The Birdhouse Lights Up - Bah Humbug No More!

The trees by the door were an after Christmas find for $10.00. At target this year, they were $49.00. I love a good bargain!

Gordon goes above and beyond in putting up the lights & decorations for us every year. Getting the lights up has really made me excited for Christmas.

And....I went to Choir practice after a really long hiatus. It's going to banish any lingering bah humbug and bring a lot of joy this Christmas.

Ben kicked some Gar-bel-dy-guck butt!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that Ben is my techstser-son. No kidding, he is! While he was home for the weekend, he got on my laptop computer and the next time I used it, the garbeldy guck had disappeared. I don't know what he did, but it worked. I didn't even tell him about it. He is wonderful and I am so thankful for him and his computer expertise. He also helped Gordon put up the Christmas lights on Saturday. A wonderful son indeed.

Jessica's Dance(s)

Isn't she beautiful? In case you don't know, she is the girl to the far left. The blonde on the right is her best friend Meaghan. In the middle is Brooke Millward, another good friend.

On another note, the dance season has officially begun again with two performances at basketball games.

They look fabulous.

Preparations are being made for their first competition at Jordan High School in Salt Lake Dec. 12, 13th. It's exciting stuff! Pictures and video will follow, but I can't post any yet, so that the choreography and costuming can stay under wraps for now. Besides, I am still learning to navigate my new digital recorder. Last night I thought I got the whole performance but when I shut it off, I really started to record, so I got a nice video of the floor, my lap and my conversation with the lady next to me.

Everything but the dance.

Really. I need to hone the camera skills.

Gar-bel-dy Guck Doesn't Do It For Me

I haven't posted in a while, and here's why:

Wshedn IK trfy tol typ;ed oln my olqap;tiolp; tol p;olwst oln my bololg, IK gedt thikws ikikned olrf gqarfbedoledy gujcik.

Mqan! IK’olol nedvedrf bujy qanolthed rfEDEDOLOL colmp;ujtedrf!

Translation: When I try to type on my laptop to post on my blog, I get this kind of gar-bel-dy guck. Man! I'll never buy another Dell computer!

My laptop has been doing this on and off for about a year now and my son Ben, the techster, tells me it is a flaw with my particular model. Usually, it comes out of it and I am on my merry way again, but so far it is stubbornly sticking.

The worst part? When I copied the phrase and pasted it into this blog on the upstairs computer, I could actually read what it said.....Too bad everyone else can't. (Yes, I am complaining about having to walk all the way up the stairs to use the computer....lame, isn't it?)

I hope that by the time we are back from our trip to Idaho Falls for Thanksgiving, all will be well again. We are leaving on Wednesday and returning on Friday. Eating dinner at the Birds and the best part - EARLY MORNING SHOPPING WITH MY DAD! He is so fun to go with. He will pull up to the Birdhouse at 5:00 a.m. and have a nice cold diet pepsi waiting for me. At Fred Meyer (for the 1/2 price socks) he will get a cart and get in line while I grab the loot. But the best part is just hanging with him - he is so comfortable to be with. Ben might go with us - a double dose since Ben is the spitting image inside and out of his Grandpa Wray.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm crazy for these cuties!

My otherwise fairly dull week got a shot in the arm last night when my two favorite buddies, Cameron and Eli visited. There is never a dull moment with those two around. I love the unconditional love and joy that children offer. Can't you just see it on their faces?

I'm being a gushing grandma, aren't I? Okay, I'll stop and let you judge for yourself.

Conspicuous Consumption

It's that time of year again. Time to ramp it up for the holdiay shopping.

Every year, I swear I will spend less next year and not contribute to the conspicuous consumption that we Americans have become acustomed to. It is like an illness that we get and it seems so contrary to the real spirit of the season.

Like every year, I want to spend more time in service and thoughtful activities and less time shopping and spending.

So again this year, I will try to thoughtfully make a plan and

stick to it.

So far, I have made my list and found super deals.

Without revealing too much and ruining any surprises I have planned....

I went online to Bath & Body Works and purchased several products that were regularly $12.50 for $4.00 each plus free shipping. (I had a $10.00 coupon, too).

