Not much of an update. I've been in a very non-interwebby mood (WHY, OH WHY are people calling it the "interweb" lately? Am I the only one seeing this? I just don't get why the switch. Someone please enlighten me...) as of late. Which is good. I need to spend less time online. And yet I need to keep my parents happy. So here is a picture-rich, word-poor post.
Enjoy!
I just really like that quote a lot. It says something, you know. I'm not sure what, but it really speaks to me.
Anyway, I sat down at my computer the other night after having left it unlocked for a good span of time (never, EVER good) to find this gem.
Go ahead and click on it. Miles was obvious curious to see just what kind of powers google has. Notice the response and suggestions.
Coming soon:
Pictures of Easter: A Tale of Tragedy and Woe and Forced Picture Taking That Results Only in More Woe and Tragedy. Whoa.
Happy Easter! I hope everyone enjoys their The-Holiday-That-Should-Be -Memorializing-the-Resurrection-of-Our-Lord-and-Savior-But-Instead-Ends- Up-With-Us-Worshipping-A-Large-Purple-Bunny-With-Crazy-Eyes weekend! (Bitter much, Anna? Cleaning got ya down?)
Th-th-th-th-th-th-That's All Folks!
I'm pretty sure the dryer is tapping out death threats in morse code and the broom is creating dust-bunny-voodoo-dolls that bear an astonishing resemblance to certain writers of this blog.
Do you think it's time to clean?
You know, I really shouldn't be sitting here at the computer. But geez louise. Do you ever have those days when you just cannot get motivated? Miles has croup and we can't really go anywhere. So instead of staying home and being productive (a.k.a. cleaning MY room which is a mess - the rest of the house is almost impeccable *gasp*), I am sitting here. The kids have been out on the deck for a good chunk of the day so they're not even requiring much of me. I need to just GET UP already. But just when I thought I would I realized I hadn't blogged the recent Iowa Kilgore Invasion yet! So here I sit some more.:)
*Warning...there is not a single picture of my brother Jerry, or my SIL, Sara. Apparently I really, really, really love my nieces and nephew a lot more. Though, due to this tunnel vision I am sad to say there are NO PICTURES of "Side Pony Night" which occurred last Friday and consisted of Sara sporting a side-pony that was then duplicated by all the other girls (with hair) in the house. My apologies. I was laughing too hard to think about my camera.
Pretty Princesses.
So overall the trip was SO FUN. The weather stank but that just meant that we got to stay home in our pj's. We shopped a little, ate a lot, laughed a ton. I wish we could do this EVERY WEEK...
Have I ever mentioned that I heart my family? I'm a big fan.
As a member of the blogging community (a.k.a. the human race) I often see trends in blogs. I read a lot of blogs and most of them are not necessarily connected to one another aside from the fact that their html address ends in "blogspot.com". Trends in blogs are just like trends in fashion - it's impossible to stop some of them once they get started. And as the Trendy McTrendster that you all know I am I have taken part in my fair share of them. Some are okay, some are just "meh", and some are downright annoying. And right now I'm annoyed. Like, "Surprise! Screech from Saved By The Bell is moving in!" annoyed. The object of my annoyance? A little thing I like to call the Letter Writing Blog.
HOLY SHAMWOW THIS THING IS SO OVERDONE IT'S LIKE A TURKEY YOU PUT IN ON THANKSGIVING DAY ONLY TO FIND OUT ON EASTER MORNING THAT IT'S STILL OCCUPYING YOUR OVEN.
If you aren't familiar with the Letter Writing Blog it usually goes a little something like this:
Dear (insert inane object of love/hate...like asparagus or Dawson's Creek),
We used to have such great times together but now I think it's time that I move on/get over you. You were always there for me when I needed you (blah, blah, blah insert additional ridiculous nonsense that you think sounds funny because - ha ha - you are SO clever to have thought of this blog style to represent your feelings about aforementioned object. Feel free to wax poetic about how that subscription to Seventeen Magazine was really so beneficial at the time but now that you've grown up you really think Jane is much more age-appropriate.)
