Giving Thanks part 3/3

This is part 3 of three parts. Part one can be found here and Part Two Here. Numbers correspond to calendar dates.

18: I am thankful for great friends. It's a rare find to enjoy an entire family as much as the person they are attached to.


19: Not getting a ticket...er make that two. This also includes being thankful that there are law enforcement officers out there that have a brain and aren't all just ego. Every major road in the town was under construction, intersections were messed up and I was LOST and so was my GPS by that point. Gary was trying to navigate, it was dark etc. etc. At a very strange intersection apparently I took the wrong turn lane $85, and after that on an unknown road was going 35, apparently it was 25 but there weren't any signs... another $85 fine. Can I just say how seriously it would have killed my mood for the next month if I had gotten those tickets?! Zurich had been driving me to the point of wacko all day and so when I picked up Gary at 3:30 and the other two kids screaming at seeing their Daddy woke up Zurich, who had just screamed himself to sleep... well I burst into tears. It had been one of those days, and even after Gary drove a good portion of the way my nerves were still not capable of handling a strange drive even for a half an hour.

20: Fun shopping. As a general rule I hate shopping. Today though, it was just Gary and I and we stopped off at a store to get something for our nephew's b-day and found the store was going out of business so things were all marked down. As we wandered around the store we decided to do some Christmas shopping for the kids since we kept seeing things that were on their wish lists. It was a major success and fast. We left with most everything checked off and Gary commented like a giddy child as we drove off with our garbage bag of loot, "That was fun!" I do have to agree.


21: Family lounge time. It's my favorite thing to do with family. Sit around and chat, bellies full, my hands busy and time to just relax and enjoy a good chat.


22: Being a mother. It's the hardest thing I have ever done... and continue to do, but I love it. I've experienced loss of my own to hopefully not take for granted the 3 blessings I have so far.
Even with stuff like this: (this is a negative side of mother hood... don't watch if you aren't prepared)

Because I get to experience stuff like this:


23: Gary's ability to work from home.

24: My talents. I am able to enjoy and accomplish a lot of things because of the talents I have been blessed with.

Giving Thanks 2/3

This is part 2 of three parts. Part one can be found here. Numbers correspond to calendar dates.

11: Today and all other days I am grateful for Veterans and their families. They go through so much and most of us (I do include myself in this, because I don't understand it first hand) are completely oblivious to the sacrifices they make for all the freedoms we enjoy.

12: The kiss fest between Nev, Zurich and I this morning. We were chilling after dropping Olea off at school and Nev leans in to give Zurich a kiss, then it was kisses all around for everyone. Nev's kiss face:

13: A chance to relax. I spent most of the day laying down while Gary and the kids winterized and organized the garage. Gary reminded me, it's time to slow down and remember, I'm pregnant and just can't do everything I usually do. So grateful for a husband who helps me keep it all in perspective.

14: A clean kitchen, by little effort of my own, because it is one thing to be told to relax and another thing for someone to make it possible. I had a meeting tonight and when I came home late to a sparkling kitchen (thanks to Gary) I got a bit emotional, then went upstairs to find him in the middle of the last three batches of laundry all folded.

15: Free Stuff: Zurich's Cold Stone Birthday coupon provided a treat for the kids, a motivation for Zurich to be good at the chiropractor. This can also include today's lunch compliments of Arby's receipt survey, which gave me a free beef n' cheddar sandwich for lunch and the rhodium plating on my wedding set... though technically we paid for the warranty, I think I have made enough use of it by now that the plating is free. :)

16: Laughter. It's often the best choice when trying to decide how to cope or react and it feels so good. I have plenty of opportunities for it it my life, as demonstrated yesterday with the Amish bread and the two youngest.

17: This little boy.

The other day, after I dropped Olea off at school we sat on the couch and chatted, well, I sat and he and his sister wiggle wormed around me for about a half an hour talking about the baby in my belly, what who's names were. For the record: Zurich knows his first, middle and last name in the right order but usually refers to himself as BoBo Fetters. The baby in my belly's name according to Zurich is "Baby Brother" and he's not sure what my name is other than Mommy, but he knows Dad's, Olea's and Genève's first names. The boy can physically push me out of bed and really likes to drink and quickly downs whatever is put in his sippy cup. He loves trains and all other boyish things (cars, helicopters, airplanes, superheros etc). He really likes to paint. He looks like my side of the family. He is repetitive and stubborn. I absolutely fell in love with him when he was about a year old. He likes to talk, watch TV and "cuddle wit you Mommy." He often tells me something is scary. When he is really scared by something he says, "I want to hide" and finds a place to hide.

