Fun stuff

Well, with all the whining out of the way, here are some fun things.

Michael found a piece of paper (wrapping for stockings of all things) on his side of the bed.

Michael: Where did this come from?
Me: I have no idea. *pause* *dryly* Well, I have to confess. There was a wild five-woman lesβian orgy in our bed. Oops.
Michael: *equally dryly* And you didn't invite me.

Yes, we're that proper and all.

And here are the videos that I promised.

First -- Amy Sedaris is frakkin' ADORABLE!



And second, THIS is the best cover EVAR(!!!!1!):



Yes, I think that I could listen to that cover forever and ever and ever and ever ...

So, tomorrow we get to go into the next town early for the Young Men's and Young Women's basketball games. And price vinyl tiles at Lowe's. And go to Wal-Mart where I hope to buy some bubble bath and maybe some perfume that they MIGHT have which would smell like Nutmeg (!!!) and vanilla and stuff. *hope, hope that it's there!*

I sound so manic, huh?

Funny thing -- Bucket and Bruise now climb out of the bathroom and tiptoe in their altogether to tell us that they're done with their bath. Also, Bucket is rebelling against the status quo by demanding the blue towel instead of the pink one. Bruise will start to fuss, all like "Hey, that's MY towel ... Oh, never mind. It's not worth it."

Ugh. I hope that I start feeling normal really soon. ^_^ Wish me luck!!

It's the end of the world (according to my mental health number)

WARNING: TMI Ahead

SO, my dears. Guess how many days I had between periods? Go on, guess.

I had two weeks between the one last month and this month. And now ... THREE FLIPPING DAYS OF NOT BLEEDING.

Am I worried? Not so much as I am insane. Yes, I'm rather insane at the moment.

And it doesn't help that as Bruise, Bucket and I were webcamming with my dear mom-in-law, Bruise flops as I scooted my chair back from the desk so Bucket could clamber back onto my lap ... AND NOW he's sporting a little scrape and HUGE bump above his eye. Because he HIT THE DESK WITH HIS HEAD. Yes.

And there was blood and screaming and me crying and feeling like the worst mom EVER IN ALL THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD AND IN ITS PRE-HISTORY TOO!!!!

BUT, as my dear husband has pointed out, Bruise's tumble is probably NOT my fault at all, since Bruise hasn't taken a nap and is flopping around quite a bit this evening.

I just hope that it's not going to leave a scar.

Of course there's not a chance it won't if he KEEPS PICKING AT IT. Which he does. Ugh!

AND, with all the reading I've been trying to do? The house is just about a disaster. And THAT has an effect on my mental health at this point. Ugh.

OH, and while I'm whining SO MUCH, let's just add that when I wake up? I'm still tired! AND I seem to have forgotten that I need to eat more than once or twice per day. and making food for my family? Totally falling by the wayside.

Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to need to buy that mantelpiece for when I get that Mother of the Year Award.

But yeah. I'm just a regular bundle of laughs and joy today, aren't I?

Don't worry. I'm following this up with "interesting" conversations between my husband and me. And then there will be more videos. Because they are cute and wonderful and I wish I made them myself.

Things that are fun.

Yes, another blog of NOT MY LIFE ... and it's probably a lot more entertaining and exciting than my life tends to be. ^_^

I nabbed this from daringyoungmom:



I'd see it. Heck, I've only watched the first season on DVD. Which is pitiful, indeed. But I do love the sly humor overall. And Steve Carell is genius.

This one makes me giggle.

A lot.

Lots of giggles.



And since I have a soft spot in my heart for Ken Jennings ... and I love movie quotes ... well, this list capturing my heart? Inevitable.

Obscure But Useful Movie Quotes.

And since I heart me some serious amounts of Cookie Monster, check out his interview (and the video! He answers the Proust questionnaire!!!) on NPR.
Me heart Cookie!

And this game takes a long time to play ... but you get to feel all helpful for curing these stuffed animals of their psychiatric disorders. FYI, the English translation isn't totally the greatest. But I enjoyed it. Especially when Bucket gets SO, SO , SO(!!!!) concerned with the Hippo's dream analysis.

