What Was That Again....?

As many of you know, I have been working with the students at Northridge High School on their production of "Beauty and the Beast". My kids frequently accompanied me to the rehearsals, and are now quite familiar with the songs from the show. Ethan was recently singing the "Gaston" song around the house, but apparently had not understood all of the words...I thought that his new rendition of "Gaston" was quite entertaining. The words were as follows...

"I'm especially good at decorating....I want a guy, GASTON!"

Nice, Ethan. :)

How Was Your Holliday?

My family is filled with insane people...which I get, isn't really up for debate. However, this is one of the more insane things that my family does. Last year, my sister had the brilliant idea to give my father the thing that he has always wanted more than anything else...a pie fight. My dad has always said that there is nothing in this world funnier than a pie in the face. Thus, last year on Thanksgiving, the first annual "Poulsen Family Pie Fight" was born.

So this year, on the day after Thanksgiving, we had our fight. It was bigger, messier, and whipped-creamier than ever before! I do have to say, that it is mildly terrifying to be hit smack dab in the face with a plate full of whipped cream--it gets all up your nose and makes for a whole lot of terrible "over-share" types of events involving cream and mucus. However, having experienced it firsthand more than once, I do have to say that there are very few things in life that are as funny as a pie in the face. Enjoy the pictures...they bring a whole new meaning to "And may all your Christmas's be white..."

Go Ahead--Just Tell Me That They Are Cute, And I Will Move On...

This year, it was my job to bring pies for Thanksgiving Dinner--FIVE OF THEM! I was actually really excited for the oppurtunity to show off my "Domestic Goddess" skills a bit, however, my mother and sister are the "Makers-of-Amazing-Pies", and not me! So, the day before Thanksgiving, they assisted me in the making of the pie crusts. (The filling was canned previously..as any who read this blog will have guessed.) The three pies that are not shown here were a Pumpkin, a Banana Cream, and a Lemon Merangue...they were not as cute as my Apple and my Peach.

A Very Noisy Place

So, I am apparently destined to raise a rock band in one way or another. Eliza asked for a drum set for her sixth birthday...which we ended up getting her. I now have a child playing the electric guitar, and one playing the drum set. My house is a very noisy place these days! Can it get any crazier?...Only time will tell. (My bet is on crazier, if you ask me!!) :)

Wound Up Dead...

So, my children and I recently went to the Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park with my sister and her children. As it was around Halloween, there was a little "graveyard" for the kids to play in. Thinking that it would be a fun place to take pictures of the kids, I took them over and started giving them instructions. Belle and Keith were able to grasp the concept of "look scared" pretty well, and Ethan has a good handle on "dead"...but I apparently need to have a chat with Liza about what "dead" means.....(and yes, when I took each of her pictures, I said "Liza, look dead.)

Freaks and Geeks

So, my sister and I have a really good time when we get together. Recently, when my son needed his baptism pictures taken and my incredibly gifted brother-in-law offered to take them--my sister and I decided to get in on he action a bit. We jumped into the "lighting test" picture, and as you might guess, we were a little bit silly. The most ridiculous thing was my brother-in-law's response to the silliness. He took a particularly goofy picture of the two of us, and doctored it up a bit. Marf and I have been laughing about the picture ever since. I think the funniest part is Marf's unreasonably large eyes, lack of lips, and hump on her neck--but my giant nose, withered finger, and extra-large bicep are pretty entertaining as well! I just thought the world would enjoy a good laugh at our expense as much as we have!

Ethan's Baptism

Ethan (my oldest son) was baptized on Saturday. Despite multiple glitches, including a near broken foot from my husband, FIVE accompanists in a 24hr period, people showing up late, and Bry and I forgetting to pack an extra pair of underwear for Ethan, everything eventually came together and Ethan was baptised. I was surprised at how stressful the entire event ended up being for me. I was really looking forward to a nice, stress-free day, but I guess that that is never really the mother's lot.

The actual baptism went very nicely. My parents had brought some water from the Jordan River in Israel back with them, and before the baptism, they put it into the font so that Ethan could be baptized in a little piece of the Jordan River. Ethan very nearly had to be baptized twice, as his foot came out of the water, but the witnesses agreed that he was indeed under the water completely at some point. Despite the many things that had gone wrong initially, it was very nice to be reminded of why we are here--which I don't know about you, but I need reminding of now and again. I have a tendency to get caught up in the details and loose sight of the big picture, as was nearly the case with the baptism. In the end however, if nothing else, I was able to re-focus--if only for that small moment, and remember what is really important in our lives, and stressful day or not, it was worth it!

