The Wonderful World of Liz

Beyond Ridiculous

2011-03-22T18:35:00.002-05:00

So, this is a new post because this has gone too far. At first I was waiting to be more well to post something new, then six weeks of pneumonia later, I wanted to have a good amount of time to upload Birthday pics of The Boy and Christmas pics, and then the whole thing was just way to daunting and I kept putting it off, and then The Girl had a birthday and got Baptised and I was waiting on pics for that because I forgot my camera (because I'm brain dead that way), and now things have just gotten Way Beyond Ridiculous, so I'm posting none of the Pics or updating you on anything, I'm just posting to get over this Humongous Mental Block I've developed.
So there.
The Almighty Liz

What Has Liz Been Up to Lately?

2010-11-11T15:55:00.006-06:00

So, John and I have been very industrious as of late, and I've decided to brag.

I hung pictures! My bro-in-law, Apollo, did our family pics and some individual shots. You can view more of his work at:

http://www.smiletodayphotography.com/

He's awesome.

Lotion! I've been working my fingers to the bone! I've had a lot of traffic and orders to fill, and lots of new projects as well. My newest project is a face mask, which I am wearing as we speak. It's amazing, and I love it.
This is the closet that John built in our basement next to the washer and dryer. It was desperately needed, as we were hanging all of our clothes on the water pipe since there wasn't enough room in our minuscule closets, eek! Didn't he do a great job?!

This is the other side of the closet. Now we have a cozy little sleeping area for guests!

This is the biggest project. I didn't take before pics because I didn't think of it, so take a moment and imagine all of those toys covering every square inch of the floor OF MY ENTIRE HOUSE. Now, they are categorized and tidily put into clear bins and tucked onto those shelves. Aaaaah, now doesn't that feel better?!

A better shot of the genius organization.

A bonus shot of my cat. I love when she sleeps on the back of the couch. Sometimes it looks like she's melting off the couch. Hilarious!

The Almighty Liz

Just a Little Gushing

2010-11-02T08:34:00.002-05:00

John has a neat trick.
You see, when I look in the mirror, and you girls out there can probably empathize, I don't see pretty. All I see are things that need fixing, the imperfections, the flaws. My hair is not full and lustrous enough, my skin is starting to sag and get wrinkles, my pores are the size of craters and my endless battle with acne rages on, my darn eyes are two different colors! Ect ect ect and on and on and on. I have a list of over a million things I'm pretty sure. But then! My husband takes me in his arms and tells me I'm gorgeous and all that insecurity about myself melts away and I believe him. One look and two words and I feel like I'm the most exquisitely beautiful woman to ever grace the Earth with her presence. I wish I could bottle that up and send it as a gift to every girl on the planet because even if it only lasted a minute, every female needs to feel like that just once. I get to feel like that every day.
I do love that man.
The Almighty Liz

Finally Fall!

2010-10-29T09:04:00.002-05:00

Well, I don't know about all of you fans out there, but here in the Midwest Fall hasn't really made an appearance. Until today! It's been mostly 80 degrees or thereabouts, but we woke up to 28 degrees and frost this morning! Does this make me happy? Um, no, sorry. I'm a warm-weather-summer-type girl, and I despise the cold. I've been loving the extension of warm weather, but it's okay because I made Erik's Halloween costume out of really warm material, and I was worried he might have to be naked underneath it this year or die of heat exhaustion. So, I guess there's a silver lining in everything.
The Almighty Liz

Awwwwww...

2010-10-27T09:41:00.003-05:00

My son just came up and sang me twinkle twinkle little star to make my headache feel better. Can I get an "Aw" from the crowd?!
That is the child that is going to take care of me when I'm old and feeble.
The Almighty Liz

Liza's Lotions!

2010-10-22T00:01:00.011-05:00

So, good friends and loyal fans, I have some exciting news! My good friend Dana, who introduced me and my little business to the world last week, is doing a giveaway on her blog! Here's a link:

http://danacheryl.blogspot.com/

Head over and read all about it!

For the giveaway, this post is all about my lotions. What I sell, how much they are, and how to have me do a custom lotion just for YOU. This is the thing I'm passionate about: making something that works for YOU and only you. Making a lotion that fits your unique needs, so it's as special as you are!

All of my lotions are customizable, so if they look pretty good to you, but there's an ingredient in there that you react to, just let me know, and I can leave it out! Or, conversely, if there's an ingredient I have that you'd like added, I can do that, too! I make every lotion up individually when you order it, so when you order I don't go to a shelf and pick up something I made a month ago and send it to you, I sit down with all my ingredients and mix it up after you put in your order, then send it to you. Thus making customization a breeze! This is in addition to the 100% custom lotions that I make for individual customers. The 100% custom lotions are for those of you who see my regular formulations, and they just aren't going to work for you, or you have no idea if they will work or not! That's when you contact me, and I'll will sit down and ask you a bunch of questions, do a little homework, and come up with the best solution for your needs. Sometimes that is a lotion I already have formulated, but most times I come up with something completely different that's just for you.

Further, all of my ingredients are as natural as I can get them, and organic whenever possible. Even the more chemically sounding names, like cetyl alcohol, are derived from natural organic vegetation. So you can feel good about what you are putting on your skin!

In addition to all of that good stuff, I also wanted to add that my products are cruelty free, not tested on animals in any way, shape or form. All of my products are also vegetarian at least, and vegan where I can manage it, which includes most of the lotions.

All prices include shipping if you are in the US, and if you are international, add $2 to the price. I also offer free samples of everything that comes in the cutest little jar you ever saw, and holds enough face lotion for a week, or enough hand and body cream for 2-3 uses.

So, without further ado, here are all my "off the shelf" formulations!

A quick note: my regular vendor for avocado butter was out, so I bought from another vendor, and it's not the same. Namely, it's got beeswax in it, so right now, all lotions made with beeswax are not vegan, but as soon as I run out and restock from my original vendor, it will be. Thanks!

Liza's Light
Face Lotion For Oily Skin
Distilled water, Rose Hydrosol, Grapeseed oil, Chardonnay oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Olive oil, Kukui Nut oil, Jojoba oil, Jason's 5,000 IU Vitamin E Pure Beauty oil, Cranberry oil, Camelia oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax
1 oz(will last 6-8 weeks)--$6
1/2 oz--$3
1/3 oz--$2

Liza's Quenchaide (your skin's new favorite beverage!)
Face Lotion for Dry Skin
Distilled water, Glycerin, Helichrysum Hydrosol, Cornflower Hydrosol, Argan oil, Calendula infused Olive oil, Rosehip oil, Grapeseed oil, Chardonnay oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Jojoba oil, Cranberry oil, Camelia oil, Jason's 5,000 IU Vitamin E Pure Beauty oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Niacinamide, Allantoin, Hyaluronic Acid, Avocado Butter, Shea OR Cocoa Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax
1 oz--$7
1/2 oz--$4
1/3 oz--$3

Liza's Blotch Be-Gone
Face Lotion for Acne Prone, Oily Skin
Distilled water, Neem Hydrosol, Chamomile Hydrosol, Rose Hydrosol, Allantoin, Salicylic Acid (1%), Hyaluronic Acid, Grapeseed oil, Chardonnay oil, Calendula infused Olive oil, Tea Tree oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Kukui oil, Jason's 5,000 IU Vitamin E Pure Beauty oil, Jojoba oil, Camelia oil, Zinc, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax
1 oz--$7
1/2 oz--$4
1/3 oz--$3

Liza's Simplicity
Face Lotion for Sensitive Skin
Distilled water, Seabuckthorn oil, Jojoba oil, Cranberry oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax
1 oz--$6
1/2 oz--$3
1/3 oz--$2

Liza's Love Your Skin Hand and Body Cream
Distilled water, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Avocado Butter, Kukui Nut Butter, Mango Butter, Almond Butter, Jason's 5,000 IU Vitamin E Pure Beauty oil, Rosehip oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax
1 oz--$7
1/2 oz--$4
1/3--$3

Liza's Lizard Skin Elimination Cream
(Eczema treatment cream, but it's also good for any kind of dry skin. Very healing and soothing)
Distilled water, Glycerin, Colloidal Oatmeal, Honey powder, Allantoin, Cocoa butter (higher concentration), Avocado butter (higher concentration), Kukui butter, Mango butter, Almond butter, Vitamin E oil, Rosehip oil, Olive oil, Argan oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Polawax, Leucidal (all-natural preservative)

Liza's Luscious Lipbalm
Cocoa butter, Almond butter, Avacado butter, Mango butter, Cherry Kernal oil, Blueberry oil, Olive oil, Jojoba oil, Grapeseed oil, Chardonnay oil, Kukui Nut oil, Candellia Wax, Glycerin, Distilled water, Polawax, Truvia sweetener
1 tube (standard chapstick tube size)--$3.50
Flavors for the lipbalm, you choose any flavor or combonations of flavors, it's up to you!:
(you can also get it in natural, with no added flavor or sweetener, and with every 2 lipbalms I sell, I go get another flavor)
Mint
Peppermint
Vanilla
Almond
Coconut
Pineapple
Maple
Lemon
Banana

Liza's Un-Clog Me Facial Mask
(for acne prone, oily skin)(a small note: when I was formulating this mask, I had some clays that were out of stock, as denoted with an * in the list, when I went to order ingredients. As soon as those come back into stock, I will order them, and they will be then added to the final formulation)
Bentonite clay, Blue clay*, French Green clay, Moor Mud*, Red Kaolin clay, Rhassoul clay, Sea clay, Sea Kelp Biofermament, Distilled water, Glycerin, Salicylic Acid, Allantoin, Jojoba oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Tea Tree oil, Tumeric Root powder, Chamomile Hydrosol, Neem Hydrosol, Honey powder, Clary Sage essential oil, Mint Extract, Green Tea extract, Eidlwiess extract, Polawax

In addition to these, I've always got something on the back burner that I'm formulating. I'm always coming out with new things (especially right after an influx of orders, because then I have money to play with, lol!), so keep a sharp eye on this post, as it will be updated as I develop new products.

The Almighty Liz

Success at Last!!!!

2010-10-21T08:44:00.001-05:00

So, I think it is finally safe to say....
ERIK IS POTTY TRAINED!!
Monday will be three weeks since he had a poopoo accident. He hasn't gone at anybody else's house yet, and only in his little potty in his room, but I'm still counting it.
The Almighty Liz

I'm so Excited!!!

2010-10-15T08:40:00.002-05:00

Well, my political post was a RESOUNDING success (sarcasm)! Lol!! Kidding. I wrote that mainly for me.
So, why am I so excited, you ask? Because Dana, whom some of you know and is a good friend of mine, has interviewed me for a giveaway on her blog!! I do believe all you have to do to be eligible for the giveaway (correct me if I'm wrong, Dana) is post a comment to the interview. She did an awesome job, and what a great opportunity for me to brag on myself! :D
Here's a link to her blog so you can all do what I know your dying to do--run over and read it!!
http://danacheryl.blogspot.com
Your Welcome!
The Almighty Liz

Political Schtuff

2010-10-13T11:17:00.002-05:00

Normally, I don't do this on my blog, and I might delete it yet, but I figure, it's MY blog, I can do what I want.
So, many of you Liz Fans out there might know about the huge stink over President Packer's General Conference Talk. For those of you who aren't aware of it, basically one of the leaders in my church gave a speech at our semi-annual world wide conference, and for a few sentences of a twenty+ minute speech addressed our views on homosexuality. If you didn't know, my church is not for this life style. We are also not for bullying, belittling, being mean or hateful or anything similar to this to anyone who chooses this life style. We are very much Christ centered, and He was pretty clear on His stance to love EVERYONE. And so that is our stance.
So, the homosexual community got ahold of this, and are throwing themselves a royal fit over it. They've even petitioned the leaders of my church to change our doctrine/repeal the speech/ect ect. Does anyone else get the hypocrisy here? They claim that everyone should be able to live/think/feel however they please, EXCEPT the Mormons, because we think differently. I mean, we MUST be brainwashed right? Because how could you possibly think their lifestyle is wrong? This makes me a bit....mad. In an Irish-type of way.
Let me say here that I know that not every gay person feels this way. I'm speaking only about the ones who are being so very loud right now.
A representative has issued a statement in rebuttal of the gay community's petition (and it was a specific group, I just can't remember the name right now.) I think he summed it up well, and I might hunt it down and put a link up in a minute. In fact I will right now, so you all can read it if you wish, because if I try to cliff-notes it for you, I'll screw it all up.
http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/church-mormon-responds-to-human-rights-campaign-petition-same-sex-attraction
One thing I love about this response is that he pointed out the things that we HAVE supported gay rights on. Even I didn't know about them. (which just shows I need to keep up better)
Anyway, that's my little rant. I know I'll piss someone off, and that was not my intention. My intention was to vent my own frustrations. Feel free to debate people, I love a good debate. But I'll say right now, so fair warning, that if you get nasty, call ANYONE names, or are just being an all-around jerk, I will delete you. Disagree all you want, but keep it clean. My blog, my world.
The Almighty Liz

I'm Back!

2010-10-11T10:44:00.002-05:00

Mostly, anyway. :P
So, the oral surgery itself went fine. The only snag was that my insurance wouldn't pay for general anesthesia, so I was awake for the procedure. I do NOT recommend that, and I am NEVER doing it again. After we got home, for the next few days I couldn't eat or drink enough to stay hydrated, and then I had a bad reaction to the Vicoden they gave me (think lots of puking), which landed me in the hospital last Monday. It took several days for the Vicoden to exit my system, so I was uber nauseated for that time. I think it was Thursday or thereabouts before food wasn't completely revolting. On the bright side of that, I lost three pounds, and that on top of hitting my goal weight the week before! That's 23 pounds I lost since last April-ish people! Yes, I am now so gorgeous I'm hard to look at. You've been warned.
And here's a big shout out to Elise, who watched my son for four whole days while I felt like utter crap and only wanted to die. She's the BEST.
So, I started to feel at least partly human just in time for my super awesome brother-in-law and his equally awesome wife to come home on leave. We went to dinner, and we've had some family fun, and it's been beyond lovely to see them again. We miss you guys bunches!!
My best friend who lives states away from me (which is just Not Fair) is also in town with her husband and children visiting her side of the family, and they carved out some time to come see yours truly. We had some good food, and some good fun, and I promise we will beat the pants off of John at Four Point Pitch next time guys!! He totally deserves to have his head deflated.
Also, my grandpa is still in the hospital, but we are thinking we might finally be getting everything that's been wrong with him fixed once and for all, and they might move him to a rehab center soon, which is a definite step up. Prayers? Pretty please?
So that was last week in a nutshell, and now I need a nap, lol! I'm seriously almost all the way better though, and I actually can't wait to start working out again. It'll have to wait until Friday, but it is so GAME ON come then. I have to keep my girlish figure AND my chocolate somehow!
The Almighty Liz

MIA

2010-09-30T18:33:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm getting my wisdom teeth extracted tomorrow. Fun! (sarcasm) So I will be out of commission until I feel better. Some time next year I'm sure.
A couple of prayer requests before I go:
My grandpa. He's back in the hospital, and could use all the help he can get.
My twin nieces. They are three, and going through some adult stuff. No good.
Anyway, try to hold yourselves together until I get back. Just remember, I'm not dead, I'm just in a lot of pain. Wait, that came out wrong....
The Almighty Liz

Monday FHE

2010-09-27T20:32:00.002-05:00

It was an interesting Monday. The weather was AWESOME, and Erik and I went to Wal-Mart, mainly to pick up a new microwave. Ours bit the dust on Saturday, and let me tell you, living without one, even for a day, sucks.
I made chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight, and they were super duper uber good. Then we went for a walk to the grocery store and got some pumpkins. 'Tis the season and all! Watching the kids race each other is always way fun. We were checking out our pumpkins, when Erik stuck his hand out to the cashier, and said, "Hi, my name is Erik." He shook her hand, and then ran off. He's been doing that lately. I have no idea where he got it, but it's freaking hilarious!! The looks on people's faces....! While Erik and were at Wal-mart, I spied these cute little pies. They were about the size of one medium sized slice of pie, only round, and only fifty cents each! So I bought a good variety and that was our treat for FHE. Why is watching your children really enjoy their food give one such a warm, fuzzy and fulfilled feeling? I love it.
It was a good day.
The Almighty Liz

Ugh!!!

