Visine to the rescue?

Just a short piece of advice: Make sure you're awake before you try to put Visine in your eyes. One day last week I woke up feeling less than refreshed. Actually that happens all the time, but on this particular morning I had been up all night dealing with my daughters' tonsillectomy. I looked in the mirror with barely opened eyes but could see and feel the evidence of the nights’ battle. I grabbed the half empty bottle of Visine I keep in my bathroom drawer and instead of providing relief to my situation, I poked myself in the eye with it, adding insult to injury. I wanted to crawl back in bed but that’s never an option.

Sometimes it’s the irony of my life that keeps me going, just to see what will happen next, and a Diet Coke always helps too.

When teenagers still need their mom

My teenage girls are probably like everbody else's; they never need my help until their bent over a toilet throwing up. Then they can scream "Mom" like you've never heard it before. After all, they don't want to clean it up. Last night Abby was in that situation and all I could really do for her was hold her hair back and take off her glasses.

They need me for money too. Like last night when Katie ask for $3. It wasn't much so I said sure and wasn't even going to ask why. But then something told me to ask. You should have seen her face. She sheepishly said she had to go to attendance school because she has too many tardies in first period. What?!! She knew I would scream. I told her the first day she started driving to school, and everyday thereafter, that she had to leave the house by 7:20 to find a parking spot, walk all the way in and then to class in order to be on time. But she doesn't need my advice, just my money.

They also don't need your help or advice until their room is so deep they can't find something really important or they need something to wear.

The list could go on and on. I just hope at some point in life my girls realize just how much they really need me, in good times and bad, and then aren't afraid to ask.

Always look on the clearance rack!

CLEARANCE RACK tip of the day

I love to buy clothes. But what I love more is to find a bargain when I buy clothes, and I always do. In fact, I rarely buy anything that isn’t on a clearance rack or at least on sale. I always start at the clearance rack, aisle or shelves in any store I go in, even if I’m looking for household items or toys. My best finds have been at Target and Kohl’s. I already know what I like and what I look best in so I can go through a rack pretty fast. It helps too if you’re willing to make a few simple adjustments to the piece of clothing, if needed. Since my birthday is in November, I do quite a bit of shopping between then and Christmas, and I always spend a few minutes at the clearance rack. I’ve added some pictures of outfits that were made up of completely clearance or sale items. My latest finds are the shirts, all of which were under $10 and most were around seven. These were found at Rue 21, Old Navy, Target and Kohl’s. I usually have a t-shirt to put under them, if needed, and a couple of $10 cardigans in different colors to go over them. Don’t forget to look for clearance jewelry and shoes too!


Blue Dress - Downeast $17

Black jacket - Kohl's $12.49 plus a 15% off coupon, Black capris - Downeast $4, Shoes - Payless $6

Black w/pink floral skirt - Walmart $7, Black sweater - JC Penney $5, Cream heels- Target $7

Boyfriend Jean - Kohl's $8, Plaid shirt - JC Penney $3.49 with a $10 cash promo

The cake pop experiment

COOKING tip of the day

Since the latest craze is cake pops, my girls gave me a Bake Pop pan for Christmas. They wanted to get involved in the trend. Well, they wanted me to get involved so they could eat them. After a couple of hours of hard work I ended up with 18 brownie pops that still had to be glazed and decorated. Next time I won’t make the brownie version since it required filling the pan with batter by using a squeeze tube and hoping that I had filled it half-way without being able to see through the pan. My squeeze tube consisted of a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off. And I over-filled them so brownie spilled out the hole in the top as they baked. If you make them using cake batter you only have to fill the bottom half of the pan. The brownies were difficult to remove even though I had gone to the trouble of greasing and flouring both sides of the Bake Pop pan. Since it was late by the time I got to that point, I put the pops in the freezer and pulled them out today to decorate. This step is just as much work as baking them. You have to melt chocolate and then work fast to dip them and sprinkle them. It was recommended that you have a piece of Styrofoam to stand them up in. But I didn’t, of course. So I improvised with a shoe box with holes punched in the top, as you can see in the picture. It didn’t work out as well, but still got the job done, which is all I was hoping for at that point. I hope they taste like they took four hours to make! I'll find out as soon as I wash one down with a Diet Coke.

