It Runs in the Family

From the moment your child is born everyone plays the “Who is She More Like Game” which we all love.

“She looks just like you!”

“She looks just like your grandmother!”

“She gets that from your side of the family!”

“She has her father’s eyes.”

I am told quite often that Annie is my “Mini Me” which I take as a huge complement since she is very cute. The fact that she is my daughter through and through was confirmed today.

She was outside with her friend Will harassing the chickens and I just knew she was mine when I had to open the door and yell:

“Annie get you shirt back on!”

Diet coke is so off the list.

See you at Maverick.

Hail to/Kiss the Chef!!

I love meat!

Back before my mission I was working to lose some weight. I took it pretty serious to the point that I was very choosy about meat and I didn’t eat much of it. I would eat my mom’s chili but I would do my best to get only beans and no beef, I didn’t eat hamburgers and even if I had a healthy deli sandwich I would remove half the meat before I would eat it. Somewhere along the way I stopped being so choosy.

I am now making up for all the meat I missed out on during that time! I am like a lioness when it comes to my meat-everyone else is secondary and you better watch out or I may bite your hand off! I think there is even some moaning and growling going on during the whole frighteningly-disturbing-I-can’t-help-but-look process.

I mentioned earlier that ElRey made hamburgers the other night for dinner. What I didn’t mention is his way with meat! This man can cook, for real! It may be that he lacks any fear of oils and seasonings, but whatever he does it’s pure magical deliciousness (no, I am not talking about Lucky Charms!)! Many years ago, he became the official griller at my parents whenever we have a cook out and everyone raves about his skills with the spatula and fire.

One of ElRey’s other skills is mechanical knowledge. He can usually figure out what is wrong with a car and do the simple repairs or maintenances of a car-oil changes, brakes, tune-ups, etc. He can pretty much figure out how anything works and fix it or make it work better.

One of ElRey’s dreams is to open a restaurant featuring his magic. Every time I watch The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I realize this is a possible dream. We already have the idea for his establishment now all we need is some wealthy backers and we will be set!

So, here’s the idea and if you steal it I will hunt you down because it’s genius and I am not kidding!

Have you ever had to take your car in for a tune-up or to get your brakes done and while you are sitting there waiting you think, “Boy, a juicy burger sounds good right now!” But you are stuck till your car is done.

Well, that is not the case anymore! Come enjoy a tune-up with a side of ribs and potato salad. Or some killer biscuits and gravy with new brakes. We can tune up your car while we clog your arteries with home cooked goodness! Come join us today at:

ELRey’s Meat and Lube and Sometimes a Salad!!

Anyone want to donate to a man’s dream, we take all major credit cards PayPal and cold hard cash!

The Joys of Motherhood Part 2

Monday night we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner. With my subtle ways I hinted that I could go for a chicken-you know the ones you get at Macey’s at the deli? Yum. Dude, I totally suck those bones dry and beg for more. But in a very dainty ladylike way. Anyway my darling husband wasn’t quite so decided so I kept asking what he wanted-I was starving and my eating deadline of 7pm (no eating after 7) was fast approaching. The chicken hint came into play 2 or 3 more times. ElRey finally suggested Village Baker. Fine. Village Baker it is. He left to get our sandwiches when my cell phone rang just minutes after. It was The Love of My Life’s ringtone.

Me: “Hello?”

ElRey: “How about a chicken?” (Keep in mind I have suggested this at least 3 times in the past 2 hours!!!)

Me (fuming in fury): “Hmm…That’d be great!”

Ten minutes later, that old familiar ringtones blares from my sleek phone.

Me: “Yes?”

ElRey: “They are out of chicken, how about a frozen lasagna?”

Me: “I want a frozen lasagna as much as I want to be having this eternal conversation!!!”

ElRey: “How about I get some burgers to cook up?”

Me: “That would be great!” (He totally knew he had me at “meat”!)

He came home, cooked the burgers, they smelled divine!!! He fixes them up and says dinner is ready. The girls come running in the kitchen ready to eat. I look up there are only TWO hamburgers. The Most Wonderful Man in the Universe bought two hamburgers.

ElRey: “Oh, I didn’t even think about the girls….(to the girls)Do you guys want quesadillas or chicken nuggets?”

Audrey and Annie (in unison with screaming and crying involved): I want a hamburger!!!

Guess who had the quesadilla…

Someone owes me a chicken, dammit!

The Joys of Motherhood

Sunday morning Annie wouldn’t get out of the bath and, as always, I was in a bit of a hurry to get us all ready so I jumped in the bath with her which I do not like to do-too many questions, staring and little feet in unholy places.

