The Forgotten Carols

We went to see Michael McLean's "Forgotten Carols" last weekend. It has been probably 18 years since David and I saw it as a young married couple. I remember we loved it, but that doesn't come close to describing the experience we had on Saturday. It might be that we are a little older, that we have experienced more of life and love and loss. From the first song, I was completely immersed in the Spirit of the Lord. It was confirmed overand over to me...Jesus Christ is real, His story is true. He loves you, believe in Him, follow Him, serve Him.

Our daughters were enthralled, and have been listening to the songs on the CD over and over since. If you haven't seen it, go. Do whatever you have to to have this experience.

Merry Christmas!

Another one down

I turned down a job offer yesterday.

This is the second one since Meridian closed suddenly in August and I found myself unemployed and my kids without a school. The first was a nursing job that I was seriously considering and even took steps towards, but then my mom passed away and when I came back from Arizona, the job just didn't seem like the right thing to do.

I am at home....which causes mouths to gape open in disbelief when I explain that's what I'm doing now. Maybe it's the frenetic, whirlwind pace I kept working fulltime at Meridian the last 6 years that explains the reaction. Or the passion with which I worked. I was so committed to Meridian and the things I (and all of us) were doing there that maybe people thought it was the job.

It was really about my kids. I would do whatever it takes to help my kids, and my kids needed Meridian and that meant I needed to work, so I learned the skills I needed to learn and did the things that needed to be done so that my kids could be there. And it was wonderful.

But now my kids need me at home. They need me to drive them to school in the morning and pick them up after. They need me to volunteer as the reading group leader and play the flute in the Christmas program and do the girls' hair for the ballroom dance concert and cheer at every basketball game. And I want to be there.

When I got home, I told David about the experience. I said, "What I am is a professional mom. My family is what I'm passionate about and where I want to invest my time and talents and energy. And I only have 10 more years to raise my kids and I don't want to miss anything."

He totally understood and supported me. (Bless him!)

So I'm home. And completely happy.

Ticket Update

So...I made the trade.

My good husband offered to take daughter #4 on a Daddy/Daughter date while the other three and I attended the MoTab/David Archuleta concert.

As he put it, "I think I would have more fun going on a date with my daughter than listening to David Archuleta sing." That sealed it and I made the trade. My tickets are now on their way to Kaysville & the new tickets will be arriving at my house on Sunday.

Thanks for your advice!

The Saga of the MoTab/David Archuleta Tickets

I was one of the millions of people who did NOT receive tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with David Archuleta Christmas Concert. I was pretty disappointed, so you can imagine my delight when a few days after the announcement, I received a card from my sister wishing me a happy birthday (my birthday is Dec. 17) and containing 4 tickets to the concert!

Enter the problem: the tickets were for Dec. 16 and daughter #2 has her ballroom dance concert that night. What to do? Maybe I could trade for another night? I posted my dilemma on Facebook and offered to trade my 4 tickets for another night. No takers.

Not ready to give up, I posed the same offer to the sisters in my ward during Relief Society. MANY were willing to take the tickets off my hands, but no one had received any themselves. One person suggested I try posting my trade on ksl.com - so I did.

By this time, daughter #1 had made the basketball team and had a game on Dec. 17, husband had meetings Dec. 19 morning, so my only available trade night was Dec. 18. I put that stipulation in my offer (Thursday for Saturday) but received only offers for Friday, Sunday morning & of course, "we'd be happy to use those tickets in your place." I also noticed quite a few offers to buy the tickets, but was focused on the trade.

Two weeks passed without success and I was beginning to contemplate other options: 1) skip daughter #2's concert & take some of my family on Thursday, 2) skip daughter #1's game & take some of family on Friday, 3) skip church & leave husband & one daughter at home and go to Sunday morning's concert, 4) sell? This was a bit of a dilemma for me because the tickets were free to begin with and it seemed a little off to get money for them. However, the tickets were also my birthday gift, and if I sold them, I could use the money to buy tickets to a different performance for my whole family. I really want to go to a performance and I really want all my kids & husband to come.

Yesterday, I received another offer from someone to take my tickets if I couldn't find a trade. I replied and asked if they would be willing to pay for the tickets. They replied back, " No thanks. You got the tickets for free and are not meant to be sold." I was a little miffed - it is no fun to be scolded, especially not by a stranger. I then checked KSL and Hurray! found a trade for Saturday. Within moments, I also got an email from someone offering $25/ticket.

Dilemma: do I make the trade and take 4 of my family on Saturday (leaving 2 at home)? or do I sell the tickets and go to a different show with everyone?

