Why you won't be hearing from me for a while.....

During an actual conversation with KJ.....

KJ: Mom.

KJ: Mo-oom....

KJ: MOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

Me: What?!!! Don't yell!

KJ: Mom, sometimes I feel like you pay more attention to the computer, and don't pay enough attention to us.

Me: .....(wracked with guilt)........

Thus, I will be taking a little blogging break for awhile. So, I can make sure that my kids don't feel neglected and won't need years of therapy later on it life because their mother paid too much attention to the computer.

Three Things

Now, here's what you're supposed to do...and please do not spoil the fun. Create a new note, copy and paste this message, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then tag a few good friends and family INCLUDING the person who tagged you...

Sorry, I was in a mood when I did this....

THREE NAMES I GO BY
1. Sher'ie Shar'ah
2. Sherm
3. Madre

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE
1. Stripper
2. Bounty Hunter
3. Piano teacher

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1. Heaven
2. my house
3. Under a rock

THREE TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH
1. Magnum PI
2. The Polka dot Door
3. Moonlighting

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN
1. The grocery store
2. across town
3. out late

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO
1. back to sleep
2. somewhere that actually has spring during spring
3. Italy

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1. Chocolate
2. Grenadine syrup
3. Rare, bloody red meat

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
1. Some sunshine
2. getting a reaction from my stupid answers to this tag.
3. becoming rich and famous

THREE PETS THAT YOU HAVE OWNED
1. KJ
2. TJ
3. Peter
4. C

THREE FRIENDS WHO WILL REPLY... Maybe
1. Sally
2. Joe
3. Fred

THREE FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS
1. Frank Sinatra
2. Nine Inch Nails
3. MoTab

THREE FAVORITE TEAMS TO WATCH
1. Kennie's city soccer team
2. Norwegian synchronized swimming team
3. any live NFL game

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS
1. Roy Rogers
2. chocolate milk
3. Water

Friday's Random Sherisms, and some random tunes

Contrary to recent random posts, I actually have been thinking about a lot of stuff lately. I really should start writing these posts at the beginning of the week, though. I should just sit down and start writing while I'm thinking. That way, it's fresh, and I can remember exactly what it is I was thinking. Instead of writing the memory of my thoughts, which is sometimes faded, skewed, or incomplete. I'm still not completely convinced that I don't have Alzheimer's. How else could I explain ALWAYS forgetting stuff?

I recently had an interesting conversation with one of my favorite people about being a hypochondriac. (yes, I name drop her ALL THE TIME....because it makes me feel super, duper cool to be her friend).

No, I don't think I'm a hypochondriac. That's just ridiculous. Of course, I know I'm a relatively healthy person.

But, I'm not 100% sure that my knee zit wasn't cancerous. I mean, there's still a bump there....it could be a tumor. And what about that headache that's been lingering for the past week or so? It might be an aneurysm, about to burst and my brain is going to literally explode. Or a brain tumor.

And since I've been researching googling hypothyroidism, I'm sure I have that, too. I mean, all the symptoms match up: unexplained (it's NOT the 20 lbs of cookies I eat weekly) rapid weight gain, chronic fatigue (hello, I'm whining about being tired all the time--it's not that I wake up at 4:30 in the morning to run my 30 miles/week), and being intolerable to cold (C has been teasing me about always been cold for years!).

You see? Hypothyroidism. I have it.
Except Motherboard pointed out that I would have a giant growth (goiter) sticking out of my neck if that was the case.

Hmmm...maybe that's why my throat has been hurting for the past couple of weeks.........

Just wait...pretty soon, I'll look like this:


Ok, perhaps, I've been having a little too much fun on WebMD.


**************

I had a "Bad Mother Moment" yesterday. Okay more like a Bad Mother day. My crazy lady came out in full swing. Something about TJ pooping in the toilet, then putting his sister's Webkinz in the not-flushed-yet toilet. KJ lost it, I lost it. There was screaming, yelling, poop all over the place. It was the last straw in a chain of events that just pushed me over the edge, and I'd just had it!

We're still working up a punishment plan, and I haven't completely ruled out putting his own Webkinz in the toilet, but that would only mean I would have two poopy toys to wash, instead of one.



**************


Ok, so emotionally/mentally, I've felt pretty good for the last few months. I think my last major episode was around Christmas. The crazy lady that lives in my head must have been hibernating. Well, she has really been rattling her cage this week. For the first time in several months, I've been feeling those crazy feelings creeping up. Like I'm out of control, like the walls are closing in on me, like the pressure is mounting, like I've just Got. to Get. Out. of Here.

