Train up a child in the way she should stalk

Last night the dancers from So You Think You Can Dance came to Vegas to perform. Sadly, thanks to Dave Ramsey, I am trying to live within my means. This did not allow me to purchase any tickets for the show. Dang, financial limitations.

Happily, thanks to Facebook, I saw that my cousin went to the show in Utah last week. She was kind enough to let me know that you don't have to go to the show to go to the meet and greet. All you have to do is just show up and wait outside for the dancers.

I anticipated that with the show starting at 7:30 the dancers would be out by about 10:00. Diana and I headed over to the Orleans Arena about 9:30. The security people told us that it would be closer to 11 when the dancers came out.

It was ridiculously cold and we were not prepared for that kind of weather, so we went home and bundled up. We got back about 10:45 and joined the others waiting in line.

I know that it wasn't snowing or anything, but it was really windy. The Las Vegas kind of wind that cuts right through you like a knife. We ended up waiting for about 45 minutes with all the other crazies. I kept asking Diana if she was too cold and if she wanted to give up, but she was determined.

After what seemed like forever, they decided to move the free meet and greet inside out of the cold. We were right at the front of the line and we were ushered into a room with all of these people we had watched week after week. It was so amazing.

Here is Jeanine, the winner, with Diana and I. She was so pretty.

Here we are with one of our favorites, Evan. I am afraid I am suffering from an extreme case of hat hair as I value warmth over beauty. Also I wish I was wearing something other than my thermal shirt, but it did help me stay warm.

How cute are these two? We told Jeanette how sad we were when she got voted out.

Diana took this shot. Jeanette looked great in her turquoise shirt.

Kayla was next and no one was available to take our picture, so we have this one I took by holding my camera out.

We did find someone to snap our shot with Phillip. When we first came in, there was a group who had a very tiny baby with them, like two months old. This mother asked Philip to sign her baby. How odd is that? Well, I might do that if I had a baby, so perhaps it is not that strange.

Here Jason is signing Diana's book. Before it was our turn, that same group with the baby let Jason hold her and he was so cute with that baby. Jason was truly one of the nicest people.

Group shot with Jason. People were nice to snap shots for us, but next time it would be nice to have your own photographer.

Diana and Randi, she was so nice to talk to Diana and even help her get to the front of the line when people kept crowding in front of us.
One group in front of us took the classic "Butt" picture. So funny.

Here we are with Kapono. Another self shot, good thing my arm is so long.

The line to see Melissa was so long, we kept coming back but it never got shorter. Finally at the very end we got our turn. I am sure that Melissa hears all the time about how her breast cancer dance impacted people. I added my story to the others. As my mom was in the middle of her treatments, I remember sitting on the couch with tears streaming down my face, as I watched Melissa and Ade portrait so much of what we were feeling.

Cute shot of Brandon signing Diana's book. Look at all her autographs. She managed to get one from everyone who was there. Ade wasn't there, I am not sure why.

At one point they announced the five minute warning, we hurried to get the last shot with Brandon. He is shorter in person than he looks on TV, but he was really nice. Diana is so dang cute and photogenic.

It was midnight when we finally were encouraged to leave and go home. Diana loved all of it. I was so proud. I wonder how many other such opportunities we have missed out on? I will need to be more diligent in scouting out such fun. And the best part was that it was absolutely free. If stalking is wrong, I don't want to be right. Just sayin.

Can't Touch This!!!

Just in case you missed the Halloween edition of the Bonnie Hunt show, I thought I would share this highlight. All of her crew dressed up in different 80's characters. You know you are old when a time you lived through is now considered an era worthy of a costume. Bonnie was Melanie Griffith in Working Girl. The whole show was hee hee larious, but the best, for Diana and I, was this clip of one of her employees doing his MC Hammer impression. Check it out unless you are too young to remember this.

