Last post of the year

This is a pic of Mesa in her class at school's Christmas program. I think they sang the song "We wish you a Ripper Christmas" (don't even get me started with that one!)

Well, once again I've fallen victim to blogger laziness. I could think to use "too busy getting ready for Christmas" as my excuse but that would just be an outright lie. I didn't do any Christmas baking, hardly any shopping, and I didn't wrap presents till the 23rd. I did make a Christmas dinner though of course which was delish. Nick and Jes came over and the Elders wanted to work for us that day and it just so happened that they didn't have a DA for that night so we gladly invited them to stay with us. The more the merrier!

I only took one photo on Christmas Day. It was of Blaze. I had my camera all out and ready to take pics of my surprised kids as they found what Santa had brought them which included a bike and helmet for Mesa and a cool computer game for Blaze but they had already woken up in the middle of the night and were surprised on their own and when it came time to be surprised for us, they were over it! I actually ended up giving Mesa a lecture for doing what she did. Blaze at least pretended and put on a fairly good show. Mesa needs to work at that. Also, the cat's out of the bag when it comes to Santa. I don't understand what it is with kids these days. When I was a kid, i WANTED to believe in Santa and I wanted my parents to think I believed until I was like 14! But these kids? Well, it's "I know Santa is you because I saw your shopping list...or, Santa isn't real is he mom?..." so I decided well, if they wanna play that way then fine! I'm tired of pretending when the kids don't appreciate or at least play along with me! It takes too much energy and I'm all about tired these days.

It's all I can do these days to even fix supper for my family and do minor necessary clean up jobs. I'll fall asleep at any given time of the day and I have no desire to do anything but read. It's very pathetic I tell you.

Oh! I almost forgot! I also did another thing this Christmas which made my true blue Miller man happy. I made Scottish Stew for the first time! I wanted to call Lynne to find out what to do but by the time I thought about it it would have been the middle of the night in Ontario so I just had to wing it. 3 ingred. Sausage meat, stewing beef and beef broth right? Well, even if its not, Rick said it tasted just as he remembered so he was happy. Me and the kids ate some too. Not too bad. A little meaty for brekky but good otherwise.

Here's a picture of my happy little husband cuz he finally has his Scottish Stew after probably 10 years of missing out! He couldn't keep his eyes open for the picture because he had a major eye problem for a few days where his eyes were ultra sensitive to the light so hence camera flash=pain. I was happy to do this for my Ricky. Love you babe!

So that about wraps it up for our Christmas. I was definetly the Grinch this year. I think I get more and more Grinchy every year I'm away from home for Christmas. I hate hot Christmas's what can I say? I hate not having tons of people around to share in all the joy of Christmas. I think that's the biggest thing. Growing up we always had tons of people around for dinner and all day Christmas Eve and Day and Boxing Day. It was fun and exciting. Now...4 of us this year...I told the kids that's why we're having more b/c that way it'll be funner. haha They seemed to like that though cuz that would mean they would have one more present to open. Well, next year I have a plan. I'm too tired to talk about it right now but I think it's gonna be swell!

Housework

Does anyone out there just LOVE housework? It is a never ending job I must say. I used to keep my house spic and span all the time. That was when I lived in a smaller house and I had small children at home and didn't find excuses to get out of the house on a daily basis. I always thought that the older the children got, the cleaner the house would get. Aaahhh, I long for those days again. I've found my freedom but in the meantime, the mess has found me. It's quite embarrassing to tell you the truth! I feel so inept as a housewife because I can't seem to stay organized. It's possible that the construction could be causing a bit of the chaos that envelops me day to day.

I see piles of laundry that creep up out of nowhere and sit for days and days begging for some soapy serenity but it gets no attention. And it seems as though once the washing and drying is finally done, it will sit...and sit...and sit. Eventually it makes it's way into the basket folded only to sit some more. I'd love to be laundry actually. What a life. Just sitting. Enjoying the laziness.

