Everything I can think of.

1. So last night was a F-I-A-S-C-O. First, remember how I said we had bought some furniture and household goods off of craigslist and we were so happy and amazed at such a good deal? It was awesome--they had a queen bed, single bed, crib, a couch, wardrobes, drawers, table and chairs, not to mention bedding, dishes, lamps, mixer, etc. Things that would altogether take a LOT of money to stock. In fact, I was looking forward to looking through all the "new" things we'd have.

Well, yesterday was Brett's day off of work, and we spent much of the day trying to get our payment to the seller. We were going to use paypal, and that would have been a breeze, except their account had issues, so then our payment got reversed, so then we wired the money from our bank to a brother of theirs who lives in the U.S. We called the seller in Switzerland a couple times, called Paypal, called the bank for them to e-mail us the form, called them again, etc. Anyway, it was a mess but we were finally finished and pretty happy that we were.

So this was in the morning for us, but the night for them. The next morning, a guy who will work with Brett was going to go pick up all the stuff in a truck and take it to his house to store until we got there. It was very generous of him to help us out this way.

Fast forward to 2:00 in the morning, when my dad came and got Brett for a phone call. The guy who was to pick all the stuff up for us refused to pick it up because he said it was all dirty junk. He mentioned that the couch was all sticky and gross. And also that he didn't have enough room to haul everything anyway. He told us we should get our money back and let all the stuff go to the dump. Now, I'm sure that he truly felt this way and really had our best interest at heart, BUUUUUUUUT, that was not how we felt (and we saw pictures of most of these items) and I think it stems from just having different standards. Because let me tell you how many things we own that we bought new. NONE. Okay, I retract that. We bought our VCR new and our fridge and stove in our house in Indiana, and that was because the ones that came with the house weren't functional and we bought scratch and dent. One of the comments that the guy made was, "Just imagine what kind of microbes are on those beds," (or something to that effect) and I was just shaking my head, because every one of the mattresses we own we got used. It very well may be that this is grossing some of you out, but we are decidedly not germophobes.

Anyway--that's beyond the point. The point is, even if we had to throw out the couch, and even a mattress, mostly everything else is washable, scrubbable, disinfectantable. And we would have had SOMETHING to show instead of absolutely NOTHING.

Anyway, we called the seller, who was understandably very upset because he was moving the next day and needed to not have any of this stuff left in his apartment and he had had a deal with us, and tried to get through to him (he was not a very good listener), and then called back the guy again, and then the seller again. May I remind you that this was the middle of the night for us, and things were getting pretty heated so we finally said to the seller that if he could talk to a person that had previously been interested in buying and get them to buy that would be fine. Meanwhile, we'd try to get someone else to pick up the stuff on Monday.

Then we called a bishop there and he was out, so Brett talked to his wife and told her the situation and she was very kind and was in the Relief Society presidency and said that she would get together some people to go get it for us.

Brett was really good and kept his cool through all this even though he was decidedly frustrated. So, we FINALLY went to bed, and neither of us got to sleep before Brett had to get up again to go to work (because he has to get up at 4), and then I got a call later letting me know that the person previously interested in buying still would, but would only pay $200 less than what we had payed, so that's what we'd be getting refunded. And the person who was going to pick it up for us called and apologized for the way things had gone but was still sure he had done what he thought was better for us, and offered to let us stay with him when we first get there, and help get better furniture and things that we need. And so then I called the bishop's number and asked the person who answered if she spoke English (because I do not speak German), and she said "A little," but she seemed to speak it very well, and it was their daughter, and I told her they didn't need to worry anymore about having people move the stuff for us.

And then I rounded up the pictures of furniture they had sent before and looked at them again and got very sad. I just feel cheated, for one because all this time I was thinking what a wonderful blessing and now it's no longer, and two because the choice was effectively taken from us and that just galls.

That was a long story. But today someone put this quote on their blog,

“Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it’s a small price to pay for living a dream.” -Peter McWilliams”

It's a tad dramatic, but I've decided that that's what I have to have as my motto for Switzerland. Actually, last night in fact, I said to Brett, "So moving's not a piece of cake, but it'll be worth it when we get there," and he said, "I'm starting to wonder." And I said, "Well, then at least it'll give us experience." :)

2. Talmage has gotten over his demon stage, but man does he ever have a fierce temper. Usually he's happy, but when he gets in trouble (which he does quite often for getting into things he's not supposed to) he throws an INCREDIBLE fit. Like the other day he was getting into the bread drawer and pulling out the loaf, and I said "No, no," and he screeched and wailed and ran away from me, but then in one second he turned back around with his hands out to grab and pinch me. Crazy guy.

And another strange thing that happened today and Thursday--Brett got home from work, and I said "Talmage, look who's home!" and he got totally excited and grinned hugely, and ran toward him, but then when Brett crouched down to get him and give him a hug he started to cry. So weird.

