Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tell-Tale Closet Part II
Now it's your turn. Be sure to drop me a comment and let me know when to come and look!
I am still in Boston. Early tomorrow morning I will be flying out West, First class! Thanks Secret Agent Man. He and the kids will be sitting in Coach. Muwahaha! Er, I mean. Awwww....
When our plane lands we will be headed to "the river." If you are from that area, you know what I mean when I say "the river." If you are not, you might not know what river I am referring to.
Two days after we get back, I am headed to Portland! Woot and whew!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Knock, knock...



Thursday, July 17, 2008
What I wish someone would have told me before the Emergency Room
Tis’ a Flesh Wound
My son was jumping on the trampoline at my brother’s house. Bless their hearts, they made the effort to put the safety net around their trampoline. But, it was the metal stairs that lead up to the trampoline that my son cut his head on during a mad, three-kid-scramble to climb out. I was at work, my husband was at school, my sister-in-law did the right thing by calling us. Of course, we hurried over to their house to attend to our son. Although the cut wasn’t deep, it was bleeding a lot. We took our five-year-old to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, the bleeding had stopped. We weren’t concerned about a concussion because my son was lucid and his pupils were their normal size, but we thought that stitches might be in order. When we finally saw the doctor, he informed us that head wounds tend to bleed a lot because there are a lot of capillaries near the surface. He said that the cut wasn’t deep or large enough to merit stitches. The doctor asked the nurse to put Neosporin on my kid’s head and sent us on our way. That was the most expensive tube of Neosporin ever!
Don’t Leave Home without your Pharmacy
Our other son tripped a couple weeks ago in the backyard and broke his arm. He is not prone to drama or whining, so when he continued crying and agonizing, I knew something had to be broken. When we got to the ER, they immediately immobilized his arm. That didn’t seem to help with the pain much. They said they had nothing to offer him for the pain. What? Isn’t this an ER? After over an hour of waiting, x-rays, and a temporary cast was put on, finally some Tylenol magically appeared. The instructions were to continue giving him Tylenol or Acetaminophen for the pain, Ibuprophen was not recommended. Had I known that he could have Tylenol, I would have given it to him before we left that house, that way he wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
Yankee Doodle Out your Elbow
When my daughter was 3 and my sons were 5, they picked her up by her arms and legs and tried to swing her. She immediately started crying and holding her arm. Again, this child is not prone to whining or over-reacting, so when she continued crying and didn’t want to move her arm, we decided to take her to the ER. My husband, the Eagle Scout, created a splint for her. Keeping it immobile seemed to help a bit. Because we didn’t actually see what the boys did to her, we found out later through a remorseful confession, the doctor ordered x-rays, where they moved and manipulated my daughter’s arm as she howled and wailed like a chorus of love sick coyotes. It was awful to hear and to witness. When the x-rays came back clear, the doctor decided she had Nursemaid elbow. Basically he turned her palm up, pressed his thumb on the inside crease of her elbow and bent her arm. Voila, the crying and the pain immediately stopped. Then he repeated the procedure to show us how we could do it at home if it slipped out again. The instructions are on the web. Again, never at any point did they give her anything for the pain.
Up Your Nose with a Rubber Hose
During my jewelry making phase, I wasn’t as careful with my supplies as I should have been. Two-year-old Mini Me, on a couple of occasions, found the beads on the floor and shoved them up her nose. The first time it happened, Secret Agent Man and I ran circles around each other wondering how we were going to get that bead out. While we were stewing over what to do, she pulled herself up onto the couch, which took enough breath and exertion that she just blew it right out her nose. When we repeated the story to Grandma she reminded S.A.M. that Aunt Who’s-Its used to blow things out of kid’s noses by plugging the clear nostril and blowing gently in to the child’s mouth. The air would then force the bead or bean or whatever the offender may be right out. So, the second time Mini Me had a bead stuffed up her nose, obviously neither one of us learned our lesson the first time, Secret Agent Man swiftly blew it out. Aunt Who’s-It's technique worked like a charm!
I feel grateful our trips to the E.R. have been over minor incidences. I also feel grateful for the excellent care we have received. But, I think because of our lack of information and experience our kids have had to suffer and we have had to pay out more than we would have if we had armed ourselves with more information. I’m not suggesting that you don’t take your kid to the Emergency Room, I am suggesting that, we don't let embarrassment or fear of looking like a "bad" or neglectful parent keep us from sharing our stories with each other so that another family can benefit from or make a decision based on information and experience and not panic.
These are just our family's stories and our experience. If blowing into your kid’s mouth to get the macaroni noodle out of their nose, makes them go cross-eyed, don’t sue me because, as I said in the beginning, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
In case you are interested...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Tell-tale Closet


