A cool picture I took yesterday.

We took an impromptu trip to the golf course to hit some balls on the driving range yesterday.

Incidentally, this was the first time I have ever driven a golf cart.

I think I need one of those.

I snapped this shot.

I thought it was cool.

Where is the wagon?

So since I was supposed to go on vacation last week, and instead took a home vacation...I have not been to the gym in a week.

I haven't been on the treadmill.

I haven't even walked to the mailbox.
That is what kids are for.

So needless to say, I am nice and soft now.
And my body has been all..."Hooray! The fluffy lady is back! Let's EAT again!"
And by "eat" what my body means is cravings for Candy Corn and Asphalt Pie from Wingers. And I guess if you are going to go to Wingers for the pie, you might as well get the Sticky Fingers Dinner, since you are already there.

Well, Ponica has also been on vacation this week.
She gets back today.
I am waiting for her to drop her bags and skip to the phone to verify that we are, indeed, heading to the Pump class tonight.

I have mixed feelings.

Amazing how after one week of couch-potato-ing, exercise seems so.....hard.
And after a week of non-exercise, junk food seems so.....good.
Also fat pants feel so....tight.

Senses

If you had to lose one of your five senses, which one would you choose?

I always thought that smell would probably be my pick, after living with my boys, and their socks and a husband who played Hockey. Are there any Hockey mom's out there? Seriously, there is not a worse smell in the world than Hockey stuff.

Then I realized how much I like smells.


That I pay extra for good smells, and how much even a new fabric softener can make me excited about LAUNDRY!

So here is my Ode to Smells that I like lately:

My first one is the Method line of dish soap.
Especially the Pink Grapefruit one. I don't mind washing the occasional pan now. With all that citrus-y foamy goodness...


And speaking of soaps...I love Bath and Body Works.
I love to go into their store in the mall, and go over to their little white sink, and just wash my hands. Try out the new fragrances, put on some new lotion...it's kinda weird, I know this. But my girls like it too. And my boys, although they pretend to grumble and stuff.

My favorite soap is the White Tea and Ginger. But those scent-decision-making BUTTS at Bath and Body Works have discontinued it.
BRING IT BACK!!
Please?




Here is another Bath and Body Works product.
I got this from Ponica for my birthday. At first I thought it smelled like a grandma. But I really like it now. It smells better on, than in the bottle, and the scent lasts a long time.
I use it.
My cuticles no longer look like fringe around my nails.
And I smell like a sexy grandma.



Why don't I just live at B&BW?
Yet another product. The Wallflowers.
And my favorite is Creamy Nutmeg. It is just a subtle spicy scent. It is pretty, but makes me crave cookies.
I have been baking a lot.







Sam almost will not buy this fabric softener because of the bear.
He hates this bear! I think he has some deep-rooted issues. Who can hate the Snuggle Bear?
It's cute!
It's fluffy-soft!

I am loving the new scents of the Exhilaration's line.
I love the White Lavender and Sandalwood.
I washed all my bedding last week, and all my blankets smell delicious.
I wish I could wash the couch.
That would be cool.







I don't use salon products on my hair.
Whew! I said it! I use cheap drugstore crap.
I like it.
It works for me.
My hair is durable. And dang if I don't really love the smell of Herbal Essences. I like all of them, and switch the scents up. Makes me happy in the morning.



And that is saying a lot.







Here is the perfume I wear.
My Mom and I found it one day at Kohls.
We were sniffing the perfumes.
Mom originally chose it for the bottle, but then we both chose it for it's soft floral fragrance that melts into the skin with soft notes of lotus flower, gardenia and pink peony, exotic blossoms such as tuberose, rose de mai, and orange flower enriched with musk, ambrette, and sandalwood. Heh.





And this is the body wash I love.
Again, cheap crap, but so yummy.
You will want to drink it. Resist that urge. I have it on good authority that it doesn't taste like it smells.
And it burns mouth canker sores.
So, there you have it. Why I just couldn't trade in my sense of smell.
Not for all the three-day-old socks in the world.

Cute girls.

I snapped some Senior pics the other day for the two cutest girls!
They scoped out the coolest location for the shoot.
They let me play with some weird camera angles.
It snowed on us! And they were troopers!
I hope I got a few shots that they liked...
They are on the swim team together:

We started the day out at the Haunted Bus in the Field:

Fun with photo-shop, some sepia and film grain. And this is the only time I have seen this girl without a full smile:
Hey! Let's take some pictures over by that yellow DUMPSTER! I like the color:
"C", you know this is your favorite pic! Hooray for graduation! She really wanted to to do these jump pictures...right?

