Hidden Treasures of Knowledge

In honor of my 32nd Birthday, which is not officially until tomorrow, (so I am still not 32 like Jacob) I now reveal to you:

32 Truths I Have Learned About Myself

In no particular order...

1. I really hate to stay up past midnight for no good reason. I am not a night owl.

2. I love the feel and the sound of typing on a keyboard.

3. I think my favorite smell is actually cut grass.

4. I really, really LOVE peanut butter. Much more than I thought I did.

5. I absolutely hate celebrity gossip shows like TMZ, Extra, and Entertainment Tonight. They teach us to be incredibly materialistic and hypercritical. I get super annoyed when I have to watch any of them for any amount of time.

6. I don't really like to watch TV in general. I could go months without ever watching it.

7. My favorite sandwich is ham and cheddar cheese. I thought it was turkey, but I really think it's ham and cheese.

8. The only thing that makes me genuinely and truly suddenly want to throw up (gag reflex and all) is watching someone eat a bug (i.e. Man vs. Wild) or hearing a big roach get squished (i.e. that scene in Men In Black). I just don't do the eating of bugs. Other things don't seem to gross me out in the same way.

9. It's basically physically impossible for me to not order anything out of the Scholastic Book catalog when Cindy brings it home from school. I just can't resist.

10. I can only use dandruff shampoo and dandruff conditioner. Only. Nothing else. It is the only thing I can use if I want my skin to stay clear. It has taken me over twenty years to accept this fact.

11. I despise being cold and I hate not seeing the sun for more than a day.

12. I can't stand having unpainted toenails. It literally kills me.

13. I am actually very, very shy and very self-conscious around people (and the public and general). My confidence is all an act, people!

14. I really do like to sing :)

15. I HATE movies about kidnappings- I refuse to watch them.

16. The most important part of a meal when eating out is the free bread. Macaroni Grill and Outback are the best.

17. I always regret eating fried food.

18. I always, always, always feel better after I go for a run. Almost like a completely different person.

19. I am obsessed with movie soundtracks and scores. I can't get enough of them! (So is my mom, so I thank her for this genetic addiction)

20. Furthermore, I think I am obsessed with music in general. I am the type that hears a song in a store or restaurant or in an Internet video and then goes home and downloads it that evening. I notice music everywhere; in commercials, while on hold, coming from a restaurant across the street- I just love music.

21. I really would rather be blind than deaf. Silence scares me. See number 20 for explanation.

22. I always make too much rice and too many noodles when making stir-fry or spaghetti. I am incapable of getting this ratio correct.

23. I am completely addicted to the Internet. I would die without it.

24. I really do make great oatmeal! And by "great" I mean totally unhealthy. Also, microwave oatmeal is gross. Sorry, Quaker, but the old-fashioned oats out of the round canister are the only kind worth making.

25. My favorite color is blue. I always think it is something else, but it isn't. I just love blue. Particularly navy. (Oh shush, Jacob, I don't care if it's boring, it's true!)

26. Oreos might actually be my favorite cookie.

27. I don't really ever get offended. Maybe I'm too tolerant or maybe I just have too lousy a memory, but I feel like in 99% percent of life I just don't get offended about things. I think this might just be my superpower.

28. I don't mean to brag, but I'm awesome at word games.

29. My favorite chores are loading the dishwasher or folding a load of all bath towels straight out of the dryer.

30. I think I really like the band Lifehouse. I seem to really enjoy every song I have heard by them. And Enrique Iglesias is my pop star boyfriend. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

31. I love my curly hair. After 32 years, I get it.

32. I still don't really understand what a Kardashian is, how many there are or why the heck they are famous. (I actually thought they were an alien race on Star Trek that attacked the Klingons one time, but Jacob tells me this is not true. And he would know :)

A to Z

Are you like me in that you did not know that the little curvy arrow under the Amazon.com logo is supposed to symbolize that they sell everything from A to Z? Who knew!? Well, obviously not me. (There's actually a lot more where that came from if you really want to read about it. Click here for more popular logos with hidden meanings.) But not until you finish reading the rest of this post! Let's not get ahead of ourselves, people!