I'll blog something about my actual life later, okay?

More cuteness ... and things I shouldn't have said ...

SO, yesterday, Bruise was at the door of the snack cabinet. (No, not all the snacks are kept in there. But the fruit snacks are.)

Michael: *notices Bruise at the door* Do you want a fruit snack?
Bucket: *standing next to Michael* Okay. Okay, Dad. Fruit snack, okay.
(And her tone!! It was all, "Okay, since you suggested it, Dad, that sounds like a great idea!")

She's too clever. ^_^

And for the thing that I shouldn't have said ... and it goes totally with that one quote about parenthood -- something to the effect of "Your children will repeat word-for-word everything that you should not have said." ... I'm sure you've hear that one. ...

WELL, we got through the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. I hadn't realized QUITE how much I was stressing over it. (Once we got it set up, I was ready to sleep for a few days, if that lets you know how much I was worried about it.)

And so I had gotten the crayons, the extra placemats, the certificates for the boys' cakes, and the bid sheets for the silent auction (for the boys' cakes) ... the tables and chairs were set up, we put the tablecloths up ... I had made some chili for the potluck and baked a cake for the auction (it wasn't that cute or amazing. I was not so thrilled with it. But people said it was cute. Thank you for flattering me. ^_^). We took the kids home to get a nap, got them back up, headed back to the church, kept the kids well-behaved, I helped "judge" (give titles to some of them, anyways) the cakes ... and after the awards were given out, we snuck out to go home.

Michael: Are you going to leave your plate (from the chili) there?
Me: Oh, CRAP! No, I completely forgot. Can you go get it while I buckle the kids in?

Bucket: O kwap!!

Me: *tries to suppress giggles as she sounds completely P.O.ed*
Michael: That is NOT funny.
Me: *snickers* It's not at all ... but at the same time it's HILARIOUS.

He goes in and retrieves the plate as I try and explain to Bucket as I get them buckled in (Bless Bruise, he's just chillin' the whole time.)

Me: Bucket, you shouldn't say "crap." It's not a nice word. Only Mommy should say it ... and really, she shouldn't say it, either.

Bucket: Oh kwap. Kwap, kwap, kwap. KWAP!!!

Me: *snickers* *composes myself* NO, Bucket. Don't say that, please. *finishes buckling her in and races to my seat so I can snicker into my fist.*

Michael comes back ... "Do you want your daughter to be the potty-mouth of the Nursery?"

Me: No. ... but it's still funny.
Michael: That's so immature.
Me: *agreeably and light-heartedly* I know. I'm aware of that.

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

One funny thing at the Blue and Gold --

As the awards for the cakes were handed out and the people who won the silent auctions were announced, the boys were awarded their certificates with their titles for the cakes (a treasure map cake was "X marks the Spot," etc., etc., and so forth).

The sister that I was judging with said that mine had to have a certificate, too. I declined to be awarded it in front of everyone ... but my title was the "Dread Pirate Roberts." ... I'm sure that a few of you will catch the reference. (GREAT movie!!)

As our emcee that night (Not me! Whoo!!!!!!) was announcing the cakes and their respective winners, he asked me via microphone what my award was. So I told him, as loudly as I could.

"Dread Pirate Roberts ... Well I saw it and it was certainly dreadful."

"I know," was my loud reply. (I had complained about it to Michael quite a bit.)

"... In the most pleasant meaning possible!!!" Nice work at back-pedaling. I got a chuckle out of it.

It's cool. It was not the best nor the cutest cake. I think my Relief Society license might be revoked. :P But, hey! It earned some money to help the boys get to Day Camp ... that should make it alright.

Things that my kids say

Bucket has now started saying "Okay."

And she has that resigned tone of voice down. Heaven help me when she's a teenager.

Bucket: Snack, Mom. Snack.
Me: What do we say?
Bucket: Peeeeeese.
Me: Good job. Do you want a cookie?
Bucket: Pensel (Pretzel).
Me: No. No pretzels right now. Can I give you some bread?
Bucket: *all resigned* Okay, Ma. Okay.

