Super Stalker Strikes Shamelessly

OK, here are the further details that I did not get a chance to post on Saturday. And here is the picture of my autographed football. I am not sure if the picture even does it justice, but Coach Edwards has a great signature. Now I need to get myself a special case to put this football in and never let anyone play with it. Coach Edwards and his wife, both gave wonderful talks about this year's Mutual theme "Be steadfast and immovable". Coach Edwards talked about making the most of what you have been given. He used Ty Detmer as an example of this. Ty did not have the physical attributes of a normal football player, but he had such a great mind for the game that he made up for what he was lacking physically. Several of the kids talked about the talks in their testimonies last night, so I am glad that they enjoyed it as much as me.

Speaking of enjoying it, I am friends with the Bishop in the other ward in our building. He was there watching me "stalk" Coach Edwards. It got back to me that this Bishop told his wife that he thought I might have scared Coach Edwards a little bit. Then he told his wife "I think Sis. Hammond might even be a bigger BYU fan than Coach Edwards, himself." Isn't that hilarious? So, yes, I will now be answering by my new pseudonym, given me by my sister-- "Super Stalker".

Our roadshow did turn out well. I have decided that things like roadshows and girls camp are a lot like giving birth to children. There is often a lot of pain, crying, and screaming involved, but once it is over, you think it was worth it. Oh, and yeah, you don't really want to do it again. The theme for the roadshow was Broadway musicals and Disney. Now this seems to be right up my alley. But we did not make a musical version of Napoleon Dynamite, nor did we do some remake of Fiddler on the Roof. What was decided, before I came into the equation was to do something like Stomp out Loud. We hoped that this would appeal to the boys more than singing and dancing. The final product was called Seminary Stomp, where we made lots of different noises using things found at seminary. I should be getting a copy of the video that someone took, but I don't have it yet. Like I said things went rather well, other than the fact that we never once had everyone at a practice at the same time even once before we performed. And to make things more fun, the three main boys with a drum solo that was half of the show, barely made it there in time. But all in all, the kids had fun, the show was a success, and the best thing that can be said is that it is OVER. Except the RS asked if we would perform at their enrichment on Thursday night and we said, YES. What were we thinking. So we will have to try to get everyone to do it one more time, which of course will never happen. But that is OK, the leaders will fill in for the kids that don't show up. I have decided that trying to get all the youth in one ward, in one room, at the same time, is harder than trying to get ants in a jar with no lid. There, that is more than enough murmuring and nay saying. But I am happy that I don't have three practices to go to, this week.

Best Day Ever

So today all my dreams from this week came true. Yes Coach Edwards did love my book. I showed it to anyone who would look at it, and even some who didn't want to see it. My stake president said that he was a bit worried about me, but he did love my turkey bone picture. How could he not? Coach Edwards gave a great talk and so did his wife. I even got a football signed. I will post pictures of that later. Now I have to get ready for our Roadshow performance tonight, which is the end of the youth conference festivities. I was called to be the assistant director and will be soooo glad when it is over. There is much more I could say about that, but I don't have time right now. Then I even got Coach Edwards to pose in a picture with a bunch of the young women in my ward. Notice me in the very back, standing on my tip toes. I am now off to Sam's club to get some pictures developed from this morning to put on a board for tomorrow.

Too Funny

Check this out, if you need a laugh. I saw it on another blog, thanks Jen.

http://media.putfile.com/Al-Mormons

Fauxhawk

For any of you who are not aware of this new hairstyle-here is a picture of Trent modeling the fauxhawk. I am not sure how it is spelled. It is only recently that I myself was made award of this term. It is interesting because Trent has let his hair get a little bit longer on the top, but has still wanted the edges trimmed up. I think it looks quite nice.

Inconceivable Newsflash

Last weekend, I found out some fabulous, exciting, thrilling, extraordinary, incredible, staggering, astonishing, and amazing news. And I don't even think those adjectives adequately describe the happiness and jubilation I feel about this news. So what could make my heart beat so fast you might ask? It is the announcement that the speaker for this weekend's youth conference will be Lavell Edwards and his wife Patti. For any of you living in a cave, Lavell Edwards is the previous head coach of the BYU cougars. Yes, when I heard the news, I was thrilled beyond belief to the point that jumping up and down was required. Every time I think of it, I am just filled with impatience for this Saturday to get here. And just think of the awesome opportunity for me to improve upon my stalker abilities? Oh, it makes me giddy with anticipation. I have taken all of my pictures and autographs, including the famous turkey "Y" bone and put them into a fun little scrapbook. Do you think Coach Edwards will like my book? And will he be willing to pose with me for a picture? I don't know how I will sleep on Friday night. This is big people. Very big. So just wait until Saturday night, I will have a fun thing to post. Yeah, for wonderful blogging situations.

