It's Like I was 17 Again!

Unfortunately, we've been having sub-freezing temps around here lately, which has caused our garage door keypad to not open our door.

Fortunately, I tried it Saturday afternoon when I went our for a walk, and IT WORKED!

Unfortunately, when I returned an hour later, the keypad was NOT working again.

Fortunately, we have three other doors that I can get in our home with.

Unfortunately, when I tried all of them, they were ALL locked at the moment.

Fortunately, I have a LOUD knock/pound to alert those inside to open the door for me.

Unfortunately, no one answered the door.

Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me and I called the home phone.

Unfortunately, no one answered.

Fortunately, I knew this didn't necessarily mean anything negative (no one answers the phone when it rings!)

Unfortunately, when I called Kyle's cell phone, he said he wasn't inside our home - he was at a friend's house.  It didn't look like I was getting inside any time soon.

Fortunately, I had my coat and gloves.

Unfortunately, I did not have a face mask, hat, thermals or boots on, and the CHILL got through.

Fortunately, I had one chance left - I called Matt.

Unfortunately, he was in Salt Lake City shopping for a table.

Fortunately, he was almost done.

Unfortunately, he did not have our car with him, nor our keys, because he had borrowed his parent's truck to pick up above mentioned table, so he'd have to make an extra stop on his way home to get them.

Fortunately, we did have some neighbors who looked like they were home, if I froze or got desperate, or was desperately frozen, that I could go to and beg for shelter and warmth to wait it out in.

Unfortunately, I did not want to trouble them with my pathetic situation.

Fortunately, I HAD just returned from my walk to the library, and I had a bag full of six new books!  And we have a rocking chair on our porch!  So, I took a seat, opened up a book, and started reading!

And eventually Matt came home and let me into our [warm] home! 

The End.

Total time spent locked outside = approximately 30 minutes.
(But, with temperatures hovering around the high teens, it felt like MUCH longer!)  ;)


*This being locked out hasn't happened to me FOR YEARS - in my teens and college years, it was a regular occurrence, though, so this was quite the trip down Memory Lane!  haha.

Combatting the Winter BLUES

The Missionary Care Package I did for January was BLUE.

He likes to open them on his "click date" (the 27th) and I thought I still had several days, but then I realized the few days before his "click date" was a weekend when mail isn't delivered, so I had to do it really fast all in one morning.  I literally bought the stuff at the store, took the picture in the parking lot, filled the box, then drove it to the post office.
So you get really nice backgrounds this time for these photos!!

{The contents}

Why the 2,000 Flushes? (well, it is "BLUE plus bleach!")  And because I REALLY AM afraid of those Elders' bathroom conditions!!

Disney's Frozen cereal?  (well, it BLUE, as well!)  Also, "Frozen" was the last movie his 1st companion had seen before leaving out on his mission in Jan. '14, so that is the movie that got quoted by the two of them together, so that makes it a bit fun.

{The packed and ready-to-ship box}

The four flaps say:

"You are a BLUE ribbon missionary!"

"Our life would be BLUE without you!!"

"You're the 'BLUE-eyed boy' of the Brenchley family! (and our Heavenly Father's)"

"Keep teaching the Gospel 'til you're BLUE in the face!"  :)

Ryan, actually guessed that it would be WHITE this month, probably because of Winter and the snow......but, NO! That wasn't on my mind.

The SNOW is where he is in West Virginia, NOT here in Utah (see the grass showing in my great photo background, at the side of the parking lot?)  A WHITEOUT is not something I have seen for a month!  (Very UNUSUAL for Utah this time of year!)

Links to past care packages:

December

November

October

September

Gone With the Wind

Here is a conversation that went on in our neighbor's house when they looked out their window towards our yard the other morning and saw this:

Wife:  "Why do the Brenchley's have a clump of stuff all arranged in that one spot of their yard?"
Husband:  "There used to be a shed there!"