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

Another thing she said today:

"Oh no! I fall down pants!"
("My pants have fallen down!!")

How CUTE is she? I'll tell you. She's wicked cute.

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

Bruise is talking more. Not a TON more, mind you. But he is improving. He'll count up to three. Sometimes to four.

Whenever he throws a tantrum, what he says is rather dependent upon who's put him in time out.

If it's me, "Daddy wooooooork." ("Daddy's at work" ... and therefore cannot save me. Waaaaah!!!"

If it's Michael, "Moooooooom!!!"

He's silly.

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

Right now the kiddos are watching Cars (again ^_^) and leaning over the side of the couch.

Bruise: I stuuuuuuuuuck.

Bucket: Stuck! I stuck! Mom! Daddy! Stuck!

Silly children.

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

Another fun snippet from earlier today.

Michael was taking a nap after he got home from work. The kids had woken up from theirs. I had given Bucket some pretzels and asked her to share with Bruise.

As I looked into the kitchen, Bucket was feeding pretzels, one by one, to Bruise ... complete with sound effects. "Chomp!"

They got distracted by my laughing. At least they know that I'm not laughing AT them-at them .... Just TOWARD them-at them.

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

And Bruise is wearing his Thomas the Train underwears right now. He asked for them especially ... like threw a tantrum when I put him in a pair of Elmo man panties. ("UNDERWEAR." Michael demands that I refer to the man panties. :P ... Yes, I'm THAT mature.)

Taking my auntie responsibilities seriously. ... Maybe TOO seriously

Here's an email that I just sent to my brother-in-law's wife about the proposed list of names that they sent out.

For my future nephew ... I'll make a plea for NOT Echo.

Echo was a (female) nymph in Greek mythology who was cursed by Hera to only be able to repeat the words of others (since Echo had distracted Hera with her gossip as Hera was out scouting for Zeus as he was ... out philandering) ...

And Echo fell in love with Narcissus (yeah, like the flower) who fell in love with his own reflection (hence the word "narcistic" = being in love with/full of oneself) and ignored her as she pined away, leaving only her voice ... as an echo.

Yeah, I think my main problem is not that it's after a character who pined away for love ... but that it's a woman.
If my nephew turns out to be a niece, than by all means go for it.

And you know that if you name him Doctor, he's going to be like Doctor Cox on Scrubs: a bit abrasive and referring to men with women's names. I hope that Chris won't mind being called "Shirley," et al. :P

Shirley does have a certain panache that "Dad/Daddy" doesn't, though ...

But those are just my first thoughts as I go through the list. ^_^

Your mentally-imbalanced sister-in-law

Yes, I am that crazy that I do have to make remarks like that. Good thing that my family (and my extended family) love me so.

How do they ever deal with me?

Sick Sad World

When did I last blog? I should have looked before I started writing this, huh?

Well, what's pertinent? I've read some books. If you ever go to goodreads, you can see what I have rated. I'm terrible at comments. I don't think I've commented on a single book there. (I think the link works. If it doesn't, let me know. I'll work on it.)

Friday, we went and fed the ducks at one of the local parks. The kids really enjoyed it.
Saturday, we ripped up the stanky carpet in the master bath (seriously ... carpeted bathroom?? Add a shower door that drips when you open it and a couple instances of cats using the "alternate" litter box -- or lack thereof. It was nasty). Then we painted the bare floor so we can use it ... since we don't have the tiles for it yet. Hopefully in a few months.
Sunday ... what can I say about Sunday? We were supposed to sing in ward choir (Sorry Di!) ... but as I was trying to get the kidlets to take a nap, they emptied two drawers of their dresser ... adding that pile to the three other drawers that had been emptied ... I just ...

I don't know if it's February itself, but I have a noticeable LACK of motivation. And my period is making me all crazy. AND I had a meeting in the afternoon. AND I wanted the house in some state of order when my mom came in that afternoon ... And with the kidlets NOT taking a nap that they needed ... I pretty much just took a personal health day for the most part. I cleaned up the house, tried to take a nap, and went to my meeting. I still feel crappy and kinda stupid that I missed church.

