Thank you

Can I start out by saying how grateful I am to have friends that will help me out without being asked? Today started out normal, well with the exception of Brent going out of town. After I got Madi out the door and on the bus I finished getting ready and then left for work. I was running on time, but whenever I am running on time and leave at a decent time wouldn't you know it, I get behind the slow drivers. Yep - gotta love them. I have just given up on being to work on time, quite often I am a couple minutes late. I like to say it is the other drivers fault, but maybe if I left five minutes earlier I might be on time. I know, before you agree with me, let me say I have tried that as well. Even ten minutes early (work is only three miles from my house). But that is not what I am blogging about, although, that is a good thought for another blog - stupid drivers and why I am late...hmmmm. HAHA, it just may work.
So, I love that word, anyway, I leave work early like I normally do on Wednesdays so I can make it to my 11:30 class. I get to the lot, drive around a few times looking for a spot, finally a car pulls out and I park. No big deal, even though the school feels the need to block off half of the paid lot for some unknown reason. Leave class a couple hours later. Head home to study for my math test. I have given myself one hour to cram for this test before I go take it. I was completely engrossed in my studying, really I was - I know you may have a hard time believing it, but I was. I even contemplated studying longer and missing tonight's class so I could cram some more. But I decided I better not do that. I left my house about 3:15 to head to take my test. Since Brent is out of town I decided that I should probably take my stuff for my class tonight instead of heading home to only head back to class. That just did not make sense. So, I told Garrett he was in charge and to make Parker and Madi dinner when they got hungry. I get to school, find a spot to park - I am early enough that I am not parking out on the road practically, I am near the doors. This is a good day I think already. I grab my bag, head up the elevator to the floor I need, get off, walk to the testing center all the time going over different things I studied. I give the lady my number, what test I need to take and the teachers name, she then asks to see ID. What? ID? You mean I need to be ID'd for a test? Okay, it's not like I have not been through this before, I should have known that I needed my ID. I have only been taking tests for two years at the testing center and it is always the same protocol. So yes, I should have had my id, but it was in the car. Okay, I was a little upset as I was walking out of the testing center check-in room to get my ID, how could I have been so forgetful and how dare she ask for my id..haha, just kidding on the last part, but I was mad at myself for not remembering to bring it with me. Well, on my way out I glace at my phone and notice that Madi's school had tried calling. Hmmm, interesting. Oh well, I guess if they need something they will leave a message, I think to myself. Well, my phone rings, more like buzzes, it is the school again. I guess it must be important and at that moment I am free, well just walking to the car to get my id. I answer it and I hear on the other end,
"Mom?" OH NO...
(sound of doom...dum dum dum)
I say, "Madi (and notice the time it is) did you miss the bus?"
She says, "yes, can you come pick me up?"
To which I reply (like she should have known ahead of time where I was), "Madi, I am at school heading in to take a test, I can't pick you up." I then tell her that I will call a friend and see if she can pick her up. I am really going to try my friendship out with this friend..haha.
Really, at that moment though I wanted to cry. My heart broke for Madi that she was at school, Brent was not in town, and I could not do anything about picking her up at that moment. I also thought about how had I have had my ID with me, I would not have been able to answer my phone and get that message that she had missed the bus. I realized then that the Lord knew what had happened and he was watching out for Madi and for me. He knew that I needed to be on the other end of the phone for her when she made that call to me. Had I have had my ID I would not have been able to answer the phone. And it really was moments later that I had left that testing center that I received that phone call. So, I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for watching out for Madi and for me and knowing what we need. It is truly awesome when you can see his hand in things and how he helps you.
So, it does not end there. Like I said, I told Garrett to make dinner for his brother and sister if they got hungry because I would not be home until later, since I had class after I was done taking my test. I called Garrett when I finished my test, checked on him and the kids. I asked if they had had dinner yet, to which he replied no. I said make dinner for them if they get hungry, and of course he knew that he said. Well, I leave class about an hour and 14 minutes later. Class was ending early! YAY!!!! Well, I call Brent as soon as I am walking out, tell him about the test, about class, about what happened earlier. He says that Madi is eating at the neighbors. She had called him to ask for permission. I said ok. Well I get home, I can hear the tv on so I ring the doorbell rather then pulling out my house key. No answer. I ring it again, and again, and again, again, again, again, over and over again right in a row. Sort of like an impatient two year old ringing the doorbell. Still no answer. Weird, but oh well. I am thinking I hope those boys are not on their computers arguing over who should go answer the door. Well, I walk in, and nobody is home except the Duncan. hmmm, interesting. I call Garrett's phone, no answer. It is on the table. But of course I let it ring and ring and ring....haha. Go figure. I call Parker's phone, he answers. I ask him where they are and he says they are at the neighbors eating dinner and that they were invited over for dinner.
Can I tell you how awesome it is to have friends that bail me out? I have some terrific friends that helped me out today more than they know. It really is times like this I know the Lord is watching out for me and my family. Thank you.

