Month: September 2006 (Page 2 of 3)

Yesterday was not the best day. Without going into all the long boring details, it started with Jenna having cut her own hair, then we had some escalated yogurt throwing in the kitchen later on, some climbing on the counter to get cookies that I had said no to, and a shouting match over practicing time. Needless to say, I’m not too proud of my reaction to all this, I did too much yelling and ate too many cookies.

Today is a new day. So far there’s no hair cutting, everyone found their shoes on time and I went to a yoga class that they are getting started at our church. Even though it wasn’t what I’m used to, it was a good class, and fun to be there with friends. Tamra, who was teaching today, led us in some headstands. I pretty much gave up, because I kind of have a fear of going upside down, and honestly, I don’t think it’s possible for me to balance the large mass that is my body up in the air without the aid of my feet. But thanks to DeEtte, who kept nagging me to “just do it”, and telling me I could do it. She helped me “kick my legs up” and held me there until I got stable (it’s against a wall–it shouldn’t be that hard) and I actually did a headstand (or something quite similar) for several seconds. I wished at that moment I had a camera (or DeEtte had a camera, since I was upside down at the time) and could have a picture of me in the old headstand pose. Not that I would show it to you, because I’d be all yucky in yoga clothes, with my shirt kind of falling down revealing parts of my stomache that really should not be seen. But I would have proof that I did it-even if just for a second. It was empowering. I’ve never thought I could do that, and here, I just did it. Wow.

When I hear the word “Sale”, it gives me a little rush. Especially if I’m at Kohls. I really get off on a good bargain. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this, but in the past week I went to Albertsons 4 times to try to get the very best deals. After Melinda told me about printing your own coupons, I had to print a WHOLE bunch of coupons, organize them all so that I knew exactly how many of each item I needed to buy to get the absolute best deal. The problem was, the store kept being out of the things I needed to complete my coupon quest. They told me there would be a dairy shipment Tuesday morning, so I went Tuesday at 1:00. Nothing. Nothing that was on the sale list was left. Oh well. I tried. And I did get my 3 month supply of cereal, fruit rolls and popcorn. Anyway, I digress. When bargain hunters like me hear the word SALE, we expect it to be a sale! 20% off, 30% off, even 50% off are acceptable numbers. So when I see numbers like this, I say: 2%? Are you kidding me? That’s not a sale, that’s a….. a….. a joke! That’s what it is. You can’t qualify something as a “sale price” if it’s 2% off the original price. Ha! I laugh at you and your silly sale!

A while back I heard about a lady who won all kinds of things from “contesting”, and she entered sweepstakes for about an hour every night while her husband watched television. Well, I didn’t realize there was a whole new avenue of contests that I should be pursuing. So, I took an hour here and there and filled out bunches of contest entries on the web. What I got was a whole bunch of mail from chambers of commerce. “Thanks for your interest in visiting…Houston, Denver, ” and the like. hmmm. I just threw those into the trash and didn’t think much of it.

This week I got a letter from Merrell Footwear. When I opened it, it said “Congratulations! Merrell Footwear and Hooked on the OUtdoors Magazine, thank you for your participation in the American Airlines Sweepstakes!. yada yada yada….something about a GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Well, this could be some interesting sort of spam or trickery, so I went to their website, and yes, indeed, there are shoes. Expensive shoes. Hiking shoes. And I have a gift certificate for $110! I could buy one pair of shoes or boots for me (starting at $70) or a couple of pairs of shoes for the kids (they start at around $20). More shoes for your buck if you stay in the kids sizes, obviously, but where’s the fun in that? I think I’ll be doing a little online shoe shopping!

(Oh, and on a side note, they just mentioned on the radio that today is National Chocolate Day–so, let’s not let a good holiday go to waste! Bring on the chocolate!)

Today is 9/11. The day the world changed for most of us.

This is a drawing made by a child of the attack.

I’m sure you remember where you were when you heard, and turned on the tv. As I watched the smoke pour out of tower 1 and wondered how such a mistake could happen, I saw the second plane hit tower 2. Then we knew it was no mistake, but an attack, and no one felt safe. We watched tv as long as we could stand it, then turned it off and tried to carry on with our lives. I remember that night after watching the tv on and off the whole day and feeling numb, I got out a can of paint and started to paint my kitchen yellow. I just had to do something, instead of sitting and watching in disbelief.

Here are some amazing images from 9-11 in this photo journal. I think it’s good to see things like this every once in a while.

Today I went with a friend to see the movie “World Trade Center.” When I saw the preview I cried, and said to Ryan, “I’ll never go see that movie, I’m crying in the previews.” Well, because we won some free tickets for today, we went, and I must say, I would reccommend it. It was very well done, and although I cried (a lot), it does leave one with a hopeful message.

