Another synchro event...

Last weekend, Sidney and I made our way to Tucson for a Synchronized swimming event. I makes for a long day and we weren't even there the entire meet, she only had Saturday events. Anyway, she did her best and got 1st in her duet for her age group and 5th in figures for her age group. Yay!!! She's really enjoying synchro, and getting some confidence by doing this herself. I got video of her, but can't seem to get it to cooperate to download to blogger.

So here's pics of the edge of your seat excitement that goes on at a synchro meet. The swimmers are either in the water or waiting.





Way to go, Sidney!

I've lost my personal chef...

For 3 weeks now, John has been on a special diet program. I'm excited for him, especially since he's lost more than 30 pounds already and he's more than half-way through the program. I was really supportive of him before he started the program because I wanted him to have some success. I didn't foresee any problems with my lifestyle.

I didn't realize how much John helps me when it comes time to cook and clean-up. In fact, we're kind of like a good team. I don't really need to ask him to help because he's anticipating what's next and doing it. I didn't realize that he wasn't going to be there if he chose this program.

John has some food restrictions, as with any diet. And it's difficult for him to help me make food for me and the kids because he has to prepare other food for himself. AArrrggghhh. I lost my kitchen help. I lost my partner in preparation. I lost my personal chef. Sometimes he would completely take over the meal and I would just get to enjoy the yummy goodness. How could I have not thought this through?

Yes, I know that I'm spoiled. And, yes, I have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. And just like anyone else, I have difficultly with change. I'm just glad that he's more than half-way through the program and my cooking cohort will be back by my side in less than 3 short weeks. We might even be making healthier dishes together, what a plus!

In the meantime, I've been replaced by this:



That digital food scale is lucky that I like red!

Making some changes

So, as of late, I've been doing more than my fair share of complaining. What do I have to complain about? Oh, we don't need to go into that. It's sad, really.

Anywho, I decided that the best way to get out of this funk is to be more grateful for the things that I do have, and to be honest...I'm spoiled. I was thinking first off that I have some great friends. Friends that I've had since grade school, since high school, since college and many since I've been married. I have friends that live all over, some on the opposite side of the country and some that live right around the corner. I have friends that I get to share my fears with and others that just make my laugh until I cry. Best of all, I got to marry my best friend. Lucky me!!

Now, I am not a natural at being grateful and thankful. I rarely send thank you notes, and I'm always the second or last to thank someone in person and usually only because someone else beat me to the punch. I don't know why I'm such an airhead in this area. But I want to get better. So, be patient with me.

I want to thank a particular set of friends. I feel like sometimes I am the one that drains them and needs them more than they need me, but thank heavens they still stick around. They are always giving us stuff too. And just because.



I hope you can see this beautiful glass paperweight. I don't know how they get a laser to engrave it, but it's amazing. Our friends gave it to us after they came back from Hawaii. And they gave something to each of my kids too. I know I said thank you, but it doesn't seem enough. I am so grateful that I have this sitting on my nice side table so that when I walk by it I can remember that we're important to someone. And that means a lot!

So, if you're reading this, than you're probably a friend. If you're a stalker, than I'm kinda flattered (because I'm not really that interesting to be stalked).

I thank you. We could be just acquaintances or have known each other for many years. I thank you! I feel blessed to know you and to be your friend. And most important, I hope that we get to continue to be friends!

Here's some recent captures with friends:












You guys are awesome, so again, Thank You!!!

A birthday, a watershow, a book signing...

Last Saturday was filled with great events, all surrounding my beautiful daughter, Sidney. First of all it was her birthday, she has officially reached tweenhood by turning 11 years old.



She was treated to dinner the night before. She chose Korean food, much to her dad's pleasure. We gorged ourselves while the servers looked on, amazed that an American family could put down so much Korean food. (This restaurant does not cater to Americans looking for dumbed down Korean food, this is pretty authentic stuff. Oh, and it's so yummy!) Grandma came along for the feast, as well.



Anyway, Sidney got some great things for her birthday. One of which was a chair for her room, from Grandma, lime green, of course, since it matches her room and it's her favorite color at the moment.



She had to spend most of the day either practicing for her synchronized swimming watershow, or performing at it. She has to put her hair up and then I have to put Knox gelatin in it to make it stay in place when she gets in and out of the water. It really is quite noticable when you're in public. (This comes into play later in the day.)



