Everyone Knows it's Windy!

Thursday morning we woke up to no power and a lot of wind. We looked outside and saw our humungo pine tree down. I never imagined that tree could be blown down. Here are some blogs that I follow that describe the disaster: Misty and Sue.

Here is a picture of Andy and the tree root.


Though this picture is really crappy, you can see the size of our tree. You can see Andy on the very left and the size of the tree compared to Andy's size. LOTS of work to be done.

Most of our community had their power back the same night. Ours didn't come on for two days. I'm not one to enjoy sleeping in a cold house. Fortunately Andy's sister, Kim, had power and she invited us to stay at her house. Kim took care of us as though we were staying in a 5 star hotel. My kids saw it as a big slumber party. I saw it as a big blessing.

We returned home on Saturday to a nice warm house. I think that's when it finally hit me that I faced the reality that our entire community experienced a natural disaster. I only believed those happened in Florida, Kansas, and Japan. Fortunately, this wasn't as tragic as others, but it was still a change.

We had to start getting that big tree out of our yard and I was dreading that huge task. I texted a few friends asking for chainsaws. My text brought at least 20 people to our house with chainsaws, arms and legs to carry the branches away. Tears kept creeping up as I thought of the service that friends were giving as they worked away on our tree. It was an overwhelming feeling of hope and love as I watched these friends move from house to house to help those in need.

I ran to the store to get some pizzas for our friends. The longest line I've seen at 1 PM. I spoke the the person behind me as we shared that we were both there to feed our friends who were working so hard. I paid the employee only to learn that my card declined. Crap!! I suddenly remembered that my card expired in November and I hadn't activated my new card. My life was on hold for two days and I forgot to take care of my debit card. I had no cash. I had no checks. I felt helpless. I started telling the cashier that I had to go home to get my money and the woman behind me said "I've got it. Just put her order with mine." I looked at her puzzled, "But? Where? What?" I didn't know what to say, what to do. Suddenly, a man in the back of the line said "How much do you owe? I'll pay the difference!" I was so overwhelmed. I held back my tears. The woman behind me paid for my pizzas. After I said thank you I walked out saying, "I will not cry in Little Cesar's Pizza", one of the customers in line said "I already am". I still get choked up as I think of my little heart inspiring story.

Despite all the discomforts of my home life, I still had to work every night this was all taking place. Last night I worked 11 hours on my feet. I came home exhausted. I looked in our fridge and my friend, Cecilee, had made a pan of enchiladas for us to eat the next day. Again, a little choked up.

I am amazed at the strength, stamina, love, compassion, and sacrifice my family, friends and neighbors have. I hope that we don't have another disaster like this in our lifetime but if we do, I have the hope that we will be okay. I feel blessed and grateful for the angels God has put in my life.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

As I was browsing through the Orvis catalog today, I noticed this Squirrel Nut Bowl on one of the first pages. Why would anyone spend $98 on this bowl? Who would put this bowl on their Christmas list?

Thanks,
Alison

Delish!

I'm loving this peanut butter I found in the store. It's not loaded with sugar and tastes super yummy! It does not taste like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but I'm done with trying to find the cure all for my lack of sugar.

Anglophile

Anglophile is a person who is fond of English culture or, more broadly, British culture.


My friend, Cecilee, used this title as one of her pinterest boards. How brilliant is that? I've been a huge fan of the UK ever since I went there. It's kind of embarrassing when I say I'm little obsessed with this this Royal:


And this couple:I didn't care too much about the Royal Wedding until I decided to record all the TV shows the week before. When the "Big Day" came around, I had to see her dress. I reassure myself that I'm not too obsessed because I didn't stay up all night to watch the event. I did manage to wake up, twice, to check my phone to see what the dress looked like.

So you might ask, "Why am I a big fan of Kate Middleton"? Well, she's not a slut, she's conservative, sharp, and she's 100% class. I am realistic that the castle might come crashing down and I might be disappointed in her, but I'll enjoy the fairytale while it looks like they aren't having affairs or looking completely sloshed.

In fact, I LOVED this quote I read while all the royal hoopla was going on...

But we need fairy tales. Without them, where is the hope for a happy ending? The human spirit needs that hope despite the disappointments of life. The royals, too, have disappointed us, but William and Kate, we are counting on you to keep this never-ending human need fresh and alive.

