Excuse Me While I Have a Little Freak Out

Guess where I went last night?

I still can't believe it myself.

I went to the Utah State University open house with my oldest to get some famous Aggie Ice Cream find out all about them, enter to win prizes..... 

AND TO APPLY FOR COLLEGE!

(But I DID enjoy me some Aggie ice cream, too.  

Sadly, the Aggie Blue Mint was all gone by the time we got there, though!)

AM I OLD ENOUGH to be sending my own offspring away to college?!?

Wasn't I just there myself?

 Along with my husband, too?

Didn't I just give birth to him?

 

Weren't we just spending our days on the couch in our apartment doing this?

 

Wait a minute!  He just started Kindergarten, didn't he?

And his Baptism was just the other day.

Didn't he just barely become a teenager?

Well, the fact that he went to the Homecoming Dance last Saturday,

most likely makes the answers to all those questions - a "NO!!"

But, I STILL can't believe it!  Only OLD people have college students, don't they?  I am a tad bit freaked out by this thought!!  It's already time to start making plans for his bedroom?  Hmmmm......A ladies workout room?  A music room?  A napping room?  A library?

There was one thing, a rude awakening,  that has really let us know that the years really HAVE  past by and things have changed.......back in my husband's day, he got the Presidential Scholarship (4 years tuition & fees all paid) at USU.  TODAY, with his same scores (GPA and ACT), he wouldn't even qualify!!  In fact, he would only be awarded the very lowest level of scholarship they give out for academics.  One that wouldn't even cover one semester!  You practically have to be perfect for the big scholarships these days.  

Otherwise, kids, get ready to pay out the BIG BUCKS!

Now Ryan's wishing he fought off his "brain-dead-teenage-boy-season-of-life" with MORE of a vengeance. 

All is not lost.  There are other scholarships he can go for - totally depending on how much work HE is willing to put in to applying/making a portfolio, etc.

He's still hangin' in there in his attempt to get the Regents Scholarship by taking AP Statistics, AP US Government, Biology, and Spanish 2 his Senior year (which aren't even required to graduate, but are required for this scholarship) instead of underwater basket weaving (or any frivolous classes) that his peers, who aren't trying for scholarships, get to take.

But, fortunately for him, because his AWESOME PARENTS are Utah State University ALUMNI, he can qualify for a small scholarship to attend there.

AND, there is even another [small] scholarship for VHS students who are children of Viewmont H.S. alumni!

Who knew there was actually a PRO to having a child of mine go to "Pee-yew"mont?!?  ;)

(my High School rival)

A Silver Lining

My Mission President first taught me about "Silver Linings." As in, "Every cloud has a silver lining."
He taught that in the midst of difficulty - and there was PLENTY on the mission (our message was rejected, cancelled baptism dates, unable to receive permission from parents/husbands/friends who were opposed to and would not grant permission to their loved ones being Baptized, investigators dropping us, foreign languages to learn, WEIRD food, "No Shows" for appointments & church, The cold/wet/humid/scorching weather...on a bike, companion relationships, etc. - sometimes ALL in the SAME day! Aauuugh!)

But, then, he said, there was ALWAYS something GOOD that could come out of it.  Blessings were all around - even if we did not discover them until a WHILE after the desperate/unhappy/gloomy situations.


Soooo, in the middle of our Post- Ruptured Patellar Tendon life - and I say, "OUR" because it has totally affected our whole family...."Single parent" with one more "child" to care for, but only the same amount of [limited] time - and only ONE driver....

I found a SILVER LINING!

{compliments of our Orthopedic Dr.....I made the request, and a trip to the DMV, and voila!}

And what's better than having a handicapped parking pass?

Having TWO passes!  (One for each car.)

Being a whole foot shorter than Matt, with much shorter legs, I've always had to move along, it seems, with a slow gallop to keep up with him.  NOW.....I'm walking very S.L.O.W.L.Y. and I'm still in front of him.  So, the shorter distance he has to "walk" (what do you call it when one move on crutches?) the better!

BUT!  I will not abuse it.  I have been in the car all by myself, and I pass the front, handicap parking stalls and find one further away, even though.....legally, technically, I could get away with it.

