Elder Brandon Moore's Blog

This past month has been very crazy and I hope to share the wonderful things that have been happening with all of you. But for now, I only have time to share Brandon's blog I set up to keep everyone posted on my handsome missionary.

http://elderbrandonmoore.blogspot.com/

I Always wanted To Be Cinderella and I AM I AM!

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Justin and His $$$$$

Justin likes girls...but he LOVES his jeep (and you can see from his face he hates pictures). He can often be found lifting it, 4 wheeling it, cleaning it, parking it straight up on a snow bank/dirt bank/construction something or other, or adding parts to it that I don't even know the name of or what they do. He went to Moab earlier this year to take it on some "sweet" trails. This rattling on is all to prove a point. He thinks spending money on his jeep is great, it will always be around, it always looks "hot", and he can make it into exactly what he wants. On the other hand, girls are different. He would rather spend his money on something he knows will last - and a girl is just not it. However, I am really good at making deals with Justin to manipulate him into doing what I want him to do. As I said, "Money talks with him!" (We know this from past haircut blog, right?). I told him it is not fair for him to continue depriving all those cute high school girls from going on a date with him. I told him in no uncertain terms he had to attend at least two boy-ask-girl school dances this year - and that I would help pay for them. Lucky for one cute girl, he listened. He took a cutie to Homecoming and I think they both looked fabulous. The day of the dance he told me he wanted to wear white suspenders and a white tie...hmmmm where can I get that?...of course at the distribution center. Very white and very cheap! They had a wonderful time and I hope he will recognize girls are not a waste of money...they are the essence of life!

Sleeping Babies...zzzzz....

When my children were little I loved to watch them sleep. I loved to rock them, stare at them, and just know they were safe at home. Now that they are teenagers...nothing has changed. When Brooklyn turned 13 in June you would have thought the world was ending. She did not want to be a teenager. She said, "Teenagers sleep too much and they are rude to their parents." After informing her these are both choices, she was determined to not be either. Well, NOT! She does both...I guess it comes with the teens! Anyway, this is how I found my three tykes on a Sunday afternoon...actually for Brooklyn it was a Sunday morning...at 11 am...yes, sleeping too much! You mothers of young children will one day understand how rare it is to have all teenagers home at the same time and the comfort that comes from knowing they are all safe!

I Can't Believe How Beautiful It Is!

Many of you know I have this amazing friend Jaime. He can make all my wildest dreams come true. So when I asked him to turn this icky attic space into a beautiful office for me...he did! Feast your eys on my new office/scrapbook room/sanctuary. I still have decorating to do so it is not quite finished, but I bet you will agree that I am one lucky girl. This is right off my bedroom and is a dream come true.

Before:





And after:







I also put this saying on the wall, because who can help but be happy in this beautiful new hideaway.



Jaime does hire out and can do anything...so if you need a great job done to perfection...let me introduce you to him. I promise you will be happy :)

Never Tell a Guy He Doesn't Know How To Dress...

...especially if it is Brandon. Brandon has been dating Amber for almost two years. They are really cute together and find ways to make each other laugh. Amber told Brandon that he could use some improvement on his "style". Brandon, not being one to take things lightly, showed up at her house to pick her up for a date. Needless to say, she was speechless. I don't think she will ever say anything about the way he dresses again!

You Gotta Love Yard Sales!

Brooklyn and I love a good yard sale. My motto has always been, "One person's junk is another person's junk!" I can't get over all the unusual stuff you can find. While digging through a pile of clothes yesterday we found these cute shoes. Brooklyn has never had high heels so why not start off with the highest ones we could find. She decided to wear them to church today. While walking to the car Mike Stark yelled out how good the shoes looked. I replied that it is only a matter of time before she falls and breaks her ankle. Mike said, "Well at least she will look good doing it!" So off we went to church. Upon exiting our car to enter the church, Brooklyn stepped onto the curb and immediately fell down. She hadn't been in the shoes even 10 minutes! She jumped up saying, "I'm okay, I'm okay." We couldn't quit laughing because we know a girl with her first high heels is destined to face plant into the pavement sometime...but she did look good doing it! As I always tell her "It hurts to be beautiful."

Did Laura just call me a horrible blogger?

Okay, I will play your game! I love to learn all the crazy things about people because it just goes to show, none of us are very skilled at this thing called life...

Things you didn't want to know about me...

Rules Once Tagged:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5) Let them know they are tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger (who tagged you) know when you post your tag.

1. First and foremost, I cannot live without my nightly bath (and sometimes morning one too). I do not do this just to be clean...although that is motivation...but it is truly the only way I can stay sane. I let my troubles wash down the drain. I always read in the bath which is why I am one of the more intelligent blondes. I do shave every other day...my legs and chin (oops! did I just say that?) Babies tend to make hair grow in really odd places. I think this is why I have such a hard time at Girl's Camp - no bathtub, therefore, no sanity.

