Check out Brittni's blog

I don't want anyone to miss out on Brittni's news. So if you don't have a link to her blog, click on the link to her's here on mine.

Please bear with me....

I have been perfecting my elf-making skills and just had to make a few more elf dances with my new and improved elves (with actual ears and hair). I really have to start getting ready for Christmas now so I think my elf-making days have finally come to an end.

Harry and Lloyd, Improved version

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I know I'm out of control, but I couldnn't leave Brayden out of the fun!

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Is this what becomes of people who move to Erie?

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Country Hoedown Elves

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Merry Christmas

I hope no one minds that I borrowed a few people to help out with the following videos.

More elfen fun with Lloyd and Harry?

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Elfen Fun

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Work

I've been quite stressed out about my work situation since they started going to speech recognition and took away unrestricted overtime. Needless to say my income keeps dropping with each new development. I've always worked on Monday which is my day off, because there is always lots of work and it is the only way I can produce enough work during the week to keep my income up. Saturday is my workday, but there is generally no work, and so I have been taking paid time off every Saturday for half day or a whole day so that I can still work on Monday and not go into overtime and chance getting in trouble. Working on Saturdays is agonizing when there is no work, and I have so many other errands I could be taking care of instead.

I decided to be brave and ask my supervisor if it would be possible to change my schedule so that I permanently work a half day on Monday and a half day on Saturday. That way, the Monday work won't pile up and be late, and if there is work on Saturday, I am still there to cover it. It made total sense to me, but I was positive I would be told such a thing isn't allowed.

I was quite surprised when the response I got was in favor of me trying it out for a few weeks and if all goes well we can make it permanent. I have no qualms about it going well, since I've virtually been working this schedule on the sly with no detriment to the work on the weekends.

She even agreed that it was a win-win situation for us both.

If I worked away from home, having to go to work 6 days a week would be a drag, but since I just have to walk in the den, putting 4 hours in during the entire day, is like not working at all. It will also be a bonus not to have to use PTO on Saturdays anymore, or at least only take 4 hours if I need the whole day off.

It is refreshing to actually have something positive happening with my job. I love what I do, its just the industry as a whole is heading in a new direction (sending work to India and going to speech recognition) and its been a little scary wondering what the future is going to bring.

Do you think?.................

There are two things I'm counting on when I get to Heaven.....that I will be skinny and I won't ever have to paint again.

After painting every day for the past 5 days, I would really like to never see another paint brush as long as I live, but at least when I get to Heaven, please let it be paintbrush free!

I've been through 3 gallons of primer and 10 gallons of paint within the past year and I couldn't even guess how many of rolls of blue tape. Here it is Christmas time again and I'm trying to wrap up another project and get ready for Christmas at the same time. The only thing left is the baseboard moldings in the new walk-in closet after they get those installed. I never dreamed, having started this last project the end of July, that I would be still in the midst of it at Christmastime.

If I could look this cute when I was painting, maybe I would be smiling too, obviously she doesn't really have to open a can or pick up a brush........

Wii is getting Fit

I finally managed to get us a Wii Fit. At Amazon you could sign up to get a text message when they became available so I signed up and the minute I got the text, I ordered one. Cayla is the most dedicated. She is on it several hours a day, and Alyssa gets in her share also. Brittni hasn't really had time, and I've managed about a half hour. My Wii fit age was 57, which isn't bad since I'm 52. My second time, I managed a 44, so I'm getting younger by the minute. My little Mii looks more like a roly poly weeble person, but hopefully she will slim down if I can find enough time to work out on it. What we need to do now is post a video of Alyssa doing the hula hoop, which is quite entertaining.

Disney on Ice

Last Wednesday, Brittni, Cayla and I went to Disney on Ice. Cayla has never been before, and last time we went with just Alyssa and Brittni, because our seats ended up being where you couldn't see well and shouldn't have been sold, they put us on the very front row and center. It was so awesome, and I wanted Cayla to have that kind of experience so I bought the best seats available that day, which were row C, and I thought that was probably the third row. Well, it ended up being the first row on the side and we had the very first seats so we were right up front right by the little stages they have at that end of the ice that the skaters sometimes get up on and where the men in black come set up props.

For some reason I don't think Cayla was into have her picture taken at this moment.

This is the little stage that was just a few feet in front of us.

One funny thing that happened that night was that towards the end of the show this big ball of suds came falling from above and landed right on the back of the head of this little boy next to us who was standing in front of his dad. I guess it was from the bubble machine they use during the Nemo scene. It seemed to just come out of nowhere because looking up, it didn't really look like the boy was straight underneath any equipment up there, but my girls actually saw it falling so I guess it did. Needless to say the dad looked completely stunned.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Yes, I am posting about casserole, but no, I didn't take a picture of my food, just grabbed one from the internet.

