There is...

...one more dental cleaning

...one more Halloween

...one more Thanksgiving

...one more Christmas

...one more New Year

...one more General Conference

...one more Mother's Day

until this boy comes home!

And there are no more...

Father's Days

summers 

or 4ths of July.

I'm just saying. 

Me waiting for Nicky to come home so I can embarrass him

Sunday Sentiments: Saturday Edition

There's a contradiction I experience a lot as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It comes between Message A): "You are doing great. Work at your own pace. The Lord will meet you where you are, etc..." and Message B): "Do better NOW. Be better NOW. Here are 50 ways you don't quite measure up..." Frankly, it stresses me out, and I wonder why we are given Message A and Message B simultaneously (hello, General Conference!) Am I supposed to keep doing what I'm doing, or do I need to assess everything I do and rise up to high expectations that I feel are beyond my current abilities? It's overwhelming, and sometimes it makes me feel like I'll never be good enough. 

There's a lot of commentary about this especially in regards to its affect on mental health. A while ago, I decided to take it to the Lord and ask for better understanding on my part. I asked for help discerning these messages and knowing how to apply them in my life without getting overwhelmed or upset by them, and I received an impression that I want to always remember: 

Each talk, each plea, and each message that comes from a Church leader who is influenced by the Spirit has the potential to invoke change in someone for the better. Maybe that talk on family history (or whatever topic it be) that completely burdened me and made me feel like I'll never be able to "do it all" is the very talk, that upon reaching the ears of ten struggling individuals, changed their lives forever! Or maybe those words were exactly what ONE person needed. Shouldn't it, then, be spoken? Even if it's not the "perfect" message for me? Would I expect a Church leader to not say something that can change or influence someone else just because I'm not in the right place to hear it?

Therefore, we receive all kinds of messages, all kinds of influence, all kinds of words and encouragement in different areas from our Church leaders because we are all changed and influenced in different ways. The message I struggle to hear might be the very message that penetrated the heart of another. And maybe that person will follow that counsel and do that thing that I find hard, and they'll be all the better for it. Perhaps the message I struggle with is the message that brings someone else to Christ, and when I acknowledge that, I have more mercy in regards to the messages that feel harsh to me personally. 

Several years ago I started recognizing the difference between inspiration and guilt. Now, maybe "guilt" isn't the right word choice, but over the years, I haven't come up with something better, so let me explain what I mean. In some aspects, "guilt" is considered a positive thing because it can move people toward change (namely, repentance). But in the context I am using, "guilt" is a feeling of needing to "be as good as" someone else says we should or to "live up to" a standard that we're not quite ready to achieve. There may even be an edge of competitiveness involved. I confess, there have been times where I've chosen another person by which to measure myself. Someone to be better than. This guilt feels heavy and doesn't necessarily stem from the right place. I have learned that if I act on "guilt," my motives are not pure, and I don't really succeed. If I respond to inspiration, however, I have great results. When I feel inspired, I am ready to take action, and the results are usually far more impactful and long-lasting. Inspiration feels light and comes with a special kind of energy. It's also accompanied with increased love for others. Since making this realization, I've often paused and asked myself, "Am I acting out of guilt or inspiration?" 

Now let me clarify one thing. I am not suggesting that the deliverer of the message is to credit for my feeling guilt. Whether I feel guilt or inspiration stems from me and where my heart is. Yes, there are leaders who err in what they say, but my relationship with the Spirit is the tool by which I can discern that, and for the most part, I believe our Church leaders' primary intention is to buoy us up and bring us closer to the Savior. 

Rather than being critical of messages that make me feel "guilty," I try to just set them aside for a time (revisiting them later might bring about a completely different result) and focus on the messages that I find immediately inspiring. This has been an important lesson for me personally because it has helped me to Hear Him more effectively. It has also helped me to do more preparation to receive messages from my Church leaders so that I can feel more inspired and less guilty. 

Currently (October 2026 Edition)

Reading:

Wearing: jeans and a thrifted tee.

Buying: new counter tops! I’m not sure when the installation will be, but it’s all in the works. We haven’t really done a lot of upgrades to our home in the 22 years we’ve lived here. Let me tell you… choosing countertops is so scary! 

Hoping: that I like what I chose!

Realizing: that when Nicky comes home from his mission, my role in his life will be completely different.

Loving: cool mornings. Now give me cool days to go along with them so I don’t have to do a mid morning wardrobe change. 

Watching: lots of shows that I’ve already watched. I’ve been in a phase of “rewatching” lately.

Wondering: how I’m going to face Christmas so soon when I haven’t recovered from the last one.

Laughing about: falling up the stair at a hotel the other day while trying to be a packing goat and carry everything in from the car in one trip (the hotel didn’t have a luggage cart or an elevator).

Feeling: bloated. Not gonna lie.

Listening to: 

Eating: lots of fruits and veggies as I am trying to eat 30 grams of fiber a day (hence the bloating). 

Singing: “High Hopes” by Panic at the Disco

Annoyed by: (sigh) so many things. I am a broken, impatient person, and I don’t know how to change. 

