Slept well in your arms.
Holding tight and closing my eyes.
Waiting for the free fall to end.
The worst part of a free fall is when you are in the dark - strapped in- on someones else's ride.
No way to soar, float or dive. No way to see the ground rushing to you
No way to know that the wind caught your sails just before you hit Rock bottom.

What ever fall we were taking, the we landed safely and the doors are open ready for us to go and find the next ride.  I hear the faint tones of YO HO YO HO  :-)

WOW!

I haven't written anything on here since 2009! Almost 2 years. Facebook has taken over my social internet time. With sweet single page news feeds it is much easier to keep up with everything. I don't write here anymore. I thought my blog was getting a bit lonely so I felt it best to check in.

HI! Here I am :-)



"In the beginning, God created man, but seeing him so feeble, He gave him the cat."
- Warren Eckstein

I am so ready for summer . . .

There is a reason I don't live in the pacific northwest. I really like hot dry summers!
While I think that the occasional rainy weekend is nice, I am really sick of this weather.
I am ready for some sun.

I don't know where to begin . .

Yesterday I found out that my good friend had passed away. I feel the loss deeply.

I have spent the last 24 hrs thinking a lot about my childhood and teenage years. I was truly blessed with outstanding friends. I also had a mother who loved my friends and always welcomed them in our home. (even when I wasn't there)

A couple years ago Tom and I were talking about true friendship. As we debated the definition, Tom came up with the best test of friendship.

" A true friend is the one you know that if they were the one person you could call, you could count on them to bail you out of jail"

Brad was that kind of friend.

My number one goal in life is that I can live my life without regrets. Right now, I regret that I haven't told my friends how much they have meant to me and how they positively influenced my life and contributed to my success. For those of you that were such an important part of a dumb ugly girl's (dug) life, THANK YOU!

I am watching my nephew's high school graduation tonight. I am hoping and praying that my daughters will have the kind of friends I had, and that I can be the supportive mother that my mom was to me and my friends.

Way to go A.J. !

close imitation to Pei Wei Spicy Chicken Salad

I just found this recipe for Pei Wei Spicy Chicken Salad. It is the best make at home version I have tried.

Chicken Stock :
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar

Salad
1 1/2 pounds mixed greens
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 pound snap peas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 carrots, julienned
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
Asian vinaigrette, to taste
1 cup rice noodles, for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Pan Fried Chicken:
2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups all-purpose flour, seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and 1 teaspoon salt
1 quart soybean oil
2 tablespoons Chinese Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Pei Wei Sauce
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1. In a saucepan, simmer Chicken Stock ingredients over medium-high heat a few minutes until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. In another saucepan, repeat step with Sauce ingredients.

2. In a bowl, add salad ingredients (except rice noodles and cilantro) and toss to coat evenly with dressing.

3. Dust chicken cubes with seasoned flour and shake off excess. Heat soybean oil in a saucepan to 350 degrees, and fry chicken 2 1/2 minutes. When cooked through, arrange chicken on an oven-safe plate lined with paper towels and place in a warm oven.

4. In a wok or sauté pan placed over high heat, whisk together Chicken Stock, Sauce and chili paste. To thicken sauce, mix in cornstarch. Add chicken and toss until evenly coated with sauce.

5. Spoon hot chicken over salad, garnish with rice noodles and cilantro, and serve immediately.

I love this picture!




This is how Sophie likes to watch tv too.




They are so cool. I am very grateful that Tom took these photos - they really make me happy.

Tom took the Girls to the park today. They had a great time.
I am sad I had to work and miss all of the fun!

Go outside and see what the kids are missing . . .

I was cleaning off my desk last night and found this article I had clipped out of USA Today in 2005. After re-reading it I still love this article! I looked it up online so I could share it with you.
Enjoy!

USA Today, Go outside and see what the kids are missing

Yikes! it has been a while since I posted

Tom and I have recently set up Facebook accounts. It has been a lot of fun. There is a kind of instant gratification about posts on Facebook. I don't stress about what to write - like I tend to do on my blog. I can just blurt a sentence or two and go on. It is also fun to reconnect with people we haven't seen for years.
I really had awesome friends from Elementary School, Middle School, High School and College, it is great to be able to get small Facebook sized glimpses of their lives.

This Christmas season Tom and I have had some homeowner challenges along with all of the fun of the Holidays. As frustrating as that has been, I have not forgotten what I am really thankful for- my family and their health. Sophie has grown in leaps and bounds and is doing very well with her hearing aids. Emma's arm was able to heal without surgery and my mom won't need knee surgery until this summer. YAY!

In the last couple of months I have had three friends who have been fighting cancer. It is such a crappy illness. I know that is a complete understatement.

I have such an admiration and respect for my friends and their loved ones that are dealing with this rotten disease. They are survivors and the bravest warriors I have ever known.


