Beauty School Dropout

Every once in a while i get in these moods. You know the mood of, i need a new look. But being on the previously reviewed budget (see previous blog) i new i couldn't drop the 65 bucks to get it done. So i started thinking, how hard could it be? I just want one color. Easy breezy. So eight bucks later i came home with a box of hair dye from "Dan's" grocery store ( I know Caroline and Hez, you'd kill me for doing that). So, for those of you who are still wet behind the ears when it come to hair dying let me spell it out for you. You have to put on Gloves. Don't think you're beyond them. Use them, or your hands will be dyed purple and start to burn. Then you have to mix one Mixture with the other one. Simple: dump bottle #1 into bottle #2 and shake. So I shook. Here is probably one of the most important mistakes i made that you aspiring beauticians can learn from. There is a little cap on top of the lid of mixed dye that you are supposed to break off. BTW It's hard to break off! So being resourceful i try to bite it off. Now at this point, I'm biting and twisting and in my frustrations i start to squeeze the bottle the slightest bit...BAD IDEA! As soon as that cap came off brown hair dye when shooting into the side of my cheek! Now is the time you start spitting and rinsing, ASAP! Because if you don't, it burns, i mean it really burns(and of coarse the side of your lip is dyed blue, (just like your hands)! Now perhaps you are getting a little frustrated, but these feelings should only make you more determined! So i squirt that dye profusely in my hair, thoroughly (as the box suggests). Be careful not to over shoot that powerful little bottle and get it on the bathroom door behind you. It leaves brown drips down the white paint that you might not notice until the next day when your husband points it out. Then you wait. 25 minutes. But I decided to do 33 minutes b/c it always seems to wash out of mine in a couple of weeks and perhaps this will make it more permanent. In this waiting time, It's a good idea to prop the box of that lovely lady with perfectly brown hair against the mirror, just so you can remember how good your going to look after you scrub those purple spots off your forehead. 33 minutes later, i rinse, and repeat. Then i used the conditioner. It's important to use the conditioner, it helps calm your panick as you feel your coarse, fried hair. But don't worry it won't take long until you find your Sexy self saying...Shoot, i should be on the front of that box!

A hint of Asia...

Imagine Mitchell's suprise when he came home from work only to find his American wife had become Chinese! That's right, Chinese. Let me just preface this. Seeing how we are living in "tight" times, Mitch and i have created a strict budget, thus friday nights 'out to eat' have become rare. So I decided to create a night out on the Orient! Generals Tao's, Pot Stickers, and of coarse Ham Fried Rice. I decided to invite Mitch's parents over to join the party (under the conditions that they wear their traditional Komono's of coarse! With make up painted on to create the perfect slanted eye and a bun on top of my head i greeted my husband as he came in. He gave me that all too familiar look of, "Who is this crazy woman I married?" You know i'll give him that much, but how boring would life be if we didn't have to be thrifty?! Bring it on stock market, but we will still have our chinese food dang it! (Adrienne if you read this how can i view your blog?)

My Little Boyscout

First off, may i just say isn't my little boyscout adorable!?! Yep...He's mine. But as perfect as he is, his new calling comes with it's downfalls. First off, have you ever smelt a boyscout when he comes home from a camp out? If the smoke smell does not make you nauseous, give him time, the lingering camp food will tear him apart (he could possibly sleep in the guest bed because of it). Buy an air freshener, ASAP. Then you go to church and you hear the stories. You'll find yourself saying "My husband did what?". Now it's not long after he's put into this calling that you really learn how smart your little "Smokey Bear" is. I admit he really can tie alot of cool knots. I start to see some of the advantages. In fact, since being in scouts i have found him being a little more dutiful. For example, he vacuumed the other day, Fabulous. Organized the garage, Fabulous. Put clothes in the wash, which is awesome even if he disregards the need for folding them. If only he could still earn badges, I would be at the Court of Honor in a matching shirt and a fog horn!

Stacie thought it would be fun to take all the nieces and nephews up to the cabin to find the perfect Christmas Tree, here is how it went… There was too much snow to drive the suburban up the hill so we hiked in with a foot of snow. Taylor ran into Zach and Zach lost his tooth. Olivia refused to go potty in the ice-cold out house, and all the kids had a great time playing hide and seek until chase crawled under the bed and found a dead mouse. Stacie spent the morning picking blueberries out of Kate and Bridger’s pancakes and Mitch spent the day bringing kids up and down the sledding hill. And of course, we each found our perfect Christmas trees!

Joy in your posterity....?

I've heard it said in the good book many times before that there is "joy in your posterity", but after today i'm starting to wonder... Now, before you stop reading on account of blasphemy let me explain. Trish & Tyler went out of town for the weekend and I being the loving christian, best sister in the world, awesome, unique, talented (etc. etc. etc.) individual that i am, agreed to watch Will & Kate.

• 7:30 am I arrive at grandma's to two beautiful kids who were overly excited to see me. I should have taken that as my first clue. Looking back they must have been saying to themselves, "She has no idea what she is getting into." (okay, okay so they are two and four but they might have!)


