A Quick Update for the Curious

Update on Husband: All is, thankfully, well. You never think you're going to be happy for a virus, but I'm very grateful that that's what it seems to be. Blood test results came back with a continuing uptick in numbers, some beginning to border the normal range. Husband avoided the dreaded bone marrow biopsy, and even scored a two month wait between doctor's visits!

A Little Worried

I can't think that I have anything remotely interesting to say today. I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen the way the kids never do, so now it's well and truly clean. That should last for about...5 minutes..., and that might be an overestimation.

Husband has been feeling pretty ill this past week. He's run down and doesn't feel well. I try my best not to get hysterical every time he has a sniffle or feels tired, but I have to admit that I'm quite worried by now. I will probably never get over that.

Fortunately, he has his check-up on Monday, so we'll see if it's just a virus or if his blood results come back saying something more sinister is going on.

The British Are Coming!

I can say hello to my mother-in-law! Hello, Mum! Welcome to my blog!

We call her "Mum" because she's British, and that's how they talk to their mothers over there. I would call her "Mumsie," but I have never heard Husband say that, ever, and I wouldn't want to inadvertently offend. (The only people I've ever heard say "Mumsie" were the little boarding school brats on television shows, and they say it with that special English lilt to their words, like the one I acquired while serving a mission there and the one Madonna was mocked for picking up. In her defense, it's hard NOT to start talking that way.) Our children call her "Nanna" to distinguish from my mother, who is "Grandma." See how nicely that all works out? Now, we just need slightly different names for fathers and I'd never have to say to Husband, "Which dad? Mine or yours?" I don't think it would be appropriate to follow the pattern of putting a "u" in "Dad" like "Mom" becomes "Mum."

Now my Mom and my Mum are reading this blog. Husband talked up my blog to his mother during a recent phone conversation, so it's just as well I've been including more pictures of the kids and pretending that what I write is somewhat about them and not just about me. She'll find out soon enough, though. Sorry, Mum. Mom already knows the sad, sad truth.

I'm really blessed to have such great parents and great in-laws. My parents and my in-laws are also very good friends with each other, so a visit from my in-laws is a happy time all around.

I first met my future mother- and father-in-law and nearly all my future brothers- and sister-in-law during my mission. My mission president arranged to have them all over to his house a little while before the farewell meeting for the month's departing missionaries, of which Husband was one. (For any returned missionaries reading this who don't know our story, that just elicited a gasp.) Prez walked me over to his house where they were waiting to meet me and size me up, and I nearly died of nervousness.

"Are you nervous?" he laughed, and held my hand comfortingly for a moment.
"I'm going to throw up," I responded.

But they were lovely (see how easily I slip back into British-speak?), and I felt nothing but love and acceptance from them. My father-in-law likes to tell the story of how he asked me what I was planning to do after I got home from my mission and I answered, "Marry your son, of course!" as if it was so obvious and he was just a little dense. He's not at all dense, of course. I just want to clarify that.

Right-o, I'm off to exercise, what what. Ta, me ducks, and be sure to check back for more about me.

Toodle-pip!

Endings

Apparently, I am weak on my endings. This is what I've determined after having several of my guest blog posts returned in order for me to spruce up the endings. I can see it now that it's been pointed out, but I can also see how that applies to a lot of areas of my life. I'm usually pretty good at beginnings. When I finally begin something, I begin in a big way; I even last until I'm past the middle part. But when it comes to the end, whether it's my articles or guest posts or a project, I stumble. Either I lose interest or I fizzle out and leave things a little undone.

It's a lesson to myself. I have a goal to change that. And today, in the four blog posts I have to write, I will concentrate on making the endings strong and vibrant so the readers (reader? Do any people actually read those things or am I writing completely into a void?) finish with a sense of completion and satisfaction -- or, as satisfied as one can feel about a post written on the different types of filling machines.

I'm kidding. I do get to write about other things, most of which I have never contemplated at much length before: jobs of the future, mistakes people make when trying to sell stuff on the internet, honeymoons in Florida, etc. The greatest advantage to what I do is that I learn a lot of new things, if only in big enough chunks to write something that can imitate expertise. While this might make me dangerous, I do have some great ideas about honeymooning in Florida, if anyone cares to ask.

The End.

Quietly Understated? Phhht. Who Needs That?

I've had so many comments about the new background on my blog. Sooo many! People keep coming up to me and saying, "I LOVE the colors and the pattern. It's so you because I know you love bold colors and patterns, even if you never wear them. You mostly wear black, blue, and green solids, so I love that you've branched out and put something up there that is as daring as the patterns you'd love to scatter throughout your home. But never wear."

