My dad sent me this picture of their front walk today in Alpine, UT, with the message "Eat your heart out."

This is a picture of my backyard, also taken today.  

Sorry, Dad.  I'm not jealous.

Adam is a boy after my own heart.

This kid loves to read.  

Brad's mom gave him the Fablehaven series for Christmas, and within 2 weeks, he'd read all five books.  Now, he's moved on to some other fantasy-rich series, and this is how he spends every spare minute.  The above picture is Adam "watching for the bus".  It's a good thing Pepper was also there as a back-up.

This morning, Susanne messaged me that the Starz Network is planning to make a series based on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books.

Best. News. Ever.

I may have been a little obsessed with these books last year, but in my defense, they are AWESOME and totally obsession-worthy.  So far, there are seven books in the series, all of them like 900 pages long, so I was able to immerse myself in Jamie and Claire for literally months last winter.  There is no better way to combat Berlin at its coldest and darkest.

Then, this summer, Brad's sister Becky gave me the first book on CD, so Jess and I listened to it as we drove the two days from Utah to Texas.  She and I were alone in my car (the boys all wanted to drive with Brad in his), so we listened to it non-stop (there are some parts not appropriate for a sixteen-year-old, so I had to fast-forward here and there).  We didn't even like to stop for food, so we subsisted on the trail-mix, beef jerky, and the fountain drinks we purchased when we had to stop for gas.  Yes.  It is just that good.

So, when I heard the news that a TV series is in the works, I flew into a Google-mania.  And, that is when I found this:

Is it wrong that just reading the word "Sassenach" got my heart pumping?

 I'm pretty sure I wouldn't recognize Jess without this phone in front of her face.

Tonight marks the end of what I have been thinking of as Primary Boot Camp.

I was called as our ward Primary president the week before Christmas.  As many of you know, all the Primary children switch up to the next class at the beginning of the New Year, so this is a time of much scrambling to get kids placed into the correct new class with the least amount of confusion possible.  Our ward is very large (150 Primary-aged kids) and I know almost none of them, since we are still relatively new in our ward.  The previous presidency expected to be released in November, so they hadn't done much in the way of preparing for the January craziness.

So, my counselors and I were in panic-mode for the last couple of weeks in December (which is a time of built-in crazy anyway).  We had several classes that needed new teachers, so on top of trying to sort out all the children, we were trying to figure out who could teach them.  Again, I don't know many people in the ward, so I was relying on my counselors' advice and good, old-fashioned faith that we'd call the right people.

Well, we survived the first few weeks of January, no children need therapy (that we know of), and we have called eight new teachers that seem just awesome.  And tonight, we knocked out the only two meetings we are required to hold for the year--Eight is Great and Priesthood Preview--which we held back-to-back at the church.

When I plunked this box of meeting props on my counter tonight at 8:30, I heaved a big sigh of relief.  I told myself back in December that if I could just get through January, the rest of my Primary year would be a breeze.

Of course, I may be singing a different tune come Fall when the Primary Sacrament Meeting  Program is upon us, but tonight, I feel pretty good.  Now, I can put on my jammies and go upstairs to watch Lady Sybil die after having her baby.  I've earned a good cry.

 Evidence that our No Food In The TV Room rule is being ignored.

Serenity now!

One of the perks of Brad's job is that he gets a brand new company car about every six months.  He pretty much gets to choose any new Mercedes-Benz that he wants, and anyone who knows Brad will recognize that this thrills him to no end.  My husband is a bona fide car nut, so he will pore over the available cars, fairly giggly with anticipation as he picks out his new lovey.

So when he pointed out his newest choice, he was less than amused when I told him I thought it looks like a Grandma Car.  Since ordering it, Brad has expended much energy in trying to convince me that his new S Class really WILL be cool, and not grandma-y at all.  I, of course, have expended my own energy in coming up with all the Granny References I could think of, sparing no opportunity to remind him that when his new car arrives, he can look forward to driving really slow, catching up on his knitting, getting lots of cats, etc...

Well, the new car arrived on Wednesday.  I bought the accessory necessary to every Grandma Car and placed it in his back window last night.

When he sees it this morning, I'm not sure what he'll do.  If I disappear from the blogging world for a few days, it's because I'm in the doghouse.

Tonight we had the pleasure of hosting a barbeque in honor of our friends, Mike and Karen McClelland and their five kids.

