mis·cal·cu·late.

To calculate or judge incorrectly.

 

Here is a picture of

our leftover Halloween candy

 

Guess how many Trick-or-Treaters we had?

ZERO

:(

Lesson learned.

*What happened to good, old fashion, door to door, trick or treating?

I want it back.

ob·ses·sion.

the domination of one's thoughts or feelings

 by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

Have you seen these new drinks?

When I saw them at my local grocery store of choice,

I simply had to have one.

Actually two.

I am utterly obsessed.

They only have 35 calories per bottle.

There is a different drink for every situation.

They are good-for-you-drinks that acutally taste good.

The other drinks are called:

NeuroSonic

NeuroGasm

(yes...it is for exactly that)

NeuroTrim

NeuroSleep

NeuroAqua

NeuroSport

I must try them all ASAP

Read more about them here.

You can thank me later.

xoxo 

ex·traor·di·nar·y.

beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established

exceptional in character

remarkable; rare.

I need to tell you about a boy.
A boy named Josh.
But this isn't my Josh.
Not even my brother-in-law Josh.
This Josh is young.
Red-headed and freckled.
This boy is Little Josh from our Sunday school class.
Like my Josh, he is smart / funny / cool.
He just turned 12 but I swear his mind is much older.
I didn't know I could love a kid
that was a stranger to me a few weeks earlier.
A stranger who drove me batty.
Our first time teaching the class
Little Josh was being crazy.
Out of control crazy.
He wouldn't sit still, wouldn't stop asking about candy.
I was annoyed with him. 
I wanted to throw the candy at him.
Piece by piece.
I am completely unfamiliar with 11 and 12 year olds.
I don't know how to handle them.
Little Josh talked over everyone.
He wasn't listening to my Josh and that irritated me.
Frustrated me.
But then...Out of nowhere, he raised his hand.
The class went quiet.
I was taken aback.
My Josh called on him...


My Josh: Yes, Josh?

Little J: Are you The Ultimate Ninja Warrior?

(Josh and I looked at each other with surprise and excitement as grins crept onto our faces)

My Josh: Yes. Yes, I believe I am.


I was insanely jealous.
Little Josh just titled my Josh
The Ultimate Ninja Warrior.
I can't think of something cooler than that.
That is when I knew...
When I knew that Little Josh was special.
That is when he became my favorite.
...I mean I don't have favorites.

And guess what?
I think the Big Man did that for me.
He knew I was feeling irked by Little Josh.
So He helped me out.
He showed me that I needed to change my attitude.
So I changed it right away.
I started to appreciate Little Josh and love him.
And over the next couple weeks a crazy thing happened...
Little Josh turned into the best boy in the class.
And I turned into someone I never thought I'd be.
Never wanted to be.
I am the teacher who wants to get up in Sacrament
and tell everyone how much I love my calling and my kids.
I want to cry when I think about not having them next year.
I love them like family.
I want to hug them and hang out with them.
I want them to like me.
I am completely unfamiliar with these feelings.
And I don't know how to handle them.  

ne·ces·si·ty.

an imperative requirement

 or need for something

Don't you agree that I need this shirt?

I don't even think it is cute

But I love Operation Beautiful

Ninjas, and lime green.

Purple use to be my favorite color too.

But guess what?

It isn't for sale.

 I could have won it, but I missed my chance.

I never win things.

What am I to do?



fun·ny·man.

a comedian or humorist.

Mr. Spencer Farley turns 18 today

However--I do not believe he is an "adult"

Mostly because I looked through the pictures

I have of him on my phone...and well...

You can see for yourself:

BANANA BABY

"Spencer's first banana"

Kristi (mom) captured the important moments, didn't she?

I almost wet myself when I first saw this picture

Spencer asked me to take this picture of him

while we were at Barnes and Noble one day

?

Post Op

 :)

Ah... the drugs...

*I know the picture quality isn't great. I am sorry.

**Regardless of the way these pictures depict him,

Spencer is really cute, really tall,

 really funny, really smart,

 and really SINGLE.

Tell your sisters.

Happy 18th Birthday Spencer! 

Bunco.

A social dice game.

As mentioned in my previous post
I hosted Bunco this month
And apparently I'm the only one
Who does a blog post about Bunco?
But hey...We were dressed up
And I love my friends
...Most of them anyway
J/K Kate, I love you too.

We had dinner in a pumpkin with bread sticks

and um...some of us had broccoli too.

There is a nation-wide shortage on broccoli haven't you heard?

