Favorites

I recently used a Pottery Barn gift card that I had to purchase their Bedford large recharging station.  I've had my eye on this for a long time and when it went on sale and I had a gift card I decided to do it!  Why didn't I buy this two years ago???  I LOVE it!  It is such an easy way to stay organized and it makes my electronic life so much easier. 

I keep my the things I use most plugged in and read to go:  my card reader, iPhone, camera battery charger (DSLR) and my WD external drive.  It also has a little drawer that I keep our Flip Video camera, iPod charger, batteries for my keyboard and mouse, flash drives, my Canon battery charger (point & shoot) and an extra USB cable.

Great item!  I only wish my computer had about 3 more USB ports and that they made a charging station with 8 docks.

What I've Been Up To...

Agghh! It's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Where does the time go? So, here's a quick update of all the very uninteresting things that have been keeping me busy:

1. Birthdays - Ella, Finn & I all have our birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. Mine and Ella's are now done - onto Finn's. My birthday was amazing!!! Let's see - pedicure, manicure, massage, shopping, surprise (well, not really..) party with ridiculously yummy food - all of my favorites and so many of my favorite people! Who could ask for more. Ella just had her party on Friday, so I'll post more about that later. Tomorrow I've got to get Finn's underway...

2. Article for The Friend -I am in Stake Primary (church) and we did this fantastic Stake-wide service project last year.  So, I finally just finished writing an article - with pictures - and submitted it to The Friend (our church's magazine for kids).  That would be so fun for the kids in our Stake if it got published!

3.  Trying to figure out Lightroom - For Christmas I got PS4 and Lightroom.  I used to have PSE, so have been able to stumble my way around PS4, but Lightroom - NO clue!  I haven't had a big chunk of time to devote but have gradually been trying to figure things out.  I know I am going to LOVE it!  Presets are amazing and a huge time saver.

4.  Being wishy-washy about going with Jeramy on a big trip in March.  More details to come.

5.  Working on finishing up my 2008 Family Album photo book.  No, not a typo - that is 2008, not 2009.  I'm a little behind.  I'm 95 percent done, just trying to add a few last pages then onto 2009.

6.  Getting everything together so I can do my taxes.  Since we are some of the lazy ones that allow the government an interest-free loan, I always try and file by Feb. 1st, (hmmm, that's tomorrow) so we can get our money back sooner.  I used to really crunch the number to ensure we would break even every year but that kind of fell by the wayside a few years back.  Jeramy and I have talked about it and really, would we save that extra money each month?  Not so sure - so it is nice to get a little chunk of change every year. 

7.  Dreaming of the day when I will actually give my blog a much needed makeover!  Sorry Chase, I know you're almost 6 months old.   Our life was really not that fun before you!!!

In a nutshell, that's been my recent very uninteresting, ordinary, world.  More posts to come of Ella's wild and crazy, cake-pop-alicious birthday, and my hyper little baby who is in a huge rush to grow up.

Favorites

I was sitting at the computer working on a project listening to some tunes and after the 3rd song in 10 minutes was about "breathing" I realized I have a lot of songs about breathing. Super random, I know. So I just did a quick keyword search in my library - 16 songs with a variation of breathing just in the title. Now I'm trying to read into it, wondering if there's a message there I'm not getting. Anyone care to try and interpret for me?

Anyway, so my favorite 5 "breathing" songs:

1. "Keep Breathing" - Ingrid Michaelson
2. "Breathe In, Breathe Out" - Mat Kearney
3. "Just Breathe" - Pearl Jam
4. "Breath Me" - Sia
5. "Breathe" - Taylor Swift (with Colbie Caillat)

Honorable Mentions: "Every Breath You Take" by the Police for my favorite old school and "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant for favorite Christmas

Potty Training

Finn will be 3 in a few weeks. so it is probably time for me to get serious about potty-training him. So, here's how today went.

2:45pm - He wants his Spiderman "underwears" on with no diaper. First time with no diaper.

3:20 - Put him on the potty to try. "It's not working!" He says. Give him a gumball for trying.

4:50 - Try again, still nothing. Another gumball. The mass of chewed gum in his stomach is starting to grow.

5:20 - He pees all over the carpet.

We've got our work cut out for us. Really, diapers are not that bad.

Favorites

I realized that I have never posted about one of my all-time favorites EVER!!! My wallet. I have a Hobo Interanational "Lauren" wallet (actually, mine is patent leather and is called "Belinda" but it is exactly the same as the Lauren - it's just patent leather) that I bought nearly two years ago. My super-stylish, savvy friend Mindy was visiting from Utah a few years back and whipped out this phenomenal wallet, so I promptly went out and bought one. In fact, there were a bunch of us out at dinner for Mindy's wallet reveal and I think we all fell in love with it. So a few of us bought our own and then it became the group birthday gift for 2008/09, so now there are 9 of us that have one. Most of them are different colors - everything from black to bright patent-orange!

Now, like many great things, these wallets are a little rough on the bank account - they retail for $108 and you can find them online or at Nordstrom. If you have patience, the best place to buy one is on ebay. You can get them new for around $70 - you may just have to spend a few months watching and waiting for the one you want and I would recommend using an auction sniping service so you don't miss the end of the auction! I found mine at piperlime.com and I had about $70 in Gap rewards and gift cards that I hadn't found anything to buy with, so I was so happy to use them towards my wallet.




