weird day at wal mart

i know the title is a little redundant but this is what happened. at the local wal mart i saw a really cute, quite large fisher price nativity set. i picked it up to add to my christmas decorations and placed it on the shelf on the bottom of the cart. after completing my shopping i went to check out and realized....the nativity set was gone! the box was probably about 20"x15"by4". not tiny by any means. i stood there perplexed, had it fallen off my cart? no, if it had I would have run over it, had i at some point in a stupor decided not to buy the set and taken it off my cart? surely i would have remembered that. the check out person could see i was confused and when i told her what had happened she said, oh someone just took it out of your cart. why????my purse was much more accessible. they could have stolen my purse and used the money to buy their own nativity set. i am still confused! my thought was, oh well, i'll just get another one the next time i'm in the store. so yesterday i tried to buy another...guess what? they're all sold out! soooo strange! mom

Congrats to Cathy!

Congrats to Cathy for starting her own blog! Check out the link on the side "The Fabulous Four" and see what a fun blog she's started! Good job, sis!

a ped-egg guide

Most of you have heard of the ped-egg, but have you tried it? It's amazing! For those of you debating on purchasing it or not...here is a step-by-step picture guide on its use.

First: take the ped-egg

Second:rub it over your dry feet

Third: enjoy the beauty of your clean feet!

Isn't she amazing? All while holding a chocolate donut....wow. Now that's a product!

Ugg! Your boots!

No one has posted anything here for a while, so I doubt anyone will even read this.

I have a grievance to air. Here is the story that brings me to post this:

As I was leaving class this afternoon and walking over to Miranda's office (which is across the street), I noticed a young gal. She was clearly young, probably 18 or 19. She was cute, she was petite, she was fit looking. Today was a brisk day in Cedar City, so naturally I wore a long sleeved shirt and a jacket. This young gal decided it would be better to wear pink short shorts. In addition, she decided to wear big, furry, black boots. Retarded.

Perhaps you've seen girls wearing these boots. Ugg is a popular brand. They are hideously ugly, and there's no way around it. It's one thing if girls are wearing them to be warm, but it's a whole different story if they're wearing those boots because they think they look good. THEY DO NOT. A girl wearing short shorts and big boots is simply ridiculous, regardless of the weather.

Additionally, youths are wearing skinny jeans. Equally hideous. Girls and guys alike look ridiculous. It makes their legs look like twigs. And leggings. Vomit. But I digress.

So here's the point: I always knew that someday I would get old and sit around my house reading the paper and talking about how "kids nowadays are punks that don't know how to dress." Well, kids nowadays are punks that don't know how to dress. I thought this day would be decades from now, not at the age of 23. Congratulations universe, you win.

for a good time....

This is a video that always makes me laugh even though I've seen it about a million times!! For all of us who need a good laugh....check it out.....

man....I suck. Well, I tried to upload a youtube video, but of course can't. Nice. Reason number one million I'm a stay at home Mom and not a successful business woman. Well, go to http://www.youtube.com/ and type in "model falling" and click on the first link that says "news reader can not stop laughing at model falling over" It's seriously worth it people...

Old School Pictures of pops

OK, I will play. Past school pictures of Stud-Jackson.

The Uro Club

I'm not sure if this is real or not, but it seems to be. Check out the info-mercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwU8n4AOQl0

"Looks like a regular golf club, assuming you've never seen a golf club before in your life."

Brent Jackson reunion???

Would anyone be down for a Brent Jackson reunion next summer? We could meet somewhere between here and Dallas? I think it would be so fun! Anyone else think this is a good idea? (Emails were also sent since I don't know who all checks this....)

Sad to hear the news....

Well, I can't believe it. He's gone. I'm so sad that we have lost such a unique man. I really loved everything he had to offer. I was always tempted, but did not always purchase, whatever he was selling. He was quite the marketer, you know. Of course I am talking about Billy Mays. The way he yelled at me in commercials to buy his product was incredible. He taught me a lot about life: how to remove stains on practically anything, how to reach for things without breaking my back, how to get my wood floors to really shine, etc. He will be missed.....
Rest in peace Billy Mays.....rest in peace.
Sarah

I turn my back for ONE second....

