1954 Popular Mechanics

In case you can't read the bottom, it says:
"Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look like in the year 2004.  However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home.  Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems.  With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use."
Boy, were they off!  Wouldn't you love to bring one of them to present time and show them the latest technology? 
I wonder what is coming next?

Sunday Quote

"Is there not something deep in our hearts that longs to draw nearer to God? If so, the Book of Mormon will help us do so more than any other book. It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptations. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the straight and narrow path. The scriptures are called 'the words of life', and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. These promises---increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness---these are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 54).

Wishes

I used to wish that I could listen to the speakers in church.
Now I wish that I had a baby to take out to the hall when a speaker was putting me to sleep.  LOL
I used to wish that I could be done with babies.
Now I wish that I could have more access to a baby to cuddle and hold.  I really miss that.  There are no more babies in our families on either side and with being in Primary, I never get to hold a baby any more.  It's sad.
I used to wish that my mom didn't work so she could baby-sit for me more.  Even though she baby-sat all the time for my brothers, I never liked to ask her because she was always so busy.
Now I wish she she was on the same track as my kids so we could go shopping together and go to lunch more often without kids tagging along!
I used to wish that I had more money to buy scrapbooking supplies.
Now I wish that I could find time to actually scrapbook, now that I have tons of supplies.  When I get the time, I first have to clean off my desk and put away all the stuff that has accumulated in my room.  By the time that is done, I am exhausted and there is no time to scrapbook!
I used to wish that my kids would hurry and grow up.
Now I wish that they were little again and I could go back (with what I know now) and spend more time cuddling and reading and playing with them.  Life goes by so fast!

Mormon Myths made simple

School Lunches

Thanks to a friend (who hasn't friended me on FaceBook yet! LOL) who blogged a wonderful post about making lunches for her girls with love, I have come to you for help.
So this year, I have decided to make lunches for the kids.  We have always qualified for reduced lunch before, which is wonderful because it was only 40 cents a lunch.  But now that I have to, sorry, get to pay full price, it would cost me over $20 a week!  Ouch!
I hate making lunches.  I don't make them with love, I grumble the whole time!  I don't know why.  I hate making them when the kids are home, too.  I just don't like doing lunch.  Well, I like "doing" lunch when it means going to out eat with my sisters!  LOL
Anyway, enough rambling.  I am in need of help.  I can do all the sides fine...fruit, veges, cheese crackers, granola bars, frozen pudding, etc.  I need help with the main course.
I can't do PBJ every day.  I would have a mutiny on my hands.  This is what I have come up with:

• PBJ
• Tuna fish
• Grilled chicken
• Sliced ham/turkey
• Egg salad
• Bologna (yuck!)
• ...

Yeah, I am out of ideas!  I need to know what you have packed for your kids, or what you remember your mom packing for you.  I need inspiration.  Pretty please comment and help me out!

Cleaning tip

When we moved into our first house, I bought navy blue rugs for my kitchen. I love them, but I will never buy dark again! They collect dirt and show it all!

I also hate to mop my floor. Mops don't do a great job, and I was raised to get down on my hands and knees and use a rag to mop. I never do it as often as I should.

Anyhoo...When we moved here, I put the same rugs in my kitchen. And finally a couple of months ago, after 8 years of hard work, the biggest one had had it. It was falling apart, so I threw it out.

And when I looked down, I saw the line seperating the clean floor that had been under the rug from the dirt in the grooves of my laminate flooring where the rug hadn't been. I was so embarassed. I scrubbed and scrubbed and couldn't get it out.

But today, I had some inspiration. I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (BTW...best invention ever!) and scrubbed at the dirt...and it came clean! I got a portion of my floor done this morning and will do the rest later, but I am so glad it isn't permanent!

Just thought I would pass this along.

Sunday quote

"We too must have a faith to teach our children and bid them to keep the commandments. We should not let their choices weaken our faith. Our worthiness will not be measured according to their righteousness. Lehi did not loose the blessing of feasting at the tree of life because Laman and Lemuel refused to partake of its fruit. Sometimes as parents we feel we have failed when our children make mistakes or stray. Parents are never failures when they do their best to love, teach, pray, and care for their children. Their faith, prayers, and efforts will be consecrated to the good of their children."

