Yellow Wallpaper

This year I did not cook or eat any Thanksgiving food, and I find that I mostly haven't missed any of it. Well, except for pie. Many of my friends are posting about pie on social media and I would like to eat some. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of most Thanksgiving foods that I would only eat on the holiday (turkey, stuffing), or I eat those foods at other times already (rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy). This year the kids were with Mr. Fob, so my parents and I decided to eat out at a fancy restaurant. They had a Thanksgiving special with turkey, but I chose a pork chop with blackberry coulis and sweet potato puree. It was delicious. So was the chocolate creme brulee I had for dessert.  The kids came back Thursday night, so we hung out and watched a movie. Friday we met up with my brother at the Natural History Museum and spent the afternoon together, then went out for Indian food. On the way home, I convinced my parents to stop off at Ikea so they could...

I did this post ten years ago , and thought it would be fun to do again I am wearing khaki pants, a cream-colored shirt with navy stripes, and a red cardigan. I am reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Also trying to read the whole Book of Mormon before the end of the year. I am hearing the hum of the dishwasher and the washing machine. Learning all the time that I should be more thoughtful in my actions and not so quick to judge others. I am thankful for the great community that I live in. I am hoping that Little Dude gets better for tomorrow, and that if it's a stomach virus, the rest of us can avoid getting it. From the kitchen tonight came a crustless spinach quiche. It was really delicious. S-Boogie is on a limited chewing diet for a few weeks so we've been creative with healthy soft foods. Bringing beauty to my home by recently buying some new chairs for the living room. It's my first exper...

I've been a bit obsessed with Hamilton for the past month and I think I have most of the lyrics memorized. Don't be surprised if you see more posts with lyrics for titles--maybe someday I'll even write about my feelings and why I love the show so much. Mr. Fob's mom died three weeks ago. When people ask if it was expected or not, I'm never quite sure what to say. Everyone thought she'd be around much longer, since her mother just died five years ago and was in her nineties, and her grandmother lived to be a hundred. With that kind of longevity in the family, seventy-three feels kind of young. But, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last summer and the fact that she made it nearly a year after diagnosis is quite remarkable, especially without undergoing any treatment. She had also been fairly stable until about a month or so before she died, and then the decline was swift. I feel a little bad because I haven't been very involved during the last year-...

Remember how in February I really got into exercise and made some great progress? Well, then in March I totally fell off the wagon. I haven't exercised at all since then. School and work and everything just got overwhelming and I've been kind of down all month. I know that exercise would probably help with that feeling, and probably fix some of the sleep issues that have been creeping back into my life. I should try again to get back in the habit. Obviously I totally fell off the blogging bandwagon as well. Looking back over my calendar I don't see anything too out of the ordinary that would make this month feel so stressful. Well, actually I only really ended up with one kid-free weekend instead of my usual two. Out of the past five weekends, only one has been completely without the kids. This weekend they were mostly with Mr. Fob, but my dad came into town on Friday evening to watch S-Boogie's play, so yesterday I picked them up for lunch with their Grandpa and then...

I took the entire week of Christmas off for the first time since going back to work a few years ago.I had the vacation time saved up, the kids were off school, and vital computer systems were going to be unavailable at work, so it seemed like a good idea. While the week hasn't been as relaxing or productive as I (foolishly) thought it would be, it's still been a lot of fund. I'm glad I had the time to spend with my kids and family even though the time went by much too fast.  Last Sunday night S-Boogie went to spend the night with her cousin, and then spent most of Monday with her as well. I woke up on Monday morning feeling energized and spent a few hours cleaning the house. Little Dude and P. Bibby helped out for a while before I sent them downstairs to watch Dora so I could finish things up by myself. That afternoon Little Dude helped me shovel snow off the driveway and make some candy cane cookie s and a batch of Rolo turtles . It was a relaxing, fun day and a good way...

Another General Conference has come and gone. It seems like the older I get, the shorter the sessions seem to be. Conference weekend used to feel like the longest two days of the month and now it feels like the shortest. I watched all four sessions this time--something I haven't done in a while--though the amount of attention I paid to each varied.  The weekend actually started on Friday evening with a mission reunion. We attended the temple together with my mission president and his wife, then went back to their home for a dinner and a little gathering. Not many people attended this year; I think it wasn't well advertised and people are just getting older and moving on with their lives. I also didn't know most of the people who were there very well. It was still a good, uplifting experience for many reasons. I haven't been to the temple for a while and haven't seen the updated film--that was fun and interesting. It was also good to just get out and socialize, and...

I've been feeling a bit melancholy the last few days. It's the kind of thing where there isn't a logical explanation for it, and I've been having a lot of really great experiences too so there's not an obvious external cause. I think it's just a combination of the usual monthly hormonal fluctuations, the stresses of adjusting to a new job, and the fact that I have the hardest time making sleep a priority for myself (that's a constant theme here, isn't it?).  First of all, the new job is great. I felt like taking my last job didn't make a lot of sense logically, but it felt right. This job made much more sense for me logically, but I wasn't feeling a strong prompting about it like I did last time. However, since being in my new position for the last two weeks I have really come to see that this is a great job for me in many ways, and I have also seen the ways in which my previous job and other experiences have prepared me for it. The first littl...

