Flourish, Inklings, and Flair!

Look Ma!

2011-11-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

This post is really for my mom, who thinks she didn't teach me how to sew. She managed to get Holly and me to make cheesy pre-printed teddy bears when we were young, but our attention spans and hers fizzled out shortly after. My interest in sewing appeared again briefly, long enough for me to pass Home Ec. and make two pair of boxer shorts, which were totally cool to wear in the 90s.

So when our church branch in Sutherland decided to make rag quilts, I blew the dust off the old sewing machine and gave it a shot. The rag quilt turned out beautifully, but my very old sewing machine died in the process. I got a new one a few weeks ago and finally finished my first real sewing project. Ta-dah!

My first dress for Eliza! This was a ton of fun, so I'm thinking she'll be getting a few dresses for Christmas. I still think it needs a little something. I'm thinking two or three decorative buttons on the side of the collar.

I even did the zipper all by myself. So what if I had to read the instructions forty times...

Yes, this is a total brag post. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Funny Things My Children Say and Do

2011-11-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have an entire journal devoted to funny things my children say and do. I got the idea from my cousin Michelle, and I'm very glad she gave it to me. Although my children are still small and the journal is largely unfilled, I thought I would share some recent gems. Because kids are hilarious.

*After his first day at preschool, I asked him what he learned. His reply: "EVERYTHING!" Guess we can skip high school and college.
*Liza won't take a pacifier, except as a chew toy. However, she religiously sucks herself to sleep with her blanket every night.
*My favorite quote from Noah: "People are kinda gross."
*I have had a thing for the movie Tangled lately. Apparently Noah does too because in the living room today, he stacked a few couch cushions together, climbed to the top and, with arms spread wide, shouted/sang "I gotta dweeeeem!!!"
*A few months ago Aaron, Noah and I were sitting around talking on the bed. Noah mentioned something about his "other daddy." I told him that Aaron was his only daddy. Aaron pried a little further and asked who the other daddy was. Noah said, "Stucki." Now wanting to pry even further, Aaron asked where Stucki lived. "In a dirty house." Apparently Mom gets around with a slob named Stucki. It has since become our favorite family joke.

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

I managed to get both kids into costumes for Halloween. Noah had decided to be Thomas the Tank quite a while ago, which was good because the cutting, painting gluing, taping, and retaping of the whole costume took about a week. Thankfully, I finished Liza's in one nap time.

We took the kids to Grant to go trick or treating on Main Street and to some old friends. It took Noah a few minutes to figure out what was going on, but by the third round, he had it down pretty well. His Thomas costume got heavy after several blocks. I think we'll do fabric costumes next year.

Eliza the Ballerina

Noah as Thomas the Tank Engine. Noah even helped me make this costume. He also helped pull off just about every piece that was glued or taped on at least once.

Side view.

Ready for trick or treating!

A Good Rainy Day Toddler Project Tutorial

2011-10-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

I am quickly falling in love with Pinterest. I think I may now love Pinterest more than Facebook. It may have to do with the fact that I am totally visual and like the pictures on Pinterest, or it has no advertising, or that I don't have to worry about any passive-aggressive jabs on Pinterest. You know who you are...

Even though we haven't had a ton of rainy days out here, the days outside lately have either been chillier or filled with swarms of flies, the gift we get from the local pig farm. And Pinterest has a whole lot of great ideas on what to do with kids when you are tight on $$$, the kids don't want to play outside, you have no car during the day, and you don't want to stick the kids in front of a TV.

I started with this idea...

...but fingerpaint is messy of necessity, and some genius thought it would be a good idea to put carpet in the kitchen in a rental house (actually, there are at least two geniuses out there that think that because our last rental had carpet in the kitchen too. But I digress...)

So I decided paintbrushes and potato stamps were the way to go. Noah and I created these.

I guess it's false advertising to call this a tutorial, because most of the tutorials I see online come with really awesome step-by-step photos. With mine, you'll just have to use your imagination.

Materials:

Cardboard box
Acrylic paint (the craft kind that comes in little bottles)
Paintbrushes (preferably ones you don't mind the toddler destroying)
Newspaper for covering the table and your carpeted kitchen
Scotch or masking tape
A potato
A small, sharp knife (exacto or paring knives work well)
Paint smock (if desired. I just strip my kid down and scrub him later.)

1. Cut out one panel of the cardboard box. Trim to desired size. Put child in art smock, if desired. Lay down newspaper on table and carpeted kitchen floor.
2. Let your toddler paint the brown, empty side of the cardboard whatever color he desires. Let the cardboard dry completely.
3. Lightly spell out your child's name in tape on the dry, painted cardboard.
4. Make a potato stamp in whatever design your child chooses. Noah chose train tracks, and I did a leaf for Liza. To make the stamp, slice a potato in half. With a pencil or your knife, draw a simple shape on the face of the potato. Cut away everything that isn't your design, so looking at the potato sideways, your design should be 1/2" to 3/4" higher than the rest of the potato.
5. Let your child use the potato stamp in different colors all over the masked cardboard. You may have to blot off some of the paint before he uses the stamp on the cardboard. Don't worry about mixing colors - it actually looks good if the colors mix. Be sure to do a lot of stamping over the masked letters. Let dry.
6. Peel the tape off the cardboard. Use a small paintbrush to create an outline to the letters, if desired.
7. Hang with pride on the wall.
8. Scrub the paint off your kid.

Revolting Recipes - Intestine Breadsticks

2011-10-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

I was really looking forward to our church Halloween party this year, but alas, Liza got sick so we couldn't go. But I made this spooky snack in anticipation of going. I was inspired by this idea here (yes, I got it on Pinterest).

I made a few modifications, though. I was fresh out of puff pastry (I doubt I could get it at the local grocery store anyway), and it sounded expensive and fattening. So I made the same idea with breadsticks instead.

I'd give you the recipe, but it's just Betty Crocker foccacia rolled into breadsticks, then I used a baby spoon to dab some marinara sauces in the seams and sprinkled Parmesan cheese. Voila! A nauseating side dish! Now I just need an awesome Halloween party to go to...

Sculpture's Last Stand - The 2011 Sisson Family Pumpkin Carvings

2011-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

My true artistic love has always been sculpture. The only problem with sculpture is what to do with it after you've made it. For instance, my favorite sculpture I ever made was a head of a gargoyle. It turned out great; I was really proud of it. But who needs a life-sized head of a gargoyle sitting in their living room?

So the only outlet my sculpting gets every year is pumpkin carving. It has a practical use, it's festive and inexpensive, doesn't involve a huge time commitment, affords almost unlimited creativity, and you can smash it a week afterwards and not feel bad about it. Because I get to sculpt so seldom, I like to go all out. Last year I decided to make the globe. It was cool for about 12 hours. Then it started to wither, and South America was never quite the same. Australia and New Zealand quickly collided, and Europe began to sag. By the next day, you couldn't even tell what the carving was supposed to be.

This year, I wanted to make up for last year's flop, and I must say I did a pretty good job. I'm especially proud because my design is also original. So without further ado, I give you the 2011 Sisson Family Pumpkin Carvings.

I did the bat for Noah, the Nebraska sunset for myself, and Aaron (in keeping with his hunting/farm boy theme) did the bugling elk.

Closeup. It looks way cooler in person.

See above.

In the light.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Fall has fallen in Nebraska. There aren't many trees, so mostly that means that the corn has been harvested and (for Aaron) the deer are rutting. What fall season would be complete without a trip to the local pumpkin patch? There is a rather impressive one just west of us, near Champion, called Cox Ponds that we went to. The kids loved it!

Noah's lightening the boat full of pumpkins.

An old friend from the Sutherland Branch taught Liza to wrinkle her nose like this. We call it her Pickle Face. As a side note, I have that same dimple on my cheek.

Liza hogging all the pumpkins that were thrown overboard.

Noah driving the pumpkin Cat-illac.

There are few places Noah loves more than a sandbox or a cornbox. Daddy is making sandcastles so Noah can smush them. We nearly had to drag Noah out of the sandbox to go home.


It took me forever to get a cute profile shot, but it was worth it :-)


Just us girls.

Here are a few everyday pictures too. Just for fun.

"Cookie? What cookie? Oh - you mean THIS cookie..."

Noah loves to hide in small spaces. This is his most recent discovery.

More Summer Pictures

2011-09-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more fun pictures from this summer. In no particular order...

"Those bubbles totally came from his direction."

One of Noah's favorite pastimes (second only, perhaps, to tormenting Zeus) is to push Eliza over. Any way he can.

In July we took a jaunt over to Brighton, CO for Aaron's business trip. While Aaron was in meetings, I took the kids to Highlands Ranch to visit a few old friends. While we were there, we visited Toepfer Park.

Noah actually loved riding the dragon/seahorse thing, despite the sour expression. I think the sun was in his eyes.

If this isn't the cutest darned thing in the world, I don't know what is.

Since Aaron works for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, we got to go to their grand opening of a new outdoor education facility. They brought in all sorts of cool booths and things to the opening, including some raptors. This is a Peregrine Falcon, one of the fastest animals on earth.

Videos - Multimedia - www.ktnv.com

2011-09-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is David Miller. He has been missing from his home in Summerlin, NV for a week and a half.

Crazy as it may sound, this missing man is my cousin. I always saw these news stories and felt a twinge of sympathy for the family and person involved. I never imagined it would happen to my family. His car was found in Henderson, NV. Here is the story the local news ran on David's disappearance.

Please be on the lookout for him and if you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact me.

Pictures - Catch Up

2011-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from this summer. For a while there, the technology gods came back to curse my blog again and wouldn't let me upload anything. So here they are, in no particular order...

I realized that I am in very few pictures on my own blog. I suppose it would seem narcissistic to be otherwise, but here's one the kiddies with their mom, for once. We took a trip down by Imperial and had Family Home Evening at Enders Reservoir (as featured in the best seller "Heaven is For Real").

Here's a little friend we caught while we were there. Noah was brave enough to pet him.

Here's Aaron doing his hunter/fisher/gatherer thing. He caught a whopper of a rockfish this round, and it broke his fishing pole. Needless to say, the big one got away.

Liza had a fun time playing in the water. She LOVES swimming, the bathtub - anything with water.

Liza and Daddy at Enders.


Noah the Little Mer~~maid~~man.

I made a red velvet cake mix and let Noah lick the bowl. This was the result. If you're going as anything bloody for Halloween, skip the ketchup and go straight for the red velvet cake mix.

My baby boy turned 3 this July (sniff, sniff). This is a crummy picture, but I just love the look on his face. It was consistent for all of his birthday gifts. We had to coax him to open each of the remaining ones because he wanted to stop and play with the one he'd just opened. A good lesson in being grateful for what you have.

Noah with his birthday cake. It was going to be a pirate cake, but Noah wanted Thomas. I might've known. My first cake made from scratch!


Liza's hair is getting SOOOOOOOO long! I love putting her in piggie tails. She shakes her head to make them wiggle or when she's tired.

For the Sisson Boys

2011-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Several of the Sisson boys and coming out to Nebraska to hunt deer this year. Aaron picked these off his trail camera this week, so we thought we'd give everyone a sneak peek at what they have to look forward to.

More details on our hunting plans later. Yes, you read that right. Our hunting plans.

Meet the Mormons

2011-07-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

So as we live in the middle of nowhere, not many of my fellow nowhere-ites have ever heard of Mormons. The Sutherland Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is over 100 miles wide, and the branch building is an hour's drive from our teeny town. So the earth is salted very sparingly in this particular corner.

As such, I thought it might be helpful to some of my friends who may be wondering about my beliefs. Www.mormon.org is as good a primer on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the Mormon Church) as any, but I figured I might create a Reader's Digest version, and dispel a few myths I've run into while I'm at it. If you have ascribed to any of these myths in the past, don't sweat it. You're not alone. And we're not offended. :-)
___________________________________________________________
Who we are...
We are the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We call ourselves saints (in the non-Catholic sense of the word), members, Mormons, the church, or LDS for short.

As you might guess from the name of the church, we are Christians. We believe in Jesus Christ as our savior and the redeemer of the world. We believe that he suffered for the sins of mankind in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross that all mankind may be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel (faith, baptism, repentance for one's sins, etc.). I think people get hung up on this one because we believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate, distinct beings, but one in purpose - the Godhead. Many other Christian denominations believe in the Trinity, which was adopted as a Christian doctrine by the Nicean creed several hundred years after Christ.

So yes, we believe in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. We believe that our church is the same church that He organized when he was on the earth, with prophets, apostles, pastors (we call them bishops), teachers, and so on.

We are also big into some funny things, most of which are not doctrinal: funeral potatoes, green jello salad (with or without shredded carrots), quilting, crafting, food storage, mommy blogs, scout camp, CTR rings, pouffy hair, bad driving, mission stories, family history, pioneer reenactments, home party businesses, and scrapbooking.

Who we are not...
We are not Amish or Mennonites (though we like them both, and we have been known to do barn-raising type of stuff). We do believe in dressing modestly, however, and I think that may be where some of the confusion lies. The restoration of our church in the 1800s took place in the eastern U.S., which I think is where the others originated, which may be point of confusion.