2010-09-24T17:33:00.003-05:00

I do not know what the FREAK is up with my children today, but they are driving me bananas. Bouncing off the walls, sassy, destructive, and pain inducing (that's mostly Erik)...I'm about ready to throw them out the window. And of course, John is gone until tomorrow night. Nice.
The Almighty Liz
ETA: It got better. I took the kids out to the Huddle House for dinner, where they charmed the waitress and all the diners, played tick-tac-toe nicely with each other (Jonni confided to me later that she let Erik win, lol!), and were very good. Until we got home anyway. :P

Much Delayed Review

2010-09-21T08:47:00.003-05:00

Okay, so we've had the Sleep Number bed for just shy of a week, I think five full nights. My initial reaction was LOVE, and now that I've had a few nights to try it out, it's turned into ADORATION!! I worship this bed. It wouldn't have been so good without the topper we got for it, but with the memory foam IT'S PERFECT. I've been running on pure adrenaline for several weeks, and now that I'm able to sleep again, I'm beyond exhausted, lol! It's like my body is saying "finally, now we are going to get caught up....for the next month...." John really likes it too. He's one of those people that likes a constantly changing sleeping surface, I think, kinda like a cat, so this is perfect for him. He can adjust to to his heart's content, so we're both uber happy with it. Which is the point of a Sleep Number bed after all: to make both people in the couple happy, and it works. How did I live before we had this?!!
For those of you thinking "why should I get one, it's just a air mattress!" You are so totally wrong. I can see it if we didn't get the topper like I said, but with the topper, it's not air mattress-y in the least, not even a little bit. It's soft and fluffy and wonderful, and I'm totally in love with it.
The Almighty Liz

I'm So Excited!!

2010-09-13T12:42:00.001-05:00

Our new sleep number mattress is coming on WEDNESDAY!! Two more nights and then, hopefully, I can get a good night's sleep....
Oh, and I ended up getting a 4 inch, 3 lb density memory foam topper for the new mattress, and it should be here this week as well. My giddiness is immeasurable!
The Almighty Liz

New Mattress!

2010-09-08T08:10:00.002-05:00

So, my mattress is shot. It's eight years old, and it's just gone cahpoohey. Neither John nor I have had a good night's sleep in over a month. I keep getting sick, and I just don't have the energy to do anything at all. So, several weeks ago, the search started, and last Monday, Labor Day (when the sales were good), John and I ordered one! I'm really excited about it, because it's a Sleep Number bed. I have high hopes for it. John and I are polar opposites when it comes to how soft we want our sleeping area, and I think this will be our solution. They are MIGHTY expensive, though, so we got the cheapest one. That means it is a little less-than in terms of comfort, so my next project is a super good topper to put on it to make it perfect. Anyone out there in blogger land have any good suggestions? I've done some legwork and a lot of online research, but I just don't know what's good because I haven't slept on one! Our mattress should be here in two weeks, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The Almighty Liz

Erikism

2010-08-24T11:47:00.002-05:00

Okay, if you go back around a year, you'll remember that Erik used to ask me, at least daily but more often several times a day, if he could be a pumpkin when he grew up. This lasted a really long time, but did fade away after awhile. Now he has a new thing that he tells me everyday, and here it is:
"Mom, you're not stupid, you're smart, and I love you."
Several times a day people. I'm not sure if someone told him I was stupid and he feels the need to counteract this negativity with as much positive reinforcement as possible, or what, but it always gives me the giggles.
The Almighty Liz

Pic-a-pahlooza!

2010-08-19T10:10:00.014-05:00

So, I have been hugely remiss in posting this summer, so I thought that I would give all you fans out there a huge glut of pictures to calm all those Liz Cravings I'm sure you are experiencing. Your welcome!

This was Beth's surprise birthday dinner.

Renae was having....issues, lol!

The carnage after the meal.

Yes, I WAS there.

Aw, aren't they cute? (and I'd feel remiss if I didn't point out Lydia on the left. She was having a Bad Night.)

And the cute facade falls to the wayside...

Another awwww pic.

These are all the kids left at home. Such lovely, well mannered adults this woman has raised!

Or not!

And a pic with the transplants of the family. At least we can behave, right?!

Nope, we've been tainted!

This is a walk the kids and I went on around our neighborhood.

I feel the need to tell you the truth about this fire hydrant. Erik informed me that this is a very dangerous robot cleverly disguised as a fire hydrant. So be on the look-out people! These are everywhere!!

Vicious attack dog? Or something to stomp on?

Jonni's school playground, the destination of our walk.

Will somebody PLEASE let these poor kids out of jail!!?

The Almighty Liz

Round and Round it goes! Where it Stops.....

2010-07-15T14:38:00.003-05:00

....nobody knows! Erik has strep again. Poor kid. Poor me, too! Lol! This time, I'm out of my penicillin too! I've lost it somewhere, so I've been looking for a couple of days and can't find it anywhere! So, that's bad timing to the nth degree. BUT! My doc is calling me in a new script, so I'll have that before the day is over. John, perfect husband that he is, is coming home from work early to take our poor sick boy to the doctor. He really is pathetic looking too. I know how he feels. Strep is No Fun.
The Almighty Liz

It's My Birthday!

2010-06-30T09:14:00.002-05:00

Once again, is that super special time of the year: my Birthday! This year's birthday has begun crappily. My cat peed on my luggage duffle bag thingy that I had yet to unpack from my trip last week to Savannah, GA. (more on that later, I'm waiting for pics from the other girls that went because I forgot my camera, doh!!) It had all my clean clothes, which didn't get dirty because I was on the beach so much I didn't wear hardly any of them, and my new and very expensive tennis shoes, and all of my make up, to name a few things. So I had to do damage control first thing this morning. Happy Birthday, Liz! Not!!
The Almighty Liz

Make Up!

2010-06-16T08:58:00.002-05:00

Hey there, my girl peeps! So I have a good friend who is starting her own line of mineral cosmetics. She and I have traded stuff, my lotion for various of her amazing eye shadows and lip glosses, and let me just say that she is super talented!! So, I'm shamelessly promoting her because of how awesome her stuff is. Go take a look, and stay to drool, at her new blog!
http://darlinggirlcosmetics.blogspot.com
I'm adding a sidebar that's just for her, too. Hopefully I can get it to show updates and stuff eventually, but that'll have to wait until John can help me. For now, it will be an easy link for everyone. Enjoy ladies!
The Almighty Liz

Good News and Bad News

2010-06-10T08:25:00.002-05:00

I'll do bad news first, I like to get that out of the way. My Grandpa is going into the hospital for major surgery today to remove a bunch of cancer. Total suckage! Prayers would be MUCH appreciated!
Okay, good news, yay!
I'm an entrepreneur!! How crazy is that? Awhile ago I posted about my lotion making hobbies. I know I said I would post all about it soon, but that's going to have to wait awhile because I've started selling it!! I swapped it to a couple of gals on the forum that I frequent, and they gently, and then not so gently, suggested that I open it up to my forum for sale because they loved it so much. So I did! Within a few days I had TEN ORDERS! I know that's not huge, and it seems to be dying down quite a bit, but still exciting for me! So I'm going to wait to see if this flops before I post my super secret methods and recipes on the world wide web. In the meantime, if anyone wants to buy some, leave me a reply! If there are any interested parties, I'll post the ingredients in the reply section. *insert big grin here*
The Almighty Liz

Weird!

2010-05-28T08:54:00.002-05:00

So, I made dinner last night. That's not so unusual as it used to be since I'm getting way better. I made breaded baked catfish, rice, and sauteed asparagus. The asparagus was mainly for me and John, as the kids are somewhat anti-vegetable. What was shocking was that Erik asked to try one. And he liked it! And he proceeded to eat like HALF of the asparagus I made! So then I thought about it, and really, it's only Jonni who hates vegetables. Erik doesn't like them all, but he does like most of the ones I like. Asparagus, broccoli, salad-y things....what kind of a kid likes those kinds of vegetables?! Yes, I do believe he is a mama's boy.
The Almighty Liz

Updates!

2010-05-21T09:45:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a busy week in our little corner of the world. I'll give you the cliff notes version, because the detailed version would take you hours to read. ;)
So, starting with Mother's day, which I know wasn't this week, but I didn't blog about it when it happened. I had a rockin' Mother's day. I managed to get up and go to church for the first time since I was in the hospital last year! We were late, but hey, we made it! I got some cool presents, and we got to go see my mom, and hang out with my side of the family. Jonni had a surprise for me, in that there was an essay contest at her school, and she won! First, she won her grade and went on to the regionals or whatever, and then won that too! It was a cool essay, I'll type it out for you:

"I Love My Mom Because....."

She's nice to me. Let me count the ways. 1. She helped me when I fell off the bus and onto the road. 2. She makes the best smoothies in the world. 3. She boght doghnuts twice for being good. 4. She is nice and coumfy. Some mom. I don't know what all she's done to me that's nice!

So that was super cool

Fast forward through that week to last weekend. My sister took the kids for the weekend so John and I could celebrate our anniversary! It was a great weekend, and totally not long enough, lol! Then, that Sunday, we got to call Trent! That was....a mixed thing. Everyone had checked their international phone rates earlier that week to see who had the best. We did, but no one believed me, so I called them again to make sure I had it right. Not just the rates, but that I had everything I needed as far as codes and whatnot. I was assured that everything was green, and we could make the call to Germany on Sunday with no problems. So, with everyone coming over, we decided to have a big dinner for Mother's day for John's mom, and have a fun day. We all gathered in anticipation of The Call, and dialed the numbers. Or we tried to. We were quickly interrupted by a recording telling us that we did not have the proper "carrier codes". Long story short, I called Charter and was told they put a INTERNATIONAL BLOCK on my phone!! While they were assuring me that everything was good to call Germany, someone misinterpreted that I WANTED to call to I DIDN'T want to call, and put a block on my phone. The lady told me she could take the block off, but it would take 5-10 minutes to activate. Fine. We waited 10 minutes. Then 15, and twenty, and I decided to call Charter again. I sent John to the store after pre-paid phone cards in case this call didn't work. I had been polite up to this point but I had HAD IT. So I started out screaming, and went downhill from there. I was shuffled around to several people, and finally got a manager, who informed me that the people who take the blocks off phones weren't in on Sundays, and it would be 24 hours at minimum before we could call Trent. I screamed, I yelled, I called them names, and then informed them that was unacceptable since this was 100% their screw up, and they had lost themselves a customer. We did call Trent with the phone cards, and it all worked out fine, but we lost a good 45-60 minutes because of Charter's incompetence, and I called AT&T first thing Monday morning to make the switch. They should be out here this afternoon to get me all set up.

Anyhow, we all got to talk to Trent, and he sounded awesome! Very happy, and very upbeat about things in his mission. He said that they are talking about combining missions again, so he might have an even bigger mission soon! It was cool talking with him.

Other things this week included finishing leveling the ground and laying the pavers to our walkway, so now all we need to do is fill in the gaps at the corners with quick crete, and fill in the cracks between pavers with sand, and we will be done!

Also, I bought a new dishwasher! Ours was finally pronounced dead, and I hit the streets on Tuesday to find a new one. It was looking grim after two or three stores. It was all the same deal: cheap dishwasher+fees, installation, taxes, ect and I would end up paying around $450 all told for a cheapo thing. BUT! Then I went to Lowe's! It was the same deal, except that if you bought a dishwasher at $497 or more, they waved all taxes, fees and installation!! So I could get a $500 dishwasher for only $50 more than I would have paid for the cheap crappy ones! This is what I did, and it should be in sometime next week! It has all kinds of bells and whistles like "hard food disposer", and "sanitary rinse", and the buttons are on top of the door! That means when you close it, the buttons disappear! No more kids punching in random settings! I cannot wait!

So, today I was going to go get the supplies to finish off my walkway, so I could take pics and brag-I mean blog about it, but a wrench was thrown into my plans. Erik has strep!! This is justifiably alarming for our little family as this is my cryptonite, let alone the fact that my little man is totally miserable! But he's on antibiotics now, and definitely feeling better, and my doc is optimistic that I'll be fine since I've been on my antibiotics for a solid six months or so, and, not counting injuries, I've been well for a few months in a row, meaning that my immune system is finally starting to gear back up. Prayers would be much appreciated, though!

So, that's everything going on in my world! Mainly good, some slightly panic inducing, but nothing we can't handle, lol!

The Almighty Liz

Eight Years Today!

2010-05-04T09:22:00.002-05:00

I'm just going to take a moment here and ignore everything that needs doing RIGHT NOW to gush over my husband.
I can't believe he's still with me! After two horrid pregnancies, a host of baggage from my life, and being seriously ill and/or injured for around two and half years running now, he's still around. And he continues to like me! And the marriage is not only good, it's Great!! He's my best friend, hands down, and one of the sexiest men alive. And FUNNY.....! And all of that is mine!!!
So here's to eight years, baby, and hoping for an eternity. Love you bunches!
The Almighty Liz

Anxiously Awaiting

2010-04-21T15:25:00.002-05:00

My friend Timpani is having her baby as we speak! (at least that was the last I heard) Please toss up a few prayers today that everything goes okay!
The Almighty Liz
ETA:
SHE'S HERE!! Timpani had her newest little girl yesterday! For more details, you can visit their blog;
http//quisandvance.blogspot.com
CONGRATULATIONS ERIK AND TIMPANI!!!!

Some Current Projects of Mine

2010-04-20T09:34:00.003-05:00

So, as I said in my last post, I've been really busy. However, it's the good kind of busy, because a lot of it is stuff I WANT to do, as opposed to the stuff I HAVE to do. Anyway, since I know how vastly interested you all are in everything Liz, I thought I'd post about some of it. Enjoy!

This is not a project. This is my cat, Cloud. I just thought she was being extremely adorable here, and wanted to spread the cuteness.

This is face lotion that I made myself. I'm enormously proud of this, as I've been researching and testing out each individual ingredient for about six months now. I have skin with a lot of different needs and problems, and I'm just sick of having to put up with stuff that almost works but has that ONE ingredient that makes my face explode in one way or another. Having had enough, I finally made up my mind to just make my own! And I did, so ha! It works really great so far too. It needs a titch of tweaking, and there's definitely a learning curve to making lotions, but I think I've got a really good handle on it now, and if anyone wants to know more, comment about it, and I'll go on for weeks. It's way fun to do!

This is part of my walkway. I really should have gotten before pictures, but this has been such a humongous thorn in my side for so long, that as soon as I was feeling better, half of it was ripped out before I came to my senses. It's not done yet, but I'm pretty proud of how it looks, so I thought I'd post a teaser. John came up with the design, and he's helped a bit with it too. ;)
I'll definitely post pics of all of it when it's totally done, so you can get the full impact of it's gorgeousness.

This is an early birthday present from John. Yeah, I know, my birthday isn't until the end of June, but we were at the store, and I was looking longingly at the comfy computer chairs that I've coveted for years and years, and he just broke down and told me he was getting me one for my birthday, but if I wanted, I could have it early. Um, YES!! And even cooler, I got to put it together myself. No sarcasm there, I really enjoy stuff like that. Like one big puzzle, love it!

So that's a bit of what I've been up to. I'm feeling really great, life is settling down, and I just hope that this time it lasts more than a couple of weeks, lol!

The Almighty Liz

What Has Liz Been Up To?

2010-04-05T19:15:00.002-05:00

A lot. I started feeling MUCH better around Wednesday of last week, and since then have been running around like the energizer bunny hopped up on steroids. I ripped out my walkway, and started redoing it. (that sounds more impressive than it actually is, but to someone of my stamina, it's totally enough) I cleaned my house three times. (well, the public rooms) I put away laundry. (almost all of it) I rearranged my clothing storage. (all the drawer space is done. next, the closets!) I started working big time on getting my Dad a new job. (he has an interview on Monday!) BUT, the biggest thing is I remember it all. Until last Wednesday, life was foggy. Things got lost with alarming regularity in that fog, but it's all clear now. Ah, life, it's nice to have you back.
Here, for your enjoyment, is something my daughter Jonni said yesterday.
We pulled a couch up to the computer monitor to watch General Conference. At one point I snuggled up to John and one side, and Jonni did on the other side. John let us somewhat unwillingly, as he is not into the cuddling thing. In partially disgruntled voice he said to me, "Man, you just LOVE the snuggles, don't you?" To which I replied, "Well, you're just so darn comfortable!" And Jonni piped with, "Yeah, Dad, you are. I think it's 'cause you're so fat."
I just about peed my pants.
The Almighty Liz

Toothless Jonni!

2010-03-26T15:48:00.002-05:00

Okay, she's not toothless, but she has lost like four very recently. Two of those were the all important front teeth! So, of course, I got pics to commemorate this historic occasion. Enjoy. :D

The Almighty Liz

Good Day

2010-03-24T20:46:00.003-05:00

Do you know, I had a really good day today. The weight of that stupid house is gone, and I'm really feeling that. I worked out today. I read my scriptures. I got to talk to my best friend for a couple of hours. I played with my son. I had an uber healthy smoothie instead of ice cream, and my portion sizes and the variety of food I ate today was stellar. I took a walk with my family for a half an hour or so in the nature preserve near our home. (friends, you must come see me just to walk in this place. It's flipping awesome) The kids went down at bedtime with nary a quibble. Now, I'm gonna watch a little movie on netflix (like a forty minute episode of a show) before bedtime, and turn in, making my timing for going to bed just about perfect. Aaaaaah, this is much better.
The Almighty Liz

Aaaaaaaaand.......

