I Saw Butt!!

On days that I do not have appointments I take the bus to work. Because of this when it is time to go home I have to walk about a block or so to the bus stop or trax station when it is time to go home. On Wednesday this is what happened. I was making my way to the trax station to make my way home and enjoying the day. It was a little warm but there was a little wind to help keep you cool. I was standing on the corner of 100 south and State street waiting to cross. When I started walking an older lady (I would put her in her late 50's) who was a little over weight was walking in front of me. She had a skirt on that came down to about mid-thigh. As I looked down I noticed her skirt blow up a little in the wind. I thought to myself she needs to be careful or that skirt is going to blow up higher than she wants. Just as I finished that though it happened. A short gust of wind and the skirt blew right up. Come to find out she was going commando and I saw her but. Correct me if I am wrong ladies but if you are going commando and wearing a skirt I would be a little cautious about the possibility of showing stuff I didn't want to show. Anyway, I saw her butt and I really wish I didn't, it wasn't a pretty site. What I do find interesting is she never made an attempt to push the skirt back down and continued walking as if nothing happened. Moral of the story, if someone is in front of you wearing a skirt and it is windy. Don't look down unless you are ready to see what lies beneath.

Political Confusion

A post from my good friend Jay Tucker has renewed an interest in something I've been thinking about for a while. You see, I tend to suffer from what I call political constipation, a condition involving an overall understanding of what's important to me coupled with a complete inability to translate that information into a clear answer to a seemingly simple question... who should I vote for? I read an idea awhile back, though, about forming a research/debate group of sorts to help sift through all the available information about different candidates, then get together and discuss it.

My biggest concern is that someone (or multiple someones) would get too personally vested in an issue to give an unbiased, fact-based report, or even scarier, that they would take offense to the unbiased, fact-based reports given. I am pretty sure, though, that all my friends are mature enough (politically, only... I I'm not referencing what you do in your spare time here. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about) to handle an unbiased, fact-based discussion about politics, right? Assuming that such a thing exists, of course.

So the question, then, is three-fold. Part A: Would you like to be involved in my little research/debate project? Part B: What issues would you like to see researched/debated? Part C: Would you rather do the debating in person (I'm seeing major benefits to this when in comes to keeping our tact-filters, well, intact. Yes, the pun was intended) or via a specially designed blog forum (obviously better for gas prices and potential out-of-state participants)?

Growing Up

I'm not quite sure how it happened. I swear that last night I tucked a small boy into his bed and kissed him goodnight. Somehow, overnight, he seems to have suddenly grown up. I was working on the couch this morning when he came around the corner wearing a big boy's body. It didn't help that he announced to me in an appropriately disapproving voice, "Mom, you made a big mess of the couch already. Now I have nowhere to sit. You need to clean up all this mess right now." There was not one pause or stutter in his stream of plain English. Perhaps I need to stop sleeping; it seems every time I do, my boys grow up a little more.

Give That Guy a Klondike Bar

On Friday, I had asked Kirk to stop at the store on his way home to grab a few things. When he got home, he'd also picked up these beautiful flowers. He told me he wanted to wish me good luck on the bridal show I'd be doing on Saturday (click here for more on that), and - here's the kicker - "I know you said your booth was going to be decorated in fall colors, so I thought these would look really nice." Seriously, give my husband a Klondike Bar for listening well enough to even remember what colors my booth would be decorated in. Thanks, honey!

Can Billy Play (Part II)

Thanks for all your help with part I of the neighborhood friends mechanics. Here's part II...

The scenario: Billy has invited Adam to play at Billy's house, and Adam has been gone for over an hour. I totally trust Billy's family, and I really don't mind if Adam keeps playing. What should I do? Keep in mind that I don't like to meddle if I don't have to.

1. Assume that Billy's mom will kick Adam out when she's sick of him.
2. Go over to Billy's house and take Adam home with me.
3. Call Billy's mom to check on Adam and let her know to send him home whenever she wants.

Charlie Bit Me

When one of the members of Kirk's fantasy football league chose "Charlie Bit Me" as his team name, I just had to investigate. Here's what I found. Enjoy!

Does This Look Like My Boys?

According to this website, this is what our boys should look like. It's a cute enough kid, I guess, but I think I'll keep Adam & Alex.

