Thursday, June 26, 2008

Dog tricks.

Yesterday we realized just how smart our incredibly annoying dog is. In half an hour, we reviewed the three tricks she knew - come, sit, lay - and taught her a few more. Now, she'll come, sit, shake (hands), lay, roll over, jump, stand and walk. She'll do it mostly in that order with or without treats, and almost always perform each trick. She's still annoying, but at least she can channel her energy for her own education. What a dog.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Made of Honor

Nina and I went to see Made of Honor and, I don't know about her, but I wasn't TOTALLY disappointed. I guess I like Patrick Dempsey more than I realized. It was very predictable, but just what I wanted to watch. Cutesy chick flick. We went to the dollar theater and that was perfect. I recommend going to the cheap theater or renting it. I liked it, though. :)

School

I'm devistated that school's coming up so fast. Reilly's going to kindergarten from 9:15 - 12:05 and Sean goes to preschool from 9:30 - 11:30... so, for roughly two hours, I'll be alone. It may sound like fun, but I'm so not looking forward to it. Neither kid cares. I'm sure they're going to do well, but I'm still worried about them.

'It's my little eye!'



I taught the kids how to wink. How cute are they!? Sean learned first because when he says, 'what?' he would make one eye smaller than the other. I started asking him to show me his little eye and he got better and better. Reilly learned hers in the mirror shortly after. Today, we learned that she can't do it when she's smiling because both eyes get too small to tell the difference... that explains the weird face she's making in the picture. She's still a smartie-pants!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Shot the moooooooon!

So, I started playing Hearts before bed. It's a fun game that I only just barely (like two minutes ago) read the rules to. I was playing, thinking I knew it all... don't take the hearts... pass high cards, don't get any points... Oh, how little I knew. I kept getting 26 points and had NO idea why! I was like, 'what the... it said I had no points this round... how did I get 26?' THEN, I read the rules and found the way to stay ahead. Shoot the moon! It's when you try to take all the hearts and the queen of spades (she's 13 points all by herself... fickle lady!) and everyone else gets the 26 points while I walk away with NOTHING! NOTHING! Hah! After playing a few hands, I did it! I shot the mooon! Booo-ya!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Attack of the minis!! Run for your life!

What's the deal with mini-skirts and short-shorts?? They're attractive on like 1% of the population, but they just keep coming back! Seriously, I need to know. I loved last summer when I could go ANYWHERE and find knee-shorts and mid-calf or just below the knee skirts. Now, I'm being attacked by nasty skirts and shorts.

I saw two girls walking in the mall and both had mini-skirts on. I'm not saying I checked them out... or that I think I'm sooo attractive... but COVER UP!! Just because they make it in your size (btw, why would they?!), doesn't mean you have to buy it... or even should!

I figured out why they've come back... because Sarah Jessica Parker pulled off a mini-dress at some award ceremony. She's part of the 1% and the rest of us should get a warning on clothing we try on. Here's what it should say:



Warning: Clothes may appear larger than they actually are. If you're a stranger to the gym... or triathlons, put it down and walk away.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Someone's got gasssssss...

I was driving, for the first time in a month, and noticed how high the gas prices have gotten. I think the biggest problem with the extortion of it is that we have no choice. For Orem, it's hard to get around by other means because the public transportation is HORRENDOUS and expensive. I can't understand why the government, who's just pocketing the money from over-priced gas, can't afford to give us free public transportation... ?? So, anyway, I thought of an analogy that I've already used for years.

Tampons! Women need them monthly... need. We have no choice. The alternative is not an option. What are tampons made from, you ask? Cotton. COTTON! But how much do they cost?

PKG of 18 = $7.00
PKG of 36 = $12.00
PKG of 88 = $27.00

This seems extreme to me, however, I HAVE to buy them. I have no choice, so cotton turns to gold when it hits the shelves. Gas is just like that. It doesn't cost any more now that a year ago, but as soon as it gets to the gas station - it's gold. Extortion!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Done!