Anyway, this little nugget of wisdom has inspired my newest blog project. Seeing as how February has 28 days and the Alphabet has 26 letters- clearly, we all see the amazing correlation- I will be using the month of February to blog the Alphabet. One letter each day with two days left over for you to bask in its awesomeness. No rules; the topic could be about absolutely anything! (So long as it involves either training ferrets, detailed instructions on how to build your own bi-plane or cooking with liquid nitrogen, because I'm kind of an expert on all that stuff.) The fun starts Tuesday! Who am I kidding? The fun goes on 24/7 around here, but Alphabet fun definitely starts Tuesday :)

Potpourri

I have definitely hit a lull in my blogging. There is nothing really new and exciting to blog about right now. (Well, not yet anyway :) Stay tuned over the weekend when I announce my next exciting project.) I guess January scores yet another point against us! Grrr!

But in the meantime, join me as I roll the dice of randomness and put together a post the likes of which you and I have never seen. And hopefully will never see again. Actually, it's just a few random things that are on my mind today.


#1- BYU Basketball and Jimmer Fredette



This guy is a BEAST! All of us Cougar fans (and the BYU Football team especially) thank you for giving us something to be excited about.

For the amazing story, straight from the Yahoo! homepage, click here.


#2- A Luke Quickie

This morning Luke volunteered to say the morning prayer. I had one eye open watching him as his mind completely wandered and his words began to ramble and not make any sense. His heart was just not in it. Finally the end of the prayer went something like this: "And.......please........help....us.......be......be......and.....help....us....be....Oh, nevermind!! In the name of Jesus, Amen." It was a classic.



#3- Turkey Trot 5K

Remember how I ran a 5k on Thanksgiving? I never stuck around to find out what my time was, but I finally looked it up online last night and found that I had placed 8th in my age group! Which is flat-out amazing considering how many people ran that race (over 1,000). Go me. Next up is the Bartow Bloomin' 5k on March 5th. Anyone? Anyone?


#4- This makes me laugh



I saw this on Ellen Foley's Facebook page. In my mind, this is how Jacob answers knock, knock jokes. (Actually, my brother Chris used to give that exact answer just to drive me crazy. Or he would say, "It's open!" or "Key's under the mat!" Hilarious.)



#5- What were they thinking?

I started this album of photos a long time ago, but never finished. So here are a few....












#6- Working on your Birthday

After I committed to being the DJ for a wedding reception that happens on Monday night, I got about 5 emails all offering me free dinner on my brthday. Guess you'll be seeing me at Denny's for breakfast, Louie Mack's for lunch and I will be dead by the reception, so it might not matter anyway. Actually, I am grateful for the work. Who has a reception on a Monday night? Only people who don't want it to last very long. Awwwwh, yeah! ;)

Rainbow Bright

We all know that I am completely obssessed with painting my toenails. But today I tried something I have never done before:



I painted my toenails rainbow colors! The idea came when my sister-in-law Linnley challenged her blog readers to do something new or exiciting to make January more bearable and this was the first weird idea that came to my mind. I was kind of half joking about it, but I have to say I think they look INCREDIBLE! I might have to keep them rainbow for awhile, because I can't get over how much I like them!




And of course, Cindy (who was home today for a teacher work day), had to get in on the action....fingernails too :)

So January, consider yourself exciting! Hi-yah!!

A Jacob Quickie

I told the short version on Facebook, but this MUST be logged into the annals of Sweeneyville history. We will file it under the chapter "Amazing Date Nights" subchapter, Great Moments in Bingham Assimilation.

For date night on Saturday we went to Tiajuana Flats. I totally love this mexican restaurant. They have good food, super nice people, and a hot sauce bar. Plus they have chocolate chip cookie dough flautas. Repeat: Chocolate chip cookie dough flautas. Served with powdered sugar and chocolate dipping sauce. Amazing. Anyway, after the meal Jacob went back up through the line to get a drink refill and order this amazing dessert. Little did I know that when the girl at the cash register asked for his name (so they can call it out and find your table when it's ready), Jacob said, "Voldemort". So when the waitress came out, looked at the tag and had to read the name out loud, she blushed red, went over to the head cashier and we could hear her say, "I don't want to have to say that!!" So then the cashier grabs the ticket and calls out "Voldemort!" for all to hear. The poor waitress then comes over and tells us how embarassed she was. It was pretty much the highlight of my ten years together with Jacob. I could not have been more proud :)

