First Snow

I got up this morning to find that there were 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. It all depended on where in the drive way you were. Hard to believe it was 60 degrees two weeks ago. Apparently we are to get additional snow tonight, but the roads are clear. Had to do some errands this morning and had no problems.

Engaged, at last!!

You'll all be happy and surprised to learn that I finally got engaged today, especially when you find out that my husband-to-be is Keith! :) After we left church, we went down to the area of town where all of the wedding chapels are so that Keith could take some pictures. He wanted to see the inside of one of the chapels, so we went in and pretended that we were scouting locations for our upcoming nuptuals. It was funny stuff! But in reality, I would be pretty mad if I was engaged to Keith and he wanted to have a $199 Elvis Wedding at the Graceland Chapel, complete with an Elvis impersonator walking me down the aisle and singing us a song. That's a depressing thought!

I'll leave it to him to tell you about (and hopefully share) the pictures that he took at the Drive Thru lane at the Little White Chapel. It is SO fun to watch him work! He is amazing with people, and has such a great eye for quirky, interesting, cool pictures! We have had such a good time together, and I am going to miss him when he leaves. *Sigh*

Black Friday

Well, my apologies to Scotty for calling his fancy pants chart an organizational chart! If we were together, I would go into my Ms. Smarty-Pants voice and make a remark...so you'll all just have to imagine it for yourselves! :)

I wanted to start out for apologizing a little bit for Keith and I being sort of incommunicado the past couple of days! We have just been busy little beavers, and usually don't get home until it's too late to call anyone without making them mad! Today we spent approximately 9 1/2 hours shopping...for Keith! I tell ya', that guy can SHOP! It was fun to help him pick out some new "drasual" (that's dressy/casual) clothes for times when he doesn't need to wear his finest, but also can't pull off a t-shirt and jeans. He found some nice, nice stuff, and will certainly be the best-looking and best-dressed guy at church on Sunday.

I, too, seem to be suffering from some illness. I don't feel sick (yet), but have a pretty nasty sore throat and a scratchy voice! Hopefully it won't turn into anything worse...I'm just hoping that I have some Cepacol in my medicine cabinet for my sleeping comfort!

Hope everyone is enjoying their down time, and that anyone who is even a little sick will recover quickly! Love to you all!

Who was Gantt?

I've never heard of a Gantt Chart--nor Gantt! Were he and Milty friends?

We loved the names on the chart as well.

Janet has been taking care of her in-valid sister. I've developed a cold--nose alternating between runny and stuffy and sleeping sickness from the medication. Mouth breathing has been the norm. She wakes me to feed me and tell me when to go to bed! Since I'm awake, you can guess that a meal on its way.

Kacie and Jamie stopped by last night--that was a treat for us. When Janet hugged Kacie she indicated that Kacie had passed her in height! "Bumpy" looked cute with her long hair curled.

Johnson Family Blog

Johnson Family Blog

Medical Update!!!

I saw the Gastroenterologist last Friday. He was pleased that I had been eating a Regular? diet. But he told me to be verrry careful. So I haven't had a lettuce salad yet and am trying to stick to mostly soft foods. Maggie and I had dinner at the Hotel yesterday, sorry Todd, no Banana Cream pie, we just had the small Pumpkin Tarts as we were pretty full of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and salad. I was careful.

I am to see the GI doc again in 6 months.

Thanksgiving Video

Here's a little video from our Pittsburgh Thanks- giving gathering.

Sadly, this may prove a little scandalous and undermine confidence in my kitchen staff, but I thought I'd go ahead and put it out there anyway. Enjoy!

Clarification: Gantt Chart vs. Org Chart

I just wanted to make a clarification: Amy referred to my Gantt chart as an organizational chart.

For the record, I have included an org chart as well, since the delineation of responsibilities was pretty clear yesterday (all part of the plan).

The one person missing from the org chart (apart from the babies) is Lisa, whose birthday it was, of course. As such she was exempt from any formal responsibility. However, they do say the customer is king, so maybe I should have added a level above me in the org chart!

Celery sauce????

I won't even comment on the fact that my brother had a "master plan" for thanksgiving. Then again, I'm sure our pilgrim forefathers had a master plan for their day: which belt buckle to wear on their hats, sweet or mashed potatoes, how to make polite conversation with the naked natives at the dinner table etc. (Just as a side note, I believe that the first loin cloth was implemented by native americans following the first Thanksgiving feast where there was an unfortunate hot gravy spill in one of their laps. I won't tell you what his Indian name was changed to after that.

I think it is also obvious why celery sauce USED to be sold by HEINZ. I think it was discontinued about the same time as giblet pie.

