the Crew

On the eve of Christmas eve...our little family present

2012-01-12T04:45:00.014-07:00

It was one of those windy, old country roads that got lost over the past 60 yrs. You know, the kind that has ancient scraggly, trash trees hovering over the edge of the road. With branches all gnarled as if arthritis has overtaken their limbs. And as I moved along from one corner to the next on the road, dark shadows followed me, with little lighted lines every so often where a weed got through the black top.

I was nerve wracked. The last 2 hours I had hastily zoomed down our little home on the mountain, through the endless freeway construction from our county into the next. Where, I soon discovered that I was to be greeted by more local, city construction. And finally a turn off of State street and onto that back street that would take me to meet him.

I had sincerely been contemplating this idea for a while. And when Seingine had been in hospital for such a long time, (2 weeks) or what seemed like forever to a mother wanting her "baby" home, I knew when I saw Singe hobbling around like a hunched-over, old man that it was exactly the right thing to pull off for a Christmas surprise, on the eve of Christmas eve.

When I pulled into the parking lot, which really wasn't more then one of those graveled side of the road rectangle boxes, I was a little taken back by the small, slightly dilapidated, gray cinder- block building. "Okay", I thought, "this is a place of rescue." "It's a little sketchy looking, but I'm here to just get the boy and get out." "It's just a temporary place for him." But I was also being to question whether finding him so easily and quickly, had been a little bit to good to be true.

As I walked in the old, aluminum screen door, I knew to watch out for the back swing, since that was the same old type of screen door I had at an old 1950's rental home a few years back. And I felt nervous, I really did....this had all transpired the night before. I knew what I wanted, but I wasn't sure if I would find it when I first started looking on the internet. But within a few minutes of searching I had found this place and I had found him. However, it had been late into the night and there was nothing I could do to get more information on him and to be quite honest with you, I kinda put it on the back burner until I got a bee in my bonnet and did something about it. And you know how that goes, when you get that burst of energy to get something done, you go get it done.

It took a couple minutes for the girl, in her early twenties, to come back to the make shift of sorts desk. The ceiling was really low and it had a wet dog smell about the place. I introduced myself because when I called her a few hours back, she knew to expect me. It was strange, I don't know why but I guess I was having one of those "I'm really a mother, doing motherly things" realization at that moment. The girl moved to a back door and I followed her outside to a narrow concrete slab that ran parallel to another smaller building, while its path moved along to the side of the two structures as well. Again, she opened another door, even smaller this time and I followed her it mimicking ducking into a cave with the low ceiling as it was. And so here we were to meet for the first time.

Unfortunately, yet fortunately, a family had asked for their child's family birthday party to be held in the small building earlier in the day, and so the tenants now, were not completely in a socializing mood. But, right in front of my eyes, there was my boy....at least I kept hoping he was mine.

Writings of self-seeding, freely....Cheers!

2012-01-03T03:02:00.004-07:00

Okay, let's face it, I do think I am fairly creative person. So, with that in mind, I will admit that I don't really think my so called blog is necessarily ever going to be a consistent genre of posts. Without looking up what modern day dictionary definitions might register blogging as, I'm just going to re-baptize mine as a modern day, technologically powered journal of writings that I come up with.

...hmm, makes me wonder how Mark Twain would have functioned in our time of history. Or even more, would he have been Mark Twain, maybe Sam Clemmons would have been enough of a name and no "pen name" would have evolved.

I've been pestering my dad to write a fictional book for years and years and years. You see the man has a brilliant mind, is an expert in his field and when it comes to writing, technically, he does quite well. And he's written and had published 3 or 4 books and many articles in his career, so he's no stranger to writing. But, the guy is a medieval history professor, so all of his writings are technical, and non-fiction about historical figures or happenings. So that kinda means he lacks a little bit in the creativity department in his writings. And so when I pester him about writing of medieval historical figure into a fictional setting, he says he would love to and then tells me I should do it because he lacks the creative background. And then I chide myself that I should take advantage of his knowledge and do it...but I don't. But I will...someday...but someday better come soon or I know I'll regret it.

So to avoid regretting anything that comes into my brain, I need to start writing more. And I know that my mind can pull up a story for almost anything if I let it. When I was little, I figured out that I could write stories, and I did write several. I also acted out stories with my dolls, stuffed animals or barbies. I read stuff...what does that mean, I don't know...I just like to read whatever really. And I kick myself when I think of how many different ideas of come into my mind and I haven't written them down or the same of a word or saying or comment that sparked the start of a path of words to somewhere...anyway, I came up with a couple new stories last week that I plan to move forward with, that I shared with my dad.

He listened. My dad usually listens, but he is an academic, and so at times he can be intimidating in his reactions..his silence. Yes the saying that "silence is deafening" does ring true with him when I am wanting..no craving, some kind of response from him. Heh, to my surprise he responded with, "Katherine, you need to make sure you write these things down and that you carry a booklet around with you always to write down these ideas you come up with". Wham, bam! Hit me like a ton of rocks..well okay maybe a non-crushing type of rock so as to do no physical damage, but anyway it was finally a psychological stroke of acceptance to my little girl ego. My father, whom I have put on an academia pedestal pretty much my whole life, was seemingly giving me approval ...even more so, he was encouraging my thought process.

So here it goes. Here is my rock-garden of whatever catches my attention. A place where these seeds planted deep, being watered, splitting open, starting to grow with their little roots digging down further into the ground and their foliage popping up towards the light and warmth of the sun, will keep growing and developing into something only Katherine could grow.

I can't remember how to do this anymore!

2011-11-20T17:36:00.002-07:00

Oh my..it has been a long while since I did this and blame Facebook! ha ha just kidding

I really forgot about my blog.

2009-11-18T02:51:00.002-07:00

Well, Kim reminded me today that I had not blogged for a long while. Wow. So I should probably take a few days and summarize what has happened since May. Not that I have an interesting life, but since this is a blog for posterity sake, here goes.

We finished last school year. All three of us, barely. Yes, Connor received a not totally unexpected lovely letter from his principle letting him know that next year might need a definate new strategy of Connor's part. Love that Connor. Luckily, Connor started changing some of his tune by allowing his love for camping and Scouts to re-emerge into his world.

Sean got a school award for being in the top 10% in the nation in his grade for the national math testing. Way to go my little math wizard! I had no idea that we had started a math obsessed child when we played math games in the car...everything is somehow an equation for Seing. Plus, Sean's spring soccer team played awesome together so his coach decided to invite the team to join an indoor summer soccer league.

And I got to start the summer out being unemployed and yet somewhat hopeful after completing my first year in the new construction management program at U.V.U. I had no idea what was in store for all of us.....especially me.

My boring and elaborate telling of my tale from today.

2009-05-06T00:15:00.007-06:00

Oh my Goodness sake.

I really need to get a digi camera so in the future I would be able to use it for proof of places of interest as well as reference in writing the scenes that I experienced. Obviously that way they are vivid in a readers mind with small details that are important but easily forgotten if you don't have someway to permanently save them. My loss. When I was a teen to young adult, I used to never leave without my 35 mm SLR because I knew that if a perfect shot presented itself, I would never get it back if I wasn't prepared.

So with that in mind I have to make do with what I am able to remember in my non-photographic memory. I drove out to the Utah Ashgrove Cement plant today. I got out on my day trip later than I had wanted to by about an hour. It was around 12, noon. I was heading south from UVU towards Nephi and then west on state road 128. Today was really beautiful and I love driving with the wind in my hair, fast, music playing, on roads that are surrounded by ever changing sceneries of endless nature and so that is exactly what I did today. That was it....I was soaking up the setting and it was quite uneventful.

However, just because it was uneventful does not mean it did not bring out a certain sense of adventure in me. I was alone. No kids nagging or fighting in the background. No phones or computers to overtake my focus. I was even fabricating ideas in my nervous mind on how to get my boys out here by ourselves for a camping trip. I say nervous mind, because I over think being alone too much and then scare myself at times when I take the boys by myself places that are unfamiliar. I just need to learn jujitsu or some other Marshal art form, then I wouldn't be such a chicken.

Since the road seemed to show no signs of ending anywhere and literally, no signs of any significant help either as to when or where this plant was, I did wonder if somewhere I might have missed some other turn. But no, just as I was carving the car through another turn, BAM!..there it was right in front of my face. It was gigantic and it looked like a castle gone "communism architecture bad" in its ugliest form. Even better, remember the crude cities in the Lord of the Rings III where Frodo has to sneak among them without "the Eye" seeing him. That was what this plant could have fallen from the pages of, but luckily there were no scary, seething trolls lurking about it.

