~Sexy dork and the Flying Dutchman!~

Well Ive started on yet another silly story. I have a myspace account, and thoroughly enjoy posting little installment stories using my friends as characters. Its slapstick mostly, revolving around a ridiculous plot outline..It seems childish, I know this. I've just always enjoyed making people laugh and the challenge of incorporating everyones individual interests and quirks..then blowing them up into mass proportions. I had a blog called SuperGroup, where everyone had amazingly dumb and sometimes useless powers, all the while chasing foes with similarly dumb and useless powers. It was so much fun to write, but in the end it was a lot of work. Once I ended the story (115 pages later) I had immediate responses from people asking me to continue on, or do something new. One of these interested folks was Crystal Ord, who insisted I take on a Space adventure. It hadnt been done by me before, so I gladly accepted her challenge. I spent a week gathering up my characters and the eventual plot..then decided on which odd quirks and eccentricities I would like to use from each person in this particular story. I'm pleased to say that I am 4 episodes in to this one, and everyone is crazy about it. Im having a lot more fun with this then I originally thought I would (since sci-fi, fantasy are not something I do..) Its been really relaxing for me and I'm grateful for the opportunity Ive had to write it, and for the fans that support it. For any of you who wish to read my work, you can find it at: http://www.myspace.com/jerishank

~Its Official~

I have officially quit being a Passion Party consultant. I decided that it just wasnt condusive to the lifestyle I was trying to achieve, now that I have my temple recommend back. I stopped doing parties over 4 months ago, but was still taking orders from friends (and myself.) Now that all the dues are up, Ive decided to call it quits once and for all. I appreciate the time spent doing these parties. I really do feel that these products are helpful to women who are having troubles in their marraige achieving bliss, and want to put that extra spark into their romance department. I love the products and hate to see my 40% discount go...*sigh*..but I just cant forsee myself feeling good about my recommend while helping other women not fitting that catagory, to get their groove on. My kids will probably freak when they read this journal entry many moons from now..I love to shock people. Yes honeys, your momma was a freak. :0P

Along with sunshine, comes happy news!

I had an appointment with Erins teacher today to go over her yearly IEP (she being in special ed preschool for adaptive and speech,) and found out some fabulous news! She will get to start normal kindergarten next year, with 30 minutes set aside each week for adaptive..but her speech therapy is no longer needed. Most children who are tested at 100% are considered normal but Erin tested at 104%! She still has some issues with articulating when she is nervous or emotionally distressed, but otherwise she is so much more improved then 3 years ago when she first entered preschool, with no speaking ability whatsoever. I'm so excited for this news. Its been a long hard road for her. She is also ahead of the game in that she can recognize her fellow students names on paper, can spell her own name as well as family members, and knows the letters of the alphabet and each sound..I was shocked to hear that most kids entering kindergarten still dont know these things, even under "normal" circumstances. I hope she does well! I will still be nervous for her, but my conscience has been eased more upon hearing this news today.

~Time for Dress Up!~

It was such a gorgeous day today that my girls and I decided to dress them up in a few of mommies things, and take pictures of them in the rockery. Its still pretty cold, but the girls were troopers as they hammed their way onto my camera. Despite the shadows and crazy sun movement, I still got some good pics in. I love it when I can create such a pretty picture and a long lasting memory. We had a good day today.

~Time to be Grateful~

Usually about every Thursday or so, I will jot down a few things I'm thankful for. Its been yet another tough week,what with the flu, family issues, etc.. so bare with me as I struggle to think of things.

I'm grateful for:

A great hair color in a box..It changes my mood to change my hair
Bunco with the ladies..
My flu is over! YES!
Compromises
Writing silly stories to entertain people with..
Vacation planning! (Hurry up May!)
Netflix...I love curling up on the couch with a new movie
DSHS..im gunna need their services soon
Cranberry juice..my sore kidneys thank you!

I feel the need....

I am really in the mood to put on my striped socks, grab my best guy, and hit the nearest Retro Roller Rink. I dont know why. Seems childish, I know..But I get in these moods where I feel the need to relive my childhood. Roller skating was my all time favorite thing to do as a kid and I miss that...Of course at my present weight, Im liable to fall on my fanny, but this will not stop me in my quest! I must hear such classics as 'Xanadu' or 'I Will Survive!'....I will hold my head high during the couples skate, as me and my fella hold hands to 'Endless Love'..And I will gladly put my right foot in and shake it all about, during the Hokey Pokey. What a splendid date night this would make, and for so cheap! *sigh* If only I could get my beloved to agree with me....