I've noticed others do park in those "reserved" spots EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE A HANDICAP PASS.  And THEN WE have no where semi-close to park.  I'm totally bugged by that.  Don't do it!  There ARE people who really need it!!!

And it's good for 3 MONTHS!  SCORE.  (Hope & Comfort among the challenges.)  It makes my "Gratitude List."

--------------
On the same subject of "Silver Linings" - did you think I was going to write about the movie?  I'm upset that Silver Linings Playbook is rated R.  It sounds like a great idea for a movie.....that I won't be seeing.  Hey!  You movie making people!  Why do you have to ruin all these movies with crap that brings them down to a disgusting & inappropriate rated R level?  Don't do it!

(I guess it's "Opposite NIKE Day")

Called to Serve

My neice opened her Mission call tonight.
We all went up to their house to witness this EXCITING event.
There was my family of 7 and about 100 other people there, too.  Really, maybe half that many.  Or a third.  I really don't know how many, but there were enough to make quite a ruckous with our cheering and clapping when she read aloud her mission she has been called to serve in.

MADRID, SPAIN

And the shouts continued when she read from her call that she will report directly to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in SPAIN - not the traditional one in Provo, Utah that everyone else in the family has gone to.

And the noise [of gladness & congratulations] burst out again when she read that she will start her mission on June 12, 2013.

I am thrilled for her!

With the new announcement from the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, at last October's General Conference that the new age for women to serve a full-time mission was changed to age 19 instead of 21,  she immediately was eligible since she was already 19 yrs. old!  There is now a SURGE of women submitting their missionary applications -- and I think IT. IS. WONDERFUL.  Sister Missionaries are SO effective and amazing.  They were THE BEST in my mission, but, unfortunately, we were in the minority......but things are changing now with the lower age!  Amongst some of my neice's other "fans" there to watch, there were three other girls who had their mission calls, too!!  It's so great.

Being there tonight, I couldn't help but recall receiving my OWN mission call.

Although, my experience 21 1/2 years ago was very, very different from hers today, it still brought back the EMOTION associated with it..  Tears filled my eyes as I listened to her read her call, just the same as they have the other few times I have been privileged to be a bystander when future missionaries have opened their calls.....BECAUSE I KNOW what it's like to open a Mission Call.  I have been there!  The tears were there when I opened my OWN call, too.  It is SO important and SO profound.  It is SO BIG - a call to serve from The Prophet.

After being a part of her "Mission Call Opening Party" with the masses, Matt asked me if it made me wish I would've done it like THAT.

No.

That may surprise some because I am very much a "social creature" by nature and a "People Person" who loves friends and being around others.  USUALLY.  But, opening my mission call was NOT a USUAL experience.
There is not a wrong way and a right way to do it.  The way I did it was just PERFECT FOR ME!

I chose to open my Mission Call all by myself, in private, out in nature, next to a river in the beautiful surroundings of Logan Canyon in Northern Utah back in the summer of 1991.

I wanted to have my own true, REAL initial reaction to the call - without having to "put on a show" for an audience.

So, when I learned of my call, FUKUOKA, JAPAN, there was no fanfare.  No deafening crowds whooping and hollering.  No eyes on me - at least not of the human kind.  But I felt very, very close to my Heavenly Father & Jesus at that moment - I KNEW They were with me.

(Signed by Ezra Taft Benson, the Prophet in 1991)

Even though I am "Geographically Deficient" and I didn't even know WHERE Japan was....North?  South?  East?  West of here?  Even though I had indicated on my application that I was NOT interested in learning a foreign language....  And even though I [might have] exclaimed, "Holy Cha!" when I read it, I immediately prayed - right then and there on that big boulder I was sitting on out in the open air.  I was surrounded with just the sound of the trickling water, the fluttering of leaves in the trees up above and the occasional chirping of a bird.  And as I did so, I felt The Spirit confirming to me that I was "up to the challenge!"

For DAYS afterwards, it still seemed like an "Out of body experience" to think about ME serving a mission in Japan.  I still can't believe that I did it sometimes, now!   But, that day will always be a tender memory for me.

