Teapots, dogs and more busts!

Once again, being tagged in Facebook has given me some great ideas for updating the ol' blogaroo--enjoy!

1. Carol needs to be grounded in some very basic things.
2. Carol needs to be developed for future advancement and should seek mentoring.
3. Carol needs to be a serious teapot collector.(see also #8)
4. Carol needs our help cause she will be killing her dogs! (Thank goodness I don't have any)
5. Carol needs prayers. (and money)
6. Carol needs a big opening night. (and money, so be sure to buy tickets!)
7. Carol needs more busts.(I like the one I have--thank you very much)
8. Carol needs a 1995 retired Tony Carter teapot of a chaise lounge with the gramaphone on a small table-hmmm. (They weren't kidding about the teapots)
9.Carol needs to learn POP3 and SMTP.(What are those? Dance moves? Cause if they are then I'm all for it!)
10. Carol needs YOU!! (that's how it was written, and of course I do!)

Ketchup is the Best!

Lola and Noah had a combined birthday party a few weeks ago, and we had a jumper on the front lawn. Well, the kids got a little crazy and my cousin's little girl (Abby) was knocked in the face. She lost a tooth, and by "lost" I mean it fell off and have no idea where it ended up. We think she swallowed it.

So a couple of days ago I was talking to Lola about the Tooth Fairy--how you leave your tooth and you get money..yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. And I asked her how much money she thought she would get for her first tooth, whenever it falls out. She told me she wanted "Four monies." Four bucks isn't bad. I got $2 for my first tooth and that was a VERY long time ago. I also asked her what she was going to buy with her four monies and this is what she listed (I'm assuming in order of importance):

1. Ketchup!

2. A toy

3. A jar

4. A pillow

That girl must really like ketchup...

Take THAT Peer Pressure

So, anyone on Facebook knows there's this "25 Random things about me" tag-thing floating around and I've lost count as to how many people have tagged me.

I wasn't going to do it--I'm not caving under the peer pressure! I did that during high school and now I'm a Mormon with a Mormon husband and Mormon kids!!

And then I decided--okay fine, I'll do it--but I'll post it on my blog and then I'll quit feeling guilty for not updating in such a long time. So there--I win! (sort of...)

I'm not tagging anyone, so relax--and if you don't care to know 25 random things about me I wont hold it against you--and quit reading now cause here it comes:

1. As a kid I would sneek into the fridge, open up the tub of butter and grab a handful and eat it like candy...it grosses me out just to think about it now.

2. I've had grey hair since I was 15--a lot of it!

3. I can't stand the sight, and smell of mayo--never have--miracle whip is included in this category no matter what my mother-in-law says!

4. Both of my kids weighed over 10 pounds at birth.

5. I almost drowned in a lake when I was 8 yrs old--it was a 15 yr old boy that jumped in to save me.

6. I was immediately put into swim lessons after #5 and got all the way to sinchronized swimming and quit.

7. I got a really bad hair cut in the 7th grade from my cosmotologist student cousin and when I started school at West everyone thought I was a BOY! Hence my promise to never have short hair again.

8. I've been inside the BYU bell tower--upstairs where all the magic happens--wait, that sounds dirty--where they play the giant bells.

9. I've met Vlade Divac, and Anthony Edwards (Goose in Top Gun) at LAX.

10. My most pirzed possession while at BYU was my autographed poster of Michael McLean.

11. I've never broken a bone.

12. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 25.

13. I won the Homemaking award in middle school for my excellent skills in sewing and cooking.

14. My first time flying we went from Tijuana, Mexico to Los Angeles (45 minute flight) and I swear to this day that I saw the Hawaiian Islands.

15. I am constantly losing a) my keys b) my phone c) my ATM card d) my driver's license--I've come to believe that I need to lo-jack everything in my life--including my head.

16. I LOVE watching Golden Girls and I Love Lucy--can watch them all day without complaint.

17. I dislike one-syllable names--Chad, Sue, Steve, Fred--so one dimensional and blah (no offense to my one-syllable named friends)

18. I met my husband online and got engaged 2 weeks after our first date.

19. My first wedding band had to be sawed off in the ER after I got it stuck on my finger and it started turning blue--my supervisor at NuSkin had to drive me to the hospital and everyone in the ER came to see who fat girl with the wedding band stuck on her finger was--luckily that first band was purchased on eBay for minimal money...phew!

20. I once split my pants while at work (NuSkin, again) and had to have someone drive me home to change.

21. My dream job would be working in a library surrounded by books.

22. I love the smell of new books and often snuck into the stock room at Barnes and Noble (while employed there, of course) and I would just smell the pages of the new books waiting to be shelved.

23. I played the trombone for about 2 weeks before I realized I couldn't read music and hated the marching.

24. I NEVER snooze my alarm, and am bothered by people who do--just set the alarm for the time you want to get up and then GET UP!!

25. Although I don't drink coffee I love the smell of it and almost always sniff those dispensers in the supermarket aisles with the fresh beans--YUMMY!!!

Pookie Lives

So, I'm on this facebook thing. It all started out as some mistake, but one day I decided to get on there and see what it was all about. I was hooked, and then I kinda lost interest again, but recently I have found a friend of mine that is very near and dear to my heart. We've been friends for about 15 years now--that statement makes me feel really old. I first met him at Bellflower High where he was wearing tights and entirely too much stage make-up--we went on to have a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.

There are people that we sometimes think were meant to be in our lives but for a small moment. And sometimes we wish that were not the case--that they would remain in our lives a little longer because the thought of not having them in our lives seems ludicrous. Scott was one of these friends. I don't know how or when but we lost touch. Life just happened to both of us. He has, however, resurfaced and I cannot begin to tell you the joy I feel. He has always been a wonderful friend, despite our lack of communication. I am elated to be in touch with him, and thought I would share a couple of pics so you get a sense of the wonder that is Pookie!

On a ski trip we made to Salt Lake City

I don't know how this one ended up in my hands, but it's a gem!

This had to have been when he had been recently hired at the cookie shop--still wearing braces, and the beginning of that crazy mane of his.

Halloween

Picking up on the ladies at Knotts

Scott gazing longingly at the Woolworths girl

Scott and my little brother having fun--Scott, may you never run for office, and if you do may this picture never resurface.

I had questioned whether or not I should post these pics. I showed them to my husband and he said they were pretty innocent. "If anything they will just really embarrass him." Those were his words. And then he said--"Just call it retribution for not inviting you to his wedding." He said, and I thought--"YEAH!" Love you!

Not Fun

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day in California. I was inspired to wash my car. I figured 6 months was long enough for Angus to go without a bath. So I pulled out this bucket with all kinds of neat car washing things they gave us at the dealers when we bought the car. I soon realized I was in WAY over my head. There was car was concentrate stuff, tire cleaner, upholstery shampoo, vinyl polish. and some kind of car wax thing along with 2 sponges--one with white netting on it, and the other without. What is the difference in said sponges? Beats the heck out of me, but I'm sure there's got to be one.

I first vacuumed my car which was a chore in and of itself. Lola loves to collect twigs and dead leaves. She also loves to carry them into my car and then continues by crushing them into a million pieces and tosses them around like confetti. I think I may have accidently clogged the vaccum with all the stuff it sucked up--pennies, candy wrappers, sticks, and who knows what other things were living in that mess.

I filled up the bucket with water and threw in some super car wash soap, and because of the warm weather the suds were drying faster than I could lather them up on the car. Not to mention that the super soap was not that super. I quickly fizzled out and decided I would rather pay my Mexican cousins to do this for me. And then to think there was also the rinsing, tire polishing, car waxing, vinyl cleaning, upholstery shampooing left to do!! Who are they kidding? This isn't fun! How is it that guys can enjoy cleaning their cars so much that they will spend all day doing it? My neighbor, no joke, spends HOURS on his car. I can leave for church and when I get back 3 hours later he is still out there working on it, and loving it. I've not found the joy in car washing. I've also learned to respect my friends at all the neighborhood car washes who do this for a living. It stinks!

There's No Place Like Home

I've been racking my brain for something witty or funny to write about the last few days cause I know it's been a while since I've updated. Then I realized that I didn't need to be so dang witty all the time. Frankly, it gets a little tiring trying to be so full of wit and humor all the time. So, this one may not make you chuckle, but will serve as a "where is Carol now" type of entry.

We moved to San Diego June 1st of 2008. Curran had been layed off from his job at eHarmony in April and we (meaning Curran) were fortunate enough to be offered a consultant job in La Jolla for 6 months. So we moved. And we loved it. I would live in San Diego forever if I could. When December came around we had not been notified if his contract would be extended. I was starting to panic, and decided to start packing--you know, expect the best, but prepare for the worst.

Finally, on December 18th we were told that his contract would be extended six more months--not exactly what we were hoping for, but a huge blessing nonetheless. The company he had been working for had recently had major layoffs, and when I found out it's like I felt our dream of permanent San Diego residency was fizzling away. Luckily, they decided to keep him on a while longer. I remember praying fervently for us to stay, and for the faith to accept whatever the decision was. I wanted just 6 more months in San Diego so Lola could finish up her first year at preschool with a teacher she absolutely adores. And yet when I was told it was a 6 month renewal I instantly started thinking "Well, why couldn't it have been permanent? Or longer?" It's like I was failing to see the blessing that was offered to us. I think this is all too common in my life, and I need to work on this a little more. Many times I receive blessings that I overlook because I am always looking for more, or something better. I asked for 6 more months and when I received 6 more months instead of saying "thank you" I said "Dang it." How ungrateful I must seem to Heavenly Father!

That same weekend we found out about the contract extension I also found out my mom was having a hard time with her vision. She is legally blind, and her eyesight has progressively gotten worse. While hanging out at my parents that weekend in preparation for Christmas I realized that she needed a lot of extra help. She was feeling her way around the house and there wasn't much she could do with her limited eyesight. I then felt a pretty strong impression that we needed to come back to live with her. Not just for her benefit, but more for ours. I wanted to save just a little more money and finally be credit card free, and I wanted to my kids to build a stronger relationship with my parents.

Moving back wasn't easy--making the decision alone was tough. But I'm grateful Curran agreed with me, and that we are back. I was able to get Lola enrolled into preschool, and she starts tomorrow. Curran still has a job that he enjoys, and we're back in a ward we love. Now that things are starting to settle down maybe I can get back to this blogging thing!

How not to break a pinata

So, over our Thanksgiving vacation to Utah we also celebrated my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. They threw a surprise party at their church building, but the surprised ones were the guests when birthday boy Teran walked in through a completely different door than all us party-goers. We were all watching the door we had used to enter the building when all of a sudden someone turned around and there was Teran! Surprise! But I digress...

At this birthday party there was a pinata that was overflowing with candy--and the good kind. Not the cheap, lead-filled Mexican candy I was used to as a kid. Let me start by saying that 99% of the people in attendance were anglos--white people, if you will. Growing up in a Mexican home, with Mexican parents, and Mexican friends we never realized that when it came to breaking a pinata those crazy white folks do it all wrong! They're all civilized and polite about the whole thing. Had this been a Mexican party it would have been complete chaos just to get the kids in line, and to keep them there--not at this party.

So they put all the kids in order of height, and had a plastic bat about 12 inches long to hit the pinata with. Mistake number one. Any Mexican would have known to use a broomstick if no special pinata breaking stick was available. None of the kids were blindfolded and then spinned around a bajillion times before they were set loose on the pinata...boring!

As the kids walked up to politely take their turn they would whack it 3 times and politely hand the bat back to the pinata coordinator and then--get this--get right back in line to have another turn!! This group had "novice" written all over it! Any seasoned pinata breaker knows that once you have your turn you stake out a good spot to enable you to be the first one to dive in when the pinata rained it's sweet goodness on you. And not only that--how many of you have been to a party where the kid willingly gives up the bat, so the next in line can have their turn? It usually turns into a shouting/wrestling match--sometimes the adults went as far as to taser the kid in order to get him to end his turn.

So, when my mother-in-law tried to get Lola to get back in line to wait for her next turn I quickly informed Lola that that was a bad move. Obviously, she saw it my way, and we found a prime spot--of course, this wouldn't have been very difficult cause all the other kids in attendance (the white kids) were all lining up, one behind the other--putting the last kid in line considerably farther away from the pinata than the rest of them.

When at last that pinata was split open guess who the first one was to dive in? That's right...ME! I'm sure all the adults there thought I was insane, after all, wasn't the pinata meant for kids? To this I say "No way, Jose!" Any Mexican will tell you that once that pinata breaks it is a free-for-all--kids getting trampled on and smothered by adults. It's a complete no-holds-barred wrestling match. There are always a handful of kids that end up crying cause some grown-up stole all their candy, and we all would just laugh--cause it was funny! But at this surprise party I was the only one over the age of 10 to jump in, and we scored tons of delicious candy!

The best part was when one of the little kids there dropped his baggie of pinata loot and all these kids went diving for it (including me). His older brother was ENRAGED and yelled at the top of his lungs: "THAT'S MY BROTHER'S CANDY!!!!!" He proceeded to cry uncontrollably. I was tempted to point and laugh, but since the party was being held in a church building I felt a little bad, and had Lola impart of her loot to get this crybaby to shut his trap.

This isn't the first time I've been part of such pinata breakings--so I know this wasn't the exception to the rule. But it still amazes me every time I see it. Maybe it's cause we were poor growing up, and the thought of free food brought out the animal instincts in us, or maybe it's cause we're Mexican, and we all know how those Mexicans are...