This is what happens when I have to "test the plumbing"

check out www.totallylookslike.com

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Okay, so I'm a little late, but I'm on twins time....I'm late for everything! I just wanted to say happy father's day to all you dad's out there! Especially our Dad! We are so lucky to have a Dad that worked so hard for us all the time that our Mom could stay with us. Thanks for being such a good example, provider, and teacher. You taught us so much about life and the kind of people we should be. You're a wonderful Father and my kids couldn't ask for a better Grandpa!! I love you SOOOO much and am so glad you're my Dad!!!
Sarah
PS. Happy Birthday in a little bit, Pops!

so, today and last night was our stake conference. if you ever have Elder Christopher Munday or Elder Spencer J. Condie at your conference, do not miss it. these two are a pair of comedians running around disguised as general authorities. it was most entertaining and uplifting. the best line however came from Elder Condie. We had a new stake presidency sustained and after everyone had shared their testimony Elder Condie spoke and started out by saying, Your new stake presidency isn't perfect but they're good enough for you. Elder Munday was a great story teller and the whole conference made me feel better about my liberal use of humor in the gospel doctrine class. mom p.s. i definitely recommend eric snider's blog as mentioned in bubba's post.

The Interwebs

Much has been said of the dual nature of the interwebs. It can be uplifting, good, and entertaining or it can be utterly wasteful, horrible, and pointless. There is however a third category that is altogether pointless and entertaining. May I share a bit of this with you:

1. http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide.php
- Eric Snider, a Mormon dude now living in Seattle. He usually writes movie reviews (his Twilight review is humorous), but his occasional random musings on life are the gold of this site. His cynical style is sure to be a hit with this bunch. Mom already has a bit of a crush on him.
2. www.runpee.com
- This site is less humorous and more useful than anything.
3. www.dickipedia.org
- Don't let the name fool you, it isn't porn. It's a wikipedia of the world's dicks, including but in no way limited to: Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Anderson Cooper, Kobe Bryant, and China. And it isn't actually crude either (though I have not scoured every entry to ensure it's appropriateness). The title is the worst part.
4. www.awkardfamilyphotos.com
- The title says it all. These make the Casey photo look pretty good.

I hope some of you can waste a little portion of your lives on these sites, and at the same time be entertained.

Dear Hughes Net,

I’m so pleased to be a customer of such a forward-thinking company! I recently called to cancel my Hughes Net service, explaining to Mary Anne that I had lost my job and had come to the difficult decision to leave my home of nearly two years, uproot my family and move cross country in search of a better financial situation. She was kind enough to express sympathy, saying she understood the impact of the current global economic crisis. She then patiently and empathetically explained that since I had three months left on my two year contract, I could pay an early termination fee, could just pay what was left on the contract (plus the unpaid amount on the promotional charge for my equipment), or that I could maybe just try to find someone to take over my contract. She also expressed a sincere hope that I “get back on my feet soon”.

If I ever do recover from this blow, the same blow that has affected so many other patriotic Americans, I will invest every spare penny in Hughes Net stock. Too long have companies been crippled by compassion. I’d much prefer a company that is completely, rigidly fair about demanding customers comply with signed terms and agreements regardless of economic hardship, real or imagined. Add to this questionable business practices and the cost savings of shoddy service and substandard performance, and it can only mean increased profits. And isn’t that what it is going to take to get this country back on its feet? I applaud companies like Hughes Net for investing resources in new and inventive ways to squeezing customers for every last penny. Isn’t that what the American Dream was founded on?

Looking forward to being a partner with Hughes Net in America’s recovery,

Paul Jackson

I finally got her pictures done...

I went to WalMart and shelled out the $10. They don't do her justice but here they are:
portraits.pictureme.com
last name: goodrich
store id: 12996
session: 101647

How did it come to this?

A lot of Obama supporters that I have talked to bring up the fact that Bush made the office of the President seem like somewhat of a joke with his ramblings and incoherence. By this post I do not mean to defend Bush's shortcomings as an orator. I do however, mean to point out that people laughed at him as a person, but not necessarily at his policies. Well, that's changed now.

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSPEK14475620090601

Seriously? You're kidding right? I'm really at a loss for words when it comes to the sort of stuff that's happening nowadays. GM and Chrysler took government money. Where are they now? On President Obama's balance sheet. Ford didn't, and what are they up to? They're planning their biggest increase in production in a couple years.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10507487/1/ford-plans-production-increase-of-10.html

And don't even get me started on the friggin UAW.
You wanted change? You got it.

Take a second to congratulate your baby brother. In addition to receiving a letter that he made the dean's list he opened a second letter while he was here advising him that he has been awarded his second scholarship...from the school of business. I asked if he had applied and he said no. Apparently there is such a thing as free money! This summer he is working full time and taking four on line classes so he can graduate next spring. Way to go Bubba!

Moving Plans

Bubba sent me a Facebook note asking about our moving plans. I didn't see it until he was already offline, so I figured I'd answer here.