Angels and Demons

OK, I have to state here that my favorite holiday is Halloween. I love the spookiness and the decorating and the Haunted Houses and Ghost Stories and all. It is because of this that I feel the following declaration must be made... (Excuse me whilst I step upon my soapbox) Halloween is a time for severed limbs, jars of floating eyeballs, statues that scream at you as you walk by, and chainsaws. It is a time that is filled with things that screech, howl, and go BUMP in the night. For those of us needing a break from the usual (which I frequently do), it is a welcome time. I embrace it wholeheartedly (and by this, of course I mean this literally--by taking out my own bloody heart, and holding it in my decrepit hands in the true spirit of Halloween.) Now, as I am sure that you have noticed..there seems to be some overlap between Halloween, and another rather large holiday. I am of course referring to Christmas...which is a lovely holiday in it's own right, however, I just don't see Halloween and Christmas as holidays that should even know that the other exists, let alone be apparent friends. There is nothing that is more disturbing than walking down the isles of Halloween, watching some chainsaw dummy or phantom ghost try to scare you out of your wits, and then to come face to face with some darling cherubic snowman at the end of the isle. WHAT THE CRAP IS THAT ALL ABOUT!?!?! And I'm not kidding you, if I see one more screaming zombie that slowly pulls his head off next to a manger scene, I'm gonna scream louder than that zombie, I can tell you that! I thought that we were trying to provide that "All is calm, all is bright" kinda atmosphere for the newborn King, not scare him to death with a mirror that screams bloody murder when you look into it. I AM SERIOUS, WHAT THE CRAP IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!?!? I understand that there are those who are anxiously awaiting Christmas, even to the extent to listen to Christmas music beginning in June, but I am sure that even Christmas enthusiasts will agree with me. Don't you think that the overlap borders just a bit on sacrilege? Look, I'm not trying to get my favorite holiday more than it's fair share of time in the great commercial parade, I'm just saying that maybe it's best to keep the Heavenly Choirs in the backroom for a while--at least until the Haunts have returned to the underworld.

There Must be an Evil Spirit in that Vegetable!!

Canning season is upon us, and I recently spent a day canning salsa with two of my gilrfriends, June and Carah. (See previous post "A Day Filled With Jam and Love.) I was in charge of cutting onions for said salsa. Now, for those of you who don't know, I spent much of my adolescence working at Quizno's for my uncle, and have sliced a great number of onions in my day, and consider myself quite immune to their tear-inducing effects. However, the onions that were purchased by Carah and June were more than just onions--they were SUPER ONIONS FROM OUTER SPACE!!! I am not kidding--these onions had been sent here by their parents on Krypton and had derived their super-powers from the yellow sun of Earth. If only I had had some Kryptonite handy!!! Before long, I had sucommed to their powers, and was subdued. June, who at this point was not only unconcerned by the evil which had overpowered me, but was laughing so uncontrollably that I now highly suspect that she is one of the evil minions of the alien onion super-race, eventually was able to pull herself together enough to get me some volleyball goggles. I looked ridiculous, but my pain was lessened somewhat.

In the end, I had a thought concerning onions. While they are lovely, and add a fabulous flavor to almost all things that they are involved in--if I were the world's first person to cut into an onion, I would have been sure that the vegetable was possessed by evil spirits, and would never cut into one again! I probably would have also been sure that I had let the evil spirit out, and would forever be haunted by the spirit of the onion. I'm not gonna lie, I am not sure that I am not currently being haunted by the Evil Spirit of the Onions, as I still can smell it's evil upon my hands--days and days later!! Does anyone know a good exorcist--preferably one that specializes in onions? (I suppose that if they end up being an alien super race, perhaps Spec. Agents Mulder and Scully would be more appropriate!)

Days of Defeat/Victory (or, My Life of Late)

You know the days--the ones where you want to run up the white flag and declare to the world--"I SURRENDER, WORLD!!! YOU WIN!! YOU HAVE DEFEATED ME THOROUGHLY!! I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON!!! PLEASE JUST PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE FOR A WHILE!!!" I know that you have had them, because I think that everyone who has decided to take on the quest that is life, is defeated by it now and again. The trick is to decide that you can start tomorrow with a fresh new battle, and hopefully, you have learned a thing or two from the previous day's defeat that can aid you in the fight.

The real problem is that sometimes you are so weary from the previous day's battle, that you don't want to fight. Sometimes you are wounded, and want to take a while and heal before deciding that you can face the challenge again--but the unfortunate news is that the war wages against you even if you choose not to fight, and if you are passive, you will wind up defeated once more.

There is no surrender!! There is no rest!! No matter how defeated you are feeling, you have to fight the fight each day, and learn how to fight better from the days of defeat. Victors are those who continue to fight.

I need to remember that when my days, and sometimes weeks and months, are filled with more defeat than victory, I am not yet defeated tomorrow! If my my seeming defeat has taught me something, then I have won.

Maybe I'm not as ready to surrender as I thought...

I'm Sorry, But the Morning Ain't Gonna Come...

So, I don't know what has gotten into me this year, but looking back thus far, I have done a lot of things that I have never done--nor dreamed of doing--before. I have to say that the latest of my crazinesses was quite possibly the most out of my comfort zone. A previous student of mine, Geoph (who played Jean Valjean in Les Mis at Northridge) who is currently one of my son's guitar teachers (the other is a friend of his named Simon) asked me at one of my son's recent guitar lessons if I would sing with their Ska band at their CD release party. Now, I feel that I have had ample musical experience to be able to sing with confidence, and really, how difficult can a song that a 19 year old kid wrote in his spare time working as a host at Mimi's Cafe be to sing? Apparently, if the aforementioned kid is very musically gifted, the song can literally be the most difficult piece of music that I have ever seen!! So much for my bigheaded musical experience! For those of you with any musical background, let me explain a few things about this song. It is written in 6/8 time, the entire song is arpeggios done in 16th notes--and the best part is, the pace is at about 200. (Go and find a metronone and set it to 200 and then imagine singing 2 notes in between each beat). Now you have to know that each note has it's own syllable--and so this means that you are singing over 250 words in 45 seconds.

So, after a week of doing almost nothing else but practice, I had to go and practice with the band. Now I was thrown another curveball--I had to sing the song and compete with two electric guitars, a bass guitar, a drum set, and another vocalist who already knows how to sing loudly enough to be heard over the other instruments. I was still attempting to figure out whether it is humanly possible to breathe during the song, let alone sing with any type of volume. I was then directed to a mic, that I had to do the rocker thing with and "EAT" to be heard at all!! This was very uncomfortable for me as my previous mic experience has generally been standing next to my sister with a piano 25 feet away--we are usually standing at a pulpit and being reasonably (I say reasonably as this is me that we are talking about) reverent and the mic is facing straight up at the ceiling so that we are not too loud for the congregation. Needless to say that my Avenue (the Ska band) experience was quite different.

All in all, the whole thing was very enjoyable, and terrifying--I became lightheaded as soon as the song was over the night of the party and had to go outside for a minute so as not to pass out--but they have asked that I sing with them again, and although I had to promise to sing louder, it went pretty well in the end. Yea for living life and trying new and different things!! Yea for not getting in ruts!! Yea for making the occasional fool of yourself so that you can experience as many things in life as possible!!

You're Older Than You've Ever Been, and Now You're Even Older...

So, my thirtieth birthday was on the 9th of this month. (Good thing that I am still so young and hot, right?) Anyway, on the 6th, (which was a Saturday), I was called by a member of the Bishporic to tell me that the Bishop wanted to meet with me at 7:15 that evening. "Oh great!", I thought, "I am getting called to the nursery." (Not that the nursery is a bad calling, I am just enjoying my current calling in Achievement Days.) Anyway, Bry had a sitter for the evening as he wanted to take me out for some ice cream or something, and we left to the church. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door that said the bishop's office's carpet had been recently cleaned, and we needed to go to an office on the other side of the building to have our meeting. Bryan decided that we should cut through the cultural hall, and much to my suprise, it was filled with tons fo people all there to celebrate my thirtieth birthday! It was AWESOME!! There was food and dancing, and balloons and stupid pictures of me...it was really great!

There were a lot of high school students there (as I am involved with the Drama Dept. of Northridge High), and they were a lot of fun to have there, as they kept the party young and interesting. It was so fun to see so many of my friends there in one place--however really weird at the same time. You know how it is...you have different groups of people that you associate with, and in your head they are kept separate. It's kind of a shock to your system to see everyone intermingling: family talking to students, bookclub socializing with high school friends, Kimball Mill friends introducing themselves to "Forum" people--it's like watching all of the people from your favorite TV shows come together. Imagine Dr. House treating Jack Bauer, or Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute being investigated by Mulder and Scully. It was crazy!

Overall--I was so happy to see so many of you there to help me celebrate my birthday!! My understanding is that my sister was very involved with the planning, and was a big help to my husband. Everyone was so thoughtful and my party was really great! Thank you to everyone for making me feel like I am still cool--even though I'm now not-quite-so-young and hot!!

Stay on the Designated Walking Areas!

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most beautiful places on the planet! It is also filled with a lot of crazy things. The really amazing thing is that the craziest things frequently are the most beautiful. The boiling mud paintpots were really facinating, and weirdly captivating to me on this most recent trip. I found myself spending an unreasonable amount of time watching the mud form bubbles, and then break--making the most satisfying gooey sound!

On this trip, we also visited a place called "Fishing Bridge". It was easily one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen in my life! (Eliza thought so as well, and said that she would like her wedding announcement pictures taken there.) Fishing Bridge is over the largest natural spring in the North American Continent. It has the most clear water that I have ever seen, and makes all of the surrounding vegitation the most incredible shades of green. It looked like something out of a beautifully illustrated childrens' book-an illustration that could certainly never exist in our drab, real-life existance-and yet, there it was. It was amazing!

The day that the family went to the "Lower Geyser Basin" (where Old Faithful is located), it was very windy! Belle spent the day wrapped up like a burrito. Ethan was very excited to learn all about how the geysers were formed and came out of the experience wanting to be a Geologist (but, really, who doesn't want to be Geologist when they visit Yellowstone? It's like watching "Indiana Jones" and wanting to be a Archeologist.). Eliza especially enjoyed posing for the camera in the wind, and talking with Keith and Ella, two of her cousins. All of my time was spent trying to keep my hat on--and literally every picture of me on that day reflects this fact.
I would say that everyone should take their families to Yellowstone. My kids say that it is one of their favorite places to go. We live in such close proximity to the park--it is an easy drive. Bryan and I also took our Honeymoon to Yellowstone--and it was a lovely and romantic place. We will return again soon!

The Madness of King Bryan

My husband is an interesting guy. He can be a mellow, giutar playing, nice guy, and then become a wearing-a-tu-tu-on-his-head kind of guy in nearly the same breath. I just thought that the world should know what living at the Brady house can be like, and that I don't bring all of the madness to our lives!!

The Karma (and Dogma) of Jr. High...

As has been aforementioned, I have a cat, and a dog. Watching their interactions takes me back to my Jr. High days. Imagine a seventh grader--one that is really needy and thinks that there could be nothing in this world quite as amazing as being friends with a really cool ninth grader. The seventh grader spends an unreasonable amount of time following the ninth grader around and trying to be the ninth grader's friend. (This is what I like to refer to as "love-me-or-I'll-die" disorder.) The ninth grader, for the most part, ignores the seventh grader, until they get too close, or just too annoying, and then lashes out at the seventh grader, saying something really hurtful to the sensitive seventh grader. Now, in your mind, replace the seventh grader with my dog, and the ninth grader with my cat, and the bit about saying something really hurtful with hissing, growling, and wacking on the nose, and that about sums up Chloe and Precious's relationship. Maybe I should ask a Jr. High teacher how best to handle my cat/dog situation...

A Day filled with Jam and Love

Carah, June, and I spent the day on Wednesday making Carah's famous "Tripple Berry Jam". It is always a fun thing to make something from scratch that other people can enjoy. It is also a fun day to can with girlfriends. (However, I have learned that Grandmas get upset when the floor is too sticky.) :)

The jam is incredible, and if anyone wants the recipie, you will have to get with Carah. It is made with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and love. It is so much better than the sum of it's parts.

Swim Fan

Ethan and Eliza just finished their swimming lessons for the Summer. They enjoy swimming quite a bit. Ethan has even said that swimming is his favorite sport. He will have to be able to hold his breath a bit longer if he really wants to pursue it, however. :) Eliza also enjoys swimming, but she does not like to get her ears wet--another hurdle on the way to greatness, and one that I think she will have to overcome. I seem to recall that breath-holding is important, and that there is the potential for ear-wetness in swimming. Nonetheless, the older two have loved the swimming.

Whatever Happened to My Lunchbox...

Last night was INCREDIBLE!! My husband took me to see the John Mayer concert at Usana, and it was AWESOME!!! My husband does not believe that any bit of three hour entertainment can be worth $70 per person, but apperently it is worth that ammount if it makes your spouse happy. I love that man!! He bought tickets for the two of us to see the show for no other reason than because he knew that I would love it--and he was right!! The concert was amazing!

It is always a great experience to see someone who is so gifted share there talent with the world--and the experience is hightened when the performer is brought joy by sharing their craft with the world. John told the audience multiple times how there was very little else that he would rather do than play his guitar on a stage and allow people those moments to forget their troubles, and perhaps gain a new perspective on things. I always find the lyrics to his music profound. I personally like to take time when I listen to his music and re-evaluate the priorities in my life, and remember to see things from another's perspective. He has such an amazing grasp of the English language, and can paint such a poetic, and yet powerful picture with his lyrics. I love the depth of his words.

I don't think that anyone can listen to John Mayer play his guitar and not come away with a new respect for what can be acomplished when one dedicates their life to music. My parents believed and taught my siblings and I that there is much to be learned by studying music, and I have a great respect for those who are truly great musically. I spent much time during the concert just closing my eyes and letting the music soak into my soul--which is something everyone should take time to do. It can be an amazing experience.

The Most Recent Craziness

So, I am EXHAUSTED!! As I have not yet caught up on my sleep from "Forum", I assume that the next logical step is to camp out for the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight" for four days, is it not? Needless to say, I will crash tonight, and may not wake for a few days.

My kids and I set up a tent near the entrance to the Cineplex Odeon in Layton at about 9:30am on Monday morning. (And, yes, we were the first people in line!!) My kiddles were so excited, and I let them stay the night. We had a great time. We watched movies and played games--it was a really fun time with the kids, and something that is fun and out of the ordinary.

Wednesday evening, I was interviewed by a guy with the KJZZ Cafe morning show. I had to come home and watch myself--it was kinda silly, and in the pictire that they took of me, I swear I have 17 chins.

By the time Thursday night came around, I was pretty tired, but in good spirits--I had a lot of Dr. Pepper to drink. There was an incident where some hozer tried to cut in front of me in line, but no worries--my sister-in-law, Steph yelled at him, grabbed a hold of his shirt, and escorted him to the back of the line. It was worth waiting all of that time just for that, people!!

The movie was BRILLIANT!! I have to say that it was one of the best assembled movies that I have ever seen. However, it was also absolutely TERRIFYING! I understand why Heath Ledger was having a hard time with anxiety--anyone would while playing the Joker in that film. The movie was very disturbing, and one of the girls in my group was nearly histerical after leaving the theatre. This movie is not for the faint of heart--and I would strongly recommend NOT taking your children to see it.

I have to say, as I have said on many occasions before, if a movie is worth seeing, it is worth camping out for a couple of days to see the premire. I know that people think that I am nuts, but there is an energy in the croud when everyone has sacrificed some time to be there. I am always a little disappointed to go and see movies at more reasonable times--because the entire croud isn't laughing, or clapping, or gasping in unison. (Most of the screaming is usually still just me, though.) :)

Yea for doing things out of the ordinary!!!

A Funny Thing Happened...

A few months ago, I had a moment of temporary insanity and tried out for the Clearfield City Musical . I am not usually the type to do theatre, but having worked on Les Mis at Northridge High, I was inspired. I have to say, that it has been a really fun experience. The show is really funny, (and any of you that have not seen it really should--it's good times), and I have met some really fun people. I am hoping to remain friends with everyone when the show ends. This has been a really cool experience, one that I was hesitant to do at first. I am really glad that I went outside of my comfort zone and have had the oppurtunity to be involved with such an enjoyable experience. Yea for experiencing different things!!!