Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween KK!

We took T Bear dressed as a giraffe to our church's Trunk-or-Treat.  T Bear said in the car "Tell me how it works Mommy!"  This getting candy thing obviously sounded too good to be true.

Big D was disappointed because when T Bear chose a candy, he always chose a sucker, not the chocolate good stuff.  Big D was planning on eating all of T Bear's stash.

As for me, it has not been a Happy Halloween, because we still do not have a baby.  My patience has run out.

Love you lots,

-Miss T (the pregnant witch!)

Pumpkin Masterpieces

Hey Miss T,
I planned a group date for my roommates. Funny how I could get everyone else a date, but not myself...(ok it's not really that bad, my date just couldn't come until later).

We carved pumpkins, and I gave awards.

The HAND pumpkin: "Truest to Design and Rules" award.


The ARMADiLLO pumpkin: "Michelangelo" Award for artistry and fierceness. Can you believe how realistic it is??


The HP pumpkin, Golden Snitch featured: "I want that on my porch" award.


And...my pumpkin, Mike: "Utilitarian/Useful" award. (he became my date/boyfriend)


You just gotta love Halloween, and pumpkins, and fun people.

Young Love

Watch out girls, here comes T Bear! Weddings are so romantic.


I am in soooo much troubles as he gets older.


-Miss T

Fall Flashbacks.

Dear Uncomfortable-Pregnant-Lady-in-Need-of-Distraction,
It's nearing the end of October and that means just a few things:
-Snow in Provo...yes, I can't remember an end of October on the mainland without snow.
-Not much can beat a glass of hot Apple Cider after a brisk walk home from school, red frozen cheeks, fingers, and nose.
-Flaming red leaves on trees and bushes, brilliant yellow leaves floating down through the air, and crunchy brown leaves underfoot.
-Preparation of Halloween costumes. This year our apartment has Carmen San Diego, a professional soccer fan, a lil' kid, and a GOLDEN SNITCH! Pictures to come.

This year my fall flashback has been to when I was in the Missionary Training Center; we wore all black, orange accessories, and one another's name-tags for a costume. Yes, it snowed then too, and yes the leaves were amazing in shades of red, orange and yellow around the Provo temple. I was companions with a sister who is a forever friend, and we may or may not have taken "engagement pictures" in our Halloween missionary outfits. Do you have a favorite fond fall memory? What is it?

I think in years to come you will flashback to this fall, once Brother Bear comes. You will simply remember how perfectly right it felt to have him join your little family. He will love this season, at first because it means his birthday is coming. But later in life, he'll love it for the same reasons we do I bet.

Love-your-admiring-not-pregnant-sister,
Aunty Kk

Due Date

KK-


Today was my due date.  I really wanted to have had a baby by now, but no such luck.  The only thing I had on my calendar today was - HAVE A BABY!  Since this was not happening, I had no idea what to do with T Bear on a very stormy day in Seattle.  


Inspiration came after an episode of Disney's Handy Manny (a cartoon about tools).  We left the house and wandered around Lowe's.  It was heaven for T Bear, he loved looking at all the tools and hardware. Unfortunately I was not as knowledgeable about tools as he would have like to have been, but we survived.  

Then a sweet friend came over to hang out with me and distract me from the depressing fact that it was my due date with no baby.  She also helped me make a cute book sling for T Bear's room.  She was great company and I didn't spend my afternoon in tears.

Thank you KK for also checking in on me and letting me know you and your roommates are praying for me.  I need it right now because I am just a very grouchy pregnant woman right now.


Lots of love from an uncomfortable lady,
-Miss T

A sister loves to be an Aunty

Hi Miss T,
Thank you for making me an Aunty. A sister loves to be an Aunty. Remember when you first made me an Aunty?


As a sister, I get this incredible privilege of being an aunty, Aunty KK as I like to call myself. Wow. What a wonderful thing. I get to be the biggest fan, the cheerleader, the spoiler, and the whatever-else-good-aunties-do for these adorable nephews. Unfortunately I missed nephew #2's birth, but we became friends straightaway when we met.

And nephew #3 just arrived yesterday.



And I am excited for Brother Bear to come join T-bear soooo soon! Thank you for letting me be an Aunty. Truly, a sister loves to be an Aunty, wouldn't you agree?

Love, Aunty Kk

Is it bad when...

Is it bad that whenever I step on the brakes suddenly or make a gasping noise while driving, or say "oh no!" in the car, that T Bear says: "What did you hit Mommy?"


