Flu Kit

So this is just to remind myself of this swine flu out break in the future and to make myself prepare, just in case. The Red Cross has a list of items to put in a flu kit.

Supplies: vitamins, prescription meds, cough and cold medicine, fever and pain relievers (ibuprofen or acetaminophen), anti-diarrhea medication, soap, bleach, hand sanitizer, paper towels, tissues, thermometer, box of disposable gloves, at least 1 high quality surgical mask, electrolyte drinks and baking soda. I would throw in toilet paper for good measure.

Why do we need to get these things? As my MIL put it, we don't have to be afraid when we are prepared.

Put it all in a bucket and label it. Just keep it in the garage or in a closet and it will be there when you need it. Off to Walgreens.

Excitement explained

About a month ago I was given some hush money after my husband bought a boat. I thought of the many things I could do with said money. At first my thoughts were all about me or the house and then I decided I wanted to do something to benefit the most people. My parents birthdays were coming up and I wanted to do something special for them. I wanted to send them on a trip, but that is hard to do secretly, especially with their work schedules. Anyway, I decided to bring the party to them. My little brother had not been home with his new wife, since their reception. It had been over a year and truthfully I never really got to talk to her, though we were in the same room for 3 hours. So I had them see if they could come when the semester at BYU was over. It worked better than I could have imagined.

The day I got them from the airport, I was so sure that my mom had found out. We went to her office and I walked in with them behind me. My appearance at her work is not unusual, but her expression on her face when she registered who was there, was priceless. They cried and hugged. Mission accomplished.

When we surprised my dad, he got the cutest joyful, little boy smile on his face. I was so thrilled. Both of my sisters helped with the surprise. My mom had said she wanted memories for her birthday, I am pretty sure that her wish was fulfilled. My parents are great, I love theme so much. I am glad that we were able to give them something that let them know how much we love them.

We had a great weekend and hopefully we will be able to do it again soon.

So Excited

That's all she wrote.

Deodorant for a birthday present

Lulu 15 months

(That's a smile, not a stinky face)

I don't remember exactly when I started wearing deodorant, but I am thinking my near 7 year-old will be getting a year supply for her birthday. Hopefully she will think that it means she is mature or like a teenager or something positive. She must run like crazy during recess. Poor Mimi. I must have stunk as a child. My memory is that we bathed usually on Saturdays and that is all I remember, up until I was in 4th grade. I know my hair was often greasy in pictures and I had the hairspray plastered bangs. I have no idea how I ever had friends if my memory is correct.

Mimi Valentine's Day 2009

Date night

My sister volunteered to watch the girls yesterday, so we went on a date. First stop, the bank to deposit paycheck. Next, the walk-in clinic to get a note verifying that I need to see the physical therapist. Then we went for sushi. We wandered around town looking for a Papa John's that was still in business. The Gage and the Court St. restaurants had been closed. We were near an Albertson's, so I shared some of the magic with my hubby. I gave him a $3 off coupon and we went to work.

His list: 1 gal milk, sugar wafers, tostada kit, and 3 cans refried beans.
His price: $5 after coupon. Plus free loaf of bread from bakery--up to $3, and another $3 off next purchase.

My list: 1 gal milk, 4 cans of ref. beans
My price: $1 after coupon. Plus $3 off next purchase.

We ended up with $20 work of groceries for $3. The cashier said, "You're a smart shopper." My husband said, "This has got to be stealing." Its not, but sometimes it feels that way.

Finally, we found a pizza place and took the missionaries dinner and shared a cheese pizza with the kids at my sister's house. It was a busy date night, but we had fun. Better than a movie.

Happy Birthday

My dad and mom's birthdays are a day apart. April 15 & 16. This year mom asked for memories for her birthday, so we did the same for dad too. My sister, the writer, wrote almost 4 pages of mini memories. I jotted 5-6 little memories on a card.

Dad--
My dad used to wake us up to change water by blasting The Little Mermaid soundtrack. It worked, but it was a little crazy. I guess it was better than pounding on the door.

He would take us to the mall at Christmas time, give us a little $, and let us get each other presents. Sometimes he would take us to the late might Grigg's sale before Christmas. The last one I remember vividly was when the original Nintendo was brand new. That was a while ago.

He liked to give us tasks that we had to figure out. I think he helped me learn how to think and problem solve as much as any of my classes pre-college.

We'd listen to different musicall the time--Fiddler on the roof, Les Mis, Disney movies, 50's music, Carpenters, Glenn Campbell, Beatles--He made a Dave's faves CD and gave us all a copy a few years back. Sometimes we would crank the music and have a dance party. He has some good moves.

