Tell You [a] Little Story

I got called a lazy blogger tonight. I totally just did that link the old school way, the html way, the way we did it before blogger got all the happy little icons, the not lazy way. Calvin is three months old today. He's crying his head off right now. My mom is doing my dishes. She's all about service, all the time. I think I have the greatest mom on the planet. My sister made me cry today. She and her family are moving to the Caribbean, and I had to say goodbye. She and her husband have been the best aunt and uncle to my kids and friends to me and Steve. Utah will be a much lonelier place without them. She definitely made moving here a happier experience for me. Even though I'm anti self-referential blog posts, I'll admit here and now that "lazy blogger" is a decently apt descriptor. Well, maybe "uninterested blogger" is more apt. "Lazy Christmas-decoration-taker-downer" is apt, though, for sure. "Lazy money manager" fits. ...

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona, and I acknowledged verbally what I have long known deep down: that my favorite thing to do in that state is eat out*. Because I want to share the treasures Steve and I have so painstakingly sought out, I give you a sampling of my favorite restaurants in the greater Phoenix area. I'm not going to take the time to categorize, but please ask me about any of them -- location, menu, price, etc. Trying new restaurants is one of my talents. Then feel free to reciprocate with a list of your favorite restaurants in (any location) so that I can try them next time I go there. I love that story. I present delightful dining destinations in metro Phoenix: Barrio Cafe La Grande Orange Chelsea's Kitchen Orange Table Yasu Sushi Bistro North The Greene House Sauce Oregano's Pita Jungle Roaring Fork Kyoto Pizzeria Bianco Cowboy Ciao Postino Arcadia Farms Asia de Cuba Elements Flo's Asian Kitchen Old Town Tortilla Factory Grimaldi's Bistro di Napoli Pe...

Two months. Too big for his britches. To infinity, and beyond.

The context: My thumb nail cracked down the middle, so I've been cutting the nail short short short so it doesn't snag and crack even more. Doing so caused my skin to crack, a nasty deepish sort of skin crack that made the whole area tender and was beginning to even throb a little. A quick heal did not look promising. Lotion definitely wasn't going to do the trick. The miracle: The internet, which is where I took my problem in hopes of a solution. In ten seconds I found a solution. The solution: Superglue. Apply a dab to the cracked skin. A seal protection is immediately formed. The pain disappears. The challenge: Try it. You'll love it.

I usually fall asleep, or fidget thinking about the time wasted factor, or am annoyed at the cost to get in, or find fault in the plot or the acting or the gratuitous sex or the makeup (ahem, Twilight) -- I know, I sound like a lot of fun, right? -- so it's always a joy as well as a surprise when I find one that I love, or at least really really like. Love to find movies I love. Today I very much enjoyed I Am David in my basement while I folded mountains of laundry. It was beautiful thematically and visually, sweet, hopeful, and just really well done. Life-affirming, yet not insipid. I feel a tad dumb that I didn't know about concentration camps in Eastern Europe after WWII. Bulgaria? Does everyone know about those? Another lovely, lovely thing happened today and that is that my sister delivered two precious little boys so that I could have more nephews. Wasn't that nice of her? I can't wait to meet them.

What is the best "band" game for the Wii? Rock Band? Guitar Hero? Should we hypothetically get the Beatles edition, or just buy the regular and buy the Beatles game? Will our kids destroy the instruments in 30 minutes flat? Are there songs on Rock Band 2 with bad language/themes that wouldn't be appropriate for kids? This conversation is just between you and me, right?

We took the kids to a new-to-us restaurant last night: India Palace on Center Street. It was very delicious. Mango lassis , vegetable samosas, um, who am I kidding, I can't remember the dishes' names. We entertained Neil's favorite line of questioning, which goes something like: if you had to choose one ethnic cuisine to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, what would it be? What a fun game that is. The waitress at India Palace was rather smitten with Norah. She: touched her cheeks multiple times played with her hair picked her up out of her chair and tried to get her to sit her bum up on the top of the chair, I guess so as to be eye level with her spoon fed her rice multiple times Really, this all happened. It was all done with lots of smiles and playful looks, plus she was ever such a nice Indian lady; but I am perplexed that I let it all happen. You know? Norah immediately shut down through it all, and looked very uncomfortable. And I let this...

