New Talents?

This year I learned how to knit and after several attempts, I made a hat! Landon seems to have liked it...
He sure hugged it alot :-)

On the move...again

"On the road again...can't remember why I'm on the road again..."
A favorite little song of my family is from Mother Goose Rock and Rhyme(insistently a great kids movie and if you ever find a copy it would make a great gift for yours truly)

In recent times I have found I have many people following my blog that i don't know about....
That having been said. I would like to make an announcement for those who are stalking me as my non closet friends have already heard the news!
My time to move has come again! 2 1/2 years is apparently the limit on how long I can live in any one state at any given time!
Texas here we come! Dad and Bev live there along with my Gma, an Uncle and a couple cousins. It's only 8 hours to Kansas City so that means I MIGHT make it home more often.
Utah however holds many people that are family to me. Alas it is a 20 Hour drive! So coming home to Utah will not be as feasible :-(
Before everyone starts to drown themselves in boxes of chocolate at the thought of loosing me...I will be back!!! March is for sure then Probably June. I am going to continue to work for the school so I can get paid to come visit 3 times a year! (sometimes I can be so smart)

Other than that..who knows what's next!
At the very least I will have a better chance of snagging me a cowboy! BTW for all of you who think I am such a great person, why haven't you set me up yet? I am not getting any younger :-)

Cheers everyone!

And we're back.....

Ok so Blogging is not my best subject...Where did we leave off. Summer? wow uhmm well it's snowing here today so I think I missed some time in there.

Here we go...
I went home to Kansas City at the first of October to see my family, go to a reunion and oh yeah see my babe! Such a good trip! Let's do One event at a time.
Baby James is 6!
Here is the latest picture of all the nephews and niece. Really I think someone needs to have a girl...poor Alex! Anyone want to volunteer? Not it!

Aunt Lori still has it, everyone is smiling and at least on the sofa still!
Back row left to right Jon Pemberton, Jd Pemberton, Joey Mergell, Alex Conner,
Front row left to right Austin Mergell. James Mergell, Joey Pemberton and Jacob Pemberton... Missy and Uncle James have one more to join us at the end of November! Jude :-)

Grandma Dorothy made pillow cases for the "Mergell" kids...if your kid doesn't have one they will soon!

Summer lovin' happens so fast

This was a great Summer! Baby James made his first trip alone. Cousin Jessie did too! And Alex and I spent alot more time the usual just hanging out and enjoying each other! I actually got a tan! I sure hope all these visits become a summer tradition. We would LOVE LOVE Joey and Austin to join us!(hint hint)
The end of the summer is always marked by Alex's birthday. This year we had birthday dinner with Alex's favorite "twin" Allie Swain.

The girls choice Winger's of course. Truth be told I am getting kinda tired of it!

Little Stinker

The girls sure had fun! As always we enjoy our time hanging with the Swain gang!

Ice Cream

I was having a craving for some ice cream today, as anyone who knows me knows, I usually have several kinds to choose from!

I open the first carton and this is what I find!

One BITE!
In the next carton...

Two Bites!
I find the only person who would dare eat all of my ice cream and then leave a bite when she starts to feel guilty! That's right Alex!
This is what she had to say in defense of her self! Well at least the second one had more than just one spoon full, that was nice of me!

Morale of the story: When two girls are in one house, one bathroom and 3 pints of ice cream are not enough!

Blond who me?

I was going through old boxes and I came across a picture of Scott and I as toddlers! Blond!! ME!! Who would have ever guessed! My mom didn't even remember! Of course I look like my roots need to be dyed.

The energy of kids

In light of recent events in my life, I have decided to take up running again! Yuck I know!
Alex was totally offended that I would not let her go on my run with me. I explained that it was getting dark and I was planning on doing 2 miles. I didn't want her left behind on a dark road. To which she replied," I can train for it Lori"
Well how am I supposed to tell her that she can't! So off we went! She actually passed me! Twice! I was in worse shape than I thaught! The good news is I now have a LOUD little girl to bug me every night to go running! Nothing like motivation!

A new girl!

Alex does not like to brush her hair! I really do feel sorry for her with those tangles! Yesterday morning the tears started and I asked her for the 500 time if she wants to just get her hair cut short. She said,"If I want long hair I have to get used to it and get tuff"
I asked her if she would like to read The Swain blog and see Allie's new hair cut(a new reason to blog, peer pressure) She immediately said yes she would like her hair cut like Allie!