I got a first rate tour of this interesting production plant. I got to walk up next to a huge long tube that inside of it burned rocks at the unbelievable degree of 2500 Fahrenheit. Though it was slightly breezy outside, standing next to the heat that the pipe gave off was unbearably hot and I would not stay next to it for long. My guide, the plants production engineer, explained to me that police departments from across Utah Valley actually come down there and bring sensitive documents etc. to be incinerated there because of the heat they are able to produce.

After the tour I was ready to head home and take up the roll of mom again. So I was off and enjoying my car ride once again.

Then without blinking, there it was BANG, PLANK, PUT, PUT, PUT...stop. Right in the line of my tires approach a big ole brown rock sat on the freeway. I saw it and there was no time to move my car fast enough. Though I tried to swerve, the rock blew my front passenger tire and lucky for me I didn't hit another passing car. I was able to get to the side of the freeway and as luck would have it, I had just passed the Spanish Fork exit and was now on the side of the freeway entrance lane.

But sometimes however stupid a decision it may be, your will to survive overtakes anything else that might pop into your mind in similar situations to this one. There I was alone, several miles from the next off ramp, turned the wrong way from the previous exit, without a cell phone since I have been without one now for a year and in no mood to get out of my car and try to hail someone over to help me. So instead I started to drive slowly on a popped tire, with a bent rim that was doomed to a worse fate because of my persistent desire to keep driving toward some kind of eventual help.

I saw the sign for the next exit, which posted 5 more miles. "You've got to be joking!" But up ahead I could also see that the emergency outside lane was being cut off because construction barrels were aligned along the roads edge. Ugh!, another obstacle. "Ah come on already. Enough is enough." As I approached this area, there was a hill and I knew there was no way to go around the barrels and up it without getting thrown out into ongoing traffic. I scanned beyond the barrels and noticed that although no construction equipment was moving, I did see several regular pick up trucks parked behind some concrete barriers. So I made a quick decision to turn off through the barrels and head toward those trucks in hope that I would find some construction person to help me.

And with some definite luck from above, three guys were walking towards me. When the first guy was within shouting distance, I asked him if he would let me use his cell phone. He said "yes", but I realized quickly that I had no clue who I would call to "rescue" me. So I asked him if he knew how to change a tire and he said yes and I asked him if he would be able to help me. He politely let me know that he couldn't do it because he was late for something else already. But the two guys behind him heard my plea and offered to do it for me, unfortunately the former guy stated that they didn't have time 'cause they were riding with him.

Brilliantly one of the two guys who offered to help asked me for a trade. If I could give them a ride into downtown Provo to their employers office, then they could stay and change my tire. It may sound naive and dangerous in idea, but the guy that offered the solution also chimed in that if I didn't feel comfortable with that idea, that I should not feel obligated to do it. However, since I had approached them and the first guy who had driven them was still there and involved in our conversation (because he too needed to know their plans, so if to drive them back to the office or not) I felt comfortable in the situation and I didn't worry that there would be any trouble if I drove them back to their employers office. So they helped me greatly by quickly changing my tire and then they humbly accepted my apologies for my garbage strewn indoor car decor and we were off to get them where they needed to be.

And in retelling this, I have to relay to you what my instructor/professor told me in an email today after hearing from me on my trip because the trip was for his class. My professor is definitely one of my most favorite people in the world. I am his T/A this semester. He listens to all my war stories and is full of wisdom and knowledge whenever I ask him for advise. So this is what he replied
"Katherine, Glad you enjoyed the tour. You sometimes have the worst luck, but I am still praying for you. Things are funny sometimes, but costly. ....Good luck. Jim".

So with a noble and good man like him praying for me and other friends who have seen me through a challenging school year with their thoughts, prayers and actions, even though the mire may be constant in my life right now, I've got lots of blessings overpowering the adversity and guiding me through it all. And to top it off with a little whip cream and cherry, I most definitely am glad for the humor I do see in all my day to day quirky adventures in this, the"this-is-the-life-Miss-Katie-Marie" for you and your crew. Ha, ha, ha...what a day.

my own little world

2009-03-11T10:18:00.006-06:00

As a teen most likely sensing the loss of friends due to moving, college, jobs, missions or just changing opportunites, I used to think of how fun it would be one day to have a little town of friends. Obviously it was a comfort thing...fear..a psychosis set up from past experiences. But even still how almost magical would it be to make your own living creation.

Here are a few things I would do: I am drawn in this scenario to a small, snow drenched village. Soft powery snow that gently cuddles the streets...yet mild temperature, not bitter cold.

In this town everyone would be able to do jobs they enjoyed, of their picking of course. So my guess is based on the surroundings, a lot of people would be working from their homes so the atmosphere would be one where friends would be found quite often enjoying themselves outside.

To be continued>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

2009-03-10T00:31:00.002-06:00

GO JEN GO!!!!!!

Ride Hard!

You are so awesome!!! ...and you're gonna kick some...____! (take a wild guess)

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/solvang09/jpixton

Inspired words for thought

2009-03-10T00:21:00.001-06:00

"It is so hard when sincere prayer about something we desire very much is not answered the way we want. It is especially difficult when the Lord answers no to that which is worthy and would give us great joy and happiness. Whether it be overcoming illness or loneliness, recovery of a wayward child, coping with a handicap, or seeking continuing life for a dear one who is slipping away, it seems so reasonable and so consistent with our happiness to have a favorable answer. It is hard to understand why our exercise of deep and sincere faith from an obedient life does not bring the desired result."No one wants adversity. Trials, disappointments, sadness, and heartache come to us from two basically different sources. Those who transgress the laws of God will always have those challenges. The other reason for adversity is to accomplish the Lord's own purposes in our life that we may receive the refinement that comes from testing. It is vitally important for each of us to identify from which of these two sources come our trials and challenges, for the corrective action is very different."Richard G. Scott, "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995,

new story in motion

2009-02-13T23:20:00.011-07:00

So there I was standing in que, in the near-ending drizzle of rain, aloof to much of the somewhat muffled background on goings, of yells and the constant buzzing of chattering fans mouths. I wanted to be here, yet sometimes the rain just permiates through one's body and it sends me into a status of melancholy. But yes, I did want to be here. It was a match that I was looking foward to with much anticipation and it was bound to be a well fought dueling.

Moved to works in writing blog.

...The Sweetest Thing

2009-02-03T02:02:00.008-07:00

Dear Seingine,

who would have known when Connorack named you 'Racket' as a baby-nickname, because you cried so much, that you would instead grow into the sweetest, calmest, California-laid-back, peacemaker, perfectionist, always-ready-to-strip-down-to-your-skivies-once-you-walk-in-the-door kind-of-a-guy that you are today.

You are the jam in our peanut butter sandwich and connorack and I wouldn't be the same with out you. Hope you love being nine. Happy Birthday sweets! And I think it was great that you picked out the Hamburger birthday cake..it was truly unique, just like you.

Love you...love you too,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!

architecture on my mind

2009-01-31T01:51:00.003-07:00

Oh man oh man, my brain is all over architecture, pulling it apart and putting it back together to make sense and so forth. My neighbor lives in a 100 year old house with add on's. We helped her tear apart her yucky flooring and 60's thin, tacky wall paneling tonight. I want to tear down the whole house and start over. There are some houses that have had too much done to them them they've lost the integrity to the original idea of the house and/or they just never made sense in the beginning at all.

With architecture in mind, I move to the new Draper, Utah, LDS temple. We've purposely driven from Alpine over the new mountain pass into the top south mountain of Draper to watch the construction and final stages of this new temple over the last year. It's an alpine drive most definately. I love where it sits nestled in the depths of the mountains in this area of Draper. So last saturday it was really fun being there with my sis and her fam, and my little fam, as well as having the presence of my dad and my mom came too in our tour of the new temple. Ironically the weather was a beautiful fog, but it kept us from seeing the outside of the temple to its maximum potential.