Long live the happiness of the duke and duchess of Cambridge. Not only for themselves but for all of us.

Crate&M

The other day my iPhone was giving me some problems so I made an appointment at the Apple store to see if someone could help. Hmmmm....Gateway or Fashion Place Mall, which one should I go to? Crate&Barrel, H&M....of course, Fashion Place Mall!!!!!!

I drove into the parking lot and sure enough, the huge Crate&Barrel sign outside the mall was screaming my name. My blood was rushing through my veins as I walked through the mall doors. It took everything I had not to shout hallelujah and run into the store as fast as I could.

I grew up in California. I went to Crate&Barrel over 20 years ago! When I went to New York, one of the stores on my to do list was H&M. I went to H&M in London as well. Finally, Utah has reached a significant mall status. It's about time!!!

So here's the stupid part to the whole story. I made my appointment with the Apple store so late that the stores were closed when my phone was fixed!!!! Duh!

Seriously though, seeing those signs outside the store was the only adrenaline rush I needed to make my day. I went home as happy as clam!

Pinteresting!

Pinterest brings out the best in me. Except for those ridiculous "inspirational" pictures of girls who are too skinny. I'd die first before I looked like that. Since I don't dedicate 10 hours to exercise a day, I'll pass on posting that as something pinteresting.

I was so proud of my masterpiece I made for a Halloween party. I took the guacamole and salsa from Costco, mixed it together, and cut some avocados.

Another thing I made was on our "Pinterest" night. Every month we get together and make a fun, quick, project. This was super easy and we had a lot of fun chatting as we punched our thankful notes. My kids immediately put some thankful notes on the tree. One of the notes said "Jasper", our new dog. Another note was "Temo", our dead hamster.

Proud Mama

Brrr, I hate football when I have to watch in the snow. This year I'm investing in some good boots that keep my feet warm no matter what! Anyway, I had a proud mama moment today. Though I'm not one to brag, I am a bit proud of my cute son, Max. Max's football team played West today. West has only lost 1 time in the past 5 years! The game today was to determine who would go to the final playoffs. (honestly, I don't mind when they lose because that shortens the season) 0-0 and the game was over. By this time, I knew my feet were goners but I actually didn't pay attention to them because it was intense. Double over time. Suddenly, I look over and number 36 is running in to make a touchdown. "Oh my gosh, that's Max! That is Max who made the touchdown to win the game!" I was so excited! Such a proud mama moment for me. He was on cloud 9 all day. It was magical!
Unfortunately, it wasn't as magical as I had hoped because I had to go home and make lunch for everyone. No wand for me to shake and have instant lunch on the table.
I'm grateful for great days like today.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

I read this on Pinterest and I couldn't disagree more! Believe me, I am NOT trying to be a pessimist or discouraging. It's been a month and a half since I have eaten a sugary treat. I still crave them, I still want them, this is still hard for me. Yes, it's easier to say no and it's easier to pass up a candy bar. I'm just saying the 21st day wasn't this magical for me. It's not 21 days = a life time. Saying "no" to treats has been an eye opening experience for me. It has taught me that I am addicted to sugar, it's my emotional crutch. It has helped me deal with "issues" that I would normally turn to sugar for to solve my problems. The benefits for resisting sugar are far more rewarding than diving into temptation. I allow myself one treat a month and when I ate mine (apple cobbler and ice cream), my stomach ached and I felt sick. Food tastes better now. Non sugary foods are more flavorful. I like to make healthier choices because I know I will feel better when I do. I don't feel deprived. I am almost at the point that I believe I will live if I don't eat a treat ever again. I probably will eat treats again. My point is: don't believe everything you read but that doesn't mean you can't give it a try!

Seven

Maggie turns 7 today. Seven? Wow! She is just as excited as ever that today is her birthday. She specifically chose this cookie at the store this morning as her birthday treat. She LOVES dogs. She'll spot one anywhere and run up to them to see if she can say hello. One day we were driving by a man in our area and we were talking about his name and she said "I don't know what his name is but his dog's name is Pepper.

There's a diva-ness in Maggie, and I swear, she didn't get it from me. She really thinks she is top notch. And why not? No need to burst her bubble when I know it will be burst plenty of times in her life.


This photo of Maggie pretty much describes it all. (bottom right).

