First, I've been delaying this TaG!!

Okay, so a few WEEKS ago, Jenn C. tagged me on her blog for a pretty interesting tag. You get into your folder of pictures (most of our billions of pics are on a separate hard drive and I'm terrified to mess it up...) and get into the fourth folder, and post your fourth picture. Explanation of the picture is necessary. Next, tag four people. HA! I've been cruising everyone's blogs and I think most of my bloggo-friends have already been tagged with this one!! I'm sure I'll find someone!!

I noticed this morning that after doing all those last few posts, I have about 8 folders actually on my computer. When I'm done with them, I shuttle them off to the monster hard drive. So before I do that, I'll post #4 of #4.


This is my rambunctious, active, beautiful, sassy, bossy, do-it MYself, niece Reagan. Before bedrest I used to watch her on day each week. Now I'm just lucky if they stop by to say, "hello!" and mess up my toys! Which, Amy (their mother) puts away!! I love having them over. It brightens my lonely days here in these four walls when no one has updated their blogs for me to read...

This was at last night's Halloween Party at Aunt Sharon's house down the street from here. Reagan dressed up as a cowgirl. She even got NEW cowgirl boots for the occasion. I'm terribly jealous. During the everyone gets a prize version of musical chairs, I called at Rea-Rea to strike a pose and she did! She smiled when the bulb was flashing, but this is what the camera captured! Worth SO much as it is SO REAGAN!! Love that kid.

And I was going to post this pic later today anyway!! haha Lucky me.

I'll notify my tagged blog-o-friends via a post on their blog. Watch out! Hahahahhahaa!

PS I tagged: Cami E., Haun Home, SueZan W., Brandi H., and Whitney V. I know, that is 5, not 4. I just couldn't help myself.

Elise's Birthday 2008!!

Uncle Jeffrey. He is a major dork, but we keep him around for laughs!! He is awesome. We had the entire family over for Elise's birthday. It was fun, loud, and we had guests way too late. I was sick all day Monday, but it was fun to have everyone over.

Elise blowing out the candles in the living room!! This is her third birthday cake actually! My mom has pics of the first cake. Elise made HERSELF, without my help, and we all tasted it. It was terrible, but pretty dang good considering she had ZERO guidance and no recipe. She's quite the explorer.

Cousin Brady did NOT like the purple thing on his head. It kind of pulls your hair, but it is for his size head!! I can't believe it fit on his dad (Jeff's) head.

Elise got a bike from her parents (me & mike) AND from my grandparents. Elise shares a very special birthday with my grandfather (my dad's dad). He is an incredibly important person in my life and I hope that she never forgets him. He turned 80 with her this year. Happy Birthday Grandpa, even though you don't have anything to do with the internet!!

Soccer, Fall 2008

Okay, there is me. Mike took that awful picture. I'm eating a plum, and my boobs are so flippen huge. UGH!

Elise's BFF Charly is so awesome. In the spring, they were on different teams too, and they were both number 5. This year, on different teams, they both picked the same number AGAIN!! They are like pb&j.

Like I said, Peanut Butter and Jelly!!

I think the girls on the Silver Malmutes are walking back for half-time or something.

I think Elise kicked the ball here, but Mike was the photog for this game.

This one for SURE was a kick. She enjoys playing, but I'm not sure she loves it...

All of these girls just watched as the ball went past them from this illegal in-bounds throw in. I will be so excited if she plays longer. I'm going to be one of the most embarrasing mothers on the side line! Yelling at the top of my lungs about everything! I told Elise I would not coach her team until she was at least 12. I'm not terribly excited about coaching, as I wouldn't like the parents that are just like me, but I'd do it if I have to!

On to the next post. I've got a few to do today!

Capitol Reef, 2008

Okay, this was a couple weeks ago. I'm slow. We had a great time. Elise and I crossed the stream and wandered around a beautiful valley for about two hours, at a very slow pace, cause I can't walk fast anymore. This pic of Elise on the other side of the stream from me, is when I had to convince her she could come across at this point, even though I crossed further upstream. She was so scared to fall in this cold water! HA! She ended up getting her feet wet anyway.

If you squint really hard and zoom in to the top of this mountain, you'll see the off-grid campus, two flags (one American, one Utah), and a few little people standing around. But really you can't see them in this small picture. This is, by the way, the hill that Elise and I climbed DOWN and back UP again... It isn't as steep as it looks, but it is quite exhausting and rocky terrain!

