My Other Blog is at the Beach

Happy Birthday Harrison- Part 2

2012-01-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

Harrison's birthday was super fun. I had to work and Harrison had school, but we found time to do quite a bit to celebrate Harrison's DIRTY THIRTY!

We started the morning by getting some donuts from our favorite donut joint, Ronald's Donuts. It's a small little place in the middle of Vegas' Chinatown and the donuts are seriously the best EVER!

Our favorite donuts... Harrison: chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing and Jaala: Boston Creme donut.

We had to go to work and school after our yummy late breakfast but we met after for some shooting...

Our American Shooters adventure was fun. After shooting we ran a couple of errands we went and had Harrison's birthday dinner. We ate at the Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It was amazing. How amazing? Have you ever been somewhere that has a Mac and Cheese Bar? What!? Yes- you heard me right. They had a mac and cheese bar! We actually got to make our own mac and cheese concoction! YUM!

Have you ever been to a buffet that has gourmet looking food and CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES?? Also, Harrison got a cake pop which is so hip in my opinion!

Oh- and thanks to our friend Jordan for having dinner with us. It was his first time to the Cosmopolitan and we were so happy to show him around.

I hope Harrison had a good 30th birthday... he said he did... so I believe him.

Happy Dirty Thirty Harrison

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband Harrison! He turns 30 today. I sure love him. Like a lot! I am thankful for him! Here are 30 things I love about him:

1. His eyes
2. His laugh
3. His sense of humor
4. His smarts
5. His height
6. His v-neck shirts
7. His curly hair
8. His endless quotes of Ace Ventura and Willy Wonka
9. His ability to play the cello
10. His honesty
11. The priesthood he honorably holds
12. His knowledge of the Book of Mormon
13. His patience with just about everything
14. His ability to talk me down from preverbal cliffs
15. His relationship with his mother
16. His testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
17. His love of CATS
18. His musical talents
19. His knowledge of just about every single song on the radio (it's amazing)
20. His style
21. His romantic side
22. His ability to speak Portuguese
23. His scalp massages (seriously- they are great)
24. His knowledge of vehicle headlights and tail lights (again, it's amazing!)
25. His dedication to his education
26. His supportive nature
27. His cleanliness (his side of the room is always so neat and orderly)
28. His interest in quilting and sewing
29. His love of celebrity gossip
30. His choice to marry me!

I am thankful for my awesome husband! Happy Birthday Harrison! I still can't believe you are so old!

We are going to have fun birthday activities later today and I promise to post pictures about it.

Being sick is no fun!

2012-01-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

It really is. The stomach flu is going around work and church and I ended up getting it. BOO. I am glad that the worst of it was during Sunday. I was super sad that I had to miss church, especially because I was excited about giving my lesson. But- at least it wasn't during a super busy work day.

Throwing up is the worst. Seriously. It is. That is one of the things I hate the most about my body. When it doesn't know what to do or I am sick or over tired or I have too much emotion... I barf. What the heck!? So weird.

Well this is how my day went yesterday:

Wake up at 5:45 and the flu begins

9:15 am- make a sick bed on the couch and start watching shows. Which shows do you ask? Well let me tell you about them:

Downton Abbey

This show is amazing! Harrison started to watch it for me but he doesn't much care for it anymore. That's alright. I seriously love it. I finished the first season and started the second season. I am so glad that PBS has full episodes on their website.

Midnight In Paris

This movie is just as amazing! Paris in the 20's? Yeah- fabulous. Owen Wilson does such a good job. This movie made me want to go to Paris and never come home! Seriously- you need to see this movie if you haven't already. And if you have already seen it- see it again!

My sick bed:

And this is how I look when I am sick:

Yeah- pathetic.

Well- I am feeling better today. I still can't have any dairy. I tried to have cereal and milk this morning.... bad idea.

Harrison has been so great. When I came back to bed after first getting sick, he reached over and patted my back and asked if there was anything he could do for me. Just that small act of love and kindness meant a lot. So much! I love him.

Well- I am gonna go take a nap. I am so tired still. Maybe I will try some chicken soup again! Have a great day!

Can Monday be Fun-Day??

2012-01-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon we had our home teachers come over. I love our home teachers. They are genuinely nice and I think really concerned for the welfare of our little Allen Family. The message they brought with them was great. The lesson came from the First Presidency's Message of Living an Abundant Life. We talked about the ABC's of living an abundant life.

A- Attitude.
Attitude really changes everything. I heard a quote once that said:

I think this is so true. If you go into a situation with a bad attitude... the situation will be nothing but bad. I learned this kind of the hard way. I had lots of sad and mad feeling in my job for a long time. But I went into my job with the attitude "This job will never be as good as my last job!" and "These people will never understand me or be as great as my last bunch of co-workers!"
What an awful way to think. Well folks can totally read between the lines with an attitude like that... and they did. I set myself up for failure with my attitude. And I had WAY too much pride to admit that I was making myself miserable. It was much easier to blame it on everybody else in my environment.
The moment I decided to change my attitude, my life got so much easier. I decided that my workplace was great and the people in it were only trying to do their best. Instead of going to work with my nose high in the air, I went with a smile on my face and a friendly "Good Morning!" it did wonders!

So- I thought about this again this morning when I popped my eyes open and realized that it was MONDAY! Why do we hate Monday's so much? What did they ever do to us? Why are we (and I include myself) so mad at Monday for taking away our weekend?

So- instead of grumbling about MONDAY... I decided that Monday could be Monday- Funday! Maybe this attitude will make Monday's just as wonderful as Friday. I feel bad that Friday gets such great attention and we just scoff and yell at Monday!

B- Believe.
Believing in yourself and in the plan of our Heavenly Father is one of the most important things in our lives. If we did not believe that we could do anything... we wouldn't. We would just sit like lumps of clay doing NOTHING. When we believe that all things are possible, we take our lumpy-clay-selves and mold ourselves into something great... a wonderful work of art. Also, if we do not believe that our Heavenly Father will help us through our lives, we will get quite discouraged and our attitudes will turn into negative ones.

C- Courage.
Sometimes after we have a good attitude and we believe we can do something... actually DOING it can be scary. You know, trying a new project, moving to a new place, starting a new job, starting a family. This is where courage comes in. We must have the courage to press forward, even though a little voice inside or others on the outside say we can't or we should stop trying!

I am so thankful to our Home Teachers for coming over and sharing this message. I have thought about it a lot since last night.

I am thankful for the opportunity that I have to be able to choose my Attitude, Belief, and Courage every single day. What wonderful lives we have been given.

Following the Examples of Jesus Christ

2012-01-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day. I love the opportunity I have to be a leader to the young women in our ward. I was able to teach the lesson today in the Laurel Class (if some of these terms don't make sense to you, please click HERE or HERE to find out more). The lesson was on Following the Examples of Jesus Christ.

I only have a few girls in my class but they are a great group of girls. I think the reason I love being in the Laurel class is because when I was a Laurel my self (11 years ago) I started to find my own testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and of Jesus Christ himself. It is a wonderful yet challenging age... 16-18 years old.

The girls had wonderful insight into ways they can follow the example of Jesus Christ. We talked about being humble, loving and serving others (especially our enemies), and resisting temptation (which we all agreed is just so hard to do sometimes).

I think that most of the time we as a general Christian population get "perfection" and "being Christ-like" mixed up. A lot of times we automatically think that in order to be like our Savior, we must be perfect. WRONG! We will NEVER be perfect. NEVER! It is impossible. So- stop trying. That is the exact reason the Atonement even exists. We make mistakes and slip up every single day. It is through our Savior that we can repent and be forgiven of these slip ups. To be Christ-like we must strive for Christ-like attributes... service, love, charity, meekness, obedience.

To bring the lesson home to a place that the girls would feel that things were on their level, I made a handout with this picture on it. I loved it!

After I finished the lesson, I showed this slide show that included photos of the girls following the examples of Jesus Christ. They are amazing girls and I feel so blessed to have them a part of my life.

I hope your Sunday was filled with just as much love and the Spirit of our Heavenly Father.

Now- its time to finish watching the Golden Globes... hee hee

Thankful Thursday

2012-01-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Hello dear friends. Its that time again. Here are the things I am thankful for:

**New Shoes
Really. I love them. I used to get a new pair of shoes once a month... but that is an area I have sacrificed. I did get a new pair of shoes during "sister weekend" and I really love them.

**Teaching
I do enjoy it. I had the opportunity to teach a short and small lesson on journal writing last night with the young women and leaders in our ward. The girls and adults alike seemed to be engaged and interested in what I had to say. It is such a great feeling to have when you teach something and you know that something got through to your students. It was a super fun night last night. SUCCESS!

**Sleeping In
I do love to sleep. It is actually one of my most favorite things to do! So when I get to sleep in it is THE BEST!

**New Friendships
One of the goals Harrison and I have made this year is to cultivate and renew friendships. For some reason we have this nasty habit of going out with friends once or twice and then we never hear from them again. So we figure it has to be us. So we have decided to be better friends. I have had some really great conversations with some people lately and it has been so fun to get to know new people.

**Funny Animal Videos
It is NO secret that I love these. I really am thankful for them. They are seriously one of the best things in life. I can be having the most crappy day EVER and as soon as I see a funny cat or dog video my entire day just gets better. Here are a few of my favorite for your enjoyment:

**My Father in Heaven
I am so thankful for the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father. I am thankful for his plan for me and the comfort I feel when I pray. What a wonderful thing it is to know that the Lord hears and answers prayers. I have had a few things happen in my life just recently in which I really needed reassurance and comfort. I prayed and I was granted that comfort and love. I am so thankful for that.

I hope that you have many things to be thankful for. I am also thankful for YOU. Thanks for reading my blog! Talk to you soon!

Things that I think about....

2012-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

HI! How is your day? Mine was quite satisfactory!

Sometimes I have all of these thoughts that swirl through my head and I want to share them with people... I guess it is my weird need to chatter endlessly. But here are some things I have been thinking about.

***This last weekend was SISTERS WEEKEND! My two older but younger sisters were in town and we partied like it was 1999! It was so fun! I love my sisters. We really did have a blast. Here are some photos of our adventures:

We had so much fun! I miss them already. Time to plan the next one!

***I took the Quantum challenge.

It really works! Like- so good. I didn't even put vinegar in my dishwasher! It was amazing. I don't know if I will ever use anything else!

***We watched the Broncos/Steelers playoff game last night. It was fun. Harrison jumped off the couch and even shed a tear of joy when the Broncos won in the 11th second of overtime. It was fun to see him so excited.

***I had a really good day at work today. I met some really fun people and I had a very successful day as far as "numbers" go. I sure hope that today is a sign of the year ahead! If so- my professional life will be awesome!

***I gave the quote of the day in our morning meeting at work today. I liked it:

At any time you have the ability to say, "This is NOT how the story is going to end!"

See- I told you it was a good one. I really believe that one too.

***I think it is funny that Harrison is downstairs right now watching The Bachelor... by himself. That show is WAY too awkward for my taste. H seems really into it though- which is pretty endearing.

***My eyeliner stayed perfect for almost the entire day today. I was quite impressed. I don't know what I did different, but I hope that I can replicate it tomorrow :) YEAH RIGHT

***I ate a red velvet cupcake tonight. The frosting was quite deceiving though. It smelled just like cream cheese frosting but after one bit it CLEARLY was not. It was an almond butter cream type frosting. I am still on the fence on how I feel about it. I think anything is made 100 times better with cream cheese... so- I dunno....

***I am giving up Cherry Coke (again). I have put on a few pounds that I really don't want... and I know a couple of them are from this sinfully delicious soda. I love it WAY too much. I have been drinking it nonstop since about Halloween. NOT GOOD. My kidneys are starting to hurt and that is never a good sign. You'd think that I would learn that soda is not OK after having kidney stones. HA. But really- I am scared to stop because I get terrible withdrawals and I become quite the Witch with a capital B if you know what I mean.

***My heart jumped for joy this evening when I saw that my all time favorite blogger blogged for the first time in about 6 months. It was like finding a long lost friend. It was amazing. I love her and her BLOG!

***When I got home from work Harrison told me that there was some mail for me on the counter. AWESOME! I had two wonderful cards from a couple of my Project Snail Mail friends. What lovely people they are! I love being a part of this group. Join us on Facebook and keep Snail Mail alive!

***I am really digging that new Gym Class Heroes song that features Adam Levine. It is a body mover.

I swore to myself that I would never say this out loud... but I am breaking my promise... Adam Levine is HAWT. I do like him. OK- I said it... embarrassing.

***I haven't had my hair cut in over a year. Now THAT is embarrassing. Maybe I should bump that one up to the top of the To Do List.

Well- there are some things that have been on my mind recently. I am ready for bed. 5:30 comes quite early in the morning. Sweet dreams to all my friends and family out there in BlogLand!

Starting 2012 with a BANG!