After living with a non-vegetable-eating husband for 16 years, I have been craving a really good chicken and broccoli casserole. It's been about 20 years since I have had one. With the husband out of the way, I still had one obstacle, a non-vegetable, non-chicken eating daughter. Since Alyssa is never home at dinner time anymore because of work, and Brittni and Cayla both eat broccoli and chicken, I decided it was time.

It was everything I hoped it would be. That was the best meal I've cooked in a long, long time, most likely because it is not one of the 10 or so meals I rotate in our limited repertoire, and the best part is I split it into two casserole dishes and put one in the freezer for another delicious meal that is oven ready. YUM!!!

Star Pupil

When we went to parent-teacher conference at school, the first thing Cayla's teacher said was, "if you ever get sick of Cayla and feel it is time for her to move on, I have spoke with my wife and we will adopt her with no question." He said she is one of the best students he has ever had in all his years of teaching. He likes to throw out jokes that go over most kids heads, but Cayla gets them every time.

She got straight 4's in all subjects and just like every parent-teacher conference, the teacher is at a loss as to what goals they can set for her.


He gave us her Utah State core tests from the end of 4th grade, which she of course passed well above average and, in fact, on the math tests she got 100%. She hates math, but she excels at it.


He was very impressed with her wax museum project, stating that it hit every point perfectly, the costume, speech, and report, all right on point.




Here she is looking a little bit like Pinocchio (awesome costume from 2 years ago).

Skylar's Baptism

Syklar and Malorie have been attending church with a neighbor and Skylar decided he wanted to be baptised. His uncle baptized and confirmed him.




I was not at the best angle for this picture as there were about 5 different people taking this picture at the same time, so I got a shot with the baptism boy hidden by Braden, but at least I got a good shot of him above.

Just one cute anectode. When Malorie and Skylar came home from their first time at church, Malorie told her mom very excitedly about how they even got lunch, a tiny piece of bread and water. They have definitely been overfeeding that girl if she considers that a lunch.

Halloween

This was by far the cutest costume at the school this year, and it all started when Cayla tried on the chef hat at Halloween Express and we were trying to decide what we could do with it. This is one of the cutest and easiest to put together homemade costumes we have ever come up with. Homemade to a point that is. I actually found white pajama sleepers on line. I just love the internet!

She really was a happy dough boy, she just didn't look so in this picture. If you poked her tummy, she would giggle.

Wax Museum of Famous Americans

I had the opportunity today to go the Wax Museum of Famous Americans where I happened across a "wax" figure of Ella Fitzgerald who bore a striking resemblance to my daughter Cayla.

The wax Ella:



The real Ella:


Upon pushing the Ella Activator button she summed up her life story in 30 seconds. There were all kinds of characters at the museum today, but Ella was my favorite.



Grandma also visited the museum and snapped the above picture. She also took a movie, but unfortunately we couldn't get it to work on any of my computers.

I had to throw in this picture with her sparkly pumps we found at the DI in the perfect size.

Crazy Hat Day

Thursday was crazy hat day at school. Luckily, they found this hat when they were in Kanab. It is definitely one of the craziest hats I've ever seen. I can't help but wonder why they have a hat like this in Kanab, but then again, why not Kanab. One year Grandma Findlay forgot her nightgown on a trip to Kanab and there isn't one store in the whole town that carries night clothes, but if you need a crazy hat, I guess it's the place to go.

Brittni's Blog

Brittni has set up her own blog. She is at brittnirichelle.blogspot.com.

Grandkids..etc.

Because of comments from Jessica and Angie that they were glad to see a picture of Camie, I thought maybe I should post pictures of the grandkids that you probably have never seen and do some updates on the older girls. This picture was taken when we had everyone in town at the same time and weren't sure if that would ever happen again.

Stephanie went back to school in New Mexico a few years ago and got her Masters degree in Liberal Arts, where she met Evan, who Alyssa says is the smartest person she has ever known. Stephanie and Evan have now moved to Pittsburgh where Evan is working on his PhD. Evan is originally from Texas, and they have no idea where they will end up once he is done with school. Stephanie currently works from her computer at home. She works for the same company she did while in New Mexico and was fortunate to be able to take her job with her. She enters information about business executives into a database so when a company needs to fill a position they can access that information to find people to recruit. (That is my understanding of it anyway.) She isn't particularly fond of her job or being stuck at home working, but it is convenient for now until she and Evan settle somewhere permanently and she gets a chance to start her career.

Nicole and Jason live in West Jordan. They have the cute kids in the pictures below. Skylar just turned 9, Malorie is soon to be 7, and Braydon will be 4 in December. I don't get to see them much since I am always working and they live clear across the valley to the west. They also go camping almost every weekend all summer long so they don't get up this way much either. They are really cute kids and Nicole is a great mother.


Camie and her boyfriend Jeremy, live in Salt Lake, and she is co-owner of the Aura Spa and Boutique in Park City, the link to which is on Alyssa's blog. They did all the remodeling of the spa themselves and did a great job. It is really a cute place right on main street and business seems to be going really well. Anybody who goes to Park City for any reason should stop in and say Hi and check it out.