Candy Corn Witch

This year's costume drama, involved a long long wait in a line at Party City to try on this costume. It was actually her second choice because she had chosen a Pirate costume on line. I of course procrastinated purchasing it, not realizing that it needed to be ordered online in advance. Hence we were left with this second choice, which I think is adorable. I attended my last Halloween parade but my camera was out of batteries, so pictures.
We went to Utah for the weekend to attend a baptism and a baby blessing and it just happened to be Halloween. For the first time ever, we got to go trick or treating with our cousins. Here is the group shot. Diana was especially thrilled that she ended up holding the newest cousin, little Tiger. Check out Little Bo Peep in the front row, I made that costume for Diana 8 years ago.

Here is a picture of me and Lizzie up close. Too bad you can't see the bloomers on the costume. They have 10 yards of lace and ribbon on them. It seems like a different life when I used to actually sew.

Here are the three little witches. So cute. The witch with the blue pumpkin got baptized earlier that day. Kind of cool to get baptized on Halloween.

And here is the completely satisfied Candy Corn Witch with her loot laid out for the choosing. Love the orange stripey socks. Maybe they can be recycled into a Pipi Longstocking costume.

But wait there's more

Yes much like one of the infomercials on TV when the guys extols the virtues of a set of knives and then says "But Wait, There's More", there are more funtabulous pictures of me with BYU football players for your viewing pleasure and potential mockery.

You see last weekend, my football friends came to Vegas. And we all know what that means: another football fireside. The fireside was wonderful as usual, but I have to admit to being a bit distracted by strategizing over how to corner potential players/victims to pose with.

Here I am with my defensive guys, Scottie Johnson and Andrew Rich. These guys both wreak havoc in the secondary on a regular basis. Scottie also was a very good sport and feigned sincere interest in my stalker book. Such a good actor.

And next me and McKay Jacobson. He has been a star on the offense this year and is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury. I managed to get my stalker book in the picture this time.

In the background most of the team are helping to put away the chairs. In case you were wondering, a football team can put away all the chairs that filled the gym in about 4 minutes flat.

One of the biggest helpers, my good buddy Harvey Unga. I showed him how cute we looked in our picture that was taken the week before.

I also had a fun conversation with Coleby Clawson and his wife. He liked my pictures as well. I was tempted to get another picture with him, to see if I wouldn't be overly smiling, but oh well.

Surprisingly, I am running out of players to get my picture taken with. Almost everyone I saw, I had already tortured. Inconceivable.

As hard as it was to pry myself away, I knew that I needed to go home, pack, and get to bed so I could get up at 5 an to get to the airport the next morning. As I was driving, look who was driving in the lane next to me, two buses full of football players. I had to snap a shot, although I am pretty sure driving while holding your camera out of the window and trying to look at the view screen, is not the safest thing to do.

Here they are trying to make their get away. I contemplated tailing them to the hotel, but thought discretion was the better part of valor.

And here they are getting even further away. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Finally we reached the freeway entrance, they went east and I went west. How sad. They did play fabulously on Saturday as they dismantled UNLV. Trent was there with a friend sitting in my seat. That's OK, he was kind enough to text me during the game. Surely that is the next best thing to being there?

Jared and I had a nice visit in Seattle and he received his patriarchal blessing. It is too bad that I came down with a horrible head cold Saturday morning. That is why it has taken me this long to get this posted.

Sadly, I think this maybe the end of my close encouters with the football team this season. But never fear, I will try to go on living anyway.

Random post about the details of my life.

This will be a rather random post to catch up on a few things that have been happening around here.


Some of the biggest news is that Diana got the part in the school play that she really wanted to get. Her elementary school is doing a play about some school kids who want it to snow so they can get out of school. All of the teachers in the play have been renamed to match the names of the teachers at her school.





This is Miss Friend. Yes I know she looks like she could be one of the kids, but she is actually the music teacher. She is awesome and clearly Diana resembles her.

Check out this current picture of Diana. From their long hair, glasses, and short stature, well they are kind of twins. So Diana had her heart set on being Miss Friend. There was drama about trying out. Lots of late night practicing and nerves. But in the end, she is beyond ecstatic to have gotten the part she wants. I think it will be pretty funny.


In other news, I celebrated a birthday last week. It was a very nice day. I went to IHOP for breakfast with friends. My husband got me beautiful roses. And we got Qdoba for dinner.