Brad and Mike started working for Daimler on the exact same day back in 2003, and quickly discovered that they are kindred spirits.  The McClellands went to Berlin two years before we did, so they were there for our first year in Germany and took great care of us as we tried to adjust to Life In A Foreign Country.  

They returned home to Michigan in 2010 and Mike has since moved on from Daimler, so we haven't been able to see them for a couple of years.  When they let us know they were coming to Texas for a visit, we were thrilled to have them come and spend a night with us.  We invited a couple of other Daimler families that know the McClellands and fired up the grill to give them a gen-u-wine Texas welcome.

I got so caught up in the chit-chat and the chocolate-chip cookies someone brought that I forgot to snap a picture of the whole group.  But, I'm glad I got the above shot of Brad and Mike.  These two could seriously be brothers.

I was at Subway today for lunch, and these pictures on the walls totally reminded me of a little sandwich shop in a mall in Potsdam, Germany where I used to go with my friends.

Sorry Subway, but nothing says "Eat our sandwiches" like semi-naked women climbing bread ladders or balancing fixin's on their heads.

I pass this site daily, and I always have the same thought:

Um . . . really??

Since it is Martin Luther King Day, the kids were off school and Brad didn't have to work.  Because I am The Meanest Mom In The World, I led the kids in a massive clean-up this morning.

(Brad went golfing.  I'm still not sure how that happened . . .)

While the kids were inside vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, and mostly fighting, I was out in the garage cleaning out my car.  So, now it looks like this:

There is no before picture.  I considered taking one, but decided against it because it would just be too embarrassing. 

The best thing is that I found the (hopefully) final remains of the chocolate milk spill that has been reminding us of its presence on hot days.  Today my car smells like the eucalyptus-scented cleaner I applied liberally to just about every surface of the interior.  I don't think I have to tell you that this is a BIG improvement.

 My poor dining room has been taken over by All Things Primary.

The thrill of living back in the United States and enjoying the blessings of a "normal" existence is not over.

Today, I had just such a Thrilling Moment when I was cooking breakfast.

Oh, how I missed my big electric griddle for the three years I was in Germany!

Even when I used my biggest frying pan, I was lucky to cook two pancakes at a time.  Plus, I am simply not coordinated enough to slide a spatula under a pancake that is wedged right up against the rim of said frying pan.  This made for lots of hungry people at the table waiting for a mangled pancake that was delivered to their plate in several pieces.  

Yeah, okay, so that's not the end of the world.  But it's still enough to make me appreciate the brilliant apparatus pictured above.

This is Lukie at 11:00 tonight when I went to check on him before putting myself to bed.  As a person whose feet are always cold, I find this mind-blowing.

(And yes, those are Christmas lights strung on his bed.  It never fails that I find some bit of Christmas paraphernalia about a month after I pack it all up.) 

Today, the kids had an Early Out day (I don't really know why--something about the end of the semester).

As a result, we had what felt like ONE MILLION children at our house today.  Somehow, every child in the neighborhood ended up in my playroom upstairs.

This is what greeted me tonight after dinner, when everyone had finally gone and I thought I'd go upstairs and watch last night's episode of Nashville that I'd been saving as a treat.

Serenity now!

Here is another favorite picture from the past:

This was taken in October 2004, when Pepper was in kindergarten, waiting for the bus.  I saw this little scene through the window in my front door, so of course I sneaked out with my camera to capture it forever.

One of my friends asked today on Facebook if there is anything more attractive than a man who loves and takes care of his children.  The answer, obviously, is no.

Tonight Elder Ford and Elder Young stopped by so we could say good-bye to Elder Ford before he gets transferred tomorrow.  We've had these guys over about once a week--sometimes twice, when we're lucky--for the last couple of months, and it makes us all so sad to say good-bye to Elder Ford.

I love hanging out with 20-something people.  I loved it in Germany when I got to teach institute on Thursday nights, and now these guys have been giving me my fix.  Plus, these two elders are beyond awesome, so our whole family is on a high after they leave.

 My view--pretty much all day every day.

Tonight at dinner, I asked Pepper and Jess what I should take a picture of for today.  They agreed that I should find something that showed that Brad was out of town (he left for a business trip today).

So, I thought it would make sense to take this photo of us eating our Sunday dinner on paper plates--you know, because with Brad gone, we don't have to be fancy.  Both kids gave me a disgusted look and pointed out that we eat off paper plates all the time, whether Brad is there or not.

They're right.  Dang it.

 Yep, it's still basketball season.