The Celestial room was magnificent with the dome a simple yet richly detailed piece and the gold lined walls and the crystal chandeliers equal to any of the most ornate rooms I've seen in my European travels to grand palaces and stately homes. Yet in the Sealing room where a sweet couple around my age explained to the kids and others present, about what the idea of a sealing meant to them in their lives, you could definately feel the presence of the spiritual nature of this temple creation. To be fair, the rest of the temple was lovely in its decor, a lot of art deco, which I love but is similar to other temples that have been built in the last 15 years, specifically the A.F. and Bountiful temples, so was somewhat uneventful. However, the afore mentioned rooms were what made the viewing of the structure for me, and in my weird mind of configuring architectural placement, where the temple was built made sense. It is close to the "heavens" and circling around in the sky's are the beauty of the birds and hidden in the surrounding hills are the innocence of deer as they make their way in and about the hillside terrain they add presense of nature in God's circle of life.

In no way do I want to sound as if I take having the significance and beauty of an LDS temple around our everyday scenery for granted. I have an artists eye, and therefore I critique. The Temple is a work of art to me as well as a spiritual tribute to our Father in Heaven and his work here on earth for all of us. It signify's the beauty of our lives and what we can accomplish only through our gratitude to all that he has given us.

work in progress- start of 2nd short story

2009-01-30T02:20:00.018-07:00

It was a drab, grayish cover in the sky sneaking up on the afternoon, as I drove up to the parking lot of the elementary school. It gave off a feeling of being boxed into a plastic container that is just about to have its lid put on. As the car started to slow down and inch along in speed, Christian jumped out of the car as he had come to do lately since watching an old episode of 'Starsky and Hutch' from cable. I tried to catch him with a stern disapproving comment but he was off and nearly out of visibility before I could even stumble through a few noise making words.

There I sat, transfixed on where I was, yes it was a parking lot but it was the prequil to where I had been over the last 6 years. I had made brief encounters to this same parking lot 6 years earlier when Christian had been the one to go to this school by himself, where now it was his brother Patrick who had brought us here...to this point of surreality exposed. It was that moment of vulnerability that creates a dejai vu in ones life.

And in a moment my thoughts were interrupted in the distance by the faint carrying of voices in the cold, and slightly threatening sky. One voice, then two and as a third voice emerged a trio of kids arrived in full view, carrying on in conversation in a playful yet dedicated manner. And soon to follow was the onslaught of more elementary school children. All alert, some with an immediate agenda to possibly get home fast, others atune to their social surroundings and who were locked into the intensity of it all.

In the midst of the group Christian stood out, obviously because he did not look the part of an elementary child and of course lagging not too far behind was Patrick and another boy who appeared to be playfully hopping, then skipping and then too, was conversing with Patrick. As they got closer to the car, perpendicular to all were large mounds of snow piled up high against a new chain-linked fence that separated the grassy play area of the school yard from the small U-shaped parking lot. All at once Christian seemed to be verbally startled by the young boy who had been dilly- dallying along with Patrick. He seemed to take it in stride as just the rantings of a little boy who wanted to make his presence know and was fishing for where the boundaries lay around the "older" kid. Plus the kid probably was the youngest in a family where making himself stand out by taking potshots, was in fact, the only way to be heard.

Christian with easy strides, glidded over to the car door and entered without comment. As I looked at him to make my previously unheard mumblings restated, my mind stopped short and I just thanked him instead for fetching his younger brother for me. As I turned to then acknowledge what I assumed was the approach of Patrick towards our car , my eye caught sight of Patrick and his friend instead fixed and attentively gazing at that long mound of snow before them. Besides being high, round and somewhat packed against the fence, it also ran the length of the fence all the way to the entrance of the parking lot. The boys looked at each other, and Seans friend said a quick word, which drew a smile and a quick kick of his boot through the snow from Sean as the other boy began to climb excitedly up the mound of snow. Sean quickly realized that he too was not going to be left behind and he set off to catch up with his friend.

As I watched through my car window at the scene taking place, I realized that what appeared to me to be a big, plowed mound of slightly dirty snow was in fact something far more revered and adventureous in the eyes of my son and his friend. For them it was an unspoken knowledge, where there was to be no misinterpretations: That snow was there to be conquered! They saw an endless mountain of white and they knew their duty to it and themselves and no one would stand in their way, especially that nagging noise in the background of what was in fact my voice trying to break a small crack into the shut-off left side of my childs brain.

serious creative-writing blog

2009-01-23T01:24:00.002-07:00

"...when silently listening to the half-crackle, half-drizzle connection of rain in its moderate rush to fall in the dark, outside my main front window, if conjurs up flashes of memories. Memories are a powerful hand on our mind. They grasp our feelings, and shake them in so many different manners." By katie marie

Here's a little exerpt. I should sit her and do more but i'm going to bed.
Here's the idea: I think it would be fun to become involved in some kind of creative writing blog of short stories.
If anybody is interested, let me know. If not I will do one and bravely open up some of my stories for critique, thoughts etc. I had to drop my creative writing class and who knows, maybe this will be better.

wii wii does that? Ru CPR certified? and Barbie and THE BIRDS

2009-01-13T23:02:00.008-07:00

Poor poor pooch! Like I said in my previous post, I really like Seingines DS dogs! They only require battery revival, not mouth-to-mouth revival. Besides I don't think I could share an ice-cream cone or smooch another dog the way I used to with Crackers as a kid. He even looked cute in Mag's bathing suit when we let him try it on...dad never really thought a girls swimsuit looked that cute on Crackers?

This one is funny too, especially since I luv alfred hitchcock, a cool, old, ever-so-slightly morbid, odd duck and i luved and stil luv Barbie dolls. Yeah, Barbie probably destroyed a majority of young girls self-worth in the united states and who really wants to have to get specialty fit tops due to cosmetic surgery after obsessing on her curves, but dang I still really like Barbies. Besides, Jim used to come into my room as a kid, which was loaded down with barbie dolls and barbie houses, and beat my dolls up with his GI Joe guys and make my girls into covert operation type chicks. So my girls were kind of tough in their ultra perfection. Plus, I made tons of clothes which fanned my love of fashion and I also created some cool barbie characters, like Annie Lenox barbie after I cut of Barbies blond hair to a shaped, girlie, spikey, flat-top and dyed her hair reddish/orange. (on the Barbie doll link, just fill out the log-in pg. for the springfld news..really easy and fast, then you'll get to see the Barbie page) And honestly, who wouldn't love to be Tippy Hedron, with the hair and the cute, retro traveling suit for a day, minus the birds, cause most of us already have kids clinging to our clothes, so we don't really need the birds!!

a babbling brook 2009

2009-01-12T18:19:00.007-07:00

I seriously never even thought that my kid would out do me in the length of time he takes in having a shower. Well he does.

New semester for everyone. Yeah!

My big broder has introduced me officially to Facebook. Too funny. I'm kind of bummed out on finding out who's no longer on my "team" anymore. politics aside...people be people.

Ainsley is 1 yrs old this week! She is an adorable squirt.

Seingine has 6 dogs now on DS..and they are the sweetest, cutest, nicest smelling dogs i've ever had contact with, well except for dear old Crackers. (he's hanging out w. grandma p. on the other side)

i actually got a 'B' in Autocad last semester, my hardest class. I can now design everybody's home but just be ready for mid century modern remade or juxtaposed genres.

i have seriously been trying to downld micrsft office 2007 since july. i still can't figure it all out.

I am glad we are who we are and where we are in life! So I'm for adventures in moderation, and instead, onward and upward with harmony, growth and bubble baths a plenty!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T04:07:00.010-07:00

It's always fun to run into or get in touch with old "characters" from ones past. Blogging was honestly something I had no knowledge about nor would have cared about, until a year ago when the sis-in-law, of a guy I was friends with, introduced me to this pop culture phenom. She showed me her blog and some others, and so I used her blog as a go-to, to check out others blogs. Wow! .... and then an idea! ...but how long it did take me from one link to another, to see if there might be someone I knew somehow from the past. Voila! I found Kristen via the cousin of the before mentioned sis-in-law. That was fun contacting Kristen and catching up on her vibrant collage of noteworthy life adventures. Kristen, who by the time we made it to high school had fallen into the WHERE HAVE THEY GONE category of people who you go to school with for years and then when summers faded away, and school starts again, their gone too! ...and when you've noticed their absense, ya kinda wondered what exciting place did they get to run away to, 'cuz you're stuck in class next to the smelly guy at math period.

So again, link to link checking some more, I had one person in my mind and I kept searching. Then I found a common blog that so many seem to read. I found my next door neighbors blog, her friends blog, this and that blog, my old gymnastic instructors daughter's blog and so forth. Wow, this blog world was a ride down memory lane..though we moved away from the real Memory lane in Holiday in '01. (ha ha) I saw her name, and I swear I checked it and it wasn't her. But "goofer" that I am,(heh I'm loaded down with too much info 'cuz of school and mommy dome), I really must not have actually looked at the name link as I thought I had. And to add insult to my distractability, she has an uncommon name, so that gave me a huge chance that if her name was on someone's name list, that it would be her. Plus one always runs a good bet of having that 6 degree of separation due to the small circles of the "mormon" world. I noticed that Kristen lived in the northwest part of the world, and again knowing how small "mormon" circles are, I asked her if she knew Vanessa. Yep, she did. My friend Vanessa. Vanessa and I were always trying to cause mischief @ university and when she took off on a mission, she used to love it when I would call her in the middle of the night (right!-ha ha) "Hi Vanessa". "KATHERINE!!!!"

So the world just got a little smaller and we get to exchange Christmas cards again! Yipee, since the last card I sent came back. So kudos to Karen for introductions to her blogging list. Which begat my blog entrance, which begat my introduction to Andrea's cute blog and her list(V. and Andrea know each other too). From which begat Kristen's, to where that blog begat my finding someone else's pedestal blog and begat the last piece of the puzzle, a significant find, my friend Vanessa. It's Christmas time, so the biblical timeline seems applicable

Now on to my next reflection. For years I have thought about getting in contact with those who had been highly influencial on me as a youngster...whether it be school, extra-curricular etc. I wanted to write them a letter letting them know. I think it is important to let people know that you appreciate what they did for you in your life. I ran into my old English teacher@ the gym a few years ago, Mrs Bester, I told her. My conversations with V. thus far have hopefully been a reality of what our friendship meant to me and hopefully will continue to get stronger and expand over the years even while our fam's right now are priorities.

Then there was Shayne. She was my gymnastic coach. I saw her several times a week for 4 to 5 years. She was perfect to me, inside and out. She was fun to be around and she would take us on little excursions from time to time. (I get to claim that I rode around w. her in S. Young's old jalopy of a car, before he was famous and made millions) She introduced all of us young girls to the world of fantasy, whimsical weddings when she had hers up at Sundance, with la creme de la creme of society, it seemed. Plus, I will spit on my hand and swear on my grandma's dead dogs grave, that she liked our small group of gymnasts the best of any she had. If any female "mentor" left a positive influence on my youth, it was her. And most of all, she was just plain kind to me. Well, in finding her relative, I was able to find out how to contact her. So this holiday season I intend to send her an "appreciation card" as such, letting her know her impact.

I look at what an incredibly warm and wonderful ward I live in now, and the potential of mentors to my own sons. I hope that they too, will look back someday and want to let someone who has played a positive role in their youth, know what they did for them. I am grateful for this time of year, where one takes extra pause of oneself through others.

Their is nothing like seeing our nation's tradition, of decorating for Christmas, as one drive's through the snow from house to house, street to street, city to town, town to city and then lastly from town to your town, to your street and then pulling up to your own winter wonderland creation. In a pondering manner, I'm allowed into the scene: a blinking of color here, at this home. A bright swag of crisp, clear icicle lights, at that home. The moon balmily overhead, a touch of soft snowy flakes and the sight of our own towns herd of (rein)deer moving absentmindedly, through the calm, deserted streets of our quaint picture-book, alpine town.

I am so grateful for my challenges and successes, the growth that it's given me and for the opportunity I am granted in raising two beautiful human beings (lady killers that they think they are too). This is the time of Christ, of past miracles and modern accomplishments. To all my friends and family, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See ya in 2009!

2008-12-22T02:19:00.002-07:00

So, I took this test for my construction class. You choose 'Emotional Intelligence' test after you register. I was interested in seeing the results and I was glad I was what I was at. I think always trying to improve yourself (internally is the most important) is a necessity in life, as well as, an exciting adventure.

2008-12-12T19:09:00.002-07:00

I just found out the London Royal Ballet is going to be performing @ the Y in February '09.

a Christmas chorus concert rundown

2008-12-12T06:44:00.004-07:00

good job connorack man! I know it was hard singing in front of so many people but you fared it well. My favorite song was the last one with the colored flashlites. Seing and I laughed so hard, 'cuz we knew that the slow- to- catch- up red lite was yours. Shay and Amanda thought you looked handsome, and Amanda even commented on how your grumpy face let us know how much you wanted to be there. But alas, it is done and you will not get that "F" you felt doomed to get. So don't fret over your clumpy shoes you wore instead of your dress shoes as they accentuated your nice new slacks and your stylin' tie. You were one of many jewels in that crown of other 7th grader boys, who probably didn't want to be seen dressed up by girls from the school either. But again I am proud of you for going with the flow and doing it, even if, perhaps it was more mouth movement than actual vocal participation! Well done my boy.

Last class, of the last day, of the last part, of the semester!

2008-12-12T00:02:00.003-07:00

SWOT....this is the last of it and I think I am on to the beginning of the rest of my life that will feed my passion and give me satisfaction in my professional life! It is such a great, peaceful yet exhuberant feeling to connect and make the right fit. Just like a good pair of driving gloves as one's tightly turning a corner in a pretty black Porsche. Here's to looking towards the future and seeing light at the end of the tunnel!

..a little soap box

2008-12-08T16:57:00.002-07:00

....wow, wonder what good would have emerged in the world if he had put real value into his thought process on what to do with all the money he received from being an overpaid athlete. For some reason this makes me think of last Valentine when Connorack man broke his wrist and was in cast for a couple of months. As soon as they took of his cast, a huge scab from a cut that Connorack had gotten a few days before the break, fell onto the floor. It was big and he had been wondering about it for a while because he couldn't see what was going on with it since it was covered by the cast. So he picked it up off the ground, looked at it and thought it was kinda cool (in a gross boy kind of way) and then laughed and threw it into the garbage can. That's my analogy of this story. Where one overglorified athlete falls, he might get looked at again but he'll be tossed 'cause there are plenty more out there to choose from but still it is too bad he couldn't have done a lot more for the world as a whole. Apparently it's his loss, not the worlds.

..of course, it was love at first sight.

2008-12-05T04:30:00.003-07:00

Heh sweeteyes,

Happy 13th birthday today.
I adore you and am honored to be your mum.

..to you, love me.

thanksgiving leftovers

2008-11-30T04:57:00.001-07:00

seinge, "mom, how long will i have the flu." me:"i don't know." "well mom i still can't go to church." even though he is wide awake and cute and cuddle-buddle as always. "so can i go downstairs and play playstation then?"this is our conversation right now at 5 am in the morning after two days of throwups and montezuma's revenge. oh how we love those little viruses that wiggle thru and end up inside our bodies.

bubbles after r.e.m

2008-11-27T00:42:00.002-07:00

to self read this: from dreams to the paper. uht oh, they put mind mapping in this article. mind mapping means for me that my little map of bubbles will go on and on and on and on, since everything that pops into my mind seems to open up a new channel leading from inside my primary source, the right side of my brain!

...christmas blues

2008-11-24T22:14:00.004-07:00

..i'm kinda discouraged. I signed up for the http://www.lds.org/events/info/0,8197,726-1-679,00.html and http://www.lds.org/events/info/0,8197,726-1-677,00.html on the morning it was available to the public clear back in October. And with all the available nights and tickets, we didn't get chosen for either event. maybe its the advisary talking but it seems like it would be easier to get into Christmas Mass with the Pope at the Vatican then it is to get into a Mormon Temple Square event such as this.

the Chronicles of Narnia

2008-11-24T00:13:00.003-07:00

...we did it, seingine and I just finished THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW. It was good. I never read that series as a kid. So I have never read any exerpt or article in regards to it, so I can say this without having been biased. And of course it is my opinion, so if it is not what the author intended, well then it is what I got out of it. It reminded me so much of reading a modern day work of mythology, mixed in with biblical analogy's: The creation of a new world. The Son of Adam etc. The evil in the new world. The silver apples on the Tree of Life. So now I understand how the wardrobe came to to the be. How exciting for the next book, the LION, THE WITCH and THE WARDROBE. Though, I did find out that this was actually his sixth book the series and written as a prequel to the L.W.T.W. I think cs Lewis was a medievalist, just like Dad. But I am not going to find out anything about him 'til after we're done with the series. I've found that lately when I know too much about an writer it tends to bias my opinion of their writing.

real bridges don't fall or move to arizona

2008-11-21T00:19:00.037-07:00

So I did a report on Heavy/Civil construction that involved the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Really fascinating stuff on the history of its creation. I love bridges. One of my fav bridges is this little one in Ambleside, England, that we actually visited and I bought a lilliput lane replica of the bridge. (at the link, click on enesco then Lilliput lane, then the catalog) It's a bridge with a tiny little bridge house on it where the keeper of the bridge lived with his big brooding family back in the old days..