With all of the Holiday hubbub over, I was reminded today of how much I take my body for granted. Last night I had read a friends post about their cancer battle and went to bed sad for them.

This morning I woke up with aches and pains in both knees. I could feel that my knee that had the ACL reconstruction surgery was really sore and swollen and my good knee was sore from being limped on the previous day. I was feeling a bit annoyed at my body.

THEN . . . . I GOT IT . . .

My body was reminding me I needed to move MORE. I went downstairs and rode my bike trainer for 45 mins - and amazingly both knees felt great!

As I was getting ready for work and getting the kids off to school I thought about how in our lives everything lasts longer when it stays in use. I also remembered the number one reason our family swims, bikes and runs:

We do it because we can.

It is for all of the people out there who can't, but they still face the daily battles of walking from the bed to chair. Their effort is so much greater than mine. Tomorrow I will bike again - because I can and I don't want to waste a single day taking that for granted.

"I would rather die and say what I believe, then live and say as you do" Epicitus
I love Tom's favorite quote - so I had to steal it.

Thanksgiving was great this year. This weekend was so nice getting to see all of the family.
Tom and I went out together TWICE this weekend. It was a real Thanksgiving miracle. I love my family, my sweet daughters and most of all my husband Tom.

My Grandma Burnham once asked me "Could you dream up a better man for you?" And I know now as much as I did then - Nope - He is the man of my dreams. the surly knight, the wise magician, the poet, the fire blowing, sword swallowing, knife throwing, juggling court jester and sometimes the boy next door.

He was once told - "You should run away and join a circus" That makes me laugh often - I am a little bit afraid that Sophie is going to try to do just that.

Happy story of the day

I was having a rough day today - things at work are pretty stressful with all of the budget cuts, State legislature cuts, Medicare cuts, and just the economy in general. I was talking to Tom about how stressed I was feeling and he re-told me this story. It is one of those things that no matter how many times I have heard it - It cheers me up, so I thought I would share.

"Caprice, I just remembered something that happened a while ago.
I had just met a guy at work and he was still trying to convert me to being a "Real" Christian. We were out at his truck and I had just finished giving him my "Names Don't Matter" story (That is a story I will tell another time) Then he started talking about faith and strength. The night before he and his Dad had hosted a thing called "strength for Jesus" which is apparently when really strong guys get really stronger by loudly proclaiming their faith in Jesus, doing things like ripping phonebooks in half, throwing cars, bending re-bar in their teeth and what not. To prove his point he reaches into the back of his truck and throws me a frying pan that has been bent in half, telling me as he does that "no Mormon has faith like that". I held the pan in my hand, had a good look at it and then I straightened the bent frying pan and tossed it back into his truck. "
"If I was witty I would have said something really cool at this point, but all I could think to say was: " I believe in Jesus, that helps" .
His mouth dropped open and he gagged on his cigarette, later I saw him trying to re bend it. He was too upset to even talk to me for about two days."

That story makes me happy because of two things;
First , it is so TOM, he is really very strong - in multiple ways: physically, spiritually and he is my rock. He is there to lean on, to support me and to keep me grounded. I am so grateful for him.

Second, it is good to remember that when things seem impossible - believing in Jesus always helps.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks

It kind of reads like one of those stories each person gets to add their own line-

It all started with . . . .

my sister-in-law getting engaged (while we were at Disneyland);

I am so excited for Jessie and Jed.

and then . . .

My Aunt Carrol got married, we returned just in time! Dwayne is a great addition to the family.

and before we knew it . . .
It was time for the Hilton Halloween Party! (Tom and I were a voodoo witch and full size Voodoo doll of uncle Layne.)

Then unexpectedly . . .
My sweet Grandma Burnham got ill,

when . . .

it was clear that she was not going to recover, Emma fell at school and broke her arm!(what a break it was! we will know this week if she will have to have surgery)

a short two days later . . .
Grandma passed away. Her funeral was last week. She had a wonderful life but it is so hard to have her gone. I know that Grandpa will be very lonely without her.

Of course there is the best part of October. . .

Halloween - and all the fun that goes with it;

then as we were getting home to weigh the candy . . .

Tom had an audition - in Washington DC - so he and I packed our bag on Halloween night flew out on Saturday morning


and came home on Sunday evening. It was short - but really awesome to see the Capital, Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress . . . we just rushed through it all. It was very inspiring being there with the election so close.

Now don't forget . . .
to pick up Emma glasses (dang it - they make her look grown up)



We had only just unpacked . . .
and it was now that special Tuesday where we get to vote. Being in D.C. made voting that much more important to me.

as we fell asleep watching the news sites . . . .

We woke up to winter and a magical dusting of snow. My very wise and old at heart daughter said when she looked out the window, "How can we not be happy when we know we have fresh snowballs to make?"

