19 weeks along!

This week was the 19th week of my pregnancy. I realized yesterday I hadn't taken a photo of my belly, so I took one last night! Well, several, really, but only 1 good one; here it is. :)
Yep, that's flour on my belly. I was making more zucchini bread. Why? Because the dagnabbit grubs killed all the squash plants again. I thought I had taken all the precautions, and gotten rid of them from last year, but at least 7 different disgusting grubs got into the plants, and some of the squash themselves, and I had to rip out the plants. I'm "afeared" for my pumpkins now, too...but they haven't flowered yet, so we'll just have to see. Any-hoo, not counting the zucchini I used for the previous loaves, I had 3 small, 2 medium, and the ginormous albino one. I was shredding zucchini for a long time. ... I just figured out that THAT is why my right arm hurts.
I made 1 loaf last night, and today I made 4 more (after getting more eggs). I'll make 4 more tomorrow, I think (I ran out of vanilla, flour, and brown sugar, so had to buy some more). I have enough zucchini for 4, but that's a lot of bread. Missy suggested using it as an extra ingredient for things like spaghetti sauce, and it's not a bad idea. Of course, we don't eat a lot of pasta right now, on account of me not being able to enjoy it. I'll probably make the 4 loaves and share the joy with our neighbors. I love being able to use all 4 stoneware loaf pans at the same time. Maybe I'll use the mini loaf pan, too, just for giggles! I used up the last of the Pampered Chef vanilla and cinnamon. *sniff*

Today we went to Bro Decker's house for the Pioneer Day celebration. We missed the walk-through, and I forgot my camera, but at least we got there for good food.





cool, huh? I got these images from Spell With Flickr. Now you do it, too! Just type in your word and the images will show up. If you'd like a different image for a letter, just click that image, and a new one will appear. Then you can copy and paste the html code that shows up. yay!

Breaking Dawn

If you're like me, you are anxiously awaiting the release of Stephenie Meyer's new book, Breaking Dawn...which you will borrow from a friend when they're done with it. (If you haven't heard of it, then please click here, here, and here for info on the first 3 books.) And maybe you're a little more *ahem* obsessed with it, with an actual countdown blinkie on your blog, and tons of Edward flair buttons on your Facebook account, and you will actually purchase the book at 12:01am on August 2. If you need something to tide you over until then, please check out the Normal Mormon Husbands blog starting Monday. I'm sure it will be a blast!
(that was quite a few links, eh?)

random quote of the day (from Dec 28, 2007):
Krillin: I didn't know a penguin was an animal!

I feel kicking!!

and I love it!

Of course, the boys don't believe me, because it's not visible yet....

I'm a stalker!

~~stalker~~
I made a "stalker" blinkie for Pretty Scrappy's blog. :D It's on the right-hand side, right there at the top.

~~right now~~
Kenshin is hanging upside-down on the arm of the couch, asking me to say funny things, and then giggling like crazy....probably because everything is funnier when the blood is rushing to one's head.

I got a blog award!

LindaJ presented me with a blog award several days ago, and now I finally have the time to pass it on. :)

The rules of the award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

So without further ado, here are my nominations.

Missy, for the inspiration on recording my own history, via her "Mommy, Tell me a story" blog.
Karen, for the funny stories about her boys. I hope my boys grow up to be like hers. :)
Sheila, for the fun family pictures!
Vicky, who finally started a blog.

Victoria, who actually inspired me to start my blog. See, I even styled my blog address after hers!
Penny, my friend in Florida. Her blog is filled with fun stories about her family.

Pretty Scrappy, for the awesome 3-tiered theme digi album she's giving away, called "Live, Laugh, Love". Plus, she made me some very cool digi-snaps with my boys' names on them.
Audra's Little Scraps, for her LDS-themed digi-kits. She also does custom overlays. Guess what I had made?

Now I'm off to let the nominees know. Later, gators!

back from Vanceburg

I will write more about this later, but just wanted to pop in and say, I had a great time!

EDIT:
As I mentioned, Uncle Al had found a family graveyard, and we were cleaning it up. I should have called Uncle Al to find out how much work this was going to be, or perhaps what clothes I should have worn, but I didn't. I'm preggo, and I have a hard time tying shoes, and it's summer, so I've been in flip-flops for awhile. Yes, I wore the flip-flops for the weekend.