Shortly afterwards, I got a text from our her.
Neighbor:  "What happened to your shed?"
Me:  "It was obliterated!"

The crazy thing was, we only found two [broken] pieces of it in our yard.  Did it disappear?  So where did it all go?

Well, another neighbor (who live two houses over in our cul-de-sac) will tell you it all went in their back yard (at least four bigger-ish pieces).

But, THAT wasn't all of it......

And as I've been doing my walks (for my Fitbit steps) around the neighborhood, I have found several other pieces in various sizes, small to large, all over the place!

Now we've had to move everything into our garage (boo hoo!) which also sustained terrible damage to it's door from the wind, as well.  (It's nonfunctional!)

Is it possible to have P.T.S.D. just from hearing the wind?  After what happened three years ago to our old home, too!

 The basketball standard [even with water in it's base to weigh it down] couldn't remain upright through it all, either!

#weliveinawindtunnel

3 Gatsu!

YES!!!  It's March!

{finally}

Which means the worst months (January & February) are over!

Even though our weather has been mild the last couple of weeks, and today's weather hasn't change - it's actually the same - I'm just so RELIEVED we're moving onto March!

Winter has always been my least liked season, but I think, as I get older, my feelings about it are getting worse!  It's hard for me to be upbeat.  I'm not really a fan of winter sports/hobbies, so I'm not excited for snow ever.  EVEN THOUGH Utah has been known to have strange weather - snow as late as May - I feel like we're on the way out of the woods.

So, hopefully, most of the snow/cold/inversion days are over - both where I live AND where the airline I work for flies, so that we don't have to be so crazy, busy with tons of problems at work!

Hopefully, I can start to see my peeps again!  (We quit walking our kids to school when it gets into the 30's.)  It seems like we all stay inside our houses during the winter, and I don't get to see/talk to anyone.  Seriously, one day in January, I took a walk through and down every single road in my ward (church congregation geographical boundaries) and I did not see a SINGLE PERSON out.  What?!?  Do we have an anti-social ward?!?  Or people don't like to be outside in single digits when the air quality is harmful to your respiratory system?!?  ;)

So.....now that it's March, I've got several things to look forward to:

1. Having a lunch with my [long time, no see] friends
2. Going out on our semi-annual lunch with my aunts, girl cousins, & sisters on my mom's side of the family.
3. Attending a 3-day event, Romance & Royalty, with Matt up in Midway at The Zermatt Resort  (We won it!  Valued at $950)
4. Annual dinner at Ruth's Chris with a business partner (and on his dime!)
5. Spring Break with my family in Las Vegas
6. Going with TWO of my daughters to the FIRST General Women's Meeting that includes all girls age 8 & up.
7. And maybe this scene:
   

 {OK, so maybe not in Utah}

Welcome March!

A Couple of Math Equations

1.

 +

 +

 +

 +

 +

 =

A much needed [Winter] BREAK in Hawaii last week.

2.

 {It's the wait-until-Mom-gets-home-to-finish-Science-Fair-project-that's-DUE-the-NEXT-DAY-syndrome}

To find out how I feel about those things, read HERE.

+

 +

 {I haven't got a clue!}

+

 +

 

{Why is unpacking such a daunting task?}

 +

 +

=

A RUDE awakening to my harsh reality!

When Your Broncos Make It to the Super Bowl.....

Your husband's "DREAM" of the last gazillion years, all of a sudden becomes a "NEED!"

Such a funny phenomenon.....No?  ;)

To fulfill my need, I think I'll take off to Hawaii this week.  Seriously.

Good Bye! 

Work Woes

It hasn't exactly been a breeze at work for Matt & I lately.

MATT:
It all started on Christmas Eve.....

When THIS GUY walked into Matt's work (a Credit Union).

And THEN he proceeded to ROB one of their tellers!  He just verbally told him, "This is a robbery.  Give me all your money."  The teller looked at him like he was kidding, to which the robber clarified, "This is FOR REAL."  So, the teller complied.

