Childhood Memory Time

Another post based on a prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop. Today's topic: Childhood Memory Time - Write about something you loved to do as a child.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this topic was what it was like growing up on my grandparents' farm.

We lived next door to my grandparents on their farm. It was a great place to grow up. Not only were Grandma and Grandpa right next door (making a great place for sleepovers or just to "run away" when you felt life was unfair at home - my kids sure wish they could run to Grandma and Grandpa every time they feel life at home is no fun!), but we also had 80 acres of fields and pastures to roam.

We could spend all day tramping through the fields. 80 acres is a lot of space to wander and you could take off with siblings or cousins and just get yourself lost for a while. (Though I don't remember ever actually getting lost - I always knew how to get home.) My favorite thing to do was to take a book and head to the alfalfa fields when the grass was really tall right before haying season. I'd stomp the alfalfa down to make myself a little "room" and stay there all day reading my book. Grandpa was kind enough to overlook his smashed hay most of the time... until I started getting a little too creative and stomping out an entire suite of interconnected rooms. Eventually he had to put a stop to it so there would be some hay left to bale!

We went fishing in the pond - even though the only thing to catch were tiny sunfish, we thought we were pretty cool when we would bring home our catch. Now that I think about it though, I don't recall ever eating sunfish for dinner. Maybe the cats got a treat when we went fishing!

We could visit the chickens, cows or pigs - though mostly we didn't because chickens and pigs smell pretty bad and it's not like they're pets to play with. And while cows smell better, let's face it, they don't do much. Mostly the cows did their thing and we did ours. Grandpa often moved the cows around to different sections of the fields to ensure that no one section got overgrazed, so you never really knew where you would come across the herd of cows. No big deal in most cases. Cows are pretty gentle and calm and willing to ignore you. So we'd just make our way through the herd to wherever we were headed. The exception, though, was Hot Dog the cow. I don't know why her name was Hot Dog, that's just what we called her. She was a big, light brown cow with big, sharp horns. At any rate, that's how I remember it. In reality, the horns may have been small and dull. Or for that matter, might not have existed at all! But in my memories, Hot Dog had some frightening horns. When Hot Dog spotted us, she would come charging over to scare us away. So we were always on the lookout for Hot Dog.

We would climb the stacked hay bales and then jump off into the hay that had come loose from the bales. It was fun, but so itchy! Whenever I see or read a scene where you have people who decide to get "romantic" in the hay (why did this become such a cliche?) all I can think about it how itchy they're going to be from rolling around in that hay. Yikes! Don't take your clothes off in there! You're going to be rashy all over!

There was a long creek wandering through the property. One section of the creek was wide and slow-moving and great for gathering watercress. I remember picking the watercress and taking it back to Grandma's to make watercress sandwiches for lunch. As it went along, the creek went under a bridge at the bottom of a hill. We used that hill for sledding in the winter and the trick was to steer the sled just right so that you could make it across the bridge. Otherwise you had to bail off the sled at the last moment to avoid going off the edge into the creek! Another part of the creek had carved out a deep gully. Grandpa had thoughfully installed a rope swing here, so there was a lot of time spent there. I remember climb to the top of the gulley, hauling that big heavy rope with you. When you got to the top, you straddled the rope - wrapping your legs around the big knot at the end, clutching the rope above with all your might... and then getting the courage to make the leap off the firm ground. Breathless... weightless... that first moment of free-falling was exhilarating and terrifying. And then the snap as the rope hit its end and gravity kicked in again. Swinging up on the far side of the gulley and trying to hit the trees over there. Swinging back and forth until you finally came to a stop at the bottom of the gulley and hopping off the swing into the shallow creek below. Only to start the climb back to the top to do it all again.

Thinking back on it now, it was a pretty idyllic existence. Thanks, Mama Kat for helping remember some of those good times. :)

Versatile

SUPAHMAMA! over at http://domesticmischief.blogspot.com/ nominated me for a versatile blogger award. Thank you! How very cool to find that in my inbox this morning!

 

The Rules for The Versatile Blogger Award

 

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.

4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.


Since I already tell you all the random things that cross my mind, I'm going to have to think hard to share seven things I haven't already said...

