Back in Black

The missionary care package I did for June was BLACK.

{the contents}

When I was thinking about what catchy phrases or advise I could use that contained the word, "black" in them,
I realized that most of them would be inappropriate and unencouraging for a missionary.  ;)

For instance, there's: 

"black as the devil"

"black eye"

"black list"

"black sheep"

"black mark"

"black out"

"black magic"

"black and blue"

"black day"

"The Black Knight"

"blackmail"

See what I mean?...I didn't have much positive stuff to work with - so I had to do more thinking!

Here's what I came up with.

{the packed and ready-to-ship box}

The four black flaps say:

"We {heart} our 'Men in BLACK'" 

"White shirts and ties are 'The new BLACK!'"

"Our hero wear a BLACK name tag!"

"P.S. Keep your bank account 'in the black.'"  :)

That last one was kinda a stretch - I've heard rumors that sometimes these young Elders have trouble making their money last the whole month long, so I was just throwing in some counsel - he might not even know what the heck that idiom means, though!  ;)  haha.

********************************

To see past missionary care packages, click HERE.

One Happy Island

My family just spent the last week (Matt) or 5 days (the rest of us) in Aruba! 

{The JOYS of standby flight benefits!} ;)

ARUBA has been on my travel "Bucket List".....and it did not disappoint!

It is [appropriately] nicknamed, "ONE HAPPY ISLAND."

Our Family's FAVES:

1. White, soft, fine, powdery sand (great for sandcastles!)
2.  We stayed/played on Eagle Beach (ranks among the top 10 beaches in the world!) which was so CLEAN (no kelp, no seaweed!)
3.  No peddlers on the beach (can you say, "peace & relaxation?")
4. Crystal clear, warm waters of the Caribbean Sea (with a smooth ocean floor, nothing to hurt your feet on!)
5.  Delicious, safe drinking water (better than where we live!)

Even after Ryan has been out on his mission for 9 months, it's still so weird to look at "my brood" and think to myself, "Who's missing?  This group seems SO small!"  I count them up, and realize all who should be there, ARE there - why does four children seems so much less than five children?!?

And WHILE I was walking along the awesome beach, having an amazing time one day with one of my daughters, she actually [had the gall to] ask me,  
"So, what are we going to do this Summer?"

OH. MY. WORD.
You've got to be kidding, right?!?
Nope.  True Story.
(Needless to say, she heard a thing or two from me!)  ;)

FREE - I'm Free at Last!

Today is the first day AFTER my 8-week Challenge is over.
And I am SO glad.
But, probably not as glad as my husband is!  Both because today is his BIRTHDAY, so I will have no restrictions on this day AND because he thought it put a real damper on his/our lifestyle!  ;)

This "Challenge" consisted of a group of about 50 people, men and women, most of whom I didn't even know who were competing to win in the healthy arena.  Two of my sisters and one brother-in-law were part of this group.  Every day, there were certain things we had to do in order to get a predetermined number of points.  Starting after the first week (the "Baptism by fire"), each week, one category was worth double points, in an effort to start separating the scores.
It took me several days to actually commit to joining the "Challenge."  Because if I say I'm going to do something.....I'M GOING TO DO IT.  Fully.  No flakin' out.
But, I didn't know if I wanted to do it.
Because I had some hang ups about a couple of the requirements.
Here's what we had to do every day:

• Accomplish a personal goal (it could be anything; spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, relationships, health, etc.)
• Drink 64 oz. of water
• Stop eating before 9:00 p.m.
• Eat two fruit servings (1/2 cup each)
• Eat three vegetable servings
• NO sweets and NO white flour
• Keep a food journal
• Exercise 30 min. (5 pts.) OR 45 min. (7 pts.)

