Enough to Drive me Crazy

I hate running out of things. It drives me crazy when I am cooking, use the last of the package, go to the cupboard to get more and there isn’t more! Or when I use the last of bathroom or craft supplies… stuff you need, as soon as you run out of it. I stock up on items as much as I can and love it when someone says “we are out” and I can say, “there is more on the shelf downstairs”.
More than running out of something, though, I hate not being able to find what I know we have! This has spurred some housecleaning in the last couple of weeks. I know there is stuff around here, somewhere! I just need to find it. Slowly, digging out, cleaning up, getting rid of some stuff, organizing others and taking lots of deep breathes.

Cancer Stinks

Today I’m mad and sad. My neighbor just lost her brother to esophageal cancer. Another neighbor just had surgery (again) to try and remove his cancer. And a dear friend, Tonya Jamois (former ICAN President) just got diagnosed with breast cancer. She started a blog called Pink and Plaid Warrior about her journey.
I was at the park when I overheard a little boy, maybe nine or ten years old, say, "I like to burn the hair off Barbies and pretend they have cancer." I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that one. Does his mom (or another relative) have cancer and this is his way of dealing with it? Or is he a real-life, straight off the big screen movie Toy Story, toy torturing Sid? I don't know, but it freaked me out.
Why can't we find the cure for this disease? It can't come soon enough...

Sunday Song: He'll Carry You

Our Sunday Song comes from Hillary Weeks: He'll Carry You.

I recently heard a man discussing  the Parable of the Good Samaritan. He talked about how it is really a story about Christ and all that He does for us. He also mentioned the word beast, in some translations, means creature or man. The scripture could infer that Christ, Himself, carried the injured man... just as He carries each of us.  

Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies

I recently found this yummy recipe for Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies. My family loves these. They don't take long to make. I have one suggestion: gather all the ingredients and measure them out--especially the peanut butter.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal
• Waxed paper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

A Manti trip and a Dream

Saturday we drove down to Manti to see the LDS Manti Pageant. I was surprised at how empty the town was. We’ve gone before and I remember people playing at the park and walking the streets. We didn’t see many people out at all. We went to the craft store and park. Then over to the church for a turkey dinner (they raise turkeys in Manti). I stood in line for a few minutes, made a mad dash for seats, but in reality, there was little competition. Since the pageant doesn’t start until dark, we went back to the hotel to hang out.
The pageant was beautiful. The kids were impressed by the volcano action. I loved the angels and the part where Mary, a young mother who dies on the plains, comes back to get her husband when he is shot by an arrow. That scene is enough to make anyone cry.
I had a funny dream while in Manti. I was at a neighbor’s house, checking their mail for them while they were out of town. I was making sure everything was okay when another neighbor starting chatting. She asked me something about the neighbors, but I couldn’t remember the names of the people whose house I was watching. I was totally embarrassed. Then I see a door inside the house open and close. I ask, “oh, they are home now?” They invite me in and we chat for a minute before the husband gets up, and grabs some paperwork and a baggie of pills. He says, “I am conducting a study on how well this drug will help people with memory loss from drug use early in life. I’m going to sign you up. Here are your drugs.” He writes my name on the clipboard.
I say, “I’ve never used drugs. Will it still help?”
His reply “I think it is obvious you’ve been involved with drugs from your memory problems. I’m signing you up.”
I say, “Don’t you need some background information?”
His reply, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
I’m upset that he is doing everything wrong, but I really want the drugs (how’s that for a not being a drug user?!) so go along with it. Hysterical!

I woke up to husband knocking on the door (due to our large family, we had girls in one room and boys in another). 7:45… you’ve got to be kidding. Groan. I open the door – not! The deadbolt won’t open all the way. I shake the door, move the deadbolt in and out, but it won’t move all the way over. I go to the window and notice it is a full window, you can’t open it. I shout through the window that the door is stuck. Jay is looking at me like I’m an idiot. Seriously, the lock won’t open. He wiggles the door from the outside and I try again. No luck. He goes to the office, who promptly calls me. I explain and again I get the “are you serious?!” treatment. He instructs me to do the same thing Jay and I just did, again. It doesn’t work, again. The manager says he’s coming to the room. I hurry into some clothes. He starts pushing and shoving the door. I turn the deadbolt and VIOLA- it works. I tell him it is a good thing there wasn’t a fire. That would have been bad. He promises to change the lock. Seems like I can’t go anywhere without having some kind of problem with the hotel. Rolling eyes.
We leave Manti rather quickly. We still had lots of snacks for the trip, mostly gluten-free stuff but not all. We did stop by a McDonalds on the way home for breakfast. My kids hardly ever eat breakfast out and really didn’t know what to get. One had egg mcmuffin, two had a cinnamon roll and one had nothing. I didn’t bother to get anything. There isn’t much on their menu that is gluten-free. I’m trying really hard but sometimes I forget...
We went to dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. My nephew cooked the steaks perfectly. There were baked potatoes and a yummy salad. For dessert, I brought ice cream cones. I had wanted something I could just serve. I didn’t want something with lots of prep time, since I wasn’t sure what time we would be back from Manti. I scooped out ice cream cones for everyone, then fixed one for myself.
I. ate. the. whole. thing. without. thinking. about. it.
I didn’t even realize I’d done it until we got home and the kids asked for one more cone. I fixed them one and thought, “I want another one. WAIT. I ate an ice cream cone?! What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking!”
Waaaa! Where is my baggie of memory pills!

Ragnar Race

Jared ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back Race Friday and Saturday. Yes, it took two days to finish this relay race. There were 12 runners who ran three legs of the 188 mile race. My son was runner #11. He ran a total of 14.6 miles. His first leg was straight up hill, his second relatively flat around a lake and the last was straight downhill and off road. He appears to have run the race without any injuries or problems. I’m really proud of him.

I have never considered myself the athletic type. I much prefer curling up with a book to attending an exercise class. When my son said he was going to run the Ragnar, I had to look it up to know what it was. He had only a two week notice that he was running the race. It was out of my comfort zone for me to let him do this, but felt that if he wanted to, then he should do it. My next thought was, “Better him than me. I could never do that.” I’m not sure where this came from, since I really dislike the words, “I can’t”. I often see that as a challenge to find out how much I can do. This brings me to the uncomfortable place between knowing I need to do this and not really wanting to. I have a friend who is encouraging me to train for and run a 5k… maybe… I can.  

Sunday Song: Still My Daddy

Sunday Song: Still My Daddy Happy Father's Day! Hug yours if he is near, call him if he isn't. If he's in heaven, send a message to Jesus to pass along. 

I'm also sharing this Mormon Message about a special Dad: A Father Indeed