Some Things Never Change

My wonderful seester, Red, posted a bunch of old family pictures on Facebook. I took the liberty of lifting one of them (I hope you don't mind! I might sneak in and steal a few more!) With smiles and a few tears I was clicking through the pictures, reminiscing the fun we had as a family and WHAM!! There was this picture.


I couldn't help laughing. Hard. The comments on this photo were:

**Look at the hair on BOTH of 'em! I'm not sure which one is the most impressive. Valerie's for the size of it, or for the fact that Max actually has some! -- From my brother Googenheimer

Ahhh, yes, Goog, the hair. I loved my 80's hair. It took much effort to get the height and perfect curl to that 'do. It took me about 1.5 hours to complete that look. I would wash it, apply the mousse or gel, then blow it dry. Next came the hot rollers while I applied the make-up. Out came the rollers and a good brushing and then came the curling iron. Yes, I would re-curl my hair to achieve the perfect twists and bends for each follicle. Then came the best part of each hair-do. The hairspray. Half a bottle each day. No hair strand could move. If the wind blew, all my hair would lift as one big unit.

Hairdo's in the 80's were an art.

And Max? Well, look at that full head of beautiful red hair!! :D

**Other than the hair, some things never change!-- From my other seester Wees

It's sad to see that even then, all those years ago, I couldn't have a normal face for pictures. Don't ask me what I'm doing with my hand. It looks obscene. Maybe it was... I don't remember. Max and I have always been somewhat nontraditional and irreverent... mostly goofy.

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Flash forward 21 years. This picture was taken last summer at Applebees.

Some things have changed!!! How many pounds have been added? How many of those hair follicles lost? I only use a couple sprays of hairspray now and have considerably cut down the primping time. No more hot rollers... no more curling irons.

Yet, it seems that nothing has changed at all!

It's Been a While

I'm not sure you want more of these, but I have to record them anyway. Yup, it's time for another edition of:

"What did Inigo say today?"

(I've actually been saving up for one big entry. I'll post the most recent first.)

Inigo has been fighting a weird bug for some time now. At first we thought it was just a heinous cold, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's not something else? Either that or he has a raging case of hypochondriacism. Keep in mind that he walks around with the thermometer tucked under his arm.... literally all day. ("Mom! My temperature says it's 98.4. I think I'm reeeeeeeeally sick.") So tonight I was tucking him in bed. I felt his forehead and yes, it is slightly warm. To test how sick he really might be I say in a warning voice, "Okay, if you're this sick, then I'll call the doctor and take you in tomorrow!" He doesn't like shots, so if he's not too terribly sick, he'll say in his I'm-perking-up-it's-a-miraculous-recovery voice, "Oh... that's okay. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow." But tonight, he said in his I-really-don't-feel-well voice, kind of breaking up in a half a cry, "Oh okay." Then he points out that his tummy feels kind of weird. I have him lay on his back (which was funny. First he knelt down and arched his back up and I said, no lay on your back, which made him lay on his stomach. I had to say, "put your back on the mattress so I can see your tummy!") I pressed on his stomach and he said it hurt "this much" and held both hands at about shoulder width. Then he got a very worried look in his eyes and said (half crying):

"Am I having a heart attack?"

"No, Inigo. You heart isn't in your stomach."

"Do I have diabetes?"

"Well, I'm not sure about that. But I don't think so."

Poor kid.

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Earlier today he was trying to get out of doing his 15 minutes of reading. He was in his room playing and I told him to get out a book and get it done!!!

He walked down the stairs and said in a horrified tone:

"Mom! I feel like a fat man!!"

Buttercup and I were at the piano practicing for voice lessons when he said that and to be honest, I don't know how we kept it together. She fell on the floor and pretended to laugh at the dog and I buried Inigo's head in my chest, comforting him, so he couldn't see my face, as I made fake crying noises to cover the laugh.

I got calm enough to try to talk to him about this. "Okay, Inigo. Exactly how does a fat man feel?" And to be honest, I can't remember his answer. But it eventually morphed into him shoving his pinkie finger into my face and indignantly saying:

"Well, it hurts when I pinch my finger!! And it hurts when I stand on the side of my foot! Do you think I'm going to die?!?!"

I had to laugh. Of course it hurts when you pinch your own flesh. And, to be honest, ankles were made for support, not to walk on.

Fortunately for us, I think you're going to live!

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Sunday. It was a special day.

Max and I had to sing with our ward choir at a stake priesthood meeting at 7:00 in the morning. Ugh. The kids weren't up when we left....(of course they weren't.) When we got home at about 8:20, Inigo was standing on the stairs, frantically putting church clothes on.

He was very contrite and said, "I'm sorry! I slept in. I'm getting ready for church now!"