We're still on track for our move to Dallas. Nicole did not get picked up to teach summer school, so we're planning on packing the last weekend in June and being in Dallas sometime around July 1. We're going to take our time driving down, factoring in a night in Memphis and tour of Graceland.

A friend of mine asked "Why Dallas?" We looked at all the things that were important to us, and Dallas seemed the best fit. We wanted to be near family, a Temple, some ethnic and cultural diversity, and to be somewhere where we could afford a house and still have money for the things that are important to our family like savings, travel and college plans.

It's not without a downside. Compared to here, Dallas is an ugly town (sorry, but we've really been spoiled here.) Nicole is having to jump through hoops to get Texas teaching certifications, so not only does she not have a job, she couldn't even teach if she did have one (we hope to have this rectified by the time we hit town).

But we prayed about it and feel this is a good decision for our family. So there you go!

Recent Goings-On

So, it's been a while since there's been much activity on here, and much longer since I've had anything to do with the family blog. So here's some morsels from my life for all yall.
First of all, yes, I'm still dating Miranda. In fact, we just barely got back from California. I had a missionary buddy get married in Santa Monica, so we went to that and spent the rest of the weekend with her family in La Habra (Orange County). We went to the beach, ate a lot of great food, and generally had a very relaxing time. On our way home, we went through Big Bear Lake (a mini Tahoe), where her grandparents used to own a cabin during her childhood. She had a wonderful time showing me the woods and streams above the lake, and it was nice to get up above the disgusting smog of southern California.
An interesting note on the ridiculousness of California. On Sunday, we went for a walk around her neighborhood. We passed a couple houses that were for sale, and that got me thinking about real estate there. So when we got back, I did a little research and found out what $250,000 would get you in the area. The result is a two bedroom, one bath, 900 sq ft home in an area the locals call "Guadalahabra." It's a piece of junk place, tiny lot, no grass, and on a major street. To prove to Miranda how great the Dallas area is, I showed her a five bedroom, three bath, 2800 sq ft house on a 1/3 acre lot, with a pool, jacuzzi, and outdoor bar on Lewisville Lake for $240,000. California is nuts. I know it's already having a lot of problems, but it's going to get a lot worse. That bubble is going to absolutely explode, and there's going to be a mess. Which is a shame, because California is an incredibly beautiful place. The weather is wonderful and the landscape is amazing. I think I would love California were there not any Californians in it.
Having said that, I want to be clear that I had a wonderful time on this trip. The wonderful part about it was that Miranda loved every minute of taking me to the beach and dancing and showing me her old neighborhood. Her enjoyment was plenty validation for the trip. Plus the weather was beautiful, it was good to see my mission buddy, and we ate some fantastic food.
It was nice to have a long weekend with Miranda because school starts again this week. I'm taking four classes, all online. This summer I have Managerial Accounting, HR Management, Managerial Economics (for which calculus is a prerequisite, which I've never taken in my life), and a marketing class. On top of that, the other guy I work with is taking the summer off, so I'm all alone to do all the work myself. This is going to be a long and stressful summer.

For Sarah and Steven....

Do you remember ALL those years the two of you made fun of me for my original songs?? I'd like you to check out what is at the top of the music charts right now!!

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Singles&f=The+Billboard+Hot+100

The changed it from "mmm mmm pow" to "boom boom pow" so they wouldn't have to pay me royalities. Apology calls will be accepted Monday thru Friday, 10am to 4pm.

My tri

I did it! My first tri is over!I lived through it! Thanks for all the love and support! And thanks, thanks, thanks for Mom and Dad for their help with the kids and for coming, for Steven for postponing his Delta trip so he could be there, and for Matthew and Tanner making posters and cheering me on!

check out more detail at my blog...

A Fun Picture!

National NF Awareness Month

As part of NF Awareness month, celebrity doodles will be available for auction on eBay! NF (Neurofibromatosis) is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy and Huntington's Disease combined. Funds raised from the Doodle Day auction will go to support education, advocacy, coalitions, and research for treatments and a cure.

Visit the Children's Tumor Foundation at http://www.ctf.org/ to get more info on Neurofibromatosis

For those of you that didn't know, Jackson has NF. Right now, it's more of a watch and see type thing. But, he does have dozens of cafe-au-lait spots and over the past month has grown several neurofibromas so it's off to the specialist we go! We'll keep you all updated...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Morther's day to all of you Mom's out there! Happy Mother's day to our Mom especially! You are the best Mom anyone could ever ask for. You are always there for me whenever I need you.

Thanks for being so amazing to my kids! I know you love all your Grandchildren, and I feel EXTREMELY blessed to live close enough that my kids can see you so often. Truly, siblings, you don't know what you're missing. If you knew, you'd move here as soon as you could!

