Hello.

I've been sick all week. Why does stuff like this happen? ie you begin a new goal, one that is really good for you and then it gets messed up? I'd been exercising. I was feeling more energy than I had in years and despite hate, hate, hating exercise I have LOVED that. Even my brain feels more alive!

Anyway, so despite hating exercise I got out there in the chilly cold before dawn and did it. I was just a few minutes under my when-I'm-not-sick goal so I was pleased with that.

I've gone back to writing poetry. I am so happy with it and have been quite prolific. (If you have a desire to check it out, click here) It feels like I have a piece of my soul back. In fact, I have entered three of my poems for the Segullah poetry contest. I haven't submitted writing for a contest since I was in Jr. High and was published in the good ole Spanish Fork Press, so this is a big deal for me personally.

I have been laughing a lot lately. Foolishly, I don't do this much. I take myself waaaay too seriously and my abdominal muscles suffer for it, as does my mental health. Thankfully, Cam and I are quite caught up in the sitcom Big Bang Theory. It's nerd heaven and I get all the jokes! We've been catching up on past seasons. Then the other night we watched Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant and we were rolling. Hil-AR-ious!

I talked Cameron into doing the whole Harry Potter event at the District on Thursday. Oh yeah! (speaking of nerd heaven...) We'll be dressing up and doing all the fun stuff there is to do and we're doing it together. That's what's really awesome for me. Cam and I started reading Harry Potter books together (out loud and in British accents HA!) during the second year of our marriage. It's really been a fun thing to share.

My two favorite days of the week are Thursday and Sunday. The mix up of school schedules on Friday and lack of structure on Saturday really irritate me, but Thursday...Thursday is my least busy run-around day and it's just close enough to the end of the week to be blissfully appealing. (Anyone hear me on that?)

Sunday, I am happy to say, has become such a joy to me because of my calling. I love serving in the Primary and even to have people relying on my to do my job so that they can do theirs. Serving has brought me a lot of joy.

Babies seem to be everywhere! So happy about the arrival of sweet little Chloe (see below) and happy to hear about other friends that are expecting. There is a small tinge of baby-hunger, but honestly, when I look at what I have with my kids, I am so happy with them. I love the age that they are all at. I love seeing their progress, what they're learning, how the way they interact with me and each other changes. They are such a blessing and I am so pleased with them.

Oh yeah...a spent a few days as a blond this week. It's part of a very long, not-so-gripping drama of messing with my own hair color and having to bleach out the mistakes and so forth. Currently, I'm back to my normal light/medium brown and as content as a...whatever thing is truly content. Probably nothing getting a few gray hairs. I wouldn't be content in that state.

I'll have to ramble about the kiddies later, but here's an idea of where I am. Thanks for reading, if you got this far, or even if you just read the first stanza, er, paragraph...

I exercised again today. Yesterday, I learned that muscle soreness and fasting can confuse the weary mom into believing she may have the flu. Exercise caution. I wasn't sure if I was sick or not, but I've been drinking water like crazy and that seemed to be the main problem (the lack of water).

ANYWAY...

I meant to share this before Halloween but had not time for anything other than costume making.

Cameron works out several times a week at their work campus fitness center and they had a contest pre-Halloween to win this...

So the craziness is that I love most of this candy and it's in convenient big-mouth-sized pieces. Cam won by guessing how many calories the jar contained.

How many calories are were in jar? 12,528

I have this huge jar of candy now and no one in my family is really going to help me. Cam can't eat any of it. I gave away a couple of pounds of it pre-Halloween, but it's still 1/3 full.

And I choose to start eating healthier and exercising. CRAZY.

Peanuts are good protein, right?

Cam arranged a get-away for us this past weekend that was most welcome! Yay for good husbands!

On our way to St. George we read The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling outloud and listened to Miss Saigon since Cam had never heard it and we're going to the show in SLC.

We took our traditional travelling snacks: Double Stuf Oreos, licorice, bagels and cream cheese, string cheese, salt & vinegar chips, and apples. We didn't even have to share.

In St. George we just relaxed. We shopped a bit, saw a movie, ate out and played Lord of the Rings Risk in our hotel that evening.

The next morning we ate the hotel continental breakfast and finished our game right before check-out and going to church at 11 AM.

After church we took the long way home and enjoyed visiting the Jacob Hamblin home in Santa Clara, UT. We drove through Snow Canyon and hiked a bit there.

We visited one of the oldest LDS chapels still in operation in a little place called Pine Valley and we went rockhounding by Central, UT.

We listened to Les Miz and The Phantom of the Opera, read more Beedle the Bard and genuinely enjoyed being on our own on a road trip for the first time since 2004.

Love you Cameron!