We are not Jehovah's Witnesses (but we like them too). We do send out missionaries - you can tell ours by the black tags. But we're cool with birthdays and parties and stuff. Just no alcohol. Or drugs or coffee or tea. Chocolate is okay (thank heaven).

Though we do not condone homosexuality, we are not gay-haters.

We are not polygamists. No, Big Love is not true to life. Sorry - Mom was right. You can't believe everything you see on TV. As in the Bible, polygamy in the church was a brief, limited practice, but it ended in the late 1800s. (C'mon guys. That was soooo two centuries ago). Rule of thumb: if you see a news article or story about Mormons and there's polygamy involved, unless is was published in 1860-something, it's safe to assume it's actually talking about a fundamentalist off-shoot group or something.

We are not a cult. I seriously have no idea where this one comes from. Each church member and each of those looking to become church members is encouraged to pray and study the scriptures and the principles of the gospel, and to ask God to gain a personal witness of their truth.

We are not perfect. We are mortals and we all make mistakes. Some of us have prejudices. We are not nice all the time. We offend people sometimes. Some of us struggle with the standards we believe in. And we all wish we were doing a little better to represent Christ.

We don't have horns. Again, I seriously don't know where this one comes from. Some of these make me laugh.

What we believe...
Volumes could contain this one, but here's a start. We believe that God created the earth so that us, his spirit children, could gain physical bodies and experience the tests, trials, and triumphs of mortality. He wants us to learn to love and serve each other, and ultimately return to live with him one day.

He sent us to families to help serve this purpose. We believe that through ordinances in holy temples, families can receive divine instruction and be sealed so that their relationships will be perpetuated beyond the grave. Families CAN be together forever.

In the temples, we do vicarious ordinances for those that have died so they can choose to have these blessings if they accept the gospel after death. Please note that we do not dig up corpses and baptize them (yuck). Ordinances are done by a living proxy in the name of the deceased. (That's why we're so big on family history and genealogy.) The deceased person can accept or reject the ordinances done for him or her. Through this work, those that have died without a chance to hear the gospel of Christ will have a chance to accept it and be redeemed from their sins.

We believe in trying to better ourselves and encourage and help each other. We have several auxiliary organizations that accomplish this aim, including the Relief Society, humanitarian aid, the church welfare program, the Perpetual Education Fund, and others.

We believe in living prophets and apostles, just like Jesus appointed in his day. We trace the authority they have (the priesthood) back to Joseph Smith, who received it from John the Baptist, and Peter, James, and John, who received it from Christ. We believe that the priesthood is the authority to act in God's name.

Speaking of Joseph Smith, we believe that he was the first prophet in these modern times. When he was about 14, he (like many of us have been at some point) was confused on the subject of religion and wanted to know which of all the doctrines were true and which church to join. He prayed to God to know, and God and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that none of the churches on the earth at the time had the full gospel. Through subsequent revelations and visions, God restored His church and authority to the earth through Joseph Smith and others who helped him.

We do not worship Joseph Smith. He did many great and marvelous things. He translated the Book of Mormon (a book of scripture from the American continent comparable and complementary to the Bible), and he was a prophet chosen of God, but he was a mortal man. So, too, are the prophets today - wonderful, mortal men called of God to lead his church and reveal His will to His children, which is affirmed by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in each of us.

____________________________________________________________
Wow, that got long. But it doesn't even scratch the surface. I am so blessed to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our teachings seem old-fashioned and even crazy to some, but I know they are true and that they bring happiness to those that live them. The older I get, the more evident that is to me.

If anyone has any questions about this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or anything else, feel free to contact me or browse the www.mormon.org website.

Hamster Melts

2011-07-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Aaron is the true sandwich master. When we were dating, he used to visit me at work and bring me sandwiches. They were loaded with all the fixin's and had horseradish and everything. It's actually part of the reason I married him - because he could make a sandwich better than anyone I'd ever met before or since. And I just had to have those sandwiches.

And just when I thought his sandwiches couldn't get any better, he invented this.

After much deliberation, he decided to name it the Hamster Melt* . Here's the recipe in case you want to replicate this culinary delight.

Hamster Melts
2 slices wheat bread
mayonnaise
4 thin slices of honey baked deli ham
2 slices tomato
6 fresh basil leaves (you really should use the fresh stuff)
4 thick slices of muenster cheese

oregano
salt, if desired

Lightly toast the wheat bread in toaster. Spread each slice thinly with mayo (light, if you like). Top each slice of bread with 2 slices ham, 1 slice tomato, 3 basil leaves, and 2 slices muenster cheese. Sprinkle each sandwich with oregano and salt, if you're Aaron. Broil open face for about two minutes, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

*Contrary to the name, no rodents were harmed in the making of this sandwich.

The Jobbie Awards

2011-06-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

My sister Holly and I were talking about what we wanted at our funerals the other day (morbid, I know). I told her that her job was to be the comedy relief for the funeral and tell people my quirky, funny stories. She said she would start with all the random jobs I've had. So I'm dubbing this post the Jobby Awards. Here goes.

Worst jobs:

1st place: My 8-hour stint of telemarketing. I felt like I'd sold my soul to make a buck. Especially when one of my victims said she couldn't attend the seminar I was touting because she was having chemotherapy that day. Boy, did I ever feel like a dog.

2nd place: minion for Propel Media. I was supposed to be helping them with webinars and SEO. I turned out to be a data entry peon that they didn't even take the time to train. They didn't seem to like me at all, and the feeling was mutual. We went our separate ways after about 2 weeks. To put it in perspective, when I got hired on at the laundromat a month later, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven.

3rd place: In an effort to regain my soul from telemarketing, I told the temp agency to find me another job, which they did. I worked picking product in a warehouse for a vitamin supplement company. It was pretty much 8 hours a day of walking, which did keep me in great shape. But the boss was a jerk, and it wasn't the most intellectually stimulating job.

Most random jobs:

1st place: Reptile handler at a life science museum
2nd place: R&D minion for Hot Pockets
3rd place: Freelance writer on the subject of liposuction

Favorite job:

1st place is tied between reptile handler and reports editor for KLAS Enterprises

Other random places I've worked/things I've done:

*sign dancer
*florist shop worker
*packager at a drill bit factory
*eBay seller
*dry cleaners
*laundromat
*Schlotzsky's Deli
*Tokyo Joe's (fast food japanese)
*day camp counselor
*data entry
*transcriber for Southern Paiute (a Native American language) legends
*conference planner
*dish washer
*whiskey packager (at a place that made cochlear implants, no less)
*administrative assistant
*internal education program coordinator

...and those are just the ones I got paid for. What are some of the random jobs you've had?

You know you live in a small town when...

2011-06-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

I've been formulating this post in my mind for a while. I think I may have to do it in installments, so look for forthcoming editions. The country folk that read my blog won't find this nearly as entertaining as the city folk that do. But as I am now a transplant/hybrid of the two, I think it's hilarious. And yes, all of these have been/are true of one or more of the dinky towns we've lived in in the past year and a half.

You know you live in a small town when...

...there are more thrift stores than grocery stores
...it is 70 miles to the nearest Walmart
...the lady from the post office remembers where you were sending that package you asked her about three days ago
...you can walk from one end of town to the other in less than an hour
...the only grocery store is only open until 6 pm
...the courthouse, fire department, and town hall are the same building
...your town has to petition the state to retain its status as a city because it's the biggest town in the county
...the tallest building in town is a grain bin
...your branch is 100 miles wide, and you have church in a different time zone
...nobody knows the real names of the roads. They are referred to as "the road by Pizza Hut" or "the road with the car dealerships"
...the town was elated because they actually put in a Subway
...the fact that you visited your grandma or moved into town made the local paper
...if you're not a fan putting a funeral notice in the paper, you can just stick a note on the door of the post office
...you live in town, and you still have to get a PO box

Catching up

2011-05-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

It sure seems like I do an awful lot of that. Well, so be it. You all came for the pictures anyway :-)

Eliza is now 6 months old and on solids. I haven't fed her anything she doesn't like so far. But you probably could have figured that out from those rolls on her arms.

Grant, NE is home to one of the most awesome parks! Noah is hiding in the tunnel.

My little angel. This is one of the thousand thousand reasons I love being a mother.

These two were thick as thieves on our trip to UT. Grandma and Grandpa Morgan pulled out the outdoor swing, and it was about an hours worth of entertainment.

Here they are pretending to sleep.

Two of my favorite people. I wonder why it is that the very old have the greatest adoration for the very young.

I have a list of projects that seems to grow exponentially faster than I check them off that list. But I did, in fact, check this one off the list recently. I've been working on these paintings since Montana. They're a pair of jungle-ish scenes for the kids' room. To skirt the inevitable teasing from the DH, I have made them (roughly) ecologically accurate. The top one is India, the bottom one Africa.

Make My Day!

2011-04-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally posted my coasters on Etsy! And! I got featured in someone's treasury! Exclamation point! (for those of you wondering what a treasury is, click here. My listing is the Mah Jongg coasters.)

So sorry about the long blogging hiatus - we moved. Yes, again. But locally this time. We are now in a charming little town called Grant. Aaron works in Grant, so we made the move to save on gas and get a bigger place. If Highlands Ranch gave up it's cookie cutter ways and strip malls, and morphed into a small town, Grant's what it would be like. The homes are well-kept, there are lots of young families with kids, there's a stellar park with four playgrounds and an old-style merry-go-round (the kind you push), and everyone we've met is very friendly. We like it here.

I had misplaced my camera cable, so here's a catch-up post for pictures.

Piggie Tails!

Aaron's first Rio Grande Turkey with a bow. He sure tasted good. We made turkey nuggets two nights in a row.

Aaron training Zeus. He's learning fast. He can come, sit, go down, go to his kennel, and drop an object in his mouth. And the dog's a quick study too.

The girls. Me and Liza-Lou chillin' in the afternoon.

Liza's a chocolate fan already.

Liza loves to pet the dog. He rarely sticks around long enough for her to do it, but she tries.

Nothin' like a dog and his boy.

Easter eggs! Rather than tempt fate, when it comes to messy activities like dying eggs or eating pasta, we just remove clothing from the equation.

We never used the little shrinky wrapper thingies that come with the eggs when I was a kid, but Aaron tried it, and they actually look rather nice.

Noah had a lot of fun with the Easter eggs. And he cracked every last one.

Aaron's egg.

Happy Easter!

Our Primary (plus three visitors) on Easter Sunday. A sweet lady from our branch made all these little bunny Easter baskets for the kids.

Liza in her Easter dress.

Noah with his Easter basket booty. Because of the distance to church, we didn't go after the Easter eggs until Easter afternoon.

Growing Things

2011-03-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

At our house, lots of things are growing...

Little sprouts in our peat pots - soon to be our massive and awesome garden.

The friendship between Noah and Eliza. It is so sweet to watch them play together. Noah likes her to play inside his box with him. She's not a big fan.

The amount of rules in our house. Rule number one (sadly) is "No Putting Things on Eliza's Head." As you can see, we're still getting that one down.

Noah's waistline - finally! The kid has finally decided that eating can be fun. Brownie batter sure helps.

The weather is growing warmer. As a result, Andrea and I are growing more committed to exercising.

Eliza's loathing of tummy time. She's getting really good at using her legs, just not a whole lot of upper body strength yet.

(soon to be) my Etsy shop. Look for these and other cool coaster creations coming soon!

Motherhood is...

2011-03-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

...finding anything to wipe a runny nose with
...sneaking into a child's bedroom at night to watch him sleep
...tying little bows in little shoelaces
...singing. A lot. All the time.
...trying (sometimes successfully) not to get upset at your children
...holding a car seat, a cell phone, the keys, a package, and a toddler's hand without letting go of any of them
...waking up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. Again.
...reading stories when there are dishes in the sink, laundry to fold, and bills to pay
...dancing to make your children laugh
...tickle wars
...making cookies and letting the kids lick the beaters

...fighting the battles over eating veggies, brushing teeth, taking baths, and holding hands when you cross the street
...counting to 10, both for the children's education and your own sanity
...knowing your body will never be the same again and accepting it
...hoping your sacrifices will be worth it
...seeing the potential in your little ones
...teaching a child how to pray to and trust in God
...watching his favorite TV show or movie for the 47th time
...being brave enough to discipline your children
...believing on the hard days that things really will get easier someday
...never getting sick of people stopping you in the grocery store to tell you that your children are adorable and wonderful
...watching them learn and grow
...cherishing the milestones and the everyday happenings
...hearing them say the darndest things
...laughing instead of crying when things get hard
...hearing them sing the songs you taught them
...loving the kids before they deserve it

New Year's Resolution No. 1 - www.aspenandpike.etsy.com

2011-03-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 was to start an Etsy shop. I've been toying with the idea for a while, but I never had the motivation or gumption to actually sit down and do it. I didn't know what to sell either. I had about a bazillion ideas from calligraphy to jewelry to paintings, and I couldn't decide. I read up on a bunch of blogs and articles on how to market your Etsy shop and how you should focus your ideas and products so customers have a clear view of your vision, blah blah blah. Eventually I ditched a central vision and just put my shop up.

I called my shop Aspen and Pike, in honor of my Coloradoan heritage. I've currently only got two listings up for beaded tiaras, but there are more coming soon. I just made some cool coasters out of dominoes and Scrabble tiles. Having a shop actually inspires me to be more creative, since I know someone is looking.