(And got away before law enforcement arrived - within minutes!)

The president was out that day, so Matt spent a lot of time searching the security camera footage and prepare it for the cops and going through all the other procedural steps for robberies.  Never pleasant.

In the News:  This same guy went on to rob two other financial institutions over the course of the same week!!  Story HERE.

THEN, on Monday, just 13 days after the 1st robbery, they got robbed AGAIN.  (Different robber, same teller!!!)  We couldn't believe it!

He imitated he had a weapon, but one was never seen.

AGAIN, the president of the credit union was still out, so Matt went through the whole "recovery process" that day, as well - LIKE HE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE HE NEEDS TO DO!  HA!
This time the FBI was there with their masks on, collecting fibers, and the whole nine yards!
Understandably, some of his employees were VERY distraught and shook up.  They kept the outside door locked the rest of the afternoon.

Why do these thugs think they can just commit such crimes...which involve REAL PEOPLE????  (It's an epidemic - like 24 bank robberies in the last two months in our state!)  And cause all kinds of [mental & financial] damage along the way.  

ME:
My hopes to start the New Year off "low-key" at work were completely dashed THANKS TO THIS:

The first winter storm of the year has arrived bringing with it significant snowfall, strong winds and extremely frigid temperatures to the Northeast. Going into it we knew this was going to be a challenge, but boy, were we unpleasantly surprised for how big it actually got.

It caused us to deal with THIS:

Which resulted in a TON of THIS:

Which meant a "Code Red" was issued on NEW YEAR'S DAY.  A "code red" is when it is mandatory for everyone to work a certain number of overtime hours that day.  (In addition to your regularly scheduled work shifts.)
The CODE RED was still in effect for January 2.
And then another CODE RED was issued for January 3.
And another on January 4.
And on January 5.
And January 6.
And even on January 7.

But, to look on the bright side....{cue ABBA's song, "Money, Money, Money"}  I'll probably make more money in this one week time period, than I did in the last 2 months!

Finally, for the 8th, overtime will no longer be mandatory, but it is still being asked of us, on a volunteer basis, because there are still so many [sometimes irate] customers calling trying to either get a better/earlier/different flight, or get their money refunded/adjusted.  Or to just complain, cancel, compliment, cross-examine, cuss at, or confuse us!

But, we tried to MAKE THE MOST OF IT:

Good thing my friends gave me a case of this:

And this:

;)

To cope, Matt also took me away, out on a date Friday night to a steakhouse we have been wanting to try for years, and then another day I got together with The Girls for a sort of "bridge club."

Friday will be my first day off work in 11 days!  I am looking forward to it!

This Weekend:

It has been a tradition of Matt & mine, over the last several years, to go on a "recovery" overnighter at a hotel sometime between Christmas and New Year's.  We usually have our niece stay with our kiddos, but this year she is on an LDS mission in the Canary Islands.  And my other niece (the sister to the above mentioned niece) is getting married on New Year's Eve this year, and she planned her pre-wedding temple day on the Friday evening that we would've gone on the overnighter.....so, it didn't work out this year.  We decided to substitute an "all day date" instead.  Matt took the day off work on Friday.

* Breakfast at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon

(No outdoor seating this morning in the frigid temps where the sun was blocked by the mountain the patio backs up to!)

* Then we looked at some cars at about 4 different dealerships in Salt Lake & Davis County.

Can I just say that some car salesmen are in the wrong job!  They're really bad!  NO people skills!

(One really good car had been sold just 20 minutes before we arrived and the buyer was still there 

doing paperwork and the car was, too, getting detailed!  Miss!)

* We went to this movie matinee:

(It was interesting.  Walter is quite a delightful geek. ;)  We liked it.  Very clean (PG).
We got good seats this time, unlike my last experience at a movie. 