Tonight I plan to talk to my kids about 9-11 and remind them that there is evil today, just like in ancient times. There are “gadianton robbers” with hearts of evil whose goals are to destroy us and our country. We can’t just put up with evil, we have to try to stop it, just like the heros of flight 93 on that terrible day.

As we try to do the best for our families and our kids, let’s not forget all those who have sacrificed to keep our country safe.

May God bless the USA.

Yes, we went to the BHS 20 year reunion last night, and it was so very fun!
Even though it wasn’t much more than throwing us all in a room with some food, a cash bar and some music (in other words, there was no program, not even a welcome from the senior class officers, which I thought there should have been. But oh, well, I’m not in charge), but people were mingling and talking and having a great time. It was so much fun to see everyone. I would see someone and KNOW that I knew who they were, trying to test my memory and figure out there name, but most of the time I had to look at the nametag, and then I would think, “Of course! I knew that was so and so!” People I didn’t really know in High School came up and talked to me, asking what I was up to and how I’d been, and that was fun, too. Ryan says I’m a “flitter”, but I really wanted to see as many people as I could.

I was told over and over, “You haven’t changed a bit”, and “You look just the same!”, so I guess that’s a good thing. The girls seemed to change less than the guys. I mean, we all still have hair, which is more than I can say for some of the guys. Yes, some of the girls were annoyingly fit and skinny and don’t look a DAY older than 25 (Carolyn Archer and Joni Swift, you know I’m talking about you right now!), but most of them looked…well, just right. Not too old and not too young. They just looked good.

I stared at one guy, then asked Ken Clayton who it was. “That’s Nate Ellison”, he told me. What? That largish guy with no hair? You have GOT to be kidding. Nate had that trademark hair, and now he’s got a little male pattern baldness going on, with his hair cut so short it hardly looks like he has any hair at all. But it was still the same Nate, and when I went over and stood by him to see if he’d recognize me, he turned and said, “Paige!! I’m so glad to see you!” and gave me a big hug. It was great to chat with him again.

Of course there were some who weren’t there, who I wonder about, and some who filled out the survey, at least, so we get some idea of where they are and what they are doing. It was a fun event, and I’m so glad I got to share it with so many great people. If you want to see more pictures and play the “name that face” game, click here. I’m not going to tell you who everyone is, but if you need help figuring it out, I’ll give you hints.

Saturday is our 20 year High School Reunion. I have mixed feelings. I’m excited to go and see people that I haven’t seen for a long, long time. But really, most of the people that I want to see, I see already. I’ve been blessed with great friends that were my friends all through high school, and I try to keep in touch with most of them. There are others that I haven’t see in a long time, and I’m looking forward to seeing them and finding out what they’ve been up to.

But on the other hand, I’m a little nervous. What if everyone else is really doing things with their lives. What if they are all some high powered attorneys or wonderful artists or have 8 children, homeschool, grow their own organic foods and can all their own fruit and vegetables? Actually, those things don’t even bother me, but really–what do they all look like? I mean, have they put on 10 pounds with each child, too? Or are they annoyingly skinny with great skin and fabulous hair and wonderful white teeth? I just know that some of them will be. I mean, they can’t all be dumpy plump stay-at-home moms like me, although I’d like it if they were.

In expressing my concerns with Melinda, she said the sweetest thing to me. She said, “You are just one of those people who get better every year.” (Ok, I’m paraphrasing, so Mel, if that’s not exactly what you said, go ahead and correct me). That’s probably the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a month (closely followed by John coming up and giving me a hug and saying, “Mom, you’re my best friend.”) I’m not really sure what she meant by that, but it really was a nice thing to say. I need to just get over my insecurities, accept the fact that I am who I am, and just go and enjoy myself (never thinking about the $150 bucks we had to pay so that my husband–who insisted he go, too–and I can go to the reunion).

Then there’s the question of what to wear? Should I wear, like Sunday clothes? A casual skirt? Pants? Capris? I’ll have to find something that I’m comfortable in, so I won’t be self conscious the whole night thinking, “Why did I wear this _______, it accents my fat ________.” So I guess I try some outfits on tonight and see what I can find. I did get a really cute skirt from Coldwater creek and a sweater to go with it, but the sweater is really bright orange. I know. But it’s a pretty orange, if you can imagine. And when I wore it to church as an outfit, a sweet lady told me I looked “stunning.” Wow–stunning. Was that stunning because I looked really great, or stunning because it’s bright orange. Hmmmm. Not sure. Anyway, I’ll figure something out, find something to wear, and go take lots of pictures and have a great time. And maybe I’ll see you there!