Can you guess which ones were my hang ups???
I'd already been "accountable" to my Fitbit, getting 10,000 steps every day, for the last 3 1/2 months at the time of starting this challenge, so that was no problem.
Water, 9:00, fruits & vegetables were also NO BIGGIE, I don't mind those at all, it just took more planning on my part sometimes.
The personal goal was suppose to be something that you were not already doing, and would be hard, but very beneficial, for you if you did it.  So, that was a challenge - hence the name of the game, "Challenge," - but I had my scorecard on my desk every day to remind me, sometimes I was literally accomplishing my personal goal in the 11th hour, but I could handle that category, too.
The ones that got me were the white flour - I CAN live on bread alone!  That's exactly WHY I've never been tested for Celiac Disease, even though Haylee's doctor highly recommends it due to me being a first degree relative to a Celiac - I can't handle the truth, if I were. ;)  I love my candy, too, but I can do without - I've done it many times before.
And the food journal - I don't dare eat anything because then I have to write it down!  Uh, THAT'S the exact purpose of it, but what a drag!  ;)

Can you guess which ones were my husband's hang ups?
~Water (he wanted a DDP drinking buddy)
~Eating cutoff time (he thinks he's "hungry" after his after-dinner snack, or wants the freedom of a late-night date)
~Fruits & Vegetables (you mean chips & sandwiches are not a complete balanced meal?)
~NO sweets (but Bowman's has their doughnuts at half-price after 7 PM each night!  And what about the weekends.  And parties/social events.  And Family Night treat.  And birthdays??  And Taco Time is now serving Dole Whip!!)
~NO white flour (what about eating out at restaurants?  They all bring out the bread basket.  Or serve white pasta.  Or flour tortillas.  Or white buns/bread on their burgers & sandwiches!)
~Exercise (you mean you're going to go out to exercise instead of sit home with me?  Too much walking with me makes his bad knee ache.)

So, as you can gather, he's jumping for joy (as much as his knee will allow) that this whole thing is DONE.

This Challenge made me realize just how UNhealthy our regular, unconscious living can be.  Unless you're really paying attention, most people (myself included!) don't get any or enough fruits/vegetables, water, and exercise every day.  It also seems like treats &/or white flour are served everywhere we go.  (One evening at Bunco, out of an entire buffet that was provided, I could only select some frozen raspberries and cheese cubes to eat.)
The rules of the Challenge did allow one day a week to eat treats/white flour (you could only earn points in this category 6 days/week), so I had to really look at my week and decide when I would take it.  The problem was, there were multiple days every week that were going to have treat/white flour "opportunities."
My daughter's birthday and Mother's Day occurred during this Challenge.
There's also my weekly date with my husband.
And Sunday night came around every week - when we like to have treats while playing games.
Throw in snacks at my weekly cub scout den meetings, bridal showers, Mom's 'n' Muffins at Farm. Elementary, school Spirit Night @ a pizza place, wedding receptions, catered work meetings, my dad's 76th birthday get-together, extended family dinners, Missionary homecoming luncheons, BUNCO, dinner out with Business Partners, packing a lunch when I was a Field Trip chaperone (what do you do instead of a sandwich, made w/ bread?), Memorial Day BBQ (hamburger w/ no bun!), girlfriends' lunch, and three days of our family vacation...and that translates into A LOT of times that I had to say, "No"!!!
It was HARD to pick just one day a week.....and then PASS on everything else during the week!

BUT.......drumroll, please.....I DID IT!  And I ended up with a perfect score for the 8 Week Challenge, so I win [a piece of] the money!!!
As it turned out, there were seven of us with the highest [perfect] score at the end, so we're splitting the winnings - only about $35/person.  We needed more "slackers" in the group, so I could've taken home the entire $250 that was up for grabs!!!
But, like I said, two of my sisters were in the Challenge (also winners), so I KNEW there wouldn't be any slacking going on amongst us - ya just can't mess with the Fowers' determined/competitive nature!  ;)

AND.....another drumroll, please.....IT'S OVER!  Yay!!!  I'm ready for some freedom!
Hopefully, "freedom" does not equal reversing all the weight loss/health I've benefited from lately.)

Nice Shot!

Last night was Katelyn's last soccer game of the season. Even though the last game was SUPPOSED TO have been May 19th.
But, one game got snowed/sleeted out.
And then another game got rained out.
And then the make-up game got called after 7 minutes due to lightening in the area.
And then another make up game got cancelled due to......you got it - RAIN.  Rain, rain, rain; that's been the story of our May this year.  (To compensate for all the LACK OF SNOW in January/February?)

