Daring to Be Yourself

A few of you may have heard me talk about my little identity crisis. I took the thrill ride of becoming a mother, and now that the ride has slowed down a bit I find myself a little lost. I think turning 30 may have also been a factor. Darin has told me that I have changed a lot in the 7 years we have been married. He feels like I may have been too influenced my him (my fault not his) and lost a bit of who I was. I can see that, I'm just not sure I can re-become who I was, or if I want to. Truth be told, I have always been a smiley, giddy kind of a person. I am wondering how that translates into this next phase of my life.
My very helpful sister-in-law Cristin suggested I read Daring to Be Yourself by Alexandra Stoddard. I have really enjoyed it (not finished yet), not because it's awe inspiring, or "ah ha" producing, but it asks some interesting questions that have been good for me to think about. The book suggests keeping a sort of journal about things that you like. Taking note of how your senses react to things you see or feel. It also suggests you think about things you have loved in the past. It's taken me awhile to come up with some things, and I am not finished yet but I did think of a few.

Krisit posted about her love for Mary Jane shoes and I suddenly remembered that I love shiny penny loafers with a small square heal. I had a pair every year from 4th grade through 9th when Birkenstocks and Teva's took over. I wore Birks and Tevas because they were popular but before I was so influenced by fads, I remember walking home from school and loving the way my loafers looked with the bright penny. Enjoying the click clack they made on the sidewalk.

Pearls, I feel pretty in pearls. I like the way they look in my ears and I feel comfortable wearing them with almost anything. I love pearls. I am not saying I would turn down diamonds but pearls do feel more me. My parents bought me pearl earings when I was baptized, my dad bought me a pearl ring one year for Christmas, my uncle gave me a pearl for graduation. I wore pearls at my wedding. Whether I choose it, or it was just coincidence, pearls seem to be with me for major life events. I think I will wear pearls the next time I have a baby.
I love maps and globes. I have no idea why or where this one came from. I saw a globe at Costco and wanted to buy it with my birthday money. They were sold out the next time I went, but 2 months later they had one sitting in the book section (probably a return) and I grabbed it without even thinking about it. It's in our living room and I love it! When I see it I feel happy. I now need to find more things that make me that happy so I can have more of them around.

So thats three, and thats a start! It's been a fun process, learning to pay attention to how I react to what I see, smell, hear, or taste. It makes my world a little more fun, more interesting, and has translated in me feeling a bit more grateful for life which is perfect for the season. It was also good for me to shop with Cristin when she was here. Thanks Cristin! Albert Einstein said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

The Parents Who Saved Christmas

I am sorry to talk about Christmas for all you Thanksgiving purists...but this is a story of Gratitude and Thanksgiving as well as Christmas so bear with me.

I had mentioned to a few family members and friends that I just didn't think I had it in me to decorate for Christmas this year. I was hoping that since Miriam is so small she wouldn't notice that we were the only house without a tree and stockings, lights, a nativity, advent calendar etc.
My reasoning is pure stress and exhaustion. We still had so much painting to do so our kitchen is full of supplies, and closets full of excess furniture. Add to that, we have to cut and package Christmas soap not to mention do our Christmas shopping. With Darin not coming home till after 8 and working Saturdays I was just feeling overwhelmed (can you image how Darin must feel? homework and correcting papers and exams on top of working and school all day). I love Christmas, I really do everything about it, and I don't even worry about the commercialism. This year however, I was feeling a bit like the Grinch.

Well, some Who-ville parents of mine came in and saved the day. My mom didn't ask if I wanted or needed help with painting, she just sat me down and scheduled a time when she and my dad could come up (AGAIN) to help (I am crying AGAIN). They worked so hard and accomplished so much. They stayed so late they had to stay over and sleep on a futon for crying out loud. How is that for service?? I still have lots of little painting things to do, but I feel like it's manageable now. I feel like I can do what I need to do AND dig out the Christmas tree. I am not saying all the decorations will come out this year, but we will have a tree, a nativity, and stockings.

One more Christmas thing and then I won't speak of it again till December. I found this really cute LDS Advent Calendar that you just print out and glue together. It's very cute, check it out!
http://lds.about.com/library/bl/puzzles/christmas_advent_calendar.pdf

Elder Mark

Mark (on left) has been in Brazil now for 4 months...2 in his actual mission, 2 in the CMT. Everyone who has served a mission, especially a foreign speaking one probably just cringed because those first few months in the field can be quite difficult. They were tough for me, I remember tears streaming down my face, my pillow completely drenched, but not making a sound so my companion wouldn't know I was crying. I didn't think I could survive missionary work for 18 months. So, I think about Mark often. His situation is even more challenging than mine since he is 19 not 21. He has never lived away from home, I spent 2 years away at college. I am outgoing and love getting to know people, he is more reserved likes to sit back and listen. And lastly, I was speaking English (with occasional language confusions like "bubbler" for drinking fountain, "carriage" for shopping cart, and lots of "wicked" this and thats), while Mark is speaking Portuguese. My heart hurts just thinking about how difficult this must be for him.

There is an added challenge of having a trainer who doesn't speak a word of English. There have been communication problems to be sure. I get the feeling that Mark doesn't know what the plan is from day to day, just follows his trainer and tries to understand. Not much translating going on. His letters are funny because he will say "our investigators husband is either dying, or being moved to some sort of institution I am not quite sure". Can you imagine living like that?? With all these challenges, Mark has a good attitude about being in Brazil. He is unsure about the language and feels very behind in learning it but loves the country. He is happy to experience a new culture and embrace all it's differences. I am so glad he is not one to whine about American comforts or culture. His letters are hilarious. He is so honest and his testimony is so strong.

I wanted to post about Mark for 2 reasons. First, I wanted to remember this time in Mark's mission. My whole family praying for him constantly, and feeling so helpless as he goes through this challenge. But also being so proud of him. Secondly, I wanted to remind all my extended family members with the upcoming holidays that he is out there. I think he is the very last of the cousins to go on a mission, and sometimes those tail enders get forgotten. What missionary wouldn't love to get lots of mail at Christmastime? I won't post his address in my blog but if anyone wants to include him in your Christmas Card list please email me and I will send it to you.

We love you Marcus Farcus (thats my special name for him).

The Big Night

There are Lindsey and Miriam Trick or Treating in style. Darin was working late again tonight so I went out to my friend Mirissa's house for some trick or treating company. I do have friends in my own neighborhood, it just seems like I am the only one without family around. It was a really cold night, and Miriam had peed in her warm tights on the drive down ("Mom I peed in my tights...isn't that so silly?") we had gotten stuck in traffic on the freeway so I wasn't all that upset, just worried that she would get cold. The wagon ride was a perfect solution and the girls were completely content to ride around getting candy. Thanks for the company and dinner Ris, you are too good to me!

Pumpkin Patch Party!

Here are Miriam and Lindsey getting a ride around the pumpkin farm searching for pumpkins. I mean searching, most of the pumpkins were smashed or rotting. I think the pumpkin farm had a good year...things looked really picked over. We did manage to find 3 perfect pumpkins...whew. They had this little hay maze for kids that the girls loved! It's great because the parents can see over the hay, but the kids can't so we felt fine letting them run around by themselves. They kept hiding from each other and then racing around to find each other, squealing with delight when they did. The good thing about waiting so long to go get pumpkins is that we had the hay maze to ourselves!

Miriam and I carved the pumpkin later that evening. It was a plain pumpkin face this year, Darin is the real pumpkin artist, and he was working late again. We did have glitter glue left over from re-glittering M's ruby slippers ( for the second time) so we did get some sparkly blood on him. Miriam squeezed the glue down his eyes and said he was a "happy crying silly pumpkin guy". By the way, is "sparkly" not a word? The spell check gets it every time but only gives sparky, starkly, and sparkle as possible suggestions.


Here is Darin's creation from last year. The little one I did.