Mom, I only hope one day my kids will love me as much as I love you. Thanks for all you do and for being my best friend. I love you, Mom!!! Sarah

I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, So I got my doctor's permission to Join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Mothers Day

So, I've been kinda down about the upcoming holiday of Mothers Day. My kids are too young to go out and get jobs to buy me something nice and their Dad is of no use. No sleeping in, no breakfast in bed, no pedicure, no macaroni necklace...nothing. I've been a bit bummed.

However, today I got a shipment of tulips! The card read that it was from Lil Joe, Jack Jack and Juliana for me for Mothers Day because I'm the BEST mom!!!

I suspect someone on this blog may have had something to do with it, although I'm not sure which one. If I did find out, I'm not sure they'd admit to it.

So, whoever you are...thank you. Thank you more than you know...
Catherine

Want a bag?

So I just returned from a weeklong business trip to Boston. Since I was staying at a Marriott Residence Inn with a "full kitchen", I stopped on my way from the airport to get some grub for the week. I found a "Stop and Save" which was a cross between a full-blown grocery store and a large convenience store. As I was being checked out the clerk said "do you want a bag"? I thought no, you idiot, I'll just pour the milk in my shirt pocket, put all the eggs in my mouth, stuff the tomatoes in my pockets, sit on the frozen TV dinners, make the oatmeal right here and pack it in to a ball I can bounce down the road, etc. I think she read my mind because as I stood there with this obvious quizzical look on my face, she said "first time here, right"? She said I had a choice of buying a large bag for 10 cents or a small bag for 5 cents – but they were re-useable!!! After quickly remembering my geometry, physics, and trigonometry lessons and doing the math I decided to go for the more economical price/volume big bag. One lesson to learn here is getting ready to “do the math” as your daily life will change under the new Obama world order. Or maybe the lesson is Boston sucks – which was born out many times during the week.

Disneyworld

Well, we made it back in one piece from Disneyworld! It's quite the trip.... It went way too fast, and was really busy, but we had a lot of fun. Check out my blog for pics and more info!
Sarah

Alpherpillar

Mommy bought Tierney some new toys! Tierney's favorite is a huge caterpillar with the alphabet on it. Apparently, her favorite letters (as she eats the caterpillar's antennae) are d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.

Ah, Radio People...

This week was the annual NAB convention in Las Vegas. Nothing more fun than a bunch of radio people on vacation. My colleague Bryan Jones reports many attendees registered using their radio names, most of which make "Scott Curtiss" seem very tame. I worked with a Rick Shaw and a Pete Maus, but some are even more creative:

Tom Katt
Tommy Hawk
Marty Graw
Andy Freise
Justin Case
Max Power
Adam Baum
Don Key
Brock Lee
Bill Loney
Dan D. Lyons
Mike Rafone
Al K. Seltzer
Jim Shu
Mike Stand
Eaton Wright

If you had the misfortune of being stuck in a radio job, what would your air name be?

Cousin Karen's Visit

Cousin Karen Kratzer was in DC this past week visiting Bunny. The two of them took a country drive Friday out to visit us on the farm. It was such a nice day we all walked up to the gardens, which are starting to bloom thanks to all the rain we've had recently.

While we were wandering the paths and enjoying the sights of Spring, the farm's owner, Tom, came out to join us and took us on an impromptu tour of the property. It was the first time Nicole and I have really walked through the main house, and it was amazing! I always knew on some level that the home was important, but I had no idea. Apparently it's on the level of a Monticello, and actually has some features that make it even more unique and significant.

For example, several of the flagstones in the garden and in and around the home have dinosaur footprints. The footprints were the first discovered east of the Mississippi and have attracted researchers from around the world. The footprints are from two breeds of raptors and were found on the North Farm and used in the construction of the home. Also, several stone tiles used in the home are actually recycled material from the White House that were saved and stored after an early fire.

Another unusual architectural feature that approaches unique is the number of columns. Jefferson's decision to design the home with five columns (an odd number) was practically unheard of. Some think it was because Monroe was the fifth president, but it probably has more to do with the interior features of the home. The two drawing rooms along the back of the home have an even number of windows--an even number of columns would have blocked the view.

The home is also packed with artifacts including Dolly Madison's bedroom set, restored period murals, literally one-of-a-kind furniture designed and built by Jefferson, and fireplace mantles that were gifts to Monroe from Lafayette. Orders were given to Union troops to not harm the home since it was a Presidential residence, so the home suffered practically no damage during the War of Northern Aggression. I mean, the "Civil War".

It was nice to see Karen and Bunny, and even more fun since it meant a tour we've been dying to take since we moved in!