When I got off the freeway, Uncle Al called my cell-phone and started to give me directions to the graveyard (instead of going directly to the motel), and gave me the first turn-off, and then I lost all reception. So I decided to drive to the road, and if I still couldn't get a signal, then I'd turn around and go to the motel. It was a looooong road! And there was only 1 store, which we stopped at so the boys could use the bathroom. But they were closed (aaaaaarrrggh!), so I gave the boys the extra pull-ups I had packed, and basically told them to wet their pants. LOL Better than peeing on someone's prized begonias, ya know? Besides, there was NO shoulder on that road.

At the corner, I saw 2 guys standing at a car, but I didn't see the boys, so I kept on driving. Luckily, the guys turned out to be Uncle Al and Uncle Doug, and they trailed me until I figured it out. :) So we drove right to the graveyard. At one point along SR-344, it looked very similar to the road leading to our subdivision, and Krillin commented on it. "See, how the dirt is high up on that side, and on the other side, there's houses? It looks like our road. See? And right there, that could be the chicken house!" Yep, there's a house near us that has chickens. :D

As soon as I stepped out of the car, a tick landed on my foot. I said a silent "thank you" prayer for the insight to bring insect repellent. Then Uncle Doug showed me the grove that the graveyard was...er...buried in. The land had not been properly cared for since it passed out of the May family, and it showed. It was a little grove of trees on the top of a hill in a farm. Trees had to be cut down, underbrush cleared away, and headstones identified and cleaned up.

Krillin and Kenshin are more city-boy than farm-boys, so they balked at the work, but were willing to help clear the sticks/branches. I helped by writing down the headstone inscriptions (made more visible by baking soda!), and raking.

The man who owns the farm stopped by to talk for a bit, and even let us borrow a "real" chainsaw (I guess Doug's 2-bit wasn't enough) and other tools. He told us that in the 90 years that his family had owned the farm, no May family line had ever come to visit it.

At about 7:30 or so, Uncle Al called it a good day's work, and we headed to the motel. What a beautiful drive! The roads were narrow, and some parts unpaved, but God's hand could be seen everywhere in that countryside. I love it! At the motel, I took the registration card to fill out my license plate number, and Uncle Al surprised me by paying for my room. I was very touched by his blessing. :) For dinner, Uncle Al and Doug got pizza and milk, and some cookies.

I can't fully explain it, but eating the pizza and milk (no cookie for me ;)) really made me feel at home. Sitting out there on my cooler, in front of the motel, talking with my uncles, and the boys getting to know their cousins... I guess it reminded me of the fun times had while camping, when I was young. The only thing missing was P-chan.

I had to check the boys over for ticks, and was relieved to find none. Then they got to check me! LOL Then I found I had a signal on my cell-phone, so I called P-chan. After I read the boys their good-night story (Little House on the Prairie), I also fell asleep quickly. When I woke up, I sensed that something was weird... I finally figured out that I could breathe through my nose. LOL I guess one-star motels agree with me. ;) (I have had horrible allergies during the pregnancy, and have to sleep with tissues!)

I spent a bit of time at the local Family Dollar, looking for a pair of crocs-like clogs for me, and some socks for the boys, but ended up with only socks. At least I had some jeans on that day! :) We worked until just after noon, at the graveyard. The local Stake President and his family worked along with us. President Smith reminded me (in both looks and voice) of Micheal Gaston, of "Jericho" fame (at least in my mind). Nice family!

While Uncle Al went to the Genealogy center in Vanceburg, Uncle Doug led me to another cemetery, where my Great-great-great-great-great grandfather is buried, along with several family members. I got several pictures. Uncle Doug pointed out the nearby stream (which was very dirty and gross), where some people had been swimming the day earlier. LOL

We headed back to the motel for some R&R. Uncle Doug took Casey to the Genealogy center, and the boys and I hung out in the motel room. I considered a nap, but then decided against it... I always end up groggier after the nap. go fig! At about 3, everyone came back, and we hung out for a bit. I found out that Uncle Doug lives in Ohio, just a few hours from us, so I hope we can visit each other again, soon. I don't like driving at night, and I wanted to be home before it got dark, so I decided to leave a little earlier than I would have if P-chan was there. We got some pictures, lots of hugs, and said bye-bye.

We ended up right behind a dumptruck full of dirt, all along the windy, no-passing road. LOL Krillin likes to peek over at the speedometer and tell me I'm either going "too fast" or "too slow!" The truck afforded him many "too slow!" comments. :)

We had been on the freeway for about 10 miles when the cell phone finally got reception again! Why it would work on the other road one day and not the next, I'll never know. We stopped at McDonald's for dinner, and we got home just before 9pm, so still plenty of sunlight. :)

Off to Vanceburg, KY ... and a Mogert update

And what in the world is in Vanceburg, KY? you might ask.

