Tag-a-long

Another day, another tag. At least for my week of tags this week. This is actually a tag I received from my sister Kayli. I'm passing it on to everyone else.

Jobs I've held...babysitter, vegetable farm worker, Dairy Queen worker, survey caller, waitress (for one day), library page, CNA, LPN, RN (Rehab, long term care, Ortho, Neuro, Childbirth Center, Med/Surg), mom
Movies I can watch over and over... The Mummy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jane Erye (AE version), the Bourne movies, The Fugitive, Dead Poet's Society, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, LOTR, and Spanglish. And anything with Antonio Banderas (sorry honey!)
My guilty pleasures... reading, sleeping in, eating lots of chocolate and ice cream (although I don't feel very guilty about that) (Funny how I didn't have to alter this at all from my sister's answer.)
Places I've Lived...Rosemary AB (Canada), Cardston AB (Canada), Leavitt AB (Canada), Provo UT, Cold Springs KY, Alexandria KY, Layton UT, Willard UT, Ogden UT, Des Lacs ND, Minot ND, Logan UT, Gilbert AZ, Mesa AZ, Sanford FL, Farmington NM, Mt. Prospect IL
Shows I enjoy... Scrubs, Are You Being Served?, Mr. Bean, Malcolm in the Middle, Mythbusters
What were the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?... He seemed nice and a little shy and cute too.
Places I've been on vacation... California, Canada, Utah, Florida, Hawaii, Arizona,
Favorite Foods... ice cream, chocolate, chocolate truffles, hummus and pitas from Haji Baba's, Sushi, pretty much anything from Haji Baba's, steak cooked just right (medium rare) with A1 sauce, Crab legs, mangoes (although if I'm not careful they make my lips swell and break out in a rash.)
Websites I visit daily... yahoo mail, myfamily.com, blogs
Body parts I have injured... My brothers and brother-in-law broke my nose, I injured my shoulder at work lifting people as a CNA-still have trouble with it, burnt my fingers many a time, and once I partially burned off my eyelashes (all in the name of art), multiple scrapes and cuts--nothing major
Awards I have won... Camp Sweetheart at girl's camp, several scholarships, community service award in HS with scholarship, umm, I also won "Firebug" or variations of that almost every year at girl's camp (hey, unlike SOME siblings, I never burnt down any building), Kiwanis honorary student of the month (Or Rotary Club, something like that anyway). Several art awards in the state fair in ND and UT and other school art competitions.
Nicknames I've been called... Kam, Kammers, Kamwa, Kami Sue-Sue

The awards section made me remember, my AWESOME friend Jennie from high school, decided to send me a wedding present, and I'm SOOOO glad she chose now to do it (almost four years late- Hee. Hee.) because she sent me the awesomest, most amazingly cool, and stellar gift ever. A year membership to the Art Institute of Chicago!!!!!!! YIPPEEE!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! I can't wait to go! I plan on going lots and lots. And if anyone wants to come visit me, feel free, then we could go together, because I get to bring one person along for free as part of the membership and children under 12 are free too!!!!

Personality

Elena and I were asleep in the picture; Leo thought it was funny that Elena was almost sliding off, so he snapped a photo and then moved Elena where she wouldn't fall.

My friend Hanah posted this personality test on her blog, so I took it and made Leo take it too. They're always fun, right? And it's actually a shortened version of a well known test, the 16 MBTI Types. My sister had me take this test when I was in 7th grade and she was in some psychology classes in college. Here's a link to the MBTI Types homepage. And this is the results of my quiz.

You Are An ISTP

The Mechanic You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations.A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent.To outsiders you seem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable.You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people. In love, you tend to be very easy going and flexible.The only thing you can't stand for is someone trying to change you or your life. At work, you can stay completely calm under pressure. You handle stress well.You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete. How you see yourself: Logical, flexible, and unconventional When other people don't get you, they see you as: Indecisive, flippant, and disrespectful

What's" Your Personality Type?

I thought it was interesting because whenever I've taken this particular personality test before, I've always been an INTP. Which is briefly described as this:
INTP
Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.