I had to pull some strings to get the
amount of broccoli that I had okay people?

 Be thankful.

Indoor S'mores.

My favorite.

The. Costumes.

Snapped while we were getting ready...

Is it hard to tell who we are?

I don't care if you dress up in the same costume

Every Halloween for the rest of your life.

This. Is. The. Bomb.

This pose is the second-best thing

that happened to me that night.

Yeah.

 They have babies in their tummies.

Both boys.

 In case you are curious.

Very timely costume Brooke

You know...with the release of Toy Story 3

Love it

She is posing as she imagines Satan himself would pose

Not trying to push one out... I assure you...

We can and we do

So were you guys plain (but sparkly) fairies?

I swear someone was calling Tawni Tropical?



This picture makes me feel funny inside.

I don't know why.

I just speak the truth...



And of course...the group photo

Special thanks to Mandie the photographer who didn't dress up.

Lame.

Starting at the top left we have:

Mr. Kool Aid, Ecuador Soccer Stud, Grandma, Pumpkin,

 mad scientist, Polygamist, Devil,

Bottom left: Tropical fairy?, Fairy-fairy, We Can Do It Girl, Jessie

Halloween is fun

So are my friends

xoxo

price·less.

having a value beyond all price; invaluable

delightfully amusing or absurd

I hosted our Halloween-costume Bunco party this past week

And I was reminded why I love my friend Brittany

I mean yes, she is my friend and has a lot of amazing qualities

And these qualities place her in my circle of CLOSE friends

One of my favorite things about her is how absent-minded she can be--I cannot begin to explain
 the depth of her absent-mindedness

But I feel this story will give you an idea...

Since she had never before been to my place, we were on the phone

discussing how to get to my house

I waved to her from my back deck and told her

to come around to the front door

Moments later Critta comes rushing in the front door

with a look of worry on her face

She says, "I just walked into your neighbor's house."

S and company: What! You walked in??? (laughing our...butts off)

B: Yes...I walked right in the front door

S and company: (laughing) What happened!?!

 B: There was a bald guy holding a baby.

He just stared at me.

When I started talking he gave me a really funny look.

  Then his wife came around the corner.

 I was so flustered and embarrassed I wasn't making sense.

 I was asking where Shanae and Josh lived.

The husband had no clue

but the wife told me you guys were just next door.

 I apologized and got out of there.

If you know Brittany, then this story is that much better

I laughed myself to tears.

The best part is...she was dressed like this:

Since my neighbors had no clue

 what was going on at my house that night

I can't image what they were thinking

 when she showed up in their front room

She really could have passed for a grandma...

until she started talking--her young voice must have confused

my nice / new / friendly neighbors

who will probably start locking their front door

I love you Brittany

Thank you so much for being in my life

for so many years

You have made the ride much more enjoyable

xoxo

stay tuned for more bunco pictures

wel·come.

a kindly greeting or reception,

 as to one whose arrival gives pleasure

What do we have here?

I spy a pretty avid Cougar fan finally coming into the light

She is sad because I told her she couldn't keep the blanket...

Doesn't it feel good

To have Max Hall hate you?

Welcome, Kaley. Stay awhile.

xoxo

la·zy.

averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion;

 indolent.

I put my shopping cart away

EVERY single time I use one

Because I don't enjoy dings all over my vehicle

And I bet my fellow shoppers don't either

I guess you could say that I observe

Shopping-Cart-Etiquette

Plus--I am never scared to burn the extra calorie and a half

That it takes to walk part way across the parking lot

Can't we all adopt this mentality?

a·miss.

out of the right or proper course, order, or condition;

 improperly, wrongly, astray.

Have you ever had one of those days where something is wrong

You can feel it within the center of your being

You are upset but you cannot remember why

You think about other things but you always find yourself

focused back on the feeling that

Something is off

...But what is it?

You start going over every aspect of your life:

Things with the husband are great

Everything is good with the family

Nothing is different with friends

You are on top of your church callings

You have paid all of the bills on time

The house is in order

You are keeping up with your school work...

...Then it hits you...

You remember exactly what is giving you those

uncomfortable, discontent feelings--

The thing that is making you feel uneasy

about life as a whole

And upon remembering, you realize that

These feelings you are having are justified

Yes.

 Once you can place the feelings

You remember why they are

kicking and biting your conscience...

Today is one of those days for me

Yesterday was too

And everyday from here on will be one of those days

until I  resolve / deal with / conquer

my "thing"