10 for 2009

10 favorite things I did in 2009:

1. Played, ran, and lived at the beach for 4 days.  I loved our San Diego vacation so much that it's my #1 thing that I did.  I can't wait to go back next year.  Just seeing and being next to the ocean was heaven.
2. Attended the Oquirrh Mountain and Draper temples' open houses and dedications.  I liked that they were so close together. And I like looking across the valley at them; they are so pretty.
3. Visited Zion National Park and stayed away for a night with Shane.
4. Camped with my cute family.  My boys loved it.
5. Planned a 5k race for my ward/neighborhood.  It was really fun.
6. Welcomed some new next door neighbors. Surprised this made my top ten? They always say you can pick your friends but not your neighbors. We've had some doozies over the past 10 years, but I think we finally have some who will work out.  They even shovel their sidewalk and park in their garage.  Who knew?
7. Met up with some awesome bloggers for a night out.
8. Planted a (mostly successful) garden.  Those squash bugs did almost get th best of me, though....
9. Cooked Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends at my house.  This was awesome!
10. Went boating at Utah Lake.  It was such a great day we had with good friends.

9 favorite books I read in 2009:

1. Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton
2. Cold Mountain (this was a re-read, but I enjoyed it so much)
3. The Help
4. Sea of Poppies
5. The year of the Flood
6.  Her Fearful Symmetry
7. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
8. The House at Riverton
9. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

8 things I did in my spare time:

1. Reading (32 books completed, with another 4 or 5 either set aside for a later [or non-existent] future date)
2. Running (found a new favorite run near my house, ran a 5 mile race with my sister, ran on the beach.)
3. Sewing (made four baby blankets, one table runner, and a partially-done Christmas wall hanging)
4. Playing the piano (can play O Holy Night all the way through, can do top hand of Hark The Hearald Angels Sing which is two more Christmas songs than I could play last year [when I could play none]
5. Shuttling kids back and forth to school and stuff.
6. Painting (did my kichen in April, and just painted the hall and one living room wall yesterday. I even distressed some wooden frames so they looked different and hung some new pictures in old frames. Fun times!)
7. Napping (I'm sure I didn't get as many of these as I would have wished for....maybe next year.)
8. Vacationing (mentioning this again, but when have you ever known us to leave home multiple times in a year? It's some kind of record, I think!)

7 things my kids did that made me proud:

1. Thomas' baptism.  It was a great day, and I'm proud of him.
2. Ben learning to ride a scooter.
3. Thomas having fun in the water at the beach and at the lake this summer.
4. Ben learning to write his name.  Even when he carved a "B" in my hutch, I still loved him.  The kid just really likes to write his name, aparently.
5. Thomas finishing a 400 page chapter book.  I told him a long time ago if he ever reads a book that has 500 I'll pay him $50.  He might do it this year!
6. Ben helping us paint yesterday.  He did a great job.
7. Both my kids when they each picked a blanket from their stash to give to a homeless shelter.  I like them learning about helping others.

6 places we frequently went:

1. Walmart.
2. The library.
3. Harmons.
4. Chili's.
5. Kohl's.
6. The park.

5 favorite movies from 2009:

1. Time Traveler's Wife
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. My Sister's Keeper
4. A Christmas Carol
5. 2012

4 goals for 2010:

1. Run faster.
2. Read 35 or more books.
3. Spend more time playing the piano.
4. Keep my temper better.  Especially with my sweet little boys.

3 things I will (hopefully) do in 2010:

1. Run the Wasatch Back Relay.
2. Go back to San Diego, but maybe visit Disneyland instead of Sea World.
3. Go to my friend Rebecca's wedding in Virginia (I might even get to visit Virginia Tech; squee!)

2 things I loved about Christmas 2009 (since I won't do a December list):

1. This year was great, so it more than made up for last year's.
2. I got to visit my dad one week before Christmas. I was so relieved that I saw him before, since I knew I probably wouldn't on Christmas day.

1 word to describe 2009:

AMAZING!

Why I will never buy my husband pants again.

1. In November, I bought Shane some jeans for Christmas.
2. They were Levis 569s, because that is the pair I thought I bought him last year.
3. Did I mention Shane has to wash everything before he wears it?  Yeah.  So, even if it is the pair of pants I bought him for Christmas, they have to be washed.
   
