Bruises

Before church I was talking to a couple of my cousin's kids who are 4 and 6 years old. The 6 year old asked me why I have so many bruises on my face (acne). I tried to tell him they were zits. He had a hard time saying the word. His 4 year old sister told him they were nipples, not zits. He looked even more confused. After trying not to laugh, I told him they were pimples, not nipples. His reply was, "Good, because if you had nipples all over your face, you'd have babies sucking on you all of the time for food." I had to laugh out loud at that.

Blogging

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last blogged. Much has happened, but I didn't feel like it was all that exciting. Just life, eh? Plus, my internet access at home has been sketchy the last few days. So, I apologize that I don't have pictures in this post.

About a month ago I went to Rexburg for a visit. I "visited" the eye doctor and the dentist. My real visits were with friends. I stayed with the Wilde family, whom I miss much. The kids are so darn cute. I met with friends for dinner each night I was there. I have to say that I am glad I have moved on, but I still miss it there. Mostly the friends.

This last weekend the whole family, except Kirk, was together. Whitney turned 2 and Wilson was blessed. Wilson is turning into such a cutie pie. He still has bouts with collic, but his little personality is starting to shine through. Of course, all my nieces and nephews are absolutely adorable. And I don't believe it's biased at all to say that. :)

I taught in Relief Society this last Sunday. It went better than the time before. At least, I didn't cry afterwards because I thought it was so bad.

Last week I got an upper resperitory infection. I was out for about 4 days. It was not a good one. I finally went to the doctor, which I put off because of no insurance, and he gave me drugs. He was hesitant, but felt it might help. I love drugs! At least antibiotics.

Not much else going on. I got a rejection letter from Purdue, so I will be headed to USU for sure in the fall. My mom is sure it's an answer to her prayers that I won't go so far away. I don't know...it might be punishment for her to have me around so much. :)

Single's Awareness Day

Well, another year has gone and I am still single. This year I have people to celebrate with. My cousin Lauri came up from UT for a visit. We went and saw the chic flick "Bride Wars". It was actually pretty good. Then we had pizza. I heard on the radio that if you get all the toppings, it can act as a natural aphrodeziac (sp). Unfortunately, we had Hawaiian and peperoni. Needless to say, we are still single. Kirk was home for the weekend, too. (He also is still single)

Here are some fun little things I got my mom and brothers for V-day.

Signs

It seems that I have signs that flash brightly from my body. They come and go, depending upon the circumstances. Some of them are (but not limited to):

-If you see me driving down the road, please pull in front of me as close as possible so I have to break hard in order to not hit you. If you are going to go in the same direction as me, please drive at least 20 mph UNDER the speed limit. Even slower during the no passing zones.

-If you are the ages between 10 and 17, please question everything I say, and do it in a rude way. If I ask you to do something, tell me all the reasons why you can't. Argue with me as much as possible. Oh, and ask "why" as much as possible.

-If you are under 10, always be sure to do exactly the opposite of what I ask. If I say to be quiet, to walk, or to pay attention, be sure to blame the problem on someone other than yourself. You see, I don't have eyes or ears of my own so I don't really know what's going on.

-When I'm having a bad day, please make is worse if possible. This means to especially get after me if I don't know the rules. It's always better to get angry at someone who doesn't know the rules than someone who does.

-If I'm having a pity party, please be sure to tell me to knock it off. That always helps my mood even more.

-Treat me like a moron who knows nothing.

The end.

A Frustrated Grump

Yesterday I felt like the biggest grump. It's been a tough week with school and tutoring. I think the kids have spring fever and are acting out more than usual. There were a couple of them who were outright defiant towards me. I couldn't believe it. Who taught these kids to defy authority like that? Everytime I would ask/tell them to do something, they would start with the excuses and tell me something different. They must think that I don't have eyes or ears of my own. I sometimes wish I worked in a different country where children are taught to respect authority figures. So, I've become a frustrated grump. Of course there are cute moments each day, but it always seems the negative outweighs them all.

Good news: I am unofficially accepted to grad school at USU in Logan. There are some things I'll have to do before I'm officially admitted. I don't know what that is yet, I haven't gotten the "official" word from them. I just saw it online under my application. Now I have a future!

Something to Blog About

Well, I finally have something to blog about. Last night my mom, Bryan, Chelsea and I went to Lord of the Dance in Billings. This is the Irish-type dancing that my dad loved. The music, the dancing, the hot men...it was a wonderful show. It was definately worth the expensive tickets. I'd go see it again in the heartbeat.

We spent the night in Billings at the Crowne Plaza. Swanky, swanky, swanky. This morning we went to breakfast then met Mike's family at the temple. We watched the little ones while they did a session. It's always fun to be with the 2 of them. Whitney is so very entertaining. We then went to lunch. Let's just say that I don't want to eat out any time soon. At least a sit-down restaurant. Overall, it was a great few days spent with the family.

Blah, Blah, Blah

Not much going on here. Just the January blahs. Wish there was more the share.

Pictures of Wilson

To see pictures of the cute new one, see http://miknicfamily.blogspot.com/.

Nephew #2

I now have a new nephew. Wilson Michael Hendershot was born today. I saw him tonight and he is a cutie pie. I think he looks like my great-grandma Haggen. While visiting at the hospital, Whitney was such a good big sister. She wanted to give him a binky and to hold him. Hopefully that keeps up! I have such cute nieces and nephews!

100th Post! ...and Christmas

This is my 100th post. Crazy that I have that much to say about life.

Christmas was good. The whole family was together for Christmas morning. Bryan and his family surprised us on the Monday before. They hadn't planned on coming, but they did. I was so happy to have all the neices and the nephew there. It's been a quiet week since then. I'm not used to having this much time off from work. It's been nice, but it would have been nice to have something to look forward to every day other than mom coming home from the fabric shop.

On Christmas Eve I decided to stay home with my brother Kirk while the rest of the family went to Christmas Eve dinner at Lloyd and Claudia's. Kirk wanted to go to Red Apple, so I took him quickly before they closed. Since my mom had gotten him everything he usually bought, he couldn't decide what he wanted. The store was closing and I new that everyone wanted to get home so I was anxious to haveh im make decisions. He finally got most of what he wanted and then went back to the candy isle. In the process, he dropped his jar of nacho cheese, which broke. We went back to get another one, which he dropped and broke in the line. It would be much easier if he would let me hold things in the store. So, needless to say, we got out of the store 10 minutes after closing, had nacho cheese on his shoes from the mess, and I was out of patience. I guess that's why he is still here, to teach me patience.

Here are some of my favorites from Christmas:

Bekah in a non-cheesy picture.
Sariah


Whitney and Michael

Tired Hayden

Whitney and Hannah at McDonald's for Sariah's birthday party

12 Days

The Twelve days of christmas tag!

1 Embarassing moment: What isn't embarrasing about me? I have lots of dumb moments, but I don't get too embarassed by them. I try to blow them off by being even dumber, if possible.

2 Best Friends: Mom, Marianne W

3 Things I buy regularly: Blimpie's turkey sub, Diet Coke (best from fountain), gas

4 Places I want to go: Australia, England, New York, San Diego (again)

5 goals for the upcoming year: get accepted to grad school; go to grad school; spend as much time as possible with neices; play the organ better in church (and not make faces when I mess up); make one new good friend

6 things people don't know about me: I hate wearing shoes (I'd rather go barefoot in the snow if it didn't mean losing toes); I would rather sleep 3-11 a.m. than the early to bed, early to rise; I'm not a huge fan of caramel; sherbet is better than ice cream; I would sleep on a couch every night if I could get away with it; I haven't been on a date in over 5 years

7things i would never say: I'm too skinny; I'm too short; my fingers are skinny; my hair does everything it's supposed to; I don't like children; Richard Gere is hot; I don't like to laugh

8things i love about christmas: watching my neices open their gifts; being with family; Christmas Eve traditions with the Mayes side; MoTab music; fun concerts with cute kids; getting Christmas cards and updates from friends and family; not having to work for a while; getting to order cute clothes for the neices and nephew

9things i say to my kids: since I don't have kids, I don't say much. The things I say most to my neices: let's read a book; settle down; no screaming; you make me tired; hey cutie; I love you; you're silly; did you comb your hair today?; do you need to go pottie?

10 things i do a lot: read, sleep, stare at my mom, watch TV, play with my neices, drive to and from work, pretend I have a boyfriend, think about the future or lack of one I have, blog, read blogs

11 things i would rather not live without: my family (there are over 11 of them, so I think that counts)

12 people i tag: Ug, I'd rather not. You can tag yourself if you'd like.

I Need a Bubble

So, I am sick again. One of the hazards of working in an elementary school where germs run rampant. My brother Mike suggested putting me in a bubble so I don't get sick any more. I agree. Anyone know where I could get one? A few requirements: must be able to take off when in need of a shower; not clausterphobic; smells pleasant; malliable; etc. I hadn't been sick in almost a whole month. That's a record since school started!

Close to Perfect

Most days I get to teach first graders a word of the day. It usually has something to do with a book they are reading. Today the word was "perfect". I was trying to think of things that are perfect so they could have ideas for their journal pages. I told them my mom is perfect. One little girl piped up with, "No one is perfect." Another girl said, "But she's perfect for you". I agree. Mom, you are perfect for me.

Eating Tips

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact,if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving chocolate balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can - And quickly. It's rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it! Have one for me … Have two! It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards!

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO!! What a ride!" Have a great holiday season!!!

Scary-Me a Piano Teacher

I started teaching piano lessons. It's only to one girl so far. It's still scary. I never thought I would be in this situation. I just hope that I meet her expectations and vice versa. It should be interesting!