2010-03-22T19:37:00.002-05:00

WE'RE DONE! THEY SIGNED PAPERS, AND WE'RE CLOSED!! IT'S OVER!!!!!!
We totally went out for ice cream to celebrate, and I'll tell you something--ice cream never tasted so good.
The Almighty Liz

Closing

2010-03-22T10:38:00.003-05:00

Hopefully, at 3:00 pm today, our buyers will be signing papers!!! We didn't close like we were supposed to last Friday because yet more important papers were not turned in on time, but I just checked with my realtor and she says so far everything's a go!! Pray, and pray hard people!!!
The Almighty Liz
*Update--so far, it's 4:30 pm and I have heard nothing, which is a good sign. Although, I may crack under the pressure before too much longer, and call my realtor to see what's goin' down. *goes back to pacing incessantly*

Um

2010-03-16T10:09:00.001-05:00

I had something I wanted to blog about, but now I can't remember it. *sigh*
The Almighty Liz
PS What was the point of this post? Just that I'm still here, and would like to be active, but am at a slight handicap, that's all. ;P

Action Packed Weekend

2010-03-10T14:15:00.002-06:00

A little TOO much action, methinks! I got my hair done and hung out with my family on Saturday. I had my in-laws over on Sunday, and did a spectacular face plant, and gave myself a nasty concussion. I've been at my mom's until today for round the clock observation. I'm doing better, but I'm still having headaches, concentration problems, and a ton of memory loss. If I've talked to you the past few days, chances are I don't remember it.
But the BIG news is.....*drumroll*.....
WE GOT THE LOAN!!!! Or, the people who are buying the house did, but it amounts to the same thing. We did a family fast on Sunday, and Monday is when the loan went through!!! A miracle, and thank you everyone for all the fasting and prayers!! They worked! HUZZAH!! We close on the nineteenth.
The Almighty Liz

APB for Prayers

2010-02-25T15:53:00.002-06:00

We need everyone who reads this (even if it's just by mistake) to pray REALLY HARD that the people who want to buy our house get their loan. It's looking very very bleak indeed, and if they don't, we will have to either put up with them renting for a long time (nightmare), or put the house back on the market. Please please please toss up at least a dozen a day for awhile. Thanks so much!
The Almighty Liz

Allow Me to Brag for Just a Moment

2010-02-24T09:49:00.003-06:00

Okay, this is monumental.
Erik, for a long time, since well before he was two, knew his letters and numbers. For almost as long, he's known the sounds they made. For over two years he's memorized several words, so he can recognize them on sight, out of context of where he memorized them. That was a good beginning to reading, but not really the real deal. He hadn't, until now, made the connection between the letter sounds and the memorized words. Now, he has. He just read a book he's never read before all by himself, by sounding out the words, most of which were entirely new to him. It's about one step up from "See Spot Run". My son, four years old, has taught himself how to read.
*insert deer in the headlights look here*
The Almighty Liz

I Got Love Spammed

2010-02-22T09:52:00.002-06:00

So, as per an enthusiastic request, here's a new post.
I haven't been posting as much because I'm mad. I'm mad at everything. I'm mad at my kids, my husband, the stupid superfluous house (the most there I think), my idiotic renters, the fact that my house doesn't stay clean and I don't have the energy to keep up with it yet, that I really want to cook but I can't manage it yet for more than a few times a week at most, that I get sick every time I turn around, that after I worked uber hard last year to get to a good weight and be healthy, I got entirely set back and gained twenty pounds so now in addition to trying to get healthy, I have to fight my "little green monster" every stinking day, I have to avoid family and friends whenever any one's sick so I miss out on a lot, I haven't been to church since the new year because it's in the morning and I can't get up yet that early, Erik is freaking four and a half and isn't/won't get potty trained so I have to clean a poopy mess up every day, but most of all, I think, is that I just want things to quit coming at me from all sides. (see post from last week, and then add some stuff I'm not at liberty to name)
So, now that I have that out of my system, let's count some blessings, yes? Okay.
1. I have a supreme husband that puts up with not just all my health issues, but the mental and behavioral fall-out that accompanies them. He's still here. I can't believe it.
2. My kids are smart, good looking, and hilarious.
3. My cat likes me the best of everyone.
4. My extended family loves me, and helps to take care of me as much as they can.
5. I have the best friends on the planet.
6. I have a Mary.
7. I live in a stellar ward.
8. The town I live in is the friendliest place I've ever lived.
9. My husband has a fantastic job that is rock-solid.
10. We have enough of everything material, and sometimes a little extra.
11. I am still among the living.
12. I have my religion, which I think is the best.
13. I have an eternal family. (as long as I can keep my act together)
14. I have seriously awesome doctors.
Okay, that's all I can think of for now, without going into being thankful for grass and things like that. (which I am also, those are just givens) So, what are YOU thankful for? Post a comment!
The Almighty Liz

Last Week

2010-02-16T09:43:00.002-06:00

Well, we are back online at last! We actually have been since Friday night/Saturday morning, but we lost all our our cookies and favorites, so I just didn't put forth the effort to find blogger dashboard until today. Our computer got a virus and crashed last Monday (as in a week ago yesterday), and we had to have the entire hard drive wiped totally clean. Total bummer, as we no longer have the cool programs like PowerPoint and excel and stuff anymore.
We also have the sad news that we didn't close last weekend like we were supposed to. We might not close at all anymore, because of a bunch of stuff I don't want to go into because it'll just make me really mad. Suffice it to say that it's more of our renters acting up. I should know more this week, and best case scenario is closing in two to three weeks.
Our water heater also broke last week. Why does that always happen in the winter?! With the help of some friends from here in town and my dad, we got it fixed after a couple of days. Thanks Dad! It's still working great, and that first shower I finally got after three days was pure heaven!
The kids were also sick all last week with some horrible coughing thing (Erik still is), and Jonni ended up with an Ear Infection. Not the worst she'd ever had, but definitely a whopper. I'm going to make an appointment with her doctor when it's cleared up to talk over why the schmee she gets so many of those.
Okay, you are now up-to-date, mostly. We had a fun Valentine's day, but the details are on a need to know basis only. ;)
The Almighty Liz

Does it Make Me a Bad Mother....

2010-02-08T14:09:00.002-06:00

when I CAN'T WAIT for naptime? Especially on snow days?
The Almight Liz

Jonni's Seven Years Old!!

2010-02-04T09:53:00.002-06:00

I can't even wrap my head around this! Next year she'll be getting baptized!! Totally crazy.
I didn't take a single pic. I've actually been not taking pictures on purpose for events like this. Notice the lack of pics for Christmas as well. While I like having the pictures to remember things, I also hate missing out on the things to get the pictures.
Anyway, she had a good time. We opened presents when John got home, the went to her favorite place to eat, Stake 'n' Shake, then came home and had cupcakes. (I was going to make a cake, I got the stuff and everything, but was totally gun shy and didn't do it, after all) She mainly got her way on almost everything the whole day, and I think this was one of her favorite parts, lol!! Good times. My little girl's getting so big!
The Almighty Liz

Two Great Kid Quotes

2010-02-01T19:05:00.002-06:00

Jonni's isn't really a quote so much as a conversation. John made apple pie tonight (sort of), and we were talking about that, when out of nowhere Jonni said, " If I had an easy bake oven, and a recipe, I could make cookies." We digested that for a moment, and then she said, "And now I'm imagining my birthday...." lol!
And Erik said to me tonight, "Mommy, when you have a little boy, you get to play with Lego's." He's totally right, and that is totally the reason I had boy. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it...or done it. We all know the truth.
The Almighty Liz

Email

2010-02-01T09:10:00.002-06:00

Why is it that when it takes me less than half an hour to get through all my various forms of communication in the morning, ie email, blogs, facebook, ect ect, I feel all let down? And those days when it takes forever to get through I feel loved and fulfilled? Addiction?
Nah.
The Almighty Liz

My Turn....

2010-01-29T12:02:00.004-06:00

...for puking. That is what I did most of the night Wednesday, and most of the day yesterday. Seriously, is there anything worse than vomiting? Really? I didn't think so.
Feeling better today, still a little nauseated I think, but that could just be that my tummy is so empty it's making me sick and I need to eat something. I can't tell, and I'm scared to test it out. Yes, when it comes to up-chucking, I'm a total sissy. Still have my cough, but that seems to be getting better, at least.
And I won my battles of the day before yesterday. That's right; I am--
The Almighty Liz.
ETA: I forgot the good news! I'm an Aunt once again. My brother, Logan, and his wife welcomed a little boy into the world yesterday at 6:20pm their time (7:20pm mine), who weighed 8lbs and was 20 inches long. His name is Gavin James Bryan. Welcome to the world, little man!

Breaking Point

2010-01-27T13:59:00.003-06:00

Okay, really, how bad is murder? On a scale of 1-10? What if I make it quick and painless? They wouldn't even know something was coming. They'd just be sitting on their lazy butts, like usual, and then nothing. That's not too horrible, right? Like maybe a 5, or a 6? C'mon, gimme a 6, I think I can live with that....
The Almighty (and FURIOUS) Liz
ETA: I am so mad at this point I could literally spit nails. I'm surprised smoke isn't coming out of my ears, and my hair isn't on fire. *Liz lets loose with bestial scream*

Yet Another Closing Date

2010-01-26T11:37:00.002-06:00

I know I promised you guys updates on my awesome weekend, but I'm still sick, and don't feel like it yet. Soon, though!
I just wanted to hop on and let you know that our closing date for this weekend has fallen through yet again. The new date is February 12th. I got my way! *Liz laughs with maniacal glee whilst rubbing her hands together sinisterly*
The Almighty Liz

Wellness Spree Even MORE Over

2010-01-25T19:05:00.002-06:00

Okay, I had a GREAT weekend for the most part, but I will post about that later as I am on my deathbed. Just kidding, I've definitely been way worse, but just as definitely, I'm miserable. Although not as bad as John. I woke up this morning to the dulcet tones of John puking up even the memory of food. He also has a wicked cough and a fever. Poor guy. He's basically slept all day, as have the kids and I. I have a horrid cough too, and sound like a thirteen year old boy--deep but my voice cracks on every other word. Erik has a less delicate, we-do-not-discuss-it-at-the-table kind of thing, and Jonni seems to be holding her own, actually. She'll be going to school tomorrow unless something changes. I got a call from our contractor for our superfluous house, and he got all the work done this last weekend. If we pass inspection tomorrow, then we will close on Friday. With all of us sick, this is going to be a very interesting week. Oi.
The Almighty (but somewhat less-than today) Liz

Wellness Spree Over

2010-01-22T10:39:00.002-06:00

After four weeks and a day, I woke up sick this morning. Nothing unmanageable, I've most decidedly been worse, but I do feel like crap. Just in time for an activities-there's-no-way-I-can-miss-let-alone-get-out-of packed weekend! Huzzah! (much sarcasm on that 'huzzah')
The Almighty Liz

John's Turn

2010-01-21T10:29:00.001-06:00

John is sick now. Poor guy. He hardly ever, and I mean the rarities of all rarities, gets sick, and just doesn't know how to handle it when he does. It's kind of funny. Thank goodness I'm well (four weeks and a day!!) or we'd be a really pathetic pair.
The Almighty Liz

Mailpersons

2010-01-20T12:34:00.002-06:00

Why do I think it's rude when the mail truck sails on by my mailbox? I mean, I know they only do that when there's no mail to deliver, and it's nothing personal. Yet, I always feel violently excluded, like I did something wrong in the mailpeople's eyes, and are being punished for it. No mail for you today!! Mwahahahahahaaaa!!
The Almighty Liz

Good Days....Finally!

2010-01-18T08:14:00.001-06:00

No disasters for two days in a row. Today better follow suit!
The Almighty Liz

Let Us All Take a Deeeeep Breath

2010-01-13T15:59:00.003-06:00

The basement is no longer toe deep in water, and it has a guarantee, so if it happens tomorrow, I can call Roto Rooter, and they will come fix it again.
I'm still not sure if the couch, the entire couch that my cat peed on can be saved, but I've worked on it all day, and we'll see after it dries.
I talked to my realtor today, and was majorly proud of myself for not crying and/or screaming at her, but instead maintained an extremely professional facade, which if you weren't my stupid realtor, would know that was a very covert and large scale insult. I'm friendly, never so polite you can break icicles off my body. The contractor will start work in a few days, weather permitting, so they can have their stupid closing date by the end of January. If God loves me at all, he will dump loads of snow on Peoria, so that the roof and gutters can't get done, which means we won't be able to close until at least February, and my buyers will loose their interest rate, which is only good until the end of this month. I used the same cool professional attitude with the phone call to my renter/buyers. I'm no longer their friend. I am their landlady, and if they don't realize what a humongous loss that is, then rest assured that I have already realized that I don't need people that stupid in my life.
I found a cleaners that can do leather, because the couch was not the only casualty in the cat peeing fiasco, and it's not going to cost an arm and a leg like I thought.
I probably finally found babysitters for this Saturday, so I can be there when my brother-in-law receives his endowments, (Mormon thing, for you friends out there that are bewildered as to what that means), but my kids can still do the fun things (like a birthday party) that they wanted to do. I think that at this point I really really really really need to go to the Temple.
I am done for the day. DONE. Where's my hot tub....?
The Almighty Liz

And Now for Something Completely Different

2010-01-13T08:56:00.003-06:00

So, you guys can take my shiny happy posts of the last few days and just flush them down the toilet. Speaking of, it looks like Erik has discovered the joy of flushing, and though he didn't cause the first clog that flooded our basement on Monday, he did cause the second one that flooded it again last night. In other news, the house situation has turned into (more of) a nightmare. I got a phone call from my realtor last night that informed me that since I was a lazy good for nothing, and had bungled this whole thing from the beginning, and since everything that has gone wrong was ALL MY FAULT, she has had to step in and fix everything for me, so she hired a construction guy to fix the problems that need fixing before we can pass inspection, WITHOUT EVEN MENTIONING IT TO ME, he would start on Thursday, and his fee would be to the tune of $1800. Also, we ARE closing by the end of the month, whether we like it or not, or we can kiss her goodbye, and when the deal is done, we are not to contact her ever again, for anything. She, her words, has lost trust in us, all faith, and all charity. (I would just like to inform all that I didn't lie down for that, I told her I was working on a solution from my end that was possibly cheaper, and I would call her in the morning with my decision. I'm not the doormat I used to be, and nobody pushes this broad around anymore) After I got over the breakdown that phone call caused, I called our renters to negotiate splitting the cost of the repairs with them. (whether we went with my guy or my realtor's) She told me that this was all my fault, it was my house, and that she wasn't going to pitch in a penny for anything. She hated to be that person, but she didn't have any money, so that was the person she was going to be. And then she said, but don't worry, we'll get through it together. What the #$%&?! At any rate, this on TOP of the fact that my dad just had surgery on Monday, (which went very well, I'm told, thank goodness), and that my mother in law fell and broke her wrist and pretty severely hurt her hip by slipping on the ice late last week, and our basement, I am now a hot mess, and ready to shake the dust of Peoria and it's people from my feet.
Okay, now that I've vented, I need to go figure out how to fix my basement.
The Almighty and Unconquerable Liz

Mish Mash

2010-01-11T09:00:00.002-06:00

Have you ever worked one of those claw machines? You know, the ones where you put in a couple of quarters, and try to maneuver the dangling claw over a toy, then let it drop and see if the claw will catch the toy? I have never met anyone who actually succeeded in getting one of those toys. They are always packed too hard for that wimpy claw to pick anything up. Well, Jonni and I were out running errands on Saturday, and we stopped at Steak 'n' Shake for lunch. (her very favorite) They had one of those machines, and Jonni was really good, and I happen to have a couple of quarters (rare), so we had a go. She put in the quarters, but wanted me to work the claw. AND I GOT ONE! I got a medium sized stuffed dog with little red hearts all over!! Can you believe it? Jonni was ecstatic with her dog, and now you know somebody who's gotten a prize from a claw machine!
Also on Saturday, Jonni started her first extra-curricular activity. We got a certificate for a business called the Education Station for 10 free weeks. It's kind of a supplementary type thing for gifted kids. Jonni qualified (about time she qualified for something!!), so we decided to give it a shot. Jonni had a freakin' blast, and can't wait to go back this Saturday.
We gave the kids capes for Christmas, and Erik is wearing one of his almost non-stop. He has dubbed himself Super Erik, and refuses to answer to anything else whilst the cape is on. It's hilarious.
I can't find my snow boots. I've been looking since around Thanksgiving time, I've turned my house upside down at least eight times, and they are nowhere. I mean, the house isn't that big. There are a limited number of places big snow boots can hide, but just in case, I even looked in the places they couldn't hide. No luck, and, as it is snowy outside, and I loathe cold wet feet (which is why I have snow boots in the first place), I decided to admit defeat and go buy new ones. I went everywhere there is to look in the closest town near mine, since mine town is eensy weensy and doesn't have a shoe store, (and yes, I'm not naming anything around me on purpose. take THAT you trollers!), and most didn't have any, and the ones that did, didn't have anything even remotely close to my size. The last place I looked in the big town was a hardware/feed store type place. No luck. They had some, but not my size. So I headed home (my feet, by the way, at this point were wet and totally frozen), dropped of my patient (ha!) and tired daughter, and went to the last place anywhere close to me that might have what I was looking for--the feed store right around the corner from us. And, *drumroll*, they had some! In my size! Oh, the irony! Only one pair though. The last pair in my size anywhere within a half an hour of my home. I snatched those up, and threatened to kiss the sales ladies that helped me out. They giggled and said they'd rather be kissed then hit, which is the usual reaction, apparently. The boots are perfect. Waterproof, fully lined, and they have an additional removable insert. Ah, bliss! Warm feet at last!
The Almighty Liz

