Friday, December 19, 2008

Washing my hands of it...

Hi, sorry, me again. So do you think it is kind of weird to give someone soap / air fresheners as a gift? I totally don't. For my birthday my friend gave me two Bath and Body works hand soaps, and I LOVE those and thought it was such a fun gift. So much so that when it came time for me to go and get a gift for a party I marched straight to Bath and Body works to get two soaps (and a pair of really soft socks). The gift got "stolen" in the gift game a couple of times, so I felt pretty good about it. And I happened upon such a great deal at Bath and Body Works, that I bought $30 worth of soaps (for only $20 because I had a coupon, seriously, if you don't log on to your computer and search for coupons every time you go out shopping you are missing out). And so I have been giving them as gifts. Today as Blaine was headed out to work I sent him with a gift bag and two soaps for his boss (who is female)....and for the first time I thought "I hope it isn't weird to give soap as a gift". As in I hope it doesn't imply that you think the persons personal hygiene is found lacking or something. Same with the air fresheners. Ever since Chelon transformed my car from smelling like a skunk who had rolled in rotting milk, nay rotting buttermilk, into a little Christmasy smelling wonderland I have grown to think of Scentsy car air fresheners as the best thing in the world, and consequently bought several for gifts. Now I am afraid to give them away for fear that I am sending the message "dude, your car stinks".

Would you be happy to receive nice soap or a nice car air freshener or would you be offended?

I for one am not offended.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Follow Up

I've been accused of never following up to my posts....so uh....here we go.

* I won't be able to find out my induction date until the week before it happens, but if I had to choose I would choose the earliest available option, which I am thinking will be the 29 or 30th.

* Here is Gwen's new "do"

Not bad eh? Just don't ask to see the back side because, well, it's not even. At all.

*I can't remember what else. I will be writing a letter to the librarian and until then Gretchen, let's go together .... or perhaps we could just stage a coup.

* I've been anxiously waiting to do a great post about my birthday, because it was a doosy! It involved 90lb milkshakes, a possum, and snowflakes! So hold on for that one (on and a pretty good one about what happens when Blaine helps with the laundry is in the works too).
Unfortunately though my days must be spent packing and wrapping and cleaning in anticipation of our upcoming trip. So the plan is to still go, but we are keeping our eyes on the weather and other stuff, so we'll see. So please don't give up on the blog, I am afraid I will be on a temporary hiatus. It may just last the duration of the drive, but it also may just last the duration of the trip. And If perchance I die en route to Utah - or even just give birth- (or actually my worst case scenario right now is that I go into labor while snowed in in our car in the mountains, we call 911 and they send a Life Flight helicopter and make me ride on a HELICOPTER! Agh!) , someone please tell Blaine "I told you so".

Till then! Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A rant

Today I was handcuffed and escorted, kicking and screaming, out of our local library. Alright, not quite, but I very nearly could have been if I would have reacted the way I wanted to.

This post is a rant, so you really might not care about it unless you happen to visit the same library that I do.

We are going on a 24 hour car ride. I thought it might be nice to have some books. I thought we would visit our friendly local library.

Here's the thing, all of the adult books are on the second floor. The downstairs is all kids stuff and movies and books on tape. Fine, totally fine. Since my kids are crazy and I respect the people who study at the library I have always requested my books online a week before I go and then by the time I get there they have my reserved books waiting on the bottom floor for me. Excellent.

Then I heard through the grapevine that now you can only request a book if the said book is on hold. Which means unless I am reading a popular new release book, I have to go upstairs and get it myself.

So I was all prepared, I had my list of books I wanted with their shelving number on a piece of paper. I did all of my other stuff and was prepared to sprint through the second floor to get all I need. My speed was hampered temporarily when while I was reaching for a book Bentley somehow got his hands on the "same sex marriage" section of books and pulled them all to the floor. Fine, whatever, I cleaned them up. Then over to the other side of the room he started to cry. He cried for approximately four seconds (all the while I was desperately trying to calm him down) before a library employee asked me to leave because I was upsetting the other patrons. Are you kidding me? Literally four seconds.

And that's fine. I totally respect that it needs to be quiet there. I know that, that's why I was hurrying and trying to gag the crying child.

So here's the thing, if you are going to kick out people if their kids make a peep you need to provide an alternative. It's my tax dollars, and my fine money, that funds the library, I should be able to check out a book. Am I right?

So, local library, you should
* pull requested books and put them on the first floor for those of us hillbillies who visit the library once in a while
*provide a librarian who can run up and get our books that we want
* provide child care so we can go get our books
* or heaven forbid you should take that extra 1000sq feet where there is absolutely nothing and make some actual study rooms, you know, with doors and stuff.

