Are you KIDDING me?

Now you tell me, what is seriously wrong with this picture? No, it's not some sick joke, the white stuff is truly falling all around, on the rooftops, on the ground. It's snowing here in Tooele! We're not even into October yet…yikes. It's going to be a loooooong winter, folks. we've only just begun

No wonder I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Instead, I requested breakfast burritos in bed while I watched 2 DVRed episodes of Martha and an episode of Everyday Food. I really was gearing up to attack my housework homekeeping (as Martha clarified, because 'homekeeping' is supposedly FUN), but after looking out the window, back-to-bed is appearing to be the better option. Besides, I've done my blogging for the day, and that's fun, so I can check homekeeping off my to-do list.

I wish I had a fireplace. Now you know why I need self-medication (see #5 on Friday's post). Anyone else out there getting snow?

My child is confused

She gets herself dressed…multiple times a day, and won't hear of changing a thing. She wears tank tops and snow boots in winter, and today (to celebrate the snow, I gather) broke out the turtleneck, jeans-that-are-sooo-'toot', and…the flip flops.

P.S. Don't knock the hat. Let's remember where she's growing up.

What we've been up to lately:

1. babysitting nieces and nephews while my brother and his wife took a much needed, much deserved just-the-two-of-us trip to SF. I'm almost thinking I could have 7 kids and be okay…almost. My kids loved their time with their cousins.
2. pulling weeds and more weeds. Does it ever end? One of the few reasons to look forward to winter, I guess.
   
3. driving through Tooele County's canyons to ooh and aah over the delicious colors everywhere. I hear people call this 'leafing.'
4. following the Rugby World Cup and BYU football. Aki loves the fall. And I love his friend Steve for taking Aki to the games. (Steve is available and very eligible by the way…especially if you like awesome seats at BYU games!)
   
5. watching our fave TV shows. I'm pathetic, but this is how I self-medicate—it really works! I'm so glad to have them back so I can feel like myself again!
6. thanks to my niece Alli, reading (just me) the first book in that darn vampire love story trilogy that every blog west of the Mississippi mentions. I guess it's obligatory reading or something. Anyway, it was fun to feel 15 again for a few days. Now I have to get my hands on the second book. I can't wait.
7. relaxing (just Aki…okay, both of us…I couldn't let him relax all by his lonesome!) and enjoying 5 days off of work. He says he struggled through his first day back.
8. loving on this cute little girl of ours. Makai is slightly too big for cuddling, but he still loves to play with my hair for comfort.
   

We're looking forward to dinner and a movie tonight, the treat of a long-lost friend who has moved back into our world. The weekend plans also include putting up a few Fall/Halloween decorations and sorting through all the kid clothes, switching from summer to winter clothes and putting too-small clothes into storage.

Extreme Makeover: Young Women Edition

Blogger has been out of commission for the last few hours; hence, the delay. But we're back in business. Go back a couple of posts if you can't remember why I got a makeover or don't know what "young women" has to do with it.

So this is how it went down: we all went to Tami's in-house salon. I put my hair into her hands for coloring. She did a dark brown all over, to even it out, then put in some highlights of a chocolate brown and a coppery color (the darker colors are appropriate for fall, don't you think?). I asked that the colors have low contrast in the realistic case that I can't afford to maintain the color, so growing it out won't be so noticeable. While the color was processing, she waxed my eyebrows—and complimented me on my high pain tolerance, thank you very much—and my moustache (yes, I do have one, the horror of it all).

Then she handed me over to Melissa for a cut and styling. Before my hair was finished it was time for the girls to go home, but the leaders stayed and got their own waxings done. Then the talk turned adult-ish and we were cracking ourselves up acting like we were on Steel Magnolias, beauty salon scenes. (See the poll on my sidebar…it's something to think about, really). And I'm extremely thankful that Annelle was not doing my hair—she would probably use Aqua Net hairspray. But how cool would it have been to hear a thing or two from Ouiser?