Bathing Beauties

I have been going through some of my pictures lately. In doing so, I found this shot of me in a bubble bath. It reminded me of the picture below of Diana. Strange how many mother daughter pictures I am finding. And it is interesting that I did not even plan to duplicate a picture of myself. If only I had planned it, I am sure that I could have many more such similar pictures. Curses, think of all the missed opportunities for blogging. How lucky I am to have such a sweet little girl to keep me company. And please don't comment on the fact that Diana is bathing with candy in her mouth. I'm sure that is not a good parenting technique. Perhaps this was taken the day after Halloween. That must explain it.

What's for Dinner?

Here are two new recipes I have tried recently. I give both of them two thumbs up for both taste and ease of preparation. The Chicken Tetrazzini is from my friend Elizabeth and the Chicken Lickin one is from another blog. If you are like me, you are always looking for something new to make for dinner.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1/2 c. Butter
1/2 c. Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 c. Chicken Broth
2 c. Whipping Cream
4 Tbsp. Cooking Sherry
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts,
1 7 oz. package Angel Hair Pasta
1 carton of Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter, blend in flour and seasonings, cook over low heat, stir until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and cream, heat to boiling stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute, stir in sherry. Cook and drain pasta. Pour pasta in ungreased casserole dish, then put chicken and sliced mushrooms on top of pasta. Pour white sauce on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chicken Lickin

-8 chicken legs, thighs or breasts
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Rinse chicken parts and pat dry. In skillet, melt butter and brown chicken quickly on both sides. Place chicken in crock pot. Stir together remaining ingredients except cream and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high 4 to 5 hours. Just before serving, stir in heavy cream. Serve over hot spaghetti.Serves 6 to 8

Classical Humor

This is a funny video. I hestitate to post this because there are several bad words towards the end of it. So just don't watch this with your kids around, until you see where to turn the sound down. Or skip it altogether.

Joke for the Day

A local priest and a pastor were fishing on the side of the road. They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car. One driver who drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the priest said to the pastor, "You think maybe we should have just said 'Bridge Out' instead?"

It's raining frogs.

When I opened my front door this afternoon, this fell to the ground. How cute! A little frog. The note says "Hoppy Leap Year, to a "toadally" cool family!" This is from my fun, clever, creative friend Shawna. I already knew you were a rock star, but seriously "you rock". Thanks for the little surprise.

Leaping Lizards!

So Happy Leap Day! Here it is, a special day we only get to experience every four years. What are you going to do with your extra day? I am looking forward to catching up on things like sleep. Oh, and I guess I could throw some housework in there also. Then there is the scout camp out I need to help Jared get ready to attend. Usually he is very self sufficient. But of course this time has to be the Klondike Derby, where they are going up to Mount Charleston to camp in the snow. So you are suppose to have all sorts of warm clothing just so you won't die of hypothermia. Of course Jared has out grown anything we had last year. I may be able to borrow some boots from one of the young men leaders. That would be great. I am hoping to go to Savers and find some other things that will work. Wish me luck. Then so I won't be bored, I am in charge of the food for a baby shower tomorrow. I have assigned people to bring things, but not as many as I should have due to procrastination on my part. So I will just do it myself which at this point seems easier than trying to ask someone else at the last minute. So obviously I am very glad to have an extra day to get things done.

What's your color?

So I decided to give in and take this color test. I have been seeing it on other's blogs and thought I would give it a try. What do you think? Does the description fit me?

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

More fun at school.

So just in case you might think it is look like a "psycho rock star" day at school today, I will tell you that it is not. Instead it is just plain crazy hair day. Diana's appearance could work for the rock star day. We will have to keep that in mind, if that ever comes up. Of course there had to be drama this morning that involved us running to Walgreen's to buy hair color. This was after I had already driven Trent to school , and then Jared. Ah, good times. I think in the end Diana was satisfied with how it turned out. I am not quite sure what is up with her choice of outfit. Sometimes I miss the good old days when I was in charge of what she wore each day. Oh, well. Then there is a picture I took of her with our next door neighbor. It is kind of hard to see in the picture, but our next door neighbor has her hair sprayed in blue and green stripes. I probably lost some mother points for not having styled Diana's hair some special way. But hey, this is what you get 15 minutes before you have to leave the house. Tomorrow is Pajama day. That is something I can get behind. It sounds pretty easy. I wish every day was pajama day. Sometimes for me it is. :)

Howdy, Pardner!