Calvin is a month old. (And he's wearing a cute onesie by Miss Angela Jane . Pants bequeathed by Charlie Bones , and blanket via the very kind Stephanie .) PLUS! What we came up with an hour or so before trick-or-treating from the dress-up box, special thanks to Mrs. Pam Craig and her creative prowess from years past that made some of it possible. (Here is where I admit to the world that I don't have my children's costumes planned and sewn weeks, months, or even days in advance...But I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.)

Remember when this girl was born? So do I. Now she's three and a very sweet and spunky big sister.

Stuff keeps going missing around here. Important stuff -- arguably, the best stuff we have: keys to the van (lost at the doctor's office. what?!) Steve's BYU ID card (which he takes with him on bike rides for the purpose of helping the paramedics quickly identify his mangled and/or dead body after an accident) one of Calvin's favorite pacifiers (where do those things go?) my tweezers I'm most distressed about the tweezers. I really hate making unplanned trips to the store to just get one thing. Steve says, "Christmas is coming" in case I opt to let him replace them for me. I say, "Won't you love your unibrow wife come December."

Suppose you're driving along in rural Utah, and come upon this sign: Do you a) Keep going and risk getting shot by the angry cowboy who commissioned this very large sign b) Turn around and find some other, less controversial place to have your picnic in the mountains c) Get out your red marker and fix the spelling mistake d) Assume your very best affected rural accent and quote the sign for the rest of the day e) Feel just a twinge of homesickness for Arizona, because this sign is just so Utah f) Revisit your understanding of COMMUNISM

I am so sad today because my friend Amy has lost a child . My heart is aching for her and her family, and I wish there was more that I could do to alleviate just a fraction of her pain. All I can do is mourn with her, and offer my love.

Calvin and I are just hanging out at the computer, listening to the BYU game, quite entranced, and playing with PhotoBooth. Thanks, everyone, for your congratulations and kind words. We feel very loved.

If you are completely unprepared in (almost) every way to birth your child due to the fact that your body does not really do spontaneous labor and you thought you had a good two weeks to worry about details and thus {house is a mess haven't begun to wash or sort baby clothes no newborn diapers ...or bouncy seat ...or swing ...or nursing pads ...or bassinet/port-a-crib for your room ...or pacifiers packed hospital bag is but a distant dream child's big oral presentation on William Clark is not ready to go baby name is not solidified neighbor kids are coming over tomorrow for a playdate not mentally geared up to go drugfree have tickets to Friday night's football game haven't registered with the hospital no groceries in the house} BUT, you're emotionally and physically ready to not be pregnant anymore and to meet this new precious babe and he has joyously turned his little cute self around so he is head-down after all the fuss about being breech, AND, you tiredly say ...

Isaac turned six this month. He's a cool kid. Yesterday, after a lifetime of crying every time he was required to clean his room or do a chore, he announced that he loves to help clean, and spent the afternoon -- a couple of hours, at least -- asking, "What can I do to help?", then doing it with a smile and coming back for more assignments. A freak occurrence? Perhaps, but I'm going to be reminding him of it with great frequency. He's smart, and I am enjoying that he is the oldest in his kindergarten class because I think school will come easier to him and he will have an opportunity to be a leader. He also seems to have natural athleticism; and his long fingers are helping him right along with plucking out his C's and D's on the piano. Three lessons, and well on his way to concert halls. I tell people that Isaac is spacey, but I don't know if that is accurate. I think he is the third child -- yea, third boy -- in our family and thus accustomed to less...

Isaac's name got picked out of a hat at the BYU women's volleyball game tonight to compete for football tickets to this weekend's Florida State game. This child, who has no inhibitions, went down to the court, did not know the fight song, but oh, he growled! He won! I love it.

Here's to 12 more years, and 4 more kids.  Just kidding. One. One more kid. And 112 years. Thanks for marrying me, Stephen Marshall.