There was a classic moment today when Amy and I arrived at LAWRY's for dinner and the mandatory valet parking was in effect. Needless to say, the valet obviously had never seen a "freakin' dumbmobile" (to quote Jamie ) before. I think he was also pleasantly surprised to find out that he not only was driving a brown '99 chevy prism, but that he also had to roll down the window to open the driver's side door because the inside handle is broken. Hey, it's paid for.

Hope everyone had a Happy Turkey day (with no gravy incidents).

Live from Las Vegas.

KJ

Thanksgiving Plans and Celery Sauce

Further proof that I am truly a nerd ... as if there were any question. The image at left shows the Microsoft Project document that contained the master plan for our Pittsburgh Thanksgiving dinner.

Despite the crash-course timeline just before dinner, everything came together, including the celery sauce. A co-worker turned me on to the fact the H.J. Heinz Company used to make a version of celery sauce and forwarded me this recipe.

We did take a few pictures, and I imagine we'll post a couple sometime in the next few days. Maybe we'll post some of the video Margie shot today of Felix and Grandpa playing in the backyard.

Until later, Happy Thanksgiving!

Yummy and cozy!

I'm here to report that the Las Vegas contingency has had a very nice, albeit lowkey, Thanksgiving so far. This morning Keith and I both slept in a little...I was recovering from Nashville, and Keith is a little sicky-sick. When I woke up, I went to the gym for a little while...also in an attempt to recover from Nashville...had to do something about all the bacon and dessert I ate while I was there! :) After I got back, we got ready and went to eat at Lawry's Prime Rib. We both got their Turkey Dinner, which was DELICIOUS, and you'll be happy to know that Keith was a member of the clean plate club! We're so proud of him! :D I couldn't quite finish everything, but everything I did eat was amazing! Like good kids we both ordered dessert, because we all know that there's always room for dessert! Keith had some Pecan Pie, which he said was yummy, and I had an English Strawberry Trifle, which was SO good. After stuffing ourselves silly, we came home and had a long, cozy nap, and later we are going to go see a movie. I know it's not very exciting, but it was lovely and relaxing, and it is so nice to have Keith here with me! I'll keep you posted on any other adventures we might have! I hope you all had a happy day! I love you all, and certainly count you amoung my very best blessings!

Updated Posts

I'm expecting some Thanksgiving posts tomorrow. I'm sure some post-worth pictures will be taken at some point. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. If mom is making any Banana Cream pie, please FedEx some to IF.

In Memoriam: Milton Friedman, PhD Economist

As you may or may not be aware, Milton Friedman passed away this past week. I was just reading a couple tributes to him, and today I'm thankful yet again for PhD Economists, at least the good guys like Dr. Friedman.

If you're a nerd like I am, please take a few minutes to read one or more of the following articles to gain a better appreciation for this great man and his genius:
How Milton Friedman Changed Economics, Policy and Markets
Freedom Man
Friedman's Sampler

Some of the above readings reminded me of yet another great man for whom I have much respect, the late President Ronald W. Reagan. If Margie and I have a third son, I'm going to campaign to name him either Milton Reagan Johnson or Reagan Milton Johnson.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone...I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I count all of you as one of my greatest blessings. I'm grateful for our 2 new Johnsons who joined us this year--what cuties!

I leave for Utah on Tues. afternoon and will be at Janet's until Mon. the 27th.

Love to all!

Hair today...

I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about cutting my hair significantly. I love my long hair, but besides being ready for a change, I would love to not have to spend so much time straightening, curling, blow-drying, etc. Essentially, it would go from this:



To something more like this: (although I certainly wouldn't look like Sandra Bullock!)



I guess only time will tell. I'm sure you can tell that at this point I'm pretty ready to do it, I'm just talking myself into it! Good reasons to do it: It would give me more volume, get rid of a lot of damage, take less time (as mentioned previously), hopefully look really classy and sophisticated, and I could potentially donate the hair I cut off to charity. Lots of good reasons, eh? I just hope I don't freak out after it's done! One hair tragedy in my life was enough!

Secret Post

Valerie and I thought it would be a good idea to get a framed picture for Mom for Christmas. We are hoping all the siblings will chip-in on this. Depending on how everything shakes out, we figure we will all have to go in 30-45 dollars. Let us know if you are in...We are trying to find a nice print of the Salt Lake Temple to use, but are open to ideas. (We did purchase the Manerva Tichert print of Christ in a red robe, but are hoping we can get one of the temple - in our price range - that has been the biggest obstacle thus far.)

We also just added a new web album at: http://www.picasaweb.google.com/ToddValerie

Take it to the jury...

