Kids Say the Darndest Things - January '10 Edition

Taken from the sidebar...

Ryan was talking about some girl friends (2 words) with us....
Kyle: (with disgust in his voice) "Why do you have to hang out with girls?"
Later on in the conversation, the topic changed to Jr. High dances...
Kyle: "Do you HAVE TO GO to those dances?"
Me: "No."
Kyle: "Phew!"
And then the conversation turned to kissing...
Ryan: "Dad, how old were you when you first kissed a girl?"
Me: (jumping in before Matt could answer that & reveal something his son could use against him) "You can kiss a girl after you've returned from your mission."
Ryan: "Yeah, right!"
Kyle: "I'm not gonna kiss until I'm 40!" 1/10

We were driving down the freeway and passed a billboard for one of those "Specialty Stores for Couples." It read, in big letters, "Free Lingerie!"
Ryan: "What's 'free leen-gee?'" 1/10

I'd gotten those hand-held dental floss picks for the kids. Katelyn was using it tonight (on her face?)...
Katelyn: "Look, Mom! I'm shaving!" 1/10

Ryan was completing a Family History chart for an assignment at school, so was asking me my Grandpa's name and other details. Kyle overheard our conversation about my Grandpa.
Kyle: "Oh, yeah...I remember him. He died in a white suit!" 1/10
(He must've been referring to seeing Grandpa's body at his funeral, wearing his white temple clothes he was to be buried in!)

Your Opinion, Please...

If you see a married man & a woman who you know
[and you also know they aren't married to each other]
out at a restaurant together, what should you do?

Should you say something right there?

Should you say something later?

Should you keep your mouth shut?

Or WHAT?!?

(Hypothetically speaking, of course!)

Things I've Heard on the Job: #2

It's been awhile since I started this new "segment," but certainly NOT because there hasn't been any interesting "On the Phones @ JetBlue" experiences...I've just been blogging about other things, apparently.
But here's another addition....



* I got a call from a customer who, while she has me on the line, is trying to talk with family in the background about travel plans to see other family members. I can hear some little disagreements between everyone and complaints about the trip start...
Customer: "We're capital "D" for DYSFUNCTIONAL! That's the only way that describes the family!


* 8:30a.m. E.S.T.
Customer: "My daughter was suppose to be in at 7:50! Where the *%#@ is she?"
Me: "Let me check the flight status for you. What flight number is she on?"
Customer: "JetBlue flight #123. I'm waiting here at the JFK airport, and she's not here!"
Me: (checking) "Looks like flight #123 is scheduled to arrive at 7:50 in the evening, and it's on time."
Customer: "Oh...." click



* It is helpful to our customers to offer them our JetBlue card from American Express if they don't have one, so they can get their free flights easier & quicker, AND take advatage of special bonuses we have. AFTER I had just made a reservation for my customer for a flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica for 16 days, as is customary, I made the AMEX offer to her.
Customer: "Oh, I can't do anything right now - I'm unemployed! You do understand, don't you?"
Ummm, OK, I understand that you can't apply for a credit card right now, but, NO, I don't understand how the vacation you just booked relates to, "I can't do anything!!!"



* I got a call from a customer making a flight reservation in behalf of someone else...
Me: "Would he prefer a window or aisle seat, if available?"
Customer: "Oh...just not a middle! He'll needs an aisle. He is pretty heavy - He's a priest!
Me: (trying to control my laughter) "OK, lets find him a good aisle seat!"
(Now...should that be self-explanatory to me? Is it common knowledge that priest = heavy? Something else I didn't know!)



* I was helping an older gentleman book a flight for himself & his wife. He asked me to repeat what I said quite a bit, always apologizing to me that his hearing was not the best. We finally got an acceptable itinerary together and I quoted him the flight details and fares.
Me: "How does that sound for you?"
Customer: "Let me check with my bride of 54 years....THAT'S why I'm deaf!"

I'm afraid a creature IS stirring...

...and it might be a mouse!

or a moth.

or some sort of reptile.

or the Boogie Monster.

As the weather has changed to COLD [freezing], I've started to wear my sweaters again. Incidentally, these sweaters have just been sitting dormant in my closet since they were used last winter - so, approximately 9 months.

I got out this sweater and immediately noticed a few holes in it - which I'm pretty sure were NOT there before!

Then upon further examination of the front, back, and sleeves, I discovered a total of 27 holes!

27 holes, people!

In ONE sweater.

All since the last time it was used/worn. There may have been one - or even a couple - that I may have never been aware of before, but the majority have happened in a relatively short period of time - and are A MYSTERY!

It didn't smell like some of the old sweaters & blankets my mom & grandmas used to pull out of their cedar chests & attics - which they said was from moths, I think?

So, here's my question...What is going on? What causes this? Should I be scared/grossed out/alarmed? Do I dare remove my pile of folded sweaters from my closet shelf? What should I do? (besides put this 27-hole sweater in the D.I. bag, now.) Has this ever happened to any of you?
Should I call Haz-Mat?!! Animal Control? Disaster Cleanup? What's their number(s)?

