Not Quite the "Trip" I Wanted to Take

I was so annoyed today when I went to turn on General Conference and found that absolutely NOTHING was playing on the channel we were supposed to be tuning into. For as long as we've lived in this house, we have always watched Conference on cable channel 77 at home in our living room. However, even as good as it got, we often experienced problems here or there. For example, we'd catch the morning session, but in the afternoon, this no-name channel would air a baseball game instead. That was pretty annoying in and of itself, but today I was REALLY ticked off. The screen was SOLID BLUE and they couldn't air Conference?! Come on! So, not having a lot of other last-minute options, I was grateful that we do have internet and can tune in online. The problem with that was that I couldn't actually watch it without the audio totally breaking up. So, we (or rather I--Chris was laying on the floor, sick, and probably didn't catch much besides his zzZZ's) listened while watching something crazy like sound waves dancing on the computer screen in front of me. Colorful stars and bands of "sound" moving in time with the speakers' words and voice inflections or something crazy like that. After awhile, I couldn't handle any more of it, so I got on Facebook and tried to work Sudoku puzzles in the meantime. Yeah, that was a little distracting, but so was the crappy mood I was in already. And so here lies the end of my rant.

Does My Blog Need an Extreme Makeover?

I'm looking at this blog and am reminded that I am not a designer. I originally chose the colors because they were bright and the design because it worked. My blog does look different than most others I have seen, but is this a good thing or a bad thing? Does it make you want to throw up? Be honest. I can take some constructive criticism and would welcome any design talent you may have to offer.

Dear Friends and Family...

I had no idea that you were still reading my blog while I have been off on some deserted (imaginary) island neglecting it! For the first time in months (or since the last time I posted...however long ago that was), I have come to visit the blog of my youth. I have aged slightly since the last time I visited, so this is bringing back some fond memories.

I also discovered that some of you have posted comments that I was not aware of. Seems like I used to have comments sent automatically to my email inbox, but for some reason, that has not been happening. So, if you felt snubbed by my lack of acknowledgement, I do apologize and assure you that it was nothing personal.

Finally, I have a bit of sad news to share. Our second computer (the one with all of our pictures stored therein) had to be disassembled and removed to make space for our old bed in the computer room. Why would we want a bed in the computer room, you ask? So that Chris can simply lie down to sleep once he has finished his gaming raids at all hours of the night. ;) Just kidding. The real reason is that we finally did get all of our new bedroom furniture, including a nice new king-sized bed (so we never have to sleep within arm's reach of each other again--Woohoo! just kidding) but we did not want to part with our old bed, either. Someday we hope to have a guest bedroom and will need a bed for our guests to sleep on. So, the moral of the story is that I am currently unable to post any pictures on this blog unless they come from our main computer. I might be able to expend a little effort to figure out how I can start dumping the pictures from my memory card onto that computer, but seeing as Chris is enjoying a well-deserved break from school right now, I might have to wait on that.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year's holidays. We did, indeed, enjoy ours and are doing well. We love getting to have Chris/Daddy/whoever that man is ;) at home for 3 weeks, so we are taking advantage of our time together (relatively-speaking since he does need a rest.) I have more thoughts to share with you but will wait until another time, since it's 2:12 a.m. and, darn it, I have to get up before noon tomorrow. ;)

Thank you all for your love and friendship and for continuing to look at my blog even though I've been lame in not posting. I'm still glad that there are people like you who stop by to read it. I hope to write more in 2009--because this is going to be a very exciting year with much to blog about!

Happy New Year, y'all!

Identity Crisis

As I am sure you have probably noticed by now, I have changed my blog title AGAIN. I can't seem to find a blogging identity that seems to really fit, but this seems to be it for now. And, not to disappoint you or anything, but it may change again if I think of something else I like better. For now, though, Alphabet Soup seems to work for a few reasons.

Some people may not immediately realize that A & Z are my kids. We didn't intentionally choose their names so they could be a set of "bookends", but I liked the idea when a friend pointed that out to me. Now we just have to come up with 24 other names that start with all the other letters. JUST KIDDING. Even if we don't end up with more children, at least I've got the beginning and the end covered.