So much has gone on - I have just been taking all of my emotions and filing them away - I hope to have time to deal with them sooner rather than later.

I love the new Disney Photo Art done by Annie Leibovitz

What is a Hidden Mickey???

Hidden Mickeys started out as inside jokes among the Walt Disney Imagineers. A Hidden Mickey is an image of Mickey Mouse concealed in the design of a Disney attraction (ride, resort, etc...). Originally, it took the shape of a head and ears silhouette

    i.e. one large circle with two smaller circled on top in the appropriate place, but Hidden Mickeys can take on many forms.

In designing, constructing or adding the final touches to an attraction, Imagineers subtly "hide" Mickey Mouse silhouettes in plain sight. Soon, it became a tradition, and as the word spread, Disney fans everywhere went on the search for Hidden Mickeys in Disney movies and theme parks.

So when you are at Disneyland -  keep an eye out for them.   

I will get you started:

   This Hidden Mickey is the laid out wheel cogs on the Thunder Mountain ride.

We do think about things besides Disneyland . .

While it may seem that DISNEY is all that I have on my mind . . .

It is not completely accurate.
As you all know the fall season is upon us, and that means it is time to prepare for the Hilton Halloween Party.
I still don't know what we will do for our Costumes. Tom has really put the pressure on me this year.
I have to watch more Horror movies (just for Layne's quiz) and he would like to have me start sitting in the closet for a couple hours a night to help get over my fear of closed spaces. But the real trouble is - there is no way to know what Layne will dream up as our torture. PLUS this years costume contest is going to be the toughest competition ever.
I just updated Tom's web page with the last few years costumes and party pictures.

Tom's Halloween Page

We are getting excited for Disneyland!

DISNEY TRIVIA

--Disneyland projects faux swamp fumes in the Disneyland Railroad’s Primeval World to complete a sense of atmospheric immersion and give the illusion of “being there.” The Candy Palace and Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street emit the odor of fresh candy into the street via “smellitzers”. This trick is also used in Soarin’ Over California where travelers experience the scents of pine trees, ocean salt, and orange groves.

--A lamp burns in Walt’s honor above the Fire Department, in what had been his private apartment. Furnished in a rich victorian style and maintained even today, this apartment enabled Walt to work late and start quickly the next day during Disneyland’s construction and early years. New Orleans Square was designed to be a new apartment, but he died before he could move in.

--The skeletons in Pirates of the Caribbean were originally real specimens, but have since been replaced by artificial facsimiles. Reproductions of skeletons were not convincing in the 1960s, so actual ones were obtained from the University of California Medical Center where they had been used for research. Later, when they were replaced, they were returned to their originating countries and given a proper burial.

--Club 33, as it’s known, was intended to be a place for Walt to host visiting dignitaries and executives from sponsoring companies. The 33 original sponsors of Disneyland reportedly gives the club its name, though this claim is often disputed. Unfortunately, Walt died before Club 33 opened.


--There is a whimsical sign at the base of the drop on Splash Mountain. Riders whizzing by at 40 mph may not always notice it, but there is a signpost to the right side of the logs as they splash down from the drop. The sign reads: “Drop in Again Sometime.” Disneyland took great pride in the fact that Splash Mountain featured the world’s tallest and steepest drop for a flume ride when it opened.

--The Rivers of America was inaugurated with actual water samples from some American waterways, such as the Mississippi River. A similar strategy was used in “it’s a small world,” which claims that guests navigate “The Seven Seaways” around the globe. To lend credibility to the claim, Walt inaugurated “it’s a small world” by dropping in water samples from each of the world’s oceans.

Labor Day Fun!

Emma and Tom will be doing the Murray Family Tri on September 1st.

Murray Youth Family Triathlon

GREAT DAY!

Tom will be home today! his flight gets in at 3:20. The girls and I will be picking him up, they are so excitied. This has been such a cool opportunity for him.
For those that didn't know, Tom has been filming in "Silicon Valley" - it is just south of San Franciso. He is staying just outside of San Jose, CA . For more information about Silicon Valley: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_valley
HOPEFULLY Tom got some photos for me to post!

It has been hard having him gone, but it really makes me appreciate all that he does for me and the girls!

58 days to go . . . it's time for a Tri

The Barlow/Williams/Post Triathlon Challenge.
"Pain is relative" (Clayton promised we could get the t-shirt!)
Emily, Tom and me at the finish of the 2007 Las Vegas Triathlon

Christy, Kristin, Emily, Scott, Clayton, Tom and Buckley (why is everyone always picking on Tom?)

From St. George Tr...

I see my Physical Therapist next week - He should be giving me the go ahead to start running - If so, Tom and I will be doing the 2009 Las Vegas Tri again this year. Emily & Scott, Buckley & Charlotte Clayton and Kristin are you in??? I know you were so disappointed that the St. George Tri swim was cancelled - here is your chance to go for it again!