Pyles of Clutter

Thoughts for Thursday

Thursday Thoughts.

Thoughts for Thursday.

Well, what do I have to say.  Hmmm.

*First, I have been on a crafting terror this last week.  I have been making good luck goodies for our dance teams that are going to competition this weekend.  I made 110 little things.  Honestly.  I'm a little crafted out right now, but you know how it is.  I have drill team nationals next week.  That means tags, tags and more tags.  A few pictures, sorry--not so great quality, but you'll get the idea.

But my favorite one to do...

was this:

Oh that cricut!  I made these little gift bags, added flowers, put a little ribbon on it.  Not that you can tell, but I added the first initial of each girl on the front.  This is actually an "L".  Oh well, the girls still liked them.  Honestly, I can't really think of anything else to say.  This is what I really want to be doing:

Sweet, sweet sleep.

10 Random Things About Me

Tracy tagged me to tell 10 random things about me, and I'm telling you, I'm not sure I can come up with anything else that is random about me.  I'm pretty sure you all know everything about me, so this ought to be interesting.  But I can tell you that if you want to see some of the most darling cards, and ultra creative, you need to visit Tracy's blog.  She is a wonder!

1. I'm a closet gardener.  I want to come out of the closet, but it would mean having to dig up a bunch of my yard and so on....  and my closet-ness just doesn't bother me that much to do that.  Maybe next year.

2. The slightest different noise in the house wakes me up.  I can fall asleep anywhere, at any time, but if there is a noise that I don't know what it is, or it shouldn't be there at that time, it wakes me right up.  Say screeching tires outside, or wind storm outside, I'm right out of bed.  I find that to be annoying.

3. It takes me a good hour or more to start doing anything creative.  I have to sit and think, and think, and think, before I can actually start putting anything together.  That is with anything, scrapbooking, crafts, sewing, anything.

4.  I dream about the books I'm reading.  I become one of the characters, and away I go.  I find this to be annoying also.

5. I have a bucket list that I'm working on.  You should go see the movie, or rent it.  Everyone should have a bucket list to look forward to.

6. I can listen to the same album all week long and not get tired of it.  Terry finds this to be annoying.  (Remember that he has a music fetish.)

7. I still miss my missionary son.  I keep waiting for that to lessen some, but it hasn't somehow.  We are at three months gone now.

8. When it comes to everyday life, I could happily not leave my house for days on end.  If I could, I would live in my 'jamas and read books and watch movies, and now that I have the online library, and Netflix, it is even worse.  Don't make me leave!

9. I crave order and organization, but don't seem to have all the skills to keep anything that way.

10. I hate breakfast in the morning, but love to have it for lunch and dinner.

I did it!  I was successful, and it was fairly painless.  And now you REALLY do know everything about me.  No more random in me.  I'll be checking on you soon, Tracy! 

Crazy 8's meme

Thanks to Nikki, here I go:

8 Things I Am Passionate About:

1. My religion

2. My family

3. Education (apparently only for my kids though)

4. Reading

5. Treats (oh, I love treats!)

6. Movies (!)

7. Friendships

8. Journaling

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:  (I've actually been working on this, my Bucket List)

1. Travel to Norway

2. Get my Bachelor's Degree (maybe I am passionate about my education)

3. Go to a real Broadway Musical

4. See the Great Wall of China

5. Watch the Rose Parade in person

6. Attend as many temples inthe world that I can

7. Lose weight (!)

8. Go on a real honeymoon with my husband (of 20 years!)

8 Things I Say Often:

1. Really!

2. Seriously. I mean, seriously.

3. Fair is where you take your hog to get a blue ribbon.

4. Whose turn is it to (take out the garbage, do the dishes, do laundry, etc)?

5. Make good choices!

6. Remember your standards!

7. What are your plans for (the weekend, tonight, the next hour)?

8. Nothing good happens after midnight.

8 Books I've Read Recently

1. The Thirteenth Tale

2. My Sergei

3.The Eyre Affair

4. The Language of the Sycamore Trees

5. The Book of Mormon

6. The Traveler's Wife

7. Five People You Meet In Heaven

8. The Pilot's Wife (still reading)

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over Again:

1. Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack (Yes, the whole thing!)