The New Year So Far

2010-01-06T11:46:00.002-06:00

So, this year has started out well indeed. Now, I am NOT jinxing myself in saying that since it started well, it will stay that way. I am simply savoring this fact. I've been well for two weeks today, people! That's a new record. Jonni started some new math and reading programs at school (because her teacher is the freaking coolest, so since Jonni couldn't be in the gifted programs, then she stepped up and tailored a new schedule to fit Jonni), Erik is making some breakthroughs with potty training, (we're not there yet, but we're closer), John's work loves him, and we are getting closer to getting rid of our Peoria house. (we have had some setbacks there, like we were supposed to close this week, but now it's in the air, and we don't know exactly when we close, but at least our renters are still paying rent and still want to buy the house even after they've lived in it for eight months or so) All in all, I'll take it!
The Almighty Liz

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-24T14:33:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas indeed, and hopefully, somewhere amid all the hustle and bustle of the season, we can remember, at least for a minute, what this holiday is all about, which is our Savior. With every gift given or received, perhaps we can remember why we give gifts in the first place--to symbolize the greatest gift ever given to mankind, which is Christ the Lord, the only Begotten Son of our Father in Heaven, who gave Him to us so we can eventually return Home.
The Mostly Humble Liz

And Now a Bit of a Rant

2009-12-22T15:53:00.004-06:00

Just a bit though. We had Jonni tested for the gifted program in her school because she is, frankly, bored spitless with first grade. Something needed to be done. We got her test results today, and she didn't make the cut. Her I.Q. wasn't high enough. Seriously?! Have these people MET my daughter? Especially since her creativity level was in the 89th percentile, and her achievement level was in the 99th percentile. Even her tester was shocked that she didn't make it. But she said that it tested on a lot of things Jonni hasn't even encountered yet, so the test was skewed. As in, it's not that she couldn't learn it, she just hasn't had the opportunity yet. So why oh WHY can't they put her in the program if even the people testing her think she's more than capable?! Bureaucracy, faw!
On the up side, my dad came over and fixed the lights in my basement today, half of which weren't working at all. Hale the conquering father! And he said, "Let there be light!" And behold, there was light!
The Almighty Liz

Just a Bit of Fun

2009-12-09T08:37:00.002-06:00

So yesterday while John and I were getting dinner together, we put on some Christmas music. The kids really liked it, and started dancing together. It was totally cute, and I think I said something like, "You guys are so adorable dancing together!" Jonni replied, "We're not just dancing, we're practicing for getting married." Yes, that's my six-year-old going on twenty.
The Almighty Liz

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-30T17:19:00.002-06:00

I don't really have anything earth shattering to report. We had a good holiday. We did the usual duo-dinners: one at John's parents' house, one on my side, which was my sister this year. They were both attended by lots of family, which is always nice. Erik got to celebrate his birthday again at both houses, and everyone got him cars. From great-grandparents to aunts and uncles, and nobody talked to anybody else about what they were getting. It was all chance. This is just fine with Erik though. He hasn't played with anything but his cars since he got 'em. He's in heaven.
The next day was a big extended family get together with John's side. Lots of his cousins were there, and let me tell you, it was perhaps not so great a thing for me to go. Just standing in the room with all those gorgeous, tall, blond women, none of which had less then two children, but looked like she had none, was enough to sink my self-esteem right through the floor, lol!
Saturday was surprisingly industrious. We didn't even try, but somehow managed to fix one car, get rid of another one, (so now we have two working cars instead of one working and two broken cars), and even clean up a little around the house! And get a nap in!
Sunday dawned sunny, cold, and speaking of colds, I've got a doozy. Just enough to make me miserable without really being able to do anything about it. I had all kinds of things I wanted to do this week, plans now all in ruins. On the bright side, now I don't have to do all those things, lol!!
The Almighty Liz

Erik's Fourth Birthday, and Other "Fun" Things

2009-11-25T09:16:00.007-06:00

Hello all! It's been a mighty busy time in Liz World, so I thought I'd take a couple of minutes and get you all caught up.
I am doing much better. One little thing left to sew up as far as illness/injury, and then I can get back to life as usual. I hope. ;P
Before I get into the Birthday Boy stuff, I must tell you about the Hamburger Episode. Several weeks ago, John bought about five or so pounds of hamburger in one of those economic big rolls. He then put it in one of the shelves in the door of our freezer to...well, to freeze. Well freeze it did.....into the shelf! It molded to the shelf before it froze, so when it got all nice and solid, there was no removing it. It looked like this.

So what's a husband to do?

Break out the power tools, of course!

Ew, meat sawdust.

Very determinded man here. Watch out!

Making, er...progress?

More "progress".

He had to resort to several different tools. This is a knife sharpener.

Also, creativity was a must.

But eventually, (around an hour and half later), my man won the day! Huzzah!

He made quite a mess of meat shavings. Gross!

But being the awesome guy he is, he cleaned it up himself.

And now we have this; two large chunks of frozen hamburger. Um, yay? Yes, yay!

So on to Erik's birthday. The boy is now four. I cannot believe it!!! He had a good time for his birthday, with presents abounding, pizza for dinner, and chocolate cake, oh my!

Organization is very important to an orderly present opening occasion.

His favorite so far, though only by a nose, was a floor puzzle with two sides!

We all had a lot of fun putting it together. Good stuff.

Then it was on to the important stuff; CAKE!

He blew out his candles one at a time. Hilarious!

And here are just a couple of gratuitous pics of my darling children....

...or maybe NOT so darling, lol!

The Almighty Liz

Two Posts in One Day!!?

2009-11-03T17:05:00.002-06:00

I know! I'm giddy myself. The reason I'm posting again is I went to my mom's today so she could do my hair. ('Cause she's just that awesome!!) I was just wondering if you could tell the difference. Let me know, lol!!

The Almighty Liz

Before...

AFTER!!

Great Erik Quote for Today

2009-11-03T08:38:00.002-06:00

Okay, I have some appointments today, so I got up early, and am actually almost out the door. But I just had to tell you guys about my funny boy first.
I was getting on his shoes when he noticed I had my cute, stylish black boots on. He said, "Wow, mom! You've got cowboy boots on!" Now, I don't really care if he thinks they're cowboy boots, but they aren't, so I joked around with him, and said, "Oh, no, they're not!" And then he said, "Oh. I forgot. They're cowgirl boots!"
Oh, I do love that kid.
The Almighty Liz

Halloween!

2009-11-01T11:20:00.003-06:00

Erik was Raphael, and Jonni was Donatello. Their choice, of course. I think they looked awesome! (and hilarious)

Um, this is supposed to be a pic of our pumpkins. They're eyes, on the right of the pic.

Okay, so our Halloween this year was super laid back what with the illness/injuries/ect that have been going on, especially considering last year's Haunted Treasure Hunt. We still had fun though, just trick-or-treating around the neighborhood! Our neighborhood is awesome. Everyone sitting out on their porches giving away candy, and we have about a bazillion kids, too. So while it may not have been as action packed as last year, it (for me anyway) was nice to set a less hectic pace. Here's a few pictures from the "hallowed" event. Get it? Hallowed? Yeah, okay.

The Almighty Liz

PS So blogger is being stupid, so the pics are above my little paragraph there. Whatever.

And Finally Closing the Book...Hopefully...

2009-10-15T09:57:00.003-05:00

So, it has been rather a roller coaster for me the past couple of months. Broken legs, illnesses, heart trouble...but I think that we (meaning me, John and my team of doctors) have finally gotten to the bottom of this mess, and we can put it more or less permanently behind us. (John would say I'm being too optimistic, and I would retort that he's turned into the world's biggest wet blanket) So here's the facts for those of you who don't know them (or only a few of them), in what I hope to be a shortened version of actual events. I say I hope, because we all know how much I babble. :P
Okay, the last time I posted anything was when I had what we thought was swine flu, and my general practitioner MD had discovered what was thought at the time to be mitral valve prolapse. Very shortly after that post, I landed in the hospital. My doctor was being cautious because he wasn't sure how easily I could get heart infections at that point, and I was having heart symptoms like shortness of breath, dizziness, ect. I spent four or five days there, and we learned some good things. (during this time, however, my poor husband got sick as well as both children with ear infections and such. He totally ditched all responsibility and went to stay with my mom. I don't blame him a bit. I wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as he did) I didn't have swine flu, I had a rare bacterial pneumonia. Of all ridiculousness. I don't have mitral valve prolapse, I have rheumatic fever (or rheumatoid, I can't remember the exact terminology) valvular disease. This is similar to MVP in a lot of ways, but it also has some added bonuses. More blood flow problems, not due to a valve weakening, as in MVP, but due to valve thickening. There are a couple of different ways that you can get valve thickening with this; growths or scar tissue. Growths are very very very dangerous, and scar tissue is only as dangerous as it's rate of thickening. If it builds up very quickly, very dangerous, and vica versa. The other bonus is that my heart is very susceptible to infection, so it was super good that I was hospitalized, even though it totally sucked at the time. There was a complication at the hospital, as well. The gave me a spinal tap to rule out bacterial meningitis, and the hole they made didn't close properly, so it leaked for a good long time. They gave me caffeine therapy at the hospital, which means that they put a liter of caffeine in me through and IV. That was an interesting experience indeed. I have never been so hyper and wired in my life! I know I drove my roommate bonkers for the one to two hours I was like that. Then, when they released me, I had to keep drinking copious amounts of caffeine, and stay laying flat for a full week, and in bed for a week after that, (although I could sit up), and then cautiously start moving around after that. They didn't want to rip the hole back open after we managed to close it. So I stayed at my mom's for almost a month, and was finally going to come home when Erik got croup. Like, 103 degrees fevers and having much difficulty breathing croup. So I ended up staying with mom for a few more days until Erik was well enough to come home and also well enough for me to take care of by myself. My poor mom! Anyway, during that time, I had a Dr.'s appointment with my general practitioner, and we discussed my heart stuff. Now, at this juncture, we don't have a whole heaping amount of data to go on. I had another appointment with my cardiologist in a couple of weeks at that point, where he was going to run some more tests, and then we would know a whole lot more. So, we went with worst case scenarios for the time being, and they were bleak. I won't go into details, but I spent the next couple of weeks trying to come to terms with those scenarios, in the case that they came true, I would be prepared. Happily, though, my appointment came, and all my Doc had for me after the tests was good news!! I pretty much don't have to change my lifestyle much at all. There are things we have to keep an eye on, like my heart valves (which don't have growths, but scar tissue, that is building very slowly, huzzah!), so I have to get tests done every six months for the next year, and then every year after that, and I have to be on daily antibiotics for the foreseeable future, and working out is now more important even than it was before (once I regain a bit more strength), and if I ever get strep again, I'm toast, but that's it. And my cardiologist says there's even a fifty-fifty chance I won't EVER have to do anything or worry about this again! The flip side of that coin is I will have to get valvular surgery of some kind at some point in the distant future. Which I can totally live with. Absolutely.

So, other things going on in my life? Jonni is doing so well at school that she's bored out of her mind. Erik is still not potty trained, and I'm starting to think I'll still be changing his diapers when he's thirty. John is okay, although the last couple of years have been rough enough to give him a bit of psychosis, for which he might need therapy in the immediate future (or he will be causing a reactionary psychosis in me, of the homicidal nature). I've read enough books to furnish a store, and I now have a legitimate caffeine addiction. I'm working on it though, and am down to half a liter a day. (I started at three to four liters a day. *shudder*) I'm starting to get seriously restless, which means I'm getting my strength back. Time to get back on the horse--or exercise bike, as the case may be. (although, wouldn't it be so super cool if I had a real horse to get back on?!) So, in short, life is normalizing, for which I am worshipfully grateful. I'll take monotonous over crisis any day. And since I now know that I'm going to get a very much more time than I thought to enjoy that, I'll be savoring every minute I can. At least until my kids spill yet another full glass of liquid everywhere, the cat pees on the couch again, and John keeps taking his shoes off in the middle of the floor to trip over. Ah, such bliss I cannot express.
The Almighty Liz

And Enter Swine Flu and Heart Problems...

2009-09-01T11:19:00.002-05:00

Okay people, I know this is getting a little ridiculous, but here's the latest;
I have swine flu, but I'm actually feeling better today, so I think it's on the way out. Thank goodness.
Also, got back some test results from my latest near death experience, and it looks like I have mitral valve prolapse and regurgitation. MVP is not uncommon, and it's when the mitral valve, or the valve in the middle of your heart that separates the upper and lower chambers and keeps blood going one way--from upper to lower--gets damaged. MV regurgitation is when that valve is so damaged that the blood starts backing up from lower to upper. At this point all I know is that is what I've got, and my doc wants me to see a cardiologist. The absolute worst case scenario that I can determine from me research is heart surgery, and I won't know about that until I see said cardiologist, but hopefully it won't go that far.
Anyhoo, prayers would be much appreciated at this point. Especially for John, who's had one too many sucker punches in too short a period of time. He's not dealing as well as I am. Thanks!!
The Almighty Liz

More Illnesses...

2009-08-25T09:26:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've been MIA for a few weeks now. Here's the explanations;
The ankle? Very sprained, but healing well. I also managed to break my leg in that fall, but that's healing nicely, too.
A couple of days after I found that out, I got my first ambulance ride. My doctor and I agree it was a combination of dehydration (being out all day in the heat for John's triathlon on Saturday is what did that, especially given my predisposition to dehydration) and some pain meds I took Sunday night. The two combined basically dropped my blood pressure to almost nothing, which, as you might imagine, is a Very Bad Thing. So I spent all day in the hospital with the staff (not so much the doctor, more the nurses) trying to get my BP stabilized. It was not a whole lot of fun, but I'm out of the woods, so to speak. We are still waiting on one test, an echo cardiogram, to make sure my already-weak-but-getting-there heart was not damaged. As long as that comes back normal, and except for the broken leg, after this week, I should be back to 'normal'. Or, at least back to being able to work at getting back to normal. Or something.
In other news, Jonni started 1st Grade a week ago yesterday! I have no pictures, again, because this time I was on bed rest, and was sleeping as daddy got her on the bus. But so far so good, she's doing well, and likes her teacher and class, and has already made a bunch of new friends.
Erik is Erik, which is to say, he's totally fine. We've had to farm him out a lot to friends as I'm not quite up to watching him full time yet on my lonesome, but he is actually loving that quite a bit. That's my boy; unflappable.
John is a little ragged. Anyone want to take him out for a night off of babysitting his crippled wife? Please do! I will arrange for help for myself and the kids. He really needs thera--I mean a break. ;)
Also, my dad is not doing so well. He has the swine flu, pneumonia and a broken rib. Prayers would be appreciated!!!
That's all the updates for now. Hopefully my next post will have more sunshine, and less storm clouds. Although, I do love a good thunderstorm....enough is enough, lol!!
The Almighty Liz

Ah, $#@^&!!!

2009-07-29T17:25:00.003-05:00

So, I have red bell pepper plants in pots on my front porch. They are very fruitful with several peppers to each plant. Unfortunately, this makes them top heavy. I have already staked them both so they don't fall over, but one of them is persisting. So I decided to stake it again, from a different side. This required a stick. I have many in my backyard. I went in search, but didn't get very far because somewhere in stepping off the four inches or so from my back porch to the turf there was a disconnect in my body, and I stepped completely wrong, resulting in an ankle that twisted in at least two different directions and made all kinds of fun popping and cracking noises. Fortunately, I was on the phone with my best friend, Mary, so all I had to do was drag my bones to the phone and call John to come rescue me, instead of yelling myself bloody hoping the kids inside the house hear me sometime in the next 100 years or so. After a trip a Urgent care clinic (our third in three weeks, once for Erik's staples, once to get them removed, and now this--they are going to totally know us by site before we're done, I'm sure), it has been determined that it is more than likely not broken, although it is being sent to a special X-ray person to make 100% sure, but it is very nastily sprained at the very least. It might also have some tearing of tendons and ligaments going on, but we will determine that with a foot doctor in a week if I'm not much better by then.
ARGH!!
The Almighty Liz

Weekly Report

2009-07-21T17:01:00.002-05:00

It's been an up and down week Erik Land. A week ago today, Erik's big sister pushed him down resulting in a big gash on his poor little head requiring four staples. The next day saw Erik baffing yet again, this time escaping with only a split lip. The following day was much the same, Erik bonked and earned himself a scraped and bruised nose. He got his staples out today, so that was good, except it hurt almost as much as getting them in, he tells me. On the up side, he has finally...*drumroll*...
GONE PEEPEE IN THE POTTY!! First time ever last night! Twice today, and counting! By Jove, I think he's got it! (I hope I hope I hope...)
This report given by,
The Almighty Liz

Beach Vacation!!