A Touching, Poignant, & Insightful Verse

' WINTER '

by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

Crap....It's Cold

The End

The Signs of Fall in East Canyon

Fall is one of my very favorite seasons! The mountains are vibrant & on fire with color. The air is crisp. There is nothing better than waking up with the windows open and being warm under the covers. Anyway, enough of that sappiness - we decided to take a drive, actually it was suppose to be a drive up to Snowbird to Oktoberfest, but it did not happen thanks to some friends and their evil ways of texting only one word, "Rancheritos." Yes friends, you know who you are...hahaha. Seriously, it was fun at Rancheritos with them and Oktoberfest will wait another week or so.
But we still managed to get in a ride to see the leaves as they are starting to change.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Birthday Holiday

No this is not an all about me post. I just decided, well not really that I decided just now because I know that I have neglected this poor blog for quite some time, I just really have not had anything to write about. I guess maybe I have had stuff, but I can say that I was busy, which was true. I can use the excuse that I am a college student and have lots of homework, which is true. I can say that I am a mom with a job as well, which is true. But that stuff could be excuses for blogging, but really, I just have not felt like it. So here I sit on a bed in Sequim with nothing to do, when really I do have stuff to do - such as sleep, but who wants to do that? So I thought that maybe, just maybe I would update my blog! YAY!!! to that I say - what-ever - haha.
So what is a birthday blog. Since it was Mad's birthday this past week and mine the start of the week (tomorrow) I decided to find holiday's or observances in the month of September that we just may not know about. Maybe it is time we start a movement and petitioning we have these days off. So here it goes:

National Observance Month
National Shameless Promotion Month (good to know)
Pleasure Your Mate Month (I am NOT making this one up here's the link to see for yourself http://www.brownielocks.com/september.html)
Update Your Resume Month
Subliminal Communications Month (can you subliminally communicate to someone and let them know that your resume needs updating and therefore you can kill two things with one stone?)

National Weekly Observances
September 14-19: Line Dance Week (who doesn't want to do the Achy Breaky Heart?hehe)
September 13-19: Balance Awareness Week (practice standing like a flamingo with a book on top of your head)
September 20-26: National Clean Hands Week (finally, we can wash our hands!)

National Holiday (don't you think if you have more than one holiday on your bday it should really be a holiday - it must mean it's a pretty special day..haha)
September 17: Citizenship Day; Constitution Day; VFW Ladies Auxiliary Day
September 20: Women's Friendship Day

But here are a few funny holidays that I think we MUST observe (seriously, who made these holidays? These people were smoking something)
September 19 (it has some great holidays) Talk Like a Pirate Day; Big Whopper Liar Day (please explain this one to me)
September 12: Video Games Day (what kid, or adult, would not like to have a day off work or school to play video games? I think this one MUST be made into law - when I'm president...)
September 9: How Much longer (seriously, how much longer is this post going to be..hehe)
September 8: Another Look Unlimited Day (huh?)
September 9: Wonderful Weirdos Day (technically, couldn't we all be weirdoes and all get the day off work or school because it is our day?)
September 25: Hug a Vegetarian Day (what about the meat lovers); National One-Hit Wonder Day (that way we will never forget their song)

The Sad Passing of a Friend...

Statue of Thomas Paine writing "Common Sense" Morristown New Jersey

(disclaimer...this is not who this wrote the article below - just thought I would throw a picture in)

(my words)
Sorry if you have read this before, I (not me personally) but I am having a hard time with others who seem to lack Common Sense. I was talking to my mom and telling her about some of the things that have happened where I just thought others should know better then to do that - it is just common sense. So I searched the internet for this email that I read long ago to post as a reminder. Not to you the reader, but as a reminder to me, to my kids. I could go on and on about how I agree with everything written and why - really breaking it down, but I won't. So here is:

The Obituary for our Friend - Common Sense

(author unknown)

Today we mourn the passing of an old friend, by the name of "Common Sense".
Common Sense lived a long life but died in the
United States from heart failure on the brink of the new millennium. No one
really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in
bureaucratic red tape.

He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, and
factories helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and
foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits
held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with
cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain,
why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't
always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the
adults are in charge, not the kids), and it's okay to come in second. A
veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great
Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural
and educational trends including body piercing,
whole language, and "new math." But his health declined when he became
infected with the "If-it-only-helps-one-person-it's-worth- it" virus.

In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of
well intentioned but overbearing regulations. He
watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His
health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly
implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged
with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a
teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher
fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened
his condition.

It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to
administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the
parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became
contraband, churches became businesses,
criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck
their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to
professional sports.

Finally, when a woman, too stupid to realize that a steaming cup of coffee
was hot, was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel. As
the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept
informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those
for low flow toilets, rocking chairs, and stepladders.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his
wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and
his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights, and Ima
Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few
realized he was gone.