I had my camera out and ready the whole game for all the action.  I had some problems with the delay between the time I pushed the button to take the picture (at the exact moment that something photo-worthy was happening) and the time the camera actually captured the picture (after the moment was over).  We need a better camera - or a better photographer - one of the two, or both!  ;)
I also encountered the problem of a certain coach (my husband!) who kept walking in front of the photographer (me) as he paced up and down the sidelines, coaching.
But, even in the face of these problems, I ended up with some nice shots of the coach.....OH!....uh, and of Katelyn - that's why we were there, right?!?  ;)

Here's a good shot of Katelyn's fashion "awareness."

Katelyn opts to NOT wear the [boring] red soccer socks that are provided as part of her uniform, and instead dons one of her many other, more exciting, pair of long socks for the games!

{Nice shot Exhibit #1}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's kicks off.

It didn't happen on this particular kick, but Katelyn has been known to actually score a [unintentional] goal on her kickoff; a perfect rainbow shot up and over all the heads of the opposing team, including the goalie's head, and dropping right into the back of the net!  No one was more surprised than Katelyn, herself, when that happened for she had only meant to kickoff!

{Nice Shot Exhibit #2}

Here's a shot of Katelyn dribbling.

It appears that a couple of players on the opposing team (white jerseys) are undecided about which direction they are currently going, one thinks north, the other thinks south.  ;)

{Nice Shot Exhibit #3}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's shot on goal

And she kicks and she......doesn't score (this time), 

but sent it right to the goalie.  Don't ya hate it when that happens!?!  :)

So, what d'ya say?  Do you think I got enough NICE SHOTS to keep my job as photographer?  ;)

This Weekend:

* I was home in the afternoon on Friday (good thing!) and my doorbell rang.
My girls answered it and called to me, saying it was for me.  

My visiting teachers were there.  (I'd totally forgot they were coming!)

But, luckily, I was here so we got to visit.
It was also lucky I'd changed out of the muumuu I had been hanging out in earlier in the day!
 (THAT would've been a sure giveaway that I'd forgotten!)

(Except my family room was a mess with kids' games, back packs, papers, clothes, scriptures, etc. strewn on the floor & chairs.
One of the ladies literally had to pick up
stuff off the couch and move it first before she was able to sit down!  Aaugh!
So, maybe they figured out my forgetfulness anyway?)

* Before going out on our date in the evening, we had to play "taxi service" for

Kyle, taking him to his social events/party.

* We went out to dinner at Sonora Grill in Ogden.

Matt had received a birthday "free entree" coupon already,

so that helped us choose the place tonight.

(I'm on this no-white-flour challenge, so I had to order my meal with corn tortillas......tonight was just not as yummy as their flour tortillas entrees I've had there in the past.)

* After dinner, it was still early enough that we figured our children would

still be up, so we stopped at Ross to kill some time go shopping.

We had to get some pool & beach essentials for the fam in preparation for our upcoming vacation.

* On Saturday morning, I walked to the library to return and pick up some books.
AND to get my fitbit steps in.  As I was out & about, I saw a couple of friends
who were outside, so I stopped to visit.  My 40 min. walk/errand turned into TWICE that long! :)

* We spent some time out in the yard.  Matt set up a pump to pump out the water
that is in our trampoline hole (a natural spring?)  The water was coming
out a hose - and it was crystal clear - so I took the hose up to the
garden we planted last week and watered the whole thing with the "good" water.
{I think we've got our emergency water situation taken care of!}
I cut up a watermelon and it tasted SO GOOD coming in from the warm outdoors.

* I went through the pile of clothes that has somehow ended up on my laundry room counter.
For some reason, the kids were putting clothes they didn't want to wear anymore there.
WHY?
I separated and organized them all into Put Away/Give Away/Throw Away piles
and now we can see the counter top again!

* Matt & I went to the plasma donation center.
I started a new book to read while I layed there donating:

(I haven't decided if it's good or not, yet.)

