KISSES

Last week our son was having a tough week at school and at home. The anger outbursts that we had not seen in full force for awhile were out of control and we were not sure what was causing them or what to do. Fast forward to last Saturday and Liz was cleaning up his room. Under his bed was a nice neat pile of 20-30 Hershey's Kisses wrappers left over from our Valentines Pizza Party. It seems that our boy has been on a super sugar high! We have since moved the bowl of kisses from the living room and working on bring him down to his sweet lovable self!

WHAT A WEEK...

Last week I was checking the local weather forecast and I was excited to see that it was going to be beautiful outside. The temperature was going to stay around the 70's-80's and it was time to get some work done outside. I had thoughts of mowing the lawn after it's winter snooze and clearing out some plants, start building our raised garden and doing some more work in the garage. Monday showed up and both Liz and I were not feeling great. I just had a sore throat so I let Liz rest while I took care of the kids etc. By 5 PM I hit the wall and I was now sick with the flu. On Tuesday I also lost my voice and my throat felt like sandpaper! With my throat and stuffy nose feeling the way that it was I also could not get any sleep. Liz had to try and keep up with the house and deliver 150 boxes of girl scout cookies. That night Kevin Gardner and Doug Fett came over and give me a blessing to get well. By Thursday morning I made an appointment to see my doctor. I dragged myself there and found out that I had strep throat which I have never had before. They gave me a shot, a prescription for antibiotics and for cough syrup with codeine! "There is no pain you are feeling"...

I am now starting to feel better and my voice is starting to come back. It is still not fun because I need to stay away from the kids and anyone else because I do not want to get anyone else sick so for now I also want to get stuff done around the house but I am under orders by Liz to just rest. So I am just resting and dreaming of all of the stuff I can get done...... next week!

DIET PEPSI

I have a love for Diet Pepsi. I always have had a love for it. I grew up on regular old Pepsi but I went diet in 1987. I try hard to limit my intake but I do enjoy my Diet Pepsi! My favorites are Diet Vanilla Pepsi and Diet Pepsi Max which has extra caffeine and ginseng. Just what I need! I also enjoy Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Code Red Mountain Dew. I know that the stuff isn't good for you but no one's perfect!

HOME DEPOT MOMMY

I found this on another blog and simply had to share with my readers. It is from a Baltimore newspaper and shows a picture drawn by an elementary school student and a letter/plea from her mother...

Dear Teacher,I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.Sincerely,Mother

SHIPMATE OF THE WEEK

On Monday "Mr. Ob" was made a shipmate of the week at school. "Miss Ana" was already a Shipmate at the beginning of the school year. This is a big deal at the kids school. The teachers pick one child from each classroom every week. This was HUGE for our son because he had a rocky start to the big world of kindergarten. Let's just say that everyone knows him at school and even though he has had tough days they still love him because he is just so darn lovable! So Liz and I went to school with the kids and we watched all of the "Shipmates" arrive at the library. They first had 2 students do the "news" which was feed via TVs to all of classrooms. Back in my day we had projectors and film strips! Then the Principal and Asst. Principal said good morning. After that they did the pledge of allegiance to both the American flag and the Texas flag! and then they introduced each child and did a group picture. We are very proud of our wonderful son and daughter. They both have made so much progress and they both have a desire to learn and be good. What else could a parent ask for!

SNOW FLURRIES

The day after the ice storm we had snow flurries! We even had enough for the kids to make snow angels at school.

ICE STORM

We had our annual ice storm a few weeks ago and we need to post some pictures of it. The picture with the yellow flower is fun because the flower is frozen. If you see the picture with the BBQ and our back door that is where I beefed it and fell on the ice! The ice storms usually only last a day or so and then goes away.

NEITHER SAINT NOR SCOUNDREL

After years of difficult research, a lifetime of a passion for history and discovery, resilience to critics and setbacks, and moments of scholarly brilliance; all these have culminated into a first published book, which is an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to my step-father Greg Whitman This book can be found on amazon.com!

http://www.amazon.com/Neither-Saint-nor-Scoundrel-Territorial/dp/1606724193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233946999&sr=1-1