Clean floors. I LOVE them! I wear shoes in my house almost 100% of the time because I can't STAND gritty feeling under my feet. Crumbs, sugar, dirt, water drops. YUCK. And they seem to only stay clean for like an hour max after all my hard work. Frustration. That is actually my biggest challenge being under construction. I look at my floors and say, Why should I sweep and wash you? You're just going to be dirty the next time someone walks on you! So I'm sorry Mr. Clean, you've been taking a back seat for quite a while now and it'll be a while longer too.

Windows. I just cleaned a bunch of my windows today. I love clean windows. I hate it when little fingers smudge them up within hours of them being cleaned. I think I should probably enjoy seeiing that? I don't know. Maybe if they were half the size they are now it wouldn't bother me so much.

Bathroom sinks are so nice when they are nice and shiny and white and the taps sparkle. Then your dear sweet husband comes in and trims or shaves and bam! Hello hairy sink! Long time no see! Sometimes he tries his best to clean the hair away but frankly he pretty much sucks at that job. Then there's the fingerprints on the fridge. Why is it that they appear just minutes after being cleaned off? It certainly isn't me doing that. STOP IT!

Well, another day of housework come and gone. I don't love housework. Until it's all done. Then I can relax and chill knowing that I've done my best to provide a welcoming enjoyable retreat. Aaaahhh. I want to go read Twilight now. Oh wait! I'm finished...time for New Moon now. It was really good.

Pickles anyone?

I baked what should have been a very delicious chocolate cake yesterday to take to youth activity. A nice big dripper pan size. Used up a lot of quality ingredients. The only thing I didn't use was BAKING SODA! What the heck is wrong with me?? I go through my whole adult baking life and perhaps even as a teen never had that happen to me and now that's twice in the last couple months I have done that! I was so T.O'd at myself! Aaargh. Rick says, just take it like it is! I'm saying, no way no how. How bloody embarrassing would that be?! So the kids didn't get dessert after the sausage sizzle last night. ;( Too bad for them eh?

I started reading Twilight yesterday. I'm only on pg 70. I get so tired when I read. Does anyone else have this problem? I feel like a groupie reading this book at this particular time. I am not one who likes to follow the trends so I'm having a bit of a hard time thinking that I'm just like everyone else at this point. One of my favorite Garth Brooks songs is called "Against the Grain" I think it describes perfectly how I feel. I'm going to put it on my playlist actually as soon as I finish this post! Anyways, Twilight so far is really good. An easy read which is good for simple folk like myself. I can't handle too much thinking. haha.

Preggy wise, well, my tummy is starting to poke out and I fear there's no stopping it now! I was able to lose some fat in Fiji and came back looking thinner than when I left and not looking preggy hardly at all. But over the last week especially I've popped out a bit. Cravings? Nothing major. Nothing constant. I've craved Sushi a bit. No raw fish sushi though. I'm in love with chicken sweet chili kinds and safe tasty ones. Also, pickles seem to be high on the list right now. I think it's the vinegar. What I wouldn't give for a bass jar of peppercini's from costco right now!!! Yummmm! I think I may have to go get the Auzzie equiv today. And then eat some with a sushi roll or two. One thing I'm definetly NOT craving is sweets. Yuck. I don't want to have anything to do with sugar at this point. Very strange for me. I walked by choclate bars yesterday and didn't even feel tempted one little bit to buy one. I considered it though just because I felt like I should since it literally has been sooo long since I've bought one and eaten it myself. I bought one when Kel and Shan were here but it really didn't seem that enjoyable to me. Actually another craving I'm sure of is cold drink. Give me cold anything to drink. I really want fizzy drink for some reason. And water? Just make sure it's ice cold please.

More fiji

Margaret aka Keta. Working as usual. She really gave me a shock by losing probably 20 or 30 lbs since the last time I saw her. Also has grown her hair out quite long. I think she looks beautiful in this pic. She is a very beautiful loving soul.
Us with Keta and in the background...Prince Charles. George's long lost brother. Literally.