So (stupid object), I bid you ado (never mind that it's spelled adieu. No one reads your blog - they're just there for the pictures). I hope that you can find fulfillment/happiness/joy in your journey/life/sojourn.
Sincerely,
Mindless Automaton Blogger
And here is where I yell "ARGH!" and then smack my computer. Is it just me? Am I really the only one who feels like these blogs are the digital equivalent of polyester leisure suits? I'll admit, when it first started it was kinda cute. I may have even done one waaaaaaaay back in '06 (you'd have to check because I'm too lazy to bother - so it either did or didn't happen, I'm not sure). Some people actually do a good job of it. I saw Kristin Armstrong do it on her runnersworld.com blog. I saw a Fugly (fellow ugly mom) do it somewhat recently. But COME ON, PEOPLE! At this point EVERYONE thinks they're being original...just as original as Suzy down the street who did it last week.
So, Dear Letter Writing Blog Style,
Your time in the blog spotlight was like, so rad, you know? It, like, totally rocked and was da bomb, for sure! I mean, everyone was totally into you and you made us all feel so clever. And, like, there are definitely some people who, like, NEEDED that bloggy-boost you gave them. But I think the time has come for us to go our separate ways and just be friends. Mmmmkay?
Don't call me. I'll call you.
As I was scrubbing, scraping and painting over the last couple of weeks in preparation for visitors I kept thinking that normal people don't have to do this. And by "this" I'm referring to the intense amount of work required to make up for the state into which my house has fallen.
My house has been bebusyseasoned. It's like being bedazzled but with the opposite effect. Whereas bedazzling usually creates a more, uh, beautiful result, bebusyseasoning almost always ends with things being splattered on the walls, home projects going half-finished, and cobwebs collecting in corners for months at a time.
My day-to-day routine usually involves cleaning and tidying. Deep cleaning is saved for the weekend when I can pass the kids off to Chase and get some stuff done without it being immediately undone before I'm even finished. During busy season, however, this routine is replaced with the, "Oh my goodness. Let's just shove this in a drawer and try to survive because you're crazy, I'm crazy and none of us has seen your father in 7,463 days" routine. It's my own personal version of March Madness.
And what the heck is with the mess anyway? I mean, they are three small children and I am one full (some may even say over) grown adult! What is the deal? How do they create such monstrosities?! And why are my powers so useless against them? Perhaps it is some strange theory of overcompensation. Like how short men always drive enormous trucks. Maybe my kids are trying to make up for their size by showcasing the largesse of their capacity for disaster. Who knows. I'm stumped. And tired. I'm Stired. And to prove just how stired I am I'm going to hit "publish" and walk away because I don't even care anymore that this is the most ridiculous and time-wasting blog ever created in the history of the world and that I am ending it with one of the longest run-on sentences in the history of blogging and for the fun of it I might even throw in a misused homonym or word just four kicks and giggles and because eye no it will piss of Chrysta two know end.
This is where my husband and I were married.
This is the Washington DC temple. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. Because making covenants with God is such a solemn responsibility, individuals cannot enter the temple to receive their endowments or be sealed in marriage for eternity until they have fully prepared themselves and been members of the Church for at least a year. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father's children. (from lds.org)
To find out more please go to this site.
Cam: "Dad, what does L-E-N spell?"
Chase: "Well, um, it spells len. But len isn't really a word."
Cam: (very indignant) "NO Dad! It spells alien! L. E. N. Alien!!!!!!"
Cam: (after eating a fluffernutter sandwich) "Mom, how do you make marshmallows?"
Me: "I'm not really sure, Cam."
Cam: "I know, let's go to the store and get some Mar and then we'll get some Shmallow (pronounced shm-eh-wo) and make marshmallows!"