There is simply no logical way to explain these feelings. I haven't been more stressed than usual. I haven't had extra responsibilities. To be honest, I think I do better when there's a lot to do. Keeping busy keeps my mind busy, which keeps me from thinking crazy thoughts.

So, this week, for some reason the crazy is kind of taking control.
I'm sure it is purely coincidence that my husband happens to be out of town right now.

It's also probably a coincidence that I've eaten my body weight in sugar this week, too.


*************


My running group is doing a 17 mile run tomorrow. I'm scared. Last week we did 13, and I totally bonked at mile 10. I finished the 13, but very, very slowly. Now, we've got a 17 mile run to do tomorrow. And if I want a ride home, then I've got to make it to the end. I will be searching for every shortcut imaginable to make it shorter.

It's sad, because when we've run this route in the past, I'm usually looking for ways to make it longer. I've actually gotten almost 20 miles out of that route before, taking back roads, and run past, then back.

Goes to show where my head is at these days.


**************


After my long run, I have a hair appointment, tomorrow. I never intend to, but it seems I always go 6 months between hair cuts. I'm due for a color. I'm very seriously considering chopping my hair short and donating it to Locks of Love.

I'm thinking something like this:



But, I'm worried it'll turn out more like this:



But, I might just keep it long.


I like this:

And this, but I would probably need extensions to pull that off, and I just don't have $1000 to spend on my hair.



I know this is a little scary, but here is my before picture:

Taken after being tugged back in a ponytail while it was still wet, and hiding under a hat all day. And no makeup. Actually, it's probably not very smart of me to post this ugly pic of myself right below all of those beautiful celebs. Very, very scary. But, hopefully, the after pic will be much better......I'll report tomorrow on that.

****************

Speaking of music, look what I got in the mail today from my awesome friend, Tiburon!

She couldn't stand the fact that I'd never heard of Keane before (I know, I really do live under a rock). So, she burned all of their CD's, and mailed them to me! I'm having fun listening to them right now, while I write this post. I'm thinking it's a little reminiscent of U2, a little bit. I'm diggin' it.

**************

And now, some random tunes:

1. Feels Like Tonight - Daughtry

2. Follow You Home - Nickelback

3. Rodeo - Garth Brooks

4. Hoy La Luna Sale Pare Mi - Monica Naranjo

5. Crucify - Tori Amos

6. We Are Detective - Thompson Twins

7. Situations - Jack Johnson

8. Verdi: Rigoletto - La Donna E Mobile - Luciano Pavarotti

9. Imagine - John Lennon

10. You Woman Misses Her Man - Chely Wright (for you C)

Bonus: Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

I must be Sabotaging myself.

I've been whining and complaining for months about how I've had all of this unexplained rapid weight gain, that I just can't lose. I've ruled out pregnancy. I haven't stopped exercising. I really think I've been eating pretty well. I've considered the possibility, that I actually AM getting older, and that maybe my naturally fast metabolism might be slowing down. But, I just can't accept that.

I was talking to my sister on the phone today, and she suggested maybe I have some kind of thyroid problem or something, and maybe I should go to the doctor.

HA!

I can just see it:

Woman in her early 30's, in relatively good shape, gets laughed at in Doctor's office for being 10 pounds more than she thinks she should be.

Yeah. That would be freakin' hilarious.

Then it dawned on me. I have made a different batch of cookies every day this week. I am typing this post, whilst munching on double chocolate chip cookie dough.

Hmmmm......coincidence? I think not.

So, here are my questions for you. Especially those of you in your 30's and beyond. Did you notice a drastic change in your ability to lose weight and/or keep weight off once you reached your 30's? What works for you? Do you have to count every calorie? (I've never really done this before--except I did Weight watchers online once. I kept track of all my exercising...then ate 2 dozen cookies, but didn't write that down, because it didn't count if I exercised)

Do you have a diet that works for you? (and by diet, I mean your eating habits, not some fad eating nothing but salami or cabbage for 8 weeks)

I want comments people! What works for you? What doesn't?

Because eating cookies all day everyday, and trying to run it off, ain't working for me anymore!

Tuesday--another random post of random Sherisms

I've got more random garbage going around my head today that usual, so today seems like a good day for a random crap post. Even though it's not Friday.

I'm a rebel that way. See? I hate sticking to a schedule.

I've noticed that a lot of you have a lot of themed days in your blogging. Like Meme Monday, Ticked-off Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Freaky Friday, Sleep-in Saturday, Spiritual Sunday.

Do you find that makes it easier to blog? Or Easier to think of things to talk about?

