Big Al's Diner

For Sammy's 11th birthday, we had a 50's Sock Hop and invited her friends to have dinner with us at Big Al's Diner (our kitchen).

Everyone arrived wearing poodle skirts and rolled-up jeans. Cute! I wore skinny jeans, a t-shirt, and a pony tail with a hot pink ribbon tied in it. I took on the persona of "Midge" (co-owner of the diner and Big Al's wife). Jonathan was such a great sport. He dressed up, helped set things up, decorated, and played the part of the waiter named "Mel" who took the girls' orders at the restaurant. Mike was willing to grill the hot dogs and wear a name tag labeling him as "Big Al". (The girls got a kick out of calling him Al.)

The menu included the following items:
Hot Dog 20¢
Cheese Dog 25¢
French Fries 15¢
Chips 10¢
Mac-n-Cheese 15¢
Root Beer Float 10¢
Orange Float 10¢



The cake was a rare choice (based on my history of elaborately decorated "shape cakes"). I baked jumbo cupcakes, frosted them, added sprinkles, and put a cherry on top so they would look like little ice cream sundaes.

My sweet niece, Kate

OK, you have to admit...

SHE IS ADORABLE!

Look at those big blue eyes.
And that sweet smile!
She's just too cute not to cuddle.
I can hardly wait to visit and finally get to squeeze those chubby little cheeks.
She already looks like she is getting so much bigger.

Kisses to Baby Kate from Aunt Kim!

Tragedy at the Bunton House

I'm serious.
It really is a tragedy.
One that I am having a very difficult time coming to terms with.
The other day our family computer died.
And I know that not everyone will truly understand why this is such a big deal to me, but it is.
Let me explain why...
We lost everything that was saved on the hard drive.
Everything.
Absolutely everythinng.

Now, let me tell you.
When I got home from work and Mike told me that the hard drives had crashed and he couldn't recover what was on them, I cried. Not just a few tears, but real, honest to goodness sobbing. I was curled up on the floor of my bedroom crying for the digital pictures I had lost. I cried for the year's worth of teaching files I had lost. I cried for the Stik Doodz designs that Jonathan had lost. I cried for the digital video files of the kids' performances and martial arts tests I had lost. I cried for the Blurb book I had just completed and not yet ordered and now have to begin from scratch. I cried for the many, many, many scrapbooking fonts that I lost. I cried for the "household" file that contained all of my recipes, important numbers, directions, etc. I cried for the resumes, letters of recommendation, and cover letters I lost that I will now have to recreate. I cried for all the time I had spent working on our church ward photo directory only to have it lost along with the rest of it. Mostly I just cried at the helplessness that I felt.

I am spoiled, I know, but Mike is so totally smart when it comes to computers that I kind of assume that whatever goes wrong, he can fix it. When something goes wrong, I get irritated, but I know that eventually Mike will figure out a way to fix it.

But not this time.
He tried. For hours, and hours.
He even took the computer to the "Geek Squad" at Best Buy and they couldn't help.
Then he tried some more.
Finally, he had to give up.
He had to reformat our hard drive.
And that is the end of the story.
It's all gone.
And I am still trying to deal with it.

So, if my next few posts do not have any pictures, you will know why.

Would you rather...

Growing up, my sister, April, would always ask the most ridiculous questions. Her off-the-wall questions eventually became a family joke. One of my favorites was: "Would you rather have really, really long nose hairs or a big outie belly button?" The answer could never be "neither". You had to make a choice. The best part of these questions was often the reasons behind our choices. For Christmas, Mike bought me a page-a-day calendar with a "would you rather" question for each new day. Today's question was so silly that I just had to share it.

Would you rather...
be able to fight and kill masterfully with superballs or frisbees?

Brrrrrrrrr

Ok.
So, the temperature outside had to be below freezing. Actually, with the windchill I am sure it was below zero. This begs the question, "Why are my kids sitting outside on our back deck without hats, gloves, scarves, mittens, or coats?" So I could take a "chilly January" picture of them for the calendar I may or may not make this year.

What a couple of good sports they were, too. All it took was the promise of some real hot chocolate when we were done to convince them to grin and bear it for about five minutes so I could take a couple pictures.

I know, I'm borderline crazy.
But how cute is this one?

