Firelein tomFoolery

Cell Phone Saturday #4

2012-01-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yay for Cell Phone Saturday. Thanks Gigi for such an awesome idea!

I have a bunch today.....

incognito....

More incognito. Didn't know we were such celebrities around these parts did ya'?
I think he looks like an angry bird.

Haley's birthday cake. My regular camera died, naturally a few hours before cake time. So had to use the backup cell phone camera.

A recent project. This is for my sisters' friend. I'm not crazy about the color combination, but whatever floats your boat right?

And now, I'm trying to make a cute little applique' owl purse....

This is so handy, cause I can use your help!
Which one do you like more? there's four different sets of buttons in use for eyes, but I can't decide which I like the most.

What do you think?

Weekly goals-Week 2

2012-01-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

So, it's Monday, and I'm due to report in about last weeks first goal.

I was supposed to clean out my fridge. I just got around to it this morning.

Here are the before shots...

There was still turkey and cheese balls in there from Christmas!

this was my sink before.....

and after.

Much better. Now I just need to hit the grocery store!

On to this weeks project.

Meet my closet.

eek!

my side->

It's really a wonderfully big closet!! That was definitely one of the selling features of our new place. There's also another walk in closet in our bathroom. I love the storage space!!

<-Jon's side

But, I'm not loving this mess. This is pretty much the remaining spot where I still have to finish unpacking boxes and figuring out the set-up for my junk.

I need my side to not only house my clothing and shoes, but also most of my craft supplies. I have pictures, and scrapbooking stuff, beads and of course fabric and sewing stuff to stash in here. I'd like it to look nice when I'm done. So, I guess I'll work at it the same way you eat an elephant. A bite at a time. I think if I spend an hour in there (at least) every day this week, then come Monday morning it'll look fabulous!

Hope I don't get lost in there!

My first official NON-birthday!

2012-01-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

Cell Phone Saturday #3---BROTHERS

2012-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

(Thanks for the sweet Birthday wishes for Haley from yesterday everybody!)

some days, these two just melt my heart.

<3<3<3

Happy Saturday!

Birthday girl....in da house!

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Haley is ten years old today!!!

Ten things about Haley:

1. She's smart!

2. She's sweet!

3. She tried karate last year, but decided it wasn't for her.

4. She wants to try out softball.

5. She's such a tomboy that she didn't want to take my boys to the bathroom at the store last month. She thought people would think she was a boy going into the ladies room.

6. She likes Star Wars.

7. She likes to play video games with her dad.

8. She loves cheese. True story: when she was like two years old, I found her eating right off the block of cheese that she'd found in the fridge.

9. She's a great friend to everyone.

10. She's SO helpful. Her teachers just love her, they say she's a little leader in her classroom, always helping the other kids keep on track. She's helpful at home too. She really takes responsibility for our puppies, feeding them most nights and taking them for their walks.

Love this sweet girl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HALEY-LOOYAH!!

Weekly goals

2012-01-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

I've still got resolutions on my mind. What about you?
The them in church on Sunday was Resolutions and goals, and some really great points were made. One thought was that a goal not written down is just a wish. Another thing I took from the talks is that it's ok to make a ton of resolutions, even if they don't all get accomplished. Maybe it won't happen over the course of one year, but over the course of your lifetime instead.
I kind of came away from the meeting thinking that I haven't resolved to do enough this year. crazy!

There IS a mile-long list in my head of things I need/want to do better. I think I'll start writing those down and checking in frequently to help myself remember them and check my progress.

An idea I had though is to make one little project-goal each week. Just one thing, maybe something around the house that I've been putting off, or perhaps something to do with my kids to improve our relationships.
Off the top of my head, several things pop up:

organize my closet
create/organize my craft space
clean out the fridge
create some inventory for my etsy shop
get my laundry ALL CAUGHT UP
spend some one on one time with each of my kids
create a budget
get the family photos organized/work on scrapbooks

So many things I need to take care of. Those are just a few. If I can pick and accomplish one thing each week, then by the end of the year I'll really feel like I've accomplished something.

I think I'll start posting about these things on Monday's.

So what should I do this week? Honest to goodness, I'm feeling kind of crappy right now (caught a head cold) and don't feel like doing anything, so this week's needs to be super easy.

The fridge. That'll be it for this week. I'm going to get that fridge cleaned out and cleaned up.
This one will probably be a recurring goal each month. Funny how the fridge gets so messy so fast.

Cell Phone Saturday #2

2012-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

These two first pics are brought to you by Target. sorry, I forgot to turn them the right way, but it doesn't really make a difference.

These are being sold as artwork, I think the price was $19.99 each.

Reminds me very much of the grid thingy that goes on the front of a fan that they've just painted a design on.
If I really liked it enough, I could save myself the $20 and create my own.
But, I don't really like it enough.

The next two were in my cell phone for a while now. But here is one of Haley's big accomplishments from last year.

She finally learned how to ride her bike. Yay Haley!!

What pics are still in your cell phone?

Thoughtfully Random

2012-01-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

In church Sunday, a gentleman bore his testimony and mentioned a scriptural reference from
Mosiah 2: 6 "And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;"
Of course I forget exactly what he said, but the point was essentially that we need to face the Lord. That we should symbolically turn our houses to face the Lord. He was so much more eloquent in his thoughts than I am being, but; the reason I mention it is that I've been trying to figure out why I was so stunted last year and I really feel like it had a lot to do with the apartment we were living in. I don't usually give much thought to Fung Shui, and you know, if there's a certain way things should be laid out. But here's something interesting to me. Our apartment faced away from the temple, and it faced away from our wardhouse. Our new place faces both. Our old house, which I do miss, and where I was really pretty happy also faced both the temple and our wardhouse. It happens to be a north east direction we're facing at the moment. Don't really know if that's supposed to be good or not in all that fung shui mumbo jumbo, but I do know I'm much happier in our new place which faces the Lord's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another random thought/epiphany I had a while back had to do with our Father's love for us. I was just kind of wondering how on earth He can possibly know and love every single person on this planet, both living now and since creation and who will yet live. I mean, that's a lot of people! How can one love that much? And then of course, I thought to how I felt when I was pregnant with my second baby, and then with my third and fourth. I remember wondering how I could ever love this little stranger as much as I loved the child I already had. How is it even possible? But then when they're born, your heart just expands to take them in. It's amazing, and yet so natural. Your love just grows with each new addition. It must be the same with God. Each child He has created has just expanded His love that much more. And when your heart expands billions and billions of times----well, is there anything bigger than that?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
last, but not least.
This one is also from church on Sunday.
An analogy shared by the mother of a missionary in our ward (hopefully I don't wreck it, trying to remember it all):

Imagine that there is a terrible, terrible virus that is spreading around the world, and literally killing every person on the planet. Scientists are testing everyone's blood to try to find a cure. It's your families' turn and they find that your son has pure blood. He is the answer they've been looking for.
Imagine that he is asked to please donate his blood so they can create a cure for this virus.
You are there in the room with him where they are to draw the blood and they ask you to sign a form authorizing them to do the procedure. On the line where it says how much blood they are going to draw, it is blank. You ask how much blood they are going to take and they tell you they need all of it. You look at your son and of course he agrees to sacrifice his life to save the world.
Now imagine that there's a yearly memorial for your son. Would you be angry as you look around the room and see people behaving with very little regard for the great sacrifice he had made for them, or would you be so happy to those who behaved with gratitude and reverence for his gift?

This was so touching, and I think I'll be thinking about it Sunday when I partake of the Sacrament.

Wordful Wednesday

2012-01-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

January 11, 1997

(we came to Vegas to see Metallica in concert--we ended up doing this instead)

Best change of plans--ever!!

Happy Anniversary to that most wonderful man of mine.

A Healthy Challenge

2012-01-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, I must be crazy.
I've been off the bloggy wagon for most of last year and now suddenly I'm jumping back in. Maybe it's just cause it's a fresh year or something.
When I say I'm jumping back in, I mean head first without looking to see if there's any water in the pool.
As in, trying to maintain more than one blog at a time again.
I have like seven blogs that I mostly don't do anything with. Such a silly girl.

But, I've been needing to get back on track with my weight loss goals. I had pretty good success two years ago doing the Ladies Olympic Challenge (blog has been deleted), and I really want to start up something like that again. I tried doing a similar challenge last year, but just never really got into it. So, what I'm trying to get around to saying is that I'm starting up my own challenge over here at this blog: A Healthy Challenge.
The challenge is basically just a 30 day period of time in which I'll try to make some better choices, follow the points guidelines and try to rack up the most points to win. In so doing, I'll hopefully make some new healthier habits that'll stick around.

I'm telling you all, because I need supporters or compadres. Anybody interested in trying to get a little more healthy this year? Interested in a little friendly competition? How about a gift card if you're the winner?
I'm willing to put up 25 of my little ol $$$'s as a starting point.

Even if you're not interested, if you know someone who might be, send them my way. I really need someone to be accountable to!

Cell Phone Saturday

2012-01-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

The simply faaaaabulous Gigi has started posting some of her cell phone pics on Saturdays, and has invited us all to do the same.
I think it's a great idea. What better way to do something with all those random shots from the cell phone?

Here's a few from mine:

oh, yeah. My cell phone is dead.

Well, here are a few from the archives.

this one I took last year sometime. I took it so I could post the story to go along with it, and then never got around to it. So what better time than now??

Well, here's the story. And please forgive me if it gets a little 3x rated here. Jason was doing something down there in the nether regions of his little boy parts.
I asked him if he had to go potty, and he said "no, I'm playing with my woody."

um,

what does a three year old (at the time) know about that?

"you're what?" I exclaimed.

He held up his Woody....

oooooohhh! Playing with Woody.
Glad we cleared that up.

This cute little surprise arrived on our doorstep bright and early the morning of Ashley's birthday this past October. From her Young Women's leaders of course. I took the pic to post something about it either here or on Facebook, but was in such a blogging funk I never got around to it.

