I made it!

I posted every day in November! Woo Hoo! And on that note...


I'm going to go take a nap. Goodnight NaBloPoMo!

Makeup

So I was getting ready to put on my makeup and I wondered how long it took me.

So I timed it.

3 1/2 minutes. From naked face to finish.

Foundation (mineral powder), eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, gloss, eyeshadow, and blush.

I like to look nice, but I'm not going to take forever doing it.

K.I.S.S.!

100 Things I am Thankful For

In no particular order...

1. My Heavenly Father
2. Jesus Christ
3. The gift of the atonement
4. My wonderful husband
5. My Teenager
6. My Artist
7. My Chocoholic
8. My Princess
9. Hair Blogs (I just discovered them and they are cool!)
10. Calculators
11. Heaters
12. Air conditioners
13. Oreos
14. My mom
15. My dad
16. I could list each person individually, but I think that might be akin to cheating, so I will just say my family.
17. Christmas music
18. Christmas lights
19. Fresh picked tomatoes from my garden
20. Cell phones
21. My job (Because since I have to work, it is the best job ever!)
22. My boss (see above)
23. My degree for allowing me to get a great job
24. Toilet paper
25. Feminine products
26. Hysterectomies, which eliminate the need for #25!
27. Fresh clean water from my tap
28. Naps
29. The color pink
30. Blogs
31. My planner
32. My washing machine and dryer
33. Food
34. Flowers
35. Square foot gardening, which made it possible for me to NOT have to weed my garden!
36. Books
37. The ability to read
38. Music
39. Piano
40. The ability to play the piano
41. A soft bed
42. Chocolate
43. Kissing
44. The internet
45. My Loopy friends (you know who you are!)
46. My camera
47. Scrapbooking
48. Peppermint ice cream
49. The ability to smell
50. Scents
51. The ability to taste
52. When my daughter does my hair
53. My own tools
54. My husband having a good job
55. My sisters (I know I covered them in #16, but I had to say them specifically)
56. Old pictures
57. Our prophet, Thomas S. Monson
58. Living in the United States of America, and the freedoms that entails
59. The Priesthood
60. Random acts of kindness
61. Sincere compliments
62. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings
63. Cold milk
64. My computer
65. When my children obey
66. Being able to work from home
67. The price of gas going down
68. Apricot smoothies
69. "Secret" bras
70. Birthday presents
71. My DVD/HD recorder
72. Laughing
73. When my husband cooks dinner
74. Indoor plumbing
75. A clean house
76. Checking off everything on my to-do list
77. Smiles
78. Waves
79. Shopping
80. Window shopping
81. Flip flops
82. When my teenager hugs me (every day...I am not taking it for granted!)
83. Leading music in Primary
84. My health
85. Ladybugs
86. Remembering the feeling of a baby kicking inside me
87. Knowing that I will never be pregnant again!
88. Funny jokes from the internet
89. ClearPlay DVD player
90. Homemade chicken noodle soup
91. My grandparents, both living and dead
92. Ancestors who crossed the plains and suffered so I could be born in the gospel
93. That my life doesn't revolve around sports
94. That my husband's life doesn't revolve around sports
95. My boys who are learning to be gentlemen
96. My house
97. Food storage
98. Health insurance
99. Love
100. People who comment on my blog

What are you thankful for?

Hair Donations

I knew that at some point I would have to get The Princess' hair cut. I loved it long, but she never lost her baby hair and it would NOT hold a curl. Plus it was many, many different lengths because I had never trimmed it.

So I decided that we would let it continue to grow until it was long enough to donate to Locks of Love. It had to be 10 inches. Finally, in February, it was time. She was so excited to go to the beauty salon and get her hair done.

Following are pictures of the process.

The following video is The Princess flipping her hair. She loved doing it!

Hair Blogs

I am in love my latest blog find...Hair blogs! Blogs where amazing Moms do amazing hairstyles on their daughters, and not only do they show them off, but they show how to do them!



Girly Do's By Jenn is so cool! She even had a giveaway, and though I didn't win, I was featured on her blog. Thanks! And I am hoping to win next week.



