MY FENG SHUI GOT RUINED!

Here's a conversation for you -

Me - "Garrett - you heard that because of the snow storm coming, your lacrosse game got changed from 7 to 4:30?"

Garrett - “I know. I don't want to talk about it.  It wrecked the whole feng shui of my day.”

HUH??????
I didn't know that days had feng shui.
I didn't know that teenage boys cared about feng shui.



Yesterday was a regular spring day - partially sunny/partially cloudy.
But the weather forecast called for 7-14" of snow.
When would this snow start dumping?

Well, let's see -
We had two lacrosse games starting at 5:30 and 7:00.
So yes, the snow should come in around 4.
That would be perfect!

The coaches put their heads together and changed the late game to 4:30 to hopefully beat the storm.
At 4:30, there were clouds to the north but not one snowflake in the sky.

Here's the game at the end of third quarter -

Needless to say, the second game was cancelled and it took an hour and  a half instead of 45 minutes.

Imagine the pure GLEE when it was announced that school was cancelled for today!

A snow day should do a lot for Garrett's feng shui!?!

Here is what we woke up to -

The great thing about snow days in Denver is that it doesn't stop us.

Brian is clearing the driveway -

and then we're off to get bagels and maybe go to a movie!

Happy Spring!
Happy Snow Day!

Should I Count the Person I'm Using My Funeral Coupon On?

Brace yourself.
It's Tuesday.
I'm RaNDoM!

Join in the fun!  Get RaNDoM with Keely at The UnMom.  Go see her and link up!

* Remember yesterday when I was praising Colorado's fine SUNSHINY weather?  It's true!  We have more than 300 sunny days a year.  Even when it snows, the sun comes out.  We're like the 2nd sunshiniest state in the US.  We beat out Florida.  Saturday, Sunday, Monday........65 and sunshiney.  We have lacrosse games today at 5 and 7 pm.  GUESS when the snow is supposed to come?  I'm going to go put my long underwear on.


* Conversation at Costco - I'm NOT lying -
Garrett & Parker tag teaming Brian - "Dad, Dad, can we get Final Fantasy 13?"
Brian - looking at the box..."Is this a wholesome video game?"
Parker - "Oh yeah, it teaches you to appreciate life and create worlds and kill off people and dominate everyone and.....
Brian - "Hmmmm....."
Garrett - "Dad, I think it would be just what we need to overcome our Call of Duty addiction."
SOLD!


* Yesterday, I received a special coupon in the mail:
5% off Funeral and Cremation Services


Who to use it on? Who to use it on?


* Speaking of mail -
I'm confused by my own email inbox.
Here's a sampling of my spam lately -


-"EXTENZ..........for men only"         
Hmmmm........I don't think I'll open this one
-"Leave your loved one $1,000,000 just in case"     "Just in case" what?  That's a lot of "just in case."  And I sure wish someone would leave me $1,000,000 just in case.
- "Meet singles with similar values"  Similar values to what?  each other?  Or similar to the other ones in my inbox? like "Plenty of BBW singles available."  "Meet local singles TONIGHT!"


Finally - they MUST have my birthday wrong!  I keep getting these-
"Get the Power Chair Advantage with Hoveround"
and "AARP Membership Opens Up a Whole New World"
That's a whole new world I want no part of - even with a Hoveround!


* I've been on a mad cookie binge lately - like the last 2 months.
I've made cookies every Sunday or Monday.

Yesterday, I made these      

Martha's Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies.  I knew Garrett would like the fact that they are rolled in cinnamon and CHILI POWDER.


* I filled out my census form.  Did you?
I got stuck.
All you have to do is write down each person who is living in your house on April 1, 2010, their age and their race.  How hard can it be?  Brian - check, Me - check, Parker - Check. Garrett........not so straight forward.  You can't mark two boxes under race.  Do I pick White, Black or Asian?  And if you mark Asian, you have to pick what kind of Asian.  There was no box for Blasian.