I did go to my parents home the next day where the rest of my "groupies" had gathered and I "opened" my Mission Call (however I already knew where I was going) in front of them.  Then they were all made privy to the BIG NEWS for the first time -- and they shared in my joy and excitement, too.  So, I got BOTH - a private and a public opening - I've always been one to prolong the CELEBRATION as much as possible!  ;)  haha.

GO Sister Missionaries! 

(This plaque hung in the glass case at our church building the whole time I was gone.)

Blog Post Request Granted

Remember LILY?

She's Haylee's hamster - despite Mom's opposition to pets, Santa went ahead and gave it to her for Christmas 2010......ring a bell now?

Well, unfortunately, she died during the night a couple of weeks ago.  (From old age?  She had been wobbling around lately in stark contrast to when she jumped out of our arms and zipped up the Christmas Tree the day she arrived at our home!)  Matt always checks on her since she shares his weight lifting room.  During Friday night's workout, she was alive.  Saturday morning, she was not.  At the time, Haylee was up at her Grandparent's condo playing with her cousins, so she didn't find out until we went to pick her up and we were about to come home.  ALL the girls started crying.  We only had her for 1 1/2 yrs., and we're not sure how old she was when Santa bought her from the pet store. 

Matt told her we could have a little memorial service for her and bury her in our backyard.
Ryan, always the Teaser, laughed at that idea and asked what we were going to SAY at a HAMSTER'S "funeral"....

Which brought to his memory the scene from Cheaper by the Dozen when the family buries their son's pet frog, Beans.

Which then set Ryan off on quoting [through his laughter] the lines of the dad's speech in the movie:

"Beans was a good frog.
He...he was...uh...not like a lot of the...ya know...bad frogs you hear about today - all hopped up.
He was loveable.  He was almost human.  He was like...uh...one of the family.  Except that...uh...of course he was green and he ate flies.
But he was a HOPPER!
He hipped.
And he hopped.
He loved HIP HOP."

(see actual clip below)

Bean's Funeral
Cheaper by the Dozen — MOVIECLIPS.com

And right then and there, Matt banned Ryan from attending Lily's memorial service because WHO KNOWS what he would do?!?

Matt went outside before Haylee woke up and dug a hole, then found a box that was just the right size for Haylee to put Lily in.

She covered her up with tissues.

Placed her into the hole in the ground.

 Then she shoveled the dirt back to fill up the hole.

I let her use my paints to make her a ROCK to mark the "grave."

The kids were asking if we could "exhume" her when we move and re-bury her in the new house's yard.......... I told them we could take the painted rock and place it in our future flower beds. They were satisfied with that idea. (WHEW!)   Sshhhh.....Just don't tell the new owners they have a dead hamster in their yard!

After this, Matt, I, and the girls were standing around the "grave" in the yard and Matt asked Haylee if she'd like to say anything........

"WILL YOU MAKE A BLOG POST, MOM?" was all she said.

So here it is!  I'm happy to grant her wish.  :)

Past Posts about Lily:

I'm not a [Wo]Man of my Word
The "Incident"
Good-Bye 2011

The Behind-the-Scenes Story

Over time, I've learned a few "tricks" when showing a home - especially when you have very little or NO notice.  Allow me to share them with you....

Throw any extra stuff laying around the house, including the training potty because NO ONE wants to see that - YUCK!, in the back of your car before leaving.

Or throw it in between rows of seats - that works, too.

It's the laundry baskets full of CLEAN clothes that you haven't had a chance to fold and put away yet.  It's also the DIRTY clothes hamper removed from the boys' bedroom, both to "create" more floor space AND to remove the smell!

*In fact, I had forgotten that I had all that stuff in the second seat once when I picked up my Visiting Teaching partner.  She got in my car, looked back there at all the laundry, and asked, Are you going somewhere?  She later told me she thought it looked like I was planning on running away!  (Not a bad idea sometimes)

Put the crock pot in the dryer when the call for a [short notice] showing comes in the middle of dinner -
and there's no time to clean up and no room in the fridge RIGHT THEN.....