These are some stock photos - my wallet is navy blue patent with the polka-dot lining. So, from the last picture you can see on the right is a spot for your DL. It is a slide in little slot with the clear vinyl. I LOVE that it is so easy to slide it in and out when you do need to get it out, so easy! On the left is 3 slots to put a few of your most used cards. I keep my Debit and Credit card, my Costco card, and my gym and rec center cards in these slots. This is probably my most favorite thing about this wallet. The things I need 95% of the time are right there and I don't need to dig through several slots, or have the entire contents of my wallet on display as I find something. Then you will see the zipper on the last picture - inside there I keep my checkbook and any receipts I need. Then you will see you can open the closure on each side. One side is open with another zippered pocket. I keep cash in this side and change in the zip. The other side has six more credit card-sized pockets and another larger one about the size of a paper bill.

Clearly I LOVE this wallet! For sure in my top 3 purchases EVER! (I'm not sure what the other 2 are). I am very partial to patent leather so I would highly recommend the patent. Beyond aesthetics, it has held up amazing! So easy to wipe dirty little finger prints off and I have noticed that on the non-patent versions, where the wallet folds in half that the leather has cracked and kind of peeled. The patent-leather versions still look brand new.

If you are in the market for a new wallet or need to give your hubby a suggestion for your birthday or anniversary or Mother's Day, this is the one! It will change your life!!! :) ha ha

Happy New Year!

It is so hard to believe it is 2010! It sounds so futuristic. Also, I haven't figured out if it is going to be "Twenty-ten" or "Two-thousand-ten". Any thoughts?

Anyway, 2009 was a very special year because we had sweet little Chase BUT it was also not my favorite. So, I am not despairing as I close the chapter on last year and I am looking forward to starting a new year!

Near the end of 2009 I had an opportunity to attend some great "life management" classes (through our church). In one of the classes we talked about writing a personal mission statement. We learned different things to consider when writing one and discussed various areas of our lives to assess in helping us find "clues" to writing our mission statement. I really took it seriously and spent some time really pondering and assessing my life. During this process one word repeatedly kept entering my mind. That one word is the heart of my entire mission statement and I feel ties into everything that I value, love and aspire to be. Create.

In Sept 2008, President Uchtdorf gave an AMAZING talk at the General RS Broadcast. That talk resonated so deeply with me and is my favorite and most valued talk of all time. He talked a lot about "creating" and it really helped to put it into a different light for me.

The main part of my personal mission statement is: Learn to Create, Love to Create, Live to Create, Help to Create. Then, there are several paragraphs of detailwith tons of specific things that I will strive to create (or help others to create) - eg. a life of gratitude, joy in the lives of other through love and service, memories, fun and laughter, opportunities for my children, a healthy lifestyle, etc. I love to create! It makes me happy and it is such an important part of raising my children and serving others.

One of the many things I want to do better at "creating" in 2009 are memories and recording and documenting those. I read a really great quote the other day that said: "Because we are mortal, every talent, skill, ability we possess, every thought and feeling we ever have, every beautiful sight we ever see, every material possession we own, will ultimately be lost. Unless we share it." (from The Practice of Kindness) I loved that! And it reminded me how important it is to document mine and my families lives. Through journals, pictures, blogs, etc. - they are all ways to share thoughts, feelings and beautiful sights so they won't be lost.

So, for 2010 I am going to try to do a better job at recording and sharing the thoughts & feelings, the beautiful sights and the memories. Heaven knows I can't do any worse than I did in 2009!!!

Playing in Photoshop

I must have been really good in 2009 because I got kind of spoiled for Christmas. I got Photoshop CS4!!! (Actually, I was pretty awful in 2009 - Santa must have got me mixed up with someone else). I am so excited and I have absolutely NO idea how to use it. I used to have PSE and knew how to do enough but I had a really, really old version that kept crashing and that version prohibited me from doing several things that I wanted to. So, thank you Santa and regrets to whoever got my lump of coal.

Tonight I spent a little time playing around trying out a few different actions and textures. I used a picture of Ella from 1st grade picture day and tried an urban action with a ginger overlay and an antique texture. I think next time I will tone down the yellow - she looks a little jaundiced to me - but I guess that antiquated look is supposed to be quite yellow. Kind of fun!

Haircut for Astro Boy

Today I gave little Chaser a haircut. I put him in his Bumbo seat on the table and tied a towel around him for a cape. First of all, he is CRAZY in his Bumbo. I can't even really put him in it anymore because he arches his back and twists himself sideways until he can get one of his legs out of the Bumbo which he then uses to launch himself out of his seat and then he belly-flops onto the floor. It was quite the challenge to keep him in his seat and try to keep his head still and not cut him. I don't know how I thought I'd get any pictures! Needless to say I only managed to get one picture - him trying to eat the table centerpiece!

Ella thought he looked like Astro boy with his "cape" and his hair combed up in a swirl.

Favorites

I've abandoned the idea of posting my "Friday" favorites because realistically it just won't happen every week. But I still want to post a few of my favorites whenever I just can't contain myself about something.

One of my absolute favorite things is something I use every single day - my Clarisonic! One of my friends told me about it last year (thank you Shauna!) and I got one for my birthday last January. The inventor of the Sonicare toothbrush used the same technology to create a sonic face brush that you use to clean your face. It is awesome! My face feels so clean when I use it. Look at these pictures from their website:

The website says you get 6x more makeup removal using the Clarisonic (vs. manual cleansing). It sure feels like it! It also helps exfoliate your skin so products can absorb better. Check out more at their website. If you have been thinking about getting one and it's in the budget - do it!!!

A Pint-Sized Perspective

I wish I was better at recording some of the cute, crazy things that come out of my kids mouths. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

#1: Ella, a month before we had Chase

Ella: "Mom, I know how you can get your tummy flat again in 2 weeks after you have the baby!"