Online shopping is the way to go, man.

No lines, no road rage getting there, no temptations to buy "other stuff".

I highly recommend it.

Now, if I can just stick to my plan.

The Woman's Equivalent of Hunting

This is bargain shopping at it's best:

All of this cost a mere $12.78 at Albertson's today. Yes, that's four pies and four pints of ice cream for $1.59 each.

A friend told me to go and check it out and so I did, but not reading the fine print almost cost me this great deal. Which was that you buy one pie and the other is free. Underneath was the Bryers (my personal favorite) ice cream and it had the same special; buy one get one free.

Then, in the fine print was the real deal. No kidding - buy one pie (at $6.39), get one free and also get two Bryers ice cream free.

Of course, I usually bake all of my own pies (well ok - maybe at Thanksgiving and Christmas) but they are so handy to have in the freezer for a spontaneous dessert, or to just nosh on in the afternoon while you watch Oprah.

I think the special goes through tomorrow, so check out the Albertson's nearest you! (I could totally do their commercial....)

The moral of this story: Have a big scope on your rifle (aka: always read the fine print:)

Elder Scott Bird

Scott is able to view this blog about once a week from his mission and commented that he didn't like the picture of himself on the sidebar. In his words, "It makes me look like I'm 11 years old, or something."

So here is the new picture of him on the sidebar. He looks much older than 11, doesn't he? I think he is so handsome.

By the way - who knew my toilet seat post would stimulate so much meaningful conversation. Be sure to check out the comments. I learned soooo much.....

Public Toilet Seats

Have you ever wondered about the toilet seats in women's restrooms? I don't mean the usual wonders like "who sat on this seat last and what did they have? or "How many germs are floating around here?"

I will describe the toilet seat in a public restroom and see if you can call it to your memory; if not, take a good hard look the next time you are in one.

What is the shape of the seat? Oval, but with about a four inch break in the very front.
What is the purpose of this?

I can only think of one and it doesn't involve women.

Obviously, the seats are man designed with a "spill proof" area in the front. Considerate, right?

Like I want to sit any part of my back side on the rim of a public toilet. It collects things.

But here's my big question? If men aren't using it, how are the collections getting there?

I know it begs the comment, "I just don't use public toilets," but lets be real - when nature calls what else are you going to do? Besides, have you ever seen an epitaph that read, "Here lies....died because she sat on a public toilet".

Now that you know one of my pet peeves, I want to tag Laura, Ben, Jo, Robin, Courtney, Lynda and Tami. Not to get a negative string going here, but we all have them and I am anxious to hear what they are! I would love to hear your comments on mine.

A "Put Away" House

Tonight my next door neighbor came over to bring some mail that had mistakenly gone to her mailbox. I invited her in and asked her if she had seen the house since we had remodeled it and she reminded me that she had come to a candle party I had earlier in the year. She made the comment, "your house is so 'put away'."

As the evening has gone on, I have pondered what that comment meant. Does it mean that everything looks put away in my house? I took it as a compliment and am grateful that she couldn't see inside my pantry, drawers, closets and storage room. I may be "put away" on the outside, but inside those doors there exists a life of it's own. The one exception is my home office; it is a mess. An organized mess, if you know what I mean. Maybe it's because every time I organize things, they just get unorganized. I am not one to keep too much clutter around but if you asked my husband, he would tell you I'm a pack rat. Not! If I put a rug away because I want a temporary change, he wants to know when we are getting rid of it. He is much, much more organized than I. In fact, every night he "stages" his clothing and things for the next day; lays them out nice and neat in perfect order. He even has a bedroom that he has taken over for staging purposes. It drives me batty, though because everything is "out". The other night I got out what I was going to wear for the next day (which I usually don't do but I had an extra early morning) and he exclaimed, "are you staging?". He was so thrilled and proud of me. I prefer to keep my things crammed into any drawer, closet or cupboard that I can so I don't get stressed out by "not being put away".

I have a friend who, when you open a towel cupboard for instance, the towels are perfectly lined up and color coordinated. It looks like Bed, Bath & Beyond. I cannot make that happen; well, maybe for 12 hours or so.