2. Like Mary Ann, I hate that time of the month. I hate it so much I began to fake (well it felt true) that my periods were debillitating, even going so far as to have a uterine ultrasound in the hopes they would find something wrong and take the darn thing out or at least strip it. I think this monthly thing should come with a light switch...done having babies - shut the darn thing off!

3. I am the texting queen of old women. I can send pictures and sounds, I have different people who have different ringtones, and I would totally fall apart if I lost my cell phone. It is my connection to my network. My favorite ring tone is for my cute Laurels...it is "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - and we do!

4. Mrs. Steve Young...that is who I intended to be. I had many times at BYU where we found ourselves together. If you ever want to know the stories, ask me. I do have picture proof of him with his arm around me and both of us smiling rather widely. The only reason it didn't work out was because his mom was also named Sherry and it just isn't right to share the same name with your mother-in-law. I always remind myself that that is the ONLY reason it didn't work out for us!

5. I love anything and everything that lights up the night sky. I love fireworks, carnival rides at night, Las Vegas at night, fireflies, the Milky Way, a full moon, etc. Even those dumb glow necklaces the kids wear make me happy. The only sad thing is I have never seen a shooting star...I am much to impatient to lay there looking at the sky long enough waiting to make my wish.

6. There is nothing I would rather do than laugh! I love to laugh til I cry...I love to remember times I laughed til I cried. Both Steve Lee and Mike Stark have told me of times they were out in restaurants and knew I was there because of my laugh. Sometimes I get in trouble because I laugh when people are talking about serious things and they think I am taking them lightly. Truth be told, the serious things are sometimes exactly the times we need to laugh. After the trials I have had in my life, you can't help but laugh. I really get a kick out of life and just observing how ridiculous it usually is. So if you see me laughing, just know I am doing what I enjoy most.

Here is my latest laughing moment. When my sister Ginger came down this week she cut Brooklyn's hair. My sister is a beautician (or whatever they call them now). When I asked Brooklyn what she wanted her hair cut like she said, "Get on the computer and I will show you." We sat down at the computer and she said, "Now type in Billy Ray Cyrus." What the heck? So if you want to see the Billy Ray on a girl, take a gander at Brooklyn this Sunday!



I now tag my cute and hilarious sister Ginger, Mary Ann and Jana. Enjoy spilling your guts!

Who likes previews?

I am not talking about movie previews. I am talking about a preview of Justin's new and improved hair! As kids get older you really do have to pick your battles. This was one battle I have been unwilling to fight. Justin loved his long hair saying it gave him confidence. I worried because many thought he was a "punk skater dude" or a "rebel". This was the general feeling many people expressed when they looked at him. Anyway, after not being able to see his eyes for months I finally cut him a deal. On Wednesday afternoon I said, "If you will get your hair cut I will give you $100 dollars." In his case money has always talked. He left right then for the barber shop. He of course pleaded with me to just let him shave his head, but I didn't want to go from one attention getter to another. I told him he had to have a "missionary haircut" to get the money. Well, it looks more like a military haircut, but I will take it. (As a side note: I would have spent much more than a hundred dollars if he would have been getting haircuts the last 18 months so it was really no loss to me...but a gain to everyone as we can now see his cute face)! Justin you can still be confident because you are a great kid - and good looking too!

I Only Run If Someone Is Chasing Me!

Saturday was a really great day. It started out with traveling to Park City to see Brandon run his first marathon (who are these people that get a kick out of running 26 miles?). Brandon was a cross country runner in high school and lately has been running longer distances. I asked him the day before the race what was the longest distance he had run. He said he had run 19 miles then added "after 19 what is another 7." Whatever! Anyway, I arrived at the finish line about an hour before the runners would be coming into the gate. I saw them coming over the top of the mountain. The first thing I thought was, "If they are coming down the mountain then at some point they had to run up the mountain." The race went from Deer Valley to The Canyons Ski Resort. There were over 300 entrants and Brandon finished 24th overall and first in his age group with a time of 3 hours and 50 minutes. Go Brandon!!!! No running for me and Brooklyn though...we took the gondola up and enjoyed the view. And as far as Brandon's eyes being closed...I would be sleeping too - yes even standing up - if I had just run 26 miles!

I HOPE THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION....

Brandon has been singing that song since he was my very little boy...and now he is heading off for two years. It was exciting tonight as he opened his mission call and found out he would be serving in the Omaha, Nebraska Spanish speaking Mission. He leaves on December 3. There are two incredible things about this mission call. Two weeks before the call came Brandon had a dream that he would be serving in the Omaha, Nebraska mission. He may have been living close to the spirit to have that dream. I think for him it was a confirmation that he will be serving in the place the Lord wants him to serve. The other incredible thing is that Brandon's paternal grandfather and great-grandparents were born in Omaha. For 15 years I have been searching this family history line and have come to a dead end. This may someway, somehow open the door for this work to progress. I am proud of Brandon and am so excited for him to begin this new journey in his life. This was not only his dream...but his mom's dream as well! Congratulations Elder Moore!