Here are a couple of things Maggie has said that made me laugh:

• Maggie pushed Claire down and exclaimed, "NOBODY messes with Maggie!"
• Alison, "Maggie, you can't leave your homework until the last minute. You have to start being responsible!" Maggie, "what is responsible?"
• Maggie talking to a teacher at the school. "Today is my birthday!" Teacher, "Happy Birthday. I know your brother, Max." Maggie, "yeah, I beat him up all the time. I am really aggressive."

My question is how does Maggie know what aggressive means and not responsible?

There isn't one thing I'd change about Maggie. Well, maybe if she could be a tiny more responsible about going to school. Other than that, she makes a perfect 7 year old!

Goodbye...

My friend, Jen, died last week. Boy, did I ever love her. We met years ago when our boys started playing football. There's something about a parents sitting around a football field, shooting the breeze. Our kids ended up playing on different teams but every year I always wished they had played on the same team so I could see Jen. Jen was genuine, she said things like they were. I remember looking at her, talking about her long hair extensions, and examining her all dolled up. We'd talk about her pink hair strand and everything she had to do to keep up with her look. She loved Diet Coke, just about as much as I do. Though I didn't see her all the time we played Words With Friends and we started Pinterest at the same time. This past month I saw Jen twice at work and I saw her at the store. She's the kind of person I would see and my heart would light up because I was so happy to get to chat for a few minutes. When we were at the store we laughed at the over zealous football parents, her husband being one of them. I was shocked when I heard that she died. "Wha?" It wasn't in the plans. It was out of the blue. "Noooo, not Jen, not yet." She has two boys, the cutest kids. How could this be? As much as I enjoy a good laugh (especially with Jen), there are times in life where we have to STOP and think why things happen the way they do. To see a family with a big loss, it's time to STOP and give my kids a bigger hug than I normally do. STOP and appreciate the time we have together. STOP and tell my family and friends how much I love them and appreciate them. Goodbye my friend. I love you.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of life. The master calls a butterfly"

etc., etc., etc.

• Look at my recent wreath I made. Idea found on Pinterest! I ended up giving it to my niece, Maddie, as a wedding gift. I'll be making the next one for me!

• Maggie brought home a "red note" which is a no-no in first grade. Instead of participating in "learning time", she played in the bathroom. I tried very hard not to laugh when she told me about it.

• The twins started preschool this week. They both woke up, put on their backpacks and wanted to go to school in their pajamas. Many are asking, "what will you do with your 2.5 hours?" Let me just say that it's the fasted 2.5 hours of my life.
  

• I've decided that I am going to have all my diets on the back of my gravestone when I die. Maybe I can have Andy put them in my eulogy when he submits it to the paper. None-the-less, I'm still going to share that it's been two weeks since I've eaten sugar. My super fabulous friends, Anthony and Katy, have a deal going. No sugar for three months but we can have one treat a month. I suggested we do it for 4 months. Why go until December 1st and blow it the whole month of December? It has been super hard. So hard that I'd rather not eat sugar at all. I am addicted to sugar. As hard as it's been, it's also been the best thing for me to get my emotions in line and deal with stress without using sugar as my drug of choice. Fortunately, there is no sugar in Diet Coke!!

• When I posted last time, my friends commented that they were upset that I didn't mention how fabulous they were. From now on, I'll be putting some awesome adjectives when mentioning names so that people don't feel bad. This blog is really about them, right?
  

Amateur?

A couple of weeks ago I got a text from my friend Dallas. It said that if didn't have one of these 100 oz. mugs than I was an amateur coke drinker. Seriously? When did he become President of the Diet Coke Club? Later that night I was leaving work and my friend, Katy, asked if I'd be willing to follow her to Maverick to make sure she wasn't mugged while getting gas. My co-worker and funniest friend, Jeff, and I went into Maverick and decided to get a drink. Suddenly the 100 oz. mug flashed before my eyes.


I had to get it! You can see that I am very much amused with myself. We were laughing the entire time. You can barely fit that mug underneath the fountain. In fact, Dallas says he usually has to fill an extra cup and pour it into the mug.

My token picture sent to Dallas to tell him I'm IN THE CLUB! The mug barely fits in my fridge and it's really too heavy to enjoy the drink. I admit, I'm kind of embarrassed to bring the humongo mug into the the store to get it refilled.

By the way, don't bother looking up the word amateur on Google. When I typed it in to see how to spell it correctly, it didn't mention anything about the 100 oz. mug!

Perfectly Said!

Have you joined Pinterest? According to a friend, it's so old news. Really, who cares? I love it!

My Magic Diet

During our 4th of July party, one of our (male) friends came up to the group of ladies. He looked as though he'd lost some weight. "You look like you've lost weight!!! How much have you lost? What did you do?" My friends asked him as they were so impressed!


I turned to my friend and said "isn't funny how we ask people about their weight loss, yet we really don't go up to someone and say "wow, how much weight have you gained?" or "How'd you put that load on yourself?" Well blog friends, I'm here to confess how I've put on my 10 + pounds this summer. It's all in that picture. I decided to introduce ice cream cones to my family and I enjoyed it myself too. That ice cream I get at Smiths Marketplace has got to be one of the best. So my weight gain success? Too much ice cream and no exercise. Ta da!!

6 to 7

Look who is finishing 6th grade and is moving onto Jr. High. It's really weird. They do grow up! I have LOVED this school year with Max. He's had an amazing teacher, he's gotten his friend niche, and he's been a great kid! I'm not saying this to make you look at my son with rose colored glasses. You know I'm not "my life is perfect" type of blogger. When I write about how proud I am of him, it's because I've gone through up and downs with this guy and so I am VERY PROUD of him!

Max went to the movie on Saturday with his friend. I don't think we've done the "drop off" thing yet but I was okay with it. I didn't think much about it. Later on in the day I asked him how the movie went he told me that he and his friend WALKED HOME from the theater. Wha? He thought it was fun walking home. I laughed because I was totally shocked that he didn't have a ride home. Did we miss the memo somewhere? He and his little buddy walked through the busiest part of town. I guess his friend forgot his phone. I'm glad he got home okay. I'm still surprised.

The other day I took Max to the dentist to get his cavity filled. The dentist asked "so what's going on Max?" Max casually answered, "well, I haven't hit puberty yet." The dentist busted up laughing, I did as well. I quickly mentioned to the dentist that I didn't realize that this was a part of Max's conversation material. Where did this come from?

Max is quite proud when he takes off his shirt to show his friends that he has no armpit hair. Thanks for sharing!

So happy to have Max in my life. I appreciate his sense of humor and the hard work he's put into succeeding. I'm off to get a tissue....

Spring!

I bought this package of Oreo's in like February anticipating the arrival of Spring! Man, was I ever wrong in thinking that Spring would be sunny and full of butterflies. About two weeks ago the weather man said out of the past 50 days, 35 had been stormy. Raise your hand if you almost cried when you saw snow on the ground this morning. It seems like we've had 3 sunny days this entire Spring. None-the-less, I still ate the cookies!

Speaking of Spring, this spring chick is a cutie! We were at Wendy's and rather than dipping her fries in the ketchup, she just drank the ketchup! We all got a good laugh when we noticed her nose but laughed even harder when she realized she was so funny. Love this little Kate.

Mormon Mushroom

I cut my hair. Okay, I didn't cut it, Kia did. I decided I needed a change. I was tired of my pony tail. That black head band? I wore it ALL the time. It's the only head band that wouldn't hurt my head. I needed some shape, style. So I gave myself some bangage and I went back to my Utah bob (that's for you Amy). I don't mind the cut. My family gave me a weird look when I came home. All the Mexicans at work called me Dora. It started getting old. I guess it's a compliment considering Dora is Mexican.

The Truth Will Set Me Free

First Truth: I hate Spring Break. Several reasons why I dislike it. Most people go to all these exotic places when we usually stay home. My kids don't have friends to play with because most of them are on vacation. My kids see all these kids go to fun places and they want to go too. I feel pressure to become their vacation planner. We aren't in the position to take a family of 7 on a big trip. Everyone who lives in our community that stays home manages to go to the same places we go, hence crowds galore. When Spring Break is finally over I see and hear about everyone's great vacation. It sucks. Period.

Second Truth: I'm tired. I had to work a double during General Conference. Though some believed doubles were not manageable, I proved them wrong. I kicked some serious butt! Totally did a double. The only problem was the day after the double I was BEAT! I slept all day. It's easy to sleep all day when you have no children but with 5 of them at home, I still have responsibilities.