Anyway, I was reading ENR magzn. and I ran across (not literally yet) a beautiful bridge. And it must be shared. Look at how elegant it is......up there, the Millau Bridge, France. The worlds tallest bridge, for now! India is building a taller bridge.

quaint little shops

2008-11-19T01:20:00.005-07:00

So over the last few weeks when i've had the time, i've taken some little excursions to some of the fun boutique type shops in and around the 2 valley's. I wanted to check out what was what as far as holiday ambiance and gifts etc. So the best little unknown place that is a must visit is Broadbent's off downtown Lehi. http://www.broadbentstore.com/ I found them around 6 years ago, & it is a place of treasures. It takes you back to grandma's home. Kupie dolls. Fabrics gallore. So indeed a quilters haven. Madame Alexander dolls. A room of year round Christmas ornaments. Sundance suckers and more. Each season is dressed up at the appropriate time. Christmas is the best. You move from one room to another, to experience a different decorated style. Over the years we've bought almost the complete Bobsey Twins book series there. Mags and I loved that series growing up. Plus there are books and books of pop out paper dolls ...every little girl has got to try out playing with paper dolls.

Okay, then of course, I had to take a trip to the country christmas store and go see what was going on at Scrooge and marleys. again, it's hard to be disappointed when you go there. All the wonderful smells of candles make it warm and cozy. plus it's an old house full of crooks and crannies. I still think the customer service there is the PITS but it's a good store. grandma P. would have loved it. Hooked rugs, knitted rugs, wrought iron this and that. quilts and their old barn full of overstock, out of season and big furniture items.

....i've also checked out Hip and HUmble up on 7th and 9thish for the holiday season. They've combined with a clothing boutique. Fun stuff, but frankly I preferred there old location off of 21st and they're inventory seems more trendy than it used to.

Actually, I think Artichokes and Co. in sugarhouse is closer to what H&H used to be like. I think this was my first visit there, and it was sweet as sugar. the decoration of the store was decked out in white feathers hanging down gingerly from the ceiling. Maybe reminicent of icicles? They have some good girly gifts. Here's their link to see http://www.artichokesandcompany.com/artichokes/

..so many more shops to visit. still need to visit highland garden shop, and............ohh, ooh need to get to Modern Display, always has beautiful Christmas decorations...I did make it over to Modern Display....don't let their disappointing Christmas display on their front yard turn you off. Inside, they do indeed have some amazing Christmas trees that will only put you back a few thousand dollars. And oodles and oodles of ornaments. They also have the ever precious christopher Radko glass ornaments and they have authentic German Nutcrackers, so none of the junkie ones made in China. (no offense if that is what you prefer)

They seek him here, they seek him there......

2008-11-19T00:24:00.007-07:00

.....they seek him here, they seek him there. Them Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven or is he in Hell, that damned elusive Pimpernel.

Last night I took the munches to see the Scarlet Pimpernel @ L.P.H. Connorack man did great. He caught on and I think he liked it. But Seingine was a grump and tried to pretend he didn't like even though I caught him laughing over Percy's effeminant ways. A fop he was indeed(Percy, that is). Seing kept begging to leave 'til I said "fine, let's go" and then he sang a different tune and wanted to stay! Go figure.

Anyway, the kids in the production did great. The costumes were astounding. This is definately a different generation. Those costumes were worth a lot of money no doubt. The lead who played Marguirite had an amazingly, theatre -trained voice, and there is no way she won't go somewhere with her voice. The lead who played Percy also had a well trained voice, but I think it is much harder to sing male parts. Those poor guys when they have to hit HIGH notes. So of course tonight we started watching Jane Seymours version of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Love that movie.

bridal shows revisted

2008-11-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.dove.us/#/gofresh/Episodes.aspx/..this show is so cute

yes to good lawsuits

2008-11-16T02:40:00.002-07:00

....kudos to the guy who is suing, 'bout time. Plus I don't understand how that company gets school records anyway??

...and what is it with all the big business' going "out of business"? today i passed mervyns, linen and things on my way to harolds. all three going out. i'm thinking it was a good thing i ripped my calf muscle and couldn't go back to work for mervyn's. i had actually asked the manager who hired me, if they were going out of business because i could tell they weren't getting the same merchandise thru their buyers that had been staples for years. it's that inner feeling on so many things, and it is amazing how right i turn out to be on things. it felt off then and now i see why....who know's what would have happened.

2008-11-14T21:23:00.002-07:00

http://http//www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4AD2V720081114

my homage to harold's--bye-bye

2008-11-14T01:27:00.002-07:00

oh Harold's, what has happened!
you filed for one of those sections.
does thou not know the alternatives
that have been left to us your true loyalists!
there is oklahoma, texas, cali, utah, southern, northern and
many states between. Harold powells to many, to us
just Harold's. I should have noticed more
that the email's stopped short mid October.
And then today, such shock when the email said
"after 60 years we're going out of business."
you've been good to us over the years, catering and
friendly service. It is so fun to hear one's name with a bright
smile each time one enter's the shop from employee's.
Friendships have been made. "style's have come and style's have gone", but
as for you, you were a constant. But now, perhaps it's the economy,or perhaps it's just
time to let go. Any which way though, thank you for
the experience. Adeiu to an old southern charmer. Bye Harold's.
Love you, love me-kate

since I'm in poetry in my Lit. class right now, I'm trying it out.

no way, not k.c.!

2008-11-14T01:23:00.003-07:00

i meant k.f.c.

The world according to two old, well traveled people..gramps and grams

2008-11-13T01:29:00.029-07:00

Since we will probably never see the pics gramps took,unless I post them, here goes. I told dad to be sure and get a pic of the Little Mermaid and there she is! Hans Christian Andersens,Den lille havfrue in Copenhagen, Denmark.(click on title link) The other 3 pics are just of some other scenes from there visit to Sweden. I'll see if I can get some from Russia too. I don't recognize any of the other pics I got from them as being St. Petersburg. They stayed in luxury this time. Last time we were in Russia, we stayed at roach infested,"don't drink the water, mafia-running type facilities. Them's was BIG ROACHES Too! Remember Mags!

The candlelight meals in africa.

2008-11-11T01:48:00.003-07:00

This is what Seingines school was doing last week. See it is all up to the children of the world. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=4734398 and see this also. Dakkon is in this pic...http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/287145/79/

2008-11-09T03:34:00.001-07:00

i am so excited about auto cad. never thought i would be.http://www.dwell.com/homes/green/25562969.html?page=2

Thank you laura, I loved the tv series too.

2008-11-06T23:30:00.010-07:00

In my paper today on Residential Green Construction, I actually got to add kind of a fun little exerpt into one the paragraphs. I wrote of how building from the past was created on knowledge, skill and the environmental surroundings of those making their structures. And, I used the sod roof houses of the mid west 1800's as an example. That (ie:) would be from Laura Ingalls Wilders', Little House of the Prairie series which I read religiously when I was a young lass. Yes, Little House on the Prairie has now been incorporated into a modern day college construction management class research paper. So Connorack Man and Seingine, all the 20 plus times that the two of you have managed to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid/, (from our 2nd grader to 3rd grade and our fifth grader holding strong as a standby if a Calvin and Hobbes book is not available, well into his 7th grade), well then, you just might be able to slide it in as a reference someday when you're in your college Renaissance Art class. Ha, ha!