My touching moment~

Today Jason and I were home with the flu for the second time this month. Its been particularly hard on our family to have us ill..especially with nobody to watch our three little "angels." The children dumped out all of their clothes buckets yesterday, leaving their room a total disaster. Ive been trying to get them to clean up the mess, but to no avail..Today, Eric took pity on me and said he would clean his portion of the room so I would feel better. After school, he came home and true to his word, not only put his clothes back in the bucket, but took the time to fold each article individually before doing so as well. An amazing feat for my son. It filled me with joy, (Those of you who know my son, are aware of my trials with him)...However, before he got to his last shirt, he handed it to me, asked if I would fold it for him because his tummy was starting to hurt..bless his heart. I took pity on him and completed the task while he laid in his bed. Lets cross our fingers that his bug will end before morning. I'm so grateful for moments like this...where I see a glimmer of a boy who is growing up.

~I'm thankful for..~

After the week this has turned out to be, it occurs that I should take some time to write a few things I am thankful for. Its been particularly easy for me to focus solely on how difficult life has been the past few days, so I think its extra important to sit back and reflect today.

I'm grateful for:
Artichoke Jalapeno dip and bread..
Pumpkin spice candles..
Eric only sprained his wrist, not broke it..
His accident happened this week, not next when
we will be without insurance...
Sara and her wittiness..
A clean house...
Play dates...
Bishops Storehouse..
A good fitting bra (thats right, I said it!)..

Wednesdays are my worst day...

There is something about a wednesday that makes me depressed..Maybe its the fact that we are only in the middle of the week, and I look so forward to my weekend. Maybe its because its the only day that I never have anything going on..and nothing worthwhile is on TV after the kids go to bed. At any rate, Wednesdays are always my worst day of the week. Yesterday EVERTHING was different, yet it was still the worst day ever. It started off typical..I cleaned my house, got my kids to school, took a few myspace surveys, etc. Then I get a call from Erics school..he had an "accident" at recess and needed a new change of clothes. So I had to run out there with two girls in tote to retrieve his soiled thingies. Then I go to the grocery store...and braving that one with two unruly girls is enough to make you want to hang yourself by the time youre checking out. As I walk thru the door with bags in my hand, the phone rings...its Erics school again. He hurt his arm at recess, during a Duck Duck Goose game that went horribly awry, and I need to come pick him up. After waiting for Jason to get home to watch the girls, Eric and I braved going thru rush hour traffic on the freeway, the rude people at the visiters center on base for my car pass, then the brutally long wait in the emergency room...all for a sprained wrist. The way he was behaving, it seemed to me he had broken it. But the xrays came back fine, and he is now bound up and staying home from school today (cuz getting a coat on him or any other shirt is impossible at this point..he cant lift or move his arm.) THEN, I talked to my exhusband on the phone, to hear the bad news that he is being kicked out of the military as of next week..the kids will be without medical, and we dont know where child support will stand (which is soemthing we rely on heavily in order for me to remain a stay at home mom.) Could this day get any worse? SLIGHTLY! I went over to my friend Sara's house to dye the grays outta my hair after our emergency room visit (around 9pm)..The color I chose was a medium brown with slight red highlites...I officially look like strawberry short cake. Its a cool color..but I think I will end up dying it back to brown in a few weeks. *Sigh*...I'm exhausted. Lets pray today is better.

~To the spoiled under 30 year olds~

If you are 30 or older, you will think this is hilarious! If not, send it to your parents! They'll think it's funny!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growg up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways .. yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in heck I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that...

I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a dang Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

1. When I was a kid, we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the dang library and look it up ourselves... in the card catalog!! (Do you even know what a card catalog is? Didn't think so!)

2. There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter... with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

3. There were no MP3's or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the dang record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up!

4. We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

5. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

6. We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "asteroids" and the graphics were horrible! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

7. When you went to the movie theater theres no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

8. Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

And there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!

9. And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a fire ... imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid JiffyPop thing or a pan with HOT oil and Real popcorn kernels and shake it all over the stove forever like an idiot.