I liked this site's description of ISTP better than the quiz's too. It said:
ISTP
Tolerant and flexible, quiet observers until a problem appears, then act quickly to find workable solutions. Analyze what makes things work and readily get through large amounts of data to isolate the core of practical problems. Interested in cause and effect, organize facts using logical principles, value efficiency.


This was my husband as per the blogger link:
***You Are An ESTJ***

The Guardian

You're a natural leader and quick, logical decision maker.
Goals are important in your life, and you take many steps to achieve them.
You enjoy interacting with others, mostly through work related activities.
Your high energy level means you are great at getting things done!
In love, you tend to bring stability to relationships.
You feel comfortable being in charge, and you enjoy being a provider.
At work, you take charge. You thrive in structured environments and don't mind enforcing the rules.
You would make a great teacher, judge, or police detective.
How you see yourself: Realistic, stable, and pragmatic
When other people don't get you, they see you as: Rigid, bound to rules, and a bad listener

I don't think that sounded like him at all either, well I in some ways I should say. I think the ESFJ fits him better.
ESFJ
Warmhearted, conscientious, and cooperative. Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it. Like to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal, follow through even in small matters. Notice what others need in their day-by-day lives and try to provide it. Want to be appreciated for who they are and for what they contribute.

Anyway, it was fun. In continuation of tagging people this week, I tag everyone to take and post their results.

And just for extra fun I also like this personality test.
I am WHITE.

WHITES are motivated by PEACE. They seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. To them, feeling good is more important than being good. They are typically quiet by nature, process things very deeply and objectively with great clarity. Of all the colors, WHITES are the best listeners. They respect people who are direct but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle.

WHITES need their "alone time" and refuse to be controlled by others. WHITES want to do things their own way and in their own time. They ask little of others and resent others demanding much of them. WHITES are much stronger than people think, but are not often seen for their strength because they don't easily reveal their feelings. WHITES are even-tempered, diplomatic, and the voice of reason; but can also be indecisive, unexpressive, and silently stubborn. When others interact with you, as a WHITE you respond to them best if they are kind, accepting and supporting of your individuality, and if they look for non-verbal clues to understand your feelings.

Actually, since I've gotten older I've developed into a WHITE/RED. RED being:
REDS are motivated by POWER. They seek productivity and need to look good to others. Simply stated, REDS want their own way. They like to be in the driver's seat and willingly pay the price to be in a leadership role. REDS value whatever gets them ahead in life, whether it be in their careers, school endeavors, or personal life. What REDS value, they get done. They are often workaholics. They will, however, resist doing anything that doesn't interest them.

REDS like to be right. They value approval from others for their intelligence and practical approach to life, and want to be respected for it. REDS are confident, proactive, and visionary; but can also be arrogant, selfish, and insensitive. When others interact with you, as a RED you respond to them best if they are precise, factual, direct, AND show no fear!

I know that the two types seem like complete opposites, but I blame it all on nursing. It made me be much more assertive or I would have gone insane with some of the stupidities that are so prevalent in healthcare. Anyway, ask my sister Amy, she'll tell you just how RED I can be at times. That being said, I'm definitely dominantly WHITE. (This is another test Amy gave me to take when I was in 7th grade.)

Leo by the way is BLUE. I didn't make him take the test, but I have before. So BLUE's are:
BLUES are motivated by INTIMACY. They seek to genuinely connect with others, and need to be understood and appreciated. Everything they do is quality-based. They are loyal friends, employers, and employees. Whatever or whomever they commit to is their sole (and soul) focus. They love to serve and give themselves freely in order to nurture others' lives.

BLUES have distinct preferences and have the most controlling personality. Their personal code of ethics is remarkably strong and they expect others to live honest, committed lives as well. They enjoy meaningful moments in conversation as well as paying close attention to special life events (e.g. birthdays and anniversaries). BLUES are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical; but can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, and moody. They are "sainted pit-bulls" who never let go of something or someone, once they are committed. When you deal with a BLUE, be sincere and make a genuine effort to understand and appreciate them.

I think he also has quite a bit of WHITE and some YELLOW in him as well though. Well, this is insanely long. So adios for tonight.