2008-11-03T03:14:00.004-07:00

...i so wanted to go hear the gen contrctor for the fallingwater house preservation projecthttp://www.fallingwater.org/106/live-view when he was in slc. i missed it. i missed pres. uchtdorf on campus last week too. missed opportunities. But on moments gained, i did get to see alpines halloween parade, w. seingine and i got to see ainsley right after she got her little ears pierced. so cute. Then there was today, when Connorack man got all excited that he was finally getting another opportunity to interact w. the kids in this new ward by going around for fast offerings in our big huge rain storm that we had this afternoon. It was great seeing him smile. Plus thanks, to the boys mom that he walked around with, who gave him a hot bowl of chilli after they were done. And then today, when I walked the boys to their primary and sunday school classes, and when we opened the doors, both boys were greated with echoing shouts of their names from the other kids in their classes, that made me smile. Real life moments! plus, i found taylor, who i used to bbsit when i was a youin', along with her bro, parker and sis, hayley, online. Taylor is so cute. I babysat her and her sibs, basically every other weekend from when she was 6 months old until I got married.

narcasist abound..my pop culture word of the year

2008-11-03T03:04:00.003-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070418072704.htm He is so elegantly beautiful. Amazing that they are almost gone due to the natural man. I was always sad back in gradeschool when they talked of extinct animals. I always said that someday I would be excited when I got to see a passenger pigeon. Someday.

Also, here is a link to a 60 min piece http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/26/60minutes/main4546199.shtml that I think is very important to watch. It is amazing how the history of civilization keeps repeating itself over and over......

stirred not shaken, or driven not starred at

2008-10-29T17:04:00.002-06:00

Dad, this one's for you.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/3240226/James-Bonds-car-collection.html

"oh the places you'll go!"

2008-10-29T16:35:00.004-06:00

I want to go here:

Warsaw, Poland and Budapest, Hungary.

what i do when i've got a cold

2008-10-29T14:54:00.011-06:00

"Ideas are the roots of creation."
-Ernest Dimnet

The top 100 most powerful women in the world. http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/08/28/biz-07women_all_slide_60.html?thisSpeed=30000

So, Connorack came home from school via the Peppermint place candy shop, with gelato in hand. An hour later, he had Seingine in tow, and they were off to the http://www.kencraftcandy.com/Peppermint shop for a 1st time trip for the latter kid and a second go around of gelato, for the former kid. It takes them 3 mins to scooter over to the shop. They are lucky I don't feel so great today. They are getting away with a kids sugar covered heaven because of it!

the connorack man's fav pop culture for the moment

2008-10-28T22:46:00.002-06:00

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/TheKillers/Human-- 202026589;_ylt=AqGUoISFm2jK2HGShEus20XesyUv
click on the Title of this posting to link to the music. And this ain't your mama's muzak!

hungry girls healthy cooking savors

2008-10-28T22:01:00.005-06:00

HUNGRY GIRL'S TOP ATE 10.28.2008 by http://www.hungry-girl.com/index.php
TOP ATE Calorie-Saving Cooking Swaps!
1.
Nonstick cooking spray instead of oil (for stovetop cooking)
2.
Canned pumpkin instead of eggs & oil (for baking)
3.
Light vanilla soymilk instead of milk or cream
4.
Fat-free liquid egg substitute instead of eggs
5.
No-sugar-added applesauce instead of butter
6.
Ground-beef-style soy crumbles instead of ground beef
7.
Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granular) instead of sugar
8.
Butternut squash instead of potatoes
Today, October 28th, is National Chocolate Day.

the press biased, imagine that?

2008-10-28T21:50:00.001-06:00

wow, the credit is theirs. Here goes... http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081028/pl_politico/14982

a toast to purity of acting

2008-10-27T05:09:00.006-06:00

So, I am up after 4 hours. Interesting concept that has worked before. I hurry and go to sleep, as soon as I am really exhausted. Then I set my alarm quite early and somehow my body, seems to wake up extra early. Luckily, for the most part I am alert and feel good. Now I get the priviledge of writing a theatrical paper.

Fortunately, for my want of good dreaming, I chose not to go see "NOSFERATU" about vampires. Instead, I went with my cute neighbor to Hale Theater haletheater.org and we saw AIDA. It was the musical, not the opera. It has been too long since I have been to a live theatrical performance. And, these type of performances, are what true acting is about. It pulls you into the scene and makes you part of the setting.

The way the theater is set up, in a round circle, gives the actors a 360 degree stage. It gave me a slight kinked neck. But, it also is such a small venue, that you have such an intimate relationship to the whole production. It was a fun production. Now I will have to see it again, in a bigger playhouse someday. Tim Rice and Elton John writing a muscial together. I knew it would have to be something quirky with those two and it was just that. I was thinking it had to be similar in style to Jesus Christ Superstar. And, yep that is what it reminded me of...very contemporary and colorful. However, if you had to die, with your lover, I do think being buried alive together in a tomb, in Ancient Egypt, is a bit harsh. But, then again, they could have been alone. Suffication, almost as bad as alone at sea, surrounded by sharks. No that's much worse, the sharks. EEEK!

I have been to so many great performances. There was performances at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford upon Avon, where we saw Much Ado about nothing. It was an amazing performance, where in one brilliant impromptu, the actor playing Claudio sneezed. Then all of a sudden someone in the audience sneezed, so the actor instead of ignoring the sneeze from the audience, pulled the noise into the scene. His comment was "it's quite catching, isn't it". That, of course made us, the audience, all apart of the play. Everyone loved it and all were laughing in that surreal moment.

I saw Ian mcKellan, as King Lear in London, before he was known for not much more than the Scarlet Pimpernell in the U.S.. I got to see Midsummer's night dream, surrounded by the animals of the London Zoo. An outdoor theater is an extra enhancing experience. And professional acting companies are incomparable, as well as, extrordinary.

So now with all these thoughts, I get to complete my paper. Break a leg, right!

my thoughts, your thoughts and visa versa.

2008-10-27T05:05:00.003-06:00

"Much that is inexpressible would be hardly worth expression, if one could
express it" (Lichtenberg)

....my sentiments on life exactly. That statement, just goes to prove that if you have thought it, someone else has or will, too.

The Boys of Fall 2008

2008-10-24T00:31:00.004-06:00

Here's all the young boys I was with last weekend. Uncle Bob is 70, and he took his rode bike and did the whole 50 miles around the lake last saturday. You are the man! When I'm 70, I hope to be leaving all the other 70 year old riders in the dust too! Plus, we've got gramps, Connor, Sean, Kalton, and Ethan all in the pic. After spending the weekend with 4 always, overly- competitive, never- sit- down for more than 3.2 seconds, kind of boys, who never forget to punch each other or wrestler every 10 seconds,....All I can say is, I was glad to go back to school this week. That's when my vacation started.

Le Tour de Connorack Man

2008-10-24T00:21:00.004-06:00

The biggest change would be how handsome and adventurous Connor gets by the year. Who could ask for a better tour guide. When he grows up he wants to be just like Bear Greir. Then he'll be able to carry his knives everywhere, build shelters out of nature and eat gross bugs, when needed!

The land of Falling Down House, otherwise known as, Bear Lake country.

2008-10-23T23:52:00.006-06:00

Scenery along the trail we took up canyon. Looking out at Bear Lake from the cabin last wknd. Fall is about over there. I haven't been to the cabin in exactly one year. Still the same, serene, beautiful place.

.
Old barn on road up canyon, with Bear lake in back ground

the lovers are losing....sounds like a Thomas Hardy novel

2008-10-23T06:19:00.004-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_8WfLbnVek their last album was one of the best in this decade in British Pop. And it beats out most of the stuff coming thru the altrntv/modern routes here. Says me. Though in no way should one consider it Pop, in the sense that we call Pop (U.S. music), Pop here in the U.S.A. Plus, don't confuse the use of the word Pop, as we call it here in Utah. Pop, slang for soda pop! Did ya catch that. Keane is the Elvis of british bands. They take over where ColdPlay couldn't expand due to elitis m. Anyway, the boys like to listen to keans tunes while tackling their toone cousins. So that's saying enough right there!

"in thine own self be true" or "truth will set you free"

2008-10-22T23:57:00.004-06:00

Wow! I had an epiphany today, that will actually lay to rest a little bit of animosity I've harbored unknowingly. In other words, it turned out to be a bit of a therapy session in regards to my old English teacher from high school.

Second block started today, and I went to my English literature class. I have already met my english requirements but I needed another class, and I plan to take creative writing next semester too. So it continues. Side note to self: Maybe a double major or Integrated studies, just a thought.

Anyway, I was listening to my instructor after being a bit taken back by her introduction that her emphasis was poetry. What instantly came to my mind?