Got jeans?


Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Them Paynes know how to party!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Where this mom draws the line, Part Three: Orange Puffs of Death
Yesterday: Boy #1 broke is arm last night:( I will tell you all about that later. If you have never been through this, I have some advice for you.
Don't forget to scroll down to participate in my informal poll.
Monday, June 30, 2008
An Anniethology Informal Poll
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Saturday Selection from the Payne Family Photo Album


Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Anniethology De-Lurking Day

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Protecting the brand: Another thing I learned from Dolly Parton
The summer after my sophomore year in college, I met Dolly Parton. She was in Grand Junction to perform at Country Jam. I had a job as a waitress at the hotel where she was staying. Dolly's people told the breakfast shift that she would be coming down the service elevator in a few minutes and we could greet her as she came out. But, there were two stipulations, we couldn't approach her and we couldn't take her picture.
It would be years later when I would reflect upon Dolly's requests. I understand now why she wouldn't let just anybody take her picture. Dolly is protecting her brand. Did you know that she is on 3-foot-11? Okay, maybe a little taller, but she is short, on the verge of "little person" short. Most people don't realize this because she has protected her brand. Her brand of being blonde, big b**b-ed, and crazy talented. My favorite quote from Dolly is, "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"
Now that I appear regularly in the local paper, I feel the need to protect the "Annie Payne" brand. My editor kindly offers to have a photographer come out and take pictures for my articles, but I'm not sure how much they would appreciate me shouting instructions from in front of the camera.
"Not from that angle, THAT angle!"
"Okay, one more with teeth."
"Did you get my shoes?'
"Wait, let me move the plant."
"Can we do that again without the flash?"
Only family could still manage to love me after going through that kind of torture. Secret Agent Man is usually the unfortunate person behind the camera, but I have also used my 9-year-old son. For his young age and experience, he has a good eye for framing.
Here are a few of the rejected photos for my article this week:
No teeth.

Chunky arm.

What the kitchen really looked like.

Product obscuring the face.
This is the picture I finally chose. Teeth? Check! Shoes? Check! Looking like I actually use these cleaning products? Check!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"Parenting with Altitude!"

Monday, June 16, 2008
The Best of the Sunday Inserts 6/15/08

Friday, June 13, 2008
My Favorite Cleaning Tools

Sprayway
Microfiber Gloves
Telescoping Feather Duster
What are your favorite cleaning items?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
If I can live through just one more week...

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Annie's Mail Bag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ZimguGSrA&eurl=http://drewandjanaglass.blogspot.com/2008/06/go-archie.html
Have a great day!
Glittersmama
***************************
Glittersmama,
That was great! No, I hadn't seen it. The bumpy camera work makes me dizzy, but he sounds amazing. Would it hurt him to wear a tie for pete's sake? Who the heck is Pete? I sang this song as a solo once in church. I wasn't that good. I'm not a trained singer, I wouldn't even say I am good, but I am willing. When someone calls and says, "Will you sing?" I say "Yes," because I don't think you should say no. You know that whole beer under a bushel thing. Beer? Wait, it's lamp or light or something.
Thanks for sharing!
Annie
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Demystifying Feng Shui