Told you it was a cool place for a shoot!

Her dimples...seriously...love them!


200+ photos later, and I don't think we took any "bad" pictures of this girl:

So photogenic!

I feel old. Class of 2009. I was the class of coughcough1990cough...I am going to be wearing Depends soon, aren't I? Sigh...

Thanks girls! It was fun!

And in other news...

I got new batteries for the cordless phones.
This allows me to carry on an actual conversation.
I have been feeling like an auctioneer lately.
"HeyhaveyouseenthesaleatOldNavyyoushouldreallygetoverthere,theyhaveawholebunchofthoseboysshirtswelikeonclearanceCLICK:::dialtone:::"
Hard to get the point across with less then two minutes of talk time per charge.

Magical, magical phone batteries.

Enabling the gossip of stay-at-home-mom's everywhere.

Non-vacation

This is where I should be:


I was supposed to fly in yesterday.
However, flights filled up.
There were 76 people on stand-by...and it snow-balled all day.
That was just to get there.
And already, at a week out, the flights are negative to get back home.
I had heroin flash-backs of last year.
Spending a couple days stuck in an airport.
I still vividly remember the hopeless, desperate feeling...
I am not really sure what triggered it, but I fell victim to a full blown anxiety attack.
Sick stomach, sweating, tight chest...
It just didn't feel right.
Sam was very supportive throughout my blubbering break-down.
He may have been a tad bit scared.
Let's back-track, and say that I have been under a lot of stress and pressure for the past month, and I think the flight situation was the proverbial straw.
Finally he said, "you know...you don't have to go..."
So I bailed.
And after I decided not to go, I felt peace. Weird.
Here is what I am missing:

And scrapping all day with awesome ladies:

Sigh...

So as it is...folks around these parts think I am gone.
My phone has been quiet.
The inbox has been empty.
And I have been taking a "Home Vacation."
Honestly, it has been rather nice.
I needed the time to re-group, and try to get my crap back together.
The kids are out of school on break, so we have no routine. We stayed up late last night, playing, and we all slept in this morning.

I am sad to not see my Getaway friends this year.
Sending them virgin jello shots, and Craisins, and big ol' Utah hugs.

On the menu for tonight...

No one in the family likes this but me.
I have been looking forward to it all year long.
Finally Costco has their bags of pre-cut and peeled Butternut Squash in the produce section. I am lazy like that.

The rest of the family can have some mac and cheese.

Butternut Squash Bisque
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion , cut in half and thinly sliced
1 stalk celery , thinly sliced
1 carrot , thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Peel squash and remove seeds. Cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks and set aside.

Add oil to a 4-quart saucepot and place over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and rosemary, and cook until onion begins to brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Add squash, stock, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let soup cool slightly, about 8 minutes.

Using a standard or immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. If using a standard blender, puree in small batches to prevent spillage. Transfer to a clean pot or storage container. Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

When ready to serve, reheat. Add milk, salt, and pepper; stir well. Add additional milk or stock if soup is too thick; simmer 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste, and serve warm.

Finally took the kids School Pics:

Have you met my husband?
Could Jayden be any more Sam?
He acts like him too.
He hit Junior High this year, and for as much as I sweated it, he is actually enjoying himself and doing well. (Knock on wood.)
He is due for a growth spurt here in a bit.
He and Brendan are the same size right now.
And, they have actually been pretty good friends.
Make a Mom's heart swell...to see all that brotherly love...
Could just be that Jayden is now fully aware that Brendan could hold his own in a rumble, if not kick his trash.
Ahhh, payback.

Here is Brendan.
He is the family and class clown.
I think it might be his size seven shoes.
Yes, folks. Men's size seven, and he is in 5th Grade.
They fit his feet, although they look huge compared to his body.
Clown feet.
He is hilarious though, and this year, it is all about learning his comedic timing.
Popping off during the Iowa tests: Not Appropriate
Performing Stand-up at recess: Appropriate
During dinner: Not Appropriate when Mom just took a drink of milk.

Shianne is my struggle right now.
Thanks Mom.
"I hope you have a kid just like you one day."
Except she isn't exactly like me.
She doesn't care much about school.
Everything is "good enough" for her.
This doesn't jive well with my anal-retentive side.
It has been a rough year.
I pray a lot.
She is teaching me patience. And understanding, compassion, the art of "take a deep breath", letting the little things go, and renewed caffeine addiction.
Diet this time.