The Pros and Cons of January

I was reading the blog of my sister-in-law, Linnley, and she was saying how much she dislikes January. And I would have to say that I completely agree with her. January is the worst month of the year. It comes right after all the amazingly fun Christmas festivities, wherein you got to spend money and make things for people, you probably ate a ton of completely unhealthy food and desserts, you got time off from work, you played, enjoyed time with friends and family, went off your normal, boring schedule and then January shows up and is the giant reality check that punches you in the face and handcuffs you to a chair. Ugh. It's now time to get back to your boring routine, your boring food, and probably to a handful of resolutions that won't see the light of day. There is nothing really exciting happening in January to look forward to- no more real holidays to celebrate or parties to go to (my apologies to Dr. King and the NFL). Plus, if you live where it's cold, it gets really cold in January. And to be honest, once Christmas is over, cold weather absolutely serves no purpose, so, yep, January is totally lame. UNLESS....wait for it.......wait for it........unless you happen to have a birthday that happens to be on the last day of the month and then January is FLIPPIN' AWESOME!!! Honestly, I LOVE my birthday for that reason :) Just enough time has passed since Christmas to where you feel entitled to some excitement again and you can easily ask for any of the presents that you didn't get the month before. What better carrot on a string is there to guide your listless horse-self along? It's a pretty sweet set up! According to my mom I was three weeks overdue (originally due Jan. 8th) which I believe either makes me a ginormous jerk or she had a seriously math-impaired doctor. Truthfully, I think that even as a fetus I knew exactly what I was doing. I mean, there really is no better time for a birthday! And what's even better is that this year Jacob already has my present! SERIOUSLY? Is the moon aligned with Venus?! Excuse me while I go call NASA...

I bet you never thought you'd see this!

Okay, you can pick yourself up off the floor now. I know you all fainted with surprise at seeing that I am actually going to finish my 30-day movie challenge. I figured it was finally time. Because I finally have the time! Off we go!


Movie #30- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Suggested by Sweeneyville reader Erika Bailey (and her mom, Susie :)

Erika was my tour guide 4 summers ago when Jacob and I took a Haunted History Tour in Savannah, GA. Her story recounting the strange occurrences in the ol' Colonial Cemetery put chills up my spine! And so did the 24 flavors of Gelato at Mr. Koolz down the street. Erika recommended the Creme Brulee and she was spot on, once again! Back here in a little place we call planet earth, Erika is actually one of the young women from my ward. Well, not so much a 'young' woman anymore, I mean she is like 20 or something now!! But I used to babysit her and her sister Allie when they were teeny tiny and now they are at BYU and in High School and I pretty much feel super old any time I see them. Seriously, though, they are some of the best girls you could ever meet in your life. Erika is an amazing singer, guitar/ukulele player, BYU Football fanatic and she also keeps a blog, which I lurk all the time :) So this one is for you, Erika!


Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Overall: 8/10
Bonus Points: Good ending, Ruprect, Supreme Chacellor Palpatine!!
Deductions: Length, Hideous 80's Fashion again almost killed me

I think I have decided that I really enjoy any movie with Michael Caine. Whether in Inception, Batman Begins, Miss Congeniality or any of the other films he has done, I find him to be a very likeable guy. Even when he plays a horrible person, as is the case with this movie. (Plus, I love his accent...) I had heard of this movie, but I had never seen it. The set-up is great; once again it is a classic con movie, but watching it unfold to see who can out-con who was very fun. It had some really funny moments and I have to admit, that even though 99% of the time my spider senses usually tip me off as to a movie's ending, I was a little surprised by this one. The last 5 minutes were pretty clever. The movie at times did seem a little long to me, but overall it was fun and entertaining. And be sure to check out the giant upsidedown triangular purse one of the character's is carrying at the end. OH. MY. 80's.

A New Hobby of Mine

Just curious if anyone else out there ever does this... When I visit my blog or someone else's on Blogger there is a link at the top that says "Next Blog." I started clicking that button and viewing the blogs of random people all over the world. It's kind of fascinating and really weird at the same time. They are everything from your standard mommy blog, to religious blogs, to cooking blogs, to blogs about Elite Fashion in Washington DC, to blogs "dedicated to writing Haiku to combat ignorance." ??? I just got that one about 5 minutes ago... But the weirdest part is that I started playing a game to see if I could get an obvious Mormon blog within 10-12 clicks and I usually always can find one! It's strange how that works. Also, you can almost always get one in another language. I get linked to a ton of Asian blogs for some reason. Now, not everything I click through is worthwhile; I have seen some just downright strange and useless blogs, but it's kind of fun to see what's out there. Plus, after doing that for a while this poster becomes all the more hilarious:



Thanks to Sarah Foley for showing this to me :)

Just call me Fraulein Maria

Okay, so if you remember back to the Open House we had here for my brother Brian and his wife Kelly back in August of last year, which of course you do, you will remember that we made several long table runners out of this really cool fabric. Allow me to refresh your memory....