Can Billy Play?

Sometimes I'm reminded of the fact that, although I didn't know it at the time, my childhood wasn't "normal." My mom taught at (and I attended) a private school about 30 minutes from our house, and we spent a lot of time at school. We were very family oriented, and as a result, my sisters were always my best friends. As a result, I'm sometimes a little lost when it comes to the unwritten rules of neighborhood play. I'm hoping those of you with "normal" upbringings can help me out.

1: If a neighbor - let's say Billy - knocks on my door and asks if Adam can play, and I answer "yes," at whose home should I expect that the kids will play?

2: Does Adam & Billy's age factor into the equation in any way?

I know, I know, you're already married, but...

... if you have a minute on Saturday, August 23rd to check me out at the Bridal Extravaganza, I'd sure love to see you. I'm going to be there promoting my new business, PhotoFinish, and it would be fun to see a few friends. Even better, I'd love it if you send any brides you may know who'd like a unique guestbook or a professionally scrapbooked wedding album. Link them to my page (www.photofinishmemories.com) or link them to the Extravaganza (www.UtahBridalShows.com). Either way, I'm sure they'll find something they'll love!

Ralston Hot Cereal

Lately I've been revamping what my kids eat for breakfast, and I nostalgically remembered one of my childhood favorites: Ralston. I asked Kirk if he ever had it as a kid, but he hadn't. He missed out. Ralston is sort of like oatmeal, but lots smoother, and it's made of wheat. It cooks up instantly, and it is SO yummy. Anyway, I wanted to be able to share this wonder with my kids, but I remembered that my parents stopped buying it when I was a kid because the stores stopped selling it.

I decided to check it out online. There are a few places that sell it, but it isn't always available. One store says they'll have some available on August 22nd. It costs $2.75 per box, and I'm just assuming (could be wrong here) that I'll save on shipping by buying more. More importantly, though, I can help impart Ralston to anyone who misses its yumminess. So if any of you grew up on Ralston and want to order some, let me know, and I'll put in a big group order as soon as I can.

Ban on Ice Cream Trucks

I have no problem with ice cream trucks driving through my neighborhood, American folk-songs blaring, causing my three year old to whine incessantly about wanting ice cream (which, by the way, he doesn't even like). At home, we are protected by walls and fences, and Adam doesn't have to watch as other children (with apparently nicer and richer parents) purchase and eat their treats. When an ice cream truck pulls into a child-laden public area -- like a park -- however, I have a problem with it.

Now I do realize that it is good business. If you want to sell ice cream, go where the kids are. But at best it is unkind, and at worst - unethical. If I wanted to buy fun for my kids, I'd be at McDonalds. The park is where I go for my kids to have good, clean, FREE fun. I really just don't appreciate our fun time being interupted when I have to tell Adam no.

I wish there was some sort of a city ordinance banning ice cream trucks from parks.

Fantasy Sports

So we are quickly approaching one of my favorite times, football season. With the start of football season comes another great thing, fantasy football. I know what you're thinking, there are many different fantasy sports besides fantasy football. Yes there are and I usually take part in them. I have been in fantasy hockey, basketball, golf, basketball, and more but I truly love fantasy football. In addition to doing fantasy football I also love to do weekly pick 'em leagues. For those of you not familiar with that it is when you go in and pick a winner for the games that week. Well I have set up a college football weekly pick 'em where you pick the winner's for the teams in the AP top 25 (unfortunately this means I will have to pick BYU) and an NFL pick 'em league.

So if any of you reading this did not get an invite to be a part of the league and you would like to be in it please let me know. Also I am thinking of setting up another NFL pick 'em league where you rank the games for the week. It is called a confidence interval. What you do is pick the winner for each game. Then if there is 16 game you rank them from 1 to 16, you put the games you feel you are most confident you are correct on in the higher numbers. Then if you picked the winner of the game you get that many points. You are not penalized for getting the game wrong you just don't earn the points. Anyway if you want to be a part of that let me know and I will get it set up.

That is all I have to post about for now. Who knows in another couple of months I will post again. Peace out.

Who would have thought?

I realize that slides do get hot when the sun beats on them, but seriously... hot enough to blister? Poor little Alex discovered the hard way that apparently the heat of a green plastic slide at high noon is in fact enough to cause a second-degree burn.