Botox for Valentine's Day?

This morning when I was leaving for work and leaning over my husband, who was taking a bath, and kissing him tenderly good-bye, he looked into my eyes (like he always does when he can't get enough of my beautiful eyes :) and said after a little while:"We are getting old". The eyes were not enough, anymore. He actually looked beyond my eyes, and noticed the wrinkles in the corners of my eyes. Yes, they have been there for years, and increasing and deepening every moment.

I ran out the door, and Rod hopped out of the bath, calling after me to come back. He caught me at the front door with only a towel around him. Apologies, apologies, blah, blah, blah... a mention of Mr. Rodriguez's black eyes in high school (not working or softening the blow) The truth is out.

I'm calling 1-800-Botox, today.

The muffin top has been squeezed

The decision of losing weight has been made for me today. I welcomed a very dear friend, Matti, (he baptized me) from Finland to our home this afternoon, and the first thing he did after a hug was to give me a delicious Fazer chocolate bar, and then squeezed my ever overflowing muffin top. So, that is it then. No more watching The Biggest Loser with a bag of chips and chocolate, no more eclars (ok, I had one today because Rod brought home one, but no more after this one). From now on, it is nothing but desert (not with two s's). Nothing but strict diet to lose (yet again) the unwanted 30 lbs. that I lost last year. But can I really start a diet on a Saturday? Don't I have to wait until Monday?

So, after my promise to myself to get in shape and quit eating the box full of Krispy Kreme donuts the devil came to my door tonight in form of a Girl Scout, yes, you guessed it, selling Girl Scout cookies. But in my defense, I couldn't say no to her. She is the sweetest, and the only Girl Scout in our neighborhood (in our neighborhood you HAVE to buy whenever somebody comes to the door). I just didn't have the heart, and those Samoas and Thin Mints looked so good. I'll have Rod eat them, and maybe I'll just sniff the packages. The good news is that they won't deliver them until March. Therefore, I have two months to get strong.

Ok, the second devil just knocked on our door. I'm not making this up. This really happened while I was finishing the last paragraph. This time it was a young boy doing his Eagle Scout Project by gathering school supplies to send to Congo, BUT, he was getting the money together by selling pizzas that he was going to make and deliver next Saturday. Geez, man! What the heck??! I told him we wouldn't be home next Saturday, which is true if I remember right (this time I didn't know the seller, so I didn't have to buy anything).

I'm now promising myself that I can do this. And really, how can I go to Hawaii this summer without losing weight. I refuse to blend in with the natives, even though I'm a fabulous hula dancer.

Rodsicle

This was hanging off the roof in the back of our house. It took all night for Rod to lick it all gone.

Skiing Buddies

Yesterday, Rod and Alex spent a day together on the slopes in Sundance. I think this picture tells the story how much fun they had with 15 inches of fresh powder and a 45 degree angle ridge of un-touched snow. Sorry, I don't have pictures to show the tracks that they left behind.

I just love these men in my life.

Weird World

I was told by Rod that these blue horns on the cows are considered as "spinners" in our country.

Judge for yourselves. I think the blue horns are snazzier.

Direct Correlation? You know how much I love shoes!

And now, I wear this

Where's the heel and where's the bling? I feel inadequate in this shoe attire. 3 weeks in this shoe hell, and lots of anti-inflammatories, and NO HIGH HEELED SHOES OF ANY KIND!

Time for a pedicure?- - "After"

AAAHHHH! The happiness of having nice, unsnaggy feet. And yes, I picked the nail polish color by thinking:"What color would I wear if I was going on a cruise?" Needless to say, we are in the middle of winter here with a ton of snow, (I think the temperature is about -4 this morning) and no hope for a cruise. But, still I picked a happy orange-red color. If I look at my toenails and squint my eyes, I could picture a orange-red color sunset that I saw a few years back in Key West. I need to find that picture and show it to you. It is GORGEOUS!

Also, I was getting my hair and nails done this week, and about 4 years ago, I used to go to this lady on State Street for a pedicure, facial and massage. Then one day when I went in for my appointment, a nice Vietnamese woman welcomed me into the salon, and told me with a very broken English that her husband would be doing my pedicure. Where was LEIGH, I demanded. Sadly she didn't know (she wasn't sad, she was smiling a big toothy smile the whole time she was talking to me). I was heart-broken, and later butchered by a nice Vietnamese man who didn't even know how to use a blade. I NEED A BLADE, PEOPLE! So, I was getting my hair done by Juli, and she asked me if I remembered Leigh. Of course I remembered Leigh. Are you kidding me! That's why I quit getting pedicures because Leigh wasn't doing them anymore. Even my mother loved Leigh. So, Juli had some insider information about Leigh, and quickly gave me a phone number to call because LEIGH HAS A SPA IN HER BASEMENT! Guess who called her the minute I was done with Juli? My life, as I know it, can go on, once again. The above picture is not Leigh's work....you would know it and feel the difference if it was (Leigh knows how to use a blade). No, this work was done by a 19-year old amateur named "Shilo". I was bored talking with her. She had nothing interesting to say to me, so I turned to my book and was a total snob. 6 weeks from now, I will report on my SPA experience with Leigh. It will sure to be the most joyous occasion.

