My first car (sort of)

Due to the unfortunate mishap our old car encountered in that southern town we will not mention, we get to buy a new car. I'm kind of excited. I've never really bought my own car. I used my parent's car in high school, and was very attached to it, but it never belonged to me. I walked most everywhere in college, which was considerably better for my health, but not so fun when it came to grocery shopping. Then, I married Jessie, and we used his car- but it never really felt like my own. Jessie was the one who bought it, who cleaned it, who drove it most of the time, and I think he was a lot more attached to it than I was (although his attitude changed drastically this past year as it broke down every two months. But that's a different story.) This is the first time I've ever gotten to go car shopping and buy my own car. A momentous occasion, indeed. The funny part is, Jessie will probably put more effort into buying it than I will, because he's got a lot more know-how and preferences about cars. I just basically want something that won't break down in a year. So, we're going to try this car shopping thing and see if it's a big pain. Wish me luck.

Antimony may be the site of the Bermuda Triangle.

Good news-We are alive. Bad news-Antimony is the bane of my existence.

So, you may recall my skepticism at returning to Antimony, the scene of our disastrous trip last year, in which we were trapped by wild fires (causing me to miss one of my best friend's farewells) and in which we lost our keys and were locked out of our house (on a Sunday, when everything is closed. Beautiful). However, I decided that last year was a fluke, and was determined to enjoy myself this time.

The camping trip was fun for a while. Madeline was really well-behaved and didn't wake anyone up. We played pinochle and horseshoes and other such amusing games. But a few hours before we were going to drive out on Saturday afternoon, a huge rainstorm hit, turning the already treacherous road into a nightmare. And, unfortunately, on the way down we ran over a huge rock which completely ruined our oil pan and rendered our car useless. Sad day. We met a nice man named Wade who drove us all over Antimony looking for someone who could help us, and ended up at the Rockin' R Ranch, which did not have room for us due to the giant family reunion being held there for the family of Earl C. Tingey, senior president of the Seventy. So Wade kindly drove us back to our campsite, where we rejoined Jessie's family to tell the dreadful tale of our woes and try to come up with a plan.

Turns out our friend Wade had a tow rope, so we packed into Jessie's parents' suburban (six of us plus 2 babies, a tight fit) and headed down the mountain to our abandoned car. Jessie's dad was able to tow it into town, where our kind friend J.R. at the Rockin' R Ranch let us stow the car on the property and gave us lunch. Since the closest auto shop was an hour away, and it was Sunday so everything was closed, we decided to leave our junky car and continue on our way home. What should have been a 3 hour car ride became 6, mainly because the brakes on the suburban were pretty much shot. We were in constant fear of dying, and we had to keep back-tracking to try and find the items that were flying off the top of the car after our tarp broke. We finally made it home 24 hours after the initial accident, and I promptly vowed never to go to Antimony again. Except to get my car and camping supplies. Sigh. Antimony, here I come.

Adventures in Antimony

So our family is headed out this week to go camping, in the spirit of cheap summer vacations. Jessie's family annually makes a trip down to a little town called Antimony. It's pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. When Jessie first told me about it, I was clueless that this little town even existed. I asked him where it was. It's by this little town named Koosharem that also has never been heard of. Turns out Koosharem is next to Sigurd. It also turns out that I've never heard of Sigurd. We went through three or four towns before he told me one that sounded vaguely familiar. Suffice it to say that this place is in southern Utah, a few hours away from here. Despite this encouraging description I've given you, I enjoyed the trip last year. Being out in the middle of nowhere does have its charms. The only problem we ran into was becoming stranded the day we were going to come home by huge wildfires that shut down the freeways. Whoops.

This year we shouldn't have that problem. I'm more worried about getting disowned by the family if Madeline starts screaming in the night. Or in the day, for that matter. That girl has the heartiest set of lungs west of the Mississippi, I think. Not only is she piercingly loud, but she has stamina. Last week, when we left her with Grandma Alyce, she cried at the top of her lungs for three hours. The child-raising books the doctors give you say you should just let a baby cry if you've tried everything; they'll calm down on their own. Lies. My one consolation is the hope that she'll be a famous Broadway singer one day. Here's hoping we don't wake up everyone in Antimony. :-)

Bargains and gourmet food

I have definitely inherited my mother's smart shopping genes, for which I am grateful. My latest accomplishment (okay, Jessie helped a little) involved finding, at a neighbor's yard sale, the following items: a pivoting TV stand, a $175 ski coat, ten children's books, an infant carrier, a Christmas tree stand, child's lawn chair, and two purses, including one that says "I love shopping". All for the low, low price of $11. Jessie laughed at me for picking up that last purse, but I couldn't resist. I'll give it to Madeline when she gets older to remind her of our long, proud family tradition of shopping.

On another note, we moved up recipe night this week in order to share it with our neighbors for family home evening, and this time it turned out beautifully. Jessie made a delicious chicken parmesan that hit the spot. It was fun having neighbors over; they have a little girl who was born two weeks before Madeline named Vienna and she loved trying to hug Madeline. Madeline wasn't so sure about Vienna at first, but then she started beaming away, and I think it's safe to say she thought it was pretty awesome having someone her size around. I think we're going to have to get them around each other more often, as Vienna should be a great influence on Madeline. She's capable of screaming just as loudly, but mostly chooses not to. I'm praying that Madeline adopts the same line of thinking.

My daughter is responsive to positive conditioning

Jessie is making fun of right at this moment, because I, like many mommys before me, am bursting with pride tonight. Earlier in the week, (while I was outside), Jessie turned his back on Madeline for a moment and returned to find her on her stomach. Assuming, logically, that she had learned how to roll over, I was bursting to actually see her do it. And so, I waited. And nothing. All week. (despite much cajoling and pleading.) Until tonight. At my assurance that she could absolutely do it, Madeline discovered that she has the power to turn herself over. And may I just say, she is so cute doing it. It took her a few tries, straining with allher little might, but when she suceeded, I proceeded to lavish praise on her. Apparently she enjoyed this so much, that she hasn't stopped rolling over since she learned how to do it. I think she's surprised by her newfound independence. And thus we have ushered in a new era of cute baby antics. Hooray!

Madeline's latest exploits

Another day, another dollar, right? I continue to be amazed that one little baby can be so interesting, and how engrossed I become in every little thing she does. She's learning to laugh now, which is so cute. Especially since she finds the most random things to be hilarious. For instance, yesterday her favorite thing was for me to suddenly shout "spades". I think I may have to agree with my mother-in-law on this one- babies must smile and laugh at everything because adults become so ridiculous around them. I'd probably think it was funny if someone kept randomly shouting "spades" at me, too. (By the way, it's not totally random. We figured this out when we were playing pinochle with Jessie's parents, and Madeline thought it was hilarious whenever I chose a trump.) Madeline has also figured out how to grab her legs and toes, and it's her new favorite thing to do. Besides looking at herself in the mirror, of course. That's always a riot to her. Any day now she'll figure out how to roll back-to-front (she already knows how to roll front-to-back) and then I'll have no peace, because I have no doubt she'll be everywhere.

Remodeling. Slowly but surely.

My parents, for those who don't know, are remodeling their house, and I am glad to report that we (and by we I mean my dad and Jessie) are almost finished laying the tile for the kitchen. Which is good, since my mom's new cabinets are stacked in her front room awaiting installation next week. I have to say, watching people lay tile is hard work. Which is why I've mostly been hanging out with Madeline and Bryce (and my mom, when she's not trying to be helpful and getting people mad at her because she's supposed to let the menfolk do it.)

We've been working on this remodel for weeks/moths now (and by we, I again mean mostly people other than myself.) Dad, Dale and Jessie seem to enjoy knocking out walls and other such demolition, but putting it all back together is more of a challenge. On the bright side, it should look really nice when it's done. Which will still be a while, because even after the kitchen gets done, they're still planning on recarpeting and redoing the bathrooms, and who knows what else. I'm just here to observe. And to yell at Jessie when he hurts himself, as he inevitably does while constructing.

The recipe bombed, but at least there was dancing.

A quick reminder for anyone who may be thinking of cooking: if you get a recipe off the internet, check all temperatures for Fahrenheit versus Celsius. Or, you could be cool like me, and not notice the difference, and end up with mediocre fried chicken. Ah, well. Some day I will be a spectacular gourmet.

In other news, and since I'm confessing my addictions on this blog, I think I have an addiction to So You Think You Can Dance. Once again, Jessie mocks me for it (although unlike my ice fetish, he secretly shares my fascination with this dancing show.) I have a special place in my heart for this show, since it was a weekly ritual for Jessie and I when we first started dating. That was the year of Benji, and we were big fans. We got all excited when he was a guest choreographer this year. Anyway, here's hoping another Utah star wins the big event. That means you, Chelsie and Gev. Represent.

Addendum: Two thumbs down for the highly offensive song that was sung last night. I may be criticized for being "intolerant", but I have to disapprove of the decision to let that type of message be given anywhere, be it radio, tv, etc.

To Exercise or to Eat. That is the Question.

Congratulate me. I am officially on day 4 of my exercise program. Impressive, no? Okay, so I am not so good at sticking with it. This is my second try at implementing an exercise regimen. The first lasted approximately a week-hopefully this time will go better. This time Jessie and I are bribing ourselves with a visit to an Argentine restaurant. And, like the good creative mom I am, I created a nice chart to track our progress and taped it to the fridge (where supposedly it will make me think twice before pulling out the ice cream. Yeah. Right.) Madeline is lucky she doesn't have to exercise. I can't decide if she's smaller than average for her age, because she's so tall that she looks skinny everywhere but her cheeks. My aunt says that since she's tall and skinny she's going to be a model. I think before she learns to model she needs to learn not to drool. It'll kill your career.

Speaking of exercising and not over-eating, I'm excited for our recipe night (that will probably totally negate the exercise I did today.) I found a recipe for buttermilk fried chicken and herbed carrots that I'm really looking forward to. Although I did not know that buttermilk smelled so funny. I've never used it in cooking before. Yay for my culinary prowess.

I wish my insurance policy covered cold, icy treats.

Here I am again, to inform you all (if you didn't happen to know) that shopping for insurance is not a fun pastime. Jessie put me in charge of researching insurance options for Madeline and I, since we won't be covered through Jessie's work. Long story. So, dutiful researcher that I am, I've spent time on the phone with insurance agents, looked up individual plans on the internet, and created a comparative spreadsheet. Jessie will be so proud (he's an extreme Excel fan. He loves spreadsheets.) Pretty much, looking at all these different plans makes my head hurt. Every company has about a zillion different options with different deductibles, coinsurance, copays, prescription coverage, doctors in the network, out-of-pocket maximums, lifetime maximums, maternity benefits, vision discounts, dental options, and on and on and on. I want to shoot whoever came up with so many plans. We're moving somewhere with a socialistic outlook on medicine. Like Scandinavia. Sure, it's cold, but at least I don't have to do the thinking. I feel like I've been assigned a term project on the state of the nation's health insurance. Woohoo.

On a brighter note, Jessie and I have once again been experimenting with smoothies. We discovered that using other juices in an Orange Julius recipe makes for yummy drinks. (Brilliant, I know. We should get paid for this.) We had mango orange julius the other night. Mmm, mmm mmm. I think I enjoy it so much because it feeds my ice fetish. For some reason, I'm addicted to crunching on ice (and I mean really addicted-Jessie worries.) As far as addictions go, this one isn't so bad. Water is good for you, right? I blame pregnancy, when I had about three or four cups of ice at work daily. That's the great thing about bearing children. Once you've given birth, you can continue to blame everything on pregnancy and child-raising for the rest of your life. Any lack of intelligent thought is due to Madeline stealing brain cells. My pudgy stomach is "baby weight". Failing to write my missionary brother is a result of Madeline keeping me so busy. Any other mistakes can be blamed on sleep deprivation. Yay for motherhood!

Family Reunion and such

Well, we survived the weekend trip to Logan, but just barely. Between soccer, ultimate, dodgeball, preparing food, watching movies outside, playing Meal or No Meal, etc., Jessie ended up with a huge popped blister and a hurt ankle, and I proudly sported a few misquito bites to show how tough I am. (Jessie also got bitten, but I am infinitely cooler because my bites swell up to large proportions and make me look like I'm dying.) I am, however, happy to report that Madeline slept through the night for the first time ever while we were away. So we are definitely moving in with Grandma for the rest of our lives, because I kind of enjoy sleeping. A big shout out to Jessie is in order, because the dear fellow basically cleaned up all the laundry and mess from the trip this weekend whilst I was enjoying the feeling of my stomach fighting with my intestine. I'm not sure who won.

Alas, although I was very dutiful in packing the camera for our long journey, I completely forgot to take it out while we were there, so there are no cute pictures from the trip to document our good times. But I'll throw one in of Madeline and Jessie from a while ago so that it looks like I'm on the ball. When my computer lets me do it.

Yet another attempt to be a blogger.

So, pretty much everyone I know has a cute little blog for their family with pictures, videos, and witty stories here on blogspot. I tried to keep a blog on facebook, but am feeling a bit guilty that it's not cute and consistent. Although, in my defense, cute was never one of my strong points- just ask anyone who ever watched me scrapbook. Anyway, I thought I'd try to be a good Mormon mom and post cute pictures and stories for posterity. At any rate, I can tell people I tried.

So, the big news for this week...I'm excited to head up to Logan for the big Lundstrom family reunion. I haven't been up to Logan since before Madeline was born. Such a great town. I told Jessie that Logan is about the smallest town I could ever live in, because I never wanted to be too far from the stores and fast food in a proper city. I know, I would never make it as a country girl.

Madeline continues to be adorable. She is so much more alert now, and getting very opinionated. She slept in her crib for the first time last night. (Up until now she's been in her bassinet by my bed). This was after a few nights of trying to convince her that it's an awesome place to sleep. That little girl is too smart for her own good now, and she knows that crib is a lot farther away from Mom and Dad. She loves to lay on our bed, even though I usually only let her do that while I'm folding laundry, in a vain attempt to keep her from getting spoiled. That girl is definitely going to have her way much more often that is acceptable.