26 RANDOM THINGS

26 Random Things...

By Dave Anderson

1. I do not like anything with pumpkin in it including pie. I do like just about everything else.
2. For a guy I am always concerned by how I look and that everything matches. This is due to hearing the phrase "your a fat slob" a lot when I was a kid.
3. I love to cook but I do not like following recipes. I tend to modify a recipe or just not use one at all.
4. I love movies and good TV shows but I cannot stand "reality TV". I always tell people that I have enough reality in my life but I will sometimes get sucked into watch a few of these shows with Liz.
5.I love my wife,Liz more then anything. She is my best friend and we are there for one another. We have been through a lot and it just keeps getting better!
6. We adopted 2 children ages 5 and 7 about 6 months ago and they are the light of my life. They drive me crazy but I learn so much from them!
7. I hate people who do not use their blinkers when driving or weave in and out of traffic. This is due to 13 years of driving over 100 miles a day in traffic. liz use to say "It is so sad that their blinker doesn't work".
8. Back in my single days my friend Mike and I started up something called "Date Nite" where we paired people up to go on dates. The smallest one had 36 people and the largest had 160. We had around 10 marriages from these events plus a lot of new friends. Liz was at Date Nite 6 and while I was pairing people up I announced that "if you got married from Date Nite then you would have to hire me as your DJ". She turned to her friend Adriana and said "why would I hire him as my DJ"?
9. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2003. I was scared to death of dying but also scared of dying since my weight was up to 450 lbs. I have lost 100 lbs and now I am ready to loose another 100!.
10. I love to eat at Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings and I do miss In-N-Out Burger! I guess that this does not help with the losing weight thing...
11. I love to go to concerts except for the high prices, smoke and hassle of going. My first was to see Beatlemania with my Aunt Lynda I have also seen, The Rolling Stones (2), The Who (4), Paul McCartney (4), Roger Waters, Gun's n Rose's (2), David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Ringo Starr, Prince, Van Halen (3), The Beach Boys (3), Brian Wilson, ABC, Go-Go's (2), Depeche Mode (2), Gwen Stafani, The Police, Living Colour (3) and a few that I am sure that I forgot! I even saw The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Show. My goal in life is to meet Paul McCartney someday...
12. I have a guilty joy in watching "Walker, Texas Ranger", "In the heat of the night", and "Little house on the prairie".
13.After 13 years of selling band-aids I am a "stay at home dad" but it is a lot more work then I thought! Right now I am trying to de-junk the house! Somedays it is just hard to keep up with the dishes and laundry!
14. I love to read I just don't have the time. I thought that I would now that I am home but no...
15. I Dee Jayed at the Anaheim Pond where the Ducks play. It was even better when they hooked me up to their sound system..
16. I also Dee Jayed a LOT of weddings,church and corporate events over a 20 year span. At one time I was doing 2-3 weddings a weekend. I have dealt with a LOT of bridezillas over my time and was even cussed out once. I even hired "Jed the Fish" from KROQ to MC 3 dances. I am very comfortable being the MC/DJ in front of 1000 people!
17. I have a problem doing things small. Small parties, small dinners etc. I am use to making and doing too much!
18. I am an Eagle Scout.
19. I have bad hearing and I am dyslexic but they did not find it right away so much of my early education was missed. I spell mostly by memorization (and spell check) and I can still say words back words especially when I am tired.
20. I got stuck at the top of a double ferris wheel with my Dad when I was a kid. Years later he admitted that he was as scared as I was so I do not like heights (see above) but I do love to stay on the top floors of hotels.
21. I once spent the night in jail for not paying a "fix it" ticket! I do not ever want to do that again!
22. I love music but I cannot play or sing to save my life.
23. I LOVE movies! Especially action and westerns. John Wayne is the man!
24. I am the oldest of 3. I have a younger brother and sister. When my Mom remarried a few years after my Dad passed away I added 14 step-brothers and sisters. Who would have thunk it?
25. I love listening and miss "Mark & Brian" on KLOS. I have meet them a few times and listen even got to scream to them on stage at Disney's California Adventure. Brian even did something special for me when my Dad died.
26. I believe in God, Jesus Christ, the teachings of the LDS church and our wonderful country. I did not vote for President Obama but I do support him as the President.

25 Random Things About Me

25 Random Things About Me

By Liz Anderson

1. I'm 40

2. I'm the youngest of 7

3. I was an aunt before I was 4

4. I'm a mom!!!!!!!!!!! and it's about time.

5. I married the most wonderful man in the world - drives me crazy in every way!

6. I have seen The Dead Milkmen play live - It's you and me punk rock girl!

7. I've lived in England

8. I can fold my tongue - not side to side but front to back, but not as good as my sister

9. I've seen Depeche Mode, The Who, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Prince & Gwen Stefani live!10. I own all seasons of Friends but now I can't find time to watch them

11. My parents will celebrate 57 years of marriage next month - that's a lot to live up to!!

12. I can't give blood because of #7 – see Mad Cow Disease under Travel on the Red Cross website.

13. I was married on Saturday the 7th but if I'd looked at the calendar I would have waited until the next week and got married on Friday the 13th - I got my driver license on Friday the 13th and graduated High School on Friday the 13th - Love that day!!!!!!!!!!!!

14. I was RS Pres of my singles ward - had to get married to get released!!

15. I'm an RM - England Leeds 1990-1991 & South Dakota Rapid City 1991

16. I have 26 nieces & nephews

17. I lost count of my great nieces & nephews at 30. (I just did a rough count and came up with about 35, but I’m sure I missed one and don’t ask their names!)

18. I have over 40 Elmos. There’s a few new ones that I don’t have.

19. I like The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated.

20. I turned down a chance to see the farewell concert of Oingo Boingo – big mistake!

21. I’ve been to an Ice Dogs game.

22. I went to the first high school to open its door under the name of John F. Kennedy – and we were told that often!!

23. I turned the pages for the pianist during the entire performance of West Side Story and I don’t read music!!

24. I was at Disneyland on May 4th, 2005 – the day before the 50th anniversary started and I was on the KTLA morning news with Shelly Creel finding the 50 hidden Mickeys.

25. My children named themselves.

ONE WORD

One Word

By Dave Anderson

Where is your cell phone?.......pocket
Your hair .......... mess
Your father? ........ dead
Your favorite thing? ........... music
Your dream last night?...... weird
Your favorite drink? ........... Pepsi
Your dream/goal? ........... Disneyworld
The room you are in?...... office
Your fear? ......... heights
Where do you want to be in 6 years?..... Alive
Muffins? ............ bran
One of your wish list items?.......... iPod
Where you grew up? ........... Long Beach
The last thing you did? ....... email
What are you wearing?....... tshirt
Your TV?........... magnavox
Your pets? .......... dogs
Your computer? ...... HP
Your life? ......... busy
Your mood? ......... OK
Missing someone? ....... Dad
Your car?...... truck
Favorite store?..... bestbuy
Your summer? ..... long
Your favorite color? ......... green
When is the last time you laughed? ...... today
Last time you cried? ....... Sunday
Three people who email me? ........... Liz, Sharla, Barbara
Three of my favorite foods? ......... Mexican, Chinese, BBQ
Three places I would rather be right now? ..... Disneyland, Disneyworld, Graceland