What does it tell you....?

So, what does it tell you that Erica's first phrase that she says is "go away?" Only it sounds more like "wo oway!"


Well, it tells me that: 1. she hears that expression way too much from her siblings, and 2. she has a brother who tries her patience more than she can bear!


I've been hearing it a lot in my house these last few days. It was funny and cute at first, but now she's starting to express it with a little attitude.


Oi vey, she's a fiesty one!

Dear Microsoft: Your Windows Vista STINKS (just thought you'd want to know...)

Dear Microsoft,


Just in case you haven't heard from the already countless number of frustrated and dissatisfied customers, I thought I'd let you know that your Windows Vista program system really STINKS. As in, stick your head in a pail of dirty diapers and inhale deeply. Yes, it's that bad.


I have been a loyal follower my entire adult life, so I was ecstatic to get a brand new computer, complete with a state-of-the-art software program, guaranteed to keep my new friend completely and utterly disease free.


However, blocking essential functions that I try to complete online, because of the inherent risk of viral infection, can no longer be termed a "safety precaution." It's downright tyranny! I can no longer add pictures to my blog, see comments posted, listen to music clips, or check out any video posted online. It is not allowed. Nor can I turn the darn function off.


On Monday night I threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions trying to upload my family's Halloween pictures onto my blog. Luckily, I have a patient and long-suffering husband who worked over an hour trying to fix the problem, then gave up and hooked up our ancient and woefully slow previous computer to do the essential business.


He assures me that Windows 7 will solve all our problems.


I only wish I had that much hope....



Sincerely,
A Very Jaded and Frustrated Customer

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

We had a lot of fun for Halloween this year. On Friday night we had a Ward Halloween party, then Saturday night was for trick-or-treating, so the kids got to dress up two nights in a row, which they loved.

Eric and I joined in on the fun for the party, dressing up like a couple from the 50's. I put together a poodle skirt for myself, and made some matching ones for the girls as well. They turned out pretty cute! Then Eric and I added our own touch of nerdiness with some cool specks, Eric's complete with masking tape around the nose-piece, and mine bespeckled with some fancy rhinestones!

I found a twin in my friend Stephanie.

Eric found his own twin in Bishop Barker, although I must say the Bishop really knows how to channel his inner nerdiness!

Ethan had fun being very creepy. And I had fun playing with his makeup. I think we were pretty successful in turning him into the undead.

The girls were so cute together!

Halloween night turned out to be a very wet one, so we didn't see that many trick-or-treaters. However, we did get a little visit from some mischief-managing teenagers. As we were shutting down the lights and locking up, Eric noticed one of my decorative pumpkins that was on the porch was missing. He decided he was going to try to hunt it down. I must admit, as I heard his truck rambling off down the street, I was envisioning a show-down of epic proportions.

"Hey, you hoodlums, give me back that pumpkin!"

"Yeah, what are ya gonna do about it, old man?"

And out emerges some sort of weapon that I had to force myself to not envision.

Eric's vigilante-ism (is that even a word?) paid off. He found the poor pumpkin around the corner and down the street with his face partially kicked in. We decided next year the decorations come inside at 8:00. I can't handle another year wondering if my husband will make it back OK after attempting to rescue a plastic pumpkin.

Computer Woes....Again

A week ago we got a new computer.



"Yeehaw!" you might say. I did at first. It's got a quad processor and a monster wide screen that seems even bigger than our TV. (It's not, it's just really huge right in front of your face!)



But then we started noticing some things. Like the speaker system STINKS and we can't attach our old speakers to it. (Our computer serves as our at-home stereo, so mediocre sound quality is not really an option.)



Then after we finished transferring the programs and files from our old computer, we noticed they started disappearing, and we couldn't find them. Strange and annoying.



Finally Eric gave up trying to figure it out. He wiped out the drive and took the computer back to Costco. He came home with a new one, hopeful that it would work better.