Don't harp on me, I've been a student studying in a library, the thing about me is---- I try to not go up there, but when you give me no other way of getting books I HAVE TO.

Little stressed out here.

That's what I like about Texas!

(Okay, the title of the post is what Dairy Queen's little jingle is on it's commercials here in Texas...is it just me or does every state have Dairy Queen? I didn't have to come to Texas to get it...)

I love our street. I don't necessarily think we have the most amazing house in the world, it is great for what we need, we probably could have gotten a better deal or more square footage or something but we could not have gotten better neighbors (with the exception of whoever called the police on my dogs...grrr..). They hang out outside every afternoon and evening and let the kids run and play, just like the Mayberry Days. So my one neighber, the planner of the bunch, organized a progressive dinner for our Christmas party. At each house we would have a course (cocktails, appetizers, soup/salad, main course, dessert, hot drinks). The invitation mentioned, about a million times, that the Bassett's do not drink (so please provide them with something they can drink). I am totally not embarrased that I don't drink but I did feel self conscious that in every e-mail that went out it mentioned it somewhere : ). And at each house there was supposed to be a gift so we could play a little game.


At the first house where we had cocktails they were nice and had Diet Coke/Coke and something else I didn't quite hear when she told me my choices (later I found out it was this apple/cranberry martinellis type thing, yum, thank you thoughtful neighbors!). Anyway it was great and we played the game and luckily I was the one who got to open the last layer of the gift which meant I got to keep it. And are you wondering what my gift was?






A flask and funnel set! I'll be the first to admit, that I didn't really know what that was, but from the laughter and jokes that immediately followed I figured it out pretty quick! Isn't that awesome? A flask and funnel set! It's the perfect gift for the person that has everything. Our best idea was to fill it with juice and give the kids sips of it during sacrament meeting. They all got a kick out of that : ) Luckily though the next gift was actually some sort of alcohol....I can't keep them straight....Rum maybe? The guy who got it was real happy...if only he had a flask to keep it in!


The next gift to open was beer bread mix (in a beer can!). It was just so funny because everyone was waiting for there to be a gift for me to trade with them. Luckily at the next house my nice neighbor Bryan won some candles and traded it for my flask.


I was a little sad though, because, well....I've never had a flask and though I would never use it (the way it was intended at least), it would have made a great gift for the next ward Christmas party, or for Ralphie.


Anyway I love our neighbors and I love that they don't care that we don't drink and still invite us to their parties. They even had Blaine say the blessing on the food; I was afraid for a minute that he would try and say some non-denominational type prayer and wind up repeating that scene from Meet the Parents , but he did a great job!


It was a great party and I love that we had a neighborhood party! We never got to do that in Utah!


P.S. Did I ever tell you how big Blaine's eyes got when my mom gave us a six pack of beer for Christmas? (It was because the beer brand was my maiden name, she has hers proudly displayed in her curio cabinet, next to all of her manger scenes).


Merry Christmas!

Loony

Am I crazy? Seriously be honest. I can take it.

A couple of months ago Blaine and I had this great idea to go to Utah for Christmas. We wouldn't be needing our vacation days for a while since we would have a little one coming soon, and Blaine had sick time he could use for that. We missed our families last Christmas and with our ever expanding and aging family this might be the last year we actually could make it home.

So it seemed smart. Somewhere along the line though I didn't do the math that I would be leaving when I was 33 weeks pregnant and returning when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I didn't think about how we were leaving 75 dg weather to go to 20 dg weather. Driving across the country with two little ones and a bladder the size of a nickel? Oh baby. I didn't consider that it would snow the entire week before we got there and likely on our drive and that we would have to go through one of the windiest, sheer cliffs on either side of you, canyons in Utah....in our van which we are not used to driving on mountainous and snowy terrain. I didn't count on both kids getting sick a few days before we are supposed to leave. And I must have forgotten the stress that comes with trying to visit two families and make it to all the events and fun things going on without running our kids (and pregnant selves) ragged.

So I've had a weird feeling about going back home lately, and I don't know if it is just my paranoid self being nervous for a long trip....or if it is something I should really pause and consider. Is someone trying to tell me I shouldn't go? Sure it would be disappointing to ourselves and everyone back home if we backed out now, and since I am so dang smart and shipped all of our gifts to Utah we wouldn't have anything to open on Christmas morning; But mama always said, "tis' better to back out than to bare a child on the side of a snowy road on a mountain pass".

