Date Night ~ Friday the 11th

Paul and I have had a lot of stress in our lives right now. It seems like crap is coming at us from all angles. I can't go into a lot of detail but his job is an area of concern. Raising a child who is going through puberty and is in junior high is hard on us. I worry about Emma all the time. There are areas of uncertainty in my life that have caused me to feel anxiety. I haven't felt for a long time and I don't want it to start again.

Luckily Paul and I are in a really good place and we are able to communicate really well. I am so thankful for that!

Early in the week we decided we needed time just for us. I called my mom and asked her to take the kids Friday night. We were going to have Emma skip her basketball game Saturday morning. It was okay. We needed this. We planned to drive them up to Salt Lake, go to dinner at Blue Iguana, spend the evening walking around Temple Square and maybe do a little shopping at the Gateway. (Nothing helps me deal with stress better than retail therapy.) The next day Paul would head to Park City to ski (Nothing helps Paul deal with stress better than skiing.) and on his way home he would pick up the kids.

Our plans were foiled. Emma had a dance Friday night that she was dying to go to. All her friends were going to be there. We really want her to make close friendships and feel secure in her social circle. (Emma is the youngest person in the whole school. She often struggles finding her place.) We've encouraged her to take every opportunity she can to spend time with her friends so bonds can be formed. She often feels left out so we didn't want her to miss this chance.

My parents graciously agreed to come to our home, get her off to the dance, watch Andrew and wait here until it was over and then take the kids back to their house. It was a big sacrifice since the dance went until pretty late and they live over an hour away but they were more than willing.

Paul and I went to Thai Drift and then continued our date with a trip to Costco to buy toilet paper!

(Image borrowed from Google images. It's a very small place and I didn't want to be obnoxiously taking pictures and sending off flashes all through dinner. Okay, I did want to but thought I better not.)

Yep, TP. Aren't you jealous? We actually ended up with a few more interesting things like roses so overall it was a good trip.

On our way home stopped by Kneaders for some dessert. Look how cute this garland is. I've said it before but I'll say it again. I want to live in Kneaders!

We then stopped at Wal Mart for some last minute birthday treats for an awesome boy that is in my primary class, got gas, got a car wash, dropped off the treats and then headed back to the house just in time to pick Emma up from the dance. She had a good time and was asked to dance to a slow song. We told the kids good-bye, watched an episode of Vampire Diaries and fell asleep. It wasn't the most romantic night but we got a lot done and it was nice to spend time together.

Paul got up the next morning and hit the slopes. He had a wonderful time exploring the mountain. He said it felt great and I can tell it really lifted his spirits. I'll be honest. I did a little shopping on the internet. I can't wait for UPS to drop off some new spring tops. It will make my day.

February 10th

(Emma's wearing a white scarf, that isn't toilet paper hanging out of her hoodie!)

Last Thursday David and Nancy took our family to see the Phantom of the Opera at the high school. (Apparently Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom just became available for high schools to use) I was so excited when I found out they were putting on this performance. I was really curious to see how it compared to the Broadway production. I was also eager to show the kids one of my most favorite musicals of all time. The Phantom of the Opera is the musical that started my love of musicals.

The show was awesome. The school did a really great job. We were blown away by the props and the make-up. This wasn't just a rinky-dink high school show, this was major performance! They stuck right to the original. Andrew Lloyd Webber would be proud.

The actress who played Christine was so incredibly talented. It was hard to believe she was a high school student. I'm guessing that she will have a long career in musical theater.

The kids both really enjoyed it. Andrew came home and grabbed my piano book of the music and asked me to play it for him. (wow am I rusty!) They have since watched the movie version and asked for the music for their ipods.

I am grateful that Paul's parents gave us this opportunity to go and I am glad that the kids enjoyed it so much. I am constantly blown away by the talent that surrounds us. I can't wait to see what the school does next year.

Coolest Website Ever!

I recently learned of Pinterest.  At first when I heard what you did on this site I wondered what the point was but I gave into peer pressure, asked for an invite and started using it. Then I got it. It's like an eye-gasm.

You take pictures that you love, that you've found online and pin them to your boards. You have different categories for your boards. I have recipes, pink, thing I want in a dream home, fashion and several other boards. If you click on the picture it takes you back to where you got the picture so you can find it again easily.

It can be a total time-suck or a really useful tool. You choose. Anyway here are a couple of my boards that I like to look at most.

If you'd like to waste time like me, let me know your email address and I will send you an invite. I promise, it's fun.

February 9th

There is a girl in our carpool that is trying to raise money for a trip to New York with her drama club. Around Christmas she sold baking mixes and at the end of January she was selling cookie kits. I told her I wasn't sure I wanted to help pay her way when I haven't even gotten to go myself ; ) I hope she gets my sense of humor! Anyway I bought a kit and she dropped it off on the 9th. I didn't imagine the cookies would still be fresh on the 14th so we dove right in. They were sooo sooo good. I love Granny B's cookies.

 

Look how cute the little kit was.

When I opened the frosting this glorious smell came wafting out. (Yes I am wearing a robe. She brought them by pretty late in the evening.)

I couldn't stop sniffing. It was heaven! Seriously, the family was getting frustrated because I wouldn't put it down. Yuuuuum! 

We all decorated and ate cookies before bed. (You know what that means don't you? All that sugar and fat went right to my butt!) Somehow ours just aren't as cute as the ones on the box. They tasted good though. Oh so very very good.

Buttload of Deer

I recently put this as my facebook status.

It's a zoo around here! In the last two weeks I've seen a bald eagle, a black and white woodpecker (really cool looking), ferret, bunnies, butt loads of deer, quail (tons!) and about a bazillion different types of little birds all running/flying amok. I feel like I need to start charging admission to visitors.

I was asked by my uncle "exactly how many deer in a buttload" 

I responded "several per sighting X multiple sightings = a buttload"

Since then we have had a trio of visitors in the field on most evenings. Notice how hideously dead and bleak everything looks? It's like I'm caught in a brown movie. It am so ready for my life to be in color again. (It's sad that I have to open my dishwasher just to get excited by the pretty colors of Fiestaware.) 

"You looking at me?"

Superbowl

There is a party store right next to where I got my running shoes. It has the most amazing selection of napkins, decorations, paper goods and anything else you can imagine for every holiday or theme you can think of. I had in my hot little hands 10-15 dollars worth of cute superbowl goodies. Then I put them back. Almost everything would have gone in the garbage right after the game anyway. It would have been for the photos only. We are trying to save money so I put on my brave face and walked out empty handed.  When I look at this picture though I wish I had spent the money LOL! 

We had plenty of food for the game. We had tons of chips and dips, frozen pizza, soda, spinach dip, veggies and a giant tub of cheese balls. Paul, Emma and I were all rooting for Green Bay. Partially because Aaron Rodgers is from my hometown and partially because we didn't want the Steelers to win another superbowl. (Then they would have more wins than Dallas or something? Who knows?) Andrew wanted the Steelers. 

It ended up being a good game and we had fun watching it and the commercials.  

I found this floating around Facebook

Ha! I love it.