10 for April

I wanted to do a sum-up April list, so here goes:

10 things I did today:

1. Picked up my dry-cleaning. It's a cool old vintage dress that I found at my grandma's house when I was 18. I might wear it to church on Sunday if I don't feel silly in it.


2. Got a check from the dealership that sold us our ILLEGALLY tinted windows to pay for the ticket I got last month. I LOVE that they were willing to pay the ticket!


3. Got books at the library.


4. Visited with my niece and her two sweet daughters while her awesome hubby cleaned my carpets.


5. Made dinner for a girl in my ward who had a new baby.


6. Went to the music store for a new piano book. I swear, the music store is getting to be as addicting as the book store!


7. Talked to my mother-in-law, who has left to help take care of her mom who has cancer. It's so sad having someone you love leaving this world.


8. Cleaned my bathrooms.


9. Watched my lovely cat get sick on my freshly cleaned carpet. Seriously? Sigh.


10. Returned High School Musical 3 to the video store. Do I dare say that it made me a little teary at the end? Ah, Troy, you are pretty dang hot, for a pretend 17-year-old jock, I mean.

9 things I want to remember from April:

1. Easter, without my dad. I hate all these new milestones.


2. Writing letters to Shane's grandma. It is such a mixed blessing to be able to say good-bye like that. Good-bye, for real, I mean. But I am grateful, because you don't always get to tell you loved one exactly what they mean to you. I'm glad I could.


3. Ben learning how to ride a scooter. He can even put his back foot on the scooter while he glides down the sidewalk. Precious!


4. Thomas graduating from his first piano lesson book to his second. Soon he will play far better than me, but I'm cool with that.


5. Starting to teach Shane piano. He told me that he wanted to learn, so I bought him a lesson book and we started talking intervals and dynamics and black keys and white keys. Awesome.


6. Painting my kitchen. I'm still not 100% satisfied with one of the colors I chose, but it's growing on me.


7. Getting the stomach flu for the second time in 6 months. Because I've really lost my bragging rights, now.


8. Getting through the first 5 books of the Old Testament. Holy cow, the Bible is detailed. I've never been anywhere past Genesis, so I'm seeing a lot of material for the first time.


9. Going my second month Dr. Pepper free. I think I've achieved acceptance, finally.

8 things I'm looking forward to in the coming months:

1. Thomas going back on track for his final 9 weeks of 2nd grade. The years go so fast!


2. Some more cool-ish weather for comfortable runs.


3. Seeing my kids skinny little legs poking out of their summer shorts. I got them each a pair of plaid shorts this year, and they look so freaking cute in them.


4. Getting together with a few bloggers in May for dinner.


5. The annual tradition of going to the parade in my hometown in early June. It's something we've always done, and it somehow always marks the beginning of summer for me.


6. Seeing the new Harry Potter movie in July. I saw some trailers this week and it looks awesome. I can't wait!


7. Seeing the movie version of the Time Traveler's Wife, which will come out in August. I've been watching Rachel McAdam's movies just to get warmed up. Oh, I hope they do a good job on the movie.


8. Hiking Timpanogas for the 4th summer in a row. I never get tired of that mountain!

7 things I'm grateful for:

1. Grandparents.


2. My new purple cell phone.


3. Long nights watching the kids play outside.


4. Green grass, especially from the all the rain we've had.


5. Hot chocolate, which is a semi-substitute for my former drinking habit.


6. My new running shoes, that seem to make me run faster than my old ones did.


7. Tulips, which are very abundantly dotting my front yard.

6 random guilty pleasures:

1. Celine Dion. I mean, who can feel very hard core when singing along to Celine? But I do. Embarrassing.
2. Anything that can be peeled, plucked or picked. You know, stray hairs or dangling skin or whatever. Is that gross?
3. Reading in bed while Shane is going to sleep. I feel bad keeping him up, but it is so relaxing and makes me feel happy.
4. Chocolate and bananas, lately. Mmmmmm...
5. Cafe Rio grilled chicken salads. I can eat the whole thing in one sitting. I'm an eater, I tell you!
6. Pour some Sugar on Me by Def Leopard. Totally not cool when viewed from my alternative-music past, but so fun to run to.

5 movies we rented in April:

1. Pokemon. I hate Pokemon, but my kids love it.
2. The Duchess, with Kiera Knightly. Man, the guy at the movie store carried on and on about it, saying how he'd seen in 10 times and cried each time, but I didn't love it.
3. High School Musical 3. I actually liked it a lot.
4. Marley and Me. Didn't realize that it wasn't really 100% kid friendly; had to fast forward a few parts. I thought I was safe with a PG movie, who knew?
5. Twilight. Shane even watched it with me. And movie Edward is a lot hotter than movie Jacob, so far.

4 random people to thank:

1. The lady in my neighborhood who was paying attention on Tuesday when I nearly ran in front of her while running. Maybe I was playing the iPod a little too loudly...
2. Ben and Thomas' friends for keeping them so well-entertained. I seriously should pay those kids, they help me out big.
3. Shane, for staying home tomorrow (Friday) while I go to my company retreat. I love when my kids don't have to go to the babysitters.
4. All of you who read my blog. Thanks for stopping by and reading my lists.

3 places I hope to visit this summer/fall:

1. California. Wheeee!
2. Park City for a few nights vacation. We went last year and it was a blast, and so close.
3. Zion, for a friend's wedding. I've never been to Zion's before. Can you say that, living in Utah?

2 things going on in my family this weekend:

1. My non-blogging sister Suzette is graduating from Nursing School. Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. But what were you thinking? Now you have to get a job.
2. The same sister is getting sealed to her husband who was killed in an accident 8 years ago. What a great day that will be for her and her children.

1 person I miss:

1. My friend Rebecca. I think she was in a play recently (thank you, Facebook) and I haven't found out how it went. I bet you were wonderful, Rebecca!