2009-07-14T15:47:00.011-05:00

Well, I got back l-a-t-e on Sunday night/Monday morning, exhausted, a little sick of my (new!) car, but totally happy. This girls' road trip totally lived up to all my expectations. I had so much fun, that this will unequivocally be an annual thing from now on, and absolutely essential to my happiness. ;)
We started off a little late (I overslept--I know, big surprise, right?), but well. We made it all the way to the foothills of the Appalachians without mishap, where I had a panic attack. Why? I have no idea except that maybe I hate the mountains more than even I thought, lol! And I do, truly, loathe the mountains. It only lasted a couple of minutes and then it was smooth sailing all the way to Mary's house! We got in at a decent time, had a little dinner, and went to bed. The next morning we were all up bright but not so early, but on the road in fairly good time to check into our hotel and be on the beach that evening. Two minutes down the road, my (new!) car died on us. We all looked at each other with 'what the crap?!' expressions on our faces, and nursed it into the parking lot of a dental office, which I found ironic, being as I'm a former dental assistant. We jumped out of the car, and opened the hood, and as I am in no way familiar with the Envoy's inner workings, could come to no conclusion. As we came back around the car, however, the problem became blarringly apparent. We were sitting in a humongous puddle of gasoline!!! More 'what the CRAP?!' expressions, and then we settled into calling in reinforcements. Thank goodness I brought a cell phone!! Mary's husband booked it out to us with his two kids in tow, and with a few maneuverings, I was settled at Mary's looking for a mechanic and a tow truck, while Mary, Timpani, Mary's husband and father and mother in law all tried to make what they could of what the FLIP was wrong with my (new!) car, which I hadn't even owned for two weeks at that point. Mary's father in law has some knowledge of cars, and determined that the fuel line had become detached, but could not locate the detachment, or why it became so, or how to fix it. He spied a mechanic across the street, strolled over and asked if they could just come look at it and tell us if it was going to be a major (ie expensive and time consuming) thing or not. They complied, and actually fixed it in five minutes for the grand total of $10!!! Hurray! It turns out that a connection had simply come loose, and they simply snapped it back on. We were back in business!! No more mishaps presented themselves, and in four or so short hours we arrived at our destination; Savannah, Georgia!! We checked ourselves in to our GORGEOUS room, which was on the third floor where we could over look the courtyard with the pool and jacuzzi house from our very own balcony!! It was a ginormous room with two queen beds, a mini fridge and microwave! We were totally in love with it! After we dropped our stuff off, we went to eat as we were completely starving by then. It was too late to hit the beach, but we did do a little shopping at the mall conveniently located a mere three blocks from our hotel. Then we did a little exploring, and crashed. The rest of this is better told through pics, of which I took a couple hundred, so I'll let them do most of the explaining. There were just a couple of stories that are not photographed; Timpani getting save by super-hot life guards, Diego the waiter, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Preston with her husband John Travolta actually on Tybee Island while we were there shooting Miley's new movie, and we actually passed them taping on the highway!!, the totally ostentatious yellow Lamborghini that cut us off....but one thing I want to tell about that I didn't get pics of was the last disaster to befall us on our vacation. Timpani and I had successfully dropped Mary off at home, and were headed there ourselves. We were somewhere in Kentucky, (and here's a shout out to Dana--you live in a fantastically beautiful state woman!), I think a few miles west of Paducah, when an ambulance came screaming up behind us. Timpani was driving, and dutifully started to ease over onto the shoulder when BAM!! One of our (brand-new!!) tires blew!!!! We found the culprit; a sharp metal hubcap cover which tore a huge chuck out of the tire. We cursed the thing roundly, and started trying to figure out where the heck my jack was, and how on earth we were supposed to get at the spare tire under the car. I had just called John for advice/support when a supremely kind soul stopped to offer assistance. He not only knew how to get my spare, and where my jack was located (under the back seat of all weirdness, and getting at the spare is no picnic, it's totally tricksy), he changed the tire for us!! Bless his sweet heart, and his wife and kids for allowing him to stop!! We had no further adventures all the rest of the way home, and I'll tell you something: I will be able to handle anything dished at me for any other road trip I go on. For sure. (not to tempt fate or anything, lol!!)

Here we are at the start of our trip, blissfully unaware that in less than five minutes, we are going to be totally derailed.

Here's where we encountered our first major dilemma. I am NOT happy.

Here we are after the crisis has been dealt with, in our 'We will NOT be STOPPED!!' pose.

Mary asleep in the back seat.
Our Hotel!! Long live Marriott!
Timpani drove the vast lion's share of the trip. I had to get at least one picture of her, lol!
I just got us checked in. I look really excited mainly because I AM!

Our pool!

Our Jacuzzi house!

Me and Mary at dinner after we checked in. We were totally focused, lol!!

We did a little shopping and trying on of things, and we couldn't get this dress, but doesn't Mary look HAWT?!

We found this button on our explorations around the hotel. We have no idea what it's for, it had no explanation, and it wasn't around anything. I found it totally hilarious! None of us had the guts to push it and find out what happens when you do. Where the heck is Brad Carter when you need him?!

The trees with all their Spanish moss gorgeousness!!

The streets were sooooo pretty!!

Here's a park we saw on the way to Tybee Island. Beautiful!!

This is Crepe Myrtle. I have no idea if I spelled that right, but it was everywhere in the south, and very pretty.

We crossed over lots of rivers and tributaries on our drive to Tybee. They were so different than the Mississippi River, all wandering and curvy...

This was the first thing I saw my first time on the beach. Great pic, eh?
Finally here! The ocean!!
My first step into the Atlantic! It was so warm! I loved it!
We shared the water with lots and lots of ships.
Beautiful!

More beautiful!

A little crab came up to say hello while we rested on our towels.
I poked him to get a better picture, and he totally went into this, 'If you touch me again I will slay you!!' pose. I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't take the picture! He was only about an inch and a half long!

Burying Mary in the sand. Thats the sand castle we made using only our little hands on the right there.
Mermaid Mary.
We got all dolled up and went out for a night on the town!

We did some shopping on our last day, and saw this maniquinn with the ginormous bazoongas. I, of course, HAD to get a pic with it, lol!

They have sea turtles on Tybee Island, and these sculptures were all over.

This is Timpani and I leaving Mary and heading home. A little redder, a little tireder, but happier by an inconceivable amount.

So who's coming next year??! ;)

The Almighty Liz

OhmiGOSH!!!

2009-07-07T13:50:00.003-05:00

So, many of you are wondering if I've been sick again because of my lack of postage, but I haven't been (which in and of itself is fantastic news), I've been busy. With what?, you ask? What could possibly take precedence over my precious blog?
ROADTRIP!!!
I have been getting ready for a girls' roadtrip with a couple of my best girlfriends, who frequent and participate in this very blogosphere, Timpani and Mary!! Where are we going? TO THE OCEAN!! I have never seen the ocean, and I'm so excited that I can't sit still for more than a second or two!! I will tell you our destination when I get back, so my many stalkers (I know you're out there!!) can't find me there. I gotta get back to the many preparations necessary to make it out of here tomorrow at a decent time, but when next I post, I will make it plenty long, and stuffed with pictures!
The Almighty Liz
ps I totally can't believe I'm actually doing this!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Turtles, Pumpkins, and More!

2009-06-22T08:52:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've been MIA again. I was sick, but I've been well for a couple of weeks now, mostly. Why have I neglected my blog babies? Because the task of updating you has been so daunting!!! There has been much going on, and some of it bad, but that's all taken care of, so I'm not reliving all of that. Here are some fun things going on;
Everyday, several times a day, Erik asks me this question:
"Mommy, can I be a pumpkin when I grow up?" I'm not sure what he means. Does he mean literally be a pumpkin? Does he want to grow pumpkins? Or is he just making sure I will love him no matter what he decides to be? Who knows, but I get a kick out of it every time he asks. He's such a funny boy.

We have turtles in our yard. This is a never ending source of enjoyment and amusement for everyone. Finally, since we couldn't decide if we were seeing one turtle over and over, or lots of them, we decided to start marking them.

And we haven't seen one since.

And now for the BIG news....*drumroll*...

WE'RE GETTING A NEW CAR!!!!!!! Well, new to us. We test drove it on Saturday, and we LOVE it!!! I don't have pics yet, but as soon as I do, you will be seeing way more of my car than you could want, but I can't help myself. It's gorgeous! Also, it's my blog. Anyway, it's a 2005 GMC Envoy, which is a five passenger SUV, so you can google it if you want the general idea. It's silver, with a black leather interior, and it's pretty loaded. I adore it. It's big enough for our family, lots of space to stretch out in, but not too much. It's got room to haul stuff for projects (finish the basement anyone? huzzah!), but it handles like a car. And just in time for my ROADTRIP TO THE BEACH coming up next month!!! Oh, my little cup runneth SO OVER!
The Almighty Liz

Our Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T09:00:00.006-05:00

Well, we went to my Grandparents' over the weekend to clear off downed trees from a major storm they had a couple of weeks ago, and repair their roof. What really surprised me was that the trees were not just blown over; they were uprooted. It was totally weird. I have one pic from the visit of my grandpa reading to my kids. It was really sweet.
We had some fun when we finally dragged ourselves to home, sweet home. Our street flooded!!! We got into our driveway one minute or less before the huge downpour happened that flooded our street. As we were trying to get the kids in the house and the car in the garage, a bolt of lightening struck the street just a house or two up from us. It almost deafened me, it was so loud!! We had to fish a few cars out of the water because the drivers were complete morons and ignored all of the people (like us) standing on our porches trying to wave them back! I got a lot of pics, and they tell the story better than I can. The whole flooding lasted about an hour, maybe a little more, but the rain lasted way longer. Enjoy!
The Almighty Liz

Here are the pics of my Granpa and Erik and Jonni. A definite Kodak Moment.

Here is the run-off drain. That whirlpool there. Yeah, that's it.
The first moron of the day. Oh, and that trash can there? That's ours, and it totally floated away while John was pushing a car to safety. It got all the way down the street, but luckily one of our neighbors snagged it before it could get away forever.
As you can see, there's not even any sign of the sidewalks anymore.
The flooding got within about eight feet of our front porch.
A better wide-shot of what was our street, that turned for a brief time into our river.

This is the car that wouldn't fit into the garage. Let me remind you that this car is in our driveway at this time. And our driveway has a very steep grade. Everytime someone tried to conquer the river (and the trucks did okay), our car would bob up and down like a cork. It was GREAT! (little sarcasm there)

Our neighbors embraced the inevitable, and broke out their boat!!

They paddled up and down several times, to the cheers of all the neighbors!
They were hilarious. This is John (in red) standing on our mailbox. The guy in black is one of the many neighbors that helped fish out cars.

John again. See how high the water was? And he's not even in the middle!

Today's Adventure

2009-05-22T13:57:00.004-05:00

Edited because John insists even though we are in a big tearing hurry. But I had to rest first from my adventurous morning, and thought to myself, as long as I'm sitting, I may as well tell all my blogger family aaaaaaall about it. It started a couple of weeks ago;
We moved. Y'all know that already. We moved to a different state, and our licence plates on one car expired this month, and the next car expires next month, so it's time to switch over and get registered in our new state. In Illinois, this is no big deal. Go to the Secretary of State's office, give them some money, maybe fill out a form, and you're done. Not so in my new state. You need your car title, proof of insurance, proof of residency, a property waiver from your county, an emissions test and a safety inspection, and an up-to-date licence. So a couple of weeks ago, I tried to get a safety inspection for the car that is expired. It failed. A new windshield and $200 later, I went again today. We passed, hallelujah. So after a quick lunch, I gathered all the stuff I needed, for the car and a new licence since I'm up for renewal next month anyway, and I need a licence with my married name on it, so in addition to all the car stuff, I need my original ss card, my marriage licence, and my original birth certificate. I really felt like a walking filing cabinet going into this place. I left Erik at home with John over John's lunch hour, hoping to get it all done before he had to go back, and not have to watch a three year old while I was there. I took John's car, and not the car I'd been driving around all day. I got to the Licence Bureau, and settled down with my number to wait. Only ten minutes, though, not bad. I stepped up to the counter. Let me just insert here that everyone working in the office looked uber grouchy. I told the lady that I had a couple of things to do. First, I needed a new licence. She immediately asked if I had my birth certificate. I answered in the affirmative (let it be known here that I called the office before I even started a few weeks ago, because I was NOT going to go and not have some crucial document they needed), and she was disappointed, but returned with 'Well, do you have your ss card?', to which, again, I answered in the affirmative. Again, she was disappointed, but told me she couldn't help me, I'd have to go stand in line in another part of the office. That cheered her up a little. 'But,' I said, 'I just moved and need to register my car and get new licence plates.' Again with the round of inquiries into my possession of proper documents, to which I answered in the affirmative to all, and was greeted with depression, until we got to the car safety inspection, to which I remembered, to my dismay, that although I had gotten the inspection, I had left the document in the other car! The lady was positively gleeful in telling me that she couldn't do a thing without it, and called 'next!' to the line standing behind me. I refrained from glaring at her with much difficulty, and went to stand in the line for my licence. I went through much of the same battery of questions and complete gloom when I had everything in order, and this lady had to issue me a licence. On the plus side, I now have legal representation with my proper name. No more hassles because of that, yay!
So I ran home to get the car safety inspection form, and Erik since John now needed to get back to work. Off to the Bureau with my three year old after all, but at least I only had the one thing to do now. Got my number and waited. Only eight minutes this time, and Erik was only slightly bored with their pamphlet display. Step up to the counter, and again the Spanish Inquisition, but I had everything this time! Total depression on the part of lady #3 helping me, and we got started, only to come to an abrupt halt when she saw that the title to the car was only in John's name, not mine. She told me ecstatically that he would have to sign me onto the title, or come in himself. 'I guess you can't get this done today', she sang, but I glared and said that my husband worked in town, so I was going right then to get him to sign the needed papers, and I'd be back in twenty minutes. Out to the car I went, loaded up my very patient three year old, and whizzed off to John's office. I called him on the way, so he met me in the parking lot, signed at the X, and I was on my way back to the Bureau in under five minutes. Almost exactly twenty minutes later, I got myself yet another number and sat to wait. 11 minutes this time. (all in all, not bad for a government run office) I was greeted by lady #4 by the usual, and I swear she will not be able to recover from her sadness in having to help me at any time today. 15 minutes and a VERY sqirrelly Erik later, I had my plates in my hot little hand, and I beat it out of there with no regrets to go home to put Erik in bed for a belated, but much needed nap. The good news is that this state is much cheaper than the last, and I won't have to do this again for two more years, huzzah!!! Except when the other car expires next month. But maybe I can just get a new car before that happens....
The Almighty Liz

WHAT?!

2009-05-21T08:18:00.002-05:00

I logged into my husband's hotmail account (he never checks his email-I do it for him) and saw this;
Mail order Latin Brides! Just click here for the woman of your dreams!
Seriously? People still DO that?!
The Almighty Liz

I Forgot....

2009-05-13T20:12:00.002-05:00

.....a picture!! One of Jonni and her teacher. We adore Mrs. H. She is the best teacher that ever lived.

The Almighty Liz

Jonni's Kindergarten Graduation!

2009-05-12T09:12:00.004-05:00

Well, for the record, I think Kindergarten graduation is a little....silly. BUT, Jonni was way excited, and really loved it, so I will say no more except to quote the immortal Mr. Incredible:
"They keep thinking of new ways to celebrate mediocrity, but when a person is genuinely special....!"
So, the ceremony lasted about 45 minutes, so not too painful, as far as these things go. Unfortunately, I was not sitting close, and could not get any good pics. So all of the pics I have that are good, are the ones we took when we got home. In addition to her diploma, she also relieved the Principal's Award, which only 6 kids out of three classes received. Go Jonni!
The Almighty Liz

Jonni wanted a picture with our cat.

An awwww picture.

Just stunning, isn't she?

They really do like each other!

And their true colors, lol!

