Birthdays, Books, Blizzards, Branches, Bodies, and Brrrrrrrrr

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. It's cold in Illinois. Actually, it's frigid. It is three degrees outside . . . but it feels like -17! According to the current Wind Chill Advisory, tonight it could feel like 25 below zerooooooo. Ouch, that's cold. I wore multiple layers of warm clothes to church today, but there comes a point when no matter how many clothes you have on, you're still going to be cold. Right after we arrived at church this morning, Greg got a phone call that someone had died and needed to be picked up in Springfield. So, Greg drove back to Athens to get the "Van of Death" and pick up Mrs. Baum at the hospital while I went to sacrament meeting and taught our Sunday School class--then we were going to drive back to Athens together (church is about 35 miles from our house). The kids in class were terribly amused that my husband was going to be picking me up after class in a van carrying a dead body. I was a little creeped out when I got into the van. The last time I rode in the Van of Death with someone besides Greg was just after Thanksgiving 2007 when he and Mrs. Castle picked me up at the train station in Mattoon. Mrs. Castle had been transported on an airplane and was already embalmed and in a pine box in the back--which for some reason isn't as creepy as someone who hasn't been embalmed yet. Riding with Mrs. Baum was the first time I've ever ridden with a body that has not yet been embalmed. I can't really explain why it creeped me out, but it did. Poor Mrs. Baum.

But anyway, on Friday I returned from a wonderful trip to Utah!!! It was so fun to see family and friends--especially to be out there during Mom's and Sidney's birthdays. I flew home on Thursday, December 11, then on Friday Mom and I drove to St. George. It was great to see Grandma F.T. and Grandpa Dick, and they fed us some yummy chicken noodle soup they had made. Saturday was Mom's birthday! We all had a tasty brunch at the Bear Paw--home of the world's best quiche. The quiche wasn't quite as fantastic as the last time we had it, but it was still very, very good. That afternoon, Mom and I went over to the mall and I had my first-ever book signing at Barnes & Noble. A few people stopped by, but I think most of them were scared of me. The ones who did stop by were surprised because they thought I looked too young to have written a book, but they were very nice and interested. That evening Mom and I went to see the movie "Four Christmases," which was quite hilarious.

On Sunday we had a nice time at church with Grandma and Grandpa, then Mom and I headed over to Springdale. We were glad we went over on Sunday instead of Monday, because on Monday morning it started to snow like CRAZY!!! I had never ever seen snow like this in southern Utah. Though it made driving up the canyon difficult, it was beautiful.

We had dinner on Sunday and breakfast on Monday at our favorite Zion restaurant: Oscar's. For breakfast we even had some pumpkin pancakes! On Monday evening, I signed books at Sundancer Books in Springdale. We thought no one would come, but a surprising number of people showed up. I guess that when something like that is going on in a small town like Springdale, it becomes a social event for everyone. Once again, the best way to describe people there was surprised. They thought I looked like a high school student :-) But the feedback on the book was very positive, so that was good.

Mom and I were a little worried about the weather on Tuesday, but when we left Springdale in the morning, the sun was peeking through the clouds. It was all good until we got past Toquerville. All of a sudden, it was like you couldn't see anything--we were surrounded by thick, white clouds. As we approached the freeway entrance, we saw some semi trucks piled up and some Highway Patrol cars. They closed the entrance to the freeway, so before we knew what was happening, we were heading south on I-15 instead of north. It was clear to the south and when we got to the Hurricane exit, we wondered if we should just keep going to St. George. I convinced Mom that we should try to go north (we learned from Lindy that the freeway entrance closure was due to a truck accident, not the weather). But just when we passed the last exit before the Toquerville exit, Aunt Karalie called and said that on udot.com they were predicting three hour delays because of the accident. That would have been a serious problem, but luckily the cars on the freeway kept moving. We inched along for a while, but that was okay because we wouldn't have wanted to drive fast in the scary snow. It was really, really snowing when we finally got to Cedar City, but luckily the snow let up a bit after that.

We made it home just in time for the book signing at the BYU Bookstore on Tuesday afternoon. The best part of the whole thing was the GIGANTIC "Tiffany Taylor" sign they had hanging from the ceiling! It was so funny. They have the "Education" section of the bookstore, the "Science" section, . . . and the "Tiffany Taylor" section :-) Thank you to all of the friends and family (and even a few people I didn't know) who stopped by to see me!

