I'm Spinning My Plates As Fast As I Can

Once upon a time there was a beautiful, if ditzy, woman named Gena. She imagined her life as a frenetic act on an exposed stage, the one where the person has thin poles and keeps plates spinning on top of all of them at once. Each plate had a title; Wife, Mother, Daughter, Cook, Chauffeur, Maid, Handyman, IT tech, the "Can you...?" go to person... you get the idea.

Now, periodically, Gena would get distracted by one plate and a few others would drop. Like when the DSL router died leaving all three computers in the house off the net for over a week. And between teaching and getting her son's bedroom ready for him to reoccupy she forgot about scheduling her twin daughters Senior pictures. And paying a few bills...? Well, I'm sure we can all relate to this.

When the plates start falling, chipping and splintering around her, Gena likes to remind herself of another time her plates all fell. Feeling sad she hid herself away in her Mother's bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind her. She was feeling horrible, as if she'd let everyone down.

At the time Gena REALLY wanted a few minutes to herself. Well, she got it. A very few minutes. About five minutes after stealing away her children found her and quietly arranged themselves around her. Did she feel she'd been invaded? Absolutely. Did she mind? Not so much. You see, as the invasion commenced there was not a sound. Silently they came in and cuddled up.




For the last two weeks Gena has been dropping plates but she's found the Elmer's! I predict that she will be doing pretty well by next Monday or Tuesday.

Chris Came Home

Words rarely fail me. I was so happy to see Chris come up from the subway at DIA all I could do was smile!



A railing separates the people waiting from the arriving passengers. He approached Helen, Allison and Emily as I was circumventing the rail. Can you imagine how I felt when he told them, "I need to hug Momma first"?

I put my arms around him. It felt so good! I whispered in his ear, "I don't think I can let go" and he whispered back "I don't think I can either." Sigh.

Three cameras were going and Chris was disconcerted, not knowing where to look.



Emily, Chris and Allison.



Chris was sharing pictures of his departure from New Hampshire with me because...



...a distraught Steven was stuck on the 225 in horrible traffic! He felt awful for about 2 seconds until Chris ran up to him with big hugs too.



The very next, very important, order of business was to call big brother Michael in Utah. Michael was so jealous and "oh, man" wistful. I think we're going to take a quick weekend trip so they can see each other. I mean it has been THREE YEARS since they've seen each other.



I didn't know this picture was being taken but I like it.



When we got Charlie two years ago Christopher was the first family member he warmed up to. After a brief territorial barking spell puppy warmed right up.



Okay, I have to confess. It wasn't until I started loading photos onto the computer that I realized we didn't get one picture of Chris with Grandma Helen. While Helen isn't in her cute little black and white outfit I don't think she minded the hugs.



Chris is glad to be home but is still in a bit of culture shock. While we've kept the TV quiet this afternoon he has been on the Wii with me and Emily. He's playing computer games while the girls (and I) watch "Glee." His body clock is telling him it's 10:30 p.m. and he's readjusting to the altitude. Still, he assures me he's happy. Me too!

CAUTION: Long Week Ahead

Dear BlogMates,

I'm home after my first day in a true Special Ed. class. There is an extra sub in the school right now (long story) but if she leaves before the end of the week I'm done for. The aide in my class also went to Outdoor Lab (a week long camp for the sixth graders) and aides don't get substitutes. So, if the teacher requires an aide why wouldn't I? Please pray for me that I don't end up alone with these special spirits, please?

Shower Saga Wrap Up: Our last attempt at waterproofing/sealing the grout, once again, appeared not to work The grout, upon have water spritzed on it, turned the dark cement like color. Well, Alli sat down and cried. I was with her. I called the manufacturer of the sealer and was told it was a breathable sealant and it would look wet. I don't know how that's supposed to work, but the girls are showering in their bathroom and are happy. I was so relieved I didn't swear!