Well, you can kind of see it there under all this pictures. Anyway, I loved that fabric so much that I was determined to make something out of it. And so finally this past week I did :) I made Cindy a sweet new sundress. Or "playclothes" as Julie Andrews might call them. I am working on a matching set of lederhosen and bonnets, but one step at at time, right?

So this one is for you Kelly!

The Lost Pictures of Atlantis

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I went on my mom's computer the other day and found all sorts of pictures that I didn't really know existed. Some were recent, some were not. Some were from my mom, some from my sister-in-law Kelly, but I put them all onto my flash drive and now I will show you a few of the best ones that that magical computer folder had to offer:


Luke and Cucuface sitting in a tree...


Three peas in a pod. From over a year ago at least...

Cindy last year at Easter


Me last night just hanging out at the house. Okay, actually this was from almost a year ago when Cindy and her cousins were making masks and becoming superheroes. This was my incredibly clever disguise.


And here are the girls':





My brother Chris and his inflatable rastafarian wig. It was Halloween and not just his tribute to Patch Adams while getting ready to go to work.

This was from a while ago but I still chuckle when I see it. It's just so Dave.

Sand or no sand, Wyatt is still as cute as ever :)

Sweeney Family Pictures 2010

Just for some quick background on these pictures... We took these obviously outside, but it just happened to be the coldest, most windy day we have had in a while here in Florida. We were all absolutely chilled to the bone, and some of the kids were not really happy about being so cold and having to do this. We were literally only out there a for a total of about 30 minutes for all of us. So considering the weather, the moods of our children and the shortened length of the session, I'd say these turned out to be pretty darn incredible :)








Uncle Sean



Uncle Robert, Aunt Brooke, Michelle, Lauren and Eryn



Karl and DeAnne



Aunt KaRyn



Uncle Nathan and Aunt Linnley



The entire Sweeney Clan :)

Everybody Loves a Clown

So guess where I got to go last Thursday night? Prison! Okay, just kidding. I got to go to the circus! The real, honest, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus! I have never been to a "real" circus in my entire life. (I verified this fact with my mom who confirmed that the only circuses I have ever been to were the off-brand flea market type that appear in a supermarket parking lot or high school football field.) So I have officially joined the Circus club! Every year the circus comes to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa and most of the proceeds benefit Tampa General Hospital, thus, my doctor brother Chris gets free tickets through his medical connections and this year some extra tickets fell into our circus virgin hands. So me and the kids went with his family (Jacob is the ever absent soccer coach :) and it was totally fun! I'm not sure what I was expecting (maybe more rednecks, beer and camo) but the show was really entertaining. And you really got your money's worth! In fact, it was almost a little too long. We hit intermission at 9pm and by 9:45 both my kids were laying in my lap and struggling to stay conscious. But we got to see it all- a pyramid of elephants, clowns on stilts, jugglers, horses, trained tigers, frisbee tricks, highwire acts, gymnastics, acrobats, fireworks, dancers, and two super giant strong bald brothers from Uzbekistan! (which Cindy told me later "really bothered her because they were totally immodest and you could see their boobs." The Roman Gladiator attire was a little skimpy...) We even got to see a guy get lit on fire and then shot across the arena! This wasn't no flea market, this was the Big Time, Pee Wee!






And this got me thinking and Googling about the Circus and so now I present to you:

Random Thoughts and Facts about the Circus

Did you know that the first Circus in America was in Philidelphia in 1793? George Washington was in attendance. (He successfully threw a clown's hat from 60 yards away and landed it directly on to Boffo's head.)

If I were to be in the circus, I would want to be the person in charge of concessions because I would be a millionaire. Cotton Candy at the circus was $12. TWELVE DOLLARS.

New York City has an official Trapeze School.

National Clown Week is the first week in August as designated by Richard Nixon in 1971. Congress began session that same week, which obviously gave him the idea.

Human cannonballs travel between 60-70 mph when launched.

Circus of the Stars made 19 shows! That was about 18 more than necessary. And which of these stars did not appear on Circus of the Stars? a. Lauren Bacall b. Ed Asner c. Debbie Reynolds d. OJ Simpson Answer: THEY ALL DID. My faith in humanity just took another major hit... And OJ's knife throwing act was a little too good, if you catch my drift.

I was a clown for Halloween when I was about 8. We used toilet paper to stuff my hat so it would stay standing straight up. It was a pretty good costume, even had a neck ruffle!

There are only two collegiate Circus' in the country and one of them is at Florida State University. In your non-painted face, Gainesville!