Boo at the Zoo

Miriam and I went to Boo at the Zoo last Saturday. It was very fun! We went early and the parking lot was about full when we arrived. There were long lines at the entrance candy booths so we headed straight back to the furthest corner and started trick or treating there. It worked out nicely, we missed the huge lines in front and by they time we made it up front the lines were manageable. The lines didn't seem to bother Miriam however, since there were animals all over and so many kids in costume to squeal about. When we left at 11 people were parked all the way down the street and were hiking up to the zoo. It was madness, but a seasoned zoo mom told me that since most toddlers nap at 1:00, it actually calms down a bit then. So if anyone is planning to go maybe shoot for 1 and don't be afraid to pass all the cars lining the road since there should be some spaces in the lot by then. Zoo animals, candy, dressed as a princess...how could it possibly get any better for a 2 year old??
We saw Miriam's friend Emerson there and went to the primate house with him. He knows every kid of monkey and primate they have at the zoo by name. It's pretty amazing. He is an animal fanatic...and Miriam's first kiss. Wouldn't it be funny if they ended up married and I could put this picture in a wedding video? Miriam is still going to be Dorothy on Halloween don't let this Cinderella stuff fool you. Kohl's was just having a clearance on costumes so I bought it as a dress-up.

Since Darin worked from 7 till 10 last Saturday, we met him for lunch at Mi La Chai, a Vietnamese restaurant downtown. It was really good, and not too expensive, I was impressed. The building looks trashy, I would never have picked it as a place to eat, but inside was really nice. Not dress up nice, but granite table top, huge fish tank nice. That evening, to pass the time until Darin would get home we went to our old ward's Trunker Treat. So, Miriam has the whole Trick or Treating concept down. She knows how to work it with her big baby blues and always says a soft "thank you" afterwards.


I have always loved how my cousin Kristi dresses her girls up for every Holiday (photo to the right). She is so creative and has an embroidery machine she makes good use of. In an attempt to dress Miriam for festive occasions (without owning a sewing machine, embroidery machine, or much knowledge of sewing) I came up with this solution. For the last 2 years I have bought Miriam a plain black jumper. For every Holiday I find festive tights (pictured are pumpkins, Old Navy and Gap usually have really cute Christmas and Valentines tights) and matching hair ribbons Ta Da! Cheep, inexpensive, but it sufficiently fills my need to celebrate holidays through my child's wardrobe.

Fairies

Miriam is in this strange sleep limbo stage. She would nap for 3 hours if I let her, but then would stay awake till 11 pm. If I have her nap for just 1 hour she is still awake until 10 pm (mostly playing in her crib from 9-10 but sometimes she gets out and we have to put her back in multiple times). If she gets no nap she falls asleep at 7:30 pm and awakes at 5:00 am. So, we have opted for the 1 hour nap, with a bedtime struggle from 8:30 -10 pm. Tonight was worse than usual. I don't know if it's Halloween or what but she was screaming about a monster in her crib. Darin went in and couldn't get her to settle down so then I went in. She was completely convinced that a monster was going to "eat her and then kill her" (sad words for a 2 year old huh?). She wouldn't believe me when I said there were no monters besides Elmo. She wouldn't believe me when I said Darin locks the doors and doesn't let in people we don't want. So in desperation I told her "sleeping fairies" came in every night, to sleep with her and protect her. Some snuggle into her silky hair and some sleep under her blanket but they come and stay until the sun comes up. She believes me! Or at least it calmed her down. I guess if you believe so strongly in monsters, its not a stretch to believe in fairies.


This is Miriam's latest obsession, using scissors. Everyday I have mutiple piles like the one shown above to clean up. For the last 3 mornings she wakes up and says "Mom, I want to cut!". She also started scribbling rather than coloring all the sudden. I know scribbling is normal for her age, but she use to color and now she just runs the crayons over the page a few times. She use to be pretty meticulous about her coloring and then we bought a huge set of the Crayola Color Wonder markers for church (which she loves). I am wondering now if they we not such a good idea because the coloring books don't let you color outside of the lines. This could be a stretch, but I wonder if she expects that now, and since she can't do it with crayons doesn't even try? Perhaps that is a lame thing to be worrying about? I guess one of two things needs to happen. Either Miriam needs a Child Psychiatrist (I know a good one actually! My friend Heidi) or I need to get out of the house more without Miriam in tow.
Darin and I have been watching Ugly Betty on the computer. I have to say that is the best way to watch TV. Only like 3 tiny commercials, so the shows are about 40 min and you can stop and start them, watch them whenever without paying for TiVo. I only wish Gilmore Girls was online...then I wouldn't miss our TV at all, well, Gilmore Girls and Good things Utah. Anyway, I cry every single episode! It's a comedy, but for some reason I can't make the disconnect from TVland to reality and I feel every emotion she feels. It's so painful, and yet I love it. I love this new actress American Ferrera.

