Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thought for the Day (TFTD)

"Life is like that--ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins. It was ever thus. Hamlet went about crying, "To be or not to be," but that didn't solve any of his problems. There is something of a tendency among us to think that everything must be lovely and rosy and beautiful without realizing that even adversity has some sweet uses. One of my favorite newspaper columnists is Jenkin Lloyd Jones. In a recent article published in the News, he commented: Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . . Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
--President Gordon B. Hinckley

Whodunnit?







Okay, so I have seen and heard of many people over the years who have had really fun Clue dinner parties where you try to solve who killed the mystery guest. I want to do one, but I don't really know how it works. For example, is the mystery guest just made up? and how do you solve it- is it a scavenger hunt? Does everyone have a clue in their invitation? Are the clues scattered throughout the house- and are they written or do you have to search for the evidence (like an open window or a broken glass or a hair in the bathtub even)? Hmmmm. I think it would be soooo much fun to dress up like Professor Plum or Miss Scarlet or Colonel Mustard and have dinner and solve a good mystery. So CSI or Cold Case to me. I love it. Tell me what you think about it. I want to plan one for sure.

Annie aka "Maestra Magenta" hahaha

Friday, November 28, 2008

O Come O Come Emmanuel

I love this song so much and the words are so amazing. One of my favorite arrangements/versions is performed by the Christian rock group "Third Day" and is on the Wow! Christmas CD, but I can not find it online to put on my playlist. I really like the one on this playlist though too.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I am thankful to get away from these turkeys for 4 whole days!


Sure, they look sweet, you are thinking. And really, I do love them, but sometimes I just want to give them a kick in the pants. Today was crazy, they were hyper, and I made sure to let them know that this year, I am most grateful that I don't have to see them for 4 whole days. They laughed and knew it was said with the utmost love...



One of the kid's mothers (our room mom) came in and did this nifty little candy holder craft with them to get rid of the extra candy we had left over from Halloween. They loved it. One little girl even named hers something like "Thelma Tinklebottle" or some crazy thing like that. Another kid decided to call his "Mr. Squanto bird."



A bunch of turkeys. . . and their candy pots! This isn't too far from the norm! (You must, I pray thee, click on the picture to enlarge it and get the full effect of each child's expression).

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Maybe he was a lunatic, but still...




. . . I love him! He was amazing! He was talented beyond measure. He had a way of capturing the beauty of everything beyond what can be seen with the eye. These are my favorites . . . yes, because of the beautiful stars!

Better Days

And you asked me what I want this year
and I try to make this kind and clear
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
'cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
and designer love and empty things
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I need some place simple where we could live
and something only you can give
and that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
and the one poor child who saved this world
and there's ten million more who probably could
if we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I NEED A RELEASE!

I don't know why I do this... I let everything build up for months and months and then feel ready to explode. Right now I am ready to go off like a firecracker!
I need to kick
I need to scream
I need to swear
I need to slam doors
I need to punch
I need to cry
I need to throw things
and I can't even explain why!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Why do I do that?

I don't know why we go over the old hurts
Again and again in our minds, the false starts
And true beginnings
of a world we call the past,
As if it could tell us who we are now,
Or were, or might have been . . .
It's drizzling.
A car door slams, just once, and he's gone.
Tiny pools of water glisten on the street.
"My Father's Back,"
Edward Hirsch (as quoted in Your Father Your Self by Barry H. Gordon, Ph.D)

stress buster


This is what I have spent my Saturday doing. I have a bazillion other things that need to be done, but I don't want to do them because I need to decompress... I wish I could explain it all in a blog, but I can't. Anyways, I started last night and worked for a few hours and then worked all day today. I think it was probably 10 hours or so. I really like it , even though there are some things about it that still bother me. But if I don't tell myself it is finished, I will never stop. That's me, that's how I roll. I haven't eaten or gotten out of my pajamas. I think I will go get some food now... but I probably won't get dressed.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Gettin excited for the holidays!



