Random Bits of Life....

So I didn't really blog much last week. I was just so busy and too tired to make my brain think that deeply. So be prepared- I've made up for it in the past 12 hours.

Things I heard the weekend:

Yesterday Josh asked me why I put "poison" berries on my ice cream. "Will they make you sick?" "Nope," I said as I ate a big spoonful with a grin. I hated spoiling the mystery and telling him they were really just Boysenberry. But I did tell him... after I ate the whole bowl!

Josh told asked me on the way to church why when something gets in the back of your throat it almost makes you throw up. I explained to him that it's called a gag reflex. He still amazed said, "The thing doesn't even have to touch anything when it's back there. It's like the body can sense it. It's like a force field."

Matt and his friend Alec were on the porch playing while I did a bit of sweeping. Alec said, "Oh man, my barn door is open." Matt said, "Do you mean your fly is open?" "Yeah," said Alec "but sometimes I just call it my gate." After having 5 brothers I thought I had heard them all!

This morning's top stories:

Tornado season the deadliest in a decade. 98 killed since January. Just this weekend 23 people lost their lives in storms. We always worry about severe storms here in Kentucky and a few people have been killed in the state this year from weather, but we have been spared the deadly storm cells that cause massive flooding and tornadoes. We had torrential rain all day on Friday and Sunday from weaker parts of the systems that passed through our area and my heart goes out to those who have lost so much over these past few days and months.

Today a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit China killing thousands. I remember the massive quake that hit San Fransisco that shook the cameras at Candlestick and broke the bay bridge on Oct. 18, 1989. That one was only 6.7 on the Richter scale. After the cyclone that killed over 100,000 in Myanmar it makes me rethink all the prophecies in the Book of Mormon about the last days. Such tragic events for these very poor people.

Nationally the average price of gasoline is $3.72. In California folks are paying $4.02 a gallon. No wonder everyone is feeling the pinch in their wallets. I just about died when our gas prices went just over $3.00 when hurricane Katrina struck. It's crazy how steep the prices have climbed since then. Our prices here went up to $3.75 last week, but the highest I've paid thus far is $3.69. I'm sure they'll just keep going up throughout the summer.

I got a good laugh when President Bush called his daughter Jenna's wedding a "Secret Service." I think it was refreshing that she chose to be married in Texas and not at the White House.

Ban on David Archuleta's dad stirs a lively 'Idol' debate. Interesting, especially since David went back to Utah his past weekend. That footage will air on Tuesday.

Other Random Bits:

So I've been in a bit of a rut lately when it comes to cooking dinner. Most the time I have no idea what to make. Last week I was home with my girls and I couldn't come up with one original meal even though I had countless cookbooks and the Internet at my disposal. And then when I do actually cook, I have had some mega oops lately. Like on Saturday when I went to make burritos I dumped in 1/2 a can of jalapeño instead of green chilies in my bean dip. Our eyes were watering from the intense heat we found in each bite. And this morning after I browned my roast and had already added water I accidental dumped the ENTIRE brand new 4 oz jar of coarse black pepper into my pan. Not good. I washed off the meat and hoped for the best, but when I tasted the liquid a few minutes ago, I nearly coughed from the powerful pepper flavor and my mouth burned for a good ten minutes. See, I have issues. Maybe that is why I love fast food or why we ate at Little Caesars twice last week and I have 2 Sam's Club rotisserie chickens and a pizza in my fridge as I type. Sometimes it's best to leave making food to the experts, or the folks who work at drive thru windows....

I got 2 emails from different online retail stores happily declaring Free shipping if you ONLY spend $150.00. That's all you have to spend? Just kidding. They were promptly deleted. Who said I never had any self control was wrong!

I laugh every time Matt asks me for 'Germx'. I guess he's learning to read because most people would just stay hand sanitizer.

So I am almost a hermit crab killer last week. Thankfully that is ALMOST. I let our 3 pets loose on the counter for a bit of climbing time and before I knew it the black fella was missing. I had turned the kitchen sink on full blast cold so I could fill up my watering can. As I scanned the counter, behind the TV and even on the carpet he was still lost. I then realized the water was going over my can and when I moved it, there he was upside down with the icy water blasting him. He wasn't moving and felt very, very heavy. I started praying instantly, but I was sure he was a goner. It felt HORRIBLE. How could I have let this happen? Thankfully after 5 minutes he thawed out and has been fine ever since, but it made me realize how quickly bad things can happen when I'm not paying attention- not only to hermit crabs to to kids too. It was a good wake up call for me.

The girls are just so helpful lately. Well, that is if you DON'T count the family size Cheetos bag I found dumped into my living room wooden box, or the bowl of Fruity Pebbles with milk that was carried by Kaitlyn down the stairs and into the basement, or when they ripped through 3 packs of gum or dumped an entire bottle of Gatorade on my rug.... but I digress, they can be cute when the want to be. Every time I get out of the shower the girls rush to bring me a towel. I think that is so sweet. And when I'm out digging dandelions they each carry around a Wal-mart sack filling them up with my discarded weeds as happy as if they were putting Easter candy in their bag. They really are good girls, just CRAZY busy!

I wish we could sit by a big dogs at every baseball game. The girls stay just by my side for fear the animal might touch them- eek! It's every mother's wish to have kids that don't run away!

So a few weeks ago I went out in search of some new sunglasses. What is the deal right now with the ginormous frames? Sure I've seen them on Paris and Katie and Nicole and such in mags, but you stick a pair on my face and I simply look like a bug. No joke. Not quite loving this trend. I actually bought a cheap pair at Target, but when I saw Rich's puzzled expression when I asked if he liked them, I took them back that day. No point in trying to make yourself look ridiculous on purpose.

Have a great, happy, sunny day!