As Annie was scoping out what God gave me she said, “Mom, did I drink milk from your boobies when I was a baby?”

Mom: “Yes, you did.”

Annie (giggling): “Your boobies look like floppy meatballs!”

Mom (quickly getting out of the tub of shame): “Thanks.” (What I wanted to say was, “I’ll have you know I have a great rack and any damage done was your fault!!”

Problems with Authority Much???

I have always had a pretty healthy respect for authority from my parents, teachers, religious leaders to my elders. The one thing I struggle with is bending the rules of said authority figures. I have always struggled with pushing those rules to their very limit and sometimes going beyond before I realize what I have done. For example:

• Sneaking out at night (only once or twice, I swear, mom and dad!!).
• Sluffing school to the point of it physically hurting to even be in class!
• Renting an R-rated movie at a party my parents let me have after they told me I couldn’t (Pink Floyd the Wall-totally awesomely wicked although I think some illegal drugs might have helped me get the whole experience!)!
• Kissing boys too much-which let’s face it, that is just dangerous!
• Posing as my BFF over the phone to quit her job “right this second” because of a bad case of mono (aka Super Bowl Sunday…).
• Flirting with the Elders on my mission…what!! That’s bad???
• Seeing how late I could be to work before anyone said anything.
• Lunch breaks slowly got longer at said work, again, to see if anyone would say anything.
• No where in the Word of Wisdom does it say “caffeinated beverages and/or sodas”….I’ll be right back I’ve gotta get me an iced cappuccino-it only said “hot beverages”!!

I am sure the list could go on to several more pages but you are probably wondering why I bring this up now. I am once again attempting to bend the rules of authority. My own!

My family and I started a “Biggest Loser Thomas Style” in our own attempt to battle the bulge. I sort of started it and came up with the rules. The main rule is we are allowed one day a week as a ‘cheat day’. The rest of the week we have to abstain from the items on our temptation list-we come up with our own list and post them for all to see. If we give in to our temptations we have to put $1 in the pot for each offense. At the end, the winner gets the pot. Do you see where I am going with this????

The first week I put down “eating after dinner”. A lot of calories are consumed in the part of my day. Most of the rest of my family listed their soda of choice, I did not. I felt bad about that so the next week I added Diet Coke and chocolate to my list. Let’s just say I owe A LOT of money at this point! I eventually sent an email to everyone requesting that I take it off my list.

They saw tough love as the most appropriate way to deal with me.

I am SOOOOOO not feeling the love!!

I don’t think they realize that it is way harder for me because I am weaker than most! I really don’t think the ‘rules’ should apply to me-I made the *swear-word* things up!! So I can change them, right???? RIGHT?????

I am resolved to start anew! I don’t need their tough-love!! I can do it! Even if it means chanting “CHEAT DAY!!” all day long! And when the 3-4 weeks is up(when I was told I can revise my list) I can tell them where to put their tough love!

That’s right, I said it!!

(I still love you guys, though!!)

*********************************

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last post! I wasn’t meaning to dig for compliments but I got them! If it wasn’t for the humbling experiences I had yesterday-my car being broken into and purse stolen, chipping my tooth somehow, teaching CTR 5(need I say more!!), my ginormo zit that keeps talking to me trying to convince me to take over downtown Kearns, and my salt laden (an accident, 1 tbs. of salt instead of 1 tbs. of sugar!!) biscuits-I would have a REALLY big head (and as I have said before, it is already freakishly big!!)!! You all rock and I love you!!

PS- They found ALL of my stuff from my purse (no purse, though…wah!!) on a *swear word* this morning and she is in custody! I am going to try to pay her a visit in jail in a private room-her, me and my Chuck Norris-y skills!!! The officer, Officer Boardman said he would hook me up! We are now engaged!! Don’t worry, ELRey said it was okay!

Life gave me a slap in the face but God gave me chocolate cake with hot fudge on top-except I can’t eat it till ‘cheat day’!!

A Girl and Her Blog….

If you haven’t noticed yet, I am a little ADD when it comes to my blog of late. I keep changing things and messing around. I am trying to make it a little more my own and something to be proud of so bare(bear?) with me while under construction.

When I started this blog, I was doing it because it looked like fun and a good way for updating what our family is doing. It has become more of an outlet for me to the point if I haven’t put something down in a few days I get a little manic and crazed (redundant??). I love it more for flexing a writing muscle I hope is really there. There are blogs out there I read and think, I wish I could write like that so that is what I am trying to do with this. And while I will put updates of what my family is doing and such, I would like to do that flexing a little more. So with that said, what is it you like to read on my blog? Do you look forward to updates? Ramblings? Stories? Something different? Or a little bit of everything? Am I being Narcissistic? Please let me know!!