Us with our sea dogs. They are so gorgous. They are so trim and fit, have beautiful coats and welcomed us back like old friends. I'm wearing Angela's shirt in this pic. It was just there and I needed something to cover up the pathetic tank I wore that day. As you can see my tummy is getting slightly bigger! We didn't get really any good pics of the dogs this time. Bummer!

Us with Aunty Ella.

Beautiful Mela.

The other day I was posting the bula friends post and I ended up being disconnected from the internet without knowing it so half my post was lost and didn't have time to redo the whole thing at the time so here are some more pics that were going to be added. I met several people i had never met before who are really beautiful people. Aunty Ella was one of them. D&R you met Aunty Ella right? She has by far the nicest and cleanest house I have ever set foot in in Fiji. She was apologizing for not having it clean for us as we surprised her by stopping by. But in reality, you could eat off the floor it was so clean! She is a sweet lady and we were all really impressed by her. We met a beautiful girl named Nuimai whose father was killed by a shark off Taveuni many years ago and shortly thereafter her mother poured Kerosene all over herself and lit herself on fire. So now she is being taken care of by a member of the family. One of my favorite people this time was a young 11 year old girl named Mela. She was so beautiful. Had the most beautiful teeth and smile. Was extremely capable of doing whatever a mother would do. And only 11! She had a beautiful voice and spoke very well. I would have no problems hiring her as a nanny she was that responsible! Although I wouldn't because she's only 11 and so that would not be cool. She will grow up to be a wonderful mother.

Shannon fell in love with George. This is not a great pic but in real life George is handsome and has a great strong body. (sorry rick, hope you'll forgive me) but I'm only saying what my friend Shannon thinks!

Kelly brought Evan a colouring book and crayons. They loved them. He is a great colourer!

David. Cool sweet and hilarious. Everyone loves david. He was holding up what was going to be D&J's supper that night. Ours was already cooked by this point. The beef was very gamey. Lets just say the dogs got a lot of protein that night!

Cute little Boys. From left to Right, Larry Evan and Ernie. I think fijian kids are bee-utiful! Ernie was the funniest. He could NOT smile properly! We took about 20 pics and he just kept this forced smile on the WHOLE time. He was probly thinkin, "what is their problem? I'm smilin already would you stop takin the pictures already???"

Angie. One word. Cheeky. She is cute as but a real cheeky monkey. Doesn't do ANYTHING you want her to. Maybe it's cuz we're white folk?? I love her anyway.

Bula Friends!

I love our fijian friends and neighbours. Well, not ALL of our fijian neighbours...ahem. Me thinks Dan and Robyn will for sure know who I am talking about! Lets just say I had some very stressful moments this time b/c Rick wasn't there and I had to deal with some stuff that normally would have never fallen on my shoulders and a certain neighbour caused some of that grief. But here are some pics of some of our favorite people whom I love dearly. Its amazing. Every time I go there I just love them more and more. They are truly happy people and are so dear to my heart.

Our first day. They had just pulled the guts out of this cow as we were walking by. Bulama cow anyone? This cows fate ended up on some fijians dirty dinner plate no doubt. In honour of a death. Party on!

Beautiful Julia. Need I say more? Dicky's wife...well not really but close enough for me...

Gentle sweet Dicky. Could he BE any nicer?

Sweet Ethel. Sweet screaming Ethel. Loves to scream. Hates white girls. Cute crocs! Thank you Aunty Chel!

Foodwise, my diet consisted mainly of alot of seafood this week. Lobster, barracuda, some other kind of fried fish, some pork...Dang! Gotta go to work. Will add more pics and text lata!

My gorgeous friends and I in fiji

Coconut milk ala shell. Mother natures juice. Cheers!

We totally faced a fear this day. Jumping in the deep blue waaaaay out to sea. Shark bait!

My favorite spot to hang out while waiting for a connecting flight. Bula Raffles!

Funky seafood at the market in Nadi. Puffer fish anyoe?



