Have you hugged your dishwasher today?

Well, it's Friday. As usual, I really need somthing to celebrate to help me ring in the weekend after a looooong week. So, what could be better than spending a moment recognizing the most fabulous thing in my house:

My *dishwasher* (insert romantic sigh).

Now I am one of those people who can say I REALLY appreciate my dishwasher. Sure, we had a couple of apartments during our early married years that didn't have a dishwasher. But we were child-less and so in love that first of all, we hardly had any dishes, and second of all, washing dishes together seemed like a romantic getaway (pathetic, I know).

So, when we bought this house almost 2 years ago, and it didn't have a dishwasher, these were my thoughts:

"No dishwasher . . . Hmmm. Are you kidding me? I'm just so glad we have a house!!! An actual house with a yard and walls and 2 levels. Who needs a dishwasher? The pioneers didn't even have running water. Dishwashers have only been around for a few years. My in-laws STILL don't have a dishwasher, and they get along perfectly fine washing all their dishes. In fact, I think I will be BETTER off without a dishwasher. Maybe dishwashers are only for the weak of spirit. Dishpan hands are considered a sign of character. Take THAT, dishwashers of the world!!!"

Yeah, that lasted about 2 weeks.

When my husband finally got tired of listening to my whining about how I spent a precious one hour of each day washing dishes for a family of 4, who cook and eat EVERY meal at home, and blaming EVERYTHING wrong in my life on not having a dang dishwasher, he came up with these amazing words:

"Babe, I can put a dishwasher in for you . . . . "

What? Give up my spartan hand-washing spirit???

Okay!

We had $500 bucks to work with, thanks to my sweet Grandma Litster and parents who generously gave us that money when she passed away. So we found the dishwasher, and a sink/faucet online, each for $50 bucks, and then Mike set in to work. He demolished the entire kitchen, rebuilt the entire lower cabinet, installed the countertop, dishwasher, and sink, and viola! - my life was wonderful again!!!!!!



Anytime I'm feeling sorry for myself, I look at my dishwasher and think, "My life is perfect. Sigh."

And if you don't have a dishwasher yet, be glad for clean running water and indoor plumbing.

Seriously.

Friday's Favorites - 2 days late . . .

So, I'm already late on my second installment of Friday's Favorites. Eeeeek!! Remember how I said that if I didn't post on a Friday, I was probably having a bad day? Yeah, well I had the stomach flu. Blech.

However, despite the puking, Friday was a GLORIOUS day. Why? One word: S.P.R.I.N.G.

Friday was the first day of Spring, and I LOVE Spring. Here's a list of the reasons why:

The weather gets warmer.
It's no longer cold.
The temperature rises.
The snow melts.
The air feels balmy.
Winter is over.
When you go outside, you are not freezing.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Sure, the flowers, green-ing grass, Easter and all that stuff are nice. But pretty much it boils down to: I. Hate. Cold.

Guess that makes Spring pretty much awesome in my book. Even on a throwing-up day.

Happy St. Patty's!!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, I wanted to share with all of you a picture of our family in our Irish garb. I mean, do we look festive or what?



Fake story about this picture:
I am very organized and on the ball. So organized and on the ball, in fact, that I always schedule a professional family picture for each holiday (including President's day and Arbor Day) in color coordinated outfits. I always schedule these photo shoots far enough in advance that I can use the pictures to their full potential in relation to the holiday. I also have hundreds of scrapbooks containing these calendar-correct photos.

True story about this picture:
This is the ONLY family picture we have had taken since Ashley was born. And although I enjoy an occasional splash of green now and then, I am not quite as exuberant about the color it as the picture may communicate. My parents and siblings were having a large family picture taken, and we thought each family could wear a different solid color, so that in the group picture it would be easy to distinguish who was who (yes, our family really is that big). So, a few months before, I settled on brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Unfortunately, someone else had ALSO selected brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Dang.

So, about a month before the picture, I decided we could do a nice earthy/sagey green color, and went to the mall to get some shirts. And then another mall. And then another. And then I realized that they don't make solid color "sage-y" shirts for 2 year old girs. So I went to more malls to find ANY shade of green shirt for a tiny girl. And then I came home shouted at my unsuspecting husband. And then I took anything that was any shade of green and removed it from my house so that I would never see green again. And then I spent $32 on a bright kelly green tank top from baby GAP for my daughter. $32 was more than I spent on her entire wardrobe last summer (thanks to great yard sales and cute hand-me-downs from cousins).

And then I went to another mall. And another mall. And another mall. I found shirts for the rest of us in the same color, and tried to look on the bright side:

We would all have REALLY great clothes for St. Patrick's Day this year.

Happy green day!!!!!!!!

Introducing . . . . Friday's Favorites!!!

Drum roll please.

You are all about to encounter something that will change your life.

I am introducing a regularly scheduled blog topic to NeerlyFabulous. Friday's Favorites. Every Friday that I am mentally sound, I will post about one of my favorite things, people, places, foods, (etc.), and tell you how absolutely wonderful it is. Why, you might ask? Because FRIDAYS ARE AWESOME!!! This is my little way to say to Friday, "I have waited long for you, and now I want to embrace you and tell you something fabulous. "

And if I don't post on a Friday, please call me and cheer me up. I'm probably having a bad day.

Now, I have thought long and hard about what the first Friday's Favorites topic should be. There were several considerations, including family members, footwear, and of course products made with dark chocolate. Don't worry, all those topics will be forthcoming.

But this week I had to choose something REALLY special.

Are you ready????







SUPER GLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




And now I will write an original poetic piece: Ode to Super Glue

Oh, Super Glue, how faithful you have been
In the time we have spent together.
For many years now, you have been right by my side,
Picking up the broken pieces of my life and
Mending them seamlessly.

You have worked many miracles.
Angry children have been calmed.
Wardrobes have been rescued.
Even the blind have received sight.






So many doubt your strength and power.
So many wonder if you can really fix their lives
As you have fixed mine.
To them I say: doubt not.
Those who doubt the strength of Super Glue have ways of being punished.

There have been times that I resented your bonding power.
It seemed you were mocking me, wielding your strength in places I did not intend for it to fall.
But the wooden nativity star eventually came off of my thumb.
And I realized it was for my own good.

For I would never doubt your strength again.

Oh, Super Glue. You amaze me.

Good Thing for Dad (or my kids would never have fun)

On Tuesday nights I go to rehearsals for the choir I sing with (The Salt Lake Choral Artists). Lucky for me, Mike sees it as his "special" night with the kids.

So, on this last Tuesday, I get home a little after 10, and I hear a little rustling downstairs. Great, Mike is still up!! We can hang out for a minute.

But then my logical brain kicks in. Wait, Mike is NOT up. Mike is not a night person. Mike is asleep in his cozy bed. Mike has probably been asleep in his cozy bed for quite some time.

Then I see a head peek up the stairs. Then another.

I DO love my kids.

But not after 9:00 pm.

So, I head downstairs to see the giant tent that dad has set up so they could "sleep" (ha!) in it. And, then, they were so cute that who could be mad after that.

Except when they each needed to go potty.

And then they needed drinks.

And then they needed the CD player with their special music playing.

And then, Ashley says, "I wan't to sleep in my bed."

Carter: "Me, too."

Mom: "Fine." (grumble grumble)

Dad: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Project Organize

You gotta love IKEA. Carter was in need of a serious organization overhaul for all of his art & writing supplies. And believe me, he needs all the help he can get when it comes to keeping things neat. So, for $10 at IKEA, we put up this great organizing system that keeps all of his stuff handy above his desk, out of the reach of smaller kids, and easy to put away.



And lest you think that I have the organizing thing figured out, here is the rest of his room.

On a good day.



Sigh. I have my work cut out for me.

March Madness

Oh, how I loathe Daylight Savings Time.

As if March isn't bad enough already. This wretched month that comes after 12 weeks of cold, miserable Winter, and teases us with the word "Spring." And just when you think it might actually BE spring someday. Bam. Another snowstorm. March disgusts me.

And THEN, they throw "Daylight Savings Time" in there. Oh sure, give it a catchy, uplifting name and maybe you can trick the entire United States of America (minus Arizona - the only SANE ones out there) into thinking that it would be a good idea.

I especially love how DST (I can't even stand to write the whole name anymore) seems to rise from the dust anonymously, with no one stepping up to take credit for the havoc they are wreaking in my life. No, Daylight Savings is a monster without a face, a phenomenon without explanation, a sad trick on the human race.

And yet, no one knows who is responsible for the madness. Convenient.

If you can't tell, I'm not a big fan.

Since I don't feel that I can adequately describe my hateful feelings for Daylight Savings Time in words, I have enlisted the help of an illustrator. She captured perfectly how our family felt this morning waking up at the PRETEND 6:00 am, which was the ACTUAL 5:00 am.







Thank you Ashley, for your creative expertise.



I need a nap.

Don't Start Anything You Don't Intend to Continue

When Mike & I were engaged, his family had a wedding shower for me, and they did one of the obligatory "everyone give Deborah some advice for her marriage" deals. I'm sure the right thing to do would behave been to remember, write down, and creatively scrapbook, all of the advice, but I am terrible at all 3 of those things. So I remember nothing.

Except one.

Mike's Grandmother (who just passed away last year) told about cooking her husband a really nice egg and sausage breakfast on the first morning they were married. Her husband greatly appreciated the gesture, and she was very pleased with herself. Until the next morning when he was wondering where breakfast was. And the morning after that. And the morning after that. You get the picture. Grandpa Gardner just assumed that cooking an amazing breakfast for him every morning was what she planned to do all along. So her advice was:

"Don't start anything you don't intend to continue doing for the rest of the marriage."

Believe me, I took the advice to heart. For a girl who kept her breakfast (granola bars) in her car during college years so she could eat on the way to a class that she was undoubtedly late for, the thought of cooking a full-course breakfast made me break out in hives.

So I avoided cooking breakfast.

And ironing.

Unforunately, Iast year I made a huge mistake. Mike rebuilt our lower kitchen cabinets so we could put a dishwasher in. After 2 weeks without a kitchen sink, I went berserk. Once everything was all put in, and the sink was running, I couldn't wait a few more hours for Mike to get home from work, finish the plumbing and install the disposal. I NEEDED that kitchen sink. So I did it myself. And, If I do say so myself, I did a dang good job. Well, except for the fact that a few weeks later, the dispoal fell off and flooded the kitchen because I didn't have it properly secured. BUT, the second time I put it in, I did a dang good job.

So now, guess who the family plumber is???

The old disposal died last month, so the job naturally fell to me, and I pretty much handled it like a pro last weekend. Do I look good under the sink, or what?

I would still rather "plumb" than iron . . . .