The Story of a Princess and Her Hair was my inspiration Friday. I did The Fountain and it only took about 30 minutes. The Princess loved it and I loved it.



I love to do The Princess' hair, and I have been putting it in piggies since she was 4 months old. Now that I have found all these hair blogs, I am devastated that we cut her hair because we could do so much more. But her hair went to a good cause.



What? You don't know about that? Hmmm, I have a really good idea for tomorrow's post!

Happy Birthday to The Artist (only a month late)

So on October 24th, The Artist turned 12. I was so wrapped up in getting him ready to receive the Priesthood and everything that is involved with family coming over, and then Halloween, that I forgot to give him props on my blog. So here we go, better late than never!

Happy Birthday! I love you!

ABC

A is for...Aprill and Ashlee, my lovely sisters.

B is for...Beautiful boys, whom I love deeply.

C is for...Cousins, and it's so hard to say good-bye!

D is for...Dinosaurs, especially when they are the cute, cuddly kind!

E is for... Everyone together. 2007
F is for...Freezing cold water!

G is for...Girls!

H is for...Hair. This is The Princess at 14 months old.

I is for...Itchy. I was bit by a spider and my eyes were all swollen and itchy!

J is for...Jumping.

K is for...Kite, and that is the highest it ever got!

L is for...Love. Even after 16 years!

M is for...Marriage, which comes after love!

N is for...Needs New shoes!

O is for...Oprah. Yes, that's me.

P is for...Pink. I love pink. I even colored my hair pink for Halloween one year.

Q is for...Quietly sleeping, with her bum in the air.

R is for...Race car, which he didn't even get to race because we were out of town, eating the weird potatoes (see X).

S is for...Siblings.

T is for...Tomato, which we grew in our garden.

U is for...Up, up, and away. That is the shadow of our airplane!

V is for...Very cute!

W is for...Wish.

X is for...X-tremely weird food (my sil's wedding lunch), those are crushed up Cheeto puffs on the potatoes!

Y is for...Yummy!

Z is for...Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Happy Anniversary to my parents!

Today is my Mom and Dad's 39th wedding anniversary. They are amazing people who have taught me so much. They have had financial trials up the wazoo, and it was my Mom who gave me strength through the last 3 1/2 years. I could call her and cry and she knew exactly how I was feeling because she had been there, and worse. I love them both so much and I want them to know that.



Happy Anniversary!

I bleed blue!

There is a big football game tomorrow. If you live anywhere near Utah, you will know what I am talking about. And on that note...

GO BYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We don't watch sports, except for the BYU/UofU game, and the Super Bowl. And we only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. So when I read this story, it just made me sad. Just because there is a rivalry, doesn't mean we need to act like idiots.

So after the game is over (and BYU has won) let's just be nice and not gloat or pout. And I welcome comments from UofU and BYU fans. Remember...

IT'S JUST A GAME!!!!!

Bills

I have always been intrigued as to how people do things differently than me. Because I am OCD, I believe that my way is best. LOL But when something works for me, I go with it.

I have been facinated lately with how people pay their bills. I have read how some wait and pay each one just before it's due. I don't understand that one. So many things can happen...you can forget, don't have the money, the payment gets delayed, etc.

I am the type of person who is early for everything. If it starts at 7:00, I will be there by 6:55 at the latest. I HATE being late.

This translates to my bills as well. I refuse to let them be late, or even close to late. We have worked too hard to get our credit rating up, just to let it be dinged by a simple late bill. And did you know that credit card companies are searching for reasons to raise your credit rating, and will do so just because of one late payment?

Anyway, I have mapped out my bills in a ledger so that I know the exact date that each bill is due. When The Doctor got paid twice monthly, I wrote down his pay, then started subracting the bills from it. First and foremost is tithing. Nothing gets paid before tithing. That is just the way it is. And I know that is how we survived over the last 3 1/2 years.