Politics and Such

Leo's love for avation started young apparently.

I don't often venture far into politics; I try to be an informed voter and I do have opinions (albeit it's debatable whether they're well informed or not) on some issues. A few nights ago I stumbled upon this article: http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=148

and I thought it was excellent, whether you're interested in politics or not. It's a forum, well, I'll just use their intro, "Richard Bushman, an emeritus professor at Columbia University and author of several books about Mormon history, discussed the relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and American politics over the past two centuries. He addressed Mormonism's shift from 19th-century radicalism to 20th-century conservatism and the significance of this religious heritage for presidential candidate Mitt Romney. A lively question-and-answer session with journalists followed his presentation." It was indeed, "lively." I really enjoyed it, and I agreed with Bushman's answers on every point. He actually tackled questions from Joseph Smith's attempt to create a physical Zion city and Brigham Young as the theocratic Governor of Utah, to polygamy, temple worship, garments, and John F. Kennedy and Mitt Romney's father's presidential candidacy. As I said, it was fascinating.

And just for the record, please don't think I'm whole-heartedly supporting Romney either. I have serious reservations in regard to his stance on immigration reform (I'm rather biased there considering both myself and my husband are immigrants). But as I said before, it's an interesting read whether you're into politics or not. Since I am on the topic though, here's a great link to check out for a concise introduction to the main candidates see this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5006788.stm#others and see this link for a good overview of their policies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6690135.stm. And yes, I know these are both BBC sites, but I've yet to find a better way to me to get an outside look on American politics, (ok granted, BBC might not be completely unbiased in their reports, but are certainly less biased than most the major news networks here in the US). Besides, I like the BBC. In fact, here's some prime BBC coverage for your viewing pleasure about one candidate's view on Socioeconomic classes, also a statement concerning politicians in general, and just to round out this highly educational posting a short clip on International Philosophy.

Since I have no new photos to add aesthetical value to this post, here are some old photos I dug out.

So who does Elena look like??? Not her mom, I'll tell you that. And just for fun I tag anyone who reads this to post a baby picture of themselves.

Aspirations and Discipline

Gosh, smile girl! You're eating a lollipop!

Late at night, well, maybe not that late at night for me, but those nights when Leo is actually home and I do go to bed at a somewhat decent hour and then I can't sleep, I think of all the useful things I could be doing and set goals to do them. They never last past dawn, or more appropriately, past 10:30 AM when I finally, unwillingly crack my eyes open to see my daughter destroying my new glasses that I bought just over a month ago--like I did this morning. Sigh. I am hoping that by revealing them to the world, I will be shamed into actually accomplishing some of my high aspirations. I feel particularly pathetic because now that I'm a stay-at-home mom I have quite a bit of free time (granted some activities aren't possible with Elena clinging to my legs). Feel free to goad me about them at any time as more motivation. Here they are, my goals and aspirations, some of which I have done absolutely nothing about.

1. Study Spanish--I even bought a new computer program to study with. Ideally, I could be dedicating several hours a day to this as I really, really want to learn Spanish and it is my top priority.

2. Exercise every day. (Yuck.) Although, this one is actually one I do manage, umm, weekly.

3. Read the scriptures for at least a half hour. Honestly, this rarely happens, often because I stay up late blogging instead. How's that for misplaced priorities. Oh wait, that's what I'm doing right now.

4. Do some online genealogy courses from BYU. I read a lot of silly YA fiction, which easily could be replaced with this much more worthy pursuit.

So there they are (not ALL my goals, but it's a start). Spanish, I have to say, is my nemesis. Uggh. I hate studying things I have no interest in. The others really aren't so bad. Which is why it bothers me even more when I don't buckle down and do them. I definitely need to work on having more self-discipline. I was thinking about it the other night, and I think I would wish for that characteristic over most others, exempting of course charity, which should be one of the main aspirations of anyone's life, but anyway, back to discipline. I think discipline would be good because most the time I know what I should be doing, it's just a matter of getting off my lazy derriere and doing it. So with that in mind I think I'll go read the scriptures. (After adding a few cute pictures of mi hija (does that count for my Spanish for the day?)).

