Something New: Weeks 42, 43, and 44

I'm stuck home sick today, so I might as well try to catch up here.

October 14 -- Altered my ever-growing pile of old clothes to make cool new things I might actually wear. Made an orange dress into a skirt, tailored a jacket, took in a sweater, and found a solution to fix the zipper on my favorite jeans. LOVE my sewing machine.

October 15 -- Made spiced brown sugar pecan coffee cake. It was good, but my hopes were higher. I made it for a preschool board meeting, but not many people touched it. For some reason I feel like I am the only one who eats the treats at these meetings.

October 16 -- Hosted the above mentioned preschool board meeting at my house. I've never had that group of people over before, and it was nice to have people to share yummy cider with.

October 17 -- Started reading Freedom and the Arts, a book given to me by my brilliant father-in-law because he knows I love music. It is a smarty pants books, so I can't read and process big chunks at a time, but it's interesting.

October 18 -- Went to my friend Mindy's new house. They painted their dining room the same pretty turquoise color that I painted my room as a teenager, so I love it already. Mindy was watching Jude that day while I helped in Josh's classrooms. Thank goodness for baby swaps!

October 19 -- Finally saw "The Lorax". I loved it! Our movie theater had free kids movies every Friday this month, so we went with a bunch of friends to this one. Jude was so surprisingly good and cute almost the whole time, and Josh just sat between his two friends like he didn't even need me anymore. So fun. If you haven't seen this movie, you'll love it, no matter who you are.

October 20 -- Bought some new rugs for the entryway. Still trying to find the right ones, but I think these will do for now. I cannot believe how long it takes me to furnish a house.

October 21 -- Finished writing the fall newsletter for the preschool. I've never had this job before, and for some reason I volunteered myself. I think it came out alright. No angry parents complaining  about typos yet.

October 22 -- Visited my friend Gretchen in her cute little country house. I love her. You'll love her too when you read her blog.

October 23 -- Started reading a biography of President Thomas S. Monson called To the Rescue. He's such a good man. I didn't get to read much yet because life recently kind of exploded on me.

October 24 -- Tried a new recipe for apple sour cream muffins. They were pretty good, if you like apples and muffins. I made them for Bible Study the next day.

October 25 -- Wore a new outfit! Remember that one I bought about a month ago on that special shopping trip to Detroit? I finally took it out of the bag. I didn't intend for the items to go together, but when I put them on, I think they worked. I actually had to send my sisters and mom a picture to get the okay, but let's pretend I didn't tell you that.

October 26 -- Went to an awesome Halloween party at some awesome friends' house, and I hope it's the start of a tradition. Matt and I dressed up as nerds and he stayed in character the whole night, complete with a nerdy nasal lispy voice, and frequent mentions of World of Warcraft. He won us second place in the costume contest. Hiding in the picture: a science fair ribbon on my shirt, and toilet paper trailing from my back pocket. And yes, Matt already owned those sweet shorts.

October 27 -- Met some new church kids at the Trunk-or-Treat.

October 28 -- This Sunday, I was sustained as our ward's new Primary President. (Yeah. I don't think the bishopric knows how old I am.) Remember how life exploded on me? This is why. Primary has been the number one thing on my mind since I was called a few weeks ago, and my brain is overflowing. So if you talk to me and I don't make sense for a while, please cut me some slack. I have over 90 kids, 20-ish teachers, and about a zillion auxiliary activities to learn everything about asap!

This was me all week, minus the coffee pot. Wouldn't mind that bright green skirt though.

October 29 -- Saw Misty's cute house for the first time. She's my new Primary secretary and is amazingly awesome in every organized way. Had to bring a bunch of secretary stuff to her.

October 30 -- Tried to use bleach in my washing machine for the first time. I've always been afraid of bleach for some reason, but I had to get those whites whiter! Of course I splattered little bleach spots on one of my favorite dark shirts, because those stupid big bleach bottles are impossible to pour from without a mess. FAIL.

October 31 -- Read the whole 2013 Primary Sharing Time Outline to prep for a meeting.


November 1 -- Went to my first parent-teacher conference for Josh. He's doing really well academically, except he doesn't seem to befriend the kids in his class. He won't play with them, but he will play with his old friends when they get together on the playground. Not sure what to do about this one, because I was a shy little introvert as a kid.

Fire truck day at preschool

November 2 -- Held my first Primary presidency meeting. We had a lot to cover, but I think it was a good start. I have the best presidency. Just meeting with them one time and feeling their support made me feel like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders. We can do this!

November 3 -- Attended my first Stake Leadership Training Meeting. It was good. There are a lot of great people doing a LOT of work in the church for absolutely no pay. It's inspiring to meet them.