Random Memory #1--Cat Nerd Boyd

So, I have decided to write down some random memories, not to bore people who read this, but mainly so I can remember them.

While living in Orangeville a couple years ago, Kimberlyn got a new cat, Boyd. He is a beautiful thing as far as cats go and very friendly, but he has a problem. HE IS A CAT NERD. I didn't know they existed until I got this cat. I guess the hierarchy of social chains applies to the cat world too.
Anyway, I was taking my walk with Kimber one day and sweet Boyd followed us the entire way down to the end of our subdivision. Pretty soon, the "cool" cat decided to chase him. He was under the car then very quickly up the tree where this "cool" cat decided to fall asleep and Boyd would not get down.
Now, thinking that cats are resourceful and that he would eventually come down and find his way home, I didn't worry for about the first 8 hours poor Boydy-Boyd was missing. However, as night fell and Kimbers was crying for her cat, Jarett had recently arrived home. So, like the parents we thought we would never be, we got in our car and began looking. At this point, at least another hour had passed.
But, we found Boyd. STILL up in the tree and no "cool" cat around. We meowed, we called, "here kitty, kitty," and even threw stuff at him, but he wouldn't budge.
Jarett being the manly man that he is quickly returned home and got his air soft gun and began shooting our cat. Now, flashback, remember that we are a mile from home, standing in a random person's yard shooting an air soft gun at a tree with a cat in it. Pretty soon a neighbor came out and wanted to know what we were doing. At the last second, Jarett got off one more shot, Boyd actually jumped down into his arms and Jarett proclaimed, "Just gettin' my cat!" Kimber screamed out of pure enjoyment.
Ever since then, whenever Boyd leaves are yard, he is promptly put into place by the other "cool" cats and has not wandered far since. And we still tell Kimberlyn, "Cat nerd Boyd needs food!"

Princess Problems

Okay this is really more of a gripe because I really don't mind if my daughter likes princesses. BUT, the other day reading in a magazine they were rating the Disney Princesses on a glass slipper scale-go figure. Anyway rating them on how much bad self esteem they were really giving our impressionable daughters. For example--I was told I clearly needed to worry about my daughter if her favorite princess was Ariel because apparently Ariel left her home and her father to "fling" (yes I say fling) herself body and soul at Prince Eric. So their argument was that we definitely don't want our daughters like this. However, I tend to remember that yes, Prince Eric was totally hot but if you listen to Ariel's song she sings and I quote, "Bright young women, sick of swimmin' Ready to stand...When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love? Love to explore that shore up above"

Not once in her lovely solo does she mention Prince Eric and how she was flinging herself at him. To me, Prince Eric was just a hot perk of her healthy desire to learn about things in "our" world she didn't know about. Sigh. My daughter pretends she is a princess yes, but in the same hour she also pretends she is a mom, a ninja, batgirl, and a dog. And truly, I am not worried about her becoming a dog killing ninja. Or batgirl--the ultimate mom! It is called: Drum roll please...........CHILDHOOD and make believe or a crazy little thing called pretending.

Personally, I think she will be okay.

Epiphanies

Okay, so a dear friend of mine wanted to know epiphanies that people have received lately so here come a few of mine.

#1 You are never too right to apologize. To some, I am quiet, shy, and a little introverted. To those who do know me and have known me in the past, I really am not. I don't like sticking out, no, but I have my opinions and when someone's rubs me the wrong way, I tend to push my opinion onto them and end of making situations worse. So, this brings me to apologies. Making sure I give out apologies freely, makes me feel like and accept the fact that I am not perfect and people, no matter their opinions, deserve to be treated like a person.

#2 It is okay not to have it all together all of the time. This one I know, but I still need help with at times. I am either way too uptight or I throw my hands up and say, "It is too hard, maybe tomorrow." However, I have learned that sometimes dancing with my kids to Radio Disney is a wee bit more important than making sure everything is in perfect order. Oh yes, and crying and blaring the radio sometimes helps.

#3 Patience! EEEEEKKK!--Sometimes, okay, honestly, most of the time I lack this. But looking at the bright side of things at least I know I need it right? I have been told outright in a blessing that I need more of this and I can totally tell this is a huge test in my life. Everything going on right now is testing my patience and really there isn't anything I can do about any of it but wait--expect work my hardest, do my best, not give up, and not get too hard on myself when I do something wrong or lose my patience.

#4 You always have room to love more people in your life. Really, do I need to explain this? Okay, I will, a little. Something I have been praying for, for quite a while has finally happened--yes this tested my patience (please refer to epiphany #3). But I am grateful for the people that I have been able to get to know and come to love.

#5 A Christmas epiphany. My new favorite Christmas song goes as follows (it is referring to baby Jesus): "From the first time that you opened your eyes did you realize you would be by Savior? And from the first breath did you know that you would change this world forever? [...] Today, I celebrate the day, that you were born to die..." So on and so forth. But it made me think of my Savior as a baby and how tiny and precious and lovely and innocent they are and I am celebrating the day He was born, so he could eventually die for me.

Well, I think I will end on that.

Shout-Outs #2

Since it has been a couple months since my last shout-outs, I have a lot to be thankful for so here goes.


My first shout out goes Avatar: The Last Airbender. Okay, now I didn't enjoy the actual movie, but the cartoon is hilarious. What other show is about the destruction of Earth and an evil empire conquering all good, and is still able to make jokes that make you laugh so hard you would think you were pregnant and sneezed. (Those of you who have been 9 months pregnant and have sneezed know what I'm talking about). Yes, I am 28 and watch animae cartoons and actually enjoy them. I'll take them over Barney or Dora any day. I'm also partial to the new Scooby-Doo. Don't worry though, I don't dress in cloaks and sword fight in the park :) yet:)


Second shout out goes to K-Mart! I have been having a really bad week and who is walking down the aisle of K-Mart? A friend I hadn't seen for probably 5 years!!! It was so nice to see her again and she told me I looked good, which was not the truth since it was Black Friday and I had been up awhile without showering, but that is what friends are for. Sometimes we just need someone to tell us we look great! K-mart also had some really good deals too:)

My third shout out goes to relief from headaches. I had a migraine for three days and it is currently gone. Thank you Excedrin Migraine.


Fourth shout out absolutely has to go to washing machines. We are so blessed with having these in our homes! Treven had a traumatic morning which involved Kimber's foot making contact with his nose. His nose was bleeding, he was crying so hard he started throwing up, then he hadn't pottied?? for awhile and let's just say all of this happened within 10 seconds! Yikes! Messy, but one small flick of the wrist and push of a button and my bathroom rug was clean!


Fifth shout out: Nail guns and a patient husband. Today we got our garage on our house and I was out "helping" Jarett. He instructed me on the use of a nail gun. I have only used a nail gun once before and that was one shot, which I did correctly, but anyway, I had to nail down this chalk line and basically did awful, plus those are heavy suckers. I did it though, and Jarett didn't even laugh, even when I had missed and had to pound the nails back out. So, thank you nail guns for making the job go faster (but only in experienced hands).


Sixth and final for the evening. All these shout outs remind of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I don't generally watch his show, but I love his thank you notes that he writes. Funny! I always need a good laugh.

Shout Outs--WHOOT WHOO

My first shout out is to modern medicine! The weekend of the 24th I was in bed for 4 days thinking I might die. My throat hurt so bad. Turns out I had strep. Didn't find that out for a few days after and the dr.'s office was closed since it was a holiday. Anyway, they didn't even test me just gave me a shot which took my symptoms away almost immediately. YEAH!
My second shout out again goes to modern medicine! I have been struggling with panic attacks, anxiety, and hit and miss depression my entire life. Finally, I resolved that I didn't care if I was put into that "group" of "crazies" that take something to make them function normally. My life is a total 360. Jarett and my kids like me better too. It is amazing that one little pill a day can make you feel so much better and your days seem brighter, more manageable, and less stressful

My third shout out goes to Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves! So fun the whole family can do it! Kimber got it for her birthday and is dancing up a storm.

My fourth shout out goes to Jarett's friend Josh and my friend Carmen! Without them and with us trying to build our house, we may be divorced by now.

My fifth shout out goes to Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International. They make night t.v. viewing much more interesting and creepy too.

And finally....My sixth and final shout out of the day goes to insurance meetings. Strange yes, but they gave us 2 free fridge magnets and a candy bar! Go insurance! Seriously though I have to be thankful for the insurance. So, if I must attend the meetings I must look for the positives.

And finally...(Yes I have one more) I'm shouting out to detangling spray. There would be many more tearful mornings without it.

These shout outs are brought to you in part by Megan who is now going another week without our basement being dug and needed to look for the good things in life!

We're Back!

After a year of not blogging anything, I am finally back. Besides living in my parent's basement again, here are a few updates on my life and my family's life as we know it.

Jarett:

1. Has 2 semesters left of his master's classes.

2. Is anxiously awaiting to start building our house.

3. Has learned magic! YEAH! He does some amazing disappearing acts and we can never find him. (He never goes too far though). My friend Carmen has the same problem with her husband weird how that works out. We call it their Houdini Act.

Megan:

1. Finished my first year of teaching without completely sinking. However, next year I go to San Rafael Jr. High instead of the high school and Canyon View. So I'm basically starting over again. Sigh.

2. Went to Washington D.C. on a scholarship to attend a teaching conference about the Holocaust. It was pretty much life changing.

3. Finally bought my own fishing pole. Haven't caught anything yet though.

4. I actually went camping the other day. It was for one night, but to those who know me, it is an accomplishment!

Kimberlyn:

1. Is almost 6 years old, loves princesses, make-up, and sand castles. She also has an inherited obsession for shoes.

2. She is currently looking forward to her wedding day, but is resigned to just watching New Moon. She is Team Jacob.

3. She has turned into a regular perfectionist and even asked my mom if she could organize her sewing kit the other day.

4. Broke her wrist this winter doing backbends.

Treven:

1. He is just Treven. He believes he is currently a cross between Spider-Man and Prince Zuko (from The Last Airbender).

2. He refers to himself as "Son." And we can no longer call him Treven because that is not his name.

3. Recently acquired reading. He is brilliant! (His reading consisted of reading a Wal-Mart receipt and told us that it said that he needed to watch more Avatar: The Last Airbender and that he shouldn't go to bed).

4. He is a true fish. He has no fear in the water thanks to his floaties and has thankfully learned not to drink the water (as much).

Hectic

Okay, my life as we know it is crazy. I have wanted to post, but I've barely had a minute. I'm frantically trying to figure out what I'm going to teach a bunch of tenth graders in a few weeks. Treven has been sick. It was Kimberlyn's birthday and I've had meetings with principals. Oh, and I had to get fingerprinted. My house hasn't been cleaned for weeks. I managed to do some laundry, but it isn't folded. We are living from laundry baskets. Thank goodness for my dad who is making dinner for us a lot, not to mention he, my mom, and sister have taken my kids so I can get school work done while Jarett also goes to meetings and pours concrete.
In summary, I will try to get better stuff posted soon and please excuse my blog. I was experimenting with it, but now I don't have time to make it look nicer. It too is crazy and random, like a symbol of my life.