I was glancing at the debris littering my car the other day and I realized each item revealed my lifestyle, my personality and my family's life. It made me laugh and sigh to see a portrait of my life rolling around in the back or piled next to me on the passenger seat. Take a ride with me in my car and you will see that there is nothing mysterious about the life I lead. Although, I believe my Mother-in-law thought it was a little bit of a scary mystery on why I would invite her to go to lunch with me when I had clearly not cleaned up the spilled granola on the passenger seat before I asked her to ride in my car. Seriously, you cannot imagine how I cringed as I frantically swept the crumbs onto a floor already hosting several other snack remains eaten on the run.
So I took it a little inventory of my car and here is what It reveals about me.
Front seat:
Two pull-ups and a pack of wipes. I am a mother in potty training mode. And although we are on victorious day 12 of no accidents I still don't trust my three year-old's bladder. So every time I get in the car for errands I add yet another pull-up because I can't remember that I already put some in there. It's kind of like my potty-training food storage.
A pen somewhere: A Mom and a bookeeper. I see it sitting there in my console but somehow it always manages to disappear when I am at the bank drive-in. Of course, I also need that pen to sign the permission slip sitting on my front seat.
A stray receipt: This is evidence I am married to an accountant. I am supposed to keep every little receipt but sometimes they jump out of the paper jumble in my purse, probably when I am searching for that lost pen.
A pan lid with rubberbands wrapped around the outside: Mom to a 10 year-old boy who likes to serenade me with Mary Had A Little Lamb on his homemade instrument he brought home from school last week.
4 sets of wireless headphones: My husband loves me. He had a DVD player installed and oh how I love the silence those headphones bring.
Middle Seat
A soccer ball: Soccer Mom: Yes we love soccer in our house. This is also the explanation for the four camp chairs in the back. There are five of us in our family but either Becca or Isaac has had a soccer game at least once a week for the past two months, so we only need four chairs as we cheer, scream and moan at their games. Soccer season is over but Isaac starts championship games and I am not hauling those chairs out until we are done.
An umbrella: Midday Saturday socccer games are sunny and hot.
Becca's Jacket and her water bottle: An ignored mother. I'm not sure why things like jackets and water bottles from lunch boxes get left in the car after I nag and nag to have them cleaned out.
A Brush: I have two girls. We are either trying to look cute on the run or we are late for gymnastics and we will have to do ponytails when we arrive at our destination. Of course, if the brush had been kept in the bathroom we may not have been late in the first place.
Back Seat
An extra booster seat: A carpooler. I have an extra pre-schooler in my car two mornings a week. This is part of the musical seat game I play with my own three children and and an additional combination of three carpool kids.
Isaac's trash: Again an ignored mother. Just wait until his Dad finds his stash and then he will be SORRY.
A pair of pants to return to Costco: I am forgetful. I should have returned these two months ago at my last Costco visit but I got inside Costco and realized I had forgotten them and I was not about to haul my three kids and one extra friend back outside just to return a pair of pants. Because, I am also a Costco girl and there will surely be another trip soon. Hopefully by then I will have cleaned out the car to make room for a big haul of food to feed my family. Of course I may forget and then we will have to come up with some creative space management.
I think that is all unless you count the orange cracker crumbs underneath Lia's seat. I will get those cleaned up eventually when I have a spare moment.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Talented Thursday -- Cute Jewelery
I know I brag about my SIL's cute jewelery all the time, but it is so nice to have someone who I can order custom stuff from. I usually buy stuff for myself but my six-year-old loves her stuff too so I am starting a collection for her also. I love her little charm bracelets that I can customize and Becca will probably get one of these for Christmas. I am actually having a necklace made for Becca's Birthday. Her best friend's birthday is a week later and Becky, my SIL, is making her friend a matching necklace. Little girls are so fun. Becky has a great site for all her kid's stuff http://poppetjewelry.com/ but the charm bracelets are not on there. Anyway I think they are so cute and with Christmas coming up I thought I would share with you guys. I love her stuff for me too and she always comes up with something I love.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Talkative Tuesday- Football, and the Unlucky Thirteen
I have been saving up for my Talkative Tuesday Post so be warned.
After a hectic week of canning I think I am almost finished, or at least ready to call it a week. If it can't be frozen or cooked in a pie I am done for at least a week. Too bad my tomatoes in my garden are all finally turning red and my zuchinnis up and decided to win the battle with the squash bugs and are now becoming a little to prolific. Please, I need a breather and so does my three year-old.
