What's your story?

Have you ever searched for your own name in a search engine?

They say that so-called "digital dirt" can affect all sorts of things including employment opportunities. So . . .I thought---I better search for my name in google.com----

And I did. . .using my maiden name. . .and I found my name listed 6 times---only 1 of the times was it really me. The first 5 times were about some woman by the name of "tanya kuschel" taking Dell to court. Definately not me. . .but probably wouldn't get me the job of my dreams at Dell. . .unless I cleared up this unfamiliar issue.

Totally interesting. . .so I searched Randy's name and found 10,000 hits! I'm not sure how many of those are actually him . . .but he was definately not in the top 10---unless he is a 33 y/o male, an insurance man. . .or a music teacher. Hmmm...

I wanted to search one more person. . .who should it be? Why not bekki casselman. 83 hits for Bekki. She must be popular. . .or maybe just the name is. Either way, she made it into the top 3. Number 3 is the one I am most interested in. . .and I quote (hence the quotation marks) "Bekki Casselman topless. . ." What??? Check it out (don't worry--it's totally G rated & comes from her last high school reunion). It's pretty funny. Luckily, people in her life currently would probably search for Bekki Murray---which I did not do. What kind of "digital dirt" can you find on yourself? Go to google.com and type your name inside quotation marks.

PS: If you find anything on yourself that you would like removed, it is best to contact the site administrator and not the search engine itself.

Boys.

I'm keeping all the chocolate to myself.

Our trunk or treat at the church was last night. Ila was going to be a sunflower. . .and by the looks of her costume, I figured she would just be a stem (the body) since the flower (the head) looked so uncomfortable. . .as it turns out, she didn't want to be either---I couldn't get her to quit screaming when she was wearing it. I took a picture anyways---it's her first Halloween---I couldn't resist.

I never win anything. . .but Randy does.

Randy went to a Business After Hours (supported by the Chamber of Commerce) tonight. . .it's a networking meeting---they host two every month & they usually have appetizers, drinks, & prizes. Randy has made great contacts at these events.

That is all besides the point. . .because tonight he won something!!

He, of course, pretended like he didn't win anything, when in fact he won a Full Body Experience from a SPA!!! It includes a 1 hour massage, a 1 hour pure focus facial, an Aveda manicure & pedicure & a $41 skincare & makeup gift. It's valued at $220!!! And, being the wonderful husband that he is, he gave it to me!

Hip hip hooray. . .

Just for the fun of it.

Don't worry. . .nobody was injured during the making of this film.

PS: Charlie didn't dress up as a cowboy, he IS a cowboy.

For the love of music.

You know the cardboard cylinder that is revealed when the papertowels are all gone?

Well. . .we call that a 'Doo-da-doo' because that is how the song goes that we sing into the cylinder. . .you know "Doo-da doo, da-doo-da-doo!"

I am glad I was present before a disaster was born---Charlie found an entire roll of papertowels & as I walked into the kitchen, I found him just beginning to unwind the BRAND new roll. . .I asked "What are you doing?" Charlie said, "I want a doo-da-doo." YIKES! I almost had 85 paper towels on my kitchen floor. I always wondered what the kids were thinking just before they unraveled my toilet paper. . .

The dress Aunt Sarah bought me happened to match my diva booties from Aunt Joyce!

Attack of the cats.

A tornado warning was issued for Bella Vista & the surrounding area shortly after 4 pm. At 4:30, the wind started to pick up & just as it did, 4 cats came to our house & didn't leave for 1 hour. The final thing that drove the cats away was my neighbor's dog, Duke. I did call the animal shelter. . .I figured it was worth a try. . .they do not pick up cats. That explains our cat problem. The first two weeks that we lived in Bella Vista, Randy trapped (with a small animal trap) 6 cats. This was only the beginning of our stray cat epidemic. . .the problem with them is that they climb underneath our deck & pee. . .and it stinks (that is why I found these 4 cats so disgusting). We've been pretty much cat free for a couple of weeks, until today. Randy was rather neutral about cats before we moved to Bella Vista. . .& now he hates cats. If he would have been home. . .well, I will leave that up to the imagination. If you know Randy---you can guess what would have surpassed. Usually that cats that frequent our house are homeless. . .what are called ferrell cats---the ones that chase squirrels & actually catch them & then eat them---WILD. Today the 4 cats that visited my house were sweet & tame. . .it was hard not to befriend them because they were so sweet. . .but I knew if I did, they would have never left. I hope you enjoy the video. I only wish I would have captured a picture of them following me down the road. . .one right after the other. As I was walking (with the cats in tow) a neighbor asked me if I was the new cat lady. . .haha. Not.

PS: The guy that charlie said that he called. . .well after I came inside, I realized he had answered the phone while I was out. I'm still not sure who called. It was probably a telemarketer & it serves them right calling me when I'm on the do not call list. . .so they get a 3 year old answering.

