Embarrassing Moment #3472

When: 9th Grade
Where: Orchestra Concert
Who: Me and a cute boy

I sat next to the dreamiest boy in the ninth grade orchestra. My orchestra conductor had seated us together a week earlier; I had proudly taken a second chair! Unfortunately, I had been afflicted all week with a terrible phlegm producing head cold, and had the most awkward time finding the right pitch. I had taken a warm shower before the concert to loosen up my sinuses and gave a good effort to farmer blow out what I could in the shower.
I showed up for the concert in my best black velvet dress and took my seat next to my ninth grade dream boat. He nodded and continued his conversation with a chum across the stage. As the orchestra filled in their seats, I desperately wished he would take notice of me...and secretly desperately wished that the other girls would notice his adoration of me and be jealous! Nothing like the sort happened. He didn't say one word!
The concert began as we fell into the well rehearsed Bach's Brandenburg Concerto. After the first piece finished my wish came true! Dreamy ninth grade boy leaned over and whispered to me, "you really played good." Flustered, and blushing bright shades of red, I meant to thank him for his comment, but instead blurted out a mixed "Tanks" as a hideously loud sneeze erupted from the depths of my lungs. He looked shocked and awed at first and then burst out a loud, "HA HA HA," before he turned away and muffled his laughter with his sleeve. I recovered from my sneeze to realize that he was laughing at the largest piece of greenish yellow snot phlegm that had flown from my mouth when I sneezed and landed directly on top of my violin! A large nickel sized phlegm ball oozed on my violin scarring my youthful peace in ninth grade and doing little to award me jealousies from the other girls.
Dreamy ninth grade by made little attempts to speak to me throughout the rest of the year, or the rest of high school, but when he did, he always recounted the flying phlegm incident!

I hope you Friday is phlegm-scar free! Have a fun Friday...

MELTDOWN!

Why me? Why me? Why me?

You know the old adage, when it rains it POURS! Such is my life. The other day as I sat at my computer I noticed how unorganized my picture file was. Last year I made separate folders for each year and separated the pictures into those years, but I hadn't done that recently so I started clicking, pasting and moving files around. I have a laptop and a wireless mouse (thanks to my sister), but sometimes the mouse doesn't drag right and gets a little sticky, accidentally grabbing the wrong file. The mouse did this very thing and accidentally grabbed the entire picture file (with all 20,000 pictures that I have) and dragged it to the file below (games).

Crap! I tried to drag the file out of games, but the computer wouldn't do it, so I copied all the files, and pasted them back in the picture folder. But the problem remained that I had pictures still in the games folder and pictures in a picture folder. And for some reason, the computer also made a second picture folder. When I tried to upload pictures, it showed an empty picture folder. I would then have to search for the secondary picture folder. AAAGGGHHHH! I tried deleting the empty picture folder and succeeded! Now I only had one picture folder with all my pictures in it and a games folder with all my pictures in it.
Recently Mark had mentioned that we were running out of memory space on our laptop because of all my pictures, so I decided to delete the games folder because I don't have any games in it and I don't need two copies of all my pictures.
I clicked DELETE, and the computer replied by saying that the file was so large and would be permanently deleted, not just sent to the recycle bin. I clicked, OK.

WRONG, WRONG, DESPERATELY WRONG MOVE!

It took me a few seconds to notice that as the files disappeared from the GAMES folder, they were also disappearing from the PICTURES folder! WHAT?!? Aggghhhhhh! I clicked cancel, but only in time to save 2007 and 2008...thus, all my pictures before 2007 have been deleted! What a Catastrophe. My memories wiped a way with the simple click of a devil button!
Have I ever mentioned that I HATE Computers! They are out to get me and I know it! Now that hindsight is 20/20, I admit that I probably should have stopped when I accidentally moved the PICTURES folder into the GAMES folder and waited until Mark came home. I admit it now, my computer is out to ruin my life.

VENTING MY GRUDGES

About a month ago I started teaching aerobics for free to women in the community...mostly in my church. We have been meeting at the church and using a large room. Since the class is an open invitation to anyone (near or far) the class size has grown to more than 30 women! 2 1/2 weeks ago we started doing the class in the church gym. There have been some minor scheduling problems, but we have worked around that with others that want to use the gym. LAST NIGHT a man all puffed up in huffiness, walked in and demanded we leave 1/2 way through our class because he wanted to play basketball with his buddies. What the crap? So we compromised and I left 15 minutes before our class should have been over. After the class, we saw him and his buddies again and they were acting very huffy and put out...plus, they didn't even have the gym scheduled...WE DID! oooohhhh I am bugged...

Which brings me to today's blog. I try not to be one to hold a grudge or to be unforgiving, but I was thinking today about instances in my life where I feel I was jilted in some way that I just can get over it.