After actually doing more artsy, craftsy stuff, I have found my central vision. I call it Scrimped Art. Four years of a student budget and an upside-down economy has forced me to get creative in a lot of aspects of life. I now know how to make bread from scratch, sell random stuff on eBay, and use coupons to get things for ridiculously cheap. My hobbies are no different. The tiaras I have up for sale now are made of leftovers from Zoe's Christmas present and repurposed beads from a necklace that died years ago. The Scrabble tiles I procured from DI, and the dominoes are leftovers from another project Aaron and I made for my mom and dad. I've also got two paintings in the works that use canvases from a previous failed art project and paint I got from Freecycle. Scrimped Art makes things more interesting for me. And cheaper.

(P.S. If you're interested in buying anything from my shop, use the coupon NEWBIE. It gets you free shipping!)

Buns and Guacamole Guns

2011-02-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

I was going through our file box and I dug up an old project I did for a creative writing class. It makes me laugh every time I read it, so I figured I'd post it for a pick-me-up on a gloomy day. Enjoy!

Buns and Guacamole Guns: The Wonderful and Misunderstood World of Fast Food

I've heard several people tell me that they don't ever want to work in food service. The excuses given for this aversion vary, but the general underlying reason is implied as "I'm too good to work fast food." Not that I could ever voice that conclusion out loud without getting an earful of protest, of course. For some reason, fast food has a bad reputation of baseness and a lack of dignity and refinement.

At fifteen, I had the same mindset. Someone out there was bound to recognize that although I needed a work permit with a parental signature, I was really much more mature and skilled than just any fifteen-year old. Surely there was a job I could get that didn't involve flipping burgers or frying chicken. After several weeks of inquiring in store after store in strip mall after strip mall, I got hired on at the local dry cleaners. I was elated - it actually paid above minimum wage (by fifteen cents), I had Sundays off, and I didn't have to ask if you wanted fries with your order. My teenage pride, swollen from avoiding the food industry at my first job, overshadowed the pit stains, dust, dingy lighting, and ubiquitous smell of starch and B.O.

The next summer, I was not so lucky. In April, I went back to the strip malls to look for another job, but as before, my skills and maturity somehow seemed undervalued. I heard my best friend Megan had a job at the new sandwich shop that was opening up on Broadway. She said that three or four of our other friends had been hired there too, and wouldn't it be so much fun if we could work together all summer? I wouldn't have hesitated a second in giving her my usual line about the food service industry if she hadn't told me how much she was making. It's amazing the amount of pride people sacrifice for money.

The next few weeks found me in an ugly, oversized polo and a matching flesh-colored ball cap, training to be a cashier at Schlotzsky's Deli. The polos became more of a blow to my ego as they got to be varying degrees of khakiness with every wash and mustard stain. But once I got over the hideous uniforms, I began to discover the hidden and under appreciated world behind the cash register.

You'd think that one of the major benefits to working in food service would be eating the food. I thought the same thing when I started working at the deli. I soon discovered that this is a myth for the most part. Sure there are messed up sandwiches every once in a while, or cheesed bun halves (if you're lucky), and as much free soda as you can drink, but those are small consolation for eight-hour work days. No, the greatest perk about the food in the food industry is playing with it.

The greatest fun to be had int he back of a restaurant is found in tricks or games played with whatever you're supposed to be cooking, baking, or selling. My personal favorite was Jenny's discovery that if you squirt garlic butter onto the toaster oven belt, it gives off a bluish haze and makes the kitchen small like a Chinese restaurant for a good fifteen minutes. Eating jalapenos to induce hiccups and warring with guacamole guns were additional sources of endless entertainment on slow weekday afternoons. Once we exhausted those options, we turned to bread.

Schlotzky's Deli owes a great deal of its popularity to its bread. Rosalina and Juanita got there early every morning to bake it fresh. The savory scents of sourdough, jalapeno, and rye that wafted around the block were by far our best marketing strategy. The most popular variety was a spongy sourdough with sesame seeds baked about an inch high in a round pan. In the mornings, we sliced the buns, put the shredded cheese on, stacked them on huge metal trays, and covered them with plastic for easy use during lunch rushes. The fun started when one side of the bun fell on to the floor. If the fallen half was pre-cheesed, but lonesome half made for an excellent snack. If not, both halves made for excellent Frisbees. Dropped pizza crusts flew just as well, if not better. In any case, waiting until the manager's back was turned was vital to maximum enjoyment.

Unfortunately, food service isn't all fun and games; on rare occasions, there is work to do, which may explain why food service is generally avoided as an industry. One major complaint about food service is the cleaning involved. Cleaning your oven or bathroom once in a while at home is a chore, so cleaning an oven or bathroom every day that has been much more trafficked sounds like an absolute pain in the neck. This assumption is true, to a certain extent. I cannot say that I enjoyed sweeping up the little bits of shriveled lettuce that dropped from the tables and stuck endlessly to the broom. I cannot say that scrubbing the inside of the walk-in freezer when all you're wearing is an ugly, oversized polo and a matching flesh-colored ball cap is pleasant either. What I will say is that if you can manage to look past the dust balls and sticky soda spills, you will find a world of opportunity.

Take, for instance, a simple sanitizer rag. According to FDA regulations, the rags you wipe down tables and counters with in restaurants have to contain a certain percent of sanitizing solution. On the one hand, the solution the rags soak in chaps the hands and offends the nose. If the tables and counters have been sufficiently and recently cleaned, the acrid smell of something between vinegar and bleach pervades the entire restaurant. On the other hand, there is no tool more useful in flirting than a wet sanitizer rag. Proper usage of sanitizer rags may be summed up in the following steps:

Drain the rag to a decent degree of dampness. Do not over-drain or your rag will not snap. Do not under-drain, or your rag will splash you in the eyes with sanitizer.
Take opposite corners of the rag in either hand and twist the rag into a tube-like shape. The tighter the rag, the more pain you will incur on your victim.
Snap or flick the rag in the general direction of your flirting target with desired degree of vigor. Aim for legs, arms, back, and/or rump. Add a giggle, laugh, smirk, or witty one-liner for maximum effect.
Watch for the return snap from your flirting target. Repeat steps as necessary.

I have found these steps to be incredibly effective. If followed correctly, they result in hours of late-night entertainment, a small audience of Amish tourists on vacation, bragging rights from various battle scars and bruises, and, if you're really good, a date to Senior Homecoming.

Despite my discoveries in the wonderful world of food service, I continue to hear boasts in disguise of "I'm too skilled, mature, experienced, or other adjective for the food service industry." to that engorged teenage sentiment I reply, "Take your desk job and your coffee mug. I'll keep my sanitizer rags and guacamole gun." It appears that the world's best kept secret might remain hidden behind cash registers and ugly, oversized polos a while longer.

By Popular Request

2011-02-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

This really isn't my blog at all. It totally belongs to my kids, since that's why most of you guys read it. Here's a few pictures for their adoring fans.

Ooooooooogallala where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains!

2011-02-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

Britt's comment on my last post made me realize that I haven't posted any updates on where we are or what we're doing. Here's a Reader's Digest version of the adventures of the Sisson family in the last little while.

Due to a big, fat legal mess that started before we got to Montana, Aaron and several others lose their jobs at the National Bison Range. Oh - just kidding! The Fish and Wildlife Service picked him up as an emergency 30-day hire to get the bison roundup accomplished. Oh, did we say 30 days? We meant 13. (Good thing Aaron and I were in Wyoming when we heard the news, on our way back from a stellar job interview.) Since we were jobless, we rerouted our trip to Utah so Noah and I could hang out with Nona and Poppa while Aaron flew to NY for a hunting trip with his family.

He didn't get the job in Wyoming, but the same guy that interviewed him for the job in Wyoming interviewed him for another one in Nebraska, which he got. So we went back to Montana, packed up all our stuff, gave birth to Eliza, and Aaron moved all our stuff to Nebraska and found us a place to live, while my saintly mother cleaned up my house and helped me and the kids get down to Utah for Thanksgiving. Aaron joined us, and after a lovely time recuperating and chillin' with the fam, we embarked on a new adventure in Ogallala, Nebraska.

For those of you who have never heard of Ogallala, it's in the armpit of Nebraska. No, really. Ya know where Colorado takes a chunk out of Nebraska, making it look like it has an armpit? That's where we live. I didn't think I could get any further from a Walmart, Target, major airport, and caffeine-free Diet Coke in Ronan, but I was wrong. Although Ogallala does have three craft stores, and the library is easily double the size of Ronan's.

Despite the distance from urban conveniences, Ogallala is a charming little town and we are loving it here. We have found the legends of Midwestern hospitality to be true; the people will give you the shirt of their backs, even if there isn't one underneath. It's about the perfect size of town for us - big enough for a craft store and a library, but small enough for hunting to be close. If I could install the Mission Mountain range nearby, reduce amount of wind, import all our friends from all the places we've lived in the last year and a half, and move the whole thing 30-45 minutes away from Highland, UT, I'd be in paradise.

Noah's Turn

2011-02-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

The terrible twos are in full swing at our house, but looking at these pictures reminds me of all the adorableness that lurks inside my crazy little monkey. I could never give away a kid this cute :-)

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, glad as I can be! Put my arms around his neck and climb upon his knee."

Self-portrait by Noah. There are an aweful lot of these.

Chillin' with Poppa.

Thomas the Tank is Noah's best friend at Nona and Poppa's house. Choo-choo!

Pop quiz - Who does Noah look just like in this picture?

Noah reading stories to Eliza. I have no greater joy than to see my children playing sweetly together. Eliza really does listen to him when he "reads" her stories. He gets her to stop crying that way.

"Avast, maytees! There be pirates in these here parts!"

Noah and Eliza with Grandma Sisson during New Year's.

Zoo-bies

2011-02-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

So Aaron made the most hilarious 15-second movie clips while testing his new trail camera today. I had to open my big, fat mouth and ask permission to stick them on the blog. He promptly deleted them. Stupid me. I am adding a rule #6 to the rules of life - It is easier to obtain forgiveness than permission. Sorry you all had to miss out on Aaron doing the funky chicken and pretending to be King Kong.

These pictures from our awesome trip to Omaha last weekend should be an adequate replacement for the deleted videos. Enjoy!

At the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, there's a cool jungle exhibit that contains a suspended bridge with animals on either side climbing in the trees. Noah is showing Daddy the birdie.

The tapir takin' five.

The aquarium was my favorite part.

Inside the shark tunnel.

I love the look on this guy's face. So smug.

Eliza Do-Little

2011-02-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

After many months of living in the Dark Ages, Jenni is back online! Here are some catch-up picture posts, since that's what everyone really wants to see.

This post is dedicated to Eliza, since she hasn't gotten much face time on the blog. The most common comment I get about her is "Wow, look at all that hair!" So here's a tribute to the many dos of Eliza.

If a mohawk and a combover got together and had a kid, I think it would look something like this.

She's only about a month old here. I finally succeeded in getting most of the back to stay down, except for that stubborn little cowlick!

"Along with my awesome hair, I have a mean left jab!"

The picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see her blonde roots coming in. The line is so distinct when you're close up that it looks like she dyed her hair.

"My big brother loves to give me kisses, even on a bad hair day."

Where the Buffalo Roam

2010-10-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about living in Montana has been Aaron's job at the National Bison Range. It's doubled the length of his resume and given Noah and I free access to a zoo of sorts. I can only think of one time I've gone there and not seen a deer, elk, bison, rattlesnake, or something else interesting.

Every year on the Bison Range, they round up all the bison and check them one by one for health, weight, disease, pregnancy, genetics, etc. Despite all the craziness with his job, Aaron got to help with this year's roundup, and Noah and I got to watch.

First, they use a jeep to round up the bison and drive them into a series of pens.

Then, two or three of them are let into "the tub." The employees use tasers and tin cans on sticks to get the bison into the chute system. (You can see the gate just to the right of the guy in the corrugated tin can thing.)

Each bison is put into the squeeze chute where the biologists will check the animal's health, give innoculations if needed, put in ear tags or microchips (the chips replaced branding), and/or conduct an ultrasound, if the animal is pregnant. Since the ultrasounds were done internally, it's a tossup on whether they were more unpleasant for the animal or the biologist.

This is Aaron's boss Amy checking a bison's health, and his co-worker Joel watching.

After the long, scary ordeal, the animals are sent back out to pasture for another year.

Daddy and Noah overlooking the calf chute.

Back by Popular Request

2010-10-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Wowzer - I figured since I never check my blog (STILL don't have internet at my house) and never post anything that the world would forget the artifact of Flourish, Inklings, and Flair. But lo and behold! I have 11 followers! Whodda thunk? I would post some awesome pictures, but I am still not quite free of my technological curse and cannot find my camera cable. Someday...someday...

Anyway, here's a brief update on life for anyone who's curious. We're currently in Ronan, MT, a tiny, two-stoplight town between Missoula and Kalispell. Aaron works for the National Bison Range in Moiese, or does for the next few weeks, maybe. Check out the details here. Since we've moved to Ronan in May, we've made the news twice. We're kind of a big deal in Montana.

We have been very blessed and have gotten a 1st interview for a biologist position in Grant, NE, and a 2nd interview for an identical position in Saratoga, WY. Based on the images I googled, I am totally pulling for WY.