My Anniversary Weekend

2009-05-07T09:21:00.002-05:00

Hello all! Once again, I apologize for the scarcity of posts and also, once again, the reason is the same; I was sick. Some stupid horrendous head cold. But mostly all better now!
So, John and I had our 7 year anniversary this Monday past! I can't believe it's been that long! Looking back (pardon me whilst I wax philosophical), I do believe our life together has been happy and productive. Two awesome kids, a great job for John, a terrific town to live in, and best of all, a stellar marriage. I sure do love that man. ;) Sorry no pics, we forgot our camera everywhere we went.
We got rid of the kids for the weekend to celebrate, and besides the obvious ;), we did a ton of stuff! It was so fun! We saw Wolverine, we went to the Temple, we went hiking, and to the zoo, and slept in, and stayed up late, and went out to dinner and just had an all around blast. I really feel like we re-connected too. I hadn't realized how distant we had gotten from each other!! Just with the everday mundane things like parenting and running a household. We always do a weekly date, but we need to amp up the quality I think. I would really like to maintain this awesome closeness we recaptured this weekend. It's sublime!
So what do all you experienced married people out there do to maintain your friendships with your spouses? Enquiring minds NEED to know, lol!
The Almighty Liz

Let's Be Healthy!

2009-04-17T17:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, I just saw a billboard for Hardee's that was announcing a new salad.
The Frito Chili Pie Salad.
Mmmm, healthy. I can just hear my thighs expanding by merely reading the name!
The Almighty Liz

Catching Up Once Again

2009-03-25T10:01:00.007-05:00

Okay, fair warning; this will be a long post, and it will have lots of pictures.
So, the first reason I haven't posted in a hundred years is that I got sick. I've been well for a week and a half now, so the second reason I haven't posted is last week we had some friends stay with us for three days. It was way fun to have them, and we stayed busy busy busy!! So I spent the next few days recovering, lol! We went to the zoo, the St. Louis Mills Mall, a park....tons of things! They wanted the whole St. Louis experience, and they wanted it in three days!! Needless to say, we did our best, but they are coming for a second visit in July. ;)
Okay, so that wasn't that long of a post after all. On to the pics!!

Okay, these first few are from the first day at the park. It was St. Patrick's day, and we spent 2 hours trying to get to the Zoo, and gave up. There was some sort of race, and all the streets around the Zoo were closed off. But we found this really cool park by total accident!

This is Tiffany. She's gorgeous. This is our new ride! Yeah, baby!

Erik of course found the dinosaur almost immediately. He loooooves dinosaurs!

This teeter totter thing was a ton of fun. I'm afraid Tiffany and I hogged it quite a bit. When we got off, a stampede of little kids took it over.

Now we're at the Zoo the next day. It took us about 30 minutes to get there! Here's Erik totally enthralled with the monkeys.

Me and Erik. He hated having his picture taken!
Me doing the mommy thing. Wasn't my outfit cute? John didn't like it.

Me and Tiff.

Here's the one and only pic I got of Nancy. Here she is with her sister, Tiffany.

Here's Tiffany's daughter, Haley. She's adorable!

Haley and Erik. It was not a real great day for pictures.

Here's the only real good shot I got of the next day at the mall. They're such cutie pies.

The Almighty Liz

My Girl

2009-03-06T19:34:00.003-06:00

It was wacky hair day a couple of days ago at school. This is what Jonni wanted to do with her hair. She's so cool.
The Almighty Liz

Classic

2009-03-04T09:17:00.002-06:00

Erik did this a couple of days ago. And of course, I had to take a picture.

Hilarious.

The Almighty Liz

How About Something GOOD for a Change?

2009-02-28T12:02:00.009-06:00

Well, we signed some papers on Thursday, and they were received yesterday, a large check for us is in the mail, keys have changed hands and WE HAVE A RENTER/BUYER FOR OUR HOUSE!!!!
They can't get financing until January 7, 2010, but they want the house bad enough, and we're desperate enough, that everyone agreed that renting until then was the way to go. HOORAY!! They are responsible for pretty much everything as well, so no more emergency trips three and a half hours north for us!! There are still one or two details to iron out, and they are not smallish but largish, but I think we can all work together to find a solution. In the meantime, we have income coming in, instead of a steady and horrible drain going out, and they get the house they fell in love with. Everybody wins. Let's just hope and pray the next ten months goes smoothly, and that we actually close in January, like the contract says.
Also, here are all the pics of Jonni's birthday as promised. Six years old! Due to the interrupted nature of her birthday this year, we just opened the last present, from her aunt and uncle Virginia and Apollo, and cousins Wren and Lark. I don't have pics of all the presents since I was not present for all the openings this year. So here's what I have! I rather think she liked the extension of her birthday, lol! Enjoy!
The Almighty Liz

Here's Jonni hiding her eyes because she didn't want to see the cake until it was lit and in front of her.

Lit up cake!

Blowing out the candles.

Her first present; her first journal from Mommy and Daddy!

She got to open Grandma and Grandpa Bryan's and Uncle Patrick's presents about a week later.

She LOVES the cd player.
She just as ardently loves the cd that came with it.

Here's one more from Aunt and Uncle Virginia and Apollo and Wren and Lark.

Enough Excitement for One Day

2009-02-26T16:04:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm done for the day.
I had to go get blood drawn today, so John came home early for lunch to watch Erik so I could go. I have been to this particular lab once before, and the woman in charge is a nutcase. Seriously. She talks to herself, laughs at thin air, and is just one of those characters that will draw weird looks wherever she goes. As the person about to draw your blood she does not inspire confidence. Truly, the idea of giving her sharp objects to wield at innocent, unsuspecting people is a cause for more than mild alarm. Having been in her clutches once, I was not enthusiastic to be thus vulnerable again. I prayed that someone else might be working today.
Fate was not with me.
At our last encounter, she declared that a freckle I had over one of my veins was the best spot because "Moles never lie." I spent the next week and a half with an inch-long bruise because she had to really dig for that vein to prove her point. Today was different only in that it was much, much worse.
She dug, she wiggled that needle, she explained again why this was the best spot, (even after I refreshed her memory in how badly it had gone last time), and she was going to prove it. It was horrific. She dug for at least thirty seconds. To anyone as accomplished as I am at getting blood drawn, this is definitely more than excessive. It's torturous. Not comfortable to begin with, being stuck is okay, as long as they don't dig. You can imagine what it's like to be stuck with a needle, and then to have that needle moved side to side, and in and out like someone was doing needle point...! This on top of the fact that I had been fasting since dinner the night before, and it was now noon, was too much for me. I fainted.
I was out a good five minutes too. She was truly alarmed when I came to.
My arm is still sore. I expect it will be for a few days, curse that woman. I'll take pictures of the bruise I can feel forming, but hasn't flowered to the surface yet. I'm sure it will be one of my most spectacular, even taking into the account some of the beauties I had after I fell down the stairs at our extra house a couple of weeks ago.
I came home understandably shaky, and John made my lunch for me. I must have looked a bit pinched still. He went to work when he was satisfied that I wasn't going to immediately keel over, and I settled Erik in for his nap, and then gratefully, finally!, settled myself in for a much deserved slumber of my own.
It was short lived.
Jonni's school called to tell me she had puked during computer lab, and could I please come get her? Immediately? I could have...if my car battery wasn't dead! So I had to call John out of a meeting at work to go get his sick daughter from school. She's still lying down, and I'm thinking a movie might be the order of business tonight, since John will have to work late due to his extended lunch, and his dash to save Jonni.
At least we don't have to drive three and a half hours north to take care of some uber disaster. There is something in that.
The Almighty Liz

Not Quite as Long as the Last Long Post...

2009-02-21T17:39:00.003-06:00

Well, we are back from the extra house, and have completed repair and cleanup of the latest disaster. Good and bad news on that front; the water was worse than last time. The sump pump hose outside the house froze because it was on level ground and not draining, and the pressure became too great inside the house, so the hose inside exploded, causing the sump pump to pump all the water that normally seeps into the house to go nowhere. So there was a lot of it when we got there. Also, in the middle of this vast swimming pool of icy cold water was our brand-new, less than two weeks old, $200 top-of-the-line dehumidifier that we got on the ultra cool basement guy's advice. It's ruined. Ask me how peeved I am about that. VERY.
We patched the hose in a very red-neck way (and I will give all that credit where it belongs; to my brilliant husband) to get the water pumped out so we could change the hose. There was no way we could do it with all the water; setting aside the fact that we couldn't see beans under the water (which was where the sump pump was, and the hose attachment), that water was freezing cold (since it was freezing cold in town) and we couldn't keep our hands in it long enough even to determine where the hose attached to the pump. It took all night to pump out. Hundreds and hundreds of gallons of water.
Soaked and weary (John much more so than I), we met with the people who want to buy our house in January when they are eligible for financing, and rent it until then. They are delightful. We got along right away, and were so thoroughly on the same page that the wife and I were finishing each other's sentences. I think this relationship is going to work out fine. We talked over the contract, added some things, took some things out, and our realtor got it back to us today all prettied up with our changes inserted. We both want a 2 or 3 days to really read and absorb everything, to make sure it's exactly what everyone wants, and then we'll sign. Hallelujah! Please toss up yet a couple more prayers that everything will go smoothly, now and in the next ten months.
After they left we thought showers, dinner and bed were definitely needed, and in that order. Unfortunately, the water heater's pilot light was out, and we couldn't get it lit. So, dinner (which was absolutely heavenly as we were famished), another unsuccessful try at the pilot, and we collapsed into bed.
Up the next day, and finally got the pilot lit, too late to do any good. We cleaned the basement to the best of our ability, replaced the damaged hose, got the outside hose running as downhill as we could, did some mild cleanup, and rushed home for Jonni's first ever school music class concert. Quick showers, quick dinner, the grandparents (all but my mother in law who stayed a couple of days at the house and watched the kids so we could go take care of our emergency) and some assorted aunts and uncles showed up, and off we went to the concert.
It was way cute. They did some stuff with bells and one poor little boy got clobbered right in the ear by his neighbor. He cried, and my heart bled for him. He was tough though, and went back to doing the concert. Jonni, to no one's surprise, was awesome. She knew the words to every song. She's been really nervous for a couple of weeks, and wouldn't even talk about the concert. After, we found out why; she'd been under the mistaken impression that she was going to have to perform all those songs and hand gestures and bell playing all by herself! What a relief to her it was when she found out she was wrong!! My poor baby, lol! Also, she's the tallest one in her class. Big shock there that she's tall, but the tallest? I was a little suprised by that.
I do have pics of her birthday and present opening and such, but I'm going to post those tomorrow as I'm tired now. I'm still recovering from two visits to the disaster house in less than two weeks, and all the adherent hard labor that accompanied those visits. I know you all are dying to see them, so I promise not to take too long.
Until then,
The Almighty Liz

Oh, Come ON!!

2009-02-16T14:18:00.002-06:00

My realtor just called because she was showing the house, and heard water running in the basement. The sump pump hose exploded, leaving three ginormous holes in the hose right above the pump. What the crap?! I mean really?! Do we get a break? EVER?!! The friends we have taking care of this kind of thing say that this is well outside of their skill set. So that means we hire someone to fix it (gah!) or we go fix it ourselves. In the next couple of days. Which means, what on Earth do we do with Jonni? She has school and all. ARGH!
The Almighty Liz

Many, Many Updates

2009-02-16T09:49:00.010-06:00

Well, to forewarn you, this is going to be long. I will be telling you how the last week and a half or so of my life has gone, and honestly, it could've been stretched out over a month and I would have been way happier. Much easier to deal with it all that way. I would have posted all this last week in more sizeable chunks, but I was super drained and recovering for all of the week. So, here we go!
As you all have deduced, (because you're smart like me or you wouldn't be my friends and family), we had an emergency at our extra house last week. The water meter ruptured. Our basement flooded, the sump pump turned the yard into a lake, and some of the water froze in cracks in the basement. We drove into town expecting the worst. We saw the yard first, and a lot of the water was already dried up, which was a good sign. We went into the basement, and a lot of the water had been pumped out, much to our vast relief. There were still a few inches in the lowest room in the basement, but all in all, not too horrible. Something we didn't plan on dealing with (or we'd have brought a saw) was that up north they had had an ice storm, and we had several ginormous limbs down in the yard. We piled them up, and that pile would easily have filled my living room. And these were not little twigs people. Some of the limbs were a good six to eight inches in diameter. Huge. So we were faced with the question of how on Earth we were going to get rid of it all...? So we started calling people we know in town, hoping someone could give us a lead on someone who could possibly want all this wood. The very first person we called had fireplaces and that was the main way they heated their house. They wanted it all, and they came that night and took it away! Hooray for Candy and Joseph!
That was Saturday. On Sunday, we got ready for church, and went out to our car, and saw we had an almost-flat tire. So we had to find some change (which we stole from the friends we were staying with, after they had jokingly told us as they were going out the door to not touch as it was their vacation fund or something) and found a gas station, and aired up the tire. We were very late by this point; about a half an hour. As it was cold, and the parking lot was filled to bursting, and I was uber tired from the day before, John dropped me off at the entrance. I got halfway up the walk when Jessica, a super cool senior in high school in that ward, came running out to meet me. I got a huge hug, and we walked arm-in-arm into the building, where most of the teen population of the ward was waiting to meet John and I. It was way cool. There was lots of hugging, and a couple of tears, and it was one of the best welcomes I've ever experienced. We got to see all of our old friends (well, truthfully, it's a small and elite group of people there, and you know who you are; you wouldn't be reading this if it wasn't you!), and hang out and have lunch with some, and then it was time to go home. John and I really stuttered over this for some reason. We just couldn't seem to reconcile in our heads in the right way the decision to go. We prayed three or four times. We called everyone who needed to know to tell them we were leaving. We gassed up the car. We were on the road headed out, and we just felt awful about it, so we decided to stay, and work on a few more things at the house on Monday. We felt immediately better. Calm. Peaceful. We didn't know why, but we needed to stay an extra day. So we called everyone back, and said, "Erm, never mind, we're staying tomorrow too."
So on Monday, I slept in a little to recover some stamina, and we headed to the house. John had called a guy from a contracting company that our friend Candy had given us a reference for, who specialized in basements and water damage and things like that. He told John that he didn't have time to meet with us that day, and we were severely disappointed. We really needed some answers, and we really wanted to meet this guy, but we were going to have to let our realtor meet him instead. The morning wore on. We went to the house and started analyzing what we needed to do, what supplies we needed, what we could get done that day and so forth. After we had made a priority list, and a supply list, we still hadn't heard from the meter repair people either. We were getting worried. These were the main reasons we felt we needed to stay an extra day. We decided to pray about it. We asked Father for a miracle, that we would be able to be here and somehow meet with the people we need to meet with. We finished, and I prepared to make a supply run, while John stayed to clean up the yard a bit more. (I have to insert here that the weather on the days we worked at the house was awesome. Saturday and Monday were beautiful, but on Sunday, when we weren't working outside, it was freezing. Thank you Heavenly Father) Five minutes, literally, after we prayed, our cell rang. It was the contractor guy. Someone had just cancelled on him, and if it was convenient for us, he could be at the house in fifteen minutes. Hallelujah! Five minuted after he called, the meter repair lady called us to say she was on the front porch, and nobody was answering the bell, were we home...? We had been in the basement and didn't hear her. Such immediate answers! It was nice to know The Big Guy was still aware of us. And the reason we needed to stay on Monday? To talk to the basement guy. He was awesome. He gave us so many affordable, workable solutions to try to make the basement better and less wet, so we could sell it, and so much good advice, that I will sing his praises forever. He didn't even ask for a consult fee. There was nothing for him to do for us, but he just stayed and worked scenarios with us until everyone felt we had a doable plan of action. For the first time ever, I feel like there's something tangible I can do to make the house more sellable. How unbelievably awesome to know that my family has not been abandoned after all. That God really is still fighting on our side. What a relief, lol!
We need to go back and finish up some things in the next few weeks, and get the ball rolling on our plan of action. The reason I'm not hopping to it right away is because the people who wanted to buy the house but couldn't get financed are interested in renting until they are eligible for a loan. We are trying to work that out with them, so I'm just waiting to see what happens. If that falls through, then full steam ahead! Hopefully, though, that works out. It seems on the surface the perfect solution for them and us. We'll see.
So, in other big news, Jonni turned six!! Her birthday was February 3rd, just a two days before we got news of the Big House Disaster, so it got sort of swallowed up. She still has some presents to open, so I will post pics of those all together. We'll probably finish up the present opening tonight, so I can post it all tomorrow. For those who were wondering, yes, I made the cake this year, and yes, it turned out perfect. Another miracle.
Also this past week, our stake held a Winter Ball. I wasn't sure if we were going, so I didn't get one of my many bridesmaid's dresses dry-cleaned, I just wore what had been in my mind for a back-up dress since I found out about the ball. I got it at a shopping trip with Timpani months ago, but hadn't worn it yet for some reason. I was glad of that though, because I got to Wow everyone, lol! We went to dinner with some other couples from the ward beforehand, and we had a blast! The people in this ward are so welcoming and fun! I just can't get over it. We made fast friends with them, and most of them I had never met before that evening. It was great.
By the time we made it to the Ball, I was exhausted, so I didn't do much dancing. However, there were some truly really stellar dancers there, so I had almost as much fun just watching them. Made me want to go take some classes and brush up. Maybe after I work on my endurance a little....
Trent, John's little brother, spent the night to watch the kids for us for the Ball. The kids had a way fun time with Uncle Trent, and John had a way fun time hanging out with his brother the next day. I had a way fun time watching everyone have a way fun time. I was super tired, lol!
So that about sums it up. I will post pics now of myself all dressed up. My mom did my hair. She's a friggin' genius. I looked great to everyone but John. He didn't give me one compliment until I had undressed, taken off my make up, and was taking my hair down. Then he tells me I look gorgeous. Weirdo.
The Almighty Liz

Okay, this picture above, and this one below are of the hair. These were taken at my mom's house before I could put on make up and good clothes. I just wanted everone to get the full impact. It was gorgeous!