Today he was funny--Hazel grabbed a coat and asked if she could go outside and I told her okay, and then Talmage went and grabbed a coat from the closet and brought it to me and started trying to put it on. Then I got his coat and put it on him and he got SOOO excited. Then I put his hat and mittens on and I took him outside and he loved it. It was very cold, so after walking around for awhile I took him back towards the door and he started screeching. He loves being outside!

He's still the cutest boy ever, but his little fits are not. I fear for us for the next five years. But I'll forgive him because he gives the best hugs ever with his head on my shoulder and sometimes he pats my back which melts me.

3. Today we were playing a game and I was lying on the floor waiting for my next turn, and Hazel started rubbing my back and said, "Should I give you a swage?" She meant a massage. Ha ha.

4. My sister Lindsay now has a ring. It is very beautiful but everyone asks her, "Are you having a reaction to your ring?" Which she isn't. She was born with a birthmark around her left ring-finger, just like a ring. All our life we've joked that she won't need a ring when she gets married because she already has one.

5. Speaking of Lindsay, I went with her to a store to look for temple dresses because she needs one and I wanted a new one because mine is too small for me. The lady that worked there took all the dresses that we wanted to try on and put them in separate dressing rooms, but then we asked her if we could just go in one together, and the lady said, "Oh, I was going to put you together but then I didn't want to be presumptuous." :)

On the way home from that we stopped at the store that Sterling works at so she could say hi, and he was practically overcome with joy at seeing her. They are so very smitten. Aww, young love. Sigh.

6. The other night my brother Ethan and my mom and dad were in my mom and dad's room talking. The door was open, so I took this big teddy-bear puppet (which Talmage LOOOOOVES) and peeked him around the corner and started waving it's hand. Then my dad noticed and started laughing. It was funny. Then Ethan said that he "had a dream last night about a grizzly, I kid you not -I swear on my life." All right, we believe you. And then he told me to go look in his room because he got the Christmas spirit and had a tight decoration. So I went down and looked and there was an enormous blow-up Santa Clause. It was pretty tight. Or legit. Or something.

The other morning Ethan and Ethne had an argument about whether or not she was awake.

My mom says that Ethan and I listen to the same music (I already knew that--but not really all the same), and that we dress alike. Which is a little weird, considering that we're different genders and all, but I get it. I guess we are somewhat similar. We even have similar mad football skills. (Though Ethan's may be slightly madder than mine, considering he can catch a football while running, and he actually knows how to play football and not just play catch with a football. But mostly the same.)

7. The other day we met Jethro getting off the bus (which we normally don't, but we happened to have walked up to get the mail just then), and he had tripped and hit his lip on the window and gotten a big bloody lip and there was blood all over his hand and nose. It was quite sad. But he's a punk, he can take it.

8. I started reading this book that is seriously the funniest and most random book I've ever seen. You must all read it. It's called 'The Willoughbys.' Here are some of the hilarious parts so far.

"Their mother, who was indolent and ill-tempered, did not go to work. Wearing a pearl necklace, she grudgingly prepared the meals. Once she read a book but found it distasteful because it contained adjectives."

The kids come in and the mother says she's making the cat a sweater.

"I was hoping you were making a second sweater for me and B," Barnaby A said. "It's difficult taking turns with a sweater."

"I've explained and explained," their mother said in exasperation. "A, you wear it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. B, you have Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. On Sunday you can fight over it."

She turned to her husband. "It's disgusting," she said, "the way children today all want their own sweaters."

And this one--particularly funny to Brett and I at this juncture:

Feeling that it would be rude not to include her child in his greeting (though in truth he did not much like children), the postmaster turned to the boy and repeated his "good morning."

"He speaks German," the woman said.

The postmaster smiled painfully and said, "Guten Tag," to the boy. His smile was pained because he had heard the boy try to speak what he thought was German. He simply used English words and added extra syllables with a vaguely Germanic sound.

"Helloschlimhofen,"the boy said cheerfully. "Neisch day, isn't itzenschlitz?"

Everyone in the village thought it would be rude to point out the flawed German and help the child to learn the language correctly. The Swiss are scrupulously polite.

..."Darling," she said, "stand up straight so that your trouser lengths are not mismatched. It makes me very nervous when things are not in order."

... "Itz that better, Mutti? Neitz und schtraight?"

"You know I don't speak German, dear," she replied.

"Ach. I forgotzenplunkt. Sorrybrauten," the boy said.

Ha ha ha!! Brett and I laughed our heads off. Brett told me I should do that when we get to Switzerland. It's a good idea, don't you thinkenschplink?

Anyway, I'm not even finished reading the book and hilariousness abounds. The really random thing?-- It's written by Lois Lowry, author of The Giver and Number the Stars. Bravo Mrs. Lowry! You totally rock all sorts of genres.