1. LESLIE- my oldest sister, the impeccable one with fantastic style, did not wear makeup until she was 13, and even then she wore hardly at all...I on the other hand was trying to steal red lipstick from my mom when I was 8. It is because of HER that my mom would always say, "Leslie didn't start wearing makeup until after she was 13, so you will have to wait too!"

2. Nikki- my sister closest in age, the peacemaker and nice sister, well, she wasn't so nice when she pulled my hair out during a fight! To this day I still have thinner hair than the rest of my sisters...I think because of that one fight, my thinning hair is HER fault.

3. Rachel- the baby sister, the beautifully petite one, my only grudge against her is she was born last! Can you believe that? Because of HER I was no longer the baby.

Can you see now how repressed I have been in my own life? Thanks for letting me get that off my chest these trials can be so worrisome. Do you have anything you need to get off your chest? Today's the day to let it VENT!

STOP and see the Sites

Blogging: Have you noticed my new digs? Are you wanting to spend freakishly long amounts of time to pimp out your blog? Here are two sites that I have bookmarked and you should bookmark too!

SJH Blog Design

Tips for New Bloggers

Photography: Here are three photographers that are inspiring to me. I love their candid fresh approach and their bright clean style. They continually inspire me in my own photography quest!

Natalie Norton

Mark Lee's Holladay photo

Nicole Hill

Laughs: There are a handful of websites that I think are hilarious. Need a good laugh? Check these out.

Gurrbonzo

Nikki's Qwips

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

Enjoy!

Monday's Fit Tip Mania!!!

...and mania it has been today! The alarm did not go off this morning, and when I say alarm, I mean baby waking at the crack of dawn. How wonderful it felt to wake to the chirp of bird and not the squawk of baby. What time is it? I wondered as I leaned over to check the time on my multi-purpose cell phone. AGGGHHH! I slept in, George would be late to school, Mark would be late to work, and the whole house would just implode. Frantically I raced through the house throwing some bread and crackers in a lunch bag for George, getting breakfast for the other boys, and prodding George along so he would only be mildly late.
In all my squabble this morning, I forgot to eat breakfast, and by the time I remembered to eat the only thing that lay in front of me was a large pan of cream cheese brownies. Of course I made the logical decision to forego the healthy bran cereal in the cupboard and I dug into, not one, but three cream cheese brownies.

Can you see where I am going from here? No, not straight to junk food city, but to my weekly blog entry. When it comes to a fitness plan, most professionals will agree that your success is dependent upon what you eat. Some will go as far as to say it is 90 percent what you eat and 10 percent physical activity. Although I think this statement takes the idea too far, it does accentuate the need for a better diet.
There are certain habits that set us up for failure and certain habits that lead to success. One of the worst habits you can have is skipping out on breakfast. A healthy breakfast jumpstarts your day and speaks wonders to the little guy in your brain called self-control. If you want to have success throughout the day, the most important decision to make is when and what you will eat for breakfast. Choose a breakfast high in fiber and satisfying in protein, like a high fiber cereal and low fat or skim milk, scrambled egg whites and fruit, protein shake and an apple. But whatever you do, don't skip out on this most important meal. Eating a healthy breakfast will start you off on the right track and help ward off strong hunger cravings that you would have had, had you not eaten a healthy breakfast. Choose a healthy breakfast and you will be choosing success!

Just another reason to 'shoot' your kids

I felt as though I would die, that is, perish right in front of the entire church congregation. My husband and I are fair weather friends of the church choir, we go when we feel they need the moral support. By all means, I am no great singer, and although my husband can carry a tune, he would agree that we are merely there to fill in body space. Our church choir is small in numbers and often has as little as 3 men singing. On this particular Sunday, we were singing a beautiful hymn for the congregation. We had worked on this number for quite some time, and we were preforming with our newly called choir director.
My youngest son has deep attachment issues, so my husband opted to bring him with us onto the stand. He fussed a little so Mark let him sit on the chair on the stand as we stood and sang. 1/2 way through the song I heard a low toned deep sound emanating through the building. At first I thought a plane was flying overhead, and then when I heard the low boom again, I thought perhaps a large diesel truck was passing by. It wasn't until I heard the disrupting sound the third time that it occurred to me to sneak a quick glance over to where Teddy, my youngest, was sitting. HE WAS GONE! No, that's not quite right, he wasn't quite gone. He was at the organ pounding away as hard and as loud as he could. A woman out of the audience rushed up and grabbed him, which immediately sent him into a screaming fit (remember he has attachment issues). At once the entire congregation followed him out the door with their eyes and then burst into muffled laughter.
If I had my camera on hand, I definitely would have shot him in the act! Here are some of my favorite kids shots I took over the last 6 months. Have you caught your kid in the act lately?

