My very own ego trip

OK, so one thing about us Lutherans…you have to give us some kudos as being somewhat of a humorous lot. So, to celebrate Lutheranism (humorous and not) as well as green jello…I give you the Lutheran Song…

Take it away boys…

I absolutely fell in love with a tv show last season but was worried that ABC was going to not renew it for this coming season. But news came out today! It’s a go!

I love Eli Stone….the characters are fun, the situations are wonderfully inventive…a great show….

So in honor of the new season, I give you….George Michael (oh yeah, and Eli Stone)….

this stuff never gets old…

I just got back from grocery shopping at my friendly neighborhood grocery store (yeah, New Year’s Eve grocery shopping…my life is full of wild living….)…anyways, I was thrilled beyond anything you can imagine as I rounded the corner of one aisle and came across a newly painted green wall and muted flooring. Yes….yes…finally…a Starbucks is going into the store right down the street from where I live. Ah….2008 is going to be a great year!

In honor of the new Starbucks, grab your cup of espresso dreams as I give you….Taylor the Latte Boy… 

Here’s a video of David’s soccer team from this past fall - his team went undefeated. David’s the tall kid that gives the last two assists in the last two plays of this video - player #9.

…out

I do an annual Christmas Letter and what follows is the latest creation…enjoy…

Christmas 2007 

(A fairy tale of the family told so a 4-year-old could understand…) 

Once upon a time, in the land of merriment and wonder, called familyland, there lived a family of one father, one mother and two lovely children. This is the story of this family…. 

The father of this family was named Larry. Now, Larry was a giant among men - he towered over most people, and usually that would be very frightening, but Larry was a very kind man. He enjoyed being with friends and family. During the past year, Larry still enjoyed spending time counting things at the local school. He counted students. He counted chairs. He even counted teachers. And the teachers didn’t seem to mind all that much. But most importantly, Larry liked to count the number of fish in the lake at the little cabin in the woods (also known as Northern Wisconsin). When the days became really hot in familyland, Larry and his family would be whisked away by a really big bird (airplane) and go to the cabin in the woods and count fish. It was a lovely, magical place. In the evening the deer come out to play with the mosquitoes (blood sucking vermin). Larry also liked to sing about God and help teach people about God at the little church down the lane (freeway). He made many wonderful friends at the little church and his work there was truly a blessing in his life. 

The mother of this family was named Susan. Now, Susan loved to sing to all of the little animals that followed her around the house (the dog, the cat, the infestation of crickets). She would even sing at the little church down the lane. She also worked at the little church and would spend many hours a day making sure that the people who went to church there would have a pleasant time and be able to worship God. She also drank a lot of coffee there too… 

This family also had a beautiful daughter who’s name was Jamie. Jamie turned 9-years-old during the past year, and she loved to sing, dance and make merry in only the way that 9-year-olds can make merry. She was very good in her studies and loved all of her little animal friends that she made (mostly the stuffed ones).  One of her favorite places to visit was right next to the country of familyland. It was an even more magical place called Disneyland. Jamie and all of her family visited this even more magical place in early December when all of the streets were festooned (yeah, look it up) with Christmas decorations and the sound of Christmas was everywhere (not to be confused with the magical place called the mall). Jamie even made a new friend when she received a special gift for her birthday. She was given a special hamster (furry rodent) named Snuggles. Unbeknownst to Jamie, Snuggles was a magical hamster that could grant her three wishes…but that’s another story… 

Finally, in this family was a young boy named David, who dreamed of sailing a pirate ship and seeing the world, as long as he was back home before dark. David turned 4-years-old this year. He loves to play the game of ‘balls of base’ and ‘balls of foot’. His soccer team was so valiant that they defeated all of their opponents on the field of honor (were undefeated). But the thing that he enjoyed doing the most was find ways to annoy his lovely sister. That’s when things in familyland become somewhat less merry…but it was considered only a phase…(yeah, that’s it)… 

So that’s the saga of the happy family in Familyland. And as we end this story, you can almost hear the family say…”Merry Christmas and God bless you this next year!!!” 

The End

Last weekend was a pretty amazing weekend for my husband and I. Yes, part of it was being away from the kids for a weekend. We hadn’t done that since….let’s see….oh, about 7 years!  Yes, I felt guilty and yes, I worried about them….but the payoff was fantastic! I actually got my husband back! The man I fell in love with and joked around with and spent idle time with Before Kids (B.K.). Sigh…..

The other amazing part of the weekend is what we did. I’d never been to Washington D.C. before and, through my husband’s work, we were able to go out for a 3 day weekend, go see some of the sites and watch the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Washington Redskins (but just barely!!!!)….

It’s amazing to go someplace that you’ve always seen in the news or in the movies and actually visit there. We flew in on Friday and our group (about 20 in all) were bussed to our hotel in Bethesda, MD. I had my nose glued to the bus window the whole time driving there.

First the place is surrounded by woods whose fall colors were just coming out - my favorite time of year! Then, as we got closer, we drove by several large federal buildings - like the NIH (National Institute for Health). Pretty impressive for a small-town girl.

We got in late so the group went to a local restaurant and came back to the hotel and crashed. But the next day was great! We were able to take a tour of the White House (ok, a small part of the White House since most of it is blocked off now…). Walking through the rooms, I couldn’t help but think of the amazing people who had walked through these rooms (Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Nixon….oh, wait….). But looking around it dawned on me - I now know why most politicians are the way they are - - the furniture looked so amazingly uncomfortable! I think that if they’d just move in some nice comfy sofas and tvs with remote controls, well…politicians would be able to relax a bit more and finally get stuff done in Washington!

After the tour (and deciding that it’d be cool to have a Green Room, Blue Room and Red Room in my own house), we went to the mall and, on our own, were able to walk around the place. Honestly, I felt just like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. We visited the Lincoln Memorial and I just started getting teary-eyed when I read his 2nd inaguaral speech on the wall. *Sniff*

We visited the Vietnam Vets Memorial, Washington Monument and the fairly new World War II Memorial. Then we headed on over to the National Archives to take a gander at some old stuff - like the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Wow……I saw it with my own eyes…..pretty cool….

Tired but happy, we climbed back on the bus and went back to the hotel. That night, we went out to Georgetown for dinner. That place is insanely crazy on a Saturday night - lots of young people - I definately felt my age walking through there. Most of the younger people on the tour group went out to a few bars….my husband and I ended up at Barnes & Noble!

The next day we went to the game. The Cardinals did not play well, but neither did the Redskins. I tell you, those Redskins fans are extremely passionate about their team! The heartbreaker loss (missed field goal to win it) hurt a lot! Right after the game, we were whisked out on bus to the airport to fly back to Arizona.

So my observations during my visit? Amazing architecture (some of those buildings are an entire block long), amazing history, and yet it seemed like such an insulated life - I can see where people who work in that environment can easily lose track of real life beyond the beltway!

We will definately have to go back with the kids in tow - probably when my children are 13 and 9 (after they’ve had some kind of Civics lessons at school). Really, one day in Washington D.C. proper is nearly impossible - I’d recommend 3-5 days!

…out

A few years ago, I was browsing my friendly neighborhood Christian bookstore trying to talk myself out of spending way too much money on the CDs and really cool books when I came across one titled ‘First Place’ and gave it a look see.

It’s actually a Christian-based healthy-living program that has groups starting in churches around the country….I bought the books…naturally…and let them sit on my bookshelf for a few years…naturally.

Just recently, though, it’s been weighing on my mind (and my scale) that I really need to do something as I go careening into my middle years (ye ol’ mid-life crisis), so I mentioned, in passing of course, the program to my pastor at church and he filed that bit of information in the mental file folder of his of ‘cool stuff that she talks about but never gets around to doing’…until he approached me a few months back with these words…”I think you should really start that program up….there’s a definate need out there for things like this that the church can help out with”…..oh….ok….

So I ordered everything, put the word out…and wouldn’t you know it - I have 10 awesome people in my group that just started last Thursday (including my beloved husband and my wonderful mom) and more are joining up next Thursday.

Now the idea of me leading a group like this is kind of funny as I’m not great leadership material…I’m more like the ‘ok whatever you want to do’….kind of leader rather than the ‘let’s do this and do it now’…kind of leader (which made me a horrible boss in corporate America).

So Thursday was the first meeting, and it went great! Everybody has a real interest in healthy eating, exercise, Bible Study and just plain old balance in their lives! And  everybody was just a lot of fun…my husband, being the only male in the group, may find himself subjected to a lot of ‘girlfriend’ kind of chat, I have a feeling…

So wish me luck and pray for me…I have a bit of pressure on me because, being the leader of this group, I’ll be hard-pressed if someone from church finds me eating half a pizza at a restaurant…gotta be that role model! And, to my mom and hubby, I’ve suddenly become this expert on nutrition when, in reality, I’m learning along with everyone else!!!

