Stop the presses!

I know what you're thinking..."What? Angela has a new post? No way! Where has she been all these weeks? What is new in her life?" Well, today is your lucky day because I'm going to tell you.

Life has been extremely busy for us this month. I'm not going to go into lengthy details because nothing deters a busy auidence like a long, long blog entry that requires *gasp* scrolling.

Here's the quick and dirty:

I volunteered to be in charge of a Super Saturday craft that required massive amounts of my time and was way more than I could chew. I spent every waking moment working on the project and running 11 miles per day, and working 3 hours per day and taking care of the family/household. My brain was 100% focused on this from the late part of September up to October 12th.

October 13th-Super Saturday/Get ready for Disneyland while Andrew works more and more and more.

October 14th-18th-Disneyland: Stay tuned for more on this soon.

October 18th-21st-regaining my sanity and control of the post vacation laundry, only to lose it again on the 22nd when Andrew was sent to San Diego to help with the fires.

October 22nd- Beginning Single Mom status and taking over a huge project that Andrew was supposed to have done before Disneyland but didn't get done. What "project" is that, you ask? Well, let me tell you about it.

Project #1: Andrew calls at 11:00 AM to tell me that he will be going to San Diego and asks if I can meet him at the strike team meeting location 40 minutes from our house sometime between now and 2:30. He's not sure when he'll be there so it would be best for me to leave now to make sure I'm there in time. Oh, and bring his iPod, sunglasses, the camera and video camera. I said no. I wasn't about to give up my entire afternoon to sit at the strike team depo with two children who will have missed their naps and wait for him so he could have an ipod. Sorry Charlie.

Project #2: Spin Spidey. Our ward is having a huge halloween carnival tomorrow night. They have been planning it for 18 months. Andrew took over this project about 3 weeks before Disneyland. He said he would have it done, but he didn't. He did however have the whole idea locked down in his head and most of the supplies purchased. That was good. So, I was left to do it. I have included a picture so you can see the final result, which I am totally proud of. I look at this and think, "I am woman, hear me roar." I am surprised that I was able to complete this all on my own, while again...working, running, taking care of the kids, and with 1 day to spare. Ahhh.

Here's what I did. I used a jigsaw to cut the wood. I loved it, and now I want one. I don't really cut much wood, but if I need to cut more, this is the tool for me. My kids were strapped into strollers watching me, so don't worry, they were completely safe. I covered the entire thing with chicken wire, then took a break to prep for the neighborhood watch meeting and to prepare neighborhood maps that were color - coded by block captains. I also atteneded the neighborhood watch meeting and then afterwards returned to the spider project. I stuffed it with newspaper, then filled it with expandable foam. The next day I cut all the excess foam off and paper mache'd it. I did break to take the kids in for school pictures where I had to stand in line, right in front of a playground with both kids dressed in their Sunday best for 1 hour in the sun. It was horrible and I thought I wouldn't make it through the morning. Surprise, I did. After the paper mache was dry I covered the entire thing with fur, which in my opinion, made this spider. That night (Wednesday) my neighbor came over and helped attach it to the stand. I added the legs today and my neighbor attached the wheel tonight. It's done. All that's left is for us to take it to the chuch. Oh yeah, I also decorated my booth this morning with tons of spider webs. I hope they don't all blow away by tomorrow morning. I'm not really into the eyes. I wasn't meaning for them to be in the triangle pattern so I think I'm going to take them off and adjust them. I need some help in the eye dept because I don't really like them.

So, I can write about this now and laugh and be happy because things are getting better. October was a really bad month. We did lots of fun things, but I feel like I've almost killed myself squeezing so much in. I am really looking forward to November. We're going to take it easy, stay home and SSSSLLLLLOOOOOWWWW down. I need a big break or as Calvin would say, "A big easy."

So my email started out with the quick and dirty but clearly is getting way too long.

Here's a picture, and the latest with Andrew is that he's having a great time and won't be home until sometime next week. Whatever, I'm over it at this point.

Pushing Daisies

We're a few weeks into the new TV season and I have enjoyed most of the shows that hooked me last season. There were many new shows this season that I was interested in checking out. Those shows include Cavemen, Private Practice, Big Bang Theory, and Pushing Daisies. Of these new shows the only one I want to recommend to you is Pushing Daisies.

First of all, let me say that if I am posting this to my blog, and I have not posted anything in a very long time, you should listen. This show was unlike anything I had ever seen. It is cleverly written, directed, and put together. Andrew who only watches the Office said that this would be a show he would definitely continue to watch and that he enjoyed it because it was so unique. He said that he's never seen anything like this on TV before.

I know you're probably all thinking, "But I missed the first episode Angela, what am I supposed to do now?" Don't worry, you can watch the full episode at abc.com, and I would really encourage you to do so. It was wonderful.

As a side note, this show was written about in the Modesto Bee as being one of the only clean primetime shows on TV this season. So, watch this show, if not for any other reason than to support good TV programs.

Here's a blub from another blog that sums up exactly how I felt about this show:

Every once in a while a pilot comes along that completely shocks and surprises you with its dazzling beauty, pitch perfect cast, and its casual ability to create a whole world that you never want to leave.

I'm talking, gentle readers, about Pushing Daisies, which ABC recently ordered to series for the fall season. From the fertile mind of Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Heroes), it's unlike anything you've ever seen on television, a Burtonesque vision of mortality, morality, and, er, pies that sucks you in from the very opening scene and never lets go.

GO, WATCH, NOW!

