Worcestershire Sauce

Do you think Worcestershire sauce is hard to say? I have never heard anyone pronounce it correctly. I say every syllable clearly which sounds wrong, Scott says, "WOOSTER"... Nope, not correct. My sister says "WORSHERSHIRE". No, no still wrong! ok, I think we all agree, it's hard to say, but have you ever experienced the level of difficulty cleaning it after it explodes on your countertop?

So, while reaching up to grab a bottle of olive oil, I elbow the "you know what sauce" and it falls on my counter, explodes into what seems like a gazillion shards and I just stand there like an idiot almost cussing really loud, almost. It really travels too! It went from my counters all the way across my table and all over my windows, even splattering my island. Unbelievably, it didn't hit my new rug. -Thank goodness for small miracles.

Today has been a difficult and not so productive day. So, instead of dwelling on my failures as a mother and wife, let's focus on the things I do well. We should all do this for ourselves sometimes. Too often, we (and when I say we, I mean us gals. The men folk don't seem to have any problems in the self image department... except for my boys, I'm sure, because I'm very controlling and judgmental apparently) we beat ourselves up and focus only on things we don't do well.

I am a very slow runner. There, see it just rolls off the tongue. So here's a list of a few things I do well:

Cleaning- I'm a clean person. My house maintains a very high level of cleanliness most of the time.
Bragging- I have a way of bragging without making people uncomfortable.
Quilting- My sister made me write this. I'm mediocre at best.
The Running Man- It took me weeks to get this down when I was learning a cheerleading routine in the 10th grade and now I can do it in my sleep. Even variations like turning etc.
Cooking- I'm a great cook, there's no denying!
Bargain Shopping: Thrift stores and flea markets, look out!


I do feel better. I'm so glad I have this blog to unload.

Good, Better, Best

So I taught Relief Society yesterday. I teach the 4th Sunday of the month on whatever General Conference talk the Bishopric assigns. This month my lesson was based on Elder Oaks' talk, "Good, Better, Best". Things went well, but I keep obsessing over what I should've said or done instead. It's so nerve racking when you don't know the ladies very well and can't balance your lesson because you havn't gotten a groove yet. I prayed and prayed I would say the right things that might help at least one lady in the room, but you just never know!

I've been reading other people's blogs and I think this blogging thing is genius. People are much more comfortable laying it all out on the table when there isn't someone there judging you right in front of your face. This way people can judge you behind your back which is a lot less awkward. Having said that, here's my day in a nutshell:

Woke up late this morning and got Spencer and Grace ready for school. I had my mental list of things to do today by 8:00am, and fully intended to accomplish every one. Scott took the first of his long anticipated tests this morning, so I had to keep Sophia away from him (not an easy thing to do), but paid off. He got an A! Then I finally unpacked our suitcases from Thanksgiving weekend and sat down for lunch with Sophia in front of the tv. ALWAYS A BAD IDEA! I had such good intentions, you see, to get a list of things accomplished. After that, nothing but "Project Runway" and HGTV. I did manage to cook dinner and after Scott got back from his dinner appointment, we were going to have Family Home Evening. Unfortunately, that was cancelled when we discovered Oliver didn't finish his homework!!!! AAAAAAAH. "Good, Better, Best". It's "Good" to have break and watch TV, it's "Better" to stay on task, but it's "Best" to be focused on the most important things. When Scott and I were discussing my lesson before church, he said something really profound. He said, "...most of the time we have to give up many good things to have that one best thing. Time is our most valuable currency."

Tomorrow is another day and I'll do better.

Happy Chanksgiving

Happy Chanksgiving! My sister cracks me up with this every year.

We had a great visit with Scott's family in Chicago. The drive up was not so great, it rained almost the entire way. It was kind of funny too because we kept seeing the temperature drop from state to state. I told Scott today I feel sorry for those cold northern children! Anyway, we got there Wed night. Thurs, Thanksgiving, was nice and we all enjoyed the yummy meal. The funniest thing was Sophia kept saying, "I want kimche!" Scott's Dad, Mike is Irish/German and his Mom, Betty, is Dutch/Polish. I don't think kimche is a Thanksgiving tradition at their house. So after dinner we played Hearts and again reinforced my believe that I'm totally cardtarded. It took like 5 rounds before I had any idea what was going on. Just kept faking and nodding and smiling. Fri, Betty, Kelly and I went shopping and then spent the evening at Kelly's house. Sat, Scott and I were able to do some shopping at IKEA and then we drove 8 hours home.

If anyone wants to share their Thanksgiving, leave a comment. Anyone?

Sophia

Getting ready for a trip is hard with a three year old. I have this need to have my house completely clean before we leave, along with packing and making sure I have something yummy for the trip, and always leaving everything to the last minute!

Yesterday was ok. Sophia was excellent and was playing with her dress-up stuff and dolls upstairs. I got a ton done but now I know she was tricking me into having a false sense of security. I should have known better than to let her alone for more than 5 minutes because she's so sneaky. The next thing I know, she had cut half her hair off. We spent the next ten minutes crying and laughing and crying. I called Scott who laughed after he got annoyed (He thought Sophia was hurt because of my emotional outbursts.) and then, like always, talked me down.

Pay more attention to your kids! Lesson learned.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Shout out

I should be packing for our trip right now, but instead I'd like to take a moment and send some shout outs to a few people on my mind.

-A "shout out" to the 3 people who looked at my blog this week. I don't know what happened to the 30 other people I sent it to, but hey, it's the holiday season. I'm sure it'll pick right up after December.

-A "shout out" to my poor sister who will be spending Thanksgiving alone with my parents and all their varieties of meat. My parents insist on having like 3-4 different kinds of meat at every major or minor holiday meal. It's so strange. I can't wait for the post holiday phone call! My dad's been talking about a suckling pig for weeks now.