Stash extra "stuff" under the bed.

Or underneath the pile of pillows on your bed - that's a good hiding place, too -

and hopefully people aren't rummaging through your bed sheets....ARE THEY?!?

 Spray all the "good-smelling-challenged rooms" (i.e. boys' bedroom & bathrooms) with a nice fragrance.

 For the people we actually got an offer from, on their 2nd time through our home,
I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies right before they come (the aroma still fills the Kitchen)
and left them out on a platter for them to partake of.

You might be thinking, What "expertise" does SHE have?  After all, it took her a FREAKIN' 76 TIMES to get an offer(s) on her home!  What the HECK is SHE sharing "tricks" for?  I'm not listening to HER!

But, it was all about TIMING, my friends.  And WHERE we are suppose to be.

And NOT MY TIMING, but The Lord's timing.

You see, 7 years ago, we bought an "option" to build a house on some land near our current home that had now been sold to a builder.  The land used to be these giant corn fields that produced the. best. corn.  We loved walking down there to buy some in the Summer -- when we got there in time before it sold out, that is!  In the Fall, they turned part of the field into a big corn maze.  We were sad to see the corn fields sold off because it held some good memories for us, but that's part of what drew us to that location, we felt "connected" to it.  Although it would not be in our same ward, we would be in all the same schools.  It felt really good to us at the time.  Our plan was to build in the very last phase, Phase 6.  The whole project was suppose to be DONE in two years, which would put us moving around 2007.  This was about 2 years sooner than we had planned on moving when we first bought our current home, but like I said, It felt good to us.

And then the housing market went down the toilet.

And this new development didn't get started on schedule, and then the homes in the earliest phases weren't selling fast enough, either, so their "two-year-plan" was no longer a reality.  But, we didn't mind because that gave us more time to stay in our current home like we had wanted to - and to build more equity/pay our mortgage down further and to save more money, etc.

But then the housing market stayed IN the toilet.

And this new development was getting further and further behind schedule, and they weren't opening up later phases until their current phases were all sold which just wasn't happening very rapidly.  The builder had been struggling through this project for four years trying to stay ahead of their bank obligations that they have on this development. It had certainly been a lot different from what they had projected from the very start of
this project.  But, we had reached the point in our lives and the time that we had planned on moving.  We had wanted to move BEFORE Ryan started High School, even while he was still in Jr. High, and get all the kids settled in schools before they got too old and it became harder to leave.  So, we kind of gave up on the new build idea.

So, we started looking at existing homes instead.

(But left our "option" money with the build project)

We had our Realtor show us many, many houses.  On multiple occasions.  We probably looked at 40 or more houses.  The whole time, I had prayed that I would KNOW when we saw the RIGHT HOUSE.  That I would feel good about it.  I was looking for the same experience I had when we walked into our current home - within my first few steps into this house, I blurted out, I LOVE IT!  We even went back to a few houses a couple of times.  One house even changed their kitchen paint to a neutral beige color since our Realtor had told their Realtor that we hated the Orange Kitchen!  But, the paint overhaul still didn't cause me to feel good about it.  There WAS one house that I thought was IT - my heart stirred within me right there in the front foyer - but it turned out Matt had some serious objections about it, mainly because on the drive up there, we passed THREE BMWs - no lie!  We even stopped looking for a while because we were kind of disheartened when we never could find THE ONE that I felt good about.  On multiple occasions during this time, the thought/voice came to my mind, You felt good about building [in the corn fields.]   But, our current home wasn't selling anyway, so the urgency wasn't there. 

So, time went on, and we continued to look at houses.  We had first included four cities in our search; Bountiful, Centerville, Farmington, & Kaysville, but truth be told, whenever I thought about leaving Farmington, I was SICK - even though Bountiful is my beloved Alma Mater!  And then our oldest, Ryan, really started talking about how he didn't want to leave his school.  At the time, his Jr. High fed into two different High Schools, and he said he'd be fine going to either of those since he had Jr. High friends going to both, so that narrowed down the cities where we could look and move down to three.  AND THEN, our next son, Kyle, who typically is hesitant to tell his feelings, revealed that he really didn't want to go to any other Jr. High except for the one we currently lived in the boundaries for, so that eliminated one more city from our search.  And then they changed the Jr. High boundaries, which left us with only Farmington to work with.  Which is the place we LOVE and have always felt the best about anyways.  We just weren't finding the "perfect house" so we had tried to broaden our search.  People were telling me there was no such thing as a perfect house.  To which I silently thought, Unless you build your own "perfect" house.  Then the little girls begged to stay in their same Elementary School...and then later, our same ward.  Now, where were we suppose to look for a house?