Spoiler Alert:  Matt's favorite part was when I screamed out loud and grabbed his arm,
practically jumping into his lap, when a shark came out of the ocean!)

* We had "linner" at Costa Vida afterwards.

We got the usual:  sweet pork for Matt, grilled steak for me.  (Salad, that is.)

* We went home and changed into our dress clothes, then went up to the Bountiful Temple

to attend a session with our niece, Maddie, and her fiance, Josh - and a lot of my 

extended family.

{Interesting note about Maddie's maiden name/married name:  Currently, her last name is Fowers (same as my maiden name)
and her fiance's last name is Baum (pronounced, "bomb").  So, when she gets married, she will be known as "Maddie F. Baum."}  haha!  ;)

* We went to my brother's house for dessert following the temple session.

There were a few choices, but I had peppermint ice cream pie with Oreo crust - YUM!

* Everyone (except exhausted me) did their Saturday jobs in the morning...which drug into

the afternoon for "some" (who shall remain nameless).

* Matt took the girls sledding

* The boys went to the movie, "The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug"

* Which meant I had the [quiet] house all to myself!!!!  And I read some more

from my book, A girl name Zippy: growing up small in Mooreland, Indiana

And then I fell asleep while reading, for about 1 1/2 hrs., until the troops [noisily] came home.

* We got together with some of the Brenchley adults for

Dickey's BBQ for dinner, card games, and visiting.

* Church on Sunday

I taught the Young Women two lessons:

This one and This one. 

As far as establishing a Christ-centered home, I found this helpful chart on Pinterest recently: 

{It's hanging on my fridge now, ready to go for 2014}

* Sunday afternoon was spent with a visit from my Visiting Teacher,

more reading, and a nap!

* We had a non-traditional Sunday dinner for Sunday dinner

(Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken), but it was

easy and allowed me to have a leisurely afternoon while

I am still recovering from the post-Christmas-run-over-by-a-truck feeling.   

* We never got to watch "A Christmas Story" during the month,

so we actually finished off the night watching it, even though it's after Christmas - that's OK, isn't it?

With the magic of Wikepedia and imdb, we discovered those "kids" (Ralphie & Scut Farkus) 

in the movie are like MY AGE! ~ weird.  

(the actors who play them, that is.)

I Never Should Have Been Writing this Post

Are you wondering if we got on the Cruise?

Ya know THE CRUISE that was suppose to cure my Winter BLAHS?

Well.......NOPE!

I am back in the hazy frozen tundra (A.K.A. UTAH)

We DID try, though.  We flew down to So. California on Friday night, so we could be on time for the Saturday ship departure - because THERE JUST HAD TO BE A CANCELLATION for us!  I NEEDED to get on that ship, right?!?

We arrived at the cruise ship terminal and every other person tried to take our bags to load them - I would've LOVED to have let them, but we had to tell them that we had to keep them with us since we weren't "FOR SURE."   When we got inside the ICEBOX terminal, we found out there was another couple there waiting, too.  (These strangers we didn't even know all of a sudden became "the enemy" :) - which of us was going to get on?)  The people who worked there told us we just had to sit on the blue iron benches and wait for "the powers that be" to come down and tell us IF there were any cabins for us.

WHAT?!?  My Personal Cruise Consultant - who I stalked on the phone over the last 5 weeks - had told me that I could get through security and up to the ticket counter and they would be able to check me in on the computer and be all ready to go when there was a cancellation or a "NO SHOW."

And with that big Nor'easter storm that hit on Friday/Saturday, I was feeling pretty confident about "NO SHOWS" with literally hundreds of flights that were cancelled and delayed.

BUT.  The "procedure" was quite different at the actual port.  They said that the ONLY way we could get on is if passengers actually called in and confirmed their cancellation.  And they could not let us have the cabin of a "NO SHOW" just in case they flew in to another port of call halfway through the cruise and showed up to get on the ship -- UNLIKELY, but they couldn't fill their cabin with US in case it happened.

