Where Dwell the Brave At Heart

It has always been a dream of mine to attend a ward party without ever having to get out of my car. Last night we (the activities committee) attempted to make that dream come true for the good people of the Grandview 4th ward.

"Last night?" you ask. Yes. Last night during the rain and the wind we had a Trunk or Treat Party in our church parking lot from 5-6pm during a brief (50 minutes) cessation of rain which I like to attribute to my incredible faith. We set up in the rain; We took down in the rain. But from 5pm to 6pm when people pulled into the parking lot and were greeted by our bishop with boxed dinners passed through their open windows, the weather accommodated. Dreams can come true, friends--Blissful, sloppy-joe, chips, sliced apples and caramel-dipped utensil-less dreams with a can of cold(ish) rootbeer on the side. 150 people were served [a dream] in a Styrofoam box last night. InNOut + the Gospel + Halloween? I can't even answer--I'm too choked up. Amen.

After you get your dinner you pop your trunk, see, and you trick or treat from trunk to trunk. Of course you have to dress up, since it's Halloween. I had some stuff around the house that we threw together.

 Halloween is fun, ya'll. Afterwards Sam asked me if I was a "pothead." I was indignant. "Of course not!'"

Wait for it.

"I mean, Yes."

My only regrets about last night are the Unforgivable Curses I used on a few kids dressed as Dementors. They're just kids, after all.

Last Chance to Win $100

Today I posted my last Kelloggs post. It's sad. But also happy. Because if you comment on it you might win $100 Visa Gift Card. Feeling lucky? Today's your last chance. Give it a shot. Don't think you'll win? Why do you always have to be so negative?

Still Awesome? Footloose Edition

I'm starting a new series called "Still Awesome?" where I take a look at things I used to think were awesome and reevaluate them from a modern perspective with the benefit of the wisdom I've gained over the years.

First up? *Footloose. I was 12 when Footloose came out. It was filmed in Utah. It was a big deal. It was, in a word, awesome. Is it still?


Yes. It is still awesome. Here's why:

All the shoes in this clip are currently in style again.
The soundtrack is mostly good.
Kevin Bacon still seems cool to me. 6 Degrees and shark skin jackets make him timeless.
Flat chests in tank tops are a nod to heroine chic which is a nod to the Kristen Stewart heroine chic revival which is totally au courant.
The cowboy's dance moves are quirky enough to be awesome in 2010 a la the zombie walk in Thriller (I'm guessing, here--but I think so.)
Church vs. Dance is sometimes archaic, sometimes relevant, but always hot.

That's my verdict--Still awesome? Yes. 

*I am basing this entirely on the trailer. I haven't re-watched the movie. And I probably won't.  But I would, because it's still awesome, as far as I'm concerned.

Penultimate Chance to Win $100 Dollars

It's kind of sad, really. I've posted the penultimate $100 Visa Gift Card give away over on my giveaway blog. Penultimate.

The Deerhunt

Ever think, "I wonder what Kacy's doing this weekend?" My kids had Thursday and Friday off from school this week. It used to be called, ominously, "The Deerhunt" when I was growing up. I personally never hunted deer or knew anyone who hunted deer so to me it was a holiday celebrating and pointing to an event from the far past--like how Thanksgiving celebrates the pilgrim's first feast. Apparently, a lot of people did and do really hunt deer. It is like, a thing.

And then for years of college and having little babies The Deerhunt meant nothing to me. By the time I had kids in grade school the name of the vacation had been changed to UEA (Utah Educators Something?).  Because--you know Utah--we would never stick with anything outdated or with a slight negative stigma!

This year it is called, simply, "Fall Break." I like it. And the best thing about it is that if you still want to kill deer[s] during your fall break, you can.

At first I started planning an actual trip for Fall Break. But staying in a hotel with 4 kids is not as fun as it used to be [when we had no kids]. Everything seemed so expensive and not that fun. Plus, my oldest son had to go to a scout camp. Plus, my husband doesn't really have (and by "have" I mean "take" since he is, technically, his own boss) Fall Break off. So I decided to let the kids plan our break. I gave them each an index card and told them they could each plan a complete day. I told them we could do anything in Utah. Here are their lists:

Maggie's List
Go to IHOP for Breakfast
See Ramona and Beezus
Eat lunch at Costa Vida
Go to Baskin Robbins for dessert
Go to the River with Frances
Bajios for Dinner
Park City (maybe)
Sleepover at Granny's (hot tub)

Ben's List
See a Movie
Get Ice Cream
Have a Water Balloon Fight
Eat Spaghetti
Buy Water Guns
Have a Feast
Watch TV
Visit Bubble Tea
Get a Manicure
Get Presents.
Got to Granny's House
Go Rafting

Since Sam would be here for only half of the first day and half of the last day, we had to mix up the schedule  a bit and let him choose some things before he left. So far, we are having a lot of fun. A word about Bubble Tea: In our family we call "passing gas" "having a bubble." I don't know why or where it came from. It's just what we do. Once we saw a coffee shop called "Bubble Tea." As you can imagine, the prospect of bubble tea is very hilarious to Ben. But there aren't any Bubble Teas in Utah. So that was just a pipe dream.

The genius of Ben really shows in his request, "Get Presents." It was a pretty good request. Thursday morning felt just like Christmas.  Everyone woke up early to open their presents.  I got them each a small toy and a video so we could "watch a movie" and "watch TV." Ben's toy was the water guns he had requested. Maggie got a Webkinz. Ellen got a small plastic Super Why, and Sam got a tiny skateboard with working parts. (Did you know that's a thing? It is. So are tiny bikes.) Ellen made everyone cards and Ben gave Maggie a plastic hanger. It was thrilling to get presents on a non-traditional present day. I think the kids were totally blown away, even though the presents were small. Ellen got Bee Movie, which we watched the first night with homemade caramel corn. Ben got Phineas and Ferb Christmas, which we watched in the car while driving from place to place and which lent an air of of Christmas break to the whole thing. Sam got a collection of Underdog cartoons and Maggie got She-Ra. I love to give them old cartoons that I grew up with but to tell you the truth, they are never as great as I remember (with the exception of Danger Mouse which is greatER).

Sam wanted to go to Maglebys Fresh for breakfast. They have delicious french toast. At Maglebys we saw the Orem High track team, the Timpview Ballroom team, and the BYU Golf team. It occurred to me that Maglebys Fresh is exactly the kind of place I would NEVER have eaten breakfast at as a teenager or young adult. Winchells/Gas Station/McDonalds was much more my speed. But whatever. Now I eat there whenever I like. It was 40 dollars! I about died. I hate paying for food for my whole family. Christian usually pays the bill, which is why it is so shocking for me to handle the transaction. Which is why a gas station breakfast is more my speed. Sam wanted to go to the mall. He bought a Coca-Cola case for his cell phone with his own money. Ben bought Lotso from Toy Story 3 with his own money. I figured it was like how you let your kids get dumb, wasteful souvenirs when you go on vacation. They were excited. Sam taught us how to get a lot of gumballs out of a gumball machine. I was so impressed. Then I realized it was stealing. I felt conflicted. Sam left for his camp out and we went to the river with the dog. We had a spaghetti feast for dinner.

The next day Ben suggested that I make pancakes instead of going to IHOP. I was glad. And here's where never making my kids a special breakfast comes in handy--when I do, it really is special. I made the Pioneer Woman's sour cream pancakes. They really are good. We went to the river again and then I gave everyone manicures. (Ben's was a no-polish manicure.) I was actually excited for a chance to clip their nails. We got ice cream and went to the dollar movie. Ramona and Beezus isn't playing here anymore so we saw Toy Story 3 again. I'll tell you what--I have to fight hard not to cry in that movie. I'm so mom. We had dinner at Bajios. I'm more than a little happy that my kids' fantasy day revolves around eating meals at different restaurants. Because that is my fantasy. Christian met us and took Ben and Maggie on a Halloween Cruise on the Provo River. I had to get creative with "go rafting" because I didn't, oh what's the word, want to "go rafting." They tell ghost stories and pretend to get attacked by pirates on the Halloween Cruise. Classic. I, being stalwart and selfless, took Ellen home to bed. I read in bed. Have I mentioned that I find solitude restorative?

Today we've got the big water balloon fight, lunch at Costa Vida,  a trip to Park City (MAYBE--probably not), and then we're going to sleep over at my mom's and go in her hot tub. It's been pretty fun. And since we are home and not at Disneyland or Mesa Verde (some of my original ideas), I can fold laundry and check e-mail in between our fun excursions. I like it much better this way. When it comes right down to it, I have no desire to "get away from it all." But that's just me. There you have it. That's what I'm doing right now. Also, later I might kill a deer. I'll do it, too! Don't test me, deer.