Check out this video

This is really a fun video. It could happen ! Check it out.

http://videos.komando.com/2009/04/16/sound-of-music/

susan boyle

go to youtube, type in this name and watch the video. she is amazing! great lesson on not judging a book by it's cover. mom

How was your weather on tax day?

We couldn't have a tea party today, but we could all get out and throw snowballs at our favorite tax assessor !

FROM MATTHEW

Finally, we have someone to put on the food stamp!!!!!!!

quick story...

While Mom was here, Joe's school called to say the bottom of his shoe came off and said that he was embarrassed and it was a hazard so I needed to bring him some new shoes. Mom was already out and about so she picked up a pair of Ironman shoes for him (btw Mom, they were so pricey because they light up. Not because they had laces of gold as previously speculated) Anyways, since then he's been wearing them all around the house because they make him fast. I asked him yesterday to throw something in the trash "super fast" and he said "Ok, let me get my shoes." I told him that I bet he could go super fast without the shoes and he should try. he did and of course they was much rejoicing in his ability to move at such a quick pace. he said, "Mommy, Jesus made me fast. But, he forgot you. Becuase you're slow."

Yeah, Hawaii is awesome

So, yeah...me and Sarah had a great time! We did a lot of sleeping (our beds were so fabulous we named them. Zeus and Hercules) and alot of just whatever we wanted! There are a few things I missed, and really enjoyed doing. Like, getting ready like a real girl. Hair, makeup, 20 outfit changes, singing along to the radio, taking an hour or two...all without children pulling on my legs. Or, riding in the car with the windows down and the radio blaring. Or, eating a full meal without feeling rushed because I only have 20 minutes in the restuarant before the kids are done and decide to play. Or, sleeping for hours straight without having to wake up because someone was crying. it was nice. Special thanks to Mom for watching my kids, keeping them happy and all the work she did around the house. I notice something fabulous every day...it's like Christmas every morning. What a great mom! Thanks to Dad for sacrificing her AGAIN so she could come. and Thanks to Mike, Paul and Steven for helping her stay entertained during her visit.

so, last week while catherine and sarah were living it up on the big island i was at catherine's tending her children. it was really fun to get to know them although juliana was sick and then in an attitude of sharing, passed it on to jackson. i wiped about 10,000 snotty noses,,,no i wiped two snotty noses 10,000 times... paul, nicole and tierney spent a couple of days with us so i became acquainted with tierney (she loves rings and watches) and spent too little time with mike and fam. i did get to be there to celebrate both lizzie's and mike's birthdays. yumm, lots of cake. catherine let me purge her house. i didn't exactly ask permission but she no longer has any broken toys, her kitchen drawers are cleaned out and the kids clothes are sorted. joe was really good. he did everything i asked of him, quickly and cheerfully. i told him that if he was good we would have a party on the last day so we went off to get pizza. we parked and as we were walking to the pizza place passed a real estate office with photos of houses in the window. i said, let's go order the pizza then we'll come back and look at these pictures and buy a new house. he walked along thoughtfully and just as we reached the pizza place said, how will we carry it home? i thought he meant the pizza and said, you're big enough to carry the pizza by yourself. he said, no, the house. it's too big for us to carry and it wouldn't fit in the car.

super broom to the rescue!

A few weeks ago we went to DI and Tanner stood forever in front of the super brooms begging me for one! I was telling Mom about it, and she gave him one that she was going to take to DI, so it worked out! Tanner was SOOOO happy! He just kept going, "WOW! Thanks, Grandma! I can't believe it!" We brought it home and all the kids have enjoyed it! Mason was playing with it this morning, and I realized I hadn't gotten pics of it yet, so I pulled out the camera. So, here's Mason having fun with the super broom.

You can't tell but he's sitting on the basket playing with it! Guess it was too much for him to handle....
And I know, by the looks of this picture, I need all the help I can get. Don't judge me....

Great Time in Dallas!

We had a great trip to Dallas last week. We are sure grateful for everyone's hospitality...from Mike and Heather inviting us into their home, Catherine for letting us stay at her house, and Mom for watching Tierney while we spent some much-needed time together at the Temple.

It was fun to see Tierney play with her cousins. She hasn't had much experience being around other people, but she handled it pretty well. She and Juliana had a fun time playing!

Overall, the trip was moderately productive. We had some questions answered and got a better idea of the real estate market. We would have liked to have looked around more, but we were happy to accomplish what we did get done.

Oops

This ran in BYU's student-run paper, the Daily Universe, a couple days ago.

Wash your Hands!