Side story when she was 5 she got a bad case of head lice! As you can imagine it's about impossible to get the eggs out of that light hair! To this day no one will admit to who's idea it was but she showed up at my house with a crew cut!! Since then she won't let anyone cut her hair!

She love her new hair cut! This morning she seemed very disappointed that it only took her 2 minutes to brush it out! I on the other had was thrilled!

Last Day 4 Baby James

Alex stated it so well," I know why we don't get along, He's a boy and I am a girl!!"

I couldn't have said it better myself. Needless to say James loves to make her mad and she loves to be mad at him.
We went to the park and met up with Stacie and Landon.
By the way James said next year he wants to stay 5 weeks!

Guess where we went for dinner?

That's right I know at least two girls who claim this as their "favorite" place(truth I am getting tired of it but don't tell the girls)

Baby James has been asking since he got here if he could go down the water slide at the pool. We didn't have the correct life jacket until today! I have never seen a kid so happy to try a new thing

Pictures

Sunday afternoon the Kids had their Birthday pictures taken and cousin Jessie had her senior pictures taken. Thank goodness for friends because this session never would have happened with out him! It has been a long time since I picked up a camera for anything more than a snap shot! ANYone who has experienced me as a photographer will tell you it's one of the 2 things in life that I have OCD about! The pictures are great! He even got a good one of me and the kids!

Thanks Again Big D for your help, you saved the day!

Kids at play

Mom took the kids to bridavil falls this afternoon... The said the water was cold! I missed the fun but Cousin Jessie took some pictures. We can't seem to get Alex to open her eyes!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Captain Obvious

In the car today Baby James was telling me how yummy the peach was that he was eating.
I asked him if he knew that there was a movie called James and the Giant Peach.
Alex looks over and said,"Yeah and your name is James!"

I should make a tee shirt for her that says," In case you don't notice, I will point out the obvious"

Alex and James Post

Becca Beth Alex James(left to right)

(OK well I'm not sure that the kids posting is a good idea but here goes!)
(Alex) Last night we went to the pool and movie theather and today we also went but we had the girls Becca and Beth. No Rachel when we all got there it was very surprising, (James) and very watery. He also wanted to add, "James is so funny, Aunt Lori and Alex and me our whole family is funny"

(Lori) Yesterday and today we did go swimming We went to the dollar show and saw Nim's Island. Surprisingly it was pretty good!
Alex helped me with my sun block and now I have an interesting burn on the one shoulder.

It's A Boy and a girl and another girl...

Everyone arrived late last night safe and sound! (what does that phrase mean anyway?)
Lot's of hugs an squishes all around!
Our house is very confusing for most people. It is circular in logic. So I spent 15 minutes making sure Baby James and Alex knew where the bathrooms and Aunt Lori where located!
I opened James' suitcase and he informed me,"You can't just take stuff out of there you will mess it up" Then he wanted to unpack at 10:15 at night. He could see no other way to get to his PJ's with out messin' up all the nice piles!

They bounced on the bed for at least 15 minutes and Alex fell asleep! James was still awake at 11. Though he was laying quietly on top of the blankets. He wanted to know why I couldn't sleep with him cause there was lots of space behind his back for me....Tempting but no thanks!

This morning started just like I thought it would. 6:08 am~ I felt someone searching through my blankets! It was morning for them! I grabbed some clothes and headed up the stairs. Where James explained to me "That's not how you're shirt post'a goes" Inside out shirts just don't cut it for him!

I was called out to a birth this afternoon so I missed the trip to the park :-(
Oh Baby James has a new nickname" muffin top" Well That's what I called him and his reply was "it's MR Muffin Top" Followed by "no it's "Dear Mister Muffin top to you"

The day ended with Alex crying hysterically because as she says "I have to miss everything and I have to do every thing" ( Can I just say that she woke up too early and now it's after 10:00)

They are too much fun! We start again in the morning!

And they're off..

The trip hasn't been going so well so far. Yesterday morning James woke up early and could not find grandma. He grabbed a zip lock bag and started packing his things. Then he woke u his mom and said that they left with out him!(luckly she isn't that forgetful yet)
Alex lost her chunks on grandma's clean laundry, everything had to be rewashed.
They waited for Uncle Aaron to decide he was moving here then change his mind and stay. They didn't leave Kansas City till late afternoon.
The caravan made it to a hotel in the middle of Nebraska last night. Cousin Jessie is helping to drive and it's a good thing cause Grandma is sooo poky, they might never get here!!!