9. Tonight during the game we were playing, Jethro was told the definition of the word "dyke" and had to pick it from three options--something like dyke, dam, and another one I don't remember. And then Dad was asking us if we knew the difference between a dyke and a levee, and Brett was guessing all these things, and Dad said, "Nothing, but dyke just didn't fit in with the song." And then he sang "Drove my chevy to the dyke but the dyke was dry..." Crazy man.

10. They're making Brett work tomorrow. And that stinks. My dad asked him if they let him have the Friday and Saturday off after Thanksgiving, and he told him that he got Saturday off but not Friday. Then Dad said, "Do you feel a little cold coming on?" and Brett said, "No, I feel a little I'm going to quit coming on." No wonder. The job's nasty--he comes home so tired and his back aches and his throat hurts from the smoke, plus he hates all the foul language everyone uses. I guess he'll be extra appreciative to go back to academia desk work.

11. Jethro did a report on South America in his class at school. He did it for a project instead of reading time. Anyhow, his teacher's aide helped him put together a power point with pictures and everything, and they e-mailed it to me and Jethro presented it. It pretty much rocked. My favorite line was "Pirahna fish have razor sharp teeth, and could chew off a person's leg in seconds." Sweet. Jethro kept putting together his sentences weirdly, like "In Colombia, many tribes of Indians live." And, "In the Amazon River, pirahna fish live." (And why can I not write a normal sentence to describe writing a weird sentence?) Another funny part was "Catholic is the official religion in most South American countries. The second most religion is the Jews." It probably seems like he can't write very well, because I pulled out all the funny-sounding sentences, but most of it was awesome. What a kid.

12. Do you and your spouse fight about the same things over and over? And by fight I don't mean real fights. For instance, every single time Brett is helping me make dinner and makes pasta, he puts the lid on. And I always say that that is not how you're supposed to cook pasta. And he always demands why not, and says that it cooks faster that way. And I say because for one it will boil over and for two it's just not the way you're supposed to cook it. We never get over this.

Another one we always fight about is how short to cut the bottom of his hair. I always use the clippers with the number 3 head, and he always tries to insist that I use number 2. But that is way too short and makes him look like a skinhead, so I say that when I'm the one cutting the hair I get to choose, and that being his wife I have a responsibility to make sure he looks presentable. And he says that it's his hair and he should get to choose how he wants it. But I say if you want to choose how you want it, you can go to a hairdresser. And then he says, "Just a philisophical question, but why do you get to cut your hair any way you want to and I get no say in it, yet you choose how mine is." Which is a doozy of a philisophical question that Plato and Socrates probably wrangled for years.

13. If you're going to get passport photos done, do not buy them from anywhere! It's a complete rip-off. Take your own picture and then upload them to epassportphoto.com and it makes sure you crop it to the correct dimensions and then you download it and just pay 12 cents or whatever the price is at Wal-Mart for a 4x6. Save money and look better in your photos. It's really a shame we didn't find it before we got our passports (but we did find them in time to send them in with our visa applications).

14. If you want some very pretty piano arrangements of hymns, you can go to aaronwaite.com. They're not free, but they're very inexpensive. Actually, there are a few free ones too. I played "The Morning Breaks" for my mom's ward last Sunday. Pretty pretty.

15. I read the best books the other day. Seriously I loved reading them. The first one is called "The Keeping Days" by Norma Johnston, and I read that one and the second one, "Glory in the Flower" but there are a bunch in the series and they're all out of print which is very sad. Maybe Santa Clause will find them for me. Here is just a short review someone wrote on amazon to let you know a little of what it's like. "Handles coming of age more realistically than Little Women, and much more intelligently than the modern teenage series. I don't know how Johnston remembered what it's like when everyone else forgets, but The Keeping Days, its sequel Glory in the Flower, and also the Johnston's Bridget Vandever books spoke directly to me"

Anyway, if your library has them, read them! INFINITELY better than the books most teenage girls are ga-ga about now. The love in these books strives to be intelligent, responsible, deep and supportive instead of fatalistic, rash, selfish, etc. (If you're a huge fan of what I'm talking about and will get offended that I'm saying that, please intentionally miss the inference.) Anyhoo, someone read it so we can discuss.

16. Lastly, I'll leave with a story about my 4-year-old nephew Chad. My sister Amy had to go to a meeting and take him with her, so she told him that if he was really good they could go to McDonald's after. Well, he was not good and ran all over the place, etc. so she started driving home and he said, "What about McDonald's?" And she told him that they didn't get to go since he didn't behave at the meeting. So then he got really mad and started saying things, and she ignored them. He kept getting more and more frustrated, and he said, "You're dumb!" And she didn't react the way he wanted her to, so he finally yells, "Mom, when I'm a grown-up I'm not even going to DATE you!!" Ha haa!

17. That's all folks. I must go to bed.