Saturday I had a great time at the SUU Homecoming football game. This was extremely surprising to me. It has been pretty well broadcast by me that I am no football fan. I just could never watch an entire game. Turns out I understood the rules even worse than I thought. So, as my husband, whispered sweet football nothings in my ear this Saturday I replied with things like, "Oh that is only worth one point." "You mean you can get an extra point for that?" "Oh that is what a down is." "They are not allowed to push the reciever out of the way?" I was shocked to discover that by half-time I finally got it. By the fourth quarter I was on my feet and screaming as fast as my football fanatic husband. I was aching inside for our friend the head coach as he just barely lost the game. I just can't believe it. I may actually go to another game this year. Tom bought season tickets. I still can't watch it on TV. I need the adrenaline rush of the stadium and my husband's commentary yell-muttering in my ear. I also need some sort of emotional attachment to one of the teams and that pretty much narrows it down to BYU, SUU and possibly PENN State.
My husband and I have been married for 13 years. This week I started to think that maybe 13 years is an unlucky number for household appliances. It is ridiculous how many things have broken just this week. As I started to reflect on the number of items that have broken this year (not just household appliances) I have started to lean towards becoming just a tad suspicious. Within the past week my hairdryer, oven, and washing machine all started acting strangely. The oven is completely broken. The washing machine has a 50/50 chance of leaking water all over my laundry room floor and my hairdryer is, well gone after it started screeching at me.
Let's just review the list of broken things this year.
1. My van. The engine broke for the second time. We had to buy a new car, which I love by the way.
2. My lifetime warranty sink cracked. Thank heavens for lifetime warranties.
3. My piano has at least two keys that don't play.
4. My crockpot up and died last month in the middle of cooking. It was thirteen years-old after all.
5. The stucco finish is peeling off my columns. OK that started last year but it is getting worse.
6. My husband felt the need to buy me a new toaster for my birthday because some of it was broken.
7. My oven is currently broken.
8. My hair dryer broke, oh that reminds me
9. My curling iron broke earlier this year too but that happens all the time.
10. My washing machine is on the fritz.
11. October
12. November
13. December
I have three more months to go and I hope that the broken appliances pace themselves. Because I am running out of a budget for new appliances. The Christmas budget is starting to disappear.
P.S. I bought an extended warranty for my oven and washing machine earlier this year. I thought it might be a crazy thing to do. But the $50 warranty is now paying for a $600 repair. Whew. Dodged that bullet.
After a hectic week of canning I think I am almost finished, or at least ready to call it a week. If it can't be frozen or cooked in a pie I am done for at least a week. Too bad my tomatoes in my garden are all finally turning red and my zuchinnis up and decided to win the battle with the squash bugs and are now becoming a little to prolific. Please, I need a breather and so does my three year-old.
Saturday I had a great time at the SUU Homecoming football game. This was extremely surprising to me. It has been pretty well broadcast by me that I am no football fan. I just could never watch an entire game. Turns out I understood the rules even worse than I thought. So, as my husband, whispered sweet football nothings in my ear this Saturday I replied with things like, "Oh that is only worth one point." "You mean you can get an extra point for that?" "Oh that is what a down is." "They are not allowed to push the reciever out of the way?" I was shocked to discover that by half-time I finally got it. By the fourth quarter I was on my feet and screaming as fast as my football fanatic husband. I was aching inside for our friend the head coach as he just barely lost the game. I just can't believe it. I may actually go to another game this year. Tom bought season tickets. I still can't watch it on TV. I need the adrenaline rush of the stadium and my husband's commentary yell-muttering in my ear. I also need some sort of emotional attachment to one of the teams and that pretty much narrows it down to BYU, SUU and possibly PENN State.
My husband and I have been married for 13 years. This week I started to think that maybe 13 years is an unlucky number for household appliances. It is ridiculous how many things have broken just this week. As I started to reflect on the number of items that have broken this year (not just household appliances) I have started to lean towards becoming just a tad suspicious. Within the past week my hairdryer, oven, and washing machine all started acting strangely. The oven is completely broken. The washing machine has a 50/50 chance of leaking water all over my laundry room floor and my hairdryer is, well gone after it started screeching at me.
Let's just review the list of broken things this year.