Glad I am not there! We will see them tonight!

ONE MORE DAY

The kids get here tomorrow!! I wait for this all year! Baby James is old enough to come this time, he is 5 and a half!My cousin Jessie is coming for 2 weeks, I used to change her diapers! She is 17 now. She will be a great help!
Oh and my brother Aaron is moving out here too!
For the first time we will have more Mergell's than Bjarnson's in this house!

Let the fun begin!

Random Thoughts by Lori

Here in Utah not all restaurants carry Dr Pepper (they do in the Midwest) and it got me thinking. Who actually buys Mr Pibb? I mean doesn't everyone ask for Dr Pepper and then they settle for a Pibb?
Same goes for Mt Dew. Who buys Mellow Yellow on purpose?
It's one of those things that you buy because it was on sale!
When you go to someones house and they ask you if you would like a soda, you ask for a DP. They say oh we have Mr Pibb.
What do they always say next?
"It was on sale"

Moral to the story..

Don't be a Mr Pibb in a Dr Pepper world!

Link to the other Dr Pepper impersonators!

Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1979

On friday night a group of us went to the Melting Pot! The food was good but not worth what some people have been roomered to pay! We found out that you can order cheese dip, a salad and dessert for around $20 per person.

I don't know about this one

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Lets see I don't do public speaking and who is "the Dash" anyway?

Your Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well. You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return. Your flirting style: Friendly Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

Seester to Seester: Volume 1

My seester(Janet), not to be confused with my sister(Yolonda) and I have some funny text message conversation. At least we think they are funny and our mom does too. Wait maybe that's a good reason not to post this?!



Yesterday I was swimsuit shopping and this is what happened..



Me:Does Victoria Secret make good swim suits

Seester: I don;t know I have never tried any of them on

Me:They don't have them in the store but online and I have that gift card

Seester:Oh I think my friend Sheena has gotten some. And she seemed to like them.

Me: I used to have a speedo one that held everything in place but it was stolen :-<>

Seester:How did your swimsuit get stolen?
me: I dont know i was naked all of a sudden!

Me: I left it in a swim locker at the gym then it was gone

Seester: LOL. Did you get thrown out of the pool for becoming instantly naked?

Me:It was french
Seester:So you took a french dip?

Me: They didn't appreciate the bread floaties

Anybody out there?!?

Dear who ever is blog Stalking(not stoking) me-

The world my brain functions in is, well, different? Mostly my veiled attempts at humor are really just me trying to get out of homework.

I am so glad that you have joined me in Lori Land!
I know people stop by but why does everyone have to stay incognito?

I was wondering though, if you might that is if you feel up to it, Leave a message a comment of just grunt and let me know you were here.

Thanks
sincerely
Me

diffrent day diffrent toast

In my quest to stretch the lack of a college fund...I have started eating Toast.
Is there any comfort food easier to make? You pull it out of the toaster and plop on your favorite topping. Presto! Breakfast
The first is peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.
Topped with butter (or a butter substitute)
Topped with your favorite jam
Topped with peanut butter
Topped with honey butter
Topped with butter and sprinkled with a 30/70 mixture of cinnamon and sugar
Topped with butter and dipped into hot cocoa

Topped with butter and slices tomatoes
Topped with butter and slices of bacon
Topped with egg - alone or in combination with cheese and or a breakfast meat - to form an open-face McMuffin style sandwich
Topped with pizza, spaghetti or bruschetta sauce for a quick breakfast pizza (try adding bacon or breakfast sausage to make it more breakfast-specific)

Topped with salsa for a Mexican toast pizza
Rubbed with a sliced garlic clove and spread lightly with butter to create instant garlic toast (Breakfast garlic toast?)
Topped with a light spread of butter and a half teaspoon of finely grated orange or grapefruit rind. Sprinkle lightly with sugar to offset the slight bitterness that comes with the rind.
Topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon
Wonderful or Weird: Topped with cottage cheese and prune baby food (Breakfast Lover Rosie C. writes "...it's great on pancakes... a variation on an old Czech recipe my mother used to make... also nice on toast for a quick treat")
Brunch or Lunch? Topped with hummus for a savory Mediterranean-themed breakfast
Topped with peanut butter and banana

