Twenty Seven

You know how when everyone hits their 100th blog post they write a hundred things about themselves? By the time I knew that was proper blogger etiquette it was way too late, so I was thinking that instead of celebrating my 350th blogpost by writing 350 about me I thought I would spare you by just writing 27 random things about me for my 27th birthday.


* Blaine was my first hand hold and first kiss....and every one of our significant dates doubles up with another (The first time he told me he liked me was 9/11/1998,the first time we held hands was on Halloween, our first kiss was on my birthday (wow, tomorrow is the ten year anniversary of our first kiss--- that's a lot of kissing!), we were married on valentines day, Gwen was born on the two year anniversary of the day he came home from his mission, et[.]
* I am deathly afraid of flying
* I can say the fifty states in alphabetical order in 19 seconds
*I have a knack for memorizing songs. Seriously, I remember all of the choir songs I ever learned and pretty much any song I have ever sang.
* I have a knack for not remembering anything that is not set to music
* I lose my keys CONSTANTLY
* I am a certified scuba diver
* I learned to play the violin (albeit not very well) while Blaine was on his mission
* I once caught a 32lb salmon (not kidding. My dad didn't enter me in the fishing derby, but if he had I would have one. He did, conincidentally, enter himself in the derby and didn't catch a single fish....that's the kind of luck my dad has ; ) ).
* The only bone I have ever broken was in my hand, and I broke it in a store trying on rollerblades (why was I trying on rollerblades? Because the day before I had the bright idea to hold on to the back of my friends car while on my rollerblades, and crashed into the pavement really hard ...did that break my hand? Nope. But standing up while trying on new rollerblades...of course!). There is some debate about whether or not my nose was broken as a kid. Don't know if you've noticed but I have the most atrocious profile because I have a huge bump in my nose and I distinctly remember getting smacked in the face with a basketball.

* I like to drive, Blaine doesn't. So I usually do and it freaks people out, and it really bugs me that it freaks people out.

*If I could live anywhere it would be in the pacific northwest
* The age span amoungst my siblings is huge! My oldest brother was 17 I think when I was born, and I became an aunt when I was 5.

* I once shaved off my eyebrow and cut my own eyelashes and told my mom the boy across the street did it (so sorry about that Jimmy).

* LOVE ice cream.

*I had braces for five years. I was supposed to only have them for one, but I am a very disobedient person, particularly when it comes to wearing elastic bands in my mouth and headgear.

* I have a thing for Hugh Grant. Not really "Hugh Grant" but nearly every person he plays in a movie.

* When I am pregnant I snore and I snort, a lot. Attractive isn't it?
* I love rollercoasters
* I hate, HATE the feel of those egg carton mattresses. I would rather carry shards of glass than carry one of those bad boys.
* I hold pencils and pens really weirdly. I can't explain it, but it creeps people out and it is really making it hard for me to teach Gwen how to hold writing utensils since I can't do it myself.

* One time my friend Julianne told me that if you take more than two steps to your bed after you turn out your light then gremlins will get you. I still never take more than two steps to my bed after the light is out : ). Same thing with shoes on the table, my mom once said that shoes on the table are bad luck and it really bugs me now to see shoes on a table, or counter, or anywhere elevated.

*For some reason I have a thing about people ringing doorbells. Just don't do it if people have children under the age of five.

*I've never seen ET, or like a million of the other movies that everyone else on the planet has seen.

* Blaine makes the money, I pay the bills.

*I'm no good at laundry. I buy perfectly wonderful looking clothes at garage sales that people have used for years. My kids wear them one day and they get stained and never look as good again.

* I love my family more than anything. Seriously, sometimes it almost hurts how much I love them : )


Kind of random, kind of lame, but hey. Happy birthday to me : ).

A wish.

You know what I would change about maternity clothes if I could? I mean, besides the fact that they are ridiculously expensive. Well, let's just say that while having shirts that tie in the back with long flowy little ties is really cute and emphasizes the smallest portion of your body, it doesn't jive well with having a bladder the size of a quarter. Just think about it, when you are using the ladies room upwards of twenty five times a day it's bound to happen that sooner or later, unbeknownst to you, your shirt is going to become untied and in your rush to "go" you may not notice....and then, well, whatchya gonna do?

I'm just sayin'......

Good thing it happened in the comfort of my own home.

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Six feet?