Last week (or maybe the week before). I received 2 items of great mail that I have been meaning to blog about. I have been waiting to take pictures, but it's just not going to happen this week. I WON these darling earrings from Charmed Design. They are so cute, I haven't worn earrings for months and I have already worn these 3 times. Kristi sent me some great country music CD's for my birthday which I just love! Kristi was surprised to find out I liked country music, but that makes me laugh because I grew up in a town that only received like 3 FM radio stations clearly and 2 of them were country. So I was raised on country, classic rock (from my dad), and a whole lot of Def Lepard from my neighbors (The Lowe's for all you family members). My very first experience with music other than those 3 genres was when Kristi left her Duran Duran tape at our house. I listened to it every day for a whole summer and can still sing "Hungry Like the Wolf". So, Kristi has always been introducing me to new things, Esprit clothing, scrapbooking and now blogging.

Trying to Keep Up!

Madison's Baptism was wonderful. She really is a sweet girl. With the Grandpa/Madison duet, all the eager little kids, then the actual baptism, the spirit couldn't help but be there in abundance. My mom made such a cute baptism dress (not the one pictured...that is her Sunday dress) and I made a baptism book which had pictures of each family and their testimony (thanks for the idea Cristin and Lisa). I had grand ideas of taking pictures of the book to blog it, but since I was finishing it up the day of the baptism that didn't happen. I have to say, thanks to Heidi Swapp's Costco scrap stuff it turned out VERY cute.


Here we are at Witches Night Out! The kind stranger who took this photo for us didn't zoom in so it's hard to see everyone...BUT beggars can't be choosers right?? When my mom gave her witch cackle it scared Miriam so bad it took her a good half hour to finally warm back up to her!


The little witch costume Miriam has on was - you guessed it - made by my mom for my sister Sarah when she was little, I have a matching one in a larger size. The pictures don't do it justice because there is all the fringe around the cape and dress...it's so cute. It was so fun to see people all dressed up. We saw Malificent, the Evil Snow White Queen, the Ice Queen from Narnia, Glenda, and lots of over the top witches.

So, now that we have done Witches Night Out I think I have a better game plan for next year (if we do it). Bring the little girls around 4:30 to do the petting zoo, take pictures, see the witches, and have dinner when there aren't any lines. Send the little girls home with dads. Go to the stores between 6 and 7 before it's too crowded and while most people are waiting in line for dinner. Get a good space for the Witches parade at 7:30 (starts at 8) and just dance to the music until it starts. I was REALLY surprised at how many men and women with strollers there were, since this is advertised as a Ladies Night Out type of thing. I thought it was a stretch bringing Miriam and only did it because Julia wanted her to come. Most of the men didn't dress up and didn't look at all like they were having a good time (pushing baby strollers which aren't allowed into the stores). I think the men should just stay home...unless they plan to dress up to the nines and definitely leave the baby strollers home...strap on the baby born in the very least. Okay, enough with the opinionated negitivity. It was a fun evening if for no other reason than it got us all to dress up like Witches and hang out!

Another Weekend Update...

My amazing, hardworking, thoughtful parents were up again this weekend helping us with home repairs. I just can't say how much I love and appreciate my parents, I don't feel there is anyway to help them the way they have helped me, and all my siblings. This weekend, my mom and I painted trim while Darin and my dad put in light switch and outlet covers (the new flat ones), and crown molding in Miriam's room. I had decided to take pictures of the crown molding after M's room was completely finished but then read Michelle's blog about life documentation (advice from Jill) and wanted to add pictures. But, now M is asleep in her room, so no pictures. I will do a picture blog later. Also this weekend Darin has: fixed our leaky toilet, fixed our screen door (it rolls like butter), and put up more light switches after my parents left. I let him have a very long nap today.