So sweet! Literally.

And, just a pretty sunrise shot I captured while waiting with Ashley for her bus one morning.

One of only two good things about getting up that early in the morning is getting to see the sunrise.

The other is spending a few precious minutes with my precious daughter.

Have a happy weekend!

Random pictures I thought I'd post

2012-01-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

Been plugging away on the new place. Puttin' up pictures and trying to arrange things just so.

I love my new dining room space.

It's so nice to have an actual, separate dining area again.

I have missed it.

It's not actually a separate room unto itself. It's attached to the kitchen.

But, that makes more sense than having it attached to the living room as it was in the apartment.

Anywho....

Put some pictures up this week.

I actually want this to be sort of a collage wall of family pics and family themed items.

This is what I've done so far.

I need to find a really cool letter "F".

I tried making one the other night after seeing something on pinterest.

\|/

My letter F didn't come out so great.

We'll call it a work in progress.

Maybe I should try this instead.

But that might be a few too many nail holes in our rental's walls.

I love Merrianne's prints.

I ordered a couple from her before we moved, and I've been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get them up on the walls.

She did this ^ really cute

subway art family print.

Love it.

And she made this sweet one for my kids' bathroom, she created it especially for me per my request.

She's awesome to work with. She'll bend over backwards to get your order just right. She's also currently producing the cutest bottle top pendants.

In other news, I've been trying to get my creative on.
I saw a great tutorial for a cute braided tee shirt scarf, again on Pinterest.
I made a couple for my nieces for Christmas and forgot to take a pic.

Made one this evening for my daughter's friend's birthday tomorrow.
I hope she likes it.

I like the last one best, it's wrapped around twice. Looks better.

I need to get busy creating stuff for my Etsy store. It's looking pretty bare.

I need to make a purse for my sister's friend first, and possibly a scripture tote to donate to our church's service auction in February. And then, I can start creating some inventory.

Guess I need to spend a little less time on Pinterest.

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

I don't do very well with resolutions. Probly shouldn't make any, but if you don't set any goals for yourself then you're not going to achieve anything right?

As usual, there are so many areas I need to do bettter in. Most of them are the same areas I've been working on for the past twenty years, and when I say working on them, I mean not really putting much effort into the cause.

Anyway, this year I resolve to do the following:

First and foremost, keep JOY as my mantra for the year. Jesus first, then others and then myself. This includes everything from personal prayer to scripture study to improved service. I'm hoping to just check off this little list each day. Before I get to do anything for myself, I'm going to take care of the other two priorities first. First the Lord, then my kids or hubby, or whoever else is there at that moment needing something from me. I think the lovely thing about the O for others is that it stands for others and not EVERYONE else. So, I can get my kids their bowl of cereal in the morning after saying my prayers and then I can focus on me for a minute--maybe get in that desperately needed workout or shower.
lose the weight I've gained back in the last 18 months. So irritated with myself for gaining back that 30 pounds. I mean, why did I even bother in the first place if I was just gonna get lazy and let it all creep back on? So, thirty pounds over the course of the year. Totally doable. Portion control and exercise. That's how I did it last time.
Cut out the soda products. This may be the hardest one for me. Au revoir Pepsi! I shall sorely miss thee!
Save money/stick to budget. enough said.
Simplify---I just have too much junk! I need to work on weeding out all the unnecessary stuff from my life. I also need to learn to relax a bit, and recognize that sometimes the simple things in life are enough.
Set some reading goals for the year. There are some books I want to re-read, and some classics that I've just never gotten around to. This year I want to tackle that list of books.

And that's more than enough I think.

What are your resolutions this year?

Finding JOY

2011-12-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

2011 was one heck of a year for me. Probably not my best.

I started the year out losing my job, and it went downhill from there.
In March there was my car accident.
It took me six months to find a job. A job I'm not overly thrilled to have.
I am really starting to feel old and grumpy. Seriously, my body is beginning to betray me, and I'm such a sourpuss all the time.
I've really suffered a bit of a setback to my self esteem this year...between being out of work, and starting to feel my age.

I haven't experienced much joy this year, or so it seems when I look back. It was just kind of a downer.

Seems kind of lame to say that I haven't experienced much joy when I have four beautiful children and one very loving husband who all bring me joy every day.

Let's see if I can turn this around.

I lost a job that I wasn't overly thrilled with at the time and got to enjoy six months off, with pay. (66% of my previous income, but hey! that's not horrible). That's more time I got to spend with those four gorgeous kids and that sexy man o' mine.
Totalled my little 5 passenger car, but got a 7 passenger mini van out of the deal--not bad.
I opened up my Etsy shop. I've only sold two items on there, but it's something I had been wanting to do, and being out of work for that long kind of gave me the impetus to do it.
I have a job. In this economy, that IS a blessing, and perhaps it's teaching me something, to have to endure the inconvenience of not really liking my job. Maybe it's teaching me about endurance.

I'm not sure what there is to say about those other two items. I'm not sure why I'm so irritable all the time. No, I take that back. I do know why...because I'm tired. That's just one of the perks of my schedule. I'm sure that my inactivity, which is due in part to being tired is the reason I'm feeling so old as well. I know what I need to do to remedy this situation...sleep better, eat better, get more exercise. Hopefully two out of three will make a difference. I'm not sure I'll be getting much more sleep until Jason and Justin start first grade and I can get a day job. But getting back in the saddle with eating better and exercising are part of my New Years resolutions.

SO ANYWAY, what am I trying to get at? Why has joy been so elusive for me this year? Maybe because I haven't been looking for it? Maybe because I have let the basics REALLY slide. Personal prayer and scripture study have really taken the back seat this year. My resolution last year--to dedicate the year to the Lord was pretty much a failure. I can't say I behaved in a very worthy manner most of the year.
I've been angry. How can joy abide in the presence of anger? Better question: Would anger abide if I was more focused on the basics--scriptures and prayer? Would it abide if I took a little more time to seek out joy? To focus on my blessings? I think we all know the answer.

I heard the coolest thing from one of my visiting teachers this month. I have these plates on my wall that spell out the word JOY. She was admiring them, and mentioned a recent lesson in relief society on the subject of joy (I don't get to go to relief society these days, I'm in the nursery).
One of the cool things mentioned in the lesson was how joy is obtained: Jesus first, then Others and then Yourself.

J e s u s
O t h e r s
Y o u r s e l f

You've probably all seen that before, but it was the first time this was pointed out to me, and I LOVE IT!

So, I'm making this my word/theme/mantra for 2012.
I'm setting my priorities straight and seeking joy, and there's the formula-->Jesus, Others, Yourself.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2012 is better all around for everybody.

love,

Christmas week recap #4 Christmas Day and present overload!

2011-12-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, last one. Thank goodness, go ahead and say it!
Chrtistmas day was lovely.
We were truly spoiled this year.

That's a lot of presents! I feel truly embarrassed about this. There were sixteen presents under the tree before Christmas Eve even got here. Four for each of the kids, from the church. We were deemed a family in need this year. For Thanksgiving we received a turkey and all the trimmings as well. We had already purchased what we needed for dinner, so we saved the turkey for Christmas, and I am truly grateful for the church's support, although I really feel like maybe it could have gone to someone who needed it more. Maybe everyone feels like that when they receive charity. Things have been really tight, don't get me wrong. Being out of work half the year, and now working reduced hours is cutting into what we're used to getting by with. Two weeks ago, I was seriously stressing about how I was going to pay off my layaway's and have anything under the tree for my kids. But, we are seriously so blessed. I received our security deposit refund check in the mail that week from the old apartment. That paid for Christmas. It couldn't have come at a better time and I was weeping with gratitude as I looked at that check. I believe wholeheartedly in tithing, but I haven't been paying it because Jon has asked me not to until things get better financially for us. It goes against everything I believe not to pay it, but I feel I need to honor my husbands request. And still, the Lord has blessed us! I just feel so ....undeserving.
My momma gave me some good advice though, she suggested I just pay it forward next year. DEFINITELY!

So, anyway, here are a few of the favorites I thiink.

Best present ever for the boys. These are going to keep them entertained for hours (or so I hope)!

Haley's favorite--beyblades.

And Ashley's favorite...duct tape.
She also got the haircolor she has been begging for. She's now sporting blue-black hair.

(not as horrible as I was expecting it to be.)

I actually like it.

Hope your Christmas was truly Blessed.

Christmas week recap #3 Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

We went to Jon's brother's house for Christmas Eve. Laura was cooking up some deliciousness for us!
She is an awesome cook, Laura's on the left, her sister Lisa is on the right.

She'd been slaving all day on the meat fillings and sauces for tamales. I LOVE tamales.

We have never actually made tamales. So it was fun to see how it's done, and help with the process.

Ashley, prepping tamales. She's a pro now.

Laura's mom Susan, shredding pork. Time consuming work!

...watching the game and waiting for supper.

Uncle Brad (on the left), and Jordan possible future son in law.

Uncle Brad and Jason

nice cheesy smile from Jon!

cousin Julia, just got braces!

Uncle goofy

me and my boys (they were getting a little tired at this point).

Cousins, Alicia, Julia and Ashley. Aren't they gorgeous?

Jordan and Eddie (another wonderful cousin)

Jordan and Alicia sharing some love

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and evening with Brad and Laura and their beautiful family.
They began the present overload for my kids. Seriously, they spoil us so badly every year.

Back at home, everybody got to open one present before bedtime.

The traditional Cristmas jammies.

Do you do Christmas Eve jammies too?

Christmas week recap #2--Baking Edition

2011-12-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

So, we spent alot of Friday baking up some goodness.

This cute little pic is actually something my sweet nieces, Alicia and Julia brought over for the kids to decorate one night. Auntie Laura made the cute Rice Krispy Treat Christmas tree, and the kids decorated it.

sweet!!

