Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Here's a list of 3 things I would do if I had the time:
1. Get waxed. Just my face. That hair is not going to take care of itself!
2. Get a massage. I'm so tired after taking care of sick Mini-me and the baby that I might just fall asleep on the table.
3. See a movie. During the day. By myself. Any old chick-flick will do. The best part is not having to share the Diet Coke!

Scary Moment

Last night, Curly got a call from some of his friends offering him a ticket to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in Baltimore. I had already seen the show in NYC, so I encouraged him to go, knowing how much he would like it. I must have fallen into a deep sleep on the couch before he got home, because when he walked through the door, he scared the dickens out of me. I screamed so loud the neighbors must have heard. Then, I was so embarrassed, I started to cry.

Mini-me does indeed have strep throat. She woke up at about 3 this morning, asking for a story. Patch also woke up several times. I am one sleepy momma this morning.

Success

I don't know how many people lose weight over Thanksgiving, but I am one of them. This morning at my Jenny Craig appointment, I found that I am down 2.8 pounds. That's a total of 20.8 pounds lost. My family can attest to the fact that I enjoyed myself this holiday weekend.

Mini-me still has a fever. We are headed to the doctor later this morning. Hopefully they will diagnose something so that we can help her get over this.

Crying

Tonight, I cried at a sitcom. The last time I did that, Rachel dumped Ross. Tonight, Lena forgave Ritchie. I know, I know. It is totally lame to cry at a tv show. But it is not lame to cry when you see someone forgive someone else.

Tonight, Curly started rehearsing for Forever Plaid. He only has 5 rehearsals in the month of December. They open mid-January. He certainly has his work cut out for him. And, since I run lines and play piano to help him out, I have my work cut out for me as well.

Sick Day

Mini-me has yet another fever. I am also not feeling so well, so I'm staying home from church today with the kids. Curly seems to be doing alright.

Last night, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Melden came up to see Curly's show. It was a great evening. The food was good, the company great, and the show fantastic. The part of the show I was most anxious about was the kiss Curly has with Cha-cha. A picture of it was on the front page of the Frederick Gazette. Little side note about it -- a woman in our ward saw the picture and confronted Curly in the hall about it last Sunday. She said, "I saw a picture of you kissing a woman who is not your wife. Shame on you." We thought that was very funny and discussed all the church movies that have kissing scenes between people who are not married in real life. Anyway, last night they turned the kiss into more of an embrace.

Photo Finish Friday

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Being Thanksgiving, here are 3 things I am thankful for:

1. My husband, Curly. Not only is he a looker, but he is a great husband and father.
2. My kids -- Flower, Mini-me, and Patch. They are a wealth of entertainment and love.
3. My friends. I have a lot, and they are all kind and loyal.

The Fun has Begun!

Thanksgiving festivities were kicked off last night in Vienna, VA. Grandma and Grandpa Zundel arrived from Chicago, Melly and Elden arrived from Utah (and Canada). We drove down and had a great dinner with them, Mom and Dad, and Mike and Jean and Preston, at our favorite Italian place, Espositos. We had a great time talking, laughing, and cooing over babies. Mini-me even did a little show back at GrandPatty's house. This is going to be some fun holiday!

The only downside to so much fun is tired kids. Mini-me is a total grump this morning. She decided she was too tired to go to gymnastics this morning, so we're just hanging out here all morning. With a day to decompress, tomorrow should be great for her.

On the docket for today is pie baking. I am making 3 different kinds: pumpkin (of course!), chocolate pecan, and apricot cranberry. Hopefully they will all turn out. Last year I forgot to put the sugar in the pumpkin pie that went to my inlaws. Whoops! They were very good natured about it, but it was gross.

Jon Remember

The following is taken from a letter from my oldest brother, Jon. Hope he doesn't mind!

