Out of a Ben Stiller Movie

You think I'm nuts.

Let me fuel your fire.

I think my cat wants to be toilet trained.

I really do.

He is so fascinated with the toilet, especially the flushing. He usually follows me around, and if he thinks I'm headed to the bathroom, he will sprint from whatever corner of the house to, well, join me.

I'm telling you, he's really fascinated with the flushing.

After I saw his 'stance' on the toilet this morning, I'm even more convinced that he's ready to trade the litter box for the commode. Or, as I heard on Fairly Odd Parents the other night, he wants to "file a report with the big white round guy".

Did You Cast a Vote?

We have been big American Idol fans for many years.

With the exception of the first season (the Kelly Clarkson season), we have rarely missed an episode.

Last night was the first time we had ever voted.

I guess because this kid is too adorable, but also because he's a local boy, we voted for David A.

Have you seen him? He's got cheeks begging to be pinched (or kissed if you're under 20). Not to jump on Simon's bandwagon, but this kid has got it going on.

I predict that our little Murray, UT boy will go far.

Kitchen For Dummies

I'm telling you I get more and more air-headed as the years pass by.

As I've probably mentioned before, my calling in the ward is to visit/deliver goodies to each sister on their birthday. It's almost a daily task. As a matter of fact, in the first 15 days of February there were 13 birthdays.

One of Monday's birthdays was a sister on my VT route, so I made her a plate of cookies.

As I finished gathering everything together (the cards, the Hershey kisses, addresses) I asked David to finish the last pan of cookies and to put them in the oven. He did. What a nice boy.

Sigh...

We jumped in the car to go make my drop-offs, leaving the pan of cookies in the oven, and leaving Maddie (too sick to get off the couch) at home.

Fate would I have it that the sisters would be extra chatty, I was gone longer than usual and when I got home the first smell that greated me was the yumminess of the carmel from the Snickers that melted on top of the cookies. The next smell was charcoal.

Yup. The cookies, still in the oven, were burnt to a crisp. Black.

I never used to do stuff like this.

Okay, fine. I did. But it's easier to blame it on my old age.

Cooking 101

I'll give you this 'tip' before I tell you about my big blunder.

Like most people, I buy the big bag of frozen boneless chicken breasts.

Last week I tried a little experiment. As if having them ready to go in the freezer wasn't convenient enough, I cooked the entire bag and kept them in the fridge.

As I went through the week I'd grab (ahem) a couple here and a couple there, cube them up and put them in whatever (chicken noodle soup, chili, stir fry). It made dinner preparation a lot easier and helped me to choose chicken over hamburger.

I'll tell you about my cooking blunder um, some other time.

Home Again

Monday is a holiday.

I stayed home yesterday after The Storm.

Throw in Maddie with a fever today, and I'm home for a nice, long break. 5 days, to be exact.

The storm, or blizzard as it's been officially called, hit us hard here in E.M. People were stuck in their cars for 5+ hours, as well as kids on school busses (in the dark, no food, no bathrooms). Rumor has it a baby was born in somewhere out there. One child had to spend the night with stranded faculty at our elementary school, 160 at another. It really is a miracle that Maddie and Isaac made it home Wednesday night.

The official report was that we got 11 inches of snow, but it combined with the wind (70 mph gusts) to paralyze our fast-growing community, giving us a lot of attention. There is only one road in to E.M. and the new and improved transportation plan is many years down the road. Ugh!

I'm not sure what Maddie is sick with. Fever, stomach ache, and sore throat. There is a big virus going through the ward/neighborhood. Is it our turn? Sigh. I've got a big pot of chicken noodle soup on the stove. Maybe the two of us can chase this bug off. She'll be devastated if she misses Savannah's hair/nails/make up/movie birthday party tomorrow.

I'm very much ready for spring, especially because I know that back home spring is just weeks, maybe even days away. I love spring. I love blossoms. But when looking out the window all I see is snow, snow and more snow.

So Random

Sheesh! I haven't been over here in forever. Okay, it's been less than 2 weeks, but it feels longer.

The snow just won't stop. It's snowing right now. It's going to snow all day and in to the night. We are forecasted to have sunshine the next several days and get up over 40 degrees, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think I'm edgy again. Too much going on maybe? Or rather too much to think about. School... Church...President Hinckley's passing and the change of First Presidency...School again...The kids... Should we buy a house yet? How long are the prices going to be low? Are they going to get lower? School...My thoughts are (obviously) all over the place... Much of you back home are sick. I'd love to bring you some chicken & dumplings soup. And juice. More random thoughts...parent teacher conference for Maddie and Isaac today. Parent teacher conference for myself is less than two weeks away...David...School...Kids...The bruises are starting to show from when I slipped on the ice and fell Monday night...I'd like some new clothes...Am I going to catch the cold that's going around?

I swear I have adult on-set ADD.

These issues are constatly swirling around in my head.

I need some movement. No, not in my bowels. Movement, movement. Exercise. I'm sure that's the cure (either that or chocolate). I need to get outside; soak up some sun. Suddenly I'm turning in to a Cheryl Crow song. First the mono, now the weather. I'm never going to be able to be active again.

Uh. The bell rang. Until next time...