My Savvy Little Nursemaid

I have been sick for the past couple of days...fever, chills, the works. I do not get sick very often (I don't count my bi-monthly migraines)--so when I finally do it's a doozy.

Yesterday, El Jefe and Jay took off around noon for a 6 hour long swim meet.

They headed out around noon and left Aussie and Savvy in charge of getting along, taking care of me, and cleaning the house--not necessarily in that order--because the getting along didn't come until the end after I threatened them with bodily harm.

By two o'clock, I had a raging fever. Savvy came upstairs to check on me (they were supposedly cleaning the basement..even though I could've sworn I heard them playing Mario Cart on the Wii).

I was half asleep, but as she put her cold little hand on my forehead I croaked, "Ooh, that feels good. Put your other hand on my head too."

"Mom! You head is really hot. I know something that will do the trick," she said.

She disappeared.

And I fell back to sleep.

Sometime later, I felt something ice cold and wet on my forehead. It felt like a foot. I figured I was delirious.

Until the foot spoke.

"Does that feel good, mom?" Savvy, the nursemaid asked.

"Is that your foot?" I asked.

"Yes. I went outside and walked around in the snow barefoot for awhile so my feet would be extra cold," she answered.

As I opened my eyes, I noticed bits of leaves and grass were also on the bottom of her wet little foot.

"Get your foot off my forehead," I said, as kindly as I could.

"But, Mom. I'm trying to help you!"

"Get. It. Off," I said. "And go dry off your feet before you get what I have."

I fell back to sleep.

A little while later something icy and hard touched my forehead.

Nursemaid Savvy was back. With a lunchbox icepack in the shape of Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants.

"Hey, that feels kinda good," I said.


Of course, ten minutes later the chills began.

The Sunday Funnies

Just before the Christmas break, one of the mom's in Aussie's and Savvy's class started up a Christmas gift collection for their teacher, Mrs. Hermie, and her aide {who, if you follow this blog at all, you would know is me}.

At the end of the class Christmas party, the mom gave her gifts to us in front of the class, 4-5 moms and Mrs. Hermie's husband.

She said, "Mrs. Hermie, a little bird told us that your favorite place to go is Barnes and Noble. So here is a gift card we are sure you will enjoy."

Mrs. Hermie was deeply touched. As it was completely unexpected to her, she even shed some tears--and a short speech.

The class applauded.

After the applause, the mom went on to say, "Mrs. Hansen, a couple of little birds told me that your favorite place of all time is Chuck-a-Rama. Here is a gift card for you to enjoy."

Tears were shed on my part, as I tried to control the burst of laughter.

You see, Savvy and Aussie's favorite place to eat happens to be Chuck-a-Rama.

Yee-Haw!

The Sunday Funnies

Last week, my sister, my niece, and I decided to do a little Christmas shopping together. Syd and I were looking at some clothes whilst my sis was checking out snow boots.

The women's clothing happened to be right across from fancy lingerie. So when Syd paraded over with a sexy santa negligee {still on the hanger} around her neck I wasn't too surprised...I mean they were there for the pickins.

"Aunt Nic," she said. "Don't you think this would make the cutest outfit with a long sleeve shirt underneath and some leggings?"

Knowing my prudish sister would be quite shocked, I laughed, "Yes. Why don't we go show your mom your cute outfit."

Syd continued to wear the ensemble with the hanger around her neck for about 5 minutes. {I'm pretty sure the store lady thought I was just awful...possibly drunk on too much egg nog.}

Apparently, the hanger around the neck became uncomfortable, so Syd took it off and started carrying it around on her arm.

All of a sudden she shouted, "Ooh, look at the fancy underwear!"

Yikes! The fancy underwear happened to be a pair of thong underwear embellished with a feather boa and sequins OUCH!.

Shocking my prudish sister, didn't seem so funny--once I became the prudish aunt.

"Syd! Hurry and hang that back up before your mom gets me in BIG trouble!" I said.

Proof that I am neither Efficient nor Effective

Dearest Quality Control:


I had a list a mile long of things I needed to do today. One of the necessary evils involved the One Hour Photo at Walmart. This time of year Walmart is a nightmare and I wanted to avoid it at all costs..but duty called.

I decided that in order to be truly efficient I would send my pictures to the Walmart in AF. Even though this Walmart was 10 miles further than my normal haunt...it just so happened to be across the street from Jay's Orthodontist--and we just so happened to have an hour long appointment there today.

And so the pictures were efficiently sent.

And then the pictures were effectively forgotten.

Until I was just about home.

Looks like I'll be making one more efficient trip to the AF Walmart tomorrow.

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”

Peter Drucker

A Queer Little Christmas Carol

Sunday night our ward choir participated in our annual Stake Choir Festival...a sort of
"Battle of the Bands" evening.

Our choir is suffering greatly in numbers this year due to a recent ward split. But, I thought our song sounded pretty decent. So, I wasn't too worried about it. okay, so I was a bit worried since there would only be 8 of us singing and six of us hadn't even seen the song till that morning..but duty prevailed

Then our substitute choir director announced from the pulpit, into the microphone, to the entire congregation...

...with the stake president and many bishops in attendance...