Who can forget the year when, with heavy hearts (and a grateful Grandma), we retired the esteemed jersey of Big Z? Or, how about the controversial sideline play when Matt did or did not step out of bounds? The image of Sam Anderson weaving his way through a porous defense as just a seven year old will not soon be lost to the ages. Nor will we forget the year when The Missionaries returned for another game. The tradition was passed to another generation when the Turkey Bowl was held at historic Harger Road field to show the great grandkids that despite their parents’ insistence, their fathers were not in shape. After playing, we always retreated to the comfort of 905 Red Fox Lane for the opportunity to get dressed up, eat ourselves silly, and fall asleep during a football game. Of course, the Turkey Bowl was more than a game, as we gathered for Bingo, then pie, then some turkey leftovers, then a little more pie, some Disney movies for the kids, and finally bed-time. Naturally, the Lee’s would wake up early the next morning to go to a gym in Elmhurst and begin the process of training for the next year’s game. There is no off-season from the Turkey Bowl.

Something Different

Today we were teaching Mini-me about Thanksgiving. I said I was thankful for her, Flower, Patch, and Daddy. She said "I thank-ul for church." Such a sweet thing. This time of year has made me thankful for a lot of things. My family, my home, my belief in Christ, and my freedom, to name a few. It is in this spirit that I ask you to click here to say thank you to our troops. It just takes a moment. You can write your own message, or choose one of several that is already written. It doesn't matter if you support the war, or the President. That's not what this is about. This is about giving our gratitude to the thousands of men and women who defend our freedom.

Mom Remembers

From my mom, GrandPatty:

"Grandpa always had a yard project as part of Thanksgiving Day. In Richmond he would trim the ivy on the house, and Mrs. Sanders who lived next door, said she knew that it was time to put her turkey in the oven if Neil was trimming the ivy.

"In Oak Brook exterior illumination was the order of the day as Jon and Mike were enlisted to help Grandpa festoon the Steeplechase brick wall for the homeowners association."

Family Moments

At our Chicago Thanksgivings, there were always funny family moments. Aunt Lisa with Melly in the bathroom was one. The old men stretching before the Turkey Bowl is another. The video that Kristy and Lindsay made is one of my favorites. They went around with the video camera all day taping everyone saying things like "Happy Thanksgiving!" and "Gobble, gobble!" That, in and of itself, was very funny. But add things like flushing the toilet and pretend blow-drying your hair, and you have hilarity.

Somehow Thanksgiving Day seemed the be the longest day of the year. There was time to watch a parade, play football, eat snacks and watch football before dinner, eat a huge dinner, clean up, watch more football, stitch and chat, play bingo, eat pie, and watch a movie or two. It was like time stood still for one day. Grandma and Grandpa had the best room for movie watching. There were two beds, a recliner, and a triangle pillow (that we would fight over). We would watch Charlie Brown cartoons on their laser disk player (our favorite was the Homecoming episode with Charlie Brown playing the worst football ever, and then getting to escort the little red haired girl to the dance). We would watch A Christmas Story with Ralphie shooting his eye out. And, my favorite, we would watch White Christmas. It's still my all-time favorite movie. It makes you think that the 40s and 50s were wonderfully fun times full of singing and dancing and saving ski chalets. We always sang along, we always fast-forwarded through "Choreography," and we always broke out into spontaneous dance performances of "Sisters." This movie will always bring back Chicago Thanksgivings for me. During the movies, the girls would break out the dress-ups. They never failed to amuse us. It was an activity that usually ended in tears, and usually my tears, but we did it anyway and put on countless fashion shows over the years.

We did a lot of stitching on Thanksgiving Day. I think it's where I got my love of stitching. Aunt Lisa would bring her big bag and show the projects she had going to for teachers and friends for Christmas gifts. Kristy always had something she was working on. Grandma usually worked on needlepoint. Aunt Jill would work on a huge tablecloth. My mom and I would alternate between needlepoint and cross stitch. Eventually I settled on cross stitch and Mom has crossed over to knitting. We would sit in the living room on the gold couches and chat. I loved hearing stories from college years and holidays past. I also loved seeing the relationship my mom had with her sister and sister-in-law, and her mom. It was easy and relaxed. It was clear that they loved each other.

Thanksgiving Day just had a magic to it. There was a huge meal to prepare and clean up. There were games to be played and watched. But there was always time to sit and relax and enjoy being together as a family. Isn't that what the holidays are all about?