Unsolved Mysteries!

I was stalking my blog friends in cyber world today when I was inspired by two excellent blogs: my sisters and some pioneer woman's blog. Both by the way are excellent reads! Both blogs posted about unsolved mysteries in their lives, and like them, and I am sure like many of you, I too have unsolved mysteries that still plague me to this day.

Mystery 1: Another mystery still taunts me for I am not one who 'wets' the bed. After each of my children's births I would suffer from hot flashes and night sweats as my hormones would return to normal. Each night when the baby would want to feed, I would wake up soaked in sweat and have to change my night skibbies (that is code for underwear). One exhausted evening I am sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I was out! Tired! Dead to the world! Like all nights I would wake about 3 in the morning to the intermittent sounds of my newborn baby squawking. I sat up to feed him and noticed that my night sweats were centralized around one particular area. I was dry from waist up but wet, like all other evenings, only this evening it was just around my nether regions. Hmmm...what a mystery. Had I in fact 'wet' the bed? I didn't think so. I perused the area, sniffed a little, checked the color of the moisture and even woke up my dear sleeping husband to help me solve the mystery. Both he and I are still unsure as to what really happened. Do people have night sweats only from the waist down?

Mystery 2: On Valentine's day I received a call from a number I didn't recognize. The husky male voice on the other end of the line simply said, "open your door," and then hung up as unexpectedly as he had called. I ran straight to my door, opened it up and to my great surprise found the most delectable caramel apple wrapped beautifully and adorned with a pink and white polka-dot ribbon. To this day, I do not know who or why the apple was placed on my doorstep. For days I interrogated many friends and followed leads and clues into the late hours of the night, but alas, I am still mystified.

Do you have a mystery that is still a plague on your life?

Cookin' again!

I made these last night for a friend and YUM!

Butterscotch Choco-oat delights

2 1/2 sticks butter
1 C brown sugar
2/3 C white sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
2 1/2 C oatmeal
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C butterscotch chips

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugars together.
2. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until well blended.
3. Sift together flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon and add to wet mixture until evenly mixed.
4. Fold in oatmeal, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl for even mixture.
5. Fold in chocolate and butterscotch.
6. Bake at 410 degrees for 10 minutes.
EAT!

my next project:

{For a close friend, who is expecting a baby girl, something so sweet}

Did you know

...that three of the greatest movies of all time are: Anne of Green Gables (series), Footloose (this is a timeless classic that brings laughter and great joy whenever viewed), and SERENITY (I typically am not a fan of these intense, action packed, futuristic space movies, but this show rocks. If you have nothing to do tonight, go rent it and then you too can see it's 'ROCK' worthiness).

...I have taught aerobics for 10 YEARS! I was inspired by the great aerobic instructors that I took classes from as a freshmen in college, so when a friend asked if I wanted to help her with her aerobic class, I jumped on it (and thus I am still 'jumping').

...an amazing friend of mine had her 4th boy a couple days ago! I had another fabulous friend in Hawaii that also had 4 boys, and quite a few close friends that have 3 boys...I have now come to the 'joy' that if I have another baby and he is a boy, that will be exactly what I want.
...I have NEVER flipped someone off while I was driving, I have NEVER given someone the bird on the road, when I am in my van I keep tall man tucked away, YET; when I drive it seems I have seen that offending finger more times than I would like to count.

I hope you enjoyed my four pointless points for Friday: Go to the video store to pick out serenity, park far away and jog it in, let the woman with 4 boys be first in line, and then keep your middle finger securely at your side when you drive home.

Something Sweet for Friday: Lemon Lusts

I have a friend who is an unbelievably amazing cook! In fact, if I get even the slightest hint that she is baking, I make a point to stop by and 'see' her. She made these scrumptious treats the other day and I had to post them. Thank Tammy for the dish!

Lemon Lust
Crust:
1 cup (8 oz.) cold butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
Filling:
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbls. lemon zest
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a food processor: Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and return it to the refrigerator. In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the confectioners' sugar, salt, and flour. Pulse until well blended. Add the chilled butter and toss with your hands to coat the pieces with flour. Process the mixture until it looks like a fine meal, about 15 seconds.
Transfer the crust dough to a 15x10 inch glass baking pan and press firmly onto the bottom. Place the pan on the center rack in the oven and bake for 15 minutes
While the crust bakes, make the filling. Combine the baking powder and flour. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a handheld whisk until they are well mixed. Add the sugar and beat until it is fully incorporated. Add the baking powder and flour in small amounts, beating after each addition. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.
Pour the filling over the hot crust and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the filling has set and is golden brown. Let the bars cool in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Part II: Young Love...