I forgot to take a photo for today, so I sent Jessica into my photo albums and asked her to pick out an old picture that I could blog about.  This is what she chose.

This is Jessica with her friend Annie at Bear Lake when they were about four.  Brad's sister Becky had bought the girls their matching swimsuits, and they were thrilled to show them off.

Ladies, don't we all wish that we could stand in a bikini and smile for a camera without grimacing at the effort of holding in our stomachs while we mentally pictured what our thighs looked like and wished we'd gotten that spray tan after all?  

Sigh.

So, last night after my book club, Brad approached me with hangdog eyes and asked if I would be willing to save his butt.  

This is never a good thing.

 

With much trepidation, I asked him what he needed.  He then proceeded to tell me that a former co-worker of his in Germany had asked if he would purchase some American shoes for his daughter (they are much more expensive to buy in Europe).  The plan was for Brad to buy the shoes and send them back to Germany with another co-worker, who was flying back today.  Of course, this plan all originated a couple of weeks ago, but Brad forgot.  Until last night.  With the courier leaving today at noon.  

Cue Brad's puppy dog eyes and beggar's posture.

With a huge sigh of self-sacrifice, I finally agreed to go out this morning and find the shoes.  See, I hate shopping.  I especially hate shopping at malls.  I especially, especially hate shopping at malls for Very Specific Items, requiring me to go from store to store until I find the needed thing.  Ugh.

Since the mall didn't open until 10:00, and the guy had to be at the airport by noon, I only had a small window of time to find the dang shoes.  So, I was at the mall at 9:59 and luckily found the first pair of shoes fairly quickly.  

That was when I discovered a major glitch--I did not have my wallet. 

 When Jess pulled it out for lunch money this morning, she had not put it back in my purse.  Since the mall is 40 minutes away from my house, this was a problem--I wouldn't have time to get my wallet and make it back to the mall in time to deliver the shoes to the guy before his flight.  

So, I did what all People Who Begrudgingly Do Favors do--I called Brad and dumped the problem in his lap.  His solution was to send one of his employees to meet me at the mall with Brad's debit card.  So, I settled myself in the food court to wait and send nasty texts to Jessica, who had replaced Brad in my current round of Who I'm Most Grumpy With.

 Thirty minutes later, I was met in the food court by a distinguished-looking man in a business suit who had just been reduced to the position of Go-Fer.  Together, we purchased the required shoes and he literally ran out to his car to get the dang things to the guy before he left. 

 I was left standing there at the mall with Brad's debit card and the distinct sense that I owed myself. 

 So, you know what I did.

Three pairs of Consolation Shoes later, I felt much better.

(And yes, I get the irony that I went shopping in order to console myself for having to go shopping.  Whatever.)

Tonight, I hosted Book Club.  This month, we read Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden.  I read this book with my book club back in Berlin, so when my Texas book club decided to read it, I volunteered to host.

We played a little something I like to call Book Club Roulette.

On the back of every candy bar, I taped a question inspired by--but not about--the book.  Anybody who wanted a candy bar had to answer the mystery question on the back.  They didn't know the question before they took the chocolate, but by taking a candy bar, they HAD to answer the question.  There were also two Freebies, so there was always a chance you wouldn't have to answer a question in order to eat a delicious Hershey's bar.

Here are the questions I came up with:

This book is based on letters found by a granddaughter. If your granddaughter were to find old letters or your journal from when you were young and unmarried, what would surprise her the most?  

This book details a Grand Life Adventure. What would you consider your own Grand Life Adventure?

At first, the girls’ parents did not understand their desire to go to Colorado and teach. What have you done in your life that your parents did not understand?

Years later, after Bob Perry dies, Ros reunites with Ferry and they end up married. Who from your past would you look up if you were to find yourself in a position to marry again?

Ros once told her granddaughter that the year she spent teaching in Elkhead with Dorothy was the best year of her life. What was the best year of your life, and why?

Dorothy and Rosamund had an unusually close friendship.  Who do you consider your best friend, and what makes that person special?

Dorothy grew up in a privileged life where money was not an issue, but later her husband was killed and she was left to raise her four children alone during the Great Depression.  The author believed that the example of Elkhead women making do with very little prepared Dorothy to handle the challenges she faced in her later life.  Do you feel that you’ve had experiences in your early life that prepared you for your life now?  Explain.

At Ros’s funeral, Lewis Harrison talked about the “lasting influence” she and Dorothy left on the lives of their Elkhead students and the community as a whole.  Who have you known that left a “lasting influence” on you?  How so?