Wheat

I've recently taken an interest in food storage. Not just building a supply of food, but learning to buy things that are less expensive and rotate them through my regular meal preparation. I like to have a "two week at a time" menu plan which I created in Excel and contains data for the last 2 years. It's helpful when trying to think of something to eat to be able to look back at what we ate 2 years ago in Septemeber for ideas.

I decided to come up with a few standard dinner items that I would use more frequently that wouldn't require all fresh ingredients and that my kids would eat. Tall order, right? I know. I came up with about 5 items and I'm trying to stock up on some of the items like broths, dry seasoning packets, pastas, etc. This is all fine and dandy but I've discovered that I can get things so much cheaper from the church cannery. Those items include flour, sugar, pasta, and wheat. WHEAT...the food I remember finding in my tuna sandwich at school and wondering how "rice" got into my sandwich. The stuff my mom used to run through the grinder each morning in the basement and then boil for her breakfast. WHEAT! I must have clearly forgotten or perhaps never fully understood my distaste for the "life sustaining" product because I've decided to try incorporating it into our meals.

I do not have a wheat grinder but Andrew is completely on board and has found one for me that has multiple grinding levels to provide me with cracked wheat, flour, and anything else I may need. Before I blow $150 on the shiney Kitchenaid attachment and fill my garage with bags of wheat, I thought I should perhaps buy some wheat from the grocery store and test it out in a few meals. I'm also planning to get some whole wheat flour to use in my next pizza dough and loaf of bread.

So here's where I need your help. I want to have a good wheat experience, I really do. I am reading recipes and cookbooks (actually the only one I have is from 1966 which tells me how lucky I am to be a woman in this day and age when I can use an electric mixer!), and I just haven't found the right recipe to base my new whole wheat lifestyle on. I am in need of some suggestions. There must be people out there, other than my mom who eat wheat. Send me your recipes. I need to try this out and see if I too can trick my kids into thinking it's rice. They love rice, so they should love wheat too, right?

As a side note, I read that 1 cup of wheat contains 400 calories. Yikes! I could eat 3 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches in place of that one cup of wheat. YUM!

MFD Station 1

I haven't posted anything for a while so I thought you'd all enjoy this video I made of a trip we took to Andrew's fire station last week. We go to his station frequently but this was our first official tour.

Books

For some, the start of summer meant diving into books and enjoying a pleasant summer of reading. For me, it meant treading water and not drowning in the immense workload of mother, wife, runner, employee, etc. I started several books and some I finished while others were left to be drawn out. After the race last weekend I picked up a fun book from my cousin Catherine that jump started my reading again. I've finished off a few of my unread books this weekend and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts...

Harry Potter 7: I know what you're thinking...How could the #1 Harry Potter fan let the book drag out for so long. Well, it's a mixture of book theft from my mother, increased workload, and I've now realized the fear that once I finished, it would be over. I actually just finished book 7 moments ago. I have to say that I was very pleased with the ending and it was extremely hard to avoid hearing the ending up to this point. I am happy to say that I will be open to discuss the book at this point in time. Overall, I loved it! (oh yeah, who is the new headmaster!?!)

Eclipse: This was the most anticipated book of the summer for me. I love Edward, I love vampires, I love the Cullen Family. The book was great, and gave me the delicious read I was expecting. It could have had some deeper twists, but it's a YA book, so what more could I expect? I will be counting down the days to Breaking Dawn...

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things: I intended to read this on my trip home from Oregon, but spent most of the flight sleeping and didn't get too far. What I did read peaked my interest enough to keep going. It was an entertaining book that had me rooting for Virginia all the way through. She's a great heroine and I hope I can be more like her!

Austenland: I think this is my favorite book of the summer. I feel a great love for this story. I purchased this and intended to listen to it while running in Oregon however I did not begin listening to it until I returned home. Stephenie Meyer recommended this book so I knew it had to be a good one. For me, I really enjoy going into a book knowing nothing about it. I had NO idea that Austenland was referring to Jane Austen so when the book began with the character Jane being obsessed with "Pride and Prejudice" or I should say, Mr. Darcy, I thought that the book may be a bore. It turned out to be a total delight and I enjoyed entering the world of Austenland. If you have the chance, pick up this book and settle in. It also moved me to rent "Pride and Prejudice" although it was only the 2 1/2 hour version. I may need to spring for the 6 hour Collin Firth version when I have a little more free time on my hands.

So with summer coming to a close it looks like I finished 4 new books. I did read Twilight and New Moon for a 2nd time at the beginning of summer but won't count those in my total.

The shelf on my night-stand is getting really full and as I pulled Harry Potter off I noticed several other books that have been leant to me that I started and never finished. I've gotten a new interest in books after this last week so perhaps I will dive into the other unfinished books on my shelves.

Happy Reading!

UPDATE-My first ever iMovie creation

I'm not sure this will work, but this is my first creation using iMovie as well as my first creation using my video camera which I purchased back in May. I have filmed a lot, but not done anything with it. I hope this turns out like I thought...

This didn't post like I thought it would so I worked on it again today. The *NEW & IMPROVED* version features music, sound effects, and a shorter run time. TAKE 2!

Hood to Coast

Running Hood to Coast this year with the Banana Slugs was one of the most fun things I've done in a very long time. For a few days I felt like a kid again with no responsibilities other than assassinating the competition. The hills, distance, lack of sleep and frequent stops at the honey bucket couldn't come in the way of my running high. I'm looking forward to next year and improving our times. Thank you Catherine for putting this all together. You're AWESOME! ;)