Lake Placid, FL has more clowns per capita than any other state. (I guess they don't count Washington DC as a state. Because they would blow Lake Placid out of the water...)

The best book ever about the Circus is "If I Ran the Circus" by Dr. Suess. It's stupdendous! Sturoarous! (And when I play Dixie, please join in the chorus.)

When Ringling Bros. had their official clown college in Venice, FL up until 1997, it was statisically harder to gain admittance there than to Harvard Law School. So when your kid says they want to run away and join the circus, chances are actually pretty slim. No worries :)

And this has got to be the best thing I found out (courtesy of Wikipedia):

At the above mentioned Ringling Bros. clown college..."Typical classes included make-up application, costume design, acrobatics, juggling, stilt walking, pantomime and other skills. Films of classic performers like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges, and the cartoon work of Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny were also studied." Coincidentally, ACME Clown Supply Co. was located just across the street.

So if the circus comes to a town near you, check it out! And be sure to take out a home equity loan if you think your kids might need a snack that night :)

Christmas Recap

I am going to be putting together a sweet video montage of my 3 week Christmaspalooza, but since videos don't really go too well in a printed blog book (at least not unless you are at Hogwart's), I am putting some pics from Christmas day up to keep for my posterity. (This edition deals only with activities of Christmas morning here at my own house :) There was more, lots more, but I'm taking things slowly.)


I took a page out of my friend Susie Bailey's book this year and decided to add to a tradition we already have. Susie always gives her kids PJ's AND a book on Christmas Eve. I usually just do the PJ's but who doesn't love books?! My kids sure do!

























Cindy got horse pajamas and the chapter book for Tangled, while Luke rejoiced over his Lego Star Wars pajamas and Thomas the Train book :)

About two weeks before Christmas it became known to me that Cindy was really wanted a Nintendo DS. I was a little puzzled by this because she never really talked about it and plus she kept calling it an "ID". Anyway, she actually turned out to be quite disappointed on Christmas morning because she did not receive this present. (Well, that's what you get for changing your mind! Wait, that's actually what you get for wishing for something your Mom would never buy you when you have access to an iPod touch...) However, she did somehow manage to pull herself out of her funk of disappointment long enough to appreciate some of her gifts.




Zoobles from Santa.


Her mostest favorite new outfit (which she saw me buy at Kohl's but kinda forgot about and was pretty happy to finally have in her possession).


Luke on the other hand was having a GREAT morning! The Iron Man fairy came to visit and left him all kinds of goodies :)





I also gave Luke a bag of powdered donuts under the tree. He LOVES those things. So much in fact that he slowed us all way down due the fact that he was opening gifts one-handed while his other hand held a donut.





I was very proud of this shirt I got for Jacob. If you don't get the reference, we can't be friends anymore.


So what did I get? Jacob got me an iPod arm band for when I run (sweet!), a mini book light so I can read in bed when he is wanting to sleep (score!) and he got me an XBOX KINECT! With the game Dance Central! If you haven't tried one of these, they are so amazing. No controller needed, you can actually talk to it with voice commands, they have super fun games- I love it! I even played my dance game today and, not to brag or anything, but I did two routines with a five star GOLD score (which unlocked two new backgrounds and a three new avatar outfits- boo-yah!). I didn't take 8 years of clogging and jazz for nothing, alright? Seriously, it's fun and a good workout. So thanks Jacob :) You did GOOD!

Silly String Fight 2010

I finally went over to my mom's house yesterday and lurked her computer and camera for any missing pictures from Christmas that I still needed, and whattayaknow? Dear, sweet, genius Kelly downloaded all her pictures on to that computer before she left back to Utah and so now I have a ton of amazing pictures that will make blogging about my holidays even more fun :)

We resumed the tradition of having a silly string fight in the front yard on Christmas day this year, even though SOME people who shall not be named (mistyjacobmolly) were not as enthusiastic as they should have been. I mean, it's silly string!!! Who doesn't love it?! Only wet blanket sissies, that's who! Okay, okay, I'll cut you guys a break, it is a little messy, but it's memories! And that is worth 20 minutes of feeling like your covered in snot. Capeesh?

Highlights....

I would just like to point out that in this photo I threw my silly string can at just the right moment and the big yellow arrow is pointing out where it was when the picture was snapped. Admit it, my awesomeness just multiplied by like a factor of 6.

This was an awesome day in Luke's young life.

Watch out, Cindy is double the threat!

Sadie got a little bit in her hair...


Another triumphant year in the land of unexplainable Bingham Family Christmas Traditions!