After the work was done (not the painting...that will never end I am afraid), Grandma and Grandpa had a surprise for Miriam. They took her to Build-A-Bear!! Miriam and I always do a walk through when we are at the mall. Miriam has been so good to be patient and not throw a fit when I tell her "someday" and we walk out empty handed. Sometime inbetween all these visits to the mall and Build-A-Bear, Miriam came to the conclusion that you can't get a bear unless your Grandparents take you to make one (probably because of all the times we just looked). So I came up with a plan, someday, when we have baby #2 (this is not an announcement) I would have my mom and dad take her to build-a-bear while I was in the hospital. I told Miriam the plan (because she is all about babies because of new baby Claire), and she insisted that we email Grandma and Grandpa right away. Well, my dad decided that we are not waiting around for a new baby and they took her last weekend. She was so excited and I am SO MAD I forgot to bring our camera!! She went right to the Sleeping Beauty costume, and then almost picked the ugliest bright pink bear in the shop, but we directed her to a soft normal bear. She was on a bear high the rest of the night and has slept with "Sleeping Beauty Bear" ever since. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for an exciting evening.


This apology cake was left on our doorstep a few nights ago. The note said something like "I am sorry I was so mean to you, I don't know what came over me. You can sit with us again". For the first few seconds of reading the note my brain went crazy "did someone hurt my feelings? Am I offended? Where was I last night?" until I realized this cake was not for me but for someone named Elise. It's now obvious that it was made by a little girl and left at the wrong house. I feel so bad that the apology will never reach who it was intended for because I don't know anyone in my neighborhood or church with the name Elise. Very sad.


This is the dress my mom found and gave to me. It was a dress she made for me when I was Miriam's age. It is such a cute feminine dress, and I have to say the little girl in it is adorable too. I can't believe we got a picture of Miriam smiling normal Hooray!! Miriam and I both received some good mail last week! It's getting too late to blog about it so I will do it later this week.

New Blogs!

Has anyone noticed how long my "family" links are getting?? I love it!! My sister-in-law Shauna started a Harley ridin', school teachin', dancin' princess blog. My sister-in-law Kelly started the adventures of Josh, Ali, and baby Claire blog. My father-in-law started a Barbershop singin', skydivin', rock houndin', geocashin' (okay I could go on and on) blog.

Check them out!

Happy Birthday Julia

Julia is celebrating her 25th birthday today!! So I am going to list 25 things about Julia. Some are things I love about her, some are things not many people know, some are just quirky things that make me giggle. The picture above is Julia's blessing day surrounded by her adoring brother and sisters.


1. Julia's nickname when she was little was "Princess" very fitting.
2. Julia LOVES the Salem Witch trials, and knows a ton about them.
3. Julia has X-Files barbie dolls and was in love with Agent Mulder (is that his name?)
4. Julia once told me she has these dancers in her head that she uses to choreograph dances with...Isn't that SO interesting?? I have no idea what that would be like.
5. Julia was the drill caption in high school and then again in college.
6. Julia's favorite color is yellow.
7. Julia's favorite dessert use to be those cornflake, sugar, carosyrup and peanutbutter ball things. but now...
8. Her favorite dessert is something called a pizzucki (sp?) Cookie dough cooked in a skillet with ice cream dropped on top.
9. Julia has glass in her neck from a car accident.
10. Julia has choreographed dances that have won first place at state competitions.
11. Julia was a waitress in an Italian restaurant...And in a Chinese restaurant (for like 3 days).
12. Julia was a life guard in high school, and once worked nights at Target.
13. Julia didn't want to be a cheerleader in high school because she felt like people would look at her bum too much.
14. Julia was Homecoming queen 1st attendant, and 2nd attendant Miss Carbon County.
15. Julia has a frisky kitten named Tonka.
16. Julia will burst out with this huge gafaw of a laugh and then say "never let me make that noise again" only to do it the next time she hears something funny.
17. She reminds me to squeeze my bum cheeks when we go walking.
18. Julia wore blue cowboy boots under her wedding dress.
19. Julia is an amazing aunt. All the kids love her because she is willing to actually play with them.
20. She calls her little dancers "ladies" and at the end of every class they do curtsies and say "Thank you Miss Julia, Thank you dancing friends".
21. He always has very cute hair styles, and knows how to fix hair.
22. She is very honest.
23. She loves to read and currently can't put down the Narnia series.
24. Despite lots of opposition, she just opened her VERY own dance studio which she runs BY HERSELF. How is that for bravery and confidence??
25. I love my little sister so much!! She has always been an example to me and is someone I look up to. Happy Birthday!