...and let's not forget the little children...

...that our ward would be singing...

"It Came Upon a Midnight Queer...I mean Clear," he most truly said, blushing appropriately afterwards of course.

The congregation chuckled. The gal standing next to me started to giggle. I felt a laugh coming on so strongly that I feared I wouldn't be able to contain myself. I took a couple of deep breaths and then avoided looking at my friend because she giggled on and off throughout the song.

By the time we finished our queer little rendition of a Christmas favorite, I was ready to burst.

When I reached my seat, a man {who I did not know} sitting next to me said, "You guys did pretty good, considering the introduction." He went on to say, "I don't know how any of you kept a straight face."

One of my friends told me that she had never heard such a beautiful Christmas song dedication to
Proposition 8.

We are singing "Midnight Clear" again THIS Sunday during sacrament meeting for our ward Christmas program...let's just hope he gets the title straight this time pun intended.

The Sunday Funnies

Last week, I noticed Savvy was writing numerous things on our calendar. I asked her what she was doing. She mentioned that it was a busy holiday month and she wanted to make sure she didn't forget any events.

As I perused her calendar items..I noticed..Nutcracker with Dad on the 13th, make hot chocolate on the 16th, last day of school on the 19th...and on December 23rd she had written
"Christmas Adam".

"Savvy, what's this "Christmas Adam" day?" I asked.

"You know how the 24th is Christmas Eve? Well, the 23rd is Christmas Adam."

Thing One and Thing Two

Thing One

On Tuesday, after work I headed downtown to do some Christmas shopping. On the side of the freeway, I noticed two thugs rough looking characters walking.

I found it curious that they were walking away from the nearest exit...and also away from a policeman who had pulled someone over just a 1/2 a mile up the road.

As I drove passed their abandoned car, I noticed that their turquoise bronco did not have a license plate...not even a paper one in the window.

Now, I'm no private detective {I only pretend to be one because I so enjoy watching them on TV}. But, even I figured out that these two thugs saw the cop ahead--then decided it would be less conspicuous for them to hop out of their cozy, bright turquoise, albeit stolen truck...and walk along the side of a busy freeway.

Silly Criminals.


Thing Two

After my private eye endeavor, I shopped and shopped till my poor little credit card couldn't take it anymore! {Just kidding, El Jefe}. I had great success with my shopping spree and was wrapping things pun intended up at the mall.

Just before I got out of the van I did a quick lipstick check. When what to my wandering eye should appear? But, a big, black smudge on the end of my nose.

How long I had been walking around like this I do not know. But, it was relatively hard to get off and I'm pretty sure it was dry erase marker from school.

So, class. I have a story problem for you.

"If Mrs. H has been wearing black marker on the end of her nose since 12:30 pm. And she goes to 6 stores in two hours during the busy Christmas shopping season. How many shoppers saw Mrs. H looking like a kook?"

Not Impressing my Daughter One Day at a Time

First I was Right

Last night, Savvy discovered that she had forgotten her vocabulary homework. She had already defined the words, but still needed to write sentences for them.

I told her she could just finish it in the morning, since we get there 25 minutes before school starts every day. She was still very distressed about it.

Then I suggested she just try to remember the vocabulary words and do the sentences on a regular piece of paper.

"But, Mom! I can't remember the definitions! There is no way I can write sentences without the definitions."

"Savvy, I can help you with the definitions," I answered.

"No way! Mom! Some of these words are really hard--you couldn't possibly know the definitions!" she replied.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Malnutrition," she answered.

I told her the definition. She still refused to proceed..on the grounds that I may be wrong.

{Now I'll admit my track record with math isn't so great...but ever since I started helping her with her sentences we...I mean...she gets comments like "Very Creative!" "Fabulous!" So, where's the love?}


And then I was Wrong

Today, during lunch recess, I was grading papers with a few other 4th grade teachers. Savvy came into the classroom with the question, "Mom do we have a protractor? I need it for my math homework. If we don't have one then I have to do my math during recess."

"I'm pretty sure we do," I answered.

"Then where is it...I have to have it," she said.

"I think we have a hot pink one in the junk drawer in the kitchen," I said.

"Uh. Mom. That's a compass," she said, obviously embarrassed for me.

{Okay--so I must admit--I had to google the difference between a protractor and compass...and look what I found! Check out this link...who knew compasses could be so dangerous..sheesh!}

The Sunday Funnies: Smelly Edition

Auzy loves refried beans--to the point that I finally had to hide them from him as his obsession can have very smelly ramifications.

Yesterday, Auzy found a can of refried beans in the pantry and rediscovered his love for them. Over the course of the day, he consumed the entire can--
by himself.

Today was Stake Conference.

I sat next to him for two hours.

My eyes and nose are
still burning.

Senior Citizens Anonymous

My sister Jilly and I went Christmas shopping today. As we were checking out, the cashier who--I kid you not--was missing a tooth, eating peanuts out of a Dixie cup, and licking the salt off her fingers--asked me if I was 55 or older {meaning--did I want the
senior citizen discount?}

What in the?

I have been asked if I was younger...but never 19 years older!

Did she think I was Jilly's mom?

Coach's grandma?

For pity's sake!

