Happy Birthday Melissa!

Yeah! I get to be first, 'cause I love her most!

Christmas

So. I am deciding what days to take off for Christmas, and you get to vote. I am thinking probably two days. Should it be the Friday before and the Tuesday after, or the Tuesday and Wednesday after? I will be coming back down for New Years, so don't worry. You will all get plenty of Melissa Time.

Happy Birthday to Rich!

Aww, Rich didnt get a "Happy Birthday" post. Sad. Oh! I'll just change the date on this post to make it seem like he did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RICH!

Here's mine. I would be wearing it, but there was no one to take the picture. And I would lay it out all pretty, like Shannon did, but I just don't have as much free time as she does. So this is what you get.

My skirt

Not that you can tell much from the picture, but here you go... I couldn't take a picture of myself wearing it, and Rich wasn't available, so you'll just have to take what you can get. I still need to find a top to go with it.

Me as a skanky skanky ho

This is the picture me wearing my skanky dress. Well it would be alot more interesting but mom was taking the picture

Wedding

ok so guess what Emily got a dress for the wedding, he he he...she's a skanky skanky ho

Happy Birthday!

To Karen!

Happy Birthday!

To Sarah!

Vote!

Not that you really get a vote, but...

Karen Celeste
Karen Amelia
Karen Elise
Karen Danae
Karen Eve

Other?

Hi

I think that I will just randomly pop up every once and a while and say things that make no since what so ever.

depfried cheese makes tuna look like shoes!

Happy Birthday to Emily!

Umm...yesterday. Not that she'll even see this for several weeks. :P

Happy Birthday!

To Noah!

Emily Spree

She's been through posting on every topic again.

Also, I dreamed that Martin stole Emily's watch and we had to tickle her to get it back. So just in case anyone was planning anything...just realize that there are consequences. Actually, I'm not sure why I was helping Emily in the dream. But then, I'm not sure why I was walking down a street carrying huge pieces of styrofoam in the dream either, so...

PSA

The new van's name is Winifred. Because I know you were just dying to find out.

To the condemned party

All right. Which one of you Twinkies taught Noah to sing "Boooohbaaaah" ? He thinks it's hilarious. >:|

So... yeah.

Do something, and then report back here.

Look!

Look how cute they are. Fighting over a toy. Not Holly.

Shape Shifter

So, I think I'm like the all-time genius Shape Shifter player.

I've currently completed level 52, with 16,887,687 points. I'll post updates if I decide to keep going.

Because you all care, and I'm nice like that.

Say whaaat?

So Michael’s proposing tonight? I gotta say, I’m surprised. Has anyone else heard about this?

Happy Birthday Holly!

Okay...how come no one's posted that yet? Huh?

Pictures

Okay, here are your hair-cut pictures. These are before I evened anything out. And the handful was about half the hair she cut off. I found another pile in the office after I pulled that out of her bedroom carpet.

*sniff*

Don't know if you saw this on Nauvoo or not...

Sarah cut her hair today. That beautiful all-the-way-down-her-back hair... I was picking handfuls off the carpet. I couldn't stand to cut it all the way up to the shortest bits, but I had to trim the back a good 6 inches. I tried to layer the sides a little to hide the other length chunks.

I nearly cried.

Maybe there will be fewer tangles now... *sniff*

Wake up!

No one seems to have anything to say, so I guess that means it is time to redo the appearance of the blog again!

You know Holly, if you would just keep the conversations moving, I wouldn't have time to decide that you have to do this. But, too late now.

Happy Birthday!

To Shannon!

The little angel

  There she is! With her little hands flailing and all. :D

Emilyisms

Apparently Emily can't use the internet so much anymore, so let's all take this opportunity to talk about her. :)

What is your all time favorite Emilyism?
(Please also note the Number Emily who said it.)

So, Holly

Are you going to Jerusalem, now they've reopened the program? :D

 Here's another one...where you can actually see Sarah. Also, I think the other one is funny with the expression on her face and the tattoo showing on her arm.

Someday

someday there will be a picture up here that I took of the munchkins. Someday I will have a water buffalo. and someday I will quite the bank.

mostly I can't remember the last time I posted something so I thought I ought to give it a go.

