Mr. Fix-it

Kyle and Michelle were visiting for the weekend. I love it when they visit! Not only because they bring two cute grandsons for me to play with, and not only because we get to play games and watch movies after the boys go to bed, and not only because I have someone to hang out with at the Bonderman open house, or what ever other event we might go to, but because when Kyle comes, he fixes things.
This weekend my stove got a working over. It's a gas stove that only ignites two of the four burners. And one of THOSE doesn't light all the time. So, I have to use a bic lighter, a fire starter, or a match to ignite my stove, and in this day and age, unless you're camping, you just shouldn't have to ignite your stove with a fire starter. So Kyle pulled it out to see if he could motivate it into working.

Don't focus on the underside of my stove. It isn't pretty! But that handyman there working on my stove? He can fix anything. Just ask anyone, he really can. And he fixed my stove! Sort of. There were two burners working when he started, one front and one back on the left. And when he was finished? Two burners working!! But now they are the two front ones, and anyone who cooks knows the two front burners are more useful and important than SIX back ones. And there are parts on the way to fix the other two, but I may have to wait for the installation of those parts until Easter when Kyle and Co. come again. Thanks Mr. Fix-it. I knew I there was a reason I didn't give you away when you were a teenager.

Bottle Up Lightning Lady Antebellum

I might be a little obsessed with Lady Antebellum. But it's an obsession I'm willing to share! This is their new song, and I like it :)

My friends and I have been to two of their concerts this year. And I've never been to two of ANYONE'S concerts :) For this one, we waited in line for four hours and then RAN so we could be up front. See that bar we're holding on to? That means there is NO ONE ELSE IN FRONT OF US!! Are we sad and pitiful women? Don't care! Because it was SO MUCH FUN! And in this world, once and a while, you've just got take a few more chances. Spin around the floor a few more dances. Or run. To be in front of 1000 people at a Lady Antebellum concert. You pick. And while you're thinking about it, listen to Lady A's new song. You'll be glad you did :)

1/5/11 - Pot Scrubbers

Tonight was Mutual. And we made these handy little crafty little things. Pot scrubbers. If you've never used one of these, you are missing out on the greatest kitchen gadget of all time!. They are crocheted out of net, so they scrub your pots without scratching them. They clean EVERYTHING!! And they're even kind of pretty.

These are some of my young Women. They're ALL mine because I'm the secretary, so my world has no class boundaries :) These are a couple of the Laurels.

And here is one of our Beehives. This is Maddi and she lives just across the street. She is absolutely FULL of personality. As all Beehives are :)

And here, in case you always wanted to know, are the instructions to make these wonderful pot scrubbers. You will need a size J or K crochet hook, some netting 3" wide by about 3 yds long.

Chain 6, slip stitch together, making a circle, and chain 1
Single crochet 9 stitches around the circle. Just stick your crochet hook right down in the little circle and single crochet 9 times around that little thing.
Slip stitch in the beginning stitch and chain 1
That is row 1.
Row 2- Do 2 single crochets in each stitch in row 1. Not a double crochet. 2 single crochet stitches in each of the 9 stitches in row one. Slip stitch in the chain at the beginning of row 2
Row 3 - Do a single crochet in the 1st stitch, and then 2 single crochets in the second stitch. Repeat the pattern all the way around. Slip stitch in the chain of row 2
Row 4 - Single crochet in the first stitch, single crochet in the second stitch and do 2 single crochets in the third stitch. Repeat the pattern around to the beginning.
Row 5 - (which I didn't do because I ran out of net. So, if you run out of net before this row, don't panic! Just end and scrub.) For the last row you do a slip stitch in each single crochet to give it a finished edge then snip of the excess and work it in.

Happy pot scrubbing!!!

1/4/11 - NFL Football

We have had a football poll going on at work. Everyone put in $5 and each week we picked the teams we thought would win. Not being a football watcher myself, this is how I usually picked my winning teams.

*Sometimes I did a nice little pattern. I would circle every other one: home, away, home, away

* Sometimes I would think about who would win in real life - bears vs dolphins. I think a bear could take a dolphin, so I would pick the bears.

And I got a lot of flack for my picking method from the guys at work. They didn't think I was taking our poll seriously. But guess who came in second place today when all the points were tallied. Eat THAT Packard football boys!

A Series of Haikus and True Grit

Our church is at 1
And so we stayed up too late
And then we slept in

After church I napped
And then could not get to sleep
Until 2 AM

Three hours of sleep
On a winter Sunday night
Really makes my day
BAD!!

Much too little sleep
Makes going to see True Grit
A bitter challange

A valiant attempt
To get the boys to True Grit
Without me has failed


Three cheers for me, I made it through the movie without sleeping!! My favorite line from the new, redone True Grit:
"No, I do not like guns. If I did, I would have one that works."
I know, you have to see the movie.

1/2/11 - Tender Mercies

Some of the blessings I have received in my life as late have been what I have felt deep in my heart to be "Tender Mercies". When referring to them as such, Dave asked me, "what is a tender mercy?" And it was then that I realized I wasn't sure, just that I felt these particular blessing had been what I had heard referred to as tender mercies. So today I studied tender mercies, what they are, why they occur, and how we know a blessing we have received is a message of concern sent from a loving Heavenly Father as a tender mercy.

According to David A. Bednar, tender mercies are blessings that are real, they don't happen randomly or by coincidence, their timing helps us discern them, and they are very personal blessings that are sent to help us when we need strength, protection, assurance, guidance, loving kindness, consolation, support and spiritual gifts. Those blessings I mentioned before fit Elder Bednar's points to a "T", and am overwhelmed to consider that my Heavenly Father would be so mindful of me.

Speaking of blessings, not necessarily tender mercies, we have spent a goodly amount of time lately playing this year's new "funnest game of the season" BLOKUS!! A good game of Blokus, some popcorn made with the Whirlypop, and some cherry cordial M&M's and you have all the makings of a fun night with the boys :)

1/1/11- Starting Over From the Beginning

Here it is, the darn snow that stands between me and my family. This is the reason we aren't in St. George today celebrating the New Year with the married half of the Cozzens. And, although it looks pretty from inside the house, the tree is now gone, it's light outside, and the boys have spent two days clearing the stuff off driveways around town. So it may look all Christmasy and pretty, but it's not.

It did allow me to wake up to this, however. The boys asleep in the family room after coming home from New Year's Eve activities still hyper and not ready to put the festivities to bed yet. This scene tugged at my heart. These 20 something, college aged boys asleep on my floor reminded me for just a minutes of those cute little boys whose lives I used to be able to control a little bit, to manipulate, and to relish in. They're only home for one more week, and Dave is already gearing up for the tears and the sadness and the mopey me that comes when they leave.

And that may be why he spent his day yesterday, when he wasn't clearing driveways of snow, building this for me. A new addition to our family room. Lovely, isn't it?

But what' more lovely is that it opens into THIS!! A nice little sewing cabinet where I can work on whatever project suits my fancy right in the middle of my family, where I love to be (if they would only forget about college, families of their own, and their lives elsewhere and come home!)
And then close the doors to the whole mess when it's time for work, or for bed, or mutual, or any of those other trivial things of life that keep me from creating with my sewing machine. This is the best non Christmas gift-I-go- for-nothing ever!! Thanks, Dave ♥♥