Jilly encouraged me to consider the source.

I have been considering the source all afternoon...and I'm about ready to go back and...
...who am I kidding I don't do confrontations...
...although I might if I were an
old, crotchety senior citizen
{sorry Grandpa!}.

Have you ever been falsely accused of being older? Younger?

The Sunday Funnies

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I mentioned to Savvy that her teacher was a vegetarian and so she wouldn't be eating turkey on Thanksgiving.

Savvy said, "Boy, she really is an animal addict, just like she said."

"Dontcha mean advocate?" I asked.

********************************************************************

Thanksgiving weekend provided our family with lots of food, festivities, and games. On Friday evening, we gamed it up for over 4 hours.

At one point, Jordyn was holding my 18 month old niece, Mia. Mia was copying every sound Jordyn would make.

Jordyn would say, "Ummmm."

Mia would say in the cutest baby voice ever, "Ummmmm."

Jordyn would say, "Ah, Oh."

Mia would repeat, "Ah, Oh."

Jordyn said, "Say Grandma."

Mia performed like a trooper and said, "Gammah."

"Say Mama," Jay commanded.

"Mama," Mia repeated.

"Say Jordyn," Jordyn said.

"Dodo," Mia said.

"Hey, Jordyn--tell her to say Dodo and see if she says Jordyn," I said, jokingly.

"Mia, say Dodo," Jordyn said.

"Jordyn," Mia said.

For the love of blogging!

Well, for heavenssakes! I cannot believe I failed to blog yesterday. After such dedication to a month of blogging--even on Turkey day--I gave up the ghost on the 2nd to the last day of my goal.

In my defense...we returned home yesterday afternoon from our fabulous trip to Idaho--only to discover that our computer had the biggest, baddest virus this side of the Mississippi. I'm talking bad news. I couldn't even turn my computer on without getting all sorts of shenanigans.

Whilst I waited for El Jefe to fix the Vunda virus, I decided I would get out the Christmas decor. I lovingly pulled out my two pre-lit Christmas trees, had the kids help me haul up the many boxes from our very unorganized cold storage, put on my favorite Christmas music of all time (a little Bing)--

and only then did I discover that

NEITHER ONE OF MY PRE-LIT CHRISTMAS TREES WORKED!

Frustration beyond belief. I tried and tried to get the stinkin' tree to work and after a couple of hours I only had the bottom section working. Curses! What a bunch of shenanigans.

While I was trying to fix the tree, the kids were watching Santa Claus 2 (it's a crowd pleaser) and so in my sadness and frustration I finished watching it with them. When it was over I got up with a major case of a Christmas-tree-that-never-was-migraine and severe bed-head.

Alas, I remembered we were out of milk, eggs and cereal not to worry..we still had plenty of diet coke. This necessitated a quick trip to the grocery--and since El Jefe was already in his pj's--it was up to me to provide nourishment for our family. So, I hopped into purple pleasure and ran over to our fancy new Harmons.

Now, this particular Harmons is a store that I generally do not frequent due to high prices-- and such a fancy atmosphere that I sometimes feel underdressed. It is a four star grocery store if ever there was such a thing. But, duty called and I was too tired to go any further--after all--who would I see at 9:30 pm on a Saturday night?

Well, first I saw my good friend in front of the diet coke aisle--I felt like this was an omen that we should visit and visit for quite sometime. I knew she would not judge me...especially since she confessed she was worse off than me as she was not wearing any underwire support.

Then, half of my neighborhood entered the store. Dressed to the nines. On a group date. Yes, loyal readers, some people do have lives.

Just as me and my co-conspirator were about to make a mad dash for the meat department, we were spotted and they commenced to walk towards us for a nice little visit.

Awkward.

We chatted with the fancies for a bit, and then they sauntered off to the ice cream department.

Of course, it was fate that I would run into another dear friend, Petal, who also looked lovely in a swishy black skirt and a smashing black leather coat. Since Petal has seen me at my at my absolute worst--I did not worry--as I am sure I looked fine to her. We chatted for a bit, and then it was time to check out.

My 9 item visit to the grocery store--took a solid hour.

As I returned home, (around 1030 pm) I discovered that sweet Savvy had a very bad bellyache from too much jellycake (my M.I.L. used to sing that cute song to my colicky babies--and if a 10 year old could have colic--last night was Savvy's night for it).

She required the tender loving care that only a mother can give--which involved me drawing pictures on her back and seeing if she could guess them till she fell asleep and I could sneak out.

Only problem was, we both fell asleep.

I awoke with such a start when I heard the cuckoo clock chime one o'clock a.m. As I headed down the stairs, in a very groggy state, I realized I had missed my blogging deadline--and my daily goal of blogging for the month of November was null and void.

Curses! What a bunch of shenanigans!

War Games

This morning, at 4:20 a.m. my MIL arrived for a fun-filled day of Black Friday. I hopped into her Explorer and we headed to Jerome--a town I didn't even realize existed until yesterday when I discovered that the nearest Walmart to my brother-in-law's house was about a 15 minute ride away.

We were hopped up on diet coke and ready to conquer the shopping world--Idaho Style. I foolishly thought that Idaho would be less of a rat race than Utah. I stand corrected.