* We were driving towards an eating establishment, and right before we got there,
we got a text from Matt's brother inviting us to go to Sushi Monster with them.
Well, of course!  So, we switched gears and headed to meet them.
Except, I needed to eat one more vegetable for the day with this challenge I'm on,
and I wasn't sure I could get a whole serving from just sushi, so we
stopped at a grocery store to buy some carrot chips.
While we were in there, my flip flop straps totally came out and the foot-bed cracked
and was dangling on a thread, just seconds from breaking into two pieces.
I knew I couldn't go to Sushi Monster without any shoes on,
so we swung by our house to get new flip flops for me.
(Sidenote: I had a feeling that this 2nd pair of flip flops might fail me, too,
so I put a "replacement" pair in purse just in case.....and guess what?
I DID need them when my 2nd pair also broke.  Two in one night?!?  Wow! I'm talented!)

* Sushi Monster was good, and the company was great.
My recommendation: the Las Vegas roll.
Delish.

* Afterwards, we went to six stores looking for a new light blue purse for me.
My current one (in my beloved color, red, but I thought I venture out to a new color) is kinda hammered.

 (Yes, this is the same purse that Kohl's replaced for me last year.  I didn't have the gall to ask them for a new one AGAIN - it's tearing because I put the whole kitchen sink in it!)
Kohl's is ONE of the stores I went to, but in the end, I found my purse at Target (on clearance even!)

* On Sunday morning, I slept in until 9:30 a.m.!!!
This has just become a luxury in recent years.
Our kids have [finally]  figured it out that IF they wake us up,
we put them to work/tell them to get dressed/make them eat REAL, healthy food,
so it's so much better, in their minds, to let us sleep! ;)
Smart kids!

* I went out visiting teaching with my companion on Sunday,
then I came home, and our home teachers came to my family.
(Was it the last day of the month, or something?!?)  ;)

* Churchy-Church
It was the missionary farewell of one of my former young women!
They're growing up! {sniff, sniff}  She did a great job!
She shared an awesome quote from a Elder Holland talk he delivered at the MTC back in 2000.
Read it HERE.

 * Because it was the 5th Sunday, we had a combined meeting with the
Priesthood men and Relief Society women the last hour of our church block.
The theme of the meeting was "Family Home Evening" and we had been
asked to speak about our experience, representing a "family with children at home."
(There was also a newlywed couple and an Empty Nester couple who spoke.)
The thing about this "assignment" was, last Sunday Matt had mentioned to me, in passing, that
the Elder's Quorum President had talked to him about something and that he'd have to tell me about it later......
Well, that "later" happened to be last night around 10:00 p.m.!
(Ya gotta love it, baby!)

* I had a meeting after church, so I gave Matt instructions on everything
he needed to do to get dinner ready.
He owed it to me after the lack of notice he gave me on my speaking assignment in church, don't ya think?!?  ;)
We had Ranch Chicken.  It was a new recipe (found HERE) and I approved.

* We went on a family walk on the Lagoon Trail up to Farmington Pond
with grandma/pa and Matt's brother, wife, & kids.

A lot of other people had the same idea...and somehow some people
had confused our quiet Farmington Pond for a swimming hole that day.
There were a ton a people jumping off the fishing docks, splashing around,
and wearing skimpy suits - I'd never seen THAT up there.
Needless to say, we didn't stay long at all.

* Wrote my weekly letter to our missionary

* I quit eating before 9:00 p.m. (another part of this blasted challenge I'm on),
while Matt baked up some cookies for himself from the cookie
dough I'd made (but I didn't eat any!) for the missionary farewell/lunch.
 Only one week left of the challenge!  Yay!  ;)

Good Morning, Sunshine!

The missionary care package I did for May was YELLOW.
Which translates into SUNSHINE for me.

{the contents}

Note: this was all divided (unequally, with Ryan getting more than the others) to make up

"Sunshine Boxes" for a couple of my daughter's teachers at school for an 

end-of-school-year gift. (my favorite gift idea lately)

{the packed and ready-to-ship box}

The four yellow flaps say:

"Sending you a little box of SUNSHINE to brighten your day as you are brightening ours!!"

