Mindy's ballet performance

Mom, Dad, Larry, JoAnne, and I went to see Mindy's ballet performance -- in Coppelia. She was a minor character, in a couple of dances, but she did very well. I liked the Chinese doll dance, which was fun. And the baby doll ballet -- very, very cute with all the tiny girls. Parts of the ballet were quite funny.

And I bought Mindy flowers; they were selling them in the lobby -- along with some of Mindy's artwork. I told her she could paint them. (Although she said she still has some feet to paint first.) It was a pretty good evening.

Fast Sunday request

With Adam graduating this Christmas, it's time for him to start applying for jobs. Obviously, that means we've got some major decisions to make, starting with WHERE does he apply for jobs. We've been pondering and praying A LOT already, and we're going to fast about it this weekend as well. (This will be the first time I fast in almost 3 years - the prospect of starting again is actually a little scary.) If you could all remember us in your fast as well - that we'll have clear heads to make this decision, and that we'll be led to where we need to go next - that would be really great. Thank you!

Michelle's post

I made a few phone calls yesterday, but I have so many family members. I, instead, am posting. Yesterday I had an ultrasound. My baby was very active and looking healthy to me. Of course, to get the results I will need to wait and talk to the doctor. I feel confident that the baby is perfectly healthy. The ultrasound tech told me the baby is a girl, not that it makes any difference at all to us. Fun to know any way. She will be loved, of course.

I am about 4 months along in my pregnancy. I am feeling just fine. I am not very big yet. Perhaps, I need a shirt that reads "I am not fat. I pregnant."

Brooke and Bryan are great. Finishing 2nd grade and kindergarten respectfully. I am very proud. Saturday was their last soccer games. They had a lot of fun playing.

I am still the activity girls leader for the 10-11 year olds. I really like my calling. Well, I need to go for now.

Post #2122

Well, here I am, posting again. Yes, I really did add up the number of posts written already on this blog and then went one more to get my post number. Hopefully no one posts before I get a chance to actually post this so it doesn't end up as the wrong number. I don't know if you can go back in and change the title of your post.

So I was noticing that Clarissa's letters have gotten progressively longer and more interesting as her mission continues. You can tell how she is doing on her mission just by how long her letter is and how filled with stuff about the work it is. I like it.

I have been enjoying a few days off. I have been cleaning my room... and that's about it (other than going out and being social.) Currently my room is a disaster again because I emptied all of my science teaching stuff out of my car and brought it into my bedroom. AND I brought the computer desk into my room, so I can actually sit in my room at the computer. I actually really like it. I had my computer in here before, but I would have to carry it back to the living room to print anything or download pictures. This is much better. Plus the desk I have in my room now has a purpose other than being the place to stack papers that I need to sort through. (Instead all those papers are now on the floor!) I've also been putting pictures up on my wall. I have all the pictures that Mindy made for me of the nieces and nephews actually hanging on the wall now. It is really nice. It makes me feel like a "grown-up." Yeah, I am going through my mid-life crisis and feeling like I need to be an "adult." Weird. I'll probably be over it in a few days and go back to being a kid, don't you worry.

Anyway, my life is going well. I have a job for the summer and then head back to the school in the fall, where I will be full time! Hooray! Which means I will have health insurance. Such a fabulous thing to have. I hope to be over the coughing and runny nose thing before September, but if not I'll be going to the doctor for it as soon as I get insurance.

That's about all that I've been up to. I went and saw Prince Caspian twice already. I highly recommend it to everyone. I liked it a lot.
Oh, and to Nate, Manda, and Mushy: Do you know what days you are coming to visit me yet?

A Letter from Clarissa (typed by Emily since it was mailed home)

Dear family, friends, and people,

This week has been insanely busy. I love it! It all started on Tuesday. Sister Enos and I went out to an Indian (meaning India) restaurant for lunch. I had goat palak, which is goat in a curry and spinach sauce served over rice. I really liked it. It made the car stink like goat for the rest of the day. (P.S. Emily, I called the goat Fred.)

Later that evening we got a phone call that the Kissimmee sisters, Sister Toth and Sister Olsen, were being stalked and had their apartment broken into and were going to be moving in with us. They had all their stuff to our apartment and were moved in by 9:30 that night.