Some things I do know about blogging:

• I love it! I love being apart of this strange community where I know someone but never even talk to them! I get to share in their joys, maybe carry a little bit of their burdens or just enjoy a good laugh or cry!
• I have a love/hate relationship with Blogger! I love that they make it easy to start out but I also have a hard time writing in it! I will admit, I am a bit of a computer tard but ElRey found this really cool program called Window Live Writer. It’s free and it is soo much easier to do pictures and links! I love it so if you aren’t using a different program then Blogger try this out! You’d be amazed how much easier it is and it just publishes it right to your blog! It’s awesome!

I have also added on my sidebar some of my favorite postings so if you haven't read them check them out. They made me smile and giggle and I hope you have or will do the same!

One last thing I know before I go: The Church is True, The Book is blue (but sometimes black, burgundy, or forest green..)!

Have a great Sunday!

ROAD TRIP!!!!

That’s right, my girls and I went on a road trip on Friday! I wanted to go down to Zion’s but I thought 8 hours of driving and 2 (maybe) hours of exploring-not much of an investment. So we did the next big thing.

That’s right, Ogden.

I had to get out of my house and I didn’t care where to but I wanted it to be all day and everyone have fun so we went to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden.

But before we get to that we must discuss the best part of the day! The pit stop in Roy. I know what you are thinking, what can be so great in Roy??

This:

This is what happens at “The Burger Bar” in Roy:

I am going to cry just thinking about it, it was so beautiful!! I could’ve died a happy woman after that meal! I don’t know if you can tell but that burger is about the size of my head! I am a very dainty lady so I couldn’t finish it(the 3rd one I mean!!)…No, only one for me and it was plenty! I finished every last morsel!! That was all I needed this week to bring me back from the dead! We found out about this fine establishment (that has no seating, except for benches out front and no bathrooms) on Food Network’s Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. I could go on a Triple D Road Trip! Some people travel for the sights, not me, I go for the FOOD!!! I mean, I did come from my mother’s womb and really, who doesn’t love good food?!

Here’s the awesome seating arrangements. Amy Roskelley and her kids plus Cameron Novakovich came with us. Will is with Annie and Audrey is sitting with Erin and Cameron.

This is the bench I was telling you about. Right up against traffic!

Oh yeah…the museum….that’s what I was blogging about…

The Treehouse Museum is great! It is similar to Discovery Gateway (so I hear) but half the price and double the drive. The kids love it! We’ve been there once before and it was tempting to get a membership there if only it was closer! I think we were there for over 4 hours and I’m sure everyone could have stayed longer. My camera died really fast so I didn’t get all the pictures I wanted but here’s a peek at all the Treehouse fun!

 

There was so much more-a music room, arts and crafts, puppet shows, the tree house in the middle of the museum, books, puzzles, fish, houses from different countries and I wish I got pictures of it all but needless to say, we all had a blast! It’s like a giant playroom for one and all, a child’s Mecca, Promised Land, Zion, Heaven or Kanab…

We somehow ended up back at the Burger Bar for ice cream and I was very tempted to get another “Big Ben” and an order of onion rings for the road but I refrained…this time…..

Footprints….

On this very dreary day, I am in a very dreary mood. I thought if I relived a funny moment in my life through the written word, it may just cheer me up….maybe…

This lovely weather takes me back to 1998. It was a very frumpy..I mean rainy missionary day in Carlsbad, CA. Despite the torrential downpour called El Nino, it goes against Missionary Law to not at least look like you are proselytizing, even if you don’t have a car.

So we pulled up our knee-highs, grabbed our overly clunky shoes and…..WHAT IS THAT SMELL?????

That would be my extra cheap, extra plastic-posing-as-leather shoes.

I had a genius idea-wouldn’t Tide be just as effective if not more than foot powder or baking soda?? It ought to take away the stench AND give them a nice “Mountain Breeze” scent! So, I took a scoop and put it in each of my shoes, rubbed it in like an S.O.S. pad, shook it around and dumped it out, all the while thinking about my amazing intelligence and problem-solving skills.

My companion and I headed out, ready to bring souls unto Christ through our sacrifice and soggy jumpers. We walked to the home of one of our ‘golden’ contacts to check in on her-it was about a 15-20 minute walk and, surprisingly, she wasn’t home. After being sufficiently drenched and our first attempt of the day at saving souls one mortal at a time was unsuccessful, we officially called it a day. At least until “The Hurricane of Adversarial Fiery Darts” ceased.