"Here comes the SUN.... (A.K.A. Elder Brenchley) ....and I say, 'it's all right.'"

"A dark world aches for a splash of the SUN." (meaning "The Son")

"Always look on the SUNNY side of Life!" (& your mission)

When I had barely sent Ryan off on his mission, another Missionary Mom came to visit and shared with me how she sends her son a package every month because it's the closest thing she can do to giving him a hug.  Her "wisdom" made an impression on me.  I do agree with her - it's a way for me to send my love and hugs.

This was confirmed in my Mother's Day card I got from Ryan with this P.S. at the end of it, "I know you love me, Mom.  If you didn't, you wouldn't send me monthly packages and weekly LONG emails!  Best Missionary Mom Ever!"

(He's learning so much on his mission!)  ;)

**********************************

To see past missionary care packages, click HERE

If You Confuse the Gas Pedal for the Brake.......

......you end up with this:

{And a traumatized teenager.}

It was a "Perfect Storm" that played a part in the "incident":

• The State of Utah says they can get a Learner's Permit when 15 yrs. old....so he's old enough to get a Learner's Permit, but not old enough to enroll in the actual Driver's Ed. class, yet.  (Which means he's just suppose to practice driving with his parents in the meantime.)
• He had only had three practice driving sessions under his belt so far; one in the church parking lot, two on a real road.
• His dad is not equipped with a voice that can carry with enough volume when yelling the word, "STOP!" or "TURN LEFT." OR with a quick reflex, in his state of shock, to reach over and crank the steering wheel away from the brick column.

Oh, the joys of having teenage drivers!
No wonder the cost of insuring a TEENAGE BOY is sky high!

To make it [kind of] a little bit funny.....on their drive (just a minute before the "incident"), they passed one of our son's friends who was walking home, and Matt yelled out the window (jokingly), "Sam, stay off the roads!"
Needless to say, when the brick column tumbled over, it made a very loud noise.
Sam heard it, but didn't see it, from down the street where he was still walking and he (jokingly) texted our son, "What was that noise? Did you run over another curb?" (because that's what happened on a previous practice drive).
Our son later texted him back, "Not quite."

You Can Tell I'm Not a Teenager

Earlier today, I wanted to use my cell phone and I didn't know where it was.
(THAT'S the first clue that I'm NOT a teenager!!!)

I checked all the usual places (purse, nightstand table, car, kitchen counter, charging station, etc.) but it wasn't there.
Oh well, I thought, I guess I won't use it right now.  I had work to do anyway.
(THAT'S the second clue that I'm NOT a teenager!!)

During a break at work, I called Matt on a land line and asked if he knew where my cell phone was.  Nope.  And we talked about the last time he'd seen me with it.  I'd had it at the School Musical last night, but neither of us could remember it since then.  And that had been 16 hours prior.  A whole 16 hours without a cell phone?!!?
(THAT'S the third clue that I'm NOT a teenager!)

I decided to call my cell phone number in an effort to locate it.  And a woman answered, "Hello.  Farmington Jr. High office.  This cell phone was found in the bathroom here at the school.  Whose is it?"  (The performance was held there last night)
"It's mine!" I replied.
Oh, yeah.....I HAD gone to the restroom after the performance, and as a precaution, I'd taken my phone out of my back pocket so it wouldn't fall out and take a "swim" into the toilet.
And, thankfully, an honest soul had found it and taken it to the office!  Alright! Farmington teens have redeemed themselves from their last stunt.
The office staff took down my name and told me they'd hold the cell phone for me.  I told them I'd try to come pick it up sometime that day.
"Sometime" ended up being 2 1/2 hours later.

When I did go claim my cell phone, the office staff & I were joking about how I am NOT a teenager.
The sure signs:
* I didn't even realize it was missing for 16 hours!
* When it's whereabouts were discovered, I did NOT RUSH right on down to get it!
* I had NOT gone absolutely "batty catty" during the separation period we had experienced!
* And, although there were some missed calls and texts that had piled up during my absence, the number of them was still in the single digits!

I'm one of the 6%.