Third Truth: None of my kids have had croup. That was until the day after the double. After 12 years, Kate was the first. I thought that she was choking on something and she was barely breathing so I raced her to the ER at 1 AM. The person next to us was dying so I was in the ER from 1-5 AM. When I checked out of the ER, I learned that I was out of network!! $200 was my co pay, gulp!

Fourth Truth: I do not take cocaine. I applied for a new job. It all looked pretty good. They asked me to take a drug test. I told them before that I take prescribed medication that might show up in the urine sample. Sure enough it showed up....as cocaine!!! I called the manager to explain that it might be a mistake. He didn't seem to want to hear it and told me he will find someone else if the results don't come back soon. Of course they came back clear. What a blow though to be judged right off as a drug user.

We took the kids up to Park City and they had a blast. They were so happy it didn't matter they didn't go to Disneyland. All they needed was a pool and they were fine. They did so much anyway, there wasn't complaining.

For me though, it was a tough week. If you ask me face to face, I will tell you it was the best Spring Break ever! If you read this blog, you will know the truth, and the truth will set me free!

Best 99 cents ever spent!

I love a new app for my iPhone. If someone recommends one, I usually start drooling. My addiction to an iPhone app is similar to my addiction to appliances. I love appliances. That blender at Costco makes my stomach turn every time they have it on display.

I've seen fat booth at the app store but thought it would be stupid. When a friend told me about it, I thought "what the heck, it's only 99 cents". This app has been the hit of the weekend! First I used it on the bus on the 6th grade field trip. The kids loved it. Then I took it to work on the weekend. What a riot! We laughed all weekend.

It's been an eye opener for me. We shouldn't take life so seriously and we all need to laugh at ourselves. Plus, when I do the side by side comparison, skinny to fat, I look pretty skinny! Send me a photo of yourself and let's see what you look like fat!

Tails From North Dakota

Who would have thought the heart of America was in North Dakota? When my friend, Anthony Fallahi, went to North Dakota on business, I learned that's where the heart of America is. His story sent chills up my spine. I knew that I wanted more than just my lunching friends to hear it. I asked if I could post his story on my blog:

Tails From North Dakota

I should preface by saying that I have been here since Monday, doing individual consults during the day for Catholic Health and driving 2-4 hours each night to get to my next destination. Clear skies and dry roads accompanied me every day, albeit with below freezing temps - all drives were relatively smooth. The weather turned nasty yesterday however, first with freezing rain, then heavy snow. I had heard that weather forecasts had called for some storming but hey… I’m a Utah man. We are built for this stuff, or so I thought. North Dakota is a nearly perfectly flat state, offering no protection from the elements. As I made my way from Carrington to the Bismarck airport the wind continued to pick up, peaking at 50 mph, quickly turning a snowfall into a full blizzard. By about the half-way point I was white-knuckling along at about 10mph, eyes focused on the left ridge of the road which served as my only point of reference. After driving through a thick cloud off a snowdrift, I emerged with absolutely no idea where I was in relation to the road – literally 0 visibility. At one point I got out of the little rented Nissan Sentra to try and gather my bearings and immediately experienced a cold, biting wind that I have never come close to feeling before. Five seconds later I was back in my car, thoroughly drenched, freezing, and completely snow blind. I was concerned that I may have drifted into the wrong lane so I inched forward and veered to the right. Quickly I found myself stuck in the ditch along the side of the road. I figured at this point that my best bet was to stay put and wait it out. Matters got worse though, after idling for about 90 minutes, when the car ran out of gas and the heater started blowing cold air. A little concerned by the prospect of a very cold, long evening I called for emergency assistance, hoping to at least spend the night in a Sheriff’s station. Crews were completely swamped and dispatch informed me that all roads had been closed, and the best thing I could do was bundle up and wait… This was about the point that I knew this was going to make a funny story some day, but not this day.

