"....and now you can have a grand piano!"

We've been trying to teach Cadet that you don't always get what you want. "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" (I keep repeating ad nauseum to him.) He will often tell us that he wants this or that, and I'm getting really good at saying no. For several days when he was telling me what he wanted I responded by telling him that I wanted a grand piano, but that just wasn't going to happen. We just don't always get what we want. Sometimes, we do, though. The other day I was driving by and saw that a daycare was going out of business and so they were selling all their toys. I came across The Millenium Falcon from Star Wars with 7 figurines inside for $7 - a total steal - so I caved in and got it for Cadet. He was so ecstatic. When I gave it to him he smiled and hugged me and told me...."and now you can have a grand piano! Dad and I will go and get one for you tonight." How thoughtful.

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

I am going to go to San Diego! YIPPEE!! I'm so excited about this, if you couldn't tell. One of the old conductors from the San Diego Children's Choir didn't know that I had moved. She saw my profile still up on the San Diego Children's Choir website under personnel ( http://www.sdcchoir.org/personnel/index.htm) - and I still have my cell phone with a San Diego number. She called me and asked me to play at an honor choir choral festival for Middle Schoolers. At first, I told her - umm....no...I moved. I called her back a few hours later, and there you have it. I get to come for a visit! It is just a Saturday festival - and it will pay enough to pay for my flight. I still have to pay for a car, etc... but it is soooo worth it. I have missed San Diego, and playing the piano soooo much. I can't wait to go. Hubby is a bit surprised I'm going though. His response, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" I have been terrified of Airplanes in the past. (Think of Meg Ryan's freak out episode on French Kiss magnified times 10 - that's me. I have had panic attacks on airplanes, tried to run out of my seatbelt, shredded paper to try to calm me down, and have been threatened by a drunk man once "I've been drinkin' Tequila since 4 A.M. and if you don't quiet down, I'm gonna make ya!" ) Needless to say, I don't like flying. I have done much better after I got married, but I have always vowed that I wouldn't fly without my whole family. If we die - we all go down together that way. Welll..... it is just Tink and I headed out on this trip, and I'm okay with that. I am ecstatic and not scared at all. I think that says something about how bad I've missed San Diego. At any rate.....I can't wait for a fun weekend. I'm leaving at the end of this month, and I'm counting down the hours! I hope to see some of my friends there before a lot of them graduate and move on. I also can't wait to show Tink the beach. Here I come!

A Yardin' and a Garden

May 1 - SNOW

May 2 - MOW

This weather is crazy I say. On May 1st - I had a picnic lunch planned with two of my old college roomates. We got snowed out and had to meet inside, where Cadet was going crazy. Snow. In May. Yuck. on May 2nd - I got to mow our yard for the first time! YEAH!!! I really enjoyed it. I know it sounds crazy, but it felt good. Our mower is not a self-propelled mower, so it was a pretty good workout. It made me remember all the summer days I spent mowing my lawn growing up. I always enjoyed it. It is fun being outside, and the smell of freshly cut grass makes me happy. In the past, I enjoyed putting on my walkman as a teenager, and blasting my classical music, and dreaming about how I wished that my two neighbor girls would move and some really cute boy would move in and be all impressed that I mowed the yard and loved classical music. (NERD ALERT!!! I can't believe I just wrote that for public consumption - and if Tink weren't needing my attention soon, I think that I would simply erase it - but no time to revise) moving forward. Now- I just enjoyed a break from the boys, and the symmetry of going in cirlces and the whole patch of unmowed grass getting progressivly smaller. It took me a good hour and half to mow our huge backyard. I attached some pictures of our yard - so you can appreciate my small feat.

Enough about mowing the lawn.....as a family we have started to garden! We are loving it! I don't know if anything will grow. I think I have a black thumb - if there is such a thing. Everything I touch wilts or dies. But - so far it has been a blast. We have planted the cool weather crops and we are using the square foot gardening method. It has been fun. We planted some peas, Walla Walla Sweet onions, Kohlrahbi, Eggplant, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Romaine Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots, Spinach....I can't even remember what else, that might be all. We have 16 squares so far. I'm very excited about this. I am a veggi-a-holic - so this is so exciting to me to be growing my own food. Now...we'll see if it yields anything. My peas actually sprouted, even with all the snow! YEAH! I was so excited. I'm loving it. Here are a few pics of my garden.

On Saturday - after going to the dentist to pick up my free teeth whitening kit - and getting my tooth sanded (I chipped it eating a carmel!!!!)- I went to 7 garage sales. I emerged triumphant. I found a patio set for super cheap....and I also managed to get it delivered for free from a complete stranger. This nice couple at the garage sale -(not the ones selling the set, I might add) offered to deliver the patio set for me. We got talking, and they found out I moved from San Diego, and they were also from Southern California, and they were so nice - they brought it by for me for free. Their comment, "Welcome back to Utah - we hope you like it!" We had barbecued chicken and onions tonight out on our new patio set. It was nice. I think I will like it here once the weather stays warmer!