Last weekend we went down to Vegas to visit my parents for a few days. The kids had Spring Break, and since I had to take time off work to be with them anyway I thought a trip would be fun. It mostly went well; we listened to a  Harry Potter audiobook during the drive that kept everyone entertained. The weather was warm and sunny, but not horribly hot yet. Spending a few days in the warm sunshine was great for everyone, though it made the cold and snow here in Utah a bit more unbearable after we got back. Since this is a good time of year for being outside there, we took advantage and spent a lot of time doing nature-related activities. One day we went to Springs Preserve and spent hours in the museum there learning all about the history and ecology of the desert. It was a lot of fun; the kids could have spent all day in the museum I'm sure. The next day we drove out to Red Rocks and spent time at the visitor center learning even more about the desert, then did some hiking and...

I didn't do a check-in post last Saturday because I was exhausted. Tomorrow my youngest brother leaves to go spend three years in Guam with the Navy, so last weekend we had a quick family-togetherness weekend. It even worked out that my second-youngest brother was passing through town on tour with his band so we all got to be together for a short while. Last Friday night I drove up to Salt Lake to watch them perform in a somewhat sketchy location (the music was great despite the surroundings). Then I got a very small amount of sleep and turned around to drive back up to Salt Lake in order for us to have a family breakfast together before he left to drive with his band to Boise. Then I spent the rest of the day preparing for the party we had last night to say goodbye to my little brother. The weekend was quite nice and everything went well, but there were a lot of things crammed into just a few days. I have also spent most of this week feeling exhausted and stressed out. I didn...

When I got home from my mission eleven years ago, everything I owned fit in a few suitcases and boxes. I had some books, clothes, pots and pans, a CD player, and other small things. I didn't own a car, a computer, or any furniture. When Mr. Fob and I got married shortly after that we moved into a one-bedroom apartment. We bought a loveseat at D.I., inherited a bed from family, and rented a kitchen table and chairs from the university. Now I live in a five-bedroom house and I own a car, a large amount of furniture, and even two refrigerators. There's a bedroom for each person in the family and one for guests. It's a bit ridiculous. I mostly enjoy my level of comfort and feel humbly blessed to have so much abundance, but sometimes I feel guilt at the high standard of living I enjoy compared to the rest of the world. Either way, I now have a lot of stuff. In addition to the stuff, I have a much more abundant life than I used to. I have three kids, three-hundred friends on Fa...

I've been working at my new job for two weeks and I've been meaning to write about it for at least a week. The truth is, I've had the time, I just haven't taken it. I've been trying to readjust my thinking and speaking to reflect the fact that most of the time when we say "I don't have the time for that", what we're really meaning is "I haven't made it a priority." Apparently wasting at least an hour each evening on reading internet articles is a priority of mine. I think I need to make some adjustments, because other things really should be on the top of my list. People keep asking how my new job is going, and the truth is that at this point it's hard to tell. I always have a hard time getting used to new things and new situations. It's not that I dislike my new job, not at all (and things like this are why I hesitate to write about my employment on the internet). In fact, the people I work with are great and I love my new ...

or, all the Facebook updates that I could have written, but I don't want to be one of those people that posts a million times a day about random things . This morning the kids were with their dad and I had plenty of time to get ready. But, we were still a little late to church. Oops. After the kids got here we decided to print off some of the activities from the new copy of the Friend magazine so we wouldn't have fights about who got to use it at church, and printing several different PDFs and needing to change the ink cartridge ending up taking a while. Oh well--everyone was entertained and happy at church. After the first prayer on the sacrament ended, P.Bibby excitedly said "I need to go to class!" and got ready to go. She was very, very sad when I told her it wasn't time yet, and we had to go out in the hall to calm down for a while. She really, really loves her nursery class (and her teachers are great) and I love the fact that she is so enthusiastic abo...

Last night I went to bed late, and then stayed up even later reading. The book wasn't even that good, but it was short-ish and I wanted to finish. When my alarm rang this morning I began to regret the fact that I had once thought getting Bountiful Baskets would be a good idea. However, I decided to get up and get moving. I started by going to pick up my produce. I am more than prepared for Thanksgiving next week. After I got home from picking up the produce I almost went back to bed. It's Saturday and the kids were at their dad's house until this afternoon. But I had made plans and I wanted to stick with them. I spent the morning cooking up a bunch of food to put in the freezer; I made chicken and wild rice soup; butternut squash soup; meatballs; and calico beans. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I only get to cook about half the days of the week and I have a few other things in the freezer. I took a break in the middle to run to Target for some groceries. Now I don...