The Black Pearl

 Pay no attention to the lady behind the boat. 

Sarah holding Goldie

  It was her first time. She was a little nervous.

Sarah took this picture. Isn't he adorable?

Story time!

I think we should write a story. I'll start.

Once upon a time there were two very boring girls...

Olive

I am getting a little tired of all this green. I demand that you change it as soon as you get home Holly.

And I also want pictures. Email them to me.

Also, buy stamps.

Improv Stunts

This is hilarious. Tee Hee.

Check out Best Buy, The Jumper, and Look Up More.

Netflix

Well, I guess Shannon is spreading the word, because now Holly is signed up for Netflix too.

Happy Anniversary!

To Shannon and Rich!

I'm getting one.

I need energy. And also some denial. (I HATE FINALS WEEK!) What better to do this with than (dun-duh-da-DAH)... The Denial Cookie Sandwich

Of course, attaining one would be easier if I had any of the following ingredients:

cookies
nutella
ice cream
M&Ms
caramel sauce

So, I guess the only ingredient for this thing which I actually own is the peanut butter. Darn. I'll have to find something else to help me escape from life. Like drugs. Or a boyfriend. Unfortunately, both of those would require me putting forth some sort of effort. I guess I'll have to settle for insane amounts of sleep (I don't have a test or work tomorrow... I have no idea how that happened, but I'm going to pretend it's a belated Easter miracle.)

  Noah was so cute dying eggs. He was very soft with them.


And here are the kids in their Easter duds.

Baby Munchkin-boo

 Here's the ultrasound from Monday morning. For those of you who wouldn't notice, the black (fluid) area is a little small...because there were apparently two sacs. Only one of them 'took' though, so no twins this year. This one has a nice strong heartbeat. :D 

Discussion Thread

Okay, well I'm just going to paste the discussion questions here, and then... I guess you can comment on whichever question you want. Please reference the question you're answering with the question # so we can keep track. For example:

(#6) This makes no sense because blah blah blah...
(#13) I think blah blah blah...

Also, feel free to comment on what other people say… it is supposed to be a discussion, after all.

1. In Susie's Heaven, she is surrounded by things that bring her peace. What would your Heaven be like? Is it surprising that in Susie's inward, personal version of the hereafter there is no God or larger being that presides?

2. Why does Ruth become Susie's main connection to Earth? Was it accidental that Susie touched Ruth on her way up to Heaven, or was Ruth actually chosen to be Susie's emotional conduit?

3. Rape is one of the most alienating experiences imaginable. Susie's rape ends in murder and changes her family and friends forever. Alienation is transferred, in a sense, to Susie's parents and siblings. How do they each experience loneliness and solitude after Susie's death?

4. Why does the author include details about Mr. Harvey's childhood and his memories of his mother? By giving him a human side, does Sebold get us closer to understanding his motivation? Sebold explained in an interview about the novel that murderers "are not animals but men," and that is what makes them so frightening. Do you agree?

5. Discuss the way in which guilt manifests itself in the various characters - Jack, Abigail, Lindsay, Mr. Harvey, Len Fenerman.

6. "Pushing on the inbetween" is how Susie describes her efforts to connect with those she has left behind on Earth. Have you ever felt as though someone was trying to communicate with you from "the inbetween"?

7. Does Buckley really see Susie, or does he make up a version of his sister as a way of understanding, and not being too emotionally damaged by, her death? How do you explain tragedy to a child? Do you think Susie's parents do a good job of helping Buckley comprehend the loss of his sister?

8. Susie is killed just as she was beginning to see her mother and father as real people, not just as parents. Watching her parents' relationship change in the wake of her death, she begins to understand how they react to the world and to each other. How does this newfound understanding affect Susie?

9. Can Abigail's choice to leave her family be justified?

10. Why does Abigail leave her dead daughter's photo outside the Chicago Airport on her way back to her family?

11. Susie observes that "The living deserve attention, too." She watches her sister, Lindsay, being neglected as those around her focus all their attention on grieving for Susie. Jack refuses to allow Buckley to use Susie's clothes in his garden. When is it time to let go?