4. And since he wants to wear his new pants from Christmas, I have in the past washed the pants, then wrapped them in a box and surprise! Given them to him on Christmas.
5. After I bought said pants, we discovered that the pants he REALLY likes are his 559s, not his 569s. Ok. Fine.
6. I take back the 569s and buy the 559s.
7. We wash them and fold them in the top of my closet to await the time when I get around to wrapping them.
8. All day Thanksgiving, Shane begs to wear the jeans. I say no.
9. Then, he gets some money for his birthday, and decides to give me the money for the pants we already bought and asks me to buy some more.
10. I go back and buy what is labeled as 559 jeans.
11. I get them home and surpise! they are 501s.  I return them for 559s.
12. I encourage my husband to try on the pants that I buy, and he declines.  Since he has some newish pants (the original ones I bought) to wear on Christmas, we don't have to wash the jeans. Phew.
13. Just to make sure you are keeping up, I have at this point bought my husband 4 pairs of pants.
14. I wrap the newly purchased pants.  He unwraps them on Christmas and washes them that night.  Tags are gone, receipts are thrown away the day after Christmas.
    
15. As we are getting read to go out yesterday, Shane asks me to come and look at his pants.
16. The new, 4th pair of pants that have already been washed and are supposedly size 34 in length are about 2 inches too short.  The kid looks like he's walking in high water (which makes me giggle a bit to witness.)
17. I dig through the trash to come up with the receipt I threw away earlier in the day. It's gross, but readable.
18. We take the pants back to the store.  Of course the store is trashed and have absolutely no pants in the size that we need.  We get a store credit for the defective pair of jeans.
19. I lose $4 in the transaction due to coupons I had during the original purchase that I'm lacking this time around.  This would not be an issue if I could just exchange the pants instead of returning them.
    
20. Today we went to a different store and used the store credit for the correct size, style, color, and length of pants. 
21. We bring them home and....wait for it......the security tag is still on the pants.
22. After swearing for awhile, Shane pries the security tag off the pants (the checker at the store assured him when he called that if the shoplifters can get the tags off, he should be able to, too) and washes them. 
23. I firmly declare I will never buy him another pair of pants. 
24. Ever.

These are a few of my favorite things.

So, as much as we all know that Christmas is for kids, I think that this is also a true statement: No one likes to get nothing for Christmas.  Which is another way of saying we all still want presents.  Even if we are what we once considered too old to worry what is wrapped under the tree bearing our name.

I'll admit it. I like presents.  Even if you know what you are getting, you still get a little giddy over opening a box wrapped in paper and ribbon (or no ribbon if you live at my house. Long story.)  So, I thought about how this year's presents stacked up with the rest of the Christmases I've experienced (eh, pretty good), which in turn made me want to write about the best Christmas presents I've ever received.  I can think of three.

The first one is a doll.  I can't remember which year it was, but she came with a brown wooden high chair that Amy and I were supposed to share.  She had long brown hair and blue eyes and a red dress.  I loved combing her hair.  She wasn't exactly a baby doll, but she wasn't a grown up either.  I don't know that I played with her all that much, but I've always had her.  When I think of getting a doll for Christmas, she is the doll I remember.  When I think of playing with a doll's hair, it it always her hair.  As a matter of fact, she's in a box in the basement, so I'll take her picture.

Her hair is a little worse for wear, as she currently resides in a box.  But I still have her.

 

I really liked the high chair she came with as well.  I can't remember if Amy and I did well at sharing it.  Hmm.  Probably not.

The second thing is from when I was married.  A family member and I used to go to this Christmas show that went on each year at one of the local convention centers.  We perused a display that had a bracelet that I fell in love with, but I failed to talk myself into buying.  The family member was buying a few of the bracelets as gifts, and so, when they were opened a few weeks later on Christmas Eve, I was sad that I hadn't bought the one I'd loved.  In the meantime, I knew that Shane had bought me a strange present that was delivered in the mail a few days before Christmas.  I started to cry Christmas morning when I opened that present and nestled in the box was my bracelet.  I've worn it every day every minute ever since.  I'll sometimes go without my rings, but never without my bracelet.

It was the daisy motif that put me over the edge.  I'll never pass up a good daisy.

The third thing was also given to me by my husband.  And it also has a story that makes it meaningful.  I was never able to wear the cute earrings that other girls wore because I was allergic to anything other than gold.  I could get away with silver for a few hours, but anything more than that I would end up with infected earring holes.  But when I was 16, I was sitting in a Village Inn restaurant (in the smoking section, because "there were always hotter guys in the smoking section." Or so we thought.) and one of my friends boyfriends gave me one of his silver hoop earrings (how's that for gallantry, eh?) I put it in my ear, and it didn't make my ears infected, so I got 2 more (because no matter what, one earring hole never could tolerate anything).  I wore those same 3 earrings all through high school, through my time in college, after I got married, and through my whole married life until the Christmas I was pregnant with Ben (2005, if you want to get technical.)  That year, I asked Shane for a pair of diamond earrings.  I finally felt like I was a grown up, and could leave my rag-tag silver hoops in my past.  I've worn the beautiful earrings my sweet husband gave me ever since. 

