The Greatest Time Of Year

Ahhh...I love Christmas. It's so nice that everyone is in the giving mood this time of year. I love it! I say every year, "Throughout the year I'm doing something special and donating it somewhere for Christmas." Then I never get around to it. Who knows, 2009 just might be the year I get around to it. We'll see.

Back to Christmas. We had a great Christmas. Trent woke us up at 3:30 AM and again at 4:00 AM. We crawled out of bed and unwrapped gifts as Santa was lifting off of our house. It was that early. Both kids were fairly warned that if I got up that early they better be on their best behavior ALL DAY because I couldn't promise I would be all that cheery. You see, I couldn't sleep that night. I was just too excited. I may have gotten an hour and a half of sleep. That's it. So, for Christmas Trent got a new gun, a few books, a couple Steelers figurines for his room and these Funkeys which are technically supposed to be shared with Kaela. Kaela got a purple Ipod, a Littlest Pet Shop playset, a necklace and earrings with her birthstone in them, a movie and a picture Trent drew of her. I got a Victorias Secret gift card (YAY) and a new Ipod (that I really didn't need) but I took it anyway. Dalan got a Utes blanket I tied for him. Nothing great but everything he wants I won't buy because I know nothing about it. So, we got dressed after all this craziness and headed to Dalan's parents house at about 6:45 AM and THEY WERE UP and already had their Christmas. They just had Kelli and Drex and Darin. So, we opened a couple gifts there and then headed to my parents where we opened more gifts. My mom and I made Prime Rib, which turned out awesome! It was the best Prime Rib I had ever had. After that, we headed back to Dalan's parents because Kristy had come down. Basically, our Christmas was spent running from house to house. Not too much fun for the kids. I know this because I heard nothing but whining to go home so they could play the new Wii. Yes, we finally got a Wii and I LOVE it! We also bought Guitar Hero, my favorite game. I love that game.

So, now we are getting ready to celebrate a new year. 2008 has been pretty good to me. I really can't complain. I really don't see 2009 being much better. How can it be? I'm really hoping that it comes close to being the best. Besides, life is what you make it, right? I'm just amazed at how time is flying by so quickly. I can't believe Trent will be in middle school next year. Kaela is going to be 8 in February. It's so sad but I have loved every second I have had with them. They are good kids for the most part and I'm probably pretty lucky to have them. One of these days I will look back and think, "Where in the world did the time go?" as Dalan is walking our baby girl down the aisle.

The Wonderful Smells Of Delta

On a day such as today when the wind is blowing in just the right direction we get the wonderful yet pleasing aroma of cow something or other. Lets just call is crap! In case you couldn't tell, I was being a bit sarcastic in the previous sentence. I don't do well with bad smells. Natural or not, I can't handle it. So, the smell today was not unlike any other bad smell. I'm trying to bring in groceries and I'm dry heaving at the same time. My eyes are watering and I'm trying not to throw up. Dalan finds this to be hilarious especially when the dry heaving is done due to something he has done. Whenever it smells badly outside he says, "That's the smell of money." Well, if that's the smell of money, I don't want any of it. In fact, I have previously wished for a million dollars. I don't want it if that's what it is going smell like. The stinky dairy smell and I don't mesh together. I don't know how people can stand it. I guess you get used to it. Me, never. I've said it before and I will say it again, I'm a city girl. I can deal with the country but I'm more of a city girl than anything.

On Saturday we went to Heber to ride the Polar Express. The train ride is typically an hour and a half. Our train ride was 2 hours! The lights kept turning off inside our car and possibly other cars so they stopped to check things out. Anyway, surprisingly, Trent was really excited about the whole train ride. Odd. He is 10 years old and I just thought he would be over it. He's not. I think he was the most excited. He could barely stay in his seat. At one point I thought about duck taping him to it. I've thought about duck taping him to several things throughout his life now that I think about it. A nice size storm had come through that day. I was hoping for a little snow on the ground when we went on this. I got my wish...well, hope. We had hot chocolate, a really chocolatey cookie, sang songs and we got bells from Santa's sleigh. The elves walked by to tell us which reindeer each bell came off of. They didn't tell me where my bell came from so I rang the bell and figured it out myself. Santa and Mrs. Claus of course made an appearance. The hostess I will call her who was dressed in pj's, a robe and carring a teddy bear read the story Polar Express. They allowed the kids to go up to the front and do their best "Ho, Ho, Ho" and asked if anyone knew any G rated jokes. Up runs Trent to the microphone. I made sure to ask if it was a real joke and worried the rest of the time about what he was going to say. Luckily it went like this, "Why couldn't the pirate go to the movie? Because it was rated Rrrrr" Something like that. Also, something else I found funny that I can't help but to brag about is that two people, one of them being Santa, thought I was the big sister. I'm supposed to be sucking up to Santa, not him sucking up to me. I love it and it cracks me up everytime. Anyway, it wasn't the "best (insert bad word here) train ride" my brother-in-law was hoping for but the kids seemed to have a good time. That made it totally worth the $75 we spent to go.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm just getting ready for Christmas. Ten more days people! The kids last day of school will be the 23rd. That's both a blessing and bummer.