I got to see one of my friends that I hadn't seen in a while today. This was the first time I've seen her daughter (I used to play with her eldest when she still lived in town. Then we were pregnant at the same time ... and she moved in the middle of the pregnancy, but she comes to visit family ... and my kidlets and her second are days apart in age). It was good to see her. Unfortunately, she's up because some catty little bint accused her husband (a teacher) of indecent actions. A totally ludicrous claim -- because she was reprimanded for playing with her cell phone during class. Ugh. So she throws people's lives into upheaval. Ugh.
I know that it's totally low of me, but I totally hope that this bint get her karma. And that it bites her, FAST and HARD, in the bum-oley.

Besides that, not a whole lot is going on right now. I'm enjoying PBS's Masterpiece with the Jane Austen novels-into-movies. I've seen the A&E "Pride and Prejudice" before. I like it. Michael and I get to make some snarky comments during it ... like how Darcy's gangster name would be "Wet Shirt Darcy."

Or how Michael's like, "Is this the part where he falls in the lake?"
Me: NO. He goes for a swim. "Falling" implies that it's not on purpose and give a completely different mental image. Like slapstick. And that doesn't fit. ... Though it would be funny.

And how we pick apart Darcy's first (rather pitiful yet passionate) proposal -- "Against my better judgement" = "I love you, even though a smarter man would not." Harsh!!
I'm half-amazed that Lizzie didn't kick the crud out of him for that one.

SO, to take attention away from my odd mental state (or at least distract from it), here are some fun comics that I enjoy:

At comics.com:

9 Chickweed Lane
Pickles
Get Fuzzy
Pearls Before Swine
(the artists/authors for those last two are friends and rip on each other every so often. It's great. ^_^)
Rose is Rose

There's Sluggy Freelance.

I've recently gotten into Wapsi Square. It's got a bit in common with Sluggy, but it's also very different. (Just so you know, it starts off slowly ... but the plot builds really well. And I'm loving the character development. As I do in ...


Questionable Content, whose name is very honest. This artist also writes Indie Tits -- a web comic that features mostly birds with unfortunate names that talk about obscure bands. So I really don't get it a lot. I much prefer QC. It's got plot. ^_^

And there is the newest one I've gotten into -- Basic Instructions. The art's not quite all that to be desired (not that it's bad, by any means ... you'll see what I mean). But the humor involved? Genius. I usually have to share these with Michael, since I know he'd appreciate them, too.

So, that sums of MOST of the comics that I read. (If you are into photography, you should check out What the Duck? for a good read.)

Did that work? Did my evasive maneuver for getting off of the topic of my higher-than-it-should-be mental number work? Huh?

If not, I'll be posting pictures of my kidlets.




"I'm gonna catch me a duckie. Then I'm gonna pet it and squeeze it and call it George."

More "Valentines" for you ...

EVOL - A backwards love story.
(Nabbed from -- yet again -- Neatorama):



And #POUND# 646 ...



May you find love and redemption ... with as little torture as possible. ^_^

Happy Luuuuuuuuuuurve Day!

Ah, yes ... the fourteenth of February. The day of luuuuuuuuuuuuuurve.

For a great list of fairy tale couples, go check out Sarah Beth Durst's blog. (She's the author of a fairy-tale based novel. The sequel's coming out soon!) And if you need more of the fairy-tale fun, you should TOTALLY check out her Obscure Fairy Tale posts. I seriously laugh to the point of tears when I read these. She's awesome. I must buy her books.

As far as Valentine's Day plans, we'll be eating dinner here at home. I plan on following the recipe ideas from the Pioneer Woman.

But for you ... you could always go see a concert:



Or a ballet (This one's actually serious. And WOW. I should have stayed in ballet class. Wow.):



You could watch a documentary:



(Sad thing, as you can read on Neatorama, is that after they filmed these frogs, there was a big storm that came through and wiped them all out. So, yeah, we just learned about them right before they've gone extinct.)