Procrastinating: calling my neurologist so I can go over some pain management options for my neuropathy. I can’t remember his name or where I went for my EMG, so I need to look it up. 

Playing: Ark Nova, but it’s making me angry because the AI players have gotten out of hand and dominate every time.

Suffering from: dry eyes. My eyes have been swollen and watery for the past few days, and when they get this way, it’s just miserable. They feel like sunscreen has run into them. 

(I don’t know why “dry eyes” is a condition with “watery” eyes, but I didn’t choose the terminology!)

Cooking: nothing. We’re having a “clean out the fridge” kind of week.

Missing: making ice cream cones at Winder Dairy. Sometimes I just want the satisfaction of creating the perfect swirl. Let me tell you, though, we had so many problems with our ice cream machine! Sometimes the ice cream wasn’t a good batch - it would be icy or it wouldn’t set up right. A lot of the time we couldn’t keep up with the customers, and the ice cream wouldn’t be ready. But when it was “right” it was beautiful!

Craving: McDonald’s breakfast, but I have a ripe avocado, so avocado toast it is (which I also love, but no one hands me avocado toast through a window as I drive off into the sunrise).

Grateful for: good people in my life.

Forgotten

September Writing Challenge:

Forgotten

I started blogging in 2005! Isn’t that crazy? Twenty-one years! 

I’ve always been a “documenter.” Growing up, I wrote in a journal regularly. I still have a personal journal (digital now), but due to blogging and social media, I don’t write in it often. I’ve changed my methods, but I still document my life. 

Sometimes I feel silly for having a blog, but then I go back and read old posts, and I am so grateful I’ve written things down. It didn’t have to be a blog - there are so many great ways to keep records - but for me, it has been a blog. 

Another way I “document” is through photo books. Every year for Christmas I give each of my kids a photo book of their year (it goes from Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving due to Black Friday deals on photo books). Last year for Christmas I sent Nicky’s to Puerto Rico. It was the fattest one I’d ever made, and it only covered the first half of the year. I only did up to him leaving on his mission (June 2025), and I plan to do a photo book of his mission after he comes home, but the book was still huge because he lived it up his senior year! He loves it so much and calls it his “trunky book.” One of his mission companions took it away from him once. 

(“Trunky” is basically homesick). 

The point I’m getting to is that I’m really grateful for all the “documentation” I have of life’s events because I’ve forgotten so much! Zoe was looking at one of her photo books once, and she asked, “Mom, did I used to be deaf?” I didn’t know where she came up with that idea, and then she showed me her photo book where I had written about how she didn’t pass her hearing test at the audiologist after she got her tubes. I have no memory of that! (And because I didn’t “document” anything afterward, I don’t know what happened with her hearing! But I know she’s not deaf, so I guess everything turned out fine).*

I always look back at blog posts, photos, and social media posts and love the memories. So as silly as I feel to write on a blog or share something on Instagram, I’m

grateful a source of memory keeping! 

——-

With that, another September has come and gone! I’m sad I missed some prompts, but it’s been fun anyway. 

———

* I’m now questioning whether I need to have Zoe’s hearing checked. Did I forget that she had hearing problems? Was I supposed to follow up on this?

. 

The Chaperone Strikes Back

September Writing Challenge:

Opportunity

I’ve been to more high school dances as a parent than I ever went to as a teenager. Last weekend Scotty and I had the “opportunity” to chaperone our school’s homecoming dance (an “opportunity” I’ve had a few times in my old age). Here are some of my thoughts and observations after partaking of this wonderful experience:

A lot of the songs the kids get excited about are from the early 2000’s - in other words, my era. I laugh because they think they own those songs, and they give no acknowledgement to the fact that their parents listened to the same music when we were their age. 

They sing and shout weird things I don’t understand.

Most of the kids walked into the dance, down the stairs, and straight out into the courtyard (outside of the dance). Then they would come running inside when they'd hear one of "their songs."

School dances (at least where we live) are more like clubbing than dances of yesteryear. All of the songs run together, and there are no slow songs. 

We watched a group of girls sit at a picnic table and take selfies all night. They did nothing at the dance except try to take pictures that made it look like they did something.

I am an old lady of fragile hearing.

Ibuprofen is a must for chaperoning school dances.

This dance was so dark! You couldn't see a thing! I think they needed to turn more lights on. Reasons:

1. So the clothes can be somewhat seen (what a waste of a cute homecoming dress!)

2. Kids kept tripping on the stairs

3. Photos

4. So the kids can find their friends

5. Safety all around 

There is no point in decorating. The decorations were destroyed within 15 minutes (partially because it was so dark that the kids kept falling down the stairs and taking the decorations with them).

Two hours is plenty! Now everybody go home!

- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 2

—————

It would probably be suitable to post a picture of Daisy in her dress or with her date, but I didn’t take any photos! Mom fail! I’m relying on another mom to hook me up. 

As recompense, here is a photo of Scotty and me at prom in 2000 (I was a sophomore, and he was already graduated - the scandal!)

----------

Other posts I’ve written about school dances:

An Incomplete List of Awkward Situations (special high school dance chaperoning edition)

Prom Things

Sometimes

September Writing Challenge;

Sometimes

Sometimes I feel like I'm the meanest person on earth. 

