Finally... an address!

Hello all of you, things are getting better, because I am learning what I am suppose to do. And it is very rewarding.  People are very nice and they are helping me in every way. I can get a ride when ever I need, but I still think I can get along just fine by myself.  

Last night one personel from the office, Veli (Brother) Koponen, he is taking care of office stuff and he came to set my computer in order and spent couple of hours but there was some little thing and he said it was something that will clear next week. so I am here at the Asuntola where missionaries (seniors) live, using computer and washing my clothes. It all free. This bro surprised me by bringing a TV for me! It was used at the open house and has been in the storage, so it is one of the flat ones. He put all together and it is working, so that is nice, I feel like I have company!  

I have met with Aune Wahlstedt (daddy's cousin's wife, remember?) She came to pick me up from the Temple and we went to her house for the evening. We'll go out again Monday, because it is P-day, Temple is closed. And then Tueasday it will be closed, because Finnish Indipendence day, and we'll have a party that day.

I am so glad to hear that things are going well. Before I forget, here is my address: 

Sister Stenfors
Helsinki Temppeli

Leppasillantie 3  
02620 Espoo, Finland

You dont have to send me anything, I've got everything, But thank you, maybe later, we'll see. I dont know yet what I am going to do for Christmas, if I can go to Tampere. Well, I getting ready with my laundry. I love to hear from you all. 

____________________________________

(Note: It is good to hear that she is finally adjusting! She is so independent and always has been that I don't find it out of the ordinary that she is not asking for help... she's a true Finn is that respect. Stubborn ;) )

A Better Outlook...

Mummi update:

It is one week and a day that I arrived here, Finland, and what a time to arrive here!  If you are planning a trip (!!!) to Finland, do not come in October - November -December, although December maybe different because of the brightness of the Christmas lights!  It is so dark and gloomy, rainy and cold, I had forgotten all that.  Sun, if you can see it once and while, rises barely above the Horizon about 10 am, moves slowly, but does not rise much more, and then about 2 pm (here 14:00) goes down and starts getting even darker, and by 5 pm ( 17:00) it is night dark !  But people are so used to this and I will also soon again.
 

The MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo was another experience! Seeing about 2100 missionaries (this how many there can be at one time) and of course most of them are these fantastic young, anxious to go, missionaries. Makes your heart swell and you see Helaman's 2000 young warriors !
 

I had a very nice and friendly room mate, Sis. Horne, who went to Nebraska to be in the office. Most of the Seniors in our group (35 couples and 5 single sisters) went all of the globe, Phillipnes, Australia, Chile, Samoa etc, etc. and now they are sending e-mails to each other, it is fun !
 

I dont know if you have seen a picture of the Finnish Temple, it is very simple, classic Finish design, on a small hill, and you can see it from the main roads down below, and it has 62 steps to the main door. You can also use car to come closer, but small road is nicely hidden so it does not take the beauty of the Temple away.  AND ---- this is a multi-lanquage Temple:  Finnish, Russian, Eastonian, Latvian and Swedish !!!. So we are learning all those, Russian we are reading with regular Finnish, same as English, letters, because you would have to learn the Russian alphabets, and it would be too much !
 

Housing for the missionaries and patrons are just below the Temple, close and they are beautiful and roomy and very modern (as Finland is), but they are done for couples and the patrons quarters are made for 6 people, who come here from different countries to work for a week or so. So, they dont have a place for me, I am the only single. They rented a small apartment for me, and unfortunately I have to use a bus to get there and back. I do get rides from the others, specially if I am working in the evening shift and Sundays to Church meetings. The Temple president told me that they are going to add at least one new apartment, for me, and I am praying for that!!  But it does not happen until May-June. Right now I dont have a companion so it is kind of lonely.
 

I do miss Sandy and the Silver Pines [the Senior Community Mummi has been living at for the past 2 years] and you all, and try not to think about that it will be 1 and 1/2 years before I see you again! But this is a once in the life time experience and opportunity to be a Temple missionary, and I am thankful for this.

