magnify

i got a calling in church a while ago. as primary secretary. i basically keep track of all the children. well, on paper anyway. it used to be easy-peasy. keywords: used to be. that is, before our ward basically devoured the majority of another ward. we went from having about 30 kids in primary (only like 15 showed up on a regular basis) to having over 60! and the kicker: all of the kids we inherited from the other ward are active, show up faithfully (ha!) every sunday; sun, rain, sleet or snow, these kids are there in their seats sunday morning. awesome, i know. at least for our ward. not so awesome for the other ward; because we took all of the "active" kids, they are left with the "less-than-active" kids. sorry, 2nd ward. we have beefed up the numbers and now have to adjust. or try to. gone are the days of only one primary: we now have to hold junior and senior primary! gone are the days of 3 kids to a class and only 4 classes: we now have one class with 12 kids and 8 different classes! gone are the days of wondering what to do with that hour of free time while the kids were in class: we now are going to be busy busy BUSY! *phew! i'm getting tired just thinking about all i have to do before sunday.
wish me luck.

oh, and does anyone know where i can find colored folders? staples maybe? or office max? help!

missing

something about the holiday season makes me really miss my family. i miss not getting to celebrate with them and renew our traditions. i miss not seeing them open their presents and parade around in a christmas fashion show featuring all their new garb. i miss seeing my mom's fat christmas tree all decorated with ornaments from our childhood. (not ones we made, mind you, because we have about as much craftiness as a box of mac and cheese.) i miss my mom. i miss my dad. i miss my sisters and their husbands and children. i miss my aunt lana. and tristan. and andy (even though he once pile-drived my head into the concrete garage floor; i cannot remember if this was before or after i doused his eyes with pottery barn home spray). i miss it all. the good, the bad and even the ugly (which i was after the pile-driver).
i'm so happy santa will be bringing us an indiana christmas next year.
right, santa? right?
you betcha!

happy christmas

eating disorder

subtitle : finn loves french fries (the subject of schiz' email to me with the following pictures)
this lovely saturday afternoon, we met up with our beloved schiz and the lancy family. (finn's best buddy, johnnycakes, is huh-UGE btw. we hadn't seen him in forever, and he is now the size of a 4yr old, i swear.) anyway, schizzy (that lucky lady) got to sit next to finn. and it's a good thing too. just ask morgan about my territorial nature when it comes to french fries, and you'll know why i say that. better yet, allow me to show you schiz' documentation of what happened once lunch arrived at our table...

okay, i had to make this really big so you get the full effect. french fry in mouth and reaching for more, while poor john, politely eating his singular fry, wonders how he can have a friend with such disgusting eating habits.

i wish we (and by "we" i mean schiz) would have taken a picture when we were leaving of what the floor under the highchair looked like. john's was littered with two, maybe three french fries; finn's was like a soggy half-eaten french fry graveyard. sad. yet so very funny.

he freaking kiped ALL of schiz' fries. it's a good thing she loves him like she does, or he could have ended up on the floor with all his slobbered-up scraps.

question of the day #19

would you still be my friend if i told you i ate spaghetti o's for dinner friday night? no? you wouldn't? then, no, i didn't. because what 27yr old would eat spaghetti o's for dinner? i mean seriously.

since lancy asked so very nicely...

it’s actually a little tedious to do, esp since blogger doesn’t want you to have anything but their orange B. but, once you understand what you’re doing, it’s a piece o’ cake.