Of Course it Happened That Way

Probably for my first time EVER, I did not dread Mother's Day!  This year, there was actually something to look forward to.
It's because Mother's Day is ONE of the two-times-a-year that missionaries are allowed to call home!!! :)
Christmas is the other day that they are allowed to call.  And last Christmas, Ryan informed us he'd be calling at a certain time.....and then we waited 3 HOURS until he actually did! (When they are at someone else's house, they have to wait until they can set them up on their device - and if they're busy making dinner, it isn't a good time to ask for help, etc.)
So....we were kind of suspecting that his Mother's Day call would be the same; we took the time he told us, then added 1+ hours.

With this theory in mind, we had our children stay at church for Primary.  It is tradition in our ward that the Youth take over teaching/leading/directing the Primary children on Mother's Day, so all the usual Primary workers (many women) have the "day off" and can attend the adult classes in church that day.  Well, Kyle & Haylee got assigned to sit with and teach Brookelle's class.  They were so excited!  Especially Brookelle! 
Kyle & Haylee planned together.
They divided up the sections of the lesson.
They studied the concepts and the scripture stories.
Haylee even put together a bag of props to use in the lesson.
AND they assigned their other helper to bring a treat for the class.
They were ALL set!

Meanwhile, Matt & I returned home, just for the odd chance that he called on time, and set the Skype up.
Before the time he said he'd call, I went upstairs to my bathroom to brush my hair and teeth and put on some lip gloss.....and lo, and behold, he called EARLY!!!
Only Matt was in the room when Ryan's face filled our TV screen.
Apparently, Matt started calling my name, but I can't hear a thing from anywhere else in the house when I am in my bathroom....so I didn't even know he was already on.
When I did come down the stairs, just on my own time (without knowing he was on yet), I heard voices.
This is what I overheard:
Ryan: "Hey, Dad!  How's it going?"
Matt: "Good."  And then....silence.  (Seriously, he said just one word....to our son who we haven't seen in real life for 8 1/2 months!?!?!) 
Ryan: [laughing out loud] "Oh, wow, Dad.  You're still not a man of many words."
Matt: "I need your mother!  Where is she, to help me out?"
(Then I enter the room)
Matt: "Oh, good!  Here she is!"
And then he sat back, and visibly relaxed, and mostly listened to the rest of the [1 hr. 40 min.] conversation!
Hahahahaha hahahahaha hahahaha.

Oh, and I texted Kyle that Ryan had called and to come home now, so he gave his Primary class over to another young man, gathered up his little sisters, and they ran home to see/talk to Ryan!

And they didn't even get to teach their Primary lesson!!!  :(
It's because they were actually prepared.
YOU KNOW if they would've just bagged the lesson, thinking they wouldn't have to teach it, Ryan's call would've come late again, and they'd been lookin' like idiots in front of the Primary children!!

So, the moral of the story....
When you're expecting/counting on something, it doesn't/won't happen.  (I told you my life is governed by Murphy's Law!)
When you're NOT expecting/counting on something, your expectations are EXCEEDED (in this case, an EARLY call).

*****************************
As another interesting side note about the day, my other teenager son started asking me to take a picture with him.
WHAT?!?
Since WHEN does he want to take pictures with me?
When I couldn't get to it right away, he kept pestering asking me to do it.
Finally, I obliged.

Turns out, he had an ulterior motive.
Our photo ended up on Instagram later that day.....just like A LOT of his friends & their moms pictures did.  He can't miss out on what "all the other kids are doing" now, can he?!?  ;)

P.S. Besides the Skype with our missionary, everyone made & cleaned up a fabulous breakfast & dinner (the menus of my choosing), the talks at church were done well, I got a gift I had been wanting for a long time, I had the opportunity to read my book (undisturbed while everyone else was busy), and we stayed home TOGETHER.
I think this was my BEST Mother's Day to date!  ;)
(Lest you think I'm now a different person with a new opinion [or that someone is impersonating me on this blog post].......under different circumstances, my previous recorded feelings about Mother's Day still stand.)  ;)

Just Loungin' Around on the Couch Eating Bon-Bons ~ Take 2

I was talking with a friend today whose "baby" is the same age as my "baby."  As is the same for me, this school year marked the first time for her since becoming a mother that ALL children are in school for the WHOLE day.  That means we're home alone during the day now.  Unlike me, who [idiotically] changed my work hours at my jetBlue job to the daytime and, consequently, ruined all my "discretionary time," she is not currently employed for pay, so I guess others have taken that as the green light to stick their noses in her business and ask stupid questions.
She told me that multiple people have now started to ask her, "What do you do all day?"

