I'm glad I don't live in Provo.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not a horrible place. I grew up there after all. Lots of my friends and family still live there or close to there. And living there has its advantages (including being close to family) and disadvantages (possibly including living close to family). I am glad that I have had the chance to live away from there. For the most part I am happy not living there (we do visit somewhat regularly). I miss my friends and family who live there, but I'm not in a hurry to move back (or anywhere else for that matter). I like where I live, I like the people I live by and I'm generally happy with the condition of my address right now.

That said, I ran across this post at passiveagressivenotes.com and it helped me remember some of the reasons I am happy not living there. If you went to BYU or ever lived in student housing there in Provo you should get a real kick out of this note!

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2009/11/01/piece-out-our-imperfections-with-your-thoughts/

I like reading this particular blog. I love to see how other people vent thier anger/frustration/bad mood without having to do it in person.

There's something different around here

Have you noticed?

New Character Photos.

Actually, just new photos.  I thought you deserved to look at a picture of me that is a little more current.  The old one was taken in Summer 2003 at Cape Hatteras, NC.  The one of B.A.R. was from this summer.  These new ones were taken at Thanksgiving this year. 

Contest Winners Announced.

First, for all the entries:

Alice--  People often misunderstand my name as this and I don't like that.
Victoria-- My friend's daughter
Betty--  
Mary-- Have a friend named that, and fairly common

Sally-- My grandmother's nickname, and from Peanuts (against the rules)
Lois-- I have 2 friends named that!

Lola--  Isn't that a song by the Kinks?
Jane-- Doesn't she come with Dick?
Paige-- Friend
Nancy-- Person in my ward
Opal--  Car
Daisy--  Flower
Veronica
Margaret-- Went to high school with someone named that
Blondie-- Not classic enough
Pepper--  Went to high school with someone named that

Dilbert--  Not classic enough
Clark-- Dated a guy named that
Milo--  Isn't that a cat from a Disney movie?
Frank-- Person in my ward
Ernest-- Person in my ward, and my friend's husband
Wiley
Oliver Wendell Jones-- Maybe without the Wendell Jones part.
Arlo (2 entries)
Abner
Jasper
Gunther-- trendy

Dennis-- Father in Law
Henry-- Person in the ward
Jake-- Nephew
Sam--  Too common 
Walt
Heathcliff--  Possibly too obscure
Garfield-- Presidential, like Tiger's name
Ziggy-- Marley?

Odie-- 

And the winners are:  Margaret and Abner.  I like Frank, Oliver, and Ziggy too. 

So Birrd and Osborn6 send me a prize requests.  I will even FEDEX you fresh bread if you want.

The other blog

I haven't posted for a while because I have one thought that I need to post about before the others can come out.  And while I am opinionated and don't really care what other people think about what I think, I didn't want to give people reasons to offend themselves here at this blog.  I have created another, separate blog, as an outlet for my opinions.  

You can still blurk or read and review here without fear of running into my opinions on politics, economy and other divisive issues.  If you want to step into that minefield follow me over here.  I will also place a link in The Checklist so you can go over there whenever you want.  

I do not promise that I will post over there often, but I do promise that I post opinions over there and not here in my Family Friendly blog.  

And for those of you who didn't figure it out, there aren't any pictures in the prom post.  NONE!!

Missing half the message.

For those of you who come and just view my most recent post (and I know that you are out there): take heed!  I often spend a few days coming up with post ideas (and time to post).  Then I spend my little time posting 2 or 3 posts at once.  If you only view the most recent,  you will probably miss half or more of what I post.  To avoid this problem, click on the name of the blog (instead of the name of the post) on your blog roll.  Or, after reading the most recent post, click on the "Home" link at the bottom of the page.  Or, even better, set up a following widgit on your dashboard.  It shows all the new posts on all the blogs you are following so you don't miss a thing.  I like it better than Google reader and so I use it.  Visit often, and make sure to catch all the news while you are here.

Information about vacation

So I just got a package from Froggie with all the pictures from vacation in it.  They sent over 500 pictures (on cd)!  Their vacation was only 7 days long.  We did get some pictures from the drive over and back so that is very interesting  to me.  I am only going to post about what we did together ( and no, I am not going to post that many pictures).  I just spent 20 minutes fixing 38 pictures that were dated wrong so that I could find them in iPhoto. 

Just so you know the new characters are:  My brother, Zephyr; his wife, Froggie; and their son, Leprechaun.

Codenames

Just a word about the codenames.  I thought that each character in our little comic strip ought to have a name.  I thought it would be fun if we were all secret agents or something and so I came up with codenames for each of us.  It was really easy for the boys, DH thought up the ones for the parents. I will probably continue to write about them as BL, BC, and DH, but watch out for the occasional codename. 

About the guestbook

I have a sitemeter.  It tells me when people visit me.  It tells me where you are from.  It just doesn't tell me who you are.  I am glad that you visit my blog and find my life interesting, if not amusing.  If you haven't already, please sign the guestbook.  You can keep your message private so that only I can see it.  I know that you are coming, just sign already so that I don't go crazy trying to find out who you are :?  Thank you.  Enjoy the chaos that is my life.

Political Posts

After DH and I got married he and I talked about politics and started following politics/economics and related topics.  I was bored by it in the beginning, but it is a nice mental exercise we enjoy together.  Now we debate everything from global warming to guns to ethical and social dilemmas he even gets into the act and talks about sports ethics etc. with me.  We generally agree on most topics and he gets me worked up about these topics.  I love to write to vent about stuff I think about a lot.  I am going to write about these topics from time to time.  This is a simple warning that if you don't want to read about my political/social rants, I will forewarn you.  All posts that will be on these topics will read "opinion" or "optional reading", and the topic I am writing about.  Feel free to skip them, unless you want to know what I/we think.  Just as a warning.  We feel like the Republican Party left us, and so we should be considered right wing nut-jobs.  We are probably getting further and further right every day.

There is an Hour (or 2) of Peace and Rest

Well, I wanted to get back and blog today with some pictures of the kids.  They both went down for a nap at the SAME TIME so I took their pictures.  I am posting while they are sleeping.   It is truly an hour of peace and rest.  I am also busy shopping online and adding stuff for sale on my craft website.  I would love to be sewing right now, but the noise of the sewing machine wakes BL up.  

I was hoping for good weather today.  BC got a trike for his birthday and every time the weather is nice I try to get outside with him.   Usually we just go around the block over and over.   The last 3 mornings have brought skiffs of snow and less than seasonable temperatures.   No biking for almost a week.  I want 60 degrees back so we can go to the park. 

I can't wait for the pool to open.  I know.  ME! The POOL!  But ever since BL was born I have been losing weight like I have some wasting disease.  I am seeing numbers on the scale I haven't seen in 5 years.  Now I just need a new swimsuit to cover up all the stretch marks he gave me!  Oh, well.

Welcome to my blog.  Where the kids are the center of our lives and have names torn from the Sunday funnies.  They are pretty funny, and not just on Sunday.  Buddy Calvin (BC) and Baby Linus (BL) keep us busy, and challenged.   Pictures and more info later when I have more time, and the boys don't have naps to  take.