Thursday, April 28, 2011

What's wrong with this picture?

Both bags are coconut for some cookies made last week...
one was in my cabinet, one was borrowed from a neighbor.

Hayden has taught me that there IS something wrong with food (coconut, yogurt, box dinners, chips, treats, etc, etc) that has an expiration date YEARS old, even if it does pass the smell/taste test.  Days... maybe I could get away with.  Years... not so much.
sadly... this one came from my kitchen

SLC half marathon

 I signed up for the SLC marathon, thinking I would have time to train for it in 10 weeks.  WRONG.  I only ran one long run even for my half marathon training schedule.  I knew it wasn't going to be a fast race, and have been sick, so I just planned on taking it slow and enjoying the view.

My time was nothing to brag about: 2 hours 19 minutes,  22+ minutes off my best time. but still probably one of my most enjoyable races.  I stopped at drink stations, stopped at a church to use the restroom (after waiting in the port a potty line for almost 5 minutes), and stopped to stretch a cramp once along the way.  


My favorite parts of this race were:
  1. Noticing and smelling the blossoms on many of the trees along the way.
  2. The weather was overcast, cool, and perfect, and the last mile had a little sprinkle of rain.
  3. Running up state street and realizing that rarely (if ever) will I have the chance to have the roads shut down and be able to run up the road in front of the city/county building, Grand America hotel and down into the gateway plaza.
  4. Having the marathon winner come through toward the finish at the same time I was coming in.  The crowds cheered and the motorcycle police cleared the path.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Car story: part 2

Two days of my spring break and two nights this week were spent sacrificed for car shopping. This is what I learned.  All cars have issues (like people) it is just figuring out which issues you can and can't live with... or figuring out which ones are lurking under the surface waiting until you sign on the bottom line. 
I had a bit of a disadvantage.  If I were to use the money the insurance company gave us in order to replace our car, I was looking at cars with 100,000, previously wrecked cars that had been repaired, or cars that smelled bad with an attempt to mask over the odor with some "magic cleaner".

I hate car shopping.
I hate haggling.
I dread thinking of how much money I am going to spend, and the possibility that it could have major issues shortly afterwards, I wouldn't be able to do a thing about it (Utah is a buyer-beware state).

Pressure.

Finally we decided to look into a new car that was very affordable.  Many of the cars on the used car lots were more money than the new Hyundai Elantra, so that is what we started looking for.  Yeah, well, apparently everyone else was looking for one too.  Dealers had cars on the lot, but most had already sold.  The trucks coming into most of the dealers had the cars already sold before the trucks even arrived.  Some of the cars would be what we were looking for and then it would have added features that were not cost effective nor necessary.  Wednesday I got out of school early, and decided to go look at a local dealer.  There were 10 on the lot, but only four were not already sold.  Three of those four had the navigation system we were not willing to pay extra for, so that left one car.  

This is where the drama began.

I spent two hours at the dealer, driving cars and looking around.  The salesman helping me was... hmmm... how do I describe him best?  If you have ever seen the skit on Saturday Night Live with Chris Farley as the motivational speaker, then you will remember he wears pants he keeps having to hitch up, the tie that barely makes it half way down his rounded belly, and talks about living in a "van down by the river".  Yeah... this guy could have been him.  To a "T".
I find out his daughter was in my class a few years back, and he is working me for a deal.  I tell him I need to run to grab my daughter and come back with my husband, and head home.
This is at 3:00pm
4:15  Hayden gets a call from the dealership (same) letting us know that the Costco pricing inquiry that we submitted online earlier that day would give us an additional $700 off.
5:15 I text the salesman and tell him we are on our way
5:30 I text and let him know which car to have out for Hayden to see
5:45  We arrive, the car is out, the salesman sits us at his desk and puts the keys on his desk.
5:50  Hayden mentions the Costco discount.
This is where the pants-hitching, Chris Farley antics went into high gear.
Salesman leaves to get a "different" invoice for the Costco pricing
6:00  We are waiting still, walking around looking at cars inside the building.
6:10  A couple walks in and begins wandering and looking as well.  Our salesman sits down with this couple and begins working on something... we are still waiting.
6:40  The couple leave, and the manager and our DUDE comes over.

Manager:  "We have some bad news.  We just sold that car to those people"
Us:  silence
Manager:  "We did find this car (sits down an invoice) for a car in Logan that can be driven down here tomorrow"
Hayd:  "What is different about this car?"
M:  "Nothing, it is the same car, basically"
Hayd:  "Then why is it almost $700 more expensive?"
M:  "Oh, that's the NEW pricing coming out on this model now"
Hayd:  "We are leaving"
Our DUDE:  "What?  Was it something I did??"
To make a long story short (relatively), we left and headed north.  We made it to downtown SLC ten minutes before closing time, got the same car, better color, $1000 cheaper, and from a MUCH MUCH nicer set of people than where we had just been.  

Did I mention I hate car shopping??

