Tuesday, October 28, 2008

need a chuckle?

Here's four:



I can't remember if I posted this here before, but I still love it and figured some of you might not have seen it.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

what the world needs...

is more exuberant dancing.



Don't you agree?


I have to confess to getting a wee bit choked up watching this. I'm blaming it on hormones.

Friday, October 24, 2008

david's job

So he is working for APX Alarm, and while sales might not be his dream job, he is glad to be working for a solid company that does good things.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

enough about you...

let's talk about me! ;o)

(Actually, I haven't heard nearly enough about any of you lately. Hopefully soon I can fritter away a couple hours reading up on various blogs.)

Yesterday and today I did portraits for a preschool down in Springville. I was nervous as all get out yesterday morning, just so worried that something would go wrong and not exactly sure how I'd get kid after kid to smile. Happily, nothing super terrible happened and I did, indeed, find a fairly good way to get kids to smile. (But I'm not going to tell you...it's a trade secret now!)

Today's shoots were actually fun because I knew exactly what to do and I felt confident and prepared. Even by yesterday afternoon I was on a roll. I'm going to approach another friend of mine who also works at a preschool and see if they are interested in doing photos, too. It is definitely an energy intensive shoot, but fairly lucrative. Plus it will be a good way to get my name out.

Other than that, things have been going pretty well. I'm enjoying the nice, fall weather and am SO HAPPY that it hasn't snowed. Yippee! I'm hoping for a warm week next week so we can go to Free Zoo Day on Wednesday and have some Halloween fun on Tuesday with our homeschool group and Friday with trick-or-treating.

In "baby" news, I've actually been feeling great. I'm sleeping well and have sufficient energy (which is really saying something considering I get up at 5:30 a.m. most days to work for 2 hours). I keep making the mistake of "jogging" to get to and from the car and the house or the store and as my belly protests I remember that there is a reason pregnant women just walk!

So, life is good.

Oh, and I got released from being a Webelos leader! It was a good two year run, but I'm excited to have my Wednesday evenings back and be able to devote more time and attention to the other interests in my life. I'm helping finish out the Artist Badge, but then I'm FINITO!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sunday, October 12, 2008

TAG! I'm it! Quirky things about me

My friend Michelle tagged me. These are honestly the first 6 quirks that came to mind. Feel free to comment on these or add your own. I actually like being quirky. In college my sister described me to her roommates as "eccentric," and while I would probably reserve that word for crazy-cat-lady types, I didn't mind it so much. (You should click and look at the definition...the first sentence of it is actually what I aspire to be.) I find I'm at my happiest when I'm being true to my own self and not worrying about what others think. It took me until I was 19 to get to the point where I felt like I "found" myself and was happy with what and who I was. I had an inkling on a trip to Germany at age 16, but it didn't really come out until later. Anyways...that's a post in itself.

QUIRKY ME
Six Quirky things about me

1. I have monkey feet. Once in college, just to see if I could do it, I made a collage postcard for my then-boyfriend, only using my feet. I cut, pasted, and wrote with only my toes. I think the fact that my second toes are longer (by a noticeable amount) than my big toes. And my third toes are actually a wee smidge longer than my big toes. Monkey feet, I tell ya.

2. I collect rat/mouse paraphernalia. Sadly, right now I haven't decided on a good way to display them, so most of them are in a bag. I've been collecting them for a few years, shortly after I got into owning REAL rats, and I like it because they are not that common, especially the rats.

3. I put my deodorant on with one hand, under both arms. I don't switch hands. I didn't know this was weird until one day (way back when) David saw me doing it and pointed out that it was weird. So I guess it's weird.

4. I won two all-school spelling bees in grade school. Grades 3 & 5. I didn't make it super far at the district meet, though. I was a super speller in 1st grade and didn't miss a single word all year. Even now, I can spell words that I don't even know with pretty decent accuracy. (David loves it because he often has a hard time guessing close enough to consult a dictionary.)