Grandma Irene and Bucky, Dad, Kelly, and Mikey. I guess Mike decided which tree he wants!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I need some chapstick

Napoleon Dynamite: Hey can I use your guys's phone for a sec?
Secretary No. 1: Is there anything wrong?
Napoleon Dynamite: I don't feel very good.
[takes telephone and dials number]
Kip: [making nachos on the other side of the line] Hi.
Napoleon Dynamite: Is grandma there?
Kip: No, she's getting her hair done.
Napoleon Dynamite: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
Kip: What do you need?
Napoleon Dynamite: Can you just go get her for me?
Kip: I'm really busy right now.
Napoleon Dynamite: Just tell her to come get me.
Kip: Why?
Napoleon Dynamite: Cause I don't feel good!
Kip: Well, have you talked to the school nurse?
Napoleon Dynamite: No, she doesn't know anything. Will you just come get me?
Kip: No.
Napoleon Dynamite: Well, will you do me a favor then? Can you bring me my chapstick?
Kip: No, Napoleon.
Napoleon Dynamite: But my lips hurt real bad!
Kip: Just borrow some from the school nurse. I know she has like five sticks in her drawer.
Napoleon Dynamite: I'm not gonna use hers, you sicko!
Kip: See ya.
[Kip hangs up]
Napoleon Dynamite: Uh! Idiot!


Uhhhh . . . I pretty much feel like Napoleon right now . . . cause my lips are really hurting bad.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Law and Order SVU

what the? Elliot can't die! Oh good, it's just another close call... the man has survived it all. Just like when he was blind one minute then fine the next, tonight he gets shot twice in the chest, lays dying on the side of the street, gets rushed to the hospital, and next thing you know . . . he's chasing bad guys through warehouses and up and down stairs with blood seeping through his shirt! I know, it's not exactly realistic, but it's got me! If he ever does really get killed, I don't know what I'll do (same with Liv).

Friday, November 14, 2008

Pottymouth

So, for those of you who don't know, let me introduce you to Logan... the son of a friend of mine. Logan will be 4 in January and he is too smart for his own good. Really... I think he is smarter than most of my students. Well, tonight I went over and we had pizza and watched a movie and I was "making Logan movies" with my phone. It only records for 30 seconds at a time and he wanted me to make movies of him all night long, so I got 36 videos of him. The funniest were of me interrogating him for his recent introduction to getting his mouth washed out with soap. The conversation went like this:
Video 1
Annie: Tell me about when you got your mouth washed out with soap.
Logan: I . . . I got my my mouth washed out with soap because I said dammit.
Annie: Ohhhhhh . . . and that's a potty word.
Logan: Yeah . . . that's really not a yucky word.
Annie: It is a yucky word.
Logan: Yeah.
Annie: It's not a nice word.
Logan: Yeah.
Annie: It's not a funny word.
Logan: Yeah.
Annie: Why did you say that word?
Logan: Because I didn't want to . . .
Annie: Were you mad?
Logan: Yeah . . . I was mad.
Video 2
Annie: Ahhhh . . . you say bad words!
Logan: . . . So many times!
Annie:Why? Why do you say bad words?
Logan:Because I didn't want to. . . My mommy stopped . . . try-ded to stop me . . . she got mad and try-ded to stop me.
Annie: Why do you say the bad words? Do you get angry?
Logan:Yeah . . . I get angry.

Video 3: Interrogation about the spank
Annie: . . . and when did you get a spankin'?
Logan: . . .
Annie: Why did you get a spanking?
Logan: . . . cuz
Annie: Why?
Logan: Ahhhhhh!
Annie: What? Why did Mommy spank you?
Logan: Behind my back.
Annie: Why?
Logan: My knees, my butt.
Annie: Why?
Logan: . . . cuzzzzz.
Annie: What did you do????
Logan: grabs his cup and drinks his soda. . . (this is obviously a sore topic- no pun intended. He was not too willing to share the details of his crime.)

I love this boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I miss my friend


Happy birthday, Ginger! I miss you so much. Thanks for always being such a sweet example of faith and love. And for always remembering to tease me about that stupid Fred Flintstone t shirt...you never let me live it down. (It's actually the hat that I'm more ashamed of...)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Laugh all you want . . . I am!

So, I have been looking through my mom's pictures so that I can work on a Christmas project and I thought I would share some of those beloved school pictures that we all treasure.


Kindergarten at Grantsville Elementary, Grantsville, Utah 1983/84


1st grade at Manzanita Elementary, Newbury Park, California 1984/85


2nd grade at Peach Hill Elementary, Moorpark, California 1986/87


1st day of school 1987. This is one reason why people always thought we were twins. . .