-A "shout out" to my parents who forgot my birthday. My sister made me call them that night on a three way and this is the conversation after they realized. My Dad said, "hey, I gave you a card last week" to which I replied, "Nice!" I then said to my Mom, "How could you forget when you're the one who gave birth on this day?" She laughed real hard and said, "Oh yah, I forgot about that."

I am not making any of this up.

-A "shout out" to my funny boys. Oliver called me stupid tonight and Spencer told me I dress him old school. Funny, funny boys.

-A "shout out" to the girl who sent me the longest hate email ever this week. It was both shocking and amusing. Shocking because I'm fun, what's not to like? Amusing because she couldn't spell. BUTT is spelled with 2 T's.... you can only imagine the rest.

Thank you all and good night.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday was my birthday and it was great! My family let me sleep in and I made a yummy pancake, sausage and egg breakfast. Then we dropped Spencer off at Chuck E Cheese, a.k.a hell on earth, for a birthday party and took Oliver to the mall. I was so happy Oliver finally had a chance to use his mall gift card he got for his birthday and found some games there. I was even happier to get out quickly because I really don't like shopping, but shopping malls take my anxiety to a whole other level! All those people bumping into you, snooty 16 year old sales girls that act like they're better than you at $7 an hour, and overpriced tacky merchandise, not to mention the worst food selection ever... and I don't care how high end it is, still gross. Except for May's Wok in the Clarksville, TN mall. I love that place! When I was in Germany I used to dream about their Lo Mein noodles and when we came back my sister lied and told me they had closed. I promptly had a panic attack and she finally said she was kidding. No joke, they're that good. Anyway, we then saw a movie and had cake. It was great!!

On a sad note, I found out that "Big Martha", Martha Stewart's mother passed away. I was horrified because I thought it was on my birthday, but come to find out, it was on the 16th. She seemed like a fantastic lady and must have been a wonderful mom. All those kids! I hope her family is ok and that Martha Stewart sees my post on her blog. Maybe she'll be so touched, she'll post on my blog, and we'll be BFF! I've entered every contest she's had on her show so I can meet her, and everytime I lose it hurts a little more and I'm a little more embarrassed for having such high hopes. I always say, "this time it's going to work, I'm going to win" and my sister says, "no you're not".

Sushi and Ice Cream

Has anyone got any tips on how to get marker out of a rug? Sophia decided to color her hands and feet, including the bottoms with black marker today. She then proceeded to walk around the house. It's my fault really, I was on the computer "working" when I should have been watching her. She's just too sneaky!

So Scott got home today and took me out for sushi and ice cream. It's an early birthday celebration and we had a great time! It's the first time in about 6 months, other than Morrissey, that we've gone out. Anyway, we checked out a place called Omikoshi in Franklin and it was fabulous!!! I knew something was weird when I saw kimche on the menu though. Once again, the best sushi place in town is run by Koreans! So I tried to get in good with the waitress and attempted to impress her with my Korean language skills. She didn't think I looked Korean, she said. Oh well, I really need to improve my skills. I have to hold myself back from just screaming out random Korean words that make no sense in a sentence. "My uncle is very clean" or "eat rice hurry come here". So lame.

Good Night

OK, so 3 posts in one day is a little freaky, but I have to do one more before I send this off to people. Keeping a journal is also a goal, so this'll do just fine for a while. Let's take a look at a day here in my house, shall we?

I got up at 6:10 and had to deal with crabby 13 year old Oliver. I think 13 is a very bad time for parents and children. I remember being that age and feeling like a complete reject. Anyway I got Spencer and Grace off to school. The rest of the day is a blur... something about Sophia and chocolate pudding all over.

I did get one project done! I primed a bookshelf and got it completely painted today. It looks fantastic and I'm feeling very Martha. Although, she would have had the rest of the furniture painted in my garage with little hand stenciled monograms. Baby steps.

It's now 11:10. My house is clean, my children are clean and safe in their beds like sweet angels, Scott is in Little Rock enjoying a full night of sleep and I am overwhelmed by the blessings in my life!!! So before I get all emotional, I'm off to watch late night tv.

Korean Madness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG_EBeqw3Yc


For those of you havn't noticed, I'm Korean. I'm actually half but I think I like that half better. And even though my Korean speaking is painful for any real Korean to hear, I have a fascination with Korean tv. So here is one of my favorites: Korean Madness. (There's a link at the top) It's a game show where people come on and compete to see who can make fun of celebrities the best. There's a few different links, but the ones with the two teenage girls are the best! One of them has big nostrils. I think these girls look like my sister and I, except a little more Korean.

wwMd

What would Martha do? That's always the question on my mind.

So, I'm a blog virgin, but have been so impressed with the pages I've recieved lately from my creative friends, I think it's time! Especially Erika Colby Lassen. You're a funny girl.

We've been here in beautiful Tennessee for about 5 months now and are so happy to finally be getting settled. The move was stressful- the buying and selling and showing etc... I seriously am suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. I told my new Gyno and she thought I was joking. When she realized I wasn't, she got all uncomfortable and prescribed a hormone pill... whatever.

Since the move we've been busy with lots of football and ballet and church stuff. Our ward and neighborhood are awesome and we've made lots of great friends. We were able to swim a ton and spend time with my family, since they're only an hour away. The highlight of the summer: Scott and I going with my sister Candice and her grumpy husband Dub down to Birmingham to see Morrissey in concert! Did we hold his hand.... yes we did and "Now my heart is full"

I'll try to post pictures after Thanksgiving. We're headed to Chicago!!! Mom and Dad Fitz, are you ready for the circus?