Time.....the Enemy??

Time is seriously my enemy!! There is never enough of it. It slips by so quickly, and cannot be convinced to slow down. I am about to turn 30 on Halloween....I am not sure how I feel about it. I guess I am mostly irritated that it came so quickly! But I guess it serves me right, since I have always filled my life as full as it can get. For as long as I can remember, I have been "busy". In high school it was International Baccalaureate and every extra curricular activity possible. In college it was the goal to finish in 3 years that kept me going full pace. And now as a working mother, I try to do it all as well. Family, Friends, Work, Home, and Church. (Hopefully not all of you noticed that Fitness was missing!) I wonder how long I can keep this pace? Each of them mean a lot to me, so it is impossible to give any of them up! No matter how Steffan tries, I fail to learn from him the art of relaxation and letting myself get bored every once in a while. (I have learned to get an occassional massage or pedicure, but even then I am trying to squeeze them in, instead of enjoying them.) I think this is maybe why I love shopping and scrap booking so much...in my opinion, neither can be rushed. This could be why I never get enough shopping and scrap booking in! :)
So, as I turn 30 and everyone asks, "what do you want for your birthday", the only thing that comes to mind is MORE TIME! Unfortunately, that is impossible to buy! The key is to just enjoy what we have of it. I guess time is not the enemy, it is just so precious and priceless. Hopefully, by 40 I will learn how to treat time as my friend!

Additions from Mya

Conner is my friend too. I sit by him at calendar time.

Musings of Mya

I like Jake because he plays with me. We play Star Wars. I also like Bryson, because I see him at church. Today I saw him at Grandma's riding his bike. Carson was funny at Primary. He was copying the music teacher and not singing. It was so funny!

Yesterday, I got a goal at soccer. We accidentally won. I felt happy.

I won my trophy from dancing...great! Now that's it!

LETTERS FROM STEVO...Smells Like Politics

Political season is upon us! Everyone starts talking about the issues and how passionate they are about them! Dinner table discussions turn from the everyday minutiae of who went shopping where and what happened at church to ill informed theorizing and grandstanding on economic policy...we all know how to fix the economy! Everyone's opinion is correct and everyone else's is wrong! If you vote for Obama, you're children will die! If you vote for McCain, the polar ice caps will melt! The Congressional candidates either party with terrorists or big oil tycoons...take your pick. The putridity of political punditry on the 24 hour news channels are closely watched and regurgitated...ratings are through the roof. Most of the time, we are pretty apathetic towards politics until "political season" rolls around. That is why I propose we change the name of "Election Day" to "Anti-Voter Apathy Day." It's the one day we can show how much we "know" about politics and how much we "care" about politics. Now, this leads to some tough questions. Is one side right and the other wrong? Is it really a matter of good vs. evil? Do everyone's beliefs fit into one of two very neatly defined pegs? My response is an emphatic no, no and NO.

Don't get me wrong, I have my beliefs and opinions...I get anti-apathetic around this time as well. I used to be more forceful about my opinions, but as I've gotten older I've realized that the more I learn the less I "know". Presently, when political discussions come up, I usually stay quiet until I interject that I favor clubbing baby seals...I really don't favor clubbing baby seals, but it usually gets a reaction! I prefer talking politics in a civilized conversational tone now. I will divulge my beliefs and why I believe them and I will listen to your beliefs and why you believe them, but I will not argue. I used to argue with Ma Busch a lot, because we don't agree on anything, but since I've learned how to tone it down, we can actually discuss issues with civility. She can make points that make me think and vice versa. And of course insulting condescension is a sure sign of stupidity...something I've been guilty of a time or two. At this point, it appears to me that political ideology stems from various factors that include personality, values, socialization, etc. In other words, it can be a very personal matter. I'm not going to change Ma Busch's opinions and she's not going to change mine, but we can enjoy each other's company and respect each other's opinions and beliefs. So, as a parting shot I state this: To Whomever is reading this rambling post, I respect your opinions...especially if you favor clubbing baby seals! Vote for Stevo!

LETTERS FROM STEVO: Saucerful of Secrets...The Unauthorized Biography of Craig!

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Craig "He-Who-Loves-BYU-When-They're-Winning" Thornton. He is my dad-in-law and I know how old he is but I won't divulge the exact number...but I reckon it's pert near 60. So, in honor of his birthday I decided I would construct the unauthorized biography and divest some little known facts about the mysterious persona that makes up "Craig".

We'll start with hobbies. Craig's hobbies include, golf, basketball, church basketball, softball, watching golf, watching the grass grow on golf courses, mashing potatoes, giving his wife grief, giving his daughters grief, monster tag with the grandkids, smarting off to his eldest son-in-law and knitting sweaters. He also carries a passion for cute, fluffy bunnies and kittens.

What are his favorites songs you ask? See below.
- Showtunes- specifically tunes from "Mama Mia" and "Cats."
- Anything Celine Dion
- "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond
- "Beer Drinkers, Hell Raisers" by ZZ Top
- "Girlz Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper
- Pretty much anything Pink Floyd-Specifically "Dark Side of the Moon." Auto-biographical perhaps?

Favorite Movies:
- Joe Vs. The Volcano
- Titanic
- Gremlins
- Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

In conclusion, many dudes from church comment about how intense he is while playing sports, i.e, basketball and softball. All I can say is that I have a method of calming him down when he gets uptight like that. I simply grab one of ear and pull on it...he settles down in no time! He's also ticklish. He's really one big softie, all bark, no bite. He's a good dad-in-law who I enjoy talking trash to since he's such an easy target. He also does a good job staying active for an old codger...As the old bluesmen say, "a rolling stone gathers no moss." Happy birthday, brother!

I had made up a story about his childhood that involved potato farming QA, spam, green jello with carrot strips and funeral potatoes, but Amy didn't like it...I've been censored!

Quickie with Stevo...Amy's been tagged!

Looks like Amy's been tagged by our sister-in-law Nicole! This is exciting...neither of us have ever been tagged before so Amy will respond to the tag and I,"Stevo" will add my two pesos...or maybe it's the other way around!

8 TV Shows I love to watch (I have to pick 8?)!
- Grey's Anatomy
- So You Think You Can Dance
- Dancing With the Stars/football players because Amy loves them
- The Office
- The local news (gag me)
- Copious amounts of football
- College Gameday
- The History Channel

Amy also enjoys Nick at Nite, The Sci-Fi channel, knitting documentaries and PBS.

8 favorite restaurants:
- The Outback
- Qdoba
- PF Changs
- Heaven Dragon
- Cafe Mexico
- Famous Dave's
- Woody's
- B-dubs

Amy also enjoys $1 burritos off the street, foodcourts and concession stands.

8 things that happened yesterday:
- Mya's dance class
- work (loansharking)
- real work
- Monday Night Football
- Dancing with the Stars
- enrichment
- random acts of violence
- went to lunch with Grandpa Lee

8 things I am looking forward to:
- Halloween
- Las Vegas (you know the saying...)
- Christmas shopping
- any kind of shopping
- quarter end
- the weekend
- the end of soccer season
- vacation with Stevo...

Amy is also looking forward to her upcoming readings which include but are not limited to: the book of Deuteronomy, War & Peace, Das Kapital and Uncle Wiggly.

8 things I love about Fall:

- Halloween
- football
- Halloween
- fall on the farm
- football
- spectacular, colorful, amazing, beautiful Colorado mountains
- football
- dressing the kids up for Halloween

Amy also loves getting fallen leaves stuck under her shoes, getting a cold and the kids getting colds.

8 things on my wish list:
- retirement
- a permanently clean house
- happy children...nothing a few tranquilizers can't fix
- happy husband...nothing a few anti-psychotics can't fix
- exceed quota
- vacation
- world peace
- the end of election season

Amy also wishes for thicker phone books, more shopportunities and to escape the Matrix...