So here is how it looked:

+Check #1 (payday was the 1st of month)
-tithing
-fast offerings
-1/2 of house payment (due on the 1st of next month)
-water/sewage bill (due on the 15th)
-credit card payment (due on the 15th)
-cable/phone/internet (due on the 20th)
-cell phone (due on the 20th)

+Check #2 (payday was the 15th of the month)
-tithing
-1/2 of house payment
-trumpet payment (due on the 20th)
-gas payment (due on the 25th)
-car insurance (due on the 25th)
-electric bill (due on the 25th)

What we had left over went to groceries, etc.

Did you know that you can call and request a due date? Most companies are willing to change it for you. That has saved us on several occasions.

Now that that The Doctor only gets paid once a month, it's trickier. Because it's easier to run out of money sooner. But I still pay all my bills when we get paid. So that means that some are paid ahead of time, and that's okay too. Because I would rather run out of money and not be able to go out to eat, than run out of money and not be able to pay a bill.

So how do you pay your bills? And does it actually work for you? ;-)

Need some change?

A middle-aged woman seemed sheepish as she visited her gynecologist.

"Come now," coaxed the doctor, "you've been seeing me for years! There's nothing you can't tell me."

"This one's kind of strange ..." she said.

"Let me be the judge of that," the doctor replied.

"Well," she said, "yesterday I went to the bathroom in the morning and I heard a plink-plink in the toilet; when I looked down, the water was full of pennies."

"I see," said the doctor.

"That afternoon I went again and there were nickels in the bowl."

"Uh-huh," acknowledged the doctor.

"That night," she went on, "there were dimes and this morning there were quarters! You've got to tell me what's wrong with me!" she implored, "I'm scared out of my wits!"

The gynecologist put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"There, there, it's nothing to be scared about . . .You're simply going through your change."

Christmas Lights

I am in love...with my husband and with my boys.


I have wanted lights on my house forever. And I mean forever because I never had them growing up. Ever. And since being married, the money always had a better place to go than lights for my house.

Until this year.

This year, the The Doctor has a decent job with a decent income. 2 weeks ago, he casually said, "If you will buy the lights, I will put them up on the house for you." I just about wet my pants, I was so excited!

So Saturday, the man who has a fear of heights, climbed up on my roof and proceeded to string lights for me.

But did he do them alone? Oh no! My lovely boys all got up and helped. Granted, The Artist and The Chocoholic just wanted to climb around on the roof, which they did plenty of. But The Teenager was invaluable helping to put the lights on. I think it would be safe to say he did the majority of the work because he could climb around quickly. Our house has the lights on 3 different levels, and The Teenager did 2 of the levels by himself.

And it only took 1 1/2 hours to do. We bought the new LED lights, so you can string 87 strings of lights (that's 1,261.5 feet) on ONE outlet. Yes, one. We stopped at 8 strings, but they can be connected end to end, so no extension cords and no doubling up. Just one long string from one end of the house to the other. It's awesome!

Whoo Hoo!

But it gets better. I called my mom to brag, and she told how she has always wanted lights on the house, but my dad refused to do it. I told The Doctor and he offered to do her lights. She felt bad accepting because last week he ended up helping her move a piano, but he offered again, so she accepted.

And when we went over, The Teenager got up on the roof and did them all. He is a pro.

And did I grab my camera and take lots of cute pictures of all the kids climbing on the rooftops? Nope, dang it! But my boys want to do it again next year, and even start a business and get paid to put people's lights on.

So if you don't have your lights up yet, give us a call. They would love to get up on your rooftops!

Ponderings

Why, when my sisters tried so hard to get me to start a blog, and now that I have, why have they stopped posting?

Why is my daughter so energetic on the nights when I am so tired?

Why are my children so polite in public, and so rude to each other?

Why can we have such a fun day and go out to eat and my children have so much fun, and then when I say it's time for bed, they act like I have just asked them clean the toilet?

Why won't they clean the toilet?

Treat her right, treat your mother right!

Get a kleenex because you are going to laugh so hard, you will be crying!

Oh, I personally love the short shorts!

Fall

Why I like fall...

• Opening windows again
• Wearing flip flops
• Leaves changing colors
• The smell of fires in fireplaces
• Harvesting the garden
• Warm days, cool evenings
• Back to school

Why I hate fall…

• The smell of the furnace the first time you turn it on for the season
• Digging up the garden
• Spiders invading my house
• Getting a cold
• Getting cold
• Raking leaves

Summer

Why I like summer...

