Bass for My Birfday

Yesterday, Ginger and I went out fairly early to catch some fish on the lake. We had a good day and pulled in 4 decent sized bass. Ginger kept asking, "is that for my birfday." Finally, we decided that the final bass was indeed for her un-birfday. She seemed to be fine with that. Then later in the day, she decided the corn-on-the-cob we were cooking together was also for her birfday. Not sure where the B-day thing came from, but it is cute phase.

like your mother

You know how guys pick a wife that's like their mother? Joe sure did.
I am a planner. So is Liz.
We are going to Disney World in a month! I am a kids at heart, and LOVE it there. Joe and I had the opportunity when we were first married to do an internship at WDW. (really only Joe).

We took off from Utah in our geo metro, stuffed with all our personal belongings, and headed for Texas.This was right before Christmas 2000, so we spent that Christmas here in Texas. After a good 2 week visit, we headed out again, this time for Florida. Florida is about another 24 from Texas. Our belongings included: computer, cat, fan, clothes, pots and pans, toiletries etc. The cat sat on my lap most of the way there. When I got bored I started cutting the hair off its tail, and after a while it looked like this.The first 2 weeks in Florida were miserable for me. I didn't have a job, or a car. I was pretty much stuck in our dumpy little apartment. Luckily we had some nice people in the ward who gave us some furniture, tv, and microwave. I walked to target frequently and bought movies. After applying for some jobs in the neighborhood, Joe found out about an opening at his work.

After a few month there, we got some free tickets do Disney. We were able to visit the parks at night for a few hours at a time. This is the best way to go by the way. So anyways, we are going to Disney with our friends the Judds. It's only 5 weeks away now! I have lists galore and am planning the menu already. Like I said: a planner.

Tiffani and I first me in September 2005. We were both pregnant at the time, and due around the same time too. I remember specifically what the situation was. We were doing some craft at church, and she was going off on something a doctor had done in delivery of her friend's baby. I guess the doctor hadn't planned very well, and ended up doing a T C-section.

I just loved the way Tiffani spoke her mind. I like to speak my mind too. Most of my closest friends in the past have been like that too. The thing that bugs me the most about some people is that they smile and nod at you when you're there, but then talk about you behind your back. If there's something I did that you don't like, tell me. Then I can defend myself, or just agree to disagree. (don't start emailing me with a laundry list of things I have done in the past that ticked you off, it needs to be reported within a week of the incident)

Tiffani and I have kept in touch since we moved from Idaho. She actually moved to Oregon just a few months after we moved away. I was so happy that she didn't leave without me! Maybe we can move to Oregon next! It sure is green there (as seen on our Oregon coast vacation last year). I am super duper excited!!!!

Slithering

Our bodies are amazing. They can heighten our senses and give us great spurts of energy. As I was walking through my yard, my heart leaped. I jumped. I thanked Him up there, I was alive.

A snake was sitting there. Just sitting there. Ready to give me a heart attack. I proceeded to take care of the chickens, and all of a sudden I was much more aware of the tall grass everywhere. Surely snakes are lurking everywhere, just waiting for the perfect time to jump on me, bite me, and drag me into the field. Okay, maybe not. But the fact is, I don't know a harmless snake from a deadly poisonous one.

I was really hoping it would just disappear, and so when I didn't see it on the way back into the house I was relieved. Until I almost stepped on it, had another half heart attach/crazy jump. He was hunkering down this time though, with his head down.

I grabbed a rooster that I don't care about, and plopped him right on top of the snake. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe that the chicken would attack the snake and eat it? Or the other way around? I'm sad to announce that nothing of the sort happened. The rooster just ran off, and the snake stayed hidden.

Ginger likes to play outside a lot, and rarely wears shoes. I was worried that she would go out there and get bitten. So I grabbed what most resembled a stick (a chair leg) and started prodding the snake. Snakes can move! He slithered through the grass and into the pool. Now what?

My first idea was to call my hubby. He's a genius, plus an Eagle scout graduate. I left him a panicked message, but when he didn't call me back within 3 minutes I decided to take action on my own.

Maybe I could poison him! Yes, that would work. So I dumped a few scoops of chlorine in the water over where he was sitting. The granules beautifully drifted down. I was going to succeed. He was coated in white poison. So I went inside.

