Just call me Pocahontas...

Well here it is!! I'm sure some of you couldn't sleep with the anticipation and excitement of waiting for this picture. I am as good as my word and did I not warn you.....AWKWARD GAWKY PHASE!! I am of course the indian maiden on the right. I particularly like the smirk on my face. I told you I thought that I looked pretty good. It was of course before I entered middle school and the world informed me that I DID NOT!
And what was my mom thinking when she let my sister* out of the house in those shorts. I can't even see them on one of her legs. Was modest not so hottest back then? (*sister who wanted to be a go go dancer in a cage)
So go ahead and gaze upon my awkwardness and giggle.

I am ok.

I have new sandals.
(nanie nanie boo boo)

New Sandals! Just in time

I was feeling a little bit of everything yesterday...tired,
grumpy,
hungry and
just plain sick of my life....and then I rememebered!
I had bought new shoes the day before
Sandals!
I LOVE sandals
Particularly the flip flop variety.
And these were so colorful
and beautiful
and they reminded me of a
day long ago when I was young
and not so beautiful.
I was in that gawky tween age.
It was the summer that we went to
indian ruins in Colorado and New Mexico
and EVERYONE was into wearing native
american stuff.
I loved all of the beads so carefully sewn
together in such bright patterns. It made
me feel exotic and beautiful.
I braided my hair.
I bought a turquoise ring..my first purchase
of REAL jewelry.
I still have it.
I still wear it.
Life is good.
(wanna see a picture of that tween trip??....
not today
tomorrow then. )

Who comes up with these NAMES?

This is a picture of my backyard after Hurricane Ike.
Bad Storm........Good name. Every year they (the weather gurus or whatever they call themselves) come up with a list of names for the storms that will be coming our way. Quaint little custom I guess. Makes the storm almost seem like a visiting relative. Depending on the relative....much needed rain or your whole house blown down. I liked the name for our summer storm this year. IKE...a good strong name....easy to say....easy to spell.....regal and presidential.
But I have a ongoing beef with some names. Here are a couple

DRESS BARN: yes thats the name of someone who wants to sell me clothing. They cater to big boned gals with a whole side of their store devoted to the..... shall we say "hard to fit". AND they have some pretty good stuff in there from time to time, BUT Dress Barn!! really! Who wants to be asked, Ooo Cute! Where did you get that? and you have to say, " Well I moseyed on over past the cows and other livestock to the Dress Barn." Thank you, NO! I have enough problems not comparing myself to rotund barnyard animals. I don't need my shopping bag to proclaim it.

TORNADO TACO: We have a little local eatery in town. It's a building that has change hands more than one hand can count and has housed quite a few clinker ideas. So now it is Tornado's turn. They have of course a huge drawing of a twister as the graphic on their sign. Now is it just me or is anyone else disturbed by the thought of any food (let alone Mexican food) going through your digestive system like a tornado. Read my post from two weeks ago called "sick as a dog" where I describe a tornadic episode that landed me in the emergency room. Thanks but I will just go to Taco Bell.

MUD LAKE, Idaho: My apologies to anyone who lives in Mud Lake....but REALLY....that is the name of your town? We had a sweet baby-faced elder who came to our house last week and when questioned where he was from he said, Mud Lake Idaho. Being the ever gracious hostess I asked if that was anywhere near Stinky Swamp. Nah I didn't but I did emit a few giggles. I asked him why on earth it was named that and he didn't know. So that is on my to do list today. Look up the history of Mud Lake and see if anyone there needs some help naming their new town...business....storm....or baby.
I really think I could do better than most. It's just random stuff I think about.

Yikes! What will I create?

Now it's my turn to "Pay it Forward".
Who wants to play?

The first five people to leave a comment on this post will receive something made by me.


However there are some limitations:


1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.


2. What I create will be just for you.


3. It will be done this year. (might take a while)


4. You have not clue what it is going to be, poetry, shoes, bags or a little invention of my own. I may bake something and mail it you . Who knows? Not you that's for sure!


5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. It may blow your mind!


Here's the catch, if you choose to do this. You must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.I'll get back to you first five lucky commentors, so okay . . . who wants to be the first in line?

Who needs a Professional Photographer?

