Archive for January, 2007

Obsessed in a Rut

January 31, 2007 at 11:00 pm · Filed under My Crazy Mind

I think we all get into these little ruts where we do the same thing over and over again, right?  And then, as soon as we have found something new and different, we tend to make that part of our “rut”.  We do the new thing over and over again.  Only instead of it being called a rut, it’s called an obsession.  New = Obsession.  Old = Rut.

I have become obsessed with playing word games.  While chatting online with Laural, my new favorite game is Literati.  In fact, as I type this post, Lo and I are chatting and playing, and I’m kickin’ her butt!  Heh.  I found this fun little game on I Am Bored (I don’t actually go there all the time!  Just enough to find cool stuff!) and I still like to play Crossword.  When Ches is home in the evenings, I have had these almost-uncontrollable urges to play Scrabble.  We haven’t played in years.  But most nights either one or both of us have so much going on that we’re super tired and ready to crash.

Playing games with words makes me feel smart.  And with all the idiotic things I’ve managed to do lately, I need to feel smart.

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Essay Contest Winners

January 30, 2007 at 7:05 am · Filed under Funny ha ha, Review

I found this on I Am Bored and laughed out loud over this. That’s pretty rare for me to do when I’m all alone. It has to be really funny for me to laugh out loud when I’m all by myself. I thought I’d share because you guys are all great writers and I thought you’d get a kick out of it, too. Enjoy! :) )

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The Best Saturday EVER

January 30, 2007 at 4:58 am · Filed under Family

On Saturday we got a piano.  We were GIVEN the piano.  For free.  You heard me folks.  A free piano.   A teacher that Ches works with offered us their piano just before Christmas because no one in their household was using it anymore, and they just wanted it played.  Ches asked, “How much?” thinking the whole time we couldn’t do it because we have no spare money, no matter how much we want a piano, but the teacher just replied with “Come and get it.  It’s yours.”

We have always had the goal of having a piano by the time our first child was 5 years old.  As the years have passed, that goal seemed to get less and less likely as we have had difficulties in the finances department of our marriage.  Having a piano is important to us, but so is getting out of debt.  In fact, getting out of debt is far more important to us right now.  So this has been a huge blessing to have someone offer us the piano.  I couldn’t be more excited.

Saturday was the big day.  Ches and some guys from church went out to the teacher’s house and picked up the piano.  They brought it home and I immediately played a little ditty.  Aiden and Dallin were at some friends’ house, but the second they got home they just couldn’t contain their excitement.  Dallin started to press down repeatedly on one key, and Aiden said, “It sounds like he wants to play Jingle Bells.”  Dallin then kept playing and started to sing: “Jing beeeeeows!  Jing beeeeeows!”  They love the piano.

I found some of my old piano music and books from college.  I have been working a little from the Czerny book (it’s all 5 finger excercises.  I hate it, but know it’s good for me, too).  I need to find my other piano books.

Our house is filled with the sound of the piano.  Not always the prettiest sound (which is what happens when a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old decide that they are the Next Great Pianist), but a wonderful sound just the same.

I am so happy.

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Adventures of Blah

January 26, 2007 at 6:16 am · Filed under My Crazy Mind

Someone from church gave us a couple of grocery bags of food a couple of days ago. Not a whole lot of stuff, just some stuff they found for super cheap at Wal-Mart or something and thought we could use some of it. We got Spaghetti-O’s and cans of tomatos and toothpaste and oatmeal… okay, there were a few other things, but I can’t remember. Anyway, normally we don’t get Spaghetti-O’s (not exactly my favorite cuisine!), but for 10 cents a can, I don’t mind taking a few off someone else’s hand! :)

I’ve been having one of those days where I just felt very blah. Nothing seemed to go quite right. I kept dropping things or spilling things. I just didn’t have the energy to do anything. The laundry is still sitting all over the living room. I still haven’t gone to the store to buy milk. I just feel blah. To top it off, as I was making Spaghetti-O’s with meatballs for lunch (for the boys. I had leftovers!), I couldn’t quite get the can to open right. As I was trying to pry it open, I sliced my thumb across the top.

OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

Blood was gushing as I tried to grab a paper towel. I immediately applied pressure, but my thumb was throbbing. Once the bleeding slowed, I washed my thumb and put on a Band-Aid. It crosses the top of my thimb, kind of, so any bandage is quite awkward. I didn’t think too much about it, but now I’m realizing just how much I need that one thumb. And I can’t stinkin’ use it! Even just pushing buttons on the TV remote hurts! Grrrr. I have to get some fingerprinting done, and that’s going to just be great with a huge slice on there as they push down on my thumb and roll it to make the perfect thumbprint (which I’ll bet anything it gets rejected because of the cut and I’ll have to get a whole new set of prints done. Man, I hope they do the cool digital kind, not the messy ink kind!).

Ches came home from school, and I thought I’d show him and maybe get some sympathy. Nope, not happening. Ches sliced the top of his thumb today, too! On a cymbal or something while putting together a cymbal stand. His is a worse cut.

So now I have my left thumb totally out of commission and I don’t get any sympathy because my husband is going through the same thing. See? I told you it was a blah day.

Tomorrow is Friday. Friday is supposed to be a great day, right? It’s the weekend! Anyway, I do have things to look forward to. I get to accompany Aiden on a field trip to the dinosaur museum. A friend is coming over to visit. The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm (up to 69 tomorrow afternoon!!). I’m getting my piano this weekend. So here’s to the end of BLAH… for a few days anyway.

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This One’s For You

January 25, 2007 at 6:29 pm · Filed under My Crazy Mind

Create Your Glitter Text

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A New Start

January 25, 2007 at 6:39 am · Filed under My Crazy Mind, Observations

Even though I consider myself a complete sheep when it comes to what “everyone else” is doing, I have felt the need to start something new, anyway. This blog is it. Since I can’t import my stuff from New Blogger (stupid Blogger, grrrr, argh!) I am going to just have to start anew. Maybe. What if I don’t like it here?

Because it’s a new year (so far, yay for 2007!) and because I feel like I’m finally getting used to my new life with three children, a house and yard, a new city, new job (for the husband!) and everything that it all entails, I just needed to do something new.

Welcome to the Chocolate Phoenix. I have risen from the ashes, ready to take on the world! Or at least take on a large bag of dark chocolate chips. Heh.

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Try Saying That 10 Times Fast!

January 25, 2007 at 4:29 am · Filed under Meme

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Reverend Lady Sariah the Festive of Biggleswade by Biscuit
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

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Winter Guard

January 23, 2007 at 8:08 pm · Filed under Color Guard

I was thinking that most of you guys don’t actually know what a winter guard is. Because it is my job right now, and I’m bound to be talking about it a lot, I wanted to share with you what it is I’ll be doing. It’s a lot of fun. Definitely a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun, too. I’m lucky to be working with a great group of kids. There is no drama (yet) and they are all hard workers.

This video that I’m sharing is of a really talented group out of Florida. Their name is Paradigm. They aren’t a high school group, rather a community group that uses kids from the area. This was their 2005 show. I LOVE this show. Hope you guys enjoy it, too.

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Random Friday

January 19, 2007 at 5:35 pm · Filed under Random Friday

I love it when it rains. Which it is doing right now. It’s light outside, but not too bright. Some may say it’s dark and gloomy, but I like it this way. The temperature has dropped a little. It’s not cold, but it’s definitely cool. I changed back into my soft pajama pants, so I’m very comfortable right now. I’m wearing a light-weight, long-sleeved shirt, and it feels perfect. As I listen to the sound of the rain hitting pavement, the window, and the roof, I sit here with a cup of warm hot chocolate. Parker is asleep, Aiden is at school, Ches is at work, and Dallin is watching “Go Diego, Go!”. It is very relaxing right now. I wish it could stay exactly like this forever!