Wednesday was President's interviews. Then Sister Enos and I went tracting with the district leaders. We found a man named Murphey. At first he seemed interested, but he really likes philosophy (and questions like "Where did God come from?") and can't believe the Book of Mormon is true because "horses and metal weren't in the Americas at the time." We taught him on Thursday, and he dropped us on Sunday morning.

Friday, we had breakfast at Sister Langston's. She was baptized two years ago, only member in her family and she loves missionaries. She usually goes on exchanges with us on Tuesdays, but she couldn't this last week and so she had us over for breakfast. Later that night, with permission, we went to Kissimmee for a dinner appointment with the other sisters at the Sikorsky's home. They're a less-active family Sister Enos was very close to while she was serving in Kissimmee. We had fun over there.

Saturday, we tracted for 3 hours and talked to 54 people . . . of which only 2 or 3 had any interest in the church. We taught Mae (that lady that we took the cake to last week) that night. She is ready to be baptized, but we're still waiting on those papers.

Sunday, we had a member (Giselle) who brought her boyfriend (Chadd) to church. He's come before but not since I've been here, until yesterday. Well, we will be teaching him starting on Wednesday. So we actually had a new investigator at church.

Then after church we met a woman named Maggie Mackey, who is visiting from Washington. She'll be here for about three weeks. She is a member but her niece, who happens to live in our area, is not and Maggie wants us to meet her. So, we're going to Singles FHE tomorrow to meet her. We didn't find out her name.

We didn't meet with Anna and Victor (the couple from Russia) this week, but she called us last night and we're meeting with them later tonight. And to top it all off, I have a cold. But don't worry, cause I'll be fine.

It rained really bad this morning. I think the rainy season may have started. It's still really hot.

I have a small request -- if anyone finds a CD called "Joseph: A Nashville Tribute" or something like that, could you buy it for me? I like that CD. Sister Crittenden and Sister Enos both have it, but I know that eventually I'll have to get my own copy if I want to listen to it. Also, I need sunglasses. The sun has been giving me headaches. Where can I find the clip-on kind that will fit my glasses?

That's all for now. Oh, this next week is already packed with appointments. Yay! We finally have people to teach. Keep up the missionary work at home. Remember I love all of your and pray for you.

Love,
Clarissa

question for Mom

I'm doing advance menu planning which is leading into when you and Dad will be out here. Obviously you have more restricted food guidelines than we do, so what is the ideal grocery list for when you come? We'll go from there on figuring out what to do with it. And please be specific - "vegetables" or "no dessert" doesn't cut it. I already know that. I also want to know what you LIKE to eat, since if I remember correctly, you're not a big fan of bell peppers and we eat them in darn near everything including plain as a snack.

I know this is really weird that I'm doing menu planning, but right now, the hardest thing about cooking is figuring out what to make in the first place. This is to eliminate the thinking part of meals.

I am alive

Hello my family -

Yes, I am alive... that's just in case you were wondering. I don't have any excuse for not posting really. I haven't even been that busy. Since my classes ended I've been working two jobs, but I'm still home by four most days... and then I have only been attending FHE and not the other stuff that I used to go to before my semester got crazy... so really, I have no excuses.

I enjoyed talking with everyone (except Jared was missing!) on the phone on Mother's day. It made me miss all of you and look forward to the next family reunion. I expect all of you to be there... including Jared!

School will be out officially on Thursday, but I'll be done tomorrow at 11 a.m. I'll clean out my room and then come home and try to get my house organized over my long weekend. I start my new job in full force next Tuesday. Meaning that I'll basically be working as many hours as I want too each day. Hopefully I'll be doing more than just stapling all day... which is what I've done when I've gone in there so far.

I have been enjoying all the videos, so thank you to everyone who has put any up (Eric, Jared, Emily, and Nathan... I think that's everyone.) I would love to see more videos from our childhood... HINT HINT Daddy! I do read the blog at least once a day... google reader has become one of my most frequently checked sites now. Thank you Trina for introducing me to that little time saver. I love it.