The Beginning of Mummi's Adventure...

Note: As mentioned before, this blog is about our family... including our extended one! Mummi Squeeze is now starting her new adventure as a Temple Missionary in Helsinki Finland (her home country!). She left one week ago today, and she has finally had a minute to let us know what is going on. I find it interesting that it is on my father's 80th birthday (if he were alive today)... 

Stay tuned for more adventures from her and the Squeeze Family!

____________________________________________________________

Hello! I don't have internet, yet my own, I am using this one at the missionary housing lobby and this one has Russian letters also and the markings dont work, at least for me now. Today, Monday Temple is closed and we are going to have Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30. I took the buss early because Fullers wanted to go shopping at 10 am and I get to go with them. It is in this Temple housing, they have large kitchen and big dining room etc. Their apartments are so roomy and nice, hopefully mine will be ready sooner than promised, by May\ June. I do feel a little sad living alone, everybody has their spouse, no singles except me. I take the buss to and from the Temple, which is OK except on the weather like we have now, typical October +November, so dark and rainy. I just saw SUN the first time this morning about 10 am and barely above the horizon, but then the cloud covered it again, and then about 3 pm it starts getting dark and pretty fast. Do not come here this time of the year!!  My apartment is really small, just one room, kitchen on one wall, bathroom is good size but no cabinets or anything where you put things. This was build 1971, and has been a rented place. Now  church is putting sealing light, I just have floor light now, bed, arm chair and desk, not fun place to come to in the dark alone. I feel like I am one of those early pioneers that had nothing to go on a mission !!  Here I really miss Daddy, because everybody has their spouse.. But people are very good to me, I can get a ride anytime, I just have to ask, but you know, I am not asking. But like Sundays they pick me up to Church and back and after evening meetings they will take me home.

Temple is a different place, and I don't mind being there as much as possible, it is quiet, spiritual place which feels good to be in. We are learning slowly in Finnish but also we have to do some Russian, even Estonian too. They have written Russian in English letters so we can pronouns them !!!  I am glad to get news from you and hope that you are all well. Sorry to hear about little Ryder [note: Ryder is a grandson who had a cabinet fall on his face which ended up giving him a goose egg of a bump between the eyes, and a black eye... but he's ok], tell him mummi is missing him and others too. I was glad to hear that Son Squeeze had treffit [terrific], date ! How is it going!  I will write again, soon.  Love you all, Mummi

Acid burns...

I'm sure you've had those times where you think: "OK... I think I've got the hang of this" and then BLAM! You didn't see it coming and you thought everything was running smoothly... Yeah, well, that has been our family (particularly me) for the past month. 

I thought I had it all under control. Things seemed to be smoothing out, things seemed to be looking up, things seemed to... Well, apparently I was smoking something or I was viewing a mirage of sorts :( Apparently when it rains lemons, they hit you in the head and make you miserable. 
So if you know a couple of good recipes for lemons, besides lemonade, send them my way. I've got more than one person (or a family of 4!) should handle...

Biking Manners

So today's post is not necessarily about anyone in my family, but one of my biking friends. Since I am training for my first Half Ironman distance triathlon (it's coming up in 2-1/2 weeks!) I have been having to swim, bike and run a lot lately... and since biking is my best sport, I seem to find time to do that one more than the others ;)

This morning, my 2 biking buddies (JB... no, not Justin Bieber, and RV... and no, he doesn't work at Camping World) left for our Wednesday ride to climb up and over SunCrest (a really challenging hill that for only 3 miles will kick your butt!). They are both training for LOTOJA (a 206-mile one day bike race from Logan, Utah, to Jackson Hole, Wyoming). Since I did it last year, and I have been their "consultant" helping them prepare. JB had an early morning meeting, so he just climbed to the top and turned back to get to work. RV and I rode up, taking some extra time to catch the scenery (code for "catch your breath"). RV is not a climber like JB, but he sure can downhill it... he has to wait for me at the bottom ;)

Getting to the top took a bit more out of RV than anticipated, so he really didn't want to go down the backside and then back up, so we altered the course by heading downhill and then turning to the west side of the valley towards Bluffdale and Herriman. We stopped to cross one of the busy highways at the light, and since it was 7:40am, traffic was starting to build. The light turned green and we started to cross, but the oncoming cars turning left apparently didn't see us as we were headed into the center of the intersection... can you tell what happened next?

