100 Things About Me!

Here it goes!

100 Things About Me. . . .

1. I was born a small-town girl (population about 2000 when I was born)
2. I am the youngest of four living children
3. I was a "surprise" to my parents. . .I'll still be having kids when my brothers are drawing social security!
4. I hate fresh tomatoes and my dad thinks I'm weird
5. I pretty much like all colors but my favorite color to wear is red and my wedding colors were purple and yellow.
6. I love cats, hate dogs, I'm terrified of snakes and I am borderline arachnophobic
7. I like to cook and love to bake.
8. In grade school I won 3rd place in the National PTA Reflections Contest.
9. My junior year in high school I tried out for Miss Dairy Princess. . . .moo!
10. I wore braces for 11 months and have worn my permanent retainer for 16 years.
11. I played in a tree hut when I was a child.
12. I danced on the drill team in high school and was the "drill mistress" for two years.
13. My senior year on the drill team I won the state drill down.
14. I tried out for Miss Drill Team Utah and got last place.
15. I love to travel, I do not recommend the Thunderbird Motel in Las Vegas.
16. I like to color--yes, with crayons
17. My favorite hobby is quilting and I meet with a group once a week to quilt.
18. I was Miss Beaver County and tried out for Miss Utah during my reign.
19. I can never decide if I like spring or fall better.
20. I don't like my handwriting.
21. I'm a wallflower at large gatherings.
22. I enjoy reading but didn't until about four years ago. I've read more books in the last four years than my whole life combined.
23. I wear make up every day and don't like to go out of the house or let anyone see me without it!
24. It bothers me when the word 'everyday' is misused.
25. I would rather sleep than eat if I had to choose.
26. My favorite TV program right now is "Lost"
27. I used to be a big "Knott's Landing" fan.
28. I took piano lessons for nine years but don't play anymore. . . .I want a piano.
29. I love a good breakfast.
30. I have a few really close friends but lots of acquaintances
31. I sing alto but don't have confidence enough to try out for the church choir.
32. I drive a Toyota Corolla but have minivan envy.
33. It grosses me out to clean the toilet--I wear gloves.
34. I enjoy camping but haven't been in years.
35. I love musicals. Some of my favorite are "Les Miserables", "The Sound of Music", "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", and "My Fair Lady"
36. I hate exercising, except for walking and swimming.
37. I love to play a good April Fool's joke on my dad.
38. I like to make people laugh. When I die I want my headstone to read, "and everybody laughed."
39. When I was little I wanted to own a restaurant when I grew up.
40. I like having company stay at my house.
41. I love going to antique car shows.
42. My favorite holiday besides Christmas is Pioneer Day in Beaver, UT
43. I wish we would sing Christmas songs all year long.
44. I enjoy watching movies with my husband. I also enjoy watching the Academy Awards, although, I don't do it every year. Especially now that I live on the East Coast.
45. I love a good nap.
46. I drink Postum
47. My favorite chocolate bar used to be peanut butter Twix but now I like Snickers.
48. In high school and a little beyond I was know as Rizzy.
49. After I graduated from high school I got a 1987 Toyota pick-up and affectionately named it "Rislone" after the oil additive and to match my nickname.
50. At 5' 9 3/4" I played a munchkin in the school play, "The Wizard of OZ"
51. I love a good kitchen tool and used to sell Pampered Chef.
52. I worked as a medical secretary while my husband was in medical school.
53. I'm an introvert except when I'm around my family.
54. I hate making phone calls.
55. I've had the same Eddie Bower jacket for over 12 years.
56. I love the sound of the ocean.
57. I get annoyed with people who have bad cell phone manners.
58. I have had two c-sections.
59. I want to go on a cruise when I get brave enough to leave my kids with somebody.
60. I'm not good at teaching but I love to learn new things.
61. In college I would sometimes go on multiple dates in the same day.
62. I would trade style for comfort in shoes.
63. I hate watching sports on TV, except the Olympics and the Super Bowl (but then I only watch the commercials).
64. When I was about five I accidentally stuck a knife in my left hand and had to get stitches. After it healed that was how I remembered left from right.
65. I'm allergic to avocados and Bounce fabric softener sheets.
66. I love to watch fireworks.
67. I'm always looking for new recipes
68. If I had to choose one place on the earth to spend the rest of my life it would be the mountains.
69. My favorite ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough.
70. I craved hot dogs and green beans when I was pregnant.
71. I went to the 2002 Olympics and hurt my back falling down the steps of a bus.
72. I can't remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes.
73. I wash my face every night before I go to bed.
74. I love the smell of gardenias and lilacs--gardenias remind me of my mom and lilacs of my grandma.
75. I eat the crust on my bread before the middle.
76. I sleep on my side.
77. I have a 33" inseam.
78. I don't wear shorts.
79. I can curl my tongue and do a lip-up, a unique talent that only a few know of.
80. I don't like to touch raw chicken.
81. I love a good foot rub.
82. I own about 50 cookbooks.
83. Tulips are my favorite flower.
84. I'm very picky about how my water tastes. It could be that I grew up with the best tasting water in the nation. Beaver recently won a national contest for the best tasting water.
85. I learned to play a recorder in 6th grade and was selected, along with six other kids in my class, to play for the school board.
86. I tap my tooth when I have to think hard about something.
87. I wear prescription glasses.
88. My first kiss was on a "truth or dare".
89. I used to really love motor cycles and dated a boy once just because he had one.
90. My favorite hymn is "Be Still My Soul".
91. I played the flute in 7th grade.
92. My freshmen year of high school I played volleyball. I would have kept playing but I didn't like the coach.
93. I've never had a traffic ticket. (Two days after I posted this blog I was pulled over for going 66 in a 50 work zone so this isn't true anymore! I have to go to court since I was 16 miles over the posted limit.)
94. I still have a baby tooth that's never fallen out.
95. I sleep on a pink satin pillowcase that I have had since I left home for college.
96. I played with Barbie dolls until I was about 13.
97. I prefer vanilla-based flavors of ice cream. Right now my favorite is chocolate chip cookie dough.
98. I own a real fur coat.
99. I cheer for the underdog.
100. I had a really hard time coming up with 100 things about me and after reading this I realize some of them are silly!

The Step Stool

When I sat down to write an entry I planned on writing about getting our house ready for sale--cleaning mop boards, de-cluttering, boxing up unused items, etc. But who wants to write about that, let alone read about it?
I thought it would be more interesting to write about our step stool. It's just a plain step stool, nothing fancy, nothing extraordinary. We got it for a wedding gift almost 11 years ago and for most of that time sat unused until about a year and a half ago.
I can't remember exactly when it started but it was when little Kennedy was old enough to understand that she could stand on the step stool and watch what Mommy was doing in the kitchen. At first we pulled it out when we made something special like cookies or pancakes. Then Kennedy became agile enough to pull the stool out of the pantry herself. Then it was used more and more. Then Kennedy found that she liked to play in the sink while Mommy worked in the kitchen. When we tried to put things up high that she wasn't supposed to reach her solution to the problem was her "tep tool".
Kennedy soon learned that the step stool was just that, a tool! She started using the stool to her advantage. Rarely was Kennedy seen in the kitchen without her stool. One time I set Kennedy up with a movie while I went upstairs to take a shower. She usually stays still and never moves while a movie is on. When I got out of the shower I heard a commotion and had a feeling I should check on her. When I came down she was in the garage with her step stool. She had used it to turn on the light and she was playing in the car and just as I opened the door she was reaching up to my garage door remote to open the door!
She has used the step stool to do many naughty things. She recently learned that she could reach the top of the refrigerator if she could get on to the counter. Again, the step stool. This became worrisome and I started storing the stool in the garage but that does not deter her. She is too clever.
Yesterday while I was busy cleaning up the breakfast dishes I turned around and on the top step of the stool, just as big as he could be, was Tristan! I just about had a heart attack! Now the level of worry over the step stool has increased. I guess the step stool has passed down to baby brother now!

Uncomfortable Call

Over the last week I have interviewed three realtors in hopes of finding someone with the right plan to sell my house. At first my objective was to get as many opinions as possible and then sell the house myself. That was before we put an offer on another house. Now we are feeling crunched for time because our closing date will be April 16. This is all sooner than we anticipated and we aren't in the mood to deal with the hassle of selling the house ourselves.
I interviewed two very competent realtors from two different companies. They both came with a lot of information about my house and other houses in the area. They were prepared to win me over. I was impressed with both. The realtor we are using to buy the other house showed up with a packet that I was expected to read over myself (and understand) then measured all my rooms. Not impressed. Where's the pitch? He did offer his services at a whole percent lower than the other two but when it came down to it I felt more comfortable with the other realtors.
I tried to convince Chris that he should be the one to call our realtor and tell him we were going with someone else. We both knew, however, that I should be the one to call since I did the interviewing. I HATE these uncomfortable situations. I am always so worried that I will hurt someone's feelings or offend or make someone angry. It's ironic because I am the customer and it's my money. That's how I am though. I would rather be inconvenienced than offend someone.
I made the phone call this morning and it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. The realtor was very nice and understanding. That was a load off my shoulders. I seem to make things worse in my mind but when I really do it, it's not so bad. I'm still glad it's over.

The Offer

After much deliberation we decided to put an offer on the Weldon Ridge home. We ran into a few snafus though. Before we sent in an official offer we had our realtor enquire about a few things.
1. There is an unfinished storage area above the garage that we thought would be a perfect "bonus room" for the kids to play in. We asked if the builder could finish it. The answer was no.
2. There is some flooring in the hall bathroom and utility room that is not quite our style. We wanted to know if the builder could change that out for us. The answer was no.
After being shot down on both requests we had to think about if we still liked the house. The answer was YES! so we put in an official offer. We wanted to get as late of closing as possible since Chris doesn't start his faculty job until July. We asked for May 15 which we knew as a long shot. Again the answer was no, March 6. We were starting to wonder if the builder just didn't want us to buy the house.
We had our realtor call the builder and ask if she could compromise. She came back with April 16 so I guess we are going to shoot for that. Now we will have to get our house ready for the market. My mom is going to come out to help me with the kids the end of February so hopefully we can get this going and sell our house by the time we close.
Today after church we drove to the house to see how far it is going to be. Our ward boundaries were changed today and we will be going to a building in Chapel Hill. The new house is actually really close to the new building and will be a quicker drive to church than our current home.

Thank Goodness for Pancakes

There are days when 5:00 comes and I just don't have the brainpower to follow a recipe. That's when I whip up a batch of pancakes for dinner. That's what happened yesterday. . . .
It all started when we woke up to snow. That's right, snow! The last time it snowed here my three-year-old daughter was 15 months old. She has never seen snow that she can remember. It wasn't much snow, just what I call a skiff. In North Carolina snow takes precedence over everything. All the schools cancelled for the day and the local news trumped Good Morning America and all the other morning news programs. I'm not afraid so I got the kids ready to leave a little earlier for Tristan's 9:00 office visit. Hardly anyone was out. I thought I would get to the doctor's office early, Tristan would be seen early and we would go home early so I could give him a quick nap before we had to go to the realtor's office in Chapel Hill. Wrong!
When I arrived at Duke Peds they had no record of Tristan's appointment. I knew they gave me a paper the last time I went in for his six-month visit because that's what I was waiting for when the Stranger Discipline incident happened. The clerk told me to sit down and wait and maybe someone would cancel because of the snow. I sat down and let the kids play and all of a sudden the waiting area got really busy. I kept waiting and finally the clerk told me we weren't going to get in this morning and we should schedule for next week.
I scheduled the appointment and it was just late enough that by the time I got home I would have had to drive back that way to go to Chapel Hill where I needed to drop off the earnest money check and sign the contract at the realtor's office. I was already half way there so I just went to the realtor's office hoping he would be there.
When I arrived there were two cars in the parking lot and neither were his. By this time Tristan had fallen asleep in the car and Kennedy had her shoes and socks off. I locked them in the car and went inside really quick just to see if he was there. The nice lady at the front desk told me he wasn't and tried to reach him. No luck.
I turned back around and took the kids home. I was not having a very productive afternoon. A while later the realtor called and agreed to bring the contract to my house at noon. I hung up the phone and started cleaning up my house. I had another realtor coming in the afternoon to talk about selling my house so I wanted it to look nice.
The rest of the afternoon went a little better. It was just busy. Both realtors came, at different times of course, and did what they came to do. I was a little shocked by the 6%-of-the-selling-price fee that the realtor charges and couldn't wrap my brain around it. By this time it was time to start thinking about dinner. I was fried so I made pancakes because I have made them at least a hundred times and know the recipe by heart.