I really liked the end result that night, but of course I'll never be able to recreate the style. I have serious issues when it comes to operating a round brush. I'm pathetic! On Sunday morning, I had to do it well since church would be the first time for the girls to see how my hair turned out. I asked Aki for help, offering both the brush and the flat iron to him, and he gave me the whatchoo-talkin-bout-Willis look. It was a no go. Thank goodness for a sister-in-law who is staying with us right now (I'll post about her next) and can help me with my hair every day. She has to earn her room and board in some way, doesn't she?

So, here's the BEFORE, what my hair usually looked like, and no I don't have no alibi:
And here's the AFTER (that night):
Then a few days later:
(Notice the much-flatter hair—I may have to break down and buy some root lifter serum gel shine spray putty pomade mousse crap, or more simply known as product. I hear it cures all a woman's woes.)Aki redeemed himself by taking these pictures of me. What a helper. The other pic is just so you can see what the color is like. Okay, folks, what do you think? Lay it on me! And any styling tips or opinions on product? Is there someone who can tutor me in basics of round brushing?

Doing time

Remember I told you (like forever ago, when I last blogged), that I would be going to the cannery? Well, here is my report: When I arrived at the cannery and donned a green hair cover and white smock, I thought, "Oh goody, I get to be an Oompa-Loompa today!" doompadee doo

Only a moment later, I was standing in a factory line screwing lids onto jars of strawberry jam as they came by me on a conveyor belt. "Even better!" I thought to myself, "We're Laverne and Shirley…except we're not capping beer bottles." I was daydreaming of wearing a groovy L-monogrammed shirt that could stand for Lindy when the grandma next to me burst my bubble by reminding me that her name actually was Laverne. Fine, take all the L shirts. I'll be Shirley. She's prettier anyway and gets Carmine for a boyfriend. Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated…we're gonna do it!

Just when I was feeling sure of my role that day at the cannery, the men-in-charge got the crazy idea that we had the hang of things and could be doing more. They sped up the conveyor belt. The machine starting squirting out the boiling hot strawberry jam into the jars at an alarming rate. I suddenly was lid-screwing challenged, and couldn't keep up. I was burning myself left and right, and all the jars were backing up. Panic set in. I then knew I was not an Oompa Loompa, not Shirley, but Lucy, the incompetent factory worker. I love her. But I, unfortunately, did not have the option of stuffing jars of hot strawberry jam into my hat and mouth. (Don't know what I'm talking about? You've never seen the chocolate factory episode before?)

Thankfully, one of the men-in-charge came to the rescue and started screwing lids on like nothing I've ever seen. He called out to have the conveyor belt go back to beginning speed; I was so glad to be able to fulfill my duties once again. The man was clearly disappointed in my special needs and laughingly said, "I can tell you don't work at Wal-Mart." Wha… What in the world does that mean? That I don't have much conveyor belt experience? Sorry, sir, but shoving something across a scanner doesn't take as much skill as screwing a lid on, okay?

Other than that little exchange, which I tried not to take personally, I had a great time. My other thoughts on the day:

• Oh, scrap. I forgot my camera.
  
• Thanks to my grandma companions, I got to hear lots of stories of husbands/lovers at war, and who was dating whom…sixty years ago.
• A huge room filled with the smell of sugar and strawberries is somewhat intoxicating.
• I think all high school kids should work one day at the cannery. They will go to college, guaranteed.
• The older gentleman who replaced me for the next shift looked particularly familiar, but I couldn't place him, though I knew he had to be from Tooele. When I asked how I might know him, he smiled, and said, "Lots of people think they know me. I work at Wal-Mart."

Miscellany

• 

• Those who know me know I'm a big-time list maker. In fact, I have to-do lists in the office, in the car, in random notebooks, in my scriptures, and in the kitchen, and so I consolidated into a groovy extra-long notebook I got at Target. I have one gigantic, never-ending TO DO list that I am happily marking items off of. My kids get as excited as I do when I get to mark off one of my "chores." Those are my kids' chore charts you see up there. We've been using them for awhile, and they seem to be working well. (The larger-image chart are chores that we all do together so the kids can start learning the ropes).

• My kids are so disappointed that I forgot to record the Backyardigans movie last night. We had it on our calendar and everything, but in my efforts to have FHE, I spaced it and didn't even record it. Any of you moms know if there is a repeat showing scheduled?