Attack of the cats: Part 1 (hopefully part 2 never comes)

A tornado warning was issued for Bella Vista & the surrounding area shortly after 4 pm. At 4:30, the wind started to pick up & just as it did, 4 cats came to our house & didn't leave for 1 hour. The final thing that drove the cats away was my neighbor's dog, Duke. I did call the animal shelter. . .I figured it was worth a try. . .they do not pick up cats. That explains our cat problem. The first two weeks that we lived in Bella Vista, Randy trapped (with a small animal trap) 6 cats. This was only the beginning of our stray cat epidemic. . .the problem with them is that they climb underneath our deck & pee. . .and it stinks (that is why I found these 4 cats so disgusting). We've been pretty much cat free for a couple of weeks, until today. Randy was rather neutral about cats before we moved to Bella Vista. . .& now he hates cats. If he would have been home. . .well, I will leave that up to the imagination. If you know Randy---you can guess what would have surpassed. Usually that cats that frequent our house are homeless. . .what are called ferrell cats---the ones that chase squirrels & actually catch them & then eat them---WILD. Today the 4 cats that visited my house were sweet & tame. . .it was hard not to befriend them because they were so sweet. . .but I knew if I did, they would have never left. I hope you enjoy the video. I only wish I would have captured a picture of them following me down the road. . .one right after the other. As I was walking (with the cats in tow) a neighbor asked me if I was the new cat lady. . .haha. Not.

Things I wish I had

If you're interested, check out Randy's website---it has pictures of work he has done.

I've been working on it here & there.

www.aquacrete.net

Married so soon?

Following is the conversation we had at lunch today. I think that Charlie got it confused with the age he is going to be when he gets baptized. . .

Mama: "Charlie, who is dada's dad?"

Charlie: "Papa Ed!"

Mama: "Charlie, who is dada's mom?"

Charlie: "Nana Bekki!"

Mama: "Charlie, who is Papa Ed's dad?"

Charlie: "Nana Bekki!"

Mama: "No, Nana Bekki is Papa Ed's wife. Who is Aunt Sarah's mom?"

Charlie: "Bobby!"

Mama: "No, Sarah is Bobby's wife."

Charlie: "Gus is gonna get a wife when he's 8 & I'm gonna get a wife when I'm 8, too!"

Gus. Prejudice? It can't be.

Tonight we went to the Pinnacle Promenade to find Charlie some shoes. He has now graduated to a size 8 & had been wanting to use money out of his piggy bank for weeks. He was so proud when he picked out his own shoes & paid for it with his own money. . .although he had no idea that he came up more than $10 short & when I asked him later how much his shoes cost, he told me $76. As we were trying on shoes, Gus was happily playing with the wooden box toy when a African American boy came & stood beside him. Gus lost it. He screamed & screamed & screamed. He looked like he had seen a ghost and had been kicked in the stomach at the same time. The boy didn't even bother Gus a bit. We are pretty sure that Gus was scared because he'd never seen any other skin color than white. . .and I was embarrassed because I'm pretty sure the mother of the boy knew what had happened. Gus needs more diverse friends.

Good read

I've been reading a book lately about parenting and marriage. This was in a chapter I read yesterday & it pertains to marriage. It's funny & definately has a great point.

""Perhaps one valuable lesson we can learn is to keep our comments to ourselves if they are not uplifting. I have always enjoyed a lesson taught by the young couple who moved into a little home after their honeymoon. The wife took a little box, put it under their bed, and told her husband he must promise her to never look into it. The husband agreed to her request. He was, however, dying to know what the box contained. The first year, he kept his promise even though he was tempted to look several times. Twenty years later, he had stil not looked at the contents of the box. One night, after twenty-two years of marriage, his wife went to Relief Society, and he just couldn't stand it any more. He pulled out the box, looked in, and found three potholders and $21,000 in cash. That night he felt so guilty, he confessed to his wife what he had done. She, of course, was shocked and exclaimed, "You didn't!" He said, "Yes, I'm very sorry. but now that I have looked, can I ask where you got the $21,000 and why three potholders?" She replied, "I made a vow when I disagreed with you, I would not say anything but would just go in and make a pot holder." He said, "Wow, you only disagreed with me three times in twenty-two years?" She said, "No, that was the number of times I thought you were right." He then asked, "Where did the $21,000 come from?" She answered, "That's the profits I made from selling the potholders I made!""

Everything turns, turns

1 year ago. . .time flies (that was so much fun!)

The boys 1 year ago. . .

Today: Gus says Ila

Today: Charlie vs. Box (sorry, it's kind of dark. . .but pay close attention, charlie is saying "dad, you're killin' me!)

Smile! Say cheese! Look this way! Wait. . .nevermind, would you at least just sit still?

Compliments of Uncle Matt & Aunt Tori

Compliments of Nana Bekki