More Memories

It is pouring down rain today, which causes me to push my errands back until the rain stops. As a result, I have more time to reminisce about Thanksgivings of yore. Since we stuffed ourselves full of turkey, the natural thing to do the day after is go out and walk around. It seems everyone in the country shares that desire and thus we have the busiest shopping day of the year. Some years we would just go to Oak Brook center, which is less than a mile from Grandma's house. It is an outdoor mall that has every shop you could ever want or need. My favorite place as a kid was, of course, the candy store. I think it was called The Confectionary. My favorite thing to get was a plastic bear filled with candy. I don't even know what kind. Other years, we would brave downtown and hit The Water Tower. The Water Tower is a multi-level shopping experience. Parking was hard to find, and the place was crowded beyond belief. We used to joke that if we picked up our feet while in the crowd, we would continue to move. My brothers always wanted to visit the fan stores, being the biggest Bears and Cubs fans this side of the Mississippi. I don't know that I had a place I always wanted to go. I was just along for the ride. (I'm sure someone remembers differently. Feel free to comment!) That night, we would have dinner at Carson's. It was, as their slogan says, The Place For Ribs. In all my years of eating there, I think I only ordered ribs once or twice. I always had chicken and a gold brick sundae for dessert. I remember several years (which for me morph into "always"), my uncle would order a salad, the idea being he was on a diet. Carson's didn't have an ordinary salad, though. They had what they called a "garbage" salad. If you could think it, it was in that salad. They probably threw in a couple of ribs for good measure. The lobby of the restaraunt had an old PacMan game. We never put quarters in to play, but we always fought over who got to sit there. One year my aunt, who is so funny, went into the restroom while my sister was in there, disguised her voice, and asked "Is there a Mary Ellen in here?" This little voice answered tentatively, "Yes." We laughed and laughed over that one. Although, if it had been me in that stall, I may not have answered, I would have been so freaked out that someone who didn't sound like a relation, knew my name.

Countdown

Opening night is in 2 days. Curly is feeling a little under the weather. That's normal for tech week, though. It's a very stressful week. Hopefully he'll be feeling fine by the open.

I am getting so excited for Thanksgiving. I think it may be my favorite holiday. Growing up, we had a lot of traditions on this day. Every year, the boys played in the Turkey Bowl. Naturally, there had to be a letter from the Turkey Bowl Selection Committee. They were the funniest letters and marked the beginning of the festivities. Being a girl, I was not usually included in the letter. However, while on my mission, the Selection Committee thought I should get that little touch of home. We would then go out to Chicago to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Oak Brook. Dinner Wednesday night would be at Aunt Lisa's in Naperville. Sometimes Melly and I would stay overnight with our cousins. Breakfast the next morning would be either an instant breakfast or a black donut straight from the fridge. On Thanksgiving, I would watch the parade start to finish. Some family members would join me during the broadcast, but I think I was the only one to watch it all the way through. The different families would arrive at Grandma's house, dressed in their football gear. One or two would have eye black on, and we would all exclaim at their cleverness, even though the same thing happened every year. Next, pictures of the teams: Turkey Trotters and Just Plain Turkeys. We would then have our own mini-parade, crossing the street to the "football field." Amid the goose droppings, the men would play. It was always taken VERY seriously. Whoever won would gloat, whoever lost would pout. The women would dutifully watch from the sidelines, calling out encouragement or jeers, always freezing. Sometimes the girl cousins would bring pompoms and try to cheer, but it ways always short lived due to the temperature. Back in we would go, the men would shower and change into their Thanksgiving finery, and the eating would commence. Grandpa would make kielbasa, Grandma would make veggies and dips. Everyone would drink Diet Coke. In fact, the outside fridge was so stocked full of beverages of moderation that we never ran out. Thanksgiving dinner was a feast. Turkey, roasted by Grandma, carved by Grandpa; peas; rolls; cranberry sauce, complete with can lines; sweet potato casserole; the best mashed potatoes and gravy; and jello salad that sat on a piece of iceburg lettuce. After the dinner and clean up, the men would watch football in the den and the women would stitch and gab in the living room. After our food had set for a bit, it was time for Bingo. Grandpa would call the game, "farty far," and we would play a round until everyone won and got to choose from the prize basket. Then there was pie. And more Diet Coke.