Me: Silent...wondering where this is coming from since I never talk about weight or size around her, even while pregnant. Curious. "Oh, really?"

Ella: "Yah! I saw this thing on TV and you sit on it and move your bottom side-to-side and in 2 weeks you can have a flat stomach."

I came to find out later she was talking about the "Ab Circle Pro" off an infomercial. I'm tempted to check it out.



#2 - Ella, driving in the car this summer

Ella: "Mom, do we have any jeans that we can sell?"

Me: "Uhhh...why?"

Ella: "Because we could take them to Plato's Closet."

Me: What???? "Plato's Closet, why?"

Ella: "Because I really want to go there."

Me: What???? "Why?"

Ella: "Because they "have the hottest styles of jeans!"" (verbatim from the radio ad)


#3 - Finn, right after we had Chase

One morning as I was nursing Chase, Finn came over very curious to what I was doing. I told him I was feeding Chase milk.

Finn: "Oh, Chase is drinking milk from mommy's belly button"

So You Think You Can Dance Shocker

So last night as I was feeding Chase, I pulled up my DVR to watch So You Think You Can Dance. They are still in the auditioning part of the show and last night's episode they were in Salt Lake. Yeah! I love seeing footage of the mountains and the city there.

Shortly into the show this red-headed "burlesque" dancer shows up to audition. Oh yah, I remember the preview about her from last week's episode - she's basically going to strip for the judges, including a little chair dance. Seems pretty desperate to me.

Before her audition there's a short little highlight of her. She's saying she dances in a local burlesque show in Salt Lake City and is trying to bring a little Vegas to SLC and that she might show the judges " a little somethin-somethin' they haven't seen before." As she's talking I'm thinking there's something about her but I don't know what... then her audition starts and I see her name.

Oooooohhhhh my! She used to be one of my beehives in Young Women (our church youth program) about 8 years ago. Huh, I've thought about her from time to time over the past few years. I'll occasionally drive by her old house and wonder what ever happened to her since her family moved 7 or so years ago. Burlesque never crossed my mind. I do remember her mom driving her all the way to some performing arts school in downtown Denver. Guess it paid off for her :) although it's probably not how her parents envisioned her to develop her talents.

I won't spoil the outcome of her audition for all you bloggers that haven't watched it yet. You'll have to check it out for yourself - although you may just want to skip it, especially if your kids or hubby are around. I will say that Nigel enjoyed the audition which did not come as a surprise to Mary Murphy or Mia Michaels or me.

Cake Balls

Last spring we had a Stake Primary Leadership Meeting for church and our message was tied into gumballs and balloons, so we wanted a "round" dessert to stick with the theme. So I found this recipe for cake balls (and cake pops) from Bakerella and we went cake ball crazy!

They are so easy to make and the options for creativity are limitless! I've had a few people ask, so here is the recipe:

Cake Balls

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate candy melts (you can find these in the "candy" aisle at Michaels, JoAnns or Hobby Lobby)

You can use basically any flavor of cake mix and then a complementary frosting. Eg. chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting, lemon cake and white frosting, etc.... And then for the candy melts there are tons of different colors, so go crazy with them!

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (1 can may be too much, so start with 1/2 to 2/3 first. You don't want it too "gooey". Also, I found it easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Freeze until firm.

5. Melt candy melts in microwave per directions on package. (I also only melt a few pieces of the chocolate at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.)

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra. I found it easier to slide them off of the spoon with a knife) If you want to make cake pops. Make sure to put them on the stick before rolling them in chocolate and also ensure you get chocolate down near where the stick meets the cake ball. This will help keep the cake pop from sliding off the stick.

7. If desired, sprinkle with sprinkles before chocolate cools. You can also drizzle a different color of candy melt over the top.

An "aerial" shot of the cakeballs. So colorful!

We made 8 different kinds of cakeballs and used a different color of coordinating candy melt for each one. We had a few "menus" posted so people would know what they were getting. I think the favorites were chocolate, of course, and then the lemon and third maybe red velvet.

Check out Bakerella's website for all of her amazing, creative ideas for cake balls and pops. Any of you overachieving, ambitious moms out there (I know a lot of you!!!) might love the Halloween Cake Pops for your kids Halloweens parties!

More Chase

Chase is 8 weeks today. I cannot believe it! Even though I can't remember life before him and I do feel like the last eight weeks have been a fog, it is going way too fast. He's been such a sweet little addition to our family and his arrival has made our family seem closer. My favorite are the times in the evening or on the weekend when we all end up on the couch or our bed and we just all ooh and aah over Chase. Such a big impact by such a little person!

3 days old and not too happy about his first bath

1 week old

3 weeks old

5 weeks old

Chase is Here!

It's been nine - NINE - months since my last post. Wow - nearly a year! So much has happened. Most notably, the arrival of our new family member. I just realized I never even mentioned on my blog that we were expecting. I just can't get it together when I'm pregnant, so I'm not surprised that I did nothing with my blog - or even look at anyone else's - my entire pregnancy. I am sorry that I have neglected everyone's blogs. I look forward to catching up!

So, yes, we had an adorable little baby boy, Chase, on August 11th. I went into my labor on my own in the middle of the night and he was born at 8:44 in the morning after a really quick easy delivery. The best part is that I was able to avoid having a c-section which just happened to be for later that day. I'm still doing the happy dance about that!!! (Video of said happy dance to be posted at a later date...)

