TURTLE INVASION (belated)

Monday, October 5, 2015

Seminary today was conference review.  We got to know the new apostles a little better and played a trivia game from questions we all gathered this weekend.  My favorite part was seeing them talk animatedly about their favorite talks and quotes.  One of my students was sick for the weekend and didn't see much, but remembered listening to President Monson.  After listening to his talk, she thought, "I need to be nicer to people."  Yay, inspiration!  Also, the other two were so excited with a couple of talks Sunday afternoon that my sickie commented, "Maybe I need to go back and watch those."  I was thrilled!

Today's surprise weather was rain.  When I left for Seminary it was a little drippy, but stayed steady most of the morning.  There were a few drops here and there in the early afternoon, but the sun came out later.  Still, the weather is cooler...and I love it!

I had Family Home Evening lesson tonight, so I used the trivia cards from Seminary this morning to review with my family.  Some of them complained, "But you took notes!"  And what does that teach you?  LOL  In the end, they appreciated the reminders.  Ken thought I should have rewarded them with chocolate for each answer, but I didn't have any in the house (except my very bitter stuff that I use as a reward for me and only Analiese really likes that), so he went across the street to United to get ice cream to eat with our card game.  I was a good girl, I didn't have any!  To be honest, I didn't want any.  I'm not super-big on ice cream and he likes to get the really sweet and chocolately flavors.  I prefer fruit flavors or, at Christmastime, peppermint!

Tuesday - Thursday, October 6-8, 2015
Not sure what to tell you, these were normal days.  Also, since I'm writing about this nearly a week after they occurred, my memory's getting fuzzy.  Suffice it to say it was full of Seminary, homeschooling, driving kids around, etc.

Friday, October 9, 2015
I get home from Seminary usually about 7:50-8:00 a.m.  I get changed and sometimes do a little stretching, yoga, or go for a walk, depending on the weather.  After I changed from my dress, Analiese called me outside.  In the front yard planter was a turtle!  It was about 5 inches long, with a hard, patterned shell. Picking it up freaked it out, and it's little head, arms and legs started thrashing about.  "You're a frisky thing," I thought.  So I called it Frisky. I had no idea what it was doing there, so I took it inside to Ken to show it to him.  The first thing he said was, "Nope, no pet turtles."  I hadn't intended on keeping it...I think.

Well, in the meantime, Frisky got a short stay in the Bolton Family bathtub, next to Alice's cage.  Alice was completely oblivious to her new bathroom-mate.  I had to keep it there.  I needed to know it's needs and, well, I had to leave it there for Jonathan to see when he got home from school in the afternoon!

It's an ornamental box turtle, native to Oklahoma (Google "turtles of oklahoma").

 You can keep it as a pet, though you can't legally sell them.  But they don't thrive in captivity (and I've had enough dead wildlife around here already) so, after finding out it's main diet is insects and after Jonathan got a good look at her (female box turtles have yellow eyes, males have red), Frisky was whisked to the backyard.  Plenty of bugs there - and safer!  Which was a good thing, because a small pack of dogs came roaming through the front yard later in the day - Frisky was safe!  Later on, we couldn't find her in the yard, but I assumed she hid in some leaves or wandered over to the compost pile where a lot of bugs congregate.

BTW, Analiese does NOT like the name Frisky.  She says it's entirely unsuitable for a turtle.  I said she has no sense of humor.

Saturday, October 10, 2015
This afternoon Analiese and I headed to a local business in Altus - The How-To Palace.  It is owned by the gal who ran our homeschool PE group last year and was Jonathan's public speaking prof at WOSC (She's a real go-getter!)  They hold all kinds of crafting and cooking classes here, for adults and kids alike.  Today was Mom & Me crafts - a pretty carte blanche day of whatever we saw there that we wanted to do.

Analiese found a cute cut-out initial A.  She painted it a dark blue, painted lighter blue dots on it, and glued a blue silk flower on it that she'd glitterized.  It turned out great!

 My craft was a copy of something I'd seen before at their booth at the Cotton Pickin' Chili Cookoff.  It was a pallet-art picture of cotton branch and blossoms.  Compositionally, I'm not thrilled with it.  But the cotton looks good, I think!

We'd definitely go again, we had a great time!

Sunday, October 22, 2015

We're walking out the door, heading for church, when Analiese says, "Look, Mom!  Under the pecan tree!"  Sure enough, in the middle of the front yard, under the tree was...a female ornamental box turtle.  Was this the same Frisky I found on Friday?  Amazingly, did it crawl through a hole in the fence and to the front yard?  Does it like pecans?

I quickly scooped it up, ran it through the house (holding away from my dress so it didn't pee on my Sunday clothes) and put it in the backyard (again?).  Because we were running late for church, we didn't get to follow it's antics, but the next turtle I see in my yard is getting a nail-polish mark on it's back so I know who/what it is!

FALLING IN TO OCTOBER

Monday, September 28, 2015

Same old Monday...shopping, laundry, figuring out my week.  Shopping takes a twist this week as I figure out special things to make our conference weekend more festive, and as I prepare for a special Seminary on Friday.

In fact, I'm busy enough and tired enough that Family Home Evening tonight is a movie from Redbox (Never fear, skinflints!  We had a code for a free movie)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Ken said Sunday that he wanted to go to the temple today.  So, after making some arrangements for the kids, and after Seminary, we drove up to OKC.  We had lunch - at a Five Guys, no less - and then did a session.

We got home around dinner time and then I left Ken and the kids at home so I could go to the bishop's house for Relief Society Book Club.  They were reading "The Hiding Place," which is a book I've read many, many times.  In fact, Analiese and I had recently read it as we were studying WWII.  I don't know why I do these things, though, because now I'm hosting the October club meeting.  I'm sorry, but I was so excited to suggest the next book.  They wanted something fun and light after the dark subject of this book, so I said, "I've always wanted to read 'The Princess Bride'!"  Everyone's seen the movie, but not read the book.  I guess the idea-maker gets to host the club.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Analiese was in charge of the Young Women's activity for tonight.  She decided to do a "Spa Night."  And asked me to help.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!