On Wednesday Mom and I had lunch with our wonderful friend Yevon, then we went and got our nails done. Then we got to have dinner with the Barretts! It was so fun to see them, and we had a good time running around the house with Camden, Riley, and Sid. Then on Thursday we went to cousin Breanna's wedding at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. After the wedding, I made a birthday cake for Mom, and everyone came over that evening to eat Wallaby's tasty BBQ meat and celebrate Mom's birthday (since we were in St. George on her actual birthday). We were also in St. George during Sidney's birthday, but Sid had a fun Pirate Party on Monday.

Here's the birthday couple--only one more month until Dad's birthday!

I asked Camden, Riley, and Sid to make funny faces, and this was the result:

It was so nice to be with everyone before Christmas, and I was sad to leave, but it's been good to be back with Greg and our animal children. Getting back here was quite tricky. First of all, Dad, Mom, Rich and I were getting off the freeway at the Pleasant Grove exit to take Rich to work when we got rear-ended by a guy in a Dodge Durango who was talking on his cell phone and not paying attention. The back bumper of the Camry got a little crunched, but luckily it was Durango's fault, so he'll have to pay for the repairs. Then when we got to Salt Lake it started to snow like crazy. Mom and Dad dropped me off at the airport, and I got all checked-in and boarded the airplane, but then they closed the airport, and we had to get off the plane. We waited around for a couple of hours, then they let us back onto the plane. Then we had to get de-iced. I fell asleep for a while, then we took off. It seems funny to me that Greg left Athens just after I left Salt Lake, and I made it to St. Louis before he did :-)

Little Lily was glad to see me :-) It was so cute yesterday--she and both of the doggies all fell sound asleep together on the couch. Yesterday I had to take Big Spike to the vet while Greg was taking care of a funeral. Big had some seriously nasty poops, and we found out that he had a bacterial infection. He got a shot and some pills, and he seems to be doing much better. Last night Greg and I were watching the Las Vegas Bowl (a sad, sad game), and we heard a big KABOOM outside! It sounded like the house was blowing up. We went outside and saw that a huge branch from the neighbor's tree had come crashing down onto our roof and then it fell in front of our front door. Luckily the house seems to be okay, but it sounded pretty scary. Lily's has a new fascination with the aquarium screensaver on my computer. She thinks that all of those little bright fish look so yummy, but they're just beyond her reach. Greg's parents are coming tomorrow for a couple of days, then he and I will go over to the Andreasen's house on Christmas Eve and have Christmas here together the next day. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas week!

Like Looking in a Mirror . . .

I know I just posted a whole bunch of stuff, but I wanted to quickly point out the many things Obama has in common with Blago:

1. They both frown when they're trying to look serious
2. They are both Democrats
3. They are both high-ranking politicians from Illinois
4. They both live in Chicago
5. They both have no morals

They're like twins!

Reason to Rejoice

The state of Illinois is in a state of rejoicing today. Businesses have been putting signs in their windows and everyone has been talking about yesterday's events with a smile on their face. "Finally!" is the word most commonly used in conversation. The allegations against him have been piling up--even the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service are waiting in line to take a swing at him. I'd like to think that I'm not typically a vengeful person, but after seeing what Blago has done to the people and history of this state . . . well, let's just say that I was VERY happy yesterday. I was beginning to fear that the man was invincible and that there really was no justice in the world, but an early morning raid on the governor's house changed my whole outlook on the situation. All of Illinois is breathing a collective sigh of relief. Last I heard, Blago's approval rating was at 6%--but isn't that usually the margin of error? I think the only person who approved of him was himself--and his wife (who will probably also be arrested in the near future).

It's funny to see Barack Obama scrambling like crazy to distance himself from Blago, but, hmmmmm, they look pretty chummy to me. What do you think?





On the news they've been talking about how corruption has been a mark of Illinois governors since the 1920s--but it actually goes clear back to the 1840s: Thomas Ford. My favorite comment I saw yesterday on the news stories was: "Hey Rod, 1982 called and they want their hairstyle back." :-)

But anyway, it is FREEZING here! Last night when I left the library board meeting, there was a freezing rain storm outside. There was a sheet of ice covering my car, and the problem with freezing rain is that it pelts and stings you while you're trying to dig out a hole from which to see through your windshield. Then by the time you've scraped off your windows, another layer of ice has formed where you started. The board meeting was very funny. My competitor didn't show up, but I know it's not Stanley Thayne because they said it is a girl. The thing my competition has going for her is that everyone knows her and she's lived in Athens for a few years, so we'll see what the board decides. They told me that they would let me buy the spot on the board--like Obama's senate seat :-)

Tomorrow I get to go home for a few days!!!! I can't wait to see everyone. I'll be doing three book signings:

• Saturday, December 13, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1770 Red Cliffs Drive, St. George, Utah
• Monday, December 15, 5:00-7:00 p.m., Sundancer Books, Springdale, Utah
• Tuesday, December 16, 4:00-7:00 p.m., Brigham Young University Bookstore, Provo, Utah

BOO-YA!!!!!!!!!

