Dexter as Pharaoh ("Elvis")

Thanksgiving

Sharon came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us this year. Since Dwayne had to be at work by 1 pm, we decided to eat at noon. Thanksgiving is the only day I really enjoy cooking and that's only because it's the only time people really seem to like my cooking. It's so rewarding!! The food turned out fine and no disasters to add to my list of cooking horror stories.

Black Friday was mellow by comparison to previous years. We hit JC Penney at 4 am to get the free Disney snow globe ornament and then traveled to WalMart for the 5 am sale. We usually avoid WalMart on Black Friday, but we got brave this year. Fortunately, the downturn in the economy kept the crowds to a smaller size. I did finally have to ditch the shopping cart in order to maneuver or else I would have ended up with a full blown panic attack.

Most of us have been enjoying having some time off (other than Dwayne). I'm going to be heading to Phoenix next Friday for an event my boss wants me to attend, so next week will be pretty busy. Dexter has some concerts next week and Emerson is finishing up some of his classes for the special education certification.

I'm dreaming of a manageable Christmas 2008

For the past 2 years, the George family has drawn names for Christmas gifts in an effort to keep the holidays happy. Each family has been randomly assigned another family to get Christmas gifts for. Sharon prefers to handle her gifts differently, so she will not be part of the drawing. There are no real limits on gifts, just do what you can for the family or for the individuals in the family. I'm going to list the assignments here. Let me know if there are any problems/concerns. So far things seem to be working other than the fact that I didn't remember to let you know this information until now this year.

Bill's family will be sending gifts to Rick's family
Rick's family will be sending gifts to Kathy's family

Karen's family will be sending gifts to Bill's family
Kathy's family will be sending gifts to Karen's family

Rejected

I ended up being rejected for the BYU job - by email....
That's okay. I prayed only for the right thing to happen and I have faith that staying at Heritage must be the right thing for me right now. It was humbling to not even make it to the interview and I am trying to focus on doing my job even better. Grow where you're planted - right?

The King

I mentioned before that Dexter is in his high school's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." He plays one of the brothers (Levi), appears as a guard in a few scenes, and is the Pharaoh. Tomorrow night is their last show and I can honestly say he is the highlight of this production. I watch people fight each night to sit in the "Pharaoh seats" so they can be close to where he comes out to sing. The audience goes wild and girls scream as Pharaoh/Elvis takes the stage. Dexter really gets into the character and looks, sings, and dances like Elvis. He's pictured here after the show with Amber Sorensen, a close friend of his. I hope to eventually post some video since his performance is something you all MUST see...

His name is Shadow

Our new puppy has a name - "Shadow." Scout seems to be getting along with him okay and he's starting to learn the routine of our household and some commands. It snowed overnight and that didn't seem to phase him when I let him outside this morning.

Here he comes to save the day!

Meet my new puppy. He is 13 weeks old and has an awesome personality!

(The picture of him in the grass is when he was 9 weeks old)

He slept most of the way home from Salt Lake (in my arms). Scout seems to like him and he looks like a keeper.

Now the hard work begins:

1. To pick a name we can all agree on. Snickers, Ringo, Halo, Blackie, and Demon are the suggestions thus far.

2. To get him trained. He really needs to learn some boundaries and some basic behaviors or we're going to be miserable real soon. It takes time to do that, but Emerson's pretty good and will have him following commands before too long.

I'm happy to have this little guy and look forward to the peace I enjoy when working with my dog.

No more Snickers

We returned Snickers to the breeder yesterday. He and Scout just couldn't get along. He was a cute little guy and learned commands quickly, but he already had too many bad habits from his previous home. He was babied there and he couldn't handle Scout getting back at him when he was pestering her. After endless days of him being cornered or perched on top of the doghouse to get away from her, we knew Snickers could not stay. It was a sad car ride, but he was happy to see his old home. We're looking for a younger puppy so Scout's maternal instincts will kick in and we can keep the next one.

We are still here

Dang...it sure has been a long time since I posted anything. Here is what you missed:

Dexter is in his junior year at Provo High School. He won the part of Pharaoh as well as one of the brothers in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which is being performed in November. He has a job at Papa John's Pizza and is trying to earn enough money ($1,500!) for his choir tour to New York. They have been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall!!! I have been selected as one of the chaperones and need to come up with my own $1,500 (donations welcome...). Dexter is pretty busy and usually tired and sore from all the rehearsals and pizza making.

Dwayne graduated from Job Corps and is back at home with us. He is working as a cook at Heritage and is making a nice wage. He invested his paycheck in some new furniture and rearranged his and Dexter's bedroom. His latest investment was in a scooter so he doesn't have to keep asking us for rides. He'll probably have to park it once the roads get icey.

Emerson is still working as the weightlifting teacher at Heritage and is in the home stretch of his special education certification. He helped backstage for this year's play at Heritage and had fun moving mountains and other scenery.

I'm staying plenty busy, as usual. At work I had the performing arts center grand opening to deal with in July, then the usual chaos of the annual play (and rehearsals) in August and September. We had a 5K walk/run that I was in charge of in early October as well as the retirement party for our founder and now former CEO. It has been chaotic at work and my office is evidence of that. I am also serving as the choir booster secretary at Dexter's high school. The good thing is that gave me an edge in getting selected as a tour chaperone. The UVU Powwow is coming up and I'm on the organizing committee for that. I'm in charge of registration and judging. I just applied for what looks like a good job at BYU. It would be a great opportunity for growth and I hope I at least get called in for an interview. The cool thing is that my boss at Heritage is very supportive and wants what's best for me. We'll see where I end up in a few weeks or so. I did get nominated by the Chamber of Commerce for the Athena Award. It's for professional women who serve the community and I even got an engraved clock just for being a nominee.

One of our dogs, Slash, is no longer with us. He got out of his pen and was hit by a moving van on 300 South. We thought he was just lost, but the mailman saw our posters and told us he witnessed the accident. We never got to say goodbye to Slash and my heart still aches for him. He brought peace, love, and sanity to my life in a way that's hard to understand if you're not into pets. Scout, our other dog, misses him terribly. We got another beagle, Snickers, who is 4 months old, but we probably won't keep him. He is driving us all crazy because his previous owners spoiled him. Emerson is trying hard to get me a new beagle puppy to call my own, but we may have to wait awhile.