Cox Chronicles

Baby It's FREEZING Outside

2009-12-10T11:47:00.005-07:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful and there's nothing delightful about it! The snow never melts, the wind chill cuts me to the bone, and it literally takes me hours to warm up once I'm inside. I'll admit I've become a little unconsoling with the weather, it puts me in a foul mood and I absolutely dread going outside. It takes every ounce of will power within my being to drag myself out of my warm, comfy bed in the mornings. Not to mention going to work because that implies I have to actually touch the frigid steering wheel which emanates the cold through my gloves. Ugh, and to think we have about 4 more months of this!

My Latest Drug

2009-12-09T12:55:00.004-07:00

I love you so much. You're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I remember about my day when I'm getting ready for bed. You make me happy! Just thinking of you makes me smile. You are so sweet and always there when I need you. You're like an addiction or a drug, I crave you at every waking moment......

Nightmare Before Christmas

2009-12-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

12 Drummers Drumming

2009-12-03T16:26:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful with two turkey dinners with both of our families.

Lance has been studying like crazy for finals. Yay, almost done with the first semester!

Our external hard drive died and we lost TONS of stuff.

My sister in law had her forth baby. He's so cute and tiny, they named him Peytin.

Its hard to eat healthy with holiday treats around all month long, despite my attempt at cooking healthy meals.

I have been working a lot more so I can pay Santa for gifts.

My sister was down for thanksgiving and we had a kids craft day with our nieces and nephews. We made foam puppets on a stick and put those capsule thing-ys in warm water so they could watch them grow. The kids loved it and I was exhausted.

It's freezing cold and doesn't show signs of stopping.

I've been making and completing jewelry orders left and right.

I saw New Moon with my sisters in-law. I wasn't in love with it but still love the books. I think I like the Twilight movie better but will still probably buy the movie.

I smashed my finger in my desk drawer at work. It really hurt.

We're still keeping our fingers crossed that a miracle will happen and Lance will start his apprenticeship. Right now its not looking good because of the economy.

And a partridge in a pear tree.

My Top 7

2009-12-02T12:24:00.005-07:00

Top 7 Reasons Why I Love the Holidays

1. I love studying and remembering the birth of the Savior. I love that nearly every home has a statue or figurine of the nativity and every primary or preschool group puts on a play reenacting it. Christ's love is particularly evident through other's selflessness and charity. Its humbling and warm to me.

2. I love the feel in the air. Not necessarily the cold, brisk wind but the feel of love and family. Work is taken off so families can be together, effort is made to strengthen relationships, neighbors and friends go out of their way to give to each other and like the decor I have hanging on my front door: all hearts go home.

3. Lance and I started dating shortly before christmas in 2004 so its a very sentimental time for us. We love to reminisce of our dating days and still go on specific dates each year as tradition during the season.

4. I love gift giving because I'm really good at buying things for Lance. I know what he wants before he realizes he wants it so its fun to watch his expression when he's opening gifts. Last year we didn't have a christmas because we had just moved back home and didn't have money so I'm looking forward to it this year, especially Lance's expression at what I got for him.

5. My favorite tradition was adopted on December 24, 2004 when we were dating. Each year the Cox's have a sing along where they bring out the huge book Readers Digest of Christmas Carols, and sing every song around the grand piano. No joke, EVERY song. I love it because his family is so musically talented and it moves me to tears. I think some of the most sacred and reverent music ever written about the Savior are found in christmas hymns and carols.

6. Christmas trees are absolutely beautiful! I love to turn off all the lights, get a warm blanket, and sit on the couch just staring at the christmas tree in silence. It's relaxing and nostalgic, I could stare at it for hours.

7. I love the yummy food! Juicy ham, warm pies, and I love the smell and taste of nutmeg which is my favorite spice and often used in holiday cooking.

Recent Drama

2009-11-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Weird sunday morning, check it out HERE.

Love/Hate Relationship

2009-11-17T13:04:00.004-07:00

Lance found this website which I have a love/hate relationship with. Go ahead, check it out for yourself. In fact I double dare you to try it and see what you think. We both wanted a way to monitor what we eat so we know what nutrients we are or are not consuming and what things we need to back off of. It's basically a food journal and it automatically tells you where you are at with calories, carbs, fat, protein, fiber, sugar, and sodium. It's quite an eye opener! I've been trying it out just for fun and find that my occasional dessert is not so occasional but rather with every meal. I'm a chocolate girl, what can I say? There's also a way to find out how many calories you burn while exercising, they give fitness tips, track your weight loss goals and monitors how you're progressing. I know there are all kinds of gadgets and software programs that are expensive to track all of this stuff but we like this website because its free. Try it out HERE.