A couple weeks ago Shannon & Kelly met me in Fiji and together we made our way to the farm for a week of r n'r. We had a blast and between both K & S there were over 600 pictures taken that week alone! Here are just a few of the ones of just us. We did plenty of resting, lots of walking in coconut plantations and along the beach to our neighbours homes and hardly any eating. Actually Shannon ate more than Kelly and I combined the whole week. We also drank way too much grog. As in 1 cup is 1 cup too much! Dirty sock water. Not yummy. But the fijians assured me it would make my baby's skin very soft. hah! We all came back with a parasite but Kelly was lucky enough to get rid of hers somehow and Shannon and I have been on natural meds to get rid of ours. Yummm...

We ate some weird stuff this time. Oh, theres so much to tell but I need to go out with my Ricky as I have been neglecting him for a couple weeks now so I will check in tomorrow!

They were stabbed

Many of you may have heard about the two elders serving in Sydney who were stabbed a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't heard much about it except that it had happened and then a few days ago we got an email from a couple we know who are serving in the Sydney North mission (the are from San Diego. Actually, Canada originally.) and they sent us part of a letter that their mission president sent them. They and the Elders are in the same mission. I thought it was a perfect first hand account of what happened and so I thought why not post it? I'm a bit desperate for things to post these days so am having to use all my imagination to come up with stuff. (not really) So here it is...

“On Tuesday night around 9 PM, I was working at the mission home when my mobile rang and Elder Collinsworth -- not sounding good -- said, "President, Elder Ferguson and I are at Westmead hospital. We have been stabbed. Gotta go." I took the assistants with me and drove 30 minutes to the hospital. A woman at ER admissions, seeing my name tag, said, "You here to check on your lads? I can't let you in right now they are surrounded by doctors."

At about 8:45 PM, Elders Collinsworth (out about 6 months from Mapleton, UT; BYU basketball player, 6'9", 220 lbs) and Elder Ferguson (out about 18 months from Great Falls, Montana; BYU major in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, 6'1" -- very slender), were walking on the sidewalk about 1/2 a block from their apartment. The area, Auburn, is our most urban. The missionaries refer to it as "all manner of 'ese: Chinese, Sudanese, Lebanese, etc." The Elders saw two Lebanese men, over six feet tall with mullets, walking towards them. As they approached, the Elders stepped off the sidewalk to let them pass. As soon as the men were in striking distance, they struck. Elder Collinsworth grabbed his attacker and threw him down into the street and held him to the ground. Elder Ferguson exchanged punches with his attacker with enough ferocity that the coward fled. By this time a third attacker jumped on Elder Collinsworth pulling his shirt over his head. He was knocked to the ground and kicked. He said the last thing he saw as he hit the street was Elder Ferguson running towards him. Elder Ferguson knocked the third attacker off of Elder Collinsworth. The second attacker who had run away earlier returned to join the attack.

At this time a passing Sudanese motorist stopped and honked his horn, flashed his lights and yelled. The three attackers ran away. The motorist got out and checked on the Elders -- now both on the street -- and then went to get a nearby policeman. At this point the Elders realized they had both been stabbed. Elder Collinsworth, once in the back; Elder Ferguson, thrice -- in the thigh, the upper left arm, and the left wrist. Blood was especially pouring out of the wrist wound, so Elder Collinsworth took off his tie and bound the wound. An ambulance quickly arrived and transported them two Westmead which is a very good hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, a paramedic helped them out of the ambulance and handed them his mobile phone saying, "Elders, better call your mission president." The Lord had positioned a returned missionary who lives over an hour up the coast to be at the hospital that night. He watched over the missionaries until I arrived.

Elder Collinsworth had been stabbed on the right side of the mid-to-lower back, right by the kidney. He was the one the trauma team was most concerned about, but a ct scan and various other tests quickly relieved concern of kidney damage. He was patched up and released the next day.