2012-01-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well I hope that every body's New Years Eve celebrations were safe and super fun! Speaking of safe... after Harrison and I watched the fireworks on the Las Vegas Strip we went home, put our PJ's on, and went to bed at about 1am.

At about 1:30am Harrison looked out the bedroom window onto the main road behind our house. He said, "Did you hear that?" I said, "Yeah, probably some last minute fireworks." Harrison shook his head and said, "No! It was an accident!" I hopped out of bed and we both peered out the window. Sure enough- there were a few cars that were slowing way down and stopping in the middle of the road to see what happened and to come to somebodies aide if necessary.

We put our shoes on and hurried to the edge of the corner of the block to see what happened. Well, it was quite a sight when we got there. A VW Beetle had jumped the curb and was half way into the brick wall. YIKES!

We walked up to the car and I asked the folks that were standing around if everybody was alright. The really kind of moody lady confirmed that all was OK, and as I looked at the car, the teenage boy that was the driver of the car stepped out of the car. He looked fine. A little shaken up, but fine. He kept muttering things like, "I am so stupid!" and "I am such an idiot!".

I couldn't help but giggle. What a way to start the New Year! To wreck your sister's car into a brick wall (I like to think that it was his sister's car... since I don't know many boys, let alone teenage boys, that drive "cute" Beetles around). There was simply NO coming back from this situation!

We didn't take any pictures of the accident at that moment (which we regret) but here is a picture of the hole in the wall that was left over from the ordeal. There is a pretty big hole in the wall and see the boulder that is in the planter? That boulder was more in the middle of the small rock garden before it was dragged into the higher planter! SHEESH!

I'd have to say, I did feel kind of bad for the kid. What a seriously stupid mistake. We didn't determine if the kid was drunk or not. He seemed pretty lucid and aware when he was stepping out of the car, but we only saw him for seriously 15 seconds. He was going WAY too fast whether he was drunk or not.

So that was our big excitement of the week so far! I told the girls at church to listen at school for the story of the kid that wrecked his car on New Years Eve and then report back! HA... kind of evil- I know.

2012- Welcome!

2012-01-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well- we said goodbye to 2011 and we are now welcoming in 2012. What a wonderful time to be alive. Its also time for me to choose my resolution word for 2012. I was down to the wire with my choice. I had a few words in mind and just as I did last year, I went to my good friend the Thesaurus and plugged in my words to find a common word. I had words like, improve, lift, and polish. Well, none of those seemed to be just quite what I wanted. But I found a perfect word that had all of these elements in them. My new mantra for 2012 will be:

Yes, JOURNEY is my new word for 2012. Journey is a very interesting word. Journey can mean a trip or vacation... it can also mean a path or a way to something. It is hard for me to put into exact words what I want Journey to mean in my life for the next year. But I know that I feel inside what I want it to mean.

A couple of things have been circling in my mind as I have been thinking about this new word to live by.

First:

I want to find joy in my journey this next year. Whether it be a journey to more intelligence, a journey to a new place, a journey to a new look, or a journey to new surroundings... I want there to be joy along the way. Harrison and I have been talking about "ENJOYING NOW". Sometimes we as humans (especially in this age of instant satisfaction and gratification) get caught up with just wanting the end result to happen and bring us joy. We want the new house NOW... we want the new car NOW... or when I get the new carpet- then I will be happy... or when I get a better job- then I will be happy. We loose sight of being happy in the moment. So, this is part of how I want to have joy in my journey. Finding happiness in getting to the goals.

Second:

OK- so I know that this is an album cover for the band Journey, but hear me out! I do love the band Journey... a lot! But- the song Don't Stop Believing is actually a very good song. But I thought about it and it is actually a great metaphor for my mantra this year. Don't Stop Believing in the Journey and in the goals. It sounds kind of silly but I think it is kind of awesome! Do you have the song in your head now?? If not- let me help you out!

Thanks Steve Perry for helping me out with that.

Well- I am excited to see where my journeys take me and what I will learn along the way.

Have a great 2012 everybody!

TRIUMPH

2011-12-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

So it is the end of 2011. I would have to say that the year has gone by pretty dang fast. There have been a lot that has happened in the last year. My post today is to follow up on my year long goal and resolution. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can click HERE and read about what my New Years goal was.

So instead of making a New Years resolution (which lets be honest, nobody ever keeps) I made a goal to incorporate one word into my entire year to make myself better. This year's word was TRIUMPH.

How did I triumph this year?? Let's explore this together... I think the biggest triumph I have made this year is my feelings towards somebody in my life. I have had downright hateful feelings towards this person and it was really affecting my daily life. Through prayer, service, venting, and some change of attitude... I have triumphed over those feelings. This person isn't my best friend by any means, but I no longer think about pushing them into traffic every time I see them. I do believe I even have some sort of love for this "enemy". I really feel like this is a huge triumph for me.

I also triumphed in my workplace this year. I was able to get a promotion and take on some new responsibilities (which isn't an easy feat in a small business working environment). I am really happy about this triumph. I was able to prove to my boss that I was capable and strong enough to take on the responsibilities. GO ME!

This next triumph probably shouldn't count but I am going to talk about it anyway. I triumphed over extra weight this last spring. I was down to my goal weight and was eating healthy and was into some skinny jeans. Sadly, I am back to the hefty jeans and the weight is back. Something I need to constantly work on I suppose... but for a little while- the triumph had been made!

I triumphed in relationships this year. Especially with my younger sisters. We are all adults now and I feel like this last year has really been a turning point with each other. Instead of seeing them as little annoying sisters, I see them as equals (well most of the time... I am still working on not being such a bossy older sister). I see them as adults with value and worth. They have made awesome decisions in their lives and some of those decisions are real examples to me!

Those are the big triumphs that I can think of for the last year. I have learned a lot and even better, learned from some mistakes. I am thankful for all my blessings and all that I have in my life.

May 2012 bring just as much accomplishment and joy. I am still thinking about my word for 2012. I haven't nailed one down quite yet but I have a few days. I will definitely be posting about my new word. Take some time and reflect on your life and how your year has been. I bet you will count more wins than losses, more love than hate. May the next year be even better for you too!

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T16:21:00.001-08:00

I hope your day has been filled with joy, love, good food, friends, family, and PRESENTS! But seriously- don't forget what the true meaning of Christmas is all about.

Thankful Thursday Part 2

2011-12-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

I was so distraught last night that I thought it was Thursday... and it was only Wednesday. Well today was a better day. I will seriously post for real later.

OK- bye

Thankful Thrusday

2011-12-21T21:55:00.001-08:00

I am thankful today is over and I can go to bed. I will post for real another day.

Thankful Saturday

2011-12-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

This happens time and time again... I get into these funks where I don't think that anything fun or exciting or noteworthy happens to us. Lame- I know. I should stop thinking like that! Well, here are some things that I have been thankful for this week (in no particular order):

My boss and co workers
I really do have a great boss. He is pretty awesome. He is so generous and kind. He really does care about his employees and he is a pretty funny guy actually. We had our little company Christmas party this last week and it was super fun. We went to a teppanyaki steak house for lunch. It was the first time I had ever been to one. It was seriously awesome to watch. (and that's my awesome boss and his awesome wife in the background)

We had a ton of fun. I work with all women (except for our boss- the doctor) and sometimes it can be a real challenge... but it seems the last little while has been great! We have all been getting along and been working as a great team!

Eryn, Gynene, and myself at lunch

My brother Westley
I don't know if I have ever written a Thankful Thursday post about my brother Westley. He is almost 9 years old and he is the youngest of my biological siblings. He is awesome. He is seriously one of the funniest people I know. He has awesome comedic timing and he is so full of energy. My sister sent me the following picture of Wes. He has been wearing this funny Santa hat and beard off and on the last couple of weeks and one night he fell asleep in it while trying to technically stay "in his room" at bed time and still listen to the conversations and the movie going on in my mom's living room.

We decided to call him Hobo Santa

The cats
Its kind of a creepy cat lady thing to do to brag about the felines in one's life... but I don't care. I am going to do it anyway. I love my cats. Even though we had about a year when they were a pain in the butt and I was seriously contemplating sending them to another family to live. Well they both grew out of their teenage years (well months in human time but years I guess in cat time) and they are once again awesome. They love to be outside but they have been spoiled and they now sleep inside at night (especially since it has been near freezing temps here in Vegas over night). I do love them... even if I do have to take a Benadryl before we go to bed since I am technically allergic to them and they make my throat itch- even when they sleep at the bottom of the bed.
One draw back to having inside/outside cats... They still wake me up at about 5:15am no matter what day it is to be let back out into the wild outdoors. ARG

Christmas music
I love it. But only AFTER Thanksgiving. I have enjoyed listening to Christmas music in the car, at work, in stores, and everywhere else my life may take me. It is pretty hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit most of the time... but Christmas carols definitely help. Confession- Christmas is only 8 days away and I have not put a single Christmas decoration up. Yeah- pretty sad!

My church calling
I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to work with the Young Women (teenage girls ages 12-18) in my ward at church. It has been such a blessing. I have been pleasantly surprised that the girls don't think I am too old to be cool yet. PHEW. It was seriously a fear of mine. Actually- I had one of the girls (almost 16 years old) tell me that she wishes that I could come and hang out with her at school. I took it as a compliment. But seriously- I am developing such a deep love for these girls. They are teaching me so much (like how to "shuffle"... which is the Running Man dance from the 80's but just named something else now). I know that it was no coincidence that I was called to serve these girls. I prayed for experiences to strengthen my testimony in our Savior, Jesus Christ and also to gain a stronger testimony of the core principles of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was given this job not very long after my prayers had started.

Vegas weather
So sometimes the summers can have brutal days of 110 degrees... but I will take those days for the payoff in the "winter" time. It has been near 60 degrees and it has been FABULOUS! Since I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, the warmer Vegas weather in the winter does wonders for my moods and my well being. I love only having to invest in a light jacket and sweaters in the winter months. I do NOT miss the snow of Colorado and Utah ONE SINGLE BIT! I love that the palm trees and grass (for the most part) stay perky and green for Christmas time!

I know there are many friends and family members that read this blog. Leave me a comment with some of the things you are thankful for.

Thankful Thursday

2011-12-08T12:55:00.001-08:00

Wow- I didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted! My life seems to be getting busier and busier! OK- let's recap the last little while with a Thankful Thursday!

Dates with my Husband
Yeah yeah- I know that I have posted about this and just worded the title different about a hundred times... but its true! I am seriously thankful for the time I get to spend with my husband. My work and his school schedule can get pretty crazy at times and some nights we get to see each other for about 45 minutes before we head off to bed. So- the days and evenings when we can spend a CHUNK of time together are amazing to me!

Community Events
I have really been feeling a sense of community lately. It might be because I was given some responsibilities at work which include getting our company "out" in the community more. So community events have been a little more important to me. But that aside- it is really awesome to see folks rally around each other for a common goal or cause.
We recently went to the annual Santa Run 5K here in Las Vegas. We went to watch this time, but I definitely think that we will actually participate next year. There were over 4,000 Santas who ran for charity. I think we broke a world record of most Santas in a single place too. That's awesome. It was fun to see all the human and K9 Santas that chilly morning (well chilly for Las Vegas. It was a cool 40 degrees with a slight wind... bbrr).

Humor
I could be wrong, but I think I am kind of funny. I mean- I know I am not the funniest person on the planet... but I think I am pretty dang close to it. KIDDING... sort of. But anyway- I can appreciate funny things. I love to laugh. There were a couple of funny things that happened to me the last little while.

First- a text. I was texting back and forth with Harrison about some stuff and I was mentioning my sister, who's name is Charnae. My phone auto corrected her name to GARBAGE! I about died with laughter. I had tears running down my face because I was laughing so hard. I promise I don't think my sister is garbage... just my phone.

I have a co worker who wears wigs to work. It is a good idea when you really think about it. You just pop it on and you have a whole new look and if you don't like it... just take it off and you are back to normal. Well I took a turn with the wig. I thought it was hilarious! I am not a "bangs" kind of girl. When I get them... I end up regretting it about 4 hours later. What do you think? Hilarious or not?

Harrison thought I looked like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. A couple of the girls at work also thought that. I can see it. But I don't know if I am ready to make the humorous move to bangs quite yet.

New Jewelry
Harrison asked me the other day if I ever wanted new jewelry. We had just viewed about the million-th commercial for diamonds and jewelry on tv during the program we were watching. I told him what I thought. He took my advice and I got a beautiful new ring last night after our breakfast for dinner at IHop. He is a good egg.

I know this is kind of an obscure Thankful Thursday. It is more of an update rather than a thankful post... but- I have to multi-task on this one.

I hope you are all well.

Craft Night and other thoughts

2011-11-28T17:37:00.001-08:00

I decided I would get some housework done this evening. It got as far as getting the living room cleaned up. I have had some company though...
Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery, Randy Travis, Sammy Kershaw, and Tim McGraw have kept me company on my Garth Brooks Pandora station this evening. I really like the station! I think I found the trick to Pandora. As long as you don't hit "like" or "don't like" the station will play stuff that actually pertains to your station and actual likes. If you start fine-tuning the station- it starts adding crap into it.
Also, the kitties have been keeping me company. They are quite happy that we are home I think. They are both laying next to me and purring away. They didn't come home for a while last night and today and we thought that they might be in the pound or dead... but they showed their little faces finally.