2. Everything (Michael Buble)

3. Is This Home? (Beauty and the Beast Musical Soundtrack)

4. Mary Did You Know?  (Christmas Song)

5. Where Can I Turn For Peace (Hymn # 129)

6. Armies of Helaman (always makes me cry)

7. The Spirit of God (Hymn #2)

8. Silent Night

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends:

1. Loyal

2. Trustworthy

3. Understand my sense of humor

4. Funny

5. Forgiving

6. Gracious

7. Honest

8. Hard working

8 People I Think Should Do This Meme:

I'm not sure I can think of 8 people, but here goes:

1. Darla

2. Heather

3. Cynthia

4. Tracy (no I haven't forgotten that I have one to do for you either!)

5. Tina

6. Melanie

7. Sunny (do it in my comments!)

8. I can't think of anyone else!  Sorry!

Well, I did it, and it just wasn't that painful!  Really!  So play along and see how far it goes for you!  Thanks Nikki!

Book Review--The Thirteenth Tale

This is an amazing book.  I love the way the story is told, with the under story also.

The basic plot centers on Margaret Lea, a noted bookworm and somewhat author, who is receives a letter from Vida Winter, a reknown author, to writer her final story.  She doesn't know Vida Winter and is puzzled by why she wants her.  When she starts her journey with the author, she only wants to be told the truth, something Ms. Winter isn't known for.  As she hears the story, she is drawn into the life of the twins, as she was a twin herself, although her twin died at birth.  That is the understory.  A story of how she hides from life in her desire to escape the loneliness of not knowing her twin, and the shell of her mother, who can't handle the death of the twin either.  I love how the story unfolds, piece by piece, starting at the beginning, going to the end, just missing a piece here and there, until Margaret finally finds the missing piece and you see it all fall into place.  An amazing tale.  The Thirteenth Tale.

I wanted to go back and read it all again after I knew the pieces.  I wanted to go back and live through it, knowing the secret.  Amazing.

A couple of my favorite quotes:

"Life is compost."  I blinked.  "You think that a strange thing to say, but it's true.  All my life and all my experience, the events that have befallen me, the people I have known, all my memories, dreams, fantasies, everything I have ever read, all of that has been chucked onto the compost heap, where over time, it has rotted down to a dark, rich, organic mulch.  The process of cellular breakdown makes it unrecognizable.  Other people call it the imagination.  I think of it as a compost heap.  Every so often I take an idea, plant it in the compost and wait.  It feeds on that black stuff that used to be a life, take it's energy for its own.  It germinates.  Takes root.  Produces shoot.  And so on and so forth, until one fine day, I have a novel, or a story."   pg. 46

"Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you?  You leave the previous book with ideas and themes--characters even--caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book, they are still with you.  Well, it was like that. All day I had been prey to distractions.  Thoughts, memories, feelings, irrelevant fragments of my own life, playing havoc with my concentration."  pg. 289

52 blessings--#5

WATER!

* Most of the earth's surface consists of water; there is much more water than there is land.

* Water can not only be found on the surface, but also in the ground and in the air.

* There is the same amount of water on earth as there was when the earth was formed. The water that came from your faucet could contain molecules that Neanderthals drank...

* The overall amount of water on our planet has remained the same for two billion years.

* Water moves around the earth in a water cycle. The water cycle has five parts: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration and surface run-off.

* In a 100-year period, a water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about 2 weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the atmosphere.

* Groundwater can take a human lifetime just to traverse a mile.

* Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.

* Water regulates the earth's temperature.

* If all the world's water were fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon.

* Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water

* The total amount of water in the body of an average adult is 37 litres.

* To flush a toilet we use 7.5 to 26.5 litres (2 to 7 gallons) of water.

* In a five-minute shower we use 95 to 190 litres (25 to 50 gallons) of water.

* To brush your teeth you use 7.5 litres (2 gallons) of water.

* For an automatic dishwasher 35 to 45 litres (9 to 12 gallons) of water is used.

* Bottled water can be up to 1000 times more expensive than tap water and it may not be as safe.

I think I've mentioned a time or twenty that I'm addicted to water with ice.  Even when it was -20 degrees, I would have my hot cocoa and then a glass of water with ice.  Plain water just won't do.  It must have ice in it.  Even when I just want a little drink, I put an ice cube in it.  I know, I know.  Weird.  Still, that's the way I like it. 