Moving and job acquisition could possibly be hampered by the fact that I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant with our first daughter. She's due to show up Thanksgiving Day or so. Her name (for the moment) is Natalie Christine, after two of her aunties. The fact that he's going to have a sister is finally starting to hit home with Noah, I think. He gives my belly kisses and loves "helping" me sort through baby clothes.

So that's life right now. Crazy as usual, but we are peaceful, hopeful, and optimistic. More details to come as we get them.

Dillusions of Grandeur

2010-04-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

I get these all the time. My most recent one is that I can sew. I found this, but it's $200, which is just a smidge out of my price range at the moment. Plus, I want it to have sleeves, a higher neck line, and be a more interesting color than cream, as that's the color of my skin already. I want something stretchy and comfy and cute for the summer; a dress I can just throw on, add flip-flops and a necklace to and be ready to go. So I found this (which needs better sleeves and this(which needs a higher back, and maybe different sleeves). ::Sigh:: Can I really get a dress like this? Maybe it's time to call my mom...

Biz Whiz

2010-01-21T19:21:00.000-08:00

Whodda thunk that one of the jobs I absolutely hated I now do for a hobby for free? I am the unofficial administrative assistant and marketing one-woman-show to my father-in-law for North East Well Water LLC. It helps that this is on a volunteer basis, so I don't feel as guilty when I make boo-boos because I'm not getting paid - yet. So far, I am in charge of the facebook page, rewriting the website content (please note that this is in the works - pu-leeze do not judge my writing by what is up on the site right now), investigating and employing cheap SEO marketing tactics, creating PowerPoint presentations, and acting as liaison between our company and professional organizations. Wow. That makes it sound like I actually do important stuff.

I have had a lot of fun researching things like SEO, marketing, and the like. I am beginning to think that I picked the wrong major and that I should just play Boggle as a side job.

Fun pictures to be posted as soon as I can find the blasted camera.

For Now

2010-01-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss on my blogging efforts - apologies to all. Our Internet reception is patchy up here since we don't have our antenna hooked up yet.

Things are gradually falling into place. We haven't gotten everything figured out yet, and we're still thinking about piracy in Tahiti, but grad school at BYU is looking more and more likely. Penn State has fallen out of the race, but SUNY ESF in Syracuse is back on the radar. BYU still has the clear lead with likely funding sources and two cooperative (though temporarily elusive) professors. Keep on praying for us!

As for the here and now, Aaron is working with his dad's business, North East Well Water. They basically take ultrasounds of the earth to find aquifers before people drill wells so they don't have to (literally) throw thousands of dollars down a dry hole. So if you know of anyone that needs a well east of the Mississippi, drop us a line. Aaron's just working on a per-job basis, so it's a little unpredictable. However, we have been working a little bit behind the scenes to get a little more marketing out on the Internet and things. I'm hoping to get some search engine optimization juju going on soon.

Aaron is also helping Eddie and Dad rebuild the sap house in anticipation of making maple syrup this year. Things are looking promising there. I am looking forward to a lot of pancakes in March...

As for me and myself, I have been attempting to keep Noah out of trouble, which seems to get harder as he gets older. He understands more, but his little hands want to explore more too. He gets into ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! He absolutely loves it here, from the cats on the front porch to his cousins to the snow, he's in hog heaven. He knows the word "hot" very well from our wood stove; thankfully he learned it without having to burn himself. He has also learned "deer" (go figure) and "teeth" and "turtle." I also got him to say "cheese" today. He knows "Jesus" really well too, which melts my heart.

As of Friday, I'll be a working woman again. I'm going to be an office assistant at a search engine optimization company in Schenectady. I'm not thrilled about the job title, but I am thrilled about the prospect of learning that industry. I think it will do great things for my writing and for North East Well Water also. I'm also writing online articles on liposuction, which you can view here. Not my passion in life, but it's a start.

That about sums it up for us, for now. More interesting stories and pictures once we get reliable Internet service for our desktop.

12 Days of NY Christmas

2009-12-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

On the twelfth day of Christmas my in-laws gave to me...

12 dozen cookies (yes you read that right)
11 hyperactive nieces and nephews
10 degree weather (plus a hefty wind chill)
9 months here
8 gray hairs
7 days of house-sitting with an Italian mastiff
6 weeks of work for Aaron harvesting maple syrup
5 minutes of peace and quiet
4 stray cats
3 small miracles (found wallet, saving the house from burning down, and cheap fix for Dad's truck)
2 wood-burning stoves
1 real live Christmas tree

Ok, so the numbers don't really match. I actually have 13 hyperactive nieces and nephews, but that doesn't fit with the Christmas tradition too well.

The highlights to this week have definitely been the house almost burning down, the pot-smoking, ranting previous tenant in our house, the frickin' freezing weather, our four new cats, and shooting the two bulls on Sunday because they were too big and stupid to move back into their pasture. I guess the cold weather renders the electric fence useless. Go figure. It renders almost everything else useless, including most of my digits. For you New Yorkers reading my blog, the meat is for sale for $2 a pound.

This first week has definitely been a challenge, but I am learning to appreciate rural life and to expect the unexpected (like stupid bulls). The silver linings are my sweet in-laws, the gorgeous landscape, a white Christmas, and a pot-free house all to ourselves with a romantic "fireplace" and an infinitely large area for gardening. I hope to have tomatoes and beans coming out my ears by July.

My Favorite Things

2009-12-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my favorite things...

More Good News

2009-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to the lovely sound of Aaron accepting an invitation to interview at Mississippi State in two weeks. I can't think of a better wake-up call! Aaron and I are jumping out of our skin we are both so excited! Everybody keep your fingers crossed for us!

I guess the good news inspired me to get crafty, because I've made Aaron a thank you card to give to the professor he's going to interview with.

Good Vibrations

2009-11-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

The professor that is reviewing Aaron's application requested a writing sample on Thursday. So naturally, Aaron and I spent a lot of Friday making sure it was perfect. Aaron got a note back saying it read well, and so he seems to have passed the second screening at Mississippi State. Although things are a very far cry from certain, we are getting good vibrations from the general direction of Starkville.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

The results of the Morgan/Sisson family Halloween FHE Pumpkin Art Extravaganza.

On this pumpkin, Ben has simply yet skillfully represented the classic spirit of Halloween.

This pumpkin focuses on the dark, mysterious side of Halloween as exhibited by the dim candle that (unfortunately) obscures this photo of Grandma and Grandpa's otherwise stellar work.

Natalie and Gary illustrate the more horrific, gruesome side of Halloween in this work entitled "Cyclops." Note how the pumpkin goop hangs just so to look like veins in the eyeball.

And in this masterpiece, Aaron speaks out against the commercialism that has taken over and masked the true meaning of Halloween.

And in this one, the artist didn't have the tools to create the sculptural pinnacle that this Jack Skellington rendition could have been otherwise. Looks like Darth Vader will have to wait for next year.

Happy Halloween, from our house to yours.

Pancakes and Scrap Metal

2009-10-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

(Doesn't that sound like the name of a hard-core rock band?) Per Jenifer's request, here is my oatmeal spice pancake recipe. It's a knock-off of Betty Crocker's pancakes, only way healthier and way tastier.

1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (you could probably do whole wheat if you wanted, though I haven't tried)
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. applesauce (or oil)
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of cloves to taste (I don't measure these, but I'd guess about 1 Tbs. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp. cloves.)

Beat egg in large bowl until fluffy. Add everything else and mix until combined. Fry 'em up on a well-greased griddle on medium-high heat. You can feel better about this because you didn't put any oil in the recipe. Serve with real maple syrup.

On a different note, the whole couponing class thing has not been nearly as fruitful as I had anticipated, and I got laid off from my babysitting job, leaving me to other employment pursuits. As we are probably leaving the state at Christmas, that leaves me very few normal part-time job opportunities.

So my neighbor and I decided to form our own business. We are in scrounge-KSL-and-craigslist-and-freecycle-for-scrap-metal-to-recycle business. We call it Junk in the Trunk Recycling. Fortunately, this requires zero overhead, and I already have the only hardware we need in our cursedly big monster truck. It also requires zero upstart capital since everyone gives us the stuff for free and is usually glad to have us haul it off. However, as with any investment, very little risk yields very little returns. The pay kinda stinks. But I made a potentially lucrative discovery today - we can strip the plastic off of all the copper wire on appliance cords and get way more than just leaving them on the appliance. Copper is about 100 times more valuable than steel or tin.

So if any of you P-town denziens have old metal junk for us to haul off in our trunk, please give me a call or email us at junkinthetrunkprovo@yahoo.com. One man's junk is another man's treasure.

An Epiphany and an Update

2009-10-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

I have recently had an epiphany: I really like to cook. I would actually consider it a hobby. In my home growing up cooking was a chore, so it hasn't occurred to me until recently that I might actually like it. The creative muse has to hit me, of course, but I have really enjoyed trying new recipes. As per Aaron, my winners are my quiche, homemade pizza, oatmeal spice pancakes, creamy chicken noodle soup, zucchini bread, and spinach pasta alfredo with cherry tomatoes. Someday I'll get really adventurous and try to perfect some Indian recipes so I don't have to shell out $30 at the India Palace when I want chicken saag.

As for my update on our future plans, we realized that we actually applied for winter semester at the Y and missed the deadline by about 8 months. Oops. We meant to apply for spring semester, so we called up the grad office and a nice guy named Kevin fixed everything for us. So we really are applying for spring semester, which doesn't start until April. This means a few things for us:

1. We will find out whether we're accepted at all three other schools before we find out from BYU, since they don't have to tell us until Feb/March.

2. In the event that we do select BYU for grad school, we will have about 3 months to kill. They will probably be killed in NY.

3. Given the fact of the 3 months to kill, we will probably be moving after Christmas regardless of where we go. So that means goodbye to Crazy Street.

In other BYU news, Aaron is in the process of finding funding for a new, hitherto undiscovered graduate project with mule deer metabolism. He's really excited, as am I. This project, if they can get funding, will give Mississippi State a good run for its money.

A Step in the Right Direction

2009-10-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our unofficial plans for our life have not gotten any more official yet, but we have definitely taken a step in the right direction. We at least have plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and after that, one of five things will happen:

1. We'll stay here and go to the Y.
2. We'll go to grad school at SUNY ESF in NY.
3. We'll go to grad school at the University of Tennessee.
4. We'll go to grad school at Mississippi State University.
5. We won't get accepted anywhere and we'll end up becoming pirates in Tahiti.

Aaron has convinced me that the 5th option is the least likely, partly because of the economy (everyone has sold all their gold, so there's less booty to plunder) and partly because he is kicking trash on all of his tests this semester so somebody is bound to accept him somewhere.

Applications are all submitted, so we'll keep you all posted. Feel free to comment and vote for your favorite option.

Our Pets

2009-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Meet Vlad, Aaron's new pet praying mantis. I told Aaron that if I had to keep a praying mantis in the house, then I got to name him. He's a fairly well-behaved pet. He dines on moths, cockroaches, spiders, and grubs; however, he seems to have an aversion to box elder bugs.

And this is Durfey. He's named after the dry cleaners on 9th East. We adopted Durfey in July when our friends Blake and Liesel decided to ditch out on us for law school in Virginia. Apparently beta fish don't do so well on road trips.

He's actually got a fairly outgoing personality, for a fish. He puffs up at you when you approach his bowl. I'm not sure whether that's "Hello and how do you do?" or "Get the heck away from my bowl, punk!" Sometimes he pretends to be a shark and he stalks and dives ferociously after his plankton pellets.

Vlad and Durfey are not the most exotic pets, but they make life a little more interesting. And they can fly under the landlord radar.

The Cell Phone

2009-10-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's every baby's favorite toy. I've even known parents to charge old cell phones so they actually work when the kid plays with it. Noah has now figured out what big people do with the cell phone.

Hee Haw Farms

2009-10-06T21:12:00.001-07:00

We went to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove with the family for FHE this week. Noah had a blast! It's a place akin to the VanDerWerken Pumpkin Patch for all you New Yorkers out there. We came away with some great ideas for the farm if we ever have a festival like that. And I think our family will have a corn box instead of a sand box whenever we get settled.

"That's the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life!" (I'm pretty sure that if I had a nickel for every time I heard that outside Leroy's pen on Monday, I'd be a rich woman.)

Aaron and Noah horsin' around...

"Me and Aunt Nat are goin' to the corn maze!"

"Me and Aunt Nat are lost in the corn maze..."

...still lost in the corn maze...Aaron and Blake and the kids actually found the exit. Nona, Poppa, and I cheated and took the short cut.

Horsey swings made of old tires.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Nat trying their hands at roping. Looks like our cousin Quinn is the only one in the family that can actually do that - even with a stationary target.

Noah and Morgan riding in the wagon. You can't see it in the picture, but Clayton is steering. Giddy up, Daddy!

The corn box is Noah's new favorite toy. He would cry loudly every time we tried to take him out. I guess he is a Sisson after all.

Noah playing in the pumpkins and gourds. (Aaron snapped this shot, and I think it looks professional. Yeah, he's pretty much awesome.)

Mommy and Noah.

Noah and Daddy (cautiously) feeding the goats. PS - their tongues are super long!

Noah and Daddy.