* This week's song that I can't stop singing is - "Nothin' On You" by B.O.B ft. Bruno



Enough already!  There's a storm rolling in!

STUFF I LIKE/LOVE/AM THANKFUL FOR

It's a new week!
Last week was good, if not a little bit crazy, but it's always good to start fresh!
Here's some stuff I like/love or am thankful for -

* $1 large cokes at McDonalds

* A husband who will meet me at 7 am for $1 large cokes at McDonalds.  We spend 30 minutes discussing politics, work, church, life, family.  It's an awesome way to start the day!

* Chocolate cake - in the shape of a donut with sprinkles - for breakfast.

* The scriptures and the peace the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings.

* Garrett's sense of humor.
THIS was in our church program yesterday -

Speaker. . . . . . . . . . . Jane Doe

Special Musical Number  -
"When He Comes for Me"
Performed by Grandview Ward's "The Ten Virgins" cast
Accompanied by Susie Smith

Speaker . . . . . . . . . . John Doe

Garrett leaned over and in the voice of an announcer, whispered, "In light of recent events this weekend, our musical number will now be sung by the NINE virgins.

I almost fell out of my pew.

* Boys who love each other and like to be with each other......even if they are LOUD.

* My car being all fixed.

* Living in Colorado with more than 300 days of sunshine a year.
Friday - 6 inches of snow
Saturday - snow melted by noon and 60 degrees and sunny
Sunday - 63 degrees and sunny
Today - 67 degrees and sunny
Tomorrow - 30 degrees and rain turning to snow.
Awesome!

I'M GOING TO CAMBODIA!

It's time for

with Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

After three months of checking airfares, getting baited and switched by every airline discounter, and banging my head against the wall - I GOT TICKETS TO CAMBODIA!  Just now!  This morning!

Woohoo!  Yippee!  Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!!!
Wait.  Who in their right mind WANTS to go to a third world country during monsoon season, when it is raining 10 inches a month and 98 degrees?

I asked several reservationists that when they told me flights were sold out.  They wryly explained that it wasn't people GOING to Cambodia who had filled the flights, it was the people escaping who had filled the flights.

So, WHY do I want to go there in mid-July?
To retrieve a precious package -

Sorry, the rest of my week is meaningless.  Suddenly I don't care about how exhausted I am from cooking and serving lunch to 300.  I don't care about the hamburger encrusted roaster, or all of the bowls and coolers that need to be put away.  I don't care if we're supposed to get 6-12" of snow. I don't care if the prompts for the CSAPS were all political.  None of that is important right now. 

Sorry Friday Fragmenters.  I got ONE thing.  One Fragment!  It's all that matters!

3 round trip tickets to Cambodia and ONE one-way ticket to bring my 6 foot, 160 pound, 21 one year old BABY home!

Have a great weekend!

I'm off to reserve hotels!

Things That Will Make You Gag!

If you've been falling short on your dieting goals,
this is the place to quell your appetite.
If you've been coveting my super glamorous and exciting life (and who hasn't?),
this is your day to giggle at my expense!
When you get through with this post,
you won't be hungry or jealous!


* Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon browning 30 pounds of ground beef.
Who doesn't love handling raw meat?
I LOVE greeting the hubs smelling like a giant taco.

Mmmm...mmm........the grease, the smell, slopping it in ziploc bags.
I skipped lunch.




* Although the Taco Meat smell was delcious,
the kitchen took on a new dimension with the corned beef and cabbage stewing away in the crock pot.

Mmmm...mmmmmm.....taco meat AND cabbage.
I should bottle that aroma.
As if greeting the hubs while smelling like a giant taco wasn't enough, I added eau d' cabbage so that I could layer the scents.

 

* If you are ever on a deserted island with aboslutely nothing to eat but this -

just give in and die.

Garrett likes junk like this.

Being the nice mom that I am, I bought him some.

I tasted one teensy, tiny crumb-

Oh My Dried Tabsco Sauce on Cardboard!
I actually had to spit it out into the kitchen sink and wash my mouth out with a cookie.