Anyway, I love you all and hope that this post finds you all healthy and happy.
Jared - do you know the gender and due date for this newest little Palmer yet?
Nate - Unfortunately I do believe I will not make it on Friday, hope that you can get over the disappointment.

Love to you all!

New Youtube video

That's right, Emily now has a youtube account. And a video taken while I was visiting Trina. The star of this little show is Summer. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope the link works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmwXudLiuU4

Eric Update

Hi all. I've feelin' the guilt, especially with Trina's gentle reminder to post. I've been busy, but then again, I have the time to READ the blogs so...

Anyway, Monterey is treating us well. Be sure to check out the pics if you haven't already, and on our YouTube page there's a tour of the house. I should remake it though, since Laurel's made quite a few changes to the decor since then. She's painted the bathroom, moved furniture... she likes to do that stuff. No, it's not done. It's never done.

Work is busy and a little bit stressful, but I'm doing well I think. I have a lot of work ahead of me this summer. It should be fun. We're hoping to at least get a few weekends away over the next few months. Down to LA and over to Idaho. Oregon... probably not until Christmas, but I'd like to go up sooner.

The weather was hot yesterday (for here). Up to 85. It's supposed to be 80 today. I think it's a little warmer over here than downtown though, so maybe even warmer. But it's not bad. The average daily temp stays between 60 and 70 all year. Crazy huh? and the nighttime temps between 40 and 50. It's nuts. And nice. Almost nobody has air conditioning.

Well, I love you all. I feel like I'm just rambling, but I felt the need to post and let you know what's up.

casting call

I did a casting call earlier today for a cooking show on the Discovery Channel, and I will find out in about 2 weeks if I made the cut and will actually BE on the cooking show. Details about the casting call are on my other blog HERE.

Emily, your page looks good. You don't have the pictures that I took at your graduation. Did you not get them off my computer from the shared drive? I guess that means I have to email them to you now. I'll go do that.

How is everyone else? People haven't posted here - or anywhere else that I've seen - in weeks. Helloooooo?

Update

Yeah, it's been a couple of years. And I found it rather difficult. But I think it's working now.

Home again

Hello, family. Yesterday, I flew back to Oregon. The first leg went from BWI to Denver. I headed into the airport, wrestling with my carry-ons. One suitcase was slightly overweight, so I carried my winter coat with me. I got to the gate just as the plane did. It was a rather long flight, and I read "The Giver" along the way. But the turbulance kept things entertaining. (Yes, I'm weird; I like the bumps.)

I had a long wait in Denver. I got a bite to eat there, and then I sat by the gate, typing away on my laptop. Then we flew from Denver to Salt Lake City, and I just waited on the plane for it to continue on to Portland. We had a bit of a wait, since there were some mechanical problems. I had a good seat, though. I picked it because it would give me a good view of Mount Hood when we flew into Portland.

Dad picked me up, and we visited Mom in the hospital before heading home. It's good to be back.

From D. C.

Morning, everyone. I woke up early today -- due to a fussy little Rosemary. Today, we plan to go to the zoo, mostly so I can see Summer's reaction to the zoo. I've seen a lot around D. C. already. Yesterday, I took Summer to the park. I also took a video of her dancing while watching the penguins on "Mary Poppins." I will try to get it up so others can see it in the near future. Summer, at least, will enjoy watching it.

9659.93

That would be the amount of money we received today from cashing out my retirement funds from the Oregon legislature and NCSL, and that's AFTER they took out about $3200 in taxes. So we'll make it through the summer. I got letters a few days after sending in the forms saying that they had been received and it would take 90-120 days to process. That would put us getting the money sometime in July or August, so we were hoping the summer term financial aid wouldn't be too mucked up by the school (which does not have a good track record) and we'd get that by the end of this month because yet again, we were at the end of the financial rope.

But no. We got the retirement cash-out in May. At the beginning of May. In TEN DAYS. We're both literally a little weak in the knees from how fast this turned around. We are definitely saying thank-you prayers right now, and this Sunday, I will be writing a big fat tithing/fast offering check.

New Pictures!

Hi guys! See new pictures of us and the ocean and other things.

www.insanityinc.net/eric/monterey

Or just go to our section of the website and look for the link.

