Do You Fondue?

We do.

It's been a crazy fun week... with another one well on it's way.

I hope to catch it all up soon!

Feeling Pinched.

I really really REALLY don't have time to post today, but I'm giving myself 20 minutes before finally changing out of my pjs in a quick attempt to be presentable before heading off to the grocery store.

I'm behinder than I thought I would be yesterday. Feeling a little {pinched} for time.

Yesterday (and the day before) were days I just wanted to get through.

Lots and lots of hair appointments on Wednesday. I had one no-show, and had given myself a spare 15 minutes here or there between other appointments, so I RAN to get a few nearby errands done in every spare moment.

It was exhausting.

Yesterday I RAN to the bank, then to the mall, then back home to clean, then to a Dr. appointment.

I was hoping the doctor's visit would be quick.

It was one of those annual appointments all of us ladies love.

Nope.

Instead I sat in the waiting room for an hour. A pregnant woman, her husband (or not), and two children were also waiting. Within 10 minutes of sitting down, the husband (or not) - an unsavory looking guy - started raising his voice as he talked to the woman. He had had a long day. Two guys hadn't shown up for work and he had to cover for them. He was tired, and frustrated that he was sitting in an OB/GYN waiting room for a long, long time. Of course he wanted to be there (so shut up), he said, or he wouldn't be there. 

The two kids had been playing around when the little girl, about 3 years old, started crying. The man grabbed her and said I'm outta here, and left. I thought he might be gone for good (I hoped!), but they returned after about 10 minutes. Once back in his seat, he turned his anger/frustration on the little boy, about 5. The foul language started to fly (think - or don't - "f" word 5 times in one sentence, with about 10+ of those sentences all strung together). I felt SOOOOOOO uncomfortable. I wanted to say something, but didn't. The little boy was crying. The woman was softly asking the man to stop talking, looking embarrassed. I looked at the office ladies, hoping they, in their professional position, would ask the man to leave. The man told the boy that he would kick his {butt} - that's how his mother had raised him (he had turned out so well, I thought - cough) - if he didn't start listening (to what? the "f" word over and over?)
Finally, finally the nurse came and called them for their appointment.

The whole scene bothered me.

It bothered me that I didn't speak up (I had no idea what to say).

As I thought about it, I realized that I had witnessed a man verbally abuse his family, and threaten physical abuse to his child.

I should have told him to stop.

I could have even called the police.

I did nothing but feel unsettled, and prayed that he would treat his family well when they got home.
(As I drove home I thought about the possible scenarios, and wondered if I had said something if I would feel safe leaving the Dr.'s office...? Maybe not.)

Add that to a long waiting room time, a long wait in the hospital gown (open in the back) in a freezing cold room, and an uncomfortable exam (I love my Dr. but she's very aggressive when it comes to poking, pushing, and feeling all that stuff in the lower abdomen), and it makes for a long, long visit.


Mar and I attended the Nutcracker last night. One of the YW in my Laurel class was performing, and I told her I would come see her dance before she moves to UT in a couple weeks.
The tickets were a bit pricey, but I thought Mar would enjoy it - not knowing that her friends would be having a Christmas party that evening.

 Did we enjoy it? Sure.
I had a few moments of When will this ever end? I have so much I need to get done.
And I started feeling a {pinched} Grinchy feeling come over me when a man behind me whispered in my ear "That is really bright" as I tried to snap just a couple non-flash pics with my camera.

After going to bed with some {pinched} Grinchy words to Bill, I got up early to get these done:

Bill had already cleaned the whole kitchen, but because of some miscommunication (and my {pinched} Grinchy day previous), I spread a little more Grinchiness around. Why do I do that?

I had to reprint AND cut these THREE (3) times. That doesn't help when you're feeling {pinched}. And Grinchy.

One down...

...84 to go.

Even though I'm {pinched} (and this blog post has gone over my 20 minutes - by at least double),
I'm changing the weather RIGHT NOW.
I'm sooooooooo excited for my family to come tomorrow!
I have 26.5 hours to shop, clean, wrap, and organize.
And even if I get nothing else done, I still know we'll have a fabulous time.

Lex had a bedbug infestation in her Provo apartment.
She's been calling on and off the past few days to update me and ask what she should toss and keep.
Poor girl. We'll be taking care of that (and preventing any possible spread) when she gets here tomorrow. There'll be laundering. And lots of drying on high, high heat.

And laughing.
And games.
And joy.
And food.
And togetherness.
And love.
And peace.
And contentment.

I can't wait.

Human Multitasking.

I was quickly checking the correct way to spell multitasking (is it multi-tasking? multi tasking? Nope, multitasking), and found the Wikipedia definition a bit humorous:

Human multitasking is the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task at the same time. The term is derived from computer multitasking (who knew it was originally a computer skill?). Multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causes more errors due to insufficient attention.

Hah.

I've been doing a lot of human multitasking (not to be confused with computer multitasking) lately.