After a while a semi-truck driver stopped and picked me up. He had already picked up one stranded driver and would pick up another after me before we reached the best spot to hunker down for the duration, which was a town of about 60 people called Hurdsfield. The 10 mile drive back into town in that semi was absolutely terrifying. All agreed it was the worst storm they had ever seen. I tried to coin the phrase ‘Storm to end all Storms’ but it didn’t get much traction. Fortunately, everybody pretty much knows everybody else in North Dakota, and one of the wayfarers in the truck was able to call ahead and arrange for the owner of the local grocery store to open it up for us to use the bathroom, get some food, etc.. The extremely kind grocer offered his home to us for the night. He and his wife were absolutely amazing, without a doubt some of the most kind and gracious I have ever met. He dropped us off at his home and then proceeded to look for other stuck travelers in his truck. By the end of the night, we had acquired an Army Ranger who’s unit had been called into duty in Bismarck to help with the storm, a trucker and his wife, a college student on his way home for spring break, and the local Sheriff, who had gotten stuck three times before finally giving up. It was pretty hilarious when his phone would ring and he would answer: ‘Sheriff’s department.’ Followed by something like, ‘I understand ma’am, unfortunately I am also stuck, and there is nothing I can do.

Ironically, this whole experience led to the best home cooked meal and most comfortable night that I spent in North Dakota. The storm broke around 1am, and this morning we were able to get some gas into my rental, pull it off the shoulder, and thaw it out without too much trouble. On my drive into Bismarck I counted 41 stranded cars on the shoulder of the main interstate – it looked kind of like a sci-fi movie. My flights appear to be on-time today and I should be home safely this evening. In all, I feel like I have now earned my road-warrior stripes, and am full of gratitude for the kindness of strangers, and the grace of God. What a memory.

An article about the storm

I love this story. This is what we are all about. So nice to hear that there are living angels in America who are watching over us. Too bad the news highlights crime and violence. Thanks Anthony for letting me highlight your heartwarming story.

Potty Talk

What a whirlwind of a month! Two deaths and two funerals certainly put a freeze on my "normal" life. The last thing I needed was that dang cold I had. From what I heard, it's supposedly this flu that's going around. It starts with serious pain in the throat and chest. I struggled with that thing for a week and a half. Makes me feel like a big baby. The cough didn't turn out to be the big problem. My body has changed. I'm feeling older. Feeling like I might be needing to buy myself some Depends. Every time I cough, I pee my pants! Oh hell, is really all I can say about it. I'm at work, my bladder is full, I don't really feel it yet, and BAM, I cough. How do you think I look every time I cough and have to cross my legs? I'm not really accepting of this problem but there's not much I can do about it, except get some diapers. Perhaps, surgery will be a part of my future but I'll put that on hold. (hold, get it?)

Speaking of diapers, Claire has been going potty on the toilet. I've worked on it for about 5 days now. I still don't think she "gets it", meaning she can't feel like she's gotta go and then just tell me. I still remind her all day long. The first day I started, I wanted to put the diaper back on about 50 times but then I remembered that I am so tired of diapers. I am tired of wet beds. I'm ready for a raise. So we just keep plugging along. Kate isn't close to potty training. Once I've got Claire down, I'll work on her.
So much excitement around here. Feel free to come over and join me.

I See France

In France, we stayed at the Hotel Lotti. We took the Eurostar from London to Paris. When I first got into our taxi, I was in culture shock. The apartments in the city looked similar to this:

It was almost like a dream to me. I've only seen buildings like this in movies and maybe a theme park? But this was the real deal. It was amazing. In fact, my favorite thing about Europe was it's charm.

Culture shock again. The Eiffel Tower was HUGE! Only in pictures had I seen it. I took a picture of it from this angle for size effect.


Oh my gosh. This had to be the best bread and butter EVER!!! I have never enjoyed slabbing the whole entire chunk of butter on a roll, but I could have even eaten it raw!



The Sacre Coeur. Though our trip in France started getting "churchie" as Gretchen put it, the churches were phenomenal! Highlights of this church was hearing the nuns sing and giving their sermon in French. Also, inside joke with Gretchen, free babysitting and free wifi. At the Sacre Coeur we watched the sunset on the Eiffel Tower. I loved watching the lights sparkle on the hour. I wonder how much it costs to light that gigantic thing. I googled and and have yet to find out.



Ahh..Notre Dame. My favorite part of visiting this church was watching my mom study it. It was a dream come true for her. She studied this building when she was younger. She knew everything about it and I tried to get as much information from her as I could.



Another shocker for me....no, not the nude statue, well..maybe the nude statue. It's the fact that there are statues all over Paris. You go through the parks and it's full of statues. The park I go to has a slide and a swing.