Sometimes I wrestle with the way I think and feel about others. 

Sometimes I want to say really awful things.

Sometimes I feel like a fraud in my testimony. 

Sometimes I want to pull my kids out of school and do a cross country motor home trip while they homeschool.

Sometimes I want to move my family to an isolated commune.

Sometimes I want to throw away everything we own and start over. 

Sometimes I want to spontaneously spend a few thousand dollars just to see what it’s like.

Sometimes I feel really ugly. 

Sometimes I want to completely give up on parenting and let my kids do whatever the hell they want and turn out however the hell they’re gonna.

Sometimes I want to steal stuff just to see if I’m good at it.

Sometimes I want to hibernate for three months.

Sometimes I want to say the F word.

Sometimes I want to throw tomatoes and enjoy the splat.

Sometimes I want to push my husband out of bed with my feet.

Sometimes I want to take a year off from family events.

Sometimes I post really weird lists on the internet.

Victory

September Writing Challenge - Prompt 28:

Winning

Every September when I do this writing challenge I start off with a stock pile of posts. I always have some written and ready to go before September even starts. Then, at some point, it catches up to me. That happened a few days ago, so now I’ve slowed down. This is just how it goes.

It’s crazy to me that September is almost over! It flew by. 

I’m going through a bit of a negative patch right now. I carry a lot of anger, and sometimes it gets the best of me. I don’t know what to do with it. When I feel this way, blogging isn’t the best way to release my thoughts. I have several drafted posts that make me sound like a miserable human being. That’s not what I intend to sound like (I hope I’m not a miserable human being, but maybe I am!)

So today, let me make a positive impression and tell you a few ways I am winning in this moment:

I have eaten 30 grams of fiber a day for the past five days (WIN!)

My favorite pants are clean - I just need to find them (WIN!)

Tomorrow might be cool enough for me to actually wear pants and only sweat a little bit instead of a lot (WIN!)

I read the Relief Society lesson for today (and then subbed in nursery) (WIN!)

Oh! And I went to church even though I really didn’t want to (WIN!)

I did tons of food prep this morning that should make it easy to eat fruits and veggies this week (WIN!)

I packed awesome lunches for my girls for tomorrow (WIN!)

We are getting new counter tops (WIN!) 

I am loving our new fridge (WIN!)

(Please note that making decisions like what fridge to buy and what kind of countertops to get is extremely intimidating, so the fact that I have chosen these things is a big deal). 

I decorated for Halloween, but first I went through all of my decorations and got rid of everything that doesn’t spark joy or that I don’t have a place to put (WIN!)

I put a new loofah in the shower (WIN!)

I cut Scotty’s hair over the weekend (WIN!)

I didn’t eat breakfast from McDonald’s at all last week (I didn’t even use my weekly $2 breakfast sandwich!) (WIN?)

I finished a couple of books last week and updated my holds in the Libby app (WIN!)

I topped off my gas tank, and the gas light wasn’t even on (WIN!)

Am I angry? Yes. But am I winning? Also yes.

(No obligatory photo today. I’m not winning at that). 

A Tisket, A Tasket

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #10:

Basket

I have no idea where I came up with the idea to put "basket" on my list of writing prompts, but I did it! Now that I'm pondering on what the heck I'm supposed to write about baskets, I'm realizing two things:

Thing 1: I have a lot of baskets. 

Thing 2: I do appreciate a good basket. 

Here's how baskets are serving me in life:

Place mats

I have a round basket with place mats in it on my kitchen table. Our table gets burn marks easily from hot food on plates, so I got some place mats to prevent more damage.

Shoes

We have a shoe basket by our backdoor because we absolutely stink at putting our shoes away.

Blankets

There's a basket of blankets in the family room for TV watching. 

Gifts

I have a basket of gift items in the storage room so if my kids get invited to a last minute birthday party or if I find a good deal on gift that I want to put away for holidays, they have somewhere to go. 

Socks

This might be the one that makes you think I'm weird, but we have four females in this house, and we can't keep our socks straight. I got so sick of keeping track of everyone's socks that I decided we'd just share. All the girl socks go into one big basket under my vanity in my bedroom. 

I've tried putting initials on them (they fade), I've tried buying everyone their own "type" of sock (I can't keep track of who has which kind), and I (still) make them do their own laundry, which would lead you to believe that their socks stay in their own loads of laundry, but it doesn't happen! Everyone's socks end up all mixed up still, so I just throw all of them in the sock basket. I buy us all the same kind of socks, and we share. 

Books

I have a basket on the bookshelf specifically for library books and books that we are currently reading so they are easy to find.

Products

There's a basket on my vanity with hair stuff, lotion, and other toiletries.

Snacks

We have two designated "snack" baskets - one in the pantry and one in the storage room. Anything in the snack baskets is up for grabs if you're hungry or packing a lunch. 

-----

I also have baskets under sinks, baskets in my van, and baskets in all my cupboards. The one thing I don't have baskets for... laundry. I don't use traditional laundry baskets! I use collapsible canvas hampers.  

But I still call them "baskets."