Giving Thanks Part 1/3

I think bandwagon or not, this is a good thing to do and to think about as we gear up for the holidays. I chose to not do mine one day at a time because I knew that things I was grateful for that day would share more info than I wanted that particular day, for instance, it's fine with me if you all know that Gary was gone for a week, because he is home now, and I wanted to give some flesh to some of the things I listed.
So here are days 1-10:

1: So thankful for my Marriage. I picked the right guy at the right time and we've worked to keep it right over the years. I am under no delusion that it's "happily ever after" unless we both make it so. I married a guy who understands that and works every day to keep our relationship alive and kicking. There can be no apathy in marriage.


2: I am grateful for Skype and the internet so I could talk and see Gary while he is away.

3: I am grateful for family. My dad came today to help ease the pain and suffering while Gary is gone, the kids really enjoyed him and time outside and I was able to get some shopping done kid free. Other family members have also called to check up on me. In our separation from family we realize just how much we need and appreciate them. It helps us laugh when there is stress and let offenses slide when no offense is intended. It's family relationships that add value and joy to our lives. Each person adds a unique touch and talent.

4: I am grateful for time to put my aching feet up and tat. Finally! (now to not fall asleep, which I also need... hmm)

5: Today I am so grateful it is Friday night! So giddy it is ridiculous! Gary has been gone for work since Sunday afternoon and he comes home just after midnight.

6: Thankful for good company and fun things to do. Attended our ward's Super Saturday today.

Made Nev the cute little leggings and some clips she still can't wear, of course I had to add a little tatting to them, because I had the pieces lying around. :)

7: Grateful for a husband who lovingly helps me see my limits and forced me to take a rest instead of trying to push through and for sharing this talk with me for justification: Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Of Things that Matter Most

8: I am so grateful for chiropractics. I can function today! After the pain I was in yesterday I was not looking forward to the week ahead at all, but after a good adjustment, I am ready for life as a pregnant mother of three again.

9: I am grateful for quiet, low stress, easy days, because today has not been one of them!

10: I am grateful for a spouse who understands me and knows how to talk me though a creative funk, so I can get going on a project.

because I was chosen

on facebook... I was tagged a few times, so since I bothered to type it... Here it is.

1. My hair is typically long, it’s been that way all my life, but every 4 years or so I chop it all off, donate it and try it short for a while. Yes, my hair was long when I got married.
2. I hate calling people on the phone, even people I love dearly. The only three people I have no problem calling are my mom, one of my sisters and my husband. Everyone else I have to work myself up to get on the phone and call.
3. I had cats growing up (outside) but recently decided, I rather don’t like them. Pretty much most animals I don’t like.
4. I have milked a cow. Frequently. Grew up doing so, gathering eggs from chickens and skimming milk and making butter.
5. I am afraid of heights.
6. I love photo editing and sometimes do it just for fun.
7. Most of the things hanging in my house/ or used as decor I have made or contributed to in some fashion.
8. I like scissors. A lot. Don’t laugh, they are sharp.
9. I don’t like sea food, crustacean or steak. So Gary was really excited when he got an elk and I LOVE the elk steak. Too bad there isn’t more on the animal.
10. I can tat, crochet, knit and sew, and love to do it all. Can’t say I’m a pro at most of it, but I can figure out a project.
11. I have an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree. I still suck at Scrabble.
12. I like to write poetry.
13. I love Reese’s. Pieces are my favorite, but I love all the varieties.
14. Gary is my favorite contradiction.
15. I ran track in high school and was on the varsity team since my freshman year. I also went to state every year and placed my senior year, all the while with what I thought was my asthma getting worse. After high school I plain couldn’t run, barely walk without having problems. After being married for two years or so I finally told a doctor to shove it and refer me because I was sure it was my thyroid. I had a total thyroidectomy which included a large tumor that was blocking my airway. I can now run again, and breathe, and swallow and stuff. It’s good.
16. I don’t see myself as an outgoing person.
17. I always have a project, or seven going.
18. I like to do pottery and just got an outlet wired up for my kiln.
19. I want to be able to do wedding invitations for a paying client.
20. I love having a library so near by. People complain about how small it is etc, but I just love that it’s there.
21. A week after meeting Gary I knew I was going to marry him.
22. I really like the computer.
23. I prefer mechanical pencils when writing, and real pencils when drawing.
24. I don’t like digital clocks. I prefer analog, I understand time better visually.
25. I love wheat bread. I would say it is my favorite food. People tell me, “that’s not a food.” It’s not? I’ve been eating it for years! I make my bread, and RARELY buy it.