Topped with mushed bananas and cinnamon
Topped with avocado and cheese
Topped with sun-dried tomato, cream cheese and sliced onions
Topped with cream cheese and fresh blueberries

Feeling weird? Topped with peanut butter and cheese
Feeling weirder? Topped with peanut butter and sliced onion

Lest we forget... Topped with Spam
Hot Breakfast! Topped with jalapeno peppers and either butter or cream cheese
Topped with brie cheese, sweet cherries and pecan pieces and sprinkled lightly with baker's sugar

Topped with tangy lime butter
Toast your first piece of bread and spread some peanut butter over it while still warm... pop 2nd piece into toaster and while it's toasting, sprinkle milk-chocolate chips on the first piece... top with HOT 2nd piece of toast, wrap up in a paper towel... viola. Reese-Toast-Sandwich.

My dad's Favorite threat for dinner...chipped beef in cream sauce on toast, otherwise known as S. O. S.( Stuff on a shingle)
To get you in the mood, here is one of my pumpkins favorite songs
Yeah Toast!
http://toooast.ytmnd.com/
Please feel free to add more recipes to the comments section!

Be careful it's catching!

With the recent out break of pregnancy in my circle, I thought I would give a fair warning to all in my life, it seems to be catching faster than that flu out break this last winter!
With my circle of friends, as to who I am referring, all being Midwives, it is fun to see their reactions at the thought of being pregnant! So for them and everyone else who might soon be touched by the plague, Here are a few pointers on things that do not cause pregnancy!

1. toilet seats- though I wonder how it spread so fast!
2. washing or not washing of hands
3.Kissing-no matter what your grandma told you! This may lead to babies but it in it self does not cause them.
4.Eating Dinner- though I do have more than one niece/nephew who's existence has been blamed on Thanksgiving Dinner
5.Chocolate- I wonder about that one though because the craving of chocolate usually co insides with hormone changes
6. jogging
7. deer hunting
8. wal-mart- I bet if they could figure out a way to make a larger base of consumers they would totally jump on the band wagon!
9. Driving in the carpool lane- I wonder if being pregnant allows you to drive in the car pool lane
10.Homework- in most of our cases we read about babies all day long! though I would think that the actual viewing of births would detour us!
11. The stork- I bet if they did come from the stork the arrival of a baby could really be counted as a surprise! But who knows what you might end up with. Let's look at Dumbo for example, his poor mom, she unwraps her baby and finds ears bigger than he is. I bet she wondered where she was going to get that big of a Q-tip. And then their is the case if Laaambert. I mean the stork gave a baby lion to a sheep!
Conclusion...I don't really have one other than to say...It must be in the Water!

Prayer

Uptight? Who me?

I was speaking to a friend from school the other day and I was talking about how I felt a little stressed out and anxious lately she replied "A little? You just noticed?!?"

Being that she isn't the first person to apprise me of this condition I am being forced to look at the fact that I may appear to be "uptight"

Without actually admitting to such an erroneous statement, I have been doing some research to see if a stranger on the internet knows me better than my friends...here is the test!

http://www.lessons4living.com/stress_test.htm
My score is = 17
1-6 Few Hassles
7-12 Pretty Good Control
13-17 Danger Zone. Watch out!
18+ Stressed Out. You may need help

I take it it is safe to say that I am not completely over the edge, I am just living on it!

Further research has shown that their are basic steps to reduce stress...

1. Leave The Situation- interesting idea... from now on I can just walk away from you in the middle of a sentence when I assume that what you will say next will stress me out or at the very least not entertain me.

2.Take A Nap Or Go To Sleep.- YES at last an excuse for narcolepsy!

3.Take a Warm Bath/Shower- For those of you who don't know I have an aversion to water...as in I don't like it. I mean I could drown with my new found Narcolepsy and all!

4.Listen To Calming Affirmation Tapes/Music.-So now I need to go through all of my music and decide what calms me and what stress me...that in it's self sounds like too much stress!

5.Talk To A *Positive* Friend- So if when talking to me you find I don't abruptly leave in the middle of a conversation then I guess you should deduce that you are a positive friend!

6.DON'T CONTAMINATE THE GOOD TIMES.
"Telling yourself I really shouldn't be doing this as you relax doesn't do you any good. Enjoy the moment. Relish the time. Remind yourself this brief respite will make you more effective later."