1. I LOVE to shop. It doesn't matter what it's for - lightbulbs at Home Depot? Hooray! Groceries at King Soopers? Great! Surfing online to compare prices and features at eleventeen different sites? Wonderful! Random garage sale that might have some cool stuff? Woo-hoo! I don't even have to buy anything much, I just really like to wander the aisles and look at all the possibilities. (Note: All this goes out the window if I have the kids with me. Enjoyable shopping is a solitary pursuit. Riding herd on 4 small children spoils the whole experience and makes it the complete opposite of enjoyable.)
2. I am a popcorn snob. I love popcorn and will make a big bowl of it on many Saturdays as a treat for me and the kids. But it has to be popped in the air popper. Microwave popcorn is stale and disgusting and unacceptable.
3. I hate socks. I prefer being barefoot over all, but when forced (by things like work or weather) to wear shoes I still try to avoid wearing socks. I've even been known to wear my snowboots out in a blizzard without putting on socks. I don't know what it is - my feet just feel all smothered or something. But I just really hate the feel of socks on my feet.
4. I am terribly jealous of those of you with a knack for decorating. I see your houses when you blog. I see the gorgeous paint jobs and coordinating furniture and tasteful accessories and I wish that I lived in a house like that. Alas, I live in my house. Which was decorated (and I use that term loosely) by me.
5. I have grown so addicted to ebooks on my Kindle and my iPhone that I am resentful when I have to read an actual, physical book. It's so heavy. And I have to hold it with one hand and turn the page with another hand. And it doesn't save my place for me when I put it down. *sigh* It's so difficult.
6. I aspire to be a cool mom who does fun things with the kids. Instead, I'm more often the cranky mom who just makes the kids mad.
7. My favorite food is pizza. Gourmet, cheap, delivery, frozen - whatever. I love it all. I think I could probably eat pizza every day of the week and still be happy with it.

Now... to think about my nominations for Versatile Blogger!

Pin It

I was just introduced to Pinterest. I'm a little behind the times because apparently a lot of you have been there for a while, but I just hadn't checked it out. I got an invite from my friend Christy over the weekend, and suddenly it's an obsession. What can I pin? What have other people pinned? What new pins have posted since I checked 30 seconds ago?

As my co-worker Elizabeth described it... "What is Pinterest? It's crack cocaine."

I have come across so many great crafty ideas for the kids... maybe I can do some of things and be more of the fun mom I want to be on Saturdays.

And the recipes! So many new recipes I want to try.

And books I want to read.

And home improvement projects I would love to someday do at my house.

And new blogs to read and music to listen to and tv and movies to watch.

And when will I find time to work or sleep when I have so many pins to review?

Yep. Like crack cocaine.*


*disclaimer: Okay, so neither Elizabeth nor I REALLY knows what crack cocaine is like, but in our sheltered good girl estimation, this is a good comparison. ;-)

I Know My Kids Really Love Me

Thanks to Supahmama for her link to new writing prompts! Hopefully it will help me out of my blogging slump. :) And on that note, today's prompt is courtesy of Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop.

I know my kids really love me, because they feel free to be themselves. Sometimes I hear from their teachers or a babysitter or friends about how well-behaved my children are. They are polite and friendly and don't beat the crap out of each other at the drop of a hat. And I have to think to myself: "Who are these well-behaved pod-people impersonating my children and how can I get them to come to my house?"

Because at my house, my children are less polite. They feel free to express themselves.

Sometimes through words (I hate you! ...but sometimes, I love you. You're stupid! ...but sometimes, You're the best mommy.).

Sometimes through artistic expression (such as the water and toilet paper sculptures currently found in my bathtub and the modern art masterpiece drawn in deodorant on the bathroom door ...but also through sweet stories and pictures showing a loving family life).

Sometimes through their actions (by stopping just short of ACTUALLY murdering a sibling, though you'd never guess that from the blood-curdling screams that ring through the house... but also through hugs and kisses and just wanting to be together - sometimes too together. For Pete's sake, could I just have 5 minutes with no one touching me! Oops, sorry... slipped into a whole separate rant, there.).