For those of you that haven't heard (probably the vast majority), I was embroiled in a little throw back to Junior High last weekend because I showed too much interest in the Elder's Quorum president that one of my friends has a GIANT crush on. I can't really say that I "like" him yet, because I have had approximately 1.5 conversations with him (and that is just adding up a bunch of not-really conversations). So what I say instead is that I'm "interested" in him...I'm interested in getting to know him better and seeing if there's anything there. Because let's be honest, I could go out with him and be done with him 15 minutes into the date...just keeping it real! Now I'm a liberated woman, so I have no problem asking him out (my friend Jori even gave me a restaurant gift certificate to use as an "excuse"), but I now have 2 issues impeding this potential night out: 1) Although my friend with the crush swears she's moving on, I have a feeling she would change her song if I asked this boy out. 2) When a girl asks a guy out, do they think it's cool and gutsy, or do they see it as sad and desperate? Nothing is going to happen with this situation anytime soon since I am going to Nashville for a week and then have a VERY fabulous visitor coming for Thanksgiving (Keith!), but I appreciate any insight/experience/words of wisdom anyone can offer. Your comments please....

Not only is today Veteran's Day, but it's also Dad's 98th birthday. I'm sure he would be happy to know that his family is close and is keeping in touch.

We still use many of his favorite sayings:
"He's so crooked he couldn't sleep straight in a roundhouse."
"He's so crooked he has to screw his sock on."
"He doesn't know 'sic 'em' from 'come here.'"
"Don't just stand there like you're waiting to be milked."

I'm sure Janet, Jim and Karen could add to the list--maybe even some of the JimmySyme family have picked up on the quotes from their dad.

Grateful I was born of goodly parents!

better late than never....

Dearest family members,

I am honored and pleased to accept this invitation to the Johnson family blog. First, I'd like to thank all the little people that made this possible. Second, I want to reassure all of you that any incriminating or compromising information I have on any of you will remain locked in my mental vault unless things get ugly and I have to use them to retaliate. Fair?

Here are a few photos to get started. I am including a drawing of Jamie's, a photo of my inmate account check from the night I was booked into Utah County Jail, and the two entries I submitted to the Religion show at the Springville art museum -- only the "Avalon" photo made the cut. Obviously there was a narrow minded jury with poor taste to pass up my black and white photo. I am also putting on a couple of other photos that are part of a larger project I am working on dealing with religious symbols.

I didn't have a chance to tell Scott and Margie congrats on having my new nephew. I look forward to many hours alone with the boy teaching the REAL facts of life. Be afraid...be VERY afraid.

TBC

KJ

Clarification

Scott was wondering why the reference to Botox.

Last Tues. had trouble with getting soup down, usual washing with water-no go. Gagged and retched and felt ok that nite. Wed. ate banana bread and went to wash it down--could not get up or down. Wed is our Temple day, called the ladies and told them I would not be going and about noon decided I was in deep trouble. Called my friend Marge and she and her husband took me to UVRMC to the ER. Wasn't there long when they took me to the Digestive Disorders Lab. Boy did I have a digestive disorder! The doc on duty did and Esophagoscopy while I was HEAVILY SEDATED and dilated the opening between stomach and esophagus. He told me that surgery might be an option. Not an option I wanted. They took pictures, everything I had eaten for 3 days was still in my esophagus. Keith said it was like rings on a tree. The doc got the opening restored and wanted to check the next a.m. So I stayed overnite. The man next door snored like a bear, it was not my Serta mattress, and I was cold. Next A.M. the doc came in early and said he had an epiphany and they would inject the muscle in the openin with Botox. So, having only hadH2O since Wed, I went back to the Lab, was HEAVILY SEDATED again and when ALL was clear, injected the Botox. I had a Clear Liquid lunch and about 5 p.m., I came home. To see doc again on Nov. 17

Viva Las Vegas!

Sometimes it pays (literally!) to live in Las Vegas, the town where everything requires a tip. Today I helped a woman on the verge of a breakdown with a VERY simple graphic arts issue...something I could have done in my sleep. It took me about 15 minutes to help her, and as she was leaving she threw down $25 and would NOT take it back. *Shrug* A girl who is eating cold cereal for lunch and buying generic everything to stay in her new budget is happy for the surprise increase in wealth! Maybe if I help someone for a full half hour next time they will up the ante to $50! A girl can dream, can't she?