Honestly, the main reason that I don't do things like that is that I don't want to seem like a follower. Even though I am. I totally borrowed the Random Friday/Music post idea from Motherboard. I know a lot of you do that one. But, I can't seem to bring myself to do any other "regular" posts. I guess I just wanted to be different.

************

I had a pretty good run this morning. I know I've been whining and complaining about running for the past few months. I just can't seem to get out of this funky rut I'm in. You know how they say that accomplishing something (anything) is all mental. Well, it's so, so, SO true. A year ago, I was so excited to be running. I was LOVING it! I couldn't help myself. I'd go out, ready to take on the day, almost giddy about being out running. And I'd come home so happy.

Running still has a very positive effect on me. Once I'm out and doing it, I feel good. Ok, sometimes it's hard....like Saturday, when I did 13 miles, for the first time in a month. But, I did it. And it feels good to say I did it.

I think my problem is with motivation. Getting started. To narrow it down...it's getting up and out of bed in the morning. I don't know why I fight it so much. I ALWAYS feel better if I get up and run, instead of sleeping in. ALWAYS.

I think I just need to force myself out of bed and do it everyday. Maybe someday, I'll actually get used to getting up at 4:30 in the morning.

************

Hey, I just wanted to let you all know, especially those of you in Utah, that I'm singing with the Antiphonal choir for Lex De Azevedo's "Hosanna." It's a beautiful oratorio about Christ, the crucifixion and His resurrection. The music is absolutely amazing. It's been a very challenging and exciting experience for me to be part of it.

I'm telling you this, partly to brag, because I met Lex De Azevedo on Sunday, when he came to our rehearsal, and partly to tell you about the concerts. You should go. The music is just amazing. There are three soloists, including George Dyer, and Jenny Oaks Baker is featured on the violin. Of our course, me, among 100's of other people signing in the choir.

The concert is in Salt Lake at the 1st Presbyterian Church on April 10, and April 11.

Go check out the website, to listen to samples of the music, and buy tickets!

**************

And now, my goal today is to get a few songs transcribed while the monkeys are at school. Gotta get to work!

What's UP at the MMB?

Have you been over to Mormon Mommy Blogs lately? The awesome blog community run by the ever talented and lovely, Motherboard?

Well, they are having a giveaway! There's alot of awesome stuff to score, so go on over there and enter!

5 Sense Tag

5 Senses Tag

List 4 things you love, and one thing you hate, for each category. Then tag 5 people;leave them a note on their blog so they know. Also, let the person who tagged you know when you post yours.



Smell:

1. Clean laundry
2. Fresh cut grass
3. Baby bath
4. Baking bread
5. Hate: Tunafish



Touch:

1. Soft baby skin
2. TJ's fuzzy buzz cut
3. Kissable cheekers (on my monkeys)
4. Warm sun on my skin
5. Hate: wet pants (after one of the kids has an accident)

Sound:

1. Piano music
2. Okay, any kind of music
3. Waves crashing on the shore
4. The kids giggling, and playing nice together
5. Hate: The Kids whining and/or fighting

Taste:

1. Chocolate
2. Cherry Coke
3. Ripe juicy tomato picked fresh from the garden
4. Cucumbers
5. Hate: Tuna fish

Sight:

1. Trees, flowers, anything in nature
2. Clean house
3. Seeing my newborn babies for the first time
4. Blue sky, Sunshine, green grass (summertime)
5. Hate: Messy house



Fun huh?



I now tag: Whoever wants to play!

Random Sherisms, and Random Tunes

I got nothin'. Sorry. I'm completely drawing a blank. But, I'm sure you'll be surprised at how much BS-ing I can do when I have nothing to talk about.

I could give you a run down of my week. Let's see--laundry, laundry and more laundry. Story.of.my.LIFE!

It's seems this is the one thing that is NEVER done. I mean, we can clean house, and sure, it'll get dirty again, but for a few precious hours minutes it's clean, and looks nice, and you can sit down in a nice clean house and relax.

But, the laundry will NEVER be done.

I've tried several different strategies. I know people who have one laundry day a week, and just do it all in one day. How do you do it? Do you never leave your laundry room ALL DAY LONG? I've tried that method. Of course, you have to wait for the first batch to finish, then wait for the dryer while you wash the next batch. There's a lot of waiting involved. So, say you go do something else in the meantime. Let's assume, you don't have other stuff to do, and you are right there the moment the buzzer goes off that the dryer is done. And you can change out the clothes immediately, and start a new batch.