ELDER FARIA IS 9 DAYS AWAY FROM HOME! This time, a week from Wednesday, he will be home. Weird and exciting! He will be speaking on the first Sunday he's back in town, Sunday, September 13th, Sac. Mtg. 9 a.m. for those of you who can make it. Let me know! I'll prepare goodies!

I will be in much better form by Saturday morning. I hope I'll have an exciting and wonderful post ready for you all to read.

LOVE, Gena, harried teacher, concerned Mother and Dopey Daughter

Sunday, Part Two

What do you do with boring notebooks and a lazy, warm Sunday evening...?

Sideways Sunday Six

I thought I'd share Six photos this Sunday that sum up my week.


Below is a seemingly innocuous piece of paper, but it's no ordinary printout. This one causes my heart to beat faster. It causes my head to spin. It panics me into knowing I need to prepare. It is Christopher's travel itinerary for COMING HOME. He will arrive at DIA on 9-9-09 at 1:26 p.m.



The new drain line hook up. I didn't get to play with the jack hammer (he had two apprentices with him) but they made quick work of it. This part of the project was expected.




This part wasn't. We found that the entire kitchen assembly was crap. In fact when the plumbing team opened up the basement ceiling to connect the new drain line they found that the kitchen drain pipe WAS NOT CONNECTED. That's right. Open pipe hanging over open pipe. Thank heavens the kitchen sink isn't directly over the basement. We had to cut into the siding from the outside to replace it all. Bleh. It's fixed!



We had our technical "Last First Day of School" on Friday. The girls had a half day. Here's Emily with her "Mother Approved" breakfast; a big piece of homemade chocolate cake and a big glass of milk. Yum!



Seniors Allison and Emily.



My Honey's Saturday morning project was repairing the hole in the siding. I was brilliant in my Home Depot trip and got all the right stuff. While he worked the girls and I cleaned bathrooms and then had to "de-cement dust" the basement. Sigh. LOTS of vacuuming and dusting and wiping and I haven't even started on the bookshelves. It's all good.


PS... hold your breath for me, please! NONE OF THE WATERPROOFING ON THE BASEMENT SHOWER TILE JOB IS WORKING! I'm hoping beyond reason that the grout manufacturers will do more than give me a new box of grout, say, at least a Dremel tool to grind the old stuff out with? I'm so distraught (silent, inside screaming). This is the job that never ends.

Fun, Family and Food

Oi to the Vey! What a week! I love going to see my family!

For the FUN!!!

Playing cards... Golf, Pig Spit (or Hand and Foot to those outside the Ellsworth family), 3 to 13, we had a blast!



Does anyone else think they should NOT be posing for self portraits on a moving ATV they are driving?



I couldn't resist (hey, she started stacking the rollers, I just added to the stack).




For the FOOD!!!

Holy Guacamole, Batman! Even Charlie gained weight. Menu plan and shop accordingly? Done. Follow plan? Forget it, not as fun. Below is a lunch of leftovers from the night before. The leftovers were about 10 take out boxes STUFFED with Chinese food. Thanks, Richard and Sherri! It was also a great breakfast the next day.




For the FAMILY!!!

We were able to attend the wedding of our brother in law, Jay Black to Jewel Haws. It was wonderful to be there with them and to see all of Jay and Sharon's children all in the same room. Too bad all I had was Mom's camera and the BATTERY DIED!!!

Dean and Renda




Richard and Sherri




Steve and Gena




Jay and Jewel




And what's a trip without dirty laundry and souvenirs?

Uh, Richard, you left your peanut patties and beef jerky at Dean's. We'll keep it safe, for a time, in Arvada.




Coolest pest control ever! My Mommy bought me a cool bug zapper that poses as a racquetball racket. Push in the little button on the side, swing away at the bugs and Kapow! Zap! Sizzle! Ah, I love the smell of fried mosquitoes in the morning!




It was too much fun to try to convey in one blog post. I HAD A BLAST!

Farmer GeorgeAnn

I'm leaving for New Mexico on Tuesday. I'm THRILLED that I'll get to see Dean & Renda and Richard & Sherri and Jay's & Jewel's wedding and bring my Mama home with me. We haven't even bothered to fully unpack from our fun filled Utah visit. Be prepared, right?

Well, part of the fun of going to Bloomfield this time of year to visit is Dean's garden. It's harvest time! I've lost my blackberry crop this year (sob!) so it's fun that I was able to sample Marianne's pickings and now I'll get to eat Dean's (yum!). There are big plans to make fresh salsa and play lots of cards.

You'd think I'd be doing laundry and cleaning in the spirit of "be prepared", right? I am, but I'm deeply distracted. The picture above? It's not the reading of e-mails or making of lists. Oh, no, it's Farmer GeorgeAnn plowing a field.

Thanks to Michael and Brittany I'm hooked and I sucked Alli and Em into the vortex with me. Farm Town on facebook! Oh my gosh! It is so addictive! Plant crops, harvest, sell, visit your "neighbors" and they can help you harvest and plow and then you both make more coinage! I feel I'm channeling my inner George. How sick is our new addiction? See for yourself...



Emily and I started keeping records in a notebook on cost vs. profit and what you could sell "gifts" of plants and animals for. To make things neater, and cooler, we've started keeping record in Word documents, color coding for harvest schedule. The easier to make money with, my dear.

Why the need for money? Below you'll see a corner of my farm, Rivendell (a peaceful, beautiful place in Middle Earth I'd love to have a summer home in). I'm in my yard by my cute little farm house. I have a picnic table and a grill. There are roses by my gate next to my cute little mailbox. I have benches under my fruit trees and flowers around the fence. There's even a cute scarecrow in the fields. These things, as in the real world, have to be purchased. I'm in it for the cute. I can't wait to build a corral for a few cows, get a little dog house and just, you know, make things prettier.



Silly? Yes, but it makes me happy. In a week or so I'll be knee deep in the girls Senior year. I'm still on the substitute roster. CHRIS WILL BE HOME ON SEPTEMBER NINTH!!! Oh, and there are the dresses to alter when they all come in. So, in the midst of that, I'll read my scriptures, take care of my husband and plant some crops. It's cheaper than therapy.

So Far, So Good...

Ten Reasons I Am Enjoying My Trip to American Fork:

1. I don't have to answer my phone (ALWAYS a pleasure)
2. I can ignore unfinished projects around my house easier; out of sight...
3. There are cousins to keep Emily from asking what there is to eat every 10 minutes.
4. Allison is learning the lesson of "absence" and "hearts growing fonder."
5. I get to see Michael in his cool "Best Buy" shirt (and he still won't let me take his picture in it).
6. Sunshine!
7. Charlie getting plenty of exercise running around with Sam.
8. Sharing kitchen duties.
9. Getting to visit cool antique shops, boutiques and outlet stores that I've been wanting to go to for a long time.

and

10. Getting to see Marianne, Dee and the other Loose people!!!

I'm so glad Marianne is taking pictures so I don't feel so badly about forgetting my camera :{

My Steve, representing the feelings we all have after a long drive.



Two beautiful blondes. Manicuring Brittany and Gena trying to figure out how to apply "skins" to her new iPod iTouch (thank you, Steve!!)



I couldn't let Steve go without getting something new. Here he's trying out his Skull Candy noise reducing earbuds. Allison, on facebook, checking up on her "farm," a new obsessional vortex I am falling into.



The women banded together and browsed some local shops. Finders Keepers (lots of decor ideas), Mona Lisa consignment (oh, my gosh, me wants it, the precious) and Real Deals (too fun, and they're a chain!).




This shows Marianne and I a little fuzzy, kind of how we felt after all the shops.



A few drinks from Sonic and we were ready to go home to make Big Macs and Oreos...

to be continued...