Sittin pretty

I made Brian laugh tonight. (I just wanted to make sure I got it on record.) AND I bought a minivan on Friday! I have to say that I bought it because Brian is still wanting no part in it. It is a 2008 white Toyota Sienna. Oh, yeah--I'll be posting pictures, alright! I just have to get down to Vegas to get it first, and that will happen on the 21st.

I'm too sexy for my car

Pretty much everyone is too sexy for my car. However, I am just sexy enough for the minivan I will buying soon. That's not the point, though. The point is, I am a knock out. I am seriously probably the most beautiful person in the whole world. How do I know? Because a week or so ago, I was talking to a couple in my ward, and they told me that they had been talking to one of their neighbors who had said, "Did you know that Jim Mitchell has a niece? She is a knock out! ( It turns out that their neighbor is this guy that I have talked to at the gym a couple times.) But can you believe that? I have FINALLY met a person who knows beauty when he sees it. I will love that man forever. Do I care that he is probably almost twice my age, goes tanning, and has a girlfriend whom he met on the internet? Nope. It's all the same to me. Those are words not often spoken. Come to think about it--those are words not ever spoken. But it looks like the tides are changing, now doesn't it...And that gets me thinking...
For most of my life, I have been totally insecure and self conscience. Although always feeling like Heavenly Father loved me and thought I was fabulous(which I now recognize as being a wonderful blessing), I always felt like I was kind of on the ugly side. I remember being a little girl and feeling like I didn't look the same as the other girls. I'm thinking it was because all the other girls could put pink sponge curlers in their hair and the next day they would have curls bouncing on their shoulders, and when my mom put pink sponge curlers in MY hair, all I got were blond bumps on my scalp. I remember analyzing my profile in the mirror. I remember kids asking me about the "spots" on my face. I remember being able to fit a tootsie pop stick in the gap between my two front teeth, and then later (during my freshman year) having people stare at my mouth when those two teeth had been pushed together and I was left with two big holes on either side. I have so many bad memories of being insecure. I remember being paranoid of hearing someone describe me for fear of what they'd say. I remember that in sixth grade, my best friend and I were talking on the phone with the boy we liked and he described us both as "average" and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I remember never wanting to be described as "tall and blond" because I worried that people would assume I was pretty and then they would be disappointed upon meeting me. I remember that even when Brian left on his mission, I worried about him taking a picture of me and having the other elders thinking that he had an ugly girlfriend. (That reminds me...Remember that part on Home Alone when Kevin finds a picture of Buzz's girlfriend?) Anyway, it seemed as if the only people in the world(excluding my mom) who thought I was pretty were Emily and Mim. Oh my gosh. Thank goodness for Emily and Mim. They truly saved me. I think I felt like people who really knew me and loved my innards probably thought I was alright looking, but the idea of someone thinking I was pretty without knowing me was inconceivable. So I went through those years not understanding a very important and magical truth--a truth that I learned from my best friend after I was married: the fact that it is possible to trick people (if you will) into thinking you are beautiful. She taught me that if you act like you think you're beautiful, people will begin to think you really are. Isn't that brilliant? And it totally works. Before she taught me this, I allowed Brian to see all of my insecurities and I never knew how to respond when he complimented my looks. But now, when Brian says, "Man, you're hot, Babe." I say, "Yeah, that's true." And I'm not even joking.--The man believes it! Chels! Why did you not teach me that earlier? When I've thought about it, I've realized that this little truth is just another way of saying what we've all been told before: Confidence is extremely attractive. Confidence truly does make a person beautiful.
I remember that somewhere in my teenage or young adult history, I did begin to have a glimmer of understanding of the importance of confidence. I wanted to have confidence so badly, so I decided at some point to start faking confidence. And do you know what happened? People responded to my faked confidence positively, which helped me to start building up the real stuff. You know what I mean? So then my confidence began to grow... and it continued to grow at a nice leisurely pace until I moved to the retirement community of Florence, at which point it pretty much catapulted upward. Why? Because I was suddenly in a place where I was practically the only young person around and so by default, I was the most beautiful and the most amazing. It wasn't that I had the most gorgeous hair, or the prettiest teeth, or the hottest body or amazing talents. It was just that I still had hair and teeth, I could still use my body and the small talents I had to offer were so much more needed by the people around me. But whatever. Pretty good situation, right.? You're darn right. Living here has done wonders for my confidence. So anyway, even though I still don't think I'm beautiful (I was using my trick on you in the beginning of this post), I'm comfortable with the way I look and the person I am. And I will still love that guy forever.

With all that said, guess what else? Have I mentioned that I'M RICH!? Well maybe not rich, but pretty much for the first time in my married life, we have no credit card debt. That's right. Brian and I have paid off our credit card. And ho-lee-cow. It feels soooo good.

Flying solo

I really screwed up today. I was asked to substitute teach the 12 and 13 year old Sunday school class today and the lesson was on the Word of Wisdom. After the class, and while I was sitting in Relief Society, I was thinking about how things had gone and I realized that I had totally taught a crappy lesson. Why? Because I was totally without the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit. I hadn't given nearly enough thought to the things that I would say and the way I would present the lesson, and I definitely wasn't sensitive to my class members' situations during the lesson. So I missed an opportunity to have the Spirit testify to those youth of truth. Nice one, Ann. I just hope I will be given another chance to do it right next time.
On a lighter note...
When Brian and I first moved to Oregon, we were both working--Brian was working on my aunt and uncle's remodel, and I was working in a candy store downtown. On payday, we would often go over to Eugene for the day and spend money. Man, it was fun. We would go out to eat, get chocolates at Sees, go clothes shopping for me and tool shopping for Brian. Those were some good times... and they pretty much ended when we started having kids. But yesterday, we rekindled the passion--well, almost. We were able to leave Camp and Jane behind, but we had to take Danin with us. It's funny, because back in the day I treated myself to a bunch of clothes from the mall, but these days, treating myself means getting a few of my favorite Airwick plug -in oil burners, some vanilla and lavender scented Downy ( I am determined to have a house that smells good), two new white pots, and a little ficus. Ooohhh. I did get some new lip gloss, too. And can I tell you how much I love grocery shopping at Wal-mart? I know many of you probably hate Wal-mart, but I am totally willing to forge my way through the masses in order to get green sauce and salad dressing at half the price as at my store here in Florence.
Other than that, Brian left for scout camp today and will be gone until Saturday. It will probably be a long week. I sure wish I got to spend it with my mom like Kacey. Luckyyyyyy! Brian being gone means that Camp is the "man of the house." This is a big deal for Camp because it means that he gets to sleep in my bed.
Oh, and we did another taste test. In case you care, Henry Weinhard's was preferred over IBC by five out of six people. (And in case you care a little more, I don't really care for root beer--or other soda--in general.)
Yep, so aside from my terrible lesson today, I'm a pretty darn happy lady.

It's all good.

No, you don't have to worry. You will not be seeing us on Divorce Court any time soon. They're all booked up until November. Psyyyyyych! It feels so good to use that word again after like twenty years. I may not be bringing sexy back, but I'm going to try and bring psych back. Anyway, everything's fine. I can't say that everything is resolved, but there is no longer the threat of violence or name-calling. I think these are issues we will probably deal with forever, unfortunately. But it seems like things are progressing a little at a time, and I'm cool with that. ALRIGHT! I'll give you a hint as to what our fight was about. If you had to look up this fight in the card catalog of our life together, you'd probably want to look under "communication" (the lack of) and "money." I know. What a shocker.

So aside from our little grudges that lingered through the last week or so, everything's been pretty darn good.

Brian built Camp his first ramp. Camp was totally stoked and walked around all day with a notepad in which he and Brian had drawn all of the different types of ramps. Camp has been exceptionally good lately which has made me likely the happiest mother alive. He has gotten so much better at not hitting his friends, throwing fits, and going crazy when I say no. In fact, you are not going to believe this: the other day I was at the dollar store and when we got to the register, Camp asked me if he could have one of those jumbo-sized blow pops sitting below the counter. I said, "No. Not this time" and Camp replied, "OK, Mom, " with a sweet little voice. The cashier guy commented that he thought I should write a book or give classes or something. I just wanted to die. Seriously. I could hardly imagine a better note on which to leave the earth. The irony of the situation is so hysterical, considering that for about 90% of my experiences in stores with my kids, I probably had folks all over the place whispering about how I needed to be institutionalized or dragged out of the store with my kids at the very least.




Jane is a joy most of the time --going around telling Camp that he has a "poopoo wog in his gaipa (diaper pro- nounced guy-pa)."

Danin is standing on her own now, got her first tooth, and is eating big people food.

Brian is busy which is about the greatest blessing a self -employed person-- especially a general contractor -- could ask for.

And me? Man, I'll tell you. I have done so well lately at not losing my temper -- especially with my kids. And for about two weeks now, I have been able to defy myself by folding each load of laundry as it has come out of the dryer, so I have not had it pile up once. AND my flowers are looking fabulous. So if it weren't for the fact that my car is burning oil and smoking out everyone we drive by, I would pretty much be the coolest person in town.

So all is good in our hood.

I'm feeling crappy.

Sometimes the sappy, seemingly perfect blogging world makes you want to puke, so I thought I'd add a bit of variety to it. Brian and I are in a fight. Our differences are currently not complimenting one another as they do most of the time. I will not tell you what we are fighting about, as I recognize that I would not represent Brian's perspective fairly. What I will tell you is that I cried a lot, said a prayer that our hearts would both be softened, and then took a nap. It could have been worse. I could have screamed and punched Brian like I wanted to and then called my mom or Brian's mom in order to get validation. As it is, I'm up from my nap, and my heart has not been softened (does that mean I'm right and I don't need any softening?) and I'm wondering when and how this fight will ever end.

So there.

A little of this and a little of that.

Since I don't have anything specific to talk about, I'll just mention some of the highlights of our last few weeks:

We sold our spec house! (Phew!) A retired couple from Cali will be moving in on July 11th. So cool. Almost as cool was the fact that the lady asked Brian how much I wanted for the decor stuff that was in the house. I have been so eager to go get it out of there because my own house has seemed so bare, but now it looks like it may never come home. If not, I will have money to replace it all and a good excuse to go shopping. Anyway....now we will be able to get on with our lives and I will be able to get the Toyota Sienna I've been dreaming of. (Did I already mention in previous posts the battle Brian and I had for a year over what kind of vehicle to buy? Well, Brian finally agreed to let me get a minivan, but he reminds me that he will drive his truck to church until he feels ready and willing to drive the minivan. He doesn't think a minivan is consistent with the image he is trying to build. Oh, you think I'm joking?...) So I think we will probably try and buy the minivan at the auction in Vegas when we are down there in August. I can't wait. If there is anything that has brought me close to swearing on a consistent basis, it is trying to load and buckle three car seats that are jammed into the back seat of a camry.

We found a turtle on our street on the way home from church.

















I went to Melissa's sealing. I flew to Vegas and then drove up to Utah with my mom. She was married in the Bountiful temple, and it was fabulous. She seemed very happy and she looked beautiful. I had been anxious to see what her dress and hair would look like , seeing as she is no typical girl, and I was not disappointed. Her dress and hair were perfect for her. Man, I love that girl. She has been such an angel for me over the years. I was so excited to be reunited with three of my five roommates from my sophomore year in college. Monique and Kate--if you are out there--we would LOVE to find you guys!


My little sister, Laura, got engaged. She is marrying John Hendricks of Idaho. Although I have not met him, I have heard enough about him to feel like I have, and he seems almost as cool as Laura. He treats her like gold, promises to provide for her and let her take naps, AND he is a rapper and gifted percussionist. Could it get any cooler than that? They are going to put on a concert for all of us at their reception in August. I can't wait!

I got to hang out with Rachel and Sonya. Rachel is married to Brian's best friend, Justin, and I love her. I feel like I have known her forever. She introduced me to her sister, Sonya, who know lives in Coos Bay (which is in our stake) and I already feel like I have known her forever, too. Don't you love people who make you feel like that?

AND...I finished my fern project. What do you think?

Thank you.

So I did my thing at Enrichment. I think a lot of the ladies enjoyed it, but I know of at least one who hated it. She said that she was new to our church, so a bunch of questions about mormons was a little overwhelming. Great. So now I've scared away a new member. Oh well. What can you do, right? You can't please everyone. Thank you so much to all of you who emailed me or posted a comment with your answers. With the women in my ward who turned in answers and you guys that helped, I was able to say that I surveyed 50 women, and that was good enough. Thanks again.