Now, I don't need to spell this out for you, but I will anyway. I'm not exactly known for my sense of fashion. I try to at least put myself together once a week for church and I've been known to throw on some earrings when I go pick up Cameron from preschool (the other kids moms are HAWT), but aside from that I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. And usually my jeans are too tight and my shirt has shrunken and no longer fits my freakishly long torso. But despite all of this, I really like fashion; I'm just a bit of a neophyte.
Writing, however, is something I know. I don't have a ton of tolerance for poor writing (one more reason the whole Stephenie Meyer obsession is a total anomaly). I may not be super amazing at it, but I try to hold my own; and I think I've got a pretty good eye for what's good and what's less so.
SO, when I found THIS blog I just about toppled over with joyness and happitude. This blog is all about fashion, yes. Add to that the fact that it's extremely well-written. But that's not all, folks. This sucker is cherry-topped with sarcasm so biting I find myself looking for teeth marks. LOVE. THIS. BLOG. Why are you even wasting time here?! Go. Go my beloved blog readers. Go and be happy.
Chase was out of town this past week and I've had a lot of time to think about how much I appreciate family. Specifically my family-in-law...
Coming into our marriage I had some pretty high expectations. If you haven't met my parents, Pat and Sherry, well let's just say you're missing out. I'm one of those lucky people who not only love their parents, I like my parents. A lot. Don't get me wrong - they're not perfect people (who is?). But I respect them, I enjoy spending time with them and I actually think they're pretty dang funny. ("Dad's funeral will be a grave affair," said the woman in the pink pajamas...)
Additionally, I have some pretty rockin' siblings and those siblings have gone on to marry equally (if not superior) spouses. It only takes one Christmas Eve party at the Kilgore house to get hooked on my family. They're hilarious, fun and we love each other.
So the cumulative effect of spending time with MY family had the natural result of creating a high standard for my family-by-marriage family.
And they don't disappoint.
I have come to realize that my in-laws, Tori and Tony, are some of the sweetest people God ever put on the earth. And I mean that. They are generous with their time and talents. They loved me since they found out about me while shopping the cereal aisle of their local Wal Mart. When we lived far away they visited us frequently. After moving closer they respect us enough to call before coming. They love our kids as though they were their own. They provide free babysitting more than they probably should or would like to. Their house often ends up being the gathering place on weekends - and though it gets crowded and mom's house gets destroyed, they welcome us with smiles and hugs. They have served as both Blockbuster and grocery store on occasion. They have run countless errands for me when I'm stranded at home with sick kids. The list goes on and on. But what I'm MOST thankful for is the way they raised my sweet, sweet husband. He is a strong provider and a caring father. He is the FIRST and ONLY man to consistently open my door for me. He is the best companion I could ever ask for. And I'm no dummy. I know he learned it somewhere. So THANKS TBoss and TBull. And may I say, Job Well Done.
And though this is starting to resemble an Oscars acceptance speech I have to also add that I married into some great siblings as well. Seven years ago it was just Brian, Eric and Garrett. Brian was fresh from his mission, Eric was making girls swoon in high school and Garrett was a floppy-haired imp. Now Brian and Eric are married to girls I ADORE and LOVE spending time with - easily some of my best friends on the planet. And Garrett is off on a mission - setting an example for my boys that I will forever be grateful for. Brian, Jen, Eric, Kathleen, Garrett. I love you. Tons! Thanks for being so freakin' radical. And thanks for having such radical kids for my kids to play with.
And the good times don't end there! We're super-extra lucky that we have Chase's grandma and Aunt and Uncle and cousins here, too. We have so much fun with Grandma Cleora, Susan, Kevin and Brandon and Danielle. Summer pool-parties, monthly birthday dinners, and the occasional sleep-over. Cameron, Miles and Sophia are blessed to have cousins who love them and play babysitter during family dinners. Actually, I think that's more a blessing for me than it is for them. When they're around I can actually converse with other adults. It's practically a miracle:)
So there you have it. My in-law Texas family. There are more - the Johnsens and the Rawlins clans are both extensive and full of fun. We love them all.