Yes, I think that is not a great thing.


-Miss T

I "heart" the Pumpkin Patch

KK-

It was a great weekend.  Wish you could have been with us!

Finding a perfect pumpkin.  T Bear wanted a "dirt free" pumpkin.

Big D's new camera took some great shots.

A Tractor Horse Train Ride

I don't think the cars were made to hold 6' 5" guys!

All Aboard!

"Do it again Mommy?"

Future Farmer

"Lick my hand goat!"

"Get this baby out!"  

-Miss T

A New Goal: The Water Challenge for Long Life

Hi Miss T,

I'm thinking of you and how precious life is, as you are about to bring a new life into this world very soon. Hooray!

I have just made a new goal myself, hoping to improve my life, and my chance at longevity. In my world religions class we began to learn about Taoism. Among some other pretty awesome beliefs, they have six understandings about how to have a long and good life:
-Eat good food
-Get sound sleep
-Moderate exercise
-Drink enough water
-Have a regular job/work
-Preserve a happy marriage

Wow. Simple but profound advice. So the step I am going to work on to improve the length of my life is the drink enough water. My teacher stood up and in his awesome Korean accent said, "When you get up in the morning, you're going to think I'm crazy when I say this, but drink at least 2 cups of water. It will be so hard at first, but soon you will drink it easily. It is so good for you, is that right?" Then and there I decided to try this out. A little experiment if you will. Drink 2 cups of water in the morning before I head to campus, and see how that changes how I feel. I already know right this minute that it's going to cause me to frequent the little girls' room more than I already do (which you of course know is already often), but I hope it might give me more energy and strength to be less sleepy. What do you think? Do you think that might happen? I'll keep you updated on this New Goal: The Water Challenge for Long Life.

I am pretty sure my teacher, and anyone with a background in Asian culture, would advise you too to drink lot's of water in preparation for this new cute little tyke to come into the world. So feel free to join me in this water challenge. In fact, I would love for all my sisters to do this water challenge, and see how the results compare....

Love your water-drinking sister,
KK

Special Sisters Series

Announcing the Special Sisters Series.


We are going to start highlighting some special sisters via guest bloggers.  We want to hear funny stories about other sisters and women.  We know that not everyone has blood sisters, but we all have had sisters in friends or family.  Our hope is to celebrate these relationships in their many forms on this blog.


If you have a great story or experience to share with a "sister" please tell us.  We would love to have you as a guest blogger!


Email us at tenley at cutlercrew dot com OR kallene at cutlercrew dot com (don't want spam email!)


First guest blogger coming soon!

Accent Hour.

Is this photo sufficiently British?

Tonight, in my mondo study session for the beast of a test that I have on Friday, Geoff (yes his name is spelled that way and yes it makes me think of the Joffrey Ballet, even though his name is pronounced "jeff") began reading the chapter 4 finance problem with a British accent. It was gently enough to cause me to listen more carefully to see if what my ears had detected was correct, and indeed as he read "The firm anticipates that next year's sales will reach $16 million..." there was definitely a British accent. I began to smile. I was amused. As he continued, I could help but grin. And then the grin broke into a giggle because I could tell that he was grinning as he spoke as well. He was amusing himself! When he paused to ask me a question, I responded of course in my very best British accent as well. It startled him I think, but we laughed and tried to suddenly become some of London's best business analysts. Needless to say, by the end of the problem the accents were a bit more of a distraction, and we missed some key clues early on in the problem due to our lack of attention to the meaning of the words (because we were so involved with the sound of the words!). However, the brief accent hour was just the right addition to our study to liven it up a little, and to lighten it up a little ("Lighten up!" right?). Sometimes something as small and simple as changing tone or rhythm or pattern of speech can brighten things up. Has that happened to you?

Well, I hope as you've been reading this, you've used your best British-accent-thought-voice. Surley I've been typing it in a British accent :D. If you need something to liven up your day a little, I suggest throwing in an accent hour here or there. It's a delight.

Love, Kk

Here's to a MOMMY Shower!

A sweet friend offered to throw a baby shower.  For many reasons (some worthwhile and some not), I declined any kind of baby shower.  So then she offered a "Girls Night Out" instead.  I immediately accepted that kind of plan to celebrate this pregnancy.


Last week I went out with a couple of sweet friends to B&O Expresso for dessert.  I ordered cheesecake with chocolate sauce and raspberry topping.  It was beyond delicious.  I didn't even want to wait for this picture to be taken, I wanted to be EATING!