Somebody

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #30:

Somebody 

Somebody got roses from her best friend on her birthday and is letting them die on my kitchen table. 

It was Daisy

Somebody left their lobster flops on the kitchen floor. 

It was Zoe

Somebody made cute flower cupcakes last night. 

It was Zoe

Somebody made banana muffins and pumpkin muffins today (and now there are a lot of dirty muffin tins in the house). 

It was me

Somebody likes to eat Ruffles chips dipped in Chick-Fil-A sauce.

It's Eva

Somebody found Ben & Jerry's marked down for $1.80 at Smith's this morning.

It was me

Sunday Sentiments - Where I Live

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #26:

Recycle

I've been hearing a lot of really mean comments about where I live lately, so I thought it was time to recycle this post from six years ago.

----------

I've lived within the same five mile radius my whole life. Sometimes I've had a Magna address, and sometimes I've had a West Valley address, but I haven't gone far. The same can be said for Scotty. 

West Valley doesn't have the greatest reputation. People who live outside of West Valley think very poorly of our city. My nephew who lives in another county once asked Nicky, "Aren't you afraid of being shot where you live?" Just last week my brother-in-law and another nephew called our city trash. Another family member insulted our schools, and yet another family member made a joke about the crime in our area. My sister-in-law told me she doesn't feel safe walking down the street here. My niece often tells my daughter how much safer her city is than ours. People make crude and racist comments about the diversity here (our demographic is less than 45% Caucasian as of 2018). It goes on and on. 

A lot of people have a goal to get out of West Valley and live somewhere "better." Sometimes I, too, wonder if there is somewhere "better" I could live. But when I think about what would be "better," I draw a blank. What really makes a place "better?" Different places just have different problems, and some are masked better than others. A friend of mine often jokes, "We could move to [insert more affluent city], but the drugs are just more expensive there."

For the time being, we feel like we are where we belong, and when we start wondering if we should  live somewhere else, I always get a reassurance that we are right where we are supposed to be. Maybe one day, we will receive an assignment through work or church that takes us elsewhere, or maybe we will be given a strong push from the Spirit that it’s time to move, but right now, and for the foreseeable future, there is nowhere "better" for us than in our current home in West Valley. 

Collectively, one of our favorite features of our city is the red and white water tower. As a child I was always captivated by it. I could see it from my house, and I remember going out on my deck from time to time to look at it. 

The water tower has always been a symbol of home. You can see it from an airplane or the east mountains and know where where you are. The tower is a beacon by which we West Valley residents can orient ourselves.

At the beginning of 2020, Sister Sharon Eubank came spoke at a tri-stake fireside in our area. Sister Eubank grew up in West Valley, less than a mile from where I live.

She had such wonderful things to say about our city, which was a refreshing change from the usual rhetoric. She made me feel so good about living here, and she even brought a picture of the red and white tower. She told us how her father, Mark Eubank, a well-known meteorologist in Utah, used to take the family and park near the tower when it rained so they could hear the sound of the rain hitting the tower. She then spoke about water and living water. She shared some experiences of bringing water to communities through her work with LDS Charities and how water has the ability to change lives. She urged us to look at the red and white tower as a symbol for Christ - the living water. I loved her message. Not only did she make us all feel like her best friends, she took something from our city and made it more meaningful to us. The tower has always been special and nostalgic to me, but Sister Eubank's talk made it even better. 

So maybe West Valley isn't everyone else's ideal place to live, but it's where I live, and I have full access to living water here as much as I would anywhere else. 

Living My Best Van Life

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #13:

In My Car

I’ve been a van driver for about 13 years now. I’m on my third one. I love my van! I have always loved vans! As a child, I couldn’t have told you what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew I wanted a van. 

We got our first van when Zoe was about five months old. Having three kids side by side in car seats on a single row is possible but not ideal, especially when a jealous sibling likes to cover the baby’s mouth and nose with her hand while you drive. Thus, we made the upgrade to a van. The first thing I immediately loved about our van was the sliding doors. No more parking lot door dings! Glory hallelujah! 

I love being able to fit extra kids. I love being able to haul lots of things. I love that I can store items in the floor. I love the trunk space. I love that the seats can fold down. I love being able to strap things to my roof. I love that I can push buttons, and the doors will open. 

Having a van is amazing, and no one can convince me otherwise. 

Maybe I’ll drive something else after my kids are all out of the house (vintage Bronco, please), but for now, I’m all about the van! 

As far as what’s in my van - well, only the most amazing stash of anything you may need (Scissors? Yes. Makeup? Yes. Soduku book? Yes. Tweezers? Double yes). But also, my dash board friends:

Steve, Eleven, Dustin, and Marty McFly

My Day Off

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #35:

Day Off

I work part-time, and yesterday was my day off. Since returning to work, I have learned to appreciate a day off and use it to the best of my ability. That doesn’t mean every day off is productive, but many of them are. I’ve also been known to schedule in some “me” activities such as hair appointments and lunches with friends. I usually keep a running list of things I need to get done on my days off, too. 

Here’s how I spent my day off yesterday:

I slept in until 6:45. Then I got up and made French toast sticks for my girls for breakfast in the air fryer. I dropped Zoe and Eva off at school, and then I snuck to McDonald’s to use my two dollar breakfast sandwich reward for the week.