About 15 months ago, in Feb. 2011, our ward boundaries changed (enlarged) to include the new build site.  At that time, many of our ward members were asking us, Why don't you build in the new neighborhood?  Then you can still be in our same ward!  Well, because, 5 1/2 yrs. after announcing the project, they were just barely plowing some dirt roads into Phase 5.  Our phase, Phase 6, was probably still at least 2-3 years off, and we were ready to move now.  But, interestingly enough, the more people asked me that question, my answer began to change to, We might.  Who knows [if we'll ever be able to find an existing house we like and feel good about].  And the thought, You felt good about building, was brought to my remembrance - again!  But, the new-build project didn't seem to be working out, so it didn't seem like a viable option.


Then 6 months later, I was released from my Primary Presidency calling and immediately called to the Young Women's Presidency in our ward.
In the Bishop's office, when I was extended the calling, sitting beside my husband, I remarked, Does THIS mean I can't move?
To which the Bishopric member responded, We hope so!
That day, the newly called Young Women's President came to talk to me.  She shared with me the very strong spiritual experience she had had when given the task of choosing counselors for her presidency.  She said MY NAME came to her mind and heart immediately. Strongly, almost forcefully.  Deliberately.  And without a doubt.  She admitted to me she thought, That's crazy!  Her house is For Sale and she is going to move.  But, she knew.  And she submitted my name anyways.
When she relayed that to me, it caused me to wonder also.....WHY ME?  What does this mean?  Am I supposed to be HERE? 
With that thought on my brain and with this new calling, it PUSHED me towards considering the building option again.  It OPENED MY MIND to the idea that I could just change Phases.  I had been stuck on Phase 6 all along, thinking it was that one or nothing.  But, then, all of a sudden, Phase 5 began to be attractive to me - and I couldn't get it out of my mind.

We switched gears with our Realtor.  Instead of looking at existing homes, we told her to now approach The Builder about making a deal with us to build in Phase 5.  The finding-a-plan and the negotiating process took several months, but finally we came to terms and our plans were sent to the city for approval.  And they got stuck there - for months!  But, even that ended up being good because then the great wind storm of Dec. 2011 came and took off our roof & siding and broke a window and we decided to take our home off the market - since it didn't exactly have great curb appeal in it's current condition.  Then it took 4 1/2 months to fight with the Insurance company (and call a hundred times) to get all the repairs approved, paid for, and completed - all the while our new house had started to be built - and I was stressing because I knew we needed to get our current home back on the market!  But, after it was all done, the projects, our new roof especially, really improved the look and condition of our home.  So, the storm was really in our favor!  :)  A $1,000 deductible for $15,000 worth of work!

We got our home back up For Sale in April - almost half-way into our new home's completion.  We had always prayed, and fasted several times, that our home would sell, but at this time, Matt & I started to pray even more fervently.
I was getting annoyed with the kid's prayers because they would go something like this, Please help that our house will be clean and look good for those who come see it, so someone will want to buy it.

AND THEN THEY WOULD NEVER DO THEIR CHORES & COMPLAIN WHEN ASKED TO DO ANYTHING!

What?  Did they think that the "house fairy" would come to visit and that every day the house would just magically clean itself all up?!!?  I told Matt that we needed an "intervention" during our next Family Home Evening.  He gave a lesson using the scripture in James 2:20, Faith Without Works is Dead.  To explain the meaning, we gave some examples:

What if you prayed, Please bless me that I'll get straight A's on my report card.  And then you never ever studied, did homework, or turned in assignments?
What if you prayed, Please bless me that I'll lose weight.  And then you sat around all day, inactive, pigging out on chips, Big Macs, and ice cream?
What if you prayed, Please bless me to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  And then you never even opened up the book nor read one word?