1. My van. The engine broke for the second time. We had to buy a new car, which I love by the way.
2. My lifetime warranty sink cracked. Thank heavens for lifetime warranties.
3. My piano has at least two keys that don't play.
4. My crockpot up and died last month in the middle of cooking. It was thirteen years-old after all.
5. The stucco finish is peeling off my columns. OK that started last year but it is getting worse.
6. My husband felt the need to buy me a new toaster for my birthday because some of it was broken.
7. My oven is currently broken.
8. My hair dryer broke, oh that reminds me
9. My curling iron broke earlier this year too but that happens all the time.
10. My washing machine is on the fritz.
11. October
12. November
13. December
I have three more months to go and I hope that the broken appliances pace themselves. Because I am running out of a budget for new appliances. The Christmas budget is starting to disappear.
P.S. I bought an extended warranty for my oven and washing machine earlier this year. I thought it might be a crazy thing to do. But the $50 warranty is now paying for a $600 repair. Whew. Dodged that bullet.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Write a Little -- I Need Your Help
I am doing a holiday gift guide for Wasatch Woman magazine and I am doing a little research. What would be a really cool gift you would love to receive from a friend or sister or mother-in-law? Keep it in the $5 to $50 range. I am just trying to find some unique ideas. If you have cool ideas for men or kid sibling gifts that would be great too. Here is a chance to wish a little before the holidays.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Spiritual Thought -- Family
It has been a while since I posted a spiritual thought on Sunday but I wanted to share my testimony of the promise of eternal families today. Many years ago, when Tom and I were newlyweds we were living in Arizona and I was working in a clothing store. One of the sales girls shared her belief about what families would be like in Heaven. She believed that in Heaven there would be no more families. All family relationships would be dissolved or we would not remember our families. She felt we would all be strangers who were just kind to each other. This idea floored me. I wish I had been able to articulate my beliefs in eternal families to her. I regret that at the moment I was so shocked any one could feel that this was the plan our Heavenly Father had for His Heaven, that I could not respond adequately that I had a testimony and that one of the great messages of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints was a promise that we could be eternal families. Today as the full-time LDS missionaries spoke to us in one of our church meetings about sharing our message with our friends and neighbors I remembered this encounter with this associate and realized that I must share my testimony about this one aspect of our beliefs. I often share my favorite recipes or favorite finds or talented people I know. How can I not share the beautiful promise to live forever with those we have loved the most. After this discussion with this lady years ago I went home and wrote this poem. I don't really think it is one of my best but it expresses my feelings clearly.
ETERNITY
He is me and I am he
and someday they will be us,
because we have shared
the test of life.
And yet some say,
there are no families in heaven.
All the trials struggled together
become mere nothings in eternity.
Brother, sister -- husband, wife
become detached remembrances,
they tell me.
What depressing plan is this?
Does God destroy his own masterpiece?
As for me,
my soul has been tied to souls
in the spires of eternity
And when heaven puts her arms around me
I will walk in the circle of my family.
One of the uniqe beliefs of the church is that we believe we can make sacred promises on earth in our temples that will bind us to our families even after death. If we live a good life we can be reunited with those members of our family in a heaven. I do know that there are some families that are not ideal. Some relationships must be ended on earth because they have become twisted and unhappy things. Yet, some of our sweetest most joyous moments have been or will be shared with siblings, grandparents, spouses, cousins, children. I know God wants us to be families in heaven, just as he wants us to have healthy families now. He will not steal our greatest potential of joy from us. It is his plan after all.
If you want to know more about the LDS beliefs on family visit http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/
ETERNITY
He is me and I am he
and someday they will be us,
because we have shared
the test of life.
And yet some say,
there are no families in heaven.
All the trials struggled together
become mere nothings in eternity.
Brother, sister -- husband, wife
become detached remembrances,
they tell me.
What depressing plan is this?
Does God destroy his own masterpiece?
As for me,
my soul has been tied to souls
in the spires of eternity
And when heaven puts her arms around me
I will walk in the circle of my family.
One of the uniqe beliefs of the church is that we believe we can make sacred promises on earth in our temples that will bind us to our families even after death. If we live a good life we can be reunited with those members of our family in a heaven. I do know that there are some families that are not ideal. Some relationships must be ended on earth because they have become twisted and unhappy things. Yet, some of our sweetest most joyous moments have been or will be shared with siblings, grandparents, spouses, cousins, children. I know God wants us to be families in heaven, just as he wants us to have healthy families now. He will not steal our greatest potential of joy from us. It is his plan after all.