Nearly a century after the girls gave Ferry the dog-shaped boot scraper for Christmas, his grandson showed Dorothy’s granddaughter where it was still affixed to the porch on Ferry’s old ranch.  Have you ever received a gift that means enough to you to keep for life?  What is it, and what is its significance?

I got the seed of this idea from my friend Denise.  Whenever we took a road trip, she would bring a bunch of questions that we had to answer as we drove.  It was always a highlight of the trip.  So, tonight I paid the idea forward, and we had a lively discussion, and not just about the book--in fact, almost not about the book at all.  But, everyone knows book clubs are not really about the books.  We all go for the Girl Talk.  And the chocolate.

Today was super boring, filled with the necessary evils of laundry, mopping, and vacuuming.  Y'all don't want to see pictures of that.

So, I thought I'd post pictures from a much funner day in New York City in April 2005.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Brad and I spent the day at Madame Toussauds Wax Museum.  Seriously fun!

For the record, Flesh-and-Blood Jon Bon Jovi is WAH-AY cuter than Wax Jon Bon Jovi.  I know this because, well, I've seen him.  Up close.  For a couple of hours.  Not to brag or anything ...

See also related post on Guilty Pleasures.

Season premiere of The Bachelor.  Or as I like to call it: The One Where He Has To Act Charmed While Twenty-Five Women Embarrass Themselves In A Desperate Attempt To Be Remembered.

Just about every time this chick was on screen, I had to turn away from my TV because I couldn't look directly at her.  It was just so very, very awkward.  And when she got one of the last roses, all I could think of were the poor rose-less women who had to leave knowing that even Wedding Dress Girl got chosen over them.  So much for their self-esteem.

Even though I've already watched Season 3 of Downton Abbey online, I was very excited to tune-in to my local PBS station and watch it tonight on Masterpiece Theater.  Now, instead of streaming it and watching it on my little computer screen, I could go upstairs and watch it in High Def with surround sound.  I've been envisioning this ever since Brad got that big TV.

So, at a few minutes before 8 o'clock, I started doing my Happy Dance.  While my kids rolled their eyes at my unbridled enthusiasm, one member of my family couldn't help but share in my joy.

 Joey literally came running and stood up so I would dance with him.  When I let go of his paws, he stood up again, putting his paws in my hands so we could dance some more. 

Years ago, I dreamed that one day I would have a child who loved to dance and could follow in my dancing footsteps.  This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I will take what I can get.

 So, today Brad and I were driving home from Home Depot when "MMM Bop" by Hanson started playing on the car stereo.  No big deal, except that we were listening to my Dino-Pod, which proved I had actually gone to the effort to download and pay for this song.  In the last couple of months.

Yes, Brad mocked me.  Mercilessly.

I tried to explain that "Mmm Bop" is a Guilty Pleasure, which means that I KNOW IT IS STUPID but I still like it.  Like Twilight.  Or The Bachelor.  I was able to come up with all kinds of examples of my Guilty Pleasures.  I was defending myself beautifully.

Until I tried to give examples of Brad's Guilty Pleasures.  

He doesn't really have any.  He doesn't knowingly like stupid stuff (why do I think this is a character flaw?).  I tried to cite his Star Trek obsession, but that doesn't really work.  See, Brad has to think it is stupid in order for it to qualify.  Me thinking it's stupid doesn't count.

Also on my Dino-Pod is a song by another group of three long-haired brothers, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" by the BeeGees.  But, this is most decidedly NOT a Guilty Pleasure.

I actually think these guys are super talented--fashion choices aside.

A little Joey Love.

 Well, it's been an awesome two weeks, but today the kids went back to school and Brad went back to work.

Me?  Well, I attacked the laundry that's been piling up and worked on a bunch of Primary stuff that needed organizing for the big class switch coming up on Sunday.

But once that was done . . .

 I know, I know.  I am turning into a broken record.  But this book rocked my world, and I couldn't NOT say anything about it.  It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction 2012, and all I will say is that it deserved it.  Holy Cow.  Please read it so we can talk about it.

 This afternoon, Pepper got hooked up to this insulin pump for a saline trial.  He gets to wear this for three days so he can decide if he wants to get one for real.  It's really just a formality.  I'm pretty sure we'll have another insulin pump wearer in the family soon.

 It's a holiday, right?  So I can ignore this, right?

Remember this? 

Enough said.

I already love 2013.