At the Park

2009-09-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

We have a park a few blocks from our house, and thanks to my sister's generous gift of a camera, I snapped a few pictures of Noah last week. He's getting so big so fast!

Today he said "ball" and "more"; well, primative attempts of those words, but he's working on mimicking sounds, which is one step closer to getting him to say what he wants instead of whining it.

"Mooooooommmmm! I need a push!"

Through the tunnel...
Noah decided to sample some of the bark he found on the steps. Mmmm ... fiber ...

"Check out my choppers!" (He has six now - four on top and two on bottom)

Dognappers - a (mostly) true story

2009-08-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

So there I was on the neighbor's doorstep with my baby in one hand and a ransom note in the other. The three Shitzus that had been entrusted to my care were gone - taken by the Dognappers. Oh sure, the note looked legit. It had the seal of the P-town police department; it said the dogs had been impounded by the cops for disturbing the peace, but as a super sleuth I knew the truth. The Dognappers had taken the precious pups.

I called down to the animal shelter where the fiends had the dogs were imprisoned. They said I'd better pay the ransom or the dogs would have an appointment with the front tires of a 16-wheeler after getting neutered and vaccinated for rabies. I told them that threats from Dognappers don't scare super sleuths.

I drove straight down to the shelter and, using my super sleuth skills, disguised myself as a guinea pig and broke in. I found the Shitzus and broke open their cell using a paper clip, a watch battery, and a stick of dynamite. Once I freed the dogs, I squished them into a pet carrier and we all hitched a ride home in the garbage truck. Hooray! Free from the Dognappers! Or so we thought...

Unbeknownst to me, while the pups were at the pound, the Dognappers implanted computer chips in the dogs' brains so that they could control their minds. The Dognappers also had evil henchmen staking our our street. The instant we arrived home, the pet carrier broke open and the evil henchmen used their computers to make the dogs scatter.

And just when I thought all hope was lost, my heroic husband chased down the pups, extracted the computer chips (after sedating the dogs, of course), and returned them home.

The End.

Teeth ho!

2009-08-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

At long last, my little munchkin has teeth! He cut five of them in a span of two weeks, so needless to say, things have been a little rough at our house. Although I think the worst of this particular spell has passed, as things are starting to go back to normal. I'll put up pictures when I find batteries to put in the camera my sister gave me.

School starts for Aaron at the end of the month. I just keep chanting to myself, "One more semester. One more semester." Everything after that point is one big question mark. We've discussed getting a job, going to grad school, flipping a house, and becoming pirates in Tahiti. So anything we've told anyone regarding our future plans is subject to change at any time and without notice. We'll blog as soon as we have things figured out.

In other news, I got a new job - yay! I'm going to be tutoring and babysitting a few kids. I'm still teaching couponing classes when they come around, so if you know of anyone that is interested in learning how to save lots of money on groceries or wants a cheap subscription to the Daily Herald, please send them my way.

Aaron has officially checked out for deer season. He got rained/sleeted/snowed/hailed out of opening morning, and he's seen lots of deer since then, but no bucks. I hope he gets one soon. The rest of the Sisson clan gets here in September for the elk hunt, so I hope he gets something before then, lest he be laughed off the mountain by his brothers.

Noah's 1st Birthday

2009-07-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Noah! He turned one on Wednesday. Luckily the Miyamotos lent us a camera so we could document the occasion.

Here are a few notes on his progress:

*Still no teeth. A year old and toothless. They're really close, though.
*He crawls everywhere and is into everything, particularly things with buttons, embroidery, bells, or handles. He's ditched the army crawl in favor of the more traditional crawl.
*He can climb stairs. He hasn't figured out how to get back down yet.
*He can wave hello and goodbye.
*He claps his hands when someone says "Yay!" or "Good job!"
*He loves books. I'll often catch him pulling out books from the shelf to read to himself. It's pretty cute. His favorite is "Mother Goose Rhymes."
*He will smack anything to see if it makes a noise, including people.
*He still puts everything into his mouth - animal, vegetable, or mineral.
*He says "Daddy" and "Hi," but we're not sure if he knows what "Daddy" means yet.
*He's not quite walking yet, but he does really well holding onto your fingers. He doesn't really need them; they're kind of like training wheels.
*He'll stand for a split second on his own, but he falls down the minute he realizes that you're not supporting him.
*He's still the most adorable boy on the planet. (not that I'm biased or anything...)

Great Grandma and Grandpa Morgan came to celebrate and brought Noah a small birthday cake.
Before...
After.
"What cake? I don't know what you're talking about..."

Chinese Restaurant

2009-06-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have an ongoing discussion about Chinese restaurants. There is a finite list of about 30 words that can show up in the name of a Chinese restaurant. The list includes words like dragon, jade, palace, garden, wok, China, lotus, fortune, lantern, lily, etc. Think about all the Chinese restaurants you know the names of; chances are, there are at least three that include one of the words I just listed (especially if you live in P-town).

Name your own Chinese restaurant here:

Birth month

January - Jade
February - Lotus
March - China
April - Pearl
May - Golden
June - Shanghai
July - Peking
August - Wonton
September - Asian
October - Oriental
November - Lucky
December - Emperor's

Birthday

1 - Garden
2 - Wok
3 - Palace
4 - Lantern
5 - Bowl
6 - Kitchen
7 - Dragon
8 - House
9 - Village
10 - Mountain
11 - Cafe
12 - Ocean
13 - Lily
14 - Flower
15 - Buffet
16 - Sea
17 - House
18 - Wall
19 - Panda
20 - Moon
21 - Dynasty
22 - City
23 - Cuisine
24 - Boat
25 - Bistro
26 - Fortune
27 - Seafood
28 - Noodle
29 - King
30 - Phoenix
31 - Express

New Job

2009-06-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

After much thought and prayer, I have decided to quit my job to be at home with Noah more. I had a great time working for KLAS for the last 2+ years, and I'm bummed that I don't get to see my coworkers everyday anymore, but I think it will be good for our family.

I was blessed enough to find another job that will let me be at home with Noah during the day; I am now teaching couponing classes for the Daily Herald. I've been using their Savvy Shopper program to match coupons to sales for about 6 months, and it has helped me get some killer deals and beef up my food storage. For instance, today I got crab legs and fish for Aaron's Fathers' Day dinner. After a coupon and a rebate, I'll end up getting paid $4 to eat this seafood feast. Three weeks ago, I paid $83.53 for $271 worth of groceries. I've also gotten lots of free stuff like BBQ sauce, rice cakes, ketchup, donuts, and hot dogs. Given the crazy economy out there, I'm glad to be sharing ways to save money with people.

So if you or someone you know is interested in learning the art of couponing, shoot me an email (jmorgan14357 at yahoo dot com). The class is free, and it's as long or short as you want it to be. (And no, you don't have to be a genius or a stay-at-home mom to do this.) I do give information about subscribing to the Daily Herald, but I've always hated salesy people, so I don't EVER pressure anyone buy anything. For more about the program and what it entails, visit www.savvyshopperdeals.com.

The Gods are Angry

2009-06-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how, but it seems that I have angered the technology gods. In the last 6 months, my computer charger, 2 digital cameras, computer AC port, DVD player, truck, and Aaron's telemetry unit have all died or been severely injured. Even Aaron's cell phone and GPS unit had a brush with death in a creek up Nephi Canyon. I think I might have to sacrifice some old cell phone chargers on an alter or something to get my electronic life back, since those are the only things that haven't died yet.

So given the dismemberment of my computer charger and the comatose state of my digital cameras, my blogging capabilities are greatly impaired. However, as books without pictures have known to be entertaining, perhaps it's possible that people will still read my blog, even if I don't have cute pictures of my munchkin to put up.

Life in P-town is crazy as usual. Aaron is still chasing turkeys, and seems to be chasing a bear as well. He ran into one three times on Tuesday after trying to track a mortality signal. We think the bear ate the turkey—radio collar and all. Needless to say, Aaron is no longer tracking that particular radio signal, and his wife now insists that he carry his gun with him at all times.

Noah is growing like a weed—a very heavy weed. He's getting taller and now that he's learned to crawl, he's shedding a good deal of baby fat in exchange for muscle, making him very difficult to carry. I know I'll eventually take back any wish I had for him to walk, but it sure would be nice not to carry him. He can pull himself up on the furniture now, though he hasn't figured out how to get down yet (aside from crying until somebody picks him up). He walks really well while holding onto your fingers. I think we're probably only a month away from full-fledged walking.

As for me and my bad self, I am in the process of quitting my job. Yes, it is actually quite a process; though I suppose it's a compliment that my boss was dragging his feet in hiring a replacement for me. It looks like I'll be working until the end of June to tie up loose ends and train the new editor. In the meantime, I'm looking for freelance writing and editing work and any job that will let me work from home, bring Noah, or work early in the morning or late at night. So if anyone has any job leads, please send them my way.

The Rice Krispie Treat Incident

2009-05-07T12:58:00.001-07:00

I know that "Rice Krispie Treat" and "incident" don't usually make it into the same sentence together, but for this afternoon, I'll make an exception.

So there I was in my kitchen, sauteing some squash with garlic for lunch. Little did I know I should have stopped at the garlic. But no - my sweet tooth got the better of me. Hmm....what is there to make? No flour, so that rules out cookies, brownies, cake, and just about anything else that falls under the dessert category. I could try chocolate milk, but that doesn't quite hit the spot. No peanut butter for no-bakes....

And then, there it was, sitting innocently next to the microwave - a brand new box of Rice Krispies. I popped in another forkful of squash and perused the back of the box. Po the Kung Fu Panda was advertising Rice Krispie Treats in the shape of his own head (which is kind of morbid, now that I write that down). I didn't have vanilla frosting or black food dye to make my dessert into a martial arts master, but no matter - Rice Krispie Treats could probably satiate my sweet tooth anyway.

I hadn't make Rice Krispie Treats since my childhood, so I checked to make sure I had all the ingredients:

Rice Krispies? Check (duh).
Butter? Check.
Mini marshmallows? Check. I don't have any flour, but I somehow manage to have a full, unopened bag of minimarshmallows in the pantry. Go figure.
Kung Fu moves? Check.

Good - all set.

After another mouthful of squash, I consulted the box for the recipe. The first one my eyes fell on was a microwave recipe. Awesome - microwave is my middle name! I cut off three tablespoons of my frozen stick of butter and put it in a giant bowl, along with four cups of mini marshmallows. The box says "Microwave on high for three minutes, stirring after two minutes." So I nuke the bowl and down the rest of my squash.

Two minutes later, I opened the microwave to find a ballooning mound of marshmallow. As I stirred it with a spatula, it deflated, revealing the still-unmelted butter at the bottom of the bowl. Hm...well, it will probably melt in the next minute, right? I gave the mixture another stir and discovered that a bunch of marshmallow goo had hardened on the edge of the spatula. In the time it took to free the rubbery goo, the rest of the mixture was beginning to harden. Better get it back into the microwave, quick - start!

At the end of three minutes, I had what looked more like a ballooned, congealed blob of marshmallow dough. Fearing that it would harden more, I dumped in the 6 cups of Rice Krispies and stirred the mass quickly. The addition of the Rice Krispies did nothing for the blob, as some of them clung to the outside of it, but most couldn't even touch the quickly hardening ball of stickiness.

I tried to spread it out in the pan, with some success. I burned my finger, but what I had now vaguely resembled the Rice Krispie Treats of my youth (even though the rubbery crust of marshmallow and the un-marshmallowed Rice Krispies on the bottom of the mixing bowl didn't). Determined to at least savor the fruits of my labor, I cut a piece of Rice Krispie Treat - or should I say Rice Krispie Brick? It was so hard it tore up the roof of my mouth while I was eating it!

"Waste not, want not" is one of my mottos, but I just don't know if there's any way to salvage the cemented breakfast cereal sitting in my 9x13 pan. Maybe I could shellac it and make building blocks for Noah to play with. Or I guess it would make a good bird feeder. I guess this one will just go right beside the Double-Butter Cookies and the Baking-Soda-Instead-Of-Baking-Powder-Metallic-Tasting Cornbread incidents in the Jenni's Cooking Blunders Hall of Fame. Thanks a lot, Kellogg's.

The moral of the story: Don't trust a fictional panda to give you a microwaved dessert recipe, even if he can do Kung Fu. Stick to squash.

Tea Time

2009-04-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

My cousin Nicole and I attended a "Tea Party" at the old courthouse on Center Street yesterday to protest the insane bailout spending that our government has been up to lately. I'm not an economist, and I'm not the most knowledgeable about American politics, but I do know this - spending money you don't have is not fiscally responsible for people or for governments, and it will catch up to us one day.

If you agree and want to do something about the direction our government is headed, write your congressman. Here's the website to find out how you can get in contact with your state representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

...or senator:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

All that needs to happen for evil to win is for good men (and women) to do nothing. Let's not be part of the silent, complaining majority any more. Our government officials don't hear the gripes we make to our co-workers, siblings, or neighbors, but they will hear us if we contact them. They will hear news media about protests to the things they're legislating. So God bless America, in so much as we are still willing to stand up for her!

Here's some pictures from the Tea Party. There were Tea Parties in 750 American cities yesterday (according to the Daily Herald).

The Noah Returns

2009-04-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

"It's chow time!"