It Was The Best Of Times - It Was The Worst of Times !

The best of times is definitely going to see my niece Aubrey marry Kenny in the Rexburg, Idaho temple. She was beautiful and they looked so happy. After the wedding we headed up to LoLo, Montana for the amazing outdoor reception. There was great food, dancing, the bride and groom running through sparklers, and finally the event ended with them riding off on a Harley. It was a quick trip but the company was fantastic, the scenery breathtaking, and the four days away much needed.

And now on to the worst of times, which is the real reason I haven't blogged for the last month... GIRL'S CAMP!!!!! For anyone who knows me even remotely, they know that dirt, bugs, campfire smoke, tents, no bathtub, and flashlighting it to go to the bathroom are just a few of the reasons Girl's Camp is not my thing. I asked one of the young women, "Do you like Girl's Camp?" She sweetly answered, "I like you." And that is exactly how I feel. I don't like girl's camp, but I love the girls...and so I go. The girls are so cute. They always have french braids, bandanas, and funky clothes and it is just plain fun to be with them. Congratulations to Cheryl for making the best of a "bad" situation! Cheryl and I are great friends...neither one of us can sing worth a lick, we both have a hard time camping, and we know with just a look what the other one is thinking....at least if I have to camp it is with you friend!
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Ask and the Universe Responds!

This life is amazing. If any of you have watched "The Secret" you know that you must ask and believe - and then you receive. Thanks to Justin - my dream of riding on a motorcycle for my birthday came true. And high five to Liz for letting her husband fulfill an old broad's wish. It was fun and made me want to have one of my own! In the beginning I must admit I was hanging on tight (sorry Liz), but it didn't take long to realize all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride. This day has been perfect. A big thanks to all my family and friends who made it so...I am a truly blessed girl. Loves!

For my birthday...drum roll please!....

I don't know if many of you realize the person I was before my last crisis ( 4 years leading up to the divorce) compared to the person I am now. For those of you who didn't know me then (ie: Kriss) or those of you who have forgotten...I would like to remind you.


First off, I would never be caught dead...or alive...for that matter holding a snake. But I did hold this one. No that is not me, that is said friend asking me if I was too scared to hold the snake. After that I took it, even putting it close to my face to show I am a very brave chick these days. Don't ask me about the fox I saw right after that...you would have seen me hightailing it very quickly the other direction! This was at Victor's Pond by the way for anyone who wants to encounter wildlife up close and a little too personal.

Not much scares me anymore because I recognize I have control over very little in this world. Therefore, instead of living in fear, or worrying what "might" happen, I just live life. It is much easier that way I have found.

Saturday is my birthday. What I would really like to do is go for a motorcycle ride to celebrate this new year of being 43. No, I didn't say dirt bike ride for all you big boys in my neighborhood who love to roar your blue bikes up and down Forest Ridge Rd. So, if you have any ideas of how I can get my wish let me know. If I don't ride on Saturday, there is still 364 more days to work this one out.

Anyway, I just thought I would share my birthday wish with all of you...I wonder how I'd look in a leather vest...not!

Here's A Shout Out!

Here's to all you women who need handyman services or home improvements. I have a friend who did almost all the work on our house. He built the new additon, built a deck, painted, tiled, built custom closet organizers, put on a roof, etc. I have convinced him to go out on his own, so now it is up to me to keep his calendar filled. So, if you or anyone you know needs some work done, please call me. Right now he is working on remodeling the Stringham's bathroom (hope that wasn't a secret Laura)! Feel free to come by and check out his work. He is honest, a hard worker, clean, respectful and affordable.

We were tagged and I accept the challenge hesitantly...

Brooklyn was tagged to answer questions...scary for me! Some names have been eliminated to protect the innocent...once again that would be me...

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you
2. What makes mom happy? Relax in a hot bath
3. What makes mom sad? Divorce
4. How does mom make you laugh? Gives me a smooch
5. What was mom like as a child? You looked like me
6. How old is your mom? 43 (on Saturday that will be a true statement)
7. How tall is your mom? 4 feet 7 inches (she wanted me to lay down so she could measure me)
8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do? Relax in the bath (do I see a pattern here?)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Hang out with a friend
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Because all boys will love you like they did before you got married
11. What is your mom really good at? Scrapbooking
12. What is your mom not very good at? Sports
13. What does your mom do for her job? Georgia carpet, computer, answer phones, payment
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Mexican
15. What makes you proud of your mom? If you get a husband with a little girl
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Cinderella
17. What do you and your mom do together? Girl's day out shopping
18. How are you and your mom the same? Blonde hair and blue eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? Different face
20. How do you know your mom loves you? She smiles, kisses and hugs me

We now tag Brooklyn's cousin Bailey!