Mwwwaaaahahahahahaaaaa! FINALLY, some justice! The big news this morning--not just in Illinois, but all over the country--is that Governor Blagojevich was arrested by FBI officials this morning. Hallelujah! Hooooooooray! They finally built up enough evidence to bust him. The funniest thing is that the final straw for him was trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat. So, they've got him on trying to sell the senate seat, taking campaign money in return for political appointments, and doing some under-the-table dealing with the Chicago Tribune which declared bankruptcy yesterday. I'm watching CNN right now, and they're talking about how the former governor of Illinois is currently in prison--and now this. The reporter said, "What's going on in Illinois?" Hello!!! Corruption!! And people elected someone from this state to be President? But anyway, the FBI people snuck into Blago's house in Chicago this morning and arrested him. Hahahahahaha. His web of corruption is ridiculously complex, and hopefully everything will start coming out now. Unfortunately this is just a few weeks too late to stop the closure of the historic sites, but maybe, hopefully, things can get cleaned up. This is definitely the best news to come out of Illinois for a very long time.

Pet Parenthood

Just like people children, pet children sometimes need to go to the doctor. I am slightly traumatized after our first vet visit with Lily today (Lily is too). Just like most people children, most pet children do not enjoy doctor visits--especially shots. Lily has been sneezing a lot, and she started shooting out these rather large discolored boogies. So, it was off to the vet this morning. Luckily Greg was able to take us! Lily cried all the way to the vet, then she got really mad when the vet assistant stuck a thermometer up her bum to take her temperature (you can't blame her for being mad about that one). It turns out that she has an upper respiratory infection and a fever, so she got two shots (she did not like that part either), and the vet gave us some antibiotics to give her for the next few days. So that was traumatic enough, but then there was this cute little dog sitting in the front of the vet's office. She was shaking and looked very scared, and she looked at Greg and me with her huge doggie eyes. Her owners were petting her, but she was obviously quite distraught. I said, "Oh it's okay sweetie. Don't be scared." Turns out she had reason to be scared. She looked like she'd had quite a rough time--she'd had a stroke and had probably been hit by a car. When the lady owner took off the doggie's collar and the man owner who looked like he had been crying said, "I guess she won't be needing that anymore," Greg and I knew that the doggie was going to be put to sleep :-( It was so sad!!! I am now a totally traumatized pet parent.

Luckily Lily survived the scary vet visit, but she cried all the way home. I think she was afraid that we were taking her to some new strange place since the last time she was in the car was when we brought her home from the APL. So she seemed quite relieved when we got home. We were afraid that she would be mad at us, but she has actually been as cute and cuddly as ever. She likes to curl up right next to my face when I'm on the bed, and she'll lick my nose. She already seems to be feeling a little better. As you can see from the picture above, she's back to her old tricks like trying to climb the Christmas tree and open the presents.

The Spikes were very worried about their little kitty sister when we got home. I took her into our bedroom and shut the door, but Big Spike was outside of the door whining. So I let him in, and he jumped up on the bed and was sniffing Lily all over. Then he started to lick her face, and he's been playing with her all evening. The children are all curled up watching Monday Night Football right now.

I found out yesterday that I'm going to have some competition for the spot on the Athens library board of trustees! I guess that there is only one vacant spot, and someone else besides me was nominated for it. So, tomorrow I have to go to the Athens library board of trustees meeting and try to charm them with my love of books. The competitor is going to be there too, and after the board members meet both of us, they will choose between us. I think it's terribly funny that I am involved in this! I didn't try to be involved--it just kind of fell into my lap :-) I've decided that if my competition is someone really nice, like a cute older lady, I will tell them that they can just have the spot. But if it is someone like Stanley Thayne (maybe it will be Stanley Thayne? Since he seems to enjoy beating me at everything?), I will fight to the death for the spot :-) I have a feeling that tomorrow's library board meeting will be pretty funny, so I'll be sure to tell you all about it.