Last minute costume

Need a quick last minute idea, or a really cheesy one? Look here.

BOO!

Happy Halloweeeeen. . .

How to Win Friends and Influence People - 3

Whew, I got side tracked on Great Expectations (which I finished just a few days ago) and forgot about this book. So without further delay, here is chapter 3.

"'He who can do this has the whole world with him. He who cannot walks a lonely way.'"

People are primarily interested in themselves. so, in order to influence them, first think about others, what they want, and help them get it.

The title of the chapter comes from a quote from Professor Harry A. Overstreet in his book Influencing Human Behavior.

"Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire. . . and the best piece of advice which can be given to would-be persuaders, whether in business, in the home, in the school, in politics, is: first, arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him. He who cannot walks a lonely way!"

Carnegie gives this example: a child won't eat his veges. Remind him about the big boy next door who always beats him in their races. Tell him that he'll be able to grow big and faster and finally beat that boy if he eats his vegetables. Do you think this will really work on a 5-year-old? This example sounds a bit iffy to me, but the principle is sound enough.

This ends Part One, Fundamental Techniques in Handling People. Part Two, Six ways to Make People Like You is coming soon.

How Sister Grinch Stole Sunday

HOW SISTER GRINCH STOLE SUNDAY
by Lisa Elzey
(Our Ward's Roadshow offering)

NARRATOR
Good Evn’ing friends, we welcome the young and the old
The Cedar Hills Sixth Ward has a tale to be told

It’s a tale full of DRAMA, for that’s what we drew
An AIRPORT was another requirement too

REALITY TV is the last on the list
We’ve included them all or at least just the gist

Our story begins on the “island” of Utah

(Survivor music chimes in...)

What happens in Utah midst the Saturday hoopla

But our show’s not Apprentice, nor Gabby Gourmet
Nor American Idol or Project Runway
It’s simply titled “How Sister Grinch Stole Sunday”

It starts in an Airport with a delayed airplane
So grandpa decided to break the mundane

GRANDPA
Here’s one of my favorite stories to tell
It’s written in my journal, but I know it well

(Curtain opens)

GRANDPA
Every member in Utah liked Sundays a lot
But the Nursery leader, Sister Grinch, did not!

For she hated Sundays! The whole weekend season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

It could be, perhaps, that her shoes were too tight.
It could be that she thought she knew just what’s right.

But I think that the most likely reason of all...
Well, I’ll let you observe and then you make the call...
GRINCH
“Now they’re cleaning their houses...”

GRANDPA
She snarled with a sneer.

GRINCH
“For Saturday’s special! Sunday’s practically here!”

GRANDPA
She glanced at her lesson her mind quickly numbing

GRINCH
“I must find some way to keep Sunday from coming!”

For, tomorrow, I know all the tot girls and boys
Will have gross runny noses and wipe them on toys

A three hour block...Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!
There’s one thing I hate, All the noise, noise, noise, noise

And they’ll shriek squeaks and squeals, racing round stomping heels
They’ll color in hymnbooks and eat Cherri-o meals!

Then the grown-ups will chat about yesterday’s game

ELDER 1 & 2
“Man, get your head in the game!”

GRINCH
I’ll hear them complain

Then two brothers start punching, though all can see them
As their dad takes them out they’ll yell,

BROTHER 1 & 2
“Carpe Diem!”

GRINCH
The cell phones at church that get signals somehow
When they don’t all you hear is:

YOUTH 1
“Can you hear me now?”



GRINCH
Then they all, young and old, will open a feast.
And they'll feast! And they'll feast! And they'll FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!

They'll feast on cheer’ios, fruit snacks, day old PBJ’s
On goldfish and saltines and loud Frito-lays

And then they'll do something I hate most of all!
When three hours is over the tall and the small,

Will re-package their crayons, their Barbies and clothes
They’ll elbow the Bishop who has started to doze

They’ll pack up their quads and their last minute lessons
Finish thinking about their last chatting sessions

They’ll leave church hand in hand as they walk out the door
Reminded...

SISTER SO-AND-SO
...the home teachers are coming at 4.

GRINCH
Then as they walk home, for their houses are near
They’ll open their mouths as they grin ear to ear
And a singing is sung that I don’t care to hear
And they’ll sing and they’ll sing and they’ll sing sing sing sing!