Read this on Morgan's blog, it's a good one.... Here are my blanks filled in.

I am... an artist, and a poet, I am ready to admit that and deal with people's opinions.
I think... most when I am going to sleep.
I know... God loves me, that He listens and cares.
I want... time to slow to my thinking speed, my ability speed, and my enjoyment speed.
I have... joy.
I wish... medical bills would disappear and that I could stop creating them.
I hate... people who like to make babies but who don't take the time to love and raise them. And unalterable past, like forgetting an appointment, or reformatting a back up drive... that I needed.
I miss... my husband when he is gone.
I fear.... falling, heights,
I feel... whimsical and light.
I hear... worse than I wish I could.
I smell... my baby and my husband.
I search... for gratitude at each day's close.
I wonder... what my children will face, and what they will choose.
I regret... original womanhood, chivalry, and the loss of world virtue.
I love... my Gary and when I can make him laugh.
I care... about taking time to enjoy life, to watch it in it's splendor, to remember the blessing it is.
I always... stay up too late.
I am not... unwilling.
I believe... that all things work out in the end... I just have to work it to the end.
I dance... with my kids, or with my husband in the kitchen and I remember that I am exactly where I want to be.
I sing... when it strikes me, usually when I am alone.
I don't always... exercise, but I try.
I write... journals in many forms, for my kids, for myself, for my marriage, for reference, for fun, for gratitude.
I win... when I wake up every morning and re-decide to be in love, to be happy, to be a mommy, to live, and to be married.
I lose... track of time.
I never... want to be complacent or loose my "poetry" again.
I listen... for baby coos and 4 year old crashes, and the garage door.
I'm scared of... my husband dying young, having to raise kids by myself, and being unable to do the things I love most.
I read... mostly teen fiction and children's books.
I am happy about... my life as it is now, and every day.

I tag anyone who takes it upon themselves to be tagged.

Tuesday Tell All: One Word

Answer the following with only one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? ..backpack..
2. Your significant other?.....Gary..................
3. Your hair?.....blonde...............................
4. Your mother? .....sweet............................
5. Your father?........German..........................
6. Your favorite thing?............imagination..............
7. Your dream last night?....horrible....................
8. Your favorite drink......water.....................
9. Your dream/goal?.....design.........................
10. The room you're in?.....mine....................
11. Your children?.........beautiful...........................
12. Your fear?..........inability.........................
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years....there.......
14. Where were you last night?.....hospital..............
15. What you're not?.....man........................
16. Muffins........poppyseed..............................
17. One of your wish list items?......laptop...........
18. Where you grew up?.........smithfield..................
20. What are you wearing?.........jammies...............
21. Your TV?..................nothing...................
22. Your pets?.............stuffed......................
23. Your computer? .........dying.....................
24. Your life?...........is........................
25. Your mood?.............blessed......................
26. Missing someone?.........Olea....................
27. Your car?............great........................
28. Something you're not wearing?........earrings........
29. Favorite Store?..........JoAnns....................
30. Your summer?............open.....................
31. Like someone?...............love.................
32. Your favorite color?.........perriwinkle................
33. Last time you laughed..........today..............
34. Last time you cried?.........Friday................