And then, HERE is the first Axe body spray advert that has made me laugh.
So subtle. But so good. ^_^

The kidlets are carrying around the little Sesame Street backpacks that they got for V-day ... and they enjoyed their cards from family. They're carrying around the stuffed animals that my younger cousins got them for Christmas. It's a cute day. When they're not whining. ^_^

Bruise is getting a third year's use out of his "Love Overload"-robot shirt. It SWAMPED him his first Valentine's Day. Last year it was just about right. Now it's a little small. But it's SO cute.

I'll be putting Bucket in the dress her cousins gave her for V-day, with a long-sleeved onesie underneath.

TANGENT: We had to buy diapers yesterday. I picked up the generic Target brand ... I'm impressed so far. ^_^ Nice!

Bruise is talking more and more. Good thing.

Here's the conversation we just had:

B: Hi, Mom.
Me: Hi, [Bruise]
B: Hi, Mom
Me: Hi, [Bruise]
*I finish putting the foam dinosaurs back in the book he's brought me*
B: All gone.
*he runs off*
*he runs back with the other dinosaur*
B: All done.
Me: *puts apatosaurus away* Okay, there you go. Put it away now.
B: *grabs book* Bye!!!

In comparison to his rather silence, this is huge. And he'll soon catch up to Bucket's stage of singing songs with lyrics (she's working on the theme to Sesame Street and her ABCs) and counting aloud. ^_^ Yay!

SO, enough about me ... what are your plans for Valentine's Day?

(Back to me: I plan on skipping a meeting, painting my nails, cooking dinner, and sharing more romance-novel cover snark -- Not so safe for work at times ... but still hilarious. Even when I edit the language as I read them aloud to Michael.)

Our last week ...

Do you ever feel like somehow EVERYTHING happens all in one week?

It was a fine week. Just a little busy at bits. ^_^

Monday, we fed the elders (missionaries) BBQ pizza. I finally found a pizza dough recipe that I like. Thank the heavens above for my lovely friend, the internet.

Tuesday, Michael's coaching the YW basketball team had been canceled. BUT *I* had a Cub Scout meeting about the future of our Scouting plans ... In the end, we WILL combine with another ward (two wards for a little bit). It sounds like I might be shuffled around a little. But I still have to "plan" the Blue and Gold banquet (and when I say "plan," I mean let everyone else with more experience plan it out ... and I'll have to emcee and buy crayons. And delegate some people to set up and take down stuff.)

Wednesday, I had a Pampered Chef's party at a Dianne's. Very fun. And I got to bring along the kidlets and chat and eat chocolate (whereas Bucket refused the sweets and demanded broccoli. That girl of mine. ^_^ And Bruise enjoyed playing with the bog kids.) ... And Michael had a meeting at church to discuss a meeting (seminar, really) that is going to be postponed for another four months. Yes, we do have a church of meetings. ^_^ (I keep half-jokingly tell my kidlets that if they miss Daddy so much on Sundays, they need to learn to say, "Bishop, too many meetings. I miss Daddy." Yeah, I'm that subversive.)

Thursday was spent cleaning the house and getting packed for Friday, when we went to visit my folks. We stayed at Dad and L's new place (they just got done building their new house. Very pretty). The kids didn't sleep very well. Saturday, we saw Nana (she enjoyed her early birthday present and the card that the kids helped make) and then went over to see my Mom and stepdad. Bucket ate way too much ... but the kiddos (and us adults) had a very nice time. Then, when we had finally gotten the kidlets to sleep at around 9:30 (hello, glorious slumber!), Bucket threw up. Twice. And Bruise woke up from her screaming ... and, well, we were up until midnight (so, no hello, glorious slumber. Hello, torturous sleep-deprivation). So we skipped church and had a leisurely morning, packed up the car, went to Nana's and, from there, headed home.

The kiddos were pretty cute, though. As we drove to Nana's, Bucket was all "I go Mutti's!" (My mom's). And, as we left Nana's, Bruise made her day by saying (and she heard it this time) "Bye-bye, Nana!"