(OK, so that was MORE THAN one question...I guess I've already reached the "alarmed" state!)

Or maybe it's just a child who's gotten a hold of a paper punch or scissors again?!?

But, my closet is too high for her, so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt this time...

so I still need YOUR answers!

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

when I have grown a foot or two.

I hope by then I will be ready

to teach and preach and work as missionaries do.

I hope that I can share the gospel

with those who want to know the truth.

I want to be a missionary

and serve and help the Lord while I am in my youth.

It's never too early to start preparing, right?!? After all, a mission is just 19 1/2 yrs. down the road for her. :)

Actually, Miss B is attracted to two things about this book:

1) It's cute, little size

2) The pictures of Jesus, Joseph Smith & Book of Mormon scenes

THAT and someone always leaves it out on the couch = easy access!!

In Loving Memory

Well, It's hard to say, "Goodbye"

and let go.
And it's hard to see it end.
When the memories we just made may never happen again.
But it's harder for time to ever erase, the together times we've shared.
So, when we're apart, remember, all the love we've shared together...
(Do these lyrics ring a bell for all you 37-42ish yr. olds out there?)


Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our awesome Suburban.

And it wasn't just because it was missing a very important driver's side door handle - I'd learned to live with THAT.


You see, six weeks ago, on our way down to St. George, half the transmission went out.
3rd and 4th gears -- completely GONE!
Which means we can't drive freeway speeds in it.
Which is a slight problem when there's 300 miles of freeway between where it went out and St. George!
We, lovingly, refer to that time as the "transmission adventure."
I won't go into it all...but the "adventure" involves the middle of the night, calling relatives at an insane hour, "sleeping" (or not) on someone's Family Room floor & couches, a $1,900 repair estimate (which we declined), driving the back roads from Orem to home to avoid freeway speeds (2 1/2 hrs. worth), borrowing a car, unpacking & repacking, and finally arriving at our St. George destination 21 hours AFTER we first set out to go!

Since then, we have known we need to get a new car, but I just wasn't ready (financially & emotionally) for this to happen, yet!
And since we could still drive it up to 40 mph, we have been these past 6 weeks.
In second gear.
Which makes a Suburban EVEN MORE of a gas guzzler than it already is!


The thing that made it harder was I thought I was only taking in the Suburban to let the car dealership owner have a look at it, so he could tell me how much they would give us for it (AS IS.) And then we would do the official trade-in the next day or so. BUT, when he came back from driving it, he told me I could just take the new car home right then. Yep, he let me take it without even a down payment! He didn't want to risk our Suburban losing the other half of it's transmission before he could even take it to the car auction, so he didn't want it to be driven anymore.
I didn't know if I was ready to give it up, yet -- especially so suddenly!
I took a while cleaning it out and transferring all it's contents over to the new car.
While stalling for time thoroughly cleaning it out, I discovered something stuck inside and under the middle console. When I pulled it out, it was a boys wallet.

Could it be what I thought it was? I opened it up. Yep, there, inside was $17.00!!!

You see, Ryan's wallet, with his life savings ($17) in it, went missing almost six years ago! It happened right around the time he had his 8 yr. old birthday party. So, when we could never find it anywhere in the house, we naturally assumed that one of those boys who came to his party STOLE IT! So many times over the years, Ryan has wished he had an extra $17. And then we would curse those 8 yr. old boys!

I apologize to all you [now 13 & 14 yr. old] innocent boys who were at that party! All these years, I've wondered which one of you was THE THIEF! At last, you have all regained your reputation, again!

OK, back to leaving the Suburban....
I finally did, and as I drove down the road, I got all teary-eyed.
"DUMB." you say?
This was my DREAM CAR!
"You really don't have very high standards!" you say.

I was first introduced to the Suburban growing up. We had one. It was "two-toned" - they used to all be like that. It was dark blue on the top and the bottom, with a light blue strip running through the middle section...aahhhh....it plowed through those snowy streets, up on the hill, in Bountiful...we called it "THE BURB"...I took my Driver's License test in it...it held a good load of teenagers in it as we went gallivanting around town - and out of town...it pulled our boat..and our trailer...and our trailer with our boat behind it (a 3 "vehicle" train if you can imagine it.)
And that is how my love affair with the Suburban was born.

So, back to my DREAM CAR.

Matt had come from a "BiG Van family", and could not fully appreciated the goodness of a Suburban - at first.
Earlier on in our marriage, when I told him of my plans for a Suburban, he said we did not need one! (with only 2 little boys and all.)
I promised him, "If you get me a Suburban, I will fill it up [with kids]!
Done deal!
We got the Suburban in Feb. 2003.

My intention was to also get it to pull a boat -- our boat.
That never happened. :(
Kids tend to devour up all of one's "Boat Fund."

We called it our "BMW" - Big Mormon Wagon.