I have a tendency to not be the first person in the group, so RV went forward and it all happened in slow motion... I could see the car turning right into RV and I know I started yelling at the driver of the car: "STOOOOOOPPPPP!" (say it realllllyyy slowwwwly in your head) But luckily for RV, he only hit the side of the car instead of the front hood. I really can't remember anything else except the next thing I knew, RV was in the middle of the intersection, lying on his back. His bike seemed OK, but he just lay there, saying, "Just give me a second... just give me a second". The driver (let's call him "Coach" since he was headed to a soccer tournament) had stopped after hitting RV and you could tell he was just beside himself. I have never felt so bad for 2 people at the same time because I have been in both those positions... neither a very fun place to be.

As chance would have it, another team rider was stopped across the intersection heading east as we were heading west (we were in the same team kits [jersey & shorts]). He ran over as fast as he could in his biking shoes (that's not easy!) and helped me move our bikes from the intersection and RV to the corner. The driver called 911 as the main dispatcher (who was on her way to work) stopped to help us out... She called the ambulance faster than Coach could on the 911 call! How fortunate could we have been????!!

Although this wasn't a funny situation, we all mused at how it could have been worse and grateful that it wasn't. RV called his wife to come pick him up, but apparently she was still in bed and had JB's wife come pick him up instead...Not sure if RV will give his wife any grief for that ;) RV ended up declining going in the ambulance because it seemed as though it was only a sprained wrist... but he went to the Dr. to just make sure.

After RV was picked up and Coach left with his citation in hand, I hopped back on my bike to finish the rest of the ride. I was a bit more aware of the traffic at that point. I can only say... that was the LONGEST 30 mile ride I've ever ridden! 

And RV: You are a true gentleman... I'm sure you had some choice words for Coach, but because I was there, you kept those to yourself. Or maybe, just maybe, you really are a gentleman :)

There's no place like home...

... especially after spending time in the hospital! We are all home now that Son Squeeze was released from the hospital this morning. Everything went well there with Dad Squeeze spending the night there (I did the first night). Note: I ever come into some money and I am looking to do some philanthropic work, I will donate just so they can get some comfy cots – I think the ones they have now are from the 60s since they look and smell like it... or maybe that's the disinfectant on the baby blue plastic mattress covers...

Son's last meal there was pancakes and sausage... something he's been looking forward to for a while (not necessarily pancakes and sausage, but that it's solid food after 4 days!) and he was chauffeured out in a "double-wide" wheelchair. Well, we were on the gastric floor of the hospital... many a "Jabba" if you speak Star Wars ;)

He is very aware of his bowel doing its thing and that's a good thing... reading a bunch of blogs on the internet about others and their issues after their surgeries, we are grateful we went to a specialist and not a general surgeon. A specialist makes sure to keep those nerves down in the nether region so that you know when it's time for #2... a general doesn't and therefore you end up leaking stomach acid often :( Hydrochloric acid leaking out the back end does not make one a happy camper... and so Son Squeeze is learning what ointments will help relieve that not-so-fresh feeling while his new colon is figuring just what the heck it's supposed to do when the real colon was removed from its job... permanently ;)

It's going to be an adventure... especially going back to school. Thank goodness we live close and he can drive, because there's definitely no place like home when your back end is on fire!
 

Holy Hole Batman! (or Ironman in our case...)

NOTE: The video in this blog is GRAPHIC, but cool... Push "play" at your own risk ;) We are not held responsible if you get queasy or lose your lunch (or whatever you just ate before reading this)

So when the doctor told us yesterday after the surgery that he would need to leave the hole where the stoma had been open on Son Squeeze, I thought "ok... no big deal". It has to be left open so that the chance for infection is decreased since that's where all his poop came out for 6 weeks. So when last night came to change the dressing, I didn't expect to see something out of a horror movie or off the battlefield of war. 

I now know why I never went into medicine...I just don't have the stomach, or knees, to keep standing up. A great respect goes out to these doctors and nurses who deal with this... I applaud them and give them a virtual "high five" :)

Son Squeeze was a trooper and pulled off the gauze/bandage by himself with the nurse watching. He was a bit nervous, but then decided that he did want to do it by himself. Of course I was interested and thought that when it finally came off, it wasn't a big deal. OH BOY... I wasn't even ready for the next part. The gauze was STUFFED INSIDE the hole, about 1/2" deep! When that came out, I felt the blood leave my head, pass my stomach, and speed down into my feet! Thank goodness for the chair next to the bed... I did end up videoing the clip, along with Son Squeeze's help ;) He's been amazing during this whole ordeal...

Since leaving the surgery room, he hasn't had any additional meds like last time, and walked down the halls (about 5-7 min) only 1 hour after arriving in his room. He's happier and amazed at how he can move and bend without the "bag". He's feeling well and the doctor has progressed him from clear liquids to ALL liquids and will release him to come home tomorrow (Saturday – a day earlier than expected). I am amazed that we have to go through so much pain to know the joy... but it's a testament to me that we are given only that which God knows that we can handle. Each of us is given a different set of trials, of which we can either make the best of things or live in misery. Son Squeeze... you continue to amaze us and I'm sure the Lord has some special things in store for you...

And that hole that eventually will fill in and become a scar will be a constant reminder that you have made the best of some of life's lemons... 

No guts... lots of glory

We've been holding our breath for this week... Son Squeeze has been dealing with severe Ulcerative Colitis for the past 2 years. Steroids, pills daily up the wazoo (well, not UP that wazoo...), stomach cramps, blood transfusions, and lots of other unpleasantries that I won't mention (you're happy about that, aren't you?)... We were finally finally referred to a doctor that specializes in Colon & Rectal surgery (and he does it lapriscopically!)

After 2 years of trying everything on the market, and not wanting things to progress to the "C" word (hint: cancer), the doctor recommended having Son Squeeze's colon (ALL 5 feet of it... can you believe we have 5 feet of large intestine?!) removed. With it gone, the UC would also be gone... so why not? AND they can now make a new "bowel" out of the end of the small intestine so he could live without an ileostomy bag for the rest of his life :)

This procedure is done in 2 parts: Part 1 – removal of the colon, create the new colon ("pouch"), attach it to the back end, create a temporary ileostomy (stoma / bypass); Part 2 – reverse the temporary ileostomy, get ride of the bag and let nature take its course. Apparently part 2 is a little rougher recovery due to the hole/stitching in the abdominal wall.

Part 1 (on June 14) went well... at least the surgery. Recovery took a bit longer due to some complications since his leftover guts (small intestine) were swimming around since there was now a LOT more room for them to move around in, but we finally brought Son Squeeze home after a week and on a liquid diet. He lost 17 pounds in 7 days...

Prepping for the Lupogram

Skip to August 2... the Lupogram. This test would show if the new pouch is healing and holding so that the ileostomy reversal could happen. We were all literally holding our breath. I was allowed into the X-Ray room to watch the procedure. Talk about AMAZING! Watching the dye contrast appear on the monitor inside his light-colored abdomen... spooky!