Other versions of cake pops just use a baked cake crumbled and mixed with frosting and then rolled into balls; much easier. But we made Oreo balls at Christmas and those don’t even require baking and they taste the best.

No pain, no gain.

EXERCISE tip of the day

Try something new every week to keep your body challenged and changing. This week I did some abdominal exercises that I’m still feeling. And I love it when you feel it working the next day or two because you know you challenged that body part hard enough to make it respond. You want your body to respond and make changes for the better.

The exercises were simple but effective. All you need are two pieces of felt (fabric) and your body weight. Do this exercise on a hardwood floor or other slippery surface. (I used the plastic mat under my office chair. Just move the chair.) Place a piece of felt under the toes of each foot (shoes on) and then get in plank position on your elbows. Pull your right foot in to your chest and back out and repeat with your left foot. Continue for one minute or as long as you can. You’ll build up your endurance over time.

The other move is in the same position but works your obliques. Pull both feet to your chest as you twist your knees to one side. Slide your feet back out to plank position. Repeat on the other side. Continue for one minute.

It ABsolutely works!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

CLEARANCE RACK tip of the day

I’ve always felt some entrepreneurial urge inside of me and this Christmas I finally let it out. After seeing so many news stories about the increasing interest in ugly Christmas sweaters, I decided to make a few and see if I could sell them on KSL. I finished two and posted them on the website at 9 o’clock one night. At 9:30 I had someone call and want to buy them both. That was all the encouragement I needed. For the next two weeks I spent time searching for plain red or green sweaters at Savers and the D.I. and embellishing them with things I already had or items I purchased at the Dollar Store. As I finished them I posted them on KSL and they kept selling for $20 each. I made and sold twelve in all but the last five I sold to a guy a few days before Christmas for $50 for all five. I just wanted to get rid of them at that point. The entrepreneur in me was ready to move on to something else.

I'm losing my mind.

This morning I spent time on my hair. It was a good hair day. Then I realized it was snowing/raining outside. What a waste of time, especially since I have to trudge around campus in the rain and snow and wind.

I decided I would wear boots, so I planned an outfit around my gray boots and got dressed. Then I found out at the last minute that my gray boots must have walked out the door on Abby or Katie’s feet because I couldn’t find them anywhere. I wanted to scream. So I had to change my outfit.

I still had to run to Walmart for donuts and jelly beans for Tyler’s class party so now I was running behind schedule. And I needed to eat before I went to school or else I wouldn’t be able to eat until after 3:30.

I was in and out of Walmart in a hurry but then I took the groceries out to the car and realized I had forgotten to pay for a package of knives. I screamed and ran back in, all the while fighting with a stupid umbrella to try to save my good hair. I paid for the knives in a self-checkout that only took debit cards. So I decided to get cash back with my dollar purchase. I was really getting stressed now.

I struggled with the machine for a minute, of course, grabbed my cash back, and ran out. I stopped at Mcdonalds inside Walmart for a fruit and yogurt parfait because I felt another scream coming on.

Fighting with the umbrella again I ran to the car and hurried home. I started throwing 16 jelly beans into each Ziploc bag for the bingo markers for the party. Then I realized I was out of jelly beans and need two more bags! Another scream.

Then I thought, “Where did I put those knives?” “I could really use one to slit my wrist right now.” And that’s when I realized I had left the knives that I went back in to pay for, in the bag at the self-checkout! Of course I screamed.

I inhaled a few of the deformed jelly beans that I didn’t want to use to keep me from a complete meltdown and then ran upstairs to get my rings that I had left in the ring cleaner. As I grabbed the rings the whole thing of ring cleaner spilled out. “Seriously?” I thought. I convinced myself not to crawl back into bed right then, ran downstairs, grabbed a Diet Coke and went to school, afraid of what the rest of the day would bring.