Here's Elise coming back down from touching the big mountain that we gazed at for quite a long time. It is SO LARGE!!!

And there it is. Huge.

Elise next to the tallest thing I think I've ever stood next to! Where is my repelling equipment and belayer when I need them?!

Here is Elise, standing beside this HUGE cliff. It went up for ever. I would have loved to repel DOWN this wall. It was amazing!!

Some crazy surveyor, maybe, took it upon himself to paint his name and title on this beautiful rock. What the... Why?!! The shadow is me, of course. I'm not sure how he/she wrote that high, or that large, maybe a ladder, but it was large. I could have reached maybe to the date at the bottom.

Here is Elise the Tracker. Using the book that Grandpa Wight bought her in Glacier National Park, we tracked elk, deer, cow, rabbits, and possibly a bear!! She is standing next to a large ant hill. These were all over. Kinda scary.

Here is the cliff from the plateau that the campus sits on. Note the color differentiation and the holes possibly from bats or birds using the mountain as their home. Such a beautiful place!! I want to go back sometime without a hurry back home kind of mentality. Going with Mike and Ken for work was fun, but completely exhausting. The people there are awesome and the facilities are FANTASTIC!! I'm rooting for a home just like this one day in the forest somewhere not too far away!!

Read This!!

I've been following NieNie's journey ever since Colleen taught a lesson in Relief Society about, golly, I can't remember what it was about... enduring, or smiling, or, OH!, it was touching other's hearts!!! I like most to read cjane's blog... Nienie's sister. And yesterday, she posted just a tiny amount. And I'm so glad that she linked this article, as it told the WHOLE story, the good, the sad, the happy! I crave details, even the graphic ones. They don't bother me, but give me more to palate, to taste, to touch. I don't think that makes me a bad person. I may come off as a gory person to some, but I really need to know. Without the details a picture isn't in focus for me.

I am also very excited that Courtney (Cjane) is an author!! Yippeee!!! I have yet another person to look up to on my journey. Speaking of, I need to get back on that. I've been trying to convince Mike to pay for an online writing course from Winghill Writing School. I requested a brochure of information and I'm impressed. I don't want to be a world-wide best seller, by any means, but I'd like to put my creativity and my brain to good use!! And if I can get paid for it, all the better!

Later today, when I go back downstairs, I'll post pics from Elise's birthday party last night. I should have taken pics of the friend party we did, but I believe it is hard to get pics in a movie theater!

laters

Rachel Ray Today

Oh, I am totally enamored with Rachel Ray's hair, and her cooking! Her new shorter haircut looks a lot like mine, but she does her hair, or has it done... I just get up and pull up a pony! So after watching her make a FABULOUS recipe of guacamole with this super star basketball player, I decided I have to keep guac or at least seven layer dip close by. It is a huge favorite of MINE and I think Mike likes it too. I also discovered at the Halloween party that our local grocery store has the BESTEST fresh salsa I've ever tasted (no offense to my Uncles Russ, Alan, or Craig who also make very good fresh salsa). I am rushing off to the grocery store to buy some, AND the fixins for another bean dip, AND I've got some mexican dish up my sleeve for dinner. I'm still on light-duty, and I'm still in some pain when I move my legs at all, but I can't sit home and watch Rachel Ray do dinner better than me! HA! I had the hair first, didn't I? But I know she's got me on the cooking skills!!!

So I'm off to stroll SLOWLY around the grocery store and hopefully I'll find what I need there without too much bother.

Enjoy!

You have to see this blog. Beware though, it is funny, AND mostly true!

Thanks Kelly for the awesome party AND for posting the pics. I have not been able to get Mike to dress up for Halloween EVER and I completely enjoyed having him with me all decked out! Thanks for capturing it forever in the blogosphere!!

I just can't tell you how exciting that is!! Wahoo!!

Italian Style Grilled Chicken

Italian Style Grilled Chicken

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

tomatoes

fresh basil

italian blend cheese

Kraft Sun Dried tomato salad dressing.

Trim fat from chicken breast, fillet breast or pound flat for grilling. Marinate chicken breast for a min of 4 hours (I did 1 1/2 and it was still good.)

Grill chicken on both sides. Before removing from grill, place chopped basil and sliced tomato on chicken. Cover with grated cheese. Serve when cheese is melted.

This was really tasty and pretty easy to fix too. And Mike ate it, except the tomato!!

Another Better Homes and Gardens Recipe!!

