First Days

I'm now down to TWO.  

The last time I had only two children in the public school system was 14 years ago.  Fourteen!  And it's been 19 years since I've had no children in elementary school.  I'm not going to lie and say it went by fast... looking back I can clearly see the marathon it's been.  

Mar's first day was yesterday.

All the links were gone from her countdown chain, and she couldn't wait to get out the door.

(Shi did her fancy fingernails.)

Mar liked it so much, she told me this morning that she was sad when the school day was over yesterday.
We'll see how long that lasts ;-)

Shi's first day of school was today.
She started Seminary today, too, a first around here.  In the past, Seminary has started the second week of school.  Parents are invited the first day, so Bill did the honors so I could get Mar to school on time.  My battery was low in the camera, and it was a tad dark outside, so my pics didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.

(Shi got her license just in the nick of time.  Hallelujah.)

Lex will be hanging out with me until she leaves for school at BYU-I in January.  Hopefully she can get a few more hours at work.  Otherwise, I'll have me a little house cleaning buddy.

Oh yeah.

You Get What You Pray For

I recently made a goal to blog less (which always seems to include catching up on other blogs in the process), Pinterest less (only when I have a specific need OR am waiting - in a doctor's office or in the car), and Facebook less (not a problem for me)... to make my internet usage purposeful.

I in no means consider myself addicted, I just know that there are often better things I could be doing with my time.  I have made a concerted effort this week to make sure I was spending time each day reading the scriptures (on a personal basis - so easy for me to consider family scripture reading the fulfillment of the RDA), Daughters in My Kingdom (a challenge our Stake RS Pres. gave months ago), or the Ensign.

I also prayed last night for patience.

This morning, as Bill walked into the office before heading out to work, he discovered water dripping from the ceiling fan, blinds, and door trim.  Upon further investigation, he found the culprit:  a plugged toilet upstairs with a run.  The last time Mar had flushed was 5pm yesterday.

 (Please don't look at the nice water deposit/chemical ring - seriously, unscrubbable... we need a new toilet)

(Ceiling fan drips... a possible electrocution hazard, I'd guess) 

(Watermarks on the wall in the office... Bill's cereal bowl - still full of mushy Corn Chex - on the filing cabinet, left in a moment of panic at the first realization of water where it doesn't belong)

(The dripping blinds) 

(The garage ceiling)

(The crawlspace... the most important salvaged items:  two sets of golf clubs and Tay's sax)

Thanks to these guys, the clean up is well on it's way:  about two weeks + our high deductible.  Sigh.

Today I've had some extra time sitting around waiting (and staying out of the way).  I pinned a couple of things, did a quick check of Olympic results, then decided to post about my day.  There were too many people around to shower, and too much stuff in disarray to make cleaning/organizing/dusting/vacuuming worth the effort.

I am reminded of the patience I prayed for last night.

I am reminded of this inspiring talk by President Henry B. Eyring.

"I cannot promise an end to your adversity in this life. I cannot assure you that your trials will seem to you to be only for a moment. One of the characteristics of trials in life is that they seem to make clocks slow down and then appear almost to stop.

There are reasons for that. Knowing those reasons may not give much comfort, but it can give you a feeling of patience. Those reasons come from this one fact: in Their perfect love for you, Heavenly Father and the Savior want you fitted to be with Them to live in families forever."

Learning patience the hard way,

The Best Jello Salad

Years ago my MIL passed along a cookbook called  Joys of Jello.  I wanted to find a publish date, but there was nary a one to be found in the actual book.  After a quick google search, I found it.  Published in 1963.  Someone is selling one on Amazon for $12.99.  I think I'll hold on to mine for a few more years (although mine is certainly not in mint condition, as someone - most certainly a child - apparently tried to take a bite out of it, AND the cover has a lovely pencil scribble across the front).  For whatever reason, though, through several cookbook-reduction/life-simplifying sessions, I have not been able to part with this particular book.  

I find it fascinating.

Where else could you possibly find a Jello recipe called Sea Dream?

or Vegetable Trio?

a plethora of interesting recipes calling for anything from cabbage, green peppers, and cauliflower, to ham, green olives, and lima beans???

Did you know that at one time (most likely that 1963 era) you could find Jello in a variety of savory flavors like celery, mixed vegetable, seasoned tomato, and Italian salad?

Like I said, FASCINATING.

Here's my current favorite Jello Salad, recipe courtesy of my friend Jeanne (who saved me on the 4th of July when I was trying to make it from memory - not a good idea  - for the whole gang and needed clarification.  She was in Hawaii - I had forgotten the time difference - and returned my call, apologizing for the delay in her response, but it was only 7am there.  She's a gem).