They were tired (and cranky) enough that we put them to bed early. They fell asleep a little earlier than usual. But not by much. I'm just hoping that they take a good nap today. Especially since earlier, Bucket was playing and tripped and bit her lip pretty badly. I held her, gave her some ibuprofen and a teething ring to suck on ... she seems better. She had some fruit snacks and some water. I think that the pretzels would hurt her mouth ... even though she really is asking for them. Poor pumpkin.

Maybe, while they nap today, I can finish my book, load the dishwasher, maybe get the last of the puke-stains out of Bucket's newest sleeper.

But I have managed to get the crib skirts (or should I call them bedskirts, since they are on the "toddler bed" stage of the cribs' metamorphosis? Too many questions! Not enough sleep to ponder them!!) on the correct beds.

BRAGGING: We went to Target last week to get diapers and sundry supplies. I wanted to get a second crib skirt since we took the one side off of each crib and it looked empty ... I got one on clearance (the one that I had looked at MONTHS ago) for less than five dollars. It was originally around $20. Woot me! I also found a cute sheet for Bruise's bed -- it has backhoes and trucks and street signs on it. That boy loves him some cars. And I feel all smart and cool because Bucket likes green ... and that's the color of her new crib skirt. I was able to put the original one we got (white) back on Bruise's bed (to cover up the fact that the Pack-n-Plays live under there ... Bucket's crib has a drawer, but it still looks nicer with a crib skirt. And now I'm BABBLING ... Regardless, her crib sheet and skirt are (at present) both green and go nicely with all the pink blankets she has on there (and the one crocheted green one she got from a great-aunt).

Wow, I'll bet that I've bored you now. Should I start talking about the amounts of laundry I did yesterday (1 load) or how many loads of dishes that I should do today (maybe two) or something else completely boring? Because I totally could.

OR I could actually be cool and stop blathering on and actually clean my house or finish some books or play with my getting-sleepy children.

OH! I totally have to let everyone know: Michael wants to get the next new verb out to be "Jackie Chan" --- as in, "Teancum, in the Book of Mormon, was a total ninja. He's the ninja in the scriptures. When he crept into the Lamanite camp to take out Amalikiah, he totally Jackie Chan-ed it up and over the wall. Then he disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. I'm telling you, he's a ninja!"

And then we had to go into the discussion that either Teancum's packing smoke bombs or he's a mutant with his "bamf"-ing ability.

Yeah ... I don't think this is going to help my street cred much, huh? Unless my street cred is all about how I'm so white and nerdy.

And, just in case you still haven't seen it Dianne ... and for the enjoyment of the world at large:



Because I cannot post it too many times.

Yeah, that is one awesome song. I hearts it.

Is this me?

So, what do you think?

"Benevolent Visionary" does have a nice ring to it.

... It's better than "Self-Obsessed Megalomaniac," right?

*sigh* Do we really need to go over my rules?

Okay, some anonymous person left a comment of PAGES (literally) of what can best be described as insane rantings on the nature of evil and what a savior is and is not. And gods and the state of evil that the world is in ... and I'm not sure what else. Since I was not about to read through at least five to twenty pages of ... stuff ... to come to a thesis statement.

Wow.

And the strangest thing is that it didn't seem to have ANY RELEVANCE WHATSOEVER to anything that I've written.

Seriously, if you want to comment, that's great. I like comments.
But please don't be some anonymous hater. If you want a theological discussion, I'm cool with that. Let's do it like mature adults. Like people who respect each other and our beliefs.

But we do NOT put down other cultures or religions. We do NOT use the f-bomb. You can "damn," and "hell" and "crap" all you want ... but let's do try to maintain my modicum of order and poise, 'kay? You can even "flip" and "freak" and "frick" all you please. Heck y'all, "fetch" is cool, too. Get my drift? I'm sure you get my point.

*sigh*
Some people's children ... My goodness.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I really liked this quote from Gordon B. Hinckley:

And so, while in Nauvoo the other day I reflected on the preparation
for prophethood; I reflected on this amazing Joseph Smith. I cannot expect
his detractors to know of his prophetic calling by the power of the Holy
Ghost, but I can raise some questions for them to deal with before they can
dismiss Joseph Smith. I raise only three of many that might be asked:
First, what do you do with the Book of Mormon? Second, how do you explain
his power to influence strong men to follow him, even unto death? And
third, how do you rationalize the fulfillment of his prophecies?