Wherein I Tell You A Secret

Let's talk more about breakfast, shall we? Also, try to win money, my friend. Go here.

Partial Ideas

I store partial ideas for blogs and then forget about them. Here are some undeveloped notions:

I have an idea for a scene in a novel where something or someone who is starving eats plaque off of something or someone's morning teeth.

I have an idea for a book where a bishop's cordless phone gets all messed up so he can hear other people's conversations in the ward. It's a romance novel.

I made a note to myself to write a blog which explains how  Friday Night Lights is the nouveau country of TV shows. In other words, Friday Night Lights = Wilco.

I heard a rich realtor on a reality TV show say that his motto is "Work hard. Play hard." I've been meaning to write a blog post about how this motto might apply to my life. I just don't play hard enough for it to be relevant.

I've been wanting to explore the idea that jurisdiction fights like you see in cop shows on TV only occur on TV.

I have been wanting to title a blog post "Not if Anything to Say About it I Have." Any ideas about how to make it work? It's highly nuanced, you see.

I want to either write a post about myoclonic jerks or call someone a myoclonic jerk--whichever would be better.  A myoclonic jerk is what happens when you are about to fall asleep. It feels like falling.

For me, candy is an important part of my family culture. I always want to blog about it but I'm just not ready for an onslaught of critical comments--certainly not about something so, well, special to me.

One year my kids really wanted to get an mp3 player for their little brother Ben. As fate would have it, he ended up with Christian's old iPhone before Christmas even came. It was kind of like Gift of the Magi, but not really close enough to write a blog about it.

I like this quote by Emerson: "No man ever stated his troubles as lightly as he meant." It's why I always say "fine" whenever anyone ever asks me anything. But it's not so great in terms of keeping up my end of a conversation. I find exaggeration works much better?

Here's a related quote that I often think about in terms of blogging and life in general: "What makes a good story ain't what makes a good person." Is the success of my blog inversely related to the quality of my soul? Obviously, this is true in Dooce's case.

And here is the premise of another unwritten blog post: Right here, right now we are living in what will be referred to in the future as "The Golden Age of TV." Is this more exciting or more disappointing? Because I think it might be true.

If you don't drink or cavort, wearing slippers to the gas station is a valid form of teenage rebellion. (It's such a great little nugget of truth! And therein lies it's lack of viability as an entire post--there's simply nothing more to say about it.)

And finally, WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH GUNNE SAX DRESSES?!

The Blitzkrieg of Give Aways

Today is the blitzkrieg of Give Aways because I have two Give Aways going on at once. BLITZ!
KRIEG!

Check out my tips for easing the morning rush. STOP LAUGHING. IT'S SERIOUS. Read my obvious tips for not very good morning people and you might just win a hundred dollars.

I Don't Understand So Much

After I made my "Reviews and Giveaways" tab I started getting e-mail from stores who want to give you things. I'm kind of not that interested because, frankly, there's nothing in it for me. But I'm happy to oblige.

I don't really know how people found out about my Reviews and Giveaways tab, but I don't know how a lot of things work. For example, how does TV work? What makes a motor go? How are books bound? What are radio waves? What does oil do in a car? I don't understand so much. Sometimes I imagine that I might find myself stranded somewhere with every kind of resource and I am required to rebuild civilization by myself. I know that I wouldn't be able to figure anything out--probably not even if I had books that explained things. I might be able to build a fire. My culture would be so stunted. I am embarrassed by the culture I would create if left to my own devices.


But the first Give Away (this is in addition to the $100 Visa Gift cards so PAY ATTENTION) is $75 from what appears to be a really wonderful group of online stores. You can get anything from coffee tables to kitchen stuff to modern furnishings which are, as you know, all the rage. Check out the details on my Giveaway blog. Try to win by leaving a comment over here.

Books I Read in September: 2010

I have read 44 books this year, for those of you keeping track. I have also sewn 0 outfits and made cake from scratch 0 times. I think I made lasagna 3 times, but it was at the beginning of the year when I was more motivated. I've moved furniture 20 times.

The first book I finished in October is The Go-Getter Girl's Guide by Debra Shigley. I just wanted to see what it would say. What do go-getter girls do? I don't know. It's mostly about working.