We Love Sunday
(Prelude)
Sunday, Sunday, We love Sunday
Welcome Sunday! Come this way

Families singing, church bells ringing
Smiles and helping hands we’ll be bringing
A great Sunday is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp

Sunday, Sunday, We love Sunday
Welcome Sunday! Come this way
(Fades out)

GRANDPA
(Overlapping with the singing) And the more the Sister Grinch thought of this After Church Sing,
The more the Sister Grinch thought,

GRINCH
"I must stop this whole thing!

(Record scratching sound effect and music cuts out)

Why for so many years I've put up with it now!
I must stop Sunday from coming! But how?"

GRANDPA
Then she got an idea! An awful idea!
Sister Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!

GRINCH
"I know just what to do!"

GRANDPA
She laughed for a bit

GRINCH
I’ll get my old homemaking scrap-booking kit!

I’ll make a cute flyer with pantookas and bows
Stamps and lace, for with scrapbooking ANYTHING goes!

The flyer will tell them that Sunday’s are done
It’s been cancelled!

GRANDPA
She wrote.

GRINCH
“That will ruin their fun!”

GRANDPA
Then she got something she hadn’t used in years
Her specialty scrapbooking curvy-edged shears

And she cut and she shaped, she made them look stunning

GRINCH
This fancy flyer will stop Sunday from coming!


GRINCH
I’ll stick them on front doors of the houses so quaint
Using tape that when pulled off the door rips off paint!...A Bonus!

GRANDPA
She laughed

GRINCH
What a Great Grinchy trick!
I might even say that my plan is quite SICK!

ENSEMBLE
You’re a Mean One, Sister Grinch! (RAP) 1:36

You're a mean one Sister Grinch
And You really are a Grump.

You're as sneaky as a weasel,
You're as frumpy as a lump

You are never a team player
You’d be fired by Mr. Trump

When rolling down the neighborhood

You're a long crooked street
with an extra speed bump

You're a trickster Sister Grinch.
You have got an evil plan

You-like to spoil happy endings
Step on every crack you can

You just want to spoil Sundays
On the weekend put a ban

Com-pared to you we think we must say

Idol’s Simon Cowell is the World's Nicest Man!

PRIMARY KIDS
You're a mean one, Sister Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Sister Grinch, Sister Grinch

You're a mean one, Sister Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Sister Grinch, Sister Grinch

(Music fades out, ad libs, That’s right...Cedar Hills 6th in the house...etc.)

GRANDPA
So she gathered the flyers and went to each door
But Sister Grinch wasn’t happy, she wanted more

She crafted calendars with each Sunday crossed out
Ward Bulletins giving the announcement more clout

And hand outs in colorful creative papers
With magnets on back to stick-on frigermerators

Emails from the ward website telling all stay home
Make the Young Women leaders have call trees by phone

GRINCH
Then everyone here will know Sunday’s are GONE!

GRANDPA
Then when she was finished with her cancelling work
She heard a loud voice that yelled,

BROTHER or SISTER WHATCHACALIT
“Boy, she’s a...

GRANDPA
Jerking around she heard a voice with a coo
It was Cindy-Lou Who, whose family was new
And everyone knew, that those Who’s loved the U.

(All gasp)

CINDY-LOU
Sister Grinch, Why? Why have you cancelled our Sundays now? Why?

For you’re my fav’rite teacher, but from Nurs’ry I grew
I love going on Sundays so that I can see you!

GRANDPA
And what happened then? Well, in Utah they say
That Sister Grinch’s unkindness went clean away

And then the true meaning of Sunday came through
It wasn’t about wishing the noise would subdue
GRANDPA
Or last minute lessons or the brothers who shove
It was being together in kindness and love

Sister Grinch then apologized and in the end
Everyone in the state was her very best friend!

Even the U-lovin’ Whos, who everyone knew
Although they would lose they refused to wear blue

She’d help families in church who had noisy tots
By bringing church quiet books and small lollipops

Kids that drew in the hymnbooks got an eraser
If a child ran away, she’d help the mom chase her

She loved to see all from the tall to the small
For kindness breeds kindness as a type of cure-all

She became known for her kindness wherever she went
And she, she herself, Sister Grinch was finally content.

That’s the end of the story my sweet little dears
And our delayed plane’s now not delayed it appears

(GRANDMA enters wearing a costume item that associates her with SISTER GRINCH. It is the same actor as SISTER GRINCH and is apparent that GRANDMA was SISTER GRINCH in the story)

GRANDCHILD 1
There you are Grandma! Grandpa if you wouldn’t mind?
Tell her the story of Sister Grinch who’s unkind?

GRANDMA
Oh I know that story. It’s a wise one and true.
I’m so glad he told that sweet story to you

But the plane is boarding, we must be on our way
I’ll have Grandpa tell me the tale some other day

(The children run off and Grandpa puts his arm around Grandma and they exit. Curtain)

END

Motherhood VIII

There are times when parenthood seems nothing more than feeding the hand that bites you.

--Peter De Vries

MaLM - Lullabies

Make a List Monday - Lullabies I sing to my babies

1. Go to sleep my baby (from my mom)
2. I love you (Matt's mom)
3. Baby's boat (Matt's mom)
4. I am a Child of God (LDS Hymnbook)
5. Angel Lullaby (My Turn on Earth)
6. Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird (LDS Primary Songbook)
7. Love is Spoken Here (LDS Primary Songbook)
8. I Love to See the Temple (LDS Primary Songbook)
9. Babes in the Woods (Matt's mom)


I sing many more songs to them occasionally, but these are the songs that come right to mind when I sing. What do you like to sing to your babies (and kids)?

My Job at Arches

Last weekend we joined Matt's parents and brother's family at Arches for the yearly tribute to sandstone. We camped at Arches in the Devil's Garden Campground. During one hike, we stopped to eat lunch. We found a fairly level area that was big enough for all 14 of us to sit down, and the kids to walk around and get out the hiking blahs. It was a relatively safe area, i.e. there were no cliffs within 15 feet or so.

As we ate, I repeatedly would say to Matt (who was sitting close to the edge) "Andrew's coming over there" or "watch Andrew" or "could you hold onto him?". Matt repeatedly would oblige, but would say "It really isn't that scary" or "it isn't that steep".
Mike and Shell at our lunch site

In a moment of exasperation, I firmly told Matt "It is my job to keep the kids from falling off a cliff and dying." He laughed and agreed, more or less.

The kids all came home safe (with a few new scabs and bruises, mostly obtained in our own campground). They all had a lovely time. Dawn even voiced the opinion that she wished we could live in Arches.

My nerves also came home intact. I've accepted my job as safety monitor. It's natural, and I like it. And Matt can focus on his job, to make sure the kids have a wonderful time, learn to love hiking (especially among sandstone fins) and to ruin their clothes.

Balance in marriage is a wonderful thing.






The Pajama Snot Gang



Read Matt's take on our hiking here.

Grosgrain and the Marie Therese

Gorgeous! I wish she'd make one for me. See it atGrosgrain

Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

One of the best holiday tradition around (to put it lightly) is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert. Every year we celebrate with the Tab Choir. Our first date was to this very concert in December 1996. We've been every year since, besides the year little Dawn was born. 21,000 lucky souls get to attend each night (that equals 84,000 very cheery holiday revelers--can you revel on Temple Square?). I don't know how many people register for tickets, but one year a poll of my family and friends had only 1 in 14 winning the ticket lottery.


Today the Choir announced that this year Brian Stokes Mitchell (remember he was here) and actor Edward Herrmann are the guest performers. Mitchell is great, we really fell in love with him at the Tanner Gift of Music in September, and I'm sure you will too.

You can register for tickets for two weeks starting on October 25 here.

Christmas is coming!!!

Motherhood VII

If evolution really works, how come mothers still have only two hands?

--Ed Dussault

Barbie is Immodest

“Modesty in dress is a quality of mind and heart, born of respect for oneself, one’s fellowmen, and the Creator of us all. Modesty reflects an attitude of humility, decency and propriety.”

Barbie is immodest. Shocker, I know. This is nothing new, she's had trouble for years. As a result, we try to buy only the modestly dressed Barbies; honestly, we don't buy many.

But this morning, I'm mad all over again. This morning I saw an ad in a magazine for the latest Barbie Movie, A Christmas Carol. On it, Barbie is sporting a sparkling gown with a plunging neckline, down to her bellybutton! These Barbie movies are marketed to 2-8-year-olds. Is that the kind of outfit that a child should want? Is that the kind of dress that a teenager should want?

I'm disappointed. All morning I've been searching the web for some place to log a complaint. I finally had to call Mattel. They didn't even have the movie in their computer system. Then I tried Universal Studios. There is absolutely no contact information for them anywhere. So I had to settle on my little blog.

Barbie (and Mattel and Universal Studios) need help. They need a few lessons in modesty, what it is and why it is important. In this age of feminine enlightenment, we should insist that women are important and strong and wonderful enough without baring our private body parts. We are elegant and beautiful with all our bodies covered. The light from our eyes and emanating from our lives is what makes us beautiful, not our bare skin.

So Barbie (and Mattel and Universal Studios) perhaps you should put on a new dress. Perhaps you should try to "be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5) or "clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness" (2 Nephi 9:14) and then they will find themselves "clothed with power and great glory" (D&C 45:44) and not some flimsy garment meant to attract attention for all the wrong reasons.

Andrew and the trash truck

Andrew's horse ride:

Andrew's pizza dinner:

Andrew's rainbow chip cake:

Andrew's loot, including the show stopping, working garbage truck:

One of Andrew's many midnight trash runs, lamp on and everything:

Andrew's burning-the-midnight-oil birthday hangover:

Andrew's successful 3rd birthday!

Kelly Matthews, Executive Vice President and Economist, Wells Fargo

My grandpa's brother is often in the news here in Utah. He is the Executive Vice President and Economist for Wells Fargo. Keep an eye (or ear) out for him. It always makes me happy to see him; he reminds me of my sweet grandpa.

I miss him.

Motherhood VI

There is no other closeness in human life like the closeness between a mother and her baby. . . they are just a few heartbeats away from being the same person.

--Susan Cheever

My meal planning just not working

A couple weeks ago I posted a new meal planning schedule. Well, it's not working. I don't think I've done it once.

Here are the problems.
1. Too many of my regular recipes didn't fit into the categories.
2. Too much Mexican food.
3. Matt's night doesn't work on Tuesday.
4. I don't plan it well.

So here is the new plan.
Sunday - nothing
Monday - crock pot or soup (still works well)
Tuesday - Italian or Mexican
Wednesday - Chicken meal (or other meat)
Thursday - Matt's night
Friday - Date night
Saturday - leftovers, grill or something cheesy (always an easy out for our family, cheese sandwiches, tortillas, super nachos etc.).

As for the planning trouble, I'll just have to work on that. Hopefully this will go better. Have any of you been using a schedule? Has it been helping?

8 Happy Ideas

8 happy ideas over at Absolutely Beautiful Things
Happy Idea #3 - Bake a cake.

Happy Idea #4 - Go for a ride on your bike in a pretty park.

They made me smile.

Andrew at three

Favorite color: Orange
Favorite food: pizza
Favorite animal: horse and buffalo
Favorite truck: dump truck
Favorite thing to play: Zooloretto
Favorite toy: horse and buffalo
Favorite movie: Duma (the cheetah one)
Favorite shoes: Lightning McQueen shoes
Favorite day: trash day
Favorite place to go: to the store with Mom
Favorite fish: Sasha
Favorite treat: suckers
Favorite place to put your hands: in your mouth
Favorite book: Green Eggs and Ham and the ladybug book
Favorite dinosaur: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Favorite scripture story: "keep the commandments"
Favorite part of church: singing ("Hallelujah")
"I like the dinosaur museum"

Andrew is a charmer, people just seem to be smitten by him. I think it is his coy little smile and flirty looks. He certainly has us all mesmerized.

Moss Stitch Scarf for Scott

I finished my third scarf. I used a new stitch, the moss stitch. I also changed colors (for the stripes) which was fancy for me.


Next up, hats!

P.S. Please disregard the shaggy hair, it has been cut.)

A Spot of Sun

A spot of sun and a bit of coldness, too.



My kids thought they were so funny when they pulled out all the winter gear and blasted renegade Christmas music and read Christmas books. And they were funny, and rascally, too.

Motherhood V

The walks and talks we have with our two-year-olds in red boots have a great deal to do with the values they will cherish as adults.

--Edith F. Hunter

MaLM - Fish on the Porcelain Express

Make a List Monday - Fish on the Porcelain Express

1. Goodbye Opal
2. Goodbye Burn
3. Goodbye Gorbachev
4. Goodbye She-who-shall-not-be-named
5. Goodbye Sherbert
6. Goodbye Sasha

Welcome to the rest of your life: Slip, Pedro, Tiger, Sasha Dreamsicle (renamed just for Andrew who really wanted to keep Sasha), Rosita Chiquita Juanita Chihuahua, Sherbet!

Scott's humility

A neighbor boy hops in the car for a ride home. Scott starts in,

"How old are you?"

"Four."

"I can run faster than you."