I came home for an hour and tidied up the kitchen and updated our budget. Then I went and met my friend to go walking for about an hour. We shared the woes of aging and raising teenagers.

 Morning text from Daisy

From there, I went directly to Sam’s Club, where I suffered an unfortunate chafing situation as a result of walking, sweating, and staying in the same clothes. I picked up my neuropathy prescription and spent a large sum of money. Not on the prescription. That was actually cheap ($1.52). 

I had enough rewards in the Chick-fil-A app to get some free lunch, so I hit the drive thru. The drink was terrible, so on my way home I stopped at McDonald’s for a better drink! Hopefully nobody is keeping track of my eating out habits.

I ate my fries in the parking lot because I wanted them hot, but I was OK taking my chicken sandwich home to eat later. 

I took a shower and then played a round of ArkNova in my bathrobe. Then I set my alarm clock and let myself take a 20 minute nap with my hair wrapped in a towel.

When I woke up, I tried on some new clothes I bought from Sam’s Club, then I blow dried and styled my hair and got dressed. This was around 2:00 PM, and I didn’t really have any reason to do my hair and get ready, but I bought new hair products earlier in the week and I wanted to give them a try.

At 2:40 I headed over to the junior high to pick up my girls. They wanted to stop by my mom‘s house to steal drinks from her fridge, so I took them over there and they raided her stash. Then we came home and I discovered that my hair had already gone flat! I was not happy about that. Darn you, Paul Mitchell!

I facilitated afternoon chores and headed out to the garden to dig up some veggies. I was making a 9x13 tinfoil dinner, so I dug up some potatoes, carrots, and onions. Then I came inside and got dinner prepped. Every time I make a tinfoil dinner the veggies never get done, so I started it in what I thought was plenty of time so the veggies would be tender before Eva went to dance class. Two hours later, the veggies were still quite crisp, and I ended up having to feed Eva some leftovers from a few nights ago. I left the dinner cooking, and took Eva to dance class thinking dinner would finally be ready by the time I got back home. It was not. We ended up eating slightly hard veggies, and then I put the rest back in the oven to cook even longer. 

While Eva was at dance class, Daisy and Zoe went to their young women activity at the church. I cleaned up dinner and packed lunches. I also took out a little bit of garbage for garbage day. I tidied up a few things around the house and proofread an essay for Daisy. I snuck in a few minutes of TV and another round of ArkNova as well as a few rounds of Crossplay. 

I also lifted weights, put away some stuff I bought from Sam’s Club, and cleaned a few things up in the bathroom. 

I put my clothes out for the next day, got all the children in bed, and wrote this blog post. 

Where was Scotty while all of this was happening? In Vietnam. So my day off was much needed.

Waiting For Me

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #12:

On My Nightstand

In addition to:

My CPAP machine

A frog bank

A bottle of water

My CPAP scrunchie (I have to put my hair up to wear my mask)

Four bottles of lotion

The remote control

A projection alarm clock that Amber and I insisted on having

A lamp

and a caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper (which I occasionally find at Smith’s, should you be curious)

I have two very important things waiting for me…

Made by Zoe

Because sometimes at 9:06 pm, you need two cookies and a big dose of TV. 

Let It Be Known

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #8:

Let It Be Known

Let it be known... that I’m starting to get old and loud. Daisy always tells me how loud I am when I say something embarrassing. This wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I swear I’m speaking discreetly!

Let it be known... that I found out recently that I’m older than the Vice President of the USA. 

(My friend Julie says wait until you’re older than an apostle! That doesn’t really happen, does it?)

Let it be known... that the other day I went up to my room and found this:

Courtesy of Eva

Eva had to write a letter to the president in school last year, and he sent back a (mass produced) response and a photo of himself. 

Yes, this is the photo that he chooses to send the children. 

Let it be known... that social media is now full-on mocking the neutral colors (primarily gray) home trend of the 2010's. As I get older, I'm getting more and more annoyed by the existence of trends. I wish we all did what we truly liked. How interesting would it be if we stripped away popularity and fads and everyone dressed/decorated/ate how they really wanted to? 

The thing is, I loved the neutral trend! I could change color schemes so easy with pillows, a rug, or shelf decor without changing the entire room. If I was loving green for a season, I could add green! If I was loving pink, I could add pink! All of my holiday decor worked. Fall had orange accents. Christmas had red accents. And I never had to try and make it work with a blue wall or green carpet. 

Why are we mocking it? It was genius!

Let it be known... that if zombies were real I would just be one. I watch all these folks on TV working so hard to not become zombies, and I'm like why? Just bite me. I'm too lazy to stay human. Becoming a zombie would eliminate all levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and I could just hunt, kill, and infect the remaining humans to make their lives as easy as mine. 

Let it be known... that corn on the cob should be eaten with the tiny end to the left, moving from left to right like you're reading a book. 

Also let it be known that corn on the cob is one of the best things to eat on this earth (but I have opinions about the kind of corn and when it should be picked - very young, sweet corn is my preference). 