All right, I lie. I've had two comments, and only because I asked Husband and one of the girls what they thought. Both of them diplomatically said, "It's very colorful!" Husband added, "It looks Indian."

When given a choice, I will always pick bold, saturated colors. Even when I (shudder) go clothes shopping, I'll pick the bright colors first; it isn't until I get into the dressing room with the crappy, florescent lighting that makes any person -- even skinny, attractively mopey-looking Kate Moss -- look like they are at death's door, that I decide I'd rather not stand out too much in a crowd. Besides, I just look better in dark, solid colors. (I do have to say that the Old Navy store I visited recently has great lighting in their dressing rooms. I bought a dark gray sweater because I looked so good in it. Also, they size their clothes much larger compared to other stores, so I had to go back out and find a medium instead of a large. I knew it was just because of the sizing, but I still felt illogically elated.)

I do, however, have an extremely difficult time resisting the urge to buy chunky necklaces. I will confidently wear a weird necklace where I won't don highly patterned, brightly colored clothes. Case in point is this one, purchased last week at Rue 21. It was on sale.

Yes, it is composed of real metal strips attached to a chain. I wore it to church yesterday, but I slipped it under a V-neck sweater (black) so that only a small portion of the strips showed through. It kind of looked like I was wearing a metal tank top, but because I tried to move as carefully and gracefully as I could to keep it from clanking, no one asked if I had on chain mail.

It has a certain elegance and industrial sophistication, don't you think? But what it really says is please don't walk near me if you are carrying powerful magnets.

As for my blog background, I beg you to tolerate it at least a little while. Soon enough, I will get bored with it and change it to something else, although I can't promise it will be anything quietly understated.

The EMPTY Cracker Box, an Exploration of Desolation

I have permission to put this video on my blog. Sophia wrote, directed, and filmed The EMPTY Cracker Box. It stars Elannah and a neighborhood friend, and it features Gabrielle and Sian.

Just watch it all the way through. I think you'll find it just a touch European.

Feasting

A change is as good as a feast, so they say. In my case, a change gets me so hungry for more change that I start looking around with a speculative eye at every aspect of my life. I've got a whole list of resolutions. It's January, and it's a month ripe for changes. It's too cold to do much else, anyway.

I hung a picture today. Somehow, I had never graduated to knowing how to do that beyond tapping a nail in and watching it slide right back out. Today, Husband called me downstairs, interrupting me from folding laundry while watching a really, really stupid movie, and instructed me in putting in a drywall anchor and screw. How satisfying it is to use power tools. And now, one of our two original Clark Ostergaard paintings is hanging proudly. It's of a New Zealand barn swallow flying past a broken barn window (Clark is a painter of the the natural world). The detail is incredible, and Clark gave it to us when Husband found out he had leukemia. It touched Husband's heart so much, and we love the painting. I need to get a picture light for it, and it will be perfect.

After the picture hanging, Husband and I sat and discussed wall colors. We do that sometimes, but usually it's me with all the excited plans and Husband tolerantly listens to me while wondering how much work and money it would cost. By now, though, he's sick enough of the white walls to get behind the idea of buying paint, moving furniture, spending more than we thought on equipment, prepping the walls, and finally painting.

Before I start boring you with decorating details, however, I will share some more pictures, continuing with the Christmas present opening. In my last post, Elannah was admiring Sian's gift, which was some good skin cream Husband found. Sian also got a shopping spree for clothes, as she is growing out of everything she owns.

Gabrielle desperately wanted a Snuggie in leopard print. She also got a clothing shopping spree, and on Monday, Dec. 27, she and Sian and I went to the Big City and spent hours trolling through the sales looking for great jeans and shirts. We ate lunch at Pier 49 Pizza, and Gabbie declared it "the best day ever!"

Sophia is a movie maker, so Husband found her a reasonably priced digital video camera of her very own. She's made a ton of movies on it already. In fact, she made one that she showed Husband and me today, and I'm still laughing. When I get permission from the parent of one of the kids in it, I'll post it here.

This child is so bendable she can stand on her own head. She loves gymnastics and has taught herself quite a few tricks. She's unbelievably strong. For Christmas, she got her fondest wish: gymnastics lessons at last!

For the little boys, it's mostly about quantity. Little Gary, especially, loves to open presents. In fact, when his sisters want to entertain him, they wrap his toys in tissue and he gets to open them. Little Gary got books and puzzles, and Joseph got a LeapFrog computer with a bunch of learning games.

Happy New Year to all! My folded laundry is still sitting on my bed.