Fall Bliss

2009-11-08T10:50:00.005-07:00

My dearest brother was married over the weekend to his sweetheart Lynn. It was such a beautiful wedding! The bride was gorgeous, the groom was head over heels, and everything in between was perfect. Unfortunately, the lighting was bad so my pictures didn't turn out very well. They are so happy and so perfect for each other!

Monster Mash

2009-11-01T10:47:00.010-07:00

Last night we held our annual Monster Mash party and it was to die for, muah ha ha ha ha! Ok so that was my evil laugh in text, take it or leave it. But we had a great turnout of so many friends and family and I enjoyed every minute of it! We had several black lights, strings of orange lights, and candles which lit the room with enough light you could see people but dark enough to be creepy. The one decoration/prop we invested in this year was a fog machine which added a nice touch to the creepiness. Thanks everyone for coming, we had a great time!

Here are every one's costumes, of course we wore the same as last year because costumes are expensive and these are the only ones we have. Besides that, I love mine and the kids were scared of me. As you can see, not many pictures of the adults because only a handful of the ones that came were in costume. What party poopers.

These are a few of our decorations which is a work in progress. Halloween decor is expensive so we did what we could on our budget. I made these little ghosts out of sheets and newspaper that Lance hung in the trees but unfortunately they look more like noose-hanging ghosts.
We had this guy in our computer room with the doors closed (french doors with glass). We turned the strobe light on him and he was a hit, the kids were all scared of him.With Lance working part time at both mortuaries we were privy to borrow this prop, a pine coffin. We thought about making a man and putting him in there but we thought that would be a little too real and freak people out so we just used a mask instead.
Our delicious spread of food: eyeball cookies, spider web cookies, mummy cookies, dirt cups, little smokies, cornbread, mexican platter dip and chips, and homemade root beer.

Sweet Gratitude

2009-10-29T15:22:00.003-06:00

I've had a rough couple of days for different reasons. Yesterday when I got home from work, Lance was busy in the kitchen doing dishes because he'd just put dinner in the oven for me. What a guy, I love him so much and that gesture alone made all the difference.

King Singers

2009-10-29T14:55:00.004-06:00

Since I wasn't able to go to Denver with Lance, I was very much looking forward to our Logan UT trip. The King Singers were in town and there wasn't a chance we'd miss their concert, it was SO good! This was my second time to one of their shows and I loved every bit of it. They all sing a capella and their voices are so crystal clear its unbelieable! We decided to make it a little get away for us so we booked a room at our favorite hotel, the Anniversary Inn, and stayed the night while taking time off work. It was so nice and relaxing! I love the Anniversary Inn. This time we stayed in the room Lost in Space which was so awesome with the black lights, outer space mural/painting, and a sort of space ship bathroom. Of course we didn't have the money for the hotel because we could have easily just drove the 3 hours back home but money can't buy time with my husband and it was definitely worth it!

Show Time

2009-10-25T11:04:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago was the annual Magichords Barbershop Show. It turned out really great and Lance's quartet, 4th Avenue, also performed. Sadly, the quartet is no more. The Dell call center here in Twin Falls closed and as a result, 500 people lost their jobs including TJ. Luckily he received a promotion in Nashville, TN so he and his sweet Emily have moved there. Kempton is leaving for school in January at BYU so he's also gone. It will be sad, they have the best time singing and getting together and we wives also have had many good chats while the boys were singing away. But one day I'm sure there will be a reunion. Sorry for the picture quality, we were sitting towards the back and flashes weren't allowed so I got what I could.

This is the chorus performing.

Practicing at Ben's house.

I thought this was a funny angle.

Summer Loving

2009-10-25T10:49:00.004-06:00

Towards the end of summer our Elders Quorum had a softball barbecue night. It was a BLAST! I had so much fun but somehow I forgot I had these pictures on my camera. Oops.

Look at all that good grub!

My niece Charity and her friends. They had a ball playing in the dirt

This is my oldest brother Joseph playing ball with his boys

I Need Your Opinions!

2009-10-15T17:13:00.003-06:00

I've had a few requests for matching mother and baby bracelets as gifts. So my question is: what do you think about the concept? Please vote above!

Let's Try Again

2009-10-13T15:29:00.003-06:00

Lance was supposed to go on a week-long trip to Denver the first week of October for labs, which he did go to.............for one day and then he got sick. Turns out it's more expensive to check out of a hotel early, return a rental car early, and change flights, than it is to stay in a hotel for a week with a rental car that sits in a parking lot. Who knew? Lance came down with a bad fever, aches and pains, a sore throat, bad headaches, the whole bit. I felt so bad for him. He was cooped up in a hotel room with nothing to do but lay in bed and be miserable. Poor guy!

