December Recap

A recap of our December...


Around our house:












Our Christmas Bags:

Remember how B and I have exchanged our gifts to each other in brown bags for the last few years? (If not, you can revisit how that tradition got started here). Well, this year our brown bags got an upgrade, courtesy of my seester!


I had seen the idea for fabric Christmas bags here, at How Does She (an awesome blog that I love to stalk!), so I talked to my seester about making them (she has gotten really good at sewing cute bags) and she offered to make them for us!


We headed to the fabric store, picked out some cute fabrics, and got them done that evening after dinner. They turned out so cute and there was so much room for our presents (even the ones that were huge and bulky)!


Here, see for yourself....


Here's how she made them (with some pinning, turning, and cutting help from me!)...

Thanks Jenny, we LOVE them!




Christmas Eve with my fam....

Maddy...

Hudson...

Both of these cuties...

It was such a fun night! I can't believe I neglected to take pictures of the Phase 10 smackdown that I dealt out to my family! It's a good thing that my memory is like a steel trap and I will NEVER forget the first time I actually won that game!!!

Christmas Day with B's family...

This year my MIL was quite the tricky lady.



I know, I know, she looks all nice and sweet (and she really is), but let me tell you.... she has some wicked tricks up her sleeve!

Case in point, the gift card incident.

This year I thought I was crazy when I opened an old college textbook (make that a CRUSTY old college textbook!) called "The Physics of an Atom." I really thought to my self, "What the French, Toast!" I know I looked completely confused (believe me, I felt confused) and wasn't really sure what to say. I mean I wanted to be polite and all but I wasn't really sure how, it was a PHYSICS textbook, I have never done anything with PHYSICS!

Then, as I turned the book around for B to see the cover, low and behold, a gift card fell out and that nice MIL of mine started to laugh. I admit, it was pretty hilarious and clever too, so I figured I had better watch out for her!

Fast forward to the next surprise present - a jar of dried beans - and again, the total look of confusion. Seriously, how come I didn't learn my lesson from the first time? I was wondering what in the world I was going to do with a jar of dried beans (that wasn't even full) and I was shaking the jar at B, when all of a sudden, there appeared a gift card at the top of the beans.

I told you she had wicked tricks up her sleeve!

We all had a really good laugh but I vow never to look confused again - even if the gift is really, really weird!




And that is a recap of our December! Hope yours was great too!

We miss our family and friends that are far away and want you to know that we love you and think about you often. Here's to a terrific 2011 for all of us!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday to me!

What a great birthday I had this year! I was overwhelmed by how many people even cared.

Thank you to everyone for making birthday #34 a day in my life that I'll always adore!

Thoughtful gifts:

Dinner with my family (on Sunday):

Maddy entertains us:

Dinner with the Murphy's (on Monday):

What a week!

It was one of "those" weeks. You know...the kind of week where you wonder "what the heck was I thinking!"

My week was all about Celebrating Seuss at work AND gearing up for our Road Rally quarterly enrichment at church.

Yeah, I did it to myself. It was crazy and more than once I wondered, "what am I thinking!"

The craziness began on Monday and didn't stop until Friday.

Celebrating The Cat in the Hat

Celebrating Fox in Socks

Celebrating Wacky Wednesday


Celebrating My Many Colored Days

And our last celebration was Hooray for Diffendoofer Day

Then there was the Road Rally...

In the end it was worth the craziness!

We had a great week at school celebrating the wonderful, fantastical, incredible books of Dr. Seuss AND the Road Rally was an absolute blast!

What I need now is rest. Good thing it's Spring Break!

Oh wait, I have plans... Big Plans. I'm visiting an exotic location for the week.

You've probably been there... it's called: THE GARAGE!

It's Fun to "Be Funky!"

Photo editing can be fun, funky (and free!) at http://www.befunky.com/

Fun and Funky Option 1 = Cartoonize

Change an original picture from this:

to this:

Fun and Funky Option 2 = Warholize

Change an original picture from this:

to this:


There are more fun, funky (and free!) options to play with at this site (just beware of relapsing into B.I.C. Syndrome).

A Day Off

Oh, what do you do with a day off from school?

You probably managed your time well and got everything done.

But if you're me, you slept in until it was time for...

What you didn't do (but should have!) was...

Despite not doing your chores, you (meaning I) felt HAPPY at the end of the day!

