Pampered Chef and all that other stuff

So I was at a Pampered Chef party the other night. You know how it goes.."Let's all go around the circle and say what our favorite 'tool' is...And if you spend such and such amount of money, you get this (cheap lookin') heart-shaped candy dish for only $14.99... Does someone want to come up and demonstrate the Ultimate Chopper? Oh, my kids just love the sud pump (or whatever it's called)... They've never been so excited about washing their hands!... Ooohhh, yeahhh... Wow, I'm so grateful to have 'tools' that allow me to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with the family...blah, blah, blah..."
I'm sorry. It's just that the whole time I was at the party, I was almost laughing because I just kept thinking about what I would blog about it. I know what you're thinking. "Ann, you're just bitter because you can't afford to buy anything but a spatula and some hand wash. Ummm, true. However, that's not the point. The point is--man, I am so not the sales type of person.

I remember working at the GAP when I was sixteen and being pressured to accomplish all of these stupid little sales goals that were on this little card. I hated it. Was I a good salesperson? Heck, yes. I was good because I was super friendly and helpful, but not because I ever tried to manipulate someone into buying something that they really didn't need or want.

I also remember that when Brian and I were first married and were living in Provo, Brian applied for a job that appeared to be some kind of installer. Turns out it was one of those multi-level companies that sold vacuums of all things. So Brian got all roped into selling really expensive vacuums. Again, you know the drill. You call up all of your close family and friends and ask them if you can give them a presentation or whatever, and you hope to pressure them into buying a stupid vacuum that doubles as an air filter. I'll tell you what, man. I seriously could not deal with the idea of having a husband who was a vacuum salesman--or any salesman for that matter. I remember calling my mom and telling her that I didn't think my marriage could survive such a trial as this, and I remember her telling me that the world does need sales people and that somebody has to do it. Lucky for me, Brian was not meant to be that somebody. He quit shortly after he started.

What do I hate so much about sales? Well, I guess it is the fact that there always seems to be some level of dishonesty and insincerity because the person selling is always self interested. And yeah, even the casual selling that goes on at all of these parties that we all go to is too much for me. Whenever I am at a "party" for Pampered Chef or home stuff, or body lotions or candles or whatever, I always feel like I have to leave my real self in the car and only take in my artificial self that can ooh and aahh appropriately. Does anyone hear what I'm saying?

Ironically, I really enjoy going to all these silly parties. I love to be social and I love to eat, so I'm willing to pay the price of having someone trying to sell me something.

I guess what I'm saying is that there will never be a selling party at my house. I will, however, be throwing a super cool party someday. It will be a giving party. The kind that Oprah has once a year where she gives each member in the audience a sample of all of her favorite things. I'm going to start saving my pennies...

P.S. I do fully recognize and respect the fact that there are many people that love going to these parties just because they ARE anxious to learn about and buy all the new products--I'm just usually not one of them.

We thank Thee, oh God, for a Prophet

So President Hinckley's work is finally finished. Man, what an amazing prophet and leader. I feel so cool to have grown up under his guidance and leadership. I have loved him as my prophet. He has influenced my life in a number of personal, life-changing ways.
I remember being a senior at BYU, sitting in the Marriot Center listening to President Hinckley deliver the talk in which he first introduced his B's. What was even more incredible about that talk was that as part of it, he prayed to Heavenly Father in behalf of all the young people of the church, and it was like he was giving us a blessing. I remember almost being nervous to hear the prophet speaking man-to-man with God. I knew beforehand, and certainly afterward, that this was something President Hinckley did often. It really was amazing.

President Hinckley taught me to be grateful, to work hard and that despite the fact that all of us are pretty good people, we can and should do better. I remember his repeated counsel to "stand a little taller." He taught me to be bold and confident in sharing the gospel--that our message should be "share with me the truth you have and let me add a little to it." He reminded me that surely our Heavenly Father does have a sense of humor.

Finally, (but not last nor least) because of President Hinckley, I have become more confident in my ability to recognize when the Spirit is bearing witness of truth. For a number of years now, I have been working on developing a greater testimony of Joseph Smith and his work. Specifically, I have been worried that had I lived in Joseph's Smith's time, I may not have believed his claims. After having prayed about this for some time, and after having heard President Hinckley speak on a particular occasion, the impression came to me that just as the Spirit had witnessed to me that Gordon B. Hinckley is in fact a prophet of God, so would it have witnessed to me of Joseph Smith. Yeah....

There's likely a pretty cool reunion going on up there. I bet sister Hinckley put on her prettiest robe...

We will all miss him.

It doesn't get better than this.

This year (or last year, rather) Brian gave me one of the most wonderful Christmas gifts I have ever received. He gave me a trip to visit my sisters and mom for a weekend. I flew to Vegas last Thursday and then my mom and I (and Danin) drove up to Utah where all of my sisters and my sister-in-law live. For the love--it was seriously the coolest weekend ever. I could have just driven around all weekend with my mom, talking and listening to cool music, and that would have been cool enough, but it got even cooler than that. The highlight of the weekend was Friday night. We went to P.F. Changs for dinner and then to an improv show in Salt Lake and then we spent the night together in a hotel. Man, there is seriously nothing greater than hanging out with my family, and especially with my mom and sisters. You wouldn't believe the juicy conversations we had. At dinner, we had secrets and confessions pouring out all over the place. Ok, Ok. I'll tell you a few of them, but you are going to have to guess for yourselves whose secret is whose (just so that i'm still invited to the next mom and sister reunion). Somebodies have been seriously tempted to get tatoos, somebody really wants to wear a bikini, somebody is a little drawn to the idea of getting high, somebody really wants a belly button ring, somebody else had one, someone else used to drink coffee... I know!! Scandalous!
Its funny because I remember my mom and I talking about whether we should bring our scriptures with us for our night in Salt Lake, and we both decided not to. But don't you worry. There was plenty of spiritual food that night--as always. We talked about the concept that love is a gift of the Spirit and that when we sin, we literally lose the capacity to feel love. Hmmm...so interesting.
I also had an enlightening conversation with Sarah on our way back to Orem. I know I've said it before, but I learn so much from her and I rely on her so much for understanding of the gospel. She really does have such a mature, sound understanding of the true gospel. And so do my other sisters... When did my my little sisters stop running around in tutus and gini gowns and start going to college and talking about adult stuff and teaching me about the gospel and becoming so interesting and fun? I must not have been looking. I mean, are you aware of how creative and hysterical my sister Laura is? Chels--you have definitely met your match. And my sister Audrey knows the words to all kinds of funny rap songs and she can beat her boyfriend in boxing. (Laura and Seth swear that she is a closet thug.) Does it get cooler than that?
And my mom is just a given. She's pretty close to brilliant--especially when it comes to the gospel and being a good mom.
And Kat might as well be blood related because she is so fabulous. On Saturday after lunch, we were all leaving and Sarah asked Kat if she wanted to come with us, and Kat said that she was going to do her own thing. Sarah asked what she had going and Kat said that she was going shopping, but that she liked to shop alone. Her honesty and frankness are so refreshing. I love it.
Anyway, the weekend really couldn't have been more wonderful. I can't wait until next year.

What I think

What do I think? I think it is so cool that Melissa Sundell is my friend. I think it is even cooler that she came to visit me. Some people do not make good company--do you know what I mean? Melissa is not one of those people. She was content to observe the craziness of my ordinary days, she cooked us dinner, she talked to my kids, she let me take a nap, she went with me to a church thing, she ate chocolates and watched movies with me, she helped me with my make-up, she talked with and listened to me, and as a bonus, she did some seriously cool art work for my kids' rooms. Man, she's cool.

What else do I think? I think that New Year's Eve used to be super fun and exciting when I was young. I remember getting so excited to put on my new Christmas clothes and trying my best to look cute in order to go to the New Year's dance or party or whatever. I always had my heart set on getting some action on New Years Eve. (Hmmm...that's retarded. Who was I kidding?) But anyway, even though I always spent the entire night worrying about my sweaty pits and wrecked hair, and even though I came home actionless year after year, I still always had fun. My new outfit was always enough to sustain me.
New Year's Eve when you are married (and especially when you have kids) is lame. Lame, lame, lame. It is seriously the crappiest holiday ever. Every year I hope for a cool party and a cool outfit, and every year it is the same thing: no cool party, no cool outfit, and no energy to do cool things anyway. I do, however, always get action.
(Jen and Tim-- We had a great time with you guys. You were the only unlame thing about our New Year's Eve. Thank you for saving us.)

I think one more thing. I think I am super grateful for treadmills. I really have a pitiful imagination. But man--put me on a treadmill (and give me some cool music), and my imagination seriously runs wild. No, not THAT kind of wild. The kind of wild where I imagine myself being really cool and running in a really cool race where Brian and the kids are cheering for me the whole way. And today while I was on the treadmill, I was listening to "Tonight I Need Your Sweet Caress." I know. It's hard to imagine any song more powerful. Oh, yeah. I was running, baby. Three miles? No prob, Bob.

Christmas Traditions

So we started a new tradition. We've decided that every year, we are going to take note of the Christmas light displays that we see on various houses, and right before Christmas, we are going to deliver cookies to the house that has the best one. So tonight we went out delivering cookies and looking at lights, and we gave out our first cookie award. We all went up and knocked at the door and the guy who answered was none other than Santa himself. No seriously. The guy looked just like Santa Claus, and when we commented on it, he gave each of our kids a wooden car and handed us a business card that said "Santa Claus" on it. Crazy.

Also, I want to thank all of you who sent me a Christmas card. There is a special place in my heart reserved for each of you. I am especially grateful to my sisters Sarah and Laura for their cards because they were particularly unique and wonderful. Laura made hers from a school syllabus and a verizon pamphlet and Sarah drew and colored hers and it was super funny--a little trailor with sagging lights. Perfect.

Christmas cards

My whole life I have loved Christmas cards. I remember that while I was growing up, we would tape every Christmas card to the wall in a sort of Christmas card collage. We didn't care if the cards were from our insurance company or a credit card company or whatever--they were still part of the collage. I'm the same way now except that I put my cards in a Krinkles Card holder thing. Currently, she is waiting to be filled up. Anyway...because I love to receive Christmas cards, I also love to send them out, so if you would enjoy one more for your collage or card holder, leave me your address and I will send one to you!

P.S. You know what's scary? Sneezing while you're driving.

It's all about me.

So I'm finding that I don't have as much time to blog and comment on blogs lately. I think it's because I can't nurse and type at the same time. I can do a lot of things while nursing--make dinner, go the bathroom, clean, etc.--but I haven't mastered typing while nursing yet. I'll keep working on it.
Anyway, I love this time of year for three reasons:

#1) Thanksgiving-- My whole family (excluding Sarah and her family) came up for Thanksgiving, which was so fabulous. I seriously love my family. To me, one of the best things about families is that we all share the same sense of humor. My siblings are all so dang funny. It is especially fun (and a little bit sad) for me to sit back and watch my younger siblings--especially Laura, Audrey and Seth interact. They love each other so much and get along so well. It was so funny to hear them recount how Charley used to give them candy for serving him and calling him "Master" when he had girls over. And all three of them are practically hanging all over my mom all of the time because they are so close to her. I hope I can be like my mom so that my teenage and adult children are still always wanting to sit by me and hug me, etc.

I love my sister-in-law Kat, too, because it is obvious how much she and Charley love and enjoy one another and because she is the type of person who makes herself comfortable with our family--and that is so cool. You don't have to constantly worry about making her feel comfortable and included because she just naturally blends right in. She participates in conversation and goes shopping with my sisters and me and gets in the fridge when she is hungry--and I love it.

It was sad to have my family leave and know that they will all be together with Sarah and her family at Christmas time and that I will not be there to join them...

#2) I'm not sure I know anyone who loves Christmas and all that goes with it more than I do. I love the music, I love the food, I love the weather, I love the smells, I love the decorations, I love the giving, and I love the getting. I love it all. We've starting getting two Christmas trees--both real--one that I decorate by myself and one that is the family tree. We bought mine in town and we will be going to cut down the family one for family night tomorrow.

I love Christmas so much that while I was still at home, I used to hold "Christmas morning rehearsals" with my younger siblings where we would practice lining up and running down the stairs to the living room. We would even practice our reactions to all the presents. Man, it was great.
#3) My birthday! What better way to begin the best month of the year than with my birthday! My b-day is one of the best days of the year. Why? Because it is all about me, of course. Brian never has to stress about what to get me because it is the same thing every year. I want to get a baby sitter for the kids while Brian takes me on a shopping trip. This year we left Friday morning and went to Portland to shop and then went to the Manheim Steamroller concert that night. We spent the night there and then went home on Saturday afternoon. It was wonderful. I do as much shopping as I can squeeze in and Brian comes along and never even mutters a word of complaint. What could be better than that?

Ahhhhh...I am one happy girl--Wait. I guess I'm a lady these days. Anyway....