"Mmmmm...more please!"

"Okay - I ate my green beans. Do I get dessert?"

"This is where Mom sticks me after I get grub all over my face."

"Dad finally let me at the Cabelas' ads. Perfect for ripping..."

"Does this berka make me look fat?"

"Dad made my pajamas into a straightjacket."

Create!

2009-03-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Shannon forwarded me this in an email. I usually scoff at and delete forwards without reading them, but this one really inspired me. I figure if it's got Elder Uchtdorf in it, it must be worth looking at, right?

The talk this was taken from truly inspired me. On the one hand, the small amount of time I spend on creative things often daunts me and leads me down a spiral of self-criticism for not making time for myself, not cultivating my talents, and so on, until I collapse in an uncreative, exhausted heap on my living room floor and spend yet another night on Facebook. However, I doubt that's what Elder Uchtdorf had in mind.

On the other hand, he's totally right - everyone is creative. I remember thinking similar thoughts when I tried to convince a discouraged teenage sister of mine that yes, she was indeed creative. She has since discovered scrapbooking and no longer needs any convincing. But creative does not necessarily mean artistic or musical or eloquent. Creative means you can create things - all sorts of things. Smiles, children, cleanliness, friendships, organization, peace, consolation, patience, habits, flowers, compliments, faith, hope, encouragement, laughter, testimonies - all these things need creating, perhaps even more so than songs or paintings. One of my favorite quotes that I posted on my wall in college encompasses a lot of what Elder Uchtdorf is talking about:

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

~Bessie Andersen Stanley (often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

One of the chief reasons I scoff at and delete forwards before I read them is because they contain rants that just make me feel angry or guilty without any invitation to do anything about what I've just read. So, if you've actually read to the end of this very long post, congratulations - now get off my blog and go create something!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been a while...

2009-03-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

So here's my excuse for not posting, lame though it may be. Yes, the H is a peacock, but Aaron and I have redone the letters and they look so much cooler than they did, that we wanted to try to sell them on Etsy.com. So I wanted to take a really nice picture and I was going to post that on Etsy and the blog, but I never got around to it, so that's why I haven't posted yet. Lame, I know. Lamer still that I still haven't taken that picture yet. Oh well. Someday...

In the last month, a lot has happened. Aaron got a new job at a greenhouse measuring plants. Not exactly the most prestigious thing in the world, but he gets paid well. He's going elk hunting in Colorado with his brothers in the fall, which he thinks about and plans for every day. He's way excited since this is the first big hunting trip they've gone on together. He also took me out to Red Lobster this week on a date. That was the most fun we've had together in a long time. Their coconut shrimp defies description.

Noah has learned how to say consonants now, and he's practiced almost every sound on the IPA chart. His favorite syllables thus far are "blah blah blah" and "dada." I can't get him to say "mama" for the life of me. He still hasn't made the connection that the sounds mean anything yet. He slept for 10 hours the other night - hooray! Still no teeth and no crawling, but he's stayed up on his hands and knees a few times when I've put him there. Not much, but progress is progress.

As for me, I think I'll post my news later on since a little bit of it is time sensitive. I'll just leave you all intrigued... My family comes into town for spring break this week, and I am stoked to see my parents and my lil' bro and have lots of diet Coke and drag my hubbie to Gardner Mill, etc.

Here's a video of Noah's new talents.

Decorating the Nursery

2009-02-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

So Aaron and I are finally getting around to decorating the nursery. We made these the other day, and we're taking a poll. What to you think the design on the H is supposed to be? Leave a comment and tell me what you think...

2009-02-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

A few updates on our lives:

1) Aaron is waiting until next year to apply to grad school, since we'd have to get his application in within 2 weeks and he'd have no break between undergrad and grad school. So in other words, we'll be in P-town forever.

2) Noah has finally turned the corner and is feeling a little better. His fever has gone down considerably, though he's been really klutzy. Maybe he's just tired.

3) We went to Gram's memorial service yesterday. It was quite a nice tribute to her and a lovely day to spend with family. They talked a lot about how life was for her growing up - no running water, no electricity, two sets of clothes, and living out of their garden and off the land. It made me realize that we can make life great with so much less than we have - recession or not. We miss her a lot.

4) Training for my half marathon has been going well. My stamina is increasing nicely; still working on the strength aspect of things. I haven't been perfect in working out, but based on my progress, I should be on target to run my race on April 4th. Yahoo!

5) Team Monkey Spit is well on its way to intermural fame once again, this time in soccer. Thanks to Aaron's offensive and defensive prowess and his willingness to run his lungs out, as well as my two lucky assists to Blake, we're maintaining a healthy 1-0-1 record. Intermural Championship T-shirt, here we come!

And here are some more pictures of Noah, cuz he's cuter to look at than we are.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-02-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to me,
Liesel made me a cake for free.
Aaron gave me moose antlers
and made me look funny.

The cake says Super Mom, Super Wife, and Super Friend.

They humored me and played UpWords with me for my birthday.

My happy birthday song.

Things I've Done

2009-01-31T22:37:00.000-08:00

The rules: bold anything you have done.

1. Started your own blog - um, duh
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (JCAHO and the Feds, thanks to Angie)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis - a dead one. I helped Liesel pin lots of bugs for her entomology class once...
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - I consider motherhood, parking an F-250, and blogging all arts
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on an train - I have a funny train story. Ask me about it sometime...
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - Mom used to sign me out of school so I could babysit my brother sometimes. I loved those days...
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - you'll notice that this one is no longer on my list of things to do before I die at the right
27. Run a Marathon - I'm going for a half in April!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - I got Haagen-Daas and watched the gondolas glide down the fake river in the Venetian in Vegas - does that count?
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - who hasn't?
31. Hit a home run - I wish...
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person - Aaron promised he'd take me next time we go to NY.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - well, Grandma B was born in Holden, UT. So I guess so.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - as long as we're in the black, I think that's enough
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - I would every day if I could
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - lots of pictures, not yet in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - It was actually a really depressing experience.
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - someday...
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - I love to snorkel!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (and got in big trouble afterward)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - my cousin Richard's home movie about the bar getting held up (which was actually Grandma's basement. The guts of the old pinball machine were the safe, and I got to be the bartender dressed in a Mu-mu.) It's a classic.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - lemonade stand totally counts. And my sisters and I would barter and buy each other's knicknacks when we were kids.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia - Ya lublyu tebya, Rossii! Kogdata ya vergnuyuc k tebye!!
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - Samoas are my favorite!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - I managed blood once, but I get really woozy every time I try.
65. Gone sky diving - No way. Jumping out of a plane for recreational purposes doesn't strike me as sane.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - luckily not recently
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar - it wasn't as bad as I thought. The Russians like it.
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - almost, but not quite
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - again, I have my cousin Richard to thank for this one...
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - someday...
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - micro machines!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - I think I was in the Highlands Ranch Herald a few times...
85. Read the entire Bible (not quite - close)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - Nat claims I saved her life by pulling her out from the undertoe in Hawaii. And Aaron says he'd have no life without me...
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Dallin H. Oaks
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (well, kinda. I dug up potential evidence for a potential law suit...)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Half Marathon

2009-01-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is it - I'm doin' it! I'm finally putting my new running shoes to good use and making the jump to half marathon. I started training on Tuesday with my friend Megan. It's going well; I'm not hurting nearly as bad as I thought I would be, though I can tell that making the time is going to be an issue. Aaron and Noah even ran with us this morning with the stroller :-)

We're running the Provo City Half Marathon in April. Let me know if you want to join the fun!

Torture and Tricks

2009-01-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Nothing spells torture for a little kid better than a trip to the D-O-C-T-O-R. Poor little Noah had his 6 month check-up today. He coincidentally decided to get sick just for the occasion, but there's not any medicine that's okay to give a 6-month old for a chest cold. He's had to endure Mom and Dad wiping his nose and using the dreaded nose vacuum on him several times a day. To add insult to injury, he had to get shots today, too. Luckily, he's a trooper and pretty easygoing, so hopefully he won't hate me forever.

On a brighter note, our highly trainable primate is developing well and does the following tricks:

-talks to himself and others in unintelligable babble
-chews on his toes
-rolls over from front to back
-grabs toys, hair, plates, paper, and kitchen utensils
-smiles and flirts with the ladies
-sits up without help
-leans forward and falls on his face
-eats solid foods (he seems particularly fond of squash)
-can pull all of the rings off of the rack-a-stack
-laughs in response to you laughing at him
-splashes in the tub with his legs
-plays peek-a-boo
-puts anything and everything into his mouth

We love you, Noah!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

2009-01-17T23:37:00.001-08:00

Like father...

...like son. This is Noah and Bucky, his new favorite toy (much to Aaron's delight). Thanks, Aunt Melanie!

Blog Comments

2009-01-17T23:34:00.000-08:00

I was whining to Aaron the other day about how even though I've repented of my blogless ways, no one was leaving any comments for my blog posts. I've found the key to getting comments on your blog. Forget about cute pictures, poems, or interesting stories - post about Obama and Twilight! :-)

Confessions...

2009-01-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

I am ashamed to admit it, but a big motivator for me is the desire to not be what I like to call "that girl." When I was a kid, I saw all these teenagers so preoccupied with the way they looked. I didn't want to be "that girl" that wouldn't leave the house without makeup on, that spent hours primping and coiffing every strand of hair. When I was a teenager, I never wanted to be "that girl" that was obsessed with whatever TV or movie star was hot at the time and had Bop posters all over her locker. And recently, I never wanted to be "that girl" that went ga-ga over the oh-so-beautiful-and-ethereal Edward Cullen...

And then the same muse that hit me over the head with the Scrabble sonnet in my last post or the departed spirit of my Grandma Baker, patron saint of all good books, (I'm honestly not sure which) nudged my attentions in the direction of this black book that has been lurking on my shelf ever since the guy at half.com sent it by accident (long story - it was supposed to be Holly's Christmas present last year). I opened it and after a few dozen pages, I was hooked.

For those of you that haven't read it, I will caution you that you can tell that Meyer was not yet a seasoned author when she wrote it; Edward's eyes "smolder" and "his expression is unfathomable" more times than I'd care to recall. However, if you can get past the redundant descriptions of Edward's captivating glory the premise is quite interesting, and she develops the dichotomy between the man in love and the repressed vampire very well. So for those of you that swore you'd never be "that girl" (or guy), if you liked the page-turning addiction of Harry Potter, give Twilight a whirl.

A Sonnet for My Friend Scrabble

2009-01-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

This one's for my dad, my sisters, and my husband, who are the only ones that truly understand my Scrabble obsession, and are willing to put up with it.

A Sonnet for My Friend Scrabble

The teeny wooden tiles criss and cross
As back and forth and round my brain does flips.
Dad put an 'x' on triple word - all hope is lost
'cause now I've got no place for "monolith."

There goes my fifty bonus points again;
he's spoiled my move ten times this game alone.
I guess all I can play right now is "thin"
and draw three letters more. "Is spown

a word?" I didn't think so. "How 'bout plear?"
That only gives me seven points. Let's see...
I could do "sleep" on triple letter here,
or "plain" on double word score - that's fourteen.

That leaves me stuck with Q to crash and burn.
Alright - here goes. I'm done; fourteen. Your turn!

Goodbye to Gramm

2009-01-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

Aaron's grandmother, Agnes Rapp Sisson, passed away last night at age 94. We went to pay our respects last night. As we were there talking, I was struck by the thought that the body she left behind was just an empty shell. The body lying there was no more of Gramm than a hermit crab's shell is of the animal. Truly the human soul is the combination of body and spirit.

She will be missed by our family and many others. We'll particularly miss her Sisson family sense of humor and her love for us, especially for Noah. She loved having him visit. We are sad that she is gone, but we're happy that she has "graduated."

Catch-Up Post #3: Christmas Strikes Back

2009-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

More Christmas pictures...

"My auntie's cooler than your auntie..."

Check out those cheeks!

Nonna introduced Noah to all sorts of fun things over Christmas.

Mikey, I think he likes it!

Okay, Poppa, be honest. Which of your grandkids is cuter?

He got the double chin from the whipped cream, I think.

Zoe trying out the drums.

Catch-Up Post #2: The Sequel

2009-01-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Christmas. We spent the holidays with my parents in Oklahoma. It was great to have the entire Morgan family there.

Santa brought Zoe some drums that light up and play music. I wish they made toys that cool when I was a kid! Ryan is helping Z get the hang of things. He is also wearing Natalie's high school sweatshirt. He wore it for most of the break, which I thought was hilarious.

Nat checking out her stocking loot.

Ben, though doubtlessly the first one up Christmas morning, is looking a little groggy still...

"Hey Dad, what's this for?"

The Morgans and my cousin Elder Miller. He was coincidentally serving in Tulsa during Christmas, so we stopped by his apartment with some Christmas goodies and familiar faces.

Catch-Up Posts

2009-01-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

I kidnapped the SAN disk out of my parents' camera, so I think I'll take the opportunity to plug the holes I've left by my lack of blog posts.

Remember how I couldn't find my family in all the blessing pictures of Noah and Zoe? I found them!

Nonna and Poppa with the munchkins. The babies were so tiny back then!

Holly and Zoe.