I Love This Girl!

This little girl rocks my boat! This is my little niece Laynie. She is just so funny. Yesterday in church I was asked to turn the pages for the pianist during the choir number. After heading down from the stage she hollers, "You did a good job, Sheri!" I think she may have thought I was actually playing the piano?!?!? She always says, "I love you Sher...do you like when I call you Sher?" She loves to put on the brightest lipstick she can find in my makeup drawer...and then put the lid on before twisting it down. I have many ruined lipsticks but something about knowing it was her makes it okay. Her favorite thing to do is have me take pictures of the two of us on my cell phone. This was one of the more recent ones...when I look at this picture I get happy knowing she loves me so much..and also knowing there is nothing gross in my nose! Sorry, too much information...but this blogging thing is about real life right?

The Fingernails

Many of you know that people were continually asking me if my divorce was final- after 3 years who can blame them? I was tired of them asking so I made up a way that people would know just by looking at me. Before I was married I had "fake" nails for about four years and loved them. Becoming a stay at home mom was important to me so I decided that would be one of my small sacrifices to the family budget and I would not have my nails. Flash forward 18 years, I decided the day my divorce was final, I would have nails put on. This would accomplish two purposes: I could have what I have missed for the last 18 years and I could tell people, "When you see my nails on you will know I am divorced." So that is what I did. On June 23rd, the day of the divorce, I had nails put on.

I loved my nails. They are not as expensive here in Utah and I feel like a girly girl (which I need now that I am working in a man's world). Well, I went in today for my fill and the vietnemese lady asked me who had done my nails the last time. I pointed to the empty table where the girl had sat. All the sudden the air was filled with all this vietnemese language I did not understand. These crazy women were rushing over, pointing at my nails, yelling in their language (not really but it sounds like they are yelling even when they are talking). The girl then came in and they started yelling at her. This went on for awhile. I wished I had George's dad from Seinfield...remember when Elaine had him go in with her so he could translate since he had been in the war there. I thought this crazy scene was over when all the sudden my lady started laughing behind her mask. Next think I know they are all gathered around again laughing at my fingernails. Who the heck knows what they were saying...not me! The whole episode was ridiculous! Anyway, I had thought my nails looked good...go figure. And as for the lady who did them today...I already broke one...so is she the queen nail lady? Not!

And as an added note she did an upsell waxing my eyebrows and upper lip. Ouch...and with blonde hair who can tell? Not me!

I TOOK THE PLUNGE!

Well, last night I got brave and spent my $14.99 to join ldssingles.com so I could email the very cute Mark. The hardest part was writing a big old blurb about myself as well as putting on pictures that you know every male is going to judge you by. I did email him last night and he emailed me back at about midnight. No need to get overly excited as of yet because it was rather generic...but hopefully "something" will tug at him today as it has me. I mean after searching 3000...yes 3000...profiles, he was the one I couldn't get out of my head. Time will tell as it always does!

I will NEVER look for love online - Not!

Well, last night must have been a lonely one because I did what I said I would never do and looked on line to see what men were out there. I found one that caught my eye in Hyrum, Utah. After looking at a map I decided it was nt too far away (up by Logan) . Because I am a lurker I didn't sign up for the membership so no way to contact him. I do think I will print out a picture of him though and make a vision board! He was a nice looking 47 year old construction guy with two kids. A couple he is close with wrote about him and I liked what they had to say. He had many wonderful qualities (according to the friends) and has a temple recommend - a plus in this day and age. It is amazing to me how many of the profiles wanted a woman who could hike, bike, ski, etc. Well, anyone who knows me knows that is not me...but I am not opposed to trying new things if I could find someone who would like to teach me and be patient with me. This guy just wanted a woman who loves to serve and said if he had a million dollars he would give it away. He finds much joy in helping people. He has two teenage children and said he especially loves working with teenagers who are having challenges. Oh well, he will just remain a dream unless I decide to put the money up to actually be able to contact people. If any of you know of anyone who is "worthy" please let me know. I would much rather go by word of mouth than experience all the scary stories I have heard when meeting strangers. Anyway, here's to me finding true love! It is out there, right? Or am I just a hopeless romantic!?!?!

Easy on the Eyes!

My page may not be "easy on the eyes" but you must admit it is beautiful. I just wanted to join the younger crowd - seeing as I will be 43 this month! If I can get a blog up and running I am absolutely positive I can do anything. Well, hopefully I will be as fun and witty as all of you...and be darn sure I will have stories to tell from the teenage generation. Enjoy the little ones while you can...they are quite funny. Teenagers on the other hand - NOT!