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns just now. I started it Friday night, but couldn't stop reading it. Khaled Hosseini has a way of making each chapter end just so that you can't wait to find out what happens next. Seriously, read something of his and you'll get it. Comment if you've read this one.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Goodbye Bedtime...

Since I had surgery, we've been having really late nights. We - I say - because it's EVERYONE in the fam... kids including. Dustin has never really kept to bedtimes and, because I'm usually resting my foot from the day, I can't just jump to when it's time. This is making for really grumpy kids and even grumpier Lauren! So, right now, at 11:45 in the pm, the kids are going at it. Playing, 'reading' and otherwise doing non-bedtime things. Oh, pray for me...

Book Club!


Rebekah (http://silveralley.wordpress.com/) and I decided today that we're starting a book club. So far, it's just us, but you should join, too. Our first book is A Thousand Splended Suns, which is written by Khaled Hosseini (who also wrote The Kite Runner). Check it out, buy it, start reading it today!

Don't you think I can still see you...

Every time I see someone dressed in all camouflage, I just want to run into them ("accidentally") and say, "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there." Hahahahah! It happened today outside of Barnes & Noble. This girl was head to toe in outdated camo clothes (yes, it looked as bad as you're imagining), and I just walked away laughing to myself. Next time, I'm doing it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Missionary Month (Lesson 20)


May marked Missionary Month for our youth. They all got companions and responsibilities for each week. Our Young Women's presidency really went all out and organized it's perfectly! They had districts and district leaders, and mission presidents. They also had the full time missionaries from our area kick off the (mock) MTC experience. It was really thought out.

So, to go along with that, our Sunday lessons were lessons 20 (Understanding a Missionaries Responsibilities) and 21 (Preparing to Share the Gospel) in the Young Women's manual 3. Our Beehive advisor and I planned an activity for Lesson 20. We did orgami dress shirts (http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/downloads/missionary_shirt.pdf) and on the reverse side, wrote little notes of appreciation/encouragement to the full time missionaries from our ward. It was so fun and I think they turned out super cute! We used white card-stock and I printed a little black tag for each of the missionaries so they were personalized. For the ties, we used scrapbook pages that had manly patterns. And I found some cute brads that we used for tie-tacks to keep them closed. Hope you like it.

Water for Elephants

Okay, so here's the skinny. Don't read it. It's an okay book with an awesome story... quite a sad combo if you asked me. The title made NO sense in the story. It was referred to twice as a joke... that circus workers don't really bring water to the elephants... ha ha ha... The author wrote it like it was an inside joke among the circus folk, but NEVER let the reader in on the joke. That was annoying, gotta tell ya. Also, she frequently described the acts of the circus (like I cared) and completely neglected the story for pages at a time. That was really boring. At first I thought she was character building, but then she wouldn't go back to that character... or by the time she did, I'd forgotten who they were and had to turn back. Anyway, after The Kite Runner, it was a sad book. Not at all what I wanted to read.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Look, Ma! No Hands!


Here I am! Walking. It's harder than I thought it'd be. I'm still favoring the outside of my foot (you can sort of tell from the picture), but I'm working on it... GOSH! Lortab is back on the menu so that I can bend my toe joint, but I hope to be off of that in a week. Check back soon. I have more xrays to put up. :) :) :)

Good News/Bad News

I had an appointment yesterday and was given the go-ahead to walk around the house without the boot. The good news is that I'm getting better; the bad news is that I'm not normal. My doctor said that most people aren't in the pain that I'm in and can bend their joint better than I can! What's that all about??! So, I'm determined to be able to (sort of) walk by my appointment next week. When I can get my lame computer to pick up the internet connection it's detecting, I can add the pictures of me walking. Hooray!!!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

New Book to Read.


I'm so excited to read another book! I've never cared about reading, but The Kite Runner really got me going. So, I've started Water for Elephants and, so far, it's good. I'll let you know how I end up liking it... but you should read it, too - so we have something to talk about. What do you say? No? Okay, well, whatever.