Bacon and Tomato Sandwich

(I'm posting this a few months late. I just haven't had time to write it down.)

I was driving down I-15 home from school one day when I realized it was September and I had not eaten a bacon and tomato sandwich yet. Summer was over, gone. What had I done?! How did I let that happen?!

I had grown up eating bacon and tomato sandwiches my whole life. My dad’s garden was always overflowing with fresh, ripe tomatoes and the refrigerator was never short on bacon. Was I so busy during the summer that I never thought about enjoying warm tomatoes off the vine with crispy bacon on toasted bread smeared with Miracle Whip? My mouth is watering just thinking about it. But, yes, I was too busy, among other things.

I was taking four classes and juggling four kids and a dozen or so neighbor kids on a daily basis. But that couldn’t be the only reason. Another reason was that my own tomatoes had disappointed me. They never produced, anything, ever. I don’t know what went wrong with my own tomatoes but that was no excuse. My dad lives a mile away and had a garden full at all times. I often brought some home to my house. There had to be another reason for the lapse in memory. Then I realized I never bought bacon. Bacon is not something we eat on a regular basis. It’s a special occasion treat for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas morning. But a bacon and tomato sandwich in the summertime is a special occasion! What was I thinking? Or not thinking?

To let the summer come and go without eating at least a dozen was a tragedy, but I hadn’t even had one! I was determined to go home and have a B&T sandwich for lunch even though it was September. But by the time I arrived home my thoughts had moved on to other issues. Not more important ones I’m sure. And I didn’t have any bacon or tomatoes either, so that made it difficult. I had to give up the dream of eating a deliciously fresh bacon and tomato sandwich until next summer. But I vow not to let this happen again.

Special K

Sometimes it’s the little things in life that really make a difference. Like today when I opened a new box of Special K Almond. It’s my favorite. I eat it every morning and sometimes again at night. But today when I opened it I got a special surprise. No, it didn’t have a toy, or a coupon. It had extra almonds! Usually when I open a new box I have to dig for almonds that have settled at the bottom. But today they just poured out right from the top. I could see them everywhere. It made me feel really lucky, like I got the special box or maybe it was the batch they messed up on but still, I got it.

Another little thing that makes a big difference is the little bit of caramel and whip cream I added to my cookie dough ice cream last night. I don’t do that every night, but when I do it makes me happy. And I can’t forget the first gulp of an ice cold, almost frosty Diet Coke. That brings me joy too. Yes, I realize I find too much happiness in food but that’s why I keep running. Life is short. Find happiness in the little things.

Computer Wiz

I’m finally starting to feel like my computer skills are improving! I’m certainly no Bill Gates, and Katie still knows more than I do, but I’m learning and I’m feeling proud. I’ve been figuring out how to save things in different ways and in different places and how to retrieve those things. After a couple of failed attempts and a scolding from my computer, I even learned how to “safely” remove the flash drive. Yesterday I had to do a layout for the front page of a newspaper, on a Mac. It took me two hours but I finished it. Well, I helped with it. One of the school newspaper designers had to step in and help before I burst into tears, but still, I saved her work and sent the assignment in. I get some of the credit. Now hopefully I’ll be able to post this blog without cussing or my ego will be crushed.

...Twenty minutes later... I finally got this stupid thing posted. Now I'm totally frustrated. That's what I get for being proud. Who knew you had to use control "V" to paste?! That makes so much sense, doesn't it? Live and learn and try not to lose your mind.

