What I've done so far...

In an effort to get the house ready for the onslaught of welcomed company, we have been doing projects that have sorely needed doing. For example, we started remodeling our main bathroom before we started the kitchen remodel. It was left unfinished when the kitchen took off. So on Saturday we hung some bead board and kick boards and painted. I also painted the deck (something that desperately needed doing but we didn't want to do until we decided if we were going to repair or replace the deck... we still haven't decided but it is good until next summer). I also painted the front door.

So today, the first day of school, after I spent two hours at the school putting fliers for t-shirt sales in teacher's boxes, I came home and:
painted the bead board
painted the bathroom door
painted the kick boards
spackled some dings
painted the inside of the front door
painted the inside and outside of the garage door
did 2 loads of laundry

It is 2 and I am tired now, but glad for the things I can check off my list.

What next?!!!

Barenaked Singer Escapes Plane Crash

This just hasn't been the Barenaked Ladies' year. First, cofounder Steven Page gets busted for drugs. Now this.

Los Angeles (E! Online) -

BNL's lead singer and principal songwriter, Ed Robertson, and three others narrowly averted disaster Sunday, walking away unscathed from a float-plane crash near Bancroft, Ontario.

According to the Intelligencer of Belleville, Ontario, Robertson was at the controls of a Cessna 206 when a gust of wind caused the plane to stall, forcing him to put down in a wooded area near the resort of Baptiste Lake.

"Everyone is fine and that is the important thing," Barenaked Ladies rep Adam Smith told the newspaper. "That's all the comment we have at this time."

Per local authorities, the Cessna was taking off from the lake when it lost air speed and went down. The plane's landing was cushioned by a grove of maple trees (oh, Canada!), and Robertson, 37, managed to safely guide the craft to a halt.

"They're all really lucky to get out of there. I think there was somebody on their side," fire chief Brian Sears told the Intelligencer. "They could smell the fuel, so they didn't waste any time getting out."

While the plane was totaled, Robertson and his passengers were uninjured. Because the doors were jammed, they climbed out a window and then hiked out of the forest to a nearby road and reported the incident.Officials declined to reveal the identities of the other occupants, but an acquaintance told the paper the passengers were the musician's wife, Natalie, and two family friends.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation.

It's been a bumpy road for the Ladies this summer. Aside from

Robertson's brush with death, the band has been hampered by the fallout
stemming from Page's July 11 drug arrest in upstate New York.

The 38-year-old musician was taken into custody with a female companion and another woman after police allegedly found cocaine in their Syracuse-area apartment. He was booked on felony possession of a controlled substance and released on $10,000 bail.Consequently, the band bailed on Disney's Music Block Party tour, a series of family-friendly concerts.

Happy Anniversary!

26 years is a long time!

BTW, being the "Keeper" of all Ford Family things photographic, I have a LOT of really good pictures I could post that would entertain audiences for a LONG time.

Poll of the day... I have always adamently maintained that my BIL (on the right) looks like Michael Keaton; but in this picture I am channeling Tom Hanks (from Bosom Buddies days). So... who do you think he looks more like (in this picture)?

a. Tom Hanks
b. Michael Keaton

I have really enjoyed the olympics this year!

Just a few thoughts going through my head this morning

It is just before 8 a.m. and my mind is already racing. I think it's a result of going to bed with a migraine. Anyway, here they are...

I woke up and turned on the news, as I always do, and as I did, I reflected on how much more aware I am of events happening in Maryland and Spain, now that I have missionaries serving there. For example, did you know Michael Phelps is from Baltimore and is going back there to train after the Olympics? Yup. I told Rob to go tract him out. And then this morning I saw this sad report of the plane crash in Madrid. The plane was full of families on their way to vacation in the Canary Islands (where Mom and Dad are). So very sad...

I found this in my Meridian Magazine this morning and, for some reason, it really struck a chord with me. I have always liked Michael Medved and really respected him for his moral values and his fair treatment of Mormons, but now I REALLY respect him. Check it out!

Mormons Exposed - The Mormon Conspiracy

Lastly, I am pretty stressed out today because it is Back to School night and I am going to have to man the membership table and the t-shirt sales table because the other "volunteers" have opted to visit the classrooms with their children. I would love that luxury, too! This is the downside of being in charge, I guess. I just wish parents would take their responsibilities seriously. I mean--how many times have I been left at the Book Fair until 10 at night with over a thousand dollars in the till--alone!!!