So I didn't post about this... but I am now. On Saturday night we had CRAFT NIGHT! Girls Only! It was super fun. My sisters, mother, and I pulled out the glitter, scissors, paper, and glue and got our creative juices flowing.

It was seriously so much fun. I think my mom will be vacuuming up glitter for the next month! It was EVERYWHERE!!! I am so thankful for family who likes to craft (or doesn't like to craft but does it anyway).

OH- this is a funny video! My baby sister, Audrey finally recognizes Harrison and I. She has been pretty afraid of us up until this last trip. I think it finally clicked in her 2 1/2 year old brain that we were family and not just a couple of weirdos who came to mom's house every now and then. ANYWAY- one of the nights we were there she was playing and laughing with Harrison. She decided that Harrison was HER Harrison!

She is a silly girl! She is growing up with a funny personality.

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

2011-11-25T21:10:00.001-08:00

On the day set aside to reflect on thankfulness- I am indeed thankful for many things. Harrison and I made the 8 hour trek to Grand Junction to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We were fortunate enough to have 9 out of 10 kids at home. It has been a wonderful weekend. Here are some highlights of my family fun that I am very thankful for!

We had some time to snap a few family photos

We are kind of crazy. Well- a lot crazy

9 out of 10 kids oldest to youngest (we are missing #2)

Tallest to shortest (I am now 4th in line)

We had lots of food, family, and fun. We seriously had so much food. And the PIES. THE PIES! We made 8 pies (5 of which were apple) and I have eaten at least an entire apple pie just by myself... and I really don't think that is an exaggeration.

Mom making pie!

Holly and Audrey helping with pie

Pies and pies and pies!

My mom's apple pie is seriously the best in the world. NO JOKE!

While we baked pies, dad worked on the computer

Noellee was putting around trying to "help" where she could

Auntie Laura helped Noellee with her hair for pictures

Audrey and Harve loved eating the apple peels with their lunch

Brok couldn't wait to get outside to play some football with the boys

The big (and a couple of little) boys played football outside in the crisp air

My 3 sisters! Laura, Charnae, and Audrey. I really do love them!

Westley, Jaala, Christian, and Laura

Christian and Jaala making faces

I am so thankful for my family. We really do love each other. We all seem to get along (and that is an awesome feat... since there are 10 of us... and a few in-laws too).

I am thankful for the time I have had with my family this weekend. The food has been stupendous, the visiting has been stimulating, and the laughing together has been wonderful.

I am thankful for all that I have. I am thankful for a vehicle that is reliable enough to get us from Las Vegas to Grand Junction safely and with a heater/air conditioner that works.

I am thankful for my siblings. I have a special bond with each of them. I have been able to laugh HARD with my sisters, and cuddle with my younger brothers.

I am thankful for my parents. They are the best parents I have ever had! But really- they are wonderful. They are wise and they are grounded in their beliefs and faith in Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for that. I am thankful for the values and standards they taught me while I was in their house.

I am thankful for good food and the ability myself and my families have to buy food and eat food.

I am thankful for many many things. I hope you and your family have also had a wonderful and blessed holiday. Be thankful for the things you have and the relationships you have with others.

LOVE YALL!

Thankful Thursday!!!

2011-11-17T15:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Thursday to you! How has your week been? I hope you have lots to be thankful for! I know I do... when I think about it. Let's recap the week:

Date Nights
We went out with friends on 11-11-11. It was super fun. We went and supported the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in their season opener. It was fun... especially because our Rebels won! Whoot! So fun!

We had better seats this time... but we were still pretty high up. BUT- no young boys around with beer to spill on me! That was definitely a plus!

The three husbands enjoying the game

Happy 11:11 on 11-11-11!

Marriage
Yes- I am so thankful to be married! Harrison and I attended a marriage seminar last weekend. We learned how to make our marriage Good, Better, and Best. It was REALLY good. The speaker was great and I took a boat-load of notes. I really am thankful for Harrison and the marriage that we have. We have been married 6 1/2 years and I am really proud of that. Sure we have fights and disagreements, but you know- we have it pretty dang good!
Harrison tried to teach me to drive his manual car last weekend. I sucked. It was funny. He is a great teacher. He was so patient and he was more than willing to laugh with me (and at me) and guide me through the process. He gave me positive comments even though the car stalled at least 30 times that afternoon. Well- the next day I found this on my steering wheel when I got in my truck to go to work...

So awesome! It was great. I love my husband (like when I try to explain how much I love him- it will make you want to puke because it's so mushy- LOVE).

Love
I know this blessing sounds generic... and I can see how it could be generic. There has been many ways this last week that I have been shown love. In word, in phone calls, in deed, in texts, in hugs, in laughter, in notes... the list goes on. I am thankful that I am loved.

I hope you have many things that you are thankful for. If you can't think of any... just know that I am thankful you read this post and I am sending you love! It sounds sappy- but I am in a kind of sappy mood right now :)

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Lots to be thankful for... especially with the holiday dedicated to thankfulness right around the corner. So here we go. This week I am thankful for:

Einstein Bagles
They have really saved me these last few mornings with their cranberry bagel coolness and their asiago bagle awesomeness (especially when it has cream cheese and tomatoes on it). YUM! AND- the manager at the register knows my name now. Cool.

Service
We were able to help some friends of ours move to Utah this weekend. It was a very fast trip but I really am thankful that we were able to help them move all of their stuff so that they can begin a new chapter in their lives.

Fall Weather
It has finally made it's way to Vegas. Brisk mornings and nights that need slippers and blankets. Although- I am still not a fan of getting out of the shower and feeling like I just stepped out onto the Tundra. But- nevertheless... I am thankful for fall briskness.

Cruise Control
Seriously- this sanity saving gadget is very much taken for granted. On our trip to/from Utah... saved my sanity (and my foot that is still sore from falling down the stairs the other week).

Sisters
I have talked to both of my adult sisters quite a bit this week and I am very thankful for them. I didn't used to be... like when we were all younger. I always thought of them as the annoying "little sisters"... but I have grown to love love love them and appreciate them unconditionally. We laugh a lot together. We are quite silly and get kinda stupid with each other... which I love!

10 years ago

Now

The New iPhone Update
Although iCloud is still sort of confusing to me... the new update and the new features on my phone/computer are pretty amazing! I love them! I love technology and I love the fact that I own cool technology.

The Book of Mormon

I have been trying (though falling way behind) to get it read in 90 days. I have been really trying to read and process all that I am reading. It is amazing! I love the words of the prophets and I love the things I am learning. So awesome! Now- I just need to get on the ball and catch up on the 26 chapters I am behind in!

Ok- you're turn! What are you thankful for?

Horror on Halloween

2011-10-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

I almost got a diet coke again at Del Taco.

I asked, "Cherry, right?"

She said, "Oh- I filled it with Diet. Hold on."

Such a scary thing to almost have happen on Halloween. I didn't appreciate the trick when I wanted a treat.

OK- I am done with the Halloween puns!

But really- HAPPY HALLOWEEN PEEPS!!!

Ha Ha... You say- FUNNY THING!

2011-10-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

So- it's no secret that I am hilarious! Kidding. Totally kidding. I like to think I am funny but sometimes I think that other people think I am just corny. But anyway... last night I had a discouraging moment. I felt broken down and just a little sad. Well- then I looked through my board on Pinterest (seriously if you don't have an account yet... you are missing out) that is all about funny stuff. I pin stuff on there that is funny, humorous, funny because it's true, and sometimes a little off color. Well- I cheered back up after seeing some of these things. I thought I would share my amusement with you! ENJOY! I hope you literally LOL!

So- when life seems like it is hopeless and you feel like you are the worst person or most unloved person in the world.... look at these and remember that life is funny, sarcastic, and pretty easy if you let it be!

Have a wonderful weekend PEEPS!

The Twilight Zone

2011-10-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

So last night I could not for the life of me sleep. At all. I kept looking over at the clock and it was 1am then 2am then 3am. ARG. I think I fell asleep fully somewhere between 3.30 and 4am. Well- while I was half awake and half asleep, I was thinking about things. And at the time- my ideas seemed genius! They all made sense. I had my next blog post all set up in my mind and I came up with a catchy title too! It had something to do with an Ice Bath or Ice Ice Baby or something like that... well whatever it was... it was stupid now that I think about it in my full consciousness and not in THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

I do remember what I was going to blog about though. Being hot... hence the ice bath thought. I was put on some hormone therapy a couple of weeks ago to help with some issues I have been having with my girly plumbing (like you wanted to know that). Well- one of the lovely side effects of this therapy is hot flashes. And I mean HOT flashes. I thought I knew the extent of hot flashes... but I didn't until now. I will be sitting somewhere just minding my own business and all of the sudden... BAM... I start to sweat like crazy and there isn't enough air conditioning in the world that can cool me off! Even my scalp starts sweating (which is the sweat I hate the most... head sweat). It lasts about 5-10 minutes or so and then all of the sudden I am freezing! It is like I was sent into a deep freeze or something. These lovely little events happen about every few hours or so during the day and night. So annoying.
So annoying.
Well I was obviously sweating last night when I was thinking about this blog post.
Anyway- Harrison and I really have been watching the original series of The Twilight Zone from the 50's. It is fun. Did you know that they didn't have the "do do do do" music until the second season?? Well- they didn't. We have watched almost half of the first season I think and Harrison and I have to just add the "do do do do" in ourselves.

Also- I pilfered through the house today to find some spare change to go get a cherry coke. I have been craving them like MAD on this dang hormone shot thing. So- I found some quarters and a ton of dimes and booked it to Del Taco to get a Cherry Coke. I love that they have it in the fountain. Well- I went through the drive-thru (mainly because I have been cleaning the house in my PJ's all morning and I didn't want to get dressed and I have baking soda paste dried to my legs right now and I didn't want to walk into the restaurant). Well- I pulled away and headed back home and I took a swig.

IT'S NOT CHERRY COKE!!! THEY GAVE ME DIET COKE!

Which I hate. Really bad. And I have a huge cup of it. And it was too much of a hassle to turn around and tell them what a sad mistake they had made. So- I am suffering through a diet coke. It serves me right though. I have been drinking too much of the stuff lately. It is my "manna from heaven" (which I should get around to telling you about that story someday). So- I am sure that Harrison will agree (because he is always getting on my case about drinking too much CC... which he should) that I was punished with Diet Coke today because it is a sign to stop drinking soda!!!!!!

I have been crafting more since my post about craft weekend. I made myself a laptop case... which I love! Like a lot. Like to the point that I want to make one for everyday of the week.

I also busted out my mad banner skills for our friend Stephanie who just had a birthday. She is in love with Halloween and her birthday is in October! FABULOUS! I made this SPOOKY banner for her. Harrison gave it to her in class today and he sent me these pics of lovely Stephanie with the banner... since I didn't snap any when I was actually making it.

Tell me what you think about this. So- I made this banner for Steph... and it turned out SUPER CUTE... cuter than the ones I make for myself. I made our friend Vicki her laptop cover a couple of weeks ago and it went off without a hitch. It turned out perfect and I loved it. My laptop case took FOREVER and I made mistake after mistake and there were hiccups and hang-ups left and right when I made mine. I thought about this. I think the reason that the things I made for other people turned out so well was because I was acting in the spirit of charity and service. I believe that the good Lord blessed me with patience and with smooth sailing in my crafting efforts. Now- you can choose whether you believe this as well... or not... but I like to think it. I am glad that the things I made for my friends turned out so great! It makes me feel very proud of myself and very accomplished.

Oh- and I found another "green" cleaning solution that is a miracle! BAKING SODA AND WATER! Seriously. I have heard from a few bloggers and some awesome pins on Pinterest that a baking soda and water paste make the miracle soap scum remover. They didn't lie. I have tried so many products and solutions on my shower it's not even funny. The soap scum just would not come off of the shower door and off the bottom of the shower. Well- I made my paste (and I added a few drops of my peppermint scented Castile Soap for scent) and scrubbed my shower. HOLY CRAP! That stuff works! Like fast too! It took me about 30 minutes to scrub the entire shower and it is almost PERFECT! The shower door is cleaner than it has ever been since we moved in almost 2 years ago! Actually- I am kind of embarrassed to tell you that my bathroom was that dirty for so long. Why is it that our own personal master bathrooms and bedrooms get the least amount of attention overall in our homes?? I think it is because it is the room that is hidden the most. You don't really bring your friends into your bedroom for a dinner party (but maybe you do.. I dunno)... so these are the rooms that get neglected the most.