The only bad thing about my birthday was that it happened to be picture day for Diana. Picture days seem to be fraught with stress and drama over how her hair should be and what to wear. Somehow we navigated the rocky road and got her to school. Sheesh.

Another thing I have been meaning to post about is my new phone. To say that I adore this phone, would be an understatement. It totally rocks. And I have given in and paid for the internet so I can check my email and update my facebook status. It has an awesome camera on it as well. In fact you might say that it is a camera with a phone.

My kids like my phone as well, and take turns with it whenever they can. This is pretty funny because I had a picture of Diana as my wallpaper. Whenever Jared gets a hold of the phone, he changes the wallpaper to a picture of him. Then Diana gets it and changes it back to her picture. It is just like Sleeping Beauty when the fairies are arguing over whether Auroa's gown will be pink or blue.

Besides getting to go to the BYU football game, last weekend when I was in Utah, I got to meet my new nephew. Isn't he precious.

He is such a sweet baby. It was lots of fun to hold him and get to know him better.

I am still working on organizing and cleaning up from the flood. It is a bit overwhelming. But as my dear sister in law pointed out, it is a good chance to sort through things and de-junk. A mandatory clean sweep, if you will. And we will paint the family room, before we replace the floor.

Jared and I are off to Seattle in the morning. My dad will be giving him his patriarchal blessing on Sunday. I am so happy that he wants to get this special blessing. It is a bit sad that it happens to be on the same weekend as the BYU/UNLV game, but at least I got to attend last weekend. I will go to the fireside tonight before we leaving in the morning. I am excited about that.

Jared is slowly adjusting to being back in school. He has missed about 12 days, but seems to be keeping his head above water. He slipped and fell last week and that kept him home for a few days. Actually this week is the first week that he has attended every day. Wahoo! I suppose that it is progress and I was overly optimistic that he could just go back 100% of the time. I think that his immune system is weak because he keeps catching a cold or flu. I wonder if there is an immunity idol for that? Hmmmm. I think eventually he will be back in the full swing of things. I went to open house this week and it seems that he has very good teachers. I am pleased with that.

Oh and in other missed it by that much news, I received a letter in the mail telling me that my fridge I purchased 9 years ago is being recalled due to the fact that several of them have caught fire and burned people's houses down. Gee, isn't that special. So this morning a repairman came and fixed the faulty part. Whew, that cisis is averted. Thank you very much, but I think the experience of having my house burn down is one I can live with out quite nicely. Knocking on wood and throwing salt over my shoulder as I write this.

Well I suppose that is all the news that is fit to tell. I hope to be back to working more in the next few weeks.

Yes it's another BYU football post, just suck it up and deal with it, K. You know how much you look forward to these.

Okie dokie, peeps. It's time for yet another of my famous football posts. I know you have all been waiting with baited breath. And don't worry this post full of pictures will not disappoint. Let's just say that it was a heck of day for football.

I was not going to attend the game, but a very kind person in my ward offered me her tickets. She wasn't going and it was a very happy coincidence indeed. I invited my brother, but he had to work, and so I knew that T was up from down south and wanted to go. Thanks to facebook messaging, I invited her and she was thrilled. Who says blogging doesn't pay off?

I arrived at the game a little bit late because of not getting to Provo sooner. But better late than never. I made sure that I was properly attired in all my BYU gear. Here I took a shot of myself as I was entering the stadium.

And here I made the security guard take my picture. She might have muttered something about my craziness under her breath. I'm not quite sure.
Here is the sign they put up just for me. How did they know it would be necessary? Hmmmm.

T was slightly behind me in the drive up, so I watched from the entrance until she got there. After purchasing kettle corn, we made our way up to our seats.

I had not been to these seats and so asked another kind orange coated young man. He gave directions, and we proceeded to where we thought the seats were. Of course they were in the middle of the row and so we made about twelve people stand up as we made our way to the seats. Now mind you, I had a large coat, sweat shirt, and bag overflowing in my arms. And T of course had her cozy. No offense Kristina, but the cozy is uber soft. People were kind and pretended they were not annoyed at us as we trampled on their toes.