Oh, well…this really should be a great time…out 

Twice a year my family gets together to celebrate the various birthdays that have occured during a six-month period and to, well just face it, hang out together. We all get along pretty great (no evil family dynamics that some families find themselves saddled with).

Today is one of those celebrations….we’re hosting and we are doing it Luau style. So I’ve been going all out….got the leis that my daughter will hand out at the door, the Hawaiian music downloaded from iTunes (Jimmy Buffet rocks!), and I’ve even agreed to play bartender and try to mix some of those fruity drinks - mai tais, pina coladas and daquiris - even though I’ve never done it before and my knowledge of hard liquor is pretty non-existent - hey, I’m a beer and wine gal myself. I even found this great web site that translates your name into a Hawaiian name.

We’re even bringing together a lot of musical instruments (guitars and the like) under the strange assumption that we can play and sing. So we’ll see if we go Partridge Family on the world after today. 

So I gotta clean the house, start the food and turn on the blenders today. My cat (Pepper is the culprit) has stopped peeing on the couch (even though I can still get faint odors). It’s been cleaned and I’m also trying to clean it on my own in some way every night. I’ve ordered some stuff from the Cat Fairie web site (”Good Behavior and Good Health for the Modern House Cat”). My vet gave me something called Feliway that I’ve plugged into a wall in the famly room. This stuff is supposed to “make my cats happy”.   It gives off a synthetic pheromone that’s similar to the one from the cat’s face that makes them think “hey this is a friendly, nice place. I don’t think I want to pee here.” It actually has brought out Pepper a lot more and has seemed to calm him down…..I sure wish they could invent something like that for humans….oh, wait….I think they have…..it’s called a pina colada…

Well…gotta go prepare for the party and warm up the blenders!

…out…and aloha!

Well, we made it back from vacation all safe and sound. Loved it…it was cool, beautiful and just plain not Arizona in the summertime. Don’t get me wrong…I love where I live…but not as much when it’s 115 degrees outside.

So, we got home and relaxed our first night back. I was pretty busy, though, trying to get the bags unpacked that I didn’t get a chance to rest until bedtime. It wasn’t until early the next morning that I realized, to my horror, what had been going on in my home while I was away for two weeks.

 See…we have these two cats….and these two cats seemed somewhat bothered and upset that their non-cat family up and left them alone for two weeks. Oh, yes, there was someone to come and drop by every few days to feed and water them…but they still seemed somwhat, should I say, perturbed…

I hate my cats…

So I decide to finally sit and rest the next morning back - and that’s when I noticed it…the overly pungent smell of cat urine…on my rather expensive couch (oh, and loveseat too). Yes, it became their own personal kitty litter box while we were gone.

Needless to say, I’ve been scrubbing and cleaning. The sofa is getting cleaned next weekend and I’ve tried daily to get the smell out. Very gross…and the worst part is I had scheduled my son’s 4th birthday party two days after we got back, and I was so praying that nobody would sit on my couches. And they didn’t….now I don’t know if it was because they didn’t feel like sitting in the family room, or becaue they noticed the stench that I was so desperately trying to hide!

I decided that the kitty litter box was unattractive to them in some way. I took off the cover of the box (it was one of those hooded ones that helped keep everything neat and tidy), thinking that my cat Pepper, who has grown rather large in the unhealthy sense in the past year might not be fitting in the opening of the box anymore…hey I was desperate. 

Also, I’ve been deligently cleaning the kitty litter box since then. Every morning and every evening it becomes somewhat of my own little zen garden. I scoop and then I rake. One evening I was going through this ritual when Franklin, the evil cat, decided to join me in pushing some of the kitty litter around. I was thrilled…”good kitty”, I cooed to him as he’s scratching around the box. He squats and I hear the satisfying sound of cat pee hitting the side of the kitty litter box. Then….to my horror…he lifts up his little rear end just enough to send a steady stream of urine shooting across my laundry room floor and onto my clothes dryer. I was speechless…I think he did it on purpose…

So, I’ve been trying to keep everything clean until the carpet cleaning guy is here next monday. I’ve been putting tons of stuff on the couches every night to keep the cats from getting any ideas on how cool the couch might be to pee on. We’re even finally getting a doggy door installed on Friday in our house (the cats clinched the deal on that one, even though my husband and I were both resolved to get one when our geriatric dog began waking us up in the middle of the night to go out…every night…).

Last resort? I’ve threatened to get rid of the cats…much to my daughter’s dismay…wish me luck over the next week…I do like the kitties (but don’t tell them I told you that….)

…out