But then there is the glory and the rights to complain vociferously (vocabulary word of the day). I had to include this last thing because I am just keeping it real... (I have adopted this as my new catch-phrase, borrowed from a fun blog I read)

Family pictures

We are having our family picture taken on Tuesday night. I want one very casual and fun and one more traditional. Any suggestions? Please....!!!!

I feel the need to point this out...

Now why don't I take more pictures of myself? Go figure!

Playing Catch-up

I can't say why I've been so reticent lately. I just haven't had it in me to post. So now I get to play catch up.

There was our awesome trip to Filmore Utah. Where is that, you ask? Why... Here it is!

Notice all the big towns around it...

Anyway, it is Dilbert's favorite place to visit. It is beautiful to him. It is scary to me. There's not a Walmart to be found for miles and miles. You can drive across the desert for hours and not see a soul. You don't even have to put on lipstick and mascara if you don't want to. Do you know what that means? Yup. I didn't put on lipstick or mascara. Scary.

But where else can you find your very own private volcano to play in? NOWHERE, that's where! I call this one "Dilbert vs. the Volcano"

When all you have around you is lava rock, you have to make your own fun. Here's our family's re-enactment of the tragedy, "The Sacrifice of the Indian Maiden to the Volcano Gods". Be warned that the following images are graphic and are not appropriate for young children.

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The end of summer

It is coming to an end! School is imminent. I always dread this time of year. I enjoy having my kids home, despite their sleeping late and reluctance to do any chores and the whining that there's nothing to do...

Maybe I like it because I'm doing the same things!

Or maybe it is that I like the slowness of the pace of our lives for these few short weeks. The tempo is already picking up. I've spent this week busily working on PTA and PTO stuff... In case I forgot to mention it, we had a dad offer to pay for us to become a PTO so we've hired a lawyer to help us file and we will start the year with a PTO AND a PTA at our school and I am scared because I don't know the first thing about starting up a PTO and I really don't know a thing about being in charge of something this "big" and "new" and "important". It is all a bit daunting to me. What if I make a mistake (probably will, no doubt)? What if I forget something important (like my pants?)? What if I crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head... well, that part wont happen because I haven't made my bed for weeks and the blankets and sheets are wedged between the mattress and the foot board.

Frank Zigmunt and the Planeteers last show

Frank's last show was last night at Barnes Park. It was a little bittersweet. There weren't many kids there. Most have gone to school or missions or whatever, so the audience was mostly parents, but it was fun. Half of these boys have their mission calls now so it's time to move on. Here's a few pictures of the --sob--last show.

and here we are, watching. It was so cold--and dark. M took this picture!

Davis County Fair 2008

We had a big day today. I took N, H and M to the fair.
It is amazing what a kid will do for carte blanche to buy whatever fair treat they wanted.
N held a tarantula for a fried twinkie.

H held it for a lime snowcone and

M touched it for cotton candy bigger than her head.

My problem is...

When I take these tests, I can find the "exception" or is it "acception" to the rules. These made me laugh...


Speeding in your car is __________.
a. risky
b. risque
c. Either a or b
d. Neither a nor b

Now, I say to myself, "you know it is 'a' but technically it could be 'b', too. But the act of speeding isn't necessarily risque but it could be if you were doing some other risky behavior at the same time."


She has a __________ for gardening.
a. flair
b. flare
c. Either a or b
d. Neither a nor b

Anyone who has seen my garden would know I have a "flair" and a "flare" for it. It's entirely dead from the heat and lack of proper watering. Heck, there is some evidence of the charred remains from our fire bowl. And maybe I can imagine a need to signal for help as I garden so I carry a flare with me, just in case... Who knows! so the correct answer could be c.

The Commonly Confused Words Test

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test ...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 93% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Now you go and take the test and let me know how YOU did!

What's in a name?

The Name Game

1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car)
Puppy Pilot

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
Garcia Slide

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal)
Red Moose


4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born)
Pasco...since I wasn't blessed with a middle name, I will be like Cher and Bono and only have one name.


5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
Chrsh (not really working for me)


6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
Green Sobee (what is that? The protector of over-priced trendy drinks?)

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers)
John Lloyd

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Citrus Musketeer (hmmm...)

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Davidson Dodge

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Daisy Autumn (sounds more like my hooker name)

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Cherry Capri

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Honey Pine (Okay, really what I ate was Honey and Nut Blenders but Blender Pine was really out there and Nut Pine--I wasn't going there. 1% Milk Pine? Yeah, no to that, too)


13.Movie star name (first pet, first street where you lived)
Guinna Valley

Now give me your favorite one w/ your answers :)