STUDMUFFIN

I am so awesome. I finally figured out what was wrong with my posts and my paragraph spacing! I love learning new things and hope I may help someone along the way in this blogging adventure!

Proof

Chris sent this to me today. I think he finally "gets" it.

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in
their pjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers
strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house
and there was no sign of the dog.


Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the
counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the
back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more
piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill,
or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the
bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and
more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and
toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed
in her pjamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked,

'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered,

'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Breaking Dawn (spoilers ahead)

So after 2 days of marathon reading and potty training my 3 year old, I have finished the most anticipated book of the month. All I can say is that I should become a proof-reader. I found so many mistakes it was distracting and it made me lose respect for the book as a whole. I thrive on perfection around me, mostly because I lack it, and this one let me down. Overall, I liked it. I liked the sweetness between Edward and Bella. I actually respected the graphic betrayal of the birth. Ironically, it was the most exciting part of the book. I was disappointed that no one died. After all the hoopla around the Volturi, I was shocked that they just came to the clearing and "blah, blah, blahed" for 4 chapters and then just walked away. I guess that's par for course with Young Adult Literature.....I liked Bella discovering a multitude of talents and abilities that she lacked in her human experience. Does that mean I have to wait for immortality to receive all the talents and abilities I lack and lust after in other humans? Anyway, overall it was a good book. I enjoyed the series and I'm glad I was entertained while reading it. However, I wasn't left anticipating much more from this series. I'm not dying for Edward's story, nor am I waiting on pins and needles for the "field guide" in December.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the YEAR.....

And I'm not talking about the green and red decorations. For me, once I start smelling freshly sharpened pencils and seeing underwear ads in the paper, my skin starts to tingle in anticipation of the First Day of School! Since my kids entered the halls of higher education (as compared to home), it is the day of the year I most look forward to. Don't get me wrong. It has been a great summer, we've had lots of fun, and it's time for them to go back to those hallowed halls of learning before I start to slit my wrists..........was that too graphic? My life it getting too complicated with commitments and there really isn't one that I'm willing to part with. Hence, it's time for my little angels to be occupied by something beneficial so I can remove the guilt I feel for ignoring them while I get my work done. I hold a special place in my heart for the many many wonderful people who have made teaching their calling. I for one relish the few hours I have for things that I like to do without children, like grocery shop during the daylight hours, or venturing to those much required Dr. visits that ask me to expose more of myself than I'm comfortable with, or having quiet time without the theme song of "Signing Time" playing over and over and over again. Although I will admit to shedding a tear or two as my little boys ride off on that big yellow bus the first day of school, I love to have my children out of the home for a little bit of time. It helps me rejuvenate and be glad to see them upon their return. Sam will be starting pre-school and I couldn't be happier. She is so ready to be involved in the structure and the activities and the social connections that come with school. She is my baby, but I'm ready to cut the apron strings and see her walk away from my arms into that great big world. I love seeing my kids grow-up.

Ok so I'm sure you noticed that this blog has no new paragraphs in it. How do I make that work? I will write and write and write so many wonderful ramblings and use all the proper grammar and paragraph formations and then post it only to have all my hard work undone and an image of me not knowing anything about proper paragraph placement. It just eats away at me in my sleep. So I plead with those more blogger-savvy than myself, save a suffering victim of unknown paragraph spacing!

My Personal Worst

There are a few movies that are the all time worst movies I will reluctantly admit to spending 90-120 minutes watching.

• Beowulf- this one takes the cake. It was boring, awful, and bordering on obscene. Obviously this was not my pick. I felt like I had wasted my precious time on this one.
  
• The Gods Must Be Crazy- I will concede that this has the potential to be humorous. However, when you are a 14-year-old girl, it has no humor whatsoever!
• Men in Tights- I have never walked out of a movie. I should have on this one. I think I left that theater with a few dead brain cells.
• Dodgeball- This one was soooooo stupid it did actually get me to laugh......... in only one part.

So bring it on, ladies. Let's hear what is the all time worst movie you've wasted your time and money on.

Calling All Shortcuts!

I was recently called into YW and am trying to get my projects done for the medallion. I have made a goal/resolution to prepare our family's 72-hour kits in their entirety. Hence, I would like all your "Know how's" and insider tips to accomplishing this. Anything you have tried, anything you've heard through the grapevine would be greatly appreciated.

Time Goes By

I have been so busy lurking on some of your blogs that I have neglected mine own. So, here's what's been happening as time goes by.



Our 4th was quaint and quiet. We ventured to WALL-E for the first show of the day which was PACKED to the gills. But it was nice anyway. Sam has a habit of climbing up on my lap and falling asleep. I'm tired of paying for a seat for her.......We had Chris' parents here for a BBQ and then watched the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. How cheap are we? We didn't even purchase any fireworks this year. Shame Shame




This last week, I was set to attend Youth Conference for Thurs and Fri. Chris canceled his patients to stay home with the kids. Well, no one from our youth went. Why go and get sucked into cooking for 100's of kids when we could go on a little vaca with the family. So we made reservations for Cherry Hill and ventured north. It was lots of fun. We spent time in the water park and playing mini golf in between quick trips to the store for things we forgot to pack. It was actually comical what we forgot: pillows, dutch oven, spatula for flipping pancakes....I don't know if we spent more money on things to replace what we had left at home or the actual activities. Tyler is a little fish, Zacory is Mr. No-Adventure. We had to talk him into trying new things. And Samantha gained so much confidence when she realized she could touch the bottom of the "big" pool. We were all sun burned (darn sunscreen) and water logged when Saturday approached.



Saturday, we went to the Eccles Dinosaur Park. It was lots of fun and there were so many activities to participate in. If we lived North of SLC, I would consider a membership there. It was beautiful and held our kid's attention for hours. Of course, we could've spent longer there, but due to our prior exhaustion we didn't stay very long. Our kids were running out of steam and fast. So we came home a little early much to the relief of our precious Sasha. She really did miss us.



Family fun

I didn't know there were quails in the pre-crustacean period?

Chris just being himself, one of the boys.