Time for a pedicure?- - "Before"

When I was slipping out of my luxurious silk satin sheets this morning, I got caught in them and snagged them badly. What might have been the reason?? And then I took a good look at my feet, and thought that I REALLY needed a pedicure. What do you think? My appointment is tomorrow, and I will then post an "after" picture. Click on this picture so you can see how totally cracked, disgusting, and dry my feet are.

Okay, okay, not really my feet, but they could be. You might have noticed that this foot belongs to a black person. As you know, I'm not partially black (Upper torso white, lower torso black), no, no, that is not the case. But to demonstrate how horrible my feet look, I thought I would use this picture because it tells the story so well. This is actually a picture of an Indian man that Rod met in October during his travel to India. He kept shooting pictures without anybody noticing, so he can prove to me that somebody else has the same "quality" feet as I do. This poor guy hasn't ever owned shoes, and has always walked barefoot everywhere. So, what's my excuse? Immense laziness? Maybe. Can't see my feet from my stomach? Not yet. Ignore them and the grossness will go away with time? Possibly.

Tune in tomorrow for a beautiful and smooth "after" picture. You will be surprised. And, by the way, I don't own silk satin sheets...are you kidding me? You believed me, that I did!! How silly of you. Don't you know me at all!!

Lost in Translation in India

I was going through Rod's pictures that he took during his last travel to India and Japan. And here are some thought-provoking signs that make you go:"Hmmm!?" (you may need to click on each picture to really see the sign).

How unfortunate!
Would you advertise and brag about this, I mean, seriously!

Is there a time you wouldn't need toilet paper?

You panties!

What are we talking about here? Locusts?

So, you are driving down the road with your mother in-law, and see this sign, would you say:"I need to get me one of those!" and then glance at your mother in-law with a meaningful look?

The Real Guitar Hero

Let's go way, way, WAY back to the 80s and 90s. If you were hip and young like we were at that time, you would remember the real guitar hero, Greg Stevenson. Those were the times when on any given Friday night, we could go to Greg's concert, and listen to him play. He had quite a following, too. A fan base of screaming girls who followed him...anywhere. Those were the times.

How about us going to Lake Powell, and Greg bringing his guitar with him. There we were, tucked nicely in a far away canyon, nothing but beautiful warm water, tall canyon walls, a nice sandy beach, and us in sleeping bags trying to sleep. That's when Greg lulled us to sleep by singing endlessly, and every once in a while, a loud echo of "IT'S SO SIMPLE TO ME" would sound and wake us up right when you were falling asleep. Good times, good times.

Greg and Kristine came to visit us this past weekend, and we actually talked Greg to play the guitar....guitar hero, that is. And Rod and I got the flashback. Unfortunately, Kristine was not part of the scene in the 80s and 90s because she was still in HIGH SCHOOL! But, for sure, she would have been one of those screaming girls, because Greg was irressistible.

Greg is truly the Guitar Hero of Provo/Orem.

Suburban firm and unflabby thoughts

I was sitting in my Suburban last night in front of Alex's Jr. High, waiting for him to finish his basketball practice, and my thoughts were whirling all over the place, mostly on food. I couldn't believe that I was only on 3rd day after New Year's and I was thinking about McDonald's fries. I NEVER think about fries, I have no need to think about fries! But for some weird reason, there it was. Then I started thinking that I need to invent a way to get my body into shape without actually going to the gym. AGAIN! I couldn't believe it. Only 3rd day, and I was going back on my promise to myself to go to the gym. Could I think about firm and unflabby thoughts, that could be beneficial to my body? Then a thought hit me..."I wonder if the "HOT" sign is on at Krispy Kreme". I mean SERIOUSLY!!! Quit already!!! Where were these thoughts coming from? Was I bored? No. Was I out of my mind? Obviously. So, to dwarf these explicit thoughts, I went shopping instead. Crisis diverted. Case closed.

Our fortunes for 2008-Cheers!

Cheers to 2008!
Here welcoming the New Year at the Williams

According to the Finnish tradition, our melted tin horse shoe fortunes for 2008 are, as interpreted by each person:

Marja: Dubai Hotel (looks like a sail of a ship, reference picture).

Rod: Segway with lots of money

Alex: African Safari: Running Rhinoceros and money

Grandma Joyce Hill: Golf clubs and bag (maybe a golf vacation)

Grandpa Herb Hill: "As long as it is not a long term care facility, I'm ok."

Katie: Wolf (then she started seeing an angel Moroni)

Steve: Motorcycle with LOTS of money in the back. He told me first that it looked like the Big Island of Hawaii. You be the judge.

Heather: Wedding vail, flower bouquet, and other wedding paraphanalia

Carsen: Wii, Basketball, Football helmet, neice/nephew (sounds like a letter to Santa, or a wish list for his birthday. Take notice, Katie and Steve)

All in all, it was a wonderful, quiet but joyous New Year's Eve with friends, laughter and lots of beans. Yeah, we felt them next day.

Here playing Mormon Bridge with the Williams Family, which of course, Marja refused to play because it is like ROOK (don't get me started). We quickly switched to "Scum", and at the end of the evening, Marja made it to the President.

Hyvää Uutta Vuotta!!!