Mama you roll. Dada you rock.

We had a fun Christmas this year. While it was tempered by the constant rushing of seeing family at various locations and Valerie teething (got a new one in on the bottom), we enjoyed ourselves. I even managed to surprise Dan (not an easy feat since he is typically around when I get him something or I have to ask his advice on this or that). I bought him a couple pair of jeans and wrapped them up as from Santa then hid them until Christmas Eve when we took out all the presents and put them under the tree.

It all started Christmas Eve when the Warrens (my sister Sheri, her husband Randy and four of her six kids) came by Sandy's (my other sister who lives here in Albuquerque) house to prepare some items for the Christmas Eve Danish celebration planned at my Dad's house later that evening. I gathered up the kids and drove down to help. After a while Sheri and I got dropped off at Sandy's work to join her for her hair appointment. Sandy had asked her hair-dresser to add us to her appointment (which ended up being 3 hours long). Sheri closed her family cafe earlier this year and since she no longer had to have her hair long enough to pull back she was ready to chop it off. She looks really cute now! Sandy needed to have her color touched up and her hair trimmed. I hadn't had a trim of any kind for about two years and with my hair at waist level was finding it somewhat inconvenient to work with. I thought I'd go ahead and take it to shoulder level and donate the rest. Prescilla informed me that I needed at least 10 inches to donate it which put it right at shoulder level. Then she styled it to be somewhat shorter. It just brushes my shoulders now and I'm loving it. I just wish I could straighten it, but I don't have the knowledge and income needed to get myself a good flat iron. It's still long enough to pull back, but short enough to leave down without irritating me and getting in my way.

I mentioned that the appointment ran WAY long and that put us behind schedule as far as getting me back home so that I could get ready and drive us out to my Dad's house. We were originally supposed to meet there at about 4:45 and start dinner at 5. We ultimately didn't get there until 5:30 and we didn't eat until closer to 6. The rushing meant that I left a lot of things at home that I wanted (address and directions to my sister-in-law Sarah's house being among them) and Valerie wasn't letting me out of her sight (not uncommon when she feels that I've deserted her with strangers... which is kinda what I did when I went to the hair appointment). By 7:30 she was ready for bed and we hadn't finished with the Danish Christmas celebration yet. I have to admit that my temper was frazzled by the time we got home. We had originally planned to drop by Sarah's but we couldn't get ahold of anyone to remedy my forgetfulness. It's probably for the best since Valerie fell asleep in the car and went straight to bed as soon as we walked in the door. Our original plan to open a present each Christmas Eve was barely saved by Gabriel insisting that he didn't want to go to bed without having unwrapped something. After he was in bed, we finished our preparations (we ended up only wrapping the kids gifts since we were more interested in watching the opening than participating) and dropped into bed ourselves.

Christmas morning got a late start since Gabriel refused to change his pull-ups (I don't understand why he does this) and we wouldn't let him open gifts until he changed. When everyone was ready we sat the kids down and went to town. Our traditions say that Santa brings one gift per person along with a small stocking stuffer. The rest of the presents are from family or friends. The kids didn't seem to care where they came from as long as there was paper to rip. We had scheduled Dad, Lucynthia (my step-mom), and Sandy to join us for breakfast and they showed up starting about mid-way through the opening. Dad and Lucynthia found it quite fun to watch the kids having fun. After breakfast burritos and sour dough waffles (mmmm....) the guests left and we put the kids down for a rest anticipating the rest of the day to be crazy. We were right.

Around 2 or so, we drove to my mother-in-law's house for the gifts from them as well as to caravan to Bill and Prescilla's (different Prescilla and they are Cory's (Dan's step-father) parents). On the way there we dropped by a friend's house to pick up a gift they had (I figured it would be easier for us since we were in the neighborhood rather than having them drive all the way across the river). It's a family from our previous ward with a son the same age as Gabriel and he wanted to join me inside to say hi. They had gotten a Wii and were playing it. Gabriel unfortunately wanted to join them even though we were in a hurry and leaving was a tramatic experience for our son. Things got better when we got where we were going as there was food, family, and... presents. Despite the nap, Valerie still wasn't feeling tip-top and we ended up leaving a little earlier than originally planned. Once again, bed was the order of the day for the kids as soon as we got home. Our plans were different. Dan had received some video games for Christmas and was anxious to try them out.

What does all this have to do with the quote from my son that titles this blog entry? You see, while my mother-in-law just wanted to see us on Christmas day, her husband, Cory, had an alterior motive. He got an XBox 360 for Christmas along with several games (Guitar Hero, Burnout, Nascar, etc) and wanted Dan to help him set it up. And while my mother-in-law was buying games for her husband, she decided to get one for us so for Christmas Dan and I got Guitar Hero 3 (bundled with a wireless guitar controller) and a second guitar. The day after Christmas we decided to try it out. I'm not very good, but just yesterday Gabriel told us, "Mama you roll. Dada you rock." It's nice to know our children don't think we're uncool ;)

Christmas 2007

Some of you are familiar with my husband's history (medically speaking), but even then, not all of you may know what the deal is with the wheel chair that he turned into a road warrior machine for Halloween. The season being upon us again, I thought I'd share the story with you.

It started a few years ago with Dan having problems with his back. He'd had pain before, but it appeared to be stress related as it disappeared when work calmed down. When it returned he didn't think much of it as stress had reared its head again. When the stress died down but the pain didn't, Dan and I got worried. We scheduled an appointment with the doctor and the doctor didn't like what he was seeing. We scheduled an MRI and the truth was revealed. Degenerative Disc Disease. What is it? What causes it? The doctors don't know for sure. In most cases it appears to be triggered by injury or hereditary genetics. In Dan's case neither applies. It is the diagnosis given to people who's discs are degenerating (hence the name). In Dan's case the disc between his L5 and S1 vertebrae is shredded and the pain is caused by the nerves getting pinched and, more recently, by bones rubbing together. The pain is also constant. There is no surgery (covered by insurance) that has been proven effective so the only option is pain management. At first we tried standard physical therapy, but that only seemed to worsen the situation. Next we tried injections which at first appeared to be working. But the one effective treatment was followed by a not-as-effective treatment which was followed by a not-even-effective treatment. Different treatment options were tried with no futher success. When we moved to Albuquerque we thought that a fresh perspective might offer more options. The doctors here, however, didn't have anything new and by that point we were living off of severence and credit (thank heavens for Cobra insurance coverage).

Dan found a new job with his current employer (Thomson Elite, now Thomson Reuters) and we found that trying to set up doctor appointments with a non-flexible schedule nearly impossible. But while the doctor visits stopped, the progression of things didn't. During the course of the day Dan found that simply walking places was putting extreme stress on his back and frequently getting around the house without his cane was unheard of. We started looking at wheelchairs. Primarily for use at work, we still wanted something that he could bring home which meant that we needed something light and collapsable. Though our insurance offered assistance, unfortunately it wouldn't cover what we wanted and we were left with having to pay for it entirely out of pocket.

Dan's employer is very big on giving back. Throughout the several locations around the country, the empoyees are often treated to small treats or lunches (catered or out). It's no surprise that the employees mirror that generousity and that every Christmas season they seek ways to help out a family in need. They gather donations and use it to purchase things that a single family they've selected with help through local organizations have either requested or shown a need for. For 2007, the Albuquerque site decided that they didn't need an organization to find who they wanted to help. They looked at one of their own. Dan was approached by his co-worker who informed him of their desire to help and requested permission to go ahead and purchase the wheelchair for him. With tears in his eyes, Dan accepted the offer. The response from the rest of the site was overwhelming. Not only did they raise enough to buy the model that would work best for us, they actually raised almost $200 more than they needed. As my sister's daughter-in-law put it in her recent blog entry we cannot do it alone. And I would add that we weren't meant to.

Though there may be few who read this from that wonderful site, thank you again for the gift that keeps on giving. God bless you all for your love and kindness to us. And God bless all those who have helped us and continue to help us these last couple of years.

Merry Christmas!

Stories

Two things have been on my mind lately and I wanted to vent. Thankfully they can both be summed up in a single word: Stories.

Without getting into much detail, my husband gave me my Christmas present. Yes it's early, but there was reason as there was a time limit on certain things. And I say singular Christmas present because it's a bit pricey and he's already declared that it represents Christmas and Birthday presents to last at least until 2010. As if I needed any better excuse to read, this gives me the ability to do so anywhere. Now I find myself with more "books" than I know what to do with and the same amount of time to read them. Stories to fill my non-existent time.

The second section touches upon the Family History research I've been working on. One of Dan's distant grandfather's left his first wife and two children (Dan's ancestor) and went west. I have records and plenty of public family trees showing that he had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and later married 3-4 additional women (yes he was a polygamist). Records indicate that he was baptized the same year he left his family and I could only wonder why. Assumptions didn't set well as members of the Church hold family to be very sacred. One possible explination suggested that he joined and his wife rejected him. Another suggests that she was kept from him as he was driven away. I couldn't see any possible reason for him to move to Utah without him joining. I finally got up the courage to email one of his other descendants and that's when I learned more. Though I'm still not sure of the reason (differences of opinion and seeking his own fortune being possibilities) I learned that he actually was on his way to California having left his wife and children behind. The wagon train stopped in Utah to get supplies and a guide where he was taught and then joined the Church. Upon learning of this, his family disowned him. While I cannot say that the situation was any happier, knowing the story somewhat vindicated him and his actions. Facts, numbers, and names are all well and good, but you need the stories to color in the outlines too. Stories to fill in the details. Now if I could only learn his first wife's story...

Merry Christmas!

This is an email that I've sent out and if you already got it, you can ignore this post. If not then follow the directions and email it back to me!

Hello Friends.....Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season.

HO HO HO!!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, it's old and leans, but it functions :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Used to be day after Thanksgiving, kids and cats have moved that back throughout the years

4. When do you take the tree down? Depending on how much the cats have been into it, sometimes day after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog? I used to, but I think I'm losing my taste for it

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I honestly don't remember

7. Hardest person to buy for? Dan. He's got a huge list of video games and DVDs he'd love, but it's never a surprise for him and I'd like to surprise him.

What happened to number 8? Someone ate it?

9. Do you have a nativity scene? One that my mother bought me a long time ago at a craft fair and a small statuette of Santa kneeling to baby Jesus

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, not everyone has an email account and we don't want to leave anyone out :)

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hum...see #6

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Various forms of Christmas Carol from Scrooged to Muppet; from Mickey to George C Scott ;)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Day after Christmas previous year. If I see something I know someone will like that's a good deal...

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pasole (though I haven't had it in a long time), cookies, ham, and chocolate

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, some day we'll upgrade to a prelit tree :)

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary's Lullaby (Tonight You Are Mine)... this year ;P

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Finally we get to stay home. We'll visit in town, but no long trips!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes... if I sing it

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, most angels are depicted with wings... plus it's more lights for the tree :)

21. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas day? One on Christmas Eve, then the rest on Christmas day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Realizing that you bought a bunch of gifts throughout the year for one child and almost nothing for the other ;P

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love them all as they all represent different things and years

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To have family close... I already got it!

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Natalie or Genaphur

27. Who is least likely to respond to this? Karma, since she sent it to me ;P

Merry Christmas Dear Friends!!

Brandon Sanderson

Though he's been publishing for a few years now, I've just recently become aware of his books. Even when my husband mentioned his name as the author to finish the Wheel of Time books, I hadn't a clue and only hoped he'd do the series justice. Now I'm excited. He recently decided to try an experiment where he released an unpublished work to the public for free on his web-site. And because he didn't want to offer anything he didn't think was worthy of publishing, he did it with the book he was working on for future publication (he even got permission from his publisher). As he wrote the book he posted various drafts and edits so that his fans could also see how a story is created and brought to life. Because of this I now have two books I absolutely must have when they are released next year. The first was a given (Memory of Light, Wheel of Time book 12), but the second I've just finished reading and absolutely loved (Warbreaker).

It's really neat to see Mr Sanderson's character progression. In Elantris you knew the main characters, loved them, and wanted to know what would happen to them. There were some surprises along the way, but nothing earth shattering. In the Mistborn series you knew most things about the main characters (there were some surprises) and you loved seeing them grow and change. He then added some vast surprises about some of the "secondary" characters that gave them a far greater role than you would have expected. In Warbreaker you get to know a little about the main characters, but in many ways the secrets they kept were as much of a motivation for reading the book as the story itself. I'm still torn about the ending as I would like to know more about what happens "after" but I am happy with how things wrapped up. I'm really curious about how he will take the next step with Memory of Light as Robert Jordan treated his characters differently. With the Wheel of Time series you get to know the characters and love them, only to find out that they have vast secrets that they themselves don't even know. The entire series is a journey of "self-discovery" for each character (though it can get a bit drawn out at times).

I also love that he created unique systems of magic and energy. I most fantasy you have magic based on elements (Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and Life), runes, or will. Mr. Sanderson has created four different types of magic. Elantris bases it's magic on symbols, but adds an element of mathematics and complexity that reaches beyond ordinary rune systems. The Mistborn Trilogy bases it's magic on metals. Different metals serve different functions and there are actually three different magic systems that use them. In Warbreaker the magic exists through the life-force known as Breath, but manifests itself through color and sound. Then there's Mr. Sanderson's Alcatraz series which is geared more towards young readers. The magic here is actually based on lenses (as in eye-glasses). I thoroughly enjoyed the first of these books because it was a hilarious cross between Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events.

One more thing that I love about this author is that he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and if you look for it, you can see evidence of his faith in his books. I'm not saying that he spouts doctrine or anything of that nature, but some of his characters go through a trial of faith and come to answers in much the same way as many who truely seek out the truth do. Unfortunately the best example I can think of would actually give away WAY too much in the Mistborn series, but I would invite you to keep it in mind when you read.

This is most definately an author to check out if you haven't already.

Twilight Pre-Release Party

So I got this email from Borders saying that certain stores are doing a movie pre-release party and you can win two movie passes. Based on the date and time as well as the fact that I'm not that into the books, I doubt that I will attend. I also doubt that many people see my blog, but I wanted to post the link here for everyone who would be interested anyway. Have fun and let me know if you win :)

Borders Party

What Color is Your Mind?

Your Mind is Purple

Of all the mind types, yours is the most idealistic. You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense. Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Mind?

What Board Game are You?

You Are Boggle

You are an incredibly creative and resourceful person. You're able to dig deep and think outside the box to get things done. You are a non linear thinker. You don't like following directions You draw your inspiration from the strangest places sometimes. You're constantly inspired.

What Board Game Are You?

Mansfield Park

What can I say? I really hate the Crawfords. The brother is the typical playboy who doesn't take life seriously (which is why he fits well with the Tom the oldest Bertram at first). The sister is the biggest spoiled brat that ever walked through the UK. The most disturbing part of the story is that they make you think that Mr. Crawford is pulling a Mr. Darcy if you're even slightly familiar with Pride and Prejudice (though if you've just read it then you'll see vast differences that make it impossible). I think that I wasn't fooled because I've seen a film version and remembered enough about it to know better... and I just read P&P. Second in my disgust would be Miss Bertram who reminds me a great deal of Lydia in character multiplied to the 10th degree. I think that I liked this book for the main characters who may not have been perfect but were infinately more preferable in comparison to the rest of the characters with their over the top flaws. While that doesn't highly recommend the book, it is a good story none-the-less. I would give this one a 3 out of 5.

Halloween 2008

Money being tight we did what we could to minimize costs on Halloween this year. Valerie got Gabriel's costume for last year (and probably again next year since it was big on her). Gabriel's costume cost nothing out of pocket (see Painting the Bathroom). I think they look adorable. My costume is something I've had since high school. I've worn it many times and the only thing that really changes are the accessories and the face painting (if there is any at all). I didn't bother taking a picture of it since most of you have seen it and if you haven't you probably will next year ;P.

Dan had fun. His work has a costume contest every year and Dan set out to win it. He built a cardboard frame to fit over his wheelchair then bolted it together and painted it black. He printed out and taped on a couple of bumper stickers (to jog memories if the initial appearance doesn't give away his idea) and a windshield with a blood splatter. The major out-sourcing of money came with his "jacket" and "gloves" which we bought as part of costume set (cheap store-bought costume that isn't really worth the money, but when you start two days before Halloween there isn't much time to do much more). The only other purchases were the red temp hair spray and the bolts, washers, and spray paint for the car. The rest, the face paints, clippers for the hair, the headlights for the car (push lights inset in a styrofoam cooler), and the materials for the car we already had. Thursday night I shaved his mohawk and Friday morning it was hair sprayed and frosted red. He won of course ;).

Painting the Bathroom

Today I discovered that lazyness has a way of making you do a LOT of work. Let me 'splain.

Halloween 2008:

My son, via inspiration from Max and Ruby, decided he wanted to be a vampire. We used his suit (complete with vest and tie), an old blue scarf tied around his shoulders as a cape, black temp hair spray from a costume last year, vampire teeth Dan got as a goody from work, and white and red face paints that I have had for a long time. Once the festivities were done I placed the face paints, hair spray, and fake blood (not used) on a shelf out of reach. This is where the lazyness comes in. Two days later (last night) I walked by the shelf and had the impression that I should put them away in my closet. I was in the middle of something and figured that the kids couldn't reach them. This didn't take into account a very resourceful and curious 3 1/2 year old with no qualms about moving his step-stool. This morning I awoke to find a purple child and a multi-colored bathroom.

You can't see the entire bathroom but know that the entire lip of the tub resembled the counter and the toilet and second step-stool got painted while my son tried to find a way to get comfortable upon cleaning commencement. I finally decided to wash him up so I could get the rest of the bathroom done and in the process used up the rest of the hot water in the house and got the inside of the tub almost as dirty as the lip. Three sponges and a couple hours later my son is almost normal colored and the bathroom is mostly clean (there was one spot that I don't dare scrub harder lest I lose paint and grout in the process). One of the nice things about this is it was a true test of the grease-cutting power of my Melaleuca heavy duty cleaner. I also didn't have to worry about ruining my hands (a little lotion and the slight dryness will be gone) since I hate wearing gloves when cleaning. Before you ask, no I didn't use the cleaner on Gabriel. That was purely the Koala Pals body wash.

You know... the more I think about it. It's all my husband's fault. Just the other day he was complaining that I hadn't cleaned the bathrooms recently. And we all know that Heavenly Father has strange ways of answering prayers. Yup! Definately Dan's fault ;P

Thinking out loud

Pampered Chef:

Pros
- Potential for good income
- Flexible hours
- Training and support
- Learn to cook (maybe)
- ~$500 included products just to get started
- Could be fun (the three shows I've attended and one I've hosted were all quite enjoyable)

Cons
- Networking
- Potential for low income
- Must learn to cook (at least the receipes they have) ;P
- $155 initial investment
- Not good at sales (low self-confidence major factor)
- Have to find babysitter for weekday shows

Bottom Line? I have no idea... *tearful sigh*

Bacon

A lot of you knew that Daniel worked for AOL for quite a while. Some of you may know that Dec of 2006 half of his department (along with all the call centers) were let go. Shortly after that the rest of his department was disolved. This means that on Dec 16, my husband went to work only to be told that he could go home again, permanantly. We were living in Tucson at the time.

Some of you know that Dan wasn't fond of the time he spent living in Albuquerque and doesn't really like the city. Imagine his confusion when he couldn't get it out of his mind that we should look into moving there. It started round about June of 2006. After consideration Dan spoke with his supervisor about possibly working out of the call center in Albuquerque. She had one primary objection: Though it was still on the hush-hush, the call center was going to be closing. There would be no job for Dan in Albuquerque after that so we figured that our impressions couldn't possibly be right. It turned out that there was no job for Dan anyway and when he was let go the impressions to move got stronger than ever (even with me 5 months pregnant). He started up the job searching, looking both in Tucson and in Albuquerque, but found that there wasn't anything in Tucson and he wasn't getting any interest from Albuquerque because we weren't living there. It was time for a leap of faith.

In February of 2007 we packed up a truck and drove to Albuquerque. We were moving into a house sight-unseen (courtesy of my mother-in-law who was willing to do some leg work on our behalf) and we would be living off Dan's severence package while Dan did some searching. With a brief stop at my sister's house we moved into the new place in March. It wasn't until May that Dan finally found something at a company called Thomson (now Thomson Reuters). He was hired to be a technical analyst. The company produces and maintains database software for use in law firms (really big law firms) to keep track of financial transactions and time clocks. If the database doesn't function for whatever reason (technical issues to a bottom line that doesn't add up), it's Dan's job to find out why. Unfortunately it was a lot lower pay than we were accustomed to. I already had a rudimentary Melaleuca business, but it wasn't active and it definately wasn't going to help us pay all the bills. After struggling financially with a rent payment (money down the drain) and various bills we made the decision (with the help of my father) to buy a house and at least build up equity in a place that we could stay in for a while.

Finances are still tight. We are working on cutting costs (from grocery to utility and more), but I'm still doing small things to help suppliment our income. The purpose of this post is to bring you up to speed on our job situation, give you an idea for the poll that you may or may not have participated in, and offer you ways to bring in a little more yourselves. I only ask that if you are interested in it for yourself to let me know since many of these methods have a referral service that benefits me as well as you.

There are two primary things I am doing: online surveys and miscelaneous jobs. I want to address the online stuff first since it is the easiest to get into. For each site I will list the site name, method of income (points for products versus money) and a basic description. Keep in mind as you review these, that whenever you're dealing with a survey you must qualify for the survey before the incentive becomes available. A few screener questions will either give you a go ahead or kick you out.

InboxDollars money - The site sends out email ads that you get 3-10 cents for every click. It also has trial offers for additional money. The basic premise is that companies pay InboxDollars money to advertise and offer a cash incentive to try out their product or service. Since you can get from 1-5 emails a day and the cash offers are continually added to, this isn't a bad thing to try out. You can request payment in a couple of different ways. You can use it to advertise on the site for yourself, or you can request a check for any amount over $30 (with a $3 processing fee deducted).

Greenfield Online money/sweepstakes - This survey site sends out emails (though you can also access surveys via their site) asking you to take a few minutes out of your day to give your opinion. Some of the surveys offer a cash incentive, while others offer an entry into a sweepstakes (again for money). When you want, you are able to request a check for the balance of your account.

American Consumer Opinion money/sweepstakes - This survey site sends out emails (not very often) with links to screener questions. You receive a sweepstakes entry regardless of qualification, but if you do take the survey it is usually for $4-$5 and you don't even have to request the check. It will be sent automatically to you after the survey is completed. Admittedly the convenience of not having to keep track of yet another account is nice, but receiving a small $4 check every 6-9 months is a little frustrating when you have a bill to pay.

Your2Cents money - $1-$5 (rarely I've seen more) placed in your account if you qualify and complete the survey. The offers are few and each offers a range of what you can receive (I always seem to get the smallest amount). I'm not sure if it's still available, but I liked that you get an extra $1 for each profile that you fill out (to be added to your qualified, completed survey). You are able to request your payment at any time though I usually wait until it's over the $20 mark.

GlobalTestMarket points/money - Each survey comes with a 5-?? point incentive. Sometimes you'll get the 5 points even if you don't qualify. If you do and complete the survey you'll usually get the top point amount. The points are collected in your account and each equals about 5 cents. Once your account reaches the 1000 point mark ($50) you are able to request a check in the mail. The surveys come fairly frequently (every 3-5 days or so) and if you qualify for enough your balance can fill quickly, but make sure you click on them when you get them because once a survey is closed you don't even get the 5 points.

Lightspeed points/products/sweepstakes - Each survey nets you points that you can collect to redeem for products. Mini-surveys, profiles, and non-qualifying will get you entries into their sweepstakes.

e-Rewards money/products - Strangely enough, you earn a dollar amount for each survey (even if you don't qualify) but you turn around and redeem that dollar amount for products and services (everything from rentals from Blockbuster to giftcards and discounts). The thing I don't particularly like about this site is it's by invitation only. You have to receive an invitation from one of their sponsor sites and this can determine what rewards are available to you. Dan received an invitation from GameStop, and I received an invitation from Borders. I cannot receive rewards from GameStop because they are not listed in my rewards section. Your account can also expire so, while they have incentives in the higher dollar range, you have to qualify for a lot of surveys to collect enough to reach them.

ZoomPanel points/products - While most of the points you get from completing surveys, you will sometimes receive a small point amount just for trying to qualify. The products come in "portfolios" at different point levels and frequently the points equate to a dollar amount (ie: 3000 points will net you a $30 product). This is not always the case though so do your research before redeeming.

HarrisPollOnline points/products - Standard points for products site (though I've had a better average of qualifying on this one). Sometimes they will ask if you want to be entered into a sweepstakes after a survey, but it doesn't show up for all the surveys so I don't know what the sweepstakes is about. Products are arranged in "portfolios." We used to get (though it isn't available anymore that I've seen) a $5 gift card for BestBuy for 800 points.

SurveySpot money/sweepstakes - Your money balance goes into an account that you can request a check from. Some surveys and those you don't qualify for allow you to play a "chance" game (slots or a scratcher card) to earn from 5-100 sweepstakes entries.

I feel like I'm missing something. If I come across it I'll add it to another blog at a later time. Needless to say that if I don't check my email regularly I can usually end up with 30-80 emails pretty quickly. As for the miscelaneous jobs, there aren't many, but they bring in a bit more and definately more frequently.

House cleaning/Pet sitting - My sister is a Physical Therapist and very active. She's not home much and when she is, she is usually tired. She also takes trips for work and pleasure and needs someone to feed her dogs. Since I moved back to Albuquerque, I've been able to earn a little extra by cleaning her house twice a month and feeding her dogs when she needs it.

Melaleuca - I also have a small Melaleuca business. I don't want to get into details, but Melaleuca is a company that produces products that are environmentally friendly as well as non-toxic (great for when the kids start playing with the bathroom cleaner). The products are also cheaper than what you usually pay at the grocery store. The nice thing about my Melaleuca business is that even when I'm not actively working it I'm still getting residual income each month.

This brings us to the Pampered Chef. This is something I've been considering for a few months, but have been considering more seriously since Thursday. The initial commitment is higher than I'd like, but it can be reduced (with help) and the consultant I was talking to said that she made it back and then some in her first month. This is why the poll is so important to me. It will let me know if I would have a chance at a good start, though it is only one of many factors that I am considering that will help with the final decision.

Final note: It's only a little, but I am trying to do what I can. If you are interested in trying out any of these for yourself, let me know via comment or email and I'll give you specifics as far as sites or links.

Recent photos

Okay, so there I was thinking that I had no way of getting newer pictures to you when it hit me. *DUH!* I can still use the old camera. Sigh... sometimes I am so blonde. I took these yesterday. Enjoy

Catching Up, Part 1

Okay, so no one has said anything, but I know what you're all thinking. "I haven't talked to you in x number of years, what's going on" or "Where are the pictures of my cousins/grandkids" or "Man this is a boring blog, I wish there were some cute baby pictures." Right? So we got a new camera for Christmas this past year. It doesn't use a removable memory card so I haven't yet figured out how to get the image onto the laptop (Dan has the cable somewhere and he mentioned something about software). I do have some pictures for you, but they're a year old or older. Eventually I want to do some comparisons, but for now I'll just add photos and let you see them all.

As far as explination... The top two are from Halloween of 2007. We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat party. The first four below are from Valerie's birth earlier that same year. Dan loves the first one. I love the fourth. After that are miscelaneous pictures from 2007. The last is from his cousin Aiden's birthday party. Gabriel gets his first taste of sour candy! LOL! Hope you enjoy these. Post comments or send emails suggesting things you'd like to see in future posts.

Father-In-Law's Truck

My father-in-law sent me these photos. I thought they were cool and wanted to share them with you. He got bored with his truck's interior so he took some sarapes and put them in his truck. He says the original color was grey. This is much more interesting. Plus, he says it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

National Endowment for the Arts Book List

I found this list on a friend's blog and thought I'd snag her idea of marking the ones I've read and the ones I want to read. In general, most of the books I want to read come from recommendations from friends, ratings from friends, "similar reads" lists for books I enjoy, and the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die group on GoodReads. Several of the books on this list I know are in that last one. So here goes: blue=read, green=want to read, underline=favorite.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - Tried several times and just can't finish it
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - I've read Through the Looking Glass though
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Now the "to read" list may not be complete for the simple fact that I haven't heard of all of these, but I would say that my "read" list isn't too shabby at 33.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet was my first exposure to Jane Austen. I have now seen at least one film version of every Jane Austen except Lady Susan and own three of them. Having said that, the book is a little hard to get into. If you're just starting out on Jane, you might want to start with Pride and Prejudice if for no other reason than the book starts in witty dialog. Sense and Sensibility is an interesting story that follows two sisters in surprisingly similar circumstances with regards to their love lives and how they handle said situations in their very different manner. One with great sense and the other with overly dramatic sensibility (hence the title). I think what I loved about this book was the same thing I loved about the movie, Brandon and Palmer. While Edward is Elinor's choice and for all intents and purposes the lead male, his character is dutiful to a fault. Brandon, on the other hand, is calm, reserved, and yet has a fire inside of him that longs to get out. In the movie, it is one of my favorite roles for Alan Rickman. As for my preference of Mr. Palmer, his sardonic wit has always appealed to me. The fact that Hugh Laurie plays him in the movie makes it that much more fun. Love it or leave it, Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen to a tee. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Complete Austen... Intro

Recently, for my birthday, we went to Borders. I had a combination of Borders Bucks and coupons that we were planning on using to get the special edition of Iron Man. It turned out that the special edition my husband wanted was at a different store. Since one of the coupons expired the next day my husband stated that I should look around and find something as a present for myself. That's when I decided to look for something I'd been wanting: a complete Jane Austen. I found what I was looking for and with the combination of Bucks and coupon managed to secure a $25 book for $2.67 out of pocket. Not a bad deal :)

On the way home I glanced through the introduction, but didn't actually start reading it since I was still reading a couple of books I'd picked up from the library (both of which are for young readers and both of which I would highly recommend). The first is Chalice. The second is Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Then I started into Sense and Sensibility. It was then that I realized that I hadn't read it before. That made me think that maybe I hadn't read as many of the Austen books as I originally thought. After carefully examining my memory to decide which of the books I've actually read instead of assuming I'd read because I've seen a film of it, I determined that the actual number was one: Pride and Prejudice. I know that I've read this one because I decided to (after reading it) read the "sequels" that others have written "in her style." These I would highly recommend....against. This necessitated a revision of my GoodReads list at which point I decided to remove them all even from my To_Read list and just show my birthday present.

This brought up another problem. I cannot possibly assume that I will like all the books equally and therefore have no way of rating them individually this way. So I came up with the plan of rating the version of the book based on presentation and such and I would list each book individually in my review as I completed it. Great! Except that I needed a place to explain all this without making my review ten pages long. Hence this blog entry. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I'm actually thinking of reviewing them individually here and just linking to the reviews in the review section on GoodReads. Either way, I'll be reading the books in order and wanted to list the order here so that anyone can follow along with where I am in the big book. Here then is the Table of Contents:

Sense and Sensibility 1
Pride and Prejudice 209
Mansfield Park 423
Emma 687
Northanger Abbey 959
Persuasion 1091
Lady Susan 1233

Hobbies

I got to thinking about the comment my friend made on my last entry about hobbies and the first thing that came to mind was puzzle video games. That passed quickly, thankfully, and was replaced by one of the things that has been consuming a lot of my time (other than my kids), namely Family History.

Many people are familiar with the fact that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a large hand in helping people to research and preserve their family's histories. As a member who was born into an LDS family this has been in my background for years. It has, however, been in all of my family's background and when I found a desire to do research it was met with years and years of information that has already been found at least twice (if not more). It was then that I turned to my husband's family and found that I could help with the small projects here and there that have already been started and help to expand and suppliment what has already been found. While I cannot claim great success, the few small things that I have been able to dig up have had a profound effect on my understanding of my research.

Names and dates are important. This cannot be argued, because armed with this information you are able to track down and expand what you have. This pales in comparison with finding the stories. True, I haven't found many of the stories, but some of the names and dates I've found have made me want to know them. Siblings who have married siblings. Siblings who have married people with the same last name who aren't even related. A possible marriage between one man's grandson and his great-granddaughter. A census record that lists a step-daughter for an individual who happens to have the same name and age of that individual's possible granddaughter. Another set of cousins who married, had two (possibly three) children and then a definate separation when the wife returns to her parents and the man moves across the country to follow his religion. And these are the recent records. What about the Gmyr name which is relatively rare even in the original country of Poland (also known as Austria and Galicia depending on the time period). How many of these people are related to my husband? Are they willing to share their stories?

Oh how I wish I had those stories. Oh how I wish those who had them were willing to share.

Keep or Give?

I'm beginning to wonder if I should restart this blog (which was originally on the AOL Journal site). The primary reasons for keeping a blog are: keep people informed about yourself and your life, having a place to vent (only a good idea on a blog site if that blog is kept private... at which point it would probably be better to have a journal instead), comment on life, the universe, and everything for money and the hell of it, or to promote things. Let me address these one by one and see if I can answer my question of Keep or Give (up).

Keep people informed: I really should do this, but I honestly find my life fairly boring for the most part and cannot see why anyone would want to know much more than a few lines a week or even month. Other people's lives I find fascinating and I love reading what they post on a regular basis. The other problem is that I wouldn't have a clue what people would like to know more about... kids, hobbies, or day to day mush. Any comments would be nice.

Having a place to vent: I've already mentioned that in most cases this would be best kept in a private journal, but I will mention that sometimes it's nice to get feedback on the little things that are piling up on you if for no other reason than to be reminded that they are little things. So venting is an option as long as it's nothing overly personal.

Commenting on life, the universe....: This has worked great for a couple of friends, but my opinions are too fluid to make a huge difference in things. If I were to keep this blog it definately wouldn't be for this reason. Having said that, I won't promise not to comment since I do have some opinions... sometimes :P

Promotional: As with the above, it wouldn't be a primary reason, but sometimes I find products or places that I really do have to praise. My kids wouldn't care less (not that I would have (m)any readers that would care more) about these things and this might be a good place to mention them.

All in all the balance appears to be in favor. The next question becomes, would it be worth it. A journal is personal and friends, family and most specifically posterity would find value in it... when it is eventually read. A blog is only really worth it if there are readers. So I put the question to you.... Keep or Give?