Pumpkin Sandwich Cake

Pumpkin Sandwich Cake

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup whipping cream

4 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 recipe of Chocolate Cream Icing

preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease bottoms and sides of 2 8x1 1/2 inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with wax paper. flour pans lightly. mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

in second bowl beat eggs, sugar with electric beater on med high speed for 5 minutes until thick. beat in pumpkin. add flour mixture and beat just until combined. spread in cake pans and bake 16 to 18 minutes. Until center comes out clean. cool 10 minutes, remove from pans and continue to cool.

for filling in a chilled bowl beat whipping cream until until soft peaks appear. set aside and beat cream cheese until softened and beat in powdered sugar. fold in whipped cream.

assemble cake, put one layer on plate, spread the cream filling, add second layer, then frost with icing. sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over cake (I put mine in the cake mix) Chill one hour before serving. store cake loosely covered in fridge.

Chocolate Cream Icing

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate pieces.

heat whipping cream just to boiling and pour over chocolate pieces let sit for 5 min. stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool 15 min ice cake (top and sides).

Found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens magazine

Little Reminders

Some blogs I go to, visit and track are blogs to catch up with people, friends, family. What I could call a cheap way of a phone call. I feel incredibly connected to these friends that I blog with. But that should not ever replace that personal connection that people have. Touch, talk, sound, feeling, sharing. Those things can't be quite as eloquently or as completely expressed and explored online. There are a few other blogs that I go to, visit, or track because they bring me peace of mind, laughter on my lonely days, and a sense of reality.

The one that I read the most often is cjanerun.

I hope that more and more and more people read her blog. Join in her journey. Feel her pain and pray with her and her sister for her recovery and the recovery of her husband. It is a really long story to tell completely, so go to her blog and soak it in. NieNie's story breaks my heart, but it also gives me HOPE for better things. A perspective on what life REALLY is about. And I also hope that I have a sister that loves me that much. Sometimes I'm worried that I've isolated myself from my family because of all the "drama" and tried to shield myself from it all and only find myself playing that all out without their help. It is quite frustrating to become the person you truly don't want to be, when you are truly trying to be away from that person and that influence.

There is another blog that I watch for inspiration sake and that is the blog of Josh Pack.

He too has an inspiring story of recovery that he is going through RIGHT NOW.

We each have trials in our lives to conquer, overcome, endure. Daily we struggle with little and big things. How we learn from them, respond to them and move forward are so key to our own daily recovery, our eternal recovery.

Bless you all in your journeys and adventures. May you find joy and laughter in your trials in ADDITION to finding the purpose or lesson behind it.
~Vicki

Updates

Well it has been a while since I posted anything. I've been laying around for several weeks now and I'm bored out of my mind. When I'm that bored I don't actually DO anything... strange how that is. I'm still fighting with nausea and I'm giving in more often. It is just easier to chuck up and eat something different later. Mike is helping around the house quite a lot more which I'm very grateful for. He's a good helper. Elise on the other hand... I'm sleeping in the "extra" bedroom upstairs on a lower mattress so I don't have to lift my legs up so high to get in. My bed's mattress hits the top of my thighs and when your muscles have all gone to jelly down there for moving your legs, AND my lower back needs a visit with a chiropractor, I just can't get in and out effectively without hurting myself. With all that said, I sleep alone and I don't mind it too much, but I miss Mike a lot. And I KNOW he is missing me! I really miss those fun times we were able to have not too long before we got pregnant... ah lovins... it just isn't the same. Next doctor's appointment is next Monday. I'll update again after that I guess. We should be able to find out the gender of our baby soon.

NEXT: Elise has been a great student of math. She's not struggling with reading, I am! 20 minutes a day tests my patience quite a bit. Her homework takes at least 20 to finish then we have to read on top of that. I don't know why she has to have so much homework. She's only in first grade.

Blue: doing fine, digging lots of holes in my backyard. Wants so badly to be walked and played with. I just can't do it. I'll walk her over to my in-laws to play with their dog, Dakota later on today. But that really hurts my hips, and strains my muscles a lot. I have to take it so easy, it is frustrating to everyone.

Family: I went to see Nights in Rodanthe with my mom, sister Joyce and her husband Doug. Talk about a sappy show!! I'm surprised Doug didn't cry from pain of sappiness the whole time. The ending was so predictable and so terrible. I wish that guys books would take a happier twist. Maybe he needs meds... I can suggest some great happy pills!!