Instead of fondly remembering the romantics that I had studied while we lived in England; of artists who wrote as they lived in rose covered cottages and played about the magic of the lake district. Or, of course, there were the thatched roofs of Shakespere's Stratford-upon-Avon and half timbered homes that I could have looked back to inspire a nod to poetry. What about Paris and its art district. How many poets have strolled through the garden at Rodin's, or been truely awed by the melted and brillant colors at the L'Orangery, as Monet's gigantic murals gaze down upon you. They had all once penetrated my mind. Indelible strokes of artistry.

Nope, those memories did not surface. Panic hit fast and hard. My mind, instantly went back to my introduction to poetry in high school. The inductor was Mrs. M. She was my nitemare in high school. She was the upper division english teacher. I am sure my brothers were top students in her classes, but I wasn't. I was the antithesis of what she wanted and she let me know it, especially in poetry.

So with that wound surfacing today, I seriously thought of dropping the class. But then, a softer, glistening of suprise, subtly knocked my brain. My instructor made the comment that she despised those teachers from high school or of the teaching world, who told their students what the "true" meaning of a poem was to be... Instead of, allowing for ones own storming of ideas. She directly stated, that all poems are open to interpretation. That is their purpose. They are abstract. Ideas and feelings entertwined.

So I bravely raised my hand, and confirmed what I thought she had just said to us. I then confessed that I did not look upon poetry favorably and told her why. Though it was a long time ago, it had leeched into the depth of a developing teenage mind and stayed twenty years, until today. I was one of those who had been wrongly attacked in idea by a former teacher, my h.s English teacher.

In defense of those sensored in their growth, my prof called my former h.s. teacher a metaphorically, rude word and I felt exhonorated in my work and ideas! So "plehwy" to those along the way who have tried to stiffle anyone's creative thoughts. They are your talent, fight for them.

I don't know the author to the following, however,

"And the day came when the risk to remain, closed in a bud, became more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

note to selfhttp://www.blurb.com/

2008-10-22T23:55:00.001-06:00

http://www.blurb.com/.......so now when I decide to put all of my little blogs short stories, this will be the one to find for the link on where to get it made into a book.

..that contest they made up on a cold winters night to see who could come up with the best scary story

2008-10-22T03:25:00.002-06:00

...such great timing. Halloween and I need to write a theatre paper. What to see? I hate Dracula and vampire movies. My brothers used to make me watch the scary saturday matinees on tv back in the '80's. They were of old Dracula or Vincent Price 'B' movies. Nothing too much, just stuff like pouring sweet honey thru a hole onto an unsuspecting victim. Then sending bugs in thru the hole, to take care of the sweet nectar and anything else that might be near the syrup, like someones face!!!! Well, I have a love/hate relationship with Dracula because any guy named Gary Oldman who is Bram's Dracula is a hot vampire...oh course, it's knowing that Gary has that English accent coming through his slovic accent in the movie. ha ha
Anyway, I've got to see a production this week. And I think I am going to do the easy move and go to U.V.U's production of freakiness .....http://www.uvu.edu/theatre/events/eventsthree.html. Ugh, at the play though, I might have flashbacks to that freaky scene in 'Interview with a Vampire', where the audience unknowingly is watching freaky vampires do freaky stuff. Freaky, is the only word in my vocabulary right now that describes my freakish fright for Fall friday nites of fictional fables. Wouldn't it be kinda fun to get a fog making machine and tell freaky fables by the fire!

memory of a modern day jane austen scene

2008-10-17T03:03:00.005-06:00

Of course being in a new place, I have to put my touch into it.....I am a bit of a mid -century/post modern lover of architecture and design ,with a twist of shabby chic thrown-in, for understated comfort.

So I visited Rachel Ashwell's web site http://www.shabbychic.com/. She gave a beautiful homage to her mum. She lived near Hampstead Heath, which is a beautiful area outside London, that you can take a bus ride to visit it. One of the places you can visit, that is, (of course), set in true English landscape is the Kenwood House. The gardens are beautiful. English Landscape Architecture at its finest. So the thought of Hampstead Heath sent me back in memory.

If you remember the scene in Knottinghill, the movie, where Julia Roberts is set in Victorian costume. Well, the big white estate in the background is Kenwood House. I remember seeing Gainsborough paintings there, how refined and gentile they looked.

I was supposed to go to a big classical concert there, when we lived in London. It was Tchaikovsky's 1876 overture, with the big cannon's at the end and they were to have fireworks as well. Sadly, I missed it. It was a big rainstorm and I didn't feel like going all the way out to Hampstead.

However, I was at Queen's Club watching a great match, though rain delayed. So, instead of the concert, I stayed at the tennis match. I was so torn. There was major consolation though, when at the young, impressionable and sweet age of 18, I got to sit next to an oh -so- very, dashingly- handsome, single, young 30ish in age man. When it started to sprinkle, he kindly offered to share his big english umbrella with me. Such an Englishman. ...with that accent, it gets you everytime.

That was long before Hugh Grant was ever known. This gentleman was more Cary Grant than Hugh Grant anyway. What a nice, romanticized memory. It was a modern day Jane Austen scene, if not for just a few hours.

...avec ruban toile

2008-10-17T02:21:00.005-06:00

Seeing how I only have to compose my room for me, it is as feminine and romantic as I can be. So visiting Shabby Chic's website, linked me to some other Shabby lovers. No pun intended! haha .....anyway I found this site where I found a bit of an ode to ribbon. And of course my favorite ribbon is ruban du toile, ou toile du ruban, ou ruban toile. Je n'ai se pas, mais, j'aime toile! ...et mon fracais, c'est tres mal!

So what can you do with ribbon, you ask?

*use as a book mark

*wrap utensils with napkin

*create roses and flowers

*tie to your favorite pen

*wrap around guest towels

*create a ribbon doorway

*hang from a window or chandelier

*scrapbooking

*wrap around a jar

*fill a glass apothecary jar with ribbon

*tie to your childs backpack or lunchbox handle

*tie onto a door knob

*wear a pink ribbon to show your support in the fight against breast cancer

*make curtain tie backs

*tie around your favorite book

*braid them through your hair

*tie around a bouquet of dried flowers

*tie around the antenae of your car

*tie around cherished handwritten letters from your husband or children

credit for this list given to http://theoldpaintedcottage.wahmweb.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=289 (2008)

up-for-24 hour stints, are made for twenty-year olds, amen.

2008-10-15T04:00:00.003-06:00

...i am so bad. It's the middle of the night and I am doing a paper on Heavy Civil Construction. Procrastination?.. maybe! But the bad part is that I am letting myself be distracted by online tv episodes. So I have gotten to know all the shows I've never seen before. And I know that everyone out there is way too busy to watch mind numbing tv or it's not politically correct to admit it or something, but I am watching them. Though there is still always garbage mixed in, there is some pretty good writing on some of these shows. But maybe that is my mind trying to have company in the middle of the night while writing a research paper! By the time I get this paper in, I will have been awake over 24hrs. Yep, I am too old for this all niter stuff! I had better end up with a job that puts me into weird hours bcz my sleeping patterns are the pits.

The connerack man actually made it to a full day of school without being sick. Yahoo! his 4th full day in 3 weeks.

tales for the unsuspecting

2008-10-13T02:32:00.008-06:00

UGhh!! ...what girl w. two-live wire male children goes back to university? answer:

me, miss crazy maud girl. And what women in her right mind chooses Cnstr Mngmt. answer:

me, again. It can be so intimidating, but I will keep pulling myself back and refocusing. Do not give up. It is about endurance. I am learning most things in life are about endurance.

The maud squad right now is in the midst of disorganized existance, yet slightly one half- step down from total chaos.

While driving and of course right when it is time for bed, the boys mouths open and out rush their words, as fast as a spring run off. So during such a drive, the Connerack man informs me that he luckily got to know his french and english teacher even better in 4 weeks than he got to know his principle of 4 years. I am at a loss on what that means. So that brought up one of our fav stories of the kids former principle:

Last year, Seingine was in 2nd grade and friends with the principle's son. I came home one afternoon to my boys, and was promptly told that the Connerack man was mad at Seingine. I was asked not to get upset at Seingine, of course by Seingine. Okay, what happened? Seing proceeds to explain that during the day, the princpl had come to spk w. his class. Seing knowing the prncpl pretty well bcz of his son, had then gone up to the prncpl after his talk and happily let the princpl know that his big brother,(the Connerack man) did not like him. And not only did he not like him, but he had made an outline of the prncpl's head (of styrofoam) and posted it on his wall. At this likeness of the prncpl, many, many airsoft balls had been shot at the target and it was well worn. (But, he also had some of the girls faces that Hen-picked him w.their bossiness x'd out from his class pic too.) So, he wasnt just picking on the princpl!