Joshua's Calendar

Joshy's calendar is no longer on the internet. I removed it from the ftp and replaced it with something more manageable. It looks like Eric’s set up for his kids, but that is because it looks good and it is easy to add pictures. We hope you all enjoyed the calendar because we enjoyed sharing our Joshua with you.

Graduation

Hooray! I am now done with college. Let me start at the beginning of my day. I got up early and got ready to go. My roommate Rebecca nearly lost her honor cords, but she found them before we had to go. We all gathered in Chandler, which serves as the auditorium. We all lined up in pairs and eventually we headed out. It was a pretty nice day, not too hot, a bit of a breeze -- the wind really picked up afterwards and I lost my hat during the recessional. I was sitting next to the valedictorian; he was wearing a pair of bright blue and yellow Nikes. I thought it was highly amusing.

It was an alright ceremony. At the beginning, we were asked to stand and acknowledge the people who had supported us. I resisted the temptation to stand on my chair. The speeches were what you would expect during a graduation ceremony at a Mormon school. And the chairman of the board and his wife spoke.

It was very thrilling to stand and have the degree conferred, and then I got my diploma, and I was very happy to walk up and receive my diploma. My roommate took lots of pictures, but I'm not sure of what yet. Then I went to the reception for an hour or so to say good-bye to my friends and teachers.

I find it ironic that on the same day I receive my college degree I should be found bouncing a balloon off my head saying, "Boink! Boink!"

And right now I'm showing Summer videos of her cousins to keep her entertained while I type this. Do you know how hard it is to type with a toddler hanging on your arm?

Don't be shocked

It really is me. I know I haven't written for a VERY long time but I had to write today and congratulate Emily on her graduation. What a wonderful accomplishment. Yet another college graduate in the family. And congratulations to Joshua on those first steps - keep practicing.

I have now announced to all of you (except Clarissa and I'll email her tomorrow) that I am retired. I feel a load lifted off of me. I still have to fill out the paperwork in order to receive my money but they are mailing that out. I went by work the other day and collected a few of my own things. They said if they found anything else they would let me know.

I'm not thrilled about going back into the hospital for my monthly visit but I'm hoping that they'll be able to find the cause of my problems so they can cure it, or at least treat it. Remember me in your prayers on Monday and Tuesday when they're doing the biopsies.

I'm going to go make dinner now because Nate and Amanda are coming soon. (Maybe Joshy will walk for me.) I love you all and I'll try to do better about posting on here.

Love ya,
MOM

Title

So my finals are done and I'm taking a break for the summer. It is really nice actually. I didn't realize how stressed out I was until the stress was gone. I was practically giddy with joy yesterday.

For the next few weeks I will be continuing to work at the school (school is out on May 22nd), tutoring my friend's son, and I'll also start training for my summer job. I'm working for an internet based company that sells wheat grass kits and other health food stuff. It is based here in Springville and partly owned by a girl in my ward. It should be a good summer job. Then next fall I'll be back to full time at Meridian, hopefully. They are having some financial issues and have to have $293 thousand donated by May 8th. If not, the school will close its doors. That would be very sad. But we have over 200 thousand at this point, so I think we might actually make it. Anyway, if I am full time it will include teaching science to the Kindergarten through 6th grades (I was just K-4 this year) and also doing library for K-6 once a week, and helping TA in several classes. It should be interesting... and I'll also be in school full time again in the fall (but just for one semester.) So I will be under all sorts of stress again in the fall. I want to enjoy the summer since it will be less stress time.

And that's basically what I'm up too.
The End

Senior banquet

Today I was running errands and packing. I'm mostly done with packing, except for a few things I need tomorrow. I got my last paycheck, as well as a card from my coworkers. My roommates' family came to town.

In the evening, there was the senior banquet -- pretty good food. I got my cords for the history honor society. There are three honor societies at our school. My roommate Rebecca is in the English honor society. My cords are blue and red; hers are black and red.

The day has come...

Last night I was holding Joshua up and told him to stand. So he did for a good three seconds. I don't remember if he did it the first time I had him stand up or the second time, but he took a couple of steps. My little boy is growing up.