Elena and her new doll that her abuela sent.

Elena obviously has literary aspirations.

Here, she lost interest in children's stories and was going directly for Tolkien.

Bourne Interrupted

My sister was complaining that I hadn't written for a LONG, LONG time (Tuesday wasn't it?), so to please her, I'm posting again. I have several posts I wanted to write and are stewing around in my brain, however my husband is home, and I find spending time with him much more pleasant than blogging. Yesterday, we went The Bourne Ultimatum. It was a matinee and there was only 15 or so people in the audience, mostly senior citizens and then about three teenagers. Anyway, midway through the movie the lights went out and we could hear thunder rumbling outside. Pretty soon an employee came in and said that the power had gone out due to a severe thunderstorm, and if we could wait in the theater till the storm died down. It was a pretty unusual situation. Pretty soon the manager came in and gave us tickets to come back another time as he didn't know when the power might be coming on. He told us the tornado sirens had gone off, but he didn't think we were hit with the worst of the storm. Leo and I drove home past downed trees with the roots pulled up and the powerlined down. It was great!!! I love storms. I love the raw power that permeates the air after they've ripped through. I always feel so energized after one, like I would just love to run around and dance in the rain, or climb a high tree. Something physical anyway. When we came home we found a huge leak from upstairs (I think they left the window open) in Elena's room. The paint and the roof is falling apart. Joy. Oh well, hopefully they fix it. I called maintence about it today. Here's a few pictures I took. And some of my handsome husband and daughter (we weren't really that mean to her trying to make her pout). Okay, this next picture is kind of random, but these are the boots I just bought on ebay!!! I'm so excited!!! I always wanted black, knee-high boots!! And now I live in Chicago, it gave me a perfect excuse to buy them because of the weather here and I really only have open-toed shoes to wear to church and really that wouldn't do once it snows, right? And I have so many cute skirts I can wear with them. :) Ahh, shopping is bliss. Elena fell asleep on the way to the movie theater.

I just thought this picture was cool. I was trying to capture the blown over sign.

This was in our apartment's parking lot. The whole tree snapped.

Sand Dunes

This past weekend I went to the Indiana Lakeshore National Park--on the shore of Lake Michigan--with my sister Kayli and her family. It kind of started out as a rocky trip since Leo and I got stuck in Chicago rush hour traffic. Yuck!!! The roads here stink. I miss Phoenix immensely for that reason. 12 lane highways--oh the memories. I could almost write an ode.

An Ode to 12 lane Highways.

12 lane highways,

Ohhh, to your praise.

HOV lanes and exit lanes,

Planned clearly with brains.

Someone please tell me,

Why I keep paying fees,

To drive on a potholed,

construction zoned, lousy old

3 laned byway maze.

12 lane highways

I miss you, I do.

Adieu.

So really I have no hope of ever earning money as a poet. But anyway, the rest of the trip went fine for Leo and I, although Kayli and Brett had a rougher timer. See her blog here. She took some great photos which I approbated from her blog as well. (Some are mine though, and some on her site I took for her anyway.)

And also for your viewing pleasure two new youtube videos. I know you love them. Though not as much as the picture above of Leo squishing Elena's face. That's my personal favorite.

Some Postman

Thriller--It took a while for Leo to believe me that they're singing acapella.

Garlic

Here's what I learned today. On the left is a garlic HEAD, on the right is a garlic CLOVE. I hope my beans turn out okay with two garlic heads instead of two garlic cloves. And thank you Andrea for setting me straight on that. (They did not by the way, a couple of tums later I flushed them down the toilet.)

Also on the homefront, I started potty training Elena. And it seemed absolutely fruitless, till the third time I sat her on her new little potty, and she went!!! Hooray!!! Leo was quick to point out his triumph (he also informed me today that he knew what a garlic clove vs. garlic head was). She went twice today on her potty.