10. When we were on the phone with our friends and our parents walked-in, we were stuck to the wall with a cord, a 7 foot cord that ran to the phone - not the phone base, the actual phone. We barely had enough length to sit on the floor and still be able to twirl the phone cord in our fingers. If you suddenly had to go to the bathroom - guess what we had to do..... hang up and talk to them later. And forget about cell phones and text messaging!

11.) We actually had to cruise strips or hang out for hours at a mall to watch anything "reality."

12.) What the heck is with all this "Time-Out" nonsense? When we talked back or were disrespectful, we got a nice pop in the mouth or spank on the rear! And punishment at school came with a nice paddle in the principals office. Can you imagine??

13.) You kids get these fancy haircuts and highlites monthly to keep up with the socially elite..We had to make due with a bowl cut and the dreaded banana clip.

14.) As kids we thought the greatest drink known to man was KOOL-AID..while you kids sip back your half-caff vanilla Lates.

15.) You kids run around half nekkid nowadays with your bare midriffs and super low-rise pants..Looking good in our day involved using plyers to zip up our jeans and heavy shoulder padding!

You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled!!

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in my day..

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

~The sun came out on Sunday!~

I live in Washington state, and as many of you know..it rains. Horrible horrible amounts of rain about 75% of the time year round. Winters are the worst for this, but last sunday the sun came out! It was beautiful and for the first time in months, I was able to wear a pair of high heels to church. I adore high heels..They make me feel pretty, tall, and even a little bit sexy. They kill my feet, but I dont care..They make my ankles look small and my calves look hot. There is something about a dress accessorized with a gorgeous pair of heels that always makes me smile. Of course we are back to the gross and stormy January weather once again this week...but at least I got to wear something pretty on sunday, instead of knee socks and mary-janes, like I normally would this time of year. I'm so ready for Spring!!

The Talent Show

Last sunday during Relief Society, it was announced that the ward would be putting on a grand talent show this April. Although it is still three months away, I couldnt help but be excited! I hadnt been to a church talent show since my sisters, my friend, and I were back-up dancers for my ex-boyfriend lipsynching to Barry Manillo's "Miracles" in highschool eons ago...Talk about a hoot! We had everybody in hysterics. I dont have any true performance talents (unless you want me to mock something, then im your girl!) But I still feel this urge to participate in some way. Once I shared this news with my husband, he instantly perked up. "Talent show, you say?"..Then he scratched his chin and thought out loud, "I suppose I could do something accoustical.." For those of you who dont know, my Jason is a wonderful drummer, who also dabbles in guitar and bass. What joy my heart felt at his wanting to participate also! I have only a couple months to figure out what I am to do..I could pretend I'm karaoking (one of my favorite past times,) or concoct a small skit? Another cheesy dance number while recruiting some friends to participate also? The possibilities are endless...I'll keep you posted!

~Gratitude Journal~

Elizabeth has come up with a wonderful idea of giving thanks in her blogs, in an attempt to keep herself feeling grateful and stress free. I have decided to steal her idea, because, who couldn't use some of those feelings? I certainly could benefit from a day of reflecting on the things I should be thankful for...Lets see if it does indeed make a world of difference in attitude. I plan to do this once a week as a recap. :0P "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has done"....



Today I am thankful for: Fudgecicles,
The warmth of a good hoodie,
Temple Recommends,
Color markers and large paper,
Making my husband laugh out loud,
A very nice tax return this year,
Heart felt thank you's from my
children,
Studying the Book of Mormon in
Gospel Docterine this year,
Aromatherapy,
Cherry Almond body wash

~The evil that is..Laundry~

Ever since I was pregnant with my now 2 year old daughter, I have been waaaay behind in the area of laundry. I despise this chore with every fiber of my being. Having to fold it, is of the devil. Great amounts of morning sickness for 9 straight months will do that to a person, I suppose, but post-partum depression will keep it at bay even further...Just a few short weeks ago I managed to do every mound of laundry stacked taller then my childern, and finally, my floor is clear!! It took me doing 5 loads a day for an entire straight week to get caught up..I didnt even know we owned that much clothing. The clothing on the bottom of the pile that once belonged to my Erin, now belongs to my Skylar...and Erics clothes have since been thrown out, since they have outgrown them. I have had to do multiple trips to goodwill because our closet cannot support so many items. I'm proud to report that my floor is still clear een weeks later, and hopefully I can keep up on the evil that is laundry!