So I will have to settle for just being "put away".

Reading this post, maybe I need to be "put away". What do you think? I love comments!

A Tradition Is Born

Isn't is amazing how family traditions are born?

About twenty years ago, just before Richard's 7th birthday, I went to a store called "Pic-n-Save" (now "Big Lots") to get some birthday things to decorate the house with. I was so pleased with myself because I found a Happy Birthday sign for .29 cents. I raved about my great deal to Gordon and was so excited for the kids to go to bed so I could decorate the house. The time finally came and I began. I got everything done and the last thing to go up was the "Happy Birthday" sign. I opened the package, unrolled the sign and couldn't believe my eyes.

"Happy Birthday Chuck"??? No wonder it was .29 cents! Since it was late, we decided to leave it up. As we looked at the sign hanging there, we began to laugh and laugh and it became hysterically funny at that late hour.

We left it up. Birthday after birthday, year after year.

"Happy Birthday Chuck" became a coveted title for each birthday in the family. We loved the reaction we got when people would come to the door and ask, "who is Chuck?" Visitors wondered when we sang, "Happy Birthday Dear Chu-uck".

We had that sign for about nine years. One year, Richard decorated the dining room for one of his "friends that was a girl's" birthday breakfast. When it was over, he and his friends rolled all the decorations up and put them in the garbage, including the Chuck sign. I didn't discover it until Monday at about noon.

Just after the garbage truck had come.

Goodbye Chuck sign.

I can't tell you how much we mourned the loss of our beloved family heirloom. Birthdays would never be the same. We couldn't bring ourselves to get another sign.

We had almost resigned ourselves to the loss when, for "birthday week" in January, Gordon's brother Larry and his wife Janie got us this replacement "Chuck" sign along with a mini "Chuck" mug that everyone gets to use on their birthday. Although we missed the original sign (it was puny and ripped at the edges, but we were attached to it), we were relieved to have a replacement. We have had it for eleven years now, longer than we had the original.

I love the name "Chuck".

Does 26 years seem like a long time?

(Double click to see a larger view of these pictures)

Benjo man
Benjo my Friend-jo
Benny Bumpkin
Benjamin Bunny
Ben-hamine
Walter
And finally.....
Mr. Benjamin Bird.

11/05/82 12:01 a.m.

26 years seems like a blink of my eye.

Happy Birthday, Ben! I Love You.

Jessica Jams It Up

Jessica made jam for her Young Woman In Excellence project! She made two batches all by herself and it turned out great. Gordon came in just as we were putting it into the jars and exclaimed, "You're canning!". I never knew he was so hopeful for us to be domestic. Jessica will display her goods tomorrow night for mutual. Grandpa Wray grew the raspberries!

She did have a great time!

Jess reports that she had a great time at the dance. Actually, the dance was only part of what they did for the day. The group started off with breakfast (which turned out to be just hot choclolate)and on the way home, one of the boys riding in Jessica's car got sick and they had to stop so he could throw up. This was Meaghan's date. He also got sick on Homecoming day and she couldn't go to the dance or any of the activities that day. By mid afternoon, it was clear he wouldn't be able to go, so she got another date - quick. Anyway, at 1:00, they all went to the swim meet of some of the girls in the group and then had the afternoon free. At 6:45they met for pictures and then went to get something to eat after which they finally arrived at the dance. (Does anyone remember the day when we went to dinner, pictures and the dance?) After the dance they had a bonfire, which was really fun.

What I can't figure out, is all those years her brothers threatened to interview her dates and be here when she goes out and they have yet to show up with a shotgun.

Still waiting for that one......

What is Sadie Hawkins?

Does anyone know what "Sadie Hawkins" really is? All I know is that for at least 30 years now, there is a dance by that name at every school every fall.

Tonight, Jessica went to Sadie Hawkins with a boy named Blaine. Meaghan (Jessica's best friend) went with a boy named Zack, not her original date; he got sick this morning and she found someone else in a hurry. Only Meaghan could pull that off. Here are some pictures of their group. Looks like fun, doesn't it?