Funny thing someone else was sitting in our seats. Not so funny, we were in the wrong section. And so we made our way back over all the people we had just annoyed. All the time saying "So sorry, pardon me, excuse me." We were not pop-u-lar at all. Not even a little.

At this point there was only 3 minutes until half time. So I suggested we sit in the aisle. And then we noticed two empty seats right on the aisle. We sat there, instead of treading all the way to the middle of another row.

It just so happens that four blog souls sisters met up at half time. It was so cool. Here are T, me, April, and Barbaloot. Are we just the cutest thing you have ever seen? Yeah, I thought so too. I totally loved Barb's cute white coat. Very stylish and color coordinated.

T took this picture of me as we made our way closer to high five the team.
And she was also kind enough to snap this shot of me in the process of the high five.
After the game, T had to go home with her husband, but I went and hung out with April. She taught me the stalker skill of hanging out by the locker room entrance so you can see the players when they leave. And who did we bump into, but Queen's mom, who also happens to be Max Hall's grandmother. Of course we needed a picture with her.
Here I am with a pile of stadium chairs. Don't ask why I got this picture, but it was covered with BYU and so I needed my picture with them.
And here I am with Brian Karia. And who is that popping into the picture aka the Sound of Music, cuckoo song. So funny April. Love ya, girl.
And guess who was next, to play the "Get your picture with the nuttiest fan ever" game. Yes that's right. Coleby Clawson. The very player who put the hit on Sam Bradford and took him out of the game when we played Oklahoma. Look at me, I am not the least bit happy and excited about that, now am I.
And here was April's turn to get her picture with Coleby. His wife was a good sport about sharing him with us.
The next contestant, Manase Tonga. Yes people, how cute is he. And he can run also.
Dennis Pitta and Max Hall showed up next. I didn't make them get their picture with me because I got my picture with them last year. I did snap this shot of Dennis chatting it up with some kids.
Now Jan Jorgensen. He is a big guy. Such a good sport also.


And last, but surely not least, ME AND HARVEY UNGA!!! I can't believe it. You just have to pick these people out of the crowd as they leave the stadium. Harvey likes to sneak out and try to avoid some of the crazies like me. But it was not to be. I had to wait behind several small boys, but finally it was my turn.

All in all, it was amazing. I loved it all, but feel like I didn't really see the game. Maybe I will have to re-watch it. And I think I am coming closer to being a topic of discussion in the locker room. Wouldn't that be cool to end up on a poster warning the players to watch out for this "uber fan".

My toilet runneth over!

Once upon a time, (well ok, it was Friday morning, if you must know) there was a grumpy, exhausted maiden who was wont to linger longer in bed.

Alas, her daughter exclaimed, "Arise from thy bedchamber and drive me in the carriage to the house of education. Hasten, for we have languished in bed too long and the time is nigh at hand for the bell of tardiness to ring."

And so the grumpy maiden arose post haste and descended her stairs, whilst rubbing her eyes, longing for a short drive in the carriage, where upon she would return to her bedchamber for a long, lingering, nap, whilst all her children were attending school.

But alas her dream was in vain. Because upon entering her chamber for TV watching, her eyes beheld that an evil wizard had cast a spell turning the laminate floor into a swamp. Yea, verily even the guinea pig hangeth ten as her cage floated across the floor.

In great hast, the grumpy maiden gathereth all the towels of the house and hastened to rescue items of value that were beginning to succumb to the flood. There was much scurrying and bailing. And running to and fro to empty the contents of the room.

And woe, some of the books were soaked to destruction. But by some twisted turn of fate, none of them belongeth to the library, and so no fines of torture were inflicted upon the maiden.

And then the maiden's fair daughter cried out "Woe is me, today is the day scheduled for physical exertion and my running shoes are wet like unto a soggy sponge."

And the grumpy maiden looked and saw that it was true. And verily, the maiden exhorted the fair daughter to wear her slip on footwear and promised to dry the running shoes with the aid of the fire breathing dragon that lives inside the dryer.