I'm not sure if they noticed I was taking pictures of the monitors while the 2 nurses were doing the procedure but hey, this is for memory's sake! I'm sure this technology will be outdated by the time Son Squeeze has his own family... So, spoiler alert: IT WORKS! The new pouch works and so does his back end control (I'll keep it at that...) which the doctor is very pleased about... very important too :) With that, surgery happened today to reverse the ileostomy – no more bag! But I will say that Son Squeeze has been a trooper through the whole thing.

The constrast dye filling
the new "pouch" (kidney shape)

This morning Son Squeeze woke up excited about the procedure (completely opposite from last time... oh boy... that time was not so good, and especially since he has to be on a liquid diet the day before – hungry boys are NOT happy boys). We arrived early for check-in and then waited (and waited and waited) to get into surgery. 4-1/2 hours later he finally went in... Last time we were the first to go into surgery. We realized if you're not first, you wait (and wait a LONG time). 

Surgery took only 1-1/2 hours this time and the doctor is pleased! And we're now in the room... But the narcotics weren't as strong. No funny chattering... 

Sidenote: I have to tell you at least one funny experience while he was coming out of the drug-induced happy place: I realized he was still under the influence and I could ask him anything... really, anything! So I asked him if he liked any particular girl at school. The older Scottish nurse, who treated Son Squeeze like he was her grandson) was taking his vitals and doing some things while I was asking questions, and Son Squeeze answered, "Yesssss... So&so is smokin'." The nurse turned and said, "Oh, you shouldn't like someone that smokes!" I laughed and said, "Not a smoker! He meant she was hot!" :)

We are all looking forward to new things... including learning how to control the back end while his new "colon" learns how to do new things. So on to new and exciting adventures...

My cute "little" squeezer...

This past weekend was very eventful for the Squeeze Family. Daughter Squeeze (DS) participated in the Utah National American Miss "scholarship" pageant downtown. She raised $450 through sponsors (THANK YOU to our SPONSORS!!!) to allow her to participate. 

Although they tout this as a scholarship pageant, it doesn't hurt if you look good too. It really was amazing to see the spectrum of girls that competed... it's promoted as an opportunity to help build self-esteem and life skills along the way. Daughter Squeeze needs those life skills... sweetie, your looks only get you so far ;)   

This pageant doesn't require you to display a talent or walk around on the stage in a swimsuit (thank goodness because soccer really isn't a talent to showcase on the stage, much less in a swimsuit!), but she did have these required elements:

• Give an Onstage Introduction (name, age, hometown & aspirations) – 30%
• Interview (one-on-one with 5 separate judges) – 30%
• Formal Wear (escorted by a male family member) – 30%
• Community Donation (children's books & stuffed animals to local charities) – 10%

The NAM Utah Jr. Teen Group

She competed in the Jr. Teen category (ages 13-15). There were 47 contestants in her group, compared to 35 in the other 4 groups. You could start competing at the age of 4! And those little, little girls... well, there weren't the train wrecks that you see on Toddlers & Tiaras, but it was free entertainment...

Friday night was the Formal Wear competition... We have some great people in our neighborhood who have a bunch of formals for high school proms, pageants, and so forth and were willing to share them (borrow = FREE!). DS fell in love with 2 of them, but ultimately with the guidance of a friend of mine who is a pageant master, she narrowed it down to the final dress. And she chose her brother to escort her across the stage... they looked so cute and it reminded me of when they were little. Wow... time has gone so quickly <sniff>...

DS with her brother

She had practiced her walk in front of the family, friends, and even an occasional visitor. She had to be comfortable on that stage after all... And when the time came, she did it with grace and poise. Nice! And I do have to mention that her hair and makeup looked good too (we were trying to cut $ where we could, so I played hairdresser and makeup artist) ;)

Saturday was the big day... It began with Production Number Rehearsal (8am), then Onstage Introduction (10:30am), Interviews (11:30am), Final Pageant Rehearsal (12:30pm) and then the final Pageant at 5pm. Talk about a busy day... It was back and forth from our hotel to the pageant hotel. Thank goodness we were only across the street, but it was a super hot day and trying to find a parking spot... well, we got lucky on parking :)