Friday, we made fudge and cookies.

I love this tip I figured out! I'm sure, everybody in the world does this already, but it just occurred to me after seeing them use this handy dandy little tool at a candy shop for just this purpose. I have struggled over the years trying to cut my fudge with a knife. It just gets sticky really quickly or whatever. But that handy dandy metal spatuala thingy makes the perfect cutting blade for fudge. Love it! I just feel like a moron for not figuring it out sooner.

These are yummy.

Crispy melt-away cookies with cream cheese frosting.

(Merrianne's recipe)

(see those ones on the left? Somehow my oven got turned way up! Funny how a little thing like oven temperature can alter your finished product.)

And what I call Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies (more commonly known as peanut butter blossoms I believe)

Ok, seriously. I've seen other recipes for this cookie and they're just TOO MUCH trouble. A whole list of ingredients.
This recipe is THE BEST ever because it's so simple! I'm going to share it with you....

3/4 cup peanut butter ( I like to use the crunchy kind)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

mix this together really well and add

2 cups of bisquick
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix that really well. You're gonna have a sticky glob of yumminess.
Roll into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
Roll the balls in sugar and set on your cookie sheet.
Bake at 375* for 5 to 6 minutes.
Press a Hershey's kiss into the cookies as soon as you pull them out of the oven.
Let em cool, and enjoy!

What's your favorite Christmas recipe?

Christmas week recap#1

2011-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

So, since I haven't blogged in like forever; I thought I'd inundate your readers with posts today.

Here's a little Christmas catchup from my family to yours.

Boredome buster number 2 last week was the Ethel M. Chocolate factory here in Henderson.

We've been there several times over the years, but I think it was the first trip for the boys.

posing out in front of the factory before we went in

It was so nice to actually see them making stuff for a change. In the years past whenever we've gone, those conveyor belts have been empty and barren.

look at those bins of chocolatey goodness....

It's a very short tour really, but you get a sample at the end, and then of course you get to visit their shop.

look close, you can see chocolate dribble on Justins chin...

Outside the chocolate factory is a huge, beautiful cactus garden. Ethel M lights it up every year at Christmas.
We walked through and admired the beauty of the desert, and captured a few prime photo ops.

I thought this was just too pretty. A saguarro skeleton. I took a pic of the description for your reading pleasure.

We went back later in the week to see the garden all lit up. It was quite lovely. But dang! Was it cold!

another photo op with the kids and an extra cute little guest that we took along with us.

Hope you had a lovely Christmas week!

The homes on Gingerbread Lane

2011-12-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

Figured I'd put in an appearance over here in blog land.

I really can't believe just how fast Christmas has crept up upon us.

I mean seriously.

Where did 2011 go?

I have quite a bit of time off this week, and since the kids are out of school, I've been hoping to do a decent job of involving them in some fun activities that hopefully don't cost an arm and a leg.

I've been trying to think back over the past few years and pinpoint traditions that we've kept for the holidays.

I'm not sure if there's any one thing we've done consistently over the years, but a few of our favorite Christmas activities have included looking at Christmas lights, baking, taking the kids to shop for presents, visiting the Magical Forest here in Vegas, and perhaps the occasional craft.

Tonight we made gingerbread houses.

It was fun, and just a wee bit messy.

Haley's masterpiece.

Ashley's....

( I just love how two points of the star behind her head were in the exact position a couple horns would be in. Eerily significant!! lol

Proud little artist.

Perhaps the messiest crafter. He just wanted to keep adding to it.

A closeup of Jason's completed house. Lots of marshmallows!

Justin's

Ashley's, sadly after the roof collapsed.

and Haley's. I'm digging those chocolate hedges lining the walkway.

And of course, I had to try my hand at it too.

Fun, fun, fun.

Why is it that they don't really taste quite as good as they look?

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

Catching up is hard to do!

2011-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Just some quick pics to play a little catch up into our life lately.

I believe my last post was about this lovely birthday girl...

Let me share with you some of her twisted little personality.

She got a fun little kit for making special effects makeup. Here's one of the things she had fun creating...

Seriously, she didn't cut herself. It's like food coloring and karo syrup I think. Completely edible.

Yum!

Here she is after playing with some of her Halloween make up...

Remember her pretty blonde hair????

Yeah, I caved.

She wanted to dye it black.

I thought that was a little extreme, but figured she could start out as a brunette, and kind of ease me into it. lol

I figure if the worst she wants to do is color her hair, then go for it. Better than a tattoo or body piercing.

I miss her pretty blonde hair though.

sigh

She wanted a graveyard birthday cake. I'm not sure if you can tell that's what this is supposed to be. I thought it was a little morbid writing rip Ashley on a birthday cake for my thirteen year old, but she got a kick out of it.

crazy girl!

And of course, there was Halloween.

Meet Deputies Jason and Justin...

(they really don't look very happy do they?)

And of course, cowgirl Haley.

They really did have a good time over the course of a week or so. I think they got to dress up three times beteween the ward's trunk or treat, our apartment complex's Halloween bash and of course the big night itself.

So, that pretty much sums up October. Now I just need to make up for July, August and September!

It's official! Let the fun begin.

2011-10-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

I canNOT believe I now have a teenager!

Yup, thirteen years ago today, this little girl entered our world.

My, how thirteen years have flown right by!!

You're not a little girl anymore!!!

Ashley is pretty awesome.
She rocks some amazing talent.

Look what she created on the computer....

She loves anime', and is currently perfecting her ability to draw it. This blew me away, because I just think it was amazing she created this on the paint pad on the computer. Wow!!!
Ashley is in love with vampires and werewolves and zombies. She likes to play with make-up, but not in your typical teenager kind of way. She likes special effects makeup, and so likes to zombify herself. I'll have to post a photo one day. I'm thinking I'll let her do all of our Halloween make-up this year.
Her favorite group is My Chemical Romance, and she's dying to dye her hair black. I'm still debating the issue. I might let her go brown. We'll see.

Happy, Happy Birthday to my amazing and talented young woman. I'm excited to see what the future holds for you Ashley. But, I'm in no rush!!!!

Just two things....

2011-10-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

One.

The first turned leaf of the season (at least the first one to fall on my doorstep).

And two.

I just adore those freckles (not to mention the cute little face that goes with them)!

Happy Monday

(that's like an oxymoron isn't it?)

thoughts on home decor

2011-10-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

I canNOT wait to move! We put our application in for the condo on Friday. The lady called yesterday and said everything looks good. I'm super excited.
Now my mind is spinning with ideas to decorate the new place. The kitchen isn't huge, but there's definitely more space than we have in the apartment. It's got pot shelves, which I love. We had them in our house, but the apartment doesn't and I've missed not having them. I love decorating them for the holidays. We'll be moving in in early December, so I'm pretty sure Christmas decorations will be the first thing I unpack. lol

The dining room wall is what I've been thinking about a lot lately. I think I want to do some kind of collage with family photo's and "family" themed things. I've seen those awesome letter art items on various websites

Saw this in my email this morning, and I'm seriously thinking I love it:

What a great deal! It's only available til Friday though, so click on my linky here if you want to take advantage of it: http://www.broadcastbloggers.com/deal.php?i=96&a=1068803

I think I would love the family one in my dining room, and I like the idea of the love one over my headboard in the bedroom.

I think the thought of moving is rejuvenating me. I feel like I'm finding some sense of purpose again. I have been missing it since we moved.

a little help, please!

2011-10-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, I have a little dilemma....

Hopefully, at the end of November we will be leaving this dive we call home. Ok, it's not really that bad, it's just too small. I hate not having a bigger kitchen, a separate dining area and a few other little things about this apartment.

Someone from church is moving away about the same time and they want to rent out their condo out for considerably less than we're currently paying (our rent here will jump $200 when the lease is up--there is NO way I'm gonna' pay more to be unhappy!). So, it will work out perfectly.

The condo is still an apartment (and on the THIRD floor--yikes!), but it's SO much nicer than this place. So, I'm uber excited at the prospect.

Here's my current dilemma.
I need to start packing up the stuff I'm not gonna' be needing.

So, I'm going through stuff, trying to weed out more unnecessary items.

Enter these two little characters:

These little girls were given to me after the passing of my grandma(s).

I think each one is from a different grandma, although I can't even remember for sure.

I don't love them.

Any other thing, and it would be no problem. Into the donation box you go.

But, they're really the only little memento's of my grandma's that I have.

They don't necessarily remind me of my grandma's--other than I know they belonged to them.

So do I get rid of them, or hold onto them?

Opinions please.

are those sharks in the sky?

2011-10-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Got up to take Ashley to the busstop this morning.

She pointed out the the clouds looked like triangles...

trippy right?

I thought they looked like upside down sharkfins.

a whole sky full of them.

I wonder what makes them form that way?

tap, tap, tap....hello?

2011-09-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Anybody still out there? I can hear crickets chirping in the background of my blog.
Pretty sad, it's been like three months since I last posted. Pathetic.
Wish I could say I was getting alot of stuff accomplished in that time, but alas---not so.
Don't you just love my grammar?

I'm still searching for my mojo. It high-tailed it out of here way back in January I think, hasn't so much as called to check in.
I did find a job. Whoohoo. MGM Las Vegas. Hate it.
But, it's a job.
I'm on call, which means that I get a weekly schedule but it varies. So my days off are never the same, and I'm not guaranteed any set number of hours. I've been averaging about 30 a week, which is ok. This past week has been rough though. I only got 25 hours, which frankly didn't bug me too much, cause I'm exhausted and I don't get to see my girls much these days. It's just that the shifts this week were 6 pm to 12:30 am. Kind of rough when I get to bed by 1:30 in the morning and have to wake up four hours later to get the kids off to school. So, I'm truly enjoying my days off this week. Three of them, in a row. Yippee!
Course, I'm so cranky right now the kids probly' wish I was at work. lol

Well, I'll wrap it up for tonight. Just wanted to say hey, and let ya'all know I'm still kicking. Miss visiting your blogs. Hopefully I'll stop by a little more frequently.

hugs,

Where is it?

2011-06-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Has anybody seen my mojo?

if so.....

please send it back to me asap.

Your thoughts?

2011-06-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, lucky me--I get to give a talk in church this Sunday.
Father's day.
(by the way, I lived in my old ward for ten years, and not once did they ask me to speak in Sacrament!!! I was actually ok with that!!!! lol)
So of course the topic is on Fatherhood.

I'm just curious.

What is your definition of Fatherhood?

Just a thought

2011-05-31T12:30:00.001-07:00

If something's not worth holding onto forever,
is it worth holding onto at all?

Do tell

2011-05-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

You can tell a lot about a person by their library books selection, I think.

I took the girls to the library on Saturday, here are our picks.....

mine

as you can see, i love sewing, handbags, home decor--and no, not Clinton Kelly; but I do love his show.

Haley's

Not at all surprised, a Firefighter book for my tomboy of a girl.

And, Ashley's picks.

From my sweet, innocent young twelve year old...

She loves the horror genre. Especially anything to do with werewolves or vampires. I think I have Stephanie Meyer to thank for this obsession.

What do you library picks say about you?

What's a h--h-happen-ning...hot stuff?

2011-05-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that line from Sixteen Candles? The funny Asian dude said it. Always cracks me up.

Over here in my neck of the woods, not much is happening. Seriously. I've become SO lazy it's not even funny. Household chores a barely getting done, the rest of the time I'm either playing Cityville on Facebook or window shopping with my two littlest munchkins. You know it's bad when you're not even excited to go to Target because there's nothing new. We go there that often, the boys and me. They love to go get a juice box or a chocolate milk from the little cafe and then go "play" with the toys.

This is our most awesome babysitter, Julia (and Justin). She's so much more than just a babysitter though....she's Justin's gi-i-i-r-r-r-l-l-friend; not to mention his cousin as well. She watched the kids for Jon and me a few weeks ago so we could have a date night. It was fun. We went to Lucille's Barbecue (we had a giftcard), it was so yummy. Then we took in a movie--Thor. It was pretty good.

More pics with Julia. The camera was loaded with them. See Ash in the background? She got a cute haircut. She looks wicked adorable with it. I've got to post a better pic of it.

Mother's Day weekend we went to Laughlin to visit some of Jon's family. His uncle Mike came down from northern California. We hadn't seen him in about ten years. It was really nice to visit.

Uncle Mike on the left and Uncle Mark on the right. Awesome couple of guys.

Jon's mom in the back and his aunt Cathy in front.

Loved this sign, had to snap a pic.

All lined up.....

Playing on the riverfront.

It was nice to get away. But, it's always nice to come back home.

This past week, I've been trying to do something a little more constructive than usual.
I have a bunch of old jeans that I'm cutting up into quilt blocks to hopefully make a quilt out of someday; so in the meantime, I'm left with the seats of the pants get creative with. I've been thinking of making purses out of them for a while, so I finally dove in and got started on this project.

These were obviously not jeans, just an old pair of the boys pants that they'd worn the knees out of. It's the first one I made, and I think it turned out better than the second one. Ashley loves it, it makes a cute little scripture tote for church.

Here is the second one. Denim is harder to sew through and it gave me some trouble in a few areas. I really want a new sewing machine! I'm thinking of selling them on Etsy, I've finally set up an account and now I just have to load up my shop.

Would YOU buy it? Are these just kind of cheesy? Trying to figure out if there's even a market for denim bags. I'm thinking maybe $15. Guess I'll just have to put it on there and see if it moves.

I found a cute book at the library called Handmade Home Simple Ways to repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures. It's got some cute ideas, like these hotpads. I "repurposed" an old towel for the interior and used some cute fabric I had picked up. They came out pretty cute, but again; I had a few problems with my sewing machine going through some of the thicker parts. Hopefully my next attempt will come out a little cleaner. I'll prob'ly still list them on Etsy and see what happens.

So anyway, that's what's a happening in my world this week. Now I'm off to make more denim bags.

Mark as read...

2011-05-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

I just marked all your posts as read in my Reader. Boy, do I feel about thirty pounds lighter now.
Wish weight loss was that simple.

2011-05-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like a stranger over here these days.

Thought I'd get around to posting a little of our visit to Palm Springs for Easter weekend.

It was lovely to visit with my mom and dad. The time always goes by too fast though.

We went and visited The Living Desert while we were there. It's the local zoo. I was really impressed by it. I've been there before, but I hadn't realized just how well kept it is. The habitats were in excellent condition, much better than the local zoo here in Vegas.

They have an awesome miniature train display when you first walk in. Here are a few of it's highlights. I loved the miniature Mt. Rushmore!

This was like a miniature Grand Canyon. It really was pretty cool.

The giraffes were awesome. You can feed them, but there was such a long line to do it, whe opted out.

Is it Timon or Pumba?

The horns on these guys were spectacular!! There were three of them, a father and his two sons. What really surprised me was that the father's horns were the smallest.

My absolute favorite part of the place was the hummingbird and butterfly exhibit.

This hummingbird was sitting on it's eggs. Didn't get to see the eggs, but how often do you see a hummingbird sitting still?

The butterflies were just awesome. Hundreds of them were in there. You could put your hand out to the plants, and they would climb on.

A butterfly on my leg. That should be good luck right?

We really enjoyed ourselves.

That's pretty much the only excursion we made while there, except of course for the mall.

It was nice just to hang out and enjoy each others' company.

We had a Easter egg hunt on Saturday,

Oh my gosh! Look at that bedhead! I think the wind may have been blowing too...

My mom and dad's dog Sophie got involved too. She had a blast with one of those eggs. We let her keep it. It was pretty slimey!

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter.

Happy Easter

2011-04-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I need to get things moving along here. My poor little ol' blog is feeling very neglecgted.
It's not like I'm super busy doing anything.
I've just become Super Dee Duper LAZY!!!

Well, we got ourselves a new vehicle. Yay! Well, it's new to us. If you didn't see my facebook post, the car was totalled, which I just don't really understand, because according to the report from the insurance company it would have cost them about $4800 for the repairs, yet they gave us a check for almost $6000 when we signed the pink slip over to them. Wouldn't they have saved themselves money to just repair it????

Well, I'm not really complaining or anything because it did enable us to purchase a FAMILY vehicle.
Got ourselves a 2003 Dodge Caravan (that's a minivan). Yay! Now we can go places together, instead of in two separate vehicles.

So, naturally I figured that this would give us a great excuse to go visit my mom and dad for Easter.
So that's where we'll be this weekend--sunny Palm Springs. Can't wait, I'm so excited!

Hope you all have a beautiful and glorious Easter weekend rejoicing in the wonderful miracle that is our Savior.

Ain't it the truth?

2011-03-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

I love this song. It's just so true, and I'm finding it very applicable to my life right now.
Enjoy!
P.S. sorry, you'll want to turn off my music player over there.

insert frowny face....

2011-03-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

So Friday was payday, supposed to be a good day right?

Look what happened on my way to pick up my last severance check......

I was going straight, through the intersection, the light had just turned yellow and I was too close to stop, so on I went. The guy in the oncoming left turn lane, decided to go for it though and didn't see me cause there was a big vehicle kind of blocking his view; to top it off the lady behind him was apparently honking at him to get a move on, so he tried to make it through before the light turned red. So, he turned left in front of me and I didn't have nearly enough time to stop. Whamo-bango! I hit him.

My girls were with me, thank goodness nobody was injured! I got a few scrapes from the blasted air bag though.

A burn from the stupid air bag. It's blistering now.

This kind of cracks me up. Also from the air bag. Can you see the sad face?

So, the auto adjuster came and looked at my car today. Can you believe it? He thinks it might have to be totalled! Doesn't seem like enough damage to me to total it. But apparently it might cost more to repair than the car is actually worth.

We are not happy with the prospect of having to try to get into a new vehicle.

SERIOUSLY not happy with the thought of car payments. :(

I think if the air bag hadn't deployed I could probably still drive it around. Not sure I'm sold on airbags as of this moment. Of course, I don't know what would have happened without it, so maybe I should just be grateful?

wow

2011-03-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in 23 days. I don't think I've even visited my blog in all that time. I think that's the longest I've been away from my blog since I started blogging.

No job yet.

Loving the time off :) .....just wish I got serious $$$$ for the time off.

Our house sold----Yay!!! We are very relieved about this little tidbit. One less thing to worry about.
Can't say I'm crazy about apartment dwelling, but I think it's definitley cheaper for the moment, so that's a good thing.

I'm FINALLY reading the Harry Potter series of books. I can't believe I haven't read them before. Know what I'm finding? That I want to watch the movies all over again. Love it.

Jason and Justin are (mostly) potty-trained. WhooHOO!!!! They do well during the day time, but still have a few accidents at night. I can deal with it. SO glad not to be dealing with diapers and pull-ups anymore.

Well, I'll try to catch up more later. Hope y'all are doing well!

Forget the blogging slump....

2011-03-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'm in a slump slump.

I'm grumpy
unmotivated
disgusted
tired

I can't find the whatever to do any of the following things on a regular basis:
cook
clean
dishes
laundry
blog

All I want to do is read and eat, or play on Facebook.
I've gained five pounds in two weeks.
Not good.
And oh yeah, I'm supposed to be looking for a job.
That just isn't like it used to be either. I think everyplace these days just expects you fill out applications on-line. There's no face to face interaction. How do they know if I'm really worth considering if they haven't even met me?

ugh (and that's an ugh with no exclamation point after it, because I just don't have the energy).

You know you're in a blogging slump when...

2011-02-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

You neglect to do a birthday post for your hubby (Happy belated Birthday Jon, I love you!)
you post your daughters birthday pics four months late
you look at your blog reader thingamabob and find out you have almost a thousand posts to catch up on. Yikes!
You spend more time on Facebook than on your blog

Ok, random....Have you seen the Snickers commercial with Roseanne Barr???? I freaking LOVE it! Cracks me up every time.

How I'm spending my free time

2011-02-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

The nice thing about being out of work is that now I have my weekends free to spend time with my family.

Last Saturday we drove out to Bonnie Springs Ranch.

It was originally built in 1843 as a stopover for wagon trains going to California.

Since 1952 it's been used as a tourist attraction.

It's pretty cool that we have this here, it's fun to walk through the little town, which is definitley a bit rundown.

Scenery of Red Rock Canyon on the drive out.

They have a fun little train that takes you from the parking lot to the little town.

Remnd me not to wear this shirt again. Not very flattering....

They have a funny little show they do in the old saloon. Very silly, very bad acting, but fun.

They put on a shootout and hanging as well.

...some questionable potty humor during which they blew up the outhouse.

Pretty nice guys. The boys didn't want to get in the picture thought. :(

I need one of these at home.....

They have a small non profit petting zoo as well.

These horses were gorgeous!

a cute little prairie dog.

A Canadian Lynx.

A buffalo. I'm curious as to how they got this guy and also why one horn points up and the other down?

They have more animals which include emu's, llama's, wolves (gorgeous! Jon wasn't able to get a picture for some reason), rabbits, and goats of course.

Wild burrows which roam around the area outside the ranch.

I love Joshua trees. They're just so unusual.

On our way out of "town".

The End

popcorn already?

2011-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

The sweetest things

2011-02-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Little boys who love to help.....

I threw the towels on the sofa, and they got busy. I didn't even have to ask them to help. Wish their sisters would take a lesson!

Valentine decorations.

Since everyone else seems to be posting theirs, thought I'd follow along.

I made these the other day. I think the S's are upside down. How can you tell?

And my exclamation point is crooked on this one. Oh well.

This one says it all....

Pure bliss!

strangest. movie. ever

2011-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

My boys love this movie.

It's SO wierd.

What's even wierder?

I secretly find it very amusing.

Ashley's long overdue post birthday post

2011-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

I was so bad about posting stuff last year. Kind of lazy and whatnot.

So, three months later-here's Ashley's birthday pics...

We did a little family part for her on her actual birthdate as well.
Got her a brand new set of scriptures since she turned twelve and joined Young Womens (at church).
I made her a scripture tote to go with them.

She got a Snuggie. Peace out baby.

These pics are from the get together she had with her friends.
She invited her best buddies from fifth grade. She doesn't get to see them much anymore because we moved clear across town. Two out of three of them got to make it to the party.
Here they are, the Three Amigos-

Miranda, Ashley and Marisol.

And again...

The plan was to go to the mall, hang out like the budding teenagers they are becoming, and then maybe have a sleepover. The sleepover part didn't pan out, but that was ok. They had a blast together anyway.

They loaded up at the candy store.

Posed with some celebrities in the record store. I guess it's not really called a record store anymore is it?

Such cute girls!

I love this pic, it's just so paparazzi'ish.

I made them each a little purse to carry their cash for the mall.

The birthday cake. Ashley's favorite colors were green and pink, last year anyway.
Kind of a sad looking cake, but it tasted good. :)

We watched Mama Mia after the mall, the girls had fun singing along.

It was a lot of fun. I had a blast hanging out with them.

I'm so glad for the bonds of friendship.

Sweet.

Joining the ranks

2011-01-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today I got....

canned

fired

laid off

terminated

the pink slip

I have mixed emotions.

They say whenever God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.
I believe that's true, so I'm sure there's something else out there for me.

I'm thrilled at the prospect of a few weeks off.

I can be a stay at home mommy for a little bit.

However, there won't be a paycheck involved in that.

I've been a little bored at work, so maybe I'll find something I REALLY like to do.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and pray!

Haley's Birthday post

2011-01-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

So here's the post all about Haley's birthday bashes.

Actual birthday, we just had some family over, had supper....

lasagne, salad and a boatload of garlic toast.

Chocolate cake, decorated with white chocolate chip skull and crossbones. Ashley did the decorating. Not bad....

We had her party with some of her friends on Saturday-my birthday.

Cause nothing says happy birthday Mikki like a housefull of screaming 8 year olds. :)

You might have seen the cake already, I had to put it on Facebook. Best cake I've ever assembled.
Pretty easy too. Found the idea on the Family Fun magazine website.

Pirate swordfighting, with breadsticks.

A whole gaggle of pirates. Gang of pirates? Group of Pirates? (shrug).

Pirates eating pizza....

And the cake, post mortem....

I was glad when it was over.

Garage band

2011-01-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted much at all lately.

So, thought I'd show you what the boys are up to these days.....

So far, Jason has broken two wooden spoons and one of the plastic ones.

After they were done playing the drums, they decided to cook up some lunch.

Sweet.

We have a birthday girl in the house

2011-01-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Haley.

She really rocks!

Her teacher thinks she's amazing, and so do I.

She's a leader who doesn't know it yet.

Nine things about Haley:

She loves to play with her brothers.
She loves to get hugs.
She loves to have her back scratched.
She's generous.
She's very bright.
Total Tomboy
Her favorite colors are red and blue.
Super loving and sweet.
She's stubborn.

Happy 9th Birthday Haley.

Love you SO much!

Hope your birthday rocks, just like you!

Hey baby, what's your sign?

2011-01-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

So, Jeri posted about the new signs. Have you heard about this yet? My husband texted me about it yesterday, and I saw someone mention it on Facebook two days ago.

Apparently a whole lot of people are not too happy at being told they're no longer the sign they thought they were. I'm one of those people.
I have been an Aquarius all my life. Now, I'm a Capricorn? Please.

Well it got me wondering. I figure I should at least look it up and see what it says about me, and see which sign is closer to being correct.

So let's see:

Traditional Aquarian Traits

Friendly and humanitarian--yup,... well maybe. I think I'm friendly and kind, but I don't really DO anything to improve the lives of others. Except maybe my family and that's debatable. LOL

Honest and loyal--yup

Original and inventive--hmmm, not sure. Guess I am a little creative

Independent and intellectual--definitely independent, and maybe a little intellectual, I did well in school, but I'm no Einstein.

On the dark side....

Intractable and contrary--hmm, I don't really think I'm this way, but I probably have my moments. :)

Perverse and unpredictable---Me perverse? never.

Unemotional and detached--Oh yeah. That's me. Seriously.

CAPRICORN TRAITS:

Practical and prudent--I think so.

Ambitious and disciplined---N.O.P.E. !!!!

Patient and careful--patient, me? Did I tell you about the time my daughter prayed in Primary, in front of EVERYONE, that her mom would find patience? Haven't found it yet.

Humorous and reserved--reserved, yes. I think I'm humorous too.

On the dark side....

Pessimistic and fatalistic--sometimes. I think I do see the cup as half full most of the time, but I don't like tempting fate, so I'll say the opposite of what I mean. Does that make sense?

Miserly and grudging-I'm VERY selfish. So I have to agree with this.

Hmmm, I guess I fit into both. I am right on the border. But then again I probably also have many of the tendencies of all the other signs.

It's just all a bunch of hogwash anyway right?

Maybe I'll invent my own sign. Now, I'm a Capriquarius.

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life....

2011-01-11T00:08:00.000-08:00

Wow! Fourteen years ago today, Jon and I were married. Here. In Vegas. At the Chapel of the Fountain inside Circus Circus.
Not exactly my dream wedding.
But, it doesn't really matter-because we're still going strong. Besides, it really was "us". We're kind of goofy and spontaneous.

I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I'd married someone else,...a return missionary...the "proper Mormon boy" that I was supposed to hold out for. And always, as soon as that thought pops into my head it immediately leaves. I just can't see it. I can't imagine my life without Jon.
~~~~~~

I love this song. Whenever I hear it on the radio, I think of my sweety and me.

Dave Barnes - God Gave Me You

I've been a walking heartache

I've made a mess of me

The person that I've been lately

Ain't who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me

Watch as the storm goes through

And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I've lost my way

There are no words here left to say, it's true

God gave me you

There's more here than what were seeing

A divine conspiracy

That you, an angel lovely

Could somehow fall for me

You'll always be love's great martyr

Ill be the flattered fool

& I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I've lost my way

There are no words here left to say, it's true

God gave me you

On my own I'm only

Half of what I could be

I can't do without you

We are stitched together

And what love has tethered

I could never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I've lost my way

There are no words here left to say, it's true

God gave me you, gave me you.

Gave me you.