New computer skills

I’m finally starting to feel like my computer skills are improving! I’m certainly no Bill Gates, and Katie still knows more than I do, but I’m learning and I’m feeling proud. I’ve been figuring out how to save things in different ways and in different places and how to retrieve those things. After a couple of failed attempts and a scolding from my computer, I even learned how to “safely” remove the flash drive. Yesterday I had to do a layout for the front page of a newspaper, on a Mac. It took me two hours but I finished it. One of the school newspaper designers had to step in and help before I burst into tears, but still, I saved her work and sent the assignment in. I get some of the credit. Now hopefully I’ll be able to post this blog without cussing or my ego will be crushed.

p.s. I’m now realizing, more than a year later,that I never did post this blog because I did have trouble when I tried to do it. How ironic!

Boob on the loose!

I consider myself a pro-breast feeder. Not that I'm a pro at it, but I'm in favor of it, not against it. Well, now that I don't have to worry about doing it anymore I'm for it. It never was my favorite pastime but I did it long enough to say I did it. That being said, I'm not now, nor was I ever, someone who liked to see people breast feed in public. I couldn't do it in public. It's a very private act in my book. Maybe because it was also a two-handed job when I did it, unlike the girl at UVU today who was breastfeeding as she walked down the hall not using any hands at all! I was walking toward her as I realized I was seeing her entire left breast, except for the nipple which was being used at the moment by her baby who was hanging in one of those front carriers. I'm not exaggerating any of this. There was no blanket in sight. She was very comfortable with the whole situation as was her husband, I assume, who was walking next to her. The rest of the student body, however, is still in shock tonight and wondering if we're living in South America. I'll be looking for an article in the school newspaper soon. I'll probably write it myself.

All this trouble over a slice of ham!

I was late for school today. Actually I never made it to my first class because I got to the parking lot at 9 am and drove around and around trying to get a spot for 25 minutes. I finally left and went to visit Charles at work. Anyway, that's not what this blog is about. Although I could write a seperate blog about the parking situation at UVU, I don't want to waste any more time on it. I got to the parking lot late because of the ham slice on the lunch menu at Lehi Elementary.

I told Tyler he could eat in the lunchroom at school today becauseI didn't have time to make him a lunch and because they were having french toast and a strawberry cup. French toast is great, I thought. He likes french toast! It would be a great change from the slice of bologna that he takes every other day. However, along with the french toast comes a slice of ham and a hasbrown pattie. This is where the trouble began. Most of us would love to get a slice of ham and hashbrowns with our french toast. But not Tyler. The addition of these two items caused him to go into melt-down mode before he left for school because he knew he wouldn't eat them and that the lunch room aide would make him eat it before he left for recess. Jacob and Abby told me the hashbrown was optional. You don't have to take it. But the ham slice comes on your tray. I really wanted him to eat the school lunch so I told him I would write a note to the teacher asking her to not make him eat the ham slice.

The note said, "Mrs. Ash, Tyler needs to eat in the lunchroom today but he is stressed out about eating the ham slice. He won't eat ham. I'm not sure what to do about the situation but could you help me? Forcing him to eat the ham will cause a melt-down. Thanks, Paula." I put the note in his folder and ran out the door hoping I didn't get a call from the school at lunch time telling me Tyler was in lock-up or melt-down mode for not eating his ham slice. Most mothers probably didn't have to worry that much this morning about a slice of ham and I'm sure no other UVU student had to worry about it. I came home from school to see the following e-mail from Mrs. Ash:

"I talked briefly to Tyler about lunch today....I think he wil be ok. I told him its ok if he does not eat his ham and that I will tell Mrs. Hobbs that its ok if he does not eat all his lunch. He is doing really well in class. He seems to enjoy it and participates very well. Hope he has good reports about school. He is a great boy and a good student. I enjoy him. Have a great day and hopefully I will see you tonight at Back-to-school.... Mrs. Ash"

I just found out from Tyler that the strawberries only came with the grilled cheese selection! So I paid $1.50 for one slice of french toast! That's all he got. He didn't bother to get any fruit from the serve-yourself options. I could have avoided all the trouble and been on time for my class if I would have just thrown a slice of bologna in a sack this morning and called it good.