Let it be known... that I've decided instead of saying something specific about a person, my way of indicating that I am not a fan will be to declare, "I would not be willing to write their obituary." 

Let it be known... that Daisy turned 17 yesterday. 

Say What?

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #16:

Words

Sometimes I get so annoyed with modern-day vernacular. When I listen to my kids talk, I can't help but wonder if I used to sound like that to my parents. The first words I remember hearing out of my kids' mouths that made me go, "What the heck is happening here?" were things like “cray,” "sus," "gyatt," and "cringe."

I didn't think "gyatt" was a real thing. When Daisy threw that out one day at twelve years old, I responded with, "What are you even saying? That's not a word!" I thought someone at school just made it up and convinced her to say it.

Now it's "buns" this, "peak" that," and "lowkey" everything. It's amazing how unintelligent it all sounds to my elderly ears, but I have to acknowledge all the things that sound normal to me that were actually slang from my growing years. Here are some words and phrases that I thought of that have become popular/common during my lifetime. Some are no longer used but others are still going strong:

The naughty words: pissed, sucks, and blows. 

The filler words: totally, honestly, legit, literally, and like. 

Examples: "I totally/honestly/legit/literally got lost in the mall. Like, I'm not even kidding!"

Nowadays this is where the kids say "low key." See? "I low-key got lost in the mall. I'm low-key not even kidding!"

Words that have changed meaning: gay, queer, bad, and sick.

I used to go around in elementary school calling people queer. To me, it meant peculiar. When people started telling me otherwise, I tried to single-handedly prevent the word from adapting. It turns out, I have no such power (though I still try to this day to control what words mean). 

Just the other day, it dawned on me that if I were to mention "having beef" with someone in front of my grandparents, they would probably think I was going to Burger King with a friend. 

Exclamatory phrases: "My bad!" "Oh, snap!" 

Remember "booyah, “as if,” and "moded?" (may they rest in peace). 

And let us not forget how many of us ran around saying "Cowabunga!" and "Eat my shorts!"

-------

Someday my kids will have to listen to their kids' weird words and that'll low key be da bomb. Fo shizzle. 

Sunday Sentiments - Updates From PR

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #31:

On a Mission

Fourteen months down. Ten to go.

The Bad Bunny gas station

Nicky left Antigua and returned to Puerto Rico in June. He's been serving as a zone leader for a few transfers. He's currently training for the first time. He was recently whitewashed into a new area, and it has been a bit rough. 

A new mission president arrived in July. He has an entirely different personality and approach than the previous one (the old one was definitely not my style of leader).

Nicky and his companion got hammocks and have a nice set up in the carport of their house where they hang out and study. 

They live close to a Sam's Club, and that's a nice place to be for hungry missionaries! (I miss cooking for this kid so much!)

Trainer and trainee

They had a drought in San Juan last month and were at risk for losing access to water, but everything worked out okay. They were prepared just in case. It has been raining more lately. 

Stocking up on water

Nicky gets caught in the rain a lot. It was actually pretty surprising to hear that they were having a drought because it seems to rain every day there. 

Caught in the rain on p-day

Puerto Rico continues to be an awesome place to serve because it has a foreign feel, but it still has a lot of the comforts of the continental United States. You can eat locally grown avocados and rice and beans one minute and a Sam's Club hot dog the next! Nicky has been to Texas Roadhouse (which he says is pretty close to the same) and Sizzler (which he says is not the same). Their McDonald's menu is a little different but still has a lot of the same stuff. They have some of the fast food chains we have here with slight changes. 

Puerto Rican food

They have beaches, rainforest, and city. There are a lot of places to explore on p-day, and Nicky loves that!

He is always finding animals and meeting the most interesting people. He also finds a lot of license plates and has quite the collection to bring home. 

They have huge freaky crabs there

Random guy that wanted a picture with the missionaries on the beach

There are abandoned cars everywhere

The mission is hard - he tells us so - but he also really loves it. 

I can't believe we are on the downhill side of it! Nicky says it's so weird to be one of the "old" missionaries now. 

Keep Calm and Chaos On

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #32:

Chaos

So far this school year I haven’t been able to get our mornings under control. 

I can’t seem to wake up on time. It’s funny that I went to work at 5 a.m. all summer long with no problem, but I can’t manage to get my tuchus out of bed by 6:30 now that my kids are back in school. 

I have to leave earlier this year to take kids to school because Zoe has dance practice. It’s only 10 minutes difference, but I am always scrambling to get out the door.

Eva is in junior high now and has to be ready at the same time as Zoe, and she is NOT having it. Every morning she has a mega mood swing, and she’s doing the whole anxiety-fueled “my tummy hurts” thing when she goes to bed at night and when she wakes up on school mornings. She can never find her shoes. Someone (never her) is always putting her shoes somewhere, and no, she can’t wear a different pair because (insert absurd reason here).

I am rarely ready for the day when it’s time to leave. I can come back home and finish getting ready before I go to work if I need to, but ideally I will go to work straight from school drop off. 

Almost every day as I pull away from the school, I either need to cry, swear, or eat my emotions. Often all three. 

Every night I make a game plan for the next morning so things will go better, and every morning ends up feeling chaotic.