(Gordon B. Hinckley, "Praise to the Man," Ensign, Aug. 1983, 4)

--------------------------------------
Back to my confusion in regards to Anonymous Commenter ... Why the vitriol?
I do believe that we have a Savior. And that a savior IS necessary to the purpose of our life here on earth.

I don't believe that other cultures or peoples as a whole are evil. I don't believe that God is out there to hurt us. (The way that Anonymous said prayers should end would be in a plea for the gods not to hurt oneself. --- What the chicken? Heavenly Father loves us. I have respect and reverence for Him. I don't fear him sending injuries my way. The idea that a perfect, loving Father would behave in such a way boggles my brain.)

*sigh* Yeah, I just REALLY don't get it.

Anyone else getting random comments like this?
Or am I just special?

Our new first presidency

I was thinking that we'd have to wait until Conference in April before we'd hear who our new prophet would be.

I was so wrong!

They announced it this morning ... and I'm so glad for the internet.

Deseret News has the story ... but in short:


Picture from Deseret News. ... Really, I've not been to Utah. How could I take it myself. I'm not all cool and neat enough to be all buddy-buddy with the big dogs. I just admire from afar. :D

Thomas S. Monson (center, with the dark hair), as has been tradition (since he was the previous first counselor ... and so far, the first counselor has gone on to be prophet. As long as the prophet hasn't outlived him. It doesn't HAVE to be that way. The rest of the quorum could always take a vote.), is our new prophet.

Henry B. Eyring (left, the one smiling and all adorable) is his first counselor ... He was the second counselor before Hinckley passed away. (Note: I LOVE President Eyring. He's AMAZING.)

Deiter F. Uchdorf (on the right with the silver-shot hair)is the new second counselor. This is a bit of a surprise ... he hasn't been in the quorum of the twelve apostles for that long. It's a good thing, though. It does go to show that our church IS an international church (Uchdorf's from Germany ... and the Czech Republic). This will be an interesting change ... and I'm happy to see it.

I know that there were some people on the bloggernacle hoping for Kikuchi to be called ... I think he's probably very happy just being a seventy. ^_^

I really love my church. And I have complete faith that we are in good hands (our new presidency and the Lord's). I know that I can fully support these men in their new callings. I'm glad that we can receive guidance from our prophet and all those that the Lord has called. It's a good thing. It makes me happy and secure.

(for those of you who have NO idea what I'm taking about ... just ask. I'll try to explain all the church-stuff as well as I can. ^_^)

My Veggie Tale

As a mother of kidlets, a good deal of talk about everyone's kids eventually gets to the point of what they will and WILL NOT eat.

Bruise? He does pretty well. He doesn't eat so well when he feeds himself at the table. He gets distracted. He will refuse to eat from his plate, but eat the EXACT SAME FOOD off of yours.
He's not such a big fan of a few vegetables. Broccoli? He's not all into that.
He actually likes grapefruit. He doesn't get a lot of that in this house. But he liked it.

Bucket? She usually eats a bit better. She usually refuses peas.
She can boggle the mind, though.
A few weeks ago, I made made some roasted broccoli (it looks wilted, but is TOTALLY easy to make and is pretty tasty). Bruise took one bite and ran away. Bucket? Nearly demolished the whole plate.

She loves her some o' dem "little trees."

It warms my cold, black heart when I hear her chirp, "Brokky good!"

And I'm impressed that my kidlets will eat salad.
It used to be just the dressing ... they'd suck it off the lettuce and spit the lettuce out. Now they'll eat it gladly.

Phew!

Now to actually buy and serve more vegetables.
I'm just trying to give them a good bunch of foods to try at a young age.
Maybe then they won't be as picky as I was as a munchkin.

They do like spicier foods than I did. Woot!

But really ... "Brokky good!"
TOTALLY makes my week.