Tierney had her 9-month Doctor appointment today (off the scale for weight, at the top of the scale for height). Since the Doctor's office is near one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, we stopped in to pick up some lunch. I noticed this sign in the bathroom...

Teething Update

Thanks SO much to everyone who recommended a "frozen washcloth" as a remedy for teething discomfort.

How about a recommendation for dealing with freezer burn when she drops it in her lap?

The American Community Survey

Have you been blessed with The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau — a monstrosity with hundreds of invasive personal questions about you and your family?

The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It will replace the decennial long form in future censuses and is a critical element in the Census Bureau’s reengineered 2010 census.

The decennial census has two parts: 1) the short form, which counts the population; and 2) the long form, which obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic information from a 1-in-6 sample of households. Information from the long form is used for the administration of federal programs and the distribution of billions of federal dollars.

Since this is done only once every 10 years, long-form information becomes out of date. Planners and other data users are reluctant to rely on it for decisions that are expensive and affect the quality of life of thousands of people. The American Community Survey is a way to provide the data communities need every year instead of once in ten years.

Census.gov

Oh, one more thing. It is mandatory, and the penalty for refusing to answer all of the questions can be up to $5,000. So really it’s not a survey so much as an interrogation.

The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000.

What are your thoughts? Anybody want to contribute to my non-complete fine?

Condi on Leno

I just saw this at NBC.com. Condi is awesome.

http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/clips/condoleeza-rice-32409/1071048/

Verizon - America's Largest 3G Tool

So, my cell phone contract is expiring in a couple weeks, and so I've been looking around a bit to see who can give me the best deal.  However, I do have a slight inclination towards Verizon.  So, I was shopping on their website, trying to find what would work for me and make some estimates of the costs.  While I'm surfing, a pop-up window shows up, asking me if I'd like to chat with a sales associate.   At first I think, "That's a little weird and creepy."  Then I think, "Maybe I can talk this schmoe into giving me a discount or something."  So I start talking to my new friend, Jarrod.  At first, he was really rote and boring.  Then I said, "Do you have to just read what the script says, or can you say what you want?"  To which he replied, "Lol (the perennial signal of "We're friends now") I can say what I want."  So basically I told him I had no reason to switch other than money, so he should waive the activation fee, just to lure me over to Verizon.  It soon became apparent that Jarrod was nothing but a tool, and could do me no good.

So, I asked my friend Erin to give me four random words, which she did: folder, scissors, lotion, and Honda.  I then proceeded to try to make Jarrod use these four words.  Lotion was easy, I asked about the humidity in his area and if he needed to use lotion (he's in Alabama, so no lotion).  For scissors, I asked him to use his "special price-cutting scissors to hook me up (again, he's a tool - no scissors).  For Honda I made an analogy between Verizon being Honda and T-Mobile being Toyota and asked him why I would want to drive a Honda when I could have a Toyota (according to Jarrod "Hondas are pimper."  Tool.)

However, I was stumped on folder, and Jarrod kicked me off of the thing before I could come up with anything.  He must have caught on to the game.  Or maybe he had an urgent quest to attend to on World of Warcraft, for he is a tool.  Anyway, I'm sure this witty and clever family will be full of suggestions.

Bubba

Lunch with Bunny

We had a special treat today. We drove in to town and had lunch with cousin Bunny! Bunny lives right across the street from the National Cathedral (a picture is available through our family web page). We went to a Tex-Mex place near Bunny's apartment...she said that of the 3-or-4 times President Bush went out to eat, this was one of the places he hit. The food was pretty good, but the service was fantastic.

We plan on meeting Bunny again in a couple of weeks for the Japanese Street Fair held in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

ZOO TRIP!

For Christmas Michael's family gave us a family pass to the zoo! Today we were finally able to start it up. Tanner invited a friend, I packed lunches for the kids, packed up the van and we were off! We had the absolute best day! The weather was so perfect, the kids were so good, and all the animals were ready to be observed. We had a great day walking around watching the animals and playing at the park there. It was seriously one of the best times I've had in a long, long time! I really needed it. It was just so nice to be out of the house without bundling up!!! HOORAY! I love spring....anyways, the best part is I didn't feel rushed because I knew we could just come back in a few weeks! It was a perfect day. Thanks again, Mike and fam!

This is in front of the elephant exhibit. You can sit on it's trunk and take pics and it plays music. The babies were completely taken away!
Tanner and his best bud Sarah at the monkey exhibit/show thing they do.

The babies were so hilarious! They just kept pointing at the animals and "talking." It was really cute! They had a BALL!

They have a huge playground at the zoo, that the kids just love.

Me and the crew. Man, I was tired but it was SO worth it!