She had a lot of activities planned and her leaders weren't sure we'd get it all done, but we did!  They started by making their own sugar scrub and lip gloss to take home.  Those didn't take very long.  Then we played a version of musical chairs, but using nail polish instead.  They'd pass along the different shades of polish to the music and when the music stopped, they had to paint one fingernail that color.  It was actually a lot of fun!

Then they laid on yoga mats on the gym floor, had facial masks painted on, and cucumber slices put on their eyes.  I tell you, their leaders had a great time taking pictures.  The bishop kept coming in to see what they were doing.  He got a kick out of watching them doing silly things.

They ended their night decorating flip flops with fabric strips.  I think they haven't had such a fun time in quite a while.  She sent them home with copies of the "recipes." I told her I was proud of the good job she did.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

It was a fun lesson in Seminary.  We were reading about Joseph in Egypt and interpreting dreams.  There was a little role playing involved, so I decided to do a little dress-up.  Nothing extreme, but enough to make things fun.  I don't know if they were all excited, but it broke up the monotony.

I was supposed to go to lunch with a friend today, but she'd been in a mountain biking accident the day before, so it was no taqueria.  Instead, Analiese and I went to visit her and her daughter with some pizza and companionship.  I get woozy looking at wounds, and her 1 1/2-inch deep wound with ten stitches was disconcerting, to say the least.  But I was glad to help out at least a little.

You can tell fall is in the air.  Things have cooled off considerably, the squirrels are out and about more, the cotton fields are looking fluffy white and...monarch butterflies are everywhere!  Jonathan spotted a bunch in one of our pecan trees.  I see them flying about everywhere!

Friday, October 2, 2015

The day before Conference weekend, and I had a special Seminary planned.  It was all about preparing for conference.  I had found (once again, Thank you, Pinterest!) a FHE lesson about just that.  So...using their example, we built ice cream sundaes to remind us what we need to do to be ready to receive inspiration at conference.  For example, the scoops of ice cream, represented searching, pondering and praying. The kids thought it was great - ice cream for breakfast!  Though I did give a note to the parents, warning them.  Just so they didn't wonder why I was filling their kids with sugar first thing in the morning!

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Conference morning!  In Oklahoma, that means the morning session starts at 11:00 a.m.  It is also Cotton Pickin' Chili Cook-off in the town square.  Last year, we helped with the 4H booth, but it meant missing the morning session and I had to catch up before Seminary on Monday.  Me no likee.  This time, the kids and I went to help set up

for the cook-off, took some photos

, and got home in time to watch all of Saturday's conference.  We help plenty at 4H, I don't feel guilty.

Analiese's 4H Food Science club was there, too, with their chili entry. (The Rabbit Club is mainly about fundraising and games for the kids).  This was their first time and Jonathan (of course) helped them by taste-testing and telling them what their chili and salsa lacked.  LOL

Conference, of course, was wonderful.  We have three new Apostles, since we've lost Elder Packer, Elder Perry, and Elder Scott over the course of the last four months.  I thought I recognized two out of the three new Apostles, but come to find out I had the name of one of them wrong.  Then, the one I thought I didn't know - when I saw his picture - I realized I recognized him!  Oh, well.  None of that matters, really.  We'll all be getting to know them better soon enough!

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Conference was wonderful again, of course.  The only rough part was watching President Monson struggle during his talk.  I didn't realize he wasn't doing well and watching his voice get softer and raspier as he appeared to shrink down was very unsettling.  It made me sad.

This afternoon was the best session so far, in my opinion.  Elder Nelson was great, Elder Bednar was touching, Elder Durrant of the 70 had the most amazing talk on "Ponderizing."  That's a great new word!  Everyone gave me much to think about.

The rest of the day was prepping for Seminary tomorrow.  It will be a General Conference recap (no ice cream this time, though).  I've got a game, an activity, and a discussion planned.  My notes from Conference go along with me!

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

Monday, September 21, 2015

I once wrote a poem that began, "Patience is a virtue I fear I don't possess."  That was several years ago, but I'm not sure how far I've come since then.  For instance, when I drop Megan off at the high school (just across the street from the little road which leads to the church) after Seminary.  Today, a car stopped in front of me to let off a student...and the girl just kind of stood there in the road, as if she was figuring out what to do next.  Then, she sauntered leisurely across the road.  There isn't really urgency for me to get home now that Ken takes Jonathan to the airport, but that California girl in me hasn't completely shed it's impatience.  I wanted to roll down my window and yell, "The Zombie Apocalypse is coming!  Run for your lives!" to try and get her to move!  I repressed the urge and - eventually - she made her way to the opposite side of the street, but really.

Ken decided tonight to take us all to dinner (we need to stop that) because we hadn't celebrated my birthday as a family.  I was happy with how my birthday had turned out with the great trip and all, but how do you say "no" to loving reasoning, such as it was?  So we drove to Lawton to go to a place called "The Santa Fe Cattle Company."  It was really a fun place; the decor made me chuckle every time I turned around.  The foyer area, before entering the main restaurant, included in it's decorations the rear ends of a deer and a raccoon.  That was funny enough, but when you went inside, you got the other side of the animals, decorated in competing OU & OSU gear.  Wires were strung across the ceiling and stuffed pigeons sat there.  The hugest ceiling fan I've ever seen - the blades were longer than I am tall - rotated slowly.  A stuffed bandit armadillo was being chased by a cowboy armadillo outfitted with a tiny black hat and holster.  Part of the fun, too, was peanuts in the shell, the inedible part therewith ending up on the floor.