That was two years ago. Since then I have studied, practiced, and watered-down Feng Shui to make it useful and practical for me and my home.
Feng Shui, pronounced fung-shway, is an ancient Chinese practice of utilizing the Laws of heaven (astronomy) and earth (geography) to improve one’s life by receiving positive chi or energy. Having more positive chi (pronounced chee) in your life means having greater prosperity, peace, and well-being.
My first inclination was that Feng Shui was just a bunch of ancient Chinese mysticism. I couldn’t understand how changing the position of my bed, keeping a goldfish or putting a rooster in my office, could make the least bit of improvement in my life; even so, I was skeptically optimistic. In order to get the most out of Feng Shui for myself, I had to look beyond the “voodoo” and superstition to find the practicality and wisdom behind this 4000-year old-philosophy.
Things as simple as putting a wind chime near my front door, adding more live plants and re-arranging my furniture to be more conducive to the flow of energy through the house has made a difference, not just in the look of my home, but how I feel about my home as well.
What I have begun to understand through Feng Shui is how my environment effects how I feel everyday. I realized that pockets of disorganization here and there in my home, like my closet, the kitchen junk drawer, and the laundry room, were sucking the energy and desire out of my life. I realized those areas were contributing to a feeling of being stagnant and not being able to move on to other tasks.
I know I am not alone in this. It’s important to understand that a home needs to be a place that energizes, inspires, and creates peace for all who live there. Sometimes you need to step back and ask yourself, “Am I depressed because my house is a mess or is my house a mess because I am depressed?”
I’m not talking about clinical depression; I am talking about feeling un-motivated, un-inspired, and listless when it comes to your environment.
When I started practicing Feng Shui, I couldn’t tackle every area in my home that bothered me at once. I wanted to keep it simple and take small steps. I decided to start at the front door.
I learned that in order to attract peace and prosperity, you have to create an environment that attracts good chi, or good energy, to flow through your home. Look at your front door. Is it hanging off the hinges? Is the walkway to your door obstructed by tricycles and footballs. Are there cobwebs and dead leaves? All these things send a signal to “the universe” that you are not ready for good things to flow into your life. You must make a clear path to the front door in order for good chi to enter freely into your home.
Does this sound a little out there for you? How about this? Make sure the path to your door is clear so the UPS man doesn’t trip the next time he delivers a package or the only thing “Brown” will do for you is send you litigation papers.
The Feng Shui philosophy also suggests painting your front door an attractive color. I have yet to apply this principle to my current home.
I asked my husband, Secret Agent Man, to paint the front door of our last house. I picked a dark color of red, which, according to Feng Shui philosophy, is an auspicious color for south-facing homes. The cleaning, prepping, and follow-up coats took up the better part of a Saturday.
As much as he adores me, he won’t be painting another door for me. So instead of painting my now north-facing door blue, I have opted to place an urn with pink New Guinea Impatients, my favorite flowers, next to my front door. I hope the universe will recognize my effort and send me good chi, anyway.
Here are a few more Feng Shui basics from the book, 365 Feng Shui Tips, by Lillian Too, to get you started on a more “Zen-like” atmosphere in your home:
· "Keep your bathroom doors closed. Negative energies tend to accumulate in the bathroom. Make it a household habit to keep all doors going to the bathroom closed."
· "Pictures of women in bedrooms cause problems. Remove all pictures of females from the bedroom. This includes glamorous women, paintings of nudes, and so forth. Their presence makes a marriage crowded." Annie’s note: For all the husbands out there, trust me on this. To all the wives out there, you are welcome.
· "Sound therapy for your space. Sound therapy inside the home is created by the use of wind chimes, bells, bamboos, and other natural sounds. The sound of flowing water will also attract vibrant fresh chi into your home. Make an effort to never leave your home silent for too long. When you go on vacation, keep the radio turned on as this is the best way to keep the chi flowing." Annie’s note: This is just a suggestion. Don’t send me the electric bill.
· "Throw out chipped glasses and cups. Chinese matriarchs are strict about this. Eating and drinking from chipped plates and cups not only is bad luck for you, but shows disrespect for your guests, also."
· "Removing negative chi from neighbors. For petty annoyances place a large urn of water with a wide mouth and a narrow base between your home and the neighbor’s house. For a stronger measure to deflect bitterness and hate, use a round mirror circled by trigrams arranged like a yin pa kua symbol. This powerful tool bounces back a thousand-fold whatever energy is being sent your way." Annie’s note: Or how about making your neighbors brownies and letting bygones by bygones?
For as much mysticism and superstition that is found in the philosophy of Feng Shui there are also practical and pertinent applications that can be used to enhance the home of even the most skeptical Feng Shui practitioner.
Now that I have created a little more peace and well-being in my home through Feng Shui, I am ready to see what else I can learn from the other Annie Paynes of the world.
Google me this, Google me that, is there another Annie Payne that can show me how to knit a yoga mat?
The preceeding was my latest article for the Home and Garden section of The Daily Sentinel, Western Colorado's Largest Newspaper.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Meatloaf knows, I won't do that