12. Susie's Heaven seems to have different stages, and climbing to the next stage of Heaven requires her to remove herself from what happens on Earth. What is this process like for Susie?

13. In The Lovely Bones, adult relationships (Abigail and Jack, Ray's parents) are dysfunctional and troubled, whereas the young relationships (Lindsay and Samuel, Ray and Susie, Ray and Ruth) all seem to have depth, maturity, and potential. What is the author saying about young love? About the trials and tribulations of married life?

14. Is Jack Salmon allowing himself to be swallowed up by his grief? Is there a point where he should have let go? How does his grief process affect his family? Is there something admirable about holding on so tightly to Susie's memory and not denying his profound sadness?

15. Ray and Susie's final physical experience (via Ruth's body) seems to act almost as an exorcism that sweeps away, if only temporarily, Susie's memory of her rape. What is the significance of this act for Susie, and does it serve to counterbalance the violent act that ended Susie's life?

16. Alice Sebold seems to be saying that out of tragedy comes healing. Susie's family fractures and comes back together, a town learns to find strength in each other. Do you agree that good can come of great trauma?

Lovely Bones

Okay. I finished it. You may commence discussion.

My newest desktop wallpaper

 Isn't she cute? When she's sitting still, frozen in time, smiling? 

Choir

ok so I am very excited That I got in to Adv Womens Choir at sabino and also when I told mom she said "You got in to adv womens choir" in this tone of who in their right mind would put you in there.

any way I am excited

Lady Sarah

  

Book Club

Okay, Melissa and I think we should have a book club! Yay! We'll try reading one book, and if it works out well, we can read more! Melissa thinks we should have a book picked by Sunday, and then have a week to read it before we discuss it a week from Monday (via the blog). Then we can discuss for a week, and then pick another book by the next Sunday. Melissa doesn't care that sometimes people are too busy to find a copy of and read a book in a week, but if you disagree with her, we could probably lengthen the reading time. Also, no one participating can already have read the chosen book (or started to read it either). I think this will end up being a Holly/Melissa/Shannon thing, but if Mom or Emily (or anybody else) wants to participate, that's fine too. Here are the books that we are considering for reading next week (Mar 27 to April 2):

X The Sound and the Fury (by William Faulkner)
My Name is Asher Lev (by Chaim Potok)
X House of Seven Gables (by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The African Queen (by C.S. Forester)
X Things Fall Apart (by Chinua Achebe)
Room With a View (by E. M. Forster)
The Lovely Bones (by Alice Sebold)
Thank You, Jeeves (by P.G. Wodehouse)
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (by Malcolm Gladwell)

If you have already read any of these, or have suggestions about which one we should read, feel free to post a comment. I will be making the final decision (at least this week), but I really have no idea which one to pick. Let me know what you think or if you have suggestions on how to make this work.

So it looks like the Hawaii trip is falling apart!

If I have the scores right - Shannon will be very uncomfortable trying to go to Hawaii in January. Melissa says that she will be up to her ears in tax time. Emily will be back in school and Holly and I will just have to go alone!!!! Unless we want to take a few boys with us. NOT!

This is the picture I have on my wall...

Everyone's favorite caveman.

Grandma Geary's new digs.

This is Grandma Geary's new kitchen counters/sink. I don't like it. It looks fine, but it is not Grandma's kitchen. It must belong to somebody else. Is anyone missing a kitchen?












You can see the new vinyl floor and the cute little rug. Grandma said it took them three days to recondition the floor after the scraped off the old stuff. For some reason, that reminds me of the time Joey was going to retile Monica’s bathroom floor.



This is the other side of the kitchen-- you can see the new refrigerator.

Boys in Cars

 Noah wanted to drive the car. Then he tried to lock the door, so Mommy couldn't get him out. Nice try, sneaky boy. 

Emily's a Twinkie

I know, like this is news to anyone. But, she called me at 6:05 tonight to let me know that tonight is the last night of her musical. Which starts at 7. And takes over an hour for us to drive to. The turkey.