I don't know about you, but my family wears a lot of clothes. I don't know how this happens, but I usually have at least one full batch of clothes every day. And a batch of whites every other day. And a batch of towels every other day. So added up, if I were to do laundry only one day a week, I would be doing about 15 batches of laundry. Then account for the fact that it takes roughly 2 hours for the entire cycle of washing/drying for one batch. Plus about 20 minutes to fold and put away. That's 32 hours and 20 minutes of doing laundry, assuming you never stop to eat, breath, go to the bathroom, shower, answer the phone, or pay attention to the kids/hubby.

You see now why doing it all in one day doesn't work.

So, I do at least one batch everyday. And just when I have all the laundry baskets emptied, more dirty clothes magically appear.

I think the only way for Laundry Day to work is if it were to coincide with Naked Day.

**************

Our elementary school had a "Moms and Muffins" day today at school. It's just a little activity before school, where Mom's come early with their kids, and eat muffins, and sit down and read books together. KJ really wanted me to go, so I planned to get up early, and get everyone dressed ahead of time. Trust me, getting up an extra half hour earlier is a MAJOR thing. I like need my sleep. But, of course, for KJ, I got up, got everyone dressed and out the door by 8:00. Major feat, let me tell you. We got to the school, and stood in line for 20 minutes. By the time we got to the muffin table, all the chocolate muffins were gone. Of course, KJ had already said she would only eat a chocolate one. I purposely didn't feed her breakfast, because I wanted her to try a muffin. So, I gave her an apple spice muffin, instead. It took the last 10 minutes of the activity to coerce KJ to eat a crumb (and not I'm not exaggerating) off the top of the muffin.

What to do with such a picky, picky child?

**************

I ran 8 miles yesterday. It's the longest run I've done in several weeks. And, ho boy, am I sore today! I'm wandering around doing the zombie shuffle today.

I ran a little bit in Hawaii, but only about 4-5 miles. I've had a really hard time getting motivated the last several months with running. And the effect compounds on itself, and makes it even harder. I ease up on my miles, and I gain weight. I'm convinced that it's harder to run with the extra weight, so I run slower, and fewer miles. And gain more weight. It totally sucks. It makes me wonder, if I were to stop exercising all together, what would happen to my body?

So, I'm signed up for the Ogden marathon. It's in about 8 weeks. And a month ago I was running about 14 miles on my long runs. I haven't run more than 8 miles (yesterday) in 3 weeks. I think I might be in trouble.

**************

I guess that's it for today. Today, I'm working on transcribing more of my songs into sheet music. I'm hoping that by next week I'll have links on my website where you can download sheet music. And then hopefully by the time the CD is finished I'll have a full songbook available for purchase, also. Just FYI. p.s. I'm offering free shipping if you go to my website and pre-order a CD. They'll be ready really soon, so go on over there and order one!!

sherrieshepherdpiano.com

**************

Here are some tunes:

1. You're Beautiful - James Blunt

2. I Don't Want To Lose You - REO Speedwagon

3. Upside Down - Jack Johnson

4. Love Will Come To You - Indigo Girls

5. Sonata No. 2 in b flat minor for Piano, Op. 35, Grave "Funeral March" - Chopin

6. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing - Jack Johnson

7. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs

8. Go All the Way - Perry Farrell

9. Good As I Was To You - Lorrie Morgan

10. Since I've Been Loving You - Corinne Bailey Rae

Bonus: Jamie's Cryin' - Van Halen

I don't know why this recent story in the news has affected me so much. I have MSNBC as my home page (so I'm not completely lost in the dark in this crazy world) and yesterday when I read the headline that said Natasha Richardson has died, I felt my heart drop.
It's weird to be affected because I didn't really follow her career or anything. I mean I knew who she was, but can't say I was really a fan or anything.
I think it might have something to do with the fact that she died from a skiing accident, and that the cause of her death was blunt trauma to the head. It brought back memories of 3 years ago when my uncle, my Mom's baby brother, was killed in a bicycle accident. He was young, with a wife and five young kids.

I remember how surreal it was to think that he was really gone. My aunt and their kids have done amazingly well. They are such a strong family.

I'm thinking of Uncle Sam, today.

Birthday Blues?

As many of you may know, I just had a birthday on Monday.

It was sooooo exciting. I did so many awesome things! I went to the gym, did some laundry, went to the grocery store, listened to my kids whine, yelled at my kids for whining, did some laundry, renewed my drivers license, did some laundry.

Good times....good times. By the way, just for laughs, this video completely goes with my birthday this year. He totally speaks to me around 1:30, and about 4 minutes in, but if you have time listen to the whole thing. Gotta LOVE Jim Gaffigan.