I like Chicago! I might like it less when winter hits, but we went to this produce market near our apt. on Saturday and it rocked!! The bakery items looked scumptious, their were more meats in the deli part then I've ever even heard of. There was tons of freshly made cheeses. Mangoes as big as pineapples. Swiss imported chocolates. And leeks. Who ever sees leeks in normal grocery stores?!?!? And people speaking every language from all over the world. I LOVE IT!!! Leo pointed out one guy in a turban with a full, long, gray beard holding the hand of a three-year old little girl (or there abouts), and said that everyone should have a grandpa that looks like that. :)

You should all go to my sister's blog to see pictures of my amazing family from the reunion. My absolutely stunning and gorgeous family--man, good looks just runs in the family, of course it helps that we have good taste in the opposite sex as well, my husband being prime example of that, however he's not in these pictures.

Since I'm not posting more pictures, here's some more cool videos. Yes, I know you're all wondering what I do with my time, and now you know (besides chopping up a lot of garlic.)

THIS IS THE BEST ONE-Kayli even you with your slow download should watch this with Brett
What my husband thinks is REAL dancing- And then he married me. Poor silly man. One time when we were dating, he spent an HOUR AND A HALF teaching me how to move my hips up and down for merengue. He is very patient. But can you imagine the hours it would take to get my feet do anything?!?!?
Another style of Colombian style of dance--done by a kid. Yeah, well, my kids will show this kid up in no time....As long as their Colombian dancing blood from their dad completely washes out my stomping on a ship Danish blood. (This one is pretty long, feel free to not watch it all, especially if you'd rather watch this--the one lift is so worth watching. Leo says the best dancers come from Cali (where these dancers are from), he also says the women there are trashy. I chose not to pursue that comment. Hey, and for my family--watch out!!! This is what Leo and I are doing for the next karoake contest. However we're going to skip the ugly Star Trek done "sexy" costume the guy is wearing.)

This one reminds me of mi papacito-he's gone flying. :( I Miss LEO!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHHH!!!!!

Family Pictures in Reunion shirts

A very rigid search

Here's a cute picture I stole from my sister's blog of Elena, Ethne, and Emeline (her cousins, and yes we did sort of plan out the E thing). So adorable. Elena does look a little bit dark compared to those redheads, but otherwise, where in the world did her father's coloring go?!?.

Anyway, I'm sure you're all tired of reading about diapers and such things. Well too bad, that happens to be the main focus of my very rigid search today. Leo, with the wisdom (or lack thereof) that only a father could have, insists that we should start potty training Elena. I violently objected this idea at first, thinking he was off his rockers, so to speak. However he kept insisting that in Colombia no kid wears diapers once they're able to walk around, hence beginning potty training before they can even walk. I'd heard rumors before that such things were a possibility, although I always doubted them, so I looked into it. Turns out he was right, there is a whole "movement" of earth mothery types here in the US that are promoting diaperless infants from when they're born--it's called elimination communication or EC. I again, initially thought, "These people are cuckoo, like the people who want a natural child birth at home with a midwife." Sorry to offend anyone out there, that's just my personal opinion. But I did find some more moderate approach articles and what not, anyway, I think next Monday I'll start trying it. It's not exactly what Leo was talking about, but close enough I think. (I think in Colombia no one would think to call it a method, let alone "elimination communication"). I'm sure I'll be ribbed endlessly by my siblings, kind of like how they give me weird looks because Elena sleeps with me most of the time (not because I really see any benefit to co-sleeping, just mostly because I'm lazy and it's easy to roll over and let her breastfeed while I go back to sleep; plus my husband's gone all the time so it's not that big of a deal). We'll see if it lasts.
I did find this funny article while on my rigid search though. I decided to share it with everyone for your reading enjoyment and enlightenment.

1904"How may a child be trained to be regular in the actions of its bowels? By endeavoring to have them move at exactly the same time every day. At what age may an infant be trained? Usually by the second month. What is the best method? A small chamber, about the size of a pint bowl, is placed between the nurse's knees, and upon this the infant is held. This should be done twice a day, after the morning and afternoon feedings.... After a few weeks the bowels will move as soon as the infant is placed on the chamber."— from The Care and Feeding of Children by L. Emmett Holt, M.D.