Lists for the New Year

I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I can hardly believe it is 2008 already. Time flies much more quickly than I expect. As I sat here thinking about the year ahead, I have to admit that I began to wonder what the most common New Year's Resolutions are these days. What exactly is everyone planning to achieve this year? What is important enough to motivate people to action? (at least for a few weeks)

So I did a search.
Isn't the Internet great?
And here's what I found...

According to several sites, the top 10 resolutions people will make for the new year are:
1. spend more time with family and friends
2. exercise more
3. lose weight
4. quit smoking
5. enjoy life more
6. quit drinking
7. get out of debt
8. learn something new
9. help other through volunteer work
10. get organized

And from a slightly different (and entertainingly realistic) perspective, the top 10 resolutions that people won't keep are:
1. watch TV less
2. clean out the fridge
3. balance the checkbook
4. exercise
5. stop telling white lies
6. save money
7. be nicer to relatives
8. recycle everything
9. get to work on time
10. stick to a diet

And what is really sad is the number of weight loss "pop-up sites" that I came across as I searched for resolutions. My "favorite" is the following site:
1800beyourbest.com
It's a plastic surgery website.
Is this the only way we are able to meet our goals?
I really hope not!
Because I have too many other things to spend $2000 on besides liposuction! Like fixing my car, or decorating my house, or taking a trip with my family, or paying off some debts.
Although, it is tempting...

I should, of course, share the following list as well. I found a site that listed the top 10 tips to actually achieve your goals:
1. write them down - this will increase the likeliness of sticking with them
2. commit - really commit, not just thinking about it
3. tell other people - let them be your cheerleaders
4. get accountability - seek out support from others
5. make a step-by-step plan - how will you actually get to the end result?
6. do a goal check-in - be sure it is a goal YOU are motivated to set for yourself
7. get real - make sure the goals are realistic and you have some hope of actually reaching them
8. focus with reminders - post notes where you will see them often
9. believe and visualize - be optimistic and focus on your eventual success
10. be flexible - expect that your plan may need to change over time

Another good list of resolutions was the top 10 resolutions for business success (I found it interesting how many of these could be altered slightly to fit well as personal resolutions too.):
1. learn how to delegate and do more of it (wow, wouldn't that simplify my life a lot?)
2. promote your business regularly and consistently
3. make business planning a weekly event (sounds like family council meetings to me)
4. learn something new
5. join a new business organization or networking group (like, go out and actually try to make new friends?)
6. give something back to the community (service projects!)
7. put time for you on your calendar (OK, I'm lifting this one directly and adding it to my list - what a great idea)
8. set realistic goals (hmmmm. pause for thought)
9. don't make do, get a new one (if it isn't working, get rid of it and try something new)
10. drop what's not working for you and move on (you don't have to be just like everyone else - be your own personal best)

I have really never been one for making New Year's Resolutions. I make resolutions all year long. Every time I set a new goal for myself. Or fail at one and set a more attainable goal. I am constantly trying to improve myself throughout the year. But this year I have decided to make an official list of resolutions for myself (I love making lists - sometimes I even make lists of my different lists - sound familiar?) and publish them here for all to see in an effort to hold myself accountable for these goals. As you can see, some are purposely less specific than others (in an effort to provide a little wiggle room for myself), some are more specific (in an effort to really try to hold myself to the goal), and some are written in a more humorous fashion (in an effort to bring a bit of lightheartedness to a more serious goal).


So, my New Year's Resolutions for 2008 are:

1. exercise regularly - 5X/week, weightlifting and cardio
2. get more sleep - so that might mean no late night blogging through the week, I suppose
3. seek out therapy (and maybe some good meds) to help level out the ultra highs and depressing lows that I can't manage alone
4. be more patient - with the kids, with Mike, and with myself
5. take at least one family picture each month - it doesn't have to be a "blow-up-to-hang-above-the-fireplace shot", just something that shows our family together (smiling, if possible)
6. lose 30 pounds - at least 20 by my birthday
7. play more and stress less - just relax and have some fun sometimes without the worrying
8. look for the positive instead of the negative in each situation
9. say more thoughtful (and regular) personal prayers
10. put time on the calendar for me - in addition to regular exercise (see #1) and therapy (see #3) I want to set aside at least two hours each week to scrapbook, something I haven't spent much time doing lately


So, whether you are a list maker like me, or you prefer to come up with one big idea and run with it, I wish you the best of luck at reaching your goals this year.