Since nothing unusual ever happens to me (except occasionally people walking into my house randomly and trying to do my laundry) - I thought I would share a story that happened to my friend, SallyGirl.

Her husband is a teacher, so you know they have the big bucks.  Her son was walking the dog by the school, and ran into one of their favorite yard duty monitors.  She asked if they were struggling.  The boy didn’t quite know what she meant, but as it turns out, he ended up with a bag of groceries that the school collected for the needy.  He walks home with a big bag of groceries with Cheerios sticking out of the top. SallyGirl is cringing, but opens up the bag.

Groceries for the needy - in order of removal: (more…)

I like to think I have a wide comfort zone. That’s probably silly, and I’m probably wrong, but I like to think that, anyways. I feel like I’ve gotten to a place in my life where I have a fairly good grasp on what I like doing, what I don’t like doing, what I still have left to prove (not very much, actually), what dreams I’ve given up on because I’m too lazy, stupid, or both to accomplish them, and what I’m good at.

As far as church service goes, I’ve served in enough of a variety of callings also to know what I’m good at. Well, really, I’ve learned what I’m NOT good at.

I’m currently serving in such a calling. And it’s way outside my comfort zone. (more…)

For three years I have devoted 100s if not 1000s of hours to our elementary school PTA. 

I started out as the benefit chair and oversaw a silent auction fundraiser that raised over $18000 for our school.  It nearly killed me.  I thought I was done.

I was next in line to serve as PTA president, where I bemoaned here, that I didn’t want to do it and wanted to quit.  I persevered, and although I have no posts to reflect my year of service, it was worth my time and I’m glad I followed through with my commitment.  But, I really thought I was done.

This year, however, I am done.  My daughter’s 5^th grade year has pushed me to the edge, and I will never return. (more…)

I used to love it.

Now I hate it. (more…)

We are talking about weird Mormon food, over at Segullah. Come tell us your craziest experience with Mormon cuisine.

I’m sick. As in, can’t kick this cold, missed church on Sunday, have a hacking cough and battling laryngitis sick. I parked Little Sister in front of the TV this morning, told her we were skipping soccer, and slept as much as I could. I finally pulled myself together around noon, and shuffled downstairs. The shuffling proved to be a little too much effort, so when I got downstairs, I lay down on the couch. Little Sister was cheerful, and wanted to get something from the car. I told her she could go and get it. She tried to open the front door, but her little hands just couldn’t grasp the doorknob tightly enough to turn it.

“Mommy, I need some help!” (more…)

(First, a note - a lot of comments on Heather’s previous post went into moderation, I guess the word “sexy” will do that, so we apologize if your comment wasn’t there.  It should be now.)  (Unless you’re a spammer, then it’s not.)

Well, the long and the short of it is, there was a strange woman in my house when I got home yesterday.  I pulled into the driveway, saw a car I didn’t recognize, and hesitantly walked into my house, calling out “Hello?”  I hear “I’m back here!” and there in my bedroom, on my phone, is a person I don’t recognize.  She waves, yells ”Hi!” and goes back to the phone.

Do I know this person?  Who is she?  Did I miss something?

Do my kids know her?  Not a clue.  I go into the kitchen - call my husband. Is someone supposed to be here?  Not that he knows of. Did he put this bottle of wine in the sink?  (Yes, we cook with it. We’re going to hell.  It’s OK)  Um, no, he did not.  He advises me to talk to her and call the cops. (more…)

I walked into choir practice last week dressed for church already. If you must know, I was wearing a grayish pencil skirt that had a ruffle along the edge, and a pink long sleeved shirt that had a similar ruffle/bow thingie near my shoulder. I was also wearing high-heeled black boots that came to my about my calf. No jewelry, because I’m kinda bad at that.

My friend looked at me and said, “You look too sexy for church.”

I blinked, trying to think of a quippy come-back. Nothing came to mind, so I just said, “I don’t know how to respond to that.” (more…)

One of the bad parts about blogging is that you get sort of a sick and twisted view of what is good writing. If you have 8000 comments on a post, it is sort of an automatic ego boost, like you’ve done something cool, or important. Not, like, ultimately cool, like cure cancer, but maybe something kinda cool, like curing halitosis. Or dandruff. (more…)

One of my most consistent fears is of “The Man”.

The Man is not a specific person. He is an amalgamation of different things. Sometimes he’s a thief who wants to come into my house and steal stuff. Sometimes he’s just a bad guy who is lurking in the bushes. Mostly, though, he wants to come into my house to kill me.

And he only comes at night. (more…)

Face it, if you’re not a kid, or a parent, Halloween is a holiday easily overlooked. If you’re a graduate student in the middle of studying for midterms, Halloween is especially overlooked.

One year, I fit that description. I was at home, studying in the sweats I had been wearing for two days, looking like the harried student that I was. It was night. The doorbell rang. (more…)