Where would our family be without my No. 2, my 8-year-old Aaron? He breathes heart and soul into our household. Tall stature is not in Aaron's future, but oh, his personality is large. He can be the orneriest (that ought to be a word) of ornery and he can be the sweetest of sweet. He is rowdy, yet contemplative; confident, talk talk talkative, adventurous. His pain tolerance is low, so very, very low, and he can howl like no other when he gets hurt. He is not afraid of a challenge, such as always wanting to play piano songs above his skill level or taking on the big and tough 4th-graders at tetherball. He is a natural leader; terrificly goofy; his moods and willingness/unwillingness to be nice frequently set the tone among his siblings. Aaron has a pure heart and a tender testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is forgiving of his mom's shortcomings, and won't even mind one bit that it took me two months after his birthday to post this on my blog. I love this spirited c...

Dear City of Phoenix, Thanks for keeping in touch. It's nice that you've sent me two letters in the last three days, even though I was only visiting for a week. I wonder if you'll send more? And those pictures you took of me! Not bad, even though I'm not smiling in them and my sunglasses are covering my eyes. I have to say, I never really gave Bethany Home Road and the I-17 much thought before your letters, but that is one happening place. It's like there is a paparazzo stationed there, just waiting to catch me out and about -- say, on my way to see my sister-in-law in Mesa, or my brother in Tucson -- tracking my every mile per hour. The part in each of the letters about owing you money... $181.50 per each, I believe it was. Well, that part we'll have to negotiate at a later date. If you're really serious about that, you'll need to send someone to my house to properly explain. I choose not to take letters in the mail too seriously. Well, thanks again. I...

We went to Bryce Canyon last week. It was cold last winter on our front porch.

One of these days I'll post something again. (Blog posts about blog posts are the worst kind.)

I'm the mother of a ten-year-old. A handsome funny inventive sneaky reading helpful sensitive long-remembering easily distracted logical independent meat- and carbs-loving self-conscious creative reserved inquisitive loving ten-year-old. Elliot had a birthday a few weeks ago. I love this kid to death. I'm probably too hard on him, and sometimes we fight for control (I know I ought to let him grow up, but it's so hard!), but deep down Elliot and I really "get" each other. I love to share inside jokes with him. I love to watch him develop his talents and succeed. I am so grateful for the help he gives me and for the kindness he shows his younger siblings. It's sad to think about him being on the downward slope of his childhood.

Yesterday morning, five minutes into my jog, something gave way in my lower back, and walking has been a complete joke ever since. The kind of joke that makes you wince and cry and stay in bed for eighteen hours at a time; not so much the funny kind.  Also, for the life of me, I cannot stand up straight. My torso bends a full thirty degrees to the left, and who knows? maybe I'll be crooked forever after. I got up at 8 to get the kids dressed for church and to send them on their way to sit with really nice people who also took them home afterward and fed them lunch (so nice!). I got up at 1 to make myself a peanut butter sandwich. And I got up again at 4 to soak in a long bath and get new pajamas on. Then I ventured into the kitchen and saw how my husband has been so busy taking care of me and the children and the ward at large that no one has been attending to the kitchen, so I decided to spend a few painful minutes on my feet to load the dishwasher. As I hobbled into the laundry r...

...off is a really good sale. ...is a solid B- on a test. AND ...of our children will be of the male variety. It's a boy! We like boys around here, so we think that is just dandy. Our kids are very happy and excited, except maybe for Norah who has been adamant for the last four months that the baby is a GIRL! She finally relented today that it is a boy, but she generously suggested that we name him Sister. All seems to be well with the baby. We are grateful for health: so far so good. My heart has been breaking lately with news of friends who are experiencing serious baby- and pregnancy-related challenges and to all of them I offer my most sincere expressions of love and offerings of prayer. I would give so much to not have my loved ones suffer.

I like this time of year. The weather is fantastic: I can drive with windows down, read outside, not turn on heat or a/c. The teachers have stopped assigning homework. I have vacations to look forward to. I have time and inclination to nap every day. Tomorrow I find out the gender and general health of my current fetal child.