It was a zoo!

{Wall to wall people--there was a point during my Walmart shopping where I did not move for a full 5 minutes--and I was wedged in between a smelly guy and my mother in law and that was just trying to bypass the produce deparment.

It was a disaster!

{We parked at least two blocks away from Walmart--I have never seen a Walmart parking lot maxxed beyond capacity.}

It was the craziest Black Friday experience of my life!

{But, I did get some good shopping done}

I came away from this experience with gratitude for the shopping scene in SLC.

But, it was all worth it--Christmas shopping 2008 has finally begun!

Let the ad-shopping games begin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two Thanksgiving Funnies for the Price of One

The Tuesday Funnies: Lizard and Cat

In art class yesterday, Savvy's teacher taught them about comic strips. The kids loved it! I laughed out loud when I read Savvy's--I think she has a future in the comic strip biz.

Lizard: I need a friend

Cat ponders to himself: If I be a nice friend, I can eat him.

Cat says to lizard: I'll be your friend

Lizard: Yay!

Cat: Let's play "Eat your Friend"

Lizard: What's that?

Cat: Gulp

Lizard from inside cat: Oh I see.

An Eye Opening Experience

I wear disposable monthly contacts..and I have been running low on them since early September.

I only had two remaining for each eye--and 4 months to go before I could go to the eye doctor and load up on some more.

This was a puzzle to me, because I know I ordered plenty back in February--so I shouldn't have ran out so quickly. But, I figured I had torn a few here and so I must've been off on my count.

This means I have been wearing the same pair of contacts for two months.

It has been uncomfortable.

Gritty, Red, Smudgy, Burny, Watery, Ouchy.

And all because I was not good at properly distributing my contacts.

This morning, I decided enough was enough. I threw all caution to the wind and switched out my old contacts for a new pair. I looked in bottom drawer where I keep the new ones and couldn't find them anywhere. Looked in another drawer...nothing there either.

Finally, I looked in the bathroom closet and found not only the last pair of contacts..but another box full of contacts--a 5 month supply to be exact.

I was so happy! Although I've been kicking myself all day for not realizing this before I endured what feels like a permanent fingerprint on my left eye--for the past month.

Have you ever misplaced something without realizing it was misplaced only to find the unknown misplaced item you misplaced?

The Sunday Funnies

This morning, as El Jefe and I relaxed on the couch, we sent Aussie outside to get the Sunday newspaper.

As Aussie came in with the newspaper, he held it up in the air like he was

holding a torch.

Or a torpedo.

As Aussie tossed the newspaper over the back of the couch, he happily said, ""Here ya go, Dad."

El Jefe sat unawares that a torpedo had been launched and his battleship was about to be sunk.

It felt like slow motion as I watched the VERY HEAVY ad-laden newspaper tumble through the air end over end...and land on El Jefe...in a spot which has a tendency to turn most men into boys or at the very least a soprano.

El Jefe doubled over in pain.

Aussie was quite concerned.

I tried not to laugh.

El Jefe tumbled to the floor in agony.

Aussie was still quite worried.

This time I did laugh.
I'm evil like that

El Jefe moaned, "If only it hadn't been the Sunday paper."

PS If you wanna read something EXTRA funny..check out Nat's blog about her creative teens.

Twilight...a little bit of Hoop... but not much La

Today, I saw the much anticipated Twilight with one of my BFF's, Natalie, and our daughters.

We bought our tickets online 3 weeks ago...when I happened to notice the theaters were selling out like crazy.

At that point, all of Friday's late afternoon and evening shows were pretty much sold out. So, we opted for a lovely Saturday matinee.

Enter Stage Left: A Lovely Matinee.

Of course, I realized that Twilight couldn't possibly live up to all the hoopla.

What I didn't expect was the YouTube Twilight spoofs would upstage the actual movie. Every time I'd see a scene from Twilight--I'd think of the spoof and start to laugh a little. I think Natalie has bruises on her arm from all the times I elbowed her and giggled.

I didn't hate the movie. I just found fault with a few okay lots of key points: The screenwriters..what were they thinking? The casting? C'mon! although I didn't mind James and Bella Edward's glittering diamond-face scene--my daughter glitters more than that with good ole fashioned body glitter. The cheese factor. The black and white flashback scenes--so silent movieish.

Luckily, the target audience was not a couple of moms hyped up on diet coke.

Our teenage daughters loved Twilight. Adored Twilight. Wanted to go see Twilight again!

As a matter of fact, on the way home, when Nat and I commenced with the mockery--we were almost lynched by our own flesh and blood.

Jay even said--with all the drama that a 13 year old drama queen could muster, "Stop! Or We will shun you!"

I think my cousin, Jenny, summed it up best when she emailed me, "If that movie were any cheesier, it would've come with free nachos!"

Have you seen Twilight yet? What did you love? Not love? Inquiring minds want to know!

New Van Advice?

*Purple Pleasure and her Boyfriend Barney

Purple Pleasure is on its last legs...she's been a good ole' van. Oh sure, we've sunk thousands of dollars into her (I stopped counting once we hit the $3000 mark).

But, Hallefreakinlujah! It is finally time to start the process {and with El Jefe in the captain's chair...it will be a process} of looking for a new van.