~~~~~~~
I do believe that Jon and I were meant to be together.
I believe that sometimes, our Heavenly Father wants us to pick the one that wouldn't be the obvious choice.
I wouldn't go back and change a single thing.
~~~~~~~~

We went out last night to celebrate. Panda Express and then Carrot Top. Hilarious! (not exactly a "dedicated to the Lord" kind of show, but I've got all year to work on it right?
Jon's fortune cookie said "Make time for a relaxing vacation"--he actually just had vacation. But who couldn't use another one right?
Mine says "Your road to glory will be rocky but fulfilling"--ain't that the truth?
~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Anniversary to my love.

I'm looking forward to the next fourteen years

and waaaaaaaayyyy beyond!

Dedicated to....

2011-01-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

google images

I've been giving some thought to what my New Years resolution(s) should be, or if I should even bother with them this year. Heaven knows the list of my shortcomings is miles long and there are SO many areas I need improvement in.

I've been pondering what my word for the year should be. Perhaps "persevere" would be a good one or "EnJOY" or "breathe". Perhaps a phrase instead-something like "just keep swimming" or "try harder!" or "count to ten".

LOL

As I lay in bed new years eve, praying and pondering what things I should work on, I suggested to the Lord that perhaps I should consider dedicating this year to Him.

Let me tell you, that's a scary thought for me.

Most of the things I do aren't worthy of dedicating to Him.

But, maybe if I start each day with that thought in mind, maybe it will make me strive a little harder to do better, and to be the kind of mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend that I want to be; that the people in my life deserve for me to be.

so....

big breath........

really big breath........

I can do this.

He has faith in me.

I DEDICATE THIS YEAR TO THE LORD.

I'm really scared now.

2010-12-31T21:53:00.001-08:00

Hope 2011 is safe and happy and absolutely wonderful in every possible way.

This is crazy!

2010-12-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

So I bought this candy from the dollar store for Ashley's stocking.
Toxic Waste extreme sour candy.
Yesterday she decided to enjoy a few pieces.

It made her mouth bleed!

Here's the cautionary message on the side, which we didn't notice til after the fact:

CAUTION!

Consuming more than one within

a brief time may cause irritation

to mouth. Sensitive individuals

should not consume this product.

Who ever heard of a caution message on candy?

How many kids actually stop to check the back of the package for such a thing?

Crazy!

2010-12-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

May you experience the true gifts of the season.

Happy Birthday Brother Joseph

2010-12-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, last one.
Here is our other favorite song from the cd I've been raving about lately.
I can't find it on youtube. Wish you could hear it. It's lovely.

LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

Written by Jason Deere

The morning was clear on the road from Nauvoo

A tear touched his eye as his home fell from view

The journey was silent and few words were said

As he leaned to his brother and quietly said

As a lamb to the slaughter I willingly go

And die for my Father, His strength fills my soul

I’ve lived for my Savior and I’ll die for Him too

And with humble heart I lay down my life a prophet of truth

Four humble men sang with the angels on high

“He asked if I for him would die

The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill

But my free spirit cried I will!”

For I know this day I shall see my Savior’s face

As a lamb to the slaughter I willingly go

And die for my Father, His strength fills my soul

I’ve lived for my Savior and I’ll die for Him too

And with humble heart I lay down my life a prophet of truth

A noise from the stairway, a shot through the door

The first martyr fell to the floor

Tears filled Joseph’s eyes, Oh my dear brother Hyrum

Today you’ll find peace

Oh Lord my God release my soul, set my spirit free

As a lamb to the slaughter I willingly go

And die for my Father, His strength fills my soul

I’ve lived for my Savior and I’ll die for Him too

And with humble heart I lay down my life a prophet of truth

And with humble heart I go to my grave a prophet of truth

Thank you Joseph for all you did to help bring about the restoration of the gospel. Thank you for your valiant service to the Lord, for your faith and courage and convictions. You were a great tool in the Lords hands to bring about change to this world. We love you.

Ok, I lied. One more REALLY good one, check out this one. Also one of our favorites.

I love this!!! Thanks Barbara!

2010-12-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

Another favorite...

2010-12-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

This is perhaps my favorite song from the cd "Joseph-A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet".
Although, .... I have another one which I think is also my favorite...too hard to pick.
Anyway, to hear it, click here.
I blast this song in my car. Ashley loves it too. It's like our rock anthem in the mornings on the way to the busstop.
It just really helps me feel gratitude for Joseph Smith and his faith, and his courage to do the things he needed to do to help bring about the restoration of the gospel.

the lyrics:

THE RISING
Written by Jason Deere
I told my mother what troubled my heart

I saw the worry as she took me in her arms

I told the preacher, and he looked at me

And I saw the rising that never let me be

Oh the rising

(The boy, the faith, the prayers, the hate)

From weak things the great things

Are rising, rising

(The love, the fear, the fire, the tears)

The persecution, the spirit, the peace

The spirit of God like a fire it spread

Calling the nations put a price upon our heads

Running through darkness and running to light

Praying on our knees for one more day every night

Amid the rising

(The boy, the faith, the prayers, the hate)

From weak things the great things

Are rising, rising

(The love, the fear, the fire, the tears)

The persecution, the spirit, the peace

I don’t know all the answers but I do my best

To live up to the rising that won’t let me rest

Oh the rising…

WB Music Corp (ASCAP)

Again, I hope you listen to it, I think it's pretty awesome.

Just call me a copycat...

2010-12-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

You probably all already know who this guy is. He teaches fourth grade and takes awesome photographs and blogs about it all. Pretty cool.
His "Moments with Joey" are so fun to read though, thought I'd share one of my favorites with you:
I copied it by the way, from his awesome blog.

SCENE 1, INTERIOR. MORNING, FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM. The teacher has just taken two Tylenol for a migraine. He is rubbing his temples at the back table with his eyes closed. When he opens his eyes, a ten year-old boy is standing in front of him.
JOEY: Are you okay, Mr. Z?
TEACHER: I just have a headache, that’s all.
[The boy nods].
JOEY: Yeah, me too...
TEACHER: They’re not very much fun, are they?
JOEY: Nope. [Pause]. Mr. Z? Would you ever push me off a cliff?
TEACHER: Now why in the world would I ever do something like that?
JOEY: I don't know, maybe because it's fun? [pause]. Princesses are mean. [pause]. Girls are mean, too. They always get what they want in fairy tales.
TEACHER: What does that have to do with anything, Joey?
[The boy shrugs and continues to stand there, after a second, he takes a small step closer to his teacher].
TEACHER: Wow, I can't believe it, my headache just got worse.
[The boy takes a step backward].
TEACHER: Wow, now that suddenly feels better. [pause]. Isn't that interesting? The closer you get, the worse my headache seems to get. When you move away the pain goes away, too.
[The boy grins].
JOEY: So, I give you headaches, Mr. Z?
TEACHER: You said it, not me…
[Fade to black].
~~~~~~~~~
I love it.
Anyway, go check him out if you haven't already.

What I hope for my boys...

2010-12-14T23:51:00.000-08:00

There is this beautiful cd I have.

Joseph a Nashville Tribute to the Prophet

I've had it for a couple years now, but I've listened to it in my car constantly over the past few weeks. I adore it. The music is beautiful and insired and so touching. Maybe because Joseph Smith's birthday is this month--I don't know why, but I just can't get enough of it. I'll probably share a few of my favorites from it this week.
On it is this particular song: Brother I'll FollowYou (click to hear it)
It makes me ponder the love Joseph and Hyrum Smith shared for each other. It makes me wonder if any two brothers have ever loved each other as these two did. And I hope that my sweet little boys can share this kind of love for each other as well.

The lyrics:

BROTHER I'LL FOLLOW YOU

Written by Jason Deere

From the first time you told me about

Everything you had seen

We were just boys, but there was no doubt

That in my heart I believed

That brother I’d follow you

Into a hailstorm of an angry town

With words like jagged knives

Every stone was meant to bring you down

Something you’d know all your life

And brother I’ll follow you

Rain or shine…fire and ice

With faith like iron

You walk right on through

And brother I’ll follow you

Into Ohio, a new northern town

Not knowing just what lies in store

Hearts were changing the Saints we grew

As our hands built the House Of Our Lord

And brother I’ll follow you

Into a cold night our children cried

Driven further west

And out of a swamp our hands built up Navuoo

And we prayed in the Lord we’d find rest

And brother we followed you

Rain or shine…fire and ice

With faith like iron

You walked right on through

And brother I’ll follow you

Into a building of sand, stone and steel

With faith like a rock you walked in

And at the end yours eyes looked into mine

With the love of a life-long friend

And yes, brother, I’ll follow you

Rain or shine…fire and ice

With faith like iron

You walked right on through

And brother I’ll follow you

I hope you'll listen to it, I really love it.

I really hate texting.

2010-12-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

And do you want to know why?
I just don't know when to stop!
And I don't mean I text a lot.
I mean, here's a typical text convo for me:

me: hey, can you come in to work tonight. So and so called out.
them: oh no sorry, I'm busy.
me: Ok thanks anyway
them: sure thing, sorry.
me: no problem.
them: thanks again
me: your welcome
and by this point I'm just gritting my teeth thinking "please, don't thank me again. Don't say good-bye. Just be done already!!"
It's probably all the same things you would say in a speaking conversation, but for some reason, when texting it's just such a pain in the kiester! And I'm usually debating whether or not there's someting else I should add. Like goodbye; but then they'll text goodbye back, or "see ya' later", and then I have to reply.
WHERE DOES IT END????

StUDent of the MonTH and RAinbow HeAd

2010-12-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my Haley.

She was nominated Student of the week, two weeks ago.

And this week, she was awarded Student of the Month!!

She got to have lunch with the principal! Pizza. Yum!

She got a cool certificate, and some coupons for food. (my favorite--in n out!)

And a cool little necklace.

Way to go Haley!! You rock girlfriend!!!

In other news.

Ashley rocks the world of rainbow colored hair.

She does this herself with food color. Silly girl. I actually think it looks pretty.

However, she is dwindling my supply of food color.

Maybe I should get her to do my hair.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 30

2010-11-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Last day!
Hmmm, what have I missed besides just about everything?
I am grateful for:

my children. They make me smile when they're not making me pull my hair out.
my mom and dad. I love them. period.
my husband. (but I said that already).
friends
my home. I miss my house, but I'm grateful to have a place to live. And I'm getting used to the new place, slowly.
my job. most of the time.
the sun
the moon
the stars
flowers
trees
bees
my microwave
blankets
my wii fit
netflix
my cell phone. sometimes.
pictures
electricity
furniture
art
whipped cream
cocoa
pumpkin pie
do I really need to say In n Out?
Pepsi
purses
shoes
boots (I don't have any, but I want some!)
candy bars
candy canes (even though I'm trying not to eat any this season).
candles
kids shows
sight
all my senses
music
heating and central air
my washer and dryer
a nice warm garage to park my car inside of. Keeps it nice and warm on those frosty mornings.
clean running water
oh so much more.