Elder Ferguson required surgery so they could probe for tendon damage (there was none) and have a plastic surgeon close the wounds on the arm and wrist. The doctors did a remarkable job. The remaining scars will only be the size of the knife blade. Elder Ferguson was released Thursday morning. He went to his flat, got into his suit and he and Elder Collinsworth came to the regularly scheduled zone meeting, sore, but very happy to be there.”

Pretty amazing story eh? They will surely have something cool to tell when they get home! They sound like they were blessed immensely.

How The Fight Started

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive...so, I took her to a gas station...and that's how the fight started.....


I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95. Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night that the cold cream....And that's how the fight started......


After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability too'....and that's how the fight started......

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked, 'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighted. She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.' 'My Gosh!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'.....and that's how the fight started......

I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver go out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get sooooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah well I couldn't believe it....he was a DWARF!!! He stormed over to my car, looked up at me and shouted, 'I AM NOT HAPPY!!!' So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'.....and that's how the fight started.....


I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. 'I'll have the steak, medium rare, please' He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?' 'Nah, she can order for herself.'......and that's how the fight started........

Students from afar

Hello! It has been 2-almost 3 weeks since we have had a couple of students come to stay at our house. They are from Korea and Taiwan. Their names are Jeong and Helen. Super nice girls and funny too. They just have this sort of innocence about them probably because they are not used to our language and culture. But we have really enjoyed having them around. I thought it would be stressful having to make sure they had brekky and supper everyday but it has been exactly the opposite. They help with the dishes at every single meal, and always offer to help out doing whatever. They have been playing games with the girls. You remember those hand slapping games?

Down by the banks of the hanky panky

where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky

saying dip dop diddly eye op

down by the banks of the...ker plop!

They are also real polite and its been a really good experience to have them around.

Jeong from Korea (I think she's a bit afraid to smile in pics!)

Helen from Taiwan

Also, I have to tell you this cool story. A couple weeks ago (yeah I'm really behind on telling this cool story) but the kids went to this little cafe here called The Attic and the owners are strangely nice and generous and they throw a little "party night" for kids every fortnight. Well, they had an eating contest that night which was like a Fear Factor for kids. Well, the winner was going to get an Mp3 player! Wow! I thought, well, Blaze definetly won't be winning that! And then Rick and I took our students out for fish n'chips. YUM! Later on when Rick brought the kids back home (I had already fallen asleep BIG surprise!) Mesa is so excited cuz SHE won the mp3! Cool! Good Job Mesie! Here are some of the things she had to eat.

Vegetable (choice between broccoli and brussel sprouts)

fish eggs

sardines

chocolate with garlic in it

I can't remember the last thing! Shoot! Some sort of animal or something. Will post when I remember...crap!

Anyways, I was pretty stinkin proud of her and Blaze surprised me by coming in 2nd! I guess he really wanted that mp3! Candace actually puked at one stage. Caviar. haha...wish I could've been there. Here she is with her prize...

Pics for my IVF Pals

One day I stumbled upon this website looking for answers to alot of questions I had while undergoing IVF treatments. It is really interesting to read what other people are going through in their lives and IVF cycles and I have found a wealth of information that has helped me and entertained me throughout. I have been a part of this one particular thread with about 10 other gals and we have gotten to know each other through cyberspace and I thought it would be fun to see what everyone looks like! So they are putting their pics up in various places and I decided I would just put some of my faves up on my blog for them to link up to! Maybe the rest of you will enjoy looking at some of my faves too.

Me n' my Rickie - my best friend and pal. My favorite person in the entire world

My sometimes very bratty children who at times have caused me to wonder why I'm on this journey? But at least they're pretty cute! And actually they are really good kids and very sweet and nice...just not to each other!

My ultra sexy but baaaad to the bone husband!

Well, I don't really like this pic that much but its one of me by myself where I don't look retarded so I thought what the heck!

Me, my friend Andrei from Canada and Mesa

My 2 favorite guys. And then below, Rick and I (obviously)

My new sweet baby - boo boo!

