The 8 Things Tag

8 TV shows I love to watch:
I don’t watch much tv these days so I’ll include some old favorites
1. ER
2. Wonder Years
3. Growing Pains
4. Felicity
5. Biggest Loser
6. Smallville
7. Design on Dime
8. Wheel of Fortune

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Pita Pit
2. Carrabbas
3. Fresh off the Hook
4. PF Changs
5. el Gallo Giro
6. Applebees (I’m not ashamed to admit it!)
7. Cheesecake Factory (pretty much just for the cheesecake)
8. The Metropolitan (once in a lifetime visit)

8 Things that happened today
1. Cameron said to me “Excellent point Mommy”…Wha?
2. I drove almost to Marsing for apples that are making my van smell very good
3. We missed music & movement at the library because of said drive
4. I cut 2x4s into 3-4″ blocks
5. The third and final (thank goodness!) presidential debate
6. I mowed the lawn
7. Cleaned out the wilted and withered garden
8. Had good company for lunch

8 things that I look forward to
1. $2.97 for Gas (this is what I payed in Wells, NV on Monday)
2. A 5:30pm flight from Spokane on Friday
3. My next newborn (not an announcement)
4. Christmas-time
5. Bryan coming home
6. BYU v. Utah (assuming things go well and both teams come into it undefeated)
7. no more potty mishaps
8. Misha chewing on the right things

8 Things on my wish list:
1. a KitchenAid mixer
2. new jogging shoes
3. new blinds in my kitchen and living room
4. a sewing machine
5. a quality chef’s knife
6. an Italian vacation
7. ballet shoes
8. maybe I should be wishing to be less of a consumer?

8 People I tag:
1. Krista
2. Tisha (hope you see this…)
3. Lacie
4. Melanie
5. Jill
6. Brooke
7. Brit
8. Kim

Of course Cameron really didn’t play the slots. Because apparently there is a $5,000 fine for children in the gaming areas. Which surprises me because the gaming areas are strategically placed between the parking garage and the desired exhibit of any given casino. This particular casino was the MGM Grand which has a lion display that Cameron and Eli really enjoyed. (The pictures of the lions didn’t turn out.)

But interestingly, in life there are often situations, movies, places that don’t bother you or don’t seem uncomfortable. That is until you change the company you are with and all of the sudden it feels awkward or inappropriate. That is how the Vegas strip is. We have been there many times but this time we took a 3 year old and an 18 month old. All of the sudden the nudity and language seemed louder and more evil. We determined that the strip is no place for kids. (Or maybe even for us for that matter, but I won’t get into that.)

We did get to watch a fountain show at the Bellagio which never gets old for me. I love it every time. Here are Lori and Sean loving it.

And luckily for me, Las Vegas (or technically Henderson) has a redeeming quality. It is home to these four people. The reason we drove 784 miles.
My sister Adri just had a baby. It is always a pleasure to visit the Daines’s and especially when a newborn is involved. This is Antonia. The first grand-daughter on both sides. Cameron has one cousin, (well two now I guess) and they seem to have more fun together each time they get together. Charlie is delightful.
The weather was nice, especially compared to what I hear it was like in Boise over the weekend. But still cool enough for jackets. If you are thinking the grass looks perfect, calm your troubled mind because it isn’t real grass. It is actually much better than real grass. On Saturday we really wanted to take the boys to do something fun. Adri suggested this carousel and the whole family came along. You can’t really see how much fun Cameron was having in the first picture, but a little bit better in the second.

Something about palm trees really helps you feel like you are on vacation. But it’s good to be home.

When Daddy’s away… Mommy will play. Or, by play I mean make unhealthy meal choices.


Krista and I decided doughnuts for dinner was perfectly legitimate. And if you get to Krispy Kreme at just the right time you can each get a free doughnut, making this meal easy, delicious and inexpensive.

{ I know you’re thinking “Yeah Jo, that computer break really did you good. You’ve posted three times in two days. ” But I’ve had this on my mind and I had to “talk” about it. And I really am spending less time on the computer. I did accomplish my goal. But as I heard in conference “The dearest friend is your own clear conscience.” Sorry, can’t remember who said it. But enough of the justification and self-defense.}

I decided it was time for me to inform myself about what is really going on here.

As I’ve mentioned my best source of education these days is podcasts. This week Ira did an episode of This American Life that could be best described as “Credit crunch for dummies”. It was just right for me, I have no background in economics and I completely rely on Richard for financial facts.