Just like cavemen in ancient times,
Who knew no Canon or Nikon -
Before Mr. Kodak shuttered.
There is more than one way to capture
the images of family.
This is what
LOVE
looks like..................

A Go-Go Dancer and Marsha Brady

Just in case you thought that the last picture was a "fashion fluke", here is another one with that 60's feel. I am the mod fashion girl in green. I didn't have go-go boots so I had to settle for knee socks. The problem is that I could never keep them at the same height. One knee sock was ALWAYS lower than the other. I am wondering if one of my calves is larger than the other. I must make a mental note to measure that tonight. That's my sister in the pink. She doesn't have a blog and has stopped reading this one so I will tell you a little secret of hers. When that picture was taken it was her desire to grow up to be a go-go dancer who danced in one of those cages. Not a stripper mind you...we were after all good LDS young ladies....just your run-of-the mill go-go dancer. She is currently teaching elementary school. I wonder if she has regrets.
I on the other hand had aspirations to be the next Marsha Brady. I use to practice in the mirror in the bathroom. I was very dramatic. I had the right clothes and haircut. I think the knee sock thing really held me back.

I Feel Like A Celebrity (who once wore a poncho and bell bottoms)

I found a website that I just love. It matches my love of quirky photos. It is called Gypsy Feet! One of my most FAVORITE pictures of my daughters and I is a picture of just our feet intertwined. I was going to post it here but it just seemed that it would be lonely after I saw the site with all of the pictures of others feet. I took a chance and sent it in and they put it on their page! YAY!! Sometimes some of the best pictures aren't the typical shots. I think pictures of hands and feet can be so expressive. Do you know what else really packs a wallop in pictures.......wearing a plaid poncho with flower print polyester bell bottom pants! Don't believe me???? Well here is the proof.
Oh and please take a moment to notice the very stylish patent leather pilgrim shoes. Yes that's me......try not to be jealous.
P.S. To see the picture of our feet go here....http://the-gypsy-feet.blogspot.com/
P.S.S. By the way Mom thanks for dressing me in ways where I always really "stood out". After wearing an outfit like that and surviving I know there's nothing I can't do.

A big THANK YOU to the 6 people that voted on what kind of blog am I!! And the winner is..........(drum roll).......
SAUCY MOM!!! Yay since I think that is where I was hoping to fit in. I like the edgy sound of it. So in celebration and as a thank you prize I post a picture of my favorite sauce.
FRY SAUCE!! For those of you Utahns you know of the heavenly condiment that I am speaking of. For those of you not familiar with the pink piles of perfection, it is a dipping sauce for your fries....duh...made of ....well every place has their own recipes but basically it is ketchup, mayo and pickle juice. Some places might shake it up a bit with relish or barbeque or special seasoning but it is an amazing thing. Every fast food place in Utah has it....even SONIC! But does the Sonic in TEXAS have it?? no siree! You can not get it here. I have tried to make my own at home but it is not the same. I think it must have something to do with the altitude or my sea level position or something. So every trip to Utah is another reason...I mean excuse....I mean reason for me to consume vast quantities of fries and fry sauce. Judge me if you will but YOU CAN NOT GET THIS STUFF IN TEXAS! Now here is the question/contest. If you are a afficiando of the stuff I speak of or you live in the great state of Utah try and guess whose fry sauce is featured in the picture. I will try to think of a prize. I will give you a hint. This one was in Salt Lake City, but my favorite fry sauce can be had in Heber at the home of the Train Burger.
Who says that I am not a SAUCY MOM!!!????

I think I have been MISLABELED! I can be SAUCY!

I don't really like being labeled or categorized. I like to think that people only think they know me and therefore wouldn't be able to sort me into a basket like some piece of dirty laundry...whites...whites...colors..whites. I also like to think that my personality is so multi-faceted that there is no category broad enough. (no pun intended so watch the snickers) But I or more accurately my blog has been dumped into a category and it's not even a GOOD ONE! I noticed that other bloggers seemed to be part of groups and I thought since I haven't made any blogger friends lately that I should put on something nice and go out. I found a group called the Mormon Mommy Blogs and thought it would be the place to start. I'm mormon...I'm a mom.....(actually the real reason was because I really liked their retro look button and thought it would look great on my blog.) From what I can figure out it is a collection of mormon moms and their blogs and we can go to the site and see their latest postings. They put you in groups or categories I guess so that I don't have to scroll through subjects that don't interest me. Good idea. They told me to sign up and link my blog and they would assign me to a category. Well NOW I was really intrigued. This was like waiting to find out what team you were on or for unathletic people like myself which reading group in school you were put in. It was just the kind of thing that let you know where you fit in exactly. GREAT! I am new to the blog world. Four months ago I didn't even know it existed. I am definitely in blogger kindergarten and needed to know where I fit in....RIGHT? Um.....teacher....teacher...I am in the WRONG group.
They have 32 categories I could have been labeled as....32! Here are the categories:

Beauty & Fashion
Blogs About Books
Blog Designers
Canadian Moms
Cooking Blogs
Crafters & Scrapbookers
Crunchy Moms
Empty Nesters
FHE & Gospel Topics
Foster Care & Adoption
Funny Ladies
Generally Speaking
Group Blogs
Guys Who Blog
Hair Blogs
Health, Fitness and Weightloss
Homemaking Blogs
Homeschooling Moms
International Blogs
Living With Autism & Special Needs
Marriage Blogs
Military Blogs
Mormon Friendly Blogs
Motherhood
People Who Write
Photography Blogs
Saucy Moms
Self Reliance
Slice of Life
Sweeter Side
Singles
Thoughtful Ladies
With all of those titles....where do I fit in? What does my blog say about me???

Motherhood

That's it!?! Really?? That has to be the most nondescript category EVER! Obviously I am a mom...I am on the MORMON MOMMY BLOG! Why didn't I get a cool one like funny ladies or crunchy mom (whatever that one is) or sweeter side (no snickering I told you) thoughtful ladies. I could even slip into canadain moms...I could throw a bunch of eh's in my writing)..but
MOTHERHOOD?
In fairness to the site they did say that I could email them if I thought I was in the wrong group but I dunno...it's just not the same....what do YOU think? I am going to post a poll to the right. Let me know what category you think..

Sick as a dog

Well the last three days have been fun......NOT! I have been as sick as a dog....what does that mean exactly anyway. I have a dog and she rarely is sick. Plus the few times I have seen her throw up she doesn't seem to even care. I am not EVEN going to gross you out with what she does after. Anyway I digress.......after two weeks of an upper respiratory virus, I followed it up with the good old fashioned up chuck fest. (I am sure there is a more delicate way to say it or perhaps I should not talk about it at all but in the last week I read blogs about passing gas, and home births (with pictures) so I think my little tale is fair game.) Anyway long story short I ended up Sunday night in the emergency room. Not sure that it was completely necessary, but the nurse on the phone after asking Mr. T a series of questions that he would in turn ask me as I sat on the floor of the bathroom, led her to believe that I was on the edge of dehydration. And to tell the truth at that point I would have probably given anyone whatever they wanted if they would just make the ...uh .....well....er.... regurgitation stop. After a seemingly endless ride to the hospital (Mr. T got a little lost) I entered the emergency room doors. I had been er..uh..losing my lunch for 6 hours straight every 30 minutes like clockwork and as I walked through the sterile automatic doors I realized that it had been 30 minutes since my last..uhm...er..... uh...."emptying". I figured that this would surely get the attention of the desk clerk and so I.......er..uh...uhm.....NOTHING! It had magically stopped. I was cured just by entering. A miracle you say? No because Mr T. had already filled out the paperwork and they had my drivers license. Why did they have my driver's license? Trust me that I was in no mood to operate a motor vehicle. Well I thought I would just get up and leave..I could always go to the DMV and stand in a line for four hours and get another one. But Mr. T insisted they check me out. Of course just my luck that there was a woman the night before that had the exact same symptoms as I and ended up having gall stones when she didn't have a gall bladder anymore which is extremely rare and dangerous so I got the FULL treatment. (btw I also have no gall bladder...too much info right?) I felt so stupid! They did blood tests and urine anaylsis and x-rays...YES x-rays! Four hours and two IV bags later then finally let me go free. Home never felt so good! (I did however end my experience at 5 am that next morning with one last.......er..uhm.....oral explosion.) It just couldn't have happened at the ER could it??

In honor of my being sick as a dog....enjoy a picture of my dog....who is NEVER sick and eats her own vomit..there I said it anyway.