happy birthday to my mom

today is my dear mother's birthday. she is a fabulous lady. i won't tell you how old she is, but here are 50 great things about her and only part of the reason i love her

my mom:
1. is patient, very patient
2. willingly cleaned out my sink drain
3. willingly cleaned out my shower drain
4. is a great listener even after the 5th time of the same story
5. is the best shopping partner around
6. is selfless
7. attends the temple weekly
8. cooks dinner almost every night even after a long day at work
9. will deliver said dinner to us at work
10. makes awesome cakes for all occasions
11. still does my laundry
12. puts up with me
13. willingly helps me move (13 times in 5 years)
14. walks every day with the neighbor ladies rain, snow, blizzard, or shine
15. is always finding ways to serve others
16. knows how to remove almost every type of stain
17. doesn't get upset when I tell her I don't like something
18. has helped with countless hours of homework (still going)
19. tells me when I'm being ridiculous and is always right
20. loves to shovel the walks after a snow storm
21. clears our cars after a snow storm
22. not only cooks dinner, but cooks very good dinners
23. always tells us the best remedy is going to bed
24. willingly helps us with whatever projects we take on
25. is loved by all the neighbor kids
26. better yet, is loved and appreciated by the entire neighborhood
27. has put up with countless hours of noisy/messy friends and asks when they're coming over again
28. is an awesome skier
29. has listened to countless hours of piano practice and dried many tears when the song wasn't perfect the first time
30. is a great comforter and has dried many tears for many reasons
31. is a great example of making good choices
32. has a lot of love for everyone around her
33. is always nice, even if she doesn't want to be
34. can always be counted on for a walk and game of cards on a Sunday afternoon
35. has never had a bad thing said about her
36. is a very hard worker
37. has taught me to be a hard worker
38. is taking care of her ailing child (me) on her birthday (however, I'm not excited about the saline nose rinse)
39. has watched countless hours of volleyball
40. taught us everything we know about baking
41. thinks I'm funny, and that's all that matters
42. has always trusted us to make good decisions
43. somehow raised us to not fight with each other
44. lets us live at home, in fact, she welcomes it
45. raised me to be a very good shopper
46. has been there through many break-ups and heart breaks
47. taught us how to choose good friends
48. doesn't realize how awesome she really is
49. is a woman admired by many
50. is the best mom around

love you mom, happy birthday!

a not so right valentine

I often have random people tell me things about my office complex that aren't fact and they expect me to believe it or make it be true - here is today's example

a flustered lady came looking for a business that is not in our complex.
lady: "I'm looking for this business and have been driving all around and can't find it"
me: "they actually aren't in our complex, they are in provo"
lady: "yes they are here. I've been here before"
me: "the only business I know of with that name is in provo. do you have an address or contact?"
lady: sigh, "no, do you manage this whole complex?"
me: "yes"
lady: "and you don't know what businesses are here? I know they are here"
me: "that business is in provo"
lady: "well I went the same way I went last time which led me here. . .do you know how to get there?"

so I gave her directions, but she was frustrated and didn't listen and left before I finished. she probably got lost and told another office girl she was wrong about her complex

in other news - happy valentine's day!

remember that one time I camped. . .

. . .these are some pics from that one time I camped

the whole group at calf creek falls

you do what you have to when you only have a 2 man tent

making our way through spooky or peek-a-boo

improvising for breakfast since we didn't have bowls

a closeup in spooky and peek-a-boo

again, the whole group at calf creek

how to have someone else pay for your dinner

I was just reminded of this great feat of mine that I thought was worth mentioning

at a friend's farewell dinner we sat at a long table, two sided obviously, with a waitress for each side to better take care of our party of 25. as any large dinner party would go, I imagine the servers would get tired of the party by the end of the night and do anything to rush them out. in a hurried manner the waitress for my side came out to prepare our checks. she was quick while moving down the line asking, "together or separate?" my turn came. "together or separate?" pointing across the table at an unsuspecting matt wilson, "mine's on his" no hesitation. it was totally smooth. before he could even begin to protest, she was three people down and my meal was paid for.

i'm usually not that quick on my feet. I was quite proud of that moment.

marriage hints from steve

while annie and I receive several marriage tips and lessons from steve, we also receive the "you should get married" hints - mainly because he wants what's best for us, but sometimes because he's just plain sick of us (mostly me). yesterday's went like this: "I would be a great grandpa, the best ever! that kid and I would go out and play for hours; you'd have to call me to bring him back." so sis, apparently we're not cutting it anymore - he wants grand-kids, time to get married.

one phone call, that's all. . .

I had been expecting a call - I had been set up. this call came in the form of text that eventually turned out to be me placing the call.

since I frequent the gym, I called from the gym between personal trainer and yoga class. prefaced the call with, "my plans have changed and I'm going to stay for yoga, but wanted to give you a call because I said I would." then start the phone date/interview - not really expected, but I went with it. (I'm thinking he'd call, ask me out, and we'd go through the get-to-know-you questions.) we chatted for a while, and then I kindly said, "I'm going to have to let you go, my yoga class is starting." "oh, well, oh, oh, this wasn't expected." apparently, that wasn't expected and he had a hard time believing that I was cutting him off (didn't I tell him I was going to yoga?). I apologized for my plans changing (at least two more times), but yoga was where I was going and he was welcome to call me again. then I get a line of, "well can I call you again, are you interested, be honest with me?" (thinking, didn't I just say to call me another time?) I told him it would be fine if he called me again, but I needed to get going.

we hang up, I go to yoga, get in touch with my inner-self, and then read two new text messages from the set up, "thanks for the brush off-anyone normal could have at least acted interested. have some decency to be a human-being--its not cool to be so cold."

jaw drop, quiet gasp, shocked laughter.
seriously? do I really deserve that? I saw nothing wrong with my mode of conduct (also verified by two witnesses) but apparently it wasn't normal or human.

well sir, don't be expecting a text back from me, I don't need that.

marriage lessons with steve

often, annie and I receive marriage lessons from our dear dad. today's went like this:

annie - I'll just have my husband be in charge of that
dad - what fantasy life do you live in? don't you know that your mom married the last perfect husband out there? they're all idiots.
annie - oh

so no more dreaming for us, apparently all the good ones are gone

merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!