See that one, twinkling in my ears? (Don't mind my fat "I'm 6 weeks from delivering" face. Ugh.)

So, what are your favorite gifts that you've recieved?  I'm not the only one who secretly loves presents, am I?

My favorite day of the year

Today is my favorite day of the year.  I call it Christmas Eve Eve.  Everything is there ahead of us, intact.  Everyone is still excited, and the stress of the realities of things that we cannot change can still be kept at bay.  You can do anything you want on Christmas Eve Eve; there are no traditions to live up to or outlandish expectations.  Just a happy, excitement-filled day for everyone.

Let's all say "hooray!" for Christmas Eve Eve.  I hope you all are ready for the Big Day.  Merry Christmas!

Just call me Kate (or Shrew if you want to get technical)

Most days in my life are pretty good. Sure, I don’t love every moment, but I generally have pretty good days. Until I don’t, and then they are the worst.

So that is how I found myself on Friday standing in the snow wearing no coat digging through a 5 foot snowbank next to my driveway while verbally reaming my four year old who stood equally coatless and crying in the snow.

Awesome! How does that come to pass? Well, let me tell you. I started the day out relatively nice with a few hours to myself to kill. I went for a lovely, lovely run outside the moment I got home from driving our preschool carpool. I didn’t want my run to end, and by the time I got through the next few hours, I wished it wouldn’t have.

Minutes after I walked in the door from my run, I got a call from work that let me know that a mailing that I was in charge of was having problems. Or rather, the place that needed to mail the mailing couldn’t find the file I created which contained the address information for over 35,000 people. It took me an hour of frantic phone calls to people who either a – didn’t answer their phone or b – answered but couldn’t do anything about it before I got it resolved. Nothing like the possibility of a major screw up at work to make your day start out right.

After solving that problem, I finally started my Friday chores right around the time that Thomas got home from school. Ben and his friend Brooklyn were playing outside in the snow. Ben had taken Thomas’ Batman figure and a power ranger figure out with him, and he and Brooklyn were burying Batman and power ranger in a snowbank by the driveway. After a few minutes of letting Batman be buried, they unburied him and repeated the process. When Thomas got home, he FREAKED OUT that his brother was playing with Batman. You know how kids are. They won’t play with a toy for an entire year, and then suddenly they can’t live without it and take it everywhere. So it has been with Batman lately. So, in the face of freaking out Thomas and sobbing Ben, I stuck up for Ben and told Thomas that Ben would take care of Batman and got Thomas to agree to let Ben continue playing. In the meantime, Brooklyn came inside and Ben stayed outside, and the next door neighbor boy (age 9) ensued playing my 4 year old’s game.

You know where this is going, right? I went out to bring Ben inside after a few minutes. I found a snowy power ranger and no Batman. I asked Ben, “Where is Batman?” He says he doesn’t know. The boy from next door decides to go home, and so I am left trying to find Batman with Ben. I completely lost it and found myself asking Ben repeatedly “Where is Batman????” I was digging through the snow (which I mentioned was 5 feet high and about 10 feet around.) Everywhere I dug, I found only white snow. I noticed the neighbor boy watching from his porch, and so I asked him once if he had played with Batman, to which he shook his head no. So I continued asking and asking Ben where the stupid toy was (did you drop him on the ground? Did you bury Batman? Did you bury Batman over here? Over here? Over HERE?? Did Batman grow legs and walk away?) I kept getting different answers, because under pressure, my son will find any port in a storm. He kept saying that yes, he buried Batman. Then it would be he dropped him on the sidewalk. I could not pin him down to any one story, so I kept madly digging in the snow and torturing my child with the same question. I sounded as shrewish as any fish wife in history, and the entire neighborhood was my audience. I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had stuck up for Ben, only to later have to stick up for Thomas when Ben didn’t take care of the toy put into his care.

Finally, Ben finally broke down. I realized what a terrible mother I was when I saw my son, coatless, shoeless (at least his socks were dry), pants soaking wet, finally crumple into giant tears that he didn’t know where Batman was and that I was no longer his favorite Mommy.