Do any of you ever get the Birthday blues? I don't know why I get it, but I do. This year, I'm sure it's a combination of the fact that I didn't get laid lei'd in Hawaii, and the just-got-back-from-vacation stress, and having eaten so much that I gained weight and felt like crap, and having to retrain the kids who were spoiled rotten all week. Or the fact that now I'm 31. I'm not "just" 30 anymore. Now I'm "in my thirties." It makes me feel really old.
But, as a Mom, there's also that expectation to not expect it to be anything special. I don't know how else to put it. I think for Mom's birthdays are just another day in the life.

I have to thank my husband for making it special for me.

Actually, the evening was great. C came home with dinner. He brought home Chili's take out which was awesome, and brought me a slice of Paradise Pie, which is my favorite! Then my parent's came over with an Angel Food cake for me, which is my other favorite.
I had told C not to get me any presents, and I would buy myself something in Hawaii, which I didn't really, if you don't count all the food (which I didn't really pay for) and the mu mu, which was entirely necessary at the end of the trip, since I was bulging out of my clothes.

But, he came home from work bearing gifts. C is a really, really great gift giver. And he's really good at surprises. He's good at keeping a secret. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but I'm always surprised.

So, he got me new luggage, because I guess my old suitcase with the broken frame,and the bent wheels, that scream when you roll them was a little embarrassing. So, he went and got me a whole new set of luggage. Inside was a gift certificate for an 80-minute-couples-massage from our favorite spa. And a flask. Because apparently I just look like a drunk on the go.

I guess I should tell the story behind the flask. Actually it's not really a story, as much as a silly idea I had one night. We were going out to dinner with some of our friends. I ordered a cherry Coke. I was told by the server that they didn't have cherry, or grenadine. This happens all too often. How does a place that has a bar, that serves mixed drinks NOT have grenadine? So, I had this fabulous idea that I could get a flask, and put grenadine syrup in it, and keep it in my purse. That way, no matter where I go, I'll have some to put into my Coke.
Brilliant, right?!! I thought so.
So, C got me a flask. I also thought it would be really funny to pull it out during Sunday School, just to see people's reactions, but C didn't think that was such a good idea.

There's my run of the mill 31st birthday story.

Wordless Wednesday

Reports on the rest of my Hawaii trip

Let's see....where was I?

Ah, yes....Hawaii. As for the rest of the trip, to sum it up:

We only had a couple of days after I last posted, so we spent some time at the beach, but it was unfortunately to cold to lay out/tan, or snorkel. It was pretty windy the whole time we were there. The only souvenir I really wanted to bring home was a tan. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find one.

So, I came home, pasty as ever.

We did see some more giant sea turtles on the shore though. A whole flock/family/whatever you'd call a bunch of them. I think there were 7 all together. It was pretty cool. One of the many moments I had wished my kids were with me. I walked down and tried to pet one of them. I think I scared it because it crawled down the shore and swam away. I later learned that it is against the law to touch the turtles. Oops.

It was a very family friendly place. Especially the hotel we stayed at. There were 3 pools with slides, and fun activities for the kids. If we ever go back there again, I'll take the monkeys with me, next time.

We had some fancy corporate dinners every night. It would've been fun to get all dressed up if it weren't for the fact that I had eaten so much, already, that I didn't fit into any of my clothes.

Here are some fun pictures of us at some of the dinners.

And here is me in my mu mu.

Okay, okay, it's not really a mu mu. It's a dress that I conveniently used as a swim suit cover up, that is also nice and baggy on the belly, so you don't see any of my muffin top action going on.

On Saturday we did a zip line tour. That was probably my favorite part of the trip. We took a big old Hummer up the mountain, through the jungle on a rough and bouncy dirt road. Then we went down 7 zip lines. The first ones were shorter and shallow, just to get used to it, but by the last one, we were basically just walking off cliffs, and over waterfalls. It was AWESOME!! We zipped over a couple of different waterfalls that were just amazing and beautiful. But you could only see the waterfall from the middle of the zip line. The trees were so think that you couldn't stand on the edge of the cliff and see it to take a picture. And I was too much of a wimp to let go of the rope to take a picture.

We flew home Saturday night. Pulled an all nighter on a red-eye flight. Got home about an hour and a half before church started, went to church to lead the choir for ward conference. Then came home and crashed.

I think I will start doing some wordless Wednesdays so I can post some more of the pictures I took.

Here are a few:

Aloha! Random Friday---Hawaiian style! (now with pictures)

We found this little guy hanging on to the back of the car. He stuck around with us while we drove around the island for about 2 hours.

*updated 3/16---I added some pictures....more later...*

Aloha everybody!