Can you say 'reality whore?'



I was chillin' out this evening... catching up on my soaps - so to speak - and I caught a glimpse of what our society is coming to; washed up celebrities and reality whores taking over the television!! As you can probably see, the circus is the next venue for these ol' hags. I can't say that I didn't see it coming, but really? Really! The circus?

So, let's run the list of celeb reality shows we've got now... Really, read it; it's hilarious!

Celebreality Show (Reality Show Equivalent)
Dancing with the Stars (So You Think You Can Dance)
Celeb Rehab (Intervention)
But Can They Sing? (American Idol)
Celebrity Duets (American Idol)
Celebrity Fit Club (Biggest Loser)
Celebrity Fit Club - Boot Camp (Boot Camp)
Celebrity Mole (The Mole)
Rock Of Love (The Bachelor)
I Love New York (The Bachelorette)
Flavor Of Love (The Bachelor)
Celebrity Apprentice (The Apprentice)
Punk'd (Candid Camera)
The Surreal Life (The Real World)
Hey, Paula! (The Real World)
My Life on the "D" List (The Real World)
My Fair Brady (Etc.)
The Hills (Etc.)
Living Lohan (You get it!)
Keeping up with the Kardashian's (And the list goes on....)
It's Complicated (It keeps going....)
Prime Time Love (And that's not all!!)

But still.... the CIRCUS??? I've never used this phrase and will probably never use it again, but WTF?!?!?!?!?! What is the world coming to??

Just so you know, though, most of the 'stars' (used very loosely) have been on countless other reality shows... in other words... WHORES!!!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Prepare for ... awesomeness???


We just got back from watching Kung Fu Panda. Reilly has been begging me to go see it for the past two weeks. She says the title so funny! "Kun Fu Panda!" as fast as she can, over and over again. It's very Reilly.

Well, it was what I expected. Never laugh out loud funny, but good. Predictable, but entertaining. Jack Black isn't my favorite actor, but, thank heavens, I wasn't staring at him the whole movie. I didn't even get that Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan or Angelina Jolie were in it until the credits... again, not a fan.

So, my advice is, don't expect anything... it's nothing special.

First Shower!

I took my first shower since before the surgery. It was a bit scary because I had to put some weight on my bad foot... and that's hard to do still. I felt sooooo much better, though... not like I haven't been bathing (because I have), but it's just not the same. Fresh water constantly is too often taken for granted. APPRECIATE I tell ya!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Before and After


I've been having the WORST time sleeping and getting comfortable lately. The boot's too tight around my ankle and my foot/ankle's not strong enough to support itself without the boot. I can't tell you how many times I've taken off and put on that thing in the last 24 hours. It's terribly annoying!!! But what a change, eh? Aside from the swelling, my foot's completely different.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

As promised...



My new foot! So, it didn't transfer well, but you get the idea... I used to have a boney growth and it's gone! My doctor's going to give me the xrays on a cd when we're all done with the recovery, so I'll update it with better images later. Meanwhile, you get the idea.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Playing around...




Reilly picked the neighbors flower... bad, bad idea... play with camera settings... good idea. In the end, good move, Reilly!

The book's always better.


It wasn't terrible... it didn't RUIN the book... but it was still disappointing. Amir, the main character, was not at all emotional enough... here's my blogged impression of his acting.

1. He gets some terrible news about his childhood bestfriend = ahhh, dang it... hmmm...

2. He gets married = woooo hoooo... ??

3. He doesn't want to risk life or limb for anyone = can't someone else do it? no? okay... hmmm..

4. His in-laws make fun of his family = stop? I mean... stop?... *fork slams on plate*

Thank you! Thank you! You've been an absolutely wonderful audience! Good night!!!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Me and My Boot!


Here's me now... I have to walk with my boot on, but don't have to keep it on always. The bad part is that my foot has grown accustomed to the boot, so it's not comfortable without it. So, in a few weeks, when I get it off, I'll have one tan leg and one painfully white leg. :) hahaha!