Utah Mom Blog & Mommy Blogger | Life Elevated Mom

What cell phone and service do you use?

November 12, 2008 by Amber

I am in the market for a cell phone. Those who have ever attempted to call me know that I don’t really like phones and like calling people back even less.

It’s nothing personal. Usually.

That said, I cannot dispute the convenience of having a cell phone in case of emergencies such as when I don’t know what kind of tortilla chips to buy at the store. You know. Life-threatening stuff.

Jamie bought an iPhone and I love it. I currently have a Nokia that was released in the dark ages. Seriously. Even though I am not a cell phone lover, I have enough cell phone pride to know that mine is ready for retirement.

And so I tried the Nokia 5310 on for size. After my trial period, I was asked if I wanted to review the Nokia 5610, which made me wonder why they would not have just sent the newest model to begin with?

Evidently, I am a cell phone virgin.

Overall, this is a great little phone with a lot of bells and whistles for a lot less money than its counterparts.

Pros:

Killer music player capabilities. Barney never sounded so good.
Fairly loud speaker. Because I need more noise in my life.
A 2 megapixel camera that takes pretty good ictures. It can also function as a video camera, doing both sound and image. This is great for someone like me who always forgets my camera!

Cons:

Pain-in-the-butt hook-up to a computer to download the Nokia PC suite.
Video quality is quite grainy.
It is way too fragile for me and the LCD cracks easily. Not that I would know anything about it. But I almost did.

Would I buy it? You betcha! It’s quite the step up from my current Nokia and gives me more bang for my buck than my hubby’s beloved yet pricey iPhone.

So, I turn the question to you as I do my research: what kind of cell phone and service do you have? What things do you like/dislike about it?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The State of the Union…

November 11, 2008 by Amber

…is snot. Lots and lots of snot. And a child who evidently does not know how to properly use a tissue more than once. Fortunately, I excel with this particular tutorial. Clinical studies have shown I blow my nose an average of 500 times a day.

And that is when I am well.

Sadly, entire trees have succumbed when I am ill.

On a positive note: when in the depths of her illness, Haddie still insists on wearing her glamorous sparkle pants and T-shirt.

When so much seems so wrong in this world, somehow this just makes everything all right.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Family Pet: To Have or Have Not?

November 10, 2008 by Amber

Growing up, we always had pets. There was Peppery the Tomcat who enjoyed knocking up the neighborhood felines and who, despite his amorous inclinations, was a fighter not a lover (I had the battle wounds to prove it). Then there was my beloved Lacey who I trained for the Bichon Frise Summer Olympics against her cousin, Missy. One day on a run, portly Lacey faked an injury.

I had no idea dogs even knew how to do that.

I loved and cared for my pets even when they did not love me back. I always assumed when I had a family of my own, pets would become a part of our life.

Except they’re not.

Hadley adores animals and constantly begs us for a pet. I think if we already had one when we became parents, it would be different. But my husband issued a decree we would not get one until “everyone in this house is potty trained.” At the time, there was only him, my daughter and me.

Do you think he was trying to tell me something?

I have to admit I agree with him. Life is just so busy with two young children that the thought of taking care of an animal does not appeal to me. I would love to take a dog out hiking and I would certainly appreciate the companionship. But then I remember the clean-up, training, vet bills and vacation hassles.

Sure, we could get a low-maintenance animal like a hamster or a fish. But in my opinion, the point of having a pet is to interact with them. And somehow removing them belly-up from the fish tank is not my idea of interaction. Nor is consorting with rodents.

I will likely not always feel this way. And rest assured, when everyone is potty trained my daughter will hold us to our word.

Unless I can buy some time by faking a few accidents of my own.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

The economic downturn–who is feeling it?

November 6, 2008 by Amber

Jamie has been consulting at a great company for several months now. There was talk of bringing him on as VP and giving him stock in the company, which they are hoping to sell off in a couple of years. All in all, a great situation.

But then came the economic downturn.