The watershow was awesome. All the teams seemed to do their best routines ever. There was even a routine where the dads swam with their daughters. The dads were awful at synchronized swimming, but the performance was great.

So, after the watershow was over. I took Sidney and a nephew and niece to the nearby Barnes and Noble bookstore for a book signing. The author, Brandon Mull, who writes the series, Fablehaven. This is the 5th and final installment in the series. I find it a great read and it's meant for young readers. Very creative, mythical, and clean.



Anyway, we waited for two and a half hours at the bookstore. Fortunately they had some activities for the kids to do like puzzle games, making bracelets, and face-painting. Finally, they called our letter for us to stand in line to actually get the book signed. When we got to the author, he almost immediately noticed Sidney's hair since it was still "knoxed" from her watershow. Mr. Mull was so taken with the oddness of her hair, that he became almost speechless. I told him he could touch her hair to feel the texture of it, and he did. We told him that she was wearing her hair that way because of her synchronized swimming show earlier that day, and then he began to ask her a few questions about that. She asked him if he would personalized her book by signing "Happy Birthday, Sidney" so she would always remember that she had the book signed on her birhday. He obliged with that as well. It was a cool experience and one that maybe even the author might remember. In fact, Sidney said later that if he creates a character in a later book that has something in their hair that might resemble the knox gelatin that she had in hers, that she probably inspired him to write about it. I only hope that he really does write about it...that would be awesome. I would have taken a picture at the signing but John had the camera and he didn't come with us.

What a full day! Sidney said she had a great birthday, and I didn't have to throw a party! She's not hard to please. I sure do like this sweet girl. I love talking with her and sharing ideas and spending time with her. Does she have to get older?

April Fool's days gone by

I like April Fool's Day. My sister's birthday is on April Fool's Day. I like a good practical joke, too. Those two put together make for a ripe opportunity to have some fun.

My husband and I were recently reminiscing of the good 'ol college days when we used to pull practical jokes on friends and roommates. So, with it being April Fool's, I though I would share the joke we played on John's roommate a long time ago in a college town, far, far away.

John and I like to tease other people as well as each other and so when we came up with an idea together to pull on his roommates, it seemed to just fall right into place. We had gotten officially engaged the day before...literally, the day before. Obviously, we were a little smoochy, but not to the point of making others sick...or were we?

Anyway, I had some time in between classes and headed to his apartment (in Provo, by the way) to spend some time together. I was talking with him how it was April Fool's Day and I hadn't thought of anything good to do as a joke. After a minute or two we had a scheme worked out. We only had a little bit of time, but I ran back to my apartment and got a set of extra clothes and proceeded to drop them on the floor, the couch, and the doorknob to John's room (that's where I hung the bra). We left the door to his room open only enough to barely see in, and when you looked you could see his bed where we put a body pillow under the covers and a blonde wig (John had blonder hair back then, and more hair)at the head of the bed. We left the radio on in his room playing some light music. Then, at that point we both had to leave to go to class.

Not real funny yet, I know.

John had a roommate named Jon. He was a very nice guy, a good guy, a guy that would never do wrong things, type of guy. Anyway, while we were at class, Jon came home and saw the clothes and followed the trail to John's room, peeked in, and probably gasped. (I'm trying to recall how he told the story back to us, but keep in mind this was 16 years ago. I might have to take some liberties, as well, to make the story more interesting.) Either at the same time he arrived home or shortly after, his girlfriend arrived. He hid the clothes so she would not see them. He became so distraught at the thought of what we were "doing" in John's room, so he asked his girlfriend if she would pray with him. They prayed and yet we "stayed" in the bedroom, quietly of course. He got out his guitar and started playing, probably in the hopes that we would hear and "refrain" from our activities. He said he played for about 15 minutes and then told his girlfriend how sad he was at our choices.

Are ya laughing yet?

Only a short time later, John and I walked in the front door (fully clothed) and his roommate looked shocked, to say the least. He got all tongue-tied while he pointed toward the bedrooms and then breathed a huge sigh of relief that we were standing in front of him instead of "doing" something else. He said he didn't dare open the door to the bedroom any more because he didn't want to embarass anyone. He was relieved and yet perturbed at the same time.

I love how remembering that event still makes me chuckle today. Now, you got any good practical jokes? Share.