I'm not sure my physical self is totally "fit/healthy," I have been working on this area more and more (than normal). An d so, I can tell you, I completely agree with Dr. Oz. Getting this one area of my life in place has made me want other areas of my life in place too (for example, house organization, work, eating healthier, finances, etc.). There are so many things we ...

So, I spent a little too much time on that Healthy Kids recipe site this holiday . . . and here's what I ended up doing for the kids' lunch today: a bento box. See--it's a panda! (complete with soy-sauce-flavored nose and seaweed ears/eyes/etc. The ham is cut and supposed to look like a flower. My lunchmeat wasn't cooperating, but it kinda worked.) (PS: This idea is totally copied, but I'm still dying that I was able to do it.)

This cool contact lense case helps you track when it's time to dispose of contacts/order new ones. I'm so putting this on my Christmas List. Most nights I dread taking out my contacts. You see, I'm lazy when I'm tired, so even the smallest of tasks seem gigantic to me. Last night was one such night. I could not--for the life of me--get up from the bed and put my contacts in their nice little case with contact solution. So, given my new found "NO is the NEW YES" philosophy, I said, "Forget it, I'm just throwing these bad boys on the ground. So there! I'll put them in the trash in the morning when I open up a new pair." (They last 2 weeks; disposable.) And so I did. I chucked those babies on the shag carpet and fell sound asleep. Now . . . flash-forward 4.5 hours when I am getting up to start my day. (That's kind of a joke about how little I sleep. Only, it's not really a joke.) As I reached in the bathroom d...

For most of my life I've been a "yes" person. I don't know if that makes me a people-pleaser, kind-hearted, or just plain silly, but those have been the ABCs of me. Up until my 40th bday. It was then that I had some things going on in life that took all of my time, making it impossible for me to say "yes" to the things I would usually say "yes" to. Now, at first I felt horrible saying "no" to these things. I even felt kind of guilty about it. You see . . . I like helping in the classroom. I like filling in for a friend at work. I like speaking at adoption panels. And I like church activities. BUT . . . saying NO was also super LIBERATING. (Smile.) You see, saying NO actually gave me this kind of freedom that I have never felt before. There was even a kind of relief. (I'm so-not kidding.) And . . . saying NO also gave me some much-needed time to refocus my attention on my family and myself. (I think some...

I think Ella Fitzgerald was probably torn: Paris in the Springtime OR Utah in the Fall(time)? LOL! But seriously, I cannot begin to tell you how much Fall in Utah means to me. I absolutely love it. Everything about it: --The slightly lower temps. --The fall colors/leaves on the Wasatch Mountains. --Trips up to the canyons (and there are many!). --Farmer's Markets (and there are many!). --Roadside vegetable and melon stands. --Apple orchards in Provo. --Caselot sales! (Food storage.) --The pumpkin patch that grows just a few blocks from our home in SLC. (We get to see it planted, growing, harvested, and then completely cleared and prepped for the following year. It's awesome!) --Pumpkin . . . everything (candles, waffles, bread, foccacia . . . soup!). --BYU Football. --Pine nuts. --The fact that Halloween is still stuck in the 1950s here. (Love that!) --And, while Thanksgiving is pushing it for "fall" here (it's sometim...