Now- there is still some work to be done in this shower. I mean- it is going to take another treatment of "paste" I think... and a major dousing of hydrogen peroxide (which is a great mildew killer by the way) to get it all pearly white like it used to be when it was originally built 20 years ago. Oh- and don't pay attention to the girl in the photo's reflection. She didn't do her hair or get changed out of her pi's before taking this photo... and running to Del Taco. But seriously- I don't remember when the door was so shiny and clear! It's a miracle I tell ya... a Christmas miracle!

OK- I am done rambling on for today. Oh wait- one last thing! My brother, Brok... the football star in our family, made it to the Super Bowl in his league. He plays tomorrow night. I am excited for him. Here he is with his fan club after his team won their last play off game last weekend.

FUN! I am excited for him to play in his Super Bowl against... the Cowboys I think. Good luck to them!

OK- bye for now!

Craft Weekend!

2011-10-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

So I crafted this weekend. It was super fun. Our friend, Vicki, had a birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI) and Harrison and I wanted to do something fun for her. She recently bought the same laptop that I also recently purchased and so we decided that a rad laptop case would be a fun project. You see... in my opinion... the covers they have in the stores for the MacBook Air are lame and really blah. SO- this is what I made for dear and sweet Vicki!

It was super fun to make! I kind of made up the pattern myself and it ended up turning out amazing! I am really pleased with it. I was kind of sad that I had to give it away- but I have some new fabric to make one for myself. YAY

Harrison snapped a photo of me whirring away on my machine.

Harrison also decided to craft a bit this weekend. He got an itch to try out quilting. I taught him all that I know... the seams have to be 1/4 inch. That is all I know! HA. So- he made a pot holder of sorts... all by himself! It was fun.

We had a good time. I think the best part of creating is when you think of an idea and when it is all done... it looks EXACTLY like it did in your head to begin with. Yeah- that is my favorite part! So- now I want to make laptop covers until they come out of my ears. I should teach myself to make something else!

Project Snail Mail Winner!!!!!!

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

First off- thanks to all of those who entered into my first blog contest... and thank you for joining Project Snail Mail! It is such a fun thing!

Well congrats to:

EMILY

Emily said: GIMME NAO!!! Why? Umm...well...

I got those Star Wars stamps too, just like I get every cool collection that comes out.

I've gotten all the state rolls and use the state stamp that corresponds with the address I'm sending it to.

I bought the quilt and (Pacific Coast) lighthouse sets specifically for sending letters to my mom 'cause she's into that stuff.

My favorite stamps are the Legends of Hollywood series and am more stingy about who I send those to.

My other stationary staple is STICKERS! I have a billion stickers, they're awesome, and everything must have stickers.

This month I am sending out birthday cards, thank you notes, and correspondence with my relatives and pen pals abroad.

In summary: I have a sick addiction to all things stationary, so I need more more MORE!

P.S. You should totally give away the Send a Hello (Forever) stamps. It goes great with your theme.

So this was a super fun thing. I really think that I will do giveaways more often! I hope you all enter them too!!!

Hope you don't get stuck!

2011-10-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

I swear we had like 5 people say this to us by the time we left the office for lunch!

Working for an orthodontist has some really great perks... the best of which is braces for myself and for my immediate family. I just had my 2 year anniversary with Feller Orthodontics and Harrison and I celebrated by having Harrison get his braces on! YAY!

But really, it is such a generous thing that my boss does for his employees. Harrison was pretty excited to have the opportunity to have braces... even if it might be for 2 years or so.

Waiting for the Dr to come put the brackets on!

Right after the brackets were put on. Just need the wire in!!

And here we are with braces... the both of us!

It was kind of a weird thing. I was super nervous for Harrison the entire day. I sat next to him the entire time he had the braces put on and I knew what it felt like to be a parent (sort of) sitting next to their kid while they started treatment. It was a fun thing though.

Until his mouth started to hurt. It wasn't THAT long ago that I had that same pain and discomfort from the first couple of days of braces. I hated that pain. I wish that I could just take all the pain he is feeling and just feel it for him instead... since I have already had to go through it and I know how it feels. I wish he didn't have to get used to them. But- I know he won't regret it. It will all be worth it in the end!

So now we both have braces and it is awesome. And no... we didn't get stuck after kissing... we tried and it didn't happen! HA

Thankful Thursday

2011-09-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things I am thankful for. I have felt so loved by many and so full of joy (even though I have complained quite a bit on this dang blog the last few posts). So:

FaceTime: I had such a good time video chatting with my brother in law and sister in law last week while Harrison made a surprise visit to them in Austin, TX. Technology is freaking amazing! It was mucho fantastic and I do believe we will do it more often with each other. Keeping in touch with family is fun.

Cute Hats: Because I HATE HATE HATE washing and actually "doing" my hair. I like cute hats to cover up my greasy mop. I can just put my hair into braided pigtails and throw a hat on and TADA! It's done.

Having Harrison Home: I missed him while he was gone 5 days. It actually sucked a lot.

Amy and Mandy: These twins are the friends that I have had the longest. We have been friends since the 4th grade. They are awesome. We tell each other lots of things. We laugh a lot. Like A LOT. We are very different in a lot of ways, but we are very much the same in others. Some of the best friends people can have. Seriously. They are. We stayed up way too late last weekend while Harrison was gone talking about everything from church to scary movies (which is why we were up late... there was NO way I was driving home by myself after we talked about creepy things).

Sewing: I am learning so much with my sewing machine and I really enjoyed making REAL curtains for my living room (well hemming them really... I didn't really make any of them). I enjoy making beautiful things by myself.

Take a moment and think about what you are thankful for this week. Tell me about it in a comment. It is so fun to hear about what makes other people happy and thankful.

The Good and The Bad (there was no ugly)

2011-09-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

But I will start with the bad. It's always good to end with the good, right?? My boss has a lame joke that he tells all of our patients when he tells them about braces. I love the joke every time... but I hear it like 5 times a day... almost every day. After he takes a look at the patient and he has his recommendations he says, "OK, do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He always starts with the bad news. "The bad news is that you need braces for (x amount of time). Do you want to know the good news? You get to have braces for (x amount of time)!"- and then he gives them a high five. It is hysterical to the patients most days. I like my boss for those kinds of things.

So- the bad news. Sometimes people can just be down right mean. No matter what you do (or don't do) they are just mean and sneaky and just not nice. There are some people in my life in which this is the case. I don't have any bad feelings or anything towards these people but for some reason they just don't like me. I just rub them the wrong way. I am sad about that. I am nice to them (at least I THINK I am nice to them) and I always try to be quite cordial and friendly to them. It doesn't matter. They just say mean things about me and are just kind of not nice. I pray for patience and for understanding. I pray that there will be a way for me to either just not care about what they do to me or find a way to finally connect with these people. It seems that when I pray for these things... the worse these people get. WHAT!? I know that my prayers are heard, but I wonder sometimes if this is just going to be a huge test for me. To see if I can forgive those that trespass against me. I am not going to lie though- it's a really hard test. Any suggestions??

OK- I am done whining. I seem to do that a lot lately. Boo. I will change that.

So the good news. Today I went to mutual for the first time to meet with the girls that I will be teaching at church. Mutual is a weekly event when all the teenagers and their church leaders get together and do some sort of activity. Well we met tonight and did some "getting to know you" type games since all of the leaders are BRAND NEW and there are a few of us (like myself) that don't know any of the teenagers! Well- it was so much fun! There were only about 7 girls there (there are usually more) but it was a fun time anyway.
We all put one of our shoes in a basket and then we all took turns pulling out a shoe that was in the basket that "represented" us and we told the group why. I was kind of lame and picked out my own shoe. It was one of my Havaianas flip flops that I got when Harrison and I were in Brazil. Well I told the group why it represented me... so now I will share with you!

It is a flip flop which is what you wear to the beach. I love the beach. It is my "sanctuary" kind of. It makes me very happy. It has decoration and embellishment on it which represents the fact that I like the idea of being fancy and looking fancy all the time but I most of the time sacrifice fanciness for comfort. They are from Brazil which I love. I miss Brazil and I miss the people from Brazil. My shoe also represented the fact that I am not afraid to get dirty (both in a physical and metaphorical sense) because let's be honest... who can wear a pair of flip flops and the tips of their toes and the bottoms of their feet aren't black by the end of the day?
I am not going to lie. I was really scared to meet with the girls. I was afraid that I am now officially "old" to teenagers. But- I think that they thought I was still cool enough. I hope :) I wore flip flops... and I have braces... which makes me seem kind of "young" still, right??

Well that is the bad and the good. The good far outweighed the bad in my mind. The bad stuff is all just "worldly" things. Things that will probably work themselves out in time. It's just that they are at the forefront of my mind right now. The good stuff was really good. I feel like I was uplifted on the outside and on the inside.

Another good thing about today: I ate like half a loaf of 9 grain bread from Great Harvest Bread Co with spinach dip. It was so delicious. It was basically my dinner. I think it was one of the best dinners I have ever had.

First iMovie

2011-09-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Remember when I posted about going to Grand Junction for Labor Day and I posted a bunch of pictures from our trip?? Well- here is an awesome video that Harrison put together with the video we took of our adventures! It was his first attempt at using iMovie on my new Mac laptop and it was TOTALLY easy to use (watching him I saw that even I could do it when I want to). So- here is our adventure to GJ:

FUN! HAPPY! Enjoy!

I am not forgotten!

2011-09-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have been talking about this for days. I am sure the people around me at work and home (meaning Harrison) are tired of me talking about it. But I felt so wonderful after hearing this that I feel like I need to share it with the world (well the blog world that reads my blog).

I have felt like I needed a boost in some way in my life. I have prayed for a change in my attitude toward those around me, the ones I love, and toward myself as well. I think that the first of many little things the Lord put in my life to help change my attitude was prompting me to type up my journals. I know that it was no coincidence that I needed some inspiration and I started typing my "personal conversion story". Such little things that make a big difference. I also received a new calling in church... a new responsibility. I have been in with the Nursery since January. Don't get me wrong- I love working with the 18 month to 3 year olds at church... but I felt like I needed more interaction with people in my ward that had more than a 10 word vocabulary. I was called to be the Laurel advisor in the Young Women's yesterday. I now teach the 16-18 year old girls on Sunday. I am very excited about it. When I was extended the call, I just felt strongly that the call really did come from my Heavenly Father. It felt so perfect... how can you argue with something like that?? Well I start my new responsibilities this Wednesday evening. I really am excited (especially because I feel like I need to have a better attitude toward teenagers). There have just been a few things that have really just made me feel that I am important in an eternal sense. It is quite hard to explain, as sometimes testimony related and spiritual things are.

Backtrack to Saturday night- I received a text from my best good friend, Jane. She asked me if I was going and she wished that we were going together. What!? I had no idea what she was talking about. OH RIGHT- the General Relief Society Broadcast as part of the LDS General Conference. I totally forgot about it! Well after the meeting Jane texted me again and said things like "Oh my gosh!!! Did you go!" and "By the end of Dieter's talk there was not a dry eye. WOW".

Well, President Uchtdorf of the 1st Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints spoke to all of the women of the church (and of the world really). He spoke women and the love that God has for them. He used the analogy of the Forget-Me-Not flowers. It was amazing (I have goose bumps right now just writing about it). What kind words he spoke. I truly feel that he was inspired by the Lord to speak the words he did. If you have not had the pleasure (and even if you have) take 10 minutes and listen to the words he had for women. They are truly wonderful.

I just want all of you out there to know that I know that God lives. I know that He loves me and that He loves you. I know that He knows each and every single one of us by name and he is aware of our struggles and sorrows... our strengths and happiness. He loves us unconditionally.

Have a wonderful day. I wonder if I can keep a small container of forget-me-not's alive in my kitchen??

Faux Fall

2011-09-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the first day of Autumn. Autumn is one of my most favorite times of year. Pumpkins, sweaters, apple cider, boots, blah blah blah... you know all the regular fall season stuff. Here are some of the beautiful things I love about the Autumn season:

But then I remembered that I live in Las Vegas. There is no season change. There are no changing of the leaves. The temperature was 102 degrees (hardly boot and sweater weather). THIS is what it actually looks like on the first day of autumn here in Vegas:

Not very pumpkin-y and festive. Well- Happy Fall to y'all anyway! I hope wherever you are you have a bit of color change and you have been able to break out the textured tights and and argyle sweaters.

I am waiting on pins and needles when it finally gets below 80 degrees during the day! I have a feeling we still have quite a few weeks before that happens.

Welcome to Pitty City

2011-09-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

*** Pitty City is a phrase my friends Amy and Mandy taught me in junior high. I use it to this day to describe the following:

So yesterday I forgot mascara and today I forgot deodorant. Crap! I think my brain is going crazy because Harrison is leaving to Texas for a MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist) conference for a few days and I will miss him.