First of all today is my 9 1/2 year anniversary. We were married on Friday the 13th, too.

Bryce has apparently reached his sugar threshhold (what with stealing his brother's candy any chance he gets) because he has eaten 'lunch' for breakfast the past two days. I only got him to eat his 'breakfast' for lunch yesterday because I fed it to him (yeah, he'll be 2 1/2 in two weeks) and because I pretended that there were monsters in the bowl of oatmeal and told him that he needed to eat them quickly. I also acted like the bowl was jumping around like crazy and that the monster wouldn't hold still. The kids were in stitches. Now he's just finished a bowl of "Mac-an-cheese." Whatever. At least he's eating.

This morning, just after Cam left for work, I spied a present for me on the table. Yipee! I opened it up and it is a book I'd asked for called Christ-like Parenting. I have been trying lately to wrestle person demons of selfishness and anger, trying to be a better parent and giving my children the respect, love and good mommy-ness they totally deserve so I thought this would be a great addition to my efforts. I told Dane about my gift and he said essentially that it sounded good because up til now it had been Crisis Parenting. Ouch! He provided the play on words, I furnished all my own guilt.

Cute little thing about Cameron...he often has little phrases and such in his head that he heard as a child and never corrected as an adult (but now that he is married to the super grammarian...). Example: "For all intents and purposes" was, to him, "For all intensive purposes."

Now that it's February, I've noticed he says ValenTIMES. Funny, odd, but he used it to his advantage on his gift to me. "Will you be my Valentimes for all times?" Awwww...he's sweet!

Recently, Cam and I watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. I was struck again by how unearthly blue Mr. Newman's eyes are. Seriously.

So, this morning, I came up with a fun activity to post. I shall call it: "The Eyes Have It"

Just see if you can figure out which movie stars' eyes you are seeing here. There is a multitude of variety here old & young, some dead, some still making movies. Good luck! The first comment in the comment section has the answers.

Now, I've given you plenty to comment on, so feel free. :)

...the bored housewife will play.
I've been planning to paint a particular huge wall in our home since, I'd say, October. I was just waiting for the magic words...

"Cami, I have to go out of town for a training meeting."

Cam said told me when he'd be going to I bought my supplies, careful to hide all paint chip samples.
Why do this (especially when it requires me climbing up a ladder that takes me, well, the top of my head anyway, about 13 feet off the ground)?

I think my friend Ane will agree that nothing is more fun than a) surprising your husband in a big way or b) seeing how long it takes him to notice the change.
However, I'm not as brave as Ane when it comes to color.

I've been tagged twice on this one and I need a blogging break (a break to blog, never from the blog, right?), so we begin...

• Where did you meet your husband? In his parents' kitchen


• How long did you date before you got married? 7 months, then 9 months (2 1/2 years later)


• How long have you been married? 9 fruitful, interesting, blessed years


• What does he do to surprise you? random chocolate treats


• What is your favorite feature of his? Duh. His smile!


• What is your favorite quality? Steadfastness


• Does he have a nickname for you? I've had several over the years, but the most laughable is 'Honey Bunches of Sweetness.'


• What is his favorite food? Mexican.


• What is his favorite sport? Basketball


• When and where did you first kiss? 1 AM His car, my parents' driveway.


• What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Read books out loud together
• Do you have children? Yes and you all know it.


• Does he have any hidden talents? He can sing wonderfully.


• How old is he? 34


• Who said I Love you first? I don't know, but I'd guess me.


• What is his favorite music? Toad the Wet Sprocket, REM, Dave Matthews Band


• What do you admire most about him? He'd do anything for his family.


• What is his favorite color? Blue


• Will he read this? Nope

The following lyrics are from a group called The Turtles. I was raised listening to The Turtles and it is a cute fact that the first concert that my parents went to together was a Turtles concert.

Listening to this yesterday, I was struck with amusement and thought I'd share. I'm sure if any married men actually read my blog, they'd be apt to agree with the following...



What we need in the world today
Is a guide for the married man
Some simple thing that in every way
Would provide for the harried man
Help him not to worry
Assist him to relax
Help him slow his heart rate
And spare him cardiacs


Such a guide would in many ways
Turn the tide for the married man
Enable husbands to fill their days
As only the married can
Every man would praise it
It's such a splendid plan
Someday soon we shall point with pride
To the guide for the married man


By the side of the married man
'Tis the lady who shares his life
You help the bride of the married man
By removing the husband's strife
Every wife who's truthful
Who treasures married bliss
Must keep her husband youthful
What better way than this?


Each and every device we know
Must be tried for the married man
But who can question the debt he'll owe
To the guide for the married man
List things universal
From Pittsburgh to Japan
Every man can be satisfied
By the guide for the married man
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Click here for a sound sample from Amazon