(so who cares if the dishes are still in the sink!)

Photo Tag

I love this tag! (I know, I "love" a tag... has the world stopped?).

It wasn't an official tag directly issued to me, but while reading Tammy's blog, I thought it would be fun to go ahead and tag myself (mostly because I figured it would be fun to see which picture ended up following the rules, not really because I "love" a tag!).

So here are the rules:

1. Go to your documents/pictures


2. Go to your 6th file


3. Go to the 6th picture


4. Blog about it


5. Tag 6 other friends


6. Smile!

And here is my 6th picture, from my 6th file...

This was taken of my niece this 4th of July. She was so excited about the fireworks, the flags, and hanging out with the family (well, we choose to believe she was excited to hang out with us!). The face you see above is 100% absolute excitement. Can't you just feel the pure joy!

Revisiting this picture reminds me of how much fun it was to be part of her experience. It also reminds me that we should all try to find that moment of absolute joy and happiness a little more often in our own lives.

Now, I don't pass on tags (D can verify that this is true!) ...but if you want to participate, consider yourself invited! I'd love to see your 6th picture from your 6th file.

Putting Me Back Together Again

I have been feeling like Humpty Dumpty. You know... the wall... the fall... and the fact that "all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put Humpty together again."

It wasn't just that I was sick...I was wiped out.

Unfortunately, life kept rolling on (and here I thought the world revolved around me!) and the files, the piles, and the things I am responsible for kept piling up. Which led me to feeling like poor ole' Humpty.

Today I have finally started to feel like I am putting myself back together again and what I am relishing right now is that my house is getting back in order (don't be fooled, the pictures below make it look like I'm a good housekeeper, there are still piles and files in other places!).

Having my house in order was important tonight because I hosted a discussion group for the ladies at church. I know that because my house was put together, we were able to feel the Spirit as we discussed talks from the October 2008 General Conference and reflected on how much we are loved by our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And now... I am gearing up to host a baby shower Saturday (theme-based of course... and big surprise, the theme is books!), making me glad that this part of my life is "put back together again."

Of course, I think after the shower on Saturday I'm going to "shop my house." It's a new year and I need a new vision and I am feeling the challenge to catch this vision without spending money. This may mean an extra crack or two as things move around...

But, right now, at this moment, even though I might still be a little cracked, I am enjoying the peace of my house being put back together again!

Oh yeah, the cat enjoys and orderly house too...

(Well, she'd enjoy it if she were awake!)

Fame and Fortune (with a twist!)

NOTE: click on the sound icon to hear the song and to turn it off.

At some point in our childhood we all wanted to be famous, right?

Well, we might not be cast in a big Hollywood box office sell-out, but we certainly star in plenty of our own FAMILY productions.

The lyrics to the song in the slide show perfectly describe our famous roles in those FAMILY productions...

When I grow up, I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies
When I grow up, I wanna see the world
Drive nice cars, I wanna have groupies

When I grow up, be on TV
People know me, be on magazines
When I grow up, fresh and clean
Number one chick when I step out on the scene

Be careful what you wish for
'Cause you just might get it
You just might get it
You just might get it

Be careful what you wish for
'Cause you just might get it
You just might get it
You just might get it

Hope you enjoyed some of the "headshots" of our family.

They have not brought us any fame or fortune, but have provided us with some pretty good laughs!

Christmas Parties - Blogland Style!

Welcome to our Christmas Open House!

Come in and look around.

After your visit here, check out these great spots for more splendid Christmas ideas:

Kimba's Holiday Open House
Julia's Hooked on Houses
Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Par-tay

(Just be careful of B.I.C.S. You know, Butt-in-Chair-Syndrome).

The Living Room

ideas in the living room:
* create your own cloche with a cheese tray dome
* use large vases or jars for jingle bells or ornaments

The Kitchen

ideas in the kitchen:
* use a fun, non-traditional color scheme
* use a tiered serving dish as an ornament tree
* frame gift wrap and ribbon for easy wall art

The Den

ideas in the den:
* use children's literature in a variety of places
* have a central theme (ie: snowmen) throughout the room
* hang stockings on front handle of fireplace door

And finally...

Find ways to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate this season!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Don't forget to sign "the guest book" before you go
(This means leave a comment my silent friends and family!)

Merry Christmas!