Ok, this is just too funny! kind of bushy eyebrows for a baby eh? What's up with the right side of the face too? It seems as though all the features, eye ear and mouth are a little bit smaller on the right side! ha ha...good for a laugh anyways!

What do you think about my little new baby boo boo?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Cool...

Well, I was right when I said I needed to post something big on my blog in order to get the comments! Unfortunately I can't post something cool like that everyday! :( I am totally stoked that everyone is so happy for us! :) It means alot to have good supporters out there! Just know that we don't take you for granted. Betty Jean is really excited cuz she gets to be a grandma again! My grandma couldn't believe it! All in all everyone is pretty excited.

Most of you know how funny Rick is. He's always full of suprises. Always finding a new way to make me laugh without even trying it seems! I wish I could be so funny. He really is the perfect guy for me cuz I love to laugh! So the other day he sends me this email and it says

"And they said I was too old to have more children. What a joke "i'm still goin strong". Some say I have so many kids I must be a Rock n Roll Star. The truth is I am just a humble carpenter OH YA and the journey continues OH YA !!!"

And then there's this pic attached. I thought it was funny as. So Rick too. I think Summer took this pic when she was here back in May. So I forwarded it to several people cuz he thought it would be a good way to let people in on our good news. Apparently it wasn't clear to everyone what it actually meant and Rick was mortified that people might actually think he was just doing it for no reason at all! haha...too funny.

So I was thinking today and wondering if we could go to a website that would figure out what our kids might look like. You know, combine Rick and my pic together to come up with something funny! So I think I may try to find something. Anyone know of anything? If I find something I'll post for sure. Remember on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days how she did that? haha...those were some ugly kids!

Start spreadin' the news!

Well, the news is spreading like wild fire! I guess good news travels fast! I wanted this announcement to be a fun thing and hopefully for all of you reading this blog it will be. So here's a big secret we've been keeping for a whole 18 mos! Libby says she doesn't like secrets so lets get out with it eh?

After 18 mos of IVF treatments, Rick and I are pleased to announce that we are going to be having a baby! Yay! We are so happy about this. There have been so many times that I have wanted to spill the beans but we didn't want to say anything to anyone until one of the beans was growing in my tummy!

I'm 4 1/2 weeks which is very very early and there's a long way to go but we're having fun for the time being. Here's a pic of the embryo that was transferred on Oct 4 at 9:45 am!

Expected due date June 22/09

We look forward to hearing all of your positive comments! Yay!!!!!!!!

Lately

Here I go again! Waiting forever to post! Actually I haven't hardly looked at anyones blogs either so...I'm preoccupied at the moment. I got a new job. I work at an optometrist office in the mall. Its called OPSM. I've only had 2 shifts but they were both really good and I've done a bit of everything. Repairs, adjustments, phonecalls, booking appts and I even helped 1 older lady pick out a pair of frames. 1st pair I had her try on looked beautiful on her and that was that! My manager who is a super duper nice guy is really happy with me so far. Wait till I start getting mouthy! haha jokes

I wish I could tell you all what I've REALLY been up to lately but I just can't. haha...Maybe that'll get me some comments eh?! On Sunday I made homemade Chicken n' Noodles. Oh my gosh they were soooo delish! Here's a picture of me and mesa making the noodles. So easy and fun to do with one of the kids! She has been the absolute best little girl lately. I'm so enjoying her at the moment. She's been super sweet. A bit crazy and really nice. Good combo. Oh and just so you know, my pasta machine is AWESOME! totally done by hand (no electricity) and the best part? Only cost me $10! (Sally Anns) Now THAT's a deal!

I don't really have much else to say right now. Not really in a computer mood but I've had requests out to post something new so I thought I'd whet your appetite for some good posts coming up!

Blaze wanted to get in on the action too. He really wanted a pic taken. Photography by Candace. Good job Canny, cut me out of the pic! I looked really bad that day so she did us all a favour. I look at those arms of mine though and think...Those are my moms arms!!!