I can hardly believe it......

I may actually finish a book from front to back. This is a first for me. I really am proud of myself. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm really into it and dead set on finishing it. I bought it on Thursday and will most likely finish it tonight. What book you ask? sTORI TELLING by Tori Spelling. I have heard people say what a great book it is so I decided to finally read it. I've been wanting to but because I can't ever finish a book, I've actually put it off. I can barely put this one down but have to because of other priorities, ya know kids. She did such a good job with it. In a way, I really do feel bad for her even though ya kinda don't want to. I mean, come on, she grew up rich and famous. What is there to feel sorry about? Well, the way she tells it, her life wasn't so charmed I guess you could say. And frankly, her mom sounds like a pain in the ass. That is, if the way she tells it is true. It makes me happy I had the life I did. I would've never traded my life for hers if it really was how she says. I like her and think she seems to be somewhat down to Earth. I really liked watching her and Dean's reality show. I think I may have found the type of book I can get through. Something that is about real people. I don't know if I could get into the whole Twilight thing. I hear people rave about it all the time. I just don't know if it's my thing though. I wouldn't mind starting to read a bit more. I don't ever watch t.v. anymore, so I need to fill that emptiness with something. I'm sure reading is better for my mind. Especially since I feel like I am losing it lately.

New Idea

Well, it isn't exactly a new idea because I am sure there are plenty of people who have a blog that do this on a daily basis. I guess I should tell you what my new idea is. I thought that I would start posting the recipes I try and we all like. I have had a few people ask for recipes because they are sick of the same thing all the time. I am one who is always looking for something new. Sometimes what I make ends up in the garbage disposal, sometimes it actually gets eaten. So, when I come up with a good one, I will try to post it along with a picture. The first one unfortunately won't have a picture because I forgot to take one. So, here ya go. Go try this one. It's simple and quick. That's just what I needed tonight.

Honey Baked Chicken

4 Chicken Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/3 Cup Margarine, Melted
1/3 Cup Honey
2 Tbsp Mustard
1 Tsp Salt

Arrange chicken in baking dish. Combine the rest of the ingredients and wisk. Pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes (until chicken is tender and done). Serve with or over rice.

We thought it was pretty tasty for something that was so simple. ENJOY!

Trying to find something to say.....

So, I haven't been on here in awhile and figured I should post something. The thing is nothing is really going on. Trent has been wrestling, Kaela doing the brownie and dance thing and that's it. I guess I could talk about Trent's wrestling but there's not much to say other than he's lost every match he has wrestled. He is trying and is doing better this year. He just needs to be more aggressive. It's really not too much to ask. I personally don't care for the sport. I don't like watching it at all. I can watch just about any other sport but this one. I remember watching Dalan wrestle in high school and it was horrible. Now I'm watching my son lie there on the floor, on his back and unable to move. What mother wouldn't want to run down there on the mat and throw the kid who has their son in a tight headlock across the room? The thought has crossed my mind a couple times then I remember it's a sport. A weird, crazy sport. Why anyone would voluntarily do this is beyond me. Trent seems to like it though, so I guess I'll have to sit on the edge of my seat at all his matches because after all, that's what good mothers do.

Black Friday

When I lived in SoCal and Dalan's parents would come out to visit, Joan and I would always gather our bravery and venture out into the craziness that is Black Friday. Were we out of our minds, uh yeah. Lines wrapped around buildings, people were crazy trying to find that perfect gift and the great deal that goes with it. It really is quite a sight and just unbelieveable. So, this year was no different except minus Joan. I went up with Dalan's aunt and cousin. I got maybe an hour of sleep. We were up late that night. I woke up at 2:30 AM and we left at 3:30 AM to head up to Provo. Our first stop, Wal-Mart. We walked in and were in total awe. People were standing in the aisles with their hands on items. Apparently there are rules. We stood there and watched as an employee announced on the PA system they could now shop. Everything in that aisle disappeared and all we could do is stand there and laugh. It was pure craziness. We went to the toy department to see if I could find anything Kaela might like. She is keeping her Christmas list a secret this year. I found something and was carrying it through the store when a lady with a crazy look in her eye stopped me and asked, "Is the toy department open?" as she kept her hand on the sheets she was going to grab only because they are cheap but will probably never use. I told her, "Yeah, sure." I wasn't aware of any rules or anything and the toy department looked picked through anyway. I was done with that store the second we walked in. I walked out with two items, one of them being batteries.

Our next stop was the mall. It wasn't too busy. Everyone was at Wal-Mart and Best Buy. I bought a couple things for myself and a fun gift for someone else and then I was done. We went to eat breakfast, went to Sam's Club a 2nd time and then stopped at Dalan's sister, Kristy's, house. From there, we headed back to Delta. We were tired but my day didn't stop. We headed out to Dalan's mom's house and went bowling later that night. When I finally got to bed, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Even after all that, I'm ready to do it AGAIN next year. This time, I'm taking up a ton of money to spend on clothes...and shoes.