goodbye recipe blog

A long time ago I started a recipe blog, mostly as a convenient way to keep track of the recipes that I like. Unfortunately, that blog suffered more than this here blog, and I've decided that it is time to put it out of its misery. Except I still want a quick way to get to all of my recipes that are "keepers." So I plan to transfer that project to this blog under the label "recipe repeats", in honor of their old home, in separate posts of course, so I can find them later.

pardon the confusion

I don't want to give the wrong impression. You see, when you neglect your blog for a long time, you inevitably forget to mention when certain things change. Like when you home school your children for two months and then decide that liking your oldest daughter again is preferable to keeping them out of public school, at least for the time being. So, while going back to college with 4 small children is definitely a task in itself, I'm most certainly NOT doing it while homeschooling. Although, Emily, I appreciate the belief that I am capable of that! I loved the program that we were in, and will definitely reconsider it a few years down the road, when we hit middle school. But for now, the timing was just not right, and I was willing to admit defeat. Sometimes you get an idea in your head that just doesn't work for your family, and you have to be willing to change. So we did.

it's an idiom, mom!

While driving Abbie to her friend's house yesterday, there was a light drizzle and we had the following conversation.

Abbie: It's raining cats and dogs out here!

Me: Cats and dogs, huh?

Abbie: (sigh) It's an idiom, mom! (complete with sass and eye roll)

Then I laughed as I realized how long it has been since I had elementary English, because truthfully I would have had to look up the definition to be sure I knew what an idiom was. It's a good thing my kids are in school to remind me off all the things I learned once upon a time!

how to convince people that you are incompetent

• Go to pick up your friend's child for a play date.
• Leave the car running while you run up to the door.
• Get back in the car, try to leave, and realize that you are unable to get the car out of PARK.
• Freak out.
• Jiggle the steering wheel. Try again.
• Turn off the car. Try again.
• Panic and call your dad because he can fix anything.
• Talk to your mom because dad is on a conference call, he'll call you back.
• Call husband at work to let him know, ask if he can take a few minutes to bring you the other car so you can get back home in time for your test.
• Go back to the house and let the people know that you really do want to leave, but can't seem to get your car to work. They will come out and give it a try, which should make it work, but doesn't.
• Get back in your car and wait for 10 minutes.
• Dad will call back right as your husband gets there, and while you are telling your dad what is wrong, your husband will get in the car and immediately put it in to DRIVE.
• Feel stupid.
• Tell your dad "thanks" and let him know the husband took care of the problem.
• Say to your husband, "How did you do that?"
• Get back in and try for yourself. No luck.
• Trade places with husband, who gets it to work again and tells you that you aren't pushing the brake down far enough.
• Get back in, push down hard on the brake, and put the car in to DRIVE.
• Feel stupid.
• Tell the husband you are sorry.
• Drive home and wonder how it is that you've been driving this car for three years with no problem.
• Feel stupid.
  

too much!

I've got a test tomorrow morning. And one more chapter left to read. And lecture notes to review. And a house that I like to call "the pit of despair." And a lot of wasted time but not enough time to do it all. Enough said.

got milk?

We need an intervention. Note to self: When your town only picks up recycling once every other week, you CANNOT afford to forget. Your family drinks too much milk for that, and if you want to do your small part to keep the planet clean, you NEED to recycle the milk cartons that you use. Keep in mind that this picture reflects the state of affairs a week before the recycling man comes back. Maybe I should get a cow.

all in due time

Everyone has regrets. I'm in the process of rectifying one of mine. You see, fourteen years ago I graduated from high school. And then I didn't live up to my potential. I went from valedictorian to sub-standard student over the course of 3 years, and I left BYU without a degree or much to show as far as my education was concerned. Ultimately I realized that I was just wasting time and money, because I was really only going to college because it was the thing to do, not because I had any real sense of purpose or a goal.

Such is not the case anymore. Sometimes life leads you in paths that you never dreamed of, like taking a girl who hates having her own blood drawn and convincing her that she needs to be a nurse. But that is what has happened to me. And I'm loving every minute of it.

I've actually been a full-time college student for the last six months, but haven't made mention of it yet because I've been a blog slacker. And even though I'm going to Mesa State College, which I'll admit is no Brigham Young University, I haven't been this proud of my academic efforts in a long time. Because I'm once again living up to what I know I can do. Despite all my dilly-dallying, I did manage to complete most of my general education requirements at BYU, so I have been able to focus on getting my Nursing prerequisites done for application this fall. I completed the Spring semester with a 4.0, making the President's List, and am on track for similar results for Summer term. If someone had told me when I was 18 that one day I would love taking an Anatomy & Physiology course, or that Pathophysiology would hold any interest for me, I would have thought them crazy. And I'm sure that in the next couple of years I'll have moments where I wonder what possessed me to do this, but when I finally receive my Bachelors of Science in Nursing and become an RN it will all be worth it. In the end, sometimes our regrets point us to where we needed to be all along.

fresh face

If I've blogged it once, I've blogged it fourteen times...I need a fresh start with my blogging mojo. So, of course, my first step is to brighten up the place with a fresh look. I gave it a go with the pre-made blog fashions, and have decided they just aren't for me. Not to offend anyone who chooses to use them, whatever floats your boat. For me, I prefer the clean, simple look that I can do by myself, one that I know will be all mine. Plus, I had quite the time figuring out how to get rid of that blog skin that I installed after leaving it on there for so long! Putting my fresh face forward, here's to more frequent posting...again!

fore!

Last Thursday we took advantage of an almost spring day to head out to the driving range. Good thing because it snowed the next day. About two years ago Derrick received his own set of golf clubs, but hasn't really had much opportunity to use them. Not that I'm much of an expert, I only started golfing about 6 years ago, but I think he is pretty good for his age. Dad has several punches left on his driving range pass, so they can get out several more times this spring. We really need to get him out on the course for an actual game.

movie madness

Tonight Jon and I hogtied my sister into a last minute babysitting gig. We wanted to see a movie. The merits of Valentine's Day vs. Alice in Wonderland were discussed. And while I think that Johnny Depp has an amazing talent for bringing wacky characters to life, the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland gives me the creeps as it is, so Valentine's Day was victorious. Two tickets and a small popcorn later, the movie began and then we did something we've never done. We got up and WALKED OUT. Were we offended by something? Not at all. We left the movie because we watch too much Criminal Minds. In a small town, Wednesday nights aren't typically sold out. On the contrary, they weren't even going to play the movie tonight until we showed up. So it seemed a little unusual when right after we bought our tickets, a man who was alone and had been sitting in the parking lot came up and bought a ticket to the same movie. And he was not really the Valentine's Day type, what with Shutter Island playing two doors down. It was just the three of us, but he ignored the unwritten rules of the situation and sat far too close to us, much closer than was necessary given that every seat in the theater was available to him. I wasn't really bothered, but then Jon leaned over to let me know he was uncomfortable with the situation. I assured him that we would be fine. But he continued to have an overwhelming feeling that we just needed to get out of there. So we did. And then we wasted time until the kids were in bed. Thanks to Criminal Minds, we might be a little paranoid, but at least we're not lying lifeless in the aisle with popcorn stuck to our face and soda in our hair, waiting to be found by the next showing. But my friend the redbox will get a visit from me when it comes out on DVD, because I feel a little cheated.