I had a few friends over for dinner a couple weeks ago and decided to make soft tacos. I couldn't decide what to do with my chicken so when I saw this I figured I'd give it a try. It turned out super yummy and I just had to pass it on. The only thing I do differently is use regular onions and I saute them with the chicken in olive oil before adding the rest of the stuff. This recipe is SUPER easy, too. If you have a Kroger nearby you can double the deliciousness and use their homemade tortillas (I do unless I'm making my own). You cannot go wrong! Enjoy!
In other news, another Valentine's day passed without any recognition of it from the Chase Master. I'm beyond caring at this point. His birthday is precisely one week prior and we had a really fun day together. The temple, followed by a trip to Central Market to enjoy the Festival of Chocolate (it's like it was DESIGNED for him/me). While there we also picked up some sushi and ingredients for our dinner (rib-eye and asparagus...this blog is making you so hungry, isn't it?). After that we headed off to the Russian Banya. For those who don't know, Chase spent two years living in and around Yekaterinburg, Russia before we got married. He was doing a service mission for our church. Anyway, in Russia they have these spas called Banyas. It's crazy. Basically it's a sauna that gets up to 240 degrees. You go in, come out cool off, go back in, come out, go back in, come out and jump in the freezing cold plunge pool...and you repeat this all day. Ever since I met Chase he's been telling me about the Banya and how awesome it was and how he can't wait to take me. So when we moved here two years ago I thought it was slightly fortuitous that the only Banya in the area happens to be a mile from our house. But we haven't gone. SO I decided to take him for his birthday! Unfortunately it was a surprise and I wasn't aware that you had to set aside a whole day for it. So by the time we got there we only had a couple hours before we had to be back to the kiddos. So, sadly, we weren't able to do the whole Banya experience. We did, however, get to have a hearty, carb-a-mongous lunch/dinner. It was delicious, but the best part was watching Chase interact with the Russian staff and watching him take down that meal like it was his last... I patted myself on the back for a job well done:)
Anyway, I didn't mean to even blog about that, but there you go. Go try the lime chicken! Yum!
Hello good people of North America. If you could all direction your attention to the following pictures.
Yes, if you're wondering that's a PONYTAIL on Sophie's head. A PONYTAIL. And a side pony at that! Ha! I've only been dreaming of this day for, oh let's see, 29 YEARS!
And because I can't help myself you should probably look at these, too...
Who says thumb-sucking isn't cute?!
Aaah yes. It's been almost a week since my last politically-themed blog post. But take a breath, everyone, because this one isn't part of my usual "Rack-a-Bama is the man" rant. No, today I'm calling for world peace.
One piece of flair at a time.
Okay, so it all started with the UMC (Ugly Mom's Club, if you're not in-the-know) prez, Deb. She's somewhat of a genius. Not, like, idiot-savant genius. Just the normal, "I wear green and red together even if it's not the holidays" kind of genius.
So anyhoo, after the election in a fit of inspired passion Deb decided she was going to unite the world. It's been a long couple of years leading up to the election. Everywhere you look people were polarizing, gravitating to one side or the other. In a lot of the discussion I think we all started to realize that we were mostly saying the SAME THING. Whether we declared ourselves red or blue, liberal or conservative, most people want us to be safe, help those in need, and find a way out of the crisis in which we find ourselves. But the problem with labels is that they're so DIVISIVE. Once you sit down to dinner with someone and they ask you if you're a righty or a lefty the middle ground seems to be lost.
So Deb, in her geniusness (totally a word) decided to create a NEW label. And this is one you're all going to want in on.
The Purple Donkephant.
The purple donkephant is neither a red elephant or a blue donkey. The purple donkephant is both. Here are just a few attributes of the PD:
1) Has slightly reddish feet, to keep it firmly on the ground;
2) Has slightly blueish ears, to listen with an open mind to ideas that bring change; and
3) Has a smack-in-the-middle purple heart, because it wants desperately to find common ground to work our way out of this mess. You can't see it; you'll just have to trust me on that one.