I'm waiting for my hubby to get out of meetings. I have 20 minutes, so I thought I'd drop a line and say Hello!
I can't believe it's Friday already. (It is Friday, right? I've kind of lost track of my days here)

I'm also all whacked out because of the time change. It's a 4 hour difference from here to Utah. So, while it's only 11:40 right now, it's about 3:40 at home. I'm sure it'll finally sink in and I'll get used to it by the time I get home.

Here are a few highlights of my trip so far:

• Arrived, Sunday afternoon, at the Kona airport to this:
  
  
  Yep. Rain. But, don't worry, it cleared up, and has been just beautiful the rest of the week.
  


• I saw a rainbow. Hawaii is famous for their rainbows. When we were on Maui a few years ago, I saw a triple rainbow. This one was just a single one. Yet, not disappointing.




• Got lost on the way to the hotel, because C's GPS apparently doesn't know it's way around Hawaii.
  


• Saw A LOT of lava rock. Tripped and cut my toe, while trying to climb around on the lava rocks in my flip-flops.





• Saw a really cool giant old tree, and tried to climb it in my flip-flops.





I now know that this is called a Kohala tree





• Drove around the island (this is the big island of Hawaii, by the way). It took us a total of about 7 hours, including stops.



• Saw the volcano, which has been continuously erupting for about 20 years. Didn't see any lava, though. But, discovered there is such a thing as "vog." It's like fog/smog/volcanic smoke. And it stinks, like something burning. Probably lava.

Steam vents from the volcano

Vog





Hiking through the rainforest. Sorry, it's blurry.Lava Cave


Went to the beach, tried to snorkel, but the rental place was out of snorkel gear. So, swam around instead. Saw some giant turtles from a distance but didn't get any pictures.


• This is the ONLY swimsuit shot you will see of me. Sorry.
  
  Have eaten so much, that I have grown out of all the clothes I've brought, and had to go buy myself a Hawaiian mu mu to wear everyday. Either that, or I've suddenly become 5 months pregnant over night. I'm pretty sure, it's the former. Unfortunately, do not have a picture of the mu mu.
  
  
• Learned how to make sushi.
  
  
  
• Thought the sushi roll looks like a giant stogie, and decided to try and smoke it.
  
  
  
  
• Have been on the lookout for a Hawaiian flask. (I still need to elaborate on that story)
  
• Took lots and lots of pictures of the gorgeous views from our Hotel.






More pictures to come......

8 things Tag...

I was tagged by my friend, Mikki. Here you go:

8 Favorite TV Shows:
The Unit
Leverage
The New Adventures of Old Christine
Lost
American Idol
House
Gary Unmarried
Rules of Engagement

----8 Favorite Restaurants:
Tepanyaki
Tepanyaki
Corbin's
Tepanyaki
Arby's
El Matador (but I haven't been there in years)
Tepanyaki
China Hill

------8 Books You'd Recommend:
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Velocity - Dean Koontz
Creepers - David Morrell
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Kalhed Houssini
First Blood - David Morrell
These is My Words - Nancy Turner
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch/Jeffrey Zaslow
Tower of Strength - Annette Lyon


-------8 Things That Happened Yesterday: (this won't be accurate because I'm posting ahead)
Ran 6 miles
Grocery store
Blogged
Laundry
drove KJ to her choir practice
Went to my brother's violin lesson with him because I'm his accompanist for a competition this weekend
Picked up kids from Mom's
Made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner at 8pm

-------8 Things to look forward to:
Hawaii!!
Spring
Summer
my children miraculously figure out how to clean up after themselves, and my house staying clean
my CD release
Hawaii!!!
The kids to be old enough to do their own laundry
the backrub my husband will give me tonight when he gets home because he knows and appreciate how hard I work.

---------8 Things on my wish list:
A flask. (I'm not going to explain because it would make a great post by itself)
Grand piano
maid
washboard abs
bigger boobs
a trip to Italy
more time in the day
to be rich and famous

--------8 Things I love about Spring: (I changed it from Fall to Spring)
Warmer temps
new growth
budding leaves, flowers, bulbs
The END of winter
Finally, some sunshine
My birthday
Easter
Anticipating Summer

8 People I tag:
Whoever wants to, I know this one has gone around a lot, if you haven't done it, feel free!

Not sure what to call this...a Tag

First, I just want to point out that while you sit and read this, I am relaxing on a beach in Hawaii. Neener, neener!


My friend WonderWoman gave me this great award!!


Thanks, Wonder Woman!


STEP 1: Respond and rework. Answer the following questions on my blog, replacing one question that I dislike with a question of my own invention.





STEP 2: Add one more question of my own.





STEP 3: Tag eight other bloggers.