*****

I’m sure that we all know I can’t sew, right? I come by it honestly, growing up with a mother that very often, and very proudly, stated “Sew is not in my vocabulary!” I have tried to learn to sew. I had visions of making my own dresses for prom, doing my own alterations, making clothes for my kids someday, making pillows and quilts and stuffed animals and curtains and pot holders… whatever I could think of.

I seem to have some kind of sewing machine deficiency, however. If I have “adult supervision”, I do just fine. Whenever I’m alone with a machine, however, problems happen. On every single machine I have ever tried to use. I break the needle. The tension is wrong and my fabric is puckering. The thread wraps around the bobbin casing. My fabric gets sucked into the machine as if it wants to join the bobbin.

I get frustrated and end up yelling at both the machine and myself. It’s not a pretty sight.

Mr. Universe has had some clothes that he needed mending. I would laugh and say, “Put it in the mending box!” I would laugh because whenever my mom said that to us as we grew up, we knew we would never again see that article of clothing. They never got mended. (Well, if we had a hole in the knee of our jeans, we got patches. But they were iron-on patches, so I don’t think that really counts!)

Mr. Universe has been asking me and asking me to mend his clothes. He wants to wear the two hoodies! Those are his favorite school pants! So on Monday I pulled out the sewing machine and said “I can do this.”

After about 45 minutes of frustration and hitting the table and yelling (no swearing because I do have young children nearby. Although yes, I got in trouble from Aiden for saying “stupid” a lot), I did it. I conquered my sewing machine and was able to fix his clothes!! I feel like a rock star!!

Now, if I can just figure out how to get the stain out of his favorite dress shirt…

*****

Wednesday was Winter Guard rehearsal. I was meeting most of the kids for the first time. Things were going great. We had worked out a bit and done some yoga. We were about to start on some flag fundamentals, but I wanted to lay down some ground rules and talk about our schedule for the season. The kids were all sitting on the floor and I was in a chair (I felt like it was story time and I was going to read to them). Just as I started talking about stuff, I shifted my weight and… I farted. Not too loudly, but loud enough.

I. Was. So. Mortified. Seriously.

The kids all laughed (as did I) and kept saying it’s no big deal, but I know my face went really, really red. What a way to make a first impression, huh? Oh well. We now consider ourselves quite bonded.

*****

Speaking of embarassing…

Yesterday I was chatting online with Lo and we were playing Literati. Just as she put up her “superstar” word, waft, I fell off my chair. Seriously. I just fell. I mean, I was shifting my weight again (I’m starting to think this is a bad thing for me to do!) when I lost my balance and there I went.

Mr. Universe came home just a few minutes later. I told him what happened, and he started to laugh. “Only you,” he said. “Only you.”

*****

I just finished reading The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. (She wrote the Confessions of a Shopoholic books that I loved so much). This was another delightful story. Light reading, but not so light you feel like you’re wasting your brain by reading it. Chick lit, yes, but I seem to be into that these days.

The story is about this young, high-powered, London lawyer named Samanatha who makes a mistake and essentially freaks out. She gets on a train, and when she gets off she is in this small villiage she has never heard of before. Sam goes to the closest house to get directions, but somehow is mistaken for an interviewee for a housekeeping job. She is offered the job, and she takes it. The biggest problem is… she has NO clue about housework or cooking. I mean, seriously no clue. So she has to figure it out. In the meantime, Sam discovers what it is to have a life, and of course she falls in love.

I didn’t find this chatacter as engaging as Becky (the Shopoholic), but I still loved her and felt for her. I could identify with her, too, as I’m not exactly a domestic goddess myself (you’ve all heard my cooking and baking stories, and many of you have seen the state of cleanliness I keep my house). I give this book my Official Sariah Stamp of Approval.