~Author Unknown

So Where Were the Parents?

obviously not in the same room as the kids, because had they been, the following would NEVER had taken place. With that said....
never, Never, NEVER let your kids go on eBay!!! haha. Totally kidding of course, but seriously, they have basically anything you want. Obviously it is other people selling the stuff, but still, if you are looking for something, chances are you may find it on eBay. With that said, let me get to my point.
Tuesday, I am leaving for my 7:30am class at Weber. As I am walking out the front door I notice that both of the boys are still awake after their paper route (normally they come back home and go to bed). No big deal that they are awake, but Parker has his laptop on his lap, while reclined on the couch and Garrett is kneeling at the end of the couch near Parker's head and saying, "Put in 250, 250 quick!"
Okay, before I left for class I gave Brent a kiss goodbye and asked him if he needed to get up so he could start getting ready for the day since we had a busy day.
(You will see where I am going with that part)
So, I am walking out the door and Garrett is coaxing Parker on 250, put in 250!!! Ah-ha! I now know why they were up and Parker's computer was on his lap! He is wanting to buy some train track on eBay.
Oh, and that 250 is not $2.50, nor is it $25.00. No, we are talking $250.00!!!! What sort of kid has that money? Wait my kids do, only because they have this stupid thing called a paper route in which they now have financial freedom and they are free to purchase what ever they want. Oh, wouldn't that be grand if that were the case? Needless to say, I keep their ATM cards for that very purpose.
Ok, sorry, off of the soapbox now...recap...I am walking out the door, Garrett is egging Parker on to put in $250.00 while Parker has his laptop on his lap while reclined on the couch. (There, we are caught up)
So, as I am slipping my flip-flops on in the entry way getting ready to walk out the door and I hear Garrett say "250.00" to Parker, I quickly say, "BEFORE you order anything on eBay, you need to go talk to your father!"
Brent, who was still laying in bed, trying to find the will-power to drag himself out of bed heard the words that I said to the kids about talking to him prior to placing an order.
Well, I am driving to Weber when my phone rings, it is Brent. I answer it. He is sooo MAD!!!! I could hear Parker in the background crying, Brent would interrupt our conversation to have a very heated talk with the kids and tell them that they are grounded and that they needed to get to their rooms. Can you guess what my kids did? Yep, you guessed it, they ordered the train track. All 70 feet of track. $235.00 for the track and $35.00 for shipping and handling. Sweet huh? So I ask to talk to the kids, first Parker, he is crying when he gets on the phone. I proceed to rail on him, I guess. I did not yell, but I was not a happy mom (it did not help that I was heading to class to take a test as well). I then ask to talk to Garrett, and proceed to tell Garrett what a DUMB mistake they just made and how they have screwed up our eBay rating that we have tried to maintain as being good buyers/sellers. He was surprised that there were ratings. I told him he knew NOTHING about this buyer, let alone his rating (what others thought of him) and how much shipping was going to be. Oh I was MAD as well!!!
Garrett was trying to tell me that he did not buy it and that Parker bought it. Well, let's see....Garrett sat there, egged Parker on - even though it was Parker's computer - and told Parker how to place a bid. Hmmmm, I think Garrett played an equal part in it. What he was tyring to say is that once I told them to talk to their father, he told Parker they should not place the bid, but Parker went ahead and hit the CONFIRM bid button instead. Still, Garrett played an equal part.
So I get Brent back on the phone and he tells me that he has told them that this probably won't be the end of it, they will still have to talk to me when I get home (why do I always have to be the bad parent?).
Class gets over and I head home knowing what I have to come home to. I walk in the door, did not make any word about what they did. THEN, I decided to bring it back up. I was a much nicer mommy this time. We had (at least that is what I want to thing we did) a very good discussion on why they are not allowed to place bids on eBay (I told them it was illegal for kids their age to do that and to falsely do it under someone else's account). I then told them that this discussion was over and there was no point in rehashing it anymore. Although, I will not let them here the end of it, I am sure one day it will be one of those funny stories - well maybe not so funny, humorous, not sure, but I still will bring it up when the time is right, just not get mad.
Well, we emailed the buyer and informed him of what happened. He was very nice and said that he would contact the second highest bidder and see if he would still be interested in the track, but if not we had to pay for them. We knew we could put the track to good use outside, but we just did not need that much, but if we had to, the boys were going to make good on the mistake that they made and buy the track.
Well, we heard back from the buyer later that evening and he said that the other bidder still wanted to track and that we were off the hook. WHEW!!!
Needless to say, I have two boys that are grounded from their computers for at least two weeks, maybe longer. They are no longer allowed to go on eBay, and I have told them I can check what sites they visit, so they better not even try it. I am also going to change my eBay password, yet again, so they cannot get into mine and Brent's account.
So there you have it, never, Never, NEVER let your kids go on eBay! (at least unsupervised)

Are you kidding?!?

Sorry, you are going to first need to turn off my music to hear the sound on the video. If you have not seen the video, well then it is new to you, if you have seen the video, you have not seen the Ninja Remix!After the video, read the news article. ARE. YOU. SERIOUS????



Peta Miffed at President

Animal rights activists have lashed out at President Barack Obama - after he was photographed swatting away a rogue fly during a TV interview.
The president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr.Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him in mid-interview during a taping with CNBC that aired Wednesday.
But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an"execution," wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even "the least sympathetic animals."
The group has sent Obama a device that traps a fly so it can then be released outside.
Copyright WENN.com. Reuters contributed to this report.
http://www.kutv.com/content/news/watercooler/story/PETA-miffed-at-President-Obama/7MaL-N9050OeafzsBMpdhA.cspx