Then I read a love letter from my GA boyfriend, Dieter Uchtdorf.

I guess you can read it if you want--but it's kind of private between me and him. His name is Dieter and he's a pilot. I know it sounds really fake, but it's true.

I also read this cute How-to book. It might be a good gift for someone you don't know well enough to be able to think of a good present for them. It's risky though because if you don't know them very well they might be all, "Are you implying I don't know how to sew buttons on things?" And you'll just have to think to yourself. "It's a present, jerk. Just say 'thanks.'"


I started out REALLY loving I'm Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells.  The premise is totally intriguing and seems somewhat inspired by the show Dexter. It's about a kid who has all the tendencies and predictive behavior of an eventual serial killer. But he doesn't want to be a serial killer. The book takes a bit of a sci-fi turn which I wasn't emotionally prepared for so I was a little disappointed but it's still a good book and could be a really cool series. Just know that there might possibly be a demon involved.




Stranger in the Family by Robert Barnard is a pretty good novel about the kinderluft in WW II. It is weirdly written--people say the strangest things in it. It seems like it was written in another language and translated into English but as far as I can tell, it wasn't. It has a lot to say about the improvisational morality surrounding the Holocaust. It's interesting.







 As a formerly hot woman, I thought My Formerly Hot Life by Stephanie Dolgoff was a really fun read. It articulates a lot of things I've been thinking lately as my 30s are winding down and my kids are getting older. I'm still in the game, but it's different. I've realized lately that I can't get away with what I used to get away with when I was younger. I don't mean partying and eating Zingers by the boxful (Heh. "used to.")

Now I have to consciously remind myself that people view me as an old mom with a teenager. I can be sensitive, introverted, and insecure if I want, but it comes off differently now. It's not endearing. It makes me seem rude, I think. I'm not a new young mom and acting like one just makes me seem like I lack poise (which I do lack.) I don't really know how to act. I don't want to go the know-it-all route because we all know what a gargantuan turn off that is. But I'd like to move into this phase with a little grace, if possible. These are the facts: (1) I only care what my husband and my kids think of my parenting--and not even all that much. I'm not tortured [anymore] by what the moms at the playground think about me. I'm doing the best I can. (2) I am at a place where most of the time I can grocery shop without kids, if I play my cards right. This is life-changing. (3) I have some time to myself each week (5 hours to be exact!) This is only going to increase as Ellen gets older. I love it. I don't feel guilty about it.  I want to spend it well. (4) I shower most days--this doesn't mean I don't remember the spit up/nursing/zombie days. In fact, I still have zombie days. But I don't miss them. Someday I might. But not yet. I feel that this is a time to gird up my loins. I feel that I am in between the physical and emotional trauma of having little babies and the serious and hefty issues that might come with teenagers and adult children.

Dolgoff's book is more about the physical stuff of getting old (slowed metabolism? Whaaaaaaaa?)

I don't know. Maybe I never was hot.

And then I read, fittingly, How to Never Look Fat Again by Charla Krupp.

This is a really useful book. The chapters are divided by which part of you is fat and tells you what to wear and what to avoid if you have that fat part. There's even a part about cankles. I don't have cankles, but based on the doomsday prophecies of Stephanie Dolgoff--I will be lamenting my formerly hot ankles in about 3 years. Best to be prepared, don't you think? She includes a lot of online sources. I went to the internet straight away and ordered me some skinny britches. WHAT? You don't know what skinny britches are? Oh dear. There's no hope for you. Sorry!

How do I decide what to read each month? I go to the new releases shelves at the Provo library. It's like a store! I check out anything that catches my eye. They have a shelf for fiction and a shelf for non-fiction. They also have a shelf for some kind of theme they choose each month. This month it's red books. I actually read a lot of red books this month. I try to keep in mind books that have been recommended to me. I've been trying to get The Book Thief for months, but it is always checked out. Many of you have received frantic messages from me on Thursdays (library day) misspelled and undoubtedly cryptic via my iPhone about a book I'm trying to remember. That's because all the computers at the library are always being used by people playing Farmville while their wives think they are searching for jobs. Harsh? Perhaps. But the Farmville part is true. I confirm it every week. EVERY week. I guess I shouldn't assume that if you're at the library during the day you don't have a job but I'm there and I don't have a job. Anywhoo. Recommendations always appreciated.