The Day the World Changed

I'm a nostalgic person, you all know that. Dates of historical significance tend to make me a bit introspective. Today is no different.

I remember that horrible day seven years ago. I was having a normal morning with my one year old when my husband called from his office and told me we were under attack. I was then glued to the television for the rest of the morning. I sobbed as I watched the towers fall. I was so confused and scared. It's a feeling I'll never forget.

That day ended up affecting me quite personally. One week before that fateful day, my husband had renewed his commitment to the Army and contracted to become an officer. I could have never imagined how the combination of those events would shape our lives.

After completing officer training my husband was sent to Afghanistan to help the Afghan army fight the terrorists. Nothing could have prepared me for the challenges of that experience. But the lessons I learned and the friends I made during that time are sacred treasures to me.

September 11, 2001 had a huge impact on a lot of people, some more than others. As I think back on that day, the day that set life-altering events into motion for millions of people, I try to count my blessings. I'm grateful for a nation that found the strength to move on and show those bad guys that they can't break us. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who can bring us peace even in times of chaos. I'm grateful for an eternal perspective that reminds me that this life is all about learning and growing, which often hurts, but we're better for it.

Fondue FHE

I always find great stuff at Ross Dress For Less when I'm looking for other things. (I once found a fabulous dress when I was there looking for pillowcases!)

Last week I was there looking for a birthday gift for my mother-in-law and found this awesome little fondue pot shaped like a Hershey's kiss. It uses just a little tea light candle to heat it up. Since my mother-in-law is not likely to use such an item and it was such a great deal (only $4!), I just had to buy it for myself.

Last night we had a ball dipping fruit and cookie pieces. After several weeks of trying to eat really healthy food my kids were blown away at the idea of sitting down to a bowl of melted chocolate!


Oh and PS: An update on the stained pants from my last post--I was so frustrated that I just left the bleach soaked pants in the sink and went about my day. I came back several hours later to find the dye spots gone!

AHHHH!

Don't you hate it when an article of clothing you only kind of like leaks dye onto a pair of pants your daughter absolutely loves?! I feel horrible because it is totally MY fault!! I was in a hurry yesterday and put some wet clothes in the hamper "temporarily" and found this today:


I've bleached it to death and this is the best I can do.


I'm just so mad I had to tell somebody about it.

I'm Turning into My Mother!

That is a common phrase spoken in our modern world. The only thing I don't understand is why people act as if that's a bad thing. I'd love to turn into my mother. My mom is amazing. And every year about this time I remember just how amazing she is.

I have vivid memories from my childhood of the sights, sounds and often the stickiness associated with the end of the summer. We had a huge garden and my mom was (and still is) a master at canning--tomatoes, peaches, pears, applesauce, pickles--you name it, she could do it all. I remember how hot the kitchen got on those days, the sound of bottles rattling in the pressure cooker, the feel of the squishy peach peels as they magically slipped off the blanched fruit. But mostly I remember my mom and the countless hours she spent in front of the sink filling the bottles in her labor of love.

Last year I planted only tomato plants in my garden so by late summer I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with. After a few weeks of eating all things tomato, I realized there was no way we could eat them all fresh and I decided I really needed to learn how to can--not just to save my tomatoes, but to be a faithful latter-day-saint. I had a fairly good foundation of knowledge on the subject from what I had learned as a kid and what I didn't know I was able to find on the internet. I bought jars and lids, dug my biggest pot out of the back of the cupboard and set out to have an uplifting, provident, faith-promoting afternoon.

Unfortunately none of those things happened. My experience was less than uplifting--more problematic than providential. I realized the learning curve on this particular skill was steeper for me than I imagined it would be. I think the only real lesson I learned was that canning makes me curse.

I did manage to produce four little pint jars of tomatoes--two of which are still sitting in my basement because I just can't bring myself to open them when I think about the pains I took to make them.