Oh and one little bonus; there is talk around Blaine's work that they might be forced to take mandatory vacation in February. Well, Blaine is using all of his vacation right now, so if he is forced to take some in February we will either go negative on vacation days (agh! We've got a cruise coming up in a year folks...a cruise. Remember how I was supposed to be going on one like next month but I got pregnant instead? We're scheduled, and booked, to make up for that Jan 2010)...or we will just not get a paycheck. And I don't know about you all, but buying diapers for two kids is hard to do with no paycheck....not to mention paying the mortgage. Anyway..... (P.S. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, trust me I would rather have to take a mandatory vacation than get laid off!)

What would you do? Am I just being paranoid? Don't worry, part of me, a huge part is so excited. My kids are so dang cute and I want to show them off (Bentley just learned how to fold his arms on command....cuteness!), I want them to be surrounded by the energy and love that comes from a Christmas around lots of family. I want them to build snowmen and eat my sisters candy cane cookies. So what is this nagging feeling about?


P.S. I kind of feel like my blog has gotten too serious lately. Is that driving anyone else crazy?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I looooooiike you

I love you. Those three little words are so often said and hold so much meaning and emotion. I can't say them. Well I say them to Blaine and the kids, but that's where it stops. It's not that I don't want to say but it is so darn awkward for me.

I know my parents love me (how could they not?), and I surely hope they know I love them, but we never said it much. Blaine was the first person (probably ever) that I actually said "I love you" to. When I dated other people whilst Blaine was on his "religious excursion" they would say "Kristi, I love you" and I would be like "uh.....that is so nice, you're....really great" (in my head I would think, "I love Blaine!"). Blaine's family is very easy going with the "I love you"s. And I do love them, I just can't bring myself to say it; especially in person, but not even on the phone!

And my Texas friends....woweeee... everytime we part ways from getting our mail my cute neighbor says, "love ya girl!" and I say, with a nervous chuckle "oh, yeah, you're awesome!" and usually do something cheesy like that little wink -while -pretending -your -finger -is -a -little- gun -thing. Or something.

So the emotion is there, but the words, they get stuck in my throat. So just know, I probably love ya (I can't even type love "you" way too serious), but I probably can't bring myself to say it.

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Choices

Assuming everything is "progressing" by the third week in January, then I will be able to be induced early. Which means, to some degree, that I will be able to determine the birthday of this little girl. So, I pose to you a question.....

Would you rather be born on ...

January 29 - and consequently share your birthday with Tom Selleck and Oprah?

January 30 - and share your birthday with Teddy Rosevelt and Christian Bale? Oh and be born on a really convenient day - Friday, so that your dad can maximize his "days off" and so friendly wonderful people in the ward may want to help out with your siblings so you parents can labor in peace.

February 2- and share your birthday with Farah Fawcett (who doesn't want that?!) and be born on a Monday...meh.

The thing is, I would ideally like to go for January 30th, but (and this is totally shallow), doesn't February 2nd sound much more beautiful and refined than January 30th? January, what an awful name for a month. Plus, then you wouldn't get your "special" birthday until you are thirty, and by then it probably doesn't seem that cool. But then again, it's like you'll even notice it when you're two.

Anyway, just curious what you would chose.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Twenty Seven

You know how when everyone hits their 100th blog post they write a hundred things about themselves? By the time I knew that was proper blogger etiquette it was way too late, so I was thinking that instead of celebrating my 350th blogpost by writing 350 about me I thought I would spare you by just writing 27 random things about me for my 27th birthday.


* Blaine was my first hand hold and first kiss....and every one of our significant dates doubles up with another (The first time he told me he liked me was 9/11/1998,the first time we held hands was on Halloween, our first kiss was on my birthday (wow, tomorrow is the ten year anniversary of our first kiss--- that's a lot of kissing!), we were married on valentines day, Gwen was born on the two year anniversary of the day he came home from his mission, et[.]
* I am deathly afraid of flying
* I can say the fifty states in alphabetical order in 19 seconds
*I have a knack for memorizing songs. Seriously, I remember all of the choir songs I ever learned and pretty much any song I have ever sang.
* I have a knack for not remembering anything that is not set to music
* I lose my keys CONSTANTLY
* I am a certified scuba diver
* I learned to play the violin (albeit not very well) while Blaine was on his mission
* I once caught a 32lb salmon (not kidding. My dad didn't enter me in the fishing derby, but if he had I would have one. He did, conincidentally, enter himself in the derby and didn't catch a single fish....that's the kind of luck my dad has ; ) ).
* The only bone I have ever broken was in my hand, and I broke it in a store trying on rollerblades (why was I trying on rollerblades? Because the day before I had the bright idea to hold on to the back of my friends car while on my rollerblades, and crashed into the pavement really hard ...did that break my hand? Nope. But standing up while trying on new rollerblades...of course!). There is some debate about whether or not my nose was broken as a kid. Don't know if you've noticed but I have the most atrocious profile because I have a huge bump in my nose and I distinctly remember getting smacked in the face with a basketball.