What?!?

Like no one could possibly think of anything else one would do besides "punch a time card?"
(So irritating).

I'll tell you what she does:
She runs at least 5 miles a day.
She keeps her house immaculately clean!!  Like we're talkin' you could totally eat off her floors!  Seriously.  And you would NOT find dust/dirt in her window tracks, a ring around her toilet bowl, or crumbs on the kitchen counter!!!  She makes sure of it.  ;)
She shop vacs her garage regularly.  As well as her cars.
(She'll wash and wax the cars' exterior, too!)
She makes wreaths for her front door.
She volunteers in both of her elementary school-aged children's classroom once a week.
She goes on EVERY SINGLE field trip, as a chaperone, with her children's school class.
She makes dinner.  Even freezer meals for future use, when needed for unexpected company, a sick neighbor/friend, or a hectic, busy day for the family.
And she often brings my family plates of goodies......just because!
She serves in the Young Women organization of her church congregation.  (THAT takes a ton of time, I know from past experience!)
She spends a good amount of time on the phone with or at doctor offices due to her children's unique "ability" to break their legs!  ;)  And being an advocate for their care.
Did I mention she runs 5 miles a day?!?
She grows flowers.
She just did half the wedding (planning, shopping, decorating, baking, scheduling, paying for) her younger sister's wedding.
She has six people's laundry to do which includes a plethora a dance and soccer workout gear.  (And it doesn't get left undone like some people I know [me])
Her kids never look like rag-a-muffins (again like some people I know [me]) - with three girls' hair nicely coiffed and donning cute clothes.
Her car goes in and out of her driveway all day long running different errands in order to keep the pantry stocked and the household running.
She goes to the temple.

Man, I'm tired!

And these are just the things that I SEE or know about.....there's undoubtedly so much more she's doing behind the scenes that I don't see.
Oh!  And she runs 5+ miles a day - did I happen to mention that one, yet? 

I'm not doing all that - are you?  Now that I've "shed light on the situation," would people ask her that question still?!?
Probably.
They REALLY don't have any clue, do they?

Her experience reminded me of my own experience I had recently while I was getting a manicure.  (Oh, is that WHY I'm not doing everything she's doing because I spend my time at the Spa?  ;)  Actually, it is a rarity to find me there - I was finally using a gift certificate I got for my birthday, and had already had for over 6 months.)

So, back to the manicure.....the gal doing it was chatting it up with me and she found out I worked at jetBlue.  She asked me if I was full-time or part-time.  When I told her I worked 24 hrs. a week there, she then asked me, "So, what do you do with the rest of your time?"
I replied that I had a family; a husband and five children.
She kind of went, "Mmmm hmmm" and then pushed further with, "So, what do you do?", dismissing that my previous remark had anything to do with her question of how I fill my time.

Well, interestingly enough, after visiting with her throughout the rest of the manicure, I found out that she:

• Is not married.
• Has children who are from multiple different men.
• Is currently trying to get back with the father of her youngest child, but she doesn't want to move into his place because the last time she lived there, whenever they would fight (which was a lot), he'd get mad and kick them out, and then they'd have no place to live.
• Has her mom live with her, and she watches the kids while she's at work, cleans, does laundry, pays for half the home improvement costs, take the children to appointments, cooks dinner, etc.
• Bar-tends a few night a week and gets off at all hours of the morning. 
• Says she does not have good choice in men.

After that conversation, it became more obvious to me WHY she [ignorantly] asked me the question; it was rather telling that she did not know, hadn't figured it out yet, that there is a connection between TIME and Quality FAMILY life.  ;)

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The first of my "Bon-Bons" posts is back HERE