When I gave birth to my three children, I went from a being free-wheeling, fun-loving, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-capris kind of gal, who could hop in a car and go at a moment’s notice to a diaper bag-hauling, over-protective, sleep deprived, germaphobe with a Super Woman complex. Sound dramatic? Sound familiar? Click here to read more.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I've learned my lesson...
I will never bet my blog on anything ever again, until the next season of American Idol. I won't be deceived twice or thrice.
There are some happenings around the blogosphere.
This one is having a birthday!
This one is going through quite a change.
This one was the victim of a crime and is daring enough to post her weight.
This one, 28 years ago, had hair to envy! Don't worry, girl. What goes around comes around and when that style comes back, we are gonna be ready with our hot rollers!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Don't bet on a Mormon
I think what hurts the most is that I wrong. Read it again. I was wrong. I'm never wrong when it comes to A.I, except this time. I pride myself on being able to predict who will stay and who will go home. The producers set us up for an upset and I fell for it. I'm humiliated.
That's where I have been for the past few days, wallowing in my own humiliation. I could care less which David won, I just wanted to be right.
Thanks for all the nice comments. It's nice to know that if I actually had the guts to pull the plug, I would be missed. So, all of you who bet I would be back, you are right!
This is one Mormon you can bet on.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Anniethology on Idol: The Final Idol Whooz ur daddy?!


Monday, May 19, 2008
My new home in "Home and Garden"

Sunday, May 18, 2008
#1 on My Summer Book List
It's nice to be able to read strictly for enjoyment, again. My love for Bollywood as filtered into my choices of literature.

The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa

This picture could be a scene from the first few pages of the book.
I don't know what I am going to read next. I am willing to take suggestions. What are you going to read this summer?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
An Anniethology Ode to Trains.
Japanese Train Loaders.
Indian Train.
Train Wreck
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Anniethology on Idol: The Final 3
It's obvious to me who the American Idol producers want to win. They put their money into David Cook! I think, that they think, in order to keep American Idol relevant, David Cook needs to win this whole thing. Another "cute kid," like Jordan Sparks, can't win again or they will lose credibility.
David A. So cute, he is hard to criticize, but I saw something on Oprah yesterday that made it all clear for me. Oprah had on "the worlds smartest, most talented kids." She had on a young Philipino girl who could belt out Whitney Houston songs. Although she did an amazing job mimmicking the sound, it lacked the soul, feeling, magic, and life experience Whitney brings to her music. This girl was just a really good parrot.
Don't throw tomatoes, but I feel that at this point David A. is in parrot mode. When he is older, falls in love, get's his heart broken, pays for his own toilet paper, deals with fame, he will become an artist, not just a good singer. The long and short of it... he needs to mature.
Syesha does not want to be the American Idol. Tonight, she tried out for a Broadway show. That is why she picked the song she did. She doesn't want to be a singer, she wants to be an actress.
We should all give her the chance to do that.
Monday, May 12, 2008
My Mudders Day Gift

The Schwin Windwood, for the mom-on-the-go. Rad rubber boots and protective helmet sold seperately. Thanks Secret Agent Man. Thanks kids. Thanks Mr. Bush. I can't wait to add some way cool decals!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Dubya luv ya!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
More Hawaii pics
Dole Plantation Pineapple Train

Look! Pineapples!

L.D.S Chapel in Honolulu
Mini Me enjoying the Hawaii Mixed CD Wendy gave me.