They all were making fun of those scenarios and thought those "people" were RIDICULOUS!  Then we informed them that THEY were those "people" in the way they had been praying/failing to act.
It was definitely an, "AH HA!" moment for them.
And then we spent the rest of Family Night clearing out closets and wiping down every floor board and shelf in our home!  We're ALL in this together!  :)  (Are you thinking about High School Musical now?)
As the days followed, they improved and started contributing to our home & family, so now I felt that their prayers were not in vain.  I did a calculation of our new home completion time and also the time it takes to complete a deal after an offer is received, and I came up with a deadline of June 8th (Matt's Birthday) as the date we HAD to sell our home by.  And we started praying accordingly.  (More like pleading.)
Then during the first weekend in May, I went to a scrapbook retreat with a bunch of friends - something we do about 3X a year.  During the course of talking about my situation, one friend told me it sounded like it was time for me to do what her Grandma always taught.  Her Grandma swore by it.  It was her secret weapon in times when an extra measure of blessings was needed, and specifically when a house needed to sell.  Her Grandma had done it - and it worked.  Her parents had done it - and it worked.  And she had done it - and it worked.  (There's my THREE witnesses!)
The secret is THIS:
DOUBLE your Fast Offering.
Don't just increase it by 15%.  Or 20%.  Or 30%.  Or even 50%.  Completely DOUBLE it.
(I had never heard of this theory in regards to selling a house.  And I was intrigued!)
I texted Matt the idea, to which he immediately replied, OK.
And the following day just happened to be Fast Sunday.  Perfect!

I have heard it said of Tithing before that it is not a principle of MONEY, but rather it is a principle of FAITH.  That came to my mind when I was embracing my friend's Grandma's "golden nugget of knowledge."  Yes, doubling our Fast Offering DID involve money, but it was really another way - a harder way, a more out-of-our-comfort-zone way for us to demonstrate our FAITH to Heavenly Father.  It was something in addition to the prayer and fasting that we had already been doing for a while.

And it brought our desired results!  15 days before our deadline! 
And talk about TIMING, the people who we have an accepted offer with, are in a contract with their current apartment until July 31st, so aren't in a rush to move.  That is the same time our new house will be done.  They have agreed to close in June (more security for us) but let us live here until July (more convenience for us with only moving once!)  AND we have two "back-up" offers.

Sure, I posted about some changes we made to our home, which surely helped the appearance, but I believe the real reason, or the beginning of getting the ball rolling is the Fast Offering part.  Clearly those ideas/inspiration came to me after showing forth the necessary faith.  Other home selling strategies felt right to us, also, as a result of our actions....which all worked together to lead to a SALE!

And the fact that each of these circumstances, thoughts, events, conversations, and opportunities happened in the just the way that they did, over the last 7 years, led us to exactly the point where we are right now.

My mom used to always say, There are no coincidences.  Everything happens for a reason.

The Lord is in charge.

We Haven't Aged a Day -- RIGHT?!?

The Japan Fukuoka Mission, that was under the direction of Figuerres Dendobucho and Shimai (1991-1994),
had our 19/20/21 year Mission Reunion this past weekend in conjunction with General Conference.

{I may or may not have been able to easily recognize everyone!}

Let's take a look at the THEN and NOW......

M.T.C. - September 1991

Washburn Shimai & I (roommates)

March 2012

{We both lost our perms!}

Arriving at the Mission Home
Fukuoka, Japan - November 1991

President & Sister Figuerres and I

March 2012

There's absolutely no difference, RIGHT?!?

Oh Dear.