1946"I think that the best method of all is to leave bowel training almost entirely up to your baby. Somewhere in the latter half of the second year, he will be aware that the movement is coming and be able to control it. He will probably make some sound of readiness, and you can then lead him to the proper place. If he doesn't signal, he will probably take himself to the toilet before he is 2, just because he gets the idea from watching others in the household."— from The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock, M.D.

2003"Toilet training is a partnership....You can lead a baby to the bathroom, but you can't make him go....The [main thing] is helping your baby achieve a healthy toileting attitude. To approach toilet training as an exciting interaction rather than a dreaded task, consider this event an initiation into your role as instructor. From baby's viewpoint, toileting is his initiation into 'bigness' — a rite of passage from toddlerhood to preschoolerhood."— from The Baby Book by William Sears, M.D., and Martha Sears, R.N., co-authors of 8 children and more than 30 parenting books

The 1904 method is the closest to the EC method by the way. It was also funny to read people's comments against it, "Haven't you ever read Freud--this is a terrible idea!!!!!" Really, WHO cares what Freud says anyway?!?!?! My other thing I decided to start is baby sign language, but just some basics. I picked out 20 words and am going to start there, and probably end there too for that matter. I think it would be useful, but I am pretty lazy, and so.... we'll see. Now I'm really sounding like a hippie-type mother. Ahh, well.

On to a new topic.... way back when, I made this arrangement for my sister for her ward's Relief Society Birthday Celebration. It's all done in chocolate. All the tables were a different theme. Amy's table rocked with a chocolate theme. I gave her some of those plates--yeah, she loves me. Here's photos of the rest of the tables too. Here's Sister, umm, well forgot her name, anyway, the former ward activity director's table. Yeah, her husband is a multimillionaire. I went to an Italian Dinner Party (ward party for adults only) in her backyard. It was exquisite. She has an entrance to the backyard with a rose archway, and hanging from the middle was a black rustic, Tuscany looking chandler lit up with at least a dozen candles. And that was just the entrance. I was visiting Amy in her ward, when this lady was released from her calling. Both Amy and me had the same thought--poor, poor person who has to replace her.Here's photos of the rest of the tables too.

Cloth Diapers and Other Matters

Today was Leo's 27th birthday. My husband is getting old. Well, at least it seems that way at times. I mean, 27 is practically 30, right? It was not such a fun day, he had to fly out at noon, and Elena kept us up for an hour in the middle of the night last night. She was as happy as could be, just screeching, loud, happy screeches (same ones as when I had to take her out of Sunday School this past Sunday). When I finally decided she wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon, I laid her in her crib--she had been in our room for the air conditioning--and listened to her then unhappy screams for quite a while longer. Oh well. Today was also not so good because I figured out that I am actually paying more to use cloth diapers (my big money saving scheme from several months ago) because I have to use a laundromat while my brand new washing machine and dryer sit idly in my dining room. Sad, ironic twists of fate. So it's back to disposable diapers, which is somewhat of a relief to be honest. I really don't mind cloth diapers but it is a lot of laundry, that's the most time consuming part. However, here are the things I learned about cloth diapers.

1. Don't buy ones from Target, Walmart, etc. Boughten ones DO NOT work. They're way too thin and not absorbent enough.

2. Premade ones that are fitted are nice, however they do take forever to dry, and won't dry in a normal dry cycle.

3. Make your own flat fold ones using flannel, 27" x 27".

And finally, as I just realized when I was at Walmart the other day, the fancy 7x absorbency, microfiber liners I bought from an online diaper place, are actually just Walmart car washing rags, the super soft kind, and were much cheaper, so....

4. Buy microfiber, 7x the absorbency, car washing rags from Walmart for diaper liners. They work great!!!

Yesterday was a good day, besides the heat in our unconditioned kitchen. I made Leo a German chocolate cake for his birthday and frijoles con arroz y pollo y platanos frito. We also went to an international food store for fun. We had a great time! Leo poked the live blue crabs and watched them attack each other. We drooled over all the kinds of fish and made faces at the squid. I found the two things I was looking for, turmeric and soybean paste, and Leo found some guanabana juice. I also was able to see my sister Kayli and her family for a couple hours, and I read this awesome article in the National Geographic about the Mayan. It made me want to be an archaeologist again. However helping Leo with his MBA homework has somewhat dampened my desire to go back to school.