I relented and let him go inside. I burned off some of my anger while cleaning my bathrooms. I was just starting to settle down when someone knocked on the door. I answered it, and there stood the next door neighbor boy with a story that he “saw” a black thing in the snow bank and it turned out to be Batman. A soggy, snow covered Batman was in his palm. I looked at him, exhausted from my day and simply grateful for him giving it back (regardless of the truth) and told him thank you after taking Batman back.

So, if you happened to see me acting like a crazy lady with a snow shovel on Friday afternoon, now you know why.

Making a list, checking it twice.

I think everyone has things that they have to do for it to feel like the holidays.  I've been working on my things for a few weeks now, and I think I'm about done.  So, without further ado, here are the things I can officially cross of my list (and some things we've been doing lately.)

The not so fun stuff:

• Made the obligatory trip (ok, trips!) to the store to buy last minute items.  Yes, they have nicely accomplished the task of burying of my Christmas budget. So glad I can put a giant checkmark next to that one!
• Started a sewing project that won't get done until way after the holidays. I think this has happened before...
• Began wrapping presents.  Shane is so much better at this task than me (which really means he is better and more willing; I'm all for buying, not so much for wrapping.)
• Had the discussion of what gets wrapped and what doesn't.  I would wrap (ok, volunteer Shane to wrap) almost everything, even stuff from The Big Guy, but he likes stuff set out.  We compromise after a while.  It's fun.  
• Returned some stuff that I'd bought just days before, either because I messed up or it was suddenly less expensive. Seriously, I probably spend more gas driving back and forth than I save in getting deals.
  

And the good stuff:

• Visited Temple Square to see the lights.  No, I don't have a toothache. Just couldn't round up a hat for myself. 

They thought they needed to touch the water in the reflecting pool. Kids and water, I swear!

• Celebrated two work Christmas parties with much food and (non-alcoholic) drink.
• Sent Christmas cards to many people I love. I've even received a few back.  Just so you know: if you ever send me a picture with your Christmas card, I will save it forever in a photo album.  I like to watch people and their families grow over the years.
• Listened to many, many hours of Christmas music.  I will miss it when it goes away next week.
• Sat and enjoyed the lights on the banister over the stairs.  I've been decorating with the same garland for my entire married life.  (I think that's a good thing.)  
• We used to only have a Christmas tree downstairs until 2 years ago when I found a group of three little trees (I got them on Christmas Eve at Joann's for $6. Score!) So now I have Christmas upstairs and downstairs.  This makes me really happy.
• Lamented the fact that it's almost here, and therefore almost over. I get sad when Christmas is over.  It's still a little bit magical.  Everyone stops thinking about themselves so much and reaches out to others.  I love it.
• And, completely unrelated, I'm can't wait for Sherlock Holmes to come out.  You had me at Rachel McAdams and Jude Law......
  

And I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but I'll stick with that.  What things do you have to do in order for it to feel like Christmas?

Decemberish Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts going through my head tonight.  It's so dang cold; according to Shane's phone, it's 12 degrees.  I'm glad I have a cozy house on nights like these.

I just got home from the relief society Christmas dinner.  It was pretty fun; I went with my friend Shelly, and we had a good time talking with the friends and acquaintances at our table.  I looked around the room and saw so many people that I know and love.  We have been in our neighborhood for almost 10 years.  Lots of people have come and gone, but there are still a few people who we have known the entire time.  It's interesting to me to know these people and be a part of their lives.  To have watched them have children and buy cars and put in lawns. I like the feeling that longevity gives me.  It is comforting.

A few ladies got up after dinner and talked about special Christmases in their lives.  The last speaker really caught my attention.  She isn't someone I know at all; I've seen her at church, I can identify her children, but I don't think we've ever spoken.  She got up and talked about her first Christmas here in the United States after relocating here from Laos.  She related her story, and at the end bore her testimony and talked about how she was coming back to church.  I thought about the courage it took to get up and talk in front of all the women of the ward (or at least the ones that came).  She doesn't know very many people.  She's still sort of the new girl on the block.  I related to her in so many ways, but I also thought about how she might see me.  I'm a teacher in relief society, so she's probably sat through some of my lessons (I can't vouch for the quality of any lesson I've given, still, after 2 years!).  From the outside, it probably looks like I'm firmly established in the fabric of the ward, while inside I still feel like I'm her.  I still feel a little raw around the edges when it comes to church.  I wonder if I will ever not feel like a convert, like (as I once announced in one of my lessons) a jack mormon without a clue.  When she talked about starting to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost, I could relate.  When she talked about the difficulty in making choices, I could relate.  When she talked about beginning to read her scriptures again, I could relate. 