5. This one doesn't seem quirky at all to me, but I'm sure it is to all who know me: my immense love of animals and pets. Most people wouldn't even try to have two dogs, two cats, four rats, a rabbit and a fish PLUS two kids under one roof. (That's TEN pets!) But I love having all of them. And if we had more room, I'd happily add a terrarium for an iguana or something along those lines. And we really would like to get chickens next spring. And I still think I'd love (someday) those tiny little pigs (not potbellied, these are TINY and cuter--they look just like "real" pigs.)

6. Hm, I suppose the other weird things I do qualify as quirks, though. Home births, cloth diapers, carrying my kids in the sling, co-sleeping (part time), and homeschooling probably all fall into the "quirky" realm for most people. I just hang out with so many people that do similar things that I no longer feel very quirky about those things!

Did I miss any?

I tag Debra, Mary, Native Minnow & Blue. (And anyone else who would like to be tagged!)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

laughter...



it really is fabulous. Someday I want to have an iPod that is full of funny skits/movie clips. I'll take it everywhere with me and when I need a laugh, I'll randomly select one. This video could definitely make it on there.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

is it friday yet?

No?

David started his sales job this week and we decided to have him do the 1-9:30 p.m. shift for now. And I miss him. A lot. (And I don't like cooking dinner. Yeah, I know, poor me.) But mostly I just miss enjoying his company. I'm trying really hard to be a "trooper" about it all, though. It won't last forever and we certainly do need the money. Working this shift allows him some time in the mornings to work on other commitments, which is good, and he does get to join us for our morning devotionals and read to the kids in the morning. So there are trade-offs. I know he's had a frustrating shift today, though, and I wish I could do something to make it better. He did have two sales yesterday, though, which is good.

Monday, October 06, 2008

my photo blog...

I can't remember if I've "tooted my own horn" here. If I have, I think it's been only that one time. I just added some more pictures on my photo blog. Wanna hire me? *wink*

Sunday, October 05, 2008

this is great...

Click on the arrows for some entertaining political stuff.

update

It's been nearly two weeks since I posted anything more than just random video clips, pictures, or articles. Perhaps I haven't felt much like introspection. (Okay, there's no perhaps about it.)

So the week before this last one, David interviewed for a job that I really really wanted him to get. I had fantasies about him getting this job. It seemed perfect in so many ways. I futilely tried not to get my hopes up, but they seemed to climb without any assistance and despite my efforts to keep them grounded. A couple days after the interview we got the, "We went with somebody else," phone call. I was devastated. Many tears of frustration and sorrow were shed. Disappointment reigned supreme.

Anyways, a couple of days after that he was able to go find a part-time sales job (I think it might allow for up to full-time after the initial period) that has a base wage plus commission. It's obviously not our ideal situation, but for now we are grateful for it and hopeful that it will help us be self-sufficient again. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, right? He did the training this past week and can start working this week. Send good sales vibes his way, will you?

My job offered a bonus these past two weeks if you worked at least 25 hours and met productivity criteria. I met the hour requirement, so it remains to be seen if I was sufficiently productive. (I think I was.) I'd been working right around 20 hours/week, so it was a bit of a stretch to fit in more hours. I think I might be adjusting to the new, fuller workload and busier life in general, though. I hope so. It's hard to feel like there is so much that is going undone.

I've been really grateful this week for friends, and family members who are also good friends. Today in General Conference, Elder Cook (I think) mentioned President Monson's birthday wish from his 81st birthday in August. Without a moment's hesitation he said, "Do something for someone else on that day to make his or her life better. Find someone who is having a hard time, or is ill, or lonely, and do something for them. That's all I would ask." We have had so many people extend generosity and love to us during the past five months, it has been so encouraging and uplifting. I feel like I've been much more of a receiver than a giver throughout this whole ordeal, and maybe that's how life goes sometimes, but I have certainly been grateful for the kindnesses of others, and am more determined to be better at helping others in the future. Maybe for stubborn people like me it takes a bout with hard times to realize how much even the little things can mean. But they certainly do mean a lot.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Thursday, October 02, 2008

did you know...



that kangaroos could be so hunky? Pretty impressive muscles there, eh?