1. create your own google site – you have to have this page to “host” your favicon (your own little icon)

2. create or generate your favicon – i think i went to www.tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/ and used a screenshot of the V in my blog header as my favicon, but you can just as easily have the site generate one for you; just follow the instructions the site gives you; save your favicon somewhere easy for you to find (like your desktop) and make sure it is saved as “favicon.ico” (if it’s saved as anything else, it won’t work)

3. upload your favicon to your google site – from your site’s main page go to MORE ACTIONS : MANAGE SITE : ATTACHMENTS : UPLOAD; it has to say “top level” in the upload box for your favicon to upload correctly

4. edit your blog’s html (from LAYOUT on your dashboard) – follow the instructions* found @ www.tutzone.org/2009/06/how-to-add-favicon-to-blog.html (blogger REALLY doesn’t want you to know this, or it would have let me just type in what you’re supposed to do or at least used the hyperlink for this site and the dynamic drive site)

5. preview before saving – this way, you know whether it worked

6. save – and say good-bye to the blogger B!

and that, my friends, is that. It sounds way more involved that it is. i promise.

*i copied and pasted BELOW where it says “head” in the layout/edit html, and it worked fine

i am the smartest girl alive! take 2

did you notice anything different here? well, not down here. up there. in your address bar. see it? see? there should be a cute red V right there before all the http stuff. NOW do you see it? i changed it from the boring blogger B to my very own cute red V. man, i am so tech-savvy i can hardly stand it.
(if you wanna know how i did it, and if you ask very nicely, i might just tell you.)

i like them

and the award goes to...

...me! for having put up with an unnamed company's bs for the last 5yrs. there really is an award for it, i promise. i even got to go online and pick out what exactly i wanted to commemorate not really working for them anymore. i chose 3 t-fal pans. hey, it was either those or a brass desk clock, and i do not enjoy brass nor do i own a desk on which to place a brass desk clock. hopefully mor will be able to put those pans to good use.
...and mor! for being the "mentor of the year." every year since he began working at his current place of employment, i've told him he's deserved this award. and i don't just say it because i'm the wife and i'm supposed to say it; he really does make a difference in the lives of the boys with whom he works. (he found out this week that the boys' parents were asked who they felt had powerfully influenced their sons' lives; mor was the only non-owner/therapist listed.) he's a stud, my hubs. i'm glad others recognize his studliness too.
...and finn! for being the gosh-darnedest cutest baby ever made my humans (inside-ish joke from a mor-and-mike-lau movie production). but honestly, he is. everyday, mor or i comment on it. he really is beautiful. even if his hair has grown over his ears again already.
there you have it, folks. this family is full of awesomeness!

happy happy birthday

sister dear! happy days will come to you all year. if i had a wish then it would be, to be there celebrating the big 30! (aren't you so glad i'm making the most of my primary calling by relearning the birthday song?)
we love you, aunt ric ric.

doin' it and doin' it and doin' it well

mr radman had cafe rio cater his reception. props to you, danen. if we'd had a reason to have a reception here in the beehive state, we couldn't have done it better ourselves.

question of the day #17

how is it that i got a flu shot back in sept, yet i've still managed to get the flu TWICE since then? riddle me that.

the short list

to begin, i've made a tough decision: i'm going to have to boycott the wall family holiday celebrations for a while. the last two times i've attended their festivities, i've thoroughly enjoyed the company and of course the delicious food; however i have NOT enjoyed the 2days of after-party illness i've experienced. so, wall family, i bid your thanksgiving extravaganzas adieu (at least for the time being).
that being said, this year i am thankful for...
...my husband, in all of his holiday hairyness
...my bebe, in all of his slobbery, chubby goodness
...my penelope jones, in all of her stinky smelliness
...my big sister, who traveled like a million miles just to spend the day with me (or so i like to think)
...my biggest sister, who would have traveled like a million miles just to spend the day with me
...my mom, who is really the most amazing person in the world (my sisters and i took a vote, so it's official)
...my dad, who would do/say/give anything for any of his girls
...snuggles and smooches from some of my favorite kids in the world
...steady jobs and paychecks
...warm houses (or ughpts as the case might be)
...my calling in primary (even if the pres is a bit, dare i say?, crazy)
...healthy bodies (present time excluded)
...happy babies
i know i don't say it enough, but i am very thankful for all of these things and people. so, thank you, things and people, for being such a wonderful part of my life. thank you, thank you, thank you.