Start Your Engines

Tonight was our first Pine Wood Derby, and, with the talent that only I possess, open mouth - insert foot.

To my dear friend A'Donna, I commented that tonight's Pine Wood Derby seemed to be more organized than last year's. Before the sentence was all the way out of my mouth, I could feel my face turn red. A'Donna was in charge last year. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Other than that, it was a fun evening, in spite of technical difficulties. Isaac seemed to have broken the K. curse and, unlike my brothers, was able to keep his car out of last place. And thank goodness, because I'm just not sure if his poor, competitive heart could have taken it.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

You don't look a day over 39.

Maybe I Am Ready For School To Start

I didn't think I wanted the kids to get back to school, because when they go, I go. And there goes all of my wonderful laziness.

THIS is my kitchen table:

With all of their 10-year-old GIRL logic, they thought that this was the best way to hide from the boys. Well my 32-year-old logic thinks that Maddie's bedroom would have been a more appropriate place to hide.

They need to go back to school. I need them to go back to school.

I Need a Shower

A couple of my favorite childhood memories are watching the Perseid Meteor Shower with my cousin Derrick.

I don't know if I'd go so far to say it was a tradition, but at least twice him and I ended up together to watch "falling stars".

One night him and I laid out sleeping bags on their front lawn at their Orangevale house and, armed with flashlights, spent the night flat on our backs watching the lights in the sky.

But the best nighttime show was when we slept out on the deck next to the pond behind their house in Ophir, because without all the city lights the stars were so bright it seemed like we could reach out and grab them. Of course, EVERY time we slept on the deck the dogs would take off with one or both of my shoes.

As if to signal the end of my summer, Sunday night is this year's Perseid Meteor Shower. I'm trying to come up with some way the kids and I could safely watch. David is set to work overnight, and it just doesn't seem like a good idea for us to venture out in the the desert without him, especially late at night.

There is absolutely no hope of us seeing even one falling star from home (even though 60 per hour are expected) because of all the street lights. The best viewing conditions are going to require a pretty long drive. I hope I don't chicken out.

The Simple Life?

There are many things about this crazy state of Utah that I love. It's a funny, funny place.

I've mentioned some of these fun things before, like watching high school students carry scriptures around campus, or being able to find LDS literature in Wal*Mart. Even after a year (one year this week) I am still fascinated.

Tonight I walked Maddie down the street to a sleep over at nearly 10:00. Walk, not drive, because we're all right here in our cozy little subdivision that shares the same name as our ward.

I visited with the hosting mom for a few minutes, and then headed home alone, stopping to visit more, this time with the R.S. president and her counselor holding a little meeting in a parked car. We chatted as if we were old friends and also as if it wasn't unusual to meet each other on the street at 10pm.

I love this funny little lifestyle. Sure people drop in when the house might not be 100% presentable, but who cares if they see the toy guns and toy knives lying around the living room. All the neighborhood kids know that the cache is in my piano bench. A couple of them all but walk in and help themselves.

It's fun, more so than I expected.

(slight change of gears) I excused myself from my late night chat with my R.S. sisters because I dare not miss the Barry Bonds homerun. Alas, I did miss it. But thanks to the DVR gods, David was able to back it up and show me the much anticipated, highly scruntinized, controversial event: Homerun #756. I hope you and yours were able to enjoy it as well.

Thanks, Dear

I can't sleep.

Thank goodness I live in the land of DVR and I have my trusty ol' Jay Leno to help take my mind off of things. I'll be counting Zzz's in no time.

But no. Where's Jay? He's been skipped to make room for the Giants game. Because Heaven help us if Bonds hits homerun #756 and we miss it!

PS Not to mention tonight was Headlines.

What is the Fascination With Train Wrecks?

Really, I don't watch that much TV.

But every now and then, I must sink to some low. It's like I lose my mind and my better judgement.

I did take in a couple of episodes of Nick and Jessica. I watched more than a few episodes of Anna Nichole. I've even watched a bit of the Surreal Life. Who wouldn't want to see how Webster turned out?

I'm at it again. Is it just me, or will VH-1 and A&E give anyone a show?

First comes along this Scott Baio crap. Ooh. "Poor me. I slept with all the hot girls in Hollywood and my life sucks."

Am I watching? Duh. Just like the rest of the world, I was very obsessed with Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi, so of course I'm going to see how Scott Baio functions, or doesn't function.

But even worse than that - last night I watched the Coreys. It was horrible. Feldman, so far, seems to be okay. After all he's been through, he seems to have his head screwed on pretty straight. This could be due to the magic of editting, who knows. But Haim? Whatever drugs he did kept his brain from maturing beyond the age of 14. What a freak! The poor guys needs to buckle down and go get a job at the Gap or Hot Topic, because I don't think It is going to happen for him. Maybe he's just a regular guy that needs to figure out how to work the 9 to 5, even if it's not in front of a camera.

Sooo, what's worse, that I've watched these lunatics, or that I've put this much thought into it?

A&E should give me a show....