Organizing and happiness...

Y'all know I love to organize. I'm pretty good at getting things done to where they look good and make sense....not necessarily maintaining (hence the condition of my messy scraproom this very moment) These are a few things from our church buildings library. It makes me nuts that some things are in baggies, some in containers (some broken), some have nothing at all. Check out that label on the crayons. It says "Maricopa Ward"! You're probably thinking to yourself..."so what". In my organizational freak brain that tells me that the library hasn't been organized for a really really long time since Maricopa now has 7 wards. It shouldn't bug me, but it does. They did ask me to organize it so I took it upon myself to hit the back to school sales at Wal-Mart to get some basic supplies and containers.
Now everything is separated into containers that match and are properly labeled for teachers to check out things they need for their class that day. Each container not only has the description, but a stock number so when they are checked out they have to write the number on the sheet. It makes it easier to find missing items instead of just saying we are missing 2 things of chalk and erasers. I will know who checked out the missing #3 and #8. That little library needs a lot more organizing. So many things in there from the dark ages or completely non existent. At least I have a good start.

I really wish I could say that I'm happy with my calling, but I'm not. I cried Saturday night and pretty much all day Sunday. It affects my mood every single day. I've been taught to accept whatever callings are given to me and to serve to the best of my ability. That's just who I am, but I've never struggled so much with a new calling. I have yet to get the feeling that this is where I should be. I've been so emotional and grouchy. On Sunday while I was at church when people would ask me how I'm doing. Instead of lying and saying the normal "I'm good", I said..."You know what, I'm not going to sugar coat over my mood. I'm really grumpy and not very happy." How bad is that?! How does one respond to that when they are expecting an "I'm good, how are you?" It got worse as I went throughout my church meetings. Let me explain...I have to arrive early to open the library. I close it just as sacrament starts. Just before sacrament ends I go re-open it and stay in there until about 10 minutes into Sunday school class. Again I leave before class is over to open it and I stay in there until relief society is a good 10 minutes into it, but have to leave before class ends and then stay there until all the items have been returned and by that time most everyone has gone home. To some people that wouldn't be a big deal, but to someone who is a social as I am it's a BIG deal. I don't get to visit with anyone before church, in between classes or after church and I hate it! It's not just the lack of being social with my friends. I just don't feel it's where I should be in general. I don't enjoy anything about it. I seriously cried the rest of the day. If they are going to pull me out of a calling that I love with the young women, then at least put me in one that I'm passionate about and feel like I'm making a difference. This is just so hard. I'm torn between trying to find the blessings of why I've been placed here and meeting with the bishop to discuss other options that don't put me in the depths of depression, because that's where I'm at right now and I just don't think I'm willing or able to continually be miserable.

Vent over...so sorry. Since it's my blog, I just wanted record of my feelings at this point in my life. Not looking for sympathy.

Chad traded in his Ford Mustang and bought himself a Chevy Silverado Z71 4X4 truck. He loves it! It sure is pretty...but as a mother it's kind of weird and scary when your kids start establishing their own credit. I told him we'd go over a budget to keep his finances in order. If he is good with his money he could get and maintain a good credit score. I know from experience how hard it is to overcome not so good credit.
$5.18 for 3 bags of ice from Sonic. Best spent money ever in my mind...and done frequently.
I've decided that I can never live far from a Sonic. I just love their ice too much. I can't go a day without it. It's so bad I even brought up an ice chest full of just ice to girls camp. (along with a case of water) I fill up my big scrapaholic mug 4 times a day with yummy ice water and the occasional Pepsi! I rarely leave home without my cup of water. I have spilled it a time or two in the car. (don't tell Mark) It hasn't stopped me from bringing it with me. I love my ice water. It makes me happy. It's nice to have something so small bring me happiness. What small things make you happy?

baby shower and salsa...

Last night I went to a baby shower for a sweet girl named Cammy (and her husband Josh). She is being induced on Monday to have her little boy they are naming Cash. The CA is for Cammy and the SH is for Josh. We have known these two for 6 plus years. They were teenage friends with my older boys. Josh was pretty nervous about handling a new baby, but he had the opportunity to get broken in with a family in the neighborhood who recently had triplets. They would go over and help with the babies all the time over the past few months. Now they are both very comfortable with all the things babies need. I thought that was such a great idea to get in some practice before hand. They will both be awesome parents. :o)Lots of presents! It's a good thing...babies need lots of things. Along with the salsa for Cammy, I got the baby 2 pairs of shoes. A pair of tennis shoes and sandals in the teeniest size ones. They were adorable! I totally forgot to take pictures of them in all of their cuteness because I was running late and it started to rain. Speaking of the rain, Mesa got hammered last night. It was kind of scary driving home. Maricopa got rain too, but not as much as the valley. Today is hot and sticky. I think I'll stay inside.I love love love this high chair. I love that it's beautiful wood combined with a easy wash tray. So dang cute!
The food buffet was set up so cute so I had to share pictures of it. Just beautiful! Cammy has been requesting me to make some salsa so I took the opportunity to take pictures of the process starting with the ingredients to the finish. I needed to do this anyways so I could include it in the recipe books I'll be making for the boys for Christmas.Cody took this picture while I was dicing tomatoes and talking on the phone. I had no idea he took and did not include it on her recipe card. By the way...I've lost 7 pounds so far. It's not much, but it's something. 33 pounds to go.
Here is the recipe card I made her. When I first started to cook, pictures were very handy. The ones I do for the recipe book will be full size 8 1/2 X 11 so I can put them in page protectors and in washable albums.
I've had some people wanting the recipe again so here it is.

2 cans of diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can diced green chilies

5 tomatoes on the vine

2 bunches of green onions

1 cup of water

kosher salt

lemon pepper

lawrey's seasoning salt

onion powder

garlic powder

Dump all the cans and water in a bowl. Dice up tomatoes and thin slice green onions after washing and cutting off the roots and the last inch or two of the green end. I don't measure the seasonings. I just sprinkle. If I had to guess I would say about 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. lawreys, 1 tsp. lemon pepper, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder. Mix it all together, then take out half and pulse a few times in a blender or food processor. Not too long or it will be foamy. Mix back in and store in a rubbermaid container for up to a week. We always eat it all before it has a chance to go bad. Enjoy!

Q&A:

1. The adhesive I used to attach the sheet metal to the wood was loctite power grab. It's in a big pressurized tube. I got the all purpose instant grab.
2. The grand babies are doing great. The just moved into a new apartment and are having fun exploring their new digs. They had a transformer blow up outside their place last night in the storm. Scared them to death. In the next few weeks I plan on picking them and Brittany up to get the boys their first haircuts. I will have my camera handy that day.

3. I ordered the canvas water bottle holders fro oriental trading company. They are insulated and affordable.
4. My librarian duties are to get it organized and figure out what were missing. The library in the church is not like a regular library. It has resource materials for the teachers who teach primary and sunday school etc. I'm there to get them pictures, materials, scriptures, chalk, crayons, etc that they need to go a long with their lessons each week as well as make copies for things they need for the kids in their classes.
On top of that I'm in charge of the weekly sacrament program that people get when they come in the chapel. It has on it who is speaking, saying opening and closing prayers, what songs we'll be singing as well as announcement.
Then there is the ward newsletter that will contain all the buzz about what's going on in the ward. It will all keep me busy. Still really feeling very emotional about this whole thing. I'm sure my attitude will improve once I get into the swing of things.
I think that was all the questions. If there were any more that I forgot, let me know.
Thank for for all the sweet comments on my previous post. Girls camp was truly a wonderful and unforgettable experience.

Off to work on Mount Washmore. I bought laundry soap so I have no more excuses. Sure piles up quick around here.

Happy weekend everyone!

Girls camp 2008...long post!...

Well I did indeed survive girls camp...barely! Since being home I've had to catch up on a lot of sleep and housework. Being my first time to girls camp in 25 years, I was more than a little nervous. This is the cute little tent where I slept. It was right next to the nurse so that was good in my mind. Sleeping wasn't nearly as bad as I thought with a blow up air mattress. Going potty in the night was the worst part of being in a tent. Each time having to un zip and zip up. It was noisy! I didn't dare leave it open for fear bugs and/or critters would get in. The good part of that was I took a few minutes each time to enjoy the night view. It was gorgeous! My cramps hit me really hard on the way up the mountain and no amount of pain medication made them go away. It was very difficult for me. I did my best to work with the pain and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Camp Zion.

MONDAY: Just the stake leaders and the YCL's go to camp to get it all set up for the rest of the girls who arrive on Tuesday morning. Sunday night I was busy getting last minute things together as well as getting a last minute shower. I finally fell asleep around 2:30 then Mark woke me up at 4:30 so we could meet at the church at 5:30. I don't do great on 2 hours sleep even when I feel good. It's a 3 hour drive to Mount Lemmon. As soon as we got there we unloaded all of the cars and trailers and started setting up camp. I got all the crafts set up and organized in the Ramada so that it would be easy when it was time to teach. The YCL's helped set up and decorate the dining hall. The whole camp looked great!

This is the star at the entrance to the amphitheater. On the stage we had shimmery fringe, twinkle icicle lights and stars that hung all around it. I painted two wood boards black and painted at the top "Our stars are shining brightly through service" When we would see girls doing acts of service they would get a glow in the dark star on the boards. By the end of camp, the boards were pretty full. That says a lot about the girls we have in our stake.

In each camp site I made a sign for each group. Twinkle little stars were the first years. We had shining stars (level 2), shooting stars (level 3), star gazers (level 4), starbursts (YCL's), polar stars (Stake leaders), Big Dippers (Priesthood), Milky Way Mail (mailboxes), Cosmic crafts (craft shack), Galaxy snacks (snack shack) Mark drove up with me to help get everything set up. After he left I got feeling much worse. I was in so much pain, exhausted and was having a difficult time with the altitude. By the time we had dinner I was in tears and had no idea how I could possibly make it all week, so they had the Priesthood give me a blessing. I appreciated that so much. I was able to sleep that night better than expected.

TUESDAY: In the mornings we wake up to some fun lively music. I loved that! It puts everyone in such a great mood.The 3 girls in blue are our junior staff. They were amazing. Here they are setting up for the girls to arrive. Each level wore a different colored shirt. I honestly think it was inspired to have the girls camp as levels instead of wards. They got to make so many new friends their own ages and when school starts they will already have friends in place who share their same values. What a comfort that will be.

There were 4 YCL's assigned to each level. As the girls stared to arrive the YCL's would take them to the designated campsites and get them settled in. They would also take the girls to all of their classes, go on their hikes with them and eat meals with them. The YCL's really do run the camp. It great to see them work in a leadership position.The stake leaders waiting to come onto the stage to do their cheer.

I was sitting on the benches. I was lucky to make it down to the amphitheater. The thought of dancing around on stage was not an option in my condition. I so wish I could have though. Being goofy can be so fun.

I did get to teach two group of crafts on Tuesday. The girls all loved their magnet boards and not one looked alike. It was fun to see their creativity. They all loved the smaller crafts too. They decorated insulated canvas water bottle holders, patriotic candle boxes, friendship bracelets, camp journals, and made cards. I also brought up tons of fingernail polish so they could paint nails in their free time.

Mark drove back up on Tuesday night so that he could help with hikes on Wednesday morning. Little did he know he'd be turning right around and driving back home. He got up there just as the rain ended. The girl on the right (Julia-aka the sweet 16 birthday girl) fell and hit her head pretty bad and she needed to go home. I was still feeling really cruddy so we took her home right after singing trees that night. That is always such a special thing. There is so much power in music.

We got home about midnight and I was so car sick from the curvy road. It was horrible!

WEDNESDAY: I stayed in bed all day, still in so much pain, but missing girls camp so much. I laid there crying with my camp schedule keeping track of where the girls were all day. Wednesday is hike day. I don't hike so I'm not sad to have missed that part. My good buddy Shannon taught my classes for me on Wednesday afternoon. I also missed skit night which I heard was hysterical. Each level is given a bag that had 6 different items in it and they have 2 hours to come up with a fun skit to perform for everyone. Really sad to have missed that. Mark called me all day while he was working to check on me and ask me if I wanted to go back to camp. I was still miserable so I never answered. I went to sleep sad and missing my girls.

THURSDAY: We woke up and Mark called his part time guy to cover his schedule. He told me to get up and get dressed because we were going back to camp! We got up there just as lunch ended, so we missed out on the morning activities like archery, pellet guns, line dancing, volleyball, etc. It was so neat to see the girls faces light up when they saw that I had come back. That made me feel so loved and I love them even more.

When it's time to meet in the amphitheater there is always music and dancing involved. It's so much fun. Thursday is also the day the bishop of each ward comes to camp as well as the stake presidency. Of course we have to get them involved.Each level does a cheer every time we meet so of course the men had to do a cheer as well. I don't remember the words, but part of it had to do with stinky campers (from our lack of showers) It was pretty funny!

Here is a group shot of girls and leaders who came from our ward.

The junior staff running the snack shack. ( a favorite spot of the girls)

Our camp nurses who did an amazing job taking care of the bumps, bruises, scrapes, sprains, headaches, tummy aches, etc.

Here is the wonderful Cook Cooper who catered all the meals for us all week. He kept us full and happy with delicious food and we all appreciated his hard work. As it turns out he is the husband of one of my best friends from high school who I shared a locker with. They now own Coopers BBQ in Gilbert and run a catering business as well. So cool!

The stake president started a water gun fight running around hosing people down. He totally soaked me while yelling out "what happens in camp stays in camp" LOL! His daughter did manage to soak him down as well.

After the water fight we got a big rain storm which turned into a hail storm. Everyone took cover until it passed, but we had to hold our program inside instead of outside where we really wanted it. It turned out beautiful anyways.The girls in white are the ones who performed in the program. It was such a spiritual uplifting evening. I cried like a baby through the whole things. I was so glad Mark got to be a part of it so that he could appreciate how wonderful it was. You can hear some of the music here. If you have time to listen, I would highly recommend it, then you would fully understand how special it was. After the program the girls shared there testimonies. It was so neat to see how much they grew during their few short days at camp. After that we all split up into wards with our bishops. Our ward sat in a circle under the beautiful starry sky. We each took turns sharing what was the most special part of camp with each other. Of course there was lots of crying. We all grew so strong together and I will never forget my time with these sweet spirits.


Then we went inside to have desert and the girls started teaching Mark to dance. We laughed so hard because he was willing to do whatever they wanted. It quickly grew into a large group playing a dancing game of Little Sally Walker. We got the other men to participate with us. They pulled out all their cool moves. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. So dang funny! It was a great end to our very late night.

FRIDAY: we all got up and had our last breakfast. Our ward had the last devotional on Emma Smith. The girls did a wonderful job. After our farewell songs we cleaned up camp and did all our capers. Loaded up our cars and headed home. We listened to the CD of the program music all the way home. It was so beautiful and inspiring. Being at camp was fun and spiritually uplifting. Friendships were made and bonds between each other grew stronger as well as personal testimonies. I will never forget my experiences up there. It was wonderful...even with the ick factor. I've been asked to come back next year to teach crafts again. My answer is absolutely YES!!!

On a sad note Sunday I was released from my calling with the young women. I am now the ward librarian and in charge of the Sunday Sacrament programs and the ward newsletter. The girls are all upset. I'm upset. I can't say that I'm dealing with this change very well. The bishopric has been praying about who to put into this position and they kept coming up with my name. As sad as I am to leave these sweet girls, I will serve where I'm called to serve. At least I get to go to camp with them next year. I'm sure there will be some sort of growing experience in this for me. I just need to try to stay positive and keep my heart open.

Holy Crud! This was a long post! So sorry! If you made it this far...THANK YOU and please leave me a comment so I know you were here. Who doesn't love comments?! :o)

gone camping

I honestly have zero time to blog. I leave for girls camp at 5:30 in the morning (Monday) and I'm no where near ready to go. Fear has set in and my stress level this weekend is beyond high. As an added bonus Aunt Flow JUST arrived. I'm in tons of pain. Perfect timing as usual. I'm really not doing very well (a complete wreck if I'm being honest), but will try to look for all the positive things while I'm gone. I've been hammered with so much cruddy stuff lately that the good stuff should be easy to spot. I will update when I get back...should I not be in a coma.

Miss Jenny Lee, my dearest childhood friend...I haven't had a chance to email you yet. I'm SOOO sorry! It's not from a lack of desire. I can't wait to catch up with you. I've missed you tons!

Oh lifeguard...can you help me?

Chad and his friend Hunter are lifeguards at golfland sunsplash for summer jobs. Hunter has been staying here and they just drive into work together. After they get real jobs when summer is over, they plan to roommate together in a house out here. For now they are enjoying the "fun" job. I'm sure all the girls that frequent the water park are sure glad these two cute guys are on watch. I wouldn't doubt a fake near drowning just to get their attention. Save me! Save me! LOL!

Notice the lovely smushing in the passenger door of Chad car? Him and Hunter went to town to pick up Kyle Saturday night so he'd be home for church Sunday morning. Just after picking him up, two cars drove up on each side of him boxing him in. The car on the drivers side gave him a little bump leaving a scratch, the other car however rammed into his side. All the guys in the cars were laughing and cussing at them, then they drove off. A witness chased after one of the cars and got the plate number. Chad filed a police report and and they got the statements of 3 witnesses that saw it happen. The cop ran the plates, but were unable to track down who it belongs too. My guess is the cars were stolen and the ones who stole them were driving all over town messing with people while trashing the stolen cars. Makes me so mad! Chad door doesn't open and the glass is broken inside the door so he can't cool down the car with the AC. Not a good thing in the Arizona heat.

Mark is on a ride with a few of his friends, so I opted for an early dinner. I haven't been to the grocery store so decided what the heck, breakfast for dinner sounds good to me. I made biscuits and sausage gravy with scrambled eggs that had a little cheddar cheese and a touch of sour cream. So good! And while were eating abnormal why not eat dinner on Santa's Christmas cookie plate? Nice touch, huh?!

Okay, I have to go change into real clothes. Cole has basketball practice soon. I'm wearing really ugly stretchy cleaning clothes that I should never be seen in public in. I'm all about stretchy when I'm cleaning. Most every day I wear makeup. Not today. and I have no intentions of putting any on just to go sit in a sweaty stinky gym at the end of the day. Not that I'm a fancy girl or anything, but my kids appreciate it when I keep the embarrassing moments to a minimum and how I look right now would most definitely embarrass them. But then again when I took the pictures of Chad and Hunter in their lifeguard uniforms Chad said "these better not end up on the blog" So apparently I like to pick my battles. :o)

Sugar and spice and everything nice...

HA!... Who am I kidding! In the George house full of boys there is no such thing as sugar and spice and everything nice. We're more about the snips and snails and puppy dog tails. Not to mention the wrestling, boxers briefs, burps, gas, bad jokes, video games, air soft guns, sticks, stones, frogs, bugs, lizards, and mud...lots and lots of mud!

In case you can't tell...that is Cody and Chad. See all the weeds in the yard? They were suppose to be pulling all of those. They tend to get distracted easily. One day I hope to have a nice weed free yard with pretty green grass and flowers...if I can only get them to focus on the task at hand. A mother can dream.