Onstage Introduction

The Onstage Introduction was nerve racking for DS... she had practiced her part in the car, in front of the mirror, in front of Son Squeeze's friends, and at church Girls' Camp. She was ready. But they said that it needed to be 30 seconds or less, so we timed it. It was 42 seconds and that worried her. We looked at it and tried to cut things, but in the end, I told her to keep it as is. There were going to be girls who would only take 10 seconds, so she could take up the rest ;) And when it all happened, there were girls who took 10 seconds and one girl took almost 3 minutes! Poor girl... THAT one was a mess :( DS did FANTASTIC (I could be biased, but she did... I can't wait to see her score on that portion)... Clear, concise, good train of thought. She wrote it herself... I swear she should be a writer, but she wants to be a K-9 trainer for law enforcement...

"Sprinkler" move during
the Production Number

The final pageant was the Production Number and then the re-presenting of the girls in their formal wear. I don't think I've seen DS move SO fast... going from t-shirt and shorts to formal and heels in less than 3 minutes! But we did it and she looked beautiful... 

They had 2 groups on the stage: Jr. Teen (her group – ages 13-15) and Teen (ages 16-18) and presented the awards in a bunch of optional competitions (talent, actress, spokesmodel, photogenic, top model, most tickets sold, most advertisements sold, best sponsor thank you note, most recommendations, service). Of course most of the optional contests cost money because you win money, but we were on a budget this year.

They announced the top 10 semi-finalists, and Daughter Squeeze was named first! Good thing because then we could sit back and wonder who the other girls would be... it made it more enjoyable for us. I could only imagine what the other parents were going through...

The Top 5 finalists & Queen

They brought the 10 finalists for each group back up, so there were 20 girls on the stage, and then they announced the top 5 for each group... DS was named Utah Jr. Teen 2nd runner up (3rd place)... holy cow – her first pageant :) She was the youngest of the winners, and the tallest. She's growing up so fast... It was a good mother-daughter bonding experience. Thank goodness I didn't have to mime a dance routine in the back of the room when she was on stage ;)

A break from squeezing....

A few things have given us a break from squeezing this week, and it's about time... I'm getting all prune-y, if you know what I mean. So I'll share two things that are worth mentioning:

• Finally filling the front porch planters... for $7! How you ask? Well, apparently we were at the right place at the right time – Home Depot on a Tuesday around noon in the garden/nursery department. We needed some ant killer since our home is built over some monstrous ant colony, and after grabbing the BIG bottle, we decided to peruse the nursery for some cheap plants. We have had 2 empty pots on our front porch since winter (can you say "no money"?) and they've been looking really sad lately (and collecting spider webs, dirt, dried leaves, etc.). We know it costs $ (sometimes I can't figure out why annuals cost so much... they're going to die anyways). We decided to bite the bullet and give ourselves a budget. Just as Dad Squeeze mentions to me to pick out a couple of plants, one of the ladies working in the nursery says: "We've just put these 3 different kinds of plants on sale for 50¢ a piece... grab them while you can." I don't think it took more than 5 seconds for us to realize what she was saying, so we grabbed 2 of each variety to fill the pots and got on our merry way! The bag of soil cost more than the 6 plants :) So, for $7... not too shabby!

Thank you UPS man
for making it happen!

