. . . lettuce taco 'bout . . .

. . . that one time

drew got asked

to a school dance . . .

. . . with a bag full

of jack-in-the-box tacos . . .

. . . the note on the outside read . . .

. . . "lettuce taco 'bout winter formal" . . .

. . . then he got

to dig through

all of them . . .

. . . and finally found

a green shred of paper

with the girl's name on it . . .

. . . and you're welcome . . .

. . . those of you

who're trying to figure out

how to ask

that special someone . . .

{would work equally as well for answering purposes}

. . . now ~ lettuce taco 'bout . . .

. . . soup . . .

. . . there were

a couple of requests

for this recipe . . .

. . . so ~ here ya go . . .

. . . giving credit . . .

. . . thanks, karen! . . .

. . . just keeping it real . . .

. . . creases, splashes, and all . . .

. . . super easy . . .

. . . love the addition

of the ranch mix . . .

. . . best {in my opinion}

with green chili corn bread . . .

. . . enjoy . . .

{i usually double and freeze half}

. . . with care . . .

. . . that's how the stockings

were hung . . .

. . . but they aren't

by the chimney . . .

. . . we got rid of the chimney

about sixteen years ago . . .

. . . and for those keeping track . . .

. . . 5 1/3 inches . . .

. . . that's length of hanging area . . .

. . . divided by number of stockings . . .

. . . it's getting a little crowded . . .

. . . however ~ in the interest

of planning ahead . . .

. . . i made room

for twenty-two stockings . . .

{presently, we have seventeen people in our family}

. . . so i won't need

to move nails

for a while anyway . . .

. . . drew keeps promising

triplet girls . . .

. . . so ~ we'll see . . .

. . . i've been asked before

about these lights . . .

. . . which i purchased

many years ago . . .

. . . from nordstrom . . .

. . . out of a catalog . . .

. . . before the days of internet . . .

. . . probably the best light sets

i've ever bought . . .

. . . i think i just

got a kick out of the name

of their line

of christmas decor . . .

. . . so glad i had the foresight

to stock up

on lots of replacement bulbs . . .

. . . but i did shed a single tear today . . .

. . . when i realized

i'm down to this box

plus only two bulbs more . . .

. . . here's one more shot . . .

. . . since i realized

that something

wasn't quite right

about the first photo . . .

. . . can you spot it? . . .

. . . my goal is

to finish all decorating

{except the tree}

this week . . .

{crossing my fingers}

. . . stocking up . . .

. . . i feel like a squirrel

or something . . .

. . . is it time to hibernate? . . .

. . . instead of acorns

i bought a lot

of canned goods today . . .

. . . prepared to make taco soup

at the drop of a hat, it seems . . .

. . . stocking up

for a long, cold winter . . .

. . . in mesa, az . . .

. . . which reminds me . . .

. . . it's about time

to put the stockingS up . . .

. . . we've added

three family members

to our mix this year . . .

. . . and i think these'll ^ blend in

just about right . . .

. . . with these . . .

. . . but there's math involved . . .

. . . length of hanging area . . .

. . . divided by number of stockings . . .

. . . and then a lot of nails to move . . .

. . . it might happen tomorrow . . .

. . . any time after veterans day

is fair game . . .

. . . special forces . . .

. . . we pause

on this veterans day . . .

. . . to remember and thank

those who have so bravely

and selflessly served

this fine country of ours . . .

. . . military personnel

who make us all

proud to be americans . . .

. . . army . . .

. . . navy . . .

. . . air force . . .

. . . marines . . .

. . . and, of course,

space rangers . . .

{tate, tagg, elliott and buzz

having the time of their lives

at the happiest place on earth today}

. . . to infinity and beyond, boys . . .

. . . two kinds of oops! . . .

. . . oops! number one . . .

. . . just a couple of weeks ago . . .

. . . the "oops!" cupboard was

~ shall we say ~

thisclose to bare . . .

. . . and now

~ a few episodes of

dancing with the stars

and x factor later ~

it's pretty well stocked again . . .

{nice toes!}

. . . with lots of pink . . .

. . . the fancy ones

with chiffon roses . . .

{my personal favorites}

. . . and a few

gender neutral ones . . .

. . . and lots of studly boy options . . .

. . . there're even

a few new editions . . .

. . . how 'bout that

pink and grey combo? . . .

. . . cutecutecute . . .

. . . now, as if you need reminding . . .

. . . christmas will be here

before you know it . . .

. . . and since babies don't know

it's naughty to spit up . . .

. . . why not be nice

and fill their stockings

with oops! . . .

{and christmas cheer}

. . . if there's something

you have in mind,

but don't see here . . .

. . . let me know . . .

. . . i'll try my darnedest

to fill special orders . . .

. . . moving on . . .

. . . to oops! number two . . .

. . . we, of course

have been quite interested

in the republican presidential debates . . .

. . . with our {slightly prejudiced}

sights set on one candidate . . .

. . . mitt has impressed us

in many ways . . .

. . . but every time

i hear him spell out

his seven point plan

for a stronger economy . . .

. . . i'm more and more amazed

that he gets through

all seven . . .

. . . i always tell bill

i know i'd get

to number six . . .

{maybe}

. . . then be all . . .

. . . "and number seven?

now let's see ~

what was number seven?

uh . . . um" . . .

{crickets}

. . . but, watch him . . .

. . . he's just so . . .

. . . presidential . . .

. . . then ~ last night . . .

. . . this happened . . .

. . . with only THREE points

to remember . . .

{please ~ i beg of you ~

watch this all the way to the verrrrrry end}

. . . because the verrrrrry end is

totally awesome . . .

. . . oops! indeed . . .

. . . legal substitution . . .

. . . maybe you've heard . . .