Then these nice friends surprised me with gifts for Mommy, not the baby.  Maybe that sounds selfish, but I think it was the best "baby shower" ever!  I loved it.  They treated me to a great night.


Occasionally I miss having roommates around, so it was great to catch up on some much needed girl talk and giggles.   Girls just need to be together sometimes with out BOYS.  Although I love my boys very much, it was nice not to have them hanging all over me for a night.  


Thank you Ladies!


KK- isn't fun that you know so many of this girls now?  


-Miss T

A Friday night: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Hi Miss T,

So I remember one of the first things I learned about living in Seattle, was that there are more recycle bins than garbage cans. Wow. That was a new concept for me. Everywhere we went, if you saw a rubbish bin, you would see a recycling container right next to it. And in your parking garage there was only one dumpster for the dump, and three or four recycle dumpsters. This was the beginning of my conversion to Recycling.

Secretly, growing up I always wished that we recycled more. I can't say that it is for some intrinsically good reason, but it just seemed like good thing to do. I remember walking to school, and popping the tops of pop cans that were waiting to be recycled on Tuesday mornings. What a sweet deal for me, a little kid walking by, getting free pop tops for the Pop the Top school program, because we certainly didn't have many soda cans at our house. And Graci's house next door would always put out that blue bin with milk cartons, newspaper and cardboard in it and it looked so cool when the recycling truck came by, and they didn't just dump it, but they sorted it! Needless to say, I had long admired recycling, but never gotten IN to recycling.

Well, living in Seattle began my applied education of recycling. Every time I went to throw something away, you would stop me and say "Nope, that can be recycled!" Cereal boxes, yogurt cups (rinsed out of course), all kinds of paper, plastic bottles of any shape and size, and the usual newspaper, glass bottles, corrugated cardboard and regular paper. The best thing about all of this was, that it can all go in the SAME PLACE! I was shocked that we didn't need to sort it, because even in Boise it had to be pre-separated, and you told me about the intense and strict sorting requirements there are in Japan for recycling, so to learn that all of these items could go in the SAME bin was, almost unfathomable. What a beautiful thing.

When I arrived here in Provo, I was quickly irritated that everyone was throwing away cereal boxes (and a myriad of other recyclable things)! Oh I had such an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. This was not ok. It bugged me to watch them waste space in the garbage can with things that clearly needed to be recycled. So many things! Look what Seattle converted me into. This needed a game plan.

I found a large box, and I put it in our utility closet (isn't it cool that we have a utility closet? I named it that). Then I informed everyone that recyclables would go in there and I would figure out what to do with them next. Awesomely, because remember please that my roommates are awesome, everyone jumped in a began to recycle with me (occassionally I did pull things out of the trash still...but that's our little secret). Boxes, paper, bottles-all recycled! We got so into it, that the box became full, and then overflowing and then, before we knew it the closet was full!
*Please see picture to the right:

A little overwhelming? Try a lot.

So this past Friday night I was home alone, and I decided to do as Jack Johnson directs in his song and "Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!" I sorted all of these many items into individual recycle bins. A box for milk jugs, a box for paper and newspaper, a stack of corrugated cardboard, a stack of toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, and a box just full of flattened cereal and granola bar boxes. That looked so much nicer.
* Please see picture to the left.
I then loaded them up in my car. I drove them over to Heritage Halls, the freshman dormitories of many memories, and recycled! We in Provo are not as recycle-friendly as Seattle folk, so not every house has its own recycle bin. I found online that I can purchase one, but haven't done it yet. However, as I drove by Heritage one day, I noticed they had a gajillion recycle bins, so I thought I would make good use of them. I was required to divide up the items myself, but I sure felt great to recycle! What a Friday night! Wooo. I am livin' the wild college life for sure. Wouldn't you agree?

Thank you for teaching me to love recycling.
Love, Recycler Kk

Becoming

KK-


Being apartment managers can be very interesting.  The other night a fire engine showed up at our building late at night and 4 firefighters started rushing up our stairwell.  I met them at the top of our stairs and told them I was the manager and asked what the problem was.  They said they were responding to a call from an apartment in our hallway.  I watched them go into the "crazy" lady's unit.


Now I know "crazy" is a harsh judgement, but she really is.  English is not her first language, but this is not why she is difficult to understand and deal with. She is truly paranoid and runs around our building opening windows and other crazy behavior. Having just had a recent encounter with the "crazy" lady, I was feeling very frustrated and irritated by her.