This is how I feel about myself right now:

Well the moral of this post is: I stank today (I was Pitty City). I get pit stink very easily and so not wearing deodorant made it worse and no amount of Fabreze covered it up the entire day. I felt bad for the patients I had to be around today. And- the co worker who hugged me after lunch. I apologize to those people for my stench. I promise to be better :). My friend Stephanie told me today that she carries around deodorant with her for that very reason. I think she is a smart and I think I am going to take her advise. Another moral of this post- I hate when I am apart from my husband for more than a day. It sucks more than stinky arm pits.

Quote of the day:

Whether you think you can or you think you can't... you're right!

Ponder on that :)

I'm tired!

2011-09-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

like to the point of not being able to function or concentrate. I hate that. Harrison would probably argue that I say that I feel like that all the time. Not all the time... but it's true this time. I really am tired. I have a bladder infection (yeah- like you wanted to know that). Well when I don't feel great I just get grouchy, and mean, and whiny, and just plain hard to live with. I feel bad that Harrison has to live with me when I feel like this. He is a good egg for sticking around sometimes. I don't mean sticking around like in a forever sense... just in a "man- if you are gonna act like this... I'm going to the library to study... or... I'm going to Dairy Queen to get a Blizzard WITHOUT you.. or something" kind of sense.
I don't like that I get needy and mean when I don't feel good. I have been praying for more patience and a better attitude. Patience and endurance are the virtues I have the least of (is that a correct sentence).

I have had some really sweet and tender moments the last little while. I decided to type my journals in a Google Doc so that if the house ever flooded (which floods happen A LOT in Las Vegas just so you know) or if the house ever burned down (which also happens a lot in dry Las Vegas) my journals would be safe and I would remember how I used to be. Well- I was stupid. I mean when I was younger. I really was. Some of the stuff I wrote was really... well how do I say it... just freakin' retarded. I am reading/typing my journals from when Harrison and I were dating/engaged. Don't get me wrong- they are a riot to read but I was in that weird 20 years old age when I wasn't really an adult but I wasn't really a kid anymore either (but I was mostly a kid still). It rakes on my nerves some of the things that I wrote.
Well- about the tender moments part. Before I met Harrison I wasn't leading the best life. I was kind of a sucky person. What I mean by that is that I wouldn't let my kids hang out with me. Anyway- I moved to Grand Junction, CO to start "a new life" (and to move close to my mom again who I had lived without for 3 whole months). I had decided that I wanted to be a better person. I decided to rededicate myself to my faith and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been so wonderful to read some of those entries and in a way relive my "rebirth". Here is one of the entries that I love:

Yesterday while I was getting job applications I listened to a talk by John Bytheway called “What I wish I’d Known When I Was Single”. I have really enjoyed it. I took him up on something he said and prayed to know if dating only Harrison was OK. John said that if you don’t get a YES answer its OK! It’s the NO answers to look for. So- I have prayed and so far... no negative answers! It is such a good feeling to know that I am doing the things that I should. I told mom that its so easy to be good here. I am surrounding myself with other people who are striving to CRT! I never realized what I was missing. I don’t ever want to go back to the way I was! I love this feeling! I am so very thankful to my Heavenly Father for giving me great opportunities to grow spiritually.

I wish I felt as strongly about things right now as I did then. I haven't lost faith or anything like that, but it seems that I have been just going through the motions so to speak when it comes to religion. Reading about my eagerness and excitement makes me eager and excited again. I feel like I am ready to dive into the teachings of the Lord and "go to work".

This is one of my favorite quotes from President Gordon B. Hinkley.

Well- I think I am going to go to bed. I am grouchy and grumpy. Oh- and I forgot to put mascara on before leaving to work. That kind of ruined my day (EVEN MORE)!! Harrison said the other day that I wear "safe" make up and it always looks kind of the same. He is right. I am safe. I am conservative in my make up (which I don't like about myself). Well this morning I thought to myself, "Self- I am going to be bold today! I am going to wear GREEN eyeliner!" So, I did dramatic (yet quite classy if I do say so myself) green and black smokey eyes. I was so involved in the "drama" of it all... that I forgot the mascara. MAKE UP FAIL!

Well anyway- there is my half whiny/half inspirational post for the day. It's time for me to go take my medicine that makes my pee Gatorade orange (again... I'm sure you didn't care about hearing that... but it's my blog and I can post what I want).

PEACE PEEPS!

Project Snail Mail

2011-09-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

My mother has sent birthday, get well, anniversary, Christmas, and just because cards to friends and family since I can remember. I also love sending cards and letters and such. I love the feeling you get when you open your mailbox and there is a special shaped envelope with your name on it. This special shaped envelope is different than bills or junk mail (expect AT&T. They have disguised their junk mail in Hallmark cards now). You know that envelope is stuffed with a little note from somebody who cares and is thinking about you.

The "art" or "tradition" of SNAIL MAIL is dying and it makes me sad. It is quite easy and free to write an email or to send an e-card... which is still nice and thoughtful (its better than nothing) but it still doesn't mean as much as a HAND WRITTEN card or note. There is much more thought and personality put into a snail mail note. I enjoy writing notes to the people I care about. There are a couple of ways that I keep the tradition of snail mail alive. I try my hardest to send my sisters and sister-in-laws a hand written note, card, or postcard every month.

This is my September Snail Mail (I blurred out all the names and addresses... I figure my friends and family would appreciate that)

NOW- I am not perfect at this... I took a break for about 6 months or so... which I TOTALLY regret! Anyway- another way I keep the art alive is by the fun group I am a part of on Facebook. It is simply called Project Snail Mail. We are a small little community of people who have a passion and a belief in sending feel good mail through the tried and true US Postal Service. Join us! Make our group larger! We love new people who are all part of the same cause!

You may be wonder what the heck to write to somebody... well- here are some helps for you:

1. Birthday Card
2. Anniversary Card
3. Postcard from your recent trip
4. Sympathy Card (not to make light of sad things... but I sent my dad a sympathy card once because he sold one of his classic muscle cars... it was like losing a child)
5. Good Luck Cards
6. Just Because Cards
7. Thank You cards (thank you for a meal, a great something they said in church, a service in the community)
8. Valentines Day
9. Christmas
10. Fan Letter

The list can go on and on and on!

Something else that I do to make my mail extra special is use fun postage. I hate boring postage. The postage stamp is the 2nd thing I look for on a piece of hand written mail (after I see who it is from). I always get fun stamps. I think the people at the post office get annoyed with me when I ask them for stamps and then I ask them to see ALL the stamps that they have. I never get the boring Liberty Bell or American Flag stamps.... I always get fun to look at stamps. So get fun stamps! Oh- one time I got Star Wars stamps (like 4 years ago or so). Well I had to send a bill payment off and I wasn't happy about sending this particular bill... so I put the Darth Vadar stamp on it... in my own little way telling them that they were evil!

Well- to sweeten this deal and to thank you for reading this post... I am going to do my FIRST BLOG CONTEST EVER!!!! That's right! I am going to give something away to somebody who is reading this blog! One of my favorite companies EVER for awesome postcards and stationary is Cavallini and Co. Well, the winner of this contest will get a tin of Cavallini and Co. postcards and a book of Forever stamps (with a fun theme of course). Here are the rules:

1. You must leave me a comment on this blog telling me what you do to help the tradition
of hand written cards going
2. You must become a member of the group Project Snail Mail (click HERE for the link)
3. If you send a piece of snail mail in the month of September, you will get an additional
entry in the contest. Just tell me in your comment who you sent the mail to and why
(if you send 10 cards you don't get 10 extra entries... just one.. okie dokie??)

Contest ends on September 30, 2011 at 8pm Pacific Standard Time

Send some snail mail today... and I hope you receive some in return!

The Las Vegas StrEATS Festival

2011-09-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Harrison and I went and explored the StrEATS festival last Friday night. The festival is in it's infancy and I felt like it would be a good thing to go and support. The festival had a bunch of the food trucks together from around the valley in one place. There was tons of food, some clothing vendors, and some art displays. It was quite small but it was fun. I hope it just gets bigger and bigger from here on out.

The small parking lot where it was held was PACKED! There was a DJ playing some hip hop music. We had to talk loud to each other because of all the trucks and generators that were on. It was pretty loud.

I told Harrison to make a normal face for this picture. He said, "This is a normal face."

We walked around to all of the trucks to see the cuisine options. We decided that we were going to eat at a BBQ truck and indulge in pulled pork sandwiches. I put WAY too much barbecue sauce on my sandwich and it was EVERYWHERE... including my hair... dang it!

It was super fun. I hope that it gets bigger and better from here. I think I want to go every month.

For those of you who live in the Vegas area, check out their website and "like" them on Facebook. It really was a great time. I feel that it is important that we Vegas folks support the downtown area as much as possible.

I've found the secret formula

2011-09-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Every time I hear the words "secret formula" I think of this creepy scene from the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory:

Creepy Slugworth

Anyway- so I made my homemade detergents and cleaners a little while back and finally had a chance to use the dish washing detergent. I forgot to add Epsom Salt to the recipe and I found out why it is so important to have that ingredient added! Our dishes have been coming out SO DIRTY the last few loads. Like gross dirty... like dirtier than when we put them in the dishwasher in the first place dirty! EEWW! There was soap scum and hard water deposits all over the dishes both glass and plastic. I was at my whits end! Well the Epsom salt helps to soften the water so that the detergent can work its magic. BUT- that is NOT the secret formula entirely!

We took apart the innards of the dishwasher last night to try and figure out what the crap was wrong with it. NOTHING! All the filters were clear and on a scale of 1-10... the limescale and soap scum build up was only at about a 4 or so. Anyway... I poured about 2 cups of regular vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and....

VOILA!

That is the trick! The "secret formula"... VINEGAR! The hard water is ridiculous here in Vegas. The water is really bad... but the vinegar totally helps! So- we will be using a lot of vinegar from now on in our house! Harrison thinks we need to buy stock in vinegar. Is that even possible? Probably.

So for all you peeps out there not getting squeaky clean dishes from your dishwasher... pour some vinegar in the bottom the next time you take your dirty dishes for a spin!

OK- that is all for now. I felt like I needed to shout this wonderful bit of information from the rooftops (well in blog-land that is)! Most of you will read this and go, "DUH! We already knew that vinegar was the miracle product." but thank you for humoring me through the end of this post anyway :)

Have a wonderful day! PS- I heard this quote and I liked it:

Never look down on somebody unless you are helping them up.

That made me smile. I like it a lot.

And now we shall rest from our labors for a season

2011-09-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Labor Day weekend. We were able to take a trip to Junk Town (Grand Junction, CO) for the weekend to spend time with our family. It really was a great weekend. We are so thankful to Harrison's mother and grandmother for setting up our arrangements to come and visit. We love the fact that Alliegant Air has a direct flight to and from Grand Junction. GJ is such a small place and it was an answer to prayers I think when they set up the flights between our home in Vegas and our family in GJ.

I took along some airplane reading material. I love Martha Stewart but I love her Halloween special issue even more. I am frustrated that this is NOT part of my annual subscription... but whatever!

We spent a couple of days on "The Mountain" with Harrison's parents and grandmother. It is fun to spend time together up there. It is quite beautiful and it is a great break from the Vegas heat and hustle and bustle of the city. Just trees, cool breezes, conversation around the fire, hikes, naps, and reading with a blanket.

I was so excited to wear long sleeves and shiver when I went to sleep. I am SO ready for fall to come. I am officially tired of the hot summer (but mark my words... come January... I will want them back).

We had a lot of good visiting time. There were lots of memories and feelings shared about the mountain and the gospel. I am thankful for those. We ate good camp food... pancakes and eggs for breakfast, taco salad, and hot dogs (with Catalina dressing instead of ketchup... most people liked that variation. I was too chicken to try it... I am lame).

We brought dogs with us. They were fun. They love it up there. Tucker and Abby and Little Bits loved taking swims through the yucky lake. I call it yucky because it is. It is quite mossy and I would never swim in it myself... especially when we had to check for leeches on the dogs after they got out... eeww.

You can see that the dogs are quite dirty from their swim in this picture. What you can't smell is the horrid smell that they smell like. They smell like rotting something. EEWW!

All three dogs were given baths. Tucker is all clean now in this picture. They had to wait inside while they dried off since it was getting quite chilly outside at this point. I was happy to love on the dogs when they were clean. The cleanliness was short lived. They got back into the lake the next morning. They were of course stinky and brown again.

We spent Saturday evening with my family. I am sad I didn't take more pictures... but it was fun anyway. We ate a wonderful BBQ dinner and watched my dad and brother shoot off some big fireworks that my dad got while he was on a business trip in Wyoming. It was fun. I love being with my family (especially my sisters)

We get really silly together and have a grand ol' time. I am thankful for them... even if we end up punching each other by the end of the night (in a sister-ly way though- I promise).

I love visiting GJ because it is a nice break... but like all vacations- it was too short and I was sad to have to come home. I heard from somebody once that it is the BEST time to come home when you don't want to. I believe that. When you wear out your welcome and you are tired of being on vacation... it seems that the burned-out feeling is what sticks... whereas when you leave for home while you are still quite enjoying yourself... there are always better experiences and feelings.