We would go for walks around town on Sunday afternoons.

He told me I had to disc a field when I had never driven a tractor. He showed me once and then left me to it. I had my walkman and listened to a "mixtape" while I drove and killed the tractor several times. By the end, I could drive the tractor without it dying.

My dad took me to college and got me settled in. It was nice to have his support when I went to school. I remember he helped me make my bed.

Mom--

There are so many people that come up to me and say, "I just love your mom." So many.

She is always helping people and she doesn't expect anything in return.

She was there for both births and recoveries of my babies. She even flew to CA an extra time to help a month after the first baby was born.

If I ever need to chat, she is always there to listen.

I loved having her as the YW president when I was in there.

She has a great laugh.

She used to love fuschia. I love how she looked in it too. I used to sneak into the bathroom and try on her hot pink lip stick.

There are many great things my parents taught me and they have set many good examples for me too. Happy birthday Mom and Dad!

Carl is my new favorite person

I went to the physical therapist yesterday and I feel a whole lot better. My dad has said over and over again that the PT would actually help me. I am now a true believer. I would have never really thought that I was weak in the back and the abdominals, but I guess I am. I had been lifting 3x week, running 5x, and working abs 2-3 times a week so I thought I was pretty strong. Recently, I had only been running and I guess that is what caused some of my back problems. He also adjusted my hips and it was so incredible. The movement he caused without hurting me was great. Sometimes they work you so hard it hurts, but this guy had the touch. He gave me some exercises to do and I am going back on thursday. I am so excited.

The exercises (done at the same time)--kegels, belly button to spine, and contracting lower back by squeezing hip bones to spine. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat. Sets of 10. These can be done standing, sitting or lying down.

Pulling out white hairs and other wholesome recreational activities

purapharm.com

I haven't even hit 30 yet and I am pulling out the white hairs. When I had long hair, I only noticed a few, but with my shorter hair, they stick straight out. Argh! I really don't want to dye my hair because it isn't bad yet. My mom didn't start dying her hair until after 40. I hope I can wait that long. Speaking of hair, mine needs to be thinned out. My sister said, "Your hair is huge." Being the one who looks at myself in the mirror everyday and dries her hair everyday, yes I have noticed. And no it didn't need to be pointed out to me, but thanks for the support.

I found my husband's gel on the top of the garbage can in the bathroom. At first, I thought the baby put it int here. Then, I picked it up and it was basically empty. So I assumed that my husband had thrown it away. Before I went to the store, I asked if he needed more gel. He said, "Not really." That made me think that maybe he was over the gel thing and going to try out a new hairdo. This morning when he was getting ready, he asked me where his gel was. I was never told to buy him any and I didn't. It turns out the baby did throw it away and he thought he had told me to buy more. Thus, he wasn't very happy. However, his hair turned out just fine.

Mr. Man takes a long time getting ready for church. Longer than me, and I get 2 other girls ready as well. Why does he take so long? Because he grew up in a house full of girls. That is the the part that rubbed off on him. He steals my hair dryer and likes Pantene. The rest of his primping is just taking a long time. I'm actually not sure what he does that takes so long. Today he did shave and iron, but he doesn't do that every time. I am really going to have to watch him.

The Easter Candy

Every year it is the same thing. I get too much candy. This year, I decided to get more stuff that everyone else liked and fewer things that I liked. This won't stop me cold in my tracks, but it will save me a few hundred calories. Since I am out of exercise service, I need all the help I can get.

For the past few years, we have had an easter egg hunt at my SIL. She is a great hostess and always has a ton of eggs. Even if we didn't bring any, everyone would leave with a load. Heath likes to put $ in eggs. I got fifteen $1 bills and put one in an egg for each child. Hopefully it will go as planned and each child will take just one. I am not sure if I should hand them out or just hide them and divide later.

We went out on the boat this evening. It was windy, but about 20 degrees warmer than it was last time we went out. When we got back I asked my girl what she wanted to eat and she said,
"lemon bars." We definitely have too many treats around here. She asked for a treat an hour after breakfast. She does this almost everyday. I guess I should make bigger breakfasts.

Coupon deals and Albertsons

I like saving money. I signed up for the grocerygame.com and I have saved several hundred $. I would bet that it is close to $800 in the last 5 months. I haven't been terribly diligent when it comes to clipping as many as possible, but I do pretty well. I need to figure out how to get more adds and organize my Qs. I like the GAME of it, that makes it fun. I love seeing the totals roll back. I guess to be really good at it, I need to get the Wed. paper as well as the Sunday. I just don't know if I am willing to do all that stuff. If I go for it, I could get the spend $10 save $70. I am not sure who I can bum coupons off of, but my mom and maybe my in-laws. Hmm.