• Getting packages earlier than expected :) I saw an idea posted on another blog and realized that with our church youth Girls' Camp coming up, it would be a really cute idea. So I proposed it to the camp leader, and luckily another craft idea had been nixed, so they had the budget to do it. Of course, the main component (a mini hinge clip) was not available in any of the local craft stores (trust me, if you want to do this, order it online... early!), so I ordered it online. I thought I ordered them in time (yeah, I tend to think everything runs on MST – Mom Squeeze Time)... but when the shipping notification came in, I realized that it wouldn't be here in time to send up to camp :( I started sweating it – starting to think up a Backup Plan A, then a Backup Plan B... but neither was a likely scenario. I did find one local store that had one package of 15 (I needed 45!) so I thought at least I could show them what one looked like completed. And if I was going to have it to Girls' Camp on time, I had to get the project to one of the moms going up tomorrow morning so that she could get them set up for the activity on Friday... Well, what do you know.... UPS was kind enough to get them here TODAY... 1 day EARLY!!! So, now I was able to package each of them up with one of them being a sample. And it was worth the sweating and worrying :) 

So sometimes life gives you lemons, and sometimes there's a break from them – And it's nice to let those hands get un-prune-y once in a while ;P
 

Expiration date?

I always feel like an accomplished homemaker when I have thought out a meal plan and execute like a chef... and today was one of those days... well at least it started out that way...

(Premise) A while ago, when Dad Squeeze was working out of town for an extended period, I had Son & Daughter Squeeze go through one of my favorite cookbooks and pick out the meals that they thought they would eat. Having pictures next to the recipes definitely helps ;) So, they picked out a week's set of meals and off we went to shop for the ingredients.

Of course things come up, and as usual, not all the week's meals were made. And there's always the good intention that I'll make the meal so that the food doesn't spoil... I remember it's a good intention and I know I'll get around to it. And when I open up the deli drawer, I see the main ingredient staring at me, it's reminding me that I should get around to making that meal. 

(Point) So here we are... time for Sunday dinner. Mmmm... my daughter's favorite: Homemade Turkey meatballs with spaghetti and from-scratch sauce :) I've made this before and the meatballs take a bit of time, so I got up early and prepped the meatballs so it wouldn't take so much time to cook after church (since we tend to be starving come 5 pm – especially on Fast Sundays). I put all the necessary ingredients into the mixing bowl, and then opened up the ground Turkey (you know – the frozen kind that comes in the 1 lb. tube). The expiration date said I was still good until October... so when I slit it open, and the smell was a bit unpleasant.... well, let's just say I talked myself into denial that anything was wrong or the fumes may have put me into a state of denial ;) It's all good... meat tends to have just a bit of stench, right?

After church, I got the sauce ready, allowing the crushed tomatoes, herbs, garlic and olive oil to blend into a bubbly, aromatic, almost lava-like consistency. Now to add the turkey meatballs... The smell isn't as smelly, so yeah, it's all good... Cook the meatballs in the sauce, boil up some spaghetti, make a salad and some garlic bread.... Mmmmm.... it's coming along nicely :)

It's all ready... table is set, we bless the food and start serving it up. The quick cabbage salad is quite tasty (a little less mayo next time), and here comes the spaghetti and meatballs. Looks good.... add some parmesan cheese... first mouthful of the spaghetti and sauce. This is tasty! Ok, now for the meatball... One bite in – and it is OUT! I quickly ask everyone to NOT eat anymore of the meatballs... Son Squeeze immediately projectiles the mushy mass out of his mouth and onto the plate. Daughter Squeeze says she's feeling sick, and Dad Squeeze has managed to eat 2 of them and finally says that they tasted odd. Hun – the first one should have given you that impression.

So, needless to say, dinner came to an abrupt end. And I have learned a valuable lesson: The expiration date on a FROZEN meat tube is intended as a "use by this date if it's FROZEN"... not if you've thawed it. :(


Side note: I thought of feeding these now tasty treats to my dog, but my husband has forbidden me to since I don't scoop the poop in the yard. Runny poo does not scoop well...

A Warrant out on my mother...

So... guess this is a good one to start out the craziness ;) It happened yesterday, but I think it still counts since I actually set up this blog 2 days ago...