Shayne is a good kid.
He and Shianne are in 4th Grade.
We always save his teacher for last on parent teacher night.
That way when we are fully depressed and contemplating giving our children up to the state for their own good, because we fail to enforce the mandatory 20 minute reading torture every night of our lives...
We hit Shayne's class.
His teacher always raves about him. How helpful and kind he is! How he tutors the slower kids in his class! He is always happy! And on task!
I sometimes wonder if they did a little switcheroo in the hospital when we brought him home. He doesn't really fit into our dysfunctional profile.

This is Miss Mikayla, our Kindergartner who is rapidly becoming smarter than her parents. Her teacher knows everything...and is so beautiful, and so wonderful. School has taught Mikayla the word "Hello." As in..."Mom, I need my lunch now...HELLO?" Or "MOM! Go find my backpack...Hello?"

It's just fantastic.

I love this age though, when they still have all their little baby teeth, you know, cause they are still babies...

Pretty soon she will start losing teeth, and then have a mouth full of too-large cream-colored Chiclets like her siblings.

So there you have it.
And I saved about $100.00 taking my own pictures.
Take that Chickenman!...Hello?!

pants.

Dear Chick-Who-Worked-Out-in-Front-of-Me last night:

I have to admit, you had perfect form during those excruciating bar-bell squats we suffered through--glutes out, shoulders back, toes forward...

But did you know, that when you pushed your glutes out...towards me and then squatted down, that your super tight cotton-stretchy pants went paper thin. Yeah, it put a lot of stress on those pants. We are talking LIKE SHEER ENERGY PANTYHOSE thin. I could see your thong, and I could also see where you wax AND where you do not wax.
I could see everything.
I did not want to.
I tried not too, but it was like a train wreck:

Opaque pants...sheer pants...opaque pants...sheer pants...

I know where the men in this class will want to set up next week.
The peepshow.

However, thank you for not laughing at me.

It was a new routine, and required some coordination.
I didn't "get" it a lot of the time.
Sometimes, I went right, when you and the rest of the class went left.

And then there was that time when we were supposed to lie down on the ball to do pec flies, and when I rolled back on the ball, it shot across the room, and dumped me on my elbows on the hard HARD wooden floor.

It was a good night for all.
See you next week. And I mean ALL OF YOU. Heh.

-Bruised Elbow Girl-

Good Mail Day.

I got a layout picked up a couple of days ago by Memory Makers Magazine.
They are out-sourcing their imaging now, which means that my layout goes to a digital imaging company, and not to the magazine itself.

This could be a good thing. The company also takes care of mailing the layouts back to the submitters.

They have a really cool system, these digital imaging people...you enter all your information online, and then hit "Print Label." It automatically prints two UPS labels, one is to be included in your package as your return label.

The best part?
Free for me.

The digital image company foots the bill for both packages. Cool! No more out of pocket expense for me to send the requested layouts and documentation.

So I happily mailed my *free* package yesterday.

And today, UPS shows up at my door.
With my package.
Apparently I attached the return mailing label to the package, and in essence mailed the package TO MYSELF.

And the guy remembered me.
He said, "Didn't you drop this package off yesterday?"
And I said, "Yes, I did. I just wanted to make sure I would have a good mail day today."

Sigh.

Needless to say, I switched the stupid labels, and re-sent it today.
Dorkville. Population: Me.

Thanks to you-

I got this e-mail in my box this morning, from some random guy.

He said that he was wondering if I would be willing to give a testimonial for his product, and a link on my blog.

He felt like I got enough traffic here and that his product would be perfect for the demographics of my blog. He was willing to either pay me, or give me free product in exchange for me posting about it.

I was a little taken back, because:
A: How does he know how many hits I get, and where they come from?
and
B: His "product" was a natural herbal cure for urinary tract infections.

Eww.
I deleted it.

Where is Cadbury? Or Burt's Bees?
I pimp them out for F-R-E-E here all the time.

I guess I am glad to know the demographics of my blog.
Y'all keep drinking water, now ya hear?
Keep those kidneys healthy, and all that...

P.S. Some songs I have been liking lately.

I think cause they play them at the gym.
Arrrgh. So embarrassed to admit that.
I chose You Tube clips that didn't have the videos attached, cause honestly I haven't watched the videos to these songs, and I can't promote naughty bits on my family-friendly blog...just the songs.
Disturbia-Rihanna

Kevin Rudolf- Let it Rock

Good ones to add to the iPod work-out playlist.
And in the second song "Let it Rock" you can think of me, oh, around 3:27.
Uh-huh. I thought so.
It's the shoes.

I bought the shoes.