Wednesday morning, for example, I was cooking runny eggs when I realized I hadn’t seen Eva at all. Daisy went and checked to see if she was up, and she was sound asleep. This was ten minutes before we needed to leave (she had turned her alarm off).

I forced Eva out of bed, and told her to hit the ground running. I told her I would have breakfast ready for her to eat in the car.

I still needed to finish drying and styling my hair. Yup. Ten minutes left.

(Please note that I was asked for McDonald’s no fewer than eight times including while I was cooking).

The eggs stuck to the pan. Somehow in the past six months I’ve lost my ability to cook over easy eggs. I even have a trusty hack that I used for years without fail that no longer works for me! I now have no confidence when cooking eggs. No wonder they want McDonald's! So do I!

I did the best I could to finish getting ready so I could go to the store straight from the school (it was my day off, and I had big plans!) 

I finally got the girls to school, and Eva dropped her water bottle which A) was not closed all the way so half her water spilled out and B) rolled under the van. 

After the girls headed into school, I drove to Smith’s. As I pulled in my parking spot, the sun was in my eyes, and I didn’t see that my spot had a concrete planter in it. I pulled in too far, and CRUNCH! Was I Marco Poloing a friend at the time? Maybe (if I was, it was hands free, I promise). Did I yell shit into the phone? Maybe.

At the store I bought three boxes of a Dip n Dots-style ice cream on markdown. I thought my girls would be so happy! When I got home, I unpacked them all and found that the tops had lifted off some of the containers, and the treats inside had obviously melted and refrozen into giant blobs. Hmmm. Probably why they were so cheap. 

I threw them all away!

I decided to pack my kids’ lunches for the next day to help me feel like some part of my life was under control. I had some Kings Hawaiian rolls that needed to be used up, so I made tiny sandwiches. While the tops were still off, somehow I knocked the cutting board with all seven sandwiches off the counter, and every single piece of bread, cheese, and meat flew out of place and landed on the floor. 

At that point, it was about 10:00 a.m, and I decided the best thing I could do was to sit on the couch and hold still until it was time to meet some friends for lunch. Thank heavens I had the foresight the night before that I would need a lunch date!

Now, after a few days of weekending, I can do it all over again! 

Twenty Five

On September 11, 2001, here's what was going on in my life:

-I was 17 - a senior in high school.

-I was on the dance team.

-My boyfriend (now husband) was one year into serving his mission in South Carolina (interesting fact: he flew to South Carolina on September 11, 2000. The airport procedures were very different then).

-I worked at a donut shop.

On that Tuesday morning, I had dance practice at 6:00. Near the end of practice, somehow we learned of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center (it happened at 6:45 our time). At that point we just thought it was a plane crash. There wasn’t a lot of information yet - it was so fresh. But then the second plane hit right before school started. 

In my first period “foods” class, we sat glued to the TV the entire time. All conversations were abuzz with speculation about what was going on.

My next class was seminary. My teacher, Brother Taylor, was prepared to receive his fearful, questioning students. He met us with words of comfort and love, then he had our class kneel together and pray for the people in the towers, for the firefighters, and for our country. He shared some thoughts about angels who watch over our nation, and then he turned some time over to us to bear our testimonies. 

Throughout the day, numerous students were checked out of school, so I called my mom (I was one of very few students with a cell phone) and asked her if she’d call the school and check me out, too. People left the school without consequence. There was no expectation for a normal day.  

Back then, missionaries weren’t allowed to call home, and they especially weren’t allowed to call their girlfriends. Scotty called that day.

A page from Scotty's mission scrapbook

On September 11, and during the immediate weeks afterward, I felt things I’d never felt before, but I didn’t truly understand what had happened. I didn’t really know what the World Trade Center was or why it would be a target for terrorism. "Terrorist attack" wasn't familiar vernacular to me, and I’d never even heard the phrase “twin towers.” I had no idea how big they really were or how many people came in and out of those buildings everyday. There were so many things my young mind didn’t comprehend about the magnitude of this event. 

A couple of years later - when I was married - I was watching a documentary about 9/11, and I saw footage of people jumping from the towers. I knew people had jumped, but I hadn't seen any of it. As I watched the people fall, I had to sit down. Then after a moment, I had to turn off the TV. To see what I hadn't seen in 2001 gave me pause, and that's when I realized how little I really understood about 9/11 when it happened. 

Now that it's been twenty-five years, what do I write? I have nothing. There's nothing I can say that properly memorializes the nearly 3,000 people who died. There's nothing I can say to make up for my ignorance at the time, and there's nothing I can say to make up for the ignorance I still have. 

There is so much I don't know about conflict between nations. There are so many types of suffering I've never experienced first-hand. September 11, 2001 showed me some of the greatest darknesses humans are capable of. And yet, I was still protected enough and distant enough to not truly have to see. After twenty years, I remain there - partly with gratitude, and partly with guilt. 

On the 25th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, my words fall short. They always will. 

But I do remember. 

A Pretty Weird Year

September Writing Challenge - Prompt # 29:

Outside

We've been slowly retiring our garden boxes for the end of the season. Every week we pull a few plants and cut the water to a section of the garden. Each year we have some successes and some failures. 