Luckily his instructor is very nice and told him he could make it up on the next go-around which is this week. Once more, I have the house to myself which is very quiet and I can't seem to get used to it.

Scenario #1

2009-10-05T12:49:00.003-06:00

Somehow Idaho decided to fore go autumn and went straight for winter as we had the first snow fall of the season. I'm not a fan of the cold and especially not a fan of the snow. It's the fourth day of October and the temperature never got over 35 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrrrr, it's freezing!!!

Therefore I was very much looking forward to getting in a hot, steamy shower. I'm enjoying the hot water and washing my face when the power goes out. I think to my self, "Self, don't worry it's probably just a glitch and it'll come back on in a few seconds." About a minute passes by and I feel awkward standing in the shower in total and complete darkness. I turned the water off and decided to open the door to let in some light to finish my shower which I apparently wasn't coherent enough to realize it's 10pm and the sun went down almost 3 hours ago. I reached for the towel and in the freezing cold air stumbled my way to the kitchen to find the box of matches. I slipped on the linoleum floor because of the dripping water all around me but managed to light a tiny candle. At this moment I'm thinking to myself, "Self, it's a darn good thing Lance is not here to see this pitiful sight!"

Since I had just put out the fall decorations I replaced the coffee table candle centerpiece with fall stuff. But where in the world did I put that tray of candles that I moved just a week ago? I searched all over the house still dripping wet and nude, still stumbling over everything in the dark. I can't find them anywhere! I looked in every nook and cranny imaginable but they were nowhere to be found. I put the little candle down so I could squint around the room.............ahhhhh................... I found them over by the cedar chest. Victory!!! I quickly lit three large candles and carried the tray to the bathroom and placed it on the back of the toilet. Oh what heavenly light it was! But it still wasn't quite bright enough for me to shave my legs so I grabbed a bag of tea light candles and lit five more of those and placed them all around the sink directly in front of the shower.

I turned the hot water back on and finished my ever-so lovely shower. Just as I was dressed and ready to hang up the towel, the power came back on.

Oktoberfest

2009-09-26T20:49:00.004-06:00

Lance is in Denver for a week doing embalming labs and the like so I'm home alone with a million things racing through my head. I ask myself, what's a girl to do in a case like this to which my response would be found HERE.

However, this week is Oktoberfest and I have plenty to do to get ready. So, come on down and join me with the festivities and stop by my booth! Here's a little sneak peak at what will be there.

I'm Taking My Chances

2009-09-24T10:23:00.002-06:00

When we moved back home from Charleston I was sick seven times within five months which was the pits to say the least. Whether or not you agree with the pro and cons of it, Lance and I got flu shots yesterday. I hope it works because I really don't want a miserable winter again!

Best of Craigslist

2009-09-18T10:37:00.004-06:00

Lance found these on Craigslist and we got a kick out of it:

NEED SOMEONE TO HIDE EASTER EGGS IN MY APT WHEN I'M NOT HOME!
Posted April 7, 2009

I need someone to hide Easter eggs in my apt when I am not there! They are small and filled with candy! I would like to find them myself on Sunday! I am willing to pay! Serious inquiries only!

FREE, FREE, FREE!!!
Posted May 21, 2009

Ever want a good quality stump you can rest your feet on, relax on, or even eat your food on? Then we have the best item FOR FREE just for you. Today only come and get your free, newly removed stump. You even get the dirt attached for NO CHARGE. Just can't get any better than this. Please let everyone have a chance for this, serious inquiries only. Have a great day, have fun and keep shopping on Craigslist! (Click HERE for the picture).

GARAGE SALE ETIQUETTE
Posted July 20, 2009

Hello buyers and thank you for coming to our garage sale.

I know our newspaper ad and signs say that we open at 7 am, but if you arrive at 6:00, go ahead and ring the doorbell several times and peer into the windows until we answer. We'll open up early for you.

Feel free to show up with your unleashed dog, and of course, let him poop in the front yard. Our lawn-boy will clean that up later.

For your convenience, we've taken the time to mark everything with a price. But go ahead and keep asking, "How much do you want for this?"

In the mood for a cigarette? Come into the garage and light ion up. Grandpa doesn't mind if you blow the smoke right into his face. He's only on an oxygen tank. It's probably good for him anyway. And just leave the butts on the garage floor or flick them into the yard. We'll take care of those for you too. It's my mistake for not having an ashtray available.

And I know 25 cents is a fairly steep price. So let's haggle for 5 minutes about it. I don't have anything else to do today.