What I discovered is that the debt situation in the United States is more complicated than I could ever imagine. Well I didn’t know what I was imagining, but this was thorny. For those who do have a sound understanding of economics please don’t laugh. The jist of it is that trusts, banks, hedge funds, were all lending money they didn’t have. And I don’t mean a million dollars here or a million there, I mean amounts in the ballpark of $50 billion. I don’t want to embarrass myself by trying to explain this further so I’ll get to my point.

I think I am fiscally conservative. I took a political science class and learned all about Adam Smith, the invisible hand and laissez faire. But today I heard on the radio that Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman Bros. was rumored to have received a payout of $480 million. He said that number was exaggerated but he admitted to receiving $250 million over a period of eight years, 60% of that in cold hard cash.

Richard has instilled in me a belief in capitalism. But how did we get to the point where one man is worth 250 million dollars. And in the process of making his fortune he built up a company only to let it be destroyed, leaving a tragic path of unemployment behind him. I realize I am being dramatic, but I really had a pit in my stomach as I thought about this. Who needs that much money?

What’s worse is that he is one of many. The people who gambled exorbitant amounts of money they didn’t really have made great fortunes too. So what now? That’s just the breaks? Live and let the golden parachutes drop?

I really do want to know your thoughts readers. But I hate to end on a negative note. SO….

Thinking positive: I am grateful for the example of Thoreau. Food, fuel, shelter and clothing.

Thanks Elder Perry for the reminder.

Richard’s cousin Wendy invited us up to her parent’s cabin for the weekend. Thanks Larry and Janie for hosting!

In the pool pile is Tyler, Bryton, Richard, Ethan and Austin. Richard got his workout for the day.

Cameron had a great time, and although I don’t have a picture, even Eli enjoyed some pool-time.

Uncle Larry took Cameron and for a ride on the 4-wheeler out to see the horses.

Eli got to ride along with me. Don’t panic grandmas, we went very slowly.

It was so beautiful up there. Cameron was nurtured and loved dearly by Whitney and Olivia. Thanks girls!

Eli fell in love with this little gray stuffed kitty. But don’t tell Tyler.

There were so many things for Cameron to do, Richard and I were able to watch conference in peace. (For the most part.) It was a blissful getaway. We were treated so well and asked nothing in return. It had me feeling guilty…

I’ve returned from another blogging hiatus. The last one didn’t actually count, I exercised no self-restraint. This time I took a week-long vacation from the computer almost entirely. I allowed myself two computer visits which I used mostly for banking and checking my email. Upon my return to my google reader this evening I was slightly overwhelmed, and wanting to avoid the bad habits I had just devoted a very tempting seven days trying to break, I just “marked as read”. Sorry fellow bloggers, the last week of your lives went unnoticed by me. Is it a little ridiculous for me to think that matters?

Anyway, luckily I was informed by Julie that I had been tagged by herself and Laura. If I was tagged by anyone else, I apologize for not being aware. After writing 101 things about myself this seems a little redundant, but I will try to be original.

10 Years Ago I…
1- was in the beginning of my junior year of high school
2- played crash cymbals in the marching band. I still get nostalgic this time of year when I can hear the Centennial marching band practicing from my parent’s backyard
3-
4- Am I old? I can’t remember anything else…
5-
5 things on my “to do” list today
1-clean out the garage
2- cut the boys’s hair
3- finish writing the primary program
4- finish freezing my peaches
5-respond to emails
5 Snacks that I enjoy…
1- Popcorn
2- chips and salsa (I had a new and very delicious salsa this weekend)
3- protein bars (this is a new and unusual? treat)
4-brownies mushed in ice cream, Coldstone style
5- Candy
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire…
1- hire a lobbyist to move and shake for easier international adoptions (do foreign governments allow for lobbyists?)
2- pay off a house
3- travel
4- invest (because Richard would make me)
5-donate
5 places I have lived…
1- Provo, UT
2- Boise, ID
3- Fairfax, VA
4-Pocatello, ID
5-Kuna, ID
5 jobs I have had…
1- Dairy Queen
2- Deseret Industries (Here’s to you Lily!)
3- ISU Early Learning Center (daycare)
4- Roaring Springs
5- Dental offices

As I wrote this it seemed familiar, have I done this post before?
I tag ____________. (Anyone who wants to do this post insert your name here.)