I have, however, been richly blessed and am counting my blessings that, at least so far, I've avoided errors due to "insufficient attention." I may be counting my chickens before they hatch, though, as I won't know for sure until after the events I've been multitasking for have occurred.

I just returned yesterday from an impromptu trip to UT to do wedding planning.

Lex had selected a venue last Sunday night, I called to book it Monday early afternoon but it had been reserved by someone else that very morning. So disappointing.

As I chatted with her again on Tuesday, advising her to spend her weekend visiting available reception venues, she said, "Can't you just come out and help me?"

Then Bill said, "Yeah, why don't you go out this week?"

I worked on Wednesday, rearranged my weekend schedule, packed up a suitcase, and headed out at 6am Thursday morning. Looking back, the weekend was full of tender mercies.

For one, the drive there was perfect. Hardly any traffic, great weather. Per. Fect.

I got to spend time with Wonderful Sweet Scarlett.

 I love that little bambino!

On Friday morning we met with the JSMB ("the venue"), and our coordinator, Terri Gurr was sweet as could be. She had {{squeezed}} us into her extremely busy schedule, but gave us all the time and attention we needed. We tried to be easy, and had pretty much planned out what Lex wanted before meeting with her, so things there went as smooth as butter. Afterwards we decided to head over to City Creek mall and check out some possibilities for bridesmaids... but first we ate.

 Lex chose her bridesmaids outfits at our first stop (we had done some extensive online searching before we went... lest you think she was willy-nilly in her decision-making). We then made stops at 2 other malls (+ another one the following day) to find the clearance tops she had chosen (not available online) in the sizes we needed. DONE.

We picked up Lolo and Chey at BYU, dropped by a TJMaxx to try and finish Christmas shopping,

then grabbed dinner at In-n-Out.

Lex had intended to go to a sample sale early Saturday morning (entourage in tow), but decided to nix the super-early-morning-waiting-in-line-in-the-freezing-cold-in-hopes-of-scoring-a-designer-dress-for-a-steal process. Instead she decided that we would just go visit a bridal shop or two. We hadn't set any appointments, but thought we would just drop in. Again, Lex had scoured online for dresses she liked, so she had a good idea of what she was looking for. We piled in the car and headed out. I asked Britt to locate bridal shops nearby. She pulled up Bridal Closet in Draper. Perfect... we were already nearly there.

It was another tender mercy that nobody else was in the shop. Lex had the full attention of the two employees, and the dresses were reasonably priced (she has a budget, you know).

Here's a few that she really, really liked:

 This silly girl didn't want any pics with her face in them... I snapped a few anyway.

 Not pictured, however, is the dress she purchased.

The second one she tried on, in the first shop we visited.

I was totally willing to visit a few more shops, but Lex felt that she didn't need to. 

She loved the dress.

Saturday afternoon we caught the second half of the Goldsberry Family Christmas Progressive Dinner. Honestly, I couldn't have timed things better if this had been a PLANNED trip to UT.

 I didn't snap as many pictures as I should have. Lex was excitedly sharing all the wedding planning we had accomplished in two days, Scarlett was feeling fussy and wanted to be back in her quiet house with just her and Little Mama, I was trying to catch up with family... and eat delicious food... 

I had intended to drive back to CO on Sunday, but the weather was nasty, so I stayed another day. My least favorite thing of all time is driving in yucky weather, especially through the Rocky Mountains. I hadn't packed a skirt (note to self: ALWAYS pack a skirt), so I stayed home with Wonderful Sweet Scarlett while Britt and Lex attended church. It was the perfect time for some Grammy and Scarlett bonding. 

That evening Angela was having a birthday party for Matt. Again, perfectly timed.

Bright and early Monday morning I headed out. I was determined to be home in time for Mauri's choir concert that evening, regardless of the weather. It was a tender mercy that the roads were near perfect... just a few icy patches at the highest elevations, but pretty smooth-going the whole way home. After a quick shower, I made rolls, caramel, and fudge (and soup for dinner). And I started the laundry. Human multitasking.
Before I knew it, it was time to go to the concert. Mar had a solo.

She rocked it.

Today I am human multitasking again.
I decided to make toffee...

... and more rolls... at the same time. (Still doing laundry, too.)

That was a little stressful.

It looks like they turned out okay, but again, the proof is in the final product.

On my mind as I worked:

• What should I do for the neighbors (for Christmas)

• When can I go Visiting Teaching (this week would be best)

• What could Bill do for his employees (for Christmas)

• When could I help Mar make her friend gifts

• Returns and exchanges that need to be made for the Bridesmaids

• Favors for the wedding (I need to run to Target)
• Home organization that needs to be done (may have to wait)
• How quickly can I do a blog post (I've already spent too much time)
• Bill's work promo movie tonight (meet him there at 5pm)
• Don't forget to pick up the carpool
• Finish the laundry already

Hoping to effectively manage all the context switching going on in my brain!

Late Night.

Staying up late tonight checking into wedding stuff.

It's tough. I'm not around {UT} to do the footwork.
(I'm not sure if I mentioned that Lex's wedding will be in UT, not CO.)