I miss Thanksgivings in Chicago. I am so glad Grandma and Grandpa will be heading back east for the festivities and that the whole Lee clan will be there. New place, old traditions. Anyone feel like reorganizing the Selection Committee?

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Not Quite Melting

Today I am down another 1.2 pounds. It's not quite flying off, but slow and steady wins the race...

Last night in our training, Rebeccah and I ran nearly the whole way. We have about a half mile to add in running. We also improved our time by about 4 minutes, which was great. While I still don't enjoy the running, it is getting easier. That, and I really enjoy talking with Rebeccah as we go.

Where a Kid Can be a Kid

It was a cloudy, rainy, yucky day today. Flower was out of school, observing Veteran's Day, so we had to do something fun. We started out making Capri Sun purses. They turned out pretty cute, but I have a feeling they will fall apart before too long. I used my Wal-Mart machine, and not my Viking, for this project. We then went to Chuck E. Cheese, where a kid can be a kid. We ran into some friends, who were there with their play group. Mini-me was a little more excited to see Mommy Caleb than she was to see Caleb. Flower just got picked up by her mom, so now it's time for a nap for Mini-me. It's so overcast that I'm a bit sleepy, too!

A Night Out

Last night, Curly arranged for some of his costars from Way Off Broadway to come and babysit. Danny and ChaCha arrived at 5 and took over until 11. It was great to get out without kids. We asked the Perednis to join us and went to Famous Daves for dinner because we had a gift card there. Normally we don't like to eat there because everyone you see leaving the place is ginormous. We then went to see the new Will Farrell movie, Stranger than Fiction. It was a great movie. I'm not going to give anything away, because I know people want to be surprised when they see it. Suffice it to say that generally I'm a little too cynical for this kind of movie, but I loved this one. To top off a great night, we went grocery shopping at the new Super Wal-Mart. What a night! Thanks, Curly, for taking me out on the town and showing me a great time ;)

I Can Run Like the Wind Blows

Last night, Rebeccah and I ran nearly the whole way. I give the credit to my new running shoes. They support my arch much better than my other shoes. This morning, however, we were both feeling sluggish. My quad muscle kept grabbing at me, so we walked the route today. But hey, at least we were moving.

Curly has gotten a babysitter for us tonight. It's a friend of his from the theater, and she is doing it for free. Can't beat that. I don't know what we're doing yet, but whatever we do, it will be nice to be together.

In stitching news, I finished the stitching of one of our family ornaments for the year. I'm not going to say what it looks like. I'll post a picture of it after Christmas. I don't want to spoil the surprise! Anyway, it didn't take that long to do, so hopefully I will have the bulk of them done in the next two weeks. I am making headway in my projects but still have a lot to do. Hopefully I'll get it all done!

Hard Lesson

Yesterday afternoon, Flower came home with a lot of homework. Normally she has one or two sheets. Last night, she had 22 pages. Her teacher, Mrs. Warren, gives them work to do in class. They are not supposed to play until the work is finished. Our sweet Flower thought that if she stuffed the pages into her seat pocket, she wouldn't ever have to do it. Mrs. Warren found them yesterday and said she had to finish them for homework. It took her 3 1/2 hours. She was exhausted by the end of it, but Curly really want to learn her lesson about procrastination. Let's hope she did.

The Thanksgiving decor is almost finished. I just need to put Muffy and Hoppy in their pilgrim and Indian garb. Then we will be a very thankful house.

Is it Spring?

Patch, Mini-me, and I have been out enjoying this beautiful weather. We just spent over an hour at the park with Caleb and Mommy Caleb. At one point, Mini-me took her shoes off and said she was at the beach. When I picked her up from school today, her teacher, Miss Tina, told me that Mini-me has an issue throwing sand. If she does it again, she will be banned from the sand box. Who is she throwing it at, you might ask? Well, herself. I told her and Caleb how I used to eat sand and dirt when I was their age. Caleb looked at my with a very serious face and said "That's gross, Jana." Indeed.

Rainy Day

It's raining cats and dogs today, so we have opted out of the YMCA and are staying home. Mini-me has been complaining of a sore throat since yesterday, so we're not even going over for her gymnastics class. It's a good day to work on Flower's quilt. I just have to do the binding and then it's done.