*****

I am currently reading Echoes by Maeve Binchey. It’s one that is on my bookshelf, and I have read it several tmes already. It’s been a little while, though, so it’s the right time to read it again.

Dallin is currently really into Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly (Aiden got the book for Christmas from Santa because it was his favorite book to check out of the library in Nevada). Dallin really likes the “sharp white teeth” and getting to yell “Go away!”

*****

The word of the day is seriously. I say it’s the word of the day because I have found myself using it a lot lately. Here is the official definition from dictionary.com:

se·ri·ous·ly [seer-ee-uhs-lee] –adverb
1. in a serious manner: He shook his head seriously.
2. to an alarmingly grave extent: seriously ill.
3. with genuine, earnest intent; sincerely: Seriously, kids, we have to get home before dark.

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First, Give Up That Daily Latte

January 16, 2007 at 6:59 am · Filed under Observations

Mr. Universe was given lots of great Christmas gifts from his students this year. He got cool Christmas ornaments, a homemade heating pad (you know, the kind you stick in the microwave? The mom even made a seperate, washable cover. Ches loves it!), gift cards to Barnes and Nobles, cookies and candy, hot chocolate, and a bajillion gift cards to Starbucks. The Starbuck cards are worth (all together, of course) more than $50.

Now, you all know we don’t drink coffee. Not only is it against our religion, but neither Ches nor I even like the smell of the stuff. (It used to crack me up going to college in a largely LDS town and seeing all these Mormon kids standing in the coffee aisle of the supermarket just to smell the coffee. Funny kids.) I’m sure the gift cards for coffee would be great for most people, but not so much for Mr. Universe!

Thank goodness for hot chocolate. Starbucks has very yummy hot chocolate. And lots of yummy foods. VERY yummy. You can’t go wrong getting some crumb cake or a cinnamon roll or a granola bar. It’s almost like heaven!!

I also think it’s nice that Mr. Universe has these cards because I know there is at least one Starbucks close to where he works, and if he needs a little snack or something before or after that long commute, he can use a card and get something.

Starbucks, however, is extremely overpriced! Oh. My. Gosh. No wonder whenever you are watching some Dr. Phil or Oprah like talk show and there is this nice couple that is trying their darndest to get out of debt, the first thing they are told is “make your coffee at home. Give up that daily latte.” You see, let’s say this is something we actually did. Let’s say Ches stopped at Starbucks every morning on his way to school and bought himself a $3 drink. He would be spending around $90 a month… just for a quick pick-me-up!!! What if he decided on something else? Say a yummy and satisfying $5 hot drink. We’re talking $150 that month!! OH MY HECK!! Now, of course not everyone works 7 days a week, so maybe we’re aiming a little high, but how many people stop at just a drink? Not when it smells sooooo good and the breakfast sweets are looking sooooo bright and big and you find a little spot of drool on your collar… every now and then you are going to “splurge” and get yourself a piece of blueberry coffee cake for $3.50, right? Heck yes you are! And it tastes so good, why regret it, right?

Because $150 a month can pay off credit cards a lot faster than $45 or $80 a month. I always hated hearing the whole “Give up your daily latte” spiel because we don’t buy a latte every day and I could never figure out what little thing like that we should give up that would add up. Because we DON’T go out and get a coffee every day. Or pizza and ice cream every week. Or see a movie in the theatre. Or even rent movies. Those activities have become such a rarity I don’t think I can even count it as once a month!! Okay, maybe once a month or for special occasions (like the kids being sick the whole week before Christmas. So I rented a ton of movies just so we wouldn’t be watching the same Wiggles DVD for 6 hours straight while they lay on the couch like their dying and whine about their noses and tummies hurting).

I’m still trying to figure out what my daily latte sacrifice is, but until then, Mr. Universe and I are going to enjoy using his gift cards for some really yummy hot chocolate.

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