Successes this year: 

Cucumbers

Tomatoes (celebrities)

Peppers

Sage

Basil

Potatoes

Onions

Carrots

Summer squash

Zinnias

Marigolds (yellow)

Failures this year:

Corn

Pumpkins

Melons

Cilantro

Marigolds (orange)

Tomatoes (romas)

After four years, we still have a mint problem. I pull it and spray it multiple times each year, and it just keeps coming back. It also pops up thirty feet away! It smells amazing, but I need it to die! We have accidentally been very successful at growing mint. 

This year we redid our strawberry box, so we didn't have a good strawberry crop, but next year we might! I can't really consider this a success or a failure. It's just something that needed to be done. 

The potato bugs continued to be a problem for the entire season. I eventually started using Diatomaceous Earth, and I think it helped, but in order for it to be effective, I probably need to sprinkle it on every-other day, and I only did it about every two weeks. 

Here are some photos of how our garden progressed. Only 3.5 garden boxes fit in the photo from this angle, but we have seven. 

May:

June:

July:

I would have loved to get a photo in August, but I went out there one day, and 75% of the garden was dead! So I said, "Well, I guess you're done. Thanks a lot, pal."

Now we have herbs, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, carrots, and onions remaining. Even though we are bad at growing corn, I usually at least get a few weak cornstalks to decorate with, but they all broke in half in the wind. There are also no pumpkins because they all ripened too early and rotted out before we even made it to September!

It was a pretty weird gardening year, but that seems to be true of every year. What can I say? I'm a pretty weird gardener. 

Things the Kids Say: Episode 42

September Writing Challenge  - Prompt #21:*

And I Quote

Eva: Let’s stop fighting before mom calls us little ‘S’ words.

Zoe: And she will… because we are!

—————

"Where did you get those Sephora plates?"

-Eva, who shouldn’t even know what Sephora is

—————

“Sometimes I do stuff and think ‘Oh no, I’m turning into Dad!’”

-Daisy

—————

Eva: What time is it?

Me: 7:42

Eva: Are you serious? It feels like 8!

—————

“If you ask me anything about baking, like how many quarts are in a jug, I have no idea, but I know that 11 yards is 33 feet.”

-Daisy

---------------

Daisy: Did you know that there's a language where the same word is used for 'father' and 'brother?'

Me: What language is that?

Daisy: I dunno, Bro. Like Roman or Egyptianese or something. 

*Nobody's going to notice that I used this prompt twice, right?

Important... or Not

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #s 18 & 27:*

Important/Not Important

I often express that parenting feels like a big experiment. We just try our best and see what happens. Everyone does it so differently, too, so it's easy to see what others are doing and wonder if you're getting it wrong. I often have to remember that it's not always a matter of right or wrong. Sometimes we just do it differently, and that's okay! I'm responsible for my circus, and my monkeys. In the experimental way that Scotty and I choose to parent, here are some things that have become important and not important in the way we are raising our kids:

(Prepare yourself, you may be horrified!)

Gratitude = Important

Important:

Being mindful of other people

Giving a good effort

Mental health

Thanking people and being grateful for what you have 

Honoring commitments/being reliable/doing your part

Developing good character

Being on time

Budgeting

Learning to pray about things and recognize and act by the Spirit

Adapting when things don't go the way you expect

Family trips & activities

Eating breakfast 

Doing your own laundry

Positive body image 

Pool/water safety 

Being comfortable coming to Mom & Dad

Keeping things "15 minutes from clean" 

Obeying laws pertaining to drivers licenses  

Pronouncing words correctly 

Being comfortable owning your mistakes 

Trying the Disneyland ride once per visit even though you hated it last time because you might like it now that you're older (Dad's rule) 

 

Not Important:

Straight A's

Perfect attendance

Making beds

Walls 

Mating socks

Taking off shoes in the house

Sports

Earning college credit

Having the latest and greatest of everything

Separating light and dark laundry

Drinking your cereal milk 

Keeping the house pristine ("15 minutes from clean" is my standard as stated above) 

Having styled hair (I'd be happy if you brushed it, though) 

Mixed Play Doh

Not eating before the prayer has been said 

Finishing chores before you can play 

Drinking your cereal milk = Not Important

 ---------------

Some of the things on my "not important" list used to be "important," but over time, I've made adjustments. "Choosing your battles" is no joke! Just because it's on the "important" list doesn't mean we're good at it (but we'd like to be!) And some things that aren't important in our family could probably use an explanation. For example, even though sports are not "important" to us, if our children want to play a sport, we'll support them. It's just not a priority for us as parents to have our children participate in sports. In fact, we have really loved having our Saturdays free to do family activities. Also, our kids get so few social invitations that when someone asks one of our children to play, we will drop everything to let it happen. There are exceptions, but most of the time, if their chores aren't done, oh well! Please go play! The dishes will still be here when you get back. I'll report back in twenty years and let you know if that was a bad choice. In the meantime, the experiment continues!

*I didn't realize I had added both of these prompts to my list until I was looking over it a few days ago. I also have "priority" and "focus" on the list, so maybe that's a sign I need to realign my values.