Small businesses seem like they’re the first to get hit and Jamie’s company is no exception. They are in a situation where they are wrapping up with their current clients (who are past due on hundreds of thousands of dollars) and have several pending contracts. Lucrative contracts. It’s just no one is signing until they see what happens with the economy.

Jamie’s boss told him last week until these contracts came through, they can only afford to keep him as a part-time consultant. The frustrating is we have no idea how long this will last.

Bummer.

We’re not too worried yet because at least it’s something. It’s just all the extras like Christmas and our basement that is almost complete. Rumor has it our contractors will want to get paid and our family will want presents.

Bummer.

Jamie and I have already decided to forgo our gifts to each other and I’m sure more sacrifices will need to be made. It just makes me wonder who else is feeling the pinch? Until two weeks ago, we weren’t feeling it at all and it’s amazing how everything can change so quickly. Have you been affected by the economic downturn or has it been business as usual?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Why you should NEVER attend an LDS ward talent show

November 5, 2008 by Amber

Some talent shows are better than others. You be the judge of this one. I laughed ’til I cried many big, wet tears. In synchronicity, of course.

P.S. I think Speedos would work better next time around.
P.P.S. If this version has glitches, see it here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Party’s Over

November 4, 2008 by Amber

I am exceedingly bummed that party season is over but rest assured, our Halloween festivities went out with a bang.

Bode and I attended Haddie’s preschool party where we played with worms, decorated cookies, made bags of popcorn hands and watched Hadley flirt with the cutest boy in class.

I thought I had another 10 years before she started throwing herself at boys.

I blame the kitty/bunny-turned-cat ears/playb*y bunny costume.

That night, the party raged on. We live in a new development with loads of families and we always have a huge parade that is led by a firetruck.

Bode was in his element.

Though I didn’t have the heart to tell him firemen are notorious for their association with Dalmatians, not husky dogs.

(As a side note, Hadley has been obsessed with getting either of those two breeds. In an attempt to dissuade her, we did some online research. I determined that Dalmatians are not snugly and husky dogs are not nice family-friendly dogs. So, guess what Haddie prays for every night? That huskies will become nice and for Dalmatians to be snugly. The good Lord must have a sense of humor.)

The Great Pumpkin miraculously survived until Halloween, though it was oozing great, orange gobs of greasy grimy pumpkin guts. The stench could be smelled a couple of houses away. I secretly hoped some teen-age punks would do us the honor of smashing it for us on Halloween night.

They may be punks but they’re not stupid.

We awoke on Saturday to find our pumpkin unscathed. And so Jamie had the disgusting task of disassembling it and hauling it over to the new pumpkin patch to use as compost.

I stayed as far away as I could and busied myself with taking down the Halloween decorations. I quickly realized I did not have enough bins to accommodate everything. Disgruntled, I went out to Jamie and complained about my situation.

Arm-deep in rotting pumpkin guts, he incredulously looked at me and queried, “You’re going to talk to ME about your problems?”

Evidently not.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Great Adventure, Right in Your Backyard

November 3, 2008 by Amber

This post was inspired by a curiosity about what you love about where you live. Where are your favorite haunts in your city or town? What do you have on your “to do” list that you have yet to explore? I want to hear about your great adventures, right in your backyard! Do you wish you had more?

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I spent my final semester of college on a study abroad in the Middle East. Our campus was on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and we traveled frequently around the region. We floated in the Dead Sea and slept in cabanas by the Sea of Galilee. We roamed through Petra’s ancient wonders in Jordan and we climbed Mount Sinai to witness the sunrise. We marveled at the Great Pyramids and sailed the Nile at sunset.

Upon the completion of my studies, I stopped over in Europe with a few of my friends. We backpacked five countries in two weeks and had the time of our lives. One of our final destinations was Switzerland. We stayed at a hostel inInterlaken, the country’s outdoor Mecca. After a day of rafting the mighty Lütschine, we talked late into the night with some fellow travelers.

One of them was named Ralph. He was charming, athletic and drop-dead gorgeous. He was a mail carrier from Australia who had saved up his money for a year-long adventure abroad. He was going home the next morning. Feeling remorseful about the end of my own travels, I asked him how he thought he would adjust back to his humdrum life after being given a glimpse of the world.

His answer still resonates today:

“Before this trip, I was always planning my next great adventure. It has taken this trip to help me realize there is so much close to home I have yet to experience. My next great adventures will be in my own backyard for many years to come.”

This has become my mantra in life. Sure, I still love to travel. I always will. But there is so much to explore here and now. And two weeks in a row, I have had The Perfect Day right here in Colorado.

A couple of weeks ago, my son Bode and I went to The Children’s Museum. After a morning at play, we went to buy our favorite cookie from their cafe, only to discover it has been discontinued. This sent us on a wild goose chase to discover the birthplace of The Great Cookie at Jay’s Patio Cafe, which is nestled in a funky shopping district in Highland. We spent the next couple of hours exploring this cool area–from Red Door Swingin’, my favorite new shop to visit with my girlfriends, to Little Man Ice Cream, the ultimate ice cream shop housed in a giant creamery can.

Who knew?

Last Thursday, Bode and I opted out of a hike we regularly do in Evergreen to simply walk around Evergreen Lake. I have skated it in the winter, driven past it to access the back country and yet have never walked around it. We strolled the dirt path, climbed the steps to a lookout over the dam, sauntered down Main Street, discovered the Pioneer Trail, threw rocks in the lake, marveled at a Caterpillar dredging sediment out of the river and then dined on the outdoor patio of the Aspen Grill overlooking it all.

The Perfect Day.

I am amazed what I find when I leave my daily routine. Whether I am searching for The Great Cookie or attempting to rediscover The Familiar, I feel fortunate to find it all here in my backyard.

And just as my Australian friend wisely proclaimed so many years ago: wherever you live is your Great Adventure.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, outdoors, travel

“Party All the Time”–Halloween in Pictures

October 30, 2008 by Amber

Our month of festivities is drawing to a close. To be honest, Halloween itself is a bit of a letdown after all the parties, trunk-or-treats, pumpkin patches and weigh-offs. My only solace is The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year is on Saturday.

You know. When Target’s Halloween items go on sale.

Last week, there was a carnival and trunk-or-treat at the church. I volunteered at one of the booths and my infamous hat from Salem made its debut. I boasted about it to Jamie afterwards.

“My hat was a hit!”
“Oh really? With whom?”
“With everyone I told how cool it was.”

An essential ingredient to any Halloween is, of course, cute children in costume.

Note: Haddie’s kitty ears were unintentionally cut-off in this picture, though maybe it was more of a subconscious effort. The dear girl broke the original kitty ears headband and I had to resort to folding over some rabbit ears. She looked like a playb*y bunny gone bad. Really bad.

And then there was Haddie’s big Halloween party. There was fantastic, creepy food that included eyeballs, dried scabs, bone breadsticks and a goopy green chocolate fountain.

And fun games such as the ghost marshmallow war.

I added something new this year. Many of the kids are 4 years old and in my opinion, ready to be ~~traumatized~~ spooked. And so I did what every good friend would do:

I delegated the responsibility to my friend Tina.

She went above and beyond–she decorated our basement for a spooky storytime and had a fun story, complete with tactile visuals.

Fortunately, there were no victims. Well, with the exception of our brand-new carpet that met a few worm/spaghettio droppings.

And for those who have not been privy to our failed attempts at a group photograph each and every year, let us stroll down memory lane.

2005

2006

2007

2008

Nice to know some things never change.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Are You a Believer?

October 28, 2008 by Amber

The kids and I look forward to receiving the Toys R Us Christmas catalog every year. As we were thumbing through oooing and ahhing on Sunday, imagine my delight to stumble upon Hasbro’s latest treasure prominently advertised: a Ouija Board. In pink, even.

It’s not that I am not a believer in The Dark Arts. I am a believer, which is precisely why I take issue with the presence of a Ouija Board at a toy store. There are many grey areas in this world.

This one is black.

I posted this on our forum yesterday at Mile High Mamas and I was surprised there were many people who did not take issue with it. The Ouija Board is targeted for ages 8-12. So, my question for you is this: would you buy your 8-year-old child a Ouija Board?

At Halloween, there is a lot of talk of spirits and hauntings. I choose to focus on the fun side of it with pumpkins and costume parties, mostly because I really believe there are forces of good and evil that work in this world.

I saw it in full force when my mom owned a popular tea room & gift shop and had a tea leaf/palm reader come in a few times a week. When I was 16, I had my tea leaves read by James, a complete phony whose predictions made me laugh and I wrote off psychics completely.

But we weren’t laughing a few years later with Aziza.

Aziza (whose real name was Bernice–BWHAHAAHA) was a popular tea leaf reader and she had a huge following. Wealthy women would spend a lot of money on her counsel and they lied to their husbands they were going for therapy. For them, Aziza was therapeutic.

I liked Aziza. She was the first palmist we’d had who wasn’t a complete freak but I did not give credence to what she did until one day, a large sum of money went missing. When my brothers and I were in college, my mom would buy back American money from the shop’s American patrons (the exchange rate was a lot higher at the bank). She stashed it in the house and would frequently send us American money.

One day, she went to the hiding place to get some money and it was gone. She and my father were the only people who knew of the secret stash and she was devastated. She went into work that day and Aziza, sensing something was wrong, insisted my mom sit down for a tea leaf reading.

My mom did not tell her anything but Aziza saw something. Two men, one of whom my parents knew. She saw these men come into my parent’s home to do some work. She saw their vehicle. She saw the friend leave and the stranger stay. She saw the stranger take something valuable.

My mom was incredulous. She had forgotten that several months prior she had hired a friend to work on our house and he had brought another contractor with him. And Aziza nailed everything–the friend, the vehicle, the location of the theft.

The money was never recovered. I mean really, what kind of evidence did they have in court: “My psychic told me you did it.” Maybe on TV but not in real life. 🙂

So, my question to you is do you believe in psychics, ghosts or spirits? Or do you think they are just a product of an overactive imagination?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

What movies scared you as a child?

October 27, 2008 by Amber

We unintentionally traumatized our daughter last week.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was on television. I have never seen it so my husband announced we would have family movie night. We thought nothing of it. Hadley (4) and Bode (2) have played in the room when we’ve watched movies plenty of times before. The difference? Hadley decided to watch with us.

My kids are pretty sheltered, only watching shows like Dora the Explorer and the occasional episode of Ugly Betty. But Swiper the Fox and villainous Willamina Slater don’t have anything on UFOs and aliens.

Who knew?

The children watched the first 45 minutes with us and then we put them to bed. A few minutes later, Hadley was back, professing she was scared.

I have to admit, we kind of blew her off. I mean, the kid doesn’t usually get scared and would give Boo of Monsters Inc. a run for her money. We gave her a soothing hug and a kiss and told her to go back upstairs.

We didn’t hear another peep out of her but then we found out why. After the movie, I rounded the corner from our TV room and there was poor sweet Hadley, passed out on the floor. She had been too freaked out to go to her room by herself and had fallen asleep.

Remorse enveloped me and we carried her to her bed. That’s when the screaming started. Jamie soothed her for a while and finally brought her in our bedroom. “I have a plan,” he announced. He placed her beside me in bed and walked out of the room. Some plan.

Once she fell asleep, he miraculously came back and put her in her own bed but she kept waking up and she eventually came to sleep in our bed.

At least one of us slept that night.

Good wife that I am, I blame my husband. I should have seen him planting the early seeds of trauma. Back when Haddie was 2, she was watching Chevy Chase’s Vacation with him and I overheard the following conversation:

“Wow, Daddy. What are they doing?”

“Just looking for a place to dispose of the body, Sweetie.”

Filed Under: Family, Hadley, Humor