* I like to drive, Blaine doesn't. So I usually do and it freaks people out, and it really bugs me that it freaks people out.

*If I could live anywhere it would be in the pacific northwest
* The age span amoungst my siblings is huge! My oldest brother was 17 I think when I was born, and I became an aunt when I was 5.

* I once shaved off my eyebrow and cut my own eyelashes and told my mom the boy across the street did it (so sorry about that Jimmy).

* LOVE ice cream.

*I had braces for five years. I was supposed to only have them for one, but I am a very disobedient person, particularly when it comes to wearing elastic bands in my mouth and headgear.

* I have a thing for Hugh Grant. Not really "Hugh Grant" but nearly every person he plays in a movie.

* When I am pregnant I snore and I snort, a lot. Attractive isn't it?
* I love rollercoasters
* I hate, HATE the feel of those egg carton mattresses. I would rather carry shards of glass than carry one of those bad boys.
* I hold pencils and pens really weirdly. I can't explain it, but it creeps people out and it is really making it hard for me to teach Gwen how to hold writing utensils since I can't do it myself.

* One time my friend Julianne told me that if you take more than two steps to your bed after you turn out your light then gremlins will get you. I still never take more than two steps to my bed after the light is out : ). Same thing with shoes on the table, my mom once said that shoes on the table are bad luck and it really bugs me now to see shoes on a table, or counter, or anywhere elevated.

*For some reason I have a thing about people ringing doorbells. Just don't do it if people have children under the age of five.

*I've never seen ET, or like a million of the other movies that everyone else on the planet has seen.

* Blaine makes the money, I pay the bills.

*I'm no good at laundry. I buy perfectly wonderful looking clothes at garage sales that people have used for years. My kids wear them one day and they get stained and never look as good again.

* I love my family more than anything. Seriously, sometimes it almost hurts how much I love them : )


Kind of random, kind of lame, but hey. Happy birthday to me : ).

Monday, December 8, 2008

A wish.

You know what I would change about maternity clothes if I could? I mean, besides the fact that they are ridiculously expensive. Well, let's just say that while having shirts that tie in the back with long flowy little ties is really cute and emphasizes the smallest portion of your body, it doesn't jive well with having a bladder the size of a quarter. Just think about it, when you are using the ladies room upwards of twenty five times a day it's bound to happen that sooner or later, unbeknownst to you, your shirt is going to become untied and in your rush to "go" you may not notice....and then, well, whatchya gonna do?

I'm just sayin'......

Good thing it happened in the comfort of my own home.

Feed it forward

Good news people.

Free restaurant.com gift certificates

Spread the LOVE

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Six feet?


I have to say, it is a little disconcerting when your parents call you to tell you that they spent their day at the mortuary picking out their coffins (are they coffins or caskets?). I mean, really? I wonder how that decision got made. "No good movies in the theater? No worries, mmmm, I guess we could just go plan our funerals. And hey then we could stop and get some ice cream". Really, they did, even the musical numbers. Since no one else in my family plays the piano we're assuming they want Blaine to. He could start practicing. That's how prepared they are to kick the bucket. Isn't that creepy?
It's really thoughtful though, if you think about it. We won't have to worry about how to pay for a funeral or worry about infuriating my mom by picking out an uncomfortable casket. (*oh my gosh do you think they actually laid in the coffins....that is SO weird! * ). But still, it's not fun to realize that the possibility of your parents passing on is so real that they have actual made purchases for the occasion, I haven't even made purchases for Christmas yet.
It also made me realize something. My cheapness has boundaries. Blaine and I were discussing our casket criteria last night and at first I was like, "eh, just throw me in, I'm dead, right?" and then I was like, "right????" and then I was like....ehhhhhckk that sounds so scary to be buried under the ground, I definitely want a coffin; preferably with like a cell phone...just in case. Then I started thinking how it's not even that fun of an idea to be in a casket, or even cremated. I'd rather a nice room be prepared for me in our home. With a bed. Maybe a little snowwhite setup...that whole glass encased bed thing. That sounds much better. Though it might frighten the children.
Anyway, I am sorry to talk so lightly of something so serious. I think that is my way of coping with it. To quote John Mayer "Don't know how else to say it, I don't want to see my parents go". Sure, I've always teased them about being old, even about kicking the bucket. But really? That will be a sad sad day. And so will be the day that Blaine and I go out on a date to pick out our coffins. I wonder if they make double-wides because, I want him there with me. I don't do scary things without Blaine.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Smokin' deals