(Premise) We moved in my mother (Mummi Squeeze) last Saturday. She's going on an LDS Church Mission to Finland where she is originally from. Since my father passed away last year, she's been living on her own and now it's not necessary that she keep her apartment. We've been helping her out with things, and in this case: car insurance. Dad Squeeze left on a day trip to Los Angeles to purchase some equipment for work... he left REALLY early so I get a phone call from him still early in the morning. Our car insurance has been suspended... WHAT?! We just paid a buttload of money to get it taken care of. May I remind you we have a 16-year-old son and an 84-year-old grandmother (who doesn't have a clean record either!) on our car insurance???

(Point) Ok... now I have to spend the day trying to figure out:

• HOW to reinstate our insurance because it's the last day of the month (and we HAVE to have car insurance)
• WHY our insurance is suspended

After calling the insurance agent, it's because my mother's drivers license is suspended...Seems as though my mother had an accident and never paid for it. Well, after calling the city, she DID pay for it and it was recorded... BUT she had a speeding ticket back in 2008 and never paid for it. Hence, a warrant for her arrest. So, after getting her side of the story, we headed down to a different city court building to pay the $100 warrant fee (which right now is a large sum of money that we don't want to be paying, but must).

We arrive and my mother wants to plead her case to the clerk (as I'm slowly rolling my eyes into the back of my head...). My mother says that the judge would dismiss paying the fine if she avoids any traffic violations for 6 months. She listens, pulls up some paperwork, and then heads to the back office. She comes back and lets us know that she is clear and we don't have to pay the $100... WHAT??! I cannot tell you that almost all the things we've done to get her ready for her mission, she apparently has some help in higher powers.

So here comes the city clerk with additional papers and says: "I apologize... this was a clerical error... in fact, it was MY error." So here's the lady responsible for this... but at least she was apologetic and said that she would take care of things. We still had to head to the DMV to reinstate her license, but that would be taken care of as well. She handed us her business card in case there were issues. And yes... there would be issues.

So off we headed to the DMV... I can honestly tell you, at least it was air conditioned. Oh boy... the line... it seemed to go on forever. We finally got up the front, and received a numbered ticket. That's it?! We stood in line to get a number?! Yup... now to go sit on those lovely hard plastic chairs until your number is called. 

About 45 minutes later, and some fine people watching, our number was finally called. We headed up the the window and handed the papers from the city clerk. She looked like a deer in headlights. Apparently she deals with the druggies and drunkards... we were neither. So her supervisor came over and looked at them and said, "Reinstatement fee is $35". But we didn't make the mistake! It was the city court... let them pay the fee! 

Luckily that business card came in handy and I called the city clerk who made the mistake. She had been on the phone with the central DMV to try to get the fee waived. She explained this to the supervisor who had to find out if it was all legit. We went back to sit on those lovely plastic chairs, with the cold air conditioning blasting. After an additional 10 minutes of people watching, Mummi Squeeze's license had been cleared and reinstated with no money out of her pocket! Of course, this whole ordeal took 3 hours... and finally off to the insurance office to show proof ;)

If you are looking to kill time: head to the DMV...

Meet the Lemon Squeezers

A new month... a new hobby. It's time that I got on the "blog"-wagon... And since we've been squeezing a lot of lemons for quite some time, I can say, we are "expert" squeezers. Who are we? We're a family of 4 – a typical family of Dad, Mom, Daughter, & Son... 

Yes, this is us – The Lemon Squeezer Family... and this pic says quite a bit about each of us. I won't tell you what it's saying, but it's saying a lot ;) Although we've had our fair share of lemons for the past couple of years, this blog is not a sympathy blog. It's basically a place I can put some of the odd, wacky, crazy, sad, miraculous, and weird things that happen to us. Sometimes they are weekly, and sometimes, just sometimes, it seems as though they are happening on a daily basis.


I may refer to something in the past, but I'll give a backstory and you'll have to "suffer" through it as my husband refers to it. I like to set the premise, but if you can't handle the premise, then skim through and get to the end like you do with a novel :) So that's us and what this blog is about.... A family of 4 (& sometimes a relative) and how we keep going through all the lemonade we are having to squeeze...