They have eyes but they just can't see

Before you think that I'm talking about some species of snake let me tell you I'm talking about men. And kids as well. Have you ever noticed how you ask them to look for something, in plain sight, and yet they just "can't" see it. (Or choose not to.) I was reminded of this when I was shopping and came upon this teenage boy in the freezer section who was on the phone to his mom.

Boy: Mom, are you sure it's here because I can't find it.

Mom: ??? (I don't know, I wasn't that close!)

Boy: Mom, it's not here, I'm looking everywhere. It's NOT HERE.

Me: Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but can I help you.

Boy: Yes, I'm trying to find the sweet corn.

Me: open the door DIRECTLY in front of the boy and grab a bag of white corn, at eye level Is this what you need?

Boy: Mom, is it supersweet white corn, OK. Click

Boy: Thanks.

I feel bad making generalizations but I've really noticed a pattern.
Since I'm talking about shopping, shoplifting must be really bad lately because at Albertson's they now put a sticker on every shopping bag and non-bagged item you purchase that says "Thank you for shopping with us today" which is obvious for "This item has been paid for." And at Walmart the "greeter" accosts people as they are leaving and looks at their receipt and then goes through the items in the bags. Next thing you know, they'll install the machines like at the airport and make everyone walk through security to leave. So good luck to any old people trying to steal batteries!

On a different note

Doomed or Destined

Today in church I was asked to be the Children's Chorister. (Primary Chorister in mormon speak.) It may be a new record in that I attended the full church meetings one time before being called to help with the kids. I can't quite figure out if either I did something really bad in a previous existence and so am doomed to repeat the same things over and over or that I am just destined to this because of some special skills. I guess it depends on your perspective.

On a different note

Defying Modern medicine
Happy birthday today to my Father-in-law who is now 79. It's amazing that he has lived to such a ripe old age when you consider that he exists on soda, cheese, pickles, cheetos, hershey bars and fried chicken and his daily exercise regiment consists of pulling himself out of bed with his walker and heading over to the recliner for a hard day's worth of TV watching. It truly is a miracle that he has lived this long and I'm grateful that my kids get to know him because you really haven't lived until you've experienced a little Delbert!

On a different note

Decisions, decisions

My kids got haircuts this week thanks to the talented and skilled Jenn. Mara is still getting a bob to even out her haircut she gave herself and Asher has the nice buzz for the summer. (I couldn't get the kids to stop being silly for the picture.)

But what do you do with a baby whose hair is a little longish in the back,

a little baldish in the front (she was mad b/c she wanted the camera)

and a bit sticky-outish on the sides?

On a different note

Delivery time

We've been doing a lot of furniture shopping and we will be getting a dresser delivered and finally have our furniture situation figured out. In a new house it is always hard to see what fits where and we've had to sell a few pieces and then purchase new ones. My kids have enjoyed the shopping as you can see from the attached picture. I found this in the car and Mara must have drawn it as we were heading to the pictured location. Maybe we've done a little too much shopping as this appears to be their new "home away from home."

So here is a little update on some of our recent (boring) happs. What's up with you?

Music for the Masses? Apparently.

I don't want to make my blog all about my children but I know people like hearing Mara stories.

In unpacking Mara found a cute little walkman. And when I say walkman, I mean the original 80s walkman. You know, cassette player. Before CD players, before MP3 players and way before IPODs, there were tapes.

Anyway, as you all know, she loves music so we tried to find some age appropriate tapes for her to listen to that were "cool", just as she requested.

Unfortunately the music we picked out wasn't "cool" enough so she went to find her own, unbeknownst to me. Today she was rocking out to something so I asked her what it was. She said she found it in a box somewhere and she really liked it. (Big surprise.) I popped it out and lo and behold . . .

Apparently.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Sorry it's been so long. We have had a lot of family time lately. And as family time goes, it's always a little up and down. So here is a short synopsis.

The Good: Jason's sister, husband and son came down to deliver their son to the LDS Missionary Training Center. He will be heading to San Bernardino California for 2 years to serve the Lord. Good for him. To him, it is a foreign country. Alberta Canada to California USA. Culture shock. Anyway, it was SO great having them be our first visitors in our home, play cards with us (Jason showed off his skills) and go to a Canada Day party. We loved having them and it was such an enjoyable visit. (This was taken at Jason's work. The grounds are beautiful.)

The Bad: The day Jason's sister left my sister Kate and her darling family came. That's not the bad part. I love her to death and she is SOOO awesome and amazing. I can't say enough good things about her. Here comes the bad part. They stayed for a few days before moving to Arizona for the next 4 years while her husband does medical school. Then they have residency, army service and so on. Who knows when we will live close to eachother again. I can't think about it too much or I'll start bawling. I move to a new neighborhood and then my family moves out of town. I'm really all alone. Nothing better happen to Jason. (You'll have to excuse my dress in the picture. Kate wanted to make sure that she was the best looking girl in the room on her wedding day. Well done.)