My cute cyber-nerd husband.

Okay, Darin doesn't want me to write this but I am cracking up! We are in our room on two different computers, he is working on his laptop and I am commenting on blogs. All of the sudden he says "Is this bad....What we are doing?" and I said "What are you doing?". He responded "Nothing bad, but we are living in two separate cyber-worlds." Isn't that so cute?? We seem to be doing this a lot lately, spending our together time in the same room, doing different things. Darin is so busy lately this seems to be the only way we can spend time together. I love it that he notices that we haven't had much us time...even if there is nothing either of us can do about it.


The other funny Darin thing I have been meaning to blog about happened last Wednesday. Darin had taken a test and finished 2 homework assignments that day so he had a little relaxation time that evening. He was working away on his laptop when I asked him what he was doing he said "creating a light saber". I just laughed and walked away. Later, while I was brushing my teeth Darin barges in swinging his laptop around as it made the "zwish, swish" sound of a Star Wars light saber!! I couldn't stop laughing. See movie below for an example of what I experienced minus the violence at the end. (The lego picture is for my mom who loves Legos.)

Here She Is!

Welcome Claire Young R.! Isn't she so sweet? Erik and Kelly are known for having very cute babies and she is no exception, although she does have a different cuteness than her brother Josh and sister Alice. I will have to talk Erik into sending me a picture of all the kids together. We are so excited to have a new baby in the family!

The Weekend Update

Here are a few pictures from our weekend. Miriam and I met Lidsay and Mirissa at the Zoo Friday morning. For those of you "Dixie Chicks" that read my blog Ris is having another baby! She is due in April, and Lindsay has been making the announcement to everyone. We ran into some romance at the desert tortoise exhibit. It was like wild kingdom, all the mothers were standing in complete disbelief, and the noise carried all the way to the Tiger house. You have to realize how big those desert tortoises are...Big. Don't ask Miriam what sound a turtle makes because I have spent lots of time trying to get her to stop making the noise.

Miriam's one request while in Price was to go to Julia's dance studio to get lessons from Aunt Julia. Madison gave her an old dance costume and she was in HEAVEN! Julia turned on the music and let her twirl to her hearts content...and then gave a little ballet lesson (which she is still talking about). Marcus did his typical leaps and hero jumps to the music. He did wear a crown for a few minutes and I tried to get pictures but they were dancing too crazy. We also had 2 picnics at the new Discovery park in town...very fun.

Look what I got in Price!! My mom is throwing out all her old patters so she told me to take what I wanted (I don't even own a sewing machine). I tried to pick the easiest ones, and hopefully after our remodeling efforts are done I can make some of these darling dresses. Kristi, and Cristin if you want any patterns let me know before my mom throws them all out (or anyone else). My mom also found an old dress she had made for me and it fits Miriam perfectly...I will take pictures on Sunday.

We went to visit my Grandpa, and because of my new PB Ric Rac duvet cover my mom got down all of my Grandma's old ric rac stash and they told me to have at it. It was amazing, and my Grandma has some really great old fashion fabric. Some of it is from her mother.

My brother and sister-in-law had a baby yesterday. She is darling, but I don't have pictures to share yet. When we went to see her, the nurses had just taken her and we had to look through the nursery window. Erik is suppose to email pictures soon and then there will be a special blog in honor of new baby Claire.

Happy Birthday

I think these two pictures do a good job of showcasing my Father-in-law's personality...skydiving, and singing kareoke with his Granddaughter. He loves to experience all life has to offer and always has time to share those experiences with his kids and Grandkids. I hope there is a big Fat Boy Ice Cream celebration going on today!! I wish we could be there to participate!