If you want to know more about the LDS beliefs on family visit http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Talkative Tuesday
Although it has been a crazy week, life has been pretty normal.
I did get a chance to have a good long talk with both of my sisters who live way to far away from me. I really love having sisters. I just wish I got to see them more than once every couple of years. After way too long of phone conversations with them I ran across this pic.
Are we not adorable? Here is the crazy wierd part. My kids thought this was a picture of my sister's two daughters. We do look eerily similar to her children. Look close those of you who know my nieces and you will see the similarity.
I have been totally obsessed with canning. Tomorrow I will do yet another batch of salsa. My son is eating it way too fast to make my first batch last a year. I hate store bought salsa. So, I need at least a year's supply. And we are big salsa eaters. I had a blast canning with my good friend last week. Canning is way more fun if it is done with company. I don't know if I will ever be able to can alone again. Luckily, my Bec loves to can.
Tom went on his first hot air balloon ride Saturday and got some great pics I will try to post soon. His Mom also got a chance to go on the balloon because Tom got off half way through his ride and changed places with her. He really is a good son.
Bec has been making me laugh this week with her crazy comments. She is just so funny. Six year-olds always think they have everything figured out.
One conversation:
Isaac telling us about a sad story about an orphaned baby kangaroo. (Isaac is obsessed with kangaroos). He is currently doing a report on kangaroos. This is like his fourth report on Kangaroos since 1st grade. I think maybe he is cheating here, since he is clearly a kangaroo expert by now. Anyway, I digress. Isaac mentioned how the baby Joey was orphaned.
Becca, incredulously: They name all the baby kangaroos?
Isaac is laughing too hard to explain that all baby kangaroos are called Joey.
As you can see life has been pretty normal for the Hughes this week.
I did get a chance to have a good long talk with both of my sisters who live way to far away from me. I really love having sisters. I just wish I got to see them more than once every couple of years. After way too long of phone conversations with them I ran across this pic.
Are we not adorable? Here is the crazy wierd part. My kids thought this was a picture of my sister's two daughters. We do look eerily similar to her children. Look close those of you who know my nieces and you will see the similarity.
I have been totally obsessed with canning. Tomorrow I will do yet another batch of salsa. My son is eating it way too fast to make my first batch last a year. I hate store bought salsa. So, I need at least a year's supply. And we are big salsa eaters. I had a blast canning with my good friend last week. Canning is way more fun if it is done with company. I don't know if I will ever be able to can alone again. Luckily, my Bec loves to can.
Tom went on his first hot air balloon ride Saturday and got some great pics I will try to post soon. His Mom also got a chance to go on the balloon because Tom got off half way through his ride and changed places with her. He really is a good son.
Bec has been making me laugh this week with her crazy comments. She is just so funny. Six year-olds always think they have everything figured out.
One conversation:
Isaac telling us about a sad story about an orphaned baby kangaroo. (Isaac is obsessed with kangaroos). He is currently doing a report on kangaroos. This is like his fourth report on Kangaroos since 1st grade. I think maybe he is cheating here, since he is clearly a kangaroo expert by now. Anyway, I digress. Isaac mentioned how the baby Joey was orphaned.
Becca, incredulously: They name all the baby kangaroos?
Isaac is laughing too hard to explain that all baby kangaroos are called Joey.
As you can see life has been pretty normal for the Hughes this week.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Write a Little -- Description
What happens when you get writer's block.? You can't think of anything to write. You are too busy to form a thought into a cohesive sentence. That is where I am at today as I try to come up with a writing prompt. I want to hone my people description skills this week. This week observe a complete stranger and then write a description.
For example: The slender man's disjointed shoulders curved forward, his midsection slightly bowed like the letter "C" and his puppet like arms swung loosely by his side. His brisk apish walk down the night shrouded sidewalk made me question if there is some hidden secret in that walk, some hidden darkness. Can a person's silhouette mark his character?
For example: The slender man's disjointed shoulders curved forward, his midsection slightly bowed like the letter "C" and his puppet like arms swung loosely by his side. His brisk apish walk down the night shrouded sidewalk made me question if there is some hidden secret in that walk, some hidden darkness. Can a person's silhouette mark his character?
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