But I think in some ways I still want that raw edge.  I want to remember where I came from.  I don't want to be the one who doesn't understand how it feels to be inactive member of my church.  I like my spicy past.  I also like my not-so-spicy present.  I know that I am a lot happier being active.  It was something I wanted for myself, and no one else.  But I also felt so akin to that sister who shared her Christmas experience.  It  got me thinking about how after all this time, I'm still thinking I'm the newby.  Maybe I always will feel that way.  Thinking over that sentence, I don't think I mind.

Places the internet takes me...

And I thought I read a lot. I just found a lady who has read 421 (!!!!!!) books this year.

Here is a list of her books.

Christmas Cards: The Journey

Every year, like most families, we do a picture for our Christmas cards.  As the Official Taker of Photos (since my husband claims I don't let him near the camera), I usually set up the picture.  This requires taking 1,674 pre-pictures to make sure that the picture is going to look good.  My family hates this process.

So they've started to rebel in the only way they can while stuck posing for pictures which won't be seen by anyone.  That is, until today.

Meet the Christmas cards that could have been, and the journey it took to get to The One.

Start out with a setting.

Add some people; oh, way too close! And find me a tripod, please.

And now cue the funny faces, and a feather (not sure what was up with the feather. Four year olds!)

Add in a mom, but refuse to keep your eyes open:

And a cat (but tell the kids to keep their eyes open, so they have really fake smiles)

And eventually, you have this. Not really Bucket the Cat's best side, but good enough.

So, are Christmas cards an epic journey at your house, too?

And just because...

I won't be able to use or see this for another year, so I thought I at least should put it on my blog.  I had so much fun making this table runner; it turned out so cute!

This is a detail of the center:

Sad that I'm going to have to stick it in a tote now. But it will be fun to have next year! The log cabin pattern was so fun.  And I got to buy some new binding clips (that look amazingly like barrettes; hmmm....) to play with. I took way more time that I normally do on the binding, so for once it isn't awful to behold.  Who knew?

Hopefully I'm not the only one who finishes holiday projects AFTER their intended holiday. What can you do?

Happy Birthday!

It's Shane's birthday today.  I hope he has a great day because:

• He's my best friend.
• He's a really good dad.

• We have a lot of fun together.
  
• He's good at fixing stuff.
  
• He'll do anything for his friends.
  
• He likes to tease, but it's kind of fun.
  
• He puts up with me everyday.
  

I love you lots, Shaney.  Have a great birthday!!!

Tommy wants a pair of skates, Susie wants a dolly

When I was a little girl, I loved playing with dolls. I had all kinds of them: baby dolls, Ginny dolls, Barbie dolls, Cabbage Patch dolls (I had a set of twins, a premie, and a single; you could call me obsessed and not be too far off.)  It didn't matter as long as it had a face, clothes, and hair I could play with.

Tonight I was looking around my kitchen and I realized I hadn't set out the Sugar Plum Fairy nutcracker my mother-in-law gave me from her nutcracker collection.  I took her out of her spot and thought of a place to put her. I looked at her hair, and thought about how cute it would look down on her shoulders instead of in a pony tail, so I removed the bow and elastic.  I found myself playing with her hair, and the familiar feel of doll hair in my fingers brought back so many memories.

Shane saw me and kind of just rolled his eyes, but I was having so much fun. It made me want to ask for a baby doll for Christmas. I know, I'm a 34 year old woman, way too old to be playing with dolls. But I miss that excitement of holding a babydoll.  I love brushing their hair and putting on their shoes and watching their eyes open and shut.  That familiar pang of not having a daughter echoed in my heart again.  If I had a daughter, I would be styling her long hair, working with rubber bands and bows and barrets and hair bands and the rest of it on a daily basis.  I could buy her a doll every Christmas and sneak in a little bit of play time for myself.

I think I still feel a little bewildered having all boys.  Christmas toy shopping doesn't include a trip down the doll aisle, unless we have somehow lost our way.  I don't know what is fun to buy for my boys because my heart is still stuck on the pink aisle down the way, not the orange action figure one.  Not that I don't love my boys or enjoy buying toys for them: it just isn't the same.  Shane gets to relive his youth with the toys we buy.  I don't.  So, I still wouldn't mind a little girl to buy for.

All this over finding a spot for a Christmas decoration.  I don't think we ever get over not meeting the children we imagined we would have.  But it was a good moment, if bittersweet, that I had brushing Sugar Plum Fairy's hair tonight.

And she looks totally cute with her new hairdo, don't you think?