* If you are STILL hungry,
imagine eating with these guys -

This was our lacrosse potluck dinner a couple of weeks ago.
Let's just say that in 7 years, I have NEVER eaten at this event.

1) There is no food left by the time I can get close to the table.
2) Would you want any of the food left after these guys had "handled" it?


* And now if tasting the Hot & Spicy Cheezits didn't do you in.
Here are some pretty pics -


Parker looks abused.

Both arms.

He has been getting beaten with a stick - a lacrosse stick.


Garrett too

Oh and Garrett also has pretty legs.
Blood and gore don't really bother me.

Battambang, Cambodia

Trammell has spent the last 5 months or so in Battambang, Cambodia.  It's about a 5-6 hour bus ride from the capital of Phnom Penh.  Battambang is probably best known for its agriculture.  They are are a large producer of rice.  In the northwest portion of Cambodia, throughout history, Battambang has been seen as the link between Thailand and Cambodia.

Trammell was recently transferred to Phnom Penh.  He loved Battambang and the people there. He was able to see a lot of growth in the church.  The church has two branches there which meet in rented space.  Although the church has owned land in Battambang to build there own church for several years, the number of members has never been high enough.

Trammell recently wrote that one of the highlights of his mission was planning the groundbreaking ceremony for the church building in Battambang.  My "Facebook friend," Mary from Battambang forwarded these pictures of thegroundbreaking.

the property the church owns is surrounded by the white poles.

                                            chairs for the "dignitaries"

Pictures like this always make me cry.  They look so happy and hopeful and excited.  I am so happy that they will soon have their very own dedicated building to worship in.  I am thankful, on a daily basis, that Trammell gets to have these incredible experiences.  I can't think of any place I would rather have him be.  And I know he wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Corned Beef & Cabbage, Plastic Cupcakes and Taco Bar

It's always about food!

I went around the house this morning and gathered up all the RaNDoM!
Yep, it's Tuesday again.
Time to clear the RaNDoM out of the corners.
You can too!
Go on over and see The UnMom  and link up!

* This week is CSAP's - standardized testing that tells us..........I'm not exactly what. 
But we'll play along.  Freshmen and Sophomores go to school and take tests until 12:30 while the Juniors and Seniors sleep in until 12:30.  Then they all converge on Chipotle and call it a day.

* Probably the one holiday in the whole year that I REALLY don't care about is.........
St. Patrick's Day.
I may or may not wear green.
I don't decorate with Shamrocks or say, "Kiss me, I'm Irish."
I don't drink but I will probably pinch people.
My kids love it and they love it for one reason only -
They LOVE Corned Beef & Cabbage.
Weirdos!  Don't most people/kids hate cabbage?
My kids would eat this once a week if I would let them.

* Thursday, after CSAP'S, Margaret and I are serving a Teacher Appreciation Lunch for all the teachers and staff at the high school.  Yep, it's time to cook for the masses!
We're having a taco bar for 300!
But this time, we're Margaret is brilliant.
Usually, she sends an email out to all of the parents inviting them to donate a salad or cookies or pop and they all email her back and then she emails them and says, "Thanks for volunteering but now we have enough pop." and so on.
This time, she used MySignUp.com and it's genius.
You put in all of the things you would like donated and then people sign up on the website and it confirms their assignment right then.  It's so easy!  They can see exactly what is needed and pick something!
I LOVE it!
Regardless - come on over and help me brown 10 million pounds of ground beef tomorrow!

* Last night, I was reading while Brian was going through emails on his lap top.
I glanced over at the computer -
"Hey!  That's my blog you're reading!  That's my private information!" ;)
Brian: "Yeah - I always have to read this to see what's going on in my family."

* SOMEONE gave me this:

Do you know what they are?  They are plastic cupcakes - like those plastic Easter Eggs - full of candy.  You can hide them for your children to find.  I'm going to hide them for my children NOT to find!