Cars in Barns

They're not up on Steven's web site yet, but I thought you might like to see some of the gems we have discovered hiding out in the barns on the farm. In addition to 50 or more old freezers and refrigerators, there are several cars hiding out in the barns. Including the remains of an old MGA...

...and an old Cadillac hearse.

It was warm today on the farm...nearly 60 degrees...so Tierney and I went for a little walk. I was hoping there would be a little more green in the gardens, but it was still a bit drab. It was still nice to get out of the house!

Paul's 5 minute cake!

After the babies were in bed me and Joe decided to try Paul's 5 minute cake recipe. So fun, and delicious! We found a large Sesame Street mug and went to work. We were going to share it, so we lined the mug with cooking spray first so we could dump it out on a plate when finished. After mixing all of the ingrediants, we watched it in the microwave because Paul had told me it bubbles up. Joe was SO tickled to watch the mutant cake expand larger and larger like a balloon, and then just jump back down to normal after it was done! It was kinda cool. We dumped it out on a plate, and it make a very fancy looking dessert. We both found the cocoa to be a bit overwhelming, so we countered with a powdered sugar/milk glaze and strawberries. YUM! I took a pic of the final result, it looked very pretty...but my blackberry has water damage. Can't imagine how that happened.

30 Rock

I don't understand this blog thing, hopefully I'm doing this right. Everytime I talk to anyone (yes, EVERY time), they say "Did you see what so-and-so put on the blog, so hilarious!!" So, I finally checked it out but I'm confused.

Anyway, the reason I'm here. Last night I was catching up on episodes of 30 Rock on my iPhone. If you haven't seen this show, it is probably the funniest thing on television right now.

It might be necessary to get some background before you dive in, because the characters have been hilariously developed over the last two years.

http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/

The episode from two weeks ago had me laughing so hard I got a headache.

Go here:

http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/episodes/

And select the episode titled "Larry King".

The show is about the behind the scenes antics at an NBC tv show. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is the creator/writer and head of the circus. Her boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is GE's VP in charge of Comedy Programming and Microwave Ovens. Before Jack became the boss, Liz's weekly variety show was called "The Girly Show" and featured her friend Jenna (Jane Krakowski). Then Jack met fictional movie star Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and decided to bring him onto the show. The show was then renamed "TGS with Tracy Jordan" much to everyone's dismay. Tracy Jordan is a lunatic movie star who is hilarious and very crazy. Kenneth the NBC Page (Jack McBryer) is a simple, Appalachian living life as a Page in the big city.

Anyway, hopefully that's a good summary. All of the episodes are hilarious, so I encourage you to watch as many as are available online. But definitely watch the "Larry King" episode. Hilarious!

Steven

Teething Suggestions?

Any ideas for dealing with a teething baby? After a day like today I'm considering vodka, but I probably should try to stay focused on alleviating Tierney's discomfort.

Tylenol seems to help, but that's obviously not a long term solution. Teething biscuits help but they require a full-body bib. We have teething rings that I cool down in the fridge, but she doesn't seem interested. Anyone tried baby orajel? What's the sure-fire solution?

Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes. Seriously.

In a fairly large mug, combine:
4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
4 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cocoa (not hot chocolate mix...baking cocoa powder)
Add:
3 Tablespoons Milk
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
Mix everything with a fork until blended into a batter. Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

This is one of our new favorites. Tried throwing some semi-sweet choco chips on top before popping the mug in the microwave and it was pretty tasty. Maybe we should try white chocolate chips next time? Hmmmm.

there is a local trade blog (similar to craigslist). for christmas sarah copied some of the better entries and gave me a little book. this is my favorite "free little kittens! hello i have got 10 that's right not 1 but 10 and it is going to be hard to take care of all of them so please help by takeing them there cute but eveal" since then i have added a few such as "reproduction vanity with neapolitan chair cherry chip & dale style" "for sale mental bed fram this is a heavy dudy bunkbead" "mule 4 point it is what it is $50" "I have cash on hand & will get it when it's covenant 4 u" "only 4 lef hens 2 & 3 yr old they stop laying & i don't know if they'll lay again so i am selling them to be dinner. i don't have the gots" and my fav "i am selling a 10 place setting, dinner plates, side plates, bowels & mugs" now tell me that obama is on the wrong track by trying to improve our education system. mom

Okay... um....

I was putting Tanner to bed tonight and he asked me to sing him a song. I said "Okay, this is the song I used to sing to you all the time when you were in my tummy." And so I started singing "teach me to walk in the light." Not too long into the song he said, "Mom! Wait!" I was like "No, I'm singing." And he goes, "No, you need to wait....wait....wait....when I was in there (pointing to my tummy) I hated that song."

backgrounds....