Indeed, the grumpy maiden exclaimed for the fair daughter to make haste, for the time was short and the bell ringing was nigh at hand. And so they hastened to the carriage and managed to arrive at the house of education just as the bell ringing started and with out peril to any pedestrians or crossing guards.

The now soggy, grouchy, grumpy maiden returned home to continue her flood fighting efforts. Wielding a broom she did gird up her loins and proceed to sweep as much of the water as possible out of the back door onto the porch.

And hark she heard a rapping at the door. And behold it was her friend with her two small children arriving to harvest her pomegranates, because the grumpy, grouchy maiden hath no time for jelly making. The soggy, grouchy, grumpy maiden exhorted the children to watch out for the slippery floor. And whilst her friend tarried in the pomegranate vineyard, the maiden returned to sopping and mopping.

Whilst sopping and mopping, the telephone rangeth, and the maiden ran to and fro looking for a phone that was fully charged. The phone call informed her of the impending arrival of her new stove from the place of home warranties. This was fortuitous as the maiden could enter a plea to the home warranty place for help in the plumbing department at the very same time. And yea, her plea was of the 911 nature. The soggy, grouchy, grumpy maiden was assured that the plumber would make haste to her rescue.

The maiden was receiving a new stove, because her old stove was old like unto Methuselah and was no longer performing the purpose for which it was intended. Yea, the pilot light did stick whenever the stove was used, and continued clicking for the entire cooking time, whether it be 20 minutes or 2 hours. And the ticking thereof grateth on the grumpy maiden's nerves. And behold the stove repairman declared the old stove to be unfixable, and so a new stove was sent for.

Upon hearing of the new stove's arrival, the maiden redirected her efforts from the sopping and mopping to the pushing and shoving of the furniture to prepare a path for the new stove.

For verily the way from the front door to her kitchen was very narrow and fraught with obstacles.

The maiden searched high and low through out her house for every available towel to be used in the sopping and mopping. Yea even, she began using the magical clothes washing machine, in order to obtain more dry towels.

Shortly thereafter the bell of the door rangeth. And the soggy, grouchy, grumpy maiden hastened to the door and inquired "Are you here for the stove or the plumbing?" And verily it was for the stove.

And whilst the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden continued the process of sopping and mopping, the workman removed the old stove. And they did bestow pity upon the maiden, for they did have great empathy for her woeful state of dampness.

And whence the ancient stove was removed, the maiden looked and saw years of crumbs collected beneath the old stove. And the maiden put her shoulder to the wheel in removing the scourge of filth found there upon. And yea verily the crumbs were hard like unto cement. After some wailing and gnashing of teeth, the grime was removed.
And behold, the grumpy, grouchy maiden began receiving pleas from her son in the tenth grade. Yea, he did text and call her exceedingly often, saying that he felt light in the head and needed to come home. And verily, the grumpy maiden did exhort her son to sucketh it up and stay at school. Yea, and she was not amused at his persistence in exclaiming his impending death if she did not rescue him. But the grouchy maiden was firm and immovable in her resolve that he would complete the day of his education. And his pleas did fall upon deaf ears. For truly she was otherwise occupied.

The new stove was installed, and the maiden saw that it was good. For it was beautiful to behold, in that it was black like unto the fridge and dishwasher, unlike the old beige stove.

The workmen finally retired to their carriage, and the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden looked and saw that the time for the daughters physical exertion was nigh at hand, yea even 5 minutes away.

And the maiden took great haste in finding socks and taking the running shoes to the office of the house of education and bestowed the partially dried running shoes upon the fair daughter.

The fair daughter pled with the grumpy maiden saying "Today is the designated day for families to feast with their children during lunch time. Yea, please bringeth me a BIG Mac from the House of McDonalds as a token of your love and devotion." And the silly, soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden replied that she would do her best.

And so she returned to the task of sopping and mopping.

Verily all of her efforts seemed to be in vain, for every time she looked, more water was seeping up through the laminate flooring.

And behold, the phone did ringeth again. And the grumpy maiden received the news of the plumbers longed for arrival. But woe unto the fair daughter because it was at the same time as the hour of lunch.