So, here's a few photos of our sweet little guy in the hospital. I love the little scowl on him in the picture above. He was born with that cute little scowl and it's his signature expression - that or raised eyebrows and wide eyed.

I look a little dazed and confused - could have been the "all-nighter" in labor

Ella & Finn meeting their little brother for the first time

First family photo with little Chase

Friday Favorites

Happy New Year! Well, there goes another month without a post. This is in part to a broken computer, the holidays, illness, company, etc. I know, I have every excuse in the book, don't I! Well, here are my favorites this week.

1. Beautiful January weather - Yesterday we had a high of 66 degrees here! I went for an afternoon run outside and ended up having to take my jacket off and run in just my tank top. It was so warm and beautiful. Love that about Colorado weather - you never know what you're going to get.

2. Apple Time Capsule - So, as I mentioned earlier, we had a bunch of computer problems in December. One day, out the blue, our computer just shut down and wouldn't boot up again. After 3 trips into the apple store and 10 days later, we finally got it fixed! It ended up that our hard drive just crashed and we lost EVERYTHING on our computer. Luckily, we had a backup, so we didn't end up losing any data. A few months ago we had a computer scare, thinking we had lost info, so we bought the Apple Time Capsule. It is a wireless external hard drive (that also doubles as a cable modem) that we have set to backup everyday. It has a huge hard drive, it's small, it's sleek and I love that it does double duty. Clearly, it is worth its weight in gold. I would highly, highly, recommend this to any Mac owners!!!

Short post today, I'm working on sorting through the gazillions of pictures I took over the holidays so I can get those posted soon!

Friday Favorites

My Friday favorites are a few days late, but here they are anyway. In light of the holidays and all the tempting treats that abound, and my sweet daughter's very astute observations, my favorites this week are things that I love that help combat all those calories!

1. The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger - I saw this cookbook at Costco earlier in the year and was interested by it, so I checked it out of the library, tried a few recipes then went back to Costco and bought it. I had never heard of her but Ellie Krieger hosts a show, "Healthy Appetite", on the Food Network. Her recipes are old favorites, redone in a more healthy way. She uses good, fresh ingredients and her recipes are fairly simple and fast. Also, the nutritional info is calculated out for each recipe. We have not tried a recipe yet that my family did not enjoy. Some of the favorites at my house have been the Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa and the Turkey Meatloaf (I know you're thinking - meat loaf, gross - but it was really good and I do not like meatloaf!).

2. My ipod shuffle - A few months back Finn broke my nano. So, not having a new nano in my budget, I decided to get the cheapest ipod I could and ponied up $50 for a shuffle. I just simply cannot survive with some good workout tunes. Can I just say I could kiss the little rugrat for destroying my nano! I LOVE my shuffle. I love that it has a little clip so I can clip it anywhere I want, pants, jacket, shirt, front, back or side. It is so tiny and convenient I completely forget I have it. And since I really only listen to it when I workout I don't miss the display one little bit. I have it loaded up with about 100 good workout songs and occasionally if I hit I song I am not feeling, I just skip it. Love, love, love it!

3. My playlist - I have already mentioned it, but I love and need music when I work out. I think it helps for two reasons. Number one: It gets me out of my head. I try and drown out myself trying to tell me that it's hard, or it hurts, or I'm tired. I feel like if I can drown out those thoughts that it allows my mind to wander or focus on something more positive. Second - a good external beat keeps me moving and helps me keep my pace. Studies have been done that prove that an external beat can help you work up to 20 percent harder.

So, here are a few of my favorite songs that get me/keep me moving right now: Just keep in mind that these aren't songs I would listen to in my car or because I like the song (trust me, I have one and only one song by Avril Lavigne) they are songs that just have the right tempo or bass or beat that keep me moving:

Hands Open - Snow Patrol
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
The Way I Are - Timbaland
Around the World/Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
Seven Army Nation - The White Stripes
Beautiful - Goldfrapp
Pain - Jimmy Eat World
SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
Just Dance - Lady Gaga and Colby O'Donis
Cha Cha Slide - Mr. C
Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

I also love anything by the Clash and the Ramones. So, I would love to hear what your favorites are - I'm always looking for something new!

Kids Say the Cutest Things....

...and sometimes it would be great if they couldn't talk, at all!

For example, the other day I was sitting on the ground in my room doing my hair and make-up in front of the mirror. I had on jeans and a snug-fitting layering shirt that I was going to wear under a sweater. I hadn't put my sweater on yet b/c I get too hot drying my hair with 3 layers on.

So, anyway Ella was sitting beside talking to me about some of her cousins that are going to have a new baby in their family. Then she says "I think we're going to have a baby soon!"

Me: "Really, why do you say that?"
Ella: "Because your tummy is getting big and I think there is a baby in there."

OK, for the record - nope - no baby in there. Apparently just too many mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls. Honestly, the funny thing is that I was just saying to Jeramy the day before that I was feeling extra "squishy" and felt like I needed to reign things in a bit. He, being the sweet and smart husband he is, denied any existence of any "more of me" and was able to, temporarily, allay my fears. So, for Ella to make that comment the next day just fueled my anxiety about the situation.

Really, the whole thing is pretty funny. I can't blame her for her calling it like she sees it. Plus, she really, really wants a baby sister so who can blame her for seeing my mid-section overhang as a sign of hope?

Time to hit the gym......