It was nice to sleep in my own bed on Sunday night. There is nothing as awesome as the feeling of your own bed at night. It is one of the BEST things about coming home.

Yesterday (actual Labor Day) we did a bit of shopping. I have been told by quite a few people (who shall remain nameless) that my style is beginning to be frumpy and quite grandma-like. So- we went and did a little updating. I was SO happy to find that everywhere was having a great sale! We didn't buy anything full price! YAY! We shopped at places like:

Now I have never shopped and A&F. But- their denim was 50% off and we couldn't pass up $40 jeans!

I have never purchased anything from H&M either. I have been inside before, but there is always something just a little "off" with their clothes for me. Well, Harrison talked me into getting a fall blazer with padded elbows (quite the 80's throw-back). I was scared but Harrison made me brave.

We didn't find a dang thing at Old Navy. It doesn't surprise me though. They did have a pair of cropped pants that I am still thinking about though. I might go back and get them.

There aren't many things I can afford in Saks... but I can afford Clinique mascara. So that is what I got there. Probably the lowest amount spent EVER at Saks... $14.50.

After our shopping, we went to lunch at Blondies. They have really good Cobb Salad. But our service wasn't the best this time. BOO

I am thankful that Harrison and I were able to spend the weekend together. We both have busy schedules (especially his grad school schedule) and there aren't many weekends when we have the ENTIRE weekend together. This was a real treat. It was also awesome that we were able to spend a lot of our time with family. I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. What did you do? Tell me about it in a comment!

Going Green

2011-09-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Target to buy laundry soap. It seems that about every 6 weeks I run out of laundry detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, bleach, Woolite, blah blah blah. Well- those things are stinkin' expensive! It seriously costs me like $60-$70 a trip when I need to buy it all. Well- I decided that enough is enough. I decided to go green. I decided not to throw my money away at the companies that charge me $18 for a product that costs about $1 to make and contains potentially harmful chemicals. Now- with that said... I am not the type of person that is always watching my carbon footprint and recycling like I should and such... but I am the kind of person who is willing to find little ways to make a difference in the environment and improve my way of life. In this case, it will also ease the stress on my pocketbook as well.

So anyway- I decided that I would make my own cleaning products. I have been reading quite a few blog posts about the subject and I found a few recipes that I thought would be the best suited for me and my life. I have made and tested the following products: Powdered Laundry Detergent, Surface Cleaner, Mildew Cleaner, and Dishwasher Detergent.

I have had quite a few inquiries about the recipes and the outcome of my cleaners, so I thought I would blog about them and give you my opinion... and share the recipes as well. So I have discovered that there are a few things that you should have in your cleaning arsenal at all times. Always have these things on hand. They are for the most part quite affordable and they will last forever. One of the great things about them as well... they are non-toxic. So, if your kids, pets, or brothers decide to lick, step in, or touch the things you clean... they are going to be alright. There are no fumes either. SO GREAT. OK- here is the list of must haves:

-Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer makes one that you can get at Wal Mart)

-Baking Soda (not the same as washing soda)

-Vinegar (just regular white vinegar... and buy the BIG one like in the pic above)

-Borax (you can find this at Target or Wal Mart or the grocery store)

-Essential Oils (tea tree, grapefruit, and lavender are some great ones. These are used to make some of your cleaners smell good. That is all they are used for)

-Lemon Juice (used as an antibacterial agent and also a scent provider)

-Hydrogen Peroxide

-Liquid Castile Soap (I found Dr Bronner's at Trader Joes for about $10)

OK- First up:

Surface Cleaner

-16oz Spray Bottle

-2 tsp Borax

-1/4 tsp Castile Soap

-Hot water (it needs to be hot so the Borax dissolves)

Mix all ingredients together in spray bottle. The castile soap I got is scented with peppermint already so I didn't need to use any essential oils or anything to scent this particular cleaner.

I used this on my kitchen today. It was wonderful. It cleaned my counters, sink, and stove top great and my kitchen smelled so good. This can be used on ALL surfaces. It is quite gentle but effective. I did have to mix it around a few times during use to make sure the Borax was getting mixed in.

All Purpose Liquid Cleaner (like to clean your floors)

-1 gallon HOT water

-1 tbsp baking soda

-2 tbsp castile soap

I have not used this yet, but I am sure it works great. Just put it where you need it and clean clean clean.

All Purpose Abrasive Cleaner

-Castile soap

-2 tbsp baking soda

Mix together to make a foamy paste.

I used this to clean my stove top. It worked quite well. It took a little more elbow grease to get the stuck on gunk to come loose but it wasn't that bad. Again, the peppermint smell was great.

Dishwasher Detergent

-1 cup Borax

-1 cup Washing Soda

-3 packets Lemonade flavored unsweetened Kool-Aid

Mix together in big container. Use 1 tbsp per load of dishes.

I used this today. I thought the dishes would have a lemon scent to them but they didn't. They did come completely clean but there was soap scum on lots of my glasses. I don't know if this is the detergent's fault though. My dishwasher is kind of a piecer.

Mildew Killer

-Spray Bottle

-1 part Hydrogen Peroxide

-2 parts water

5 drops essential oil

Mix together in bottle. Spray on area. Let sit one hour. Rinse after one hour.

I haven't used this one yet. I didn't have an hour to wait for the cleaner to sit. I am planning on using it after the Labor Day holiday though. I used grapefruit oil in mine. It smells divine!

Powdered Laundry Detergent

-1 cup grated Fels Naptha (this is a bar soap you can get at Wal Mart in the laundry section)

-1/2 cup Washing Soda

-1/2 cup Borax

Mix together in big container. Use 1-2 tbsp per load depending on size.

I have my test load of laundry in the dryer right now so I don't have a definite answer on how this works yet. I used it on some towels that had been left in the washer for almost 2 days... so they were smelly and mildew-y. They came out of the washer quite clean smelling though.

So- there you have it. I am also going to make my own air/fabric freshener (like Fabreze) but I haven't made it yet so I am not going to write it here.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am planning on making toilet bowl cleaner in the near future. I will also let you know how that one works out for me.

Well- I hope this has been informative! Let me know if you have any questions!

The Summit of Mount Laundry

2011-08-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with laundry. I love washing laundry. I love buying the clean smelling detergent and fabric softener. I love putting the dirty laundry in the washing machine and adding the concoction of powders and liquids that make it come out clean. I love getting the clothes out of the dryer and pressing them against my face and breathing in deeply the smells of lavender, vanilla, and cleanliness. This is where my love ends.
The hate begins at this point. I hate folding laundry. I hate ironing laundry. I hate hanging clean laundry up. I hate putting laundry away in its correct spot. So this is why every so often we have to summit MOUNT LAUNDRY

This is the laundry that has been piled up, washed, re piled, worn, washed, and RE PILED about 5 times in the last 6-8 weeks. Pathetic. When the laundry is done in the dryer, I just throw it on the guest bed. Throw it there and we just grab what we need to wear out of the pile as we need it.
Well- I was tired of seeing this mountainous pile of clothing and linens... so- last night we folded and hung all of our clothes. It took us 2 episodes of Mad Men to get it done.... so about an hour and a half. So sad. Most of the clothes were wrinkled and they didn't smell like fabric softener anymore... they were just clothes. Sad.

Now our closets and dressers are filled to the brim with clean (and wrinkled) clothes. I always tell myself that I will never let Mount Laundry become more than just a speed bump... but who am I kidding?? We will probably have an enormous Mount Laundry again before we know it.

There. Now you know something kind of "wrong" about me. It is kind of funny. We here in Blog-land always put our best faces on. We post about the GREAT things that happen to us and post these cute and "perfect" pictures of our lives. We all do it. I mean, who wants to read about somebodies REAL LIFE?? HA. But- I thought I would give you a look into what it is really like around here... behind the hobbies, the projects, and the fun vacations.

What kinds of things are "real" in your life?? Mount laundry? Mount dishes (which I will post about someday... I think my sink is starting to smell rotten again because the dishes are piled), Dog window art (you know... when your windows are smudged because of the dog, kids, and what-n-not). What makes you REAL?? Leave me a comment and tell me!!!

And a very Thankful Thursday to you too!

2011-08-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah- there are a few things I am thankful for this week:

Date Nights
We went and watched the planes take off and land the other night at the airport. It is a fun thing. There is a radio station you can tune your radio to and hear the air traffic controllers talk to the planes. Harrison also found an app on his phone that allowed us to look up the flight numbers to see where the planes were coming from and going to. It was fun! Especially when we heard the pilot in his British accent talking to the control tower as he was leaving with this big 747 full of people on their way to London.

Brok
He is my brother. The 6th out of 10 kids. He is 14 years my younger. I love him! He is smart and funny and a pretty dang good looking kid. He won his football game last weekend 31-6. Good job Brok! I am so proud of you!

New hair-do's
Well sort of. This was an attempt to use Velcro curlers again. My hair never turns out very great when I use them. I found a really cool tutorial on using them on Pinterest.com (of course) and thought I would try it again. It started out great and it was great UNTIL the very end. My hair has not been cut or trimmed since December (eeww... I know) and so my lucious waves were flat as a pancake in about 5 minutes after taking them out of the rollers. Crap! I will attempt it again when I get my hair cut. But I am thankful anyway for the tutorial and the hour and a half I spent on it and my fun make-up (which I don't have a picture of).

Cupcakes
I love them. I really do. I am all about the cupcake craze right now. I really am. I love the fact that it is a little personal and portable cake. I love the fun things you can do with cupcakes. We celebrated a co-worker's birthday at work the other day and there were CUPCAKES brought in. They looked so dang cute! I was excited to take a picture of them all! I really like the colors in this picture.

Hobbies
Harrison and I have our fair share of hobbies. We have a ton of fun with them. One of the hobbies that Harrison has always loved is photography. He really has a great talent for this hobby. He set up his dark room stuff in the guest bathroom last week to print some photos from some negitives. It was fun to see him create stuff.

Find something to be thankful for this week. I heard a quote this week that I really liked:
Everyday might not be good, but there is something good every day! I believe that!

Thankful Thursday... a day early again

2011-08-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Why can't I get my butt into gear and blog more? I dunno. Well- here is a round of Thankful Thursday for all:

Good Deals:
So it is no mystery that I am a bargain shopper. I shop the sale isles, I shop the clearance racks... and recently I have decided to be brave enough to search for some awesome deals at second-hand stores. You see- I have this really weird phobia of clothes that have been worn by an unknown person. But- I have tried to break out of that mindset and fond some dang cute clothes for a dang good price. Like... my Talbots pencil skirt for $4. Yeah- awesome!

My Hot Husband:
I love him for so many reasons. We have had a few "discussions" the last couple of days (why does it seem that "discussions" happen all the time for a time and then there are no "discussions" for a long time in a marriage. Weird). Well- as emotionally charged as some of those "discussions" have been, we always seem to work it out. ALWAYS. I am so thankful for that. I am thankful for his patience and his willingness to work it all out. Plus: he is pretty dang handsome if you ask me:

Cliche and Positive Quotes:
Yeah- I am a sucker for cliche quotes. Here are some of my favorite... presented in an eye pleasing way:

Well- be thankful for something today... and everyday!

Thin-spiration. Just a little rant

2011-08-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

Well- for the most part... I try really hard to be positive on this here blog. I mean- who wants to read a blog of crap and hate and rants and depression and whining and stuff?? Not me really. But... I can't be silent about this anymore! I have been totally into Pinterest.com lately and it really is an amazing site for inspiration and creativity (let me know if you want an invite to join). Well- there is a ton of crap circulating on this site called "THIN-spiration". These are posts and pictures of being skinny and doing whatever it takes to get that way. I am totally tired of it! I know eating disorders and things of this nature are nothing new... but I have just had enough. Starving yourself or punishing yourself for eating and not being "skinny" is just sick and wrong. Well- here is some of the crap that I see on that site (which ironically make me want to puke. But not in an unhealthy eating disorder kind of way).

It just makes me sad and a bit angry to see all of this circulating around. Now- do NOT misunderstand me. I do NOT believe that OVER eating and living an unhealthy and unbalanced lifestyle are acceptable. I do, however, believe that there is moderation in all things. I do believe in well balanced diet and exercise and keeping yourself healthy and in shape. I have come up with some of my own "Healthy Living" inspiration to counteract the effects of these borderline (if not COMPLETE) eating disorder like thoughts...

I feel really strongly about this. All people (and especially women and girls I feel) should learn healthy and positive habits. Eat healthy and act healthy. Get enough sleep and exercise and indulge a bit too! It is JUST FINE to eat a damn cookie and to have a piece of cake. Just don't eat the entire dozen or the entire pan at one time. I mean, come on people.

Sorry about the rant but I just can't keep quiet any longer. Hate me if you want for talking about this... but you know what... my blog- my rules :) So to all of you reading this today- eat a cookie. And remember to walk around the house while you are talking on the phone (it will burn some calories).

