you can quote me on that

"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Perhaps I'm in a quotey mood. I usually am, truth be told. I love me a good quote. There's just something about saying something in just the right way to have just the right effect. Just that one liner that hits ya. That's what I'm talkin about.

Now apostles know how to put it right - that whole revelation of truth from God factor really helps out, and the Spirit factor really adds that BAM when you hear something great from them. But you know what else I love? Quotes from "worldly" people, that don't share my faith, but still have that mmm that's good stuff effect.

For example, I bring forth exhibit A, compliments of the 30th President of the United States of America, John Calvin Coolridge. Amen, JCC Jr., amen.

"We do not need more national development, we need more spiritual development. We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen."

The relief society lesson I taught last Sunday was on Elder Richard G. Scott's talk, "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character" from Oct 2010 conference. If you want some dang good quotable reading - this talk is it. I could cut out every single paragraph and put them all on my wall. That's how good it is. Read it. He writes so eloquently and precisely. But I went in search of "the world's" view of character and came up with some more kickers that have helped me put my thoughts and actions into perspective and align them with who I want to be.

Exhibit B through D:

"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. " - Phillips Brooks

"Reputation is what the world thinks a man is; character is what he really is." - Anonymous

"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do." - Jon Holt

And here's one I went back for after someone paraphrased it in relief society. I like it, I like it a lot. I bring you exhibit E:

"Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution long after the emotion with which it was made has passed." - Brian Tracy

How often have we been super motivated in one moment to make a change, be better, do better; only the next moment to loose steam, loose motivation, completely forget? I like this quote. We've got to have integrity, character, faith, come what may and after.

And a little pick-me-up favourite from Elder Scott:

"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day."

Sorry if too many quotes all at once is too many quotes all at once, but I couldn't help myself. Perhaps I'll try to limit myself to just one per post from here on out...

call me quotey cathy.

It's that time, again.

Trent forgot to take a lunch today, and was planning on staying after clinic to study for an exam he has tomorrow, so I was supposed to take him dinner. I've got everything ready to go and am just waiting for him to say he's done clinic and ready for me to come, when he runs in the door. He had to come home to get his computer charger and some notes.

As he's dashing around, he informs me he has a test he didn't think he had this week so has a test every day for the next 3 days. There was a free lunch and speaker at school so he had stole all the food he could.

On his way out the door he says, "See you Friday!"

It's just that time again - exam season. (And it's not even finals yet.)

Also, with Trent and I trying to stick to our budget, March has been a long month. We are literally scraping the bottom of the bucket this week. We've run out of even basics like margarine, ketchup, mayo, peanut butter - and there's no sign of fresh goods in our fridge or pantry.

Yesterday night I boiled the chicken bones and scraps from our Sunday Dinner to make chicken broth. For dinner tonight I had chicken broth and dry toast (because we have nothing to put on it). We're pathetic. But I really don't feel hard done by at all. We've got plenty to eat, we just have to get creative. And I find the situation kind of amusing. We're just living the newlywed-husband-in-dental-school life, right? My husband stole leftovers from his school lunch for crying out loud.

It's just that time of month again. From here on out, the last week of every month will be known as "skinny week". At least I can lose some weight right?

Though as a PS. Can I just say, my chicken broth was dang good. And when I told Trent not to throw the bones and scraps out because I was going to boil them, he looked at me so skeptically. He's never seen chicken bones boiled for broth before! Really? Really. Poor boy. And he says he watched cooking shows every day as a kid. Pff. But really, I was proud of myself.

Only in Canada...

I like the Tide commercial that talks about how Canadians know how to live in the cold and embrace it. "In Canada, cold is a sport."

Well with the temperature finally reaching zero, I've been noticing a lot of things that only happen here when we reach melting point, too. So I've comprised a new list.

Only in Canada, when the temperature reaches zero:
- do we switch our winter jackets for hoodies.
- do we stop wearing mittens, touques, and boots.
- do we roll down our window as we drive, to enjoy the fresh air.
- do we say, "It's so warm out today!"
- do we swerve to drive through puddles, like we've never seen water in liquid form.
- do people sit outside to enjoy the weather.
- do we think that spring has finally arrived.