Now that I've put how to change the backgrounds, it's been changed twice. You guys are going crazy with the backgrounds! I regret ever telling you how to do it. Plus, I miss my lace and doilies!!!!
Sarah

Another Dream (Pops)

So for all you dream interpreters, I had a double feature for your review. The first seemed to be a combination of Star Wars and Star Trek episodes. There were these little guys running through the forest dressed like the Master Jedi except they also had very long blue loin cloths. They seemed to take great pleasure in sneaking up on each other from behind and grabbing the front of the loin cloth and pulling hard so the little guy would spin over. Seemed like a harsh game but really quite funny to watch them flip around. After the offender pulled the flip they would run off to the nearest strata and melt in to the surrounding rocks. If you looked closely you could learn to make out their outline in the rock and try and avoid that area.
Secondly, we were on a vacation to Idaho to go fishing (not fishing as normal people know it but my kind of fishing where you just throw your line in the water and stand there thinking about what kind of fish would be on sale at the local market you would stop at on the way home). Anyway, we wound up at a one room cabin that had nothing in it, not even a dresser. But that was ok, because we forgot to pack and we didn’t have anything but what we were wearing. My cousins came over to visit (did anyone know I had cousins in Idaho?) and chased me around the area. I got the upper hand on one of them and threw him in to the river and ran back to the cabin before he could get out and throw me in as well.
What does all this mean?

Hawaii!

Check out what me and Sarah are doing in Hawaii!!

http://www.konahonudivers.com/mantaray.shtml

Dumb Boys.....

THERE.........UGH........I still like the lace and doilies better.......

BTW: Any of you can log on and go up to the right corner and click "customize." Click on "Layout" and the last one on the bottom is "HTML Java script." That's the background thing. If you click "edit" and then click "remove" you can take it off. Then, just go to "Pick a template" under the "Layout" button again and pick whichever plain, boring, lame, lace free background you want. I don't care. I was just TRYING to make this blog have a cute background. Sorry for trying......ingrates.....

Your Dad and I had lunch today at a very authentic mexican place. anyway we think it was authentic. it was attached to a grocery store where the ads were in spanish, when we asked a question about the food the girl shrugged and pointed to the photos on the wall and we were the only non-mexican people in the place. the food was okay but the condiment bar was superb! fresh pico de gallo, lots of yummy stuff. we brought steven home something and he didn't eat it so i think i will go heat it up and eat it right now. sorry steven. he's having dinner out with some friends so probably won't care anyway. mom

A Request

I've been in the library for the last few hours (on a Saturday) studying property rights and bailments, so I'm getting kinda bored. But during the course of my arduous study, an idea came to me:
I'm getting kinda tired of these uber-gay backgrounds on this blog. Perhaps we could change it to something that could more accurately reflect the sexual orientation of the men in this family. Maybe, and this is just a thought, the background could be the girls from the SI swimsuit issue. That way, it could change from month to month too. I'm just getting a little tired of doilies and lace. Maybe cars, or pictures of exploding stuff, or the x's and o's version of the option out of an NFL playbook. I'm just trying to be fair.

Bubba

Nice Sunny Day

The same week as the Mega Storm and temperatures in the low teens, today it's overcast but 72. Weird. Beginning of the week school is out due to snow, end of the week we're out in t-shirts wishing we'd pulled our short pants out of storage.

We went to the Prince William County Mother of Multiples sale in Manassas. It was crap, but we picked up a couple of things. The Loudoun County Mother of Multiples sale (usually not crap) is the end of the month so if anyone needs us to be on the lookout, let us know. Each time we've been we've walked out with NWT or near-new name brand stuff for pennies on the dollar.

Another stop on today's adventure was the Asian/International market. I've been on an Asian cooking kick lately, which seems to happen when I read books by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Plus, we found this awesome little Korean place in Fairfax. It's too far to drive for dinner every day, so it's a special treat. I hoped to re-create the food so we can enjoy it in the comfort of our home. We had a nice bulgogi earlier this week which turned out to be respectable. Also had a great pork and green bean stir-fry with hoisin this week. Hmmm. Now I'm getting hungry.

Oh. The reason for the post: Check out the new pics at our website!

Mmmmm...tadpole soda...

While out running around this afternoon, we stumbled on yet another Asian/International SuperGrocery. We love shopping these stores 'cause they're just so darned exotic. The buy of the day was this soft drink...Basil seeds with Honey. Don't think we'll get the courage to taste it, but it looked cool. Like little tadpoles floating in Jell-O. I'm sure you're all jealous.