The Ugly: I feel bad mentioning this but it's the truth and unfortunately I don't shy away from it. We went to a family reunion for my dad's family. Not bad. BUT. My grandmother is a crotchety, bitter old woman. I'm not saying that to be rude. It is simply the truth. As much as we can, we avoid being around her. So why did I make the effort? I'm still trying to figure that out. I did a lot of soul searching on the way home (and crying) to try and feel better about all my interactions with her and to feel like I am a good person despite the horrible treatment. The good thing about being around her is it makes you realize what happens if you hold on to all the bad things in your life and never let them go. I feel bad for her because she has had a hard life and even worse still that she has yet to find a way to let go and enjoy life. Too bad for her. (Notice how me and the kids are dressed in red, white and blue but not Jason. That dang Canadian!)

As for me, I'm pretty lucky with my three gorgeous kids, great husband and nice house. I'm choosing to look on the bright side of things. With that said, I enjoyed my family time!

Tagged--My Guy

So Colleen tagged me on this and since I haven't blogged recently and I'm exhausted, it saves me from thinking of something original. (Again, read my blog title, if you're looking for something exciting and new, this isn't the place.)

What is his name? ~ Jason Tyler Gough
How long have you been together? ~ We’ve been married 10 5/6 years…
How long did you date? ~ …and dated for about 7 months.
How old is he? ~ 35
Who eats more? ~ You know, although he outweighs me by 70 pounds, I totally eat more than him. I can eat a lot! Can’t you tell by looking at me?
Who said I love you first? ~ Honestly, I actually don’t remember. Is that bad? It just feels like we’ve loved eachother forever. (OK, I was totally being sarcastic with that.)
Who is taller? ~ He is. I would never marry a guy shorter than me.
Who is smarter? ~ Well… I don’t want to make him look bad but we’ll just say that I tutored him to help him finish his final college course to get his Bachelor’s (Math). BUT he is way more creative and artistic than me!
Who does the dishes? ~ Both of us, but he does them more often. I figure that I make the meals, he can clean up after them. Fair trade. I’m all about equal rights!
Who pays the bills? ~ The computer. We mostly do everything online. He pays the tithing though, does that count?
Who mows the lawn? ~ We both do. In all our married life I’ve probably done it more but last year he did it a lot because I had a baby. That’s fair, right?
Who cooks dinner? ~ I do. Always. Jason cooks Ramen, Spaghetti and Macaroni. And sometimes he even messes Easy Mac up by not reading the directions.
Who kissed who first? ~ He kissed me first.
Who asked who out first? ~ We kind of hung out with mutual friends. But he called me first.
Who proposed? ~ He did, of course!
Who has more siblings? ~ I do. 10 kids in my family. Not too many people can beat that. But he has 6 which isn’t too small either.
Who wears the pants? ~ Again, equal rights. I think it’s pretty equal. I like to feel like I’m in charge but I like to let him make decisions sometimes and have a say so that it feels equal! Here's a picture of us from last year when we went to see the Jazz in the Playoffs against the Warriors. We still have fun together. Can you tell I'm 9 mos. pregnant in this?
I tag: Kate, Ari, and Jenn. Go get 'em girls.

A few life lessons from the past few days

I actually shouldn't be doing this but I need a break so I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts.

1. The only person who cares if you skip your baby's birthday is you.

2. As much as you can, avoid West Valley City, UT. Never attempt to purchase anything from anyone there. It's notorious for having the worst crime in all of UT and yet we thought we could trust an online seller to purchase a fridge. After renting a U-haul, driving up there, spending .70 per mile on top of gas costs; it was nothing like they said. We came back empty handed. Oh wait, no we didn't, the guy had thrown the front grill from the fridge in the back of the U-Haul so later that evening we got a phone call full of expletives about not purchasing the fridge and "stealing" the grill. He very kindly asked for our address to come pick it up. We very kindly offered to mail it.

3. When you buy a new house, measure everything. Measure to make sure the fridge fits.

4. Never assume that there is a standard size for anything. Door sizes are NOT standard. You can't replace doors when they don't have the size you want. Sanding down 15 doors to size is not an option. You know what they say about assuming. . . .(you make an a*$ out of U and ME)

5. Again with the assumptions, will I never learn. Never assume that someone will call people to remind them to show up and help you move. When it is 9:30 on Saturday and no one has shown up when you were supposed to start at 9, you realize quickly how stupid you were to make that assumption.

Well, here is a beginner's list for you. You can learn more from my own experiences later. Back to work!

The voyeur in us all

I enjoy reading my friends' blogs. I don't really read many random blogs from people I don't know. But sometimes, the voyeur in me comes out and I love to bloghop. (Is that a real word?) You know, you read a friend's blog and then you see a link to someone on their blog that you might kind of know so you link over and read it. You feel a little sneaky reading their personal information without them knowing and it feels a little funny like when you would read people's notes in junior high or their diaries while they were out of the room. Not like I ever did that. Oh no, not me. As much as we don't admit it, I think within us all there is a bit of a voyeur. That's why blogging and reality TV are so popular. We like to watch other people's lives maybe to feel better about our own or to suspend reality for a little and wish it were us. Either way, I think it's completely harmless. So, for those of you that are reading my blog without my knowledge, go right ahead. It's pretty boring anyway. And as for me, I will continue to read those blogs of my friends' friends and enjoy the adrenaline rush as if I'm doing something naughty! Heaven knows I'm a perfectly perfect person everyday (yes, perfect) and can enjoy a little freedom from myself every once in a while.