Also, pick up a bunch of items and then tell me what they remind you of. Be sure to tell me about every aspect of your life. Don't leave anything out. I'd love to hear all about you. And when you put the item back, just throw it in a completely different spot, upside down or just all wadded up.

Your McDonald's breakfast is going right through you, isn't it? Of course you can come in and use our bathroom. Be sure to look in the medicine cabinet for any prescription meds you might need. And there's some spray up in the window in case you drop a poop. Hope everything comes out ok!

Wow, you want to buy all of our grandmother's antiques and at our full asking price? Oh, but you don't have any cash with you. Well yes, you can certainly write us a check and then drive off with the merchandise! No worries. I'm sure you're an honest person. Next time, we'll try to be prepared and accept credit and debit cards.

As you leave, be sure to rev up the engine several times, blast the salsa music and then lay a scratch as you drive away. It's loud but oh so cool. Have a great day!

ACTOR NEEDED FOR EMOTIONAL ROLE. ONE DAY HIGH PAY
Posted April 17, 2009

My deceased aunt gave my two kids a cocker spaniel a few months back. The dog has been a terror and become overwhelming for me. I am a single father raising two young children. I cannot face telling the kids that the dog must go. I have found a good home for the dog, and just need someone to transport the dog, and play the villain.

Premise: You will be the dog walker hired by daddy (me) to walk Skittles. I will introduce you to the kids and you will tell them you are going to help Skittles get her exercise when Daddy is too busy to walk her. At that point you will walk Skittles to your car and take her to her new family 20 minutes away from my place. Then return holding just a leash. The story will be that Skittles broke free of the leash and took off. At this point prepare for crying, things to be thrown at you, and possibly cursing. My kids are young and dramatic, they're girls.

Pay will be $500. The job will take roughly 2 hours at best.

This job is ideal for an actor looking to diversify their role base, or someone who genuinely likes to make children cry. Acting experience is a plus, but not necessary. Please inform me of any prior experience in this kind of situation.

LIGHT HOUSE CLEANING NEEDED
Posted September 23, 2008

Need some light house cleaning. I'm pretty busy and not able to clean my apartment so I need someone to do some light work once a week or so. Here are some pictures to give a general idea. (This one you just have to see the pictures HERE)

BARBERSHOP!!!

2009-09-15T03:04:00.005-06:00

Hello, friends, this is Lance. I have come out of blogger obscurity to create a post on an ever important subject. What comes to mind when you think of Fall? Halloween, leaves, and Barbershop! The Twin Falls County Fair was a couple of weeks ago and my quartet, 4th Avenue, had the opportunity to wander around its grounds and sing to random people to entertain and embarrass them. Our repertoire included a tag line we sang outside of the public restrooms ♫Please wash your hands...♪

LtoR: Ben Pratt, TJ Eldredge, Kempton Cox, Lance Cox

We also have coming up our annual Magichords Barbershop show. It is entitled "Irving Berlin Goes Barbershop" and will feature the Twin Falls Magichords Chorus, 4th Avenue Quartet (us), Grandpa's Boys, Arioso from Boise and headlining is our guest quartet McPhly. You can see a video of them here. The show is on Oct. 10, at 7:30p at the CSI auditorium. Tickets are $10 adults and $9 students and seniors.
Below is a video of 4th Avenue. Sorry about the quality, it was taken by a regular picture camera and we were singing in a garage. Also sorry about the lack of movement...it had been a long day:)

Head Start

2009-09-12T15:00:00.002-06:00

I've had these autumn crafts for several years but never got around to making them until now. This is what I did on Labor Day besides the Demolition Derby. Fall is just around the corner.....

Define Generosity

2009-09-08T21:38:00.003-06:00

I would find myself very selfish if I didn't share this story. After my oral surgery the doctor said I needed to get a mouth guard so I called my dentist and it was $200. There's no way at this point that I can fork out $200 so I'm glad I just called. About a week later was the county fair which my work has a booth in, so one of my coworkers Jeremy called me and said, "There's a booth across from us that does mouth guards (as well as other things, mainly teeth whitening) and their cost is $75, do you want one?" I told him no, that was too much especially with Lance being in school, yada yada. He said, "Well name your price he said he'd do it for any price." I told him the most I could do right now is $25. Jeremy said there's no way that would ever happen and hung up but he called back about 5 minutes later and told me it's a deal, the teeth guy would do it for $25.

I got to the fair and met with the teeth guy, Andrew, who explained to me the procedure and made sure I understood the price was $25. He said that my other coworker, Rodney, who was standing there the whole time during this phone bartering between Andrew, Jeremy, and myself immediately pulled out his wallet and handed Andrew the $25. Andrew donated the remaining $25 so I could have a mouth guard to prevent future oral surgeries.