The poor kid thought that he had slept so late that he missed church and that we had left without him. (Buttercup was still asleep in bed.)

Here's his choice of clothes: Khaki pants, his dress shirt, a black vest and his neon green tie from last year's dance recital.

He was still half asleep. We were touched that he wanted to make sure he made it to church and that he took responsibility for getting himself ready. He got a big hug and reassurances that everything was fine, that mom and dad had a meeting early at church and there were still a couple hours until it was time to go. And then tenderly I started helping him with his outfit.

"Inigo, you did such a great job picking out your outfit today!! I'm so proud of you for getting yourself ready for church! Here, let's fix your vest just a little. I can see that the buttons are just a little off," and I showed him that the alignment of the buttons was off by one. (Are you ready for this?)

"Mom, I didn't do it wrong! They just put the button in the wrong spot!"

How do you argue with that?

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A couple weeks ago, he was getting dressed for school. I think it was Valentine's Day. We didn't pick out a special outfit... just some jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. He got dressed in his room and came downstairs to the living room where I was.

"Mom, do I look hot? I want to look hot for the girls at school today."

Oh man. Do you have a 16 year old sister or what?

The Funniest Video on YouTube

This is video of Max trying his back flip in Yellowstone. Thanks to Buck for posting it to YouTube so I can share it here!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQixGbEDoqQ

So It's Friday and I Don't Wanna Do Anything!

This is what I did today instead of laundry:

Shortlived

The funk is lifting.

I see light ahead.

It wasn't so bad that a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a night out with my friends in my craft group couldn't lift my spirits a little bit. (The name of our craft group is SOS -- I guess the name was literal this week!! They saved me! Thanks Thork!)

And I swear, I saw the top layer of snow in my backyard melt yesterday. It has to be 1/4" lower than it was the day before!! (I'm ignoring the fact that there is still 2 1/2 feet back there!)

Is It a Funk?

I'm trying to decide....

Am I in the late winter funk? Or am I just grumpy? Or is it both?

We're past the half-way mark of February and I will admit, I'm sick of the snow. I want to see green grass, leaves on the trees and sit out on the swing in my back yard and read a book. I'm tired of shoveling (but am grateful for the unknown neighbor who shoveled my driveway this morning!)

When I lived in Oregon, February was the month that winter started going away and spring started. I only lived there 6 years and I've been here in Florin for 10, but my internal seasonal clock still says that when February starts drawing to a close, there are supposed to be green things shooting out of the ground!

I think my funk started a week ago when I was verbally assaulted in church. I won't go into details here because I have ward members that read this blog and I don't want anyone to feel bad toward the person that yelled at me. But I really started evaluating things after that happened. I felt at the time and still feel that I was innocent and didn't deserve the way she treated me. Yet, obviously something set her off. Was it really me? Am I bad? Am I unlikeable? How do I treat people?

I realize and understand that there is always room for growth. Maybe my attempt at humor hurt someone's feelings. Maybe I wasn't sensitive enough to a person who was struggling with an issue. Maybe someone smiled at me and I didn't smile back because I didn't see them. Am I too selfish? Too self absorbed?

Or is my funk the fact that Max is travelling a lot for work and we see him less? My partner and my companion is just not here to help as much as I'm used to. And it's not just helping with the kids or the house... it's just being together. My "love language" is quality time. I start shrivelling up if I don't get it. He's so good that when he is home he makes sure to take me somewhere where we can be alone and talk face to face, but I miss seeing his face every night at the dinner table.

Or is my funk that I'm too hard on myself? Am I a good enough mother? Am I teaching my children the things they need to be successful in the world? Will they have their own strong testimony when they leave the house? Am I a good enough YW leader? Am I fulfilling my calling to the best of my ability?

On a more superficial side: I'm struggling in my pottery class. For the life of me, I can't get that clay to center on the wheel and it bugs me!! Why can't I do it? Why aren't my pieces beautiful works of art? and Why can't I be a better photographer? I have beautiful photos in my head, but can't seem to get them to translate to the camera. (Both these things should improve with practice but I'm impatient. I think I should be good at them NOW!!)

Or, ultimately, am I just sick of winter? Do I need more fresh air? Will that fresh air make me treat others better?

Or do I just need to vent?

(No worries. Ultimately, I'm an optimistic person and I know that with time I will work things out and have a good attitude again!)

A Bit of Light Reading

After trying very hard to take good pictures Saturday night, I have added this book to my nightstand.

I also own this book:

But it's not written for dummies.

Guess which book I'm reading first?

They Grow Up Too Fast

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BTW: Next time I'm splurging for professional dance pictures...

(I don't know enough about lighting and metering to take good pictures.)