So, my brother & sister and her husband were on the inside of the ship harassing the ticket counter and the front desk telling them that we were out there and were part of their group.  They were reminding them not to forget us and asking them how many passengers had not checked in yet.  Meanwhile, I was on the outside calling Holland America headquarters on the phone asking to speak to the ship inventory dept.  (I was denied, but PUSHED, and got the agent to call for me while I held.)  I was getting updates on the cancellations status - in our case, the LACK OF cancellations, but the people on the phone still told me I could buy the cabin of the "NO SHOWS."  My brother was able to get the Front Desk to disclose to him that 30 people had not checked in yet....so we were HOPEFUL.  This waiting and calling and communicating with my family on "THE INSIDE" went on for three hours.  The other couple gave up and left earlier - YES!  (More hopeful!)

But, in the end - no one cancelled!!!  Yes, there were NO SHOWS, but no one cancelled.  So, here's a lesson learned and a PLEA to everyone -- if you're not going to make it, CALL IN and cancel, because you could be helping SOMEONE ELSE.  Unless those passengers had purchased trip insurance (and a lot DON'T - do you?  Or do you just take the risk and save the money?)  they couldn't get any of their money back anyway, so they probably just didn't even bother to call.  I do not know why employees in the SAME company were giving out DIFFERENT bits of information.  There were a few different "Officials" who came out to talk to us -- they had all HEARD ABOUT US :) -- but they all had the same bad news, to which I asked them if they were aware that their phone agents tell their customers something opposite of the real deal.  They were not aware.  Aaaugh!

WHAT A BUMMER!!!

Actually, that doesn't even begin to describe it!  Even though we knew it might not happen.....to actually BE THERE but not be able to get on....and see the ship sail away....to think of what "might've been"....and know what the weather was like back home......it was SUPER, MEGA DIAPPOINTING!

Like we were seriously SADDENED.  LET DOWN.  DISILLUSIONED. BROKEN-HEARTED.  UNHAPPY.  DISENCHANTED.  BEATEN.  DOWN IN THE DUMPS.  HOPELESS.  IN  THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.

It might sound stupid to y'all, it's just about a vacation, but I REALLY wanted to go at this particular time!

We did have a plan B - to go use our free week in Cancun, but thanks to that same storm that was suppose to increase our chances on the cruise.......decreased our chances for flights.  The flights in & out of the East (the connecting spot to Cancun) were all filled up FOR DAYS with the leftover customers that were displaced previously.

Plan C was just to go home on Sunday.  (It was too late to get back on Saturday evening after the ship left.  THE SHIP LEFT US!!  I can't believe it.)  How depressing!

Plan D was to find another last minute cruise departing out of California.  We found a 4-day cruise to leave on the 11th, so I called.....and guess what?!?  It was SOLD OUT, but the reservations agent happily infomed me that he could put us on a "WAIT LIST" [for a small deposit].  You've GOT to be kidding me, right?!?  This news coming just RIGHT AFTER I spent my day in the icebox on a wait list!  NO WAY!  BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

We went and got dinner in a Mall Food Court -- so different from the lavish dinner we should've been having in the Cruise Ship Dining Room!  Boo hoo!  Thanks to Hotwire.com, we got a last minute hotel and tried to put an end to this day.

Matt came up with a Plan E:  To stay in San Diego at least a few days so the whole effort wasn't a total BUST.  But, that would cost more money and it wasn't really what we wanted to do.  But, if we went home, that would be worse!  Or would it?  We couldn't decide.  Our minds were too muddled to even know what the best plan of action was.  We would lean one way.....and then the other.  One of us decided one thing, and the other one started to agree, and then the first person would change their mind.  It was so tiresome.

I thought after a night's sleep, I would feel better, but I woke up still disheartened.

My first thought was that I should -- I DESERVED - to just stay in bed all day in my comfy clothes and no bra (my favorite outfit) and do NOTHING, except feel sorry for myself!