I could write volumes of books about this girl, starting with how we really didn't like each other growing up, and I acted as though I wanted nothing to do with her or her friends, but really it was because I knew I could never measure up to her beauty and charm, so I acted as if I didn't want to, all the while stealing her clothes after she left for school and carefully replacing them just so in her closet before she came home from basketball practice or whatever it was so she wouldn't know I had worn them; then going on to how we became good friends as we got older and I liked that she liked to hang out with my friends, even when I wasn't around; then how we both got married and had kids and became genuine sisters who loved each other; then how she went through a really intensely difficult time in her life, and I felt like it was the most gut-wrenching thing that ever happened to me because I didn't want her to hurt, ever; and then on to how she is the greatest ol...

Nicole Hill Gerulat of A Little Sussy won a stock photography contest using this image of Isaac. I love it! (And my sister called to tell me about it, and thought it was Aaron.)

First and foremost, happy birthday to my wonderful mom! I honestly don't know anyone more generous, giving or good with people. I like to think of myself as being generous, giving and good with people, but I've got nothing on her . She schools me, bigtime. Some of the unique things that make my mom my mom: She loves my children absolutely, which is a joy and a comfort to me. When she is around, they prefer her to me. She would rather be with her grandchildren than out with the adults, but does not relax when they are around. It's constant counting heads, making snowcones, taking off too-warm clothing, changing diapers, getting drinks. It's exhausting, and she's good at it. And she loves it. (I'm pretty sure.) She hates flying, but flies all over the place, because travel and culture and enriching experiences and seeing family trump her fears every time. She also hates bridges. And swimming. And confrontation. And cooking. And bad grammar. And dopey people. And a...

I'm starting to think about my kid-less trip to Toronto this summer. I'm really excited about wandering the streets solo for five days with no agenda and no one to answer to while Steve is in his conference . What should I see? Where should I go? What should I eat?

1. Hypothetical: Steve has a couple hundred dollars at his disposal to spend as he pleases. Which of the following is near the top of his wish list? a) a new suit that fits well b) an ice cream maker c) surround sound 2. Which of the following is a goal that Steve spends a decent amount of time thinking and talking about? a) learning to make homemade yogurt b) retaking that physics class that overwhelmed him in his undergrad days c) mastering the John Denver anthology on his guitar 3. When the sun is shining, which of the following is Steve most likely to be doing? a) pulling weeds in the yard b) laying out c) making Sunday dinner in the solar oven 4. Just about every night before he goes to bed, Steve: a) gets a loaf of whole wheat bread started in the bread maker b) watches the evening news c) calls his parents to chat 5. The kids know daddy really, really loves them when he: a) plays catch with them in the backyard ...

My son Aaron's picture is supposed to be on the packaging for Provo Craft's new Yudu  silk screen machine. I tried to find it at Joann's, but they only sell it at certain stores, not close to me. If anyone sees one for sell, will you tell me where and/or take a picture of him on the box for me?  Thanks. photo by Nicole Hill

the prophet showed up at my kids' school last week to watch the 6th grade play. Remarkable. I admit: there are some aspects of living in Utah that just can't be beat.

On desiring organization: I have an email inbox of 4460+ emails. I just sorted them by alphabetical order and deleted about 200 totally superfluous, not-real emails in the A's. Blog comments mostly. From Austin, Azucar, Abby, AmyJune, and Alice. I did not delete any actual emails from actual people. I still intend to respond to those. Um, even the ones from 1999. Thanks. On the opera: A generous and beneficent soul gifted us really great tickets to the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera. Really great tickets. He is a generous and kind soul. We cannot use the ones for next Wednesday, March 18: The Marriage of Figaro. Which is a shame, because we saw this performed at BYU and it was spectacular. We'd love to see it again. Please say you'll take someone to the opera next Wednesday night so these really great tickets don't get wasted. Also, it is an embarrassment to my culture, but one-third of the audience will walk in after the performance has begun. Please take my two tickets, and...