This week is Nevada Reading Week. This is a thing designed to torment mothers with special requirements for their children to wear each day to school. Yes, today is Western Day. Here is Diana looking rather cute I have to say. Of course we did not have the boots or the hat, which required a trip to Wal Mart last night in preparation for today. Oh well, maybe we can use it as a Halloween costume next year.

Tagged, again!

Hurray, I got tagged by my cousin Emily, so here goes it…

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? Boy, it is hard to even remember yesterday, let alone ten years ago. Let's see Jared was almost 4 and Trent would have been almost 7. That would mean that Trent was in first grade and had to be at school at 7:50 in the morning. Yikes, for a kid who is not a morning person, this was a monumental task every day. Sometimes I would have to carry him to the car kicking and screaming. Jared and I were attending a mommy and me preschool. We went to this from 9 - 12 on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. This was one of the best things I have ever been too. They had really fun field trips and Jared got to fulfill his dream of riding on a school bus for the first time. I loved going as well because I made some really great friends. When you spend 9 hours a week with people, you bond together. I was very sad that I never found the same kind of thing anywhere is Las Vegas.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today?- Get all three of my kids to go to school, something I did not manage to do last week, dishes and clean bathroom, host playgroup in my backyard for ladies in my ward hence the need to clean the bathroom, go to lunch with RS Ladies who Lunch, pick Jared up from school and take him to visit his orchestra teacher at his old school, try to get Trent's car to the mechanic so we could be back to a 3 car family instead of 2.

3. 5 snacks that I enjoy:- bagels with strawberry cream cheese, home style pop secret popcorn, chocolate chip mint ice cream in a waffle cone, Peanut M&Ms, and Swedish fish.

4. 3 bad habits:- Not saying no to people (including my kids) when I really should, due to lack of time and resources on my part, Spending time on things I want to do instead of the things that need to be done, like housework. Not being able to pass up a good deal, even if I can't afford to save the money.

5. What would you do if you were instantly a billionaire?-Pay off our Mortgage, Pay off other debts like new car payment since accident, Set aside money for my kids to go to college -Spend a time in New York attending as many musicals as I wanted --Redo my pool, and continue inviting family, neighbors and friends there often throughout the summer-Travel to Europe, England, and Australia. Get new furniture for my house since pretty much everything I have has been given to me.

6. Places I’ve lived: Philadelphia PN, Provo UT, North Hollywood CA, Tacoma WA, Kent WA,Provo UT, Riverside CA, Upland CA, Las Vegas NV.

7. Jobs I’ve had:Baby Sitter, Statistician at track meets, office help during summers at Britanica, internship at accounting firm, Telemarketer at Future Lines shoe company, Wife, Custodian at BYU at 4:00 am in the morning, Staff Accountant in Salt Lake, Controller at Excelsior Hotel, Accountant at SMA machines, Mom with the innumerable number of jobs required, Las Vegas showroom manager for Global Views, Administrative assistant for Janice Cambell.

8. 5 things people don’t know about me:-This is hard because I am pretty much an open book and there is not a lot people don't know about me, especially those who read this blog. When I was twelve I sat on the top of the fountain at Seattle Center as part of a bet. I never had stitches until I was 30 when I tripped on a speed bump in a parking lot while walking. I have never broken a bone. (Knock on wood so that I don't fall down my stairs today and break my leg) I wish I could sing well enough to sing in a Broadway musical. One of my unfulfilled dreams was to be on the Young Ambassadors from BYU.

Another Joke

Dear God, so far today, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, and I haven't lost my temper.
I haven't been grumpy, nasty or selfish, and I'm really glad of that!
But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm probably going to need a lot of help.
Thank you! Amen.