Since, it has been so long (10 1/2 years, my friends) since we shopped for a new vehicle--

I need your help!

So, Loyal Readers {and lurkers}, what things do you consider must-haves in a new van/SUV/car? What colors do you like because right now I'm saying absence of color and El Jefe is leaning towards black cherry? Really? And finally, what brands have you loved..and what brands have done you wrong.

*Story behind the picture: For the last couple of months El Jefe has been driving Purple Pleasure {I know its such a sweet ride} to work because he also needs a new car. Anyway, another guy he works with has also been driving his sweet ride, "Barney" to work..just a couple of guys keeping it real. One day they happened to park by each other. Talk about a match made in junker heaven..it was kismet.

I ♥ Black Friday

Most people think of the Thanksgiving holiday as a time to see family, eat lots of good food and show gratitude for all things bright and beautiful.

Being the old-fashioned girl that I am, I'm obviously steeped in tradition I think of Thanksgiving as a time to open up that fresh, thick newspaper--for the Black Friday ads.

{Make no mistake..I'm nothing if not grateful.}

I have been shopping the day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) sales ever since I can remember. I recall going with my mom as a teenager to hold her place in lines--and a tradition was born.

What can I say? We like us some good deals.

For the past couple of years, I have been visiting a fabulous "Black Friday" website. This website reveals the ads a good month before the elusive Thursday morning--which enables me to plan out my ultimate plan of attack for shopping the sales.

This year, I even signed up for their emails. So, now I get an email every time they update their website with a new ad.

Genius, I tell you. Genius.

With the Black Friday website..it's a win, win situation.

No more wondering if you'll have time to make your map of shopping {I used to do it in between dinner and pie}.

No more hassling with your mother or sister over who gets to read the paper first {my sis may seem quiet and sweet..but not when it comes to her paper}.

No more risks of the kids finding your treasured Christmas notebook because in your haste to make your list..you left in out in the wide open...{I'll never forget the year Jay picked up my notebook and started sounding out the Christmas list--thank goodness she was just learning to read.}

I totally ♥ Black Friday--do you?

Need a Fabulous Recipe for an Appetizer Divine? Look no further!

With the holidays just around the corner, I have been on the look out for a festive and delicious appetizer recipe.

One of the best cooks I've ever met, brought this divine appetizer to our RS Birthday Lunch last week...it was yumalicious, looked festive--AND {she said} easy to make!

Annie's Bacon and Tomato Cups

Ingredients

8 slices bacon {1/2 c. of pre-cooked Costco Crumbled Bacon}

1 can Rotel Tomatoes {mild or use original or hot according to your own taste. Drain well. You can also use 2 fresh tomatoes and 1 can mild green chilies.}

1 can petite diced tomatoes, drain well

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 c. shredded Swiss Cheese

2 T. mayonnaise

1 tsp. dried basil

Pinch of garlic powder

1 can Grands Flakey Layers biscuits {Can choose use any kind of refrigerator biscuits}

Directions: Cook bacon until brown and drain. Crumble into mixing bowl and mix with tomato, onion, Swiss cheese, mayo, basil and garlic. Let sit overnight or several hours to blend flavors. When ready to bake, separate biscuits into quarters. Roll into ball and use rolling pin to get flat or just press into greased mini muffin pan. Fill to biscuit top with tomato-bacon mixture. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Makes 32.

...And the Winner Is

{Elvis wanted to get in on the action...but he couldn't read so Savvy took over the honors.}

I don't know about you...but I'm on the edge of my seat!

Heather of Jacobson Family of Five is the winner! Yay! {Heather...which magnet board would you like? Email me your choice and your address and I will send it off Ü}

P.S. Loyal Readers (and lurkers): I am in desperate need of cheap, quick, easy, darling, fabulocity RS Christmas gift idea for 110 women. If I use your idea--I'll send you a magnet board too!

Share please!

Grandpa's Little Cowboy

I just have to post my Grandpa's (Grumpy) charming story about my dad that he shared during the cowboy poetry reading festival on Saturday.

The Little Cowboy
by Grandpa Sumsion

Once upon a time a very very long time ago, there was this wanna-be cowboy. He met a pretty little girl and they fell in love and got married. Soon a real cowboy was born.

As he grew older, this real cowboy fell in love with all animals--especially horses---and he wanted to ride. The only horse available was his father's horse which was too frisky for a young cowboy to handle. But, he tried to ride it any way and it run away with him a couple of times.

So, his father, the wanna-be cowboy, bought a more gentle horse for his little Cowboy to ride.

He rode this horse from daylight to dawn.

He rode it east to the river to swim.

He rode it west to the lake to swim.

He rode it all over the town to play with his friends.

One day, he rode it to his friends house about three miles away. Later that day the wanna-be cowboy looked out the window. Guess what he saw?

Here came his son's horse scared and running as fast as horse could. The wanna-be cowboy looked again and saw a little red wagon bouncing up and down behind the horse with a rope tied to the saddle horn. Every time the wagon hit the ground, the horse would run faster.