Elder Robert D. Hales

Princess

The Princess is a true diva.  She loves to dress up and have her hair done and be pretty.  And I have to admit, I tend to encourage it!  I love feeling pretty. 
Last year, The Teenager had a concert, and The Princess was dressed up in her Cinderella dress.  She wanted to wear it to the concert, and now that I have 3 kids under my belt, I am more relaxed with the 4th.  Sure she can wear it, why not? 
She didn't just wear the dress.  She also had the tiara, the gloves, and the purse.  I drew the line at the high heels, though!  She looked so adorable and got many comments throughout the night.
As I watched her walking in front of me, a little piece of me regretted not letting my boys do the same when they were little.  Not dressing up as Cinderella, but letting them wear the Halloween costumes and going out in them.  She was so happy and they would have been too.  I was too worried that they would get dirty or torn and then I couldn't pass them down to another child.
So learn from me...things like that aren't going to affect their eternal salvation.  Learn to relax and let them have fun.  I wish I had learned that earlier.

Pictures

I have been thinking a lot about this, and I have finally made a decision. I am taking all the pictures off my blog. I will be going back and editing 283 posts and taking all the pictures out. I worry that my pics will get hijacked and used for other purposes. So if you want to see a particular picture, just email me and we'll talk. Otherwise, sorry!

Quote of the Week

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. Your cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage-earner up by pulling the wage-payer down. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

-Abraham Lincoln

A True Princess!

My Touch

If you don't know, The Doctor and I do not ever buy new technology the first day it is out. Heck, we rarely buy it the first year it is out. We prefer to give it time to get the kinks out and let it come down in price.

However, that changed yesterday. I was the 3rd person at the T-Mobile store to buy not 1, but 2 My Touch G-3 phones. One in white and one in black.
They are so cool! I love having the internet on my phone. And the games...the free games! My kids want to play with them too! LOL And the music player! And Google calendar! And all the apps!
Hmmm, why am I sitting here blogging when I could be playing? Bye!

Dear Tech Support: Husband 1.0 Not Working

Dear Tech Support,

Last year, I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications (which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0).
In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.  Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.  I’ve tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.  What can I do?
Signed,
Desperate
———————-  
Dear Desperate,
First, keep in mind Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Please enter command: “ithoughtyoulovedme.exe” and try to download Tears 6.2 (and don’t forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update).  If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the  application Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.  But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5,  Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1 status. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Pot Belly Beta. 
Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (It runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)  Also, do not attempt to reinstall Boyfriend 5.0 program.  These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. 
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.  You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7
Good Luck,
Tech Support

Week 2 Day 1

Tonight was rough. We were jogging for 90 seconds and then walking for 2 minutes. On the last 2 jogs, I heard in my mind, "I can't do this. I am going to have to quit and tell everyone."

And then I told myself, "I can do this! I can! I have to!" And so during the last 30 seconds or so of the last 2 jogs, I was saying it out loud.

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this."

And you know what? I did.

My self confidence has never been better. I am looking in the mirror and not hating what I see. I now see a woman who is jogging. Who is getting off her behind and exercising.

It's hard. Tonight kicked my butt. But I held on and I finished.

I can do it.

I can.

Shhhhhh.....

The Princess is at school.

The Chocoholic is at school.

The Artist is at scout camp.

The Teenager is at work.

The house is quiet.

Life is good.

C25K day 3

Last night just about killed me. Day 1 and 2 were fairly easy for me. It caught up. By the 3rd jog, I thought I was going to die! But I kept going and made it. In fact, when the song for the last jog came on, I was surprised. I made it!

On a side note, The Artist and The Chocoholic wanted to come with us. I was hesitant because I didn't think they could make the whole thing. I kept telling them that they could stop walk home any time.

I shouldn't have worried. At the first jog, they took off. No problems. By the end, they weren't even winded. In fact, as we were walking home during the cool off, they asked if they could run home. They took off and were laughing.

I wish I was young again!