They are like disco balls, 'cept for your feet..all glittery and tacky.
I can't stop loving them.

Totally enjoyed "church at home" today.
General Conference.
Wish they did that every week.

For my non-LDS friends:
General conferences are conducted each April and October and comprise five two-hour meetings held over two days. The April meetings are called annual conferences and those in October, semiannual.

Church leaders speak on a variety of topics from the gospel of Jesus Christ. They address Latter-day Saints as well as government, faith and community representatives and other conference guests. Speakers include the worldwide leader of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson, members of the First Presidency, the governing body of the Church, the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and other leaders. They encourage individuals and families to live by the principles and doctrines of the Church.

*copied from LDS newsroom

The best part, is that in my area it is televised.

There were some really great speakers this round. I especially loved Saturday's sessions.

Anyway...in the scrappy scene, I have been super busy, but can't really share a lot, cause I am working on some stuff for a book deal I was asked to contribute to.

But here is some Bo Bunny/ QuicKutz stuff I can share. (I think?)


Just so this post isn't so text-heavy.

On the to-do list this week:
1- Take head shots of the kids for "School Pictures."
Last year I paid out a fortune to The Chicken Man, and this year I am taking my own pictures.

2- Get my scrapping stuff together for my scrapbook retreat to the OBX in a week and a half??! Eeek! Getaway is creeping up, isn't it?

3- Also check flights. Heh.

4- Call the dentist. We have not been for a year. I just HATE. IT.
5- Get on the treadmill. Make up for the 17 chocolate chip cookies I ate during Conference.

I want these shoes:

CONVERSE
Do you think they are a little too "There's no place like home..."

Fall anyone?

It is starting to feel a little like fall around these parts.

In fact, tomorrow in between sessions of General Conference, I am going to venture down to the crawlspace and see if any of my Fall decorations survived my purge last year. I threw away a lot of home decor stuff, mostly cause I was sick of looking at it.

I made this pie/cake this afternoon, cause I am still ugly and didn't want to leave the house. So I baked. Oh baby, did I bake.

I made roast beef, cornbread muffins, glazed carrots, homemade mashed potatoes and roast drippings gravy.

And this pie/cake.

I figure I am off the hook for a good week, for putting forth all that effort.
I am JUNE CLEAVER!! But with no cute apron.

I am the heathenish June Cleaver, with tattooed eyeliner.
It is healing up nicely.
But I still have to swab Vaseline on it all day.
So I have to wear my fugly glasses.
No! I am not taking a picture with them. I have posted enough uglies of myself recently. Just use your imagination.

Oh yeah...the recipe.
This recipe has been in our family for years. It always reminds me of fall.
It is like a pie, but with cake for the crust.
You can't go wrong mixing two good desserts.

Pumpkin Pie Cake
Crust:
1 box white or yellow cake mix (reserve 1 c. of the dry mix, set aside.)
2 T. flour
1 egg
1/2 c. melted butter

Mix together well, and press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Filling:
1 large can pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2/3 c. milk
1 t. pumpkin pie spice

Mix together well, and pour over crust.

Crumb topping:
1 c. cake mix (the reserved cup)
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. softened butter

Cut together until mixed, and crumble over the top of pumpkin mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

This is so stinking good served slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.
Let me know if you make it.
Your house will smell yummy.

Getting my eyeliner tattoed onto my face.

In the salon, trying to relax. I was remembering how bad it hurt the last time. It's kinda like childbirth, that "what am I thinking, doing this again??!!" But by that time, it is too late to bail. She already started.

Getting in there good... Hold still! She had to go over my eyes six times. It took about an hour to do.

Cleaning my eyes and rinsing off with saline. Whew! Finished!

I forgot to tell her to wax my eyebrows this time.
They are pretty bushy.

I want to thank my Mom for snapping the pics.
She even got this one, of all the equipment. You would think she was a scrapbooker. I am sure Karen Foster will be coming out with a "Tattoo" line, and you will all be jealous that I have photos to go with those stickers.

And I especially liked this one. Me in a grimace. And a great cleavage shot of the tattoo artist. To my male readers...you are welcome.

So, now I am puffy, and gritty, and I have to swab my eyes with Vaseline for five days.
Good times.

I guess I could have saved myself some time, pain and money by going to Wal-mart and picking up a Wet-n-Wild Kohl black pencil for $1.19.

I wear my sunglasses at night.

One day, my ultra-conservative mom went to a beauty salon in Provo and had her make-up tattooed onto her face.
She had eyeliner, eyebrows and her whole lips tattooed.