And there's more. So much more. The Purple Donkephant is going to sweep the nation. But we need your help. If you are sick of partisan politics as usual, if you're sick of pitting one side against the other, if you finally want to find a way to take the best both sides have to offer then we need you! Fo shizz!
So here's your mission, should you choose to accept it.
Copy the above statement (starting at "The Purple Donkephant") and paste it into your next blog post. Next, include a link to the original PD homepage. You can find it here. Lastly, go to facebook (if you're a facebooker - which, duh, you should be...what is this? 1997?) and choose the Stephen Colbert inspired flair (it says, "I'm a Purple Donkephant and So Can You and has a circle of stars). Then, send that flair to everyone you know.
Trust me, once this idea takes off you're going to be glad you got in on the bottom floor.
Down with red and blue! Up with Purple Donkephants.
Let's start a revolution, baby!
Except my question goes a bit like this:
"To buy, or not to buy..."
Thoughts?
I haven't blogged about my adorable offspring in awhile. Since I know for a fact my parents only check this blog to ensure the safety and well-being of their grandchildren it's probably time for me to remedy the situation.
Cameron is back in preschool and is as hard core as ever. He is obviously going to follow in his mama's punk rock musical foot steps. He walks around the house going, "A 1, a 1, a 1, 2, 3..." and then humming the tune to Mary Had a Little Lamb. That kid has some major chops. In addition to humming Cameron spends his free time (and he has A LOT of free time) building forts and playing "spaceship." By the end of the day everyday my house usually resembles some sort of refugee camp with blankets hung over every possible surface that could possibly be used to create a tent/fort.
Miles is loving nursery and play dates and everything in between. He seems to miss Daddy the most during busy season, but finds ways to distract himself. He is a complete mimic when it comes to Cameron. It's amazing Cameron can even handle it. If someone followed me around all day repeating every word I said I think I would freak out. Cameron doesn't even seem to notice it. Miles is going to be starting preschool at the very end of March and while I'm excited for him to have his own experience I'm less excited than I thought I'd be. He keeps me busy and he keeps it lively around here!
Sophie is awesome. She's so set on keeping up with the boys that she's practically running everywhere. She's developed a pretty thick skin and can take a lot of the abuse the boys naturally dish out. They both adore her but they don't make any effort to coddle her. She handles it like a pro! At heart, though, she's still a mama's girl. And that's fine with me. 12 years from now she's going to hate me so I'm enjoying it while I can.
Chase is muscling his way through busy season. So far it's going more smoothly than any previous season. But we're only a few weeks in so that's not saying much. But he has more responsibilities this year and seems to feel more comfortable being a senior now that he has some time under his belt. This is his 4th busy season! And, of course, on top of busy season he keeps busy with his calling, home teaching and the kiddos. He leaves the house at 6 AM every morning - including a lot of Saturdays - so that he can get home as early as possible. A lot of nights he isn't home before the kids go to bed, but he makes sure not to do it two nights in a row. So he at least sees the kids every other day - and they're handling it all very, very well. AND, tomorrow is Chase's birthday! I've got a fun day planned for him - after he gets back from a quick trip to the office:)
As for me, I've finally weaned Sophie and feel like that was the last step to putting Humpty Dumpty together again. I've been pregnant or nursing non-stop since June '05 and it's just amazing how depleted I was starting to feel! Constantly having babies in the house, being up all day and all night... I would never, ever change it. But I definitely felt like I was losing myself a bit. So I'm trying to make an effort to take it all back and get myself back to where I'm comfortable, weight-wise, health-wise. It means getting up at 4:45 so I can hit the gym before Chase leaves, but it's been worth it. I feel totally dedicated for the first time in a long time. Before I always felt like I would work out as long as my schedule allowed it - because my kids truly dictated my schedule. But now I have a little more control over it and it feels good. I want them to see that mommy is happy and I want to set a healthy example for them. Oh and I want to look like Elle McPherson in my bathing suit this summer. Is that too much to ask?