• 8:00 We decide to make pancakes, but William still wants a bowl of cheerios. An honest request.


• 8:03 An egg is broke on the kitchen floor when i turned my back. I still don't know how that happened.


• 8:04 I see the opportunity to teach about what is inside of eggs so we all gather round and discuss the different parts and colors of the eggs.


• 8:05 Clean up the egg


• 8:06 Pancakes are on!


• 8:07 I turn to flip a pancake on the stove and Will is on the counter with one egg smashed on the counter and the other mixed in with his cereal. Nothing like broken shell, yoke, white, and milk Cheerios for breakfast! A slight satisfaction in the idea of "Gee, he must have really liked my egg lesson!"


• 8:08 I clean up the eggs.


• 8:15 Kate starts crying because something is on her blanket. With a furrowed brow I walk around the bar in the kitchen only to see yet another egg smashed on the floor, slightly wiped up with Kate's blanket.


• 8:15 I take a deep breath.


• 8:15 I turn to Will and explain, "William, you made this mess and you need to help me clean it up! Here is your rag!


• 8:16 Will "helps" clean up by spreading the egg all over the floor.


• 8:17 another breath.


• 10:00 I finally get dressed. Mom got me a new white shirt, long sleeve, very cute. I put it on. I look great. (A fatal rookie mistake, what was i thinking?!)


• 12:30 The kids are being great, they have earned lunch at, "old Mc Donalds"! Whoo hoo! Two happymeals please!


• 12:41 The food is here and both kids are downing the fries. I'm pretty sure Will thought this was His last meal at the rate he was eating his fries and ketchup. I'm serious his whole fist somehow managed to get into that tiny sacrament cup full of ketchup.


• 12:42 I let my guard down.... They are eating, whats to fear?


• 12:42.37 Will finishes yet another fry, and with a fear that all the fries are going to walk away swings his arm around to grab another one and in his haste swipes the ketchup cup onto my new shirt, down my khaki's (another rookie wardrobe mistake) and onto my crocs. With a lack of a better option i just sat their as the ketchup dripped through the holes in my crocs (now that was not so bad if you compare it to what was dripping through my crocs when i worked at the nursing home).


• 12:45 Mitch arrives, takes a look at me at laughs (good sympathy as always)


• 12:55 I come out of the bathroom with a soaking wet shirt (slightly transparent) only to see Wills slightly tipped head with a big smile on it. All is forgotten. He's cute again.


• 2:30 We are at Grandma Sherrils and Kate falls off the swing only to have it come back and hit her in the head. A slight melt down, but with a quick thinking bribe from me she immediately stops.


• 3:30 We are back at grandma Lifferths and i walk over to look out the door and Kate is rubbing her face back and forth and back and forth along Daisy's (the dog) back. I ask her why she is doing that, "oh, he just smells so good". For all those not familiar to daisy, she does not smell good! After asking if she is sure, she takes one final big sniff of the Dog and replies, "yeah, he does not smell very good". and walks away.


• 5:00 that brings me to where I'm at now. and in the process of typing this, Will woke up screaming and we changed his diarrhead, slightly rashed bum, and he cuddles up on me and falls back to sleep. All is forgotten....Joy in your posterity eh... i could see that.... just not anytime soon!

Good Times at the Cabin

This weekend we invited the Andreasen's as well as the Petty's to come and enjoy Papa Lifferth's cabin. We got there on Friday night, struck up the fire, & sipped some hot chocolate. We spent the evening laughing and telling scary stories, we made sure to keep all the blinds open to enhance the effect as the moon shown thru the trees of the Uinta's. During one particular story Indy Jumped up and put his front paws on the window leaving us all screaming.

When we woke up the next morning we had the traditional cabin breakfast consisting of, 'hot cakes', bacon and eggs! Then we went on a little hike to the zip line. Everyone except indy had a good time riding across the ravine on the rusted pulley. Mitch insists on thinking Indy is human and needs to try everything we do. Needless to say once he started down the line, he jumped out of Mitch's arms. Dogs just aren't meant to do everything.

When we got back to the cabin Mitch pulled out some guns to have a target shooting contest. Julie surprised us all by outmarking us all. When we pulled out the big gun (7mm) all the girls insisted on spectating while the boys proved their "Manliness!" We set up 3 full Lemonade cans so we could see the anticipated explosion as our men shot them down. After nearly being knocked off their feet by the kick of the gun, we are happy to report that our valiant men kept all of the cans safe!

After lunch we cleaned up and headed home. Thank heaven for good friends and parents who let us use their cabin!

Mitch Play Soccer????

That's right.... Mitch and I are playing on an indoor soccer team! Who say's you can't change a Man!? :) Mitch consented to playing on an indoor league after some convincing. I told him it would improve our relationship, increase the laughter, help us stay in shape. After all, eternal marriages are often based off healthy competition right?! After some discussion he gave in and agreed. Then he said, "I guess i'm going to need some 'shin protectors' ". eh Mitch..... They're called Shin Guards! We are still working on the lingo, but it should be fun!