3rd grade at Mountain Meadows Elementary, Moorpark, California 1987/88
Check out those buck teeth and that sneaky grin...


4th grade at Campus Canyon Elementary, Moorpark, California 1988/89
2nd year with braces!

5th grade at Flory Elementary, Moorpark, California 1989/90
3rd year with braces....


And one other that I thought was fun!

Seven years old and already planning to go on a mission. Moorpark Ward, Thousand Oaks Stake, Old TO Stake Center

Saturday, November 8, 2008

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!!





When I was a kid, we used to all pack in the car and drive over to Thrifty Drug and Discount (Thrify's as we called it) and get an ice cream cone. Anywhere we lived in the LA area, we had a Thrifty's and they had this awesome ice cream counter with at least 20 flavors. When I was little, I loved the Rainbow Sherbet. Then as I grew older I enjoyed the Cookies and Creme, but then when we were allowed 2 scoops, I usually got Chocolate Malted Krunch and Mint n Chip (Mom always sent us in and that was her signature combo as well, but she always added the request, ". . . in a cup with a spoon.") When I was only 6 and we lived in Agoura, I remember a single scoop being only 10 or 15 cents and as time passed, the highest I remember the single scoop was about 70 cents. Rite Aid bought out Thrifty's before I graduated high school, but they kept the ice cream counter and still serve it.
Tonight I was eating a bowl of ice cream and wishing that the Rite Aid here had an ice cream counter of Thrifty's ice cream, but it is all just a piece of post WW2 California nostalgia that is going the way of the dime store and the soda fountain.


Check out this video of an awesome old ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S679-gvdGqQ

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Family pictures

Mom on Santa's lap. She looks a bit nervous, don't you think?
Annie and big brother, Mikey. I can't decide who Michael looks more like. . . I guess it depends on the day and the background lighting. Here he looks like a good mixture of both my parents. Dad's eyes. Mom's nose.
Michael, Kelly, Anne.
But here he looks just like Mom!Michael at the Special Olympics in Park City, Utah.
Wow!
Michael gets ordained a deacon. Moorpark, California. Doesn't he look sharp? Brother Fairbanks bought him that suit. (Here he looks just like Mom too) Kelly wins the Keyhole race. Tooele, Utah.
Oops! But isn't it precious? Kelly and Mikey. .
All the kids visiting Grandma Bertie in Russellville, Arkansas. 1980 Kelly and Mike. Monticello
Kelly's baptism day. 1981.


Kelly and Erin. Tooele, Utah 1982ish.


Grandma and her siblings in Arkansas. 1930's


Grandma with some hot sailors. Woot woot!

Erin at the park in Agoura Hills, California. Why is that cute belly button always showing?


My Grandma Irene and Bucky just a few months before he passed away from cancer. This was taken at a friend's house in Thousand Oaks, California in 1980.

I think it was her 3rd birthday. Look at that belly button! She got a purse and is proudly showing Kelly. This was at the house in Grantsville. Note the paneled walls. Yuck!

One of the first memories I have of Disneyland. Erin was 7, I think.
Holding hands???? We must have been on good terms that day.
If you know her, I am sure you understand. hahaha. Kelly upset because the sun is in her eyes.
Deeda and Fowie on their 50th anniversary in front of their home he built in Los Angeles. 8712 Cadillac Avenue.

My mom and her cousins, Tim Henson (pushing the stroller) and Calvin Brown (in the stroller).

My grandpa, Bucky, holding me. Kelly is the entertainment for the celebration. Grandma Bertie is watching from the background. Taken at our home in Monticello, Utah. Christmas 1978. This is one of my favorite pictures. I miss you Bucky!
Mikey 4, Kelly 6, Annie 1 1/2, Erin 6 months. Notice Erin's fingers in her mouth again... I love Kelly's smile and me looking zoned out, my tongue doesn't fit in my mouth (that's what Bucky always said). I always stick it out like that, especially in pictures, or even more when I am concentrating.
Everyone used to ask if we were twins.
Erin the cake eater. I hope her babies look just like her! Erin looks like a clone of Mom (especially, her nose). Mom in a beef box. What else is there to say? This is one of the pictures that shows how much Erin looks like Mom. If it were in color, you probably couldn't tell who it was.

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