1) What is your favorite day of the week? Most definitely, Saturday. First of all, C is home, which is nice, because he works WAY too much during the week. B. I get to start my day off with a long run. And tres, we usually just relax all day, and enjoy time with our family. It's a great day to unwind.

2) What is your biggest fear? Losing a child, or C dying young, and having to raise these kids alone

3) What was your worst subject in school? anything to do with science. WW said Chemsitry, and I have to agree whole-heartedly.

4) Who did you hug last? TJ, he's a great cuddler.

5) What websites do you visit when you go online? Yahoo, blogger, google-reader, facebook.

6) What was the last item that you bought? groceries.

7) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Italy. I've always wanted to go there. I love the language, the history, the art, the romance. Someday...

8) What is your favorite book? I don't know what my favorite book is. I have so many different genres that I love. A few of my favorite authors: Jane Austen, David Morrell, loved Angels & Demons because of the art history, and it was set in Italy, and I liked all the action in it.

9) What was the longest car ride you ever took? When I was 16, my family drove from UT to Washington, DC. We stopped at EVERY church history site on the way. It took us over a week to get there. And now that the Nauvoo temple has been rebuilt, I want to go back, because when we went back then it was just the site where it had been.

10) What was the last movie you watched? The Changeling with Angelina Jolie. Kind of sad, but I liked it. Although, I have to say, I couldn't quite believe Angelina as the grieving mother, something about her looking so emaciated, and her collagen filled lips.

11) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments, or interruptions, what would you do? And no kids? go for a run, Go shopping, get a pedicure, read a book, blog, play the piano.

12) If you were to win the Powerball, what would you do with the money (besides invest it)? pay off debt, travel with my family, go to Italy, of course, use it to propel my music career

13)If you could pick the single most pivotal moment in your life, what would it be, and why? The moment when I gained my testimony of the gospel. Everything else I have done in my life, is a domino effect of that moment.

14) In your opinion, who is the most significant person in history and why? Jesus Christ, because he paid the ultimate sacrifice for human kind.

15) If you had a choice of places to live, where would it be? Right here. Or maybe back to my home town, which isn't too far from here.

16)What's a item on your property you can't live without? my house, duh

17) Since I don't know where Benji Schwimmer is.......If you were stranded on a desert island, and got one luxury item to take with you, and one person to take with you, what and who would it be? The person? Clint, but that is hard because I certainly wouldn't want to leave my babies behind. The item? A satellite phone so I could call for rescue, and call my babies

Ok, I now tag:

1. Melissa @ That's What She Said
2. Veronica @ Welcome to my Chaos
3. Sarah @ Sarah's Life
4. Denae @ My Real Life was Backordered (She's up for a MMB spotlight. Go vote for her, she totally deserves it!)
5. Erin @ If you Give a Mom a Moment (when she gets back from FRANCE!!)
6. Debilyn @ Definitely Debilyn
7. Wendy @ No Botox allowed
8. Andrea @ I'm just sayin

Friday's Random Sherisms, and some random tunes

My baby sister had two babies yesterday. She is seriously the superest super Mom on the planet. My ultra human amaxing (that's amazing to the max--coined by said super sister) sister delivered two healthy baby twin girls yesterday morning. Naturally. With no epidural. And no pain killers. She is my hero. I'm so happy for her, and glad to hear my new little nieces are happy and healthy. I'm just sooo sad that I won't get to see or hold them until June. She lives in OK, and they aren't coming to UT til then.

Congrats, Kris! I love you! You rock! As soon as I get pictures, I'll post one (with Kris's permission, of course)

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I finally got my song finished. Thank you for all of your moral support about my frustrations with my music writing program. I am a glutton for punishment. My ward conference is the Sunday that we get back from out trip. If you didn't already know, I am the ward choir director. And the bishopric asked that the choir sing a number for ward conference. The theme for it is "Stand in Holy Places." I kept thinking of that song recorded by Jenny Jordan Frogley. Do you know that song? If you live in UT, they play is on FM100's Sounds of the Sabbath ALL THE TIME.