Well, for this weekend, at least 2 of my uncles and 1 of the boys' cousins. Uncle Alan organized a clean-up of some ancestor's gravesites, and a little family reunion. I found out about it 2 months ago, and then promptly forgot. (I blame it on pregnancy brain!) But luckily, Missy and Dyan reminded me yesterday, so I'm packing right now, and leaving in a few hours. It's a 3-hour drive from here, so we'll get there this evening. I haven't seen any family from WA in 3 years, and the boys don't even remember anyone from there. I am taking BOTH cameras, just in case I use up all the space on one.

~~Mogert~~
I finally know what a Mogert is! I actually asked him where he got the word. As is with any mystery solved, it's not as fun to know as the want to know, so I've put it in white text. You'll have to highlight to find out. :)
In the movie "Spiderwick Chrocnicles", they fight the evil ogres, led by Mulgarath. When an almost-4yo combines "Mulgarath" and "ogre" you get: Mogert.

picture of my house

We live in Kentucky, while most of our extended family lives in Utah and Washington. So far, only 2 family members have visited us (my MIL in March 2007, and Karen & fam in May 2007).
EDIT: P-chan reminded me that my dad visited us first, in January 2007 (he actually helped us move in!); P-chan's BIL (with some of the kids) came to visit in April 2007 (I think ~ my arm was broken, so it was either March or April); and his brother Andrew & fam came in October 2007. I feel very silly for not remembering those visits.
I was informed by Vicky that she had yet to see my house, as it isn't available on any of the snazzy "live" maps...I don't know why it isn't. I swear I really do live at my address. LOL The closest thing I have found is on MSN Live Maps... I have to search for the street that leads to the subdivision, and even then, some of the streets are labeled wrong. LOL
Here's where my house should be (click for bigger image):

But the "live" picture is about 2 years old, so it doesn't even show the ground being broken for our house. for shame! And here is a picture of our house. We hate the house itself sometimes, but I do love living in this community and Kentucky.

I have more recent pictures (the trees are bigger and the grass looks better), but I cannot find my camera cord, so on the camera they stay. Here is one of the back of the house, taken after sunset, so it's dark. sorry. I just noticed that this is also before we did anything with the yard; now we have a garden and a swingset.

later!

mogert

Right now, Kenshin said:
"I'm shooting the mogerts! I'll be back soon!" and then he ran out of the room (he took his unloaded watergun with him).
From the other room: "We are thankful for the Prophet! And you're goin' down!"
Many shooting sounds, with cries of "Mogert, mogert!" abound.

I'll let you know when I find out what a mogert is.

albino zucchini...and etc

My Our garden is starting to have some delicious food ready to eat! We now have waaaaaay more lettuce than we would normally eat (4 different kinds, no less); sugar snap peas; strawberries; carrots; and of course zucchini. I don't know what I was thinking, planting 3 zucchini plants...probably that I like z.bread...but I failed to think of the fact that I am diabetic when pregnant. oops! As my dad used to say, "It's zucchini season, lock your doors." We already have 3 ripe, one being albino. What's that about? Also, our yellow squash (that the boys got from the trip to Slowpoke Farm) are coming in nicely. We are still waiting for the hot peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and honeydew to grow some actual fruit.

~mmm, bread!~~I made 2 loaves of z.bread today. P-chan ground some wheat for flour, so I used half wheat, half white. I also used the Splenda brown sugar for the brown sugar. I have NO idea what the ending carb count was, but I felt justified in having 2 thinnish slices with lunch. You know, fruits of my labor and all.

~~mmm, brown sugar!~~
As for the Splenda brown sugar: Dang that was expensive! $5 for 1 pound, which was enough for the 2 loaves, with some leftover. (So that makes the z.bread over $2.50 for each loaf. Not exactly frugal.) It has a very molasses-y smell, which is sooo yummy. It made me wonder if Karen could tell I made the bread with fake sugar....