Two little happy families :-)

Baker cousins Reese, Hayzen, and Adrie. Actually they're my first cousins once removed, but who's counting?

The Kesler clan. Except Nicole, who was in NY at the time. She is excused from this photo.

Grandpa Baker and his wife Jane meeting my father-in-law.

My mother-in-law (foreground) and grandmother-in-law (background). Is that even a real relation? Grandmother-in-law?

Baby Z. Busy, as usual.

Recently

2008-12-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't been nearly as faithful in posting lately. I now repent of my slackerish ways.

Thanksgiving was awesome! I also repent of the fact that I didn't take any pictures at Thanksgiving. Mom, Dad, and my brother Ben came into town, and it was so great to see them. We observed the Morgan family traditions of visiting Gardner Mill, more pie than is proportionate to a Thanksgiving dinner, arguing on who would pay for what, lots of card games, retelling the classic stories of the time that Dad kicked Chula the poodle and the adventures of Grandma's wedding catering business, and place mats at every meal. My parents are officially in love with Noah, despite his fussiness over a really bad bout of eczema at the beginning of the week. Hydrocortisone is my new best friend.

Because we had my mom as a ready and willing babysitter, Aaron and I observed the Sisson family tradition of deer hunting over Thanksgiving weekend. We didn't see a darn thing. Plenty of fresh tracks, but not a deer to be found. I even went tromping through the oak brush and houndstongue plants to scare them up, but to no avail. I just got houndstongue burrs on me from head to toe. Oh well.

Here's a few more pictures of Noah and his adventures in grapes, his new walker, and other sundry activities:

"Um, Mom...I thought I had to be 16 to drive..."

"Mmmmm.....grapes...."

"Give me back my grape!!!"

"Hey Mom - watcha doin' with the camera?"

::Gasp:: "Don't take pictures of me - I'm naked!"

Crawling Progress

2008-11-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

I caught Noah on camera making progress towards crawling. He's almost got his back legs under him. We've still got a way to go, but this is leaps and bounds beyond what he was doing before - just lying on his belly and crying.

8 Things Post

2008-11-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

8 movies I love to watch:

1- Hercules

2- Kung Fu Panda

3-Much Ado About Nothing
4-Emperor's New Grove

5- Oscar

6- Blue Planet
6- My Fair Lady

7- Sound of Music

8- The Patriot (edited)

8 favorite restaurants:

1- McGrath's Fish House

2- Tucano's
3-Macaroni Grill
4- India Palace
5- Cafe Rio
6- Noodles and Company
7- Tokyo Joes

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1- Went to work

2- Played with Noah

3- Watched Kung Fu Panda with Aaron

4- Did some family history research

5- Went to a visiting teaching activity

6- Perused the BYU Bookstore

7- Did a smattering of laundry and dishes

8- Brought Aaron home lunch meat from the visiting teaching activity

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1- My family coming to town for Thanksgiving

2- Justin coming to town on Friday

3- Noah being able to entertain himself

4- 8 solid hours of sleep (someday...)

5- CHRISTMAS!!!!!

6- A full income with benefits (someday...)

7- Getting to work on some cool calligraphy projects
8- Getting my exercise regimen in place

8 Things on my wish list:

1- Clothes, clothes, and clothes

2- A super nice camera

3- A photo printer

4- 8 solid hours of sleep

5- Noah's two front teeth
6- A new set of scriptures

7- A cure for acne

8- Whirled peas

Firsts and DanceSport

2008-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I went to DanceSport for our date this week. We took Noah with us, but he was really good, so I think it still counted as a date. It brought back fond memories of when Aaron and I were only friends and dance partners (or so he thought). We totally botched DanceSport, but we had a great time dancing. We're planning on taking a dance class together next semester. The jury is still out on whether that will be standard or latin. I'm voting for latin.

Noah seemed to really enjoy himself. He was fascinated by the bright colors and sparkles on the dancers' dresses. He watched intently for two hours before drifting off to sleep on my lap.

The last little while has been full of firsts: the first black president, the first time Noah woke up only once during the night, the first time I found an ancestor's name and got it ready for the temple, and the first time I tried corned beef and cabbage (a new favorite). Kind of cool...

Meet Joseph

2008-11-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Noah has a new best friend - a cute, colorful caterpillar named Joseph. He was a gift from Nona a few months ago, but Noah now finally has the eye/hand/foot coordination required for playing with him. Joseph can do all sorts of tricks. He sings "If You're Happy and You Know It", squeaks, jingles, and makes crackly noises.

Joseph is about the same size as Noah, so Noah's figured out that he can hold the caterpillar with his feet and use his hands to try and get the front end of him into his mouth, as seen here.

I don't know why I ever bought a teething ring. Joseph's face, antennae, and legs are perfect for gnawing.

Proposition 8

2008-10-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

Whether or not you all agree with my political persuasions, please please please get out there and vote on Tuesday! Those of you in California, please consider carefully your stance on Proposition 8. Please protect the divine institution of marriage and preserve the liberties of free speech for those of us that want to choose how our children are taught! Look here for more information on ballot arguments. Those that aren't in California, please join us in fasting that Proposition 8 will pass. Whatever you do, don't do nothing :-)

Rice Cereal and First Haircut

2008-10-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

As a side note, if anyone wants to know a sure-fire way to get comments on their blog, just post about political stuff.

A few weeks back we decided to try giving Noah some rice cereal to help him sleep. You would have thought we had poked him with a pin! He screamed and screamed! I think part of it was that we fed it to him from a spoon, which he'd never had. I've since been giving him spoons to play with as toys so he won't be nervous about putting one in his mouth when it comes time for solid foods.

Here's before the rice cereal:

and after:

I finally broke down and cut Noah's hair. He was starting to look like Friar Tuck in the back with his "bullet" (baby mullet). I just trimmed the bottom and the very top scraggly stuff. He looks so handsome now! Though his hair doesn't make as nice a mohawk as it once did. Sorry, Justin.

Here's before. We wanted to take after pictures, but the camera died.

Musings on the Election

2008-10-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

I spent the afternoon sitting down and trying to figure out whom to vote for. I've seen various email forwards (all false), advertisements (all slanted), and various claims by friends and family of varying credibility. I listened to the final presidential and the vice presidential debate on You Tube. Here are my musings as a result*:

1)I will NOT vote for McCain. Public speaking is not one of his strengths, and I feel uncomfortable with a leader that lacks that quality. I began to feel that even I could debate against him with some proficiency. His plans sounded unconvincing and many of Obama's attacks on him went largely unrefutted. Each of the accusations against Obama had logical, sensible explanations.

2)I'm tired of hearing about Joe the plumber. Let him go back to plumbing, for pete's sake! I wouldn't be surprised if Joe actually voted for Obama because he didn't want to be the poster child for the McCain campaign.

3)I haven't decided whether or not to vote for Obama (I think my mother might have an aneurysm, disown me, write me out of the will, or give away my Christmas presents), but at least he has an articulate plan with what to do with taxes, the economy, healthcare, education, etc. It sounds like many of McCain's plans lack teeth.

4)I don't agree on Obama's stance on abortion, but I don't know whether or not that makes much of a difference. I don't think Roe v. Wade will get reversed regardless of who gets voted in as president.

5)I wish there were one candidate that had all the ideas I agreed with. Too bad Mitt Romney didn't win the nomination. I think he would have fared better against Obama than McCain is.

6)I think that Obama will win the election.

7)I wish the constitution party candidate, Chuck Baldwin, were not so radical so I might have another option.

8)Part of me wishes I could have Obama as president and Sarah Palin as vice president. I think that might be a good balance.

*Note: I am not a political expert, I have not watched all the debates, and I don't know everything about the campaigns. These are just my impressions from what I saw.

High School Tag

2008-10-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

My sister tagged me, so here goes:

1) Did you date someone from your school? Yes. Andrew J. Bonham. He was an interesting fellow. I think that's true of all high school boyfriends.
2) What kind of car did you drive? My dad's Maxima. 'Til I totaled it. (In my defense, that's the only real wreck I've been in in my whole life.)
3) Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? Yes. I didn't even have to parallel park.
4) Were you a party animal? Uh, no. Shocker, I know.
5) Were you considered a flirt? I did flirt when occasion warranted. I make no comments on my flirting prowess.
6) Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No, no, yes. For some reason I convinced myself that I wasn't a very good singer, so I didn't try out for choir until my senior year. I actually only tried out at the request of the choir director who happened to hear me singing to myself at a technical theatre rehearsal. If it weren't for Mr. Philpott, I would have missed out on a lot of cool choir experiences in high school and college. Too bad he didn't hear me singing my junior year, because then I would have been in choir the year they went to Ireland.
7) Were you a nerd? Yup. Shocker, I know. I did have rudimentary social skills, however.
8) Were you on any varsity teams? No, I was a moron and never tried out for volleyball senior year because I thought I knew the two girls that would start as left side hitters. One girl never even tried out! Stupid!
9) Did you ever get expended or expelled? No. I was a goody two-shoes.
10) Can you still sing your fight song? Yes! "Hail to the victors valiant! Hail to the conquering heros! HAIL HAIL to ThunderRidge, the leaders and the best! Hail to the victors valiant! Hail to the conquering heros! HAIL HAIL to ThunderRidge the champions of the West!"
11) Who were your favorite teachers?Ms. Pascoe for speech, Mr. Philpott for choir, Mr. Rouse for AP European History.
12) Where did you sit at lunch? We sat outside when the weather was nice. I also sat in the lobby for a while during my junior year, but we eventually got kicked out and had to go back down to the commons. My senior year we had release time seminary right before lunch, and we would often ditch lunch and drive down to Albertson's to get french bread, hummus, and grape soda. It was technically a closed campus, so that was as close as I ever got to ditching.
13) What is your school's full name? ThunderRidge High School
14) School mascot and colors - Grizzlies, Kelly green and navy blue
15) Did you go to homecoming and who with? Freshman year - yes, with my girlfriends. Sophomore - don't remember. Junior - yes, with a mixed group of friends. Senior - yes, with Ryan Cates. I asked him. He wasn't much of a dancer. He felt fairly uncomfortable and rubbed his hands together for much of the night, which I consitently teased him about.
16) If you could go back and do it again, would you? Not unless I could go as the current me who is married and secure and confident in my sense of self. And I got paid a whole lot of money.
17) What do you remember most about graduation? Rachel Cali bringing a beach ball, and the fact that Drew Hoskisson got chosen to speak, even though he spent his senior year in France.
19) Were you in any clubs? Speech and debate, technical theatre, Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society...I think that's it...
20) Have you gained weight since then? Yes, but I did have a baby and I haven't worked all the weight off yet. I actually weighed less in high school, but I looked better in college because I actually worked out.
21) Who was your prom date? Sophomore - Andrew J. Bonham. He fished for me to volunteer to be his date, which was awkward considering I was a sophomore. Junior - I think I went with friends. Senior - I got asked by a guy I did NOT want to go with. He asked me in front of all the young women, and I had to take him out into the hall to tell him no. It was embarrassing for all involved. My friends and I ditched prom and went to a swanky restaurant instead.
22) Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Heck yeah! I wanna show off my hot husband and cute kid!
23) Did you have a job while in high school? yes - Heritage Dry Cleaners, Schlotzsky's Deli, and Tokyo Joe's. I only worked during the summers, though.

I tag everyone who's glad that high school is a thing of the past.

"Graduating from high school is like getting let out of social prison." ~Mom

A Day in the Life of Noah

2008-10-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Yeah, you blogger! It's me, Noah. Shhh ... I'm invading Mommy's blog. Well, we all know the blog's really about me anyway. I wanted to give all my admiring fans a sneak peek into what I do all day.

Tummy time. Definitely NOT my favorite. Why Mom think's it's ok to stick me helpless and immobile on my belly for 15 minutes a day is beyond me. Although now that I've discovered how to use my legs better, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be.

Grabbin' stuff. I'm working on honing my fine motor control. It's still a work in progress, but so far I've managed to grab this spatula and my dragonfly toy pretty consistently. It's holding onto them long enough to get them into my mouth that's the problem.

Hangin' out with Mom. Mom and me are tight. She pretty much thinks I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread and the cutest thing since puppy dogs were invented. We're getting dressed up for the football game in this picture. I don't mind going to the games, but all that noise and stuff puts me to sleep. Mom's trying to teach me the fight song. I have the rah-rahs down pretty well...Dad and I both got pretty cranky when TCU beat BYU last week. (I hang out with Dad a lot too, but he doesn't take many pictures. )
Trying to put my hands in my mouth. If you only knew how good my hands tasted, you'd understand. Too bad they won't both fit in there at once.
Playing in my bouncy seat. This is the coolest toy EVER! Mom can stick me in this thing for 20 whole minutes before I realize that she's in the other room. It's got this doggy head that bounces and a kitty that hangs down so I can kick it (I think I take after my great uncle Ted). The bouncy seat must be partially invisible to grown-ups because Mom and Dad both trip over it a lot. It's pretty funny when they do.

Father and Son

2008-10-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

This one needs no introduction. It's too cute for words!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has been in my house will know that it needs a little flair (even more than I need, if that tells you anything). My decorating skills have peaked out at getting Kmart curtains for the nursery so it wouldn't be so bright during naptime. However, I do manage to muster up all three ounces of my decorative flair for the holiday season. Not rain, snow, or a tight budget will keep me from carving pumpkins for Halloween! Here are the fruits of this week's family home evening.

