Five For Fighting

Here's how it works: The first five people to leave me a comment get something made by me just for them. It can be anything I want, I get to choose. It can be silly or serious, edible or not, but don't plan on anything alive. There are a few rules involved (aren't there always?) 1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! 2- What I create will be just for you. 3- It will be done sometime this year (Don't expect grand things if it takes a long time. I'm just lazy!). 4- You have no clue what it's going to be. (The choice is mine! --insert evil laugh here--) 5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange and/or silly. The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they've posted on their blog win a hand made, super creative, possibly lovely whatever in the heck I decide! Be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

I Love Him, I Love Him, I Love Him

I have been trying to get more out of my camera lately. It does have a lot of features, and it was definitely a good purchase. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't want a Nikon D90! So anyway, I set up a little background and the old tripod, and I tried to get the little man to sit still. He didn't for very long, but I got a couple of good ones! This one looks like one of those businessman mugshots (or a future general authority picture . . .)

 

I love his little face in this one. He's such a sweetheart!

 

And here he is with his daddy. So cute!

 

His birthday is on Saturday! Aaaahhh! Wish me luck!

You Oughta Know

This is a pretty random post of things on my mind. I have sent in a picture of the little guy to Good Things Utah for his first birthday. Aaah! Watch for him on that super-lucky day Friday February 13th. I could really use a pain au chocolat and a Diet Coke about now. Looks good, doesn't it? I took over for Lexy when they went to find out what gender their baby would be (it's a girl! Yay!). I only babysat for a couple of hours--it was hard! I honestly don't know how she does it, especially when they all melt down at the same time. There was a bit of wrestling . . . A few mischevous moments . . . More than a little drama . . . And lots of cute babies! Thanks for all you do, Lex. You're awesome. As many of you know, I'm a fan of the Bare Minerals makeup. I tried the cheap Avon version, and it's not nearly as nice. I don't recommend purchasing mineral makeup made in China. Anyway, I like it because it's easy to put on and it really evens out my complexion. I don't like that it looks so powdery close up. In clearing out all my old makeup and unused hair stuff in an attempt to organize my life, I found some mousse foundation (also from Avon, incidentally) that actually looks really good close up. Unfortunately, it takes more than two minutes to do, so I probably won't do it very often. And that's most likely the reason why I stopped wearing foundation for so long. Ever since I realized how much better I look and feel when I do wear makeup, I have been doing it a lot more often. Does anyone know of a good balance between the two? I'd like something that goes on fast, but looks really natural close up. Suggestions? These are the pictures of the dressers I purchased. Here's the before shot: Pretty ugly, eh? That's what you get for $10/each at the D.I. So I painted them a lovely brown called "Sasparilla." It looked exactly like fondue au chocolat when I poured it out, but it looked more like cheap american chocolate when it dried. Even so, I have decided that I like it. I debated on "distressing" them, because I liked how they turned out after painting. I asked Allen's opinion, and he said that distressing it celebrated what it was. So I did it. I threw a little contact paper in the drawers, et voila. They are now in the bedroom, doing a lovely job of holding our pants. Yes, I'm still organizing, and no, you can't see any real pictures yet. But, here are a couple of bonus baby pics for you. The boy has been pretty grumpy lately, like he's teething again. Lexy thinks it might be a growth spurt. I've gotten a few happy pictures lately, but not too many. Thanks for sticking it out to the end of this loong post. Don't expect another one for a while!