But, it WAS Sunday.

I had my iPad with me, and it was super easy to go to www.lds.org and find the closest church to where we were staying.

But, then one of Satan's lies popped into my mind, IF you would've got on the ship, you weren't going to go to church this Sunday anyway, since they don't even have church on the ship.
AND  
You've had a hard day, treat yourself to a day of 'vegging' in your hotel room.

Thankfully, I came to my senses enough and we did go to church.

IT WAS JUST WHAT I (WE) NEEDED!

I felt a little bit better the minute we drove into the parking lot and I caught sight of some men in white shirts and ties.  I felt even better when we walked inside the church and the door greeter gave us the HUGEST smile and a wave.  From there, things got increasingly better and better.

I was reminded of and gained a new appreciation for the scripture in D & C 50:22;  Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

Guess what one of the speaker's topic was?  HOPE vs. DESPAIR!  Perfect.

It filled me with the right amount of Spirit that had been missing.  Going to church can do that!  Note to self:  Don't forget that! 


After church, we were able to even JOKE about our situation - and we decided to STAY.  We already had work off.  We already had caretakers for our children arranged.  And we had Hotwire.com......which we used to get a Hilton BEACH resort.

 And THIS scene outside our hotel window:

 Was TONS better than THIS scene back home:

 

I even got in a swim suit (with a hoodie over the top of it) and sat by the pool -- because the SUN WAS OUT!

BTW:  My "Personal Cruise Consultant" called me when I got back to Utah - maybe in response to all my voice mails I left her the couple of days before we left? -  to say she was sorry we didn't make it on the cruise.  I told her that she had given me INCORRECT info about getting on the ship if there are "NO SHOWS" and had I known the REAL policy, we wouldn't have even gone down to CA and waited for the DENIAL!  She claimed she didn't know.  Well, it seems like that would be a good thing TO KNOW so as NOT to lead customers (not anymore) astray!  I think the purpose of her call really may have been to try to book another voyage with me, but after she learned of our situation, and that she had screwed up, she didn't even bring it up!  ;) haha.  Smart Girl.

I Need to Get Out of Dodge

I haven't seen the ground for over a month!  It's been covered with snow or ice continually.  OR, at times, snow AND ice.  In the past, usually it will snow, but then the sun comes out and melts it all in a few days.  Then it will snow again sometime later, only to be all gone within days again.  This year, ACCUMULATION is the story.

UTAH IS FRIGID!

I mean colder than I ever remember it.  I am actually wearing a coat every time I go out.  Mountains of snow pushed to the side of the road and in the middle of parking lots are a common sight. In fact, the width of the roads has been narrowed because the snow banks are spilling out into the outside lanes, and the snow plows haven't had time to clear the entire width of the road, just down the centers.  Our poor cul-de-sac has been forgotten by the city's snow removal crew - they still don't know REAL PEOPLE live in a few of these houses in the construction zone?!  We [foolishly] drove on our driveway when it first snowed back in December, and the packed down snow became permanent.  It was all white for a month.  EVERY house & building has icicles galore - I'm seriously afraid entire rain gutters or eaves are going to bust right off the framework.  Then add the constant INVERSION we've had - a sky full of "gunk" blocking out the sun is depressing!  And hard on the respiratory system, too.

Basically, The Beehive State resembles a frozen tundra.

Currently, anyone who walks anywhere outside is taking their life into their own hands.  The combination of temperatures in the teens, a thick layer of ice, and the sun’s inability to melt anything right now make for a scary combination.

Two and a half weeks ago, school was cancelled - we got THREE phone calls AT 5:45 IN THE MORNING, one to my cell phone, followed by one to Matt's cell phone, and then finally to our home phone.  Yep!  We got the message - we had a SNOW DAY!  That's the first one we've had since my oldest started school 12 years ago - we just haven't had bad enough snow storms in all these years!  I remember having one when I was in High School, but the power was out in conjunction with the weather which made school impossible.