From November 15th - November 22nd I am going to Nashville for the National Teachers of English Conference. I am looking forward to the conference itself because it was EXCELLENT last year, but I am also pretty excited about going to Nashville. I've never been there, and I will have a few pockets of free time, so it will be fun to go exploring! I decided to post a few pictures and websites for you to peruse so that you will be able to enjoy the planning with me! I am trying to convince Maggie :) to let me take her digital camera with me so I can take pictures and have them available in a timely manner (I have disposible cameras in my room from who-knows when!).

The Belle Meade Plantation is at the top of my list of places to visit:

http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/

This plantation should be cool, but I have to admit that I am more excited about the restaurant:

http://www.marthasattheplantation.com/

Here's a direct link to the menu:

http://marthasattheplantation.com/menus/Fall_Lunch_Menu.pdf

Some fried chicken sounds yummalicious to me, and all of the desserts sound tasty! You know you're a Johnson when you plan your trip around food! :)

I'm also excited to visit Nashville's extenstive Botanical Gardens:

http://www.cheekwood.org/

Don't you worry your purdy little heads. I will also be on the lookout for some authentic western wear to bring back with me! I was thinking something along these lines:


Yeehaw! I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back, so that you can all share in the fun and excitement of a visit to a town founded on country music...right up my alley!

Amazing Technology

Really amazing when you read the directions and then after reading for days, finallyget to make an entry.

Scott and Margie --really cute kids.

Christmas plans--Maggie and I are still deciding what to do--leaning toward somewhere warmer than Utah.

BOTOX-- Yes, I finally succumbed to the enticements of Botox. No--it wasn't my face, by my esophagus. Drinking my meals (non-alcoholic) until Thurs. Gives one something to look foward to.

Christmas Plans

So Valerie and I officially finalized plans to be in Denver from Dec. 16-20. We hear that Amy will also be there around then. Is anyone else planning on making an appearance? Does anyone have plans for Thanksgiving? Also, we are copy cats with the web photo album so here is a link to an online photo gallery of some recent photos. We will try and update as much as possible. http://www.picasaweb.google.com/ToddValerie

New Slideshow

Margie and I have created a new slideshow that shows the last of Felix's only-child days as well as Rex's entry into our family (wow, with our sons' names, I'm going to have to bone up on forming the possessive form of proper nouns ending in 'x' ... if anyone has a style guide sitting around or just happens to have the answer. let me know!).

I have added the link to the new slideshow to the list I created last week on this blog, but I repeat it here for anyone too lazy to scroll down or click to that entry (I think that's just about everyone in this family ; ) )

Here's the link:
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/scottjoh/November_2006.pdf

Enjoy!

Another Son

Margie and I are the proud parents of a second son, Rex Scott Johnson. He was born yesterday (Friday) afternoon at 1pm, weighed 9lbs 1oz (see scale at bottom), and measured 21-1/4in long.

For a little bit of perspective, Felix weighed 9lbs 10oz and measured 21in long. Therefore little brother is longer and leaner than Felix. On the topic of length, the baby seems to have his father's lanky limbs. Observe his big feet in the weigh-in photo below

Apart from the difference in size, which is not really even that great, the baby bears a striking resemblance to Felix. He has a similar amount of dark hair, a similar nose, and a similar mouth ... especially when crying.

We were very slow to decide on a name. Mitchell or Mitch almost carried the day until I Googled Mitchell Scott Johnson before we finalized it, telling Margie I didn't want to use the name of "some notorious criminal or mass murder."

Well, a Mitchell Johnson was the latter of those two, which I guess also makes him the former. He is one of the two boys responsible for the infamous Jonesboro (Arkansas) massacre. Making matters worse, his father's name is Scott. That settled that little matter, and it was onto other options.

We won't have a good opportunity to create one of our signature slideshows until probably sometime tomorrow, so hopefully these photos will whet your appetites until then. Once we are able, we will create a slideshow with some more pictures and will possibly also share some more thoughts from the last couple days.

We want to thank everyone who has extended their best wishes. Margie and Rex are doing well. Felix and I are alright, too.

CONGRATULATIONS SCOTT AND MARGIE!!!

I understand that Baby Boy J (I haven't heard a name yet) was born this morning. Congratulations on your new addition! Another fabulous nephew to add to our ever-growing family...what a blessing. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Love you, and can't wait for details (well, not ALL of them...you know what I mean!) and pictures. Mmmwwwaaahhh!

A-typical Las Vegas weather

It is a weird day today in LV...sort of gray and gloomy! It's a strange thing for those of us that are used to sunshine almost every day! Our hummingbirds are gone for the winter, but this morning I was saving some of the pictures we took of them this summer, so I thought I'd post a couple for you to see. It was so cool to have them around so much. We had one feeder right outside my window so I could see them all day! I miss them, but hope they are safe and happy in South America (or wherever they go!)