• I'm going to the cannery tomorrow with 6 old ladies (I'm the designated driver, with reason). I'm planning to take my camera and get some good shots—what we'll be canning, I have no idea. I'm sure I'll have something to offer you, photographically speaking (me in a hair net? peach halves in syrup? potato pearls? grandmas wearing grandma shoes?).

• So I'm a leader/counselor of our Young Women group at Church. Our weekly activity tomorrow will consist of a hair and skin care class. The kicker: I will be the victim of a makeover, though not very extreme. A lady who runs a salon here will cut and color my hair (and wax my eyebrows) as part of it. I've been growing my eyebrows out just so I'll experience the full RIP and see a difference. I know you think I'm crazy to subject my hair to this, but the way I see it, it's all free, and my hair probably couldn't get any uglier than it is right now (and has been for the last year). Check back here for BEFORE-and-AFTER photos!
  

The truth hurts

Makai came home from preschool yesterday with his superduper new backpack (that we got on clearance at Wal-Mart for a killer $3) overflowing with notices, sign-here forms, menus, calendars, book orders, policies, and THIS, the above pictured artwork.
"Oh, how cute, a family portrait," I thought to myself and promptly stuck it up on the fridge with a magnet.

Later in the day I heard Makai telling his little friend about school, and taking him to the fridge, showed off his piece of art, pointing out all the members of his family. What caught me was when he got to the pink thing, he casually said, "And this is my mom. See? She has a frowny face because she's always mad."

What?! Is it true? I probably wouldn't be so concerned, except that just recently, a neighborhood mom who watched Ame for the morning told me hesitantly that Ame had declared, "My mom's angry. She's a mean mom." This other mom just laughed it off, saying, "Isn't that cute? I thought it was so funny!" (What I was hoping she would say is, "Now I know I'm not the only one!" or "Why would she say a thing like that? What a silly girl who must lie frequently!")

Am I really that grumpy/mean/irritated/impatient/mad/in-a-bad-mood (or "bad nude" as Makai used to say…ha! if he only knew!) all the time? I guess it doesn't matter what the answer is; what matters is that my children are perceiving me that way, and that hurts. I know I tend to be negative by nature—there is a hearty helping of pessimism in my blood, unfortunately—but I don't think I'm any meaner/madder than most moms. Or am I?

Obviously, my guilt should spur some positivee changes in my parent-kid interactions. But should I really be feeling guilty? Or is it normal for toddlers to see their parents this way? (If they were teenagers, I would just consider their opinion of hatred to be a sign I'm doing a great job). I need a response here…this inquiring mind wants to know how you feel about this…don't try to make me feel better…if you're shocked my kids say such things, tell me that apparently I'm a horrible mother and need to get some help. Should I be calling JoJo the Super Nanny? Do your kids think you're a meany?

The fruits of our labor

[Mom, I promise, I had every intention of stir-frying some veggies to go along with this, but I must admit after chopping and mincing and stuffing and pinching and frying, I was a little beat, and besides, after tasting the yummy goodness of deep-fried cream cheese, who wants broccoli?]

The kitchen adventures continue

Even though I'm not feeling so hot (see "wood floors" post), I am actually going to make dinner tonight. My sister-in-law Melinda has been staying with us—she's my excellent kitchen/children/conversation helper—so we made an outing to the grocery store and came home with:

• cabbage
• ground pork
• green onions..................[for menu item #1]
• water chesnuts
• fresh ginger
• sesame oil
• (borrow wrappers from below)
• 
  
• cream cheese
• imitation crab meat..........[for menu item #2]
• wonton wrappers
• (borrow green onions from above)
  

We didn't come home with rice, because we always have that on hand. We're gonna have ourselves a good ol' fashioned Asian fiesta. Even though I probably will not partake, my husband deserves it. He hasn't had dinner-made-by-me-at-home since Sunday.

"I was 32 30 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."
~Julia Child Lindy Funaki

[P.S. That reminds me…a thank you to the Harrises for the gigantic rice cooker you gave us…we use the thing at least once weekly. Gracias.]

