TGIF & Super Bowl Weekend

I am sure that most of you have heard that the Super Bowl is in Miami this year and that South Beach is full of activities. It should make for a very interesting weekend and not because of the game. In fact, I am not partial to either team. Having a baby means that I will not be out late enough to see many of the celebrities or crazy stuff, but perhaps we'll see a few things on our walks.

Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away!

I haven't exactly kept it a secret that 2007 has not started well, but things seem to be turning around (knock on wood - yes I'm a bit superstitious). The co-worker changed her mind. The unethical company ended up revealing their bad selves and ruining their reputation with the potential client. Lexi's daycare had also made some new policies that were making me insane, but they quickly fell by the wayside and things are better than ever with them.

Life is looking up for the moment. I don't want to think about the known and unknown challenges coming up next. I'll just enjoy today and all the little things.

Non-Typical Mormon Mom

I have been thinking a lot about my mom and the fact that she is a TBM (true believing Mormon), but that she is also so different from the stereotypical Mormon Mom.

1. She never makes casseroles. She cooks, bakes, and once in a while makes Jell-O, but casseroles are/were never on the menu.
2. She definitely doesn't live for her family. She always had her activities, hobbies, and even a few vacations that did not involve the rest of us. She was the kind of mom that pushed independence so she could have a life.
3. She claims that she was the first woman in Spanish Fork, Utah to demand that the phone company put her name in the phone book with my father's. They were only listing men (or unattached women) at the time.
4. She took a karate class in the late 70s without any women in the class. Karate wasn't a "female" activity at that time. One guy resented having a woman in the class so much that he kicked her in the ribs hard enough to break a few. She continued to go to class.
5. In the 80s, she signed up for massage therapy school in Gainesville (we were living in Melbourne, Florida). She got her certificate and started working at a huge exclusive fitness club. She had no problem massaging men, which would probably make a lot of Mormon women uncomfortable.
6. When we moved back to Happy Valley, Utah, she got a call that Hall and Oats were in town for a concert and Oats wanted a massage. She gave him a massage and not only got paid, but got free tickets (she took me).
7. She never really enjoyed being friends with other Mormon women. For the most part, she found them boring. Most of her close friends over the years have been non-Mormons.
8. When we lived in Texas, she decided that she wanted to be a drug abuse counselor. She took classes and then got a job in a bad area of town. Most of her patients were right out of prison. She also did AIDS counseling.
9. She definitely wore the pants in the family even though my dad just wanted a happy little subservient housewife.
10. She has never been interested in what other people think of her or even at gossiping, which is what Relief Society is often about. **I find gossip amusing and tried many times to get her to spill some, but she always refuses.
    

Double the Birthday Merriment

The perk about having a kid near your birthday is that you can really play up the partying. It lasted from her birthday on Friday until mine on Sunday. In fact, I am still not ready for the fun to end.

Much More FUN

Today is a BIG TGIF! Actually, more important than Friday, it is Lexi's first birthday. Time really flies. A year ago today, I was in the hospital giving birth to little Lexi, two days before my birthday. I love her with all my heart and that was a wonderful day, but I am thrilled to be celebrating our birthdays not in pain. Taking a cake to her daycare and then heading out on a trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom is certainly more FUN! I can hardly wait! Of course, there will be loads of pictures next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

(perhaps 2007 isn't so bad).

Snow in Miami?

Yesterday, I made a quick trip to Lexi's daycare during lunch to give her medicine. As I was getting out of my car, I felt the heat and humidity hit me and thought about how nice it would be to experience a little cooler weather. I happened to glance across the street and was stunned by what I saw. There were 2 mounds of snow on the bright green grass and lots of kids playing in it. The kids were wearing short sleeve shirts and laughing. Their daycare had rented a snow machine. How silly is that?

2007 Sucks

So far, 2007 sucks. It seems like a millions things are going wrong. I decided to wake up with a new attitude. Lexi turns 1 on Friday and my birthday is Sunday (34 – ouch!). We are going to Orlando to celebrate, so I should start being more cheery, right? Wrong... I'll have to try again tomorrow.

For now, I'll post a video of Lexi on her rocking Charlie the Caterpillar:

Bad Start on a Monday Morning

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a migraine. As I lay in bed, I wondered whether I should stay home with a wild and crazy baby or drop her off at daycare and go to work. I figured the work option would be the calmest, but with a headache that bad driving is out of the question. A few hours later, I tried to call my work. I couldn't even think of the phone number (after 5 years of working there). I actually had to look it up on the internet. Can you believe it?

I spent the morning trying to get Lexi hooked on television. She doesn't watch very much of it, so my little plan did not work. I suffered through the morning and felt better around 1pm. I actually enjoyed spending time with Lexi and felt sad that we only get to do this when we don't feel well.

Wrong Era

Like a HUGE number of Mormon housewives, my mom was a talented seamstress. I see it as part of the Mormon heritage, but my mom does have a knack for it. I remember when I was very little, other Mormons hiring her to make fancy beaded wedding dresses for them. Until my teenage years, she made a large portion of our clothes. Although the clothes looked great, I was always embarrassed because in my mind she was doing it mainly to save money. As a teenager, she taught me how to sew, but it never became a passion for me. I probably just wanted to distance myself from the whole housewife scraping to make ends meet image.

A few days ago, I discovered that there is a whole community of sewing moms who make unique outfits and then re-sell them on Ebay for a surprising amount of money ($40 – $100). Some even make “custom” outfits to sell. I saw a few going as high as $150. I now realize my mom could have made a killing if she was a sewing housewife now.

Part of me feels a little guilty that many of the skills my female anscestors had might fall by the wayside. I don't quilt, can food, or sew. I guess the best way to have those continue would be to send Lexi to visit my mom for a month every summer. ...hmm something to think about.

Irreplaceable

Last Friday, I wrote about karma. Sometimes getting to the point where good things start coming back around takes time. Sometimes you have to go through more pain before that starts happening.

Unfortunately, as a spin-off of that situation, one of my favorite people in the company decided to resign. In reality, I have spent the last week stressed out about her stress. I tossed and turned at night worrying about her. That actually bothered me more than whether or not we get the contract. She was the only female working here when I started and I always assumed she would be here long after I leave. I feel a deep sadness that she will not be a co-worker anymore. I truly enjoyed her friendship and the dynamics that she added to the firm.

We are all taught that everyone is replaceable in a company. While, I believe that to be true of the actual work, it is simply not true of the friendship and dynamic elements a person creates. For a person like me, who loves change this is a powerful statement. My normal reaction is one of excitement to see where things will lead, but not this time. I selfishly want her around.