After a few minutes I wanted to check the status of my hopefully half-dead snake. No such luck. He was sitting happily on the bridge between the pool and the spa. Wagging his little tale. It reminded me of my cats' tails. Maybe poisoning it wasn't going to work after all.

I thought about what expert snake people from the discovery channel do. They use some sort of stick and put the snake in a bag. I just so happen to have a long stick with a bag on the end of it (aka pool cleaner bag). I have caught other flighty animals such as crawdads and frogs with it before, so I grabbed the stick.

At this point the snake was in the bottom of the spa. Perfect. Now he couldn't flee too far. I am happy to say I actually succeeded. The snake was in the bag. I was far away from it, because the pole was long. Where to put it?

I thought that maybe this is some kind of water snake, and we have the perfect spot for such an animal. Our lake. I climbed over the pool fence, stick in hand, always watching that snake. He wasn't able to slither out, and I safely put him into the lake. Aren't I handy and resourceful?

Update After talking to my husband I am now even more freaked out. He asked me whether its head had a "jawbone" looking face, and it did. Apparantly that means there's a good chance it's a poisonous snake. His guess was a water moccasin. I googled it, and this is what I came up with. Scary!

The Water Moccasin is a very venomous snake, one of the most deadly in North America. It is highly dangerous to people and their pets. If you should ever encounter one of these snakes and think that it has bitten someone, seek medical help immediately.

The Cottonmouth Water Moccasin
(Agkistrodon piscivorus)

There is only one North American poisonous water snake - the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin! Not to be confused at all with its many nonpoisonous neighbors, this snake is a pit viper in the same general family as the Copperhead and the Rattler.

This dangerous semi-aquatic snake is truly an aggressive reptile that will stand its ground or even approach an intruder.

If only he would have been home. We could have killed it, with a shovel, gun, or other "fun" method (according to him). Instead, I dropped it off a few feet from the house, just so he can come back and bite my baby. And the hospital is 30 minutes away!

Weetabix

Browsing the cereal isle a few months ago I spotted an old friend
When I was in high school my parents imported a lot of different foods. Root beer from America, tiny cereal boxes from England, and Weetabix from England.
I never dared to dream that I would be able to find my dear old friend Weetabix in Texas. I had lived in America for 10 years, and never seen it before.
It turns out that I haven't spotted it before, because it's considered an "organic" product here. I don't buy organic stuff. Not because I don't think organic products are better. For some reason I don't believe the organic food box labels half the time. I mean, how can pasta sauce be organic? They still have to add preservatives to it to make it last. And organic laundry soap? I bet you could find some. Since I don't shop for organics, I don't usually go through the sections that have all the organic stuff. Well, at target, there's a small section in the cereal isle that has yummy cereal. Not that sugary air puffed stuff. This is where I spotted Weetabix. I think I in shock a little at first, then came sheer joy.
What is all the fuss about you ask? Weetabix has the wonderful quality of filling me up. Filling me up with just 1 serving that is. Have you ever looked on the side of a box (of anything really), and find out the only reason they can claim "100 calories per serving" is because the servings are the size of 5 crackers, 1 cup, or 1/2 tsp?
So for a measly 160 calories (including milk) I have a full belly for at least 3 hours. Plus, it's good for me. All that fiber, protein, and healthy fat is a great way to start my day. And it's just plain delicious.
There is an art to eating Weetabix though. It's real easy for inexperienced Weetabix eaters to ruin the whole thing, and make it taste like card board. Since I love all my readers, I will share my secret (and only) way to eat it right.

1. Choose a shallow, but large enough bowl to fit 2 biscuits side by side (not too large)
   
2. Place 2 biscuits side by side.
3. If the cereal box has any loose crumbs, arrange those ON TOP of the biscuits.
4. Sprinkle a little bit of "raw sugar" on the top. This is optional, but makes it oh so much better
5. Now, before you get out the milk, make sure you have at least 10 minutes set aside to actually eat.
6. Pour the milk NEXT to the biscuits. Do not, I repeat do NOT pour it over the biscuits.
7. Pour quickly, and just enough to where the milk level is just 1/4" below the top edge of the biscuits.
   
8. It might be tempting to let the milk soak in a bit, and then add more, but resist that temptation.
9. Find a comfortable chair
10. Enjoy the perfect mixture of crunch, sogginess, and sweetness.

I just want to stress the importance of eating both biscuits in one sitting. If you get distracted for any reason, and leave it sitting for more than a few minutes, you might as well use it to feed you chickens, to glue wallpaper to the wall, or make a cardboard box. Also, if you accidentally get milk on the top of the biscuits in the process of preparing, make a beeline to that comfy chair and eat fast, before onset of sogginess and cardboardness.
When I am standing in that cereal isle I have to mentally restrain myself. I want to grab all the boxes they have, just in case they decide to stop carrying it. At $3.49 a box, I can't really afford to stockpile 50 boxes of it, but I grab at least 3 each time, just in case. Weetabix is worth it's every penny, and 1 box lasts me 12 days. That's a lot longer than the $1 cereal boxes I get for my family!

Second day of School

I am not very good at this kind of thing. Growing up I don't think we ever took a picture on the first day of school. This seems to be more of an Ashurst tradition, which I really try to uphold. The problem is that I just simply forget to take the picture. So this year I cheated, and took a picture the second day of school. Almost good enough right?

Here are all the kids right before Winter and Sterling went to the bus at the end of the driveway. The picture is kind of bad, because I had it on the wrong setting, and didn't realize it until they were already gone.

It's fun for me to see Winter and Sterling walk down our long driveway together. They look so cute! Sometimes they fight, but usually they play with rocks and look at the cows until the bus arrives.

Since the bus doesn't always arrive at the same time, they often have to wait at least 5-10 minutes. The one day I don't send them out early, the bus is bound to get there early. So, I send them out, and they wait. For now that's not a big deal, because the weather is still nice, but as soon as it gets colder, or rainy, I'll have to start driving them to the end of the driveway and waiting there with them for the bus to come. I'm not complaining though, because it sure is nice to have someone that picks them up and drops them back off. It saves me a lot of time and gas. Plus the kids have a lot of fun on the bus. Any time I try to drive them home, because I happen to be at the school at the end of the day, they throw a fit.

B.A.T.

Ah, the days have come back. I had a few years break from it, but somehow it worked itself back into my life. What, you thought I was pregnant? Ha! No way! I am talking about homework.

Now that Winter is in 1st grade, she has homework. Well, I'm not sure I can really call it homework, but that's what her teacher Mrs Scoggins calls it anyways. Winter will have books sent home with her to read as homework. Then I am supposed to mark on the reading log whether the book was easy, moderate, or hard for her to read. Predictably, todays book was super easy. See, Winter is an awesome reader. She will even sit and read the Book of Mormon all by herself (although I doubt she understands much of what is going on). She pronounces words better than some ward members do in Sunday school.

The other homework she has is to practice reading and spelling words. They will have tests at the end of the week. Here are this week's words:
1. at
2. sat
3. bat
4. mat
5. cat

I think Winter knew how to spell that stuff about 8 months ago. I guess she didn't get an 'academic excellence award' for nothing last year.

This year I plan to be a lot more involved at the school. It was kind of hard last year, because I had 2 kids at home. This year, I plan to maybe trade babysitting with someone in the ward on a regular day (unless we get a foster kid, and then that wouldn't be possible).

I know that Winter is super smart, and I just need to make sure that she gets challenged. Maybe I can get her into some special classes, although that might not be until later grades?

Kindergarten

Sterling had his first day of kindergarten today. He has been so excited to go to school, and has patiently been waiting for months now!
On Friday night I took him to the school to meet his teacher. Ms Watson is such a nice lady! She is really good with kids. I don't think she has any kids of her own, but she sure knows how to talk to them, treat them, and deal with them.
She was so cute, she made these little gift bags for the parents "survival kit".It had tissues in there, as well as hugs and kisses chocolate. As you can see my Kleenex 's are still closed. Personally I don't know why people cry when their kid goes to school. I know that Sterling is in good hands, and he gets to learn so many new things. But I sure enjoy the chocolate!
When I walked outside, I heard another mom say that her child cried every day for a week her first year. Sterling would never do that. He is so excited.
I thought I would dump him straight in the pool (so to speak) and let him ride the bus home. Winter picked him up from his classroom (she's right next door) and took him to the cafeteria where the kids wait for the bus.
I haven't seen such a happy Sterling since he bought his bionicle.
Tomorrow Winter and Sterling both get to go on the bus both to and from school. So fun! (although tiring for me)