Apple peelings = happy feelings

[does this remind you of Lady and the Tramp or what? I was cracking up! Slow down, kids.]

Along with our big bag of peaches, we got a supply of apples. So, for family home evening last night, we made apple crisp (great recipe). Makai was intrigued from the moment I pulled out the apple peeler: "What is that, Mom?!" When I twirled that first apple through, and the peeling surged out in a long, skinny pile of curl, Makai let out a real squeal of delight. He wanted a turn, and another, and let's do another one, Mom. Pretty soon, the apples were gone, but Makai was not done. While I was busy trying to keep the peeled apples from browning, Makai went to the frig and brought out a bell pepper and popped it on the peeler! Good try, son, but no dice.

I remember loving this same activity when I was little. I don't remember getting the peeler, or the apples, or even what they ultimately were made into (did we bottle them for future apple pies?), but I remember peeling them, with that peeler clamped to our big, wood, kitchen table. Good memories. Thankfully, apple crisp warm from the oven, melting my scoop of vanilla ice cream just a bit, is not just a memory.

Why don't I have hardwood floors?

Forget apple peelings, clean carpet = happy feelings!

Like many other Utahns in past weeks, our family got to experience a lovely illness caused by the so-called "pool parasite." Let me just say…it's been a long two weeks. Our carpet, after a few runny-poop-and-puke incidents, has definitely seen better days. Today would be one of those. The carpet cleaners came to the rescue, making me a very happy woman.

[again, that's not us up there—in case you're wondering why Aki's feet are white and my legs are skinny]
.

Love to scrap?

A friend from my hometown has her own scrapbooking kit business, Simply Obsessed. Go check it out and see what it's all about. Cute stuff.

It's in the mail

I just got finished sending off my Favorite Things Swap package. My person is in Utah, so she should receive it on Monday. I hope she likes what I sent! It was way fun putting it together. This pillow is one of the Halloween things I included…I'm definitely not a seamstress, but I'm trying to learn more.
A neighbor gave us a big bag of peaches on Friday, and I knew they'd go bad before we could eat them, so I made 2 batches of peach jam yesterday, and it is so yummy. I'm excited that we'll have it during the winter…a "taste of summer." If I get really motivated, I might make some bread today to go with it.

Football fever

Aki and I went to the BYU football game last Saturday, thanks to his friend Steve (who was so nice to give us his Legacy membership seats…you know, the ones with seat backs, free food before the game, and free snacks/drinks during). We had such a fun time—the Cougs won, the stadium was filled to capacity, and the refs gave Aki lots to yell about. BUT it was so flipping hot! I seriously thought for a minute there that I would have heat stroke (those of you who know me can just imagine how red I was). Aki was a happy man; he loves his BYU football! Rise and shout, the Cougars are OUT. Good luck to them at UCLA today.
[photo courtesy of Maren (Platt) Sundahl, who we ran into while there—she's at the UCLA game today]

How fun to get a surprise visit…

…from my friend, Stormy, who moved to Portland last year. She and her daughter, Sofía, made a last-minute trip to Utah/Wyoming, and came to stay for a few days. Ame and Sofía had a great time hanging out together, as did we. I never knew what a difference having another adult around during the day could make! The girls did have somewhat of a love-hate relationship, though, always arguing over dolls and hair things, and who was "being nice" or not. Their little arguments were quite amusing.

This is my favorite picture…how cute is she, acting all grown up!

I am now a thirtysomething…I think

Or am I just a "thirty"? Either way, I know I'm out of the twenties. My birthday was very nice; I received lots of birthday greetings, so I really felt loved. The day of, my friend Stormy was with us, so we grilled hamburgers and had a small birthday celebration with a delicious cake and great gifts from Stormy and Aki.

Then, on Saturday, we joined in on a block party/birthday party celebration (though not just for me, I promise) and Aki roasted a pig, and there was a great turnout. I have no pictures of it, though, sorry.

My family came over for Sunday dinner to celebrate mine and my sis-in-law Heidi's birthdays. More yummy cake and fun presents!