Yea and verily the fair daughter did call and plead with great vigor for the grouchy maiden to come hither with her BIG Mac. And the maiden had to deny the pleas of her daughter, yea even though they were many, and the daughter did wail and gnash her teeth at the news that she would have to eat hot lunch that day.

And behold, the doorbell ringeth again, and lo it was the plumber. And the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden did invite him into her abode of sogginess.

And verily, the plumber did search low and high for the source of the flooding, but to no avail. He discovereth not the source of the water. And the grumpy maiden did follow him around and give many suggestions. But alas they could not discover from whence the water was flowing.

Finally, as a last resort, the plumber suggested cutting a whole in the ceiling of the TV watching chamber roon

. Yea, even though the home warranty would not cover repairing the damage done by the hole cutting. And the grumpy maiden did giver her consent for what else could she do?

And the plumber did say unto the distraught soggy maiden, let me run and get a waiver for thee to sign away all thy liabilities. And the maiden did despair, for it is never a good thing when someone says "Let me get a waiver."

And verily, not one hole but two were caused to be cut in the ceiling. But alas, that was not the source of the leaking either. And the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden began to despair.

For she had mopped up buckets and buckets of water, and still there was no end in sight.

And behold there was a plate of brownies sitting on the kitchen counter which were left over from the enriching event of the previous evening. And the starving, soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden did fall upon the brownies devouring many, yea even until the plate was clean.

And behold the plumber did continue his search for the cause of the problem. Yea, even unto the opening of cupboard doors, whereupon items crammed inside did fall out upon his head.

Yea and he did discover that the water had entered the closet of containment, which was piled high with items without other storage solutions. And it became necessary for the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden to empty the closet, which was mountainous to behold. And this at great peril to her life.

And the maiden beheld that the carpet on the floor of the closet was soaking and must be disposed of in the waste receptacle. Yea, even it was dripping with excess water.
And the carpet pad was also soaketh, and caused to be removed. But behold it was glued to the floor and was most difficult to remove. And verily, the grouchy maiden thinketh her back would break from the efforts of removing the carpet pad.

And behold next the plumber discovered the water had entered the cavity that we had caused to be cut under the stairs for the purpose of storage.

And much of the contents of the storage chamber were removed, in order to see the damage that had been done.

Yea, even some of the food that the maiden had stored up for the day of famine as foretold by the prophets, yea some of that was touched by the water flowing into the house.
But behold, much of the food was spared.

And it came to pass that the plumber finally after several hours of searching, yea he did discover the problem. There was a clog in the pipe that goeth from the house out into the sewer. And so when the children had showered that morning, the water was unable to get to the sewer and instead did flow out of the downstairs toilet.

Upon hearing this news, the soppy, soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden felt faint of heart. For this news did concern her greatly. But yea, while the plumber did snake out the pipe, the maiden did continue in her efforts to clean up the mess.

And behold the grouchy maiden did look at the clock, and verily it was the time of dismissal for the fair daughter. And the maiden did hasten to fetch the fair daughter and the fair daughter's friend, who was promised to come for a visit that afternoon.

And verily, the fair daughter and her friend did take the large box from the new stove to make a fort. And they requireth sticky Velcro and fabric for the making of their fort. And the making of it did involve a great mess, but verily it did keep them occupied, whilst the maiden took a moment to sit upon her couch.

And verily, the soggy, grumpy, grouchy maiden did make a call to her home owners insurance, and hence then did inform her of her $1000 dollar deductible. And it seemeth a harsh thing. Yea verily, her husband did say that he could repair the damage for much less, and so the claim will be withdrawn.

At the end of the day, the grumpy, grouchy maiden did lay upon her bed in a state of sheer and utter exhaustion. And behold she slept, but her dreams were troubled by visions of waves and toilets and Guinea pigs hanging ten. And verily she did rise the next day and commence in the cleaning process. And yea it will be many fortnights before all is returned to normal in her home.

But behold, all is not in vain, for the events did make for a very entertaining post for her blog.