~Uninvited House Guest~

7am this morning I groggily made my way to the bathroom, and sat down on the toilet leaving the door open but the light off, when suddenly, (mid stream)I saw a mouse dart out from behind the toilet and run down the hall! What the heck?!! Ive always had rodents as pets growing up, but when I see one dart across my feet at 100 miles an hour, it makes me want to sh#@ myself! (Good thing I was in the right location for that.) So today I had the pleasure of mouse trap hunting at Walmart...wahoo. I have never seen any poop across my counter tops, seen food boxes eating through, and I sweep everyday, so hopefully this is just a single mouse coming in from the cold. Too bad for him cuz i've officially put on my exterminator hat. Im taking back my house..

A Strange Topic, indeed....

In the past 2 years I have had three cousins die in early age..Two of which occured this year only a few months apart from each other. My dear cousin Chris who battled colon cancer for many years gave in at the tender age of 50. My cousin Raquel, whom died unexpectedly one night while having one of her normal asthma attacks, on her front lawn..leaving behind 4 children...And most recently my sweetest cousin, Belinda..Who, after 17 years of battling breast cancer, died in her 40's right before christmas, leaving behind two young sons. Its a strange topic, but it is one for reflection of how fragile life is..and how prepared we should be to meet our maker. Jason and I have thought a lot lately about how prepared we are, personally.. What sort of funerals we would like to have in our honor, as well as what is to happen to the family. Its a topic nobody likes to discuss, yet I feel its one of the most important. Our families need assurance, details about our wishes, and valuable information. Today I sat down and decided to write out everything I could think of for my family. What medical issues run in the family, how I feel about being resusitated, organ donating, what bills I have, liquidating my important assets..etc..but most importantly, preparing journals of our lives for people to reflect on. Amazingly enough, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment after doing so..and I feel a bit comforted as well. I got to thinking, should I pass away before old age hits me..how ready am I? Thanks to these thoughts, I have had a complete change of heart about my personal life. Ive made check lists for things I wish to accomplish and unfinished business that needs settling. Ive made goals for myself and even changed my attitude with my family. I want my children to remember me as a loving mother who did all she could..not a selfish and stressed lady with a mean tongue. I feel deeply grateful for this strange opportunity to plan my funeral. I feel its something everyone should do..no matter how morbid. Its important. Right down to the color flowers and list of speakers..Even the mormom potato casseroles you want served afterward. I, for the first time in my life, feel as if I have prepared..and I'm no longer scared. I hope I dont get to leave this earth for a loooong looooong time. There is still a few things I wish to do with my life. I want to give more service. Ive always wanted to volunteer at places, do more temple work, but cant in this season of my life thanks to a brood of small children. I want to make sure my kids get raised up the best way they can..and to be spiritual, sensitive, loving, successful, and charitable human beings. I also have a great deal more genealogy to do. But still...after all this..I feel comforted. I would exhort you all to make out your lists of preperation. It will change you..and you will be better for it.

~My New Years!~

I had the rarity of spending New Years Eve by myself this year. Only 4 days ago, the bassist of Jasons band announced that he had a gig for them on that very night, and since we had no other major plans he agreed to go. I was a little sore over it, because there was such short notice, and it would be impossible for me to find a sitter on the most partying night of the year, (Jasons folks being sick that weekend..I didnt want to burden them.) Especially since another one of his gigs on short notice, kept him from attending an important out-of-town family weekend. I was left feeling bitter and not at all supportive. Before Jason left for his party, he made a stop at the store and bought me a gigantic box of Jr. Mints, buttered popcorn, and a 2 liter of pepsi. I thought his gesture sweet. But who was I going to ring in the new year with? Who was I going to kiss at the stroke of midnight? After I put the kids to bed, I snuggled in a warm blanket on the couch, opened my box of candy..and found a Fred and Ginger marathon on TCM. What was suppose to have been a lonesome night, turned into an entertaining evening of dancing and witty banter. It was actually quite pleasant and the quiet of the house was relaxing. It was one of the most enjoyable New Years i've had in a long time. I just feel badly that Jasons gig sucked that night, and he was sorry he left. Happy 2008 everyone!