Then last Friday, the ringing of my cell phone woke me again from my slumber.  School was going to start two hours later than normally scheduled due to the ice storm we had the previous day & night.  We're not used to those in Utah and we don't know how to drive (or walk) in them!  I actually could handle that late start for school.  I was totally ready when I took the kids to school and there was no rushing!  :)  But, it was also "early out Friday" so the elementary kids were all back home 2 1/2 hours later - WEIRD!

(Then we had a "turn" in the weather when it rose to a "balmy" 35 degrees for a few days and we were able to chop up the snow/ice [and break our backs/arms] off our driveway and we saw concrete again!)

And then it dumped snow on us again yesterday, and we've got more snow forecasted for the next 3 days.  We already broke a brand new shovel we bought last month!

Winter has always been my least favorite season, but THIS YEAR....Oh, it's been so bad.  It's merciless!

I CAN'T STAND IT!  I need OUTTA here!  I'm going to go LOONEY pretty darn soon!

Even Kyle, who enjoys the snow......

...says he is now DONE with it. NOW THAT'S HUGE when it gets to the point that he'll say THAT!

So, EVERY DAY, I am telling Matt, "We gotta get outta here!"

And he says, "I hear ya."

But, for some reason, we're STILL HERE.  And we have no excuse, with my flight privileges and all!

We are currently on the TOP of a waiting list for a Mexican Riviera cruise that has SOLD OUT but is leaving in 12 days.  (That my siblings & parents happen to be already booked on)  I am driving my "Personal Cruise Consultant" at Holland America crazy by calling every week, even though she has told me she will let me know as soon as a cancellation comes in!  Hey, what does she get paid for, anyway?!  I'm just helping her "earn her pay!"  PLEASE SOMEONE CANCEL!!!  It'll just take ONE cabin to cancel, and we are ON that ship.  Isn't that bad, that I'm hoping for a cancellation, which will most likely be BECAUSE OF an "unfortunate event" for someone else, so that I will have something good that I want!?

If this cruise doesn't work out for us in February, I'm demanding we go to Cancun in March (after basketball season is over.)  We have a free week at an Adults Only all-inclusive resort that we have to use before June 2014 anyway -- but March is so far away!!!  I need to go somewhere warm & sunny NOW!   Waaaaahhh!

See, I'm becoming mentally deranged!  I'm gonna be that lady you see on the Evening News doing something totally crazy & senseless......if my environment doesn't change soon!

This Weekend:

*I dug right in and made one of the recipes on my New Year's Resolutions
for Friday night "dinner"!   
^CHECK!^
 (Technically it's an "appetizer", but hey, it has meat in it, so it works, right!)

It did NOT disappoint.

In case you want to indulge, too:

"FAMOUS DIP"

1 lb. Italian sausage

3 tomatoes, diced

2 onions, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

8 oz. cream cheese

16 oz. sour cream

1 can diced green chilies

Cook sausage and onions, then add peppers, tomatoes and green chilies.
When peppers and onions are cooked, add cream cheese and sour cream and
simmer for about 10 minutes.  Keep warm and serve with tortilla chips.

(I didn't have enough tomatoes or peppers on hand, so I used less, and it was STILL DELISH!)

*Went to Ryan's {first} Jr. Jazz basketball game

(the "official" 1st game got cancelled last Friday due to the snow storm and school closures)

I talked most of the time to a delightful young lady who came to watch Ryan & the boys.
It turns out she is the daughter of one of MY High School classmates -
 from all those years ago at good ol' BHS.

{Small World}

*I worked most the day on Saturday -- 9 HOURS!!

(I traded a lot of crewmembers for a [hopeful] upcoming vacation!)

*DATE NIGHT here. 

We thought we'd try it out since it was new to our area -- AND we had a coupon.

It was one of those "Mystery coupons" where you don't know the value 

(anywhere between $5.00-$100.00) until your waitress "reveals" it.