Albertsons--Today I got a trunk full of food for $70. I saved $73. That seems to be how most of my transactions go. Like I said, I need to find the multiple coupon stacks and take advantage of great deals. Oh, I also got a 10% off coupon, 1 free gallon of milk, and $3 off at the register. So the total savings ends up at about $83. That's all right. The problem is you have to be willing to stockpile. It is easy to do, but I need to organize my pantry a little bit more.

I found a blog with a goal of $50/ wk on groceries. I can do that if I try. So, I'll update weekly to see how far under or over I go. Or $200 a month.

I got to sleep all night last night without Lulu waking up. Man, I hope it happens again tonight. Woo Hoo!

The brownies and exercise

I made the brownies. Cooled them. Cut them. What do I discover? No paper plates. Blast. I guess I will just have to share them with my family. Maybe next week. The feeling was there, I guess that counts for something.

Baby is asleep and I actually exercised. Slim in 6 is a nice workout for those who can't run and jump around. It makes me sore and I love it. I also recommend the 30 day shred. Jillian Michaels does a great 20 minute workout. I haven't tried Power 90, but I hear it would kick my butt. When my back heals, I'll have to start on the elliptical and then work to a jog. I can't wait to lift again and do situps on the decline bench. I feel so weak. I guess I need more moderation in my workouts. I tend to go hard all of the time. More intervals and changing from 4-6 miles on the treadmill might save my joints. I don't know. I want to try to do the 1/2 marathon and beat my time, which shouldn't be hard, but maybe that isn't a good thing for my body. Start with 5K right?

When I workout, I have more energy throughout the day and I sleep better at night. I want to have energy and the ability to chase my kids and play sports with them. Exercising is my hobby. My husband thinks it is the only thing I want to do for fun. It is true that when I have free time during the day, that would be my first thing that I would do for myself. I should probably say read my scriptures, but that can happen with or without kids, so I don't have to plan that so much.

Oh, I did eat 2 brownies. They may have been large brownies, but I only ate 2.

Garbage day

I once wrote a mean note to the mailman because he requested more postage on a card size that I had been sending for years with one stamp. This was 10 years ago. I was in college and was certain that he was in the wrong. Someone in my hall in turn wrote a nice note and left a plate of cookies for him.



Today I am grateful for the garbage man who is taking away the stinkiness that plagued my bedroom. I wonder if he would take a plate of cookies off the top of the garbage can or would he just dump it with the rest of the garbage. I can make some brownies before he gets here. Let's see what happens.



To be continued...

MOD Podge

Who knew that glue could take over your life. I've had the stuff for a week and I have successfully podged 3 canvases, 2x each. I do one, like it for a minute, try again a few days later. I have little skill and creativity, but it is fun to try. my sisters are all jumping on the wagon. They have their canvases and are waiting for a sale to get some paper. I love the designs that are available now. I wish I could paint and not have to use the paper. Next, I am going to try fabric around a canvas. Super easy. That's my kind of art project.

"He called me Napoleon Dynamite!" Waaaaahhh

This is what brought my 6 year old to tears yesterday. We were trying to get her to ride her bike without training wheels this weekend. All she had to do was start on her own and ride around for a minute--3x. That's it. She just sat on her bike and whined. We ignored her for a while and then she started saying, "Sheesh." That's when Napoleon came in to play. It really set her off. She yelled:

"I hate my life."
"I wish I were never born."
"I wish I were killed."

The last one was so awful. She was so mad. And my husband just yelled back, "Stay there. I'lll get my truck." Great.

That was Tuesday. We'll see how it goes today.

And so it begins

There is a little hesitation on my part, starting a blog. There really is no point to this adventure. I am just going to write stuff and see what comes out. Some stories will be true and others might be modified. You know all bloggers are editors. Bless their souls.

What is that Smell?

I don't let many people go into my bedroom these days. There is an odor that I can't put my finger on. What is that? I think its a combination of dirty diapers, wet towels, and ivory soap. It does not smell good. I am out of soft scrub and I don't want to burn any candles. I guess I'll stay downstairs today.

Yesterday was my sisters birthday. She is such a great cook and hostess. She made the best carrot cake. If she ever invites you over for dinner, say yes!!!

I am looking forward to my back pain going away. 3+ weeks without running feels like an eternity.