Games People Play

My son, Ryan, had a birthday party a couple of weeks ago at our home and I "led" them in several games. One of which was the "I have never..." game. Do you know what I'm talking about? I actually played this at a party at my house as a teen.
The point of the game was to:
a) get to know each other better, on a more interesting level
and
b) to win the most Starburst. (since that's one of the important things in life!)
The way you won Starburst was to come up with something unique (that was TRUE) that you had never done before and reveal it to everyone - because anyone else in the group that HAD done that was required to throw in one of their [pre-distributed] Starburst in response to your confession. Thus, causing the pile of Starburst to get increasingly larger as the game went on.
IF a player ever said something that caused EVERYONE to throw in a Starburst (meaning he/she was the ONLY one who hadn't done that particular thing), he/she got the entire pile of Starburst that had accumulated.
Some of the kids were having a hard time coming up with things they had never done. Are they THAT experienced? Have they already done it all? Or were the "creative juices" just not flowing? (A case of not-being-able-to-think-in-front-of-the-opposite-sex?)

Anyway, it got me thinking. Was it really that hard - even at my age? Would I be able to come up with things to say? So, I started brainstorming. As it turns out, there's a lot I could say.

Like....

I have never drank [or swallowed] alcohol

I have never smoked [or inhaled]

I have never worn fake fingernails put on at a salon

I have never been to Europe

I have never been to Africa

I have never been to Australia

I have never been to South America

I have never been to Antarctica

I have never sky dived

I have never scuba dived

I have never done facebook

I have never been arrested

I have never bought REALLY expensive clothes (like over $60)

I have never bungee jumped

I have never had a mole removed

I have never been transported in an ambulance

I have never been a Girl Scout

I have never seen ALL of the Star Wars movies (only the very 1st)

I have never flown in a helicopter

I have never been fired from a job

I have never gone hunting

I have never had (or been summoned for) jury duty

I have never been tall & skinny (although I was short & skinny before)

I have never owned a video game system (Nintendo, PS, XBOX, Wii, etc.)

I have never had braces

I have never read any of the Harry Potter books (or seen the movies)

I have never ridden in a limo

I have never gone on a hot air balloon ride

I have never been to a professional football game (NFL)

I have never had pnuemonia

I have never been in a cast

I have never eaten [or tasted] Chili's restaurant Molten Chocolate Cake (BTW: 1070 Calories, 51 g. Fat, 143 g. Carbs, and 25 Weight Watchers POINTS) You're Welcome to all who've partaken!

I have never bought [or taken] a home pregnancy test (I always just KNEW!)

I have never been a contestant on a [T.V.] Game Show

I have never snowboarded

I have never eaten many kinds of fish; like Mahi Mahi, Tilapia, Orange Roughy, Bass, Cat fish, crappie (it's called THAT for a reason, right?!?)

I have never taken ballet lessons

I have never had a [real] tattoo

I have never owned a La-Z-Boy recliner (or equivilent piece of furniture)

I have never been able to whistle

....or wink

I have never had the top of my ear pierced (in the cartlidge area)

I have never liked bananas

I have never had a newborn baby sleep through the night during his/her first 2 months of life. (like so many of YOU lucky ducks!)

I have never had a Master's Degree

I have never had a pet (my siblings did, but NOT me)

I have never seen more than a couple minutes of Dancing with the Stars/American Idol/Amazing Race/The Bachelor(ette)/The Apprentice/Big Brother/Project Runway/Fear Factor

I have never had a REALLY big T.V. (like >36") (Maybe that explains the above)

I have never had "Road Rage"

I have never worked at a Fast Food joint

I have never attended BYU (a rarity in these parts!)

I have never been pooped on by a seagull


So, go ahead, everyone....throw in your VIRTUAL Starburst in response to my statements (and let me know which ones I got you on!) (Did you hear me say, "Everyone?")

So, do you think I have a deprived life, now? :) BUT, all that could change. I DO have a BIG Birthday coming up this year...like even BIGGER than the last BIG Birthday I had 10 years ago!! (the one that traumatized me enough to run a marathon just to prove I wasn't old.) Anyway, don't ya think that this post includes some great hints of ways to celebrate THIS milestone - that any smart husband would pick up on, and do something with them?!? Just an observation... ;)

Back to my son's party...the statement that took the CAKE Starbursts was one I still can't believe:

"I have never been to St. George."
said one boy.
Talk about a deprived life!! ;)

(Except for the fact that he now has a lifetime supply of Starburst!)