(I usually double the recipe when I am making it for a group.)

Jeanne Leak's Jello Salad

1 small pkg. cook-style vanilla pudding (can use sugar-free)

1 small pkg. cook-style tapioca pudding (can use fat free)

1 small pkg. Jello (can use sugar-free, any flavor)

3 cups water

Mix all together and bring to a boil.  Let cool 2 to 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Mix cooled Jello, making sure to blend well (no chunks - I use a big whisk).

Fold in fruit of your choice (mandarin oranges, strawberries, or my favorite, raspberries)

and 1 (8oz) Cool Whip (can use light - NOT fat free).

You can serve immediately, or refrigerate for later.

YUM-O.

It's a little reminiscent of the Jello salad that has cottage cheese, WITHOUT the cottage cheese.  The tapioca pudding absorbs the jello, and you end up with brightly colored tiny soft balls of tapioca.

Much better than Jello with celery, carrots, shrimp, and ham, in my humble opinion.

In the Middle

Mar had middle school registration this morning.  She is really cracking me up with all the anticipation and excitement for school to start she exudes.  I have to blog about it because I know there will come a day in the not-too-distant future that she will bemoan having to get up for school every day, and the homework that will be inevitably attached.

 For now, I'll enjoy how cute and sweet it is that she is so gosh darn thrilled about it.

I was worried when we pulled up to the school and the parking lot was loaded - I have spent hours of my life in many a long line for school registration, and this looked as bad as ever.  We were lucky to squeeze into a non-designated parking spot just as someone was leaving, and headed into the school, Mar chatting it up the whole way.  The process was about the easiest ever, thanks to all the online rigmarole I had patiently waded through a week or two ago.  We breezed through the required stations, picked up her PE clothes and ID card, and walked around the school to figure out her daily class routine. 

{Cake.}

In a celebratory spirit (and for kicks/fun/laughs), I thought I would share pics of Bill and me in 6th grade.

Neither of us got to move up to the big leagues (the I-think-I'm-in-big-leagues-but-I'm-really-just-in-the-more-often-than-not-awkward-middle) at that age, but Mar's excitement has reminded me of how much I couldn't wait to hit the Junior High scene the following year.

Her countdown chain is getting shorter.  Seven more days.

Miracles Happen

I'm not going to lie... things have been {tight} around here.  An educated guess would be that it has something to do with two weddings and a career-change-involving-building-a-business-from-scratch over the past year.  I'm not complaining, as we have been blessed with "sufficient," but it has led to some necessary reductions in the unnecessary.  Like cable TV.

So, for the past 4 or 5 months, we have survived (dare I say thrived?) with only the free public channels accessible via small individual antenna (long live the rabbit ears!).  

Okay, we've had access to Britt and Austin's Netflix, too.  Keeping it honest, here.

We quickly discovered that the TV in (Bill + me = our  --  I can't figure the grammar at the moment) bedroom gets the most viewable channels, as it is well above ground on the second floor of the house.  Over half the channels are either in Español or are some version of PTL-Club-like programming, neither of which is very appealing, narrowing down the options to about 9 channels (which I acknowledge is decent, considering I grew up with 4).  None of those channels, however, are the regular NBC channel.  No Today Show option (I'm a Good Morning America gal anyhow).  

So really, not a big deal.  Until now.  The Olympics.

We tried watching online, only to find that to watch events live, you need a cable TV "sign in."  Xfinity kindly allowed 4 hours of "free" watching, so we quickly used up all 8 (4 for each computer) the first day.

After church on Sunday, Shilo and I were bemoaning the fact that we wouldn't even be able to watch the saved-for-primetime replaying of events (especially swimming), thanks to our lack of NBC reception.  I promised to fiddle with the antenna.  I went upstairs to change my clothes, then turned on the television and pressed 9 on the remote.

Sha-ZAM!

Crisp, clear reception.

My first thought:  It's a miracle.

Since then, our family has spent an evening or two bonding on our bed.  It's been cozy.  And fun.  Even if we were too impatient and already knew the results prior to watching.  Just today Shi and I discovered that we can watch live online with a temporary pass from Dish, and as far as I can tell, they don't have a 4-hour time limit (my fingers are crossed).

Yes, I know that we will be heavily recruited with an online onslaught of cable provider advertisements and special offers.  
No, we will not submit (at least until our finances allow).

My Little All Star

I thought I would share a couple pictures from the All Star Meet on Saturday.

Shilo came away with a first (100 Back), second (200 Free, by half a second), and third (200 IM) place medal.

Way to go, Shi!

Middle School Countdown

In anticipation of middle school, Mar made this:

I think there are 20 or so links on it.  To say she is excited is an understatement.

Let the countdown begin.