My sense of place comes from being born and raised in Lehi. But the Lehi I grew up in is very different from the way Lehi is now. I long for things to be the way they were then. Fewer people, fewer cars on the road, fewer roads, and no stop lights. My friends and I could walk to each others' houses at night with no fear of anything bad happening. We never locked our doors. You could stop in the street and talk to the car next to you without anyone honking and making you move. We "cruised" main street on the weekends with the rest of the high school. We knew everyone and everyone knew whose daughter I was. Life was simpler.

I'm raising my kids in Lehi but I wish they could experience it the way I did. But we have somehow managed to maintain our Lehi pride, yearly traditions and celebrations regardless of the amount of growth, and luckily, I can still go to the home I grew up in and feel that "sense of place" that made me who I am today.

This crazy weather makes me drink!

One of the reasons I started a blog was to get more experience writing. But when you only write once every 6 months the experience doesn't add up very fast. My life has been too busy to actually write about the craziness that ensues when you try to be a mom to 4 busy kids, a wife to the Bishop, the PTA President, a Cubmaster, a part-time janitor, and a full-time college student. Obviously something's not getting 100% of me, I don't want to say what.

What really prompted me to write tonight was the fact that I was drinking hot chocolate on May 21, 2010. What is happening with the weather here in nothern Utah? Earlier today we enjoyed a successful and warm Field Day at the elementary. The sun was actually shining. It's a rare thing but when it happens it feels so good, I actually smiled. But now it might as well be snowing and I might as well be crying. It's so depressing that I'd have a Diet Coke to make myself feel better if it wasn't 11:00 at night and freezing cold outside.

As I left the elementary today all I could think of was how much I needed a Diet Coke. It's Healthy Lifestyles week at school. I know that contradicts everything Diet Coke is, but after herding 500 kids around in the gym, explaining my Food Guide Pyramid game to them over and over, dodging flying hoola-hoops, yelling at the top of my lungs for them to not forget their coats and to listen for their bell, I needed a Diet Coke. I feel like it does provide me with the the daily allowance needed for sanity. There should definitely be a food group in its honor.

It's never "just" a Diet Coke

I've realized that if I could give up my daily Diet Coke addiction I would probably lose 5 lbs. pretty quickly. Not just because the caffeine keeps you from losing weight but because it's never "just" a Diet Coke. It's always a Diet Coke and a cookie (or two) or piece of cake or whatever morsel of chocolate happens to be lying around. They just go together. Today it was Wacky Cake. Yum. Sometimes I have to resort to chocolate chips. Whatever works. A Diet Coke and carrot sticks just doesn't do it for me for some reason. Oh well, I'll just keep running because I know, no matter how much I think about cutting back, it won't happen.

The original purpose for creating my blog was to post an extra-credit assignment for a class I had at UVU. Of course Charles had to actually create the blog for me. I had no idea how to do that and I still don't. I could barely manage to figure out how to get in here today to post again. I also figured out how to delete the exta-credit paper from my blog, finally, and that is why I need a Diet Coke today. I guess the idea behind the "I need a Diet Coke" blog is to vent my daily frustrations that cause me to drink - Diet Coke. When I was the R.S. Pres. I remember the Bishop told me I needed to drink something harder or add something to it.

Now that I have a lap top I really have no excuse for not getting on here every day to post. But having to use our old computer is one of the reasons I needed a drink every day. The frustration that it caused me made me crazy, thus leading to the drink. Anyway, with school starting again tomorrow and my PTA break over, I'm sure I'll have other reasons for my daily Diet Coke indulgence. I'm making a resolution now to do more to make this a successful blog this year. I'll be starting another blog as well regarding life as a Bishop's wife. It's directly tied to one of the many reasons I need a Diet Coke, however, I feel like I should keep it seperate because of the caffeine. Ha Ha. I'll keep you posted on when I get that up and going (as soon as Charles has time to do it) because I want to get feedback from other Bishops' wives. I'd like to put a book together someday. That's all for now. I need to finish my Diet Coke before it gets warm.

I Need a Diet Coke

I'll explain later.