I love it. "Spring Fever" starts at +1. I came home from the gym still in my shorts and t-shirt with just a hoodie thrown over top and a man coming into the apartment building at the same time looked at me and said, "Yeah it does feel like shorts weather, doesn't it?" I laughed.
Silly Canadians.

Holy Pot Hole!

You know all those things you've heard about Saskatchewan roads?

They're true.

The temperature has finally reached zero in my neck of the woods and my world is mush. I'm shin deep in mush. What I have found under that mush - pot holes. Small ones, huge ones - they're everywhere. I fear for my car.

Saskatchewan roads are brutal. Not just on their straight, bumpy, undivided highways, but right city center on your drive to work and the gym in the province's biggest city, too.



You know it's bad when there are radio announcements to watch out for potholes. Some places get weather watches, we get pothole watches. The radio tells me to hang tight, the city will get to all the pot holes as soon as possible. But I'm no fool. I've heard all those things about Saskatchewan roads, too. I'm not holding my breath - except every time I see a huge pot hole I can't avoid.

If you've spoken to me, you've probably realized that I have some of the weirdest idiosyncracies - and the greatest vocabulary (jokes). One of them being that I like to speak in different languages. And by speak I mean use little sentences and quips of other languages that I've learned.

Well since my Europe trip in the summer, my foreign vocabulary has expanded lovely.

I now catch myself throwin out, danke schoen, muchos gracias, grazie, merci beaucoup, bitte schoen, de nada, and de rien. Whenever I want to say thank you or your welcome - and other randoms like good morning, what time is it, or no thank you. Some people may think it's a show, but I sincerely spent so much time in Europe where I only knew these few words to communicate with, that they are permanently ingrained in my mind.
Danke just comes out without thinking.

So when the delivery guy finished dropping off our order, of course I smiled and said, "muchos gracias, sir!" as he kind of scowled at me and walked out the door. Maybe he was insulted because I threw Spanish out there, the language of many lower class laborers? Maybe he was just confused why a little white girl in Saskatchewan was speaking Spanish. Maybe he doesn't understand Spanish... he does live in Saskatchewan. My bad. Shoulda gone with the French, but then maybe he woulda been insulted because I thought he was metis. Which he wasn't.

Gave the receptionists a good giggle anyways. They think I'm loco.

why i must have my priorities straight

In response to former - and perpetual - comments and accusations...
I would like to bring forward exhibit A:

I washed, dried, and curled this hair on Friday afternoon.

I washed, dried, and straightened this hair on Wednesday.

This is said hair only moments before the latter shower.

Now you tell me you wouldn't go a week without washing it.



I seriously contemplated not ruining it Wednesday. It would have totally made it another day, or two. It was tempting. But I was afraid the girls at work would get suspicious. They already know me well enough to know I wouldn't curl my hair every day.

But this is why I have to have my priorities straight. If I don't make washing my hair a priority, it may never happen at this rate. But c'mon people - case and point.

Spark Notes

When there's something I want to blog about, but don't have time to, I jot down some quick reminders and save as a draft. I just looked at my drafts to see what I had to offer and I laughed out loud when I read the notes I made earlier this week. I would elaborate, but the spark notes version is so much funnier:

shopping habits. no sense of style. buy most randomly different pieces. wish i was tall and thin so clothes would suit me better. so many cute clothes, so little time - and money. new obsession with cardis and patterned/interesting shirts underneath. need a haircut.

Fights I Don't Want to Have With My Daughter

1. "No, you must wear something modest to your grandfather's funeral."

I was in a changeroom at Ricki's today (trying on really cute clothes I can't buy), and no word of a lie, listened to this mother-daughter (and middle-man sister) fight about what the daughter was going to wear to her grandfather's funeral. Daughter was ticked because mom wouldn't let her wear a skanky little black dress, and was arguing that mom picked crappy ugly clothes that she'll never wear again and would be a waste of money. And "Dad won't even care what I wear" (when have dads ever not cared when their little girls wear a slutty black dress? Let alone to a funeral). Mom was ticked, "You bet dad will care, before we left he told me to make sure we found something respectful for you to wear." and "You will not wear a revealing dress to your grandfather's funeral." But daughter hated all the dress pants she was brought to try on and voiced her opinion loudly, so mom said, fine if you hate all the pants, wear a dress! But daughter just shot back that mom wouldn't let her wear a dress - Not that dress, you will wear something respectful. There are other dresses. And the three of them just bickered about each other to the other sister, how "she just wants tight, that's all she cares about" and "she just wants me to wear something that makes me look like a jew or catholic."