So as I approach a new harvest season, I find myself thinking about my mom and the never ending patience and persistence she's able to employ to fill her storeroom shelves. I'm determined to give it another try this year. Most of my tomatoes are still green but my one little cucumber plant is doing quite well so yesterday I made this:


And who knows, maybe after a little more practice I'll have more in common with my mom than just the same slender fingers.

At least I hope so.

Ten Recent Observations

1. There is no such thing as a "quick trip" to Costco.

2. Even the most mildly humid summer afternoon in the mid-west is still way too humid for this Utah girl (although I do like how soft it makes my skin).

3. There is something disturbing about a self-flushing toilet that does its job with such vigor that your feet get wet.

4. Every unpleasant experience in life is made better if you have Gilmore Girls playing in the background--even getting your teeth drilled at the dentist.

5. Shoe shopping solo is a delight. Shoe shopping with three kids the week before school starts is torture.

6. It seems that not all people own full length mirrors, because if they did I'm certain they would not go out in public wearing what they do. Yikes!

7. You can sometimes find long lost friends just by "google-ing" them.

8. You can't buy love and homegrown tomatoes.

9. It is possible to drink too much Dr. Pepper. (who knew?!)

10. You know your marriage is in a good place if you can spend fourteen straight days with your husband on a stressful business trip and you not only still like him, but you love him even more.

10 Wonderful Years!

Here's to a decade of love and happiness.

July 23, 1998


2008

Summer Highlights

It's hard to believe that the summer is half over! Here are a few of the most interesting things I've done so far this summer.


1. The day after school got out my first born was baptized! The past eight years have gone by so fast. I'm so proud of him and the way in which he really was prepared for this. We had a beautiful day!


2. My husband and I took a giant leap of faith and bought a new business--which I'm sure I'll end up writing about extensively at a later date! The home office of our company sent us this cool welcome basket. The cookies were surprisingly quite tasty!

3. I'm learning to live on a tight budget. Not that we've ever really been living the high life, but our upcoming change in employment is going to necessitate a rather drastic change in lifestyle while we get things going. Some fun books I've read lately: "Beating the High Cost of Eating" and "You CAN Afford to Stay Home With Your Kids." I love the public library!


4. I planted a small garden. It's just tomatoes, a few herbs, a cucumber plant and some green peppers. Last year I planted only tomatoes and was so overwhelmed at harvest time that I decided to diversify a little bit this year.


5. My husband and I went to an amazing awards ceremony. Our dear friends Tyler and Meredith came home to Utah so that Tyler could be awarded the Silver Star for some impressive things he did while deployed to Afghanistan. Our friend Chad was awarded the bronze star in the same ceremony. It was actually quite a big deal. My husband is an incredible person and as an extension of that he has some pretty incredible friends!


6. My little brother got married! It was such a joyous occasion. We partied for two straight days. Thirty of my mom's thirty-two grandchildren came for the celebration so my kids got tons of "cousin time" which they love. My new sister-in-law is absolutely delightful.


7. I got to go out to lunch with "The Babes." For some reason I tend to have names for the people I hang out with. My high school friends were called "The Harem" and my college gang was called "The Babes"--I guess we were all fairly confident girls. We were so fortunate to have two of our out-of-state Babes here during the same week so we could all go to lunch together. Unfortunately one of the local Babes was out of town but we take what we can get these days (We missed you Meggen!). I love how true friends can go months, or even years, without seeing each other and when we finally get together it's like no time has passed at all.

8. I ran a race! One of my friends and I decided way back in January that we would run the Freedom Festival 5K together on July 4th. Neither of us really trained up for it but we figured that three miles would probably not kill us so we did it anyway. My sister decided to join us too, even though she hadn't trained either. It was quite fun actually. I was surprised how well I did--I honestly thought I would pass out as I crossed the finish line, but I actually felt really good. It inspired me to get into better shape and I've gone running three times this week!


Judging by the looks of my calendar, the second half of the summer is going to be just as interesting--if not more so. I think I might even be relieved when fall comes, maybe life will calm down a little bit!