Poor Connerack man came home and told me that he caught the principle following him all day long. He stated that he was beginning to feel quite paranoid as to the fact. And at some point he was pulled him the princpls office, and asked by prncpl, what he could do better as a principle for the CM. Poor kid! I asked Seing why he went out of his way to tell the princpl about CM's fun target?...and his response was that he wanted to see what would happen to the Connerack man. Poor kid! I can't imagine what kind of pranks they will play on each other as they get older. I don't do the story justice, but it was so funny then and still is funny today.

It must have been catching because 2nd graders taking on 6 graders became their theme. The boys then preceeded to tell me a new story of how boys will be boys.

So again at school, the Connerack man and his buddies decided to put a KICK ME sign on one of their friends. They then managed to get anothr sign on him that said HARD. So out of the blue, some little 2nd grader comes up and kicks the kid HARD! Oh course surprised and baffled, he wants to know what is up? Then he is shown the sign by the 2nd grader. All the buddies bust out laughing. And the little 2nd grader is lauded as a little stud for being so brave to go up to a 6th grader and kick hard. Now as I remember, if this had been a bunch of little girls, it would be seen as passive/aggressive. But, those boys, all of them thought it was the funniest thing that day, including the kid who was the butt of the joke for a day! You have got to hand it to the "boy" mentality.

Boys are the funniest creatures ever. They drive me nuts. They thrive on getting me into hysterical laughter or total frustration. And they love their mum and they are going to be unbelieveable men. Most fortunate for me. I am so lucky to be their mum! ....and many have concurred.

organization s.o.s

2008-10-09T04:57:00.003-06:00

Okay so being the professional (to a certain degree) horder of some 'things' is hard to deal with. Call it A.D.D or due to some tramatic incident or emotional feelings or perfectionism or what, I am honest with myself that I have been that way since early childhood. My brain gets all jumbled up on how to solve clutter. I want things to be perfect from every minute detail.

However, learning to let go and simplify, simplify, simplify is hard but good. good sites are out there to help. One such site Flylady. http://www.flylady.net/index.asp It's great. .. or http://www.getmyselforganized.com/I've read some really good ideas. And that's one of the problems. What ideas may sound easy or "DUh" to most, somehow are lost to me until I can have them pointed out in precise detail. But I can pick apart things to the smallest detail in ideas or a blank canvas and create something. But organizing is so difficult for my overimaginative brain. I am so right brained.

Here's Yvette's take on kids and chores: ' It teaches them basic life skills so that they can care for themselves when they leave home.
- It teaches them consideration for others.
- It teaches them responsibility.
- It teaches them that their parents are not their personal servants.
- It teaches them to appreciate what you do for them.
- It gives them a sense of pride and is good for their self esteem.
- It teaches them a basic work ethic.
- It gives them a sense of belonging.
- It brings the whole family closer together.
- In encourages them to take pride in their own home.'

yvette langmaid-buttery from Get Myself Organized Newsletter 31st March 2008

Again, this can be so hard at times, but I'll keep working along on it all.

the boy that could be stumped

2008-10-07T06:55:00.003-06:00

Our new neighbors, (we're actually the new neighbors) have a daughter the same age as my 7th grader. The kids in the neighborhood have all been so friendly, so much so that, I actually met them before the boys did. So when I was outside talking with my cute neighbor friend, her daughter, who I had spoken w. many times since she had introduced herself, kept disappearing inside the house. Then I noticed my son coming in and out of the picture. My neighbor noticed it too. She said her daughter was a little timid around new boys. Then she told me in front of the Connerack man, that all her daughters' friends keep calling asking for the scoop on the new cute boy at school. The neighbor mom then said, she's told them to go visit him with a plate full of cookies.

Connor was dumbfounded!!! It's pretty funny when you have him stumped.

Oh, the teenage boy/girl thing is coming in for a big landing. Guaranteed he is eating up this new found world of boy meets girl in junior high!!!

it's starting, that holiday feeling, it's in the air

2008-10-07T06:23:00.005-06:00

I've been pulled into the holiday tidal wave already. But that is okay because once Halloween is upon us, there is no turning back. The days will then keep going by, faster and faster. So, I have been brain storming. You'll have to try to follow my mind path here.

I have to go to some live performances for my Intro to Theatre class. The Connorack man also has to see a couple of live performances for his 7th grade choir class. We both have to do papers on them.

Then from that point, my mind is all over on making up fun Halloween yard decorations...which leads to more holidays..etc. and so between those idears, I'm led to ballet. Mix that with holidays and....I love to see Christmas ballets. Of course the Nutcracker. I say every year that I'm going to take the boys. We've yet to go. This year is a must, unless it's some weird modern take on the classic. But I remember one year when I got to see both the Nutcracker and Babes in Toyland. I used to love dressing up and going to the productions in downtown SLC. I remember seeing the b/w movie when I was a kid, and it's one of those vague but cozy memories from childhood. So I went online to see if any productions in Utah this year. Yep, the Childrens Theatre in SLC. And sure enough The New York TIMES /http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/3542/Babes-in-Toyland/trailers decides to write an article about it posted today's date. What timing!!! Plus it's Laurel and Hardy.

2008-10-04T23:57:00.002-06:00

.....just to sound my little political horn after being sick for years of left wing political b.s'ers in the journalistic world touting their arrogant and egotistical attitudes. And then after reading some person's blog abt her feeling inspired by B.O, I must be silent no more! Not to sound sacreligious, but B.O comes off to me like most of my seminary teachers. Oh I am bad but I felt most of them were part hypnotic and part car salesman. Pushing their agenda's. Please, it was evident back in the previous election when this young, newly elected official gave an opening speech for the previous Democratic Presidential hopeful, that he was being showcased as the new wonderboy. This fledgling man was waking up the dead in his floundering party. And so there began the start of his campaign to become the President for his party. ha!!! I am not sure what is inspirational about a robot, a product of his own narcistic party!

bonkers!!! no other word needed to describe.....

2008-10-02T00:32:00.003-06:00

Did I mention my kids are driving me bonkers right now! They are just on a wild ride right now. I can't quite get them to be nice to each other and I do not like it. Especially my 7th grader! He had to change schools after 3 weeks. He absolutely loved his first jr high and now he seems so much more somber about school. I feel guilty!

However, our neighborhood is so wonderful. Kids are all over outside playing. The kids is our last neighborhood, which was a cul-de-sac, rarely were outside as a big neighborhood group. When I was growing up we always were outside. Those were the funnest times. Don't you all remember some good times in your neighborhoods growing up? Funny how Alpine is just so different than Highland, yet the two cities melt into each other at points. It is so small, and quaint here. Love it! But off course, it is all about what you make it!

It only takes us 7 mins. to walk to my sis' house so all the boys can rough house together. And Seingine can scooter to the door of his classrm at school in 4 mins flat. As my sister pointed out, it actually is kind of a neat experience for your child to be able to walk to school so accessibly.

in a new chapter, complete with cottage living

2008-10-02T00:25:00.003-06:00

So we are back renting after 5 years of not. I bet everyone is so jealous right!! ha ha. Today I met the owner. He pulled up in his elegant Lexus. We talked. I like him. He used to be a contractor in Alpine/Highland for 30 yrs. Now he lives down in St.George. I think he appreciated the fact that I am a landscape nut. My bragging rights- He of course commented on how the yard looked better than it had in a long time since I've been there. Which is barely a month. Thank you. We honestly have one of the most gorgeous views. We are so close to the mountain, and the Fall colors are so vibrant this year. Reds and oranges just POP off of the mountainside. You have got to love Utah's falls!!!

ideas abound

2008-09-18T03:26:00.001-06:00

Write a letter to your younger self, give inspiration through your experiences....ooohhh even better add to it a letter to each of your kids. Save it and mail it to your children as adults right before they turn the age you are now.

2008-09-12T00:13:00.000-06:00

Wow! I'm not sure what I did, but maybe I figured this process out after starting a blog last winter. That was 2007. We'll see what will happen.

I got to talk to one of my most favorite people of all times today 9.11. I am so glad that I found you, Vanessa. You made my birthday by calling me!