Black Friday

This morning I arose at the early (even for me) hour of 4:30 and headed off into the night to get a bargain on a Christmas gift.

Normally I shun this ritual - only once before have I partaken, and that was only to see what all the hubbub was about. I was completely unimpressed and have not ventured out again.

But this was a really good deal, and my husband said, "You'll do it, right?" So there I was at Walmart standing in a line with a MILLION other people. When I pulled into the parking lot, my stomach began churning when I saw that it was completely full. As I walked in to the store, I learned that some people had been there since midnight. Apparently my noble effort of arising at 4:30 am was child's play compared to these hard core shoppers.

At 5am, they began distributing the item I desired and at 5:04, I was faced with the ugly reality that I was the very first person NOT to get this item as they were all gone (supplies limited, you know?).

I stared in disbelief for a moment and then returned to my car. The radio announcer suggested some online shopping rather than facing the Black Friday crowds.

What a stellar idea.

On Salad...and other things

"Mom, you haven't posted since Halloween," said my daughter Kellie. "Yes, I did - I posted this month, see?" "But it was about Halloween, and now it's Thanksgiving, you need to post." "Okay, I'll do it." But it's hard to write a post when you don't know what to write about. Yesterday, it hit me. Post about salad. Yes, salad.

You see, I had a salad yesterday for lunch. A salad I made myself with my own hands. And even I was struck by the irony of the moment because for at least half of my life, I hated salad and refused to eat it.

I think it all began when I was a young girl and my job every night for dinner was to make the salad (and grate the cheese, but that is another story). I detested making the salad, number one reason: I knew I wasn't going to eat it. Why should I always have to make the one thing in the meal that I wasn't going to consume? But my mom persisted and the salad I did make.

As I entered my teens, and all my friends were eating salad because it was healthy and helped you be thin, I smugly consumed my powdered, jelly-filled donuts. Did I mention that I really hated salad?

As an adult, I flirted off and on with the salad consumption. All my friends would talk about this or that delicious salad they had made or bought at Wendy's and I thought, "Maybe this will be the salad I will like," so I'd try it. Inevitably, I would be disappointed. Salad just does not taste like donuts. But I was also having babies and worrying more about my health and I knew I needed to improve my veggie intake, so I'd force some bites down and pat myself on the back for the effort.

Oh, there are some "salads" I enjoy, but can you really call the salad at Cafe Rio a salad? Come on - it's mostly tortilla, rice, beans, meat, & cheese with a big hunk of lettuce stacked on top. I don't think that counts - but it is tasty and I have used it as a salad when necessary to appease my conscience.

This fall, I got serious about the lose weight/be healthy thing and went on the HCG diet. One of the great things (besides the weight loss) is that it cleanses the palette. This is a fancy way of saying that I was completely sugar overloaded and so natural food just didn't taste good to me. After two months of no sugar, I was pleased to find that fruits really were sweet...and yummy. And I also learned that I felt a lot better if I ate some veggies every day; hence, the salad for lunch. I still have to force myself to eat it (and a little cheese and egg on it help a lot), but I'm actually choosing on my own to make and eat salad.

And that is my post about salad...and other things.

If you want to know about the HCG diet, I highly recommend my dietician sister-in-law Becky who helped my hubby and me lose a total of 45 lbs. in two months. We look and feel fabulous! And we eat salad.

You go, girl

Right in the middle of cleaning my house today, I was suddenly struck with a longing for my Katie. She's only been off to school for a few hours, but I missed her.

She is my baby, but not really, because being the youngest, she is constantly striving to catch up to where the others are at. Only occasionally will she climb into my arms and let me snuggle her.

Katie is full of little "Katie-isms" that keep my chuckling. I do love to laugh, especially with my kids. Yesterday, we went to the dollar store to get a gift for a party and Katie used her tooth fairy money to buy a small tub of Noisy Putty. When we got in the car, she gave it a good squeeze and it let out a sound just like a fart. She laughed her head off.

In church, she was mad at Jenna for something and they were writing back and forth to each other about it. Jenna made a point which Katie had to concede to and she wrote "well (sigh)"...yes, she wrote the sigh in.

For Halloween, she wanted to be something scary. Originally, it was a vampire witch. I was hoping for a fairy. Then she moved to a chocolate chip cookie. Couldn't figure that one out. We settled on Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon, which ended up being perfect. She is spunky and sassy and gets to be tough and girlie at the same time. Her favorite parts of her costume: the double-bladed axe and the headband.

That's my girl.