*side note: my amazingly more talented than me sister-in-law, co-wrote that song. She actually wrote it for her Young Women, then took it to Greg Simpson, another uber famous/talented LDS artist, who happened to be my seminary teacher in high school, and whose brother, Steve is best friends with my brother in law, and who is also married to Kelsie Osborn of Shedaisy. (talk about your talented, famous family, I know I'm totally name-dropping. So sue me.) Anyway, she asked Greg to let her record it in his studio, and he reworked the song with her a little bit, got JJF to record it and put it on the EFY album in, I think , 2001. So, there's the history of that song*

But, I digress. I didn't think I could do that song in sacrament meeting, and not with a choir, but the only other song I could think of to go with the theme was "I love to see the Temple." But, call me crazy, but I think it's boring for the ward choir to sing straight out of the hymn book or the primary book (in this case). You might as well just do a congregational hymn, if that's what you want, right? But, I didn't have any time to drive to Salt Lake and go to Day Murray Music (the best place in the state to find choir music, by the way). So I decided to write my own choir arrangement. I wrote the choral parts weeks ago, but never got around to doing the piano part, until this week. Because the choir needs to practice it with the accompaniment, and I will be out of town this week, and our flight arrives 1 1/2 hours before church starts the Sunday they are supposed to perform, I needed to get it finished and passed along to my substitute before I leave.

So, anyway, there is the extremely long and boring version of why I got frustrated with my Finale program yesterday.

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Ok, that last story deserved a post of its own, because it was so long. Sorry. I'll try to be brief for the rest of this post. Something, I'm am most definitely NOT good at. I've often wondered how many people have said behind my back, "That Sherrie, she's a talker." Speaking of which, I went out for a little birthday dinner, with my VT-ing partner, and one of the ladies we visit, both of whom are my very dear friends. We went to dinner around 7:00. We sat in my car afterwards, talking, until after midnight. I just love talking to those girls! But since, I had gotten up at 4:30 to run yesterday morning, I was pretty darn tired, and towards the end, I started dozing off, so Motherboard asked me if I was tired, and wanted to call it a night. Sorry, ladies, but being such a party pooper. 20 hours is just way to long to be awake.

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I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I will be seriously TICKED-OFF if that means that I will be going to Hawaii sick. I better NOT get sick!!

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In a brief moment of frugality the other day at the store, I decided to purchase another "leading brand" of TP, instead of my usual Charmin Ultra. It was on sale, and several dollars cheaper, plus it promised to have "quilted softness" so I took the plunge (no pun intended).

I am now regretting that decision, because my tender little hind end is sore and raw from wiping with sand paper the new brand of toiler paper.

From now on, I will stick with what I know to be good, and spend the extra money.

It's worth it.

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I love to respond to you when you comment. I have all my comments sent to my email, so if you ask me something, or I want to chat some more, it's really nice to just hit the reply button. So, thank you to all of you who have your email address in your profile. Those who don't....Come on! Do it! It's easy. Just go to your profile. Click edit profile. And add your email address. If you are worried about using your real email address, then go make one on google. You don't even have to use your real name. I just want to chat and get to know you better!

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I am leaving for Hawaii on Sunday! Yay me! Are you sooo jealous? I have had several offers from many people who want to stow away in my suit case and come along. If I could pack you all in my suit case, and have a fun blogging trip to Hawaii, I totally would!

Wouldn't that be fun? We should do a blogger girls' get away weekend. Who's going to plan it?

I'm not a planner. I'm a go-alonger.

Anyway, I had all these "plans" to lose weight and be totally hot and sexy for the trip. Except, then I saw they had Cadbury mini eggs at the store, and I kind of forgot about the losing weight. Then, if a moment of boredom, and sweet-toothedness, I made a whole batch of peanut butter bars. With chocolate frosting. Like the ones they used to have in elementary school. I made them with the intention of taking them to TJ's primary leaders (as a peace offering), but then some little fingers found their way into wiping the frosting off nearly the entire pan of bars.

So, the only thing left to do is Eat. The. Entire. Pan. In. Less. Than. Two. Days!

Apparently, eating everything you can get your hands on has the opposite effect you want, if you're trying to lose weight.

So, I'm going to Hawaii, with a nice little squishy belly. I'm sure you can't wait to see pictures of me in my little string bikini (no I don't have one, and No I won't be posting pictures of me in a swim suit).

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So, Adios. Auf Weidersehen, Salam, Sayonara, Ah Revoir (for you Erin), Caio, 再见

Bye bye!

(I have a few tags scheduled to post while I'm gone, so you can still feel the Sher Love while I'm gone.)

Here is some Music Love:

1. Magnificent - U2

2. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

3. Soul Mate - Natasha Bedingfield

4. Love Story - Taylor Swift

5. November Rain - Guns N' Roses

6. Pienso En Ti - Shakira

7. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaleson

8. Drops of Jupiter - Train

9. Don't Speak - No Doubt

10. King of Pain - The Police

Bonus: Everybody's Changing - Keane (Thanks Tib for introducing me)

Bonus, bonus: Aloha 'Oe - Queen Lili`uokalani

Bonus, bonus, bonus: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole

Not trying to rub in in or anything ;)