I know that I don't think enough about how much I use water every day.  Hygiene, cleaning, drinking, recreation, fish tanks.  Water every where.  My list of water loves consists of:

* Hot bubble baths

* Water with ice drinks

* Clean showers

* Dishes cleaned in a dishwasher

* Boats on a lake

* Fish swimming

* Freshly brushed teeth

* Newly scrubbed clean faces

* Rainstorms in gentle temperatures

* Winter snowstorms on quiet evenings

* Frost on leafless trees

* Gardens growing

I'm grateful for all the forms of water.

I'm sure there are more.  What water are you grateful for?  Leave me a comment today and tell me.

Valentine's everywhere

Valentine's Day is a busy day in our home.  Yesterday was no exception. 

I woke up in the morning and stumbled into the bathroom, and this is what I found:

My wonderful hubby had put up sticky notes all over the mirror telling me why he love me.  It was a nice surprise to wake up too and the fun continued all day.  There were sticky notes on the dashboard of my car, and later flowers for me after I got off from work.  I loved it much more than a big huge bouquet of roses that I really don't appreciate enough compare to the cost of it. 

Even though I don't have anyone in elementary school, my girls still love to give out valentine goodies to their friends.  This was our idea for yesterday:

Shameless plug for a Cricut machine.  I cut these little boxes out with my Cricut machine.  I also cut out the tags, which were little hearts.  I cut them out and then put the transfer paper on the inside of the window, folded them, filled them, and tied the ribbon on them all in the time it took us to drive down to the Tri-cities.  So easy, and so cute.  I made 30 of them for Meg and Zoey to take to school to give away at their discretion. 

Since Lilly has been in drill team, the "Kissing Bandit"  has been a part of our Valentine's Day.  Usually only senior girls from the drill team, and the boys they pick are the kissing bandits at the high school, but this year we have so few senior girls that the junior girls got to be kissing bandits also.  It is a lot of fun to dress up and spread some love around.

It is a good thing that our dance company wears a lot of red and pink in their dances, because a good half of the costumes today were from our past dances.  The kids have a lot of fun with this, and it is a good fundraiser for us.  I know that it may seem like some feelings could get hurt if someone doesn't get a kissing bandit, but these bandits are very free with their kisses and I would venture to say that A LOT  of people got kissed yesterday.  A LOT. 

The girl kissing bandits...

And the boy kissing bandits...

And after I had done valentine's, helped with kissing bandits, gone to work, and then made lunch, we have started the tradition of helping out the truly valentine deficient people, who are the missionaries.  I have it on good authority that Valentine's Day is the worst day in the life of a missionary.  Funny.  It was also E. Jones birthday.  We have started a new tradition then...

of a fancy dinner on valentine's day for all of the missionaries.  We set the table with my best china and have candlelight.  It was really fun.  We even came away with a great spiritual thought.  Thanks, E. Hightower!  This is a great tradition!  I hope we continue this year after year. 

And then I was so tired that I took a bath just for me, and read my book, something that has been escaping me for the last few days, and went to bed early.  Awesome. 

Happy Birthday Megan!

And yes, it's a day late.

*Sigh*  Anyway....

It's my daughter's birthday, and I can not believe that she is 15!  Yes, 15!  Terry and I were reminiscing about the day she was born and the time after.  Megan was a month premature and spent a good portion of a month in the hospital getting better after that.  She has grown into a beautiful young lady, and I'm so proud of her and the way she conducts herself.  Here is a walk down memory lane, just for you, Meg!

This is our little lady the day she came home from the hospital, so tiny!  She was a month old.

She soon plumped right up though, under the constant care of all her siblings.  She was a fun baby.

She's a lot like me in that she can sleep anywhere.

And at any time. 

She loves her chocolate!  This was a common occurrence.

She's always had a best friend in her sister.

But she loved her doll friends too.  She named this one Julie.

She loved to dress up! 

Especially if she could get her hair curled!

She tried dancing, but it wasn't really her thing.

She is always making some silly face when I take a picture. 

And now, my baby is all grown up.  She is a beautiful young lady!

52 blessings--#4

Books!!

I love books! 

My ideal day: me, pajamas, a blankie, cup of cocoa, and a good book.  Oh, if only that were today!  This is my stack of books to read.  Impressive, huh?  The really impressive thing, I have two other BOXES of books to read.  It drives Terry a little crazy, but he indulges me, because he has a music fetish.  These are all the library books that I have checked out, except the top one, which is a loan from my dad. 

I love books! 