So even though sometimes I wish those well-behaved pod people would make themselves at home in my home, I love my kids just the way they are. Rock-hard toilet paper sculptures stuck to my tub and ruined deodorant and all.

I've got nothing...

Lately I can't seem to come up with anything to blog about. I'm busy, busy, busy with trying to get the house put back together after our flood, worrying about the van about to die, work, kids, church... but none of it seems interesting enough to share with people. Why would anyone want to read about it?

I just feel out of ideas. I try to think of something to write about and - meh. Nothing. I actually had an idea the other day and was so excited. I had the whole post written in my head. But by the time I had a chance to sit down at the computer and actually write... it was completely gone. I couldn't come up with the tiniest recollection of what I had planned to write. I still can't remember. I'm disturbed by this; but try as I may, I can't come up with it.

I'll keep working on it. Surely I'll have some creativity soon...

Mitt Romney's New Ward

Hilarious post from Mormonistic... had to share!

Mitt Romney’s New Ward

If Mitt Romney becomes President of the US (aka POTUS), his family will be assigned to the Washington DC 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

So if you are the Bishop for the 3rd Ward, ya gotta be wondering:

1. Will you allow an inaugural ball to be held in the cultural hall? Do you mount security cameras on top of each basketball rim and have a secret service detail stationed on the stage?

2. Can you call Mitt and Ann as the Nursery leaders… even if you really feel inspired?

3. Who is going to home teach them?

4. If Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are in the same High Priest group, will they behave responsibly, or do you need to be there to keep order?

5. Exactly how will tithing settlement work? Will the Secretary of the Treasury come, too? Or would the Fed Chairman be a better choice?

6. Will you be inviting the new Romney family to speak in Sacrament Meeting… and if they go a little over, at what point do you ask them to sit down?

7. Will the Secret Service do a sweep of the building before each meeting?

8. Can you call the Secret Service agents to help out in Primary?

9. If you give Mitt a calling and the pair of token Democrats in the ward raise their hand AGAINST sustaining him - then what?!!

10. If you can’t give them a calling, and they don’t attend very often, will that mean they’re ‘inactive?’ If they’re not active, can you give them a Temple Recommend? And if you do, can they go? How will the Secret Service screen the temple?

If you’re assigned to be the Romneys’ Home or Visiting Teacher:

1. Can you just drop by when you are in the neighborhood, without an appointment?

2. Can you even call them for an appointment, or do you have to go through the Chief of Staff?

3. Can you bring by Christmas sweets and cookies? Will they be screened by the Secret Service first? If so, is this a missionary opportunity to share the gospel?

4. If you don’t come teach the Romneys regularly, can the IRS do an audit on you?

5. Will they want to do a national security background check?

6. Do you have to have a permanent teaching companion assigned who has been vetted? Can you just grab any teacher or priest to come with you? What if they are Democrats?

7. Do you have to help him move in and out of the White House?

8. If Ann Romney gets sick, are you allowed to bring in meals or at least tell the Relief Society President about it?

9. What can you share with the Bishop about the Romneys?

10. Do you have to ask them about their year’s supply?

11. If you get a late night call for a blessing, will reporters follow you around wanting to know what was wrong and what you said? And if the reporters offer remuneration in exchange for your time, does it all have to be donated or just the standard 10-percent tithe?

Weird Rumors about Mormons

My boss, Elly, comes in occasionally with weird rumors she’s heard about Mormons and asks me to explain. Today’s came from a co-worker of her husband (Tom). The co-worker told Tom that Mormons believe that after you die you go through a hole in the moon to a special planet that is hidden behind the moon (that’s why astronomers don’t know it’s there). All the faithful Mormons will live together on that hidden planet. This explanation came complete with pictures of the moon used to show Tom precisely where the hole in the moon could be found. (Tom thought that it looked like just another moon crater, but didn’t like to offend his co-worker by saying so.)

I told Elly that  this gentleman had obviously been attending different Sunday School classes than I had! Am I way off base here and I’ve forgotten an important element of doctrine? Or is this guy a bit of a whack-job out there giving Mormons a bad name? Yikes.