You can't see it very well in the picture, but the pumpkin on the right is sporting fangs and boogers.

TikiMan and BoogerFang. Can you guess who did which pumpkin?

I really wanted to carve a pumpkin and get a cute shot of Noah peeking out of it, but alas, Wal-Mart did not have pumpkins big enough. I doubt Noah would have been too keen on that idea anyway.

Dollhouse Festival

2008-10-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

The dollhouse festival turned out to be pretty cool. There were some really ornate ones and really simple ones. The one that had my calligraphy in it was pretty middle of the line.

Here's a shot from the front.

The attorney's office. Kinda blurry.

The bridal shop.
The lounge.
The flower shop. I suddenly have visions of Audrey Hepburn dancing around the streets of London, singing in a horrific Cockney accent. Wouldn't that be loverly?

Famous Flourishes

2008-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

One of my Freecycle calligraphy gigs was for a lady that was making a dollhouse for the Dollhouse Festival at the library. They have people make and decorate dollhouses and they auction them off for charity. She wanted me to make some wall hangings for a miniature florist shop, attourney's office, bridal shop, and lounge. They're all in Latin, as she wanted to cater to the lawyers that would be at the festival.

Aaron and I stopped by the festival last night just to see how they looked. They looked pretty good. While we were there, a lady at a candle booth asked for my contact information because she wanted some calligraphy work done for her candle business. I'm getting famous! :-)

"No one ought to accuse himself except in the presence of God." This one went in the attourney's office. It turned out a little big, even though I used the smallest chisel nib I own, so it's shrunken down a little in the dollhouse.

"You will not conquer nature unless you obey it." For the florist shop. This one was a little rushed, but I think it turned out okay.

"Love is the essence of life." This one was for the bridal shop and is by far my favorite in design and execution. I spent the most time on this one.

"Take care of yourself." The hand I did this one in is way cool, but wasn't terribly fitting for the lounge. Aaron and I agreed I should have used something more flowy and flourishy. (It was hard to fit it to the room because I didn't get to see the dollhouse beforehand.)

I'm going to the festival today to take pictures of the dollhouse itself, so I'll post those later.

More on Freecycle

2008-10-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

A couple people have requested info on how to get on the Freecycle band wagon. For those of you in Utah, click here and click on the Join This Group! button. For those outside of Utah, just go to www.freecycle.org and click on the sign up option at the top of the page. The Utah organization is off of a Yahoo group, so I believe you need a Yahoo address. However, you get an email every time anyone posts something, so I'd use a spam account so you don't get 50 emails a day. That or make a folder in your existing account. Check on your freecycle emails often - a lot of these items go pretty fast, so you have to be kind of quick on the draw.

More on my freecycle calligraphy adventures in my next post...

One Man's Junk...

2008-10-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

...is another man's treasure! I belong to an email group called Freecycle. The main gist of it is that people who have stuff that is still usable they don't want now have a venue to find other people who can use the stuff instead of throwing it away. People post just about everything from cats to washing machines to clothing to food.

So far I've gotten a baby swing, grapes, stamp pads, scrapbooking paper, and a ticket to the BYU vs. UNLV game for my nephew - all for free! I also could have gotten a treadmill, but I was lazy and didn't go to pick it up in time. I got to rid the closet in the nursery of a bunch of gift bags that I'd been storing for a long time. I gave it to a lady who was making newborn kits for unwed mothers at the hospital. Isn't that great?!?! I got to clean out the closet and donate to a good cause at the same time!

I also recently posted an offer for calligraphy services, and I got a HUGE response! I now have loads of opportunities to get some projects going and really get me practicing this talent. I'm super excited! I love you, Freecycle!

General Conference

2008-10-05T20:46:00.001-07:00

So General Conference is pretty much awesome. I always come away feeling all warm and fuzzy, but with a long list of things to improve on at the same time. I felt the Spirit very strongly at the Relief Society session and the first general session on Saturday. After Elder Uchtdorf's talk, I've recommitted myself to make time to improve and share my talents. I also really want to work on developing more faith in Christ and in the restoration of the Gospel.

Which was your favorite talk/session? Leave a comment with your General Conference experience, inspiration, or tidbit.

Jabbertalkie

2008-10-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Noah has become increasingly more vocal. I read on www.babycenter.com that if you start talking to your baby as if you're holding a conversation with him that he'll eventually start to fill in the blanks. Noah isn't quite to that point yet - he mostly just likes to jabber when I am talking. (Sometimes it sounds like he's trying to emulate the sounds I'm making and repeat what I'm saying, but that's probably just the proud parent part of me that wants to believe that my kid is gifted and talented - see previous post) He also likes to try and sing with me. It's kinda cute. Here's a little bit of his vocalizin'...

Happy Anniversary

2008-09-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary. Aaron took me out to Tucanos and then we went and browsed Borders bookstore. It was so great to have a nice evening out and get all dressed up. Yes, my attempt at flair turned out like Shirley Temple, but at least I made the attempt! Noah was even good for our babysitters (thanks, Blake and Liesel!). Each year just gets better and better. Honey, I love you and I'm so glad I'm your wife! Muah! :-*

We found this card at Borders. I don't know if you can see the card in this picture, but it's a so fitting for Aaron. He has this quirky habit of asking me where something is before he even looks for it. When I tell him where it is, he tries to tell me it's not there, he can't see it, he already checked there, etc. Then I usually pull the item right out from under his nose. Funny, funny Aaron...

Spiking the Punch

2008-09-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

(I attribute this brilliant inkling to my angel mother)

So Aaron and I have been wrestling with sleep deprivation for quite some time now, but thanks to Mom, we've achieved a breakthrough. I called Mom to debate the merits of using rice cereal to bog down Noah's digestive system, thus encouraging him to sleep longer. He's only 2 1/2 months old, so I thought it might be a bit much for the little guy. Mom suggested that I just put formula in a bottle of milk so as to up the caloric content, but not the volume or fiber.

We tried it out two nights ago, and eureeka! He slept for 5 hours the first night and 6 1/2 hours the second. Mom, you're brilliant! Thanks for giving me the great idea, and thanks for putting up with me through all hours of the night when I was this small. I love you!

Heaven by the Slice

2008-09-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

When Little Law's Pizza in Cobleskill, NY went out of business, I think a little bit of Aaron's heart went out of business too. It was his all-time favorite hole-in-the-wall pizzeria with the best buffalo wings ever (so he says. I've never been a big buffalo wings person, so I'll take his word for it).

By a stroke of luck (and a very quick left turn that sent Aaron's would-be dinner of Lean Cuisine flying into the back seat of the truck), we happened upon a decent substitute for Little Law's last night: Nina's Original New York Pizza. This place is as close as you can come to real New York pizza west of the Mississippi. Nina even has a New York accent - it's that authentic. Thin crust, zippy sauce, fresh mozzarella, and every topping under the sun (including clams). I think Aaron's heart went pitter-pat when he discovered that buffalo chicken was a topping, and the rich, creamy filling of the crispy cinnamon cannoli sealed the deal. Aaron now has four loves in life:

1. Me and Noah

2. Hunting

3. BYU and intermural football

4. Nina's pizza

Unfortunately, Nina's doesn't sell wings. She's got a recipe, but she says she only makes them for catering. So I guess we're still in search of a buffalo wings substitute. That, or we're going to have catered parties a lot more often...

Sweet Baby Jack

2008-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

After clinging to life for 1 1/2 months, little Jack Sisson passed away yesterday. He had complications from a lack of amniotic fluid in utero, and he wasn't expected to live past a few days. His time here on earth was truly preserved by the hand of the Lord. Unfortunately for us, Jack's mission on earth is complete and Heavenly Father has other work for him to do. We are sad at the loss of our nephew and Noah's cousin and would-be playmate; Jack was born about a month after Noah. Our hearts and prayers go out to Dan and Summer and their family at this hard time. Please keep them in your prayers.

How grateful I am to know that this life is not the end! There is more than the pinpoint in eternity that we call mortality. What a comfort it is to know that each person has the opportunity to have eternal life and go back to live with our loving, Eternal Father! What a comfort to know that Christ understands EXACTLY what we go through and is constantly reaching out, ready to help and comfort us. (For more information about this, visit http://www.mormon.org/)

Here is Jack at my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Jack, Jackson, and Noah. Sounds like a law firm, doesn't it? Three cute little cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Hello, Beautiful!

2008-09-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Adidas Supernova. I've had my eye on these beauties for several months now, and now that I can run again, they're going to be mine, all mine! Just as soon as I can get to Runner's Corner to buy them...

Smile for the Camera

2008-09-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

These light up my life!

Gifted and Talented

2008-09-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

Every parent likes to think that their kid is better than most. That's why you hear parents talking about what percentile for height and weight their babies are in, when they started talking, what reading level they are at, etc.

Here's my brag for Noah - he was rolling over at 1 month old. Given I didn't have the video to prove it until he was 2 months old, but I think that still qualifies as gifted and talented.

Rise and shout, the Cougars are ...

2008-09-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

... kicking trash! I'm so proud of my alma mater. For those of you that missed the greatest shutout in years, the BYU Cougars massacred the UCLA Bruins on Saturday 59 - 0. Look out, BCS - the Cougs are on the trail to fame and glory, no matter what the rankings say!

Rise and shout, Noah! He slept through almost the whole game. I think we might have to tape the noise and play it at naptime...

I think this is our first family picture. Fitting, since this is our favorite family outing. We got Noah a BYU T-shirt so he could join the fun. Gotta start 'em young...

Blake and Liesel - our football co-analyzers and partners in crime (and everything else)

Excercise!

2008-09-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

As of last week, I am offically cleared for exercise - Yahoo! I don't have to be a bump on a log anymore! This week I've already run 3/4 mile twice because I was late for the bus. I also biked to work twice, once on purpose and once accident (I was going to just bike to the bus stop, but I missed the bus again). I think taking the bus is going to be a great form of exercise :-)

It's about 7 miles to work, so it takes about an hour and 30 min back on a bike. But it takes that long on the bus anyway, and I like combining my commute and my workout; I kill two birds with one stone. I may just ditch the bus altogether...

I plan to start throwing jogging into the mix soon. I really want to be in shape enough to run the BYU Homecoming 5K in October. I am not shooting to break any records, just to run the whole thing. Would anyone care to join me?

Hallelujah!

2008-09-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Noah slept for one four-hour stretch and one three-hour stretch last night! It might sound trivial, but this was truly a momentous occasion. It's so awesome to see a light at the end of the tunnel of sleepless nights.

Chub in the Tub

2008-09-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

I promised Nona that I'd post more pictures of her grandson, so here they are. Noah is seven weeks old as of yesterday, and he's finally filling out a little. I've started to add a bath to his bedtime routine. While it's worked great for getting him to go to bed, I must admit my motives are a little selfish - he's just so darn cute in the tub!

This one will make great blackmail when he's 16...I told Aaron I wouldn't post nude pictures of our son online, so it's censored. I was fresh out of fig leaves, but this works.

All dried off! I think baby towels are some of my favorite things. Note that the red mark on his arm in this picture is not a bruise or a birthmark. It's a recurring hicky that he gets from sucking on his arm.

Score One for the City Kid

2008-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the heart of yuppie suburban Denver (home, sweet home!). As a result, my childhood education lacked a bit in a few areas. I was never well versed in guns, bows, cattle branding, calf roping, horseback riding, bunny clubbing, birthing and milking cows, rodeos, driving tractors, etc. I have some cousins that grew up on a ranch in the absolute middle of nowhere, and whenever we would visit them, these knowledge gaps quickly became obvious. My cousins loved to tease us city kids for our naivety, and although I always knew there were advantages to growing up in both places, I could never quite think up any good comebacks to their taunts.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, THIS city kid leveled the playing field. Oh, yes. I shot a gun for the first time ever yesterday, a 12-gauge shotgun. My three brothers-in-law, my husband, my country cousin Nicole and I all shot clay pigeons after my one practice shot. I didn't think I'd shoot anything, especially since they were moving targets, but I hit quite a several clays and even dusted a few of them. I am especially proud to say that I outshot Nicole - the same cousin that has been taunting me for years. Vindication at long last! Score one for the city kid...

A Little Flair

2008-08-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

My sisters would both be very proud to know that yesterday I got my first pedicure ever. I need more flair in my life...

Baby Blessing for Noah

2008-08-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

We blessed Noah today in our student ward. He was so cute and so good - he didn't utter a peep! Aaron gave a beautiful blessing; the circle was huge. After looking at the pictures, you can see why. Both of us come from huge families.

Some of the Sissons - David, Grandma, Mom, Aunt Karen, Dad, and McKenzie. McKenzie is not a Sisson, but we let her in the picture anyway.

"You missed a spot shaving, Dad."

Noah and Uncle David. Don't worry Noah - just because Uncle David is a marine doesn't mean he's going to eat you.

"Why hello, Aunt Karen! Fancy meeting you here..."

Don't mind us. We're just the parents.

A house full of Sissons. Where is my family in all this?

Four generations.

From left to right and top to bottom: Phil, Karen, Aaron, Noah, Me, Aunt Vicki, Uncle Charlie, Grandma, Dad, and Mom