Just Wishing Obama was REALLY like Lincoln....

Abraham Lincoln in reply to New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association said the following:

"Property is the fruit of labor....property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Vol. VII pp. 259-260 (March 21, 1864)

A Report by C

One of the joys of being a parent is the privilege of hearing the funny things kids say. This fun begins when they start talking. Sadly, it happens less and less the older they get. But don't despair, those of you with very young children. You will get a second chance to laugh at, I mean with, them when they start writing. Bad grammar and spelling can be just as fun.

My case in point:

"When Bears hiypernate they sleep in caves. On worm days they go find food and go to the bathroom. then they go back to there caves and hypernate agan."

I bet you didn't know we had a problem --bears with ADHD!!!! Where is Al Gore when you really need him?

I Miss you Mom

Elsie L. H.

May 1935- February 24, 2008

Reading: A Thousand Splendid Suns

As this book boldly states, in RED, this is by the same author that wrote "The Kite Runner". "The Kite Runner" is a timely and moving story of two boys growing up in tumultuous Afghanistan. I really liked that book but, to be honest, the ending left me a little sad. This new book by Hosseini, is about two WOMEN growing up in tumultuous Afghanistan. It is very moving and has a great ending. Although, at times, it was hard to read because I felt like these women could not suffer any more hardship, it made the happy moments they were able to enjoy that much sweeter.

I give it YYYY (out of five), the language was clean but there was some violence.

Don't Skunks Hibernate?

They should! But, sadly, they don't and it happened.
Again.
The Mascot got sprayed by a skunk.

It all went down Monday night. The CFO and I were just turning the tele off and getting ready to head to bed when the Mascot came downstairs and wanted to go out. She started to bark at something and after peering out the window and not seeing anything, I LET HER OUT. She started to chase a cat (because it couldn't be a skunk, don't skunks hibernate?). When I saw her stop dead in her tracks, I knew it wasn't a cat. Now let me just take a minute and fully explain our predicament:

1. The mascot is an inside pet and she is old. She is used to a cushy lifestyle of warmth; she won't survive the winter's night outside.
2. She smells so bad it burns the nose and makes the eyes water.
3. It's a quarter to MIDNIGHT.
4. It is starting to snow.
5. If I bathe her in the house, the house will stink like skunk forever.

The CFO pulled his car out of the garage and I slathered her with my newest best friend: baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dawn dish soap. (I got the honors since it was my fault--I LET HER OUT.) I scrubbed her with this concoction for 15 minutes then hosed her off and dried her with a ragged old towel. AND, she smelled fine. She spent the night in the mudroom and all is well. Has she learned her lesson? Not sure. But I have.

I didn't get a picture of her coated with the baking soda (that would have been a great picture of her humiliation). I was too mad. Actually, seething is a better word than mad. But, here she is:

all clean

Hobby Tryouts: February

Each month this year I am going to TRY and fit into my life a new hobby.

This month:

blogging

(with Facebook thrown in for good measure.)

I have enjoyed writing on this blog more than I thought I would. Even the CFO has enjoyed it (the last 2 blog posts were by him). Thanks for all of your feedback/comments.

With Facebook, however, I am torn. Sometimes I like it and other days it just seems like a ginormous waste of time. It is a good tool to reconnect with people we have lost touch with over the years. The CFO will have his 20 yr. high school reunion this summer (no, that's not a typo. It has been 20 years) so he has been reconnecting with those friends and acquaintances. I have been able to reconnect with a couple that was in our adoption group. See, Facebook does have some merit. But, man, it can suck up time. So if you find me on Facebook, will you please be my friend? I would love to search you out and accumulate 300 friends, but I really need time to practice the piano.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas .... IN FEBRUARY!

Yesterday's big storm led to today's sunny, beautiful winter day. This post is especially for you snow deprived folks living in Phoenix and elsewhere where you are enjoying 80 degree weather but missing out on the beautiful white stuff.

The Skiing Westenskow's

One of my good friends labeled their blog "The Skiing Wallaces" and I liked it so I am stealing the idea for this post. We live just 10 miles from a beautiful Ski Resort where we spend much of the winter. By we I mean ME (the CFO), E & C (but the COO is currently learning and may, with a little luck, one day actually enjoy the sport, and O is on deck to learn during this year's spring skiing).

The boys have progressed a bunch this year. Pictured below is a "chute" that they recently skied without a second thought. Actually, 7 year old C skied it first last weekend while E was attending a birthday party. C maintained bragging rights for an entire week until E had the chance to equal his little brother. They love to jump, go fast on the groomers, ski the crud and are even learning to ski the almighty POWDER.

Today the CFO spent the entire day skiing black diamonds with E in 18 inches of fresh powder. This was a stormy, snowy, windy, low visibility, cold day (one of the CFO's favorite kind because it snows soo hard that your tracks are filled in after each run). The snow was waist deep on the CFO in places which means chest deep on 10 year old E. He fell only a few times and rarely slowed the pace. Definitely one of the CFO's proudest moments!! (We tried to take a picture but it was snowing too darn hard).