I just got a call from a number I didn’t recognize, and the man said, “is this Paige?” and I said yes. He said, “This is Jenna’s bus driver, and we’re going to be a bit late. Our power steering went out, and we’re waiting for a mechanic. So, you can come and meet us where we are, or I can just bring her home when we’re done here.” Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a call from any of my kids’ bus drivers before. Since John just barely fell asleep on the couch watching Amazing race reruns with me, I don’t feel like waking him up to go and pick her up, so I’ll just let her wait while they fix the bus or send a new one. “That’s kind of exciting,” I said to the busdriver, and said “I’ll just watch for her a bit late, then.”

What a nice man to call and let me know. I’ll have to cook up a package of those ready to cook Pillsbury cookies that I bought at $1 each and give him a treat for being so nice.

I got to be a “Magic Mirror” and do this skit (which I wrote). You are under absolutely no obligation to read the whole thing, but here it is:

Witch—Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, What is Reflections after all?

Mirror—What? You’ve never heard of Reflections? It’s a National Contest Sponsored by the PTA to encourage creativity in children.

Witch—What are you talking about?

Mirror—Let me explain it in simple terms so you can understand. Reflections is a contest. There are 8 categories—Photography, Visual Arts, Literature, 3-d art, dance, music, theater, film and video. (volenteers hold up signs)

Witch—So, I could draw a picture AND write a song?

Mirror—Yes, you could enter in each of the 8 categories if you wanted, but you can only enter each category one time.

Witch—What should I write about?

Mirror—the Theme is “My Favorite Place.”

Witch—Ah, “My favorite place.”
(pause to think)
Witch—So, are there prizes?

Mirror—Yes, that’s the best part! There are prizes for the winners, and not only that, every student who enters the Reflections contest will get a candy bar!

Witch—Every single one? Wow!

Mirror—And that’s not all, the class with the most entries will get an ice cream party.

Witch—Wow!! That’s fantastic! I want to go home and work on my reflections right now! Are there rules and stuff, or can you just do whatever you want?

Mirror—There are rules about what size things should be, and how they should be turned in, and we will be sending home some entry forms and rules sheets soon. And if you ever need any more entry forms or rules sheets, you can ask for them from the office, or go to utahpta.org.

Witch—I can’t wait! I think I’ll get started right away!

Mirror—That’s great. You should start soon. Even though you have a whole month to work on things, it’s good to start thinking about it now. Entries will be due October 20th.

Witch—October 20th. That’s right before my favorite holiday! Halloween!

Mirror—Yep, you have plenty of time to think about it. What category do you think you would like to enter?

Witch—I think I’ll do a dance, or write a story, or draw a picture. Maybe I’ll make a sculpture, or I could make a movie, or write a play, or take a picture, or write a song……

I just got back from Albertsons, where they are having their HUGE General Mills boxtops sale. Tons of General Mills products, each with Boxtops for education, are on sale. It’s the old gimmick–Buy 10 for $15, and then save $5 when you buy 10. So, you have to make sure you get only the qualified products, and keep your purchases in groups of 10, but today–I rocked. I ended up with 100 of the qualified products (even Trix yogurt–I bought 4 of those) so I got $50 off. Plus I had a coupon for $12 off my purchase of $120 or more, so I did have to throw 10 extra brownie mixes on at the end to bump up my total, but it was worth it to use the coupon. On my receipt, it lists my total paid (with tax) as $117.98. Then it lists my savings as $223.24! WHOO-HOO!

Plus, they gave me 9 coupons good for 20 bonus box tops each. So, those coupons alone are worth $18 for my school. And if you consider that each of those products has a boxtop worth 10 cents each (and some products have the bonus boxtops if you look carefully), that’s at least 100 box tops, so another $10 for my school. (So, if you wanted to get really technical about it, you could subtract that $28 that will be donated to my school off my total, bringing me in around $90, but I won’t push it.)

Yes, I rock. And I’m passing my knowledge along to you, gentle reader. So you, too, can be a Grocery Store Treasure Hunter, too.

(You can thank me later)

Well, John’s birthday celebration stretched out for a few days, and he is thoroughly enjoying being a rowdy 3 year old now. He got presents on Saturday, and I actually bought balloons and a cake, so that made it a party. That afternoon we had a family event, so even though it wasn’t for him, he still got to see and play with cousins and friends. Then on Monday he got presents from both grandparents, and that was way fun. There’s TONS more birthday pictures that you can see here if you are interested.

On Tuesday, John started his 3 year old preschool class. I’m a little apprehensive about it, but I know Mrs. Powell loves the kids, and the kids (John’s my third to go to her preschool) love her. Yesterday he got a crown and even got to pick a birthday present from the birthday box. He’s loving this preschool thing! He’ll probably be a bit shocked when he goes on Thursday and doesn’t get special birthday treatment.