Another reason for the new title is this: When I was a junior in high school, there were four of us with the same oft-mispronounced last name: my brother, my sister, my dad's cousin's daughter, and I. Lo and behold, we all attended an awards assembly at the end of the year, and our last name was pronounced 4 different ways and probably by the same person. I distinctly remember telling my sister later, "When I get married, I want to marry a Smith or a Brown. *BUT, WATCH!* I will marry someone with a Polish last name." The Polish, I thought, were notorious for using just about every letter of the alphabet in their names. And the heavens heard me say that and shook with laughter. Sufficiently humbled, I finally met and married Chris almost 10 years later. I know, I should have hyphenated, shouldn't I?

Finally, with 2 young children at home (one of which is highly obsessed with letters and numbers and is now passing that along to the other), we hear A LOT of the ABC Song going on at our house. Zachary even does his own improv version that goes something like this:



So, yes, Alphabet Soup. For now.

A to Z

A- Attached or Single: Attached
B- Best friend: Always a true friend.
C- Cake or Pie: Pie
D- Day of choice: Friday
E- Essential item: Contact lenses, because I never leave home without them.
F- Favorite Color: I like bright colors...all of them.
G- Gummy bears or worms: Bears
H- Hometown: Austin, TX
I- Indulgence: Ice cream sundaes
J- January or July: July
K- Kids: Zachary (4) and Ashley (2)
L- Life is incomplete without: Family and Friends
M- Marriage Date: November 9, 2001
N- Number of siblings: 4
O- Oranges or Apples: A nice, ripe, juicy orange.
P- Phobias or fears: heights, losing someone I love.
Q- Quotes: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." -David O. McKay
R- Reason to smile: A happy, healthy family.
S- Season of choice: Whichever one comes next. (So, if it's winter, I would rather it be spring. If it's summer, I'd rather it be fall, and so on.) Actually, I like all the seasons. Right now, I love that it's summer.
T- Tag 3 times: Heidi, Wendy, Alison, and anyone else who wants to do it.
U- Unknown fact about me: I have never broken a bone, unless you count the time I chipped the end off of my left elbow back in college. In any case, it's not there anymore and I have no idea where it went!
V- Very favorite store: I don't have one favorite. I shop a lot at Target/Super Target and H-E-B Plus, though, and I like those just fine.
W- Worst habit: Staying up late. Whether you agree that this is my worst habit of all time or not, I figure it's a good one to put on here, right? :)
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y- Your favorite food: Blue Bell ice cream
Z- Zodiac Sign: Leo

Raw Deal

A man knocks (loudly) on your front door and then, claiming to live across the street [you haven't seen him once in the 6 1/2 years you have lived in your house], says he is there to disregard HOA rules sell frozen steaks door-to-door. He offers to sell you a carton of 47 vacuum-packed steaks for $125, a steal, he says, at little more than $2/steak. [It's actually closer to $3/steak, but nevermind his inability to do simple math.] You're tempted, but...

Which of the following is a good reason to say no?

A. Your freezer holds little more than the ice maker, a package of corn dogs, and the requisite gallon or 2 of ice cream.
B. Your husband is a full-time student, i.e. unemployed for the better part of 3 full years. Every dime spent = a dime to be paid back later...with interest.
C. For health and dietary reasons, consumption of massive quantities of red meat by yourself or spouse is not advised.
D. Your children proclaim themselves to be vegetarians (with the exception of corn dogs and the occasional bite of a fast food chicken nugget or hamburger.)
E. You have not purchased 47 steaks in your entire lifetime, let alone in one afternoon.
F. You spent the equivalent of 635 of his steaks on essential car repairs this same afternoon.
G. All of the above.

My guess is as good as yours. After 2 excuses and 3 "no, thank you's," this guy FINALLY (but reluctantly) gets the hint, but not before throwing in a glare for free as he walks away. Some people...