So far we don't have all my beautiful-and-necessary-to-my-existence programs loaded onto this one. I think he's afraid to try, or at least just putting off the inevitable headache.



Now I hace a new complaint....its about the keyboard. For th first part of this post I painstakingly wet back through and corrected all my typos, but fr here I will leve as it is to show mt utter frutratong with this keyboard! It only regiters about a thirfof the keys I hit, so I have about a million typs. Typos ar one of my biggest pet peeves!!!! Plus the keys are positioned just differnst enough that i sonetimes hit the wrong ones by mistake. now when i try to typw a message quickly , it is so messed up I can hardly read it. And ittakes forever to fix it!



Im thinking i will be looking or a ew keyboard. Realy soon....

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Friday was Eric's birthday, the big 38!

To celebrate we went to Famous Dave's Barbeque and pigged out on barbeque ribs and chicken. Here is the evidence of our messy meal:

(No, Ethan did not have ribs....he had mini-corn dogs. Go figure!)

About an entire roll of paper towels later....

We went home and had birthday cake! Eric requested I make a gingerbread cake for him this year. It was an unusual request, since it is only the second time I've made it. The smell sure got us ready to be in the holiday spirit! I decorated his cake with golf balls and tees. It was a fun cake. Erica loved looking at the lit candles.

Ode to Eric

You are the....

apple to my pie

butter to my bread

sail to my boat

sun to my flower

snow to my flake

monkey to my wrench

sweet to my tooth

bear to my hug

******

Thanks for making my life a whole lot sweeter and totally complete!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

I love you!

How to Annoy Your Dental Hygienist

I find it entertaining, in an exasperating sort of way, how patients can have such similar illogical reactions to things in a dental chair. I will give three examples of patients that anyone who works in the dental field sees on a regular basis.... at least once a day.


Patient A is great at stating the obvious. "This front tooth here, (pointing to the hideously discolored monstrosity in front of their face, complete with the grey metal margin gleefully exposed for all the world to see) is a fake, so be careful with it. I try not to touch it so it doesn't fall out." They then proceed to wince and gasp at any sort of movement my instruments do in its near proximity. Patient A is also very good at pointing out a hairline flaw or stain that bothers them, when it is surrounded by five different colors of filling material on their patchwork-piece of a tooth.


Patient B finds it impossible to swallow their own saliva, when that is all they do every other day of their life. They don't seem to notice how much of the appointment time I waste putting everything down so they can spit into the little vacuum. And if I don't do it often enough, they frantically point to their mouth and make "ah ah aha aaah" sounds.


Patient C cannot lay back in the chair at less than a 45 degree angle to the floor. They are approaching 60 degrees and "Whoaaa!!! I'm going to slide out of the chair!" Trust me, I explain. I haven't lost a single patient yet. I then proceed to dump them on the floor....just kidding! I just wonder how they go to bed at night. Surely they aren't all sleeping in recliners! As I continue to press the down-and-back-button, I usually make some little joke about "That's how I get my tips"....You know, loose change falling from their pockets....Yes, it's lame. We all have to entertain ourselves somehow, though.

DIET is a Four Letter Word

For those of you who don't know, I am on a diet.


Yes, it's one of the dreaded four-letter words. And I am willingly subjecting myself to the torture.


Actually, it's been a while in coming.....or very much needed....however you want to say it. I've gradually, over the years of child-bearing, accumulated the extra weight equivalent to a small person. Or a large pumpkin, as Valerie Bertonelli would illustrate to her television audience. So now I am attempting to whiddle away some of that pumpkin flesh, and hopefully find a new me on the other side.


So, why am I telling you all about this? Well, truthfully, I have been on this diet since September 10th, but I was afraid of announcing it at the beginning in fear of it being a total bust. However, I have been seeing some positive results and now have the courage to announce it to the world.


Now it's done. I am officially accountable. All of you will know what I'm doing if you see me sneaking a brownie, so now I have to be good.


So here's the tally:
Day: 24
Pounds Lost: 12


Only about three zuchinni squashes to go!!!