I think I'm gonna' take a week off of blogging now. Well, I'll actually be posting on this site.
I'm trying to get back on track with my weight loss/maintenance efforts. I need to lose about 25 more pounds. I think, I'm hoping to at least maintain through the holidays, and then after the first of the year, those last 25 are history!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 29

2010-11-29T23:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's almost December.
If I say that enough, do you think I'll start to believe it?

Ok, really quick. It's late and I'm exhausted. You'd think I'd learn to post during the morning when I'm home instead of waiting til I get home from work at almost midnight.

I'm grateful for sensory memories? Is that the right expression?

I was at work tonight, and some guy pulled out the Purell, to disinfect his hands with.

Ah, the scent of Purel Antibacterial handwash.
I was transported back twelve years to when Ashley was a newborn. I will always associate that smell with Ashley as an infant (we kept it on hand so people wouldn't spread their germs on our new little bundle o' joy.
When I smelled it this evening, I got all choked up.
I'm so happy that there are things like that in this world. Those scents that you associate with some special time in your life. When you smell them, you're taken back. I love it.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 28

2010-11-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for RETAIL THERAPY.

I love it!

Did you get up early on Friday morning to go shopping?

I didn't. I went shopping, but I didn't get up early for it. I'm not THAT crazy.

I got a few of the things I was looking for.

Every time we go shopping, I usually find something I love to take a picture of.

This is at Target. I love the vintage toy line they have. Do you remember this little classic? I do. Don't remember if it was mine or a cousin's, but I want one.

My boys love Iron Man. Every time we go through the toy aisle, they have to don the masks. (shhhh they're each getting one for Christmas!)

At the grocery store the other day, I had to take a picture of the bins of nuts. It reminds me of my dad. We always had these on hand during the holidays when I was growing up.

Oh my gosh! Smurf toys! Can you believe it? I suppose they'll be re-doing the cartoon series soon. There's supposed to be a movie coming out.

OK, so I've been trying to locate a new Christmas tree for our apartment. We got rid of our ginormous pre-lit tree when we moved. It was just way too big for the apartment.

We saw one at Walmart that we loved. It was a six foot, with little pine cones on it and it was just lovely and really looked nicer than the artificial trees of years past. It was $128, but I was hoping it would go on sale. Sadly it didn't. So I was just going to buy it anyway. It was out of stock. I went to another Wally World, and they didn't even carry it.

So, my sweet husband decided to see if he could locate it for me. No such luck.

On a whim, he decided to stop at Target to see what they had.

He found a 7 1/2 foot pre-lit slim Virginia pine. It's gorgeous. Normally retails for $150, but it was on sale for $100!

It's even got the little pine cones too.

I am thrilled.

So today, after church we put it up and decorated it.

I think it's beautiful.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 27

2010-11-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for the fact that November is almost over and then I will be taking a bloggy break probably.
I think I'm having a serious gratitude problem. I have, like a gratitude block. I'm grateful for many things, I just can't seem to think of them right now.

I'm grateful for my sweet daughter Ashley, who just resolved a "pillow situation" amongst my boys. Such a sweetie. Thanks Ashley!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 26

2010-11-26T23:22:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for coats and hats and scarves and gloves!!
It's c-c-c-c-cooooollllllddddd outside!
Like, fifteen degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. Freezing temps in Vegas!
I think it's going to be a cold winter!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 25

2010-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for family and friends.

Those both far and near.

For their warmth and companionship and love.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope you have a beautiful and blessed day.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 24

2010-11-24T23:33:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for the fact that I get to write the schedule at work, and that enough of my awesome employees volunteered to work tomorrow, so I can have Thanksgiving off and enjoy it with my loved ones.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 23

2010-11-23T23:03:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my dishwasher!!
I'll be baking a bunch of pies tomorrow in preparation for Thursday.
And boy, am I glad I don't have to wash all those dishes by hand!
Hallelujah for modern amenities!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 22

2010-11-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

I am SO grateful for this stuffed nose

of mine that I've had now for about a month.

Why?

...

......

enough said?

and yeah, they're 3--not potty trained yet.

ugh.

Jason is halfway there.

Justin is not even interested.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 21

2010-11-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for answered prayers.
Even when you're being too silly or stubborn to pray.
How do I know my Father loves me?

It's those times when I've been so angry or hurt that I just can't bring myself to pray, and He gives me an answer anyway.
Just a fer instance.
Several years ago, after Jon was baptized our sweet bishp at the time offered him a calling. Jon accepted it but felt inadequate; as a result he stopped right there in his progression in the gospel. It wasn't the bishops fault and it wasn't Jon's fault (if anything, I blame myself. The bishop had asked me what kind of calling I thought Jon would be comfortable with. I should have told him he'd be most comfortable without a calling at that time). Regardless, I was very disappointed. Very sad.
We were getting ready for church one morning shortly after this event, and I was just in a bad place that day. I wouldn't pray. But the Lord knows the desires of our hearts, he knows exactly what we need.
It was Fast Sunday and the Bishop was conducting that morning. So he got to bare his testimony. What he shared with the congregation was Jon's testimony when he had interviewed with the bishop prior to being baptized. It was exactly what I needed to hear that morning.
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows our needs, who guides others to help us out in those times when we need it most, and for a bishop who was truly in tune with the Spirit.

30 Days of Thanksgiving Day 20

2010-11-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter--freaking awesome!!!
I can't wait til next year.
sigh.

How can it be the twentieth of November already? Did this month not just start like, two minutes ago?

I am so thankful for buttered and salted popcorn.
Love it.
It's the little things ya' know?

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 19

2010-11-19T23:16:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for the days I don't forget to switch my wallet from the diaper bag to my purse before leaving for work; as opposed to days like today when I do forget it and don't take anything to eat-so I went without supper. I am also so very grateful for midnight snacks!!!
(or midnight MEALS, but you know--whatever).

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 18

2010-11-18T23:08:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful that hardly anybody apparently read yesterdays blog post.
Because, I wrote something embarrassing there, and now I'm going to go remove that little tidbit.
Just too much information ya' know?

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 17

2010-11-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

I love dreaming.

Do you ever have those dreams that you hate to wake up from? You want to see them play all the way out. The funny thing is that they never really play out properly. They just keep jumping from one thing to another, and somehow it all makes sense in the dream. When you wake up and you're explaining it to someone, you're like "well I was walking down the street naked and all of a sudden the sidewalk turned into a car and...." Then all of a sudden you realize how strange it was.
I have a lot of dreams where I'm losing control of a vehicle. Wonder what that's about? I also have a lot where I'm in the buff. I like those the least.
(post edit: Here is where the part I deleted was......)
I dreamt I went hiking once, and seriously, I woke up exhausted!

I'm grateful for dreams.
I just get so much enjoyment out of them (most of the time anyway).

I've had some dreams that are very precious to me. I don't want to say they were visions, but sometimes I wonder. I also wonder sometimes if they're dreams or memories?

What do you dream about?

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 16

2010-11-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

Gonna make it quick, cause it's almost the end of the day.
The water heater in our apartment has been acting up lately.
I don't know if it's because of the change in temperature, and it's just harder for the thing to heat up water or what.
I had to take a lukewarm shower the other day.
HATED IT!!!!
Today the water was back to normal. Yay!

I am grateful for lo-o-o-ong hot showers
the hotter, the better!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 15

2010-11-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

I am SO looking forward to this...

google images

I just don't know how I'm going to wait til next year for the second installment. Patience and I have a tenuous relationship at best.

I am grateful for the sweet getaway of the Cinema

and extra butter on my popcorn.

Some of my favorites over the years:

It's a Wonderful Life
The Sound of Music
X Men (all of them)
Star Wars (all of them)
Indian Jones (all of them but mostly Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Temple of Doom)
The Lord of the Rings (all of them)
Willow
Some Kind of Wonderful
Pretty in Pink
Sixteen Candles
um, anything with Hugh Jackman in it pretty much.
Top Gun
Ferris Buellers Day Off
Ghostbusters
The Last Starfighter
Starman
Twilight (all of them)
Star Trek 4 and any of the Next Generation movies
Actually, any of the Star Trek movies.
Disneys Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
Cinderella
ok, pretty much anything by Disney

and many, many more...

So, what's your favorite flick?

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 14

2010-11-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

Whew! Almost forgot to post today.

We just finished watching Toy Story 3.
Didn't get to see it in the theater.

I was a blubbering mess at the end! Have you seen it? Who would have thought a bunch of toys could make me break down and weep?
It was so bittersweet.

I'm thankful for the magic of childhood.

I wish I could go back to mine.
I wish I could go back to Ashley's, she's still a child, but she's on the cusp of adulthood. I don't like that.
I'm glad I still have a couple of little one's who are knee deep in childhood. I need to remember to stop and enjoy it, especially now as we're heading into the best time of the year for the kidlets.

Enjoy the magic!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 13

2010-11-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love Saturday mornings. I usually get to sleep in. Jon's so good to let me sleep in even though he never really gets to.
This morning he got up and ran to the store for a few things, came home and made fried potatoes and onions with melted cheese on top and right now he's in the kitchen baking cookies. What a guy!

I love my hubby.

I am grateful for my man.

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 12

2010-11-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know that banging your head against a wall expends 150 calories per hour?
Good to know.
If the following story is true, I might just resort to banging my head against a wall.

