One of the best feelings in the world is leaving at the end of your last day of work at a job, especially if it was a job you hated. Today was my last day of nannying for the Mickelsens. I didn't always enjoy cleaning up the messes they made or listening to them scream, but I'm going to miss my Mickelsen kids. So, I took some pictures of them to share the love. During the day, I played with, fed, and changed the diapers of Mauri, age 2, and Maymi, age 1. I also got to take care of the new baby, Mylei, for a little while the mom was back in the hospital. I didn't take any pictures of her, but she is very cute. Yeah, they have a weird "M" name thing going on with the females in their family (Mitzi, Matti , Maeli, Mauri, Maymi, Mylei). The boys have more normal names.

This is Mauri in the van I didn't enjoy driving.

This is Maymi. One of my goals was to get her to say her name, but this was as far as I got.

Ha ha ha

I thought I would share a joke that Dad and Janet told me. A guy in the ward went cross country skiing with Dad and Janet and told it to them. I heard that on the way home they were talking about how great this guy's truck was, and Dad challenged him to drive down Russell Street by our house where they don't plow. He did, and the truck got high centered. They had to walk home to get shovels and dig it out. That's funny, but that's not the joke.

A guy was in a really bad accident on Highway 51 yesterday. The whole left side of his body was gone. When the firefighters got there they said, "He's all right." A little while later the police showed up and they said, "Well, there's nothing left."

Finer Things Club

In my favorite TV show, The Office, Pam, Toby, and Oscar have a club called The Finer Things Club. In the Finer Things Club, you meet once a month to discuss books and art and celebrate culture in a very civilized way. The debate can sometimes be heated but is always respectful. No plastic, no paper, and no work talk is allowed.

I almost laughed out loud today when the enrichment leader announced that next month there would be an activity--a celebration of womanhood. It involved a tea party (no tea), petit fours, and polite conversation. I'm glad the Relief Society is also celebrating the finer things in life.

Mom's Birthday

We celebrated Mom's birthday on Monday. I made the terrific ice cream cake. There was a small problem getting the wax paper lining off the cake, but it was still delicious.

We had to light a lot of candles, and I was in fear of the ice cream melting. I realized after that I accidentally put two extra candles in. Sorry Mom! I know you're not 57.

Aunt Susan gave Mom the lovely amethyst brooch pictured.

The Counter

I added a counter to my blog to keep track of just how popular I am. You could start the counting at whatever number you desired, so I helped myself out by starting at 50, and then I viewed my own blog a few times. I almost chose the flaming numbers to make it more exciting, but when did I ever care about how exciting my blog layout was? So, I would appreciate it if you clicked on a link, then looked at my blog again. I like to feel popular.

Car Care FHE

Janet, Mom, and I enjoyed a classic Scoresby FHE on Monday. The lesson, taught by Dad, was about car care. This topic was mostly incited by Janet's inability to put windshield wiper fluid in the Saturn, in addition to a lack of other basic car care knowledge. For the lesson, Dad gave the following quiz. You should all take it to see your car IQ. You may also recognize some of the problems as things that have happened to family cars in the past.

For each of the situations describe what the problem may be and what to do to solve the problem.

1. Your car shakes slightly and shaking increases as your speed increases.
Diagnosis: Out of alignment, tire problems, tires out of balance
Treatment: Go to Wal-mart and get tires balances; get new tires; get car aligned (Wal-mart may not do this though)

2. Your older car won't start and it is the first morning you have frost.
Diagnosis: Old battery
Treatment: Get a new one (Wal-mart will install, so will most other car places)

3. The steering wheel pulls to one side of the road as you drive.
Diagnosis: Out of alignment
Treatment: Get it aligned

4. Black smoke comes out of your exhaust when you start it.
Diagnosis: Incorrect ratio of oil and air (Big problem)
Treatment: Tell Dad

5. Your car runs rough but runs smoother when traveling at higher speeds. (Metro 2007 from Wisconsin to Utah)
Diagnosis: Valve burned out
Treatment: Take it to car dealer and expect to pay

6. Your windshield wipers leave streaks when operating.
Diagnosis: Old wipers, ice or junk stuck to wipers
Treatment: Clean wipers, buy new wipers

7. Your oil light comes on.
Diagnosis: Low oil
Treatment: Put more in
Also, if you have dirty oil, change it
Note from Dad: Make sure you always have oil or it burns up the engine.

8. Hot temperature light comes on
Diagnosis: The car is hot
Treatment: Pull over immediately, even if you are on the Big Hill in Wyoming

Free response

What is the most important thing you can do to make your car last a long time?
Change the oil

How do you know when you need new tires?
Penny test (Stick a penny with the top of Lincoln's head in the treads. If you can see the top of the head, your treads are too worn.)
Also, if there is a lump in the tire that makes the car vibrate and threatens to blow, you need a new tire. You probably shouldn't drive to Salt Lake City on the tire.

How do you check the oil?
Pull out the dipstick, clean it, put it back in, and pull it out again. The oil needs to be above the low oil line, and below the full line. Note from Sarah: If your dipstick doesn't have lines, the little dots mean the same thing.


So, go out and take care of those cars! I suggested that maybe Loren should be a part of the FHE since he is driving a family car, but Dad suggested that he's a boy and can take care of a car without the car care FHE.

Sarah's life by numbers

My life has gotten pretty boring lately. I miss having anyone my age to do things with. I can play with Janet, but she has basketball and homework to do, so she's busy a lot. This pretty much describes what I do these days:

39 -days until my mission
21.5 -the average high during the month of January in Wausau
7.5 -kids in the Mickelsen family
280 -minutes of Janet's basketball games I've sat through
5 -kids in Valiant 10, the primary class I am permanently substituting in
5 -YSAs that go to Institute
6,473 -kilometers from Wausau to Lima, Peru
5 -number of meals I eat a day