It's a great day for a bargain folks! Today my new comforter arrived. I think my inner gambler (the one who is addicted to using priceline because I love getting random hotels and the intermittent reward theory that goes along with gambling)loves things like overstock, priceline, etc. because you never know what you are going to get, but usually it's something good. So I ordered a big poofy down comforter from overstock. I went through ebates which earned me 8% cash back on my purchase, making my total about $89 (which, coincidentally is about how much $$ I made from referrals the other day and all of you signing up and making ebates purchases, thanks for my new comforter folks!). Anyway, the comforter came today and I could see who made it and go and find out how much it would have cost me if I went through conventional channels. Turns out is made by Eddie Bauer and retails for $219 (okay, on overstock.com I just noticed that it told me upfront that that is what it retails for, but it was nice to actually be able to verify it!). So I feel pretty good about that purchase!

Then this afternoon I went to go and pick up some car air fresheners from Chelon, who sells Scentsy (sorry Stef, I totally would order from you but my car stinks in a major way that requires immediate attention; Utah friends you should order scentsy from Stef; Texas friends you should order it from Chelon!). Anyway, not only did she hook me up with majorly good smelling car fresheners, but also loaded up my van with some awesome little baby girl and big girl clothes, plus she gave Gwen a candy cane and me a scent of the month scentsy bar. Talk about a fun visit. And I have to recommend the Scentsy car scents, it totally took away the "whoops I left a bottle half full of milk in the back of the van for over two weeks and it smells like a skunk rolled in raw sewage and died back there" smell. That's pretty powerful stuff.

So anyway, it's a great day for bargains and blessings : ) Thank you overstock and Chelon!

Disconnected

I am afraid of the phone. I am just gonna get it out in the open. Apparently one of my bigger flaws is that I don't carry my cell phone around, or keep it charged for that matter. Normally it's not a huge issue, I listen to my messages once every couple a' days and aside from getting a couple snide messages from Ralphie and a couple very agitated messages from my dad (who I think is the person my lack of cell phone carrying annoys the most), I usually don't miss much. E-mail me and I will e-mail you back for sure within 12 hours and more likely within 12 minutes; but call me and it's a gamble. Then once in a while something important happens. Like on Monday night after about two days of not knowing where my phone was I got a message from my friends husband about a family emergency and he needed help with his little boy the next day, which at the time I listened to the message, the "next day" was actually "yesterday". And I missed my chance, not only did I miss my chance but surely he thought I was ignoring his messages since he left three pretty desperate ones. I feel like scum.

So, what to do. I've tried to be better. I've made commitments and promises and all sorts of stuff, and I do better for like....a day and then it is back to the old way of not knowing or caring where my cell phone is.

I think maybe it all started when I was working for a pest control company and my whole job was to carry around THREE cell phones, plus my own and answer them consistently. That is a LOT of cell phones people. It was hard because Gwen was little and if a phone rang I would just throw her in the crib, shut the door and go answer it. So maybe I am trying to compensate for some of that neglect. I also really thought I was on the fast track to getting a brain tumor from so much cell phone usage back then, and I swore once I didn't have the job anymore that I would never hold a cell phone to my head again (I'm totally serious).

Anyway, now you all know. I don't screen my calls; if I have my cell phone and I am not busy doing something else THEN I will answer, no matter who you are. But seriously, if there is an emergency please e-mail me or call Blaine or Ralphie or come on over. At least until January when one of my New Years Resolutions will be to carry my phone with me always.

Do you prefer phone or e-mail? I mean, I seriously would rather drive over to your house to talk to you than call you on the phone. I'm such a freak that way.

The end.

Tarzan Boy

Last night at YW Betsy was telling a story where our bishop came up to her and asked if she knew the song that went "oh oh ohohohohohoh oh oh" [Okay this story is way more funny if you can hear it in person]. Which she sounded just like tarzan when she asked it, but we all totally recognized the tune. She I come home and with the help of my handy dandy husband did some serious google-ing and found the music video for the song. I've watched it about four times because I love it so much, and I am trying to convince Blaine that he should do it for our next Thanksgiving talent show. I would, but no one wants to see me in a toga, trust me. Also, it would totally be way cooler than me saying the fifty states in alphabetical order in 19 seconds which is what my talent was this year.