Car Jacked

We were car jacked Monday night.... By this guy.


Photo via Flickr

Ok, so not that guy in particular, but one of his peeps.

I never saw a thing, which is good because I would probably have nightmares if I had. We were taking the kids to Sonic for dessert, driving down Main Street, when I heard and felt this WHAM. I wasn't sure what had happened. We had just passed a park so in my mind I thought wow, some kids just threw a frozen turkey through our windshield. I wasn't totally with it. Ernesto managed to get the car pulled over and I told him that I needed help. (make sure and click on the picture so you get the full effect... and check out all the glass in the bottom right picture)I took almost all of the force. The deer caved in our windshield and roof and then when it rolled off, the window and roof rebounded to some degree. Blake got some glass on him but he was the only one who was physically hurt beside myself. Thank goodness for safety glass!!! I was sitting sort of crossed leg and sideways so I took the impact on the right side of my body. Luckily my sun visor was down so it protected my face. I was really banged up so the am-bu-lance took me to get checked out.

I was covered in so much glass that they had to cut my clothes off and everyone who touched me had to be double gloved (they were getting glass in their hands). I was wearing my favorite green shirt and best fitting pair of pants. *sigh* But nothing is broken and I am only bruised with a million tiny cuts, so no complaints right!Our back yard neighbors were so good, coming to the accident and getting the kids and watching them while I was in the hospital. Jen even bathed Blake to get all the glass off of him and put the kids down to bed. And the man and the lady who stopped were so kind. The woman took Blake and cleaned off his pacifier so that she could give it to him and rocked him and sang him to sleep. The firemen who came to the scene were really kind too, getting the kids' minds off the accident and making them feel special. The kindness and generosity of others is amazing.

Summer Reading List

Did you know that there is a summer reading list for kindergartners? There is, 20 books.

Of the 20 books on the list I own 0 (or maybe 1)
Of the 20 book in the list the library had 1 on the shelf
Of the 20 books on the list I am waiting for 10 to be returned, presumably by the same person since they all have the same return date.
Of the 20 books on the list that I nor the library have, I am trying to figure out if I borrow or buy the other 9Beg, Borrow, or Steal
1, 2, 3, to the Zoo: A Counting Book by Eric Carle
*Billy Dog's Bad Day by Richard Scarry
Buzz said the Bee by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
Clifford and the Big Storm by Norman Birdwell
Corduroy by Don Freeman
*The Foolish Tortoise by Richard Buckley
**Little Quack by Lauren Thompson
The Wildest Brother by Cornelia Funk
Peanut by Lineas Alsenas

* I would really like to borrow these
** I am 99% sure I own this book but I can't find it anywhere!

Thankful Thursday -- The Friday Edition

• Vivian - My aunt Vivian loves my Thankful Thursday posts more than anything else I write. And since I have not been in a very thankful mode lately, I have been slacking on the TT posts. I have been busy and all that stuff... But I figured I could have an attitude adjustment just for Vivian. She is worth it, and she deserves it. (Besides if I miss too many more of these she might call my dad, and I don't want worry the pops.)
• Stuck - And now I am stuck... can I just be thankful for my Aunt Vivian?
  
• Wait! - Oh I do have something to be thankful for... Piperlime. Oh I just love shoes and new ones at that. Is this too shallow?
• Really - Ok now for some seriousness. Seriously I love my Aunt Vivian. I haven't seen her in a few months and would love to go to Texas for a little family time. I love my entire family and I am so thankful for them. My brothers seemed to enjoy the posts I wrote about them. I hope they know I love them with all my heart. I love my Pops and my Brenda Mom too.
• Truth - The truth is I have been feeling the blahs lately and it stinks because it is so contrary to who I really am/ who I really want to be. I haven't had a heart full of gratitude even though I can see that I am richly blessed. I have a fantastic family who loves me whole heartedly and is very good to me even through the mood swings. I have a wonderful home that I enjoy immensely and that is so full of love. My husband loves his career, and a secure job and job satisfaction are biggies, no matter what the economy. I have so many things that bring me joy in my every day life, like really good friends. So just maybe if we can all keep putting up with Her Royal Grumpiness, for hopefully not much longer, I can cget back to being me...
  

Like Mother Like Daughter

She has my fashion sense!!

Simmering

I don't hold grudges. It isn't in my chemical make-up.

I do however, stew and vent and stew and vent... and stew and vent some more. Then I am over it and I don't think about it again.

In my life about 92.71% of offenses are in the Minor category. The minor offenses can usually be vented out by a big fat eye roll. A hefty huff. Even a stink-eye glare with a tisking head shake can get the vent out.
The Moderate offenses occur about 6.92% of the time. Those are resolved with a good ranting, usually listened to by poor Ernesto. Yes, he even has to listen to the rants about himself. But don't worry those usually make him laugh. I'm not a very fierce angry person, although my kids might say otherwise.

Then there are the 0.37% of offenses that fall in the ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! category. These kind of offenses get me really "spooled up". My dad loves that expression. When I get really spooled up, everybody gets to hear me vent and rant and rave. They happen rarely, but consume the greatest amount of ranting energy. I tell Ernesto, my family, and my girlfriends about it every single time we talk until I have that one conversation where the steam runs out of my screaming kettle and I am poof, over it.

Lately the numbers have been a little skewed. More like Minor - 75.63% Moderate - 17.15% AYKM - 7.22% I have been decidedly agitate-able. I have been suffering from a serious case of Steroid Simmer. And I am so over it. So is Ernesto, my family, and my girlfriends. But my kids are especially over it. Can you imagine being with a grumpy-upagus (the unhappy version of this guy) all day long.

If you have been on the receiving end of that stink-eye. I apologize. Management has been informed and we are working on a remedy.

Good Read

I read this post this evening and had to share. Enjoy.

If you're happy and you know it...

I've decided

I've decided I am no longer going to feel guilty for not liking to cook...

This is me enjoying not cooking!

But I still reserve the right to demand praise and accolades when I actually get around to cooking.

10 Tips

When it was mentioned in the comments that someone wanted to hit my brother up for some advice on writing a screenplay, I realized that I didn't know the first thing about screenplays. So, I asked for some tips, and here they are!

Sisters,

Here ya go, and remember, everyone is an expert. (wink)

10. Read a screenplay. You would be surprised, for a medium we are so familiar with, the format is a real eye-opener. A great resources is: http://www.dailyscript.com/movie.html This website has professional screenplays from a number of films you know and love.

9. Screenwriting is almost like creative journalism. The only element of your written word that a film going audience will experience is the dialogue. Now, this isn't to say that your action lines shouldn't be artful ie.

A ranch house on the plains

or

A tumbledown ranch house juts out of the broad Texas plain like a stranger.

Photo via Flickr

Just bear in mind that all of your character's emotions and motivations can only be conveyed by what they say. You can write in body language, but action lines are intended to set the scene and regulate flow. The rule I've heard used? "Don't write anything they can't show on screen."

8. Remember a page in a properly formatted screenplay is equivalent to one minute of screen time. If you have one scene approaching ten pages, you might want to consider the length of scenes in movies. They are much shorter than you think.

7. Think about how people talk and then remember that dialogue is hyper real. You have to find that balance between tight dialogue and real conversation. We don't always know what to say as humans, but characters have to still say the most relevant thing.

6. Brevity is key. Screenplays are generally from 90-120 pages. Be smart with your space. A first time writer is going to have a tough go of selling their 290 page masterpiece no matter how good it is.

5. Be prepared to write something bad. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who is a natural, but reading the first draft of the first screenplay is as exhilarating as it is cringe inducing.

4. Love to edit. Live to cut. This is the hardest part for me, but the best analogy I ever got for editing a screenplay is by likening it to whittling. The way you improve a figure you are trying to whittle is by cutting off more. Only then, the important details emerge.

3. Practice.

2. Practice.

1. Practice, practice, practice. Daily dedication is the only way I can really become immersed in the universe I'm trying to create. I also find that in that the daily work, some of the best ideas that never occurred to me manifest themselves in very organic ways. (I know that organic is one of those phony-baloney writer words, but when these moments happen, I feel like a real writer) And as with anything worthwhile in this life, repetition is the content of mastery.

um....yeah.

Hayley Made Me Do It

It's all her fault!!!Just kidding, sort of. I only ended up getting the $20 Dainty's in black because I need them for a wedding. So if you wanted to get me a present for any reason feel free to get one of the others on the list :)

Like Father Like Son

30 second recap

We were so excited to have family in town this weekend. Ernesto's brothers and their families came in from near and far. We stayed up til 2 am laughing and talking and laughing some more. Being the oldest in the group, it was clear that I am officially TOO OLD for that kind of shenanigans. We went to Chuck E Cheese where some creepy guy was stalking our family and trying to take pictures of our kids when we weren't looking. Weird. We had some yummy grub. We went out to eat at Logan's and Olive Garden (thanks Justin). And we had some fabulous meals at home. Ernesto grilled one night and then made a fantastic breakfast the next morning. Andi and I are a great tag team in the kitchen, we've had a bit of practice. So we made Sunday dinner together while the rest of the crew entertained the kids and kept them out of the kitchen. The kids loved every minute that they were together. There were approximately 33 trips around the block on the bikes, 7 books read, 19 cartoons watched, 1 banner painted, 300 spells cast and un-cast, 1 baby blessed, and overall 5 very happy kids. We even fit in a pedicure for the ladies. Can you believe they were only here for a day and a half. That is what you call maximizing your fun.

Work it

Reed, workin it for the camera!

Blake and Uncle Mr. Smith

We, as in not me but other people in my family, might have teased Mr. Smith all weekend long because Blake cried 8 out of 10 times when he picked him up. Of course Mr. Smith just happened to pick him up almost every time he was hungry so it was merely bad timing. Bottom left picture is my favorite.

Blake loves his uncle.

My Brother's Keeper -- Austin

Austin is my brother.To understand Austin, you have to know just a little bit more about me. My parents divorced when I was 12 and my dad remarried shortly there after. The first time I met Brenda I knew that my dad was going to marry her and I was happy about it because I liked her. But, there was also a part of me that felt like Brenda was a threat to my very precious "only girl" status, something my mom never challenged because she was Mom. So, there were times that I was very hard on Brenda. When they announced that they were expecting, my first response was "You do know that happened right?" Then I informed Brenda, "If this baby is a girl I am moving out." Even though the decision had already been made, she prayed every day that the baby would be a boy. She found out that the baby was a boy, but also found out that she was due on Monte's birthday. He informed her, "If this baby is born on my birthday I am moving out." From then on out she prayed every day that she would not deliver on Monte's birthday. She was in the clear by one day. Austin, as he was to be named, was playing his first big show, "Austin's Grand Entrance", to a pretty hostile crowd.The first time I held that precious boy my heart broke wide open. That hard crusty shell broke free and he took up permanent residence just like the rest of my brothers. He was so cute and such a sweet boy. It was at that moment that I came to dislike distinctions; step, half, in-law. Because he gave new meaning to family. If you are family in my heart you are family no matter what. The only time I even use the term half-brother is if I am explaining that we don't biologically have the same mother. Because we do share a mother, Brenda.Austin has had an interesting life, being younger than his next closest sibling by 12 years and 20 years from his oldest sibling. He has been around adults all his life, which in turn has made him the youngest adult in his middle school. But not to fear he is still a teenager at heart. Just like any other teenager he is spunky and punky and sometimes gets on your nerves, but I love it. Being the youngest also afforded Austin some privileges that we couldn't afford when the other 5 were living at home, like swim team, and piano lessons, and voice lessons... not that I'm jealous or anything. Austin started swimming several years back, we are all pretty sure that kid has some fish genes in there somewhere. He improved so quickly and was soon accepted to the prestigious Longhorn Aquatics where several of the 2008 Olympians trained. He eventually got burned out because he was swimming upwards of 20+ hours a week. But, I have no doubt he will some day return to the pool... it's those fish genes.Austin, like the rest of the boys is musical on top of being a super athlete. I think he has been taking piano lessons for 6 or so years. He loves jazz piano and playing hymns, but he is getting in to other types of music too. He is multi talented, singing and acting as well. He recently starred as Willy Wonka in his school's musical production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Last year he was in the production of Savior of the World put on by our LDS stake in Austin. He is really talented, but he works at his talents. He was learning the lyrics for his part over Christmas when we were there. He would sit at the table for hours with his headphones on and just sing and sing and sing. He also practices piano every day before and after school. He doesn't always practice what he is supposed to be practicing, but he plays every day and never lets his fingers grow idle.My dad retired a few years ago allowing him the pleasure of being a stay at home dad with Austin. They are quite a pair. There isn't anything Austin won't help my dad with and there isn't anything my dad won't do for Austin. It makes me all warm and mushy to see them together. But don't be fooled, that kid is a momma's boy just like all good boys are.

My Brother's Keeper -- Monte

Monte is all about the wordplay.That man has words and lots of them. He makes the dictionary envious. If you have a complex about people who use big words effortlessly, don't hang out with Monte. He isn't trying to make anyone feel inferior, he just doesn't know how not to use his over sized vocabulary. He reads quite a bit too, from classics to contemporary stuff. He reads and judges screenplays for the Austin Film Festival. He started reading for the festival three years ago and has been a part of it every year since. But, he writes even more than he reads. As you might suspect Monte writes screenplays. He submitted his first one for judging this year, which I am assuming means he won't judge this year. I am extremely proud of him. It takes big guts to put your heart and soul out there for someone to judge. I might be a wee bit partial, but I think the screenplay is pretty-darn-good aka FANTASTIC!! This man practices his craft, writing every single day. I am pretty sure his hard drive is almost full to the brim. He has written a few children's stories, a couple of screenplays, thousands of short stories/essays, and he is prepping a few blog posts for his yet to be started blog.Monte loves film. He has watched more movies than ten average human beings combined. But then again I don't really know how many movies the average person sees considering I've probably seen less than ten movies in the last two years. He has directed a few short films and a music video for the Filmaking Frenzy that they hold at the Alamo Drafthouse. Zoey loved this music video and would watch it over and over again. She loved that in the end "she" (the pink one) ended up with all of her friends. I think maybe he just loves the screen. A few years back he tried out and made it to the finals of the ME TV's Next Veejay Contest. Of course I still think he should have won :) On top of being a fantastic writer and a charming TV personality, he is funny. He just gets funny. His timing and wit are spot on. So, if writing screenplays and novels doesn't work out he can always become a comedian.Have I mentioned that all of my brothers are musically inclined? Yes, well Monte is no exception. Back in the days of willy nilly file sharing Monte amassed an insane music library. He had music coming out his ears. But the more artists he met and the more he learned about the industry, film in particular, he realized that all those "file sharing is stealing" commercials are no joke. He dumped his free music and started buying it all back, at least the good stuff. I really respect this about Monte. He also knows all those obscure liner notes facts about different artist. Fascinating stuff trapped in that man's head.Monte is also a big part of my favorite day of the week, Sunday. Every Sunday morning while I am making the kids breakfast and getting them in the bath I talk to my first baby brother (I have two baby brothers). He makes me laugh and he makes me think and he tells me that he loves me.
**While Monte has lots of words, he is a man of VERY FEW PICTURES** Thanks for going out of your way to get me some pictures. You rock!

Sweet Spot

Blake has this kissing spot on his neck.
If you tuck your kiss in just right and inhale deeply to get that sweet baby smell.
His earlobe sticks to your nose.
I make sure and find that spot at least once a day.
Blake's sweet spot.

My Brother's Keeper -- Sam

Sam is a lover and a fighter.He is a fighter physically and in spirit. Sam took up boxing a few years ago. While he is far to pretty, seriously you wouldn't want to mess up that beautiful smile, to fight in any televised fights he does box for fun and exercise and he loves it. He also runs, bikes, and dances. He even rides his bike to work. So all you Austin drivers watch out. He got plowed last Christmas by a car not paying attention and it scared me to death. He is a tough one that Sam. He never gives up. Once he sets his mind to something he works and works to be successful. He make a step or two back, but he knows what his goal is and what he has to do to get there. This drive also makes him very successful at work. Sam can be a bulldog, bulldozing his way through to get the job done but he charms you to the moon and back in the process. My dad always says that Sam has the Midas touch turning everything he touches into gold.Sam may be able to take a big man down a notch or two either physically or verbally, but he might possibly have one of the softest hearts of anyone I know. It is amazing how tender and loving that tough man can be. Sam's softer side comes out in his art. He is an airbrush artist. He does full body painting for competitions, see he is a fighter even in his softer side. His art is colorful and bright and technical and moody. Very beautiful. He also dances in performance art where he wears fantastic costumes with feathers, I love feathers. When we were kids we would push all of the furniture out of the middle of the living room to give ourselves a wide open space. Then Sam and I would crank up the radio and dance. Sam loves the visceral expression of emotion that comes through music and dancing and singing. His house is full of art work and original photography. He appreciates fashion and style. I love Sam's accessories. His girlfriend makes jewelery and many of his other friends are artists too and have created some beautiful pieces for him. Sam loves and appreciates beautiful things. More importantly he loves inner beauty and strength.Sam is our resident world traveler. A few years ago for his birthday he took himself on a little vacation to Europe. He backpacked and took the train across several countries and loved every minute of it. He travels a lot state side as well for gallery openings and festivals. He is also a big pop culture guru. At Christmas he showed all of us his chops by explaining the meaning of all the t-shirts in the Think Geek catalog. Believe me it is tougher than it looks. But Sam just shrugged and said, "I read a lot." But he knew he bested all of us.

This is a link to a team competition piece he did and also some pictures of a piece he did on his girlfriend. Remember this is body art, if you are worried about being surprised don't click over :) (***Note the woman in the team piece is wearing a bikini that they painted also. She only seemes nekid.***) Forget glitter eyeliner, next time I go out I want someone to paint me a few stars!

Faith and fluctuation

News programs love man-on-the-street interviews. It gives you that human element where you see the people being affected by the story of the day. But how much more would it affect you if you not only saw those faces, but loved those faces you saw?

I live in Spring Hill. Yes, that Spring Hill. Sleepy town 35 miles south of Nashville.

"Is he going to keep his job?"
"Will they keep him on til the end?"
"Will he still run freight for the next few months?"
"I know he has been looking for months now. Any good prospects?"
"Does this mean you'll be moving?"
"How are you holding up?"
"We are praying for you."

The people who are being affected are my neighbors, friends, and members of my ward family. Women I call for a girl's night out. Friends we meet at the park and McDonald's for play dates. Friends from school. Families who sit next to us at church. I know how grateful they are for one more day or week or month of employment. I know how strong they are trying to be for their families.

The future is uncertain, but I am amazed by the hopefulness in the air. I have heard by almost everyone that they are hopeful that the plant will be bought or selected for manufacturing a different car, but either way "we will be ok". How strong the faith of those being tried. Fluctuation make me fearful, I don't do limbo well at all. I hope I learn from my friends.

Faith will see them through.

PS. Please no comments on the "bail-out" or the automotive industry. Even if we agree, I won't post them.

My Brother's Keeper -- Victor

Victor knows that trouble is a friend.Victor is a friend to everyone. He has a tender spot for people who've had a little trouble or sadness in their lives, which we all have at some point. When my mother had a relapse of the cancer she had been fighting for a year and a half, Victor put college on hold and walked away from his life and moved half way across the country to take care of her. He lived with her and took care of her for her last year and a half before she passed away. He was so supportive of mom taking her to doctors appointment, helping her with finances, taking her on vacations, learning all her secret recipes, and encouraging her faith. Sounds like a saint doesn't he? Well, he can be just as rascally as the rest of us, but he is a really really good guy. Victor is one of those guys that likes to learn. He is a studier. He reads and ponders and thinks about things. He discusses things and gets opinions and learns all he can. He also learns from life. He learned a lot from taking care of our mom, and her passing, and the way people took care of him after she was gone. One of the biggest lessons he learned was how to be a friend. He is always having dinner with his friends, meeting at the park for a fun day of picnics and sports. He also loves games and can be quite competitive. He loves to lend a hand and he is always there for people when they have had a bad day. Victor may be the best listener I know. Hopefully the parental selective hearing we all have to learn doesn't ruin him!Like all of my brothers, Victor is very musically inclined. This has brought him so much joy, and also served him well when he had to learn the tonal language of the Hmong people when he was called to serve a mission for our church. It also helped him meet his amazing wife. She was producing a musical for their church group and he signed up to sing. And after a few ups and downs, the rest is history. They love to sit at the piano together and sing and play songs. I could listen to them sing together for hours. They also love to laugh together. These two have the funniest sense of humor when they are together and they will just bust up laughing about so many things! They even have a tradition of the surprised look when taking pictures together.I asked my brothers to send a picture of something they love doing and the picture Victor chose was one of him snuggling his precious daughter Fiona. He loves his family and is working so hard to be a good husband and father. And I suppose this is why the man is going back to school, that and because he loves learning. I won't be surprised if he goes after his PhD just because he can.Victor is also our resident City dweller. His little family has been eating up the Big Apple the last few years. They see tons of Broadway shows (some of which star Natalie's voice students). They do NY things like ride the subway and jog in Central Park. He even wears a tie to work, but don't look at his ties to closely, he has taken to cutting of the back of his ties.

My Brother's Keeper -- Lon

Longino the IV to be exact.Being the fourth of anything is a legacy and a curse. Lon is the firstborn and the bearer of his fore fathers' name. This left him with a lot to live up to and a lot to live down. Those Longinos are a roguish bunch. They are also fiercely protective lions. Being the oldest of 6, Lon takes his job of watching out for his brothers and sister to heart, but he is also very nurturing. Unfortunately he sometimes takes his protectiveness a little to far. There are a few stories to tell... shotguns, fist fights, and feuds... but this is a short post, not a novel ;) Lon has been taking care of us since forever. He was my parent's second in command chauffeur. He was the one responsible for getting everyone to and from school and to our practices and events after that. Tiffany and I have him to thank for our drivers licenses since he took us to driver's ed when we were fifteen! He wants us to be happy too, every conversation ends with "Are you happy? Is there anything I can do for you?" And while my answers are always yes and no, I know he would help out in any way I needed.
I asked my brothers to send me PG pictures. At first I wasn't going to post this rascally picture, but then I realized this is just a shot of Lon CONCENTRATING. We won't speculate on what. Lon suffers from the same tongue must be out and to the side when concentrating phenomenon as Michael Jordan. I noticed this when I was younger. Not having any sisters, I had no one to paint my toenails. Lon took one for the team and learned how to paint nails. But he could only paint with his tongue sticking out. He does this whenever he is really in the groove. He was also my prom date to my senior prom. What a sweet brother to take his sister who was too proud to not go and too proud to go dateless!Lon really loves two things, music and food. All of my brothers are very musical, but Lon is our resident concert goer. I think he has more concert and band t-shirts than anything else. He also cooks like a spicy genius. Now I might rival Lon in appetite, but that man can cook circles around me and most everyone else I know. He loves to grill but he can whip up just about anything on the stove too. He will generally cook with a recipe the first time or two then he just makes the dish his own. He loves to cook when the entire family gets together and we love to eat his cooking. I have been begging Lon to go to culinary school for about two years now, but he wants to keep it his passion and his hobby, not his job. Too bad for the rest of the world missing out on his cooking.Lon also loves to scuba and loves the beach. Every year or two he tries to get Ernesto and I to go with him, we just don't know what to do with the kids, so he goes without us!

My Brother's Keeper

I thought this would be an easy breezy simple series of pieces to write, but apparently I have as much trouble writing about my brothers as I do myself. With the same problems, I don't know where to start then I get too long winded :) I probably should have written all five pieces before I committed to this post! Ah well, I am enjoying this so I will keep at it.

Back row: Sam holding Poncho, Victor, Natalie, Monte, Lon, Mia, Forrest Front row: Zoey, Austin, Reed

I asked all five of my brothers to send me three pictures. One where they are looking hot. One were they are doing something I love about them (I sent them a list to choose from). One where they are doing something they love. The responses have been interesting. One brother claims that only three pictures exist of him in the the entire world and that I have all three. One brother passed the assignment on to his wife who he claims is the family keeper of the pictures. One brother keeps sending me funny pictures that he has edited to make himself look like a cyborg. One sent me a beautiful assortment of pictures and within five minutes of sending out the request, he gets a gold star. The other brother sent me pictures but not enough and not quite following the guidelines, but I have no doubt he will send me a few more ASAP.

Back row: Sam, Monte, Austin, Lon, Mia holding Reed, Forrest holding Zoey Front row: Victor, Natalie

I realize that these pictures are old, but they are the only ones I have of all of us together!