Musical Thoughts: Dedicated to Grace Idaho Potato Crew of Days Gone By

For better of for worse, we had themes for potato harvest each year.  It was for the high school Harvester Crew which consisted of 3 sometimes 4 girls, our personalities, and a tape deck installed by none other than my dad because he was soooo cool!  Best. Boss. Ever.  (And I really mean that too!)

Don't judge me. I still love this song. I still sing it to my cousin who was on harvester crew with me. We sing it to each other. We know all the lyrics and it's filled with love. I know there were others, but I just don't think they held the place in our hearts like this one.

Weekly Review

This week I learned:

1.  Eliptical machines do not hurt my foot!

2.  It's been a long time since I've been on an eliptical.

3.  It takes longer than I remember to get over being sore from getting on a eliptical.

4.  No matter how good they are, I just can't eat tamales for every meal.

5.  On Wednesday I had breakfast three times, but no lunch or dinner.

6.  I mostly had breakfast for lunch because there was ham... I didn't get ham for breakfast breakfast and I wanted it desperately.

7.  Breakfast dinner was just because I didn't want a tamale.  I had cooked cereal instead.  Cracked wheat.  It reminded me of my Grandma Robbins.

8.  I remembered that I really do enjoy Sunday school sometimes... not always, but sometimes it's great.

9.  I also remembered that I like Relief Society too.  Yea, same as above, not always but usually.

10.  It is impossible to just eat one Pretzel M&M.

11.  Not everyone likes Spades.

12. That makes me sad, the not everyone liking Spades.

13.  Not all roasts are created equal... even in a crock pot.

14. Butter really does make everything better.

Have a marvelous week!

Random Thoughts

1.  Is it weird that David and I have different toothpaste? His makes me gag and mine makes him gag.

2.  "Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding." Sometimes I think these Billy Joel lyrics describe me perfectly.  Name that song.

3. I recently got a new shower curtain, proceeded to put it up with liner in and fabric out, got all the way finished and then saw the tag sticking out.  Yep, I put it up backwards.

4.  I actually thought about leaving it that way just because I didn't want to take the whole thing down and start over.

5.  Then I realized that if I didn't do it now, it would never get done.. and I mean never.  It would still be there if we moved away, the tag shining like a jewel... only dusty... and gross because I never took it down to wash it.

6.  Aren't you glad I took it down and did it right.

7.  David is I'm sure.

8.  It's difficult to cover white oil-based paint with blue acrylic paint.  And by difficult I mean nigh unto impossible.

9.  I think I'll have to sand it down and start over.  Only I won't.  I'll probably just cover it with paper.

10.  I filled my snack jar with Jolly Ranchers, lemon drops, cherry sours, and pretzel M&Ms.

11.  There are approximately 5 pretzel M&Ms left, and most of the others.

12.  I even buried them at the bottom thinking it would be a deterrent... not so.

13.  What's even sadder is that the rest had been there going on 2 weeks... the M&Ms for the weekend.

14.  Sigh.

15.  Last Sunday when I got up to lead the hymns in Sacrament meeting, the chair closed on the corner of my skirt and almost pulled it off as I moved to the music stand.

16.  If the chair had had a stronger hold and if I hadn't of had a long enough shirt... my underwear would have done all the talking for me.

17.  Then we would have had to move.

My best Saturday wishes for you all.

Can You Eat Your Facial Cleanser?

Seriously, how many of you can benefit from facial cleanliness and eat it too?

K, I would never on purpose eat facial cleanser, but while I was in the shower today, I tried a new product that was given to me by Tawnya for my birthday. Burt's Bees Orange facial cleanser. It's an all natural thing not tested on animals and all that jazz. So there I was, shampoo in my hair waiting to be rinsed while I did step 2 of the routine and put cleanser on my face. I followed the directions and massaged it into my skin so it's magic powers could wipe away the impurities of life embedded deeply in my skin. I moved on to step 3, the hair rinse when the dreaded happened.

An errant drop of water found it's to my cheek and casually worked it's way down to my lip. I could feel it creeping along in it's journey. I took immediate action and pressed my lips together so the dreaded concoction wouldn't make it into my mouth, you all know how badly soap of any kind tastes. Too late. I licked my lips just a little to verify. I expected my gag reflex to kick in next but what to my wondering tongue should, um, appear? The refreshing taste of sweet orange! Delightful! And completely bio-friendly.

Oh Burt's Bees products, where were you when I needed you! Oh how marvelously handy you would have been in the hippy infested waters of Strawberry Hot Springs (that's in Colorado in case you were wondering.). Communal bathing after hours would have been a tad more appealing if only nature friendly products would have been stashed in my bag.

Okay, I would never but it really would have fit the experience perfectly. After hours clothing was optional. I vow to NEVER stay after hours. Ewwwww.

Chew on that.

When did this happen?

When did I turn so cynical? So full of the "reality" of life that I pick things apart.

Let me start from the beginning. I just finished reading Stephanie Meyer's "The Host". I'm pretty sure that I won't spoil anything for anyone because if you've been sucked into the "Twilight" series then you already know she has an affinity for happy endings. This is where my cynicism comes in.

After finishing "The Host" and I must say I really did enjoy the read. It was much more adult than her other books and I found myself sucked into the characters whether I wanted to be or not. The main character, Wanda, was definitely a Meyer's character though. Impossibly good and self-sacrificing but it's okay because she's from a different planet, not subject to human foibles, and therefore easier to swallow. Naturally there was the love interest because you have to have it. Isn't our ability to love and hate with equal fervor so very human?

K, on with my internal struggle. As I read praise for the book consisting of such phrases as "no matter how much pain her characters suffer, Meyer infuses the tales with light and hope," I found myself rolling my eyes if not outward at least in my head. Then it hit me... what happened to me? When did I start becoming this cynical person that thinks light and hope in literature is unrealistic. Why shouldn't we have hope? Why shouldn't we write stories that actually do have a happy ending without being a fairy tale? Just what's wrong with having your cake and eating it too? Then I had to ask myself... do I really think this way or am I being altogether too hard on Ms. Meyer because I was so utterly disappointed in the ending of the Twilight series... hmmm.

So, here's to hope. Turning the page, starting anew with a brighter outlook, less cynicism, more hope in the reality of a new and beautiful day. May it lace your thoughts with beauty and not be too cheesy in literature.

6 Signs of a Successful Sick Day

1. Your bed remains unmade for the duration

2. You are still in your pajamas when your husband gets home

3. The hair has remained uncombed throughout the day

4. A minimum of 4 hours of TV has been watched and/or slept through

5. The dishes are still dirty

6. The will to live returns by the end of the regular work day