March MADNESS!! A lesson on picking your brackets.

For the past 8 years, Bob sends out the March Madness Basketball brackets to family and friends (if you want to join, just let us know). We LOVE them. Although, we haven't seen a single game of basketball this entire year and have no idea about how any teams are....we still love the DANCE. Toby (the dog) also loves to participate. The key to success is not in the winning the pool....but in beating the DOG!!! Here's how Toby chooses his teams.

A person is the scribe. (Amanda). A person in the treat giver (Bob) The treats are ones that Toby LOVES but rarely gets...in this case, it's popcorn. The treat giver carefully makes sure that both treats are equal. He cups both hands and holds them equally on the ground. As you can tell Toby is waiting....anticipating....ohhhh....HURRY!!!!!!

Next, the treat giver lifts both hands at the same time....revealing the treats. Toby is in the ready position. The scribe must be ready to write The treat giver yells, "GO" and.....

Toby eagerly goes for either the right or left treat. If he goes for the right...it's the team that is on top in the individual bracket. If he chooses left...it's the bottom team. The treat giver yells to the scribe either, "Right" or "Left" and the scribe writes the team down. The process is repeated until Toby has chosen the winning team. It's all really quite simple....yet "edge-of-your-seat" suspense!!

I've often thought that maybe I should try it this way!! I basically just take a shot in the dark with each team anyway....I might as well get a treat with it!! A good lesson from Toby the Dog!

WHAT THE.....@%^#*!

Last year my darling cousin posted on her blog a little experience she had while driving down the road. To make the story short....a car with a couple of cute and young guys pulled up to the side of her and basically commented on how beautiful she was.

Well...now....here's MY beauty story..(seems to go right in line with the way my life goes)

Yesterday I was standing in line at the grocery store and Derrick was unloading the cart. A lady commented on what a good helper he was. I agreed and then she said, "Is he your grandson?" Did you get that.....MY GRANDSON?!?!? What the @*#%^*!

I politely told her, that he was my son. But, the entire way home I kept looking in the rearview mirror at my wrinkled eyes. Sigh, Sigh....It was a sad day. But still...even though I'm getting older...that lady was just a total dork. At least that's what I'm telling myself...better to be old looking than a dork! Ha!

Welll....I applied for a job

Yep....it's true....I was really thinking it would be great to start paying taxes and tithing again. With very active teenagers and all their camps, EFY, sport fees, teen-ager car insurance etc., Plus, our outrageous house repairs, a 10 year old van and 12 year old car that are on the slippery slope of major repair....and an economy that has us worried. I've been cutting things here and there....but....to my utter dismay...nothing seems to be helping....what the freak! (ooops...sorry bad language...but seriously it gets a little frustrating.) So, when a friend of mine told me about a job that she is doing from home, my ears perked up and I started drilling her with questions. I've always wanted to work from home but just didn't know of a reputable company. So, this last month, I had Bob work on my resume, I took a typing test, I typed a cover letter.....then I sent them all in to a company called Home Tech. They emailed me and said they'd like to interview me...hooray!! So, I went in for an interview..... You should have seen me right before the interview. What a retarded mess I was. And on top of that.....I'm sure I looked just like the guy in the above comic during the interview. It has been FOREVER since I've done anything like this. They asked me all those questions of, "Share an experience when.....". All my answers were church or child related. I had NO business stories to share (except if I went way back to when I worked in college). The minute I got into my car, I wanted to laugh....but....I held it in, just in case they were looking and I would have solidified my insanity. But, the minute I turned the corner, I literally busted up laughing.

Weeeellll.....The exciting news is that I GOT THE JOB!! I am going to be a transcriptionist for insurance companies. Basically, I'll download an audio set and then type what they said as they talked back and forth. I have a certain amount I have to do and a time limit to get them done in. Sometimes it can get quite stressful (that's what I'm told....I'm thinking for my pea-brain it just might be ALWAYS stressful). But, regardless of the mundane typing, I think it will be a lot of fun. Plus, I can just do it all on my schedule....I can type when the kids are at school if I have time, or I can type into the wee hours of the nights on those really busy days. Regardless, it will bring in a little cash for all the little ways my kids seem to need money. I go in for training next week and should start after our spring break. Wish me luck!!

A few candles, a little music...wha-la, I have a SPA!

It's not necessarily the area of the house that I wanted to spend money on this year, but, after all is said and done....I think my new bathroom is AWESOME!!! We hired out for this project (my Bob the builder knew his limitations....and so did I). We were lucky enough to fly my brother Jacob (a general contractor in NM) out for the job.

Here's a slew of pictures depicting our week.... (we have about 110+ pictures but I limited it for you. Yes, I am kind)

First off....the old bathroom. See, it was a nice bathroom. I didn't mind it - but - the shower floor cracked and so we needed to replace it...boo hoo.

We first brought in the demolition crew. Usually when I tell my kids that I have a job for them, they move about as slow as a snail and they wine and complain the entire time. This time I mentioned demolishing the bathroom and their eyes lit up and grew about 3 inches in diameter, their voices raised a few pitches and they happily ran as they yelled, "Really!?!, Let's do it!!!"

Just a nice "back end" picture of Bob....you can you can kind of tell how the units were and why we had to replace both the shower and the tub...even though the shower was the only thing broken....argh.

Okay....had to throw this one in here. This is after he used his Dremel to cut out the tub and shower. The dust is one thing....it's the goggle outline that cracks me up too. He had on those big HUGE goggles...sooo dang funny...yet, even with those, he still managed to get dust on his glasses! So much for those cheapo huge goggles.

After the demolition, we rested on the Sabbath (nice!) and picked up my super hero brother Jacob. Monday morning he got to work and had everything framed and ready to go by that evening. Now, I love my Bob...but honestly...that part alone would have taken him a week (or maybe 2,3,4??)!