More Pics

I think I'll just keep posting pictures this week. It's easier than trying to think of something clever to write about.

Steck and I signed up for a pottery class on campus. It's been a lot of fun, but who knew that throwing a pot on the wheel would be such a difficult task? Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore made it look so easy....

so does my teacher for that matter. We have been working on the wheel for three weeks and last night was the first time I finished a bowl that doesn't have to be thrown in the slip bucket. Now, getting it trimmed and ready to be fired is a different matter. The rule in class is: Don't ever get attached to a project until you have all the firings done!

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While I was in class, I got a frantic phone call from Inigo and Buttercup. Inigo finally lost the front tooth that was ready to come out at Christmas (remember that he wanted it to come out on Christmas Eve so Santa and the Tooth Fairy could meet?) The tooth was dangling by a thread and wouldn't even bleed when it came out. They were so excited!

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If you look closely at the above picture, you will see that Inigo's nose isn't exactly clean. He has a pretty heinous cold right now. I let him go to school with a low grade fever (99.7) but he came home pushing 102. Bad mommy.

I have put him on the couch with his Superman pillow, the wonderfully warm rag quilt made by Wees, a cup with a curly straw and some of his favorite books. (He didn't even think to ask to watch TV.... and I'm not going to remind him!)

He's a trooper and has a pretty good attitude, but you can tell he's not feeling up to his normal speed!!

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Tomorrow is the big dance for Buttercup. I still haven't decided what to do about pictures. (Thanks Devany for the offer of the staircase.) I'm thinking I'll just splurge and pay for the pictures myself so I don't have to worry about it.

It's the easy way out.

Extreme Yellowstone

Our fabulous trip over the weekend was snowmobiling in Yellowstone Park. It's something we have wanted to do for a couple years and we decided that this was the year for it. We never know when the tree-hugging judge in DC is going to cut our park off from us, so we took the opportunity this year.

The weather was perfect, the company was delightful, our guide was kind and the scenery was unmatched.

Join me now for a picture journal of the day:

We met our friends at the hotel Sunday evening (our reservation for the snowmobiles was on Monday) and enjoyed some time in the pool. Shackie and I thought we'd bypass the cold water shock by just jumping in. Yes, I have to plug my nose when I go under water!

Buttercup and Max were bright eyed as we checked into the snowmobile rental place.

This was Inigo's first snowmobile trip into Yellowstone. Of course he had to ride with his father.

Buttercup's riding partner was one of the kids from the University that came along. His name is Playdough.

At first Buttercup grumbled about coming, but once she was there, she decided that it wasn't so bad after all. Maybe it's because she got to ride with a cute college boy!

Max had an ambition to join the Olympic gymnastic team, but realized his backflips were inadequate. Unfortunately, the judges frown on contestants that land on their head, as he demonstrates here.

Gibbon Falls: One of three waterfalls we saw that day. (This is for you, Dad!)

Proof that I was on the trip.

Lunch in the warming hut at Canyon: Buck, Pizza and Playdough ate yummy sandwiches then played with animal pelts (seen on the table behind Buck). While my family gives the best poses of the day. Buttercup thinks she is hiding behind the chocolate chip cookie!

Shackie, Miss Doolittle and Stinky.

Our family picture for the month. (Thanks Shackie for doing such a good job!)

The Lower Falls taken at Artist Point. We could see river otter footprints down on the frozen river. I wish we could have seen the otter!!

Our group. You can see that I'm the only one not wearing something on my head. I have to say the balaclavas and helmets gave me claustrophobia! I took them off every time we stopped the machine!

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This is Upper Falls taken from the North Rim. (Across the canyon from where our family picture was taken!)

They are very strict about riding snowmobiles in Yellowstone. There are many rules: You must have a guide. You must ride single file. You cannot exceed 45 mph. You must always stay on the road. And you cannot idle the machine for more than 5 minutes. Still, I thought that machines smelled better than the snow coaches!

Inigo had a great time!

We all had a great time!!!

HELP!!!

We just returned from an amazing weekend trip. I'd love to tell you all about it, and I will, when I have a little more time. But first....

...I'm looking for some ideas.

Buttercup's girl's choice Valentine's Dance is this Saturday. The pictures are the most expensive part of the dance (about $23) and she can't afford that. She wants me to take their "official dance pictures."

I'm okay with that (I think) even though I'm not a great photographer.

Dance photos never turn out that great anyway.

My problem is, I would like something better than my old boring fireplace as a backdrop.

Keeping in mind that it's still darn cold outside, do you have any ideas of something inexpensive and easy that I can put together to make a cute backdrop?

I will be taking Buttercup's photos, her friend's photos and a group photo.