Strange where have I heard that advice from before??? Alas, an excuse to do what ever I feel like!

7.PRACTICE UN ATTACHMENT.
"Unattachment is the release of need or expectation associated with a specific outcome," "We become attached to the way we envision something working out, and struggle to make circumstances bend to our desires. Life, however, often has its own agenda, and we are destined to suffer unless we give up our attachment to things working out exactly as we would like."

In other words No expectations besides all of you being the most positive people who have to entertain me I expect nothing from you...there, now I feel relieved!

8. Practice daily Meditation.
I wonder if that word was supposed to be medication?? Chocolate that should do it but how much a day would I need to practice with and how much do I just get to eat?

9. Ask For/Seek Out Professional Support-Help
Here is my new singles AD
SWF looking for SWM
must have no expectations of me
willing to change a CD for me at any sign of stress or unfullfilment
Not bothered by me falling asleep when watching a movie/talking/walking or shopping.
OK with me walking away from you when I don't feel like listening anymore
Must be incredibly positive
And willing to feed me bon bons all day!!

Any takers?

What is the point!

Any fool can have a trophy wife. It takes a real man to have a trophy marriage.

For: Karina and Jason

Last week I went to my first LDS temple wedding. One of the best friends I know was married for time and all eternity to a great girl.

If I had been given a chance to make a toast I would have said," Karina, everyone keeps saying how Lucky Jason is to have found you and I agree but I want everyone to know how lucky you are to have found Jason! First off he will try anything you cook for him, even cilantro cheese burgers, trust me they were BAD and he will eat it! If you ask for his opinion on the recipe he will tell you it was probably not your best idea but he eats it anyway!
When your sad he will go any distance to be there for you just to remove some of your pressure.
some things you probably don't know... he will change your car battery in the middle of the winter at 11:00 at night in the dark with a flash light.
He will listen to your absurd story's for hours and never roll his eyes!
He will share his testimony with everyone because he wants them to be as happy as he is! Now that he is married I am sure we will hear his testimony of marriage over and over!
Mark Twain said
"After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her."


Now we all know how blessed you are to have found each other....blessings to you both

Look at those teeth

He just thinks his hat is too funny!

I stopped over to the Swains to give Landon a few things my mom made for him!
It was good to see him in a good mood!
Every time I see him he is either tired or just getting over something!
Stacie swears he's usually happy all the time!
I guess he just likes to be home!

Promised Pictures!

GO shorty it's your birthday!!

Happy Birthday to the best little boy on the planet!
As most of you know my computer is fried!! so I can't load pictures! but in the interest of time I might head down to walmart and have them put on a CD tonight! That way everyone can see how amazing Little Landon James has become!
Yesterday I went to the discovery gateway with the Swains. It's always so much fun to see them!(I will give details when I post the pictures)
Today we are planning on going to the park to let Landon smash a cake, It's a little cold so lets hope it warms up!!!

I am forever grateful for my relationships with the Swain Gang! I love this family like they are my own! I can't imagine my life with out them!

Now I know what's wrong with me!!

they call it AAADD
-Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
since I'm going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the bedroom,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Dr pepper I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Dr pepper aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The dr pepper is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the dr pepper,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye--they need water.

I put the dr pepper on the counter and
discover my homework that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put it back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the homework back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the livingroom where it belongs,
but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed

the bills aren't paid

there is a warm can of dr pepper sitting on the counter

the flowers don't have enough water,

there is still only 1 check in my check book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my homework,

and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
and I'll try to get some help for it,
but first I'll check my e-mail....

The Fam

From 70 to 15

Burrr! It's a lot colder then it was in Dallas 2 hours ago!
I am sitting in an airport in Denver and thought I should up load some pictures.
Last week my grandpa Mergell died after along couple of years.
All of us kids flew/drove to Dallas for the funeral. Though it was a solme occasion, it was nice to see Dad and Bev. We took some family photos!

Me, Jason and Janet!! We all are a bit sweaty But hey it was a good time! We got to see some old friends and dance the night away! This was Jason's and my 3rd New Year's together! Next year we will be adding the "wife" so it will be even more fun!

My good buddy Matt! He always insists on picking me up!

Janet and Jason cutting a rug!

Get down get down get down!!!