I will preface this by saying that I thought long and hard over posting this. I finally decided that I feel just as strongly about this as the people who send stuff to me feel about their videos. And it's my blog, afterall...
Now that the election is over and all is said and done I didn't really expect to be writing a post dedicated to this particular topic. But here I am.
And, to be clear, this is NOT aimed at one person in particular. During the campaign season I was on the receiving end of loads of emails from different people. The senders were different - hey, one of them was my Mary Kay lady! - but the messages were all the same. Links to various youtube videos about how Obama loves to kill babies. I would watch politely for about a minute until it became clear that what I was viewing was propaganda. And I am just so sick to death of it.
The definition of propaganda, as defined by merriam-webster.com is: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.
Propaganda, whether disseminated with good or ill intent, is hurtful to the national political debate. It just is. It is one-sided, usually full of half-truths and spin and, worse, inflammatory as all get out. My reaction to receiving said videos is always to feel insulted. The sender is basically saying that either a.) I'm too stupid to have fully researched my candidate or b.) If I have done my research and STILL vote for Obama I must love killing babies, too. Neither is a compliment.
When engaging in a political discussion I like to hear both sides equally and then make an informed decision. If I want to know about Obama I'm NOT going to go to voteforbarack.com. If I want to know about McCain you won't find me checking out mccainisarockstar.org. I try to find neutral information in a large variety of sources. Liberal media, conservative media. I certainly look at voting records, but I don't go just by that either. To quote from a comment I made in response to my October 2 post, "Voting records get SO MUCH PRESS during election time, and rightly so. It's one of the most concrete ways for us to see someone's track record of actually supporting/being against any one particular policy. But the thing that [upsets me] is that people have a very fallacious thinking about what a vote MEANS. It is simply wrong and incorrect to infer that by voting AGAINST something that the person EMBRACES and UPHOLDS the opposite. When a bill comes to the floor it is so full of provisions and line-items. In order to pass it in good conscience the politician needs to agree with the ENTIRE bill and not just pieces of it. If there is anything in the bill that would be seen as a loophole or fatal flaw (overturn-able by the supreme court) the politician will often vote against that bill simply because it doesn't meet the standard it should. It's all about nuance and details. They could vote against a bill even though they agree with the concept overall." So I don't get myself too worked up over voting records.
So what's my big problem with propaganda? It's just people trying to do their best to support the cause they believe in, right?
I disagree.
Propaganda is SO STIFLING! It does absolutely nothing to encourage a free exchange of ideas and fills people with incorrect assumptions. And the use of inflammatory language and IMAGES is so abhorrent to myself - and I'm sure others - that I have to immediately walk away from it. Additionally, using terms like "KILLING BABIES" is so emotionally charged that you're practically setting everyone else up for failure if they don't rise to your standard. It's all black and white in the mind of a propagandist. You're either with us or against us.
And let's not forget that these videos often lack a thing called CONTEXT. Almost every one I've seen is just a collection of bits and pieces. A blurb here and a blurb there all with a backdrop of crying babies or, worse, aborted fetuses.
I, for one, will have NO PART IN IT. NONE. Just like I would never try to campaign for Obama by showing gruesome footage of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay detainees, I refuse to accept abortion propaganda as part of my personal political debate.
The last thing I want to say is this: when it comes down to it we probably all agree on abortion. I doubt that the majority of us wants it to be 100% eradicated, thus forcing people who truly deserve a safe procedure into the street and into the hands of whomever they can find to do it. Likewise, I'm sure that there are few, if any, who truly believe that abortion is great and killing babies is a good idea. I think the large majority of us are ON THE SAME SIDE of this issue. We think there should be solid legislation concerning when/where/how abortion can take place. There need to be limits on it, so that it doesn't become a casual form of birth control.
So, rather than playing into the hands of propagandists and becoming pawns in their game, I would challenge everyone who reads this blog to stay away from propaganda. And if you receive it, don't proliferate it's use! Don't put it in an email and mass mail everyone you know.
And, for the love of Pete, don't send it to me.