Big D & I were trying to eavesdrop in the hallway, but it just seemed to be taking a long time.  I quickly suggested that it was taking so long because "they can't understand what the crap she is talking about."


Big D looked at me and immediately said, "Don't say that word Tenley, it is not very becoming of you."


I stood there and little stunned and apologized.  Then we went back to trying to figure the the emergency situation.  It ended quietly and the firefighters left quickly.


I have been thinking about what Big D said to me.  What are other things that I do or say that are not very becoming of me?  What kind of woman am I trying to become?   


Thinking before I speak is very difficult for me, but I think doing it would help me speak better about life, myself and other people.  


I am thankful to have a husband who has high expectations for me and wants me to become better.


-Miss T


*In all honestly, I think the thing that would help me become better right now is getting this baby out of me!!!

By Accident..

Hey Miss T.

Are you ready for a hilarious and adorable story? It's about this endearing Hawaiian man (his lovely grand-daughter by the name of Patiole--which means a cup of gold, now how charming is that?-- is sitting next to him).

I asked him tonight, "How did you meet your wife?" His reply was "By accident."

Of course, we all giggled. And then had to know the real story.
"It was really by accident. I met her because of an accident in front of her house," he began. At this point I did a really huge gasp and said, jumping to conclusions, "A CAR accident! Oh no! No way! You met your wife because of a car accident in front of her house. How embarrassing!"

He pressed on, "Yes, there was a car accident in front of her house. And I was the ambulance driver." Whew. Thank goodness. Now that is manageable.

"So I got to the scene of the accident and started helping the people. I looked around and there she was the neighbor (at this point in the story his eyes became huge as he did an impression of himself maybe 50 years ago when he first saw his wife and took in her marvelous beauty), and I looked again and said 'Are you still single?' And she said, 'Yes' and I said, 'Where you live? This is your street?' and she nodded her head, so I said, 'Ok. I'll be back at three o'clock.' Then I was. And that's how I met my wife by accident. You ask her the story, and she says the same thing. 'We met by accident.'"

I just giggled at that. What a great story. Have you heard any great meeting stories recently? I love to ask people that question. You get some of the most outrageous answers. I guess you never know when or how it will happen. Maybe, by accident.

Love, Kk

You Know You Are Really Pregnant When...

I hate this picture, but it is very fitting for this post.

KK - 


I am now going to the Dr every week.  Each time I visit the Dr's office, I have to leave a urine sample.  Last Thursday, I checked in, and went to the bathroom to do my duty.


I walked out and the sweet girls at the front desk, started asking me how I was doing.  I looked at them and said, "You know you are really pregnant when you forget to pee in the cup!  I just sat there holding the cup in my hand and totally forgot!"


They all laughed.  The nurse told me that I am not the first person to do that.  Do I believe her?


I am feeling extremely forgetful and spacey lately.  Wish me luck at this week's appointment.


-Miss T

The Beauty of Live Music

Hey Miss T!

How long has it been since you have been to a performance or concert of a live symphonic band, orchestra or philharmonic? I think every person on earth should ask him or herself this question twice a year.

For myself, it had been well over 2 years since I've enjoyed group musicianship in a concert setting until this past Thursday night. I attended the BYU Insturmental Showcase which featured the BYU Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and Symphonic Band. It was a sensation. I had completely forgotten:
A: How much I LOVE classical music
B: How exciting LIVE music is

As I watched the conductor directing the wind symphony, he bounced up and down on his toes lightly, his baton moving oh so lightly to the rhythm with swift side jerks in the direction of the flutes, then the clarinets, and occasionally to the oboes. All of the musicians were in their concert black, accent jewelry her and there sparkling from stage with the sway of the music. The marching rhythm of the band tunes carried me back to many a band concert where I watched the trombone section, cheeks blowing in and out, arms extending and retracting, a brother or two in unison with the whole section.

Then the orchestra came out. Oh the orchestra! Strings are just lovely instruments. The color is beautiful, the shape is elegant, and the sound so classic. I felt enriched the moment they began. I felt as if I were cultured, and enjoying something that unites humanity throughout the ages. The timeless classic Jupiter from Holst's orchestral suite The Planets finished off the night. For nearly a century this music has been inspiring people of the unexplored universe that we live in. And centuries beyond that celebrate other masterpieces that bring out everything good within us.

So, I would just recommend that you ask yourself the question, when was the last time you enjoyed some live classical music? And if it's been more than 6 months or so...schedule yourself a cultural event and go see a symphony, or even a high school orchestra! You will not be disappointed.

Love, KK