Election Day was very exciting for me. Maryland was a battleground state for the Republicans. I always vote with the party. Only a few of my candidates won: Virginia Fifer is still the Registrar of Wills, even though her opponent, Finefrock had a great campaign slogan -- Frock the Vote. Chuck Jenkins is our Sheriff, Charlie Smith is the new State's Attorney. But Team Erlich bit the dust. Our yard signs didn't do any good. I turned on MSNBC yesterday in time to hear Chris Matthews say that the losers would all cry because that's what you do when all those people personally reject you. Our good friend, Scott Rolle, ran and lost for Attorney General, but he always has his acting career to fall back on (he played The Old Man in A Christmas Story last year).

Part 2

I opened up her backpack Monday morning and found the thing every stepmother dreads -- unfinished homework! Our little Flower told us she didn't have any homework. Whoops. She was able to complete it on the way to school. That's the one good thing about driving 35 minutes to school -- homework and other studying can be completed on the way there.

I had Jenny Craig this morning and did really well -- down nearly 2 more pounds. That makes 17 pounds so far. I have 22 pounds until my halfway weight. Yea!

Boring Posts

The past few posts have been, well, boring. I'm bored writing them. I can imagine that all of cyberspace is bored reading them. On a related topic, I discovered this weekend that there are people who don't read my blog! There were people on Sunday who were shocked by my new hair. That's a dead giveaway of someone who isn't reading.

Since I can't fix the reading issue, I will try to rectify the boredom. Today I will post the first part of a story, then I will finish it tomorrow. Hopefully I can retain the readers I do have that way.

This morning began like most other mornings, with one slight difference: Daddy was home. Frederick County Schools are closed today for a teacher work day. The Flower had been with us all weekend (and a fun weekend it was). Curly woke her up and took her and Mini-me down for breakfast. Patch ate in his room, as usual. I went downstairs as the girls went back upstairs to change out of their pjs. I made Flower's lunch, put it in her lunchbox, and then went to put it in her bag. When I opened her bag, I discovered.....

TO BE CONTINUED!!!

Celebrating

This weekend we celebrated two birthdays: Grandpatty and Grandpa. We went to dinner with Grandpatty and Papa Ken on Friday night and then went to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday night. Happy Birthdays!

Cute Kids

Early Fridays

On Fridays, I wake up early and bake for the seminary kids. Sometimes I do cinnamon rolls, sometimes it's muffins. Today, it was Lion House pumpkin bread that I did in muffin size. I even added mini chocolate chips, to give it that "something special." I used to go back to bed after the baking was done, but now we have Lily overnight with us on Thursday nights. If I went back to sleep, she wouldn't get up for school. So now I stay up and take some extra time to work on my projects. The stockings are done, so all that is left is to sew up the ones I made for Mini-me and Patch. Poor Mini-me has had a unsewn stocking for the past few years. I cannot believe this is Christmas #4 for her!

My best friend, Rebeccah, and I are training for a 5K. The race takes place Thanksgiving morning around Baker Park. We ran the course last night. I thought my lungs would explode. I had horrible flashbacks to playing soccer at Flint Hill and being the slowest runner, which resulted in my being stuck in the goal. I was also a horrible goalie, so I got stuck on the bench. I don't think I have run any significant distance since that time. We did the course in under 40 minutes, which I think is pretty good. I am in pain this morning, which is also pretty good. Gotta wake those muscles up!

My Hair

I know what you're all thinking: Hubba hubba! This picture makes it look a tad darker than it actually is. Tim did a great job, as usual. Look! I'm me again!

Transformation

Hating how I looked on Monday has caused a transformation to start. I plucked my unibrow and got myself a hair appointment. According to Tim, my stylist, my hair was in desparate need of help. He wanted to keep it long and "sexy," but I told him that long and sexy was not me. Neither was brown. So, yesterday he cut and did the first color stage. That took 2 hours, and my baby needed me home. I am going back today for the rest of the color. Already I feel more like the old me.

Halloween was a real success yesterday. Mini-me had eaten one cupcake and two suckers before noon. She was bouncing off the walls until after 9. Today we have had a minor sugar crash, so I gave her a some bit of the hair of the dog that bit her and she's doing fine.