We've made many a trips to St. George and Cache Valley in it!

We've had many a kids throw up and pee their pants in it! (And not just my offspring -- other children have also contributed to this cause!) :P

We took it on a road trip to Colorado Springs.
(lots of throw up on that trip!)

We drove it to Boise, Idaho. (Woo, Hoo!)

We may have "taken it the distance" even more, but since I started working at JetBlue, flying has become our preferred method of transportation.

It was the recipient of many a drink spills, crunched up food, stepped on crumbs and "mystery smells" as a result of the aforementioned items spoiling in their hidden places only known to my little ones.

We've been in little fender benders in it - and came away UNSCATHED - it's invincible, I tell ya!

It was "ol' reliable" as we drove it confidently through seven Utah winters.

And we can't forget our encounters with the cops in it!

Our family grew into it...from three children...to four...to five!
I didn't quite fill it to the brim - 6 children would've done that - so, maybe that's why I'm being punished! I didn't keep my promise to the fullest extent.

Since I wasn't expecting to give the Suburban up that day, I didn't come prepared with the camera. (Or a car wash for the "winter grime." Please pardon that.)

Matt went back the next morning to give them the money (a personal check) - yes, they basically let us give them a mere piece of paper with some numbers on it & our signature - and he took these last pictures. Afterwards he called me to tell me it was official -- he'd let her go -- and I cried. Real tears.
I had lost my baby.

*******

We got our new car from Rand's Auto in North Salt Lake. They were so great to work with! We've definitely found us a place to buy our cars EVERY TIME from now on! So, trusting of us! Wonder if we would've just taken off with their new car and left our Suburban forever?!? Without paying - ever? Not a great trade for THEM financially, but they'd still be LUCKY to have our Suburban - they just wouldn't understand WHY like I do!

*******

We got ourselves a Toyota Sienna. They have a much better life expectancy than American-made big, 4WD SUVs. It's an 8 passenger one - with a deep cargo space, in an effort to most closely imitate a Suburban. The kids are THRILLED! I can't believe we're a "minivan family" now! It's just that they're slightly less expensive than Suburbans these days!

Maybe one day, a Suburban will join our family again. I can only dream!

Climbing Back On the Wagon

I went on an 11 day "Leave of Absence."

Of paying any kind of attention to what I was eating.

Or how much I was eating.

Or what time I was eating it.

Just completely abandoned my "Eat Less, Move More" mantra -- and instead adopted the exact opposite (Eat More, Move Less).

The Damage?

4.8 pounds!

Incidentally, that's the exact number I lost that one time when I wrote down everything I ate...it's a wash, I guess!

Is that possible? Come on! That hardly seems fair, at all. It was only Dec. 24th thru Jan. 3rd.

But, IT IS WHAT IT IS. (boo, hoo!)

And that's all about to CHANGE!

Because I've got myself into another New Year's Challenge.

This year...different people, different focus, different twist, different time frame....

BUT, one thing stays the same.

I still refuse to reveal my weight to my fellow competitors!

(No, my husband still doesn't know my weight -- they say, "What he doesn't know, can't hurt him!" right?!!)

Don't Faint!

I got a wild hair....

and decided to do some canning.

I have never done this all by myself in my whole life!
(I'm sure that, in itself, causes me to lose status ["celestial points" if you will] as a Latter-Day Saint woman.)

Sure, growing up, I was on peach pitting & peeling duty PLENTY OF TIMES so my mom could accomplish her canning.
(In fact, I found myself with similar duties much of my youth. If there is one thing I came into adulthood knowing how to do, it's peeling potatoes & carrots and cutting them up! I'm quite the master.)

I've also contributed my pear coring & peeling skills with my MIL when she cans.

But, as far as doing it ALL - the "REAL" canning - like processing in a boiling water bath, I took that on a few days ago. And I was told NOT TO TOUCH OR MOVE the bottles for a while once I put them on the counter, so I have been paralyzed with "screwing-up-canning-fear," so they have been sitting there for several days now....

So, I finally decided to take a picture.




Are you ready for it?




Get your brown paper bags ready, in case this will start a hyperventilating problem for you or something...




Got your tissues, too?

Da, Da, Da, DAAHH.....

Before you think that something went terribly wrong and that I produce food that is the likes of the Better off Dead mom,
let me tell you WHAT I was canning.

Jalapeno Jelly.

I had the extra peppers from The Food Co-op and my SIL, Mandy, had been talking about jalapeno jelly over cream cheese to eat with tortilla chips...and I just got it in my mind that I was going to make me some!!

So, I got online & found a recipe and then called my neighbor, Heidi, no fewer than 10 times to ask questions (I actually called her another time, but hung up before anyone could answer because I didn't want to seem like THE STUPIDEST canner alive - I'll settle for the 2nd - THAT and I could see through my window that they were trying to sit down to eat dinner at that moment!)

As far as the taste?

I'm kind of too scared to try it.