It was ridiculous. I just wanted to yell from my room, it's your grandfather's funeral for crying out loud, do you have no decency child?! Go to Le Chateau and find some "cool" black pants and suck it up.

I hope I never have to fight with my daughter(s) about what they're wearing to a funeral. Modesty is an issue with teen girls, I get it, but to a funeral?! Spare me.


2. I paid how much to fix your teeth?! You will wear your retainers!

We've had a couple girls come in lately to get another retainer made because she lost hers/the dog ate it (this ain't no homework excuse. Dogs legit love to eat retainers). Both had called ahead of time to find out the cost and make sure she could pay in cash because she didn't want her parents to find out. I laughed out loud.

We also had a girl come in with her mom for a "retainer check", which means we make sure she's wearing her retainers when she's supposed to be, and that the retainers still fit really snug and the teeth aren't moving. So this girl had called for an appointment because her teeth were getting crooked again. Bummer. We bring her in and she admits that she hasn't ever worn her retainers and now they don't fit at all, "Can you make a new retainer to straighten them out again?" ahahahahahahaha I mean, no. We made you the retainers to hold your teeth where they were - straight. We told you, you had to wear them 24/7 until otherwise instructed, so that your teeth would stay straight, because your teeth WILL MOVE right after you get your braces off if you don't wear your retainers. Oh you didn't listen? Bummer. Needless to say, mom was ticked. Thousands of dollars wasted. Only way to fix her teeth? Braces again. Mom was ticked. Daughter was scared for the ride home.

A) Trent and I have really good teeth - I hope our kids can be so blessed. But,
B) Best be believin my kids will wear their retainers if they get them. I will not have this fight.

Picking Favourites

Everybody does it. Has favourites. I just seem to have more than most. I love love?

I love everything. I love everyone. I love pictures. All of them.

I FINALLY got my wedding pics back and now I have to pick my favourite 50 or 60 pics for her to choose from to make a pro photo book for me.

50 or 60? That's a lot of pics you say? Not when there's almost 400 to choose from!

For example:








All of these are so similar! But I love them all so how do I narrow it down?!

I really don't know what I am to do...

I've never been able to pick a favourite movie, or book, or song, or anything!

Trent might be the only favourite I've ever picked haha.

What's a girl to do?

To Do

- go to the gym

- call my visitting teaching people

- read Pres Monson's biography

- epilate legs

- make 5 and 10 year plans with Trent, we're settin goals baby

- try not to die during the busiest week at work ever

- pick favourite 50 wedding pics for pro photo book

- vacuum

- shower

I just pulled a mom...

and won.

Anyone who knows my mom knows she's the sweetest, nicest person you've ever met.
What you may not know is that she can also be one tough mother.

I remember as a teenager watching and hearing my mom deal with "situations". I have no idea why some things still stand out in my mind, but I remember one specific time:
My mom was on the phone trying to straighten out a "situation", I really don't remember what it was, but I remember her saying, "I understand that, and I know that you must say that because it is policy and protocol, but that is simply unacceptable; and if you cannot change anything, then I would like to talk to someone who can." BAM. Now that's a mom.

Last night I went to pay my telus bill online and there were charges on my bill that shouldn't have been. Ticked. So today I called telus to get them to fix it. After the typical call center wait time, Alberto comes on the line to help.

I honestly thought it was a simple mistake that'd have a simple solution. As it turned out, not so much. I imagine Alberto thought I'd gone all Jekyll and Hyde on him because when it looked like nothing was going to be done, I switched from light-hearted, girl-next-door; to serious, no-I'm-not-joking.

There may have been a point when I said, "I understand what you're saying, and I know it's what you have to say, but I am telling you that I do not think that I should have to pay for something that I am already paying to have covered. If you can't do anything, then I would like to talk to someone above you who can do something." BAM. Pulled a mom.

And you know what happened?

He said, "Okay. Will you hold for a moment?"

Then, I waited.

When Alberto came back on the line he said, "Okay I have talked to my co-workers and I have refunded you this as a one time exception."

BAM. I just pulled a mom...

And it worked.

Mom - you're a champ.

Don't say I never listened to you.