Seriously, was I HOT or what?! Thanks, I thought so too.

Seriously?

2009-02-06T13:30:00.005-06:00

Okay, for those of you who don't know it, we had a buyer for our car. He backed out at the last minute this week. Blow #1. We also had a buyer for superfluous house. We found out on Tuesday that they won't qualify for financing until October, because they filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. Blow #2. Then yesterday, we found out the water meter on said extra house exploded. The yard is a lake, the basement is a swimming pool, and the water has leaked in through some cracks in the basement and froze in the cracks. Mighty Blow #3. The water company informed me this morning that it is our fault the meter ruptured, so we will have to pay for it, even though the meter belongs to them. How is this our fault? I ask. The little man says because we didn't insulate it enough. How the flip he knows this when NO ONE from the water company has been to the house is beyond me. He says the repair guy will assess and judge on Monday, then send us a bill. So we not only have to repair the damages to our house and clean up ourselves, but we have to pay the water company to fix their property as well. Blow #4.
We're going to see the house this weekend to try to head off getting rooked by the water company.
I know I've said this a lot, but more prayers, please? Every little bit helps at this point. Also, while you're tossing up those platitudes to the Man Upstairs, send one up for my sanity. It's not doing so well at the moment.
The Almighty Liz

Ew. Snow.

2009-01-29T08:44:00.004-06:00

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty and everything, and the kids love it, and I love watching them have fun in it, but when you get right down to it snow is just cold and wet. No getting around it. Those are definitely two things I do not cope well with. Thank goodness I invested in some good snow boots last year because we got maybe a foot yesterday, and regular shoes, or even substandard boots were just not gonna cut it, especially considering the few inches of ice under the snow. Ick.

But like I said, the kids are having a blast playing in it, and John is perfectly willing to be the man and go play with them, leaving me to be the mommy who stays inside where it's warm and serves hot cocoa when everyone comes in. It's a role I do well.

Jonni didn't have school for Tuesday or Wednesday, and you won't believe it, but she was mad. She really likes school, and hates it when she can't go, so she was particularly surly and difficult the past couple of days. Add in a brother who has learned to push big sister's buttons, and who decided to take it upon himself to make her as angry as he could possibly manage, and I was hugely relieved that school was back on today. Even with the factor that I had to get up early. Yes, even with that I am super happy to get that girl out of the house, lol!

In other news, my poor Erik is sick, of the intestinal kind. I have gone through more diapers since yesterday than I have in the past month. I kid you not. I had to ask a friend to go on an emergency run for more, because I was about to run out! Poor, poor Erik. He's not having much fun with this. Neither am I, come to think of it. I'm a little sick as well, which is why you won't see me on SVELTE for a bit. Just a fever, and no other symptoms, so maybe this one won't last long. I will be so very, very glad when flu season is over. It is seriously interrupting my recovery processes.

Other than that, life goes on pretty much as normal. We have not heard anything about the Peoria house (for those of you who don't know, we are sporting two mortgages since we moved, and we have an interested party for the first time in eight months who is trying to get approved for a loan so they can bid on said house. Prayers would be appreciated!), but we might be getting rid of our faulty car next week. If we get rid of the house, needless to say, getting a new car will be a cakewalk. Here's hoping today is the day we get some great news!! If we don't get any great news, then I will just settle for having an almost perfect life. ;)

The Almighty Liz

P.S. For your viewing pleasure, I have included some pics of the snow. Also, a picture of Jonni in her brand-new glasses. Enjoy!

I just think this little snow covered plant is funny for some reason. He just looks so pathetic out there all by himself!

Here's one of our cars almost covered up. John dug it out yesterday to go to the store. Yay that I didn't have to!

Our backyard, or part of it anyway. Our fence is like almost half as tall as it should be.

Here's my cutie. The glasses are hot pink, but it's hard to tell with the red shirt. And yes, we got her a granny chain to keep them from falling off. After the last fiasco, of having them for four days and then losing them on the playground, only to find them again but smashed, I deemed the chain necessary. I let her pick it out though!

My Awesome Daughter

2009-01-23T08:55:00.003-06:00

Well, I just got back from dropping off a new winter coat for a little boy in Jonni's class who doesn't have one. I'm not tooting my own horn here, I'm tooting one for Jonni, the best little girl ever.
It started last week when Jonni came home from school. She told me about a little boy in her class who was wearing pink gloves. "He's a boy, mommy!", she laughed. "And he's wearing pink gloves, isn't that funny?!" I sat her down to explain that they were probably all that little boy had to wear in the blistering cold we were getting, and she really shouldn't laugh because it would make him feel horrible. She got really quiet and thoughtful and didn't say anything else about it for the rest of the day.
The next day she came home and said "[That little boy] doesn't have a coat mommy. I think we should get him one. He says he wants a really warm coat with Spiderman on it. We can use my piggy bank money." Jonni has about three dollars in her piggy bank that she has been saving forever. I bawled, and said I would talk to her daddy about it, and see what we could do.
John and I were unanimous in our agreement that this kind of generosity should be supported. We both believe that welfare would be unnecessary if only we all would take care of our brothers and sisters. I contacted her teacher to make sure there was a need, and Jonni was right; the little boy was wearing an older sister's coat when he couldn't sneak out of the house without it. Otherwise he wore nothing.
Jonni and I went that same night, last night, and picked him out a warm coat. They didn't have any with Spiderman on them, so we got one in Spiderman's colors. We got him some black "boy" mittens and a bright red hat for good measure.
When I dropped the stuff off at the office, so we could all remain anonymous, the whole staff was in on it. Jonni's teacher couldn't help bragging to her co-workers about the stellar little girl in her class. Jonni is a hero to the teachers and staff in her school. What a wonderful thing to be a hero for.
So here's to my Jonni, the hero to one little boy, her school, and most definitely, the parents who love her and are honored and blessed to serve her in that capacity.
The Almighty (and for once completely humbled) Liz
**Update** The little boy adores his new coat, his teacher tells me, and Jonni (who didn't say anything to the boy, but she's his friend so he talks to her) says he can't wait to tell his mom and dad all about how he got a new coat at school today! Wonderful stuff.

In a Flash...

2009-01-05T17:40:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to jump on here real quick to let everyone know I'm not dead, although that prospect is looking more and more appealing as time goes on. Also, I have much to post about, Christmas, visits with old friends, New Year's....but I also have bronchitis, which I've never had before, and which is turning out to be No Fun at All, so I will have to post all those goodies when I'm feeling a little more human, and a little less like I exist only to cough. (I now understand how Renae cracked her rib last year) On the up side, all the hacking is seriously good for my abs. Really. I don't think they've been this toned since before I had babies, and I think I've lost some inches even.
Hey, there has to be an upside right? I can't be going through all this suffering for no reward, that would just be Sick and Wrong.
The Ill but Still Nonetheless Almighty Liz

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2008-12-24T10:38:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone has a great Christmas! Try to take the time out sometime in the next couple of days to remember what the day is all about. Then forget it and get down to some serious present opening! (totally kidding there)
The Almighty Liz

Bits of This and That

2008-12-15T10:41:00.012-06:00

Well, do to a supremely stupid computer, I haven't been able to post. So, some updates are in order, and as an extra special treat, I even have pictures! Your welcome.
We haven't really been up to much around here. It's flu season and it seems we have something or other every week. This puts a damper on our social agenda, but we soldier on.
Had my dad up a couple of weeks ago, and we put in some new lighting. We are going to do some other things as well, but don't feel it is wise to blab about it to the World Wide Web.
Had a big ice storm last night, and everything is slick as snot today. It took John quite awhile to break his car out of the garage, so he was late to work. So was everyone else, so it wasn't a big deal. Jonni is having a snow day, and the kids are uber squirrely and driving me nuts, but I can't send 'em outside, it's too cold, so what're ya gonna do? Throw 'em in bed for naps early, and hope they sleep until their daddy gets home to play with them, of course! (I'm a bit under the weather, and so have no energy for cool and creative snow day activities.)
John had a Christmas party at work that I attended last Friday. I got to see where he works and meet all of his fellow employees as well as some of the company big wigs. The cool thing was that I couldn't tell the big shots from the peons. Everyone was so nice!! We also got a year end bonus, our first ever! I tell ya, I really like this company.
We finally got our Christmas tree on Saturday, and I think it's my favorite so far. It's huge, and I think the best smelling tree we've ever had! The whole house smells like a pine forest, it's great!
So, on to some pics, and I hope everyone's having a merry Christmas so far!
The Almighty Liz

Some random shots of the kids because I think they're adorable, and it's been way too long since I posted any pics of them.

Our new handy-dandy floodlight. It's way bright. Look out intruders! You could play basketball out there! If our driveway weren't so crappy, that is.

This is our cat, Cloud. I don't think I've ever posted any pictures of her before. Isn't she gorgeous? We sure do love her.

This is our backyard covered in ice.

This is a random UPS guy out doing deliveries. I felt super bad for him. He can only go like 3 miles an hour on on the ice. It's going to take him forever to get his job done.

This is the car that is still locked in ice. Ain't no movin' that baby 'till things thaw in my opinion.

This is our Christmas tree. I dunno why you can't see the lights. What a rip-off. We love it though. And John and I made the star on top our very own little selves. Aren't we crafty?

Drumroll Please...

2008-12-03T19:15:00.002-06:00

Well, I had a Doctor's appointment today, and there is some good news and some not so good but not exactly bad news either. Which means there IS no bad news, yay!
Good news:
I'm off the penicillin!! Hip, Hip, Hooray!! I'm so sick of taking that stuff, (seven months now!!) and I seriously don't think my digestive tract will ever be the same.
My doctor is super happy with my obedience. He says that my recovery wouldn't have been nearly so quick if I hadn't been doing so good with my diet and exercise and everything he tells me to do. To which I riposted (of course), "That was a fast recovery?!" He replied that he was full on expecting to be treating me for at least a year, because I had had the R. Fever for four months. Yikes!! Perhaps I should learn a little more patience especially because of the not so good news:
It will be another year before my endurance and resistance to disease is back to "normal". Which means that for a good bit more I will be sleeping a lot still, and getting tired easy, and getting whatever illness decides I look tasty. And that is if I keep at the exercise full throttle like I have been. (although that is just my life now. I will never be able to slack off in that area again. Period.)
I also had to get a flu shot, as did my son, and my husband and daughter have to get one ASAP as well. This is in part because Erik is three and in the "danger" group, but mostly because I'm horribly susceptible right now (as I will always be, but right now is just worse), and the next couple of months it is critical that I don't become super-duper sick. My arm is sore. *sigh*
But, all in all, I'm happy with this news. As soon as I started working out, I knew this was going to be a long, hard slog, and so how depressed can I get that I was right? Not very. And getting off the #$^% meds is a HUGE plus. I simply cannot complain about anything since I got that.
In other news, it was also Erik's three year check-up, and *shocker!* he's perfect. No complaints, and no problems. Hoorah!
The Almighty Liz

A Very Exciting Thanksgiving Indeed

2008-12-01T20:10:00.009-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was...eventful, lol! It started off normal enough for us. Having both sides of the family close, we do two Thanksgiving dinners every year. The only real difference this year was that Jonni decided to be sick, and missed out on both dinners, poor thing. After being stuffed silly, me and the kids headed home, leaving John in Illinois with our recently sort-of repaired car, to hang out with his brothers on Black Friday. I got home with two sleeping children, hauled them inside and into bed, called John to let him know we made it safely home, put some things away in the kitchen and went to lock the door. Why is that significant, you ask? Because somebody else grabbed the doorknob on the other side!! I quickly put my shoulder to the door and slid the deadbolt home, just as that somebody else put their shoulder to the door and tried to bust in!!! Luckily, I got the bolt shot, and I called John. (yes yes, I know, it should have been cops first! it's just a knee-jerk reaction for me) I called them from our cell while John stayed on the landline, and they got there about a minute later. (we live in a very very small town) They didn't find anything or anyone, much to everyone's relief, and John came home after all.
We decided to spend the night at Bruce and Renae's the next night. John still wanted to hang out with his siblings, and I had a hair appointment with my mom on Saturday, so we deemed this a good compromise and I didn't have to spend the night alone in my house. *shudder* Also, my dad is coming this Saturday to install a LOT more light in the front of my house with motion detectors in front and back. I haven't ruled out an alarm system yet either. We'll see.
John and his brothers and sisters went out on Friday night to ogle the crazy people at the malls, whilst Bruce and I manned the fort at home, and kept the kids from burning the place down. We watched a truly stupid movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth, (don't waste your money or time on it), and got the kids in bed just as John and Renae got back. We then watched Get Smart, which was the funniest movie I've seen in awhile.
The next day, while Renae and Bruce were at a race (Renae participating, Bruce volunteering), I got my hair done. I got my blue streaks!! I've wanted to do them forever, and I finally talked my mom into it! (thanks mom!) I totally love it, as do my son, Todd and Suzanne, and maybe Renae and Bruce. (and can't remember their reactions.) Jonni keeps asking me why I had to go and color my hair with a crayon, and John quite simply abhors it. He hasn't been able to look at me without disgust since it was done. It's getting on my nerves. It's already fading though (after only three days!! I'm totally bummed) so that should make him happy. (mean-hearted *grumble-grumble*)
We went home that night and everyone except Jonni woke up sick on Sunday. We're still sick and miserable. I hate flu season!!
So that's about it. Oh! Along with the pics of my hair below, I put the one and only good shot I got of Erik on his birthday. My batteries ran out before we even got to the cake! Also, my mother-in-law recently reupholstered my couch, so I threw in some before and after shots of that. Enjoy!
The Almighty Liz

Erik opening his first present.

The original fabric on the couch.

An in-progress shot.

Finished product! Doesn't it look great?!

One shot of the hair. See how much it's faded? It was a really bright peacock blue. (we were shooting for navy, but didn't quite make it.)

A slightly better shot maybe. None of the pics I took turned out super good. Sorry!

Catching Up

2008-11-24T09:16:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I was sick all last week, and of course, we had a busy and blog-worthy week. So, sit back and get comfortable, this is gonna be a long one.
**disclaimer; my camera's batteries went dead, so I have no pics. (stupid technology)

So, going in chronological order, a week ago last Friday, Jonni came bouncing off the bus after school because she lost her first tooth!! Apparently, in letting one of her girlfriends wiggle it, said girlfriend wiggled it a little too hard and it came out! Our tooth fairy was sort of on her game, after some quick maneuvering and a little help. You see, she went to the local Goodwill-type store the day before, and spent all of her change. She still had pennies and such-like, but you can't give a kid a dollar's worth of pennies under their pillow! So, with the help of our good friends the Andrews, she swapped the small change for quarters, and the event was saved! Jonni duly received a dollar the next morning, and was ecstatic.
The next big event was the following Thursday when my little boy turned 3! As I was still sick, we had a quiet affair at home. Just cake and presents and my in-laws, who literally happened to be in the neighborhood dropping off someone at the airport. We will be celebrating with my family on Thanksgiving this Thursday when everyone will be together. (PS, John made the cake, so it turned out just fine, for those of you who remember the Great Cake Debacle of Jonni's birthday a couple of years ago) Erik received a couple of Dr. Suess books, which he loves, a Spiderman shirt from the Grandparents Sever, and a bag full of cars, which he adores more than anything on this Earth, including his mother I think.
Next came the weekend, and the opening of Twilight the movie!! I got a group of mainly girls with some husbands together to go to a matinee on Saturday, and it was a rompin' good time. I liked the movie okay, but I had my problems with it. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, and I think they did a mainly good job, but I didn't like it as much as say my hubby did, or some of the others there. We went for ice cream afterwards to jaw over the movie, and I think a good time was had by all. We drove to my in-laws house (which was the meeting point for everyone) and got in my car to pick up the kids (who were watched by the ever perfect Erik-Timpani's-husband, more on that in a minute), turned the key in the ignition, and the blasted thing refused to start!! We tried jumping the battery, and cursing (Mormon cursing, c'mon!), and raving to the Car God, but to no avail. The fickle thing just would not respond. So, making the best of it, we spent the night at Renae's, which was a good time. The kids especially enjoyed themselves, loudly and enthusiastically. The next morning, I got it started, but everyone was at church, so I left it there, having nothing else to do with it. After John got home, we went to pick it up, and the @#% thing wouldn't start again!! So, we hitched a ride from my father-in-law, and sent it to a mechanic this morning in Illinois. Hopefully it's something simple and cheap. As it is, I'm without a car this week. It's not been a full day yet, and I'm already stir crazy! I HATE not having the freedom to go where I want, when I want. Ugh! Cars!!
Anyway, back peddling a couple of days, the kids had a blast with Erik whilst we were at the movies on Saturday. Erik planned a Diego Adventure for them, where they had to go through forests, lakes and climb pyramids to get to their destination; treats! He will be posting about that soon I'm sure at http://www.quisandvance.blogspot.com/ . Thanks again Erik!!
So, while we did have lots of fun this past week or so, the ever present Car Demon had to throw somewhat of a wet blanket over everything. But who knows? Maybe we'll be forced to get a new car. Wouldn't that be horrible?
The Almighty Liz
**Update** We heard back from the mechanic, and basically the thing's a piece of junk now. He suggested we get rid of it as soon as possible. Hooray! New car after all!! (that was said with heavy sarcasm. I don't need a car payment on top of my two mortgage payments, thanks anyway.)