Yesterday was my birthday, but the celebrating this year started on Saturday evening. Mr. Fob invited over some friends of ours and cooked us dinner: pasta with shrimp and some roasted vegetables. He also bought me one of my favorite birthday presents ever: a giant hunk of gourmet cheese from Costco and some crusty bread to go with it. After we let dinner settle, we played Settlers of Catan and tried some very tasty cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy (strawberry shortcake was my favorite). Then on Sunday we had family over to celebrate both my birthday and my sister-in-law's birthday, which happen to be the same day. Mr. Fob cooked French bread and lasagna, and other family members provided even more goodies for the meal. I received some very nice presents from everyone, including flowers, chocolates, kitchen items, and a new apron. Finally my 'real' birthday arrived yesterday mor ning. Mr. Fob's mother spent the night so she could babysit for us to have a breakfas...

If I had been blogging at 10 this morning I would have told you that my day so far had been fantastic. I got up and rode the exercise bike for a while, then helped the kids with breakfast, and started cleaning. I vacuumed the entire upstairs, did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and then swept and mopped the kitchen floor after the baby went to bed. Oh, and I make bread this morning. If I had been blogging at 2 this afternoon I would have told you about whiny the baby was. And I would have told you about how I gave in to Little Dude's pleading to make a volcano like the one in the Super Science Book . It's an extra special volcano where you add some red Jell-O powder to make it look cool. It was a lot of fun until I foolishly left the room for a few minutes to change the baby's diaper and came back to a giant puddle of sticky red gelatin-infused vinegar dripping all over my cabinets and freshly washed floor. If I had been blogging at 4 I would have shared my excitement ab...

So remember how I posted last weekend about how wonderful and happy my life was? This has been a rough week and I'm trying to find that happy place again. The real culprits have been my lack of sleep (and yes, I'm posting this at 11:15 when I should be in bed) and my stupid hormones which always make me morose and weepy for at least one week in every five. Sleep deprivation, cold weather, and PMS are not a good combination to have when you're hosting a family gathering. The truth is, Thanksgiving went really well. We managed to find a lovely new (to us) dining table just in time for the celebration, my little brother survived the blizzard in Seattle and made his flight here on time, my parents drove up safely, and all the food was tasty and prepared without mishap. But it's still been a rough week. We finally received some news about a long-lost family member; this is mostly happy, but the story is not finished yet and emotions have been pretty high all week. Then on Th...

Thanks for all the support on my whiny rant the other day. Teaching and everything else this new school year has really knocked my ego down a bit lately. After spending some time thinking about things I have come to be reminded (again) that it is good and necessary for our lives to get shaken up every so often in order to help us grow. I'd much rather have my current stresses than some of the ones I have experienced in the past. Nothing going on right now is really too unmanageable. It's just that the solutions tend to be things I dislike: prioritizing, cutting back on extra things, going to bed on-time, and focusing on the 'best' rather than the 'good' or 'better'. I hope that I can use this experience to polish off some of my rough edges. I've been avoiding posting for a few days in order to get in a better mood. Thursday wasn't any better than Wednesday was. I still felt awful from my cold and spent most of the busy day with a sinus headache....

I just had to show off this picture I took in Portland over the weekend. I think I might be getting some photography skills, especially when it comes to non-moving objects. The baby and I flew up to Portland to spend a weekend with my sister. My parents came up too, since she graduated this Tuesday with her bachelor's degree in nursing. She's been a nurse for a number of years, but only with a two-year degree. I know how much hard work it takes to go to school, especially while working full-time, and I am proud of her. I'm also glad that I don't have to attend any more graduation ceremonies for myself. It's nice to sit back, relax, and enjoy the accomplishments of others. It was a nice weekend. Both my flight up and my flight back were uncrowded, so I was able to bring the carseat onto the plane and enjoy a whole row to myself. That's the best way to travel with a baby. She hardly complained at all on either flight. And she was generally pretty happy most of t...

Yesterday was my birthday, and I discovered that the nice thing about a Sunday birthday is that you can spend Saturday celebrating too. The only not-so-nice thing is that staying out late on Saturday makes morning church painful. It was still a lovely weekend and now I just have to get used to the fact that I am thirty-two years old. Where does the time go? By the way, my first official date with Mr. Fob was on my birthday nine years ago. He brought me flowers and a book, and took me out to lunch. Nine years? Where does the time go? On Saturday we had hopes of sleeping in, but our lovely children decided to get up around 7:00. We let them watch TV for a bit while we ignored them. Then we all had breakfast together and spent some time cleaning the house. After that I decided to go get my hair cut since it had been a few months. As I was preparing to leave, our mail carrier stopped by with a package from my mom that included some birthday funds, so I took that with me to the mall and sto...

I can't manage to get my life in enough order to post every day, but I can at least run through this week's highlights -We've had many days of good weather and are absolutely loving the fact that we have a yard to work on. I say 'we', but really Mr. Fob has done most of the work in sprouting seeds, clearing the garden, and creating a compost pile. The kids also spend hours playing out in the back with mud, sticks, rocks, and bricks. -Several mornings this week I was able to get up and ride the exercise bike before kids woke up and needed my help. The baby almost always sleeps through the night, and if we get her down early enough she will wake up to nurse at 6 or 7 and then go back to sleep for a few more hours. I've learned that it's worth it to me to get up then and do some exercise and have a bit of 'me' time before the day gets crazy. She doesn't have a great schedule yet, but we're working on teaching her how to put herself to sleep and ...