Friday Favorites

Here are some of the winners this week:

1. Nike Running Pants - So, on Wednesday this week I realized I did not own one pair of long workout pants - only capris. I figured I would do myself a favor and buy some 30 degree weather appropriate pants for my Thanksgiving run. To be honest this concerned me a little because I have been looking for "pants" forever. They are either too long, too tapered making my legs look like ice cream cones, too tight, etc. I just haven't been able to find the right ones. Well, Wednesday I finally found them!!! They are the Nike Lightweight Open Hem Women's Running Pants. They are fantastic!!! They are really lightweight feeling but lined in a soft, thin fleece and super warm. They are so comfortable and for those of us non-leggy gals, they aren't 6 inches too long. I also love that they have a little pocket (waterproofed) in the back. Love, love, love them. With that said, of course they are kind of spendy - but right now through December 1st, nike.com is 30% off $125 order. So, find a friend who needs a pair, or order two or make sure Santa gets them for you. Love them!

2. Flameless wax candles - I bought some of these at Costco a while back. They are battery-powered wax candles that have no flame but a small bulb that even flickers like a real flame. I thought with little kids they would be a good option and I thought they would be good to have on hand in our "emergency" items in the event of power outage, etc. I figured they would last longer than a wax candle (assuming we have the right batteries :))

So, yesterday for Thanksgiving I pulled these out and used them on our table, and around my house. Love them! No wax drips on my carpet or table cloth, no worries about my house burning down or someone's hair catching fire while kids were bouncing off the walls amidst all the candles, and they still look great and brand new after using them for hours and hours. Love this purchase and plan to get more in the future.

3. Nick Vujicic - Yesterday my father-in-law sent us an e-mail about this incredibly inspirational man. Born without arms or legs this 25-year-old Australian has done more in his life than most could ever dream. He surfs, he golfs, he can type, eat - he can do anything. All of those accomplishements are truly impressive. However, the thing that I found the most inspiring was his attitude and his joy for life. He does not see obstacles as problems, but as opportunities to grow and reach out to others. He has such passion for life and genuine love for others. Instead of feeling discouraged by his circumstances, he chooses to uplift and motivate other. How many of you feel you could rise to his level under those circumstances? I really don't know that I could...

I watched a few videos on YouTube and the more I watched and learned, the more amazed and inspired I was. Especially in light of Thanksgiving, it really helped to put things in perspective for me and served as a reminder of how many things I have to be thankful for - things that I usually take for granted or overlook.

Once in while I come across someone's story that really sticks with me and has a profound impact on me (ie Dick Hoyt - google him if you don't know his story, just make sure to have some Kleenex handy...) and I really believe that Nick will be on that list. Hopefully I will become a better person in some small way from his extraordinary life and example.

Check him out on YouTube or lifewithoutlimbs.org or attitudeisaltitude.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and delicious Thanksgiving! We had a really nice day.

My day started off with a chilly (30 degrees at warmest), early morning (7:30) run. A few people I know organized a Thanksgiving 5k/10k run on some of the nearby trails. There were about 12-15 people that showed up for a super low-key - (ie, free!) - run. The run was either up a hill or down a hill - not much flat ground for the entire 10kms, so it ended up being a really good workout. A little pre-meal calorie burn - but sadly, only a fraction of the calories I would end up consuming, but, hey, it was something!

A few of us after finishing our run.

Typically, I am such a slave to my ipod when I workout - I need my music!!! - but for whatever reason I didn't even turn it on. I ended up running a good portion of the "race" by myself and just really enjoyed the peacefulness and serenity of my surroundings. We were running on some of the "backcountry" trails of Highlands Ranch and there was often not a single person, vehicle, or animal (luckily!) in sight. I really enjoyed being alone with my thoughts and having some time to reflect on the many, many things I have been blessed with. What an enjoyable morning being out in the cool, crisp air enjoying beautiful Colorado, having time to ponder the things that matter most to me. I couldn't think of a more wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving morning - OK, a hot breakfast in bed followed by a massage would win, hands down.

Later in the day my sister Kim and her family came over for dinner. We had a nice meal and visit, the kids all were completely crazy wild and it was a little chaotic at times but I was happy to see my kids having so much fun with their cousins. Due to previously mentioned chaos, sadly, I didn't even get a picture of everyone :(

Overall, it was a wonderful day and involved so many of my favorite things - friends, family, the beautiful outdoors, a good workout, a great meal and a diet coke. Truly, my cup runneth over!

Friday Favorites

Some of my favorites from the week:

1. Twilight! I'm surprised that blogger didn't crash today since I can only imagine how many "Twilight" posts have been added in the last 24 hours.

I just got back from the movie. I have to say that am the most selfless wife ever and passed up the chance to see it last night with my friends, so I could see it with Jeramy. He read all the books and really wanted to see the movie with me. So I waited all day, avoided calls from anyone who had seen it last night because I didn't want to know a thing about it - I love to go to a movie with no preconceived notions. So, if you are like me and have not yet seen the movie - don't read the next paragraph.

I must admit I have been a bit nervous to see the movie. I didn't know how they were going to translate the book - mainly Edward and Bella's relationship - into a movie. But I have to say, the movie really exceeded my expectations. The number one thing I was hoping for was believeable chemistry between Edward and Bella. I thought Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson had GREAT chemistry!!! Overall, I thought the casting was great. It took most of the movie for me to decide how I felt about R-Patt as Edward but by the end I was convinced. I thought Kristen Stewart was great. She played Bella a little more "flat" - not necessarily in a bad way - and serious than I had imagined Bella from the books. Regardless, that girl is a fantastic actress!

So, the bottom line is that I really enjoyed it and I am so happy that I waited and went with Jeramy (who also really liked it!)