I need to start making it so I can start practicing photos on Wednesday (cuz I'm in charge of New Beginnings on Tuesday. Everything is on hold until that is over.)

As she would say,

"You're a Peach! Thanks for your help!"

Update:

I called the repair shop this afternoon and they don't have the new alternator for Max's car in yet.

They probably won't get it until next Wednesday.

That means I'm alone with my thoughts until then.

Oh my.

Winterfest

It's an annual tradition!!

The Witch's Thoughts

This week I am stuck driving Max's car. It is in serious need of repair so he took mine on his business trip. Does that make sense? Not really.

Let's just say it's been a comical adventure dealing with mechanics, alternators, bolts in tires and driving through mountain passes in the middle of the night. The end result is that he has my big, safe, SUV (yes, I still drive an SUV and I'm proud of it!!) while I am stuck with his car that could die any minute while the mechanics mull over the computer print out and try to get correct car parts delivered to their shop.

I believe that tomorrow (Thursday) I am supposed to take his car, drop it off (how will I get home?) and they will finally get it fixed. We can hope.

The whole point of this lengthy story (you should be glad I didn't fill in all the details) is that his radio doesn't work. It's too bad because he has Sirius Radio and I could have really enjoyed this week of listening to Broadway and Elvis... as it is, I'm stuck listening to myself. When I am not singing along, I have a gazillion things running through my brain!! Here's a couple of my random thoughts: (many of them are centered on driving since I think about them when I'm behind the wheel)

*~* Living in the land of Florin where there is a university can be dangerous. Imagine living somewhere where there could be 12,000 young people under the age of 21 driving on the roads. Many of these people have never in their life driven on icy/snowy roads. Most have only been driving a few short years and don't have much experience behind a wheel. It's truly scary.

*!* The most dangerous parts of town are the Walmart parking lot and the grocery store that is closest to campus. We have had many close encounters with young drivers who laugh and speed off as they barely miss you. Seriously, if you go during the "peak hours" (3:00 p.m. to closing) your life is at risk.

*#* Teenage boys. I don't understand them. There is a girl's choice semi-formal dance coming up on Valentine's Day. Buttercup and her friend invited two boys that are friends. It's a whole friend/group thing (it's not romantic). One week ago, Buttercup created her cute invitation. She got a t-shirt from Walmart and wrote a bunch of girl's names on it with washable markers. Then she wrote her name on it in permanent marker. She attached a poem, "Will you go to the Sweetheart dance with me? Wash the shirt to see who your date could be!"
To ask her date, her friend got a box of Lucky Charms cereal and carefully opened it up. She took out all the marshmallows and sealed it back up. She wrote on the box, "I'd be the 'Luckiest' girl alive if you'd go to the dance with me! (If you say yes, I'll give you back the marshmallows!)"
Well, the very next day, the friend's date replied with a note saying something like, "I'll be the luckiest guy if I can go to the dance with you. Yes."
Buttercup was excited to see how her date would respond. She waited. We waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened during the week, so surely (we thought) he'd respond over the weekend.
Nope.
Nuthing!
Okay, at school on Monday, surely he'd at least talk to her.
Nope.
Nuthing.
At this point, Witch Valerie is pondering what curses and spells she can cast on this boy. Come on!! If he doesn't want to go, then at least he should tell her so we can find another date!!
Buttercup's friend talks to her date and tells him that his friend really needs to respond. He knows, he tells her, but he just keeps forgetting.
HUH!?!?
FINALLY, TODAY (exactly a week later) this boy walks up to her in the hall and says, "Oh yeah. I'll go with you."
I could shoot him (obviously I won't).

*^* Here's what I have to say: Moms of sons, PLEASE make sure that if your boy is asked to a dance that he responds. It doesn't have to be cute and clever. But it has to be an answer! (Even if your son isn't even close to dating age.... remember what I said!)

*+* This reminded me of the time in high school I asked a boy to go to a dance. I didn't do anything clever, I just walked up to him and asked if he'd like to go. His response was, "I'll get back to you," and he never spoke to me again. Seriously. NEVER. AGAIN.

*?* I love taking dinner to people and tonight I had the opportunity to feed my next door neighbors. I have decided that the next time I'm not really liking myself, I'm taking food over to them. When they finished the meal, they called my house and every single member of the family talked to me on the phone, gushing about how good the food was and how much they loved eating it. By the time I hung up, I was smiling and I felt like a fancy restauraunt chef who had created a masterpiece. It was only lasagne! They are good people.

*=* Inigo asked me what snowflakes were made out of. Instead of giving some big long scientific answer, I just asked him what he thought they were made out of. He said, "Frozen water... AND FEATHERS!"

You're really wishing Max's car had a radio. Aren't you?