I received this newsletter from Ohana Family Search software company. I thought it had some nice sentiments, and so I am passing it on to all of you.
This is what the person writing the newletter had to say:

"I was sitting in a training session for the new FamilySearch website at the Utah South Area Family History Training Center when we learned that President Hinckley had passed away. At first, there was great sadness for the loss of this great Prophet but as they continued to teach us about the new FamilySearch website, I had a very warm comforting feeling that he had taken very good care of us.
"One of the most troublesome aspects of our temple activity is that as we get more and more temples scattered across the earth, there is duplication of effort in proxy work. People in various nations simultaneously work on the same family lines and come up with the same names. They do not know that those in other areas are doing the same thing. To avoid such duplication, the solution lies in complex computer technology." President Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, October 2005
I thought about what we were being taught...
We need to change our way of thinking
*From: ME centered to WE centered
*From: MY ancestors to OUR ancestors
*From: There is one right set of data to There are multiple opinions, many of which may be right.
* From: More than one opinion is bad To: More than one opinion creates a dialog and makes the record more findable
* Working together WE can make OUR family history as accurate as possible.Remember this is not MY database, but the Lord's database.
(Taken from a class taught at the Utah South Area Family History Training Center in Provo, Utah)
So, as a tribute to this great Prophet's legacy, we should make sure we carry on his great work. Make sure our databases are cleaned up, documented and ready to do our part to make sure this new website is accurate and complete. Let's not leave even one ancestor behind.
~ Diana Olsen ~
The only thing I can add to Diana's thoughts came from John Vilburn after he read her tribute. "Ohana means family. And family means nobody gets left behind ... or forgotten." (A quote from "Lilo and Stitch")
Cina Johnson

It was announced last Sunday, that this Saturday, our temple district will be able to go online to the new Family Search system that the church has been working on. I am excited to get up to speed on this new system. The spirit of Elijah seems to be working on me lately and so I think I will try to spend more time in the family history area of my life.

Joke for the Day

An elderly man lay dying in his bed. In death's agony, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands, he crawled down the stairs.

With labored breath, he leaned against the door-frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven: there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture. His parched lips parted: the wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.
The aged and withered hand trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with aspatula by his wife.

"Stay out of those," she said, "they're for the funeral."

A Special Anniversary

Eight years ago today, we were able to take Diana to the temple to have her sealed to us. It was one of the best days of my life. I have prepared a short movie in memory of that great day. It is so fun to remember such special days. I loved the way Diana's dress turned out, especially the bow in the back. I just added that because it wasn't part of the pattern. As someone in my old ward used to say, I needed to go to bow therapy at that time of my life. It is kind of hard to believe that eight years ago, I actually used my sewing machine for more that holding clothes. We were so lucky to have so much family and friends share that day with us. Here's to the memories.

I've been tagged

Several friends tagged me on their blog and so I thought I would try to answer these questions.
How long have you been together?24 years, 23 1/2 years married
How old is he? what does that have to do with anything?
How old are you?none of your business
Who eats more? this is awfully personal
Who said "I love you" first? me
Who is taller? Marion, how else could he be tall, dark, an handsome
Who asked who out first? This is a long and complicated story, the reader's digest version is that Marion's brother, John called me up, and asked me out pretending to be Marion. Marion came on the date with me. We went to see "The Man from Snowy River" at the Wilkenson center. Ahh what a great movie.
Who sings better? if desire and enthusiasm counts, then me
Who is smarter? definitely Marion, but then I was smart enough to marry someone so smart, so what does that make me?
Who had more speeding tickets? Definitely me, although before a year ago I could say neither of us. I got my first speeding ticket driving home from Utah on a Sunday when I was trying to make it home in time for church. Do you think that is a good excuse?
Who does the laundry? me, I actually get a strange sense of satisfaction when everything is clean and put away every Saturday and like some of my friends, I am a control freak and don't want to share this job with anyone.
Who does the dishes? usually it is me, sometimes it is nobody and that nobody person doesn't do a very good job
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me
Who pays the bills? We trade off between who is home the most and has the most time, right now it is me
Who mows the lawn? usually it is Jared, what else are kids good for
Who cooks dinner? well this rotates between me, some fast food restaurant, or FFY- fend for yourself, Marion is great at just finding something to eat.
Who is more stubborn? I am never stubborn as long as I get my own way
Who is more sensitive? gee you want me to cook dinner and be sensitive
Who has more friends? That would me, being the social butterfly that I am, but Diana is giving me a run for my money
Who has more siblings? We both have 7 siblings, I have 3 sisters and 4 brothers, while Marion has 6 brothers and 1 sister, also interestingly enough we are both the oldest children in our family.
Who wears the pants in the relationship? I'll answer with aquote "A compromise between a husband and wife is an arrangement whereby they agree to let her have her way."
Who are you tagging? Anyone with the inclination and time. Many of my friends have already done this and so I am late entering this tagging game.