Remember when I used to post a lot?

2011-08-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

What happened to those days? I dunno. I miss those days though. Looking through old blog posts and remembering that I used to write and blog about all the things we did and the places we went and the things we were doing.... I got sad because I don't do that anymore. Well- I am going to try and change that. I am going to write about us more. I am going to make a new commitment to tell our life story more regularly. So- here is what has been going on the last little while:

A couple of weeks ago we were in the mood for waffles. Of course we didn't want to MAKE the waffles, so we went to IHOP to indulge. While we were waiting for our food, we played the "see who can push the sugar packet across the table and get it to hang off the table the farthest without the packet falling or flying off the table" game. We haven't played that in a long time. I won... SEE:

It was a fun time. We enjoyed our breakfast for dinner.

I love to paint my nails and I haven't been posting about my latest "designs"... so- here are a couple of designs from the last couple of weeks:

About a week and a half ago we had one of our cats (Spock) come into the house to visit us one evening. We haven't had them in the house for quite sometime but we let them mill around for an hour or so in the evening. Well- I decided to let Spock spend the night in the bedroom that night. We were petting him and Harrison noticed that his back paws were in bad shape. It looked almost as if a few of his claws had been ripped out. OUCH! They were bloody and very painful looking. Well we decided that he was going to be an inside cat while we let his paws heal up. Well- he is LOVING the fact that he is now an inside cat. He is quite well behaved too! He sleeps at the foot of my bed almost the entire day and night... unless he is sleeping in the bay window downstairs, the chair at my sewing machine table, or waking me up at 5:30am when my alarm goes off (he is in my face and mewing until I get up).

I have also been doing a few sewing projects. I have finally overcome the fear of my sewing machine and I have really enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment when my projects turn out AMAZING! So- here are some before and after shots of my new kitchen and dining room curtains. I am quite pleased with them: **DISCLAIMER: There isn't the best lighting in the kitchen/dining room really EVER so these pics are pretty crappy looking but you get the picture (oh- and don't mind the dirty dishes in the sink... hey- we live here and we are kinda messy)

And last but not least- we have decided what we are going to do with our NASTY and beyond repair parquet wood floors. I saw this idea via Pinterest.com (my new fav social networking site) and I about died with excitement. Paint the wood floors! So simple... so awesome looking... and about a tenth of the cost of replacing the floors! So- Harrison practiced in the downstairs coat closet. Now- these are NOT the final colors for the kitchen/dining room... BUT they are still awesome! We are however using the chevron pattern.

Now I know there are a lot of peeps that will see this and think... HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO WOOD FLOORS??!! But folks- we can do what we want! Ha. But really- the floors cannot be repaired or refinished. So- we decided to paint them. Its a great idea. It really is.

Oh- and one more thing. I am reading the most wonderful book. I have been feeling sort of different lately and kind of weird. I couldn't really put my finger on it until about a month ago. I decided that I needed to be happier. I don't really feel depressed but I just feel unhappy. I feel like I could be a much more positive person and an overall happier person if I just set my mind to it. So- I went to Barnes and Noble the other day to look in their self-improvement section. I haven't read "self-help" books since I was a teenager and read 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens and Chicken Soup for the Teenagers Soul and other LDS self-esteem books. Anyway- I thought I might find some good reads and something inspiring. Well- I went straight for the "H" section to see if I could find something on Happiness. Well- a book jumped right out at me. It is called The Happiness Project. It has been a wonderful book!

I am about 1/3 of the way through it. I have highlighted the CRAP out of it too! There is so much good stuff in it. All sorts of ways to become a happier person... to become your best self. I am very much enjoying it. I suggest everybody read it.

Well- I think that is a good update for now. I am going to be better at posting about what the heck we are up to in our "daily" lives and not just what we did for birthdays and vacations. I miss blogging often. I guess I just felt like we weren't interesting anymore. Well- I was wrong. We are totally interesting! We are awesome! We are blog worthy!

Search for the missing song

2011-08-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I decided to switch my songs from Myspace (yeah, it's still around) to Soundcloud. Soundcloud is a much better set up and seems a lot better. But anyway I started looking for the three songs I had recorded on my computer recently and I was only able to find two of them. Which is troubling because you may remember this post where Jaala is laying down her vocals, and it is clearly on my laptop.

But for some reason that file is nowhere to be found. It seems to have vanished into thin air. And of course Myspace is so esoteric that there is no clear way to download it from their site.

At any rate, things are going well in the therapy/grad school world. I had a meeting with a fellow student this evening for a project we have teamed up on and we were able to talk about some troubling things about our lives as well as come up with some pretty awesome sounding ideas for our project. All in all, even though we stayed an extra 3 hours at school it was fun.

A girl, a sewing machine, and an hour to spare.

2011-07-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

So what is a girl to do with an hour on her hands, a sewing machine, and an old shirt that her husband is getting rid of?? Well, I will tell you. You make a cute pencil skirt out of it! That's what!

I found this really awesome tutorial and thought to myslef, "Self- you need to stop being afraid of your sewing machine. You need to stop being afraid of messing up and failing. You need to just get down and dirty and start a fun project and see where it takes you!" So here it goes:

Harrison's shirt that was in the donation bag

I chose this shirt mainly for the pockets. The pockets were the coolest part of the shirt.

And viola. This is the finished product. A very awesome pencil skirt! I really am in love with it.

I learned a couple of lessons though. The biggest was seam allowance. One of the lessons of a beggining sewer I suppose. I used one of my favorite pencil skirts as the pattern and I didn't even THINK about making it a little bigger to "allow for seams"... so when it was all said and done... the skirt was too small. It doesn't fit around my large and in charge buttox. Oh well- I know for next time. I am going to send the skirt in the mail to my skinny sister though :)

Well folks- find an old mens shirt and give it a new life!

Harrison time

2011-07-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

As part of the student loans we will get in the fall there is a stipend for a new computer. The computer Jaala uses is as old as our marriage and is finally beginning to show its age. Jaala has decided she wants a laptop, but now the question is which computer will fit her computer usage style better.

Jaala is close to choosing a Macbook air for its cool factor, quickness, and portability. I know this is a first world problem but does anyone have any advice for switching over to macs or not switching? or any other pertinent information.

embarrassing

Thankful Thursday- Special Edition

2011-07-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

This week's Thankful Thursday will be dedicated to one thing and one thing only. Two days ago (July 5, 2011) my entire family became a forever family. What does this mean you ask? Well, earlier this year my parent's were able to adopt 3 beautiful children and added them to our family. Plans were made and they were sealed to my parents for time and all eternity in the LDS Jordan River Temple in Utah. They were sealed to my parents in the very room that my parents were sealed to each other in exactly 28 years ago. What an amazing anniversary present, huh!

What a great day for our entire family! Our eternal family went from 9 to 12. The above picture shows 11 out of 12 family members. Our brother, Charlie was not able to attend the sealing... since he is in the United States Air Force and was not allowed any leave time from his station in Washington State. We missed him greatly. However, it is pretty amazing that we were able to have 9 out of 10 children present. The best part of the day is... we were able to get permission for our ENTIRE family to be present in the temple together. All 11 of us were able to be in the actual sealing room. Now that was an amazing thing. To see our entire family (minus Charlie... wah) dressed completely in white was such a powerful and amazing thing.

I am thankful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am thankful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation and the knowledge and belief that my family will be a family FOREVER... not just until "death do we part". This knowledge gives me peace and comfort. I am thankful for my entire family and the opportunity to be in the temple with all of them. It really was an amazing thing to be a part of.

What are you thankful for this week? Tell me in a comment!

Love ya all!

Just call me Martha... well... almost

2011-06-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well- about a month ago, Harrison texted me an awesome picture. He had my brand new Bernina sewing machine in the back seat of his car. Now this isn't just any sewing machine you see... Bernina is a very respected brand in the world of sewing and I would venture to say that it really is the best brand out there on the market today :)

Anyway- this gift was made possible by SO many people. Harrison set up a gift fund through my facebook and email account. He sent emails to all of my friends and family letting them know that I would really like a sewing machine for my birthday this year. Well- the generosity of my dear friends and family was overwhelming. With their help, Harrison was able to purchase my machine.

I got the machine and set it up and.... got scared. WHAT AM I THINKING!?!? I was so afraid that I would mess it up or break it. I have taken a few classes to "get to know" my awesome machine (actually they call them "sewing computers" now... give me a break) and I really am enjoying it!

I have made ONE project so far :). I made a really fun garland for my fireplace. I had thread and I had felt pieces... so here is what I came up with.

I hope to start getting brave and actually making REAL things. Let me know your ideas. I would love to hear them :)

Thankful Thursday

2011-06-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well- it's been a really freakin' long time since I have posted a Thankful Thursday. I believe it is FAR past due. So here we go:

~~Antibiotics... yeah- with a fever and cough and a job and no extra money... working for a Dr who can prescribe the Z-Pack is pretty awesome. Whatever has been ailing me for the last 8 days seems to be almost gone!

~~Kitty Antibiotics... well we have had 2 sick kitties the last week. Although very expensive, I am thankful for medicine for our feline friends to get better (even if it does look like gravy in a little bottle.... eewww)

~~My Mother... I finally got my AWESOME birthday sewing machine and my mommy has been a lifesaver! She is the best seamstress I know and she has a bazillion times more knowledge about such things as I do... so she has been so helpful. I am sure she is tired of me calling her every 4 hours with calls such as "I zig-zag stitched for the first time" and "I oiled my machine for the first time" and "I plugged my machine in for the first time" and "I jammed my machine for the first time"... (I sound like a first time mother calling everybody raving about the first time their kid poops for the first time).

~~Crystal Light Energy... this strawberry goodness has really helped me ween off of the Cherry Coke again. I need more water and less soda... but I can't give up the caffeine. Viola! Crystal Light Energy has been the solution. Only bad thing- I need to remember not to drink it like an hour before bedtime. Otherwise, bedtime doesn't come until like 3am.

What are you thankful for? Leave me a comment and share with me!

Nice day for a PICNIK

2011-06-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

So- I found this site called PICNIK and I am in LOVE! I am not a huge tech-savvy gal... but sometimes I just want to add things to photos and dink around with them. Harrison is a wiz at Photoshop but I really get overwhelmed with it if I have to do more than crop something. Well- this site allows me to do the things I want (like point to something and tell you about it) with a few easy steps! YAY! So- this is what I have done with a few photos today.

I love home decor. I wish I had all the money in the world to do everything I wanted in my home. I troll a few blogs and sites for inspiration on home decor. Here are a few (of hundreds) photos that I particularly love and with the help of this awesome site... some notes on why I love them... enjoy.

The best part about this site... for the most part it is FREE. There are some "advanced" and "REALLY cool" features that you have to be a subscriber for... but for the things I want right now... it's free. You don't even have to register for it... which I think is the COOLEST part. No giving your DOB of middle name... or first born for that matter.

Charnae and Dayle

2011-06-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

My sister Charnae was married to her sweetheart Dayle a couple of weeks ago in the Las Vegas LDS temple. They asked us to take some photos of them at the temple after the ceremony. We were delighted to do so. Below are some of the photos we were able to take. What a great day!

Cat Scratch Fever??

2011-06-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

Can you hear the Ted Nugent tune in your head?? Well anyway- We felt so productive last Monday when we got all of the yard cleaned up. (PS- there were a total of 11 bags of debris that went out to the curb on trash day. I totally forgot to take a picture of it though).

**DISCLAIMER** I am about to post pictures and write an entire blog entry about sick felines. I know this will make a lot of you roll your eyes (especially my mother I think) since some of you couldn't care less about pets... much less ours. But- this is what has been taking up a lot of our time (and money) lately so I am posting about it.

So Monday night I felt a bit weird. My chest felt tight and I had a bit of a cough. I just figured that it was because we worked so hard and I got more of a workout than I originally thought. Well- I went about my day and soon we found that there was a visitor in the computer/craft room. Spock had made his way back into the house and was sacked out on the chair. Well- the cats have been outside cats for about a year now. Last summer they decided to pee and mark their territory with each other on things like the bed, my purse, our nice sleeping bags, and the corner of the living room. Well... they have been banished to the outside.

I went to see what was up with Spock and realized that he had a very stuffy nose and he started sneezing like crazy. Well- we deduced right away that he was sick with a kitty cold. Harrison and I figured that he picked up the awesome sickness from his visit to Animal Control the week before.

In the meantime- I had a full on fever and cough myself. WAH!!!

So, off to the vet we went on Tuesday. Spock wasn't very happy about getting into the little kennel and taking a trip. He cried most of the way. After a check up, IV to bring his fever down, and an antibiotic prescription... we went home to let him rest and recover.

It took a couple of days for the little guy to get some energy back. I bet he felt like King of the castle for a week. He was able to go wherever he wanted and stay inside the entire time.

There were lots of naps this week.

The vet told us to make sure he had really stinky food while he was getting better. If the cat can't smell the food- he won't eat. So our kitchen has smelled like tuna, salmon, trout, and crab cakes for a few days.