Next, Bob helped out and rolled on some NICE red colored sealant stuff (which I thought maybe we should just leave...the color was so SWEET!) Then, the tiling began. This is miraculous to me....how in the heck do you get those things to stay up on the wall and not slide down or fall off? I think I drove my brother nuts because I kept peeking my head in and asking questions or giving instructions. Oh well, he's my younger brother.....right? :)

This is a call for sympathy. My house was (and still is) a MESS!!! Not only in this room but I must have dusted the house about 90 times. There seemed to be a constant layer of white dust everywhere. (Connie...do you see your tile saw in there?? It's kind of like playing "I Spy"...good luck!! Thank you again for letting us borrow it!!)


WOW, WOW, WOW.....the final project was well worth it. Jacob had to leave and we still have to finish tiling the floor and clean up (should we start a tracker to see how long it takes)

Oh yeah...get this...the funniest thing is that we have to save money for the shower door! After all this, we still can't use our shower because we ran out of money and have to save for a DOOR....what nutty luck. But, I have this NICE jetted tub that I am planning on using EVERY DAY!!! Forget the shower....bring on the jets!

Here's a picture of the new shower. I LOVE it. I even have a little bench to sit on. Maybe I'll just adjust that shower head toward that direction...sit down...and fall asleep...nice! (Well, when I can finally use my shower.)

It's not all work....there's some play

Another benefit of having my brother in town to work on my bathroom is that everyone else wanted to see him. So, Saturday night (the night before he left), all the Ordyna Oregonians got together for some pizza (thanks Dan & Holly), chips and candy and some fun reminiscing of the good ole days. Here's some of my favorite pics.

Jacob wanted to be in the "famous table shot". Bob goes up on the stairs ledge and takes a birds-eye picture of the table. A hint for all these pictures....Jake is the one that has white dust on his shirt. Ha-ha-ha. Poor guy was working right up to the moment we told him to stop and come eat.

I don't know exactly what happened here but Jake's face (top right..with dust on shirt) is just too cute to pass up. Whatever it was...it must have been funny.

A nice family shot. I didn't realize how short I've become....hmmm. Also...nice lips Hunter :)

Another crack-me-up picture. This was "BEFORE" the nice family shot. Bob was getting the camera all set up. I just think this is just sooo classic of how things are. Just look at everyone's faces....it seriously makes me laugh out loud! I don't know what the heck I was thinking though...I'm looking like I'm going to fall over dead from boredom.....Oh wait...no...Adam is closer than I am.....Hurry up Bob!

Here I am with three of my brothers. Notice that they are no longer "dwarfs"......hmmm....well, I still look like a dang good looking Snow White :)...Look at those rosy cheeks and luscious lips!

(oh yeah...and Jake's white powder....again...you know...just writing this post....I miss you Jake!! It was so much fun having you around!)

Change of plans

Last night I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was racing trying to figure out how everything was going to work out the next day....Maximum insomnia!! There were just too many activities and not enough drivers/spectators....Here's what my schedule was going to be

8:00 - 10:30....teach seminary

10:30-2:30.....housework and help my brother with the bathroom remodel

2:30.....Derrick comes home from school.

4:00....Run Nathan to lacrosse practice

4:45....Pick up Nathan early from lacrosse

5:15....Run Nathan to middle school for his jazz band concert that is at 6:00

5:45....Take Derrick to his basketball game

(Now comes the scheduling nightmare)

6:00....Nathan's jazz band concert

6:00....Derrick's basketball game

6:15.....Pick up Amanda from lacrosse

6:30....Drive Amanda to highschool to teach piano

6:30....RS Enrichment

Well....I had no need to fear because my plans DRASTICALLY changed with this one thing....

Yep....that would be a BROKEN HAND!! My wonderful son, Nathan, was swinging his arm and Bob walked behind him right at the worst moment....KABAMMM...Nate's hand plowed right into Bob's watch and sticking out wrist bone.....Nate's 5th metacarpal bone in his right hand snapped.....ouch! So, my schedule conflict was solved, BUT, my entire day was WASTED and I was sooo sad for my son (and honestly...sad for myself too....ever take care of a kid in a cast...ugh!)!! So now, here's my new schedule

After seminary (10:30am) I took him to the doctor who sent me to the x-ray place who sent me back to the doctor who sent me to the orthopedic clinic who FINALLY put a cast on the guy and sent us home at 4:10pm....did you get that a stinkin 6 hours later!!!! Man o' live! I then whipped up some good ole sloppy joes for dinner and started my running kids around (minus the Nathan events)....nice!

Nate now gets to learn how to write with his left hand and try to figure out how to play the trumpet with 2 fingers and cradel the lacrosse ball in his stick with his left hand (which he needed to work on anyway). Good luck buddy!! I'm so sorry that this happened!!

On a side note....the bathroom remodel is almost done!! I will post pictures SOON!!

Just helping you simplify?? :)

Well, one thing that has really been depressing for me when others go private is that my google reader no longer shows when a new post was posted to their blog. So, I sometimes go for months without checking....and I miss all the fun! So, if you are one that tracks your millions of blogs with google reader or some other way. I've made a non-private "update" blog for you. (Thank you Erin for the idea!) You can put this address into your blog roll

http://alittleoldersnowwhite.blogspot.com/

As I enter new posts onto this blog, I will quickly go in to my "update" blog and type in the title. You'll then know that I updated my blog and then you can log into this private blog to read it. I'll also have a link on my "update" blog for my private blog. Does this make any sense at all?? Anyway, hopefully this will save you tons of time. And, it's not too hard for me. If anyone has any other ideas, let me know. And, for sure let me know if it is really stupid and not helping!!