Ten Random Things

My Gina tagged me...
Ten interesting things about me...
1. I'm allergic to pretty much anything that grows... trees weeds grass
2. I've ridden in an ambulance, but seeings how I was in agonizing pain, worse than giving birth (and I know that un-medicated) i don't remember much about it other than the clock in the ambulance was wrong.
3. This month I was considered an "Expert travler" by the airline since I have flown 3 times in the month of april.
4. I only watch tv that i can stream on the internet since I don't have live tv
5. I heart wheat bread. A lot
6. Last week I was in San Diego, Salt Lake, and Twin falls: three states in one day. the picture was taken on the drive to Twin Falls.
7. I write down 5 things that make me happy or that i am greatful for in my snail book every day.
8. I think calling my husband random names is funny. not names like fred or greg but like refrigerator, or munkychunks
9. i have been under the knife twice and have 4 scars from it.
10. I laugh at myself a lot. I think I am sooo funny. eheh that even makes me smile out loud

Survey

Where were you born? Logan, UT
Middle name: Dee

How old will you be this year? 26
Nicknames: DeeDee, Deeds, Munko-chunks, Coretti-Confetti
Are you taller than your mother or father? taller than my mom, I'm their hights averaged pretty much.
Do you cry often during movies? Rarely
What is your biggest pet peeve? Wet socks
Favorite color: periwinkle
Favorite foods: homemade wheat bread, apples, nectarines (almost any fresh fruit) cheese
Favorite restaurants: olive garden, Bombay House (India, Indian food, haven't tried it you should, it's wonderful)
Favorite beverage: beberage: fresca drink: water
Favorite cold cereal: Quaker Wheat squares I think they are called, I am a visual person, I know what the box looks like
Favorite smells: fresh baked bread
Favorite time of day: evening when Gary is home
What brand of shampoo/conditioner do you use? currently Dove
Favorite make-up products? currently use Mary Kay because my sister sells it.
How many pillows do you sleep with? Currently 1, sometimes three.
Do you play an instrument? no
Have you ever been skinny dipping? ya, but does it really count if it was in a cold stream with my husband? I think yes.
Did you do any sports in High School? I ran track, I was awesome, the end
What was the last movie you saw in the theater? Horton Hears a Who. Very fun.
What is your favorite article of clothing? the kind that covers my body
What is your dream vacation? Europe with Gary, Switzerland, Ireland and Germany specifically
If you were an animal what would you be? a monkey because I think they are funny I guess
What is your favorite "me-time" activity? art, reading, computer time, designing
Favorite TV shows: Arrested Development, The Office, My Name is Earl but we don't have TV signal or cable now so I see what I do via internet stream.
What is your dream car? VW Jetta. they are cute and get 65 mpg
What is one of your weaknesses? I don't do well under pressure of time.
What do you fix for dinner when there's nothing to fix? hmmm how can I fix anything if there is nothing to fix? Depends what nothing is left to use. I get pretty creative when I need to.
If you could live in a different decade/era which one would it be? a the dark ages prolly... but I'd just have to be a princess or something, even then the hygiene would really not do
Do you consider yourself outgoing? after a point
What is something you are constantly working on? a new project, being a better mom, not being annoyed when my husband gets sick, because I am sick all the time and he puts up with me
Any hidden talents? poetry, Tatting, I think I learn hand skills pretty fast, I can knit, and crochet as well. Most people know about my art so it's not hidden
What is a word or phrase you overuse? It's possible Pig. (princess bride)
What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? medical garbage It's always one thing or another.
What is the best thing that happened to you this past year? baby boy
What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year? a lot of things heheheh (trying to hurry now)
The best piece of advice you learned this past year? I'm out of school what are you talking about? My Olea is MORE. She just takes more than the average kid. Not advice but advice and learn, it's not the best question... so not my best answer.
Who are the 7 people you are going to tag to do this survey? Whoever wants to play!

At the end of the survey post a picture of you that was taken within the last week.
Gary and I at some sports grill before taking Olea to Disney Princesses on Ice. The lame place didn't validate parking. Never going there again.

Names in all Silliness

I was tagged by Gina
I did this with Gary

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Chester Mazda Shelly Mazda
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Vanilla PB Napoleon Grashopper
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
C-Lou G-Lou
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Periwinkle Monkey Silver Squirrel
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) -
Dee Smithfield Byron Twin
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Louco Lougar (which shounds like Loogie and booger, in case you didn't notice)
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Lavender Fresca The Yellow Pepper
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Walter Edwin Gerald Byron
9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Heavenly Skittles Moves Mamba hahhaha
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Leone Herald (I used my grandmother's middle name since my mom was jipped in that area) Willie Nickles
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Larsen Logan Larsen Louisville
12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Autumn Calla Lily Winter Lily
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Nectarine Beltsy Peach Socksy
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Peach Willow Yogurt Maple
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Drawing Sunshine Tour
The Motorcycle Hail Tour