The McCafe. I went in to get a diet coke at McDonald's and I passed this bakery section of McDonald's. Wow, we only have hot fudge sundaes and apple pies at my local McDonald's.

Another highlight was going to the Monet display at the Grand Palais. Just clicking on my link and going through the online tour is incredible. (Note to Katy, since you have high speed internet and a new MacBook, you can watch it too!)

Last but not least, here's a picture of "the tunnel". You know what I'm talking about right? Give it your best shot.

A Friendly Reminder

My favorite show is on TV tonight! Remember how I begged my friend, Celeste, to watch it? After sending a text to remind her, she finally watched the 2nd season on demand. This is the text she sent me: Ok, finished them all. I tear up at least once on every single episode. Thanksgiving by far the best one. This show is the best Christmas/Bday gift you have ever given me!

Um.... I told you so!

It's Not Always About Maggie....Well...

Tonight at dinner...

Me: Who wants to the say the prayer?

Maggie: Me!!! Heavenly Father, we're grateful for this day. Please bless that Michael be put in a box and mailed away....

I Can Spell!

Maggie: Mom, I learned to spell some new words!

Me: (very excited to hear her) Oh, what are they?

Maggie: B-O-O-B! That spells boob!

Me: Uh, yes that's right. Where did you learn that?

Maggie: I dunno. K, here's the other one but I don't know what is spells... P-O-O-P!

Me: That spells poop. Maggie, where did you learn these words?

Maggie: In the slide at McDonald's!

20 + Years Later!

Denise and I at Blenheim Palace.

Freezing cold with the London Eye in the background

Eating, one of our favorite things to do!

It all started on the first day of school when I was in 4th grade. I walked to my classroom and there was Denise and her mother, waiting for school to begin. This was Denise's first day of school at Walt Disney Elementary. We became the best of friends. We've been friends ever since. One day we were walking home from school and, for some reason, we had our fingers pricked. I don't know if we poked them ourselves or if we did some type of project with blood at school. I clearly remember the day and place. We stopped in front of the fence that lead to Pebble Place and we pressed our bloody fingers up to each other and became "blood sisters". Denise moved to South Africa after 6th grade. Then she moved to Germany. She came back to visit two summers when we were in high school. Then I went to Germany to see her after high school. We kept in touch with letters and when technology stepped up a few notches, we kept in touch via email. She still lives in Germany with her husband and two beautiful daughters.

When I learned I was going to London, I shot Denise an email. I said I'd be in London and if she happen to be in the area, let me know. Next thing I know, her plane ticket is bought, hotel is booked and I would be seeing my friend Denise!

I wondered what it would be like when I met up with my friend again. Heck, I'd had 5 kids and lived a conservative lifestyle. What if she was all wild and totally different? Only time would tell.

To sum things up, I had THE BEST time with Denise!!! We stayed up late talking, we hit London like a hurricane, and we LAUGHED. We laughed and laughed and laughed. It seemed like we had only been apart for a year, not 20 years. Time went by too fast, I wanted to spend more time together. When I said good bye I kept my composure, but when she was gone, I got a bit teary. We didn't have our kids with us, we didn't have any responsibilities, this was our time to have fun. I loved it! I hope I can see my blood sister again soon. It can't be another 20 years.

I Told You So!

I remember when Gilmore Girls ended. Something was missing. I loved that show. It was simple, not raunchy, just a great story. A few shows have replaced my love for Gilmore Girls. One of those was Glee. Made my day to watch that show until it decided to turn into a trashy-slut-of-a- show. SERIOUSLY, I was so disappointed. I even tried to watch just the singing parts of the show but it just didn't cut it. It was one sad day when I changed the recording option of my DVR. No more Glee, good bye. One show, this one show, has me excited.... Parenthood. It is fabulous. I keep telling my friends to watch it. Particularly my friend Celeste. We use to watch Gilmore Girls and call each other the next day to give our opinion of the episode. Now, I sit and watch Parenthood and think that I would love to discuss the story lines with my friends but no one seems to care. Come on peeps, this is a GREAT SHOW!!!! It really is. Start with the first season and catch up. Celeste, how many times do I have to remind you about this show? There will be a day when someone comes up to me and says, "Alison, you were right about Parenthood." What will my response be? "Duh, I told you so!"