Finally- the cat started to eat again.

Well- Spock was finally feeling better. One of the reasons we kept him inside for a couple of days was so that he wouldn't hang out with this brother and get him sick. Well- we came home from church yesterday... and... Dude was laying next to the front door looking pitiful. He was sick too! So- we took him inside and gave him some of the antibiotic as well.

Dude made his sick bed on top of my truck at first.

Both kitties slept together that night to comfort each other. It was pretty cute to look at. For the first time in a year they were able to be inside together without tearing each other apart or the house.

So I kind of forgot what it was like to have cat inside. Once feeling better, they have decided to get back to their "cattiness". They like to get into our faces while we sleep... walk between our legs as we go up and down the stairs (almost causing terrible falls), meowing incessantly until we either pet them or give them "treats".

Dude asking us to wake up.

I am also feeling better. I love working for a Dr who can prescribe meds. I have taken an antibiotic for a week along with NyQuil and Mucinex and TONS of ibuprofen. I am feeling about 80% better today! YAY!

Working with HOES....

2011-05-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

Come on peeps... like garden hoes! Anyway- yesterday Harrison and I dove into our NASTY back yard and started to de-junk it. We went to work for a couple of hours and started ripping all the dead stuff out of the yard. The peeps that lived in the house before us let the yard go to crap... we yanked about 30 dead plants out and raked up about 6 bags of trash/leaves/debris. And I am sure there is at least 6 more bags of stuff that needs to be bagged STILL. Here are some pics of our progress. A few plants are still surviving. We will see how long we can keep them.

I am excited to get working on adding new plants and things into the yard. I really want the back yard to be a place to love. Right now I HATE it... but all in good time. I thought I might find something creepy yesterday while we were cleaning. The weirdest thing we found was a rotten chicken egg. It's almost as if somebody threw it over the fence and it never broke or something. Well- I dropped it and it craked open... and it stunk BAD! No dead chick or anything.... just a dried up yolk that seriously stunk to HIGH HEAVEN!

PS- we should have TONS of photos of my sister's wedding in the next few days. I can't wait to show you the awesome shots Harrison took of Dayle and Charnae- the newlyweds.

Animal Control

2011-05-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, our cats had their first run-in with the law. Spock got picked up in our neighborhood. Apparently cats are not allowed to be outside their own yard. How you are supposed to manage that when the cat is outside is a mystery to me.

Here is his mugshot from the pet harbor website:

This is the little bugger after I brought him home. He is now an inside cat. At least for now, if we can get him a collar we might be able to let him out of the house again.

Happy Anniversary to US

2011-05-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well- yesterday we celebrated our 6th anniversary! Pretty awesome if you ask me :). We have been looking for the last couple of months for someplace to stay and celebrate. Well hotel rooms were a bit out of our price range this year so we decided we would spend the day at the pool at Mandalay Bay here in Las Vegas on the strip.

At the last minute we were able to book a room at Mandalay Bay and we spent the day at the pool. It was amazing. It is the best hotel pool in town... HANDS DOWN!

We spent most of the day there (we got there at 9:30am and finally left at around 2:30). It was so much fun. They have a wave pool that is quite enjoyable and there is also a fun lazy river. Such a fun weekend for the both of us!

We lathered on the sunblock since we were going to be out in the Vegas heat and sun... and we re-applied the skin-saver like 3 times while we were out... but... we are still red as lobsters today. BOO! I do believe that our sunblock is expired. Oh well!

Happy Anniversary Harrison. I love ya. I am so glad we are married and that we have each other. Here's to 60 more :)

My sister look's funny

2011-05-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

So my new iPhone is awesome! It is so fast and it does really cool things! One of the cool things it does is FaceTime. I can talk face-to-face with somebody else who has an iPhone with the capabilities. Well my sister has a phone that does this... so I FaceTime her a lot. The other night as I was talking to my family, my sister, Laura was talking to me for a while. I started snapping pictures of her while we were talking... unbeknownst to her. So this is what I got:

She started taking pictures of me too... but she hasn't sent them to me yet. So- when I get those... I promise to post some funny ones of me as well.

Laura is also graduating high school next week and these are some of her Senior pictures. She really is a very beautiful girl! I love her... in all her looks :)

Do you like how this has become MY blog?

2011-05-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

So I got these photos from my brother Nick, who got them from our cousin Ashley, who is the girl in the photos. Anyway I think they are in Manti, UT. At a cemetery clearly, not sure why though. Memorial Day?

Anyway, there's me with my insanely WHITE hair, and Nick bombing the photo, between the flowers.

I think this photo is very very good, not only because of its retro feel, but because of its construction as well.

There are our awesome Moms. Crazy to think that at most my mom is 26 in this picture, I am 29 now, Nick is.....32! Whoa.

I've been in a few plays

2011-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Going through the pictures that my mom gave me, of me, from her collection it became apparent that I have been in a few plays in my day. These don't even include all of them, but most are represented here.

Jordan and I, in the Ware Gang, I was Every Ware, and he was Silver Ware. He had spoons and stuff on his vest in the play if I remember correctly.

I dunno what this one is

This was a play about our hometown of Grand Junction. I was supposed to be an amnestic Shakespearean actor returned to Gj.

I know this one is a stretch, but I was Joseph. Nick was the angel it would seem.

I was Trapper Keeper, a fur trapper, and the chick with me (Amy F.) was Orange Juice, or something. We were in love, and I had my first on stage kiss. A little lame.

Amy lives in NYC now, and last I heard did theater there.

I played a hippie concert promoter. We were doing a Woodstock type thing and we sang songs from a bunch of people. Jordan played a surfer in this one I think.

Trapper Keeper again

Post amnesia, I remembered all my Shakespeare

I played an alien that fattened kids up so we could feed on them. We toured elementary schools and made kindergartners cry.

I played an orderly turned priest.

and my final role, Puck. I had black toenails.

Mother's Fotos

2011-04-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Aren't mothers good at taking photos? Well, mine is.

She's not the best at digitizing them though, unless you like your photos sideways or upside down. But she tries, she really does, and I appreciate that. Otherwise how would we have these awesome masterpieces?

This photo is scary because of how much I look like my dad, which is about 90%.

I love my mom.

I love my wife too, in a different way.

Bulldog

2011-04-21T00:41:00.000-07:00

Jaala has a co-worker that is giving one away. Should we

get it?............

Probably not.

Laughter is the best medicine!

2011-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm mostly going to let these pictures speak for themselves.
But Jaala and I got together with some friends from class (Steph and Jeff, and Heather [who has a blog, but hasn't given me the address yet]) on Friday just to get to know each other a little more, Dinner dessert and game, and a lot of hilarity ensued. We had a great time which is something we haven't had in a while. So it was nice.

After shooting a full roll of film with this camera, I discovered a piece of paper inside the exposure chamber, between the film and the lens, which most likely blocked about 25% of every image I took that night.

Pinholes

2011-04-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Latest pinhole shot. From this afternoon, as I ate some peanut butter and honey sandwiches

27- That is how old I am now.

2011-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

So it's been hard the last couple of years to get older. Now I know I am not OLD, but I am older than I was :). When I was a teenager, I thought that 30 would be the best age. At 30 years old you should be old enough to have your life in order and have some sort of plan in place for you life... but you should still be young enough to do whatever you want. So this was the ideal age for me.
Well- now that it is creeping closer and closer... I don't like it! 30 is just....its just.... so old! So much has happened in my 20's and you are so young in your 20's. 30 is practically 40 which is practically 50 which is just about 60 which is just about dead! (yes I am exaggerating.... a little bit).
Yesterday was my 27th birthday. 27 years on this Earth. Pretty amazing when you think about it. I have managed to do the things I should to keep myself alive for 27 whole years (well my parents helped me with about 12 of those years). My birthday was good. I woke up with a killer migraine and then had to work. That part kinda sucked. But I got home and Harrison and I went to dinner at Serendipity 3. It is probably my favorite place to eat here in Vegas. We shared an amazing taco salad (that was large enough to feed a small country) and then we went and got a Nutella and banana crepe for my birthday dessert. I also snagged a couple of chocolate covered strawberries (I have been craving them for the last month or so).

Well- I guess 27 years old isn't so bad. I am sure that 30 won't be so bad either when it comes. I am thankful for all that I have in my life. I am thankful for a loving and supportive husband... who knows how to take and tell a joke, for a home and a job, for a (very large) family who support and love me... and for the knowledge and success that I have had in my life thus far. Here's to 27 more years I guess (no really... I do want to live a long time).

PS- Jehosephat..... please identify yourself! We are dying to figure out who you are.... :)

American Pickers

2011-04-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

That show is awesome. I really want to move to Iowa now.

in other news. I worked on this photo in between homework:

Those are really my teeth

Negative scanners

2011-04-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

So I found out last semester that our library at UNLV has a negative scanner that you are able to check out and use for personal projects. I have been waiting for a time to check out said scanner since then.
I had that opportunity yesterday
I wasn't sure what the quality of the scanner was, although I had seen it and it didn't look too impressive, so I just took one set of 35mm B&W negatives and a set of 120mm (medium format) negatives that I have never been able to print. and the results were fun but not that great for archival purposes.

These two are from our engagement photos. Taken by Crystal D. I developed the film but never printed any except those that we needed for the announcements. The scanner got them super grainy and also very purple. Which technically is a quality of the film they were shot on. But overall I was not very happy with the results. But it's fun for snapshots or whatever.

these ones are from the medium format camera, but the scanner only covered 35mm and they are on a different film.

So with a little manipulation and color correction I was able to come up with this:

Oh and here is another pinhole shot that I did a long time ago.

Words of Wisdom... from someone who doesn't have any anymore...

2011-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

So last Friday, I went to Nevada Oral and Facial Surgery and had all four wisdom teeth extracted. My bottom wisdom teeth were getting close to the nerve in the bottom of my jaw and had the potential to wrap around the nerve and cause some damage... AND... the bottom ones were coming in crooked (almost impacted) so... I decided to get them out. LUCKILY- I work in the field, so I got a great deal on getting my teeth extracted by a WONDERFUL office.

Here is my x-ray pre-surgery!

I was pretty nervous having to go through this whole thing. You see, I have never been put under anesthesia before... and I was pretty nervous about it. Well- Dr. Johnson and his WONDERFUL staff made me feel a lot better about things (especially when they shot my IV up with some anti-anxiety meds). The last thing I remember was Dr. Johnson putting the "white stuff" in my IV and me telling him, "Oh- I have watched enough episodes of Dr. 90210 to know what the white stuff is for".... and then I remember waking up and my mouth being full of gauze and PAIN!

The next couple of days were filled with pain meds, ice packs, and naps. It was quite painful to tell you the truth. People my age shouldn't be having their wisdom teeth pulled. It is a lot harder for somebody over the age of about 20 to recover from having their wisdom teeth extracted (being almost 27... I am WELL past the fast and easy recovery age). So- my recovery has been LONG and pretty painful.

I have been afraid to eat a lot of things for fear that I might get pieces of food stuck in the healing sockets... so my diet has consisted of Slim Fast, yogurt, jello, ramen noodles (which I have been swallowing whole) and Popsicles. I have loved it all... even if I have been EXTREMELY hungry for 5 days!

Harrison has been a good egg. He has spent time with me in bed while I have been resting and napping and watching TV. He has been a dang good support to me while I have been ill and cranky.

Attempt at daily posts

2011-04-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well I have a friend from school who is so good about posting on her blog daily even if the topic is somewhat mundane. She has inspired me at least to share a bit more about our life as a married couple and just some of the things that are going on, even though they are not groundbreaking or incredibly exciting. So here goes:

These photos are from this awesome iPhone app, that I'm sure most have heard of, called hipstamatic. It takes square pictures that are reminiscent of the pictures produced by Holga and Lomo cameras . Two very elementary yet effective photographic tools.

Anyway, I have found that in my hobbying life I often oscillate through certain obsessions. Because of this app my interest in kit cameras, pinhole cameras:

(a 1 hour pinhole exposure during practice for a band I was in, look closely you can see us in the chairs)

and non-traditional photographic processes has fired up again (luckily it seems that my oscillation tends to make circles, otherwise I would have lots of gear and no real expertise).

So now I am figuring out how I can use the little toy cameras that I have acquired over the years to shoot slide film and get the effects that are mimicked in the hipstamatic app, in the real way. That is, through cross processing. It seems that if I use 35mm film and a little trickery I can even get my local 1 hour place to do it, but these toy cameras use 120 (medium format) film that is generally not processed at the CVS photo lab. The larger size film is where the square prints come from.

The other thing that has been taking up the time I spend with Jaala is that she had her wisdom teeth pulled last Friday. This is somewhat of an ordeal for a person over 18 years, since they don't heal as quickly, and Jaala is doing a very good job at being a trooper. She saw the doctor today and he said that she is progressing very well and that her last day of real pain should be tomorrow. Here's hopin!