2. Protein drink mix-ins - I saw these at Costco and bought them. I have carb-loving kiddos and sometimes I have a hard time getting them to eat enough protein. I had heard of these and decided to try them. Each packet is mixed into 16.9 oz H20 and has 25 calories, 5 grams protein, 5 grams of fiber and no sugar. The pack I got has 3 flavors - pink lemonade, mandarin orange and cherry pomegranate. I don't really let my kids have sugary drinks much, so they think they are living the sweet life and are drinking Kool-Aid daily and I know they are getting some protein and fiber that I don't have to beg, threaten or bribe them to ingest. Besides Diet Coke, I really only like water (and, of course, hot chocolate with a big dollop of whipped cream!) but I thought they were pretty good!

3. Vicks VapoRub - Finn has had a really bad cough and has not been sleeping well at all - which means Jeramy, nor I have been sleeping well. I was mentioning this to a friend and she suggested that before bedtime I should rub a thick layer of Vicks on his feet then put socks on. I have heard this before but thought it sounded a little hokey. Let me tell you, IT WORKS EVERY TIME! I have no idea why - I tried to google it and can't find a good logical or medical explanation. If anyone knows why it works, let me know. All I know is that $5 is a small price to pay for a good night's sleep for everyone!

My Mom Laughs A Lot

Today at church we had our Primary program. Ella was one of the kids to give a talk. She was the youngest and the only one unable to read, so I thought I would have her try and memorize it. She memorized the whole thing and did amazing! 276 words, 7 small paragraphs! I was so proud of her - she worked so incredibly hard on it.

So when we got home from church I thought I would have her make an iMovie (one of her favorite things to do) of her giving her talk, so we would have it recorded. Of course she spent forever goofing around, hamming it up, introducing herself and in the process she introduced me and said "i laugh a lot!" I LOVED that! That is probably the nicest compliment she could ever pay me. Definitely in my top 5 compliments ever received. I took the exerpt of the clip because it makes me smile (and her "movie" ended up being 10, very dramatic, minutes long)

Friday Favorites

This week I was thinking about some of my favorite things from the week and thought I would add a weekly post to my blog - "Friday Faves." I thought this would be a fun way to document some of my favorite things - anything from household products, movies, books, good bargains, to just favorite activities from the week. Feel free to share yours in the comments. I'm always looking to add to my "i love...." list!

OK, these are a few of my favorite things from this week:

1. Home Run Inn Pizza - A few weeks back we made a rare Saturday trip to the grocery store around lunch time. They were giving out "examples", as Ella calls them, so we tried this pizza. Yummy! By far the best frozen pizza I've had and even rivals some restaurants. Good to keep on hand for emergency meals, or when it's up to Jeramy to get dinner for the kids, which is redundant to add since that is what basically constitutes an emergency meal :) Me and the kids tried the cheese and Jeramy went for the meat lovers. I would still rather eat at Big Bills but these are nice to have on hand. Cheap, easy, obviously no nutritional value, whatsoever but yummy!


2. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl - We watched this last weekend for our "Friday Family Fun" night. Adorable! So sweet and has a fantastic cast. It takes place in the 30's so, in spite of our country's current economic situation it may hit a little too close to home for the overly anxious, but our whole family loved it. And just because it is from American Girl, it's not "girly" at all - even the boys would enjoy it.


3. Scotchguard - So earlier this year I ripped off the very practical black vinyl that I had covered my dining room chairs with a few years ago and covered them with this fabric:

Crazy thing to do with little kids, I know! But I got the fabric cheap and bought enough to cover all my chairs 3 times over, figuring that would get me through a few years. When I was done I scotchguarded them thinking it couldn't hurt. That stuff is amazing!!! The first time I saw spilt, and dried, chocolate milk on my chairs it took me a second to start breathing again. Based on trying to get that out of my kids clothes, I felt my chairs were a lost cause and was about ready to bust out some of my extra fabric and get to work. However, with merely a damp cloth it wiped right off with no trace of anything. This week we've (when I say we've, I mean Finn) had blackberry and ketchup mishaps neither which has been a problem at all. That little can was the best $5 I've ever spent!

4. My new training partner - Saturday afternoon I decided to go for a run and was looking forward to putting on my ipod and having a little time to myself. I got caught sneaking out the door by Ella, who then begged to come with me. After her persuasive argument, she wore me down and I agreed to let her come, albeit not too cheerfully. Funny how that ended up being one of the most fun, memorable hours of my week. She rode her little bike and talked nonstop and even though we went slower than I wanted and had to stop a few times, I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. What a little trooper - we went 5 miles and conquered a few pretty big hills. My favorite, of the many, many, comments:

Ella: "Mom, aren't you so glad I came because then you wouldn't have anyone to talk to and that wouldn't have been fun at all. It's so much more fun to workout with someone. If I hadn't come you would have had to try and make a friend on the trail so you would have had someone to talk to. It's so great that we're working out, training together......"

Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween this year. I think the star of the night was the weather. I do not ever remember a Halloween with such beautiful weather. It just made the whole day so fun and pleasant. The kids didn't even have to wear a jacket over their costumes. It was so nice!!!

Ella was a "Kimono Princess", although she told
everyone that she was a "Komodo Princess"
(like the dragon) and Finn was a Ninja.

We went to some friends house for the evening and had a great time enjoying some good food, great company and the kids had fun trick-or-treating together.

Gearing up for candy!

Ella and Sierra making some
dramatic poses for the camera. On
our way out the door, Ella decided she
needed a fan and so quickly fashioned
one out of pink paper. It's all about the
accessories!