Best Pals Dolls

Isn't this doll so so cute?? There was an article on them in the newspaper this morning. They are made by the Lennon sisters, which, if you watch Lawrence Welch reruns, or are over 50 maybe means something to you. The dolls are reproductions of vintage dolls the girls had when they were little and I just think they are darling! Miriam has more than enough dolls, so I can't justify getting her another one. If someone is looking for that first time doll this one would be perfect. They are called Best Pals Dolls and I know they are sold at Back to Basic Toys, although I think you could find them cheeper elsewhere. There is a blond doll and a brunette one. So cute!

I will get to a catch-up blog soon....but not tonight, I am tired!

Score!

Last Saturday, after going to the Zoo IN THE SNOW!! Miriam and I stopped by Pottery Barn Kids for a night light. We always end up staying in that store for at least an hour while Miriam plays with the kitchen stuff. I think the workers there hate me, they always give me that - we know you are just here to play with the toys and use our very clean very cute bathroom look- while saying an icky sweet "Can I help you?". Well last Saturday I proved them wrong because I found a Ric Rac Duvet cover on clearance for $45. They have virtually nothing else left from the line but I don't care. Ribbon and ric rac are easy to match. I did find a cute night light too. A week ago I found a complete sheet set in pink gingham for $16 at TJMaxx. So, Miriam's big girl bed is almost complete. For some reason Darin is just not as impressed with me as I am with myself so I figured I had better blog about this.

Quiz

You Are Spring!

Hopeful Playful Sweet Fresh Airy

What Season Are You?

Fun Quiz I found on Girlie Girl's blog. It says "You Are A Spring" in my composition but it's not showing on the post. I sound a bit air-headish, but I am hopeful, pretty playful, not fresh at all at the moment since I didn't have time to shower today.

Funny Mormon Video

I found this video on Simple Sentiments, I think it is so funny. Al Mormon

We found Toto!

I found a Pucci Pup that looks just like mangy ole' Toto at TJMaxx!! Hooray! We have been looking all over for Toto look-a-likes, and this one comes with accessories. It was the only one there, hidden behind some puzzles. I hope I didn't find some kids hiding spot. I use to do that as a child, hide what I wanted so it wouldn't get taken, hoping I could talk my parents into going back for it. So, I held the pup up next to a rack full of princess dresses and said "Miriam, make your choice" she choose the dog, but it was a LONG deliberation.

*Edit I guess I should add for anyone who isn't related, and doesn't follow my blog, this is all about Halloween Costumes. Miriam has been obsessed with the Wizard of Oz for almost a year, and has been so excited to be Dorothy. She became aware of the Disney Princesses a while ago, and they are edging Dorothy out.

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

Since it's all rainy and cold here, I made this soup tonight for dinner Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup. It's from "Good Deal with David Lieberman" from the Food Network. If you like Indian flavors (or Moroccan flavors, obviously) you'll love it. The only problem I encountered was that it called for spinach. Since there has been a huge E coli outbreak linked to spinach, and all spinach prepacked or not has been taken off supermarket shelves, I had to sub bok choy. Too bad I had bought a HUGE bag of spinach just a few days ago and have been eating it ALL WEEK. I now think I had the e coli and was one of the "healthy adults who get over it in a week", but then again I always think I have whatever is reported on the news.

Back to the soup....the first time I tried it was when my brother Erik made it. A little known fact about Erik, he is an amazing cook. I am serious, he made this soup so much better than I did, and you should try his roast beef (he cooks it without a crock pot). I don't know how he learned either, maybe he is just better at following directions than I am.

The Case Against Soda

Okay, I am a Pop lover, I adore the stuff. I would rather have a pop than cake, or brownies, or whatever. I also know how terrible it is for me. I strongly believe that so many of our health problems today are directly related to the amount of pop we drink. The rise in diabetes, the obesity rate, all of it has associations with pop. Knowing all that unfortunately, hasn't always kept me from drinking it. As we have been living in the chaos of painting our house I have been surviving with my afternoon coke. I am again, declaring myself pop-free from this moment on after reading this article my husband sent me.
The Case Against Soda