Obviously, we're not going to make it...especially since the kids aren't dressed, and neither of them has had their baths for Sunday.

Oh yes, and she tells me that she did let me know beforehand...by telling Sarah about it and talking to Mom about it...while I was asleep. Yes.

So, basically, Emily's just a twinkie and/or turkey. Mmmmm.

Sarah's monologue

I just overheard Sarah having this conversation with herself:

Would you lend me a hand? That's an expression, a way of saying things. It means, 'Would you help me out?' Oh. Yes!

How cute is that?

Where is everybody?

I'm sick of nothing exciting happening. I declare that we should gang up on somebody. The obvious choice is Emily... since it will be a while until she'll be able to defend herself. Does anybody have any good ideas of how to gang up on Emily? I would default to throwing food at her, but I'm somewhat out of range.

I saw this somewhere...

Children are delicious and nutritious. When baking cookies, please include your children.

Never going to change?

What the...? How long has that been there?

That's not even the most recent page. You forget the brief sojourn of January and February 2005.

Anyway. Here's the new page.

So tempting...

I just did my laundry. It’s sitting in a laundry basket taunting me. You might be surprised at what it wants me to do. It’s telling me to dump it out onto my bed and take a nap on top of it. I know this would not be a rational thing to do. I should go and fold/hang it up. But it’s got that warm, clean, fresh-from-the-dryer quality right now. And it’s tempting me.

More on my neighbors.

Since you all missed talking about my neighbors, here is an update.

Sarah's bike was stolen from right in front of our front door the other day. And our other neighbors (different ones than the ones I was talking about last time) have suspiciously moved out in the middle of the night. Hmm. A connection? I think so.

Budding Technophile

 Because we were tired of discussing Melissa's neighbors anyway. 

Sarah's Valentine Ensemble

 Because she hasn't been on the blog enough lately. 

It was a busy day

 All the pictures got scrolled down. I think this is adorable. 

Movies

Melissa...you really liked Elizabethtown five-stars worth? Also, is Dark Water worth watching? And let me know what you think of Proof. Umm. Yes. That is all.

Go for it Holly

Horatio says: "Yes... I would date your sister (I'm always up for a random first date). She would have to contact me directly... since... I don't know who you really are."

Want that I should set you up? :P

Woot

I just saw Woot today. Not that I want golf clubs or whatever they have on at the moment, but it's pretty funny. Read the FAQ's. Here's an exerpt:

Why do you keep putting LAUNCH EVENT in all caps?
To fully convey its majesty.
Maybe I'll just wait until this item becomes more widely available, so I know what other users think of it.
If that's how you want to live your life, sure. Fine. There are those who would say that your type will inherit the earth. Until then, though, the rest of us will have all the coolest gizmos.

Harry Potter Tidbit

JKR's answer to the FAQ Poll on her website:

What happens to a secret when the Secret-Keeper dies?

I was surprised that this question won, because it is not the one that I'd have voted for… but hey, if this is what you want to know, this is what you want to know!

When a Secret-Keeper dies, their secret dies with them, or, to put it another way, the status of their secret will remain as it was at the moment of their death. Everybody in whom they confided will continue to know the hidden information, but nobody else.

Just in case you have forgotten exactly how the Fidelius Charm works, it is

"an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find -- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it" (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

In other words, a secret (eg, the location of a family in hiding, like the Potters) is enchanted so that it is protected by a single Keeper (in our example, Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail). Thenceforth nobody else – not even the subjects of the secret themselves – can divulge the secret. Even if one of the Potters had been captured, force fed Veritaserum or placed under the Imperius Curse, they would not have been able to give away the whereabouts of the other two. The only people who ever knew their precise location were those whom Wormtail had told directly, but none of them would have been able to pass on the information.

My Neighbors

Sarah and I have an apartment too. And we have neighbors. But they always glare at us when they see us. And they steal our newspaper if we don't get up early enough. And they probably broke the light in the walkway to our apartment. And we are pretty sure they are also responsible for global warming. Because that is just the kind of thing mean neighbors do.

The New Me

I'm like an exercising nut! I bought myself some sporty clothes! I went to the clubhouse three times last week! I have a prepaid account for Kid's Time! I took the kids for a 1 1/2 hour walk last Friday! I am addicted to exclaimation points!

