Weekend Roundup... Teddy Bears, Movie Review, Exploding Dog, Anniversary & Babies!

It's Monday.
I love my Mondays.
You don't even know how much
I love my Mondays.

After a busy
go go go weekend
the house is finally
mine
all mine.

Friday was the first day
of our Teddy Bear Drive--
we've passed the word
and already have our first
bears!--courtesy Daisie's
Sunday School teacher!

I'm really excited about this
venture!
If the past is any indication
we are going to have
ALOT of Teddy Bears to send
to Fort Hood's children!
I will post the address in the next post!

Saturday was Mr Wonderful's & mine
11th Anniversary...
but we didn't make any plans
so it was very laid back.
I received breakfast in bed,
flowers & a card
and he did all the weekend laundry!
I love "gifts" like that--
My Love Language is
Service, remember?
My honey bunches speaks
my lingo and I love it!

Later that night
Mr W took Boofus to a
Hockey Game at World Arena
and watched the Colorado College Tigers
munch the University of Minnesota-Duluth-whatevers
6-2.
I took the grils (yes, grils) to see
Disney's "A Christmas Carol"--
freaked. my. guts. out!!
The animation is like Polar Express
and it's wonderful
and creative
and detailed--
but it has some intense scenes in it
and fraidy cats like me and the Bee,
should take someone braver than them
so they know "is it ok to look now?" stuff
cuz I nearly knocked myself out
with my own hand!
And without spoiling anything--
even though I'm pretty sure we've
all seen C.C. in all it's many productions--
there are " Harry-Potter-Dementor-type" horses
that chase Ebenzer Scrooge--
with red blazing eye balls that,
if I think about it too much
I may have to go into therapy
to remove the images outta my mind!
The Bee was so quiet afterwards,
I asked her if she'd been traumatized?
She said, "No, it just freaked me out."
Me too, Sister, me too.


Sleep.
I did not get much of it.
Saturday night,
I was just barely asleep
when Daisie appeared at the bedside
"The dog exploded in her kennel".

I grabbed the Lysol and Clorox wipes
and headed down to the basement--
it was bad. Very Bad--the stench met me
at the top of the stairs and
as I rounded the corner to the bathroom
I heard Daisie--
dry heaving as she comes tearing around
into the family room
gasping for air
and slipped, crashing down on the floor!
I was barely awake
so I didn't react right then--
that would be later--
in the bathroom I found
the kennel turned on it's side
in the bathtub
full of dog diarrhea.
I opened all the basement windows,
sprayed Lysol everywhere
and wondered again,
whose bright idea was it to have a dog anyway?
They should be taken out back and beat up!

About this time (11:48PM--minutes before curfew)
Diana comes in...
pinching her nose,
she walks straight to her room--
where she proceeds to spritz perfume--
and shuts her door.
Some help she is! Not.
(fyi, the next morning, I went down to her room,
open the door, and met by frigid temps, her window open,
and she is under several layers of blankets, wearing a sweatshirt).
By this time,
Mr W has come down stairs
YEA!!! thank goodness!!
And between the three of us,
we get the mess cleaned up
and I was back in bed by 12:40AM
wide awake.
laughing my guts out!
I couldn't stop laughing!--
The image of Daisie dry heaving, tearing around the corner,
sliding on the carpet and gasping for air
was hilarious!! Only in my life!
p.s. Dakota/Oprah/FlavaFlav is fine.


We have 3 babies due RIGHT NOW:
One is a week overdue
One was due Friday
and one was due Saturday.
And then Dani called Friday
to tell she's having some symptoms
of labor too.
So that's 4 Babies.
I feel like I should apologize to each of the
Mommies though
because every night
I have gone to bed tired and
whispered a prayer to the heavens:
"Please don't let anyone go into labor tonight."
Don't tell them that.

Altho in Church yesterday,
during a particularly boring meeting
I was thinking
"I wish my phone would ring! Ring, phone ring!"
But nope.
I know it's wrong to admit that church meetings
can be boring.
But we all know those meetings where your
mind wanders and the minutes crawl by...
or is it just me?
Yeah, it's probably just me.

So the rest of Sunday
was spent quietly:
I made a roast,
the Bee made a cake in her
Easy Bake Oven
Daisie made lemon squares
the missionaries came over
had some dinner and we played
Apples to Apples--Elder Garrison-style
who used his leftover Halloween candy
to bribe Boofus for his vote
and my vote garnered a Three Musketeers bar
which I cut into 7 peices so we could all share.
What? Hey, that's just what a Momza does around here.
Give Give Give....just like the little stream.

I love Mondays.

Will You Join Me? Teddy Bears for Fort Hood!

Like the rest of you
My heart has gone out to
the troops and their families
at Fort Hood
since the tragedy yesterday.

Living in a military town
here in Colorado Springs
where we have
the Air Force Academy
Fort Carson
Peterson AFB
and Schriever AFB
I feel a kinship with our
military families.

These bases are safe havens
for our community neighbours.
Our kids' classmates have parents
that are in the military.
It is a tightly-knit community.
As a civilian,
I love knowing I am surrounded
by the caliber of people who
serve our country
with their whole hearts.
The sacrifices inherent in their jobs
are noble and worthy of
respect to the nth-degree.

The experts are all weighing in--
fingers pointing in all directions
looking to blame someone
anyone...
and all I can think of is
the children
in that community.

With them in mind
I am going to invite YOU
My Mommy Friends
to help soothe some aching
hearts
by sending Teddy Bears to Fort Hood,
with the help of TLC Teddies,
the children's charity
that Dani started for 9/11.

My goal is to get as many
NEW Teddy Bears
by December 5th, 2009
together
and I will make sure they get to
Fort Hood to be part of their
Santa's Workshop program.

So tell Everyone you know,
and email me for the address
to send them to...
I HAVE a contact at Fort Hood
and we'll go from there.

IN the meantime,
go out and get a teddy bear this weekend.
It can be any size,
and color...
it will be sent to a Fort Hood child.
That's my promise.

We can do this much.
Will you join me?

Choices Choices

Personal dilema or is it dilemna? dilemma? Spellcheck says its dilemma.
Whew. I learned something in that moment. Score one point for moi.

Okay, I have been wanting to go to school aka College forever.
I've never gotten my chance.
I put a husband thru college
eight long stinking years!
and then started having a flock of kids.

In 2006, I studied home staging
and started my lil biz with that
and loved it!
In 2007, I got my Doula training
--a dream come true!
But I wanna go to college this next January...
and take some classes in subjects I've always wanted
to learn more of...
Art History
Literature
Interior Design
Psychology
and maybe even
a Home Ec class.
I want to go to a room,
with my College-lined notebooks and #2 pencils,
and sit and learn something I don't know.
Which is alot of stuff!
I may even want to take a Art class--
I've always wanted to learn how to watercolor paint
and sculpt clay into more than a pinchpot.
If there's a smidge of room left in my noggin
for something good
I wanna learn it!

My biggest concern is that
my brain has shrunk
to the size of a walnut.
AND yikes!--,what if I flunk out?
What if the teacher hates me
and I have no friends?
What if the big words are over my head
and I'm the stupidest kid in class?
What then, Mom, what then?

Back when I was a kid (in the disco-era of bell bottoms, Saturday Night Fever, Black Trans Ams and pet rocks),
we didn't even have the internet--
which meant when you had a book report to do
you had to go to the School's Library or
sneak a copy of Cliff's Notes;
personal calculators were for kids in Calculus or Trig (I never had one, so that's your first clue about my mathabilities),
and when you had to type up anything, you had to use a REAL typewriter & Onion Paper so you could erase the really bad typos--the others you hoped the teacher wouldn't count).
Yeah, it's been a few decades.

Actually, my biggest fear
is that I will love it so much
I won't wanna come home
and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
any more,
and my kids will become orphans
and have to fend for themselves
like some Third World Country kids--
living on the streets and panhandling
for their dinner...

Meh.
I'm willing to take that chance.

Pregnancy: Getting Enough Sleep?

These are some things that can enhance your preparation for childbirth--to be well-rested is essential in late pregnancy. However, with the increased size of your baby, circulation, and all things "baby" running thru your mind, bedtime can be a challenge.

These are some ways to "prepare" your body for bedtime:

Take a warm--not hot--bath before bedtime. Add some Lavendar to the water or use lavendar lotion when you're finished. (if you have candles & music together, all the better, but if not, this is just wonderful all on it's own.)

Get a foot massage from your sweetie before bedtime. Long, slow strokes with lotion help relax the body & mind. (make sure you are sitting or laying comfortably, with pillows to support your whole body for total relaxation.)

Have some carbs before bedtime too. Nothing heavy like pizza though. Crackers are good. (Make sure you have a glass of water nearby, but don't overdo the water at bedtime.)

Play a cd with Ocean Waves on your nightstand. Or white noise. (you may find your baby likes white noise to sleep with too--it drowns out household noises once he goes to bed).

Read for a little while before bedtime. Not on the PC tho. That's too stimulating.

Make sure you have enough pillows to support your hips, neck and back when you lay down. Those body-pillows have a reputation for being great for pregnant women.

And finally, Self-talk can be calming--just make sure the words are positive, true, and relaxing. I will post a "script" later this weekend that can help you.

Do you have a tip you'd like to share or an experience in pregnancy that helped you get the rest you needed?

(dont' forget to enter my GIveaway of Faith Hill's "A baby changes everything" from this week!)

Fill In The Blank

This weekend, the one thing I am looking forward to:
_______________________________________.

Equal Opportunity Chow Hound

SO I HAD to get a dog!
Remember that?
HAD TO.

And we got this
little black ball of fuzzy
curiousness.

But now, she's a full-blown
curious teenage eating machine.
So far, she has learned two commands:
Sit.
which she does for 1.2 milliseconds.
Drop It.
which she only does for Me and Mr. W.

We buy good food for this eating machine.
Avo-derm from PetSmart...
because ya know,
we want a healthy dog.

But this is the deal.
The dog is a living, breathing, devouring
garbage disposal.
She eats anything.
Everything.
Like what? you ask.
Well how about this:
I've personally donated two pair of shoes:
leather ones. thankyouverymuch.
She has eaten countless flipflops...
but she only eats one
of each color...
pink, brown, navy blue, white, orange and yellow.
Socks--her favorites are
brand new ones.

What else?
Tinkertoys, legos,
Barbies,
rubber balls, jump ropes,
teddy bears and baby dolls.
She isn't discriminating
she's an equal-opportunity-chow-hound.

She jumps up to the
countertops
and tabletops--
where she has enjoyed
birthday cake
steak
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
pepperoni pizza
chocolate cake
vanilla yogurt
pancakes
scrambled eggs
and toast with grape jelly.

She has chewed thru
two leashes
and broken two collars.
Tried her choppers out on the wood deck
and a folding chair.

She has eaten every single
made-for-large-dogs Toy
we have shelled out cash for
and left no trace of it.

She has eaten modelling clay(!)
and candy wrappers
cheese wrappers
and fought like crazy for a dryer sheet.

Now I know what you're thinking...
you're thinking:
Pick up the floor,
shut the doors,
and watch this tasmanian devil dog
like a hawk!

And we do.
At least we try.
And this dog is driving me crazy.

I shoulda named her Dirt Devil.

Thank You, Thankyouverymuch

Lori from Joy in the Journey
has extended this very rockin' award
to me.
I always enjoy reading her blog
as it's always always always
cheerful, upbeat, and encouraging!

As I understand this, now it is my turn
to Pass The Rock
onto some awesome bloggers
so others can get to know
their awesomeness too.

So here we go:

First, I toss a stone to:
Amy...she is one fun gal who lives out loud!
An authentic writer who shares her hearts'
triumphs and other "umphs"--
I have a secret wish to live next door to her.
She's at Fourth Frog Blog.

Second, I'll toss a rock to:
Marilyn...the RS President of a Spanish branch,
Mother of a newly-called Missionary to Anckorage Alaska,
Granma to a dozen--give or take a few,
and gardener-extraordinaire.
She's over at the Merry Mssadventures of a Matriarchal Woman.

Third, I present a Rockin' shout out to:
Sue, from Sue's Veiws, Muse, and News--
an accomplished writer on her own,
she always extends an invitation to see things
with a little different perspective
and it's always worth the time to look thru her eyes.

Fourth, Fifth & Sixth...I reserve the right to pass this award onto
my other favorites when I get another free moment!

Momza's Psycho Chili!

Momza's Psycho Chili

2 lbs. stew beef chunks, fresh

1 Large Can Kuners Chili Beans in chili sauce

1 can Black beans (drained)

1 can Light Red Kidney beans

1 can diced, roasted tomatos salsa-style

2 C frozen corn

1/2 medium onion,chopped

2 TB sliced jalapenos

1 tsp chili flakes

dash salt & pepper

1 TBSP Oil

Into a LARGE crockpot:

Oil, then beef chunks

Salt & Pepper

Chili flakes

Everything Else!

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours...or do what I did: I started it the day before, let it cook then turned it off over night and back on in the morning on low.

*Serve with shredded cheese,sour cream, chips.

The familia loved every bit and nothing was left!

So easy even the kids can do this!

p.s. this is my own recipe, and since I made it on Halloween with jalapenos, it deserved a fun name!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

On this date in 1978
I walked down a few steps
into a warm water-filled font
to meet my Elder Brooks
in the middle.

I was nervous
anxious
teary-eyed
and overwhelmed
with gratitude
to be standing in that
very spot that day.

I had wanted to be baptized
into the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints
since early that Spring of 1978
but my parents wouldn't allow it.

I had met with missionaries
in Charlotte, North Carolina
since February of that year
at the invitation of my very good
friends at school, Vicki & Becky.

The missionaries there,
Elder Willcoxon and
Elder Larry Lavern Owens
taught me all of the discussions
in Vicki & Becky's livingroom.

I loved being in their home.
They loved each other in that home
and that love was palpable.
The time I spent there
remains a sweet memory to me.

The missionaries taught me
and I accepted their invitation to be baptized.
My baptism day, April 17th came
and where my parents had at first
given permission, withdrew it that day.

That was really hard.
The missionaries came over and tried
to soothe my parents' concerns.
At one point there were 6 missionaries
in my parents' livingroom--
but they went back and forth
and in the end
I ran upstairs to my room
and cried myself to sleep.

When I woke up
the house was silent.
Everyone was gone.
It was then that I opened
my parents' FAMILY BIBLE
looking for some kind of inspiration
an answer really,
when I read Mark 11:22:
"Have Faith in God."
I put the Bible down
and went and knelt in prayer.
While I had been raised to pray,
I hadn't been raised to expect an answer.

But Heavenly Father did answer me.
The Holy Ghost whispered to my heart:
"It's true. Hold on."
I felt like warm honey had been poured
over the top of my head
and covered my entire body...
I remember that feeling to this day.

But my parents had refused
permission to join the Church then
and then quickly decided to move
the entire family to
Denver Colorado
one reason was that the Broncos won the Super Bowl
and the other reason was
to get me
"away from those Mormons!"

They didn't realize that once
you cross the Mississippi,
the place is rotten with 'em!
But my folks didn't know that
thank goodness.

Once we got to Colorado
I found the church building.
It wasn't hard...
it was just down the street
from our new house.

I didn't tell my parents
and began going to the Baptist Church
with my brothers.
Since my folks rarely went to church with us
I divided up my "church time"--
going to the Baptist church for an hour
and then driving down the street
to the LDS Church for an hour.

Finally an LDS girl at school
recognized me at Church
and asked me if I were a member
I told I was...tho I was not yet
baptized.
It was thru her that I met my Elder Brooks
and his companion Elder LaVallee
and began to rec'v the discussions all over again.

These missionaries offered to
fast & pray with me
that my parents' hearts would be softened.
And they were so much so
that a permission slip was signed.

So on November 4th
I entered into those warm waters of baptism
after a long journey to get there.
I'll never forget that warm water
as it enveloped my whole self
head to toe...
it felt so good, so completely divine.
I was 16 years old.

And it remains in my life
the Most Important decision
I have ever made in this existence
and has influenced every other choice
I have made since then.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ
has the power to change your life.
It changed mine.
Changed Me.
And I am beyond words
to express my deepest gratitude
for the answer to that prayer
when I was just 15 years old.

Heavenly Father answers prayers.
He does.
And every year, I write my friends
Vicki & Becky and thank them
and I write my Elder Brooks
an email and tell him
"thank you"...
he says it makes his day
and I say it made my eternity.

So now you know why
I love love love
sharing the Gospel!
It's the greatest gift I have been given,
how can I not?

Why It's Important to Set ALLLL The Clocks Back for Daylight Savings Time

I woke up with a start
and looked at the clock on my nightstand:
8:04!!
Shoot! I overslept!
I quickly wake up the kids
with a calm but firm:
"Guys we overslept!
You have less than 30 minutes
before the bus gets here!"

The Boofus is immediatly cranky--
he doesn't like to be rushed.
I give him a "change your attitude" look
and we get into high speed gear--
get dressed, hair & teeth,
check over homework, look at the lunch menu,
grab a quick bite for breakfast,
and out the door like a bullet!

8:28.
Whew! 10 minutes to spare before the bus comes!
We did it!

Twenty minutes pass.
Then a knock at the door.
They're back.
"Mom, we missed the bus."

How did they miss the bus, I wonder.

Oh shoot, I'll have to drive them.
I get dressed
put on my shoes
brush my cockatiel morning hair--
THEN
Boofus says
"Mom! It's only 7:52! 7:52! We're too early!"

I go in my room
to look at Mr. W's clock--
Yes, it is 7:52...
MY clock says 8:52...
I look on the computer:
7:52.

Oops.
Who put me in charge anyway?
I'm clearly un-qualified.

Getting Ready for Childbirth

The last weeks of pregnancy
should have a special title
all it's own...
a name that evokes images
of Nobility
Fortitude
Bravery
Patience...
the Queen of Everything
is about right.

As many women I know in
blogland are preparing for
Childbirth
I thought I might
offer some words of wisdom
and encouragement.

First, you are Beautiful.
Whatever the scales say is irrelevant.
If you've gained weight then that means
you are a Good Mother already to that
little one inside;
the glow of pregnancy is not just stuff
of novels and myths.
It's real...the glow of creation shows thru your eyes.

As you get closer to birth
make sure you stay hydrated.
Many women start to limit
their fluid intake because they feel
the pressure on their bladder.
BUT a hydrated uterus is an efficient one
and your labor will be easier.
SO drink up and stay close to a bathroom
in the last weeks.

Make sure you're eating 6 small meals a day.
Your diet affects the baby.
You'll need energy for birth
and so will the baby.
So eat well and eat often.

Rest. Rest. Rest.
Take catnaps if you have little ones
at home.
Plop them down for naps with you
or plop them in front of the TV and you
rest on the sofa.
If someone offers to take the kids for an hour
or an afternoon,
Accept that offer!
If someone offers to bring dinner in,
don't say, "No, that's okay."
Say,"Yes, Thank you!"

When you have Braxton-Hicks ctx
practice your relaxation breathing techniques!
Welcome each wave
and ride it completely thru...
the more ctx you have before actual labor
the better primed your cervix will become.

Sleep on your left side.
Don't lean back into the lazy boy,
but sit in a supportive chair where
you can lean forward with your
beautiful belly hanging in front of you--
why?
Because gravity is your friend
and it'll pull the baby to the centerline
helping hm/her to get in the optimal
birth position.

Make sure your hospital bag is ready to go
and includes some honeystix
you'll like those for a burst of energy
in labor!
Make sure Dad's bag has some treats in it too--
power bars yes
power drinks with caffeine no...
many a dad has come crashing down
in labor...
so be wise.

Finally, review your Birth Plan
to make sure you've written everything
down that you would like in optimal conditions.
And remember to be flexible
if you don't get it all in case of a medical reason.
Trust Birth.
Be confidant in your Strength
in your Courage
in your Womanhood.

Afterall
You're the Queen of Everything.

P.S. Check out yesterday's post to enter the Giveaway!

Halloween Weekend & A Momza Giveaway!

As you all know,

we had a major snowstorm

blast thru Colorado last week

which resulted in two Snow Days!

The Aliens below are actually

the youngest in my brood. See Boofus and Caboose.

See them play.

Play kids play.

"hot chocolate, yes?"


"Our Mom rocks."



what? hey, that's what they're thinking. I'm sure of it.


Indiana Jones


Girl Gangster



The Caboose did not want to be

a Princess or a Witch

totally breaking with

tradition here...

I could dress an entire elementary

class room with the inventory of

"girly-girl" costumes.



The family agrees that this

is very much a sign

that the Caboose

is her own person.



How'd she get so independent?



***********************************

*one other thing I want to point out in the above pictures:

notice the TV set there?

Yeah, it is not the biggest TV in the house,

but it's the only one that would fit

in that stinking hole.

And it's 11 years old.

The same age as the rest of our

TV's...which means

we don't own a plasma-hi-def-thing-a-ma-jig-

bells-and-whistles-call-your-momma-make-your-breakfast-talk-to-astronauts-

do-your-homework-watch-tv-shows-from-China

TV apparatus.

Nope.

This one comes with a remote though.

And I've been jonesing a new TV

that was made in this decade

for a long time.

But we ascribe to the notion:

"Make it last,

make it do,

make it over,

or do without."

Imagine my utter disappointment

when that TV died yesterday morning.



Excuse me while I jot a quick note to Santa.

***********************

Dani and Mr. Idaho came down

Saturday night too.

It'll probably be the last time they make the drive

for awhile

because she is ready to *pop*

any minute like Jiffy Pop!

Oh her belly is a Big Un...

so to keep me happily distracted

I've decided to have my own

Momza's Giveaway...

can you guess what it's going to be

about?

The Golden Child of course!


The Winner will recieve this lovely book:

It comes with a Faith Hill cd too.

I love this cd and it's just in time for the holidays!

To enter ONCE:
1. Be or Become a Follower of Momza's House
2. Guess the Golden Child's Birth DATE! in the comments.

To enter TWICE:
1. Tell your Friends on your blog! (then come back & tell me!)
2. Guess the Golden Child's Birth DATE!in the comments.

ENTRY DEADLINE: Thursday, November 5th, 2009, MIDNIGHT. Winner will be Announced here when the Golden Child is here!

P.S. Her given due date is 22 Nov.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

This movie always puts me in the holiday mood!
Sally is a girl after my own heart.
Snoopy rules!

Thanks Tammy!

For The Baby

http://thediaperbagcenter.com/chibi-zoo-wash-cloth-set-p-57.html?zenid=rce3nivpcj9u8bq25hj15c9jf7

As a gift for advertising on my blog, the diaper bag center sent me a gift from their store.
I just got these for the Golden Child...and let me tell you what, the quality is perfection!
And nope, I don't get "extra points" for revewing the gift either!
They are soft & the perfect size!
Can't wait to use 'em on ze bebe!

We Got It!

Yeah! It's one of those days!

Dog Fight!

Love the Cujo eyes...

The camera settings were off, but I like the glowy effect...

It's just too bad they don't have any fun.

Colorado Springs Snow Day!

The Boofus snuggled up in frontof the fireplace,
The Caboose cuddled onto the sofa,

Mr. Wonderful making us breakfast.

Because today is a really snowy
Snow Day

And it's still coming down

covering everything to an icy perfection

And excitedly reminds the crazy part of my Miami-born self

that I live in the Colorado Rockies!

Dani & Mr. Idaho got over 2 feet of snow today!

And it's still coming down!

The kids are getting their snow gear out...

the hot chocolate will be flowing today!

THIS is Colorado-livin' and we are lovin' it!

This is Sure to Give you the Willies!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Can u even imagine??? Yikes!

Serendipity

Serendipity
is the effect by which one accidentally
discovers something fortunate,
especially while looking for something
entirely unrelated.

For example:

Silly Putty by James Wright, on the way to solving another problem: finding a rubber substitute for the United States during World War II. ( I love silly putty! Does anyone remember smashing it on the sunday comics and getting the ink to transfer onto it?!)

Cyanoacrylate-based Superglue (a.k.a. Krazy Glue) was accidentally twice discovered by Dr. Harry Coover, first when he was developing a clear plastic for gunsights and later, when he was trying to develop a heat-resistant polymer for jet canopies. (Super glue has saved my children's lives!)

Saran (plastic) was discovered when Ralph Wiley had trouble washing beakers used in development of a dry cleaning product. It was soon used to make plastic wrap. (What kitchen is without saran wrap these days? What would I do with my leftover potato salad?)

Penicillin by Alexander Fleming. He failed to disinfect cultures of bacteria when leaving for his vacations, only to find them contaminated with Penicillium molds, which killed the bacteria. However, he had previously done extensive research into antibacterial substances. (! yeah!)

Discovery of the planet Uranus by William Herschel. Herschel was looking for comets, and initially identified Uranus as a comet until he noticed the circularity of its orbit and its distance and suggested that it was a planet, the first one discovered since antiquity. (Uranus is the punch line of so many 5th grade jokes! Thanks Mr. Hershel!)

Discovery of the principle behind inkjet printers by a Canon engineer. After putting his hot soldering iron by accident on his pen, ink was ejected from the pen's point a few moments later.
(Printers have cured writer's cramp, I'm pretty sure. Before that it we had to use carbon paper to make copies! It was messy and I always had purple fingers!)

Corn flakes and wheat flakes (Wheaties) were accidentally discovered by the Kelloggs brothers in 1898, when they left cooked wheat unattended for a day and tried to roll the mass, obtaining a flaky material instead of a sheet. (I hear Champions crave their Wheaties!)

The Slinky was invented by US Navy engineer Richard T. James after he accidentally knocked a torsion spring off his work table and observed its unique motion. (It's Slinky! It's Slinky! A wonderful wonderful toy! A slinky! A Slinky! It's fun for a girl and a boy!)

Chocolate chip cookies were invented by Ruth Wakefield when she attempted to make chocolate drop cookies. She did not have the required chocolate so she broke up a candy bar and placed the chunks into the cookie mix. These chunks later morphed into what is now known as chocolate chips. (All hail the Ruth-ster!)

"Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for." Lawrence Block

Now here in our own house, we are experiencing some serendipity too:

Remember Nana thought she was going to go to Dixie State College in August? and then off to be a Nanny in Oregon? We were all ready to kiss her sweet cheeks good-bye last August. And then that fell through, remember? And she was so disappointed. But she got into school here and kept plugging along with a cheerful attitude and just kept saying, "I don't know why I'm still here, but until God tells me otherwise, I'm home."
Then her childhood friend started hanging around and started going to church with us and before we knew it, she joined and headed off to UNM.
And then she met Little Man. Who is getting ready for a mission now. He wasn't getting ready for a mission a month ago. Wasn't. Is Now.
And then!! yes there's more! There's always more!
A young man(from Alaska) who used to date the eldest daughter, now the wife of Mr. Idaho, came for a visit 2 weeks ago. And he & Nana hit it off really well...and he just ordered his own scriptures and is meeting with the missionaries next week!
But wait! there's more!
Just yesterday, a family in our ward (of 21 dentists--take or leave a couple) hired her as their full-time-live-in Nanny, paying her more than she would've made in Oregon. And get this: they live in our neighborhood. So we get to see her and smooch her and not miss her so much.

Have you had Serendipitous Adventures in Your Life?? Share!!!

P.S. Does anyone know if there's a Monument to Ruth Wakefield? As the inventor of chocolate chip cookies she should have a monument, a National holiday and a Town named after her. just sayin. Maybe we should get that going? Wait, lemme google it first.

Finality

My Journey to the Valley of the Sun
is officially over.
I wrote and wrote and wrote about it
until there was nothing left to say.
And then
I unpacked
my bags
and sighed a sigh
of gratitude.

Lucy, I'm home.