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/4 cups flour ( I like to use a white/wheat mix)
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Scrape down sides if necessary and blend again.
Cook on hot griddle and drizzle with warm syrup.

After I fed the kids and had a bite to eat it was time to take Kennedy to Little Gym. Just as she was putting on her shoes Chris got home. Just in time to watch Tristan.
After Little Gym our neighbor came over to babysit while Chris and I went to the Stake Center to meet with the president. After a lot of chit chat and some awkward questions my worst thoughts were confirmed. "We would like to extend a calling to you, Brother Kelsey, to be the new Elder's Quorum President." So here we go! More stress, more blessings, more opportunities to serve.

Hyper Speed

I feel like my life is in hyper speed right now. I thought things were going to settle down after the holidays. Boy, was I wrong!
I have been teaching Kennedy's preschool twice a week since the first of December. That takes a considerable amount of my time. I am not one to "wing it". Especially with four three-year-olds. If I give any hint of not being prepared they go wild. Besides, I really want to take advantage of the curriculum and teach the kids.
When I contacted a realtor to start looking for a house I had all intentions of just going out to look at neighborhoods then start a serious search around the middle of March. Now, here we are, preparing an offer for a house and it's barely the middle of January.
Today I went over to the prospective house to look at it one more time before we placed an offer. That included taking my two kids, which is always fun. Amazingly enough they were both angels and I was at the house for almost 1 1/2 hours! I went through everything again to make sure there was nothing that bothered me so much that I wouldn't buy the house. This house is a really well-built home and I hope things work out.
To top things off, our church ward is being split this Sunday. I got a call this evening from the stake president's office. The stake president wants to meet with Chris (and me) tomorrow evening. I looked at my calendar and saw a doctor's appointment for Tristan, a trip to the realtor's office for signing, an appointment with a seller's agent for our house and Little Gym for Kennedy at 5:55. I told him we could fit the stake president in at 7:30, which means I have to arrange for a babysitter and means that life is going to stay busy for a while. A meeting with the stake president and "bring your wife" never turns out to be just a light calling!
Life is busy but that doesn't mean I can't stop and take some time to count my blessings.

MLK Day

Chris had the day off yesterday so we met the realtor at the house. Chris wanted to see the inside. We both love the house. We'll see if things work out. We haven't even put our house on the market yet and Chris doesn't start his job until July 1 so we would have to request a long closing.
Kennedy went with us to look at the house. I left Tristan with my neighbor, Sheila. Kennedy wasn't acting herself and she fell asleep in the car on the way home which is unusual for her. We got home, had lunch and put the kids down for a nap. Shortly after that Kennedy started crying. We went up and she had thrown up. Poor thing.
We had Sheila over for dinner later that night. We had Chicken Caesar Burgers which were pretty good. I also made carmelattas for dessert which are always yummy!

Ed’s Carmelattas

32 Kraft caramels
1 cup rolled oats, quick cooking
10 Tbls whipping cream
1 tsp soda
3/4 cup butter, melted
6-oz chocolate chips
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 - 1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt caramels in cream in double boiler. Set aside. Mix melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and soda. Divide mixture in two parts. Pour half mixture in square pan. Bake 10 minutes.
Remove from oven. Put chocolate chips on top, along with nuts and melted caramels. Top with the other half of the mixture. Bake another 15 - 20 minutes.