As much fun as the kids had, it paled in comparison to the fun the dads (the big kids :) had! They had a ball terrorizing and scaring the pants off all the trick-or-treaters! It was so funny. Our friend Justin absolutely loves to scare the teenagers on Halloween. So he pulled out all these masks and costumes and Justin, Jeramy, Sverre and Niles sat on the porch for hours, scaring the trick-or-treaters. They were pretty frightening! They put the candy bucket on the porch in between them all, dumped straw all over themselves and pretended they were dummies. They would sit really still and kids would come up and see them and couldn't tell if they were real or not. They tried to behave for the little kids, but they still made a few cry and, understandably, had a few irrate parents - one mom's comment "NOT funny!" another jumped in front of her kid and started yelling "ENOUGH, that's enough!" But they didn't hold back at all for the teenagers. They were grabbing ankles, growling, sitting perfectly still then just slightly moving a hand here or there, jumping out. Without question, the dads had the most fun of the evening!

The "big kids" in all their glory. Top L to R:
Sverre, Justin, Niles and 2nd row L is Jeramy.
They were SCARY!

Musings of a Slacker

So once again, it's been weeks since my last post. Just face it -I have -I am a bad blogger! I'm sure I have tons of excuses for slacking on my blog but we'll just skip all that.

So here's what we've been up to over the past 3 weeks:

• Ironman Challenge - I finished! I took me 11 days and I loved doing it. I love having a purpose to my workouts. I don't hope to see a stationary bike again for a while. I was only able to do one outside ride, so the other 89 miles were done at the gym. BORING!!! But the one outside ride was my favorite workout for the challenge. My friends Marilee, Jenni, and I did a 25-mile ride one Saturday morning and it was fantastic. I LOVE fall, it's my favorite season, so be outside in that crisp morning air and bike in beautiful Colorado with great company, well it just doesn't get any better than that!

Jenni, Marilee and me overlooking Chatfield at the top of our bike ride.

• New Challenge - I was pretty sad when my Ironman Challenge was over. It just really helped motivate me and bring purpose to my workouts. So, I decided I needed a new challenge - just nothing involving the bike because I still can't bear to get on a stationary bike. My trainer, Kim, suggested doing something with stairs so here's the new challenge. Two weeks to run 26.2 miles, swim 3 (212 pool lengths) and step 26.2 miles on the Stairmaster Stepmill. For those of you not familiar with the stairmill, it's basically a modern torture device. It is tough! And my rule is NO HANDS! Monday I did a little over 5 miles in just under an hour. It didn't seem so bad. By Wednesday, my legs were just so tired that it was really miserable. I keep getting slower so it's going to be rough!
• Europe - Jeramy is gone again. Don't worry, no more big, whiny posts with me spilling my sob-story all over my blog. He's been gone nearly 2 weeks and gets home TODAY!!! He's been in the Netherlands and London. First he was in The Hague speaking at a conference, then on to Amsterdam then London. I've missed him like crazy but this trip, for whatever reason, we were able to manage without any major meltdowns - me or Ella :) A large part of it is I just tried to stay really busy.

• Church calling - A few months back I got called to be the Stake Primary Secretary. So last night we had our first Stake Primary Leadership Meeting. I've been really busy the past 3-4 weeks making 170 invitations, doing a newsletter, tracking people down and taking their picture for the newsletter, Stake rosters, etc. Anyway, our meeting went great and now I'm done that for another 6 months. Yeah!

• Curtains - I'm in the process of making new curtains for my house. I previously had a chocolate brown twill but I decided they were just too dark and gloomy and they made me kind of sad. It took me forever to figure out what to replace them with but I finally decided to use a fabric I already had. So, then after deciding what fabric to use I had to figure out how to make them. I decided I wanted rings, because in front of my sliding glass door, I needed to be able to slide the curtains out of the way easily. However, I did not want to use ring clips. Even though I have them on a few windows in my house, I just decided I wanted to try something new and I didn't want to be able to see the clips from the front. So after messing around with them, researching online, going to every fabric and craft store in town to find drapery hooks, I FINALLY found the right drapery hooks and just got them in the mail last week. So, next week it's all about the curtains!

My curtain fabric.

• Cute kids! The past 2 weeks what I've mostly been up to is taking care of my cute munchkins. Often when Jeramy leaves, Ella can be really tough because she really misses him and tends to have a lot of melt downs. This time around she has been amazing! She has been so sweet and helpful. In her prayers the other night she prayed that she would be able to "help Mommy while daddy was gone." She has been surprising me with little helpful things around the house, making her bed without being asked, unloading the dishwasher without being asked, and has been really helpful with Finn. She is just at a really fun age, too. She's so grown up. She went to a birthday party yesterday and got there an hour late because she had music class. This morning she was telling me she didn't get any donuts and said "but I was okay with that!" And little Finn is suddenly obsessed with trains, Thomas in particular. He will get his Thomas book, go climb in the rocking chair in his room and just sit and look at the book, saying "choo choo, choo choo" over and over again for 10-15 minutes at a time. Which is amazing for him to sit in one place that long! Anyway, I've really enjoyed my kids lately. Being with them on my own for so long hasn't really seemed like such the chore or burden that it sometimes can. I truly have had fun being with them so much and feel so blessed for my little ones!
  

They don't look so joyful here, but I love how much spunk and energy my kids have. I love experiencing life through their bright eyes and little minds and take so much pleasure in seeing the joy that they find in so many simple, little things!