How do you think I'd look with a high ponytail? And blonde hair? ;)

Another entry from my book.

Ayn Rand:

Ayn Rand seems so mysterious, privy, snobby - in a cool way. I'm pretty sure it's the y.

Just because it's cute

  

How Long Will it Take BYU to kick Holly out of the Dorm?

Okay so we are taking bets on how long it will take BYU to kick Holly right out on her ear. Dad forgot to make her dorm payment and even though I sent her an urgent email to let us know the number to call and her student number she has been slow in getting back to me. So the clock is ticking! Anyone want to make a guess?

my oh my!

I don't want to go to class. Any suggestions?

Stupid Slow Driver

When I see a really slow driver, I have to pull up alongside him to see what thtis person looks like, to confirm my suspicions. I am certian I will find a distinctly stupid-looking person. Ah, yes, he looks totally stupid. Stupid slow driver.

Apparently I'm phenomenal

Someone forwarded me this game.

The object of the game is to move the RED block around without getting
hit by the BLUE blocks or touching the BLACK walls.

If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal.

It has been said that the US Air Force uses this for fighter pilots.
They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes.

So far 24.953 is the highest I've gotten. (It gets faster the longer you go.) Anyway. Kind of fun.

Sarah Art

 This is one of Sarah's recent drawings. According to her, they're sledding. And wearing bowties. 

It takes all kinds

I'm a thoughtful observer, what are you?

Happy Half-Birthday to me!

I bought myself The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook: Artisan Breads, Pastries, and Desserts for only $9, so I'm excited. I expect my gifts to arrive shortly. Problems with the mail service is not an acceptable excuse.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I'm getting one.

Who wants to get one with me?
Note: If you go to some devil school, you might not know that Cecil Samuleson is BYU's president.

JKR's top ten books for children

The Royal Society of Literature magazine recently published an article containing the top ten books Jo Rowling believes all children should read:

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Animal Farm, George Orwell
The Tale of Two Bad Mice, Beatrix Potter
The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
Hamlet, William Shakespeare

I haven't read Wuthering Heights, Robinson Crusoe, or David Copperfield. I'm pretty sure I've read the Tale of Two Bad Mice before, but I can't remember it specifically. But I'm assuming bacause we had a lot of Beatrix Potter books when we were little.

Signing "Thank you" 

Signing "More" 

I can't wait until she tries this on the top shelf. Remember that? 

From the 100 hours Board:

You need to get new friends.
[...]
- Katya

This Katya person sounds a lot like Emily, except that she can spell.

Poem

Bonnie got a new laptop for Christmas-- with wireless internet-- yay! Except, now she emails me during her classes when she is bored. This is part of the email she sent me this morning:

Holly! I am pretty bored in my class. I wish you would write something witty, humorous, and hilariously funny so that it could entertain me in this class. Please, I would greatly appreciate it.

I was pretty bored myself, so I wrote her some limericks. This is by far my favorite, but it is a bit scandalous. And also, not technically a limerick:

There once was a girl stuck in class
And she wanted a friend to harass
Her friend could not bear
To be caught in a swear
So she called her a pain in the butt

Faking?

Sarah was up all night being sick, a phrase which here means "throwing up on her bed and mine." Of course, this morning, she's eating and apparently feeling fine...after I called to say she wouldn't be at preschool. Do I have a mini-faker on my hands? It seemed pretty authentic to me...

That was hilarious, IMHO

Can I shoot lazer beams from my third eye which can potentially cause harm to my boyfriend? Also what about a flower superimposed on an incline plane?

Someone deleted the Noah-ness

I give you...action boy! 

Clean up, clean up!

I deleted all of the posts from last year! I know it really doesn't affect any of you, but it makes things a lot faster to publish, etc. It's a good thing, trust me. I just wanted to share my accomplishment with all of you (it took a while to do it-- it's very tedious). Anyway, happy Melissa (MLK) Day everybody!

Blog Title

Rich would like to thank you for the vote of confidence. He agrees.

Some wackos