To anyone who went to BYU: What was your favorite class? Most enjoyable, life-changing, low stress, important, fun, or rewarding -- any of the above. Bowling? Book binding? Quantum physics? To anyone: What would you take at a large university if tuition was free and you were not motivated by a degree of any kind?

The Harwards were a big influence on me and my entire family in the formative Glendale years (1986 to when I moved away from home in 1994). I believe that everyone who spent time in the powerhouse ward of Glendale 7th would say the same. Big family; really smart; super talented; famous mom; generous dad; vocal; the knowers of all that went on.  Amy was the oldest of the second half of Harward kids and I was always a little intimidated: by her height and beauty, her best-friendedness to my older sister, and her sarcastic sense of humor. I'm over it now, though. I think she's cool, just plain and simple. My freshman year of high school, Amy drove me to seminary every morning in her brother's convertible with Yaz blasting. Yes, Yaz. I don't think anyone before or since has loved Yaz as much as this girl. Or even knew they existed. Let's take a Yaz appreciation break, shall we? Amy now lives in Washington and is the mother of five. She and her husband adopted one of th...

Tonight I was telling Steve about my statistics lab, and how my 30-something comrade Bryn and I are the only ones who will open our mouths AT ALL. To answer a question, to ask a question, to read a question out loud -- whatever. We'll wait for a while in awkward silence while no one says anything, and then one of us pipe up to help the poor TA out with a response. None of the teens and twenty-somethings seem to think their silence is rude or in any way out-of-the-norm. They have no expectation whatsoever that they should be participating in our small group discussion. SO, Bryn and I -- in our old-ladyish, momly wisdom -- have chalked it up to a generational thing. And I was telling Steve this, but I couldn't and still can't remember the word that I want to use to describe this generation of reticent college students. Help me? The word means: expectant that they are deserving of everything. It's killing me that I can't remember. It can be used to describe a generatio...

I'm going to teach my kids to be clean(er) if it takes everything I've got. I'm also going to throw things away with zeal and vigor. I'm so sick of stuff everywhere. How do all you, my clean friends and family members, do it? I salute you.

Showing the dead rat in the pool to the visitors center's director, aka Mark Eubank the Weather Guy. Here are some things I think you should do if you go to Oahu: Stay on the North Shore. At least for half the trip. Rent a condo at Kuilima Estates at Turtle Bay, perhaps. Vrbo.com will get you there. Eat at the shrimp trucks in Kahuku. Giovanni's is our favorite. Get the scampi. Spend a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Do the luau and evening show, maybe the IMAX. You can hop on a quick tour of BYU-Hawaii and the LDS temple, or go there on your own another day. Very pretty. Sing, "Oh, I'm going to the Hukilau. Huki, huki, huki, huki, huki, Hukilau." And then go to the Hukilau Beach for a sort of Hawaiian Provo/Mesa experience, if you know what I mean. Lots of one-piece bathing suits and big Polynesian college boys wrestling on the beach. Maybe you don't know what I mean. Pick a beach, any beach. Don't settle for crowds. You can have a beach all to yo...

Today. Sick sick sick. I never get sick. Except today. Normal day. Although Photobooth shots are never flattering (of me).

We went to Hawaii. Had a fantastic time and didn't want to come home. We came home. I'm feeling the red eye. Very wiped out and trying not to think of my to-do list: make a large-scale auction happen and be awesome, learn stats for my test, catch up on bills, read all the magazines that came while I was gone, teach my kids responsibility, cheer for the Cardinals -- in thought only, because I don't care enough to actually watch it, unpack, clean the house, and buy a car. And call Diana, because I miss her. (I miss you, Diana!) And paint my toenails. Can you believe the audacity I had to go to Hawaii without painted toenails? Yikes. I'll post pictures of our trip soon. Again, it was really, really great. My dad came and was really, really great. He is fantastic with my kids, which is all a girl could hope for. (Thanks, Pops! We love you.) He told my kids not to brag about our trip because no one wants to hear about someone else's beachy vacation in to-die-for weather ...

Go here and bid on the auction I'm helping put together to benefit Stephanie and Christian Nielson. Thanks to all of you who have donated!