There was no Cowboy on the horse and no Cowboy in the wagon. The horse ran straight to the barn and stopped. The wanna-be cowboy never did find out why the wagon was tied to the horse. Maybe some day the Cowboy might tell his grandkids and the story could end.

Later, the Cowboy met a pretty little girl and they got married and rode of into the sunset.

And they lived happy ever after.

{I asked my dad why he tied the wagon to the horse...and apparently he was giving rides to the neighborhood kids in it. Then he decided it looked like fun. So, he put an 8 year old neighbor boy in the saddle--and he hopped in the wagon. After a ways, the horse got spooked and took off out of control. The little boy jumped off quick-like before the horse got going too fast. This left my dad still sitting in the wagon being pulled by a runaway horse. Eventually, dad bailed out too. The horse returned home...without my dad. And that folks...is the rest of the story.}

Isn't that the cutest story? I think I should turn it into a children's book!

The Sunday Funnies: Cowboy Up

My dad's 62nd surprise birthday party was yesterday. A good time was had by all. There was even a program.

Aussie, Dad & Jessika

My mom had asked all of the men in the family to read a selection of cowboy poetry. I tried to help find El Jefe a poem on the internet..but he told me he would take care of it himself.

El Jefe's Cowboy poem

{written by none other than El Jefe}

There once was a man on a horse.

He rode tall.

He rode fast.

His name was Lucky.

He rode the old West.

He rode with the best.

Never did he fall.

The man had a dog.

The sky opened up.

The rain fell.

The thunder roared.

Aliens attacked.

His dog was kidnapped.

This was not Lucky's day.

But he returned standing tall.

Riding through the West.

Riding tall, riding proud.

After the program, I overheard my dad complimenting El Jefe on his poetry skills. One of my brothers mentioned they really liked the alien twist at the end.

El Jefe proudly said, "I figured if Indiana Jones could have an alien...then so could my cowboy poem."

(P.S. T minus two days till the magnet board contest ends...the drawing will be Tuesday at 5 pm. If you wanna double your chances of winning and get an extra entry...comment on this post with your best original cowboy poetry)

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! And a Prize Giveaway!

During the summer, I got a phone call from a USA Today surveyer wondering if I'd be willing to participate on a USA Today panel. I usually don't do these surveys because they start out interesting..and 15 minutes later you wish you would've hung up in the first place.

But, I do like me some USA Today so I said sure.

Yup. 15 minutes later I was wishing I would've hang up.

I remember, the survey-guy kept apologizing for the lengthiness...and said many times...we're almost done..hang in there. I'm guessing he's had many a hang-up at the 14 or 15 minute mark.

So, I hung in there. Then he asked if I would mind being contacted at later dates for more surveys? I said, no thanks.

Trying to sweeten the deal, he added, "How about participating in email surveys. You could win a prize?"

Sold. To the sucker who likes winning...but never does because the odds are not in her favor. making me a bigger sucker is the fact that I had no clue what the prizes were..for all I knew they were giving away USA Today mugs...but, a prize is a prize.

The email surveys generally come every other week or sometimes monthly. Of course, I haven't been able to participate in all of them..but I've filled out my share.

Last night, I got an email from USA Today saying I had won $100 cash for being a valiant member of their panel (okay, maybe it didn't say valiant..but you know they wanted to).

Funny thing is, its been so long since the initial phone call that I had forgotten there was even a prize being offered...and now my altruism has paid off.

Yay me!

And since I'm feeling so altruistic...how bout a prize giveaway. I'm giving away one of these loverly magnet boards (holds a recipe card, a 4x6 or 5x7 picture).

If you'd like to win a magnet board...either for yourself or a Christmas gift for your fav person...then just leave a comment about:

1) The best prize you have ever won..if any.

AND 2) Your color choice...

a) picnic red & black ribbon

b) dark red and black ribbon

c) pink&brown vertical stripes and brown ribbon

d) pink and sage green with cream sheer ribbon

e) cute patchwork squares & black ribbon

f) multicolor quilter stripes & black ribbon

Yay You!

{Loyal commenters (and lurkers)
are all welcome to enter.
Drawing ends: Tuesday,
November 18th at 5 pm--MST}

A Hairy Situation or Tales of a Woolly Mammoth

Austin hates having his hair cut. He has his entire life. It used to be the actual cutting of the hair he hated. The razor, the scissors and the mean comb that pulled his locks.

But, now its the losing of his hair that he hates. He just wants long hair.

This whole haircutting saga has escalated into such an absolute nightmare that I end up going a couple of months before I take him in.

Sometimes three months.

And once even four months...until I told him the zoo was on its way because he was turning into a

woolly mammoth.

It has been 2 months since his last haircut..and we are getting family pictures on the weekend. So, I decided it was time for another fun trip to the salon.

He did not want to go.

So, I did what any other good mother wanting to provide herself with some sanity would do. I bribed him.

During the haircut there was nary a tear or a glare. I was amazed. I thought, finally, he is over the hatred of the hair cut. He did great.

I even complimented him on the way out that I was so proud of how he behaved for the stylist.

"What finally made you decide you didn't hate haircuts?" I asked.

"Oh, I still hate getting my hair cut short. I just decided not to look in the mirror. I stared at the floor the whole time," he answered. "I'm just going to pretend its long."