The food was pretty good, too.  You can imagine, their specialty is steak, but they had ribs and fajitas too.  I ordered a nice glass of raspberry lemonade (not too sweet), but they had flavors in strawberry, peach, and mango as well.  I think only Analiese had chicken (she's a chicken fingers/strips aficionado), Ken had a steak, I had sirloin tips prepared like a fajita, but without the tortilla and a sweet potato with cinnamon butter (Oooh!).  Jonathan, per his norm, ordered the biggest, baddest hamburger he could find, loaded with bacon, cheese, fried onions, fried jalapeños, pickles, and fresh red onion, plus some roasted potatoes with onion and peppers.  It was good food, and very filling, but Ken insisted we - just this once - get dessert to make up for the fact that I hadn't had a birthday cake. His actual words were, "I hope they have chocolate cake on the dessert menu for my wife's birthday."  I rejoined that Who was the chocolate cake for???  You know Ken & chocolate.  And I actually ordered the only thing that didn't have chocolate on it, banana cheesecake stuffed tortillas with caramel sauce. Yeah, that sounds good, doesn't it?  But I didn't eat it until long after we were home.  Too full!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

I've been meditating lately, working on trying to reduce stress and inflammation levels.  In Hank Smith's talk at TOFW, he had listed 10 things that science noted that happy people do.  One was meditation.  Check - I'd just started a couple of weeks ago.  The second was that they spend at least 20 minutes outside (not in a car, but with the sky overhead) daily.  So today I combined the two.  I meditated outside for at least twenty minutes.  I put myself in the shade of my big pecan tree (cooler) and let the breeze and sound of chirping birds wash over me.  It was really nice.

Elder Scott died today.  That's three Apostles to pass away this year.  Now, not to be flippant about the death of a man of God, but when Ken came to the livingroom to say he'd read on Facebook that Elder Scott had died, Jonathan scoffed skeptically that we shouldn't believe everything we see on Facebook.  I knew Elder Scott had been frail and ill, lately, so it wasn't a shock or surprise.  And the devil within me said wickedly to my son that if I found it announced at least five times on Facebook, would he consider it credible?  So, I looked it up.  One, two, three, four, five...eight...eleven!  One was from Mary Ellen Edmunds, one of the TOFW speakers, as was Brad Wilcox!  And then there was the Church's Facebook page and the Mormon newsroom.  Can we believe it now, Jonathan?  He did not find me amusing.  Ken did.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Seminary started with the kids noticing the gap in the Apostles - again.  Elder Scott's family and friends are in our prayers, as is the prophet and those who will be called to fill the vacancies in the Apostleship.  A lot of lives are going to change very soon!

Apparently the church grounds are a sanctuary for wildlife.  I've seen our little cottontail friend on the lawn many mornings and, this evening as I was picking up Analiese from YW, I saw a little froggie.  Maybe 2 inches long.  Very tiny.  Cute.

Thursday, September, 24, 2015

Jonathan convinced me to take him to Lawton today so he could go to Institute.  That's okay, I needed to get some stuff from Hobby Lobby (more poster stickies because I have to redo the pictures of the Apostles above the chalkboard) and Sam's Club (normal stuff + DP for the Rabbit Club and the Chili Cookoff next week).  I tell you, skunks are stupid.  I saw at least ten smooshed on the road going toward Lawton.  Rabbits are smarter, I've only every seen ONE dead one by the side of the road.  When Analiese and I were driving to and from Texas last week, it was dead 'dillos.  Who can say?

I DID see a live skunk today, too.  Driving towards the Stake Center (where Institute was being held), I saw a skunk lumber (they are not graceful creatures) over the road, onto the sidewalk, and into the parking lot of an auto dealership.  I wonder, how do they get skunk smell off of a car?  Hard to sell stinky cars!

Friday, September 25, 2015

I spent most of my day today working on a cake.  Yep, a lot of time.  And not just any cake, but a Pina Colada Tres Leches cake for the Latino party at the church tonight.  It started with me cutting and finely chopping a fresh pineapple - what a mess!  Next time, I'd use crushed pineapple; let them do all the work!   It was one of those cakes: splitting the yolks from the whites, putting the whites in all foamy later - it made for a light cake.  But no so fast!  After baking and cooling, then I had to poke it all over (get rid of excess frustration) and pour the three leches - Coconut milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk with flavorings (No, I did not use rum.  Just rum extract.  Really!) over the cake and let it sit for THREE HOURS to soak in.  That probably took most of my day, so I really wasn't that busy with the cake in the afternoon.

No, my afternoon was busy with my daughter, planning out the YW activity she's in charge of this Wednesday.  They're having a Spa Night and thank goodness for Pinterest!  The more ideas we found, the more excited we got...it's going to be a fun night!

Speaking of nights, the fun was going to begin at the church soon.  So it was time to take the cake out of the fridge and whip up some whipping cream to frost the cake.  Now, I can make yummy desserts, but I am not one to make pretty cakes.  But I had some pieces of pineapple left over, some maraschino cherries, and some toasted coconut flakes (did you know you can buy them like that at the store?  Sweet!) which I strewed all over the whipped cream.  And then I made it less pretty by cutting a piece out of it to leave at home for hubby.  He was working...he deserved a piece, too!

The party was announced to start at six.  Well, count in Mormon Standard Time and Hispanic Standard Time, and you'd be lucky if it started by seven!  We got there at 6:15, and about a quarter to seven, we started.  They had decorated the room with Mexican and Chilean decor (two different sisters in charge, two different countries).  The food was diverse, too, bringing back mission memories.  Sister Box's enchiladas reminded me of my Mexican comp, Hermana Felix, and hers.  The rice with the vegetables was just like I'd have many times over at members' homes.  And the horchata!  Can't have a party without it!  I was in love!  We also brought a couple bottles of Senorial Sangria (grape soda) from Mexico, which we also love, but I only had eyes for horchata.  It was that same Hna. Felix who introduced me to that!

After dinner, there were musical presentations (the Chilean sister's mother was visiting from Chile and played and sang some Chilean songs), a pinata (Oh, the chaos!), and then dancing.  Because, it can't be a Latino party without dancing!  That was what Analiese looked forward to all day and was not disappointed.  Little Miss Perpetual Motion loves to dance!  Are you surprised?

We went home a little later, tired but happy, and with a plate of food for Ken.  It has a Chilean empanada on it.  He always talks about empanadas from his mission.  I wonder what he'll think of it?

Saturday, September 26, 2015

I woke up, looked at the clock, and panicked.  "Ken, it's 9:15!  We have to get up for church!"  He mumbled something about it being Saturday, not Sunday, and rolled over.  Ooops.  Sorry, honey.

After that great start, I got the kids through Devotional and on to their chores so that I could get to work on this week's Seminary lessons.  Friday was my big focus as I planned for our special General Conference preview.  This is going to be a special/unusual conference, and I want the kids prepped, eager, and ready for it.  I ran across (Thanks again, Pinterest) some really great conference ideas, so I'm excited.

Dinner made Jonathan happy.  I don't make it often, but he loves Tater Tot casserole.  Analiese and I stuck him with the dishes, though, as we went off to General Women's Conference at the church.  Sure, we could watch it at home, but it's more fun (and there's goodies) with the sisters.

I don't know why, but my two Seminary girls wanted to sit next to me.  On the other side of me, of course.  Analiese had one side for herself.  But it warmed my heart that they wanted to be with me.  I'm not just that pesky, persistent teacher.  Got the message girls: I love you, too.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Normal church day today, but we had to hurry home so that Analiese and I could get over to WOSC for the 4H Awards Reception there.  Analiese was recognized in three clubs (Rabbit, Sewing & Food Science) and received an outstanding award for the Rabbit Club.

WHAT A WAY TO CELEBRATE!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Walmart People-Watching Alert - Green Bowler Dude made a short appearance.  Amazing lady in a dress with super-high heels mincing behind her cart.  It's so bad of me...what if someone described me in Walmart?  "Fat Scruffy lady in weird capris and a stained t-shirt (I rarely have one without a hole or a stain).  It would serve me right!

Analiese was in on my shopping excursion today for her Personal Progress goal.  She got to "check off" the items in my grocery list on Evernote (new favorite app.  The app's not new, it's just my new favorite).  We even managed to get done in time so she could go to PE.  

Tonight was a ward FHE going-away thingy (eloquent) for Elder Davis, one of the missionaries returning home this week.  There were goodies and games, but my favorite part was baby tending!  I got to hold a 6-week-old little sweetheart-of-a-girl.  She is so responsive to people, cooing, laughing, smiling - what a doll!  I had to take her out of the gym because the game was getting so loud, so I walked the church halls, rocking a sweet angel to sleep.  I guess you could call it a baby fix.  I offered to let Analiese or Jonathan hold her.  Analiese was afraid she'd drop her; and Jonathan said he'd have plenty of time in the future (he said five years - does he have a timetable I don't know about?) to hold babies - his own!  I told them both that they need to practice!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

My morning was a fog today.  I'd woken at 3 a.m. with my allergies at full-force, so much so that I had to take a shower, take some medication, and dump some honey with essential oils in it to calm my itchy throat!  I did sleep a little bit after that, but I had to be up by 5:25 for Seminary.  Agh!

It was a great start, because I soon found that I didn't have everything need in my folder when I got to the church and I had need to make copies.  We did the best we could, but I was a little bummed.  Sure enough, when I got home, they were in the folder for tomorrow.  Argh!

So...after starting Analiese on her lessons, Ken said he'd work with her (he's off today) and I went back to bed where I slept like a rock for three hours.  I hate it when I have to take a chunk out of my day like that just to function!

Ken took me to dinner tonight - an early birthday present.  We went to La Plaza, a fairly good Mexican restaurant in town.  I like their chicken flautas...that's what I always get!  They do serve some "American" food, so Ken doesn't have to fret about onions.  He had chicken fried steak (gross), which - along with catfish - seems to be an Oklahoma staple.  He also had fried ice cream for dessert, but I didn't have anything else because I was stuffed!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

It was a good thing I looked on Facebook last night before going to bed.  The city of Altus posted there

that San Ann Drive would be closed for roadwork today from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The church is on - you guessed it - San Ann Drive.  So last night I called my kids' families and told them Seminary would be held in my livingroom so we didn't get stuck at the church if by chance the road crews started when they said they would.

Seminary in my livingroom is both a blessing and a bother.  A bother, because I have to make sure everything is straightened up, a whiteboard brought in from the other room, and I have a place to put my lesson stuff.  I had a video to show, too, so I had to search YouTube to see if it was there to watch (it was).  But it's a blessing, too, because our lesson was filled with the Spirit and I love to have the Spirit in my home.  And, my children heard bits and pieces, so they got part of it as well.  That makes me happy!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Time to get everything squared away before heading out of town tomorrow morning!  Seminary was great again (back at church), plus two of my students brought me presents.  How can a day be bad when you get presents?

Laundry had to happen today.  I needed a pedicure today.  Last minute shopping today.  Packing today.  Seminary planning.  Lots of stuff.

The mailman was kind to me, though.  I got a birthday card from my parents, including the check to cover the pretty-purse I ordered for myself (yay!), and a package from my BFF Michele in California.  I went around the house singing (to the tune of Happy Birthday) "Birthday presents for me!"  This is going to be a terrific weekend!

Friday, September 18, 2015

No Seminary today because of Parent-teacher conferences at the High School.  So, as Ken and Jonathan headed out for the airport, Analiese and I got on the road headed south for Texas.  Altus is only about fourteen miles north of the Texas border.  You cross the Red River and...tah-dah!  You're in Texas.  

We took the Honda rather than the van, for the gas mileage.  However, I missed the van's cruise control.  Three and a half hours with my leg in one position was killer.  When we stopped for a break, my leg was so stiff!  

Our first stop was SMU (Southern Methodist University) in Dallas.  Why?  The George W. Bush Presidential Library.  We were going to eat lunch first, but in college community, everything was busy and there was no place to park!  We'd had snacks in the car, so we figured we were good for a while, so we just went straight to the library.

Snort!  Straight!  Finding a place to park was a joke!  We found one area behind the library, but a security guy said that wasn't the parking.  The parking was supposedly across the street from the library.  Okay, drive around again, look...I don't see any parking.  We drive down this road across the street and I see a parking structure...but it says it's for faculty and students...but the bar is up and I see empty spots.  So I take it...and spend the rest of our time here worrying about ticketing and/or towing.

And we hoof it down the road (hot and muggy) toward the library, which turns out not to be the library, but the George W. Bush Institute (?).  The library is around the back, so we walk around the building (still hot and muggy) to the library.  We've been to two other presidential libraries, and this one looks smaller.  We learn that parking is supposedly across from here...and costs $7!  I worried if I should move the car (another hike in the heat), but decided against it.

It was a nice library, not as spectacular as say, the Reagan.  The 9-11 section was very moving, but Analiese's favorite part was the oval office and the section that talked about the Bush pets.  They also a cute film by the Bush twins about the fun times in the White House.

From the library (BTW, the car was fine), we drove to Arlington to the motel, which was quite close to the convention center.  There wasn't much time for resting, though, so after checking in, we went to dinner (we were pretty hungry by then) at a Chinese buffet and then on to the convention center.

TOFW/TOFG (Time Out for Women and Time Out for Girls) is put on by Deseret Book and tours at several places across the country.  Arlington was the closest to us, and was my birthday present to myself, with Analiese being my travel buddy.  Lots of ladies and girls all over the place...plenty of noise...but also plenty of fun.  As we were signing in Analiese at the TOFG table, Brad Wilcox, one of the speakers, came down the hall.  I've heard him speak before (He has the best BYU talk on the Atonement), so I introduced him to Analiese.  He hugged her and called her his newest fan!  He was so sweet to her.  Also, she met up with some girls she got to know at Girls' Camp from our Stake, so she had someone to hang with!  Perfect!

I was, however, by myself Friday night.  My friend, DeeAnn, who lives in Texas and who I was supposed to meet up with, was ill with allergies (I get it!) so she didn't make it Friday evening.  Still, I talk with anyone who'll listen, so I didn't feel decidedly lonely.  The two evening speakers were Tim Ballard from Operation Underground Railroad (freeing child sex slaves around the world) who spoke about being "Women Who Shine a Light in Darkness," and Mary Cook, wife of Elder Quentin L. Cook, who spoke about "Having a Perfect Brightness of Hope."  They were both great!  I have notes, if you want them!  LOL

Our music that evening was supposed to be by Gentri, a men's trio, but they couldn't make it, so a gal named Calee Reed sang and spoke a little about being creative.  I am writing down songs I like, to maybe get some off of iTunes later!

We got out of our presentations by 9:30 and headed back to the motel.  Hank Smith, one of Analiese's presenters, made all the girls "pinkie swear" that they wouldn't stay up all night (Brad Wilcox on Saturday said there was no way those girls would do that!), so Analiese was firm on getting in the room and going to bed.

Not so easy, that.  The convention center is near the Texas Ranger's ballpark (we could see it from our room) and they had a game that night.  We're in bed, trying to sleep when...fireworks.  Long and loud. Analiese gave up and went to the window to watch.  I lay in bed, pretending I didn't hear.  Ha-ha.  But they were over eventually and we both slept uneventfully after that.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Up and breakfasted and checked out, we reached the convention center around 8:00, an hour before things were supposed to start.  And there was a line already!   Like a speaker said yesterday, "You ladies defy Mormon Standard Time!"  For a good seat, yes.

So Analiese headed confidently down the hallway to the Girls area, and I went into the line and then into the hall to save a seat for myself and DeeAnn.   She got stuck in traffic and got there just as it started...good thing I saved her a spot!

Could it be any more marvelous than last night?  Yep.  Mercy River sang between the presentations.  One of them is pregnant and it was so funny to watch the other two go over to her from time-to-time to rub her belly!

Our first presenter was one of my favorites, Mary Ellen Edmunds.  She was my Relief Society "teacher" in the MTC and is the funniest, happiest, up beat person I know.  Her talk, "The Stuff Miracles are made of" was about how we can be a blessing to others.  After the first break, Lisa Valentine Clark of "Pretty Darn Funny" spoke about how we don't need to compare or compete, but just enjoy each other and our gifts...and not be afraid to offer them!  She showed a clip from her show, and I just roared - it was hilarious!  Brad Wilcox followed her and he is always awesome.  I've heard him speak at other TOFW, and of course, that BYU talk.  His talk, "A Great Wonder in Heaven," was a continuation of the theme of the Atonement, which never tires because we keep learning and understanding more.  The Spirit was so strong then, testifying about how much God loves us that He's provided everything we need to get home.

DeeAnn and I searched out Analiese to go to lunch.  We could have stayed at the convention center, but the food was more expensive and most of the other ladies there stayed.  We went to Taco Bueno, which is kind of like Taco Bell.  We could have gone to TB, I'm sure there's one around, but then there's the Altus Rule.  If we have a place in Altus, we cannot eat at that place anywhere else...go somewhere different.  We don't have many options in Altus, so they get tiring quickly.  It was great to catch up with DeeAnn and hear how her family is doing.  She has a son near Jonathan's age so it was nice to compare notes on these new young adults!

Back to TOFW...Hank Smith had tried to do the pinkie swear on us ladies (like he did the girls) to come back from lunch on time since he spoke right after lunch, and we mostly did pretty well, but life happens and a woman on break at lunch with friends is not to be rushed!

After some more music and fun with Mercy River, Hank spoke on "Experiencing Your Plan of Happiness."  He usually only speaks to the girls, but this year he got to speak to the women.  He was such a crack-up; I know he was Analiese's favorite (he talked to them about dating) and I couldn't blame her.  He talked about accentuating the positive and quoted one of the funniest things Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has ever said, "No misfortune is so bad that whining won't make it worse!"

Our last speaker - after Mercy River gave us a couple of previews from their coming Christmas album - was Meg Johnson...someone I knew nothing about.  She spoke about "Letting the Savior be your Pilot." She is a quadrapeligic (sp?) from jumping off a cliff (literally, but not purposefully) when she was 22 years old.  And she was so funny!  She focused on "enjoying" trials with her uplifting experiences and amazing attitude.  Those kind of speakers always make me feel a bit guilty for complaining about my trials because - comparatively - mine are nothing!  And yet she's smiling and cracking jokes!  Talk about enduring it well!  

Hugs and photos and sad, but happy, goodbyes with DeeAnn.  And then, home!

So, after all that, the drive home was pretty anticlimactic.  We stopped at a half-price bookstore just to check it out (because there's nothing like that in Altus!), and got on the road an hour later than originally anticipated.  I figured we'd need to stop somewhere for dinner, but that was easier said than done.  By the time we were hungry, there wasn't many places to be found,  Well, I did see a place called the Armadillo Grill, but having seen lots of those critters smooshed on the road, I wasn't willing to chance it.  Or chicken-fried steak.  Or catfish.  No, something normal.    We finally found a KFC around 7:30 and trust me, it wasn't a good one.  It was a clean place, with friendly staff, but I just wasn't impressed with the food.  Jonathan says I'm picky.

But another hour later, having played "Frogger" in the dark on the road (we hit at least one), we made it home.  Jonathan was glad to see us, mainly because he was bored.  He'd texted Analiese back and forth for a good portion of our return trip and had nearly drained my phone battery.  A little talk, a little clean up and put away, and we went to BED!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Still tired and sore (legs and feet) from the trip and, I had to play for sacrament meeting today.  Ken liked it because I could sit with him on the stand.  We should take our two-man show on the road...not!  Staying awake and cognizant in Sunday School and Relief Society took real effort.

Then, we had a Linger Longer meal after church.  Ken was supposed to get salad for me, but forgot.  Luckily, the salad in my special Tupperware keeper was still really good, so with a couple bottles of dressing and that, we were good.  They had a baked potato bar, but I just had salad, some mac and cheese (they always make a big pan for the kids, but the adult like it too, and I love it), and a small piece of angel food cake.  Ken and I were ready to go home right after...we're tired!

The rest of my day was working on Seminary that got left to the very end.  Play time is over.  Time to get back to work!

ALL ABOUT THAT FAIR

Monday, September 7, 2015

The one thing I always do on Fast Sunday - I forget to take my morning meds.  Now, it really isn't too much of a tragedy, it's mostly vitamins, but unfortunately the allergy meds are really too important to be forgotten.  I'm on a generic Allegra, which sort-of helps, and have started a nasal spray in the last few weeks.  The nasal spray works wonders!  But I forgot it yesterday, so going to sleep last night was tricky.  The itchy throat was back and I sneezed a bunch.  I would say "lesson learned," but I can't say that with any sort of certainty.  I'm slow that way.

But...today is Labor Day!  Generally, I don't care, but my sleep-deprived body much appreciates it.  Other than no Seminary or homeschool lessons, I still have my normal stuff to do, but I can ease up a little.  And I DID sleep in - 8:45 - heaven!  This, of course, offsets the alarms for Seminary that I forgot to turn off.  I went back to sleep, though.  That's good, right?

Walmart Weirdness: Halloween and Fall stuff coming out isn't so bad.  But REAL pumpkins?  Isn't that a tad early?  Who's going to buy pumpkins now?  I could see the beginning of August, but September?  Ken says they were out as early as Saturday.  Crazy!  Also, I felt very tall today.  Apparently it was short people shopping day and I didn't get the memo.  Old people, young people, different races and creeds with one common denominator.  They were short.

The other sign of Fall in Walmart - hunting stuff.  Clothing, ammo, targets, tents, deer corn, etc.  Don't see it at your local Walmart?  You must not be in the South (ish - Oklahoma is the South's red-headed stepchild).

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Today is hot and sticky.  A storm is headed in from the northeast, but in the meantime, it is a muggy 100.  Ken's car doesn't keep cool while idling, so it wasn't pleasant running errands this afternoon.  Plus, I waited to pick up Jonathan and for Ken to be dropped off at the airport (he was in Hobart helping someone move, but someone else drove).  I rolled the windows down, but there wasn't much of a breeze.  Please, weather, cool off, I beg you!

It did rain - for maybe five minutes.  All it did was make things more humid.

Tonight was a Relief Society dinner party for two sisters who are moving - one's husband is being sent, courtesy of the USAF to Germany.  The other's is leaving the AF and becoming a commercial pilot for Delta.  That's pretty cool!  It was nice and fun, with lots of sisters there.  We do have a lot of fun when we get together.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

A cloudy day, cooling things off.  Not much, but it helps.  I hope it'll get cooler before tomorrow.  The fair is always hot, especially where the animals are.  Rabbits don't do well with the heat...remember poor Twliight?

I took Analiese to the Expo Center to enter her non-animal items into the Fair.  She's put in an apron from her 4H sewing club and a rabbit agility jump she made in the Rabbit club.  Tomorrow we take Alice over to enter her.  

In the meantime, I was baking away.  I had to make brownies for Seminary tomorrow - no, I'm not just being nice (LOL), it's part of an object lesson.  Then, I made peanut butter toffee cookies for the fair concession stand.  I told Joy - the head of the Rabbit Club - what I was making and she looked pained and said, "The Fair is not the time to go on a diet!"  The Carbohydrate Devil goes to the Fair!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

First day of the Jackson County Fair and it's Rabbit Day!  Got extra allergy medication, my inhaler, the cookies, Alice, her food & water and away we went!

It seemed smaller to me this year.  Less exhibits; less rabbits. :(  Still, Analiese did well enough; 2nd place on her apron,

2nd on her rabbit jump,

3rd on Rabbit Showmanship, and 2nd on Alice.  

Nothing goes on to state, but that's okay.  She enjoyed herself anyway, with all the animals, the food, and her 4H friends.  I think the baby animals were the hit of the fair (at least for today).  There were two baby goats who would suck on your fingers, a shaved sheep (good thing, it was warm in there!), a calf, and some ducklings and chicks.  Analiese and I both got to hold chicks.  So darling!

Jonathan had a good time, too.  The Dosher's were all there, so he could hang with his friends David and Geordi.  Of course, Analiese and Charisa were at each other's sides during rabbit activities.  So, despite it being rather warm in the livestock area, it was still fun.

Friday, September 11, 2015

I should like to say today was a relaxing day after the Fair yesterday.  My feet still feel tired and sore, and I wish I could rest more, but tomorrow is Super Saturday for Relief Society and I am teaching a class.  Time to crunch 12 hours of information into an hour and a half.  My copies are made, my posters and examples are gathered, now it's mainly figuring out what order to do things in and making up a list of websites, TED talks, and Youtubes to look at.

Other than that, the day went by in a blur.  What else did I do?  Laundry, most likely.  Oh, and in the morning I had my first online Seminary inservice.  The conference program they use (Cisco) doesn't want to jive with my Logitech camera/microphone, so Bro. Sturges has to call me on his cell phone so we can hear each other.  We see each other fine.  Tried all kinds of things, I don't know what to do beyond that.

Saturday, Sepember 12, 2015

I made sure I was up early (enough) to get Analiese and myself to the church by 9:00 a.m.  We hadn't signed up for much, but I wanted to set up the Primary room (only whiteboard in the building there) for my class.  We probably didn't need to be there that early, but Analiese ended up helping a sister with a lot of projects to do, and I could socialize with other sisters while they did their stuff.  

I really didn't want any painting project - I don't need more stuff at this moment - and I wasn't inspired by the offerings.  Just me, I guess.  But, they did have a flour tortilla class...and both Analiese and I wanted to do that!

Irelia Box (we had dinner at their home not too long back) is from Mexico and taught us the authentic way to make tortillas.  It involved getting your hands dirty - I had to take off my wedding ring!  But I've done this once before a long time ago, so I wasn't too intimidated.  My first attempt burnt a little bit, but Irelia said it was okay because the first one is always a tester to see if things are hot enough.  We could only do about two each because of time and space in the kitchen, so Analiese & I took our dough home to make there.

We had a baked potato bar at lunch and afterwards was my class!  We did Sketchnoting (like I did for the Kids' College in June), but the shorthand version.  I focused mainly on shapes (and connecting them), lettering, and people (figures & faces).  I think they enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, but one sister did say it was somewhat overwhelming with all the information.  I know the packet of copies was huge - even double-sided.  Still, if they find it inspiring/entertaining/useful, it will be worth it.  We talked a bit about applications and brainstormed ideas.  Oh well, I enjoyed it!

No time to rest, though.  After the class, I had to straighten up and put away the stuff in the room, take Analiese to the fairgrounds to pick up her entries, and then go home and make dinner for the missionaries.  Luckily, I had bananas, banana cream pudding mix, and heavy cream in the house.  One quick trip to the store for a pie crust, and we had banana cream pie to go with our salad and burritos.  Exhausted, I let Analiese clear the table and Jonathan wash dishes.  I'm done!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Day of rest.  Sort of.  No real expectations in church, other than to play the piano in RS.  The Spirit was very strong, especially in Gospel Doctrine.  It really is one of my favorite things to do each week.

Home, well, it was fairly restful.  Though I still have my Seminary studying.  And Analiese is doing menu planning, shopping and cooking for a YW Personal Progress goal.  So we had that to go over.  I was late working on my blog because AT&T decided not to work in Altus today.  Oh well.  Posting tomorrow.

WHAT A WEEK!

Monday, August 31, 2015

I can't believe the month is over!  Time just flies on!  

Seminary went strangely today, mainly because the stake (and the Church) asked the Seminary classes to take a "pre-assessment."  This would have been better done at the beginning of the year, but we only got word last week.  So, this morning, in lieu of my devotional and a part of the class, we took the pre-assessment.  No student name goes on the paper, but my name does!  I have to send them to Salt Lake, where they will be analyzed and I will get a report with suggestions of doctrines & principles to focus on (supposed weak spots in the kids' answers).  It will be interesting to see.

The lesson ended up being VERY short.  Still, I managed to get in a point that brought the Spirit.  I just kind of skimmed over things and found the one thing I felt we should focus on.  I'm so glad I was lead rightly!  The point?  God is there, for us, even when we feel alone or uncared for.  It isn't a good lesson unless the Spirit testifies.

Walmart was another people watching event today.  Green bowler hat man was there.  His hair and beard continue to grow.  I had to maneuver around a lot of wheelchairs today; I even saw this poor bent-over lady pushing someone else!  I really felt for her.  Then, there was the guy in the frozen section who told me (a total stranger) how he was going to make homemade chicken noodle soup for his friend.  Weird.  Oh, and there was the twenty-someodd-minutes I spent talking with a fun sister in my ward.  Any wonder it takes me a while to get my shopping done?

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Seminary was not good this morning.  The Adversary is trying to keep the Spirit from our classroom.  The culprit?  Contention.  Sensitivity.  I had one student hurt (emotionally) and had to call them later to make sure they were okay.  I'm not sure if I need to do anything, say anything, or let them figure things out on their own.

I was supposed to go out to Walmart today with the RS President to get supplies for my Super Saturday class on Sketchnoting.  Yes, that was the class I taught at WOSC Kids' College this summer.  Four days of it.  Now crunched into an hour and a half.  This is going to take a little finagling.  However, the Pres. rescheduled me for tomorrow.  I think I'm going to veg a little.  Unwind.  Destress.

I roasted my own Hatch chilies today to make a chile relleno casserole.  I've done it before in my oven; today I tried it on my griddle.  I think the oven works better.  After they're roasted you put them in a ziplock to steam, which helps get the skins off.  Didn't work as well this time, so it took a bit longer to prepare.  Still, the casserole was good, especially with some homemade salsa on it (made that last week).

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

If you can believe it, Seminary was worse today.  I went home and cried.  We've got to get our mojo (read: Spirit) back.  I did some thinking and praying and had Ken give me a blessing before he went to work.  The rest of the day - pretty much - was tossing out my original lesson plans and doing something different.  A Conference talk, some videos, lots of scriptures...and more prayer!

This time I made it to Walmart to meet with the RS President.  Got our sketchbooks (found some very inexpensive ones $1.98 - trust me, that's a great price!) and some good black gel ink pens.  Compared to the crafts and such she's organizing, I'm easy!

Just so you know how marvelous a mother I am, not only did I make pancakes from scratch, but put BLUEBERRIES in them!  Well, some of them.  Analiese and Ken were not excited about the fruit (typical), so Jonathan & I had blueberries.  I asked Ken how his pancakes were (when he came home on lunch break) and he said, "They were pancakes."  Well, if he'd had blueberry pancakes, they'd've been much better, says I!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Special lesson today in Seminary.  Did it do any good?  I don't know.  The ones who took it seriously always take things seriously and the one who didn't is the one oblivious to their own actions.  I hate drama.

I really need the weather to decide it wants to be fall.  Coming out of the car to go into the house - an activity that took mere minutes - I got four mosquitos bites on both ankles.  Really!  Bugs have been a big presence this summer.  Analiese showed me a fuzzy spider today that was hanging around the front door.  It's a little bigger than my fuzzy blues, and had a white stripe and a dot on its abdomen.  Eat those bugs, spidey!

Friday, September 4, 2015

I think we're all looking forward to the weekend.  Monday is Labor Day, which means no Seminary or school, and we all really need a break.  I even told Analiese "No Lessons!"  Next week is going to be crazy enough, we're going to need Monday!

I made my house smell marvelous today.  I have lots of ripe bananas and more blueberries in the fridge, so I searched Pinterest for some recipes.  I made Banana Blueberry oat muffins today.  They smelled great (of course) and are...okay.  They don't have a lot of sugar, which is good, but could use a little more.  I don't think it will stop Jonathan from eating them, though!

Boy, did we find the mothers of all spiders today!  These two girls were gigantic - about the size of the bottom of a soda can!  They look like alien spiders - there is no fuzziness about them.  They have built massive webs between the old dead tree, the fence, and my compost area.  I tried to get as good of a shot of one of them as I could, but didn't want to climb into the compost to do so!  I wonder if they eat hoppers....  Oh!  And don't tell Ken!  If he knew they were out there, he might never venture into the backyard again!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Sleeping in is such a luxury.  I finally could sleep no more around 7:00 a.m.  Now, that may not seem like much to you, but that's an hour and a half extra for me!  So wonderful!  Ken got to sleep in a lot, too, which made me very happy.  His new position at Walmart means he that, even though his shift is supposed to end at midnight, if things aren't done, he stays until they are and that can mean 2 a.m. sometimes!  He's been very tired.

My egg gal came through for me today, too.  Only a dozen (but can you beat that for $2?), but her hens are getting older and not laying as much.  They are talking of getting new hens and, uhm, making chicken dinners out of the others.  Can you say circle of life?  I'd have to face the same if I ever got chickens.  Luckily, they know how to do it.  Actually, getting chickens is all the rage here.  Eggs in the store are outrageous and the difference in the store eggs versus home-grown are astounding. 

I played barber today.  Jonathan was ready for his haircut, which we do about every 3-4 weeks.  He has very thick hair, we call it "shaving the bear."  Ken has recently decided to have his head clipped like Jonathan's.  His work is hot and sweaty and his hair gets very oily, so this is a more practical cut for him.  Those clippers were a good investment!  But don't get any ideas about me doing it for a living.  That's all I can do - use the clippers.  Ask Analiese, don't put scissors in my hand and have me cut hair.  We have to pay for that, trust me.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Church was quietly average today.  Fast and testimony meeting was nice, Sunday School was great as usual.  Relief Society was very social today; it took a while to get to the lesson because everyone had something to share or say.  We're a pretty friendly group.

Analiese had been ill in the night, so she stayed home.  Because of Labor Day weekend, church numbers were small and there as only one young lady in YW.  Not surprising, we had lots of inquiries about my daughter.  But she's feeling better.  I don't know if she had an issue with dinner or a little bug.

NOT HAPPENING

I had typed out the whole week.  I had inserted pictures and links to three new recipes I tried this week.  And then...it all disappeared.  Gone.  I am tired, have dealt with headaches all week plus faced Shark Week.  I've been busy and running around all the time, and dealt with a cranky son and a tired, stressed-out husband.  I am still alive and will be glad to continue my saga.  Next week.