• Not cold
• Wearing flip flops
• Watermelon
• My anniversary (June 19th)
• Capri’s
• Boys' buzz cuts

Why I hate summer...

• Shopping for swimsuits
• Wearing swimsuits
• Gets too hot
• Bugs
• Weeding
• Camping
• Dandelions
• Back to School (year round school)

Spring

Why I like spring...

• Opening windows again
• Wearing flip flops
• Shedding coats, gloves, hats, scarves
• Planting the garden
• Flowers

Why I hate spring…

• Rain
• Mosquitoes
• Surprise snow storms

Winter

Why I like winter...

• Christmas
• My birthday (December 19th)
• Sweatshirts and sweat pants
• Sweaters
• Hot Apple Cider
• The first snow
• Christmas carols
• Watching snow flakes fall softly to the ground
• Fires (in fireplaces)
• Sleeping in the sun shining through the window

Why I hate winter...

• Cold
• Black snow
• Yellow snow
• Cold
• Coats, hats, gloves, socks, boots, shoes, etc.
• Cold
• Wet carpet from the snow
• Wet socks from the wet carpet
• Cold
• Driving in the snow
• Cold
• Post Christmas depression
• Cold
• Can't wear flip flops in the snow (well, you can, but your toes get cold!)
• Static cling in my hair
• Cold

Biggest Loser

I hate Vicky. I hate Ed. I hate Heba. I am SOOOOOO glad Brady is gone. I hate them all, but I hate Vicky the most. I don't want to watch anymore. I am so proud of Amy for thinking for herself. She had to know that if it got down to 5, she would have been the first to go. I just hope 2 blue are below next week. PLEASE!!!!!!!

Seasons

I have been thinking about why I like each season, and why I don't. So for the next 4 days, you will be treated to my "Why I love" and Why I hate" lists.

It started out as one post, but when I am trying to fill 30 days up, I will stretch things out where I can.

Gotta love NaBloPoMo!

Chocolate

When The Chocoholic was 2 years old, he came up to me one day and said, "Mom, I need some chocolate." Well, me being the good mother that I am, I took him to the store and bought us some chocolate. We enjoyed it together and I look back on that memory fondly.
Starting in 2005, my mom has helped feed his addiction. She gives all the other grandchildren money for their birthday's, but she gives him chocolate.

This was 2005, and this cute bucket was full of chocolate syrup, candy bars, and a giant Hershey's kiss.

Yum!
In 2006, she took clear tennis ball containers, took the wrappers off, and filled them with Whoppers, tootsie rolls, and other chocolate items. Sadly, I didn't get a picture.

2007 brought 10 Cadbury chocolate candy bars. He was in chocolate heaven!
She asked him this year if he wanted money or chocolate and he immediately responded...Chocolate! He is so excited to see what she does this time!

Hair length

So I have a wide variety of hair length preference between my children.
The Princess got her hair cut last February, and we have both decided that we liked it better when it was longer. So she is growing it out again.

The Chocoholic likes his buzzed to the skin. Next summer, we are shaving it completely bald. He is so excited!

Now that he is getting older, The Artist prefers his a little longer, and is trying new styles in order to look older. I love his hair combed down in the front.

Finally, The Teenager. What can I say? I think the pictures tell it all...


This is all within 3 months. Yes, that is brown to blonde on top, then he went all blonde, but we didn't get a picture of that, then he wanted black highlights, but they turned blue! So he shelled out $45 to go to a professional and have it dyed dark, dark brown. I hope he goes back to his natural color soon. And he wants it long...the longer the better. I told him it has to be above his ears and above his collar. Oh, I hope it make it until he goes on his mission!

Facebook

So, I finally joined Facebook. I don't know why, I just did. So if you are on there, add me as your friend! I only have 3 right now, and that makes me feel really nerdy! LOL

Ghost of Halloween Present - 2008

The Teenager was bummed again this year because we still wouldn't let him go trick or treating (12 years old is the cut off), but he discovered something even better. He sat out on the lawn and scared the kids as they went by him. He had strict instructions not to scare anyone under the age of 10, but he got the teenagers really good! He is already planning what he is going to do next year!