~~New car!!~~P-chan's moped was delivered last week. If anyone knows where to find the $*%@# fuel switch, please let us know. The owner's manual was written by somebody for whom English is definitely a second language. ScooterDepot.us has less than stellar customer service. In fact, they are the worst I've dealt with. Talking to a live person is near impossible, and they have yet to return our calls. On the bright side, we have a huge box for the boys to play with, packing bubbles and twist-ties galore, a wood palette, and the metal frame from the box even gave us $1.28 in "scrap metal" salvage. LOL P-chan will have to take a motorcycle class, and get a license endorsement, so it might be another month before he can officially drive it. *sigh*

~~here, doggy, doggy!~~
I am dog-sitting this weekend. Well, sort of. Since Kenshin is scared-to-death of dogs (even the 15-pound beagle called Lucky), Lucky has to stay at her house, instead of coming here. I'm watching over Lucky, because Hugh tagged along with Jecka and Andrew over to NC for a friend's wedding reception. (Jecka would normally watch Lucky) So, 3 times a day, I drive over to Hugh's house and make sure Lucky hasn't messed on anything, that she has food and water, and let her run in the backyard to take care of business. And 3 times a day, Kenshin freaks out that Lucky might try to show him some affection. *sigh*

~weird bugs!~~
If you like looking at weird bugs, check this out: What's That Bug. If I weren't so nauseated from being pregnant, I would really enjoy that site more.

toodles!

good-bye to Pampered Chef

As you may know, I was a "cooking consultant" with Pampered Chef for several years. I started out doing it for the discount, and continued with it as a hobby. I really enjoy cooking, and meeting new people. When we moved here to Kentucky, I struggled finding a new customer base, and it became more like a chain around my neck, than the fun hobby I had signed up for. There were times in the past that I wondered if it was time to quit (really, how many stoneware do I need?? LOL) but it always happened that I would get a big order or a show to "keep me alive". This time, no orders and no cooking shows blessedly appeared (I think it's been 6 months since I turned anything in). I took that as a sign that it's time for me to hang up my hat. About the same time, there were several things that came down the line from corporate that really got my goat, so I am glad I made the decision. I decided to "blog" this decision because it makes it more final, somehow. Also, I want to list some things on ebay. ROFL
I may become a consultant again in a few years, but right now I'm focused on my other hobbies. The 2 things I will miss the most are hanging out with Penny at conference, and of course the discount. ;)
If you are looking for a Pampered Chef consultant, I can refer you to one. My good friend Penny is in Florida, and I think she's awesome!

games (or mindless ways to amuse yourself online)

Krillin has been playing a lot of Yahoo games lately. It started with P-chan showing him Magic Pen (totally cool, go play it!), and then of course he had to explore the others. Today, I heard very weird music coming from the speakers, so I went over to find out what game he was playing. Turned out to be a game where you "play surgeon", like removing an arrow from a leg. Yep, you get to cut a body apart. NOT COOL. I told him he'd have to get my permission to play any more games from Yahoo, or I'd remove it from the "okay" list on the computer. So he spent the next few minutes asking "is this one okay?" and having me read about them. Most of them are okay, but I banned a few of them.
Some of my favorites are Sleepless Knight 2, Crazy Pool, and Indestructable Tank. P-chan also like Doodle Defender (LOL's and OMG's attack you!).

random quote of the day

"I saw a robber once, and I had to punch him in the wiener."
~Kenshin

Kenshin is quite the story-teller. It's really easy to believe anything he tells you, because he's convinced it's true. For instance, he has a dad who lives in Florida. They do all kinds of fun things together, like have a dog named Lucky, who doesn't bite. I *think* that his desire to have another parent comes from one of his friends, whose parents are divorced, and he "has" two houses.

I hope you all had a fun and safe Independence Day celebration!

some scrapbook pages

I did some last-minute challenges at GDS on June 30th. Here are 2 of them:


This is a scraplift, please click here for credits


This is of my nephews when they came to visit last year. I blurred the name for privacy issues. Please click here for credits.

disappointment and fun

After I watered my garden last night, I left a bucket with dirt, some cups, and my pitcher (aka watering can) on the back porch. Then I went for a walk with the boys, around the block, while P-chan was on the phone. When I got back, I went to collect the items from the porch, and found that the pitcher was missing. I looked all over the yard, and it is nowhere to be found. And, the cups were inside it, but then were scattered all over the porch. So, whoever took the pitcher, left a mess. How disappointing. I hope the thief didn't drink out of the pitcher, because I had just used it for mixing the Miracle Gro. Then again....no, that's mean. I hope they didn't drink from it.

I've been having some mindless fun on Facebook. There are literally thousands of applications in which to waste your time, but I only have about 20 on my account. My favorites are the Green Patch and Knighthood. If you'd like to join me, find my address in my info here.

Krillin started a 4-week Summer Camp on Monday. It's from 9am to 5pm, at the local middle school. It has been weird and quiet with him gone during the day. The neighborhood kids still come around to ask for him, and then stay to play with Kenshin. Kenshin kept asking me (the first day) when Krillin would be back, but now he just plays, plays, plays all day.