But without further ado, here's some adorable pictures of my daughter and her not so adorable favorite things to do.

Book Quiz

Aren't you glad I'm back and writing on and on? I wasn't planning on posting anything but then I took this cool quiz... Which of course, I MUST share. Plus it was funny to see the results, not that I thought they fit me or anything. But here's what my quiz results said:

You're Ender's Game!by Orson Scott Card To you, most everything is a game. It's summertime, and the living's easy. Even when there's a war on, it's just a game to you. But even though you've historically been able to meet every challenge, there are some doubts about what lies ahead. Are you sure you're up to the next test? Don't forget to pay attention to your siblings.

I thought the sibling part was kind of ironic. Plus, I really like Ender's Game, well sort of , I half love it and half hate it. But it is one of the few books I've reread and read most of the series. SO now go take the book quiz and see what is your literary personality.

The Book Quiz

Umm... haven't left yet

So I haven't done anything I should have been doing. It's an hour later from my first post and I'm pathetic. But for fun, here's the highlights of the youtube videos we watched at the reunion. The purple song is what I danced to for the karaoke contest. Really I can't believe I'm admitting that to the world. Oh well. Anyway, I couldn't really sing it, plus I was dancing so umm... (I'm really at a lack of words here) fast? insanely? that I couldn't catch my breath to sing even if I knew Russian. My costume rocked, it was two dresses, both purple of course, (I couldn't fit the bottom one--with a full skirt, think Victorian type dress--over my bust, and the other one--picture 80's multi tiered knee length prom dress--over my hips so I wore them both, the top tucked down on the Victorian one and the bottom of the 80's one under the other) and then many, many long gypsy looking necklaces, several silver bracelets from Tijuana, and earrings from my sister's belly dancing outfit (yes she has one-I made it for her) that have bells on them, and of course my mink fur hat I bought at an antique store (I love vintage hats). So you get the idea. Luckily, a video of that will never get on youtube. Many of my three-four yr. old nieces were quite taken with the outfit though. My brother Derek won again by the way. He won last year for I'm Too Sexy (we considered making rules after that for only allowing G rated content), this year his wife Brooke and him sang a Mylo Hatzenbuhler version of the song "I've Got You Babe." It included the lyrics - "I've got you in the chicken coop, I've got you to scoop the poop." And "I can change the bulls to steers." I suppose with lyrics like that, I really couldn't be expected to win. Anyone from North Dakota should really check out Mylo's stuff. Quite funny. He makes it quite clear he's of German stock, although I did hear him sing that if he were Norwegian he's say "Oufta." Another highlight was Amy singing "Material Girl" in the previously shown outfit that she wore to the Tacky Party. And little Megan (she's seven) singing three lines of the song "You Are So Beautiful," over and over again. But without further ramblings, here's the top videos.

Start Wearing Purple

Danny Boy

Pachlebel Bedtime

Tow Chinese Boys

The Ebay Song (dedicated to my Dad and sister Megan)

Finally another post

So I've been busy, and really right now I should be doing a thousand other things besides this, but hey--dishes and all that can wait, right? Last week I went to Utah for my family reunion. It rocked. I won best costume in our family karoake contest. Thank you. Thank you. We also won an award for first to pay and most latino which included a picture of the Taco Bell dog. I also won a autographed picture of last year's karoake contest winner, my brother Derek. As he was in charge of planning the reunion this year, we ALL won that prize. It was pretty hilarious. But as I really should be moving along here's just a few highlights of the reunion. There was 23 grandchildren there (the oldest is nine), and 12 of them under the age of 3. Crazy. The only person not there was my husband, sniff sniff, because he had to work. We camped up at Cinnamon Creek (Cache Valley area) and had a blast. Activities included playing in a creek, cliff diving, swinging little kids up the flag pole, marshmellow roasting, Harry Potter reading, making another swing due to flag pole being deemed unsafe after visiblely bending, air mattress rafting, dirt eating (for kids under 1), rattlesnake avoiding ,and pretty much just having a great time.