The Great Project Challenge of 2008

John knows me very well. He knows that I need a little outside motivation now and then to get things done. That's why I always did so well in school--the motivation of a grade was enough for me. Left to myself, I'm a pretty lazy person.

Anyway, in an attempt to motivate me and also to reclaim the fireplace (good luck!), which is currently covered by my sewing and project stuff, John has made me a deal. If I can finish 200 projects in the next year, he will pay my $5 a project, $1000 for the year, to go toward a new quilting maching for me. This motivates me in two ways: 1-I will do a lot of things for a little money, just ask me about the $5 story that was so successful for John in the beginning of our relationship, and 2-I really want either a new quilting machine to quilt my quilt tops or a fancy quilting sewing machine to do my sewing on.

Now this is a lot of projects, almost 20 a month. They don't have to be big projects, and I have easily that many projects already bought at my house. And I may not make it, but I will have fun trying. I like a good challenge.

So here are my first few projects:

Project #1: A Space Rag Quilt for my new nephew Benjamin. I almost had this one done when the challenge started on August 5.

Project #2: Quilt Block-of-the-month for August. My mom and I take a class and I do one a month so this will be a recurring theme.

Project #3: "The Five Dollar Success Story"--a transcript of my journals, beginning when I met John and going through our first five years of marriage (my 10 year anniversary present to him). I was really excited about this one. I've been working on it all year. John has mild dyslexia so he really can't read handwriting and I had a vision of me dying and him not being able to read my journals about our life together (since he really didn't keep a journal back then). It was a great project and I loved doing it. I'm going to keep working on from 5 years on and add his blog entries, from when he started writing on his blog, and eventually we'll get it bound like a real book.

I have several other projects done but they're presents that I haven't given yet so I'll have to wait to post them. All in all, I've got 9 done at present. But lots in the works. I'll post more as I finish them. It should be fun. John's a good guy who really knows how to get me going. I love him!!

Thanks Grandma!!

Grandma Oaks sent me a package in the mail. I loved all the things she sent me. She sent me an apple slicer which I've tried already and both me and the girls think is really cool. She also sent me a bag to put my plastic bags in that we use for garbage bags. It is great. And, last, she sent me an Apple Jacks dish towel that is super cute. I love breakfast cereal so this is right up my alley. Anyway, thanks Grandma! I love all of it!!

Ode to the Original Adam Payne

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is a really long poem. See ya soon, Adam.

ARod Payne

My dad always makes nicknames for all the grandkids. It seems to really amuse him. And the girls really like it too. They are always talking and trying to remember what their names are. Kate's is Kate the Skate.

Mary's was Scary Mary, until my mom and I convinced him that this might be detrimental to her self-esteem. John called her Mary Monster (and Kate, Kate-zilla) when they were terrorizing, but my dad finally settled on Mary, the barber, Payne. He always asks how her scissors are doing and if she's been able to do any more haircuts. He really thinks he's hilarious. Mary has bought into it and considers herself our resident hairdresser. She spends hours practicing on her dolls although the scissors have yet to reappear. My dad has offered to let her cut his hair, but this has yet to pan out. My mom said no.

Emma's is Emma-skemma. I know. It is nonsense but it rhymes.

Ruth's is toothy ruthy although she's not really old enough to respond so he hasn't teased her as much.

Lily's is silly Lily.

But my dad is proudest of his nickname for Adam. I came over a few days after I'd had him and my dad proudly exclaimed, "Now we have an ARod in the family." I looked at him blankly and then he explained that Adam Roderick could be shortened into ARod. We seriously had not thought of that but it seems oddly appropriate given John's obsession with baseball. So ARod it is. And the girls really love it. My dad says as long as he shares his millions when he grows up he'll be ok. So, world, say hello to ARod Payne. ( In his OU outfit for my brother John who graduated from there. )

What Emma really thinks

In primary they asked the Sunbeams and CTR 5 classes some questions for Mother's Day. They said they only asked the little kids because they give the funniest answers. We interpreted that as meanest or most embarassing. So here are Emma's answers with a little commentary from me:

1. How old is your mom? 24 ( I thought this was pretty good since she has been telling me that President Hinckley was 21 when he died. Maybe in Emma-verse you age backwards and I'm not that far from my own untimely end.)

2. What does your mom do all day? I don't know...takes a bath. (This one got big laughs. The funniest part is that I hate baths. I'm definitely a shower person. Maybe this stems from my occassionally having her keep an eye on Ruth and Lily when I take a shower.)

3. What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Drive the new van. (I do like driving it kind of, although it has been a big adjustment. The best thing about it is that I can't really hear the girls except for Lily. Lots of peace and quiet.)

4. Where was your mom born? Provo. (This was a good guess. John was born in Provo and I grew up in Orem, although I was born in Montana.)

5. What does your mom do at church? She does nothing. (Again, big laughs. Apparently, from Emma's viewpoint, I'm living the good life: baths all week and nothing to do at church.)

6. How did your mom and dad meet? The missionaries. (No idea. Maybe she got home teachers and missionaries confused, because John was my home teacher when we first met.)

7. What is your favorite thing about your mom? She loves me. (She finally got one right. You have to love Emma who is totally off the wall sometimes but so intent about it that it makes you laugh. A lot like her dad actually, hmmmm...)

8. What does your mom love best about you? Because I'm a good helper. (She is. When she's in the right mood she is quite the cleaner and entertainer of little sisters. I couldn't do without her, but I will have to coach her on some of these answers for next year.)

The Coloring Book Prize

Speaking of being a pack rat: I can not throw away half-used coloring books. They rank right up there with unread magazines. Even if there are only like 3 pages left, I just can't bring myself to get rid of them. The problem is that my girls are always getting new coloring/workbooks so we have tons of them that are half done. I decided, in an effort to get rid of some of them, I would offer a reward to any of my girls who would actually finish a coloring book. If they did their best work and showed me that it all had been done then they would get a candy bar. I know, it really boils down to bribery to make life easier for me, but hey, it is worth it. And you should see how much my girls have been coloring. Kate actually finished one of hers and Mary, Emma, and Ruth have spent a lot of time working on some of theirs. The side benefit has been that I've gotten a lot of quiet time out of the whole plan. I know I'm crazy but there you have it.

(My plan for unread magazines is that I put them in the bathroom, and when I get stressed out, I go in the bathroom, lock the door and read a few articles. Then when I'm done reading them, I don't feel so bad tossing them in the recycling bin. It has really worked very well, and I've read A LOT of magazines if that gives you a clue to my emotional state over the past few months.)

Pack Rat Purging

I am a pack rat. I have a really hard time giving away or throwing away anything. I have gotten better over the years, but I'm still pretty bad. Well, the last two years our Relief Society has had something they call "Brunch and Swap" where you can clean your house, bring your stuff you want to give away, and they put it out so any sisters in the ward can take it home if they need it. Then whatever is left over, they donate to our local elementary school which has a huge Rummage Sale each spring as their big fundraiser for the year, and whatever they have left over, they take to DI.

So I used this as an excuse to clean out some stuff in our house. Somehow it makes me feel better giving stuff away if I know it is going to a good cause. When I mentioned that I would be willing to go through clothes and give away lots, John jumped on it and brought up ALL of our boxes of clothes from the basement. So I was so good and I sorted through all of them, plus the girls' drawers and closet and I ended up giving away a lot!! 5 big boxes (5foot x 3 foot x 1 1/2 foot deep) and a whole truckload of bikes, baby stuff, random stuff and a couch. The Relief Society thought we had gone around and collected stuff. Nope, it was all ours. And the saddest part is, our house doesn't look like we gave that much stuff away. Oh well. Some is better than nothing and I was very proud of myself because it kind of stresses me out. We can always give away more next year.

Book Review: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

So I really didn't want to read this book in the first place, but my book club was reading it, and I know lots of people who LOVE it, so I did. Having said that, I have to say for a vampire book it is a pretty good read. I'm not a scary book/ horror book lover at all and I still liked it. It is not scary and the author's concept of vampire life is very interesting and thought provoking and surprisingly non-bloody. If you can get over the fact that the 17 year old girl in the book is willing to give up her life for the love of her life (the vampire), and that this guys sits in her room and watches her sleep all night every night (which I found less romantic and more creepy), I think it's a pretty good, and easy read. I will be reading the next 3 books in the series.

However, I am not a Twilight addict. I have a friend that has a shirt that says "I love Edward" and the Twilight logo on her laptop. And when I took the book with me to a local restaurant to read while I stood in line, I had at least 3 people come up and talk to me and tell me how good they thought it was. Apparently carrying it around is a good way to start conversations and make friends with complete strangers who are Twilight addicts. But I think everyone has their favorite books. Personally I don't think I could ever be in love with Edward because his skin is ice cold all the time. I like warmth. That's why I married John. That and he doesn't suck blood.

(Oh yeah, interesting side note. Stephanie Meyer said that she loves Jane Austen and that Edward is most like Mr. Darcy and parts of the novel are loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. You see, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen ARE everywhere)

Baby Brother

A couple of weeks ago my sister gave me a whole bunch of boy clothes. A friend of hers had had a premie baby and had put away all the regular size clothes, and then, when the boy got big enough, she couldn't find them, so she went out and bought new ones. (I think it is the strangest story I've ever heard. I would have looked a little harder, and these people are kind of on the poor side, but it is great for me and very generous of her to give them to me.) Anyway, so most of these clothes were still on the hangers from the store with the tags on them. It was amazing!! And the clothes are pretty nice and pretty much filled up our whole dresser.

ANYWAY, so last week I washed all the clothes and sorted them and put them away. As I was doing this Ruth was very excited about the whole thing. She asked me who the clothes were for, and I told her they were for the baby brother. So after that, she would come by periodically and tell anyone in ear shot, "These clothes are for our baby brother. Aren't they cute?"

Later that same day, some one knocked on the door. As I was getting up to answer it, Ruth said, "Hurry, Mom. I think it's our baby brother. I think he's here." I tried to explain to her why that probably wasn't going to happen, but she stayed pretty excited.

Then yesterday, Ruth told me out of the blue, "Mom, our baby brother is going to be here in a few days!!" I told her that it was more like a few months and that the baby brother was in my tummy and she could feel him kick if she wanted. She proceeded to give me a disgusted look, say, "Whatever!" and run off. Apparantly she will only accept an in-person appearance. Oh well, it is good to know that she is excited. And she's not the only one, just the most vocal.

We should be happy

The scripture that we just finished memorizing is 2 Nephi 2:27. It says, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh, and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil. For he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

Surprisingly to me, this scripture seems to be particularly disturbing to Emma and Ruth (the 4 and 2 year old). When we first started memorizing it, Ruth would say after every time that we repeated it, "That's not true. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to be miserable." Emma was also quick to complain that she didn't think it was true either. So after we talked about the meaning of the scripture and that it was the devil and not Heavenly Father who wanted us to be miserable, they seemed to feel a little better about the whole thing.

But still, every night when we repeat the scripture Ruth adds on the end, "Heavenly Father doesn't want us to be miserable, He wants us to be happy!" As soon as I agree to this, she seems happy enough.

And Emma says consistantly after the scripture, "The devil is so silly. We are not all going to be miserable. Nephi wasn't miserable." You can't argue with that logic.