I'm always in awe when I walk into a library.  Rows, upon rows, of books.  I'll tell the truth, I'm so overwhelmed when I go to the library, even the little one we have here.  I have no idea where to start looking for a book.  Start at "A" and go to "Z", start on the left and go to the right, close my eyes and spin around and point in the direction I should go.  I don't know what to do.  I rarely ever even go to the library unless I am looking for a specific book.  But here's a plug for our NCRL.  The North Central Regional Library is totally awesome.  Just go online, type in a book, send in a request for it, and it comes in the mail!!  All my library books were done this way!  I have 9 books checked out like that right now, with another on the way.  It is ultra convenient and I'm so grateful to have that. 

I love books!

You can find any kind of book you want too.  Books about history, books for entertaining, books for learning.  Books on tape, books with all pictures.  Anything.  You can find absolutely anything in a book. 

I think this is a blessing.

Friends

*update* I saw my Great Friend tonight and we talked and talked and talked.  It was great to visit with her again, and we are old friends once again. 

"Friendship is like a violin; the music may stop now and then, but the strings will last forever."

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

All through my life, I have had friends that are my friends for life, but I have not been one to make friends willy nilly.  I don't like to put myself out there very often, it makes me extremely uncomfortable. 

When I was growing up, my sisters were just enough older that I wasn't "friends" with them.  We were sisters, we loved each other, we had fun with each other, (and we fought with each other), but until I got older, we weren't really friends.  In school, my dad was the vice principal.  With that came all the stigma of being the principal's daughter.  I was harrassed on a daily basis about my dad, and because of that, I shrunk into myself and generally tried to blend into the background as much as possible.  The people that I did make friends with, were carefully chosen because I knew that I could trust them implicitly.  That pattern hasn't really changed. 

I've made several friends in the years that I have lived here.  I love each and every one of them and trust them to always be there for me, and my family.  And in return, I have tried to be that kind of friend also.  I want to be the kind of friend that knows when a friend needs something.  I want to be the kind of friend that will drop anything to go and help a friend.  I want to be the kind of friend that listens.

So.  I wasn't that kind of friend today.  In a conversation with a very dear friend of mine, I didn't listen.  I wasn't there for her and in fact, I got a little defensive and that was not only not necessary, but not warranted either.  I want to tell that dear friend that I am so sorry.  My dear friend is an occasional lurker.  She never comments, but then will talk to me about my blog when I see her.  She is all that is kind and generous and she has been through some horrendous things.  And I love her.  She is a Great Friend.

And so dear lurker, I'm sorry.  You were justified in your irritation with me and I should have just listened.  I'm hoping that the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson will apply for me this time. 

I'm hoping we are old friends.

Where did that come from?

Tess-ism #1:  Tessa came into the kitchen with her stocking cap, gloves, and a scarf on telling me, "I'm going into Megan's room and she's going to be creeped out because she won't know who I am.  Then I'll pull off the hat and say, it's only me, Tessa.  That's good, huh mom."     Yep, that's good.

Tess-ism #2:  Tess wanted toast this morning but I was mixing together some brownies that had to get into the oven right then.  So I told her that she would have to wait a minute and then I would make her toast.  She told me, " Well, it's too bad your not an octopus." 

Yes, isn't it.

Tess-ism #3:  We were waiting in line at the reception, standing behind the Roylances (Nesha and Brent).  Brent says to Tess, Have you ever seen a baby calf?  And she says, " Only baby cows."  And he says, "there the same thing."  And she says, Maybe to you. 

Lovely child.

Tess-ism #4:  I heard her doing something in my bedroom and when I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was playing "winter".  Winter??  What is that?  Oh well.  Who can decipher the mind of a five year old?! 

Tess-ism #5:  Tess:  How many people are in your book club?   Me:  Six.  Tess:  Oh, I thought there were ninety nine.  Me:  I don't think they would all fit in the house.  Tess:  Well, that's why they have a back yard.

Tess-ism #6:  If you eat fish, you'll smell like fish, and then a hungry bear will eat you.  SO don't eat fish, because I don't want the bear to eat you. 

Tess-ism #7:  I said something to her that she didn't like, and she put her hands on her hips and said, "Well I never!"  and flipped her hair and walked off. 

Tess-ism #8:  Today we had chicken legs for dinner.  She says, "Does it hurt the chickens when we eat them?"  and me, not wanting to tell her that we kill the chickens, tell her "No, it doesn't hurt."  and she says, "You mean, they like to get eaten?"  I just didn't know what to say to that.