. . . maybe you've noticed . . .

. . . maybe there're

no NBA games happening . . .

. . . namely the suns . . .

. . . maybe my husband

is in mourning . . .

. . . here's a suggestion

for an acceptable replacement

in your television schedule . . .

. . . stepping up to the plate . . .

. . . or the free throw line,

if you will . . .

. . . here's the starting lineup . . .

. . . well ~ let's just focus

on the center position . . .

{reverb, please. and that boxing announcer guy}

. . . miiiiiiiiiitt romneeeeeeeey . . .

. . . the republican debates

are quite entertaining . . .

. . . and recently

they've turned

into a contact sport . . .

. . . here's evidence . . .

. . . mitt getting "physical"

with rick perry . . .

{embedding disabled, but watch this youtube video at 1:17}

. . . these debates

should be

rated "v"

for violence . . .

. . . next debate

~ tonight ~

CNBC . . .

. . . shield the kids' eyes . . .

. . . foils and friends . . .

. . . the trouble with being

{mostly}

truly blonde . . .

{besides the jokes ~ which i try not to take personally}

. . . is clear brows and lashes . . .

. . . seriously ~

they're transparent . . .

. . . but the fun part

about being blonde . . .

. . . is group appointments . . .

. . . foils and friends

ALL AT THE SAME TIME! . . .

. . . karen and i

{we're the ones in fancy smocks}

make sure amanda

{she's wearing the sassy cheetah apron}

can fit us both

in the same morning . . .

. . . she usually remembers

to dab some extra color

on our brows {hers too} . . .

. . . which we sometimes

leave on a little too long . . .

. . . and end up looking

kind of like this . . .

. . . usually because

we're distracted

listening to

really cool police stories . . .

{he was also our photographer this morning}

. . . or planning trips

to the swap meet . . .

. . . on another note {pun!} . . .

. . . here's a textchange

with my son from last night . . .

. . . proving that my son

is funnier than your son . . .

. . . a cappella . . .

. . . yes, today is music appreciation,

part two . . .

. . . let's go back in time . . .

. . . waaaaaaaaaay back in time . . .

. . . back to the day

when yearbook photos

were black and white . . .

. . . back to the day

when the "new" mesa high

really was new . . .

. . . back to my senior year . . .

. . . first hour ~ mr garrett's aid . . .

{he, of course, was our much beloved choir director}

. . . second hour ~ accompanist

for the arizonans choir . . .

. . . third hour ~ seminary . . .

. . . fourth hour ~ a cappella . . .

{1974-75 mesa high school a cappella choir ~ aren't we fancy?}

{also ~ it's tricky to scan yearbook pages!}

{also, also ~ "where's steph?" is a fun game to play! can you find me?}

. . . then, lunch . . .

{usually golden scone or lj's pizza}

. . . fifth hour ~ english literature . . .

. . . sixth hour ~ home ec . . .

. . . after school ~ superstitions . . .

{the mhs version of glee}

{1974-75 mhs superstitions ~ in color ~ see? we're not that old!}

{aka farmers & farmerettes

~ our nickname for ourselves ~

gotta love those costumes ~ overall maxi dresses!}

{also ~ why is steph the only one laughing?}

{also, also ~ why is kevin smith closing his eyes?}

. . . clearly

~ though not a band geek ~

i was a music nerd . . .

. . . high school was awesome . . .

. . . even considering the drama . . .

{flashbacks ~ as i reading some stuff friends wrote this morning ~ so fun!}

. . . fast forward . . .

. . . do you know what a cappella means? . . .

. . . the simplified definition is

"singing without instruments" . . .

. . . in a word ~ ahhhhmazing . . .

. . . you really should watch

the sing-off . . .

. . . specifically my favorite group . . .

. . . byu's vocal point . . .

. . . need proof? . . .

. . . go ahead and

watch this performance

from three weeks ago . . .

{the video isn't the best quality, but you'll get the idea}

. . . watch to the end for judge's comments

~ especially ben folds ~

he's my fave . . .

. . . i have it on *good authority

that tonight's show

will be legendary for these guys . . .

. . . they'll be performing

a little rascal flatts ditty

that will not soon be forgotten . . .

. . . it might make

a music nerd out of you, too! . . .

*when i went to fetch the link to peg's blog,

i found out we're sort of on the same blogging page!

. . . best seat in the house . . .

. . . this is my view

every sunday morning . . .

. . . i'm so grateful

for music in my life . . .

. . . and grateful

that i get to serve in my ward

by playing the organ . . .

. . . also very grateful

i didn't make

any big mistakes today . . .

fun/weird stuff about this calling:

•i'm always early for church

•nice soft choir seats

•sitting right behind the bishopric

•chit chatting with them

•watching people try to

sneakily sleep through church

•the "parade" of latecomers

{you'd be surprised. and it doesn't matter what time church starts}

•a "special" visitor who

{unbeknownst to me}

plays the foot pedals

during my prelude music

•seeing only the backs of speakers

•music ~ i love music!

. . . friends we are . . .

. . . and friends we'll ever be . . .

. . . case in point . . .

. . . gladys & her sister gladys . . .

{that's exactly how they introduced themselves}

{photo of vicki and frani taken at my 30th birthday party

~ 23 years ago ~

when we had to dress up as old ladies}

. . . and today . . .

. . . older . . .

. . . wiser . . .

. . . and still the same amount of fun . . .

. . . let me add up

the years of friendship

with these two . . .

. . . frani ~ on the left ~ 28 years . . .

. . . vicki ~ on the right ~ 40 years . . .

{yep ~ since eighth grade}

. . . both celebrate birthdays

in this month of gratitude . . .

. . . and i'm so thankful

for the two of them! . . .