Ironman Begins

Not a real Ironman - well, actually a real Ironman just not in the traditional sense. So my community has a run series they do and in conjunction with one of the upcoming races - a 5 mile trail run - they are offering participants an extra challenge: complete an ironman - but instead of doing it in one day, you do it over a 2 week period. I thought that sounded like a challenge I was ready for. I've kind of been in a fitness slump lately and felt like it was time to re-motivate myself. This challenge couldn't have come at a better time!

The challenge begins today, and before October 11th I need to swim 2.4 miles (155 lengths of the pool), bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. My friend, Marilee, is doing it with me and we both did up schedules for the next two weeks. We just worked in what fits best into our schedules but some of our training we will definitely do together. I was also able to recruit a few other friends, Jenni and Emily, who also want to finish the challenge.

Today was day #1. My schedule for today was to run 3 miles and swim 40 lengths of the pool. Also, not part of the Ironman challenge, to do a lower body workout. So this morning I got up and ran about 2.5 miles, did my lower body workout, then ran home for a total of 5 miles. Then a few hours later Marilee and I hit the pool. We totally got into a rhythm and felt great so we decided to just keep swimming. I ended up finishing 100 lenghts - just over 1.5 miles. So, hooray, day #1 is over and I'm ahead of schedule. I figure I better do the most I can now - for some reason I had a lot of energy today but I'm sure after a few days of this I will be wiped out! Also, Jeramy is going to be gone for my second week, so fitting my workouts in are going to be more challenging since I won't be able to go early in the mornings.

Anyone else want to participate? It's not too late!!!

Kindergarten

This year Ella finally started Kindergarten! I think the "finally" is from both of our perspectives :) Even though we have both been looking forward to kindergarten, school crept up on us so quickly this year! It seemed as though the summer had just started and suddenly she was off to school. The way it worked this year, it seemed as though we had 3 "first days" of school.

First Day #1 - Picture Day. This year they had registration and picture day at the end of July. In a way it seemed, to me, like the first day because when I grew up you always had pictures the first day of school. I remember it being a big deal, figuring out what to wear the first day of school, how to do your hair, etc. So, from that aspect it seemed like the first day.

We stopped for a few pictures outside the school before going in for
the "real" ones. The real picture is pretty funny! Every single one was
super posed cheese-ball smile. I figured there was no point in retakes
because they would end up looking the same.

First Day #2 - Meet the Teacher. On the first day that all the other classes started, they had the kindies come for 1 hour in small groups. We went to the school with 4-5 other kids and met Mrs. Washington. We looked around the classroom, unpacked supplies and the kids did a small little craft. Her teacher is fabulous!

Just before heading off to the school to meet her teacher.
She LOVES her backpack (and polka-dots!)

First Day #3 - The Real Thing! So, two days after meeting the teacher it was the real deal - the bus and all! She is in afternoon kindergarten, so I drove her to school and waited while the kids lined up and then went inside. The parents - all equipped with cameras - stayed for about 5-10 minutes while the kids got settled. After the parents were dismissed, I went down to the office because I was having a little anxiety about her getting on the right bus. The morning school started I changed her bus route so she would be on the same bus with another little girl she knew from preschool. I was kind of panicked that they wouldn't get her on the right bus, but they changed all her info and assured me my daughter would return home to me. So, at 4:12, Jeramy, Finn and I were all there waiting for Ella to get off the bus. It was priceless! She could not have looked happier. All she said for about 3 days was "I can't believe I get to ride the bus." Bus aside, she is loving kindergarten, has a wonderful teacher and has already learned a lot. It's going to be a great year!

I know, another collage. I just had so many pictures I liked, I
couldn't choose. I loved the way all the bus pictures looked in sequence.
I'm so happy I was there to get pictures of her getting off the bus.
How happy does she look?

Aloha!

This summer, Jeramy and I were super spoiled - again- and were able to head off to Maui all by ourselves. We cashed in airmiles, Marriott points and AmEx points and spent an essentially free week in Hawaii (ok, well we ate nonstop, so that was a cost a bit of money). My amazing, very generous parents came to Colorado and watched not only our kids, but my sister's 3 kids all together. Thanks mom & dad - sorry your week was a bit less serene than ours.

Since we went to Hawaii 2 days after getting home from Aspen Grove, we didn't feel the need for tons of adventure. We go to Hawaii for the beach! So, the beach is what we did - every single day!

It was such a great week and sadly, I didn't get too many pictures. I didn't want to take my camera with us to the beach because I wanted us to be able to both go in the water together and not worry about our stuff.

We bypassed the Road to Hana this year (I was pretty adamant about that one!), I still didn't do a surfing lesson (a little scared to do it by myself) and we absolutely ate at Mama's Fish House (the picture above is on the beach in front of Mama's. I typically didn't wear jeans and heels to the beach :)) We read a lot, got massages at the spa, I snuck in a pedicure - we were basically just really lazy the whole week.

It was a super low key, relaxing week and we had tons of fun just spending time alone together!

Wow, Hawaii is magic! Is that hint of a smile on Jeramy?

Not possible - another near smiling picture???

I thought everyone would enjoy my new hair accessory I picked up while in Hawaii. I'm really into fans! I think Mama's Fish House need to give their wait staff some photo composition tips :)

In one of the squares we walked through in Lahaina, there were dozens and dozens of these white blossoms all over the ground. I scooped some up and posed for a picture to show Ella - my little lallygagger, can't walk 3 feet without stopping to pick some flower, weed or blade of grass. Plus, it's about the only picture of me on our entire trip.

A beautiful view in Lahaina

Jeramy's best Forrest Gump impression. Not bad.

The view from our hotel our last night in Maui!