By the way, the haircut was Wednesday.

And he still hasn't

looked in the mirror.

He brushes his teeth with his eyes closed.

He cleans the bathroom with his eyes closed.

When he gets out of the shower the mirrors are all fogged up--so he can't see himself.

Whenever he passes by a mirror in our house, he shields his eyes from the mirror until he has walked by it.

He has me look at his face and hair to make sure he looks good in the morning before school.

During the day, he feels his hair to make sure there is nothing sticking up.

He's creative. I'll give him that.

I ♥ Blogging Tips

I ♥ to blog. I also ♥ learning fun tips about blogging. Imagine my excitement when I found a cool blogger, Gardenview Cottage, who shares some fabulous blogging tips on her blog!

Click on these links for Blogging 101, Blogging 202, Blogging for Dummies...prepare to be amazed.

My favorite tip was how to put cute symbols within your posts.

First: Make sure you have your number lock on.

Hit ALT and 666 at the same time and you have this Ü

Hit ALT and 3 once and you have this ♥

Hit ALT and 1 once and you have this ☺

Getting the hang of it yet? While I played around with the alt/numbers I found all of these fun symbols:

☻ ♥ ♣ ♠ • ○ ♂ ♀ ♪ ↕ ‼ ¶ § ↑ ↓ → ← ∟ ↔ ▲ ☺ ☻ ♥ ♣ ♠ • Ü ♂ ♀ ♪ ↕ ¶ ‼ § æ

Do you ♥ these blogger tips as much as I do?

What's Crockin? Crockpot Chicken N Stuffin'

I tried the most fabulous crockpot recipe last week. It is (of course) from my new RS Cookbook. By 5 pm, my house smelled heavenly! It was

easy to make and tasted divine!

{Tip: Do not overcook the stuffing--I was at a meeting and so my family ate dinner at the 4 hour finishing mark..but then it continued to cook for another hour till I got home..and it was NOT a good thing. I'm not a fan of mushy stuffing. Also...do not just start randomly dumping the ingredients into the crockpot..follow the directions below...not that I would forget to do anything as silly as that.}

Crockin' Chicken-n-Stuffing

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 c. water
1 cube butter
2 packages stuffing mix

Place chicken in crock-pot. Top with soup. In a bowl, combine water with butter and stuffing mix. Spoon stuffing over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until chicken juices run clear.

A Medical Mystery

For the past couple of years, I have had a little dark spot on my left cheek. {I know, probably too much information...but you did read the title right? This kooky story should come as no surprise.}

Last year, I had it checked at my mediocre dermatologist's office and he said it was a sunspot or something of the like. He sold me some fancy $80 fading cream..which after 4 months of using I gave it up cause it wasn't working.

So, a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the spot was no longer there. I hadn't used the cream in almost a year..but I wasn't going to argue about why it was gone--I was just glad it was gone.

This morning, as I was putting on my makeup, I noticed I now have the same dark spot on my RIGHT cheek. What in the?

Did the spot decide it liked the other side of my face better and jump ship?

Am I going crazy? Maybe it was always on the right side of my face and the mirror has been messing with me all this time.

As my cute teenager says, "I am confuzzled!"

Just Another Manic Monday

I just accidentally deleted my whole

post and had to start over.

My ward split yesterday.

I still have a funeral headache leftover from yesterday due to all the crying and carrying on that

I did--and still want to do.

I was 5 minutes late to work today.

It's raining.

Had to do unloading in the rain today..remembered the umbrella but wore ballet slipper shoes gosh I looked cute {this proves that I am unable to make rational decisions before 8 am}

My feet were cold and wet all day.

Did you know that water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and not 32 degrees Celsius? I had forgotten..but don't worry...my cute little math kids reminded me--wholeheartedly.

This morning during math, one of my students said, "Mrs. H when did you get a retainer." It was gum {and if you think I was confessing after the whole Celsius debacle--you've got another thing coming.}

During our Monday meeting, our head teacher told us aides that when we get in trouble with the principal we need to let her know...so she can defend us. My response? "We got in trouble?" it really wasn't that big of deal

My feet are still cold.

My house looks like a bomb went off in it.

Anyone wanna go with me to Sonic and drown my/our Monday sorrows in

diet coke and tots?

The Sunday Funnies

Last Sunday, we went to see my new little nephew, Franky Tate, get blessed. He looked so cute in his little white outfit. He really is a little doll. He was passed all over the place before and after his blessing and was just a perfect little angel.

When they announced for my brother, Zach, and his posse to come up and bless the baby--all of the men who had been invited to be in the circle walked up to the front of the chapel...including Zach.

As he walked up to the front of the chapel, Zach realized one important aspect of the baby blessing..he needed a baby...and he had left his behind.

The Congregation Chuckled.

Zach quickly remedied this by walking back to his sister-in-law, taking Franky, and carrying him up to the front {He gave a beautiful blessing, by the way}.