These teenagers were the best and I have to admit, they put up with a lot while we were working on this photo shoot that I was completing for my photography class from Nicole Hill. I love her website because she profiles great photographers and her awesome photography. Since breaking into the 'photography' world is not that easy, I am sooooooo grateful that she has taught so much. I try to read up as much as I can, but there always comes a point when I don't quite understand the exact mechanics of the problem. This class has been a great class to take. My other favorite photographer...and perhaps probably my most favorite...is Mrs. Natalie Norton! Natalie is also a 'new' and exciting photograher that really pushes the creative limits. I could spend hours stalking her blog...and to be honest, I probably do. So Thank you to these two awesome photoghers: Nicole Hill and Natalie Norton!

Young Love's Ups and Downs

A Cute girl... meets a cute boy...
together they hang out with cute girl's BFF...

Cute boy finds more interest in BFF...
Cute girl finds another cute boy with a different hair do'

New hair do' cute boy likes cute girl...
Cute girls still BFFs!

Thank you to these 'cute' teenagers for this super cute photo shoot!

MONDAY'S Fit Tip Mania

Find something that works for you! Why is it that we start a new workout only to abandon it less than 2 weeks later? Most likely, it is a workout that doesn't fit with your daily routine, or your personal style. If you are casual about your day and don't like tight schedules, than it would be improbable that you would stick to the same sort of workout at the same time of day. Make sure your workout fits you and your personality. If you are on the go, set a goal of interspersed mini work outs throughout the day. 10 minutes of dedicated heart-rate raising intensity, spread out over the day, might be a better fit to your schedule than a 40-60 minute workout every morning at 6am. It is important to think about the type of schedule you already keep and choose a workout plan that fits easily into that.

I am the type that likes to do it once and do it right. I like to complete my workout in an hour and feel 'spent' after I am done. I feel most comfortable dedicating an hour in the morning or afternoon, and I schedule my day around that. Although this works for me; this might not be the right recipe for your fitness success. If you feel overwhelmed committing to an hour long intense workout every day, commit yourself to an extra calorie burn by taking the stairs at work, or parking at the far end of the lot at Walmart. Remember, better fitness comes from simply increasing your already established fitness regime. The tip for today, is to figure out what you are doing, and ADD to it in YOUR STYLE! Figure out what works for you and INCREASE IT!

Leah's Wedding, Isn't she Lovely?

Wake Me Up before you Go-Go...

Last week I went to two (2) 80's themed parties! I forgot my camera at the first party, but here are a few shots from the second. And in case you are wondering, the stretch pants are not mine, but actually belonged to one of the women in these pictures...and she actually wore them in the 80s!

Did you have a sweet Valentine's Day?

Was your Valentine's day especially sweet? Yesterday, Mark and I decided to not fight the long restaurant lines, and we had a gourmet dinner at home with a few friends. We played how well do you know your spouse' and ate Fresh Herb Penne, Seasoned Ribs, Parmesan Rolls and Strawberry Brownie Chunk Trifle! The meal was divine and the company was a riot. Then at the end of the evening, I recieved this taste-bud temptation of a treat from a special valentine. This caramel apple tops all caramel apples. What special thing did you do or recieve yesterday?

Photography 102: Air Mask Shoot

What do all these shots have in common? What is the thread that links them together? Yes, the creative use of an air mask. I am taking a photo class from nicole hill and this is the most recent assignment I was given. These pictures really pushed my creative side because when I first got the bag of air masks, I thought, what the heck am I going to do with these? Well this is what I did:

Just cant get enough...

I am an addict! A photography addict. Last week I shot Tammy and Connor...again...but here are the results!

ohhhhh...I love his little gas smile in this next shot!

Monday's Fit Tip Mania

Rock On! Don't you just love it when your favorite song plays on the radio and puts some spunk into your drab day? Music is one of the best ways to jump start your mood. It is no surprise that I am a Michael Jackson fanatic. I can't hold myself back when Billie Jean hits the air waves. That hypnotic beat takes over and my feet start tapping. Sooner or later the boys and I are dancing with 80's flair around the front room.
Exercise doesn't have to be at an elite fitness club or from a 'no fail' dvd set from the late night infomercial. Exercise can come in the simple form of rockin around the house to your favorite tunes. Now that music access is just a click and a download away, it is simple to pull together your favorite compilation of music. You can upload this music to an I-pod or just burn a CD and pop it into your player. If you are feeling a little sluggish, fix your frump with some Rockin Tunes!
Dance, clean the house, change the laundry, wash your car, or lunge after the kids; whatever you are doing, do it to background music and feel the resurge of energy!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Yum! I made these last night and my family devoured them. They are simple and delightful!
1 1/3 C butter (softened)
1 C dark brown sugar
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 C Oatmeal

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until thorougly combined. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Add Oatmeal and stir until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips and then spoon mixture onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 410 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove.