I'M Watching the VP debate right now.

****Edit**** I wrote this last night while I was watching the debate but my battery died and I was too exhausted to move my body to get the cord, so I am posting this morning. None of this drivel really makes any sense, but it makes me go to the happy spot where I have beautiful hair. Please comment and tell me who you think you are voting for or what you thought of the debate. Most of you probably have much more constructive thought than I do.

Did I mention that a was distracted by Sarah's hair?

I will get ugly comments from people if the first thing that I mention is Sarah's hair.



But Dang, Heather, will my hair do that? Will you stop by and put it up for me everyday?





Adrian does not think that there has been a clear winner so far. Since everyone thought Sarah was going to tank it, that seems pretty good to me.





I do not understand some of the rules of this thing. Joe Biden calls John McCain " John" but calls Sarah Palin "Governor Palin" It kinda bugs me.



Did you hear Joe Biden say marriage when talking about gay couples? He called it a marriage and then said that he Does Not support Gay marriage.



Umm, I think you do.



I want to make more comments, but I am so dizzy and distracted by that fabulous hair.



I went to a Time Out For Women in Nashville several years ago and there was a lady there who works for the government. She was in Afghanistan working with the women. She told so many wonderful stories of the improvement in their lives since the US invaded and took out the Taliban. It was so great. I think we need to increase the troops there.



And then there is that little annoyance called Osama Bin Laden.



I love how she just said that she is a Washington outsider and how politicians support something until they don't.



I agree, I think John McCain does know how to win a war.



Did you know that something like 50 Delawares would fit in Alaska. Or maybe it is 500. I don't remember.

UNgainfully employed

Are you waiting to see the pictures from the beach?


And from when the Japanese Exchange student stayed with us.

And when Lucy spent a week at band camp. Without Me Chaperoning. (shudder)

How about some better EFY pictures.

Or Scout Camp.



They are still on my camera.



Maybe in September I will motivate and get them onto here.


But I can tell you what I have been up to. There are no pictures to illustrate MY life, so I can just talk. Are you sitting down? Of course you are.


I am ungainfully employed!!!!!


Yes, I have been hired as a volunteer at the local library. I love love love it. I check books out and check books in and shelve books and read shelves and cover books and take Inter Library Loan requests and inventory and sometimes I help with Story Time, but there are little kids back in children's, so I try to steer clear of that room.


It is heaven. One day a sweet little girl said, "Do you have a book called Pride and Prejudice?"


What? Yes dear, we have 3 copies and I have lovingly fondled all of them, let me show you where to find them. Would you like paperback or hardcover?


And then recently I had a woman tell me several times how she could NOT figure out how I was finding books so quickly.

Fiction is in alphabetical order, as most of you probably would have guessed. It is not really rocket science, but she was really in awe that I could just walk right up to Jeannette Oke and Deborah Macomber.

I have mad library skills.


Soon I will have to share some stories about the public access computers.

Pioneer Woman and Liberal Freaks

Welcome to my readers who have googled this post. I receive about 50 hits a day to this post. If you click on the blog name up above it will take you to the main page and you can see what I am writing about right now!!

Please feel free to leave me a comment below or after any of my posts!


Okay, when did we become strictly a republic? Voters in California voted NO to same sex marriage. But now a few LIBERAL FREAK judges decided that voters don't really get to make decisions?

It is a sad, sad day for our little democracy experiment here in the US. Sad because it seems to be a failed experiment.

******************************************************************************


On a completely different note....

I know Marlboro Man's real name. I also know all about the history of his family in Oklahoma.

Google is a beautiful thing.

Or a wicked thing, depending on how you look at it.

I learned that his Great great grandfather was one of the first white men in Osage County right after the Civil War.

Okay, his family is a dynasty in the Cattle raising industry.


Anyway, his name is













Ladd Drummond














Here are some fun articles about her and Ladd. Haha I just said Ladd! Oh, I know the punks names. too. Ready?

Alex
Paige
Todd
Bryce

Here are the articles:
This one is funny
http://www.tulsaworld.com/common/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleID=070729_1_A1_hFour01672

This one is all about Ree
http://newsok.com/article/3184718/1198585644

Where art thou, Cynthia?

Have I fallen off the face of the earth?

Am I stuck in an elevator? (Oh my heck, I shudder even typing that idea!)

Am I protesting Blog 365? Err... How about Blog 265?

No. It all started when I was having some problems getting my pics to load onto blogger. Then I discovered something that I hadn't noticed in a while.


MY HOUSE



MY BASEBOARDS



MY LAUNDRY



MY CEILING FANS



THE BATHROOM GROUT



I discovered that even thou my children are big and basically self sufficient, my 46 year old house is still in the toddler stage. It is quite shocking, I know! So I have had to clean up all of my houses toddler messes.

dust
dirt
grime
urine splatters on bathroom wall(?)
general untidiness

And guess what? I have less of a desire to find a new house. This one is pretty nice. When I clean it. And guess what else? I found time to completely clean out the pantry, move the old microwave cart/unused craft junk out and buy, put together(by myself), and then fill up new shelves. I moved all the board games out of the top of Lucy's closet and into plain sight. So now we can easily play them. I also rearranged the living room furniture. And SCRUBBED the bathroom edges. You know where I mean? It is all shiny white again. Like when it was new. I don't think it has been shiny white since it was installed. I really need to do this more than once every 3 years!

So in conclusion I just want to let you know that I have missed you all, but I am so freakin' happy in my clean house that I plan on cleaning more. and more. and more.


Please send help...

Fab free stuff

Do you like free stuff? Do you like girly stuff? Then head on over to Michelle's place and sign up for her super duper giveaway!

Oh, and I have tried to post the last two nights and blogger won't let me load my pictures. So here is the three minute update, sans pics!

We had lots of great snow!! Yipee. The kids made snow cream. AND Bandit is no longer a problem with the "ladies"!!!! But he is kinda sore and moving slowly. Oh, and my husband has been more sympathetic to the stinking neutered dog than to , say, a woman who gave birth to a 10+ pound baby with no pain meds. Yeah, I'm that lady. This dog thing is killing him!!! LOLOLOLOL!!

futile fabric search or why wal-mart sucks

I purchased the fabric to make the apron for the Sassy Apron Swap. This caused a Friday morning panic attack. A few weeks ago we were in a town 50 miles away. This is the closest town to us that has a store besides Wal-Mart. I do not go to this town very often since it is 50 miles away. One way. It would be an all day adventure and would cost some serious cash in gas money. So while in this town I went to HobbyLobby to look at fabric for the apron. After looking at about the 10th good fabric choice my head started to hurt and the fabrics began to all look the same. So I decided to just use a few solid colors and put pretty embelishments on it. Some cute ribbon, buttons, rickrack, etc. So I decide to purchase this at my local Wal-Mart since the prices were lower than Hobby Lobby.

Fast forward to yesterday morning. i drop the kids at school and head to Wal-Mart. I walk to the very opposite back corner of teh store and am greeted with 3 racks of fabric. And a very large empty area. Sort of a void that really was screaming, "FILL ME!" So I ask the nice lady, "umm ma'am? Where are the 5 other racks of fabric. Especially the one that is covered with seasonal fabric. i.e. SPRING FABRIC?" she said, "Sold it all." This is going to take too many quotes like this so I will cut to the chase. THey are closing the fabric dept. Yep. I will know have to travel 50 miles one way to get a yard of fabric. It will be cheaper for me to shop an etsy shop now. I finally found 5 fabrics that were springy. 5! They had no solid fabric left. I got two yards of one and a yard of another. I have been freaking out about this anyway and the fabric nightmare has not helped.

The fabric I got is flowery. I like it. The main part of the apron will be made with it. Then I got a blue and white polka dot to be the pockets and the ties and some pink rickrack. I hope my partner is not mortified at my sewing. It has to be mailed out by March 1. I would like to actually have it done this week.

If the woman who has my name reads this post let me tell you that you have the most humble partner and your work is being compared to some very sustandard sewing (mine) so please know I will be very grateful for whatever you send my way! Really.

President Hinckley

We just learned that President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away this evening. I have put a link here for those of you that would like to read more about this amazing and wonderful man.

We will miss his wise counsel and his great sense of humor!

13 reasons I am glad that I can blog

I have several random things to share today.

1. It is cold outside.
2. I want everyone to go and read this story. It is a hoot. Who say that?
3. Today when we left church at 1:00 it was 23 degrees. 23 DEGREES!!
4. We took Lucy and Rachel on a date last night and had so much fun. It was Adrian's idea. Thank you for such a great date!
5. It is colder than a freakin' deep freeze.
6. I still have Christmas decorations to put away. This is why I am a Grinch about Christmas.
7. I can't feel my fingers or toes because it is so stinking cold!! For crying out loud. I live in the south. I have a heat pump. They aren't really heat pumps, they are warmish pumps.
8. Harrison's team won their game yesterday!! Yes I said WON. And Harrison scored 7 points. One time he had this awesome fast break and he drove it down and bam boom swish baby.
9. Have I mentioned the cold? And listen it gets worse. Normally the snow passes our house to the north, yesterday it snowed south of us. UNFAIR!
10. I looked at fabric for the sassy apron swap yesterday. Why did I decide to do this? I am so bad at decision making! I didn't get any.
11. You know... it's cold!
12. My career as a sports photographer is not going so hot. I got some great shots of Harrison yesterday but the only way I could get then to be not blurry was to use the tv setting on the camera and then setting the shutter speed around 600. Of coarse it looks like they are playing in a cave. So maybe I will be able to use the photo editing software that I have on the computer (but can't find again) to lighten them. Or maybe I will try out picassa or flickr. Any ideas?
13. You will be grateful to know that I am not going to mention the weather again. Number 13 has to do with my slightly insane father deciding that what the 6 Hale children and their slightly deranged parents need is a vacation to Disney World. I told my children that we would never take them there, so to not ask. And they haven't. Well, surprise kiddoes, you are going to Disney, as the athletes are fond of saying.

Better thank Grandpa. Often. and with great feeling. Cause guys, this is taking a serious pile of moola!

I have never had a post that I just randomly talked through...

I was dreading writing this post. That blog 365 sticker was staring me in the face and I thought: Why in the heck did I sign up for that?

But then when I got to my dashboard it said that this will be my one hundredth post! Can you believe it? This time has flown by.

So today I did something I don't normally do. I did William's laundry and cleaned up some of his room. It was very fun. You know how it is way more fun to clean someone else's house? That was how his room felt. I am hardly ever even in it, much less clean it. I had everything torn out of his dresser and the sheets off his bed this morning. Then William called home. He was sick and wanted to come home. What are the chances? I went and got him. He came home, laid on the couch and slept until about 5:00. Then he ate a slice of pizza and laid back down and went to sleep again. He said his head was killing him. I woke him up about 9 and told him his room was ready. I sure hope he notices how nicely made his bed is. I didn't even get my bed made today! He isn't going to notice, is he? Okay, I did it for me. I know his room is clean. I know he appreciates it. It is not like he has time to do anything right now. Basketball is a making his life really hectic. It is a good hectic. I think it is a positive experience for him.

Here is a picture of William. He doesn't like his picture taken. I don't either, so I understand. But I caught him in a moment of glee. He was taking a stack of movies at my parents house and loading them onto his Ipod that he had gotten that morning.

okay. time for a new random thought:

I am still waiting to feel like I am back into he swing of things. I obviously have not made it since I am up and blogging this late. I am not even tired! Maybe next week will feel different.

and yet another:

Oh, I made the tastiest thing. Chrys posted these Gooey Butter Cakes on her blog. HOLY COW. They are so tasty. So, just throw your resolutions out the window and bake a batch of these. Your family will thank you!

Vomit in Three States

Doesn't the title of this post just make you salivate with anticipation? It does? Really? Well let me share with you my most horrifying road trip story ever.


Having 6 children has given me an arsenal of bad road trip stories. I have taken them to SC before and had a pre-schooler develop a bladder infection on the way. 525 miles of needing to pee. It was a joy. I have driven 500 miles through the mountains of South Carolina. 7 months pregnant. In July. With a broken Air conditioner. And my husband had flown home early because of work. Did I mention that I had 16 month old twins and a 3 year old with me? And don't even ask me about the time we took 9 month old twins to Hong Kong. Nashville to Chicago. Chicago to Minneapolis. Minneapolis to Tokyo. Tokyo to Hong Kong. And then jet lag and then back again. And what? Flight cancelled in Chicago. Please shoot me know. Please...

But those were all problems that occur ed outside of my body. Yesterday I had a road trip and the only problem was me. Sometimes I get a wee bit queasy. Sometimes I get headaches. Okay, sometimes I get whopping migraines. I am not exactly sure what happened yesterday. I woke feeling a little funny. I had a little pressure on the side of my head. After breakfast and we weer getting ready to leave I decided to take some Excedrin. I took it withe a glass of water. Now, water and I are not always friends. Yesterday was on of those days. I could feel it sloshing around. It felt kid of warm and grooss. We got in the car. we drove through our little town and headed up the mountain. I am thinking...hmm... I would really like to empty the contents of my stomach. We get to the top of the mountain. Umm, Husband pull over there at that little park with the water fall.

I leave the car. I go around the back of a drain that is built into a hill.

How do you write throw up sounds? Blech? ehhhrrggg? Insert whatever sounds make you feel a little gaggy yourself. Now enter my two boys. I ask them what they want. I am throwing up, do you want to see it? Harrison comes running!

GO AWAY!

But you asked if we wanted to see? Why would they want to wheat chex and curdled milk?

Thus began my day. 550 miles we drove. Including a stop at the outlet mall between Chattanooga and Atlanta. And lunch at two different drive throughs. And an accident on I20 just outside of Charleston. We went 8 miles in one hour. The only consolation was that my stomach felt better when we sat still.

Yes, I threw up on the side of the road. In fast food restaurant bathrooms. In an outlet mall bathroom. three states.

I apologize to the resident soif Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. I am apologize to the nice mom with the 3 kids who let me cut line in the MacDonald's bathroom. She could just sense that I needed it more than her toddler. Maybe it was the way I was clutching my stomach and how my eyes were rolling back into my head. I am so sorry everybody.

I was so glad to get to my moms house. She has 7 bathrooms. Yes, 7. and they are all so clean. Thank you to the nice cleaning lady that came and cleaned the bathroom in my room. When I got there I ran upstairs. Up 2 flight of stairs. I could take the elevator but I am scared of it, and anyway, my stomach already hurt. But I ran up to that sparkling clean bathroom and proceeded to throw up in that sparkling clean toilet. I t was wonderful.

I then wiped my mouth with the Ultra Charmin toilet paper that feels like cloth and was even folded at the end like they do at hotels.

Oh Yeah... I was happy to be out of that car and at Haugen Manor!

Conference Sunday

This weekend was General Conference. It was amazing and wonderful, as usual. Yesterday we went and watched the morning session at church and the afternoon session at home. Today we followed the same pattern. There was a fabulous and timely talk on recording our lives in some way so that our children will be able to look back and be reminded of the ways God has touched our lives. He said we may not keep a traditional journal, but we all need to do something so that our children can be reminded of the tender feelings they felt during these times. The speaker told of how his son had called him just recently to tell of an experience that was remembered because he had been reading his copy of the family journal. It was not an experience President Eyering (I think that is who it was) had written about. It was a memory triggered by reading of that days experience as recorded by Pres. Eyering. We have so much influence as parents, mothers especially. I love this job I have!



So I guess that makes this blog official. I was too shy to actually let anyone know I had started it, but I feel as though I was being spoken to directly this morning. So ... I will let my children read this and not feel silly!! I even told Ella and Molly I would put pictures of their cats on here, if they could get Lucy to take a picture and put it on my computer.



Speaking of cats...UGH!! The plan with these two kittens that we acquired recently was to let them stay in the house, in the little girls room, until they drove me crazy and then kick them out onto the back porch with the 3 other cats and 4 dogs. Ha Ha Ha They are so a part of the family, I would feel bad kicking them out. Everyone needs a couple of kittens in their life. A couple of stinky, picky kittens!! Yes, they really are stinky. One of them especially. He has a GAS problem! Yuck. And then there is the picky thing. Their litter box has to be cleaned everyday or they quit using it. They are partial to Molly's bed! Then one day I forgot to change it and one of them got on top of the litter box and peed into the square cut out area that has the handle in it. A little pool of pee for me to notice as I am carrying it outside to clean it. Adrian was following them around that night saying, "Which one of you did it? Come on now, fess up and we will go easy on you."

The whole idea was that Molly loves cats so much that these kittens would make her so happy. Ella just loves all animals, except Pomeranians, that she wanted the kittens. So rewind with me to Night 1 with kittens. Kittens allowed in their beds with them, a first in Hale family history. Pure joy, ecstasy, kitten heaven. They cuddle and purr and chase foil balls. These cats have read the kitty manual and are doing everything to bring blissful joy into the lives of little girls. And then it is time to go to bed. Let the tears flow. Molly is suddenly coming out of her room sobbing. The problem? Her kitten keeps escaping her stranglehold on it to go and sleep with its brother on Ella's bed. We try to explain to her that the cats are just nervous and want to be together since this is the first night away from their mom. We assure her that they will eventually sleep with her, just not tonight. No dice. She cried for about another hour until finally I told her she could sleep in Ella's bed the next night if that was were the kittens chose to sleep. Ella was a little surprised. Night 2 comes and the cat stays on her bed for a little while. But then she gets upset when he leaves. More tears, but we persuade her to stay in her bed since Ella had no intention of giving up her own bed. Night 3 goes smoothly, no tears, no getting out of bed. The next morning Ella spills the beans.

Ella, "Molly why did you get so mad at the cat last night when he tried to sleep with you. I thought you wanted to sleep with him."

Mom, dumbfounded, "HUH?"

Molly, matter of factly, "I did want him to sleep with me, be he laid right up against me and started purring, he was too loud so I threw him off the bed."

Dumbfounded mom again,"WHAT?"

Ella, "She threw him off about ten times. He finally came and slept with me."

Okay... proof that there is no pleasing a 6 year old!