There is always an open invitation to any of our friends or family who want a weekend away and a tour of the mountain. Many have taken us up on the offer and have not been disappointed.

See You on the Slopes!!

A Conversation with O

O: what are you doing?

Jen: putting on makeup.

O: why?

Jen: to cover these little red dots on my face.

O: you mean pimples?

Jen: Yeah! (thinking to self, how does she know about pimples? Have we talked about them before?)

O: then don't forget the one on your forehead.

Jen: Thanks.

The Company Mascot

Like most dogs, our company's mascot has equally served us well and been a bit of a liability. She came to us as a puppy and one day escaped her kennel and chewed on furniture and chewed a hole into the carpet. Then there was the time she knew someone was trying to break into our house and she was my protector until the police arrived. She has bypassed electric fences and dug holes in my flower garden. She has gladly cleaned spills from my kitchen floor and the occasional messy child. She has shed every spring and summer and fall for 11 years. She poops where she wants, never in the same place unless it is in the neighbor's yard. She tussled with a skunk last summer and lost. BTW--3 baths with baking soda mixed with dawn dish soap finally did the trick. She is getting old and has bumps on her skin and a white muzzle. She sleeps most of the day UNTIL you say the word "cat" then she jumps to attention and acts like a spunky 2 year-old. She has been tolerant of all the little children in her life with only giant licks as her retaliation.

(O has adored her from the very beginning. You can see the tolerance on the Mascot's face.)
O wanted a picture taken with the Mascot. Every time O got close the Mascot wanted to "kiss" her.

So, cheers to the Mascot. You have served us well. But, please no more skunks and try to poop in your own yard.

Drawrings with O

"Grandpa is kinda boring to draw because he doesn't have any hair."

Grandma gave O a place for her artwork so I thought she might like to see it "in action":

Restaurant Review: The Royal India

The CFO and I tried a new restaurant this past weekend. Some friends in the neighborhood suggested this restaurant after we told them how much we LOVE indian food.

We ordered :

Vegetable Samosa for an appetizer: veggies wraped in bread and deep fried

Basmati Rice

Vegetable Korma: a sweet coconut curry dish

Lamb Saag: a creamy spinach dish

Chicken Tikka Masala: grilled chicken pieces in a creamy tomato sauce

Plain Naan: flat bread

Raita: cucumber sauce to cool the taste buds

Everything was super delicious especially the Chicken Tikka Masala. Always a favorite. I really could have licked the bowl and my plate clean. Luckily I was full so I saved the CFO some embarassment. In fact there were some leftovers that we got to take home. We had finished all of our rice, but when the waiter brought the box back to the table they had filled it with more rice......FOR FREE! Worth the trip right there.

My plan was to take pictures at the restaurant, but I must have been too excited to be out of the house and I forgot. I was planning on taking a nice pic of the leftovers. But, that didn't happen either.

This is what you get instead:

We enjoyed the leftovers just as much as the original meal.

The Royal India is in Bountiful. They also have another location at 103rd South. If you go, order a Mango Lasse and tell me how yummy it is.

PS. can anyone tell me if there is a spell check?

The Hobby Lobby

I admire the CFO because he is such a hard worker. He also plays hard too. I admire how he has been able to make juggling work, family life, and having fun look so easy. He is an expert multitasker. I, on the other hand, have found that I like to focus on one task at a time. But, I am starting to realize that maybe I need to stretch myself a little more. For the last decade, since taking on the job of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the family and managing the every need of the little executives: C, E, and O, I have concentrated mainly on mom life. I want to stress that being a SAHM has been wonderful and challenging. I just want to try new things and add a new hobby that will hopefully keep the mind fresh and add some more zing to life.

Hobby Tryouts: January

Piano Lessons

I took piano lessons as a kid and I did OK. After several years, probably sometime in Jr. High, I convinced my mom I didn't need lessons anymore and I quit. I didn't look back and, up until a few weeks ago, I haven't played since quitting. Needless to say, I have forgotten how to play. So, I have a piano now (I will talk more about that later in another blog) and I am taking lessons again.

I want to play this:

right now I play this: I will be working on this "hobby" all year.

What's in a name?

As you can tell from reading the "Introduction...", we are using nicknames here at West's Winds.
In this crazy world, it is just my way of trying to keep some things private while I expose other things publicly on the internet.

Yeah.

A blogging oxymoron.

Trying to "have my cake and eat it too".

In addition, the CFO expressed some concern about the name "West's Winds". He thought that this title might imply that we are all about flatulence. Although, C and E find hilarity in all things flatulence related, this blog will not be focused on that kind of wind. Instead, the wind to which I am referring is my voice or the voice of the CFO if he gets approval. lol

Enjoy