We figured since we were already “The Soggy Bottomed Sisters” we would go watch the angry shoreline as we walked along the sea wall along Pacific Highway 1. We got half way down the highway when I looked down at my feet. My awesomely fashionable and cheap shoes were foaming at the mouth and every seam possible! There was a trail of sudsy footprints behind me! I tried kicking puddles to wash it away but it just got worse! My companion and I were laughing so hard we could’ve peed our pants but not even know it!

We finally got to the corner where we turn for our street when I realized my name tag had gone AWOL. We JOYFULLY turned back for that all important piece of identification and found it about a half a mile back!

We made the soapy trek back to our home and since my shoes were apparently out of commission, I don’t remember getting a whole lot more done that day aside from side-splitting laughter!

I, of course, shared this story in my next letter to my family and my mom, of course, shared it with anyone she could including her Gospel Doctrine class! About a month later (yes, I was still wearing the same shoes and no, Tide did not take care of the stink!!) I got a call from a woman in the Carlsbad Stake who happened to be the step-mom of Sis. Peterson in my home ward. She had heard the story from her daughter, tracked me down and told me she wanted to take me out to replace my sudsy shoes! She bought both my companion and I each a pair of Doc. Marten’s shoes (which were all the rage with the sister missionaries-they go soooo well with those Nude knee highs!!)!! Those puppies lasted the rest of my mission and never once did I need to treat them with Tide!!

The moral of the story?

1- Tide should NEVER be used as an odor-eater in your shoes!!

2-Sacrifice really does bring blessings…or at least a nice pair of shoes!

My Brother, Mike Thomas' rendition of "Sister Bubbles"

And The Sun Shines Down

Back in middle school, I read a short story and watched a video of the same story about a planet that had one day every 4 hundred years or so when the rain clouds would part and the inhabitants of this small planet would see the sun. For just a measly few minutes.  I have felt like that planet of late. But the clouds parted this past week from some much needed Vitamin D and UV rays for us to enjoy and enjoy we did!! We went out and took those rays and slathered them all over ourselves and, by dang it, we enjoyed it!

A Day at the Farm!

We enjoyed Wheeler Farm with the Roskelley’s and the kids loved it (and I loved the price!!) It was a gorgeous day and it felt great to be out in the fresh air!

My little Lilykins was fearless with the animals! At one point she tried to feed a horse rabbit poop-for some reason that horse didn’t go for it…weird… She may be a handful but she is a cute handful! I’m beginning to think she’ll give Annie a run for her money! I won’t lie to you…that scares the bijeebers out of this dainty flower of a mom!

It was a much needed day in the sun and I hope we have many more and I hope I can survive them!

Lastly, here are a couple Easter pictures!

    

This was Lily’s first time doing them and she loved it! I love Annie’s picture-they call that “Bugsy Eyes” from “Bedtime Stories”. That kid cracks me up!

And, of course, Easter morning in their new dresses.

I {heart} Spring!

~If anyone knows the name and author of the story I mentioned above, please let me know!!

Ode To My Yellow Hat

I have had the same mustard-hued hat for over a decade. Not only is it a shade of my favorite color, it has been with me on many runs, hikes and exceptional bad hair days-rain, snow, sun and wind. It matches or goes with absolutely nothing in my wardrobe (and let me tell you, that huge!!).

The sweat ring, made with love, is forever stained on it’s yellow flesh. There are few inanimate objects in this world that I love, this little ray of sunshine is high on the list!

As I look out my back window I have come to realize it may be time to trade in my prized head gear for one of these:

And a pair of these:

Oh yeah, and these:

If I Had a Million Dollars...

I would buy a dishwasher that actually WASHES the dishes! We were at our friends' house for dinner one night when Jenni started loading the dishwasher WITHOUT rinsing them first!! I have to clean my dishes before I can put them in the DISHWASHER!! I was very concerned and asked:

"Don't you need to rinse those first??"

Jenni: "No, the dishwasher DOES that (really???)!"

I did my best to hold back the tears of joy and envy.

I've been dreaming of owning one myself ever since.

I would invest in REAL silverware! Oh, the joy of a fork that doesn't bend in my feeding frenzies!!

My pans would be replaced with ones that aren't scratched up and slowly giving us all cancer! Curse you, Teflon!!

My family would live on a small piece of land with our chickens, dog, 2 horses, 3 pigs and a cow. You could all come to me for your manure needs!

There would be a condo by the beach with my name on the mailbox.

I would buy stock in Diet Coke! Have you seen all the women at Maverick at 11 in the morning?? It's a gold mine!!

The rest would go to making the world a better place! That's right! I would hire a nanny...and a housekeeper!!!

Whatever!!

ElRey won.

I am very disappointed in 9 of you!!