Eye Witness Account

2008-11-12T16:03:00.002-06:00

This is the email I got written my someone who was there for the LA temple siege. It's from Sunday; does anybody have any fresher news? I can't seem to find anything newer than last Sunday.

From the Front Lines:
I got this email from the wife of a Bishop of a young-adult congregation in LA. Ben is a member of that congregation.
As additional information for those who missed the news, Mormons have been targeted by the gay community in California as having been the main impetus behind the passing of Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage in the state. Although the population of the state voted on the passing of the constitutional amendment, I will proudly agree that most of footwork was carried out by us. It's funny that our opposition knows where the credit is due, but that's another topic for another day. In light of the gay community's frustration in the passing of the proposition, our temple came under attack. I was at the Los Angeles Temple assisting in the security efforts and it was quite an experience. Our temple is safe and no damage was done on the grounds. It was a sight I never expected to see. At one point we had let in about 20 police vehicles through the gates because they were afraid their vehicles would be damaged as civilian cars were being vandalized. I removed the Utah plates from my truck just so I could drive through the mess and park blocks away. My roommate and I traveled on foot after we had changed out of our dress shirts and ties so as not to be targeted.Two full squads of LAPD in riot gear set up their base inside the temple grounds while SWAT vehicles and hundreds of officers followed the crowds run up Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards. I've heard that the crowd was estimated to be over 2,500. When I arrived, all of the gates were shut and a small group of members had to remain outside the grounds as the direction was to turn away others who had come to assist. After about a half an hour two sister missionaries ran up the drive to the East gate. I would have made more jokes with them, asking them trivia questions to prove they were LDS before opening the gate, but they were obviously nervous and had left on their name tags as they wandered the streets. When the crowd turned back towards the temple from West Hollywood, we opened the gate to those members still outside so they would not be trapped in the crowd. The officers inside the temple grounds made a line on the front lawn by the fence. At one point, with 7 news and police helicopters overhead, the crowd began to climb the fence and it looked like there was going to be a lot of trouble. We had it seemed a good forth of a Polynesian ward there so it could have gotten very interesting very fast.With lines of motorcycle cops with sirens wailing up and down the street with the latest outbreak, helicopters continually circling with spotlights cutting through the sky, and the crowd roaring being led my megaphones shouting every synonym they could think of that went along with "evil"...it almost seemed like the very end was at hand. My dad called me every few minutes to give me updates from live news through the Internet because we did not have TVs and the police did not even seem to be informed on the movement of the crowd up and down the streets. I relayed these updates directly to the head of temple security so we could anticipate when to be ready.While I was there, I was not aware of anyone actually breaching the fence, but we were asked to move far across the parking lot as they were anticipating the need to shoot tear gas canisters. I never thought I would see the day when police officers would sit perched on the spire of our temple as lookouts. All of this happened at about 7:30 pm. It should be remembered that most likely many of the law enforcement were not in favor of our stance on Proposition 8, but nevertheless, the men and women were there doing their duty and protecting our property. For that we are grateful. And yes, there was an incident with some of our members who had gone to remove the protest signs from the front fence. One of the protesters did initiate physical contact with one of our sisters so the details are uncertain as to whether the response was fully justified. The lesson to be learned is that it's important to anticipate and avoid such confrontational situations. Remember the world is watching our reaction and the media is everywhere. In the end, when we keep our cool, the video footage speaks the truth regarding which side is really intolerant and appears hateful when we simply do not respond or do so in a loving and controlled manner.In all the commotion, I had the chance to sit alone by the side of one of the fountains and take in all that was happening. It may seem strange to say, but despite the adrenaline rushing in my blood ready for the next incident or next bit of news from my dad; I felt a tremendous peace. It came over me in a wave as I looked up at the spire topped with Angel Moroni. I can testify that I felt the presence of others protecting the temple tonight..those we could not physically see. I would even go as far to say that I felt the presence of someone personally related to me who was there for my safety. We were not alone. We were protected and our Father in Heaven is mindful of our efforts and willingness to withstand persecution. As I later read a quote from Brigham Young, it made more sense why this did not have to be a fearful experience- exciting yes, in a urgency sense, but very clarifying as we were able to glimpse into things as the really are, truth as is really exists, the adversary's war as it really is raging. I wish everyone of you reading this could have been there just to be reminded as I was how real this war is. The great sadness is that so many of our brothers and sisters are unknowing participants, manipulated and deceived by the grand schemer of it all. The issues may be presented as complex, but the adversary's agenda was as clear as day. Be prepared friends and family, it's bound to get much worse before it gets better, but take council from a prophet:
"You that have not passed thro’ the trials and persecutions, and drivings with this people from the beginning, but have only read them, or heard some of them related, may think how awful they were to endure, and wonder that the saints survived them at all.—The thought of it makes your heart sink within you, your brain reel, and your body tremble, and you are ready to exclaim, ‘I could not have endured it.’ I have been in the heat of it, and never felt better in all my life; I never felt the peace and power of the Almighty more copiously poured upon me than in the keenest part of our trials. They appeared nothing to me."-Brigham Young (Deseret News Weekly, 24 Aug. 1854, 83). (L. Aldin Porter, "‘But We Heeded Them Not’," Ensign, Aug 1998, 6)
-Ben

I really like the Brigham Young quote. Totally awesome. Let's keep those prayers going!

The Almighty Liz

Prop 8 Protesters Targeted the LDS Los Angeles Temple

2008-11-11T08:56:00.002-06:00

I got this from my mom in an email today. (she is really on fire lately) I thought everyone should know, since I couldn't really find it in any news. Not locally anyway. Even if you are not of my religious persuasion, I think these people need prayers.
I was shocked that the police are not really doing anything but keeping protesters out of the temple grounds. Are these not hate crimes? Are these people not intent on violence? Silent and peaceful protests are a right everyone should have, but this is way beyond that. There is a personal account I will put up later today, but I'm a little busy right now. Peace, Love and Prayers,
The Almighty Liz

The LDS Temple in Los Angeles was under siege yesterday by 2,000 protesters angry over the Church's role in passing Proposition 8, forcing the closure of the temple. According to reports, a gay activist called the temple saying they would be protesting outside the temple permanently until there is gay marriage.Signs were hung from the fence around the temple and protesters screamed in anger, snarled afternoon rush-hour traffic and said, "This isn't going to stop us.If we do this we have a chance." "We're going to fight it until the world changes," protesters claimed."Shame on you," chanted the protesters. Outside the temple, grafitti was scrawled on the walls and signs hung, "Go back to Utah," and "Go to hell Mormons." Their signs said, "No on H8."Protesters promised to go after the Church's tax-exempt status and harass Mormons who had donated to the cause, listed on a website Mormonsfor8.com. The promise was to make the Mormons pay for their role in the passage of Prop 8.One LDS member in the area said, "I don't quite understand our police response (even though I'm one of the police). If this was happening at a Jewish synagogue or a Catholic church, we would be arresting people for hate crimes. As it is at the moment, protestors are sitting on the walls of the temple and the police are on the grounds inside. Church members in our area were called last night to come down to the stake center and spend the night protecting the building from vandalism -- it's like 150 years ago."To see a news report on these events click here. This was the politics of intimidation and harassment, targeting the LDS church, though many other churches had helped in the effort-and a sample of how the homosexual agenda has spread across the nation. It was like San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsome, said when he illegally started marrying couples in the city before that America was going to have this whether you like it or not.It will not be about people being able to vote their conscience, or calmly assess the issues and consequences, but about threats and vilification. Other churches who participated in the effort have not been similarly targeted.The LDS Church is, of course, in no danger of losing its tax-exempt status. The only donation made to the campaign according to records was $2,078.97, an expense which covered the travel of church leaders who went to California to meet with the coalition. The Church insists that by law it has the right to speak out on moral issues.Threats from Blogs Target Christians A Worldnetdaily.com article noted that homosexual blogs have been boiling with threats toward Christians. Burn their [blank] churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers," wrote "World O Jeff" on a blog. On another website "Tread" wrote, "I hope the No on 8 people have a long list and long knives." On another website, a contributor wrote, "Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT." On another website "scottinsf" wrote, "Trust me. I've got a big list of names of mormons and catholics that were big supporters of Prop 8. . As far as mormons and catholics . I warn them to watch their backs." Another blog entry: "If you're planning a heterosexual wedding in California . be prepared for picketers. Designate someone to watch the parking lot . You're going to have lots of unexpected expenses. Add $500 to your budget for security. . Be prepared for the flowers not lasting to the reception or the tuxedos showing up two sizes too small or the music at the reception being a way too loud or the cake tasting a little funny," stated another threat. "Be afraid. Be very afraid. We are everywhere." Thus it continues on and on and Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs for Liberty Counsel called the statements "hate crimes" for their intent to create violence against someone based on their beliefs and called on the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and "other leaders within the homosexual lobby" to call for an end to such threats. Thus, the true colors of some of those who push this agenda are in clear display. It is a kind of domestic terrorism designed to silence and quell anyone who oppose this agenda as it marches through our nation. On the same day, this happened, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issued a statement calling for mutual civility. "No one on any side of the question should be vilified, intimidated or harassed." Lawsuits against Prop 8 At least three lawsuits have been or are in the process of being filed protesting the passage of Proposition 8. Andy Pugno, attorney for the Protect Marriage coalition said, "The lawsuit filed today by the ACLU and Equality California seeking to invalidate the decision of California voters to enshrine traditional marriage in California 's constitution is frivolous and regrettable. These same groups filed an identical case with the California Supreme Court months ago, which was summarily dismissed. We will vigorously defend the People's decision to enact Proposition 8 . . . "It should also be noted that the ACLU recently made this same "constitutional revision" claim in a nearly identical matter in Oregon and it was unanimously rejected." Family Leader's attorneys agree with this estimation.

Need a Laugh?

2008-11-06T09:26:00.002-06:00

I sure did! I got this as an email from my mom this morning. Every so often, she hits the jack pot.

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - - she loved to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart:
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against him are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's? rest-room.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.'
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the? bedding department.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the '? Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
And last, but not least
15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled? very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'??

You're Welcome.
The Almighty Liz

DisGUSted!

2008-11-05T15:53:00.002-06:00

I know this has been done to death by almost everyone else today, but this is my blog, which gives me the ultimate power to do whatever I want on here. (I mean, is it my World, or what?)
So, we now have Obama as president. I read on somebody else's blog where a person (who obviously voted for the warthog) said something to the effect of if the administration does well, will we all eat crow in four years? I think I replied that the only thing we will all be eating the next four years is cow turds.
I can only remember feeling emotions this strong in a country wide manner once; after 9/11. Don't get me wrong, I have an enormous sense of pride and patriotism for the good ole USofA. This was something more than that, and on that fateful day, I felt for a short time shocked, at a loss, much compassion for the victims, and horribly vulnerable. Quickly after, I felt an overwhelming rage at the people who would dare do something so atrocious, and an overwhelming desire to get them, and make them pay. This feeling has not really diminished all that much over the intervening 7 years, and I believe we have done good things in Iraq to this end, as well as other equally desirable ends.
Today, when I heard it for the first time, on the radio, my overarching desire now is to batten down the hatches. Become as self-sufficient as possible, so if the world ends, I will be prepared. Even if that means learning to garden, lol! Seriously though, I just have this burning and renewed desire to not be dependant on anybody, least of all the government at this juncture.
Am I frightened? Not really. Worried some, sure. However, I, for the first time, have undeniable testimony of what the various Prophets and Presidents of my religion have been teaching for decades; become self-reliant. Get my food storage in. Pay off all unnecessary debt. Be prepared financially for all things, especially the end of all things as we know it. I hate to get preachy, but look at what we just elected for the leader of our country. If that's not a sign of the times, I'd hate to see a real one.
The Almighty Liz

Halloween!!

2008-11-01T11:17:00.004-05:00

Well, how's was everyone's Halloween? Ours was great!! Not only did we have our awesome Haunted Treasure Hunt party at our house, but we had a Trunk or Treat with our fabulous new Ward at church, Jonni got to go on her very first field trip this week to a pumpkin farm and she had her very first Halloween parade at school (I forgot my camera!!), and apparently our neighborhood is the place to trick or treat in town. Seriously, John took the kids whilst I stayed home to man the fort, and I barely got to sit down, the doorbell rang so much! I actually ran out of candy. In an hour. And I wasn't givin' it away by the handful either. Once I saw how many kids were out there, I was only giving a piece or two at a time. I've never ran out before, much less in that short a time! Also, John said the whole neighborhood really gets into it. Lots of decorations, and tons of people out on their porches to hand out candy, instead of inside their houses. Needless to say, when the kids got home from their forays, their little trick or treat pumpkins were super heavy and overflowing. So much fun!! (and OHHHH, the candy rush!!) I did manage to get a few pics of the eventful evening, and the pumpkins we carved this year.

Here's the pumpkin Jonni got to bring home from her field trip to the farm. John helped her carve it.

Here's the pumpkin John brought home from work. They had a pumpkin carving contest, isn't that cool? We so love his new job. The pumpkin was supposed to be a scary leech-like alien thing, but I think it turned out being a happy looking smiley face. Funny!

Here's Jonni in her costume; she was a bat. I made the costume myself, despite having no sewing skills whatsoever. My friend Elise did help sew on one of the wings with her sewing machine, but everything else was me.

Here they both are, triumphant in their spoils. Erik wanted to be a pumpkin monster. I let him pick out everything in his costume. It was the easiest I've ever done. Sweat suit and mask. I love that kid.

So, I hope everyone had as good a Halloween as we did. John is already planning for next year. With this enthusiastic a neighborhood, he's brewing elaborate plans indeed. Good times for all!

The Almighty Liz

The Halloween Party!!

2008-10-22T11:20:00.011-05:00

This last Saturday we had our Halloween Party, and I will just go out on a limb here to say that fun was had by all! John and I had a blast running around trying to make sure everything went smoothly, and the adults had a good time hanging out at the house and/or watching their children try to find the buried treasure on the haunted trail and house. I got some pictures even! John has some up on his blog too, along with his version of events, and for some more click here to get to Timpani's blog; http://quisandvance.blogspot.com/
This is how it went;
The kids arrived and I gave them the first clue; a piece of a treasure map. They had to use that piece to find the other pieces hidden in the graveyard (our backyard) and other places to find the witch that would tell them where they needed to go and who to talk to in order to find the treasure, while avoiding the Grim Reaper who was making his rounds in the field behind the graveyard. They then had to then go through the haunted house (our garage) by passing through the mad scientist's laboratory (our library) to get to the ghost who hid the treasure who would then tell them where he buried it. The kids did pretty well with only marginal help from adults. Meanwhile, the adults kicked back and had some dinner in the house (not the haunted part). I made chili (which everyone but Todd thought was too hot!) and potato soup. It was loads of good fun, although if we do it next year, I won't be feeding everyone again. Too much work on top of all the other preparations!! And now for the pics!

This is John after all the activity. He looks a little tired and sweaty doesn't he? I can't imagine why....

This is just a random picture after the kids found and opened the treasure, which resulted in a candy frenzy. This is when everyone settled in their own little spaces to eat and enjoy the spoils. Here's Renae. What a ham!

My sister, Virginia. Isn't she cute?

Her husband Apollo, and their new baby, Lark. Two hams in one house was almost too much...

More random enjoyment of the booty.

Here's Trent on the right and Todd on the left in their costumes.

Here's Todd again. I did the make-up, and had a blast doing it. It's my first time ever doing any one's make-up too. Didn't I do great? His own sister as well as his mother didn't recognize him. His mom saw the picture and said "So who was this?" I took that pic as well. I am just the BEST!

So that concludes the Great Sever Haunted Treasure Hunt. We had a blast doing it, and I hope everyone had a blast attending!!

The Almighty Liz