I immediately started crying because I was so touched and grateful for what they did. When you're a poor college student/family $25 might as well be $2500 and right then the money had nothing to with it, I was so overcome by their generosity and selflessness. I've never witnessed such an act of charity and benevolence before and I owe them a whole lot more than $25!!! Saying thank you is not enough, paying back the $25 is not enough, so I promise that not only will I do those two things but I'll also take $25 and give it in some way to someone else that needs it and hopefully it will mean all the difference in their lives as it has mine.

Expect Nothing and Appreciate Everything

2009-09-08T21:24:00.003-06:00

This evening as I returned home from enrichment, I find myself so filled and overcome with gratitude and happiness! Our meeting was about gratitude and we had two extremely wonderful speakers who uplifted and edified us. I'm so glad I went tonight because of all the things I learned and all the things I felt. Our first speaker talked about an accident that her little four year old daughter had and how touched she was that 2 days later, laying in agonizing pain, her daughter was the first one to thank Heavenly Father for the accident and the outcome. Our second speaker gave us her own thought of having three levels of gratitude. #1 is being thankful for everything that people around us do for us. #2 is expressing our gratitude by showing it through thank you cards or baked goods for someone, etc. #3 is showing our gratitude by the way we live our lives. For example, we pay our tithing because we're so thankful for all that we have both spiritually and physically. We take care of our bodies because we're grateful to have them and to be healthy. Of course she said it much more eloquently than that but it just popped and I had one of those "Ahhhh" moments. She also said that after her husband died, her motto would be, "Expect nothing and appreciate everything." I loved that.

Surprise Getaway

2009-09-03T21:00:00.001-06:00

As a surprise for my birthday Lance planned this weekend getaway trip together. He changed the date at least 3 or 4 different times due to schedule conflicts and my oral surgery, but I took a day off work and we drove to....................Hagerman? He told me it was about 45 minutes away so I thought we were going to Burley. What could possibly be in Burley is beyond me, but Hagerman instead?! For all you Charlestonians it would be the equivalent of going to Ravenel or Awendaw, what would possibly be there? So I just put my faith in him and kept my questioning opinions to myself until we reached our destination. Just a few miles past the tiny town is the Billingsley Creek Resort which is a quaint little getaway of a few cabins. We were the only ones staying there for the evening which was nice to have the whole thing to ourselves. This is a picture of our cabin.Back behind the main office is gorgeous landscaping and flowers. There's a creek that runs through it with a little bridge where you can walk across and sit on the swing together. That's exactly what we did all night, sat on the swing and just talked for hours while we marveled at the beautiful scenery. It was so great to be together for the evening and just talk about everything and anything.
Outside to the left of our cabin is a hot tub that is closed in on 3 sides. We were a little hesitant to use it because it was dark and there were a ton of bugs everywhere. As soon as we lifted the cover a huge, ginormous moth about 4 inches in diameter flew straight into the water, thankfully there's a little net thing so we just scooped it out. Now mind you it was really dark and there were dark spots all over on the bottom which we assumed were just rust spots. A little leaf blew down into the water and made me jump and then I see dark little tadpole looking figure swimming quickly straight toward me. I gasped which scared Lance and we both jumped and kinda freaked out. We're not scared of bugs or little creatures but it was completely dark and this thing was swimming straight for me! Since we just scooped out the mutantly huge moth we were still holding the net so we scooped up what ended up as a lizard and sent him on his merry way. We were a little wary to even sit back and relax in the hot tub for the next 20 minutes but it was a nice little adventure!We had such a great time and it was so thoughtful and sweet of Lance to plan it all for me. I loved every minute of it, especially the peaceful scenery and gorgeous little creek. I loved just sitting on the swing and talking for hours until it was too dark to see our way back to the cabin. Thanks Sweetie for the great getaway!

Girls Night with Christine

2009-09-03T20:08:00.006-06:00

My sister was in town for a couple of days which unfortunately she arrived the day of my oral surgery but luckily I had a speedy recovery so I didn't miss too much. We had a girls night with my mom and all my sisters in law. We had a scrumptious dinner and painted and decorated these cute little pumpkins. It was such a great night being together and relaxing and talking!

KoLei didn't feel too well that night but we're glad she came anyway.

This is one my finished pumpkins. I love these little googlie eyes in clusters, they're so fun!

Christine made this delicious cake for dessert. It's called Better Than Sex Cake and after she told my mom what it was called, I think my mom wanted to crawl into a hole. So funny!