And now...the rest of the story

{Disclaimer: What a shenanigan I have gotten myself into! I'm a giver...but not a giver of mousy proportions! You know how when you have a really bad head cold and things seem funny and sarcastic to you? Well, after the two disgusting little mice found entry into our house...I truly thought... finally, Elvis can have a snippet of the life he is missing out on. Then I thought it would be pretty hilar to blog about it--and as a bonus I got to use those cute pics that Jay took of Elvis a couple of weeks ago. So, to answer your questions: NO! I did NOT turn mice loose in my house.}

And so now, loyal readers, here is the rest of the story...

We have a mouse in the house and I am totally freaked out.

Thursday night, I was attending a stake RS leadership meeting--just as I was getting ready to doze off- right in the middle of a great talk, my cell phone buzzed.

It was El Jefe. Now, El Jefe knew I was at a stake meeting--but I figured he had forgotten.

Phone buzzed again.

Ignored it.

The third time it buzzed I took it into the hall. This was getting awkward. Plus, I was starting to think their may be trouble on the home front.

"Honey, Elvis has two mice cornered in the kitchen!" El Jefe said.

"Eeew! Gross! Why are you calling me?" I said.

"Because I walked in the door only 15 minutes after you left and here sits Elvis with two mice...I was thinking maybe you had something to do with it," he answered.

I'll admit I've played a few jokes on El Jefe...but I would never involve disease-ridden-germ-infested-mousies in one.

He proceeded to tell me about how upon walking into the house...there sat Elvis with not one but two mice sitting on a glue trap--one was still alive...with his two little front paws on the gluey trap--but how disgusting..the other was old & dead {a couple of years ago we had mice troubles so I bought these great glue traps at IFA and stuck them every where--this one happened to be from underneath my stove--I had forgotten we even had it under there. I was pretty surprised that it even had any stickiness left on it since it had been there for so long.}

"I gotta go...mouse #1 is making a move to get off the trap!" he yelled.

"Kill it! Kill it before I get home!" I said.

Text messaging ensued:

El Jefe: I'm setting trap

Nicolita: Thank goodness

El Jefe: I've trapped the mice under your big blue bowl so the live one can't escape.

Nicolita: Who are you Elmer Fudd? Get out the mousetraps.

El Jefe: I've set up a perimeter...that **rascally rodent ain't gettin' out of here alive.

Oh great. He really is Elmer Fudd, I thought to myself.

El Jefe: Mouse #2 escaped through a crack in my perimeter! I can't believe it! It was foolproof!

Guess I'll go watch the Utah game.

Nicolita: {Edited for PG purposes} Okay

In other news...

Elvis aka Mouse Killer...Enjoys being one with nature..okay, so he's actually being one with a dusty ole glue trap and a mummified mouse..but we're all about baby steps around here.

**Okay, so, El Jefe did not really say rascally rodent...but you know he wanted to!

I'm a Giver {and Elvis better be a getter if he knows what's good for him!}

Sometimes I feel guilty that our kitty, Elvis, is an inside cat. We had him declawed last year so it's not like he has a choice--he'd be dogmeat for sure if he got loose outside.

But, every once in a while I get to feeling like it just ain't natural for a kitty to not be able to run

wild and free.

I'm humane like that.

Last night, being the kind and sensitive pet owner that I am, I decided to bring the outdoors in and turned two sweet little mice loose into my house.

It provided Elvis with hours of entertainment...actually he is still being entertained as he only caught one of the little devils.

What can I say? I'm a giver.

{A completely grossed out giver who is freaking out that there is a mouse/mice? scurrying around her house! What in the? I am headed to IFA tomorrow to buy me some traps! And Elvis better get down to business--because, Kitty Cat, it's time to earn your keep!}

PS Lest you think I have been hanging out & waiting for the perfect photography moment with my kitty-cat...Jay is the photog of all of these lovely pics of Elvis.

A New Family Favorite: "Baked Potato Soup" aka "Bacon Soup"

{I am so in love with my new RS Cookbook...there are so many fun soup recipes. On Saturday, since I just love soup on a rainy Fall afternoon--I made up a Baked Potato Soup recipe well, I actually combined a couple of soup recipes because I was lacking ingredients for both and it was a big hit. Jay said it was "Zupa Worthy"--and since Zupa's happens to be my favorite place to eat..I felt honored. Austin & Savannah liked it so much they asked me to make it the very next day.}

Baked Potato Soup

{This is a great recipe for leftover baked potatoes...I had 6 small ones left from the night before so I threw 6 more in the microwave and it worked out just fine. I like my soup really chunky & potatoey...so adjust according to what you like.}

1/2 c onion diced

12 small baked potatoes peeled and cubed

1/2 c butter

1/2 c flour

3 c half and half

1 tsp salt

Dash pepper

4 c chicken broth

3 garlic cloves--minced

1 pkg of bacon strips cooked and crumbled {both recipes only called for 8-10 strips...but we love us some bacon--and besides my diet doesn't start till next week}

2 c grated cheddar cheese {Ummm...I didn't really measure this out..I just threw in 2 or 3 handfuls which I figured to be 2 cups}


Combine potatoes and onion in a soup pot. Pour in broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes. In a separate sauce pan, melt butter and add flour--stir and cook till bubbly. Pour flour mix into simmering pot of potatoes. Stir well and add milk, garlic & bacon. Do not boil. Just heat thoroughly for about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and cheese. Heat through and serve.