I was in awe and slightly shocked.
This is the same lady that believes that caffeine is a tool of the devil, and gives you "that look" if you choose to partake of it.

I had to brown-bag my Mountain Dew in her house.

So she gets tattooed, right?

And she found out all about it from the little gray-haired ladies she works with at the temple.

Which is even stranger.
Anyway...
The day after she got it done, I am not going to lie, she looked like a cheap day-time hooker. (<---sorry, Laura, I bet your work Internet filter just banned me again.) Her face was puffy and swollen, and the eyeliner and eyebrows were heavy and dark. Think Amy Winehouse.

And her lips!
Oh, her lips looked like Botox gone really bad, and then sunburned to a crisp.

But after five days of swabbing the tattoos with Vaseline, they healed up, and de-puffed and she looked fantastic! And the best part...she didn't have to apply make-up every dad gum day.

She was the poster-child for permanent cosmetics, raved everyday about it and eventually wanted me and all my sisters to experience the freedom of NO! MORE! EYELINER!

So she paid for all of us to go in and have our eyeliner tattooed onto our faces.
We are such heathens.

Again, I am not going to lie to you. It hurt like hell.
It was like having a bee sting you over and over again in the same spot.
And then about ten more times just for fun.
The skin felt raw, and still, she keep stabbing the needle in...

I don't know how I stayed sitting there.

But it was worth it. I admit.
And the best gift my mom has given me.
Well, besides birthing me...
Because for the past nine years? I have not had to apply eyeliner.
And on my days when I don't want to put on any make-up, I still look okay, cause of the eyeliner.

It has started fading out. They say it eventually fades completely.
So today, I am going in to have it re-done.
All of my sisters are.

And my gym-friend Ponica said to me last night "Aren't you afraid they will slip and pop your eye?"

Why, no. I wasn't...BUT NOW I AM!!
So thanks for that, Pon.

Maybe this time I will take some pictures.
And some pain meds.
And then for five days, I am laying low. All puffy and stuff.

So if you see me at the grocery store with big sunglasses on, and think to yourself "It's ten o'clock at night, good gravy! What is with that lady?"

Just sparing you the hideousness.

No regrets.

A few years ago, short years ago, I had a lot of kids.
Well, I still have a lot of kids...but back those few, short years they were much needier.

I had four kids under three at one time.
I remember bits and pieces of those days...enough to make me twitchy.

(paint)



Anyway. I survived.
Part of what made me survive, was the light at the end of the tunnel.
That light!
The light that one day...all my kids would be in school, and I would be free!
Free!!
Free to be whatever I wanted to be, do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do it.
Ahhh the light...

So this year was THE! YEAR!
I put Mikayla (my baby) in school.
They have all been going to school now for a couple of months.
They don't need me like they did.
And guess what, folks?

I have more time now and yet I have gotten nothing done.
Not in a good vacation-y way.
Nothing as in I can't seem to get my crap together.

Everyday I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water.

I forget appointments.
The laundry is never done.
Dinner comes from boxes and cans most of the time.

I seriously can't get a rhythm or routine down.

I am worse now, with the kids in school, than I was with all of them home, it seems.
Sigh...

Here I was, waiting and longing for another stage of life, and it turned out to be, well, nothing.
It is like trying to hold smoke in your hands.

I don't have many regrets from the life I left behind.
I genuinely enjoyed having all my little kids at home with me.
And with no mommy medication, I might proudly add. (thank you Mountain Dew)

But I wonder, if this is how life is?
How you look forward to the grass that appears greener on the other side of the fence, and when you finally make it there, is it always different from what you thought it would be?

I will be so happy when I graduate!
And I started a full-time job, and missed the carefree life of a student.
I will be so happy when we get married!
Okay, that was good.
I will be happy when I lose weight...
Guess what? I feel like the same person.
You get the idea.

Struggling with trying to keep my crap together, Sam and I had a long talk.
He thought it would be a good idea for me to cut things out of my life that seem important, but really aren't.

So, I am trying to find a balance.
I am trying to enjoy the present more.
I have been cutting out obligations with my scrapbook "work."
Spending more Friday nights with the kids, instead of working in my studio.
I have been trying to simplify.

I just don't want to have regrets when I cross into the next lap of this race.

WOW.

Poor, sad blog.
I haven't been here for a week!

If you were one of my houseplants, you too would be dying.
You are on my list of things to do.

I am sorry, poor little blog.
Hang in there.

observation by Mikayla

"Mom, do you think Dad is friends with the devil cause he likes to wear so much black clothes?"