I'm not making the decisions, but I'm searching (endlessly searching) for the best options available, so my inexperienced-wedding-planning decision-maker daughter can choose wisely, while still getting the wedding of her dreams.

We've been stressing about choosing a venue asap.

To cater or not to cater - another question.

I worked most of today, but was able to make a few calls, check out some new options, and internet hunt like a crazy lady. My neck hurts.

I'm also trying to organize myself in preparation for the

Syddall Family Christmas Extravaganza!

It's getting so, so close.

I was reminded of that when we made our Christmas countdown chain tonight for FHE.

We each wrote up a service or family Christmas activity to do on each one, with the agreement that all in our framily would complete the task each day. Mostly simple things like, "Smile and say hello to a stranger," and "Text your whole family that you love them," and "Give someone a hug who needs one." (Bill came up with the one pictured... "Sing a Christmas song to a neighbor." We all love to carol around here. cough, cough)

I managed to get a few gifts wrapped over the weekend, too.

The last 3 or 4 years we have labeled our packages with pictures from Christmas Past.

I haven't taken the time to find new ones... I just use the same pictures year after year.

I print the page, punch 'em out, run 'em through my Xyron (which makes 'em into a sticker... love that), and pop 'em on the package. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I did have to hunt down a couple new(er) pics of some new-and-almost-new family members:

...and for whatever reason, I had to print Wonderful Sweet Scarlett's in color (the rest are black and white).

Oh, I have so, so much to do (and so, so much I want to do but probably won't get around to) in the next week-and-a-half. I'd better go lay this tired old body down and rest up for tomorrow.

Today and Yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Austin!

I can't resist sharing a few pics... since I have them. 

And since they totally help me see where Sweet Scarlett gets some of her darling features from.

Like that hair.

Yep, that's from daddy-o.

But I think that cute little round 90th percentile head...

...comes from her mum.

Speaking of Sweet Scarlett (or was I speaking of Austin? Happy Birthday, Austin!), I saw this the other day in the Sunday coupon pack and had to snap a pic:

Maybe I'll start calling her WONDERFUL Sweet Scarlett. Hah!

I like to shorten names, but Scarlett's name, seemingly unshortenable (my own word, btw), just gets longer and longer. I like it. It makes saying it more... deliberate.

Last night we had the annual Bishop's Christmas Bash at our house.

The youth meet together, then split up into groups and rotate between three houses for games (it's so convenient that the YW President and a Bishopric counselor live in our culdesac - I'm sure that was determined solely on the ease of musical houses for the Bishop's Bash... not).

Then everyone meets back at our house. In the past they've just had treats and visited, but this year Bill planned an awesome spiritual message to end the evening on. What an excellent idea.

 We had over 60 people in our basement, most of whom were youth. It's funny how you can smell a large group of young people. Hah!

I ran downstairs to catch the message and to snap some pictures for the ward history.

Yes, I am still the Ward Historian.

Early this year my two assistants were released, so I think I'm on my own this year.

I keep telling myself that if I start early, it will be cake. Early would be now.

I had a great prompting last night to ask individual youth to write about specific events of the year - what the activity was, and how it helped strengthen them. I think I'll do this with the adults, too. I'm hoping to have lots and lots of different ward members contributing to the history. Better get on it.

 Three of the four in this group of youth won't be here to see the Ward History completed. They will by gone by January. Kelcy (second from the left) is headed to Milan, Italy to serve a mission (Yay!), and sweet Mary and Claire, along with their family of 11 (not all are at home right now), are moving to Utah. Boo. Christopher will graduate high school, serve a mission, then come home and marry that cute Kelcy (my prediction - wink).

 Sarah won a cherry pie in the white elephant exchange... I wonder where that came from?? (Shhhhh. I told you we had way too much dessert for Thanksgiving.)

 The YM were in charge of the refreshments. This was probably the most pathetic showing for a Bishop's Bash EVER. What you see there... is what there was. Maybe next year I will have a few things ready for fill-ins... unless they decided to put the YW in charge.

I didn't participate fully in the Bash because I was reminded that I had offered to make invites for next week's Laurel activity, and they were needed. Now. I figured that the myriad of other youth leaders could keep things in check, so I planted myself in front of the computer and tried to come up with something lovely... and quick.

The girls had planned to invite the older single sisters in our ward to a Christmas sharing activity.

I found this idea on Pinterest (wishing I had doilies, then remembered my large stack of for-crafting-purposes-only coffee filters which I morphed into snowflakes), thought it would be fun to add a vintage picture, and oh-so-quickly designed, printed, and cut these little babies out. 

 I had them ready to go by the end of the evening. Phew!

Mar loved her white elephant gift...

 She did a few magic tricks for us while we watched this promo Bill will be running at a special showing (pre-release) of the new Hobbit movie in a couple weeks:

Gotta run - I have work today, followed by a doctor's appt... hoping to get some things figured out!

Lest you think I've forgotten, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUSTIN!