Sometimes I think I am so funny.

Even though our household bleeds "UTAH RED" most of the year, this Saturday is the one time I have to go against the "party line" and cheer for the BYU Cougs. This is much to my husband's chagrin, but I'm pretty sure it is in the fine print of my degree from BYU. Incidentally it is also a clause in the Honor Code-right next to the paragraph about how long your shorts can be.

Last year I got invited to the BYU- Utah tailgate party and it caused quite a fashion dilemma for me. The game was at the U of U and we were smack dab in the middle of campus. I didn't want to wear red because I wasn't cheering for the Utes. But I didn't want to wear blue either because let's face it -Ute fans can be mean. I didn't want the "3rd quarter crazy lady" to get me. For those who aren't familiar with Ute football cheering practices... there is a 50 something "crazy lady" who gets up at the end of the 3rd quarter and shakes her thang in time with the band. The "Muss"- the student section of the Utes stadium- goes wild when she does this. Although fun and a bit gimmicky, I have found that a lady who is willing to do this would have no problem kicking my trash if she saw me wearing BYU blue while tapping my toes to "I am a Utah man, sir, and I live across the green" during the pre-game pep rally. So I wimped out and just wore green with a denim jacket over it. I felt like a traitor to my alma mater and felt I had to do something. So being a bit gimmicky myself this is what I came up with to wear while I am sitting in the Utes section of the Lavell Edwards Stadium at the BYU-UTAH game on Saturday afternoon.

FRONT:

BACK:

I think it shows an appropriate amount of support for both UTAH and BYU. I have a fine line to walk, you know. I do have to remember where my bread is buttered... from a HUGE Ute fan's bank account!

I Love Saturdays When....

...the TV never goes on! I wish we had more Saturdays like this!

Also I know several of my current friends know I also post recipes on a recipe blog, but many of my older friends from high school and college many not know that when I do I always name them after guys I've dated. (Thanks to my cousin, Keith who shared the idea with me. He has no idea the beast he unleashed with this idea!) I also include a little story about why I name the recipe after a certain guy. So I thought many of my old friends, seeing as they knew many of these guys, would get a kick out of recipes such as:

Mike I Dare You to eat these Turkey Burgers or

Juan wasn't white but he was Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake or

"Robert Hales was Such a Turkey" Meatloaf
So you can click on these links and read these previous posted ones, but I am also going to add a little gadget to sidebar with my latest recipe and dish-naming victim. The blog is called Tried and True and they really are good recipes from several friends that are as the name suggests tried and true. It is a great recipe site if you are interested!

Some pretty spooky pictures

We have some pretty spooky pictures to share from Halloween. This year all of our costumes we homemade and I'm not really sure if making the costumes costs any less than if you buy them all ready to go, unless of course you just use stuff you already have but that would be too easy.
Finn is a nerd, complete with taped glasses and a pocket protector. Suzie is a fairy skunk or a fairy princess or Cinderella- depending on what day you asked her. She is more or less what I could round up from around the house because by the time I got to her I was tired of putting together costumes. Annie is an old lady with a baby on her back- her being the baby. This was definitely the most original costume she has ever requested. She saw it in a Halloween book and it was surprisingly easy to put together after I rounded up all the parts which wasn't easy at all. And finally, Katie is a bumble bee. We had the sparkly, striped leotard giving to us as a hand-me -down and I was able to make a tutu skirt and antennae. Unfortunately I forgot the wings until it was too late, but Katie didn't seem to notice.

The night of Halloween Finn went trick or treating with his cousin, Michael, who was a cereal killer. Now there's a smart, low cost costume. I guess that is what happens when you, like my sister Michelle, have 6 boys. You learn to streamline.

And Annie, Katie, Suzie and I all went trick or treating with Annie's friends Gwen and Lauren and Gwen's mom, Lori. The best was when we went to the older girls' piano teacher who promises a big candy bar for all her students if they come trick or treating to her house. Their teacher thought Suzie was so cute so she just kept sticking candy bars in her bag and Suzie kept taking them from me and Lori. All told, Suzie ended up with 5 big Snickers bars in her bag! She wasn't born yesterday you know.
Now the next pictures weren't taken on Halloween but they are incredibly spooky. I felt bad that I didn't really do a whole post on my Texas trip and if you are really all that interested Julie's blog has a good summary. And I can't record my memories in a normal way, so I chose to show you what 6 mothers with a combined total of 30 children do when they are away from said 30 children. They play the "Shaky-Face"game. So let me introduce you to some of my favorite people via the "Shaky-Face" game.

Julie

# of children: 5 of her own and 2 she has "adopted"

Color-code: Yellow

Bringer of the "Shaky-Face"game and any other crazy thing we do. This girl knows how to have a good time and you can't help but have a good time too when she is around. She is one of the most genuine, inclusive, big-hearted people I know. I am amazed at how she gets people to come of out their shell. My life and many others would be very different without her.

Katrina

#of children: 6

Color Code: White

Despite looking a bit stoned in this picture, Katrina is one of the happiest, upbeat people you'll ever meet. She is always looking out for others and can talk to just about anyone. You just can't be in a bad mood around her. We are also working on making it to the Varsity soccer team together. So you know we got each other's back.

Kjirsten

#of children: 5

Color Code: White

Kjirsten is honestly so strikingly beautiful- inside and out . I mean look, she can't even take a bad shaky-face picture. She looks like she is doing a Pantene commercial instead of looking like she is drunk like you are suppose to look in this game. I would hate her if I didn't adore her so much! I have know her for 17 years, but I haven't seen her in 8. But we picked up right where we left off and friends like that are rare.

Mandy

# of children: 4

Color Code: Blue

Before this trip I would say Mandy was an acquaintance. We knew a lot of the same people, but never really hung out. But I can now officially say she is friend and a great one at that. We are very similar so if I say how awesome she is am I really just complimenting myself?!? Seriously she is a lot of fun and seems like she can handle just about anything that is thrown at her. Plus she can put Julie in her place and I respect that!

Kelly

# of children:6

Color code: yellow

I so love this girl. She has a fantastic laugh and can make anything you do fun. Before I really knew her I thought she was one way- read: sweet and innocent. But man does this girl have depth. She can be very mischievious and she isn't afraid to be who she is. Plus she makes you feel like you the most incredible person she has ever met and who wouldn't want to be around a person like that!

Yours truly

# of children: 4

Color Code: Blue

I have posted plenty of embarassing pictures of myself on my blog so this shouldn't come as a big surprise. I just hope my Texas buddies will forgive me for posting theirs. I think they are all beautiful and I'm proud to call them my friends.

Way too much information.

There are several things I could post about. Since my last post I have celebrated my 35th birthday and my friend, Lara, tells me that according to astrology our life cycles every 7 years. So I am at the beginning of my 5th cycle and all I have to say about that is, "Thank goodness" by the stars I should be starting something new and different! But I celebrated in Moab with my family and it was so fun.

Isn't this picture so cute? Don't be surprised if you see it on a Christmas card sometime soon. And I do have one quick story to tell from that trip. On my birthday morning, Eric said to Annie, "We should go out to eat for mom's birthday. What does she like to eat?" After contemplating this for a minute, she responded, "She likes lettuce and water." Finn overheard this and quickly concurred, "Yeah, that is what she eats." So even though my kids think I am a rabbit, we enjoyed a fabulous, meat-filled meal at "Pasta Jay's" in Moab. But that isn't what I wanted to post about.I could also post about another incredibly fun trip I took to Texas with these ladies to visit some dear friends- one being my college roommate, Kj- the one to the left of me, who I haven't seen for 8 years. We of course ate way too much, laughed way too much and stayed up way too late. But isn't that the definition of a fun trip?!? But that isn't what inspired this post either. This is what inspired this post:
Pumpkin Pie. I absolutely love pumpkin pie, even more than I love lettuce and water. It is hands down my favorite dessert. I would take pumpkin pie over cake on my birthday anytime. (In fact I bought some and took it down to Moab with us just in case we couldn't find any in Moab.) I hope they serve pumpkin pie at my funeral. And because of this people tend to think that I love all things pumpkin. But that is far from the truth. I am a pumpkin pie purist. I don't like pumpkin rolls or pumpkin bread and don't get me started on pumpkin cookies. I mean I will eat all these things if they are in front of me because kind-hearted, thoughtful people will make then for me thinking I must love them because I love pumpkin pie. But to my tastes, they just don't compete.

All this came to mind tonight when I was making and tasting a pumpkin pie bar recipe I found online. And sometimes I even forget my love for pure, unadulterated pumpkin pie when I see a recipe like this and try it thinking it will fulfill my pumpkin pie need. But after I made it and tasted it, I was again disappointed. I can't put my finger on it. It was just lacking something. In fact after I tasted it I went back and checked the recipe to make sure I hadn't left anything out. The only thing I left out was the bourbon it called for and since it was Sunday and I didn't want to break the sabbath and the Word of Wisdom together, I didn't go out and get it. Although I have broken both these commandments separately. Which reminds me I don't think I have posted the story about when I bought beer and it was discovered by my kids in my downstairs fridge. Now that is a good story, but it will have to wait for another post!

I don't know why I feel so passionate about sharing my thoughts about pumpkin pie in a post, but it just felt like the right time and sometimes timing is everything. So as I continued to dwell on my love of pumpkin pie, I came to a few more conclusions. I am a pumpkin pie snob. I don't like just any pumpkin pie. It generally has to be homemade, with a homemade crust and fresh whipped cream. ABSOLUTELY NO COOL WHIP! I know that was a bit harsh, but this point cannot be over-emphasized. You might as well put a dollup of cow manure on it if you're going to put Cool Whip on it. There are a few stores/restaurants I will accept pumpkin pie from. Marie Callendars and Costco make the grade, but very few others do. And those $4.99 pies you see on tables at grocery stores... well I wouldn't feed those to my worst enemy or to the dogs. And if you're my daughter, Annie, that is one and the same! And I can somewhat handle when someone tries to doctor up a basic pumpkin pie recipe like having a gingersnap crust or adding a layer of chocolate to the pie. (Truth be told I ate a whole pumpkin cheesecake from Costco when I was pregnant with Suzie so I guess I can "handle" some slight alterations better than others!) But honestly my very favorite pumpkin pie is the one my mom makes and it has been way too long since I have had one of her pies. So maybe this whole post was just a round-about way to say I really miss my mom. I think I just had a break-through because I'm getting a little misty-eyed as I type this. So mom, when you read this- know I miss you and love you. (You too, dad. And when I want to pontificate about the virtues of Wheat Chex I'll be sure to give you a shout-out.) I think I just discovered the missing ingredient, besides bourbon, in those pumpkin bars-love. (Collective "Awwwwww.")

I know I have expressed some pretty harsh opinions about pumpkin pie and I apologize in advance for anyone who plans on serving me something pumpkin this season. I've probably scared the kind-hearted, thoughtfulness right out of you. But know it is more of a manifestation of a need for my mother rather than a reflection of your pumpkin -making abilities. And the more I think about it I do think pumpkin waffles with cinnamon syrup are amazing and Pumkpin spice cremes from Starbucks are definitely worth the risk of someone thinking you are breaking the Word of Wisdom by coming out of their coffee shop with those cool cups.

Did I really just do a whole post on pumpkin pie? I know Julie, I know. I'm a nerd and I didn't even have any notes for this post.

Suzie the Hamster Killer

I mentioned in my last post that Eric is putty in his girls' hands and even though I'm sure he doesn't want me sharing this with the whole world, he really is. A few months ago he thought Suzie's hair was long enough for sponge curlers, so he embarked on a Saturday night sponge curler session with her. (Raise your hand if you had these sessions on Saturday nights and got to watch "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" during them like me.) Anyway here is physical proof that despite the hard, crunchy shell, Eric is nothing but soft nougat and caramel inside. (Please excuse the candy references. I'm on a no candy diet for a year and it is starting to mess with me especially with all the Halloween candy in stores since August when I started this blasted bet.)
I had told my parents about this and they didn't believe that Suzie's hair was long enough to be curled. So here is the big reveal:

I know its no "Mufasa" like we use to call my sister's mane of curly hair, but it is leaps and bounds for our Suzie who didn't have any hair to shake a stick at when she turned 2.

Our Suzie has numerous nicknames- Suzie-Q, Suz, Suz-a-phone, Snooz, strawberry,etc. But don't let this sweet, innocent face fool you. Her newest nickname is Suzie the Hamster Killer. The incident wherein she earned this name occured a few months ago but I felt the need to "be accurate. It's for posterity- you know." (Name that movie-one of my favorites) and get it written down. We have to go back to June when Annie had her 8th birthday. She got a good chunk of change from her Grandpa and Grandma Christensen and instead of put it in her college account like I'm sure they wanted her to, she decided to flex her "responsibility" muscles in a different way. She took the first step toward child pet ownership and got a hamster. Finn, already having this charge of pet propriety with a hamster of his own, helped her research online the best kind of cage to get. Then Eric took her to Petsmart and got her a Winter White Dwarf hamster with all the gear- cage, ball, food, bedding, toys and water bottle. I tell ya- pet ownership is no small thing which is why you need the wisdom of 8 years and the funds from the celebration of so many years to even think of taking on this kind of obligation. Annie, along with several "helping hands" in Dad, Finn, Katie, Suzie, Kalian- the neighbor and Summer- the friend, got "Chocolate" all settled in its new home. It was given the name Chocolate because Finn's hamster's name is Chip and they thought the two names went well together and I must say I agree. I won't go into the naming process and the conversations that ensued between Finn, Annie and Katie concerning what to name Annie's hamster. But let's just say Eric and I didn't have as hard a time or as heated a discussion in naming our children as those three had in coming up with a name for a rodent.
So fast forward about 6 weeks, Chocolate is acclimatized to its new environment and Annie finds her new responsiblity is like taking candy from a baby. (Sorry- did I mention it is Fast Sunday AND i'm on a no candy diet.) In her fastidious zeal to take care of her pet she put Chocolate in its ball, blocked off the stairs so it won't fall down them, closed all the doors to all the bedrooms upstairs and starts to clean out its cage. And in my apparent not so fastidious zeal in being a parent at that moment, I pay no attention to the hamster or Suzie during this process. I'm more concerned with Annie not getting bedding all over the counter and floor so I tell her to clean it outside and then I go about doing something else. About ten minutes later Annie comes back in and asks where Chocolate is. I tell her I have no idea. She goes around looking for it. A few minutes later she yells out, "Mom, there's something wrong with Chocolate." Now my girls have been known to be a tinsy bit dramatic so the first yell usually doesn't send me running. She senses my apathy and thrusts the yellow hamster ball in my face. I look inside and what I see is kind of disturbing. Chocolate is flat on its back, little paws and feet sprawled out and breathing quite shallow. Now I'm no doctor or veterinarian but I'm pretty sure Chocolate has suffered some kind of violent event and in the throes of death. I think the poor thing has broken its back and no matter how I try to revive it, it won't move. But it is still alive and breathing which is even more disturbing to me and Annie. She starts to get very emotional. Finn was over at a neighbor's house, but Annie seems to think he can do something so I call him and ask him to come home to check out the hamster. Finn comes in and Annie starts wailing, "Chocolate is going to die!" Now Finn has been a brother to his 3 sisters for 8 years and the first wail doesn't send him running either and he responds quite glibly, "Oh he is not." But then like me, his response changes when he sees Chocolate to "Oh, maybe he is." Since Finn couldn't really do anything we call the other man in our life- Dad. Eric says just to put it back in its cage and he will "take care of it" when he gets home. And what he meant by "take care of it" we are not really sure, but we have all agreed to a "don't ask; don't tell" policy when it comes to the euthanasia of an animal.

In the midst of all this Annie and I are trying to figure out what has happened to cause such trauma to a hamster. It hadn't fallen down the stairs since Annie had blocked them off and Katie assured us that she never picked the ball up. As I'm holding the ball with the lifeless, limp form of Chocolate in it, Suzie come up and innocently says, "I kick it." She tries to take the ball from me and again says, "I kick it." And all the puzzle pieces fall into place. Suzie thought the hamster ball was a soccer ball and had been kicking it around while Annie was cleaning the cage and I was "otherwise engaged." Poor Chocolate was no match to the fastidious zeal of a two year old playing with a ball. Chocolate, may he rest in peace, has been replaced by another Dwarf hamster named "Gus-Gus." And now not only does Annie have fastidious zeal when cleaning out its cage, so does her mother by keeping Suzie the Hamster Killer away from that enticing yellow ball that can move on its own until you kick it as hard as you can against the wall.

Happy Birthday, Conquering fears and Sufficiently Amused

This is our "Katie-bug" and she turned 5 recently. About 6 weeks before her birthday, Eric asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She responded, like any 4 and 3/4 year old (this is the age she gave herself up until the day she turned five) would, that she wanted to go to Disneyland. And Eric, despite the tough-guy exterior, is complete putty in his girls' hands and made it happen. So we took the kids out of school during the first week of school-no less- and spent 2 and 1/2 days in sunny Southern CA with several other hundreds of people celebrating birthdays in Disneyland. This year Disney has a "Celebrate" theme and they are encouraging their patrons to come celebrate whatever occassion with them. And of course Disney celebrates right.. for a price! :) But Katie had an unforgettable birthday and I've decided that having a handful of fingers to hold up when someone asks you how old you are matches a five year old's personality perfectly. It was so cute to watch Katie proudly hold out her hand with all five fingers spread wide whenever someone asked her how old she was turning on her birthday. But Eric may just have to be careful, for her 6th birthday Katie may just ask for a pony!

Besides celebrating birthdays in Disneyland, we also worked on some pretty significant fears. Katie is terrified of fireworks and Disney does a firework show every night. We were dog-tired every night we were there so we never made it to the 9:30pm showing of the fireworks in the park. But we could see them from the RV parking lot we were staying at. The first night Katie refused to come out because as she explained it, "Fireworks are made of fire and they burn people and they burn houses." Well I couldn't really argue with that logic, so she just stayed inside while we enjoyed the show. The second night her curiousity got the best of her and she poked her head out of the RV for a few minutes and then decided she could watch them from the safety of Dad's arms. On the last night I was cleaning up the dinner dishes about a half hour before the show and I overheard Annie say to Katie while they were taking a shower, "I bet everyone is already watching the fireworks." And Katie responded, "Well we need to hurry so we don't miss the fireworks." What a difference 2 days makes!

Another fear we worked on is Finn's fear of roller-coasters. He really hates them. Annie, on the other hand, can't get enough of them and this really speaks to the difference in their personalities. When Finn was about 4 and Annie was 2, I took them to the aquarium. There were crabs you could touch there. Finn wouldn't get near them, but Annie kept putting her pudgy two year old fingers right up to them. This freaked Finn out and he kept telling me to not let Annie touch them because of their "pinchers." Anyway, luckily for Finn most of the roller coasters in Disneyland are pretty benign. They go fast, but tend to not have a lot of steep drops or chances to be upside down which is what he doesn't like about them. We started with Matterhorn which even Suzie can ride and worked our way up. The best was when Eric took Finn on Splash Mountain. I don't know if this next picture can be blown up, but if you want a good laugh- try to make it bigger and look at Finn's face. It is pure terror. There is absolutely no joy in his face whatsoever. And Eric and I, being the sympathetic, sensitive parents that we are have laughed and laughed about this picture every time we look at it. When Eric saw it he just couldn't pass up having hard evidence of why Finn doesn't like roller coasters. And what's even better is before they saw this picture, Finn said to Eric, "I wasn't expecting that drop at the end." Really?!?

One final note about "amusement parks." As fun as they are I can't help but wonder if the "amuse" in "amusement" means for parents having to tell your kids "No, we are not buying souvenirs until the last day" 100 times or feeling violated by having to pay $4.00 for a 12 oz soda or trying to keep both a 2 year old and a 10 year old happy at all times or dealing with mid-day meltdowns because we are all hot, hungry and have stayed up too late and gotten up to earlier. Well if it does- then yes, we have been sufficiently "amused!"

100th post

Yes, this is my 100th post and I know that is kind of sad given I have had this blog for nearly 2 years. But in honor of this momentous albeit long-time coming post I have written a "life list" with 100 things I want to do before I die. I started this list a few months ago when I saw I was getting close to the 100 milestone and have realized it is harder than I thought to come up with 100 things, therefore some of them I have already done. So if you want to know what I want to accomplish with my life- read on. But please be kind with your comments. Some of these are very personal. But I figure the universe will help them happen if I release them to the world.

1. Visit every state in the United States. (Already been to- Georgia, Florida, North & South Carolina, Montana, Utah, California, Neveda, Arizona, Illinois, Idaho, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington D.C., New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, Tennesee)
2. Go on a cruise.
3. Watch my children get married.
4. Watch my grandchildren get married.
5. Learn to snowboard.
6. Learn to slalom in water-skiing.
7. Become fluent in another language.
8. Visit Italy.
9. Experience natural childbirth- Done June 2001
10. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
11. Do a triathlon.
12. Watch a sunrise from a mountain top.
13. Go snorkeling- Done May 2008.
14. Go parasailing- Done May 2008.
15. Learn to scuba-dive.
16. Pick my son up from his mission.
17. Travel by train.
18. Watch a Broadway play in New York.
19. Watch a Broadway play in New York with my daughters.
20. Have a couples' massage with my husband.
21. Donate my hair to "Locks of Love."
22. Learn the names of constellations and be able to pick them out.
23. Publish a book.
24. Hike Mt. Timpanogos.
25. Hike to the "Y". I, unfortunately, never did this as a student at BYU, but still think I need to.
26. Learn to make a pie crust. Done
27. Attend a "Messiah" sing-a-long.
28. Make my Wii fit age younger than my real age.
29. Visit Norway- one of the lands of my ancestors.
30. See a Cirque-du-Soilel performance.
31. Be in a soccer league- Done summers of 2007, 2008, 2009.
32. Be on TV.
33. Read Charles Dickens.
34. Read Jane Austen.
35. Read all the Newbery Award books.
36. Sleep in a yurt. Done August 2009.
37. Change a tire.
38. Ride in a gondola.
39. Learn to knit.
40. Knit something recognizable.
41. Read C.S. Lewis.
42. Waterski at Lake Powell.
43. See edelweiss in person.
44. Attend a session in every temple in Utah.
45. Be an answer to someone's prayer.
46. Visit all the National Parks in Utah.
47. Run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours.
48. Have a caricature drawn of me.
49. Have my friend, Lara, do a "soul" painting of me.
50. Scrapbook my whole life.
51. Scrapbook my kids' lives.
52. Learn how to use a compass.
53. Go geocaching.
54. Go without candy for a year- Working on right now.
55. Yell, scream and go crazy at a sporting event or concert. I always want to but feel self-conscious, but I want to get over that.
56. Try a pilates class.
57. Try a yoga class. Done March 2009. And I love it so much that I have some new goals that relate to yoga.
58. Do and hold a headstand in yoga.
59. Do and hold the "crow" position in yoga without falling over.
60. Manage to not kill houseplants and actually have some real plants in my house.
61. Teach my daughters homemaking skills like cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc.
62. Have a fun sock collection.
63. Go ice-fishing. (IF my husband ever reads this-this one will shock him.)
64. See a Sundance film festival film in Park City during the festival.
65. Go on a mission with my husband.
66. Take my kids to Washington D.C.
67. Break 100 in bowling.- I really stink in bowling.
68. Do the Wasatch Back.
69. Beat Julie in some sort of athletic event.
70. See the Northern Lights.
71. Visit Yellowstone in the winter.
72. Learn the names of and recognize wildflowers in Utah.
73. Try oysters.
74. Try Rocky Mountain oysters.
75. Buy real art and hang it in my house.
76. Learn to shoot a gun.
77. Learn to drive Eula May.
78. Swim with dolphins.
79. Be the kind of mom who will stop what she is doing to have fun with her kids- like make a snowman when it is snowing or fly a kite when it is windy.
80. Get a good quality camera and take a photography class to learn how to use it properly.
81. Take a cake decorating class.
82. Do a pull-up and not the wimpy kind.
83. Own a convertible.
84. Sleep on the beach overnight.
85. Sleep in a hammock overnight.
86. Buy a Jon Schmidt piano book and learn to play his pieces.
87. Go to an airshow.
88. See 4th of July fireworks at a really cool place like Washington D.C. or Boston.
89. Learn to play chess.
90. Learn to cook ribs.
91. Do more country dancing.
92. Attend the Shakespearan Festival in Utah.
93. Learn to garden during the off-season or extended season- like knowing what vegetables I can plant in cool weather.
94. Learn to compost.
95. Be the first to say hello, give a hug, express gratitude, give a compliment, etc.
96. Help my kids discover who they were meant to be.
97. Let my kids know they are enough already.
98. Learn how to do family history.
99. Know that I am enough.
100. Turn this blog into a book one day that my family can read and know a bit more about their mother.