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Car story: part 1

 April 5 was a very out of the ordinary day.  Had ONE thing gone differently that day, everything would have had a different outcome.

I had to drive to Springville after work to pick up Aspen from a birthday party.
I usually drive right back to Lehi to get her.
I had a strange thought/prompting come to mind:
    what if I drove to Ephraim to visit Debra and Frank, since Hayden wouldn't be home late.
I decided against it.
Aspen was dying of thirst.
    I should really stop and get her a drink on the next exit.
I talked myself into pushing through and I would get her a drink in Lehi.

I drove for a few miles.
A car a couple in front of me stopped suddenly.
So did the person in front of me.
I came to a screeching halt, barely avoiding a collision.
I hear squealing of tires, then impact.
Then impact number two.
Aspen cried, but was uninjured.
I was ok as well, however, I was sore and in pain for a good week afterwards
The end result had the car behind me pushed between my car and the median barrier, right next to my car.  My vehicle was pushed into the car in front of me.  The front bumper that belonged to the car that originally was two behind me, was picked up by the clean up crew from under my front bumper.  All told, it ended up being a six car accident.
I was stuck in my car during the entire clean up process, so I was never able to see the damages, but I knew everything seemed to be somewhat intact.  Surely it shouldn't take too much to put it back together.
How wrong I was... it was a total loss.
Had I only known that sitting there would be the last time I would be the driver of my car.
I visited my car again this past week.  I took pictures. I cried.  A lot.
I should have payed attention to my promptings.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Making a list. Checking it twice.

She loves to draw.
Markers are her favorite (I suppose that is because they do the most damage)
She makes lists (like her mother), even if it is a just a make believe list.

Combine the three.

She came into the bathroom one night and cracked me up.
"Outfits.  Check"
"Paint the house.  Check"
"Play with Caleb.  Check"
"Anything else you need mom?"

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lullabies

When Wade was a baby/toddler, we used to have a song that was "our song".  I always used to sing him "You are my sunshine" while we cuddled in bed.  Fast forward 11 years.  Aspen loves having a lullaby sung to her as she is going to bed, but her preferred song has been "Rock a Bye Baby", for some strange reason.

Two days ago I told her the story of how I used to sing "Sunshine" to Wade when he was little, and now that is the song of choice.
She'll say "Sing me the lullaby of Wade when he was a baby".
I play dumb, and say "Which one?"
"The When skies are grey song" she says.

So now... You are my sunshine is "our song"... shared by the three of us.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Spring Break

I have seven days in front of me to do whatever with.  Hayden is working (and working... and then working some more), so it is Aspen and me flying solo, for the most part. 
Seven days.
Seven open, non-planned days.
I start thinking of all the things I could/would/should do in those seven days.
They seem so open and available, but as today has shown me... they fill up quickly.
So... what is on my "wish list" for spring break?
How likely are all of them, if any, to actually happen?
With 3 days of snow, will the weather cooperate with my plans?
Here is my list:

__lunch with Morgan
_X_Hogle Zoo (planned for today)
__lunch with Jenn
_X_swimming with Aspen
_X_car shopping
_X_retrieve my stuff out of my old car
__Trafalga
__sewing
__scrapbooking
_X_meeting with Becky
__dinosaur museum
_X_deal with insurance company
_X_get my x-rays done
__visit Larue
_X_SLC 1/2 marathon on Saturday
_X_house clean
__garden tilled (weather permitting)
_X_morning cuddling with Aspen
_X_mow my front lawn (once again... weather permitting)
__meal planning
_X_cooking
_X_run. run. run
_X_library
_X_book on cd
__blog
__home repairs
_X_McDonald's playland

Looking at my list makes me realize that my OPEN days are not so open if I am to accomplish even half of my to-do list.
I better get started!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Day 18: A favorite recipe

Chicken Enchiladas:

Crock pot = EASY 
Easy is good...
I made this recipe up in a pinch, and it is one of our favorites.
4 chicken breasts (whole)
2 cans diced green chilis
Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Mash up chicken (it should pull apart easily at this point)
Stir in 1 cup cream cheese.
Add enough water to get mixture to a mush consistency.
Fill tortilla shells with mixture.
Roll and place in sprayed 9x13 baking dish.
Top with cheese.
Cover with foil and bake 325˚ for 20 minutes.

YUMMY!!
Easy!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Taken for Granted...

 "You don't know what you've got til it's gone"  Joni Mitchell.
This week I have become keenly aware of certain things that I am blessed with.
Things that I have a new appreciation for, since having to exist without them.

talking (always helpful with a 3 year old or with 250 twelve year olds)
teaching (this is where talking is always helpful)
running (yes, even at 5am)
sleeping (coughing does not help)
hot water (shower, dishwasher, laundry)
nice weather (3 days with it makes putting up with 4 inches of snow hard to do)
a drive-able car (mine is not because of a 6 car pile-up on the freeway)
safety (we are all ok... our car is not)
just a nice normal, regular day as a healthy person



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