Of course, ours was just $5.00.

The food was good, but their "side" of fries was WAY TOO SMALL.

It was also a bit of stimuli overload.
In our little section of the restaurant (about 9 tables), there were 10 TV's -
 all different sizes, all playing a different station.

*We also went to Dollar Tree to do a little shopping.  (VERY romantic part of date night - haha!)

I specifically wanted to get more CREAMY PETROLEUM JELLY,
and I've only seen it at this location.....and I bought the last 4 tubes off the shelf! 

It's working great on all of our dry skin/hands this Winter.

And, of course, we ended up with about a dozen other random things in our cart, too.

Hey, it's ALL a dollar!  :)

*And because it was soooo COLD outside, ice cream was NOT a good dessert option,
so we went for doughnuts at Bowman's instead.
They are half-price after 7 or 8 'o clock every night.  SCORE!

*Went to CHURCH on Sunday

We are on the new 9:00a.m. schedule for 2013 which has become my favorite time!

My Mia Maid Advisor gave a great lesson to our Young Women about
getting to KNOW Heavenly Father through prayer,
referencing THIS TALK from Elder Richard G. Scott and showing THIS VIDEO.

It. Was. Fabulous.

{and heartfelt}

I think with the new curriculum for youth, "Come Follow Me", we will have more opportunities
to feel The Spirit in our Sunday classes as we share & testify together.  I am excited.

*Meetings after church

* Made School Lunch Peanut Butter Fingers 

for dessert to take to my In-Laws for [3rd Sunday] Dinner & FHE.

Matt said this recipe was SPOT ON to what he remembers from his school days......

and that I should ditch my other recipes I HAD BEEN making the last 19 years!  ;)

*I had time for a 50 minute nap!

*Went to Grandma & Grandpa Brenchley's with 3 other families of cousins!

{We hardly see the children}

*MONDAY = MLK Day

No school.  No Work.

*I slept in....until 7:30ish - how sad!!  Since WHEN did THAT become "sleeping in"?

*I called from my cell phone in my bedroom down to the kids on the home phone
and ordered "breakfast in bed."  This has become kind of a tradition on "Days Off."

They brought us eggs with bacon bits, L'il Smokies, Peanut Butter Crunch (for Matt), & Sunny D.

They wanted to do scones, too, but Matt didn't trust them
on that "high danger" type of cooking...

so he made them for us later as "brunch."

*Went to lunch with Matt at Cafe Rio

then went clearance shopping at T.J.Maxx & Shopko next door.

{the signs on their windows and ads lured us in!}

*Took the whole family Bowling.

I definitely SUCKED IT UP!
BUT after EIGHT straight 0's, I rolled a STRIKE to end the game!

Matt finished first, Katelyn second.

Ryan blamed his performance on a sprained thumb (from a church ball "incident".)
Kyle blamed his on a bum knee (from crawling up the stairs pretending to be a gorilla!)

Our good friends, the Knudsen's, showed up at the same bowling alley right after us -
totally UNplanned - but we got to hang with them a bit, so it was fun.

*Went to dinner at Wendy's afterwards.  (Kid's Choice, obviously)

The newly remodeled/renovated Wendy's has this big, turbo drink machine
that makes like 60 different kinds of drinks!  

It's all touch-screen, too.  I push SPRITE, for example, and THEN,
I not only have the choice of SPRITE,
but also Peach Sprite, Grape Sprite, Cherry Sprite, Raspberry Sprite, Orange Sprite, etc. etc....
and the same for SPRITE ZERO!  All with the touch of an "app."  

WOW.  We think we'll go on a date there just to get drinks one time
and then sit by the fireplace on their new couches and sip our 142 different concoctions --
then be UP all night peeing!  :)

You Know You're in Utah When...

...it's just 2 weeks until "SPRING"...

...and the scene outside your window...

...looks like THIS!