25

I have been tagged several times on Facebook to do this. Since I spent so much time on it, I figured it would make a good blog post as well. I'd love to learn more about you, so if you feel like being tagged, please do so. (Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.) 1. I have been known to burst into song at any time, including during Surgery. I pretty much have a song for every situation. I might have a disorder. 2. I'm a grammar freak. Before I post anything on my blog or send an e-mail, I will go back through it to make sure I haven't made any errors. I'm seriously embarrassed if I make a spelling mistake! 3. I have a weird ability to memorize song lyrics. Just because I know all of the lyrics to a song doesn't mean I like it! 4. I LOVE U2. Yeah, it's pretty pathetic, but they just make fabulous music. I'd say I have at least 75% of their songs memorized. "No Line On The Horizon" comes out March 3rd, baby! 5. I don't hate former President Bush. Sure, he's not the smartest man, and I actually wrote a paper for school back in '99, telling why he wasn't qualified to be president. I truly think he had to make some incredibly difficult and unpopular decisions, and I'm pretty sure we'll never actually understand how he has protected this country for the past seven years. 6. I don't particularly like President Obama. I think he is the good person with good intentions, but I'm just not feeling the hope and inspiration and giddiness that so many people are associating with his presidency. I'm also pretty pessimistic about the future of this country's economy. I hope this doesn't make me unpatriotic. 7. I have long monkey arms. They say your 'wingspan' is supposed to be equal to your height. I'm 5'9" and my wingspan is 6'. Nearly every long-sleeved shirt I own hits me an inch or two above the wrist. It's not as fun as it sounds. 8. I have long legs too--if I could find more pants with a 35" inseam, I'd be ecstatic. 9. I'm a fan of the PBS. We haven't had cable for over a year now, so our channel choices are pretty limited, but they really have some good stuff. Have you ever seen "Word Girl"? It's freakin' awesome! 10. I drive a 1993 Corolla named Gigi. She's a pink/orange color, and I have never seen its' equal. 11. I have lived in Utah for most of my life (except for the mission), and I have never been skiing. 12. I'm so clumsy, I honestly think I would break a limb if I were to try skiing or snowboarding or anything where my feet aren't planted on the ground. 13. I love Family Guy. Stewie cracks me up. 14. I love dark chocolate. About 70% is ideal, but most of the time--the darker, the better! 15. I'd like to live on a farm someday. I'd love to live in a small town like Mantua--in a canyon, on a lake . . . so nice! 16. I'd like to be more creative with recipes, but I mostly stick to a few tried-and-true faves--brownies, banana bread, breadsticks, etc. 17. Je suis une Francophile. 18. I enjoy making jewelry (mostly just beading), but I rarely wear it. I got out of the habit when I started working in the O.R. 19. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and all things Jane Austen. 20. I would love a Digital SLR camera, but I can't decide if I want a Nikon D90 or Canon Rebel XSi. It's not like I could afford either one, but a girl can dream! 21. When we win the Utah Lottery, Allen is going to buy me a beach house in Malibu. 22. I have a Bachelor's degree in Biology, and I can't keep a plant alive. It's pretty pathetic. 23. All I have ever seen of New York is JFK; all I have seen of Chicago is O'Hare, and all I have seen of Great Britain is Heathrow. Yes, that's a more than a lot of people, but I wish I could travel more! I want to be Rick Steves! 24. I once used the word "Quixotic" playing Scrabble with the fam. Yes, it's a real word (see the definiton here: http://dictionary.reference.com/dic?q=quixotic&search=search). 25. I have a bad habit of staying up until 3 a.m. I really need to break it!

They Say It's Your Birthday

I can't believe I'm 30. It's so weird. I got a lot of birthday wishes on Facebook, and my family threw a very nice party for me. Sarah went all out with the decor. The balloons were a big hit. Mia was having a rough time, but hey--there's always time for helping out your sisters! Seeing all of the candles was pretty depressing. Mom made two yummy pineapple upside-down cakes, but she usually gets the number candles. Nope--I got 30. Sad. At least some people got a kick out of it. Me, not so much. I love the way this one turned out. And here are a few pictures of the boy. He's so cute. I can't believe I'm 30, but I really can't believe that he'll be one in a couple of weeks!

 

 

 

He's so funny. He has been making such funny faces. I love it.

 

More later. I need to sleep now--old age has definitely caught up with me.