These pictures are from 2005 and 2007.

Alyssa

It was my thinking that since Alyssa has her own blog that I really didn't need to post about her on mine unless she did something phenomenal. Has she done anything particularly noteworthy lately that I need to praise and adore her for? Not particularly; however, apparently, her ego cannot handle the fact that I have blogged about everyone but her. One day when discussing her ego, she told us she didn't have an ego, to which Cayla and I laughed our heads off. You see, Alyssa, according to her thinking is the queen of the castle. She always gets the best chair. She always gets the remote control. She thinks she should always get the extra garage (currently her and Brittni trade off on a weekly basis). In general, she just thinks the world should revolve around her. She will admit to all these things and yet still proclaim she doesn't have an ego. When she informed me that she felt neglected because I had not posted about her, I told her I would post about her nonexistent ego, to which she replied that I needed to do it that very day (Sunday). Well, as you can see, it has taken me a couple of days to get around to it, but somehow I doubt her ego will deflate due to neglect.

Here is a picture of her with Camie and Nicole's daughter Malorie.

Shout out to Mom/Grandma

I took today off so I could face the daunting task of trimming my hedge. It doesn't take a whole day, but it doesn't get done if I have to work first. It has to be my first priority of the day and is typically a 3 hour job if I don't take any breaks. Around 9 this morning I came downstairs, looked out my beautiful new window, and saw mom out there with hedge clippers going at it on my neighbor's side of the hedge. I had her come in while I ate some cereal and then out we went. She did my neighbor's side with her hand clippers while I did my side and the top with my electric hedge trimmer. She had most of my clippings swept up by the time I finished and as it started to snow we were just cleaning up the last of it. My 3 hour job only took 1-1/2 hours and now I have the whole day to try and accomplish more things I am behind on.

Doesn't it look nice!!

Thanks MOM!!

Windows...and more windows

I had no idea new windows could make a person so happy. I don't even want to put up any blinds because I just want to look at them.

We had 6 disgustingly ugly bay windows on the front of the house that looked like this.

Inside:




Outside:




And now we have windows everywhere that look like this!!!












The tub/shower and new shower in the girl's bathroom got new windows too.








This is kind of hard to really see a difference, but...


Before:

After:

I think it kind of freshened up the outside of the house, if you don't look too closely at the old raingutters...

Since I didn't get windows in my bedroom, I'm really envious of the girls. Definitely come spring, I have to try and afford to do the remaining 5 windows on the top two floors, and if the economy really turns around maybe the 3 sliding doors too.

SMILE!!

Monday was the big day.

Brittni got her braces off and we had corn on the cob for dinner.

Not that she hasn't eaten it before, but it sure was a mess with her braces on.

I told her I wouldn't post this picture if it didn't turn out well, but I lied. It isn't the most flattering picture of her, but it does show her nice straight teeth and wider smile.

New Bathroom #1

Finally,we have one bathroom finished. This is the girl's new, improved, and expanded bathroom. There used to be a jacuzzi room that could only be accessed through my bathroom. We got rid of the old jacuzzi and divided the room in half. Half of it will be a man's walk-in closet accessed from my bathroom (that will never be occupied by a man while I live here, but added-on for resale value) and the other half became a new shower and vanity room for the girls. The girls now have a tub/shower, two sinks, another separate gigantic shower, and a vanity with a 3-way mirror just for doing hair. Please tell them they are spoiled, because I don't think they realize it!!

Here are the before pictures of the really nasty bathroom.

When the girls left for Pittsburgh on vacation, we knew we were going to be doing the bathrooms, just not when. After I got back from taking them to the airport on Friday I got a call that the contractor was ready to start on Monday. I decided not to tell them what was going on so when they came back from Pittsburgh, they came home to a completely gutted bathroom. Surprise!!

Now here we have the results, just made ready for move-in yesterday. For orientation purposes, as you enter the bathroom now, the wall opposite the second sink (just before you enter the toilet/tub area) is a new door into the vanity/shower room addition.

Finally, new sinks that are not brown and no more tiled countertop, but beautiful smooth granite.

New and improved toilet/tub area and Brittni's knees (didn't realize they were in the picture).

The tile you can see where it goes partway up the wall is that way around the entire room, behind the toilet and around the other side. This room will never have to be painted behind the toilet again. Yeah!!

Newly added room, vanity and shower. With the three-way mirror it's hard to get a picture that makes sense because everything is reflecting in the mirror.

Great new light fixture. Alyssa and I picked the lights out from pictures on the internet and they turned out even prettier than I thought they would, although it is hard to tell in the picture. The white actually has a marble look to it, which I didn't realize, but I love.

Not a very good picture of the shower, but it is the size of a bathtub without the tub. I should have opened the door and got a shot of the giant new shower head.

Now I get to temporarily move into their bathroom, while they do mine. Demolition day is Tuesday.