According to KGO-TV in San Francisco:
"There's a shortage building for the past six years. The main reason - farmers in West Africa have little incentive to plant cocoa trees. They take three years to mature and growers earn less than a $1 a day selling to big corporations.
One expert says in 20 years, the average joe won't be able to afford chocolate unless new research into growing higher-yielding trees prove fruitful. "

~~~~~~Ok people!!! This is what I call a crisis!!!!

To heck with food storage, I'm stocking up on chocolate! Wonder what the shelf life is.

Ladies, can you imagine life without chocolate?
I can.not!!!!!

I am SO grateful for chocolate. I think I'll have a piece each day for the rest of the month to prove it!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 11

2010-11-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

peace and quiet

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 10

2010-11-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

Today I want to express my gratitude for....
my mother-in-law, Patty.
As I kind of alluded to the other day, she's staying with us right now until she can get on her feet.
She's a sweetheart, she really is. Super helpful.
In all honesty, sometimes she drives me crazy. But you know that that's going to happen at some point right? She's a neat-nick type of person and I am SO not. Needless to say, my house is currently cleaner than ever.
The only reason it gets on my nerves occasionally is because sometimes it feels like we can't just make a mess and deal with it when we get around to it. Feels like I'm walking on eggshells in my own house. Ugh. This on top of walking on eggshells already just because of the neighbors downstairs--don't want to be too noisy too early in the morning. Insert two raucous little monkeys here, and you'll understand why I think I'm getting an ulcer.
Despite it all, I do love her and appreciate her. Jon yelled at her the other day after she complained that the bathroom was messy. I felt bad that he had yelled at his mom.
So I just really want her to know how much we do love and appreciate all that she does, and we know it's just her way and nothing personal is intended by it.
I've got to say there are several things I really admire about her habits. One is that she just does things. For instance, I'll look at the kitchen floor and think, "oh, I need to sweep and mop.", and that's the end of it. Patty? She'll see that it needs to be done and just do it, instead of procrastinating about it. I really admire that. She's being a good example for me. Now, if there are dirty dishes on the counter, I'm more apt to either load them quickly into the dishwasher or just wash 'em up real quick.
My mom taught me all this stuff, by the way, I've just gotten pretty lax over the years in my cleaning habits and allowed the kids to be my excuse.
Also, she's helping me to see where I need to delegate to my kids more. I've always known this, but I just don't have the patience for it. Maybe cause she's a grandma, she's got the patience, I don't know-but my kids are doing more chores these days, and that's a good thing!
SUPER BONUS::::she's taking all the kids to the zoo tomorrow. Oh. my. gosh!! I could jump for joy! Thanks mom!!! I am SOSOSOSOSOSO looking forward to a morning without any little monkeys to herd around!!! Can anyone say retail therapy? Or maybe a hot soak in the tub with a nice trashy novel?
Or maybe I'll watch Pride and Prejudice again with a BIG tub of super buttery popcorn.
One thing I'm not going to do? Clean a thing!!! (sorry Patty!)

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 9

2010-11-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm so grateful for nature.

The sunrise yesterday. It was just gorgeous, and the second best thing about having to wake up so gosh-awful early! (The first was being able to spend a few precious minutes with my gorgeous daughter, before getting her out the door to school.)

The view out our patio window. I love hummingbirds. So cool to actually be able to capture one on film!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 8

2010-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Gonna' post about food today.
I love food!
Here's some pics of what we've been cooking up lately...

mmmmmm, fried eggplant!!

(before you ask, the coffee pot is for my mother-in-law, she's staying with us currently. It is a good way to heat water for cocoa though!).

of course, the pictures are out of sequence-sorry.

Above is what I like to call tostada crisps.

Just fry up some corn tortillas and then sprinkle them with a bit of salt and some parmesan cheese. Of course they're great for tostada's with all the usual trimmings, but they taste great all by themselves too.

Here's the fried eggplant. Yummmy!

Fall calls for beef stew. Love it!

I just thought this was purty! It's celery.

It would be cool to do some paint stamping with this.

Bountiful Baskets. Have you checked it out? All this for like, $15. Pretty cool!

I am grateful for food!!!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 7

2010-11-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

There are some truly amazing people out there. You all know this.
There's a lovely clip over on LDS.org about one of them--Brandon Jackson. Just a young man, still a teenager, making a difference in the world.
Sharing the Light of Christ

Here's another one.

I went to middle school with that one! Yup, I even had a crush on him. Gotta' admit I'm pretty proud of him and what he's done with his life.

The awesome thing about these two people is that they aren't afraid to make the change. They realized that
just because they are only one, it doesn't mean they can't make a difference. I think that's awesome!

I'm grateful for people like this. People who inspire others to do a little better.

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 6

2010-11-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful

for my membership in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 5

2010-11-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Who thought I'd be digging deep already? I mean I guess I could take the easy road and list all those things I say rotely all the time. I'm thankful for my family, and my job and food and shelter and yadda yadda yadda.
I AM thankful for those things. But I want to try to think of things that I don't normally throw out there.
So hmmmm, ...
Did you hear that talk this past Conference on gratitude by President Monson? It was awesome.
I love President Monson. I loved President Hinckley. I was kind of (and by kind of I mean totally off in my own little strange parallel universe) inactive during President Hunter's time as our prophet. I'm sure I would have loved him too. I loved President Benson, and President Kimball. The rest were a little before my time, but I have a feeling I would have loved them all as well.
I sometimes think of what it might have been like to actually know Joseph Smith. To be addressed by him as "Sister Mikki", that would have been awesome.

So, now that I've rambled down tangent road a bit---I'm thankful for ice cream cones. Yeah, especially those waffle cones with the little bit of chocolate down at the bottom, and loaded with starlight mint ice cream.
Ok, not really.
(well, I AM grateful for ice cream cones, but...not today)

I'm grateful for our prophet. I'm grateful for the revelation he receives, for his dedication and devotion. For his sweet, warmth of spirit, that twinkle in his eyes. He's just freakin' awesome!!!

Have you seen this on Facebook?
What a great idea! Is there any better thing to do on Facebook tomorrow? I'll be sharing my testimony, will you?

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 4

2010-11-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for some creepiness???

This girl has a creative streak!! She did her own hair and makeup. Pretty creepy! Zombie Schoolgirl.

Construction Worker. We created her costume from odds and ends

Not much creativity here. Found their cute firefighter costumes at Kmart, then found a cute little fireman accessory kit at Dollar Tree. Jason loves black right now, and Justin loves red. And of course, what little boy doesn't like firemen? Perfect!!

Caught my theme yet?
I'm so grateful for CREATIVITY.
Where would we be without it? I mean really, without the CREATION where would we be?

What a divine characteristic.
I love being able to create something out of bits and pieces, odds and ends, strips of fabric.
I love being inspired by other creative people.

For example, aren't these pretty?

I used to go to church with Angela, she creates these. Check out her Etsy shop here. One of these days, I'm actually going to purchase something from her shop. I think Ashley would adore anything from her shop.
Great Christmas idea!!

DeNae inspired me yesterday without even knowing it. After reading this post, I decided to sign up for nanowrimo. I think I must be crazy. Like I have the time to dedicate to such a thing. But, it spoke to me.

I've always loved making up stories. They're silly and I'd really be embarrassed to share them with anybody, but I'm going to try it anyway. Wish me luck.

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 3

2010-11-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics from our trip to the park yesterday. OK, more than just a few. I haven't done much journalling lately, so I figure I better get busy. I've got some birthdays and Halloween to catch up on still, so be prepared!

Here are some of those ducks I mentioned. Of course, I forgot to take something to feed them. Sorry duckies!!

Peeking over his shoulder at the duckies. I'm not sure if he thought they were going to sneak up on him or what.

The coolest swing I've ever seen! (he's not sleeping, really.)

Wait a minute Ashley, OK--SMILE!!!

aw, sweet--pushing his big sissy...

I thought this tree looked cool.

yep, the perfect spot for a pose.
Silly Jason!!

A little close-up of the geese and ducks...
Hmmm, whose toes are those? No wait, everyone had shoes on, whose fingers are those? Don't they look like toes? Wierd.

Walking around the pond. Ok they call it a lake, but I differ in my opinion.

I saw this random ribbon in a tree. I really liked it!

I think every tree in the park had one of these little dedicatory plates in front of them. All dedicated to loved one's who had passed away. Very sweet.

My little pinecone gatherer. Remember this cute little face. It has to do with my THANKFULness for today.

There are lots of fun little exercise contraptions all along the walking/jogging path. So the girls had to give them all a try.

Of course Jason found the dirt. He is forevvvvver finding some way to make a mess!

More fun on the exercise equipment.....

One of my favorite shots.

I really like this one too, even though it doesn't include any of my kids.

Well, aside from it being a photo of my favorite twelve year old in the world, I really like the airplane flying by in the background. This park is a great spot to get some close ups of the landing and departing planes.

And now, what has the picture of that little munchkin got to do with my reason for being grateful today?

UGH!!!!

He has been such a pill lately. The three's are SOSOSOSOSOOSOSOSO much worse than the terrible two's. Everytime I take him somewhere he makes a huge, horrible scene when it's time to go.

Walmart, the park, Church.

And then he continue's to carry on in the car ALL.THE.WAY.HOME.

And then he continue's to carry on for another twenty minutes after we get home.

(He has SUCH a temper, I don't have a clue who he could possibly get that from)

It doesn't help when everyone tells me how good he is when I'M NOT AROUND.

I am SO grateful for our Father's wisdom in making 'em cute.

If they weren't, I'd prob'ly be in jail right now!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 2

2010-11-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

And by "sleeping in" in yesterdays post, of course I meant waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual.
grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Today I am ever so grateful for days off of work!!!!
Oh yeah!!

Guess where we'll be spending the day?

(google images)

I'm thinking a picnic in the park and feeding the ducks sounds awesome!

30 days of Thanksgiving Day 1

2010-11-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

Can it really already be November????
This year is passing in a blur. Crazy.

I've been very pessimistic lately. Down about lots of things in general.
So, since it's November and the best way to get myself in the right frame of mind is to express gratitude for the things that are good, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
Thirty days in November means thirty things to express gratitude for. Hopefully I'll remember to post something every day.

Today, I'm SO grateful for the fact that my kids are enjoying day number four of a five day weekend. Woot!!!! I don't have to wake up at 5:30 to get Ashley out the door.
Sleeping in......yay!!

(google images)