The Artist as Indiana Jones.

The Chocoholic as a girl...his idea, not mine! Oh, and the heels? They lasted to the house across the street and back to our house to put on tennis shoes! LOL

The Princess went as a married fairy. Married because of the "veil" she was wearing. It looks a lot like the one I wore for my wedding, and she has already tried that one on, so she was married. It was so cute!

Snow

I love snow.  Well, I love the first snow.  And yesterday was perfect.  I didn't have to leave the house (I work at home on Wednesday's), so I cranked up the Christmas music and enjoyed looking outside.  I worked, I did laundry, I cleaned, I put away the Halloween decorations, I made chicken noodle soup for supper, and just had a good day.
And I got to wear sweats.  It doesn't get any better than that!

This is the house we lived in 5 years ago, just after a huge snow storm.  I just needed to put a picture in, so here you go.

Election

I am not going to talk about who I voted for. I don't like to talk about politics...at all.

However, I am going to talk about this wonderful country. I talked with my kids this morning about how now that the election is over, we get up and keep going. We don't have to worry about riots or revolutions or anyone trying to overthrow the government. McCain is not going to gather up his supporters and force Obama out of office.

We say, well, this is what we have to deal with for the next 4 years and we move on. If we don't like what happened, we try harder next time.

God Bless the USA. I love this country.

Sticky Notes

Enjoy!

Pain

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance against pain. It is a source in the event of pain, and when that pain comes (and it will come, because we came here to earth to have pain among other things), when it comes, rejoice that you have the resource to deal with your pain." -Carl Broderick

I cannot see Him. Sometimes I don't even know He is there. And yet, He is right by my side, helping me, cheering for me, crying with me. He loves me. He knows the pain I have gone through, the pain I continue to go through. The neuroses, the struggles, the temptations, the hurt and anger I have been through. He knows that I still struggle, on an almost daily basis. And He is there weeping for me, and bolstering me up. He believes in me.

"Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days." (D&C 24:8).

Jobs

3 years, 5 months, and 5 days is how long we went from having one good stable job that The Doctor was happy at, to having another stable job that he was happy at.

1254 days.

30,096 hours.

1,805,760 minutes.

108,345,600 seconds.

I thought I should go through and make a list of the jobs he had during this time.

April 27, 2005 – let go from UVSC

July 8, 2005 – drafting job for Gold Medallion Homes

August 12, 2005 – Left Gold Medallion Homes

September 22, 2005 – electronics department at Wal-Mart

October 28, 2005 – Left Wal-Mart

October 31, 2005 – telephone survey job

November 3, 2007 – left telephone survey job

November 7, 2005 – Started working for Sysco

March 8, 2007 – let go from Sysco

March 2007 – teaching at Eagle Gate College

June 2007 – left Eagle Gate

June 21, 2007 – drafting job at TechniGraphics

September 7, 2007 – lost job at TechniGraphics

September 20, 2007 – Assistant Dean of Faculty at Utah Career College

March 2008 – lost job at UCC

May 2008 – substitute teaching

June 24, 2008 – photo department at Wal-Mart

June 25, 2008 – hired at Weber School District to teach drafting

August 9, 2008 – left Wal-Mart

August 12, 2008 – started at Weber School District

October 1, 2008 – got first paycheck for teaching (finally!)

As I look back on it now, it went by so fast. But during? Not so much.

I really struggled with understanding why this was happening. He is such a good man. Why didn't anyone want to hire him? I know that we didn't get some jobs because he wasn't qualified for them. I also know that we didn't get some jobs because he was over-qualified. He didn't care, he just wanted a job that would pay enough!

I can now see how much growth both he and I went through during this time. And I know there will be more challenges in the future. I love this quote by Stephanie:

"Life is full of changes and many of them make us sad and uncomfortable. But they always make us grow. I do look forward to the growth if not the growing pains."

Thanks Stephanie. I couldn't have said it better myself.