I have to say, it is a little disconcerting when your parents call you to tell you that they spent their day at the mortuary picking out their coffins (are they coffins or caskets?). I mean, really? I wonder how that decision got made. "No good movies in the theater? No worries, mmmm, I guess we could just go plan our funerals. And hey then we could stop and get some ice cream". Really, they did, even the musical numbers. Since no one else in my family plays the piano we're assuming they want Blaine to. He could start practicing. That's how prepared they are to kick the bucket. Isn't that creepy?
It's really thoughtful though, if you think about it. We won't have to worry about how to pay for a funeral or worry about infuriating my mom by picking out an uncomfortable casket. (*oh my gosh do you think they actually laid in the coffins....that is SO weird! * ). But still, it's not fun to realize that the possibility of your parents passing on is so real that they have actual made purchases for the occasion, I haven't even made purchases for Christmas yet.
It also made me realize something. My cheapness has boundaries. Blaine and I were discussing our casket criteria last night and at first I was like, "eh, just throw me in, I'm dead, right?" and then I was like, "right????" and then I was like....ehhhhhckk that sounds so scary to be buried under the ground, I definitely want a coffin; preferably with like a cell phone...just in case. Then I started thinking how it's not even that fun of an idea to be in a casket, or even cremated. I'd rather a nice room be prepared for me in our home. With a bed. Maybe a little snowwhite setup...that whole glass encased bed thing. That sounds much better. Though it might frighten the children.
Anyway, I am sorry to talk so lightly of something so serious. I think that is my way of coping with it. To quote John Mayer "Don't know how else to say it, I don't want to see my parents go". Sure, I've always teased them about being old, even about kicking the bucket. But really? That will be a sad sad day. And so will be the day that Blaine and I go out on a date to pick out our coffins. I wonder if they make double-wides because, I want him there with me. I don't do scary things without Blaine.

Smokin' deals

It's a great day for a bargain folks! Today my new comforter arrived. I think my inner gambler (the one who is addicted to using priceline because I love getting random hotels and the intermittent reward theory that goes along with gambling)loves things like overstock, priceline, etc. because you never know what you are going to get, but usually it's something good. So I ordered a big poofy down comforter from overstock. I went through ebates which earned me 8% cash back on my purchase, making my total about $89 (which, coincidentally is about how much $$ I made from referrals the other day and all of you signing up and making ebates purchases, thanks for my new comforter folks!). Anyway, the comforter came today and I could see who made it and go and find out how much it would have cost me if I went through conventional channels. Turns out is made by Eddie Bauer and retails for $219 (okay, on overstock.com I just noticed that it told me upfront that that is what it retails for, but it was nice to actually be able to verify it!). So I feel pretty good about that purchase!

Then this afternoon I went to go and pick up some car air fresheners from Chelon, who sells Scentsy (sorry Stef, I totally would order from you but my car stinks in a major way that requires immediate attention; Utah friends you should order scentsy from Stef; Texas friends you should order it from Chelon!). Anyway, not only did she hook me up with majorly good smelling car fresheners, but also loaded up my van with some awesome little baby girl and big girl clothes, plus she gave Gwen a candy cane and me a scent of the month scentsy bar. Talk about a fun visit. And I have to recommend the Scentsy car scents, it totally took away the "whoops I left a bottle half full of milk in the back of the van for over two weeks and it smells like a skunk rolled in raw sewage and died back there" smell. That's pretty powerful stuff.

So anyway, it's a great day for bargains and blessings : ) Thank you overstock and Chelon!

Disconnected

I am afraid of the phone. I am just gonna get it out in the open. Apparently one of my bigger flaws is that I don't carry my cell phone around, or keep it charged for that matter. Normally it's not a huge issue, I listen to my messages once every couple a' days and aside from getting a couple snide messages from Ralphie and a couple very agitated messages from my dad (who I think is the person my lack of cell phone carrying annoys the most), I usually don't miss much. E-mail me and I will e-mail you back for sure within 12 hours and more likely within 12 minutes; but call me and it's a gamble. Then once in a while something important happens. Like on Monday night after about two days of not knowing where my phone was I got a message from my friends husband about a family emergency and he needed help with his little boy the next day, which at the time I listened to the message, the "next day" was actually "yesterday". And I missed my chance, not only did I miss my chance but surely he thought I was ignoring his messages since he left three pretty desperate ones. I feel like scum.

So, what to do. I've tried to be better. I've made commitments and promises and all sorts of stuff, and I do better for like....a day and then it is back to the old way of not knowing or caring where my cell phone is.

I think maybe it all started when I was working for a pest control company and my whole job was to carry around THREE cell phones, plus my own and answer them consistently. That is a LOT of cell phones people. It was hard because Gwen was little and if a phone rang I would just throw her in the crib, shut the door and go answer it. So maybe I am trying to compensate for some of that neglect. I also really thought I was on the fast track to getting a brain tumor from so much cell phone usage back then, and I swore once I didn't have the job anymore that I would never hold a cell phone to my head again (I'm totally serious).

Anyway, now you all know. I don't screen my calls; if I have my cell phone and I am not busy doing something else THEN I will answer, no matter who you are. But seriously, if there is an emergency please e-mail me or call Blaine or Ralphie or come on over. At least until January when one of my New Years Resolutions will be to carry my phone with me always.

Do you prefer phone or e-mail? I mean, I seriously would rather drive over to your house to talk to you than call you on the phone. I'm such a freak that way.

The end.

Tarzan Boy

Last night at YW Betsy was telling a story where our bishop came up to her and asked if she knew the song that went "oh oh ohohohohohoh oh oh" [Okay this story is way more funny if you can hear it in person]. Which she sounded just like tarzan when she asked it, but we all totally recognized the tune. She I come home and with the help of my handy dandy husband did some serious google-ing and found the music video for the song. I've watched it about four times because I love it so much, and I am trying to convince Blaine that he should do it for our next Thanksgiving talent show. I would, but no one wants to see me in a toga, trust me. Also, it would totally be way cooler than me saying the fifty states in alphabetical order in 19 seconds which is what my talent was this year.