We are heading to Capitol Reef tonight. Mike and I stayed there for the second night of our honeymoon almost 9 years ago. We are going down there this time for some sort of ribbon cutting ceremony for his work. They've installed a rather interesting solar set up there. Stop in and see the off-grid campus that was put in sometime!! It is really cool!

Love you all!!

cRaZiNeSs TaGgEd

Okay, Thanks Kelly! I'll be looking at you more closely when you eat m&m's... and I'll watch my eyebrows. Totally tell me when they need waxed. I'd rather you tell me than look like a freak and make your fingers twitch!!

So this is an interesting tag. I think it is great to get these things out in the open. That way, when you walk stairs with me, or Kelly you'll know why we can't talk as good as when on flat ground... or why we occasionally trip up. ;) LOVE YOU!!

Rules: List 6 quirks that you have and then tag 6 other people to list their quirks. This could be scary!!

In no particular order really, here are my 6 things:

#1-A lot like Kelly, I have to, just have to sleep with my sheets and bedspread just so. Can't snooze without it just right. This drives Mike insane. He'll inevitably be in bed before me and I'll have to turn the light back on to make sure my arrangements are perfect. Then we'll talk for quite a while and that brings me to #2.

#2-I can't snuggle when sleeping. Don't touch me. Can't sleep. Don't share your air with me at ANY time. In other words, we cannot face each other and me have to breathe IN the same are you breathe OUT. YUCK!!

#3-I occasionally count stairs or things I'm doing. This has gotten less frequent as I've gotten older, if that makes sense. I'll count lots of things, cars, patterns. Sounds rather O.C.D. to me, but I'm totally in denial.

#4-All spiders get to the count of three to run and hide. I know this one is terrible. But I have to have three seconds to gather my courage to endure that popping squishing sound that they make when you kill them dead on one shot. Most of them die in my presence, rest assured.

#5-I sleep with socks on. Every night. Can't stand to have cold feet. And most nights I have full on flannels on too. I like to breathe cold air, but I have to have a warm body covered with heavy blankets. (I know that isn't very crazy, but it is me!!)

#6-I can't stand it when people don't vote. And then insist on complaining about what has happened in our government. If you don't vote you gave up your right to complain about it. Cast your vote and you can complain until you sound completely like you don't have a friggen clue what you are talking about. Like saying something about a candidate for president that is totally unfounded, or completely idiotic. Read the papers, search the issues, etc or don't open your mouth to talk about it. Really. Politics drive me crazy enough without idiots walking around talking out their behinds about things that are either not true, or completely non-issue, or completely stupid. Got it, go vote!! And KNOW what you are talking about and voting about at least around me. HAHAH!!!!

Okay, now that I've let it all out, I'll go take a cold shower, no, a really hot shower, cause I really really like those, even in the summer (that would be #7 I guess). I tag Lindsay R., Kristi H., Brandi H., Stephy L., Cami E., and Jenn C.

Bed Rest? What IS that?

Bed Rest? Bed Rest? Bed Rest?

I'm still not sure exactly all that entails, so I'm glad I'm not put on a strict bed rest for the time being. Last week I totally over did it for work (SFG Symposium 2008) and ended up with some really painful muscles and some cramping. You know when you make that phone call to the doctor's office and they preface their answer to you with, "now don't worry, but..."

Tears, fears and a ton of movies later, I'm doing better, though I'm still experiencing quite a bit of muscle/ligament pain. Getting my pants on is a joke! So is getting down into a chair, out of a chair or my car!! The doc put me on 5 pounds or less lifting restriction (did you know a gallon of milk when full weighs 8 pounds?) So no babysitting my S.I.L's kids, and I ended up "babysitting" my OTHER S.I.L.'s kids this last Saturday while their dad was felling trees with my husband (his brother) and the "boys" from their fam. I loved being there, but babysitting when I was trying to relax really ticked me off. I like their kids and all, but man! You don't bring a 1 yo into the Uintah's to watch daddy cut down trees!!! Not safe. And no one asked me if I could or WOULD babysit. I just got left with them. Lovely.

OKAY. Hopefully I'll get over that soon.

Lighter notes: You've probably got to check out my mommabookworm blog. I blogged a review of a book that I read that I honestly had a difficult time reading and it is book one in a series, book four came out last month. The author commented BACK to me in 45 minutes!! And he was hilarious!!

Other than all that, I've got not much else to say. Soccer is in full swing, or kick. We've got a few games left. I'm totally upset that the government is bailing out wall street idiots that spent and invested their money with the wrong kind of people. And, I'm just about ready to quit my job.