Life Scrapped

Want to help my girly get to DALLAS?

2010-06-02T14:36:00.001-07:00

That's right people! Maddi is so excited to be participating in her second year of Marching band at her High School. They are so excited as they have been extended an invitation to participate in marching at the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day, 2011. As you can imagine, a trip like that doesn't come cheap!

Maddi is doing her best to earn her way by babysitting, making cookies, handmaking cards to sell as well as sewing! But the fact that she has to earn close to $2,000.00 for all of her fees is quite the undaunting task!

Here's where I can help, and hopefully you can help out too!

I'm offering mini photo sessions for $75.00. Each session will run 30 minutes and you will be given 10 - 15 fully edited photos. You will also be given a disc of every photo taken during your session that you can do with as you please! I know 30 minutes doesn't sound like long, but for those of you that know me, you know I can snap off a gazillion and 10 photos in a short amount of time! :) Plus my hope is that we can get enough people interested that we can raise at least $1,000.00 for her!

If you want to see what I do, you can check out my photos at www.kristyleephoto.com

Or here are a few that you wont find there...

Now here is the really exciting part. If you have been struggling with your home movies, wanting a great piece for posterity sake....you know...to show your kids how STINKIN' CUTE they were when they were little, boy oh boy have we got an offer for you.

My ever so talented, amazing, creative videographer of a hubby is offering a crazy insane deal on a piggyback video session for an additional $50.00. You can't tell me that you wouldn't flip to have a video like one of these for your family to share with all of your friends all over the world!

We are now filling openings for sessions running from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at Wheeler Farm in Murray, Utah on June 14th, American Fork Ampitheater from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on June 22nd, The Riverwoods in Provo Utah from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on June 29th, and The Benson Grist Mill in Stansbury Park, Utah on July 3rd beginning at 8:00 AM until 10:30 AM

As further incentive for any of you that sign up and refer 2 additional friends to us, we will throw in the family video for free!

We are hoping that times will fill up super fast, and we will add more dates if necessary!

Help us support our girl and her dream of making it to Dallas! Just so you know 90% of all proceeds will go directly to Maddi! The other 10% will to toward supplies, gas and of course, my Diet Dr. Pepper!

Call 801-822-6209 or email at kleeinut@gmail.com today!

Sometimes I'm the luckiest gal!

2009-10-08T13:21:00.001-07:00

So I have to take a little moment out from the hCG humdrum to tell you how lucky I am. Why, do you ask? Well I'll tell you!

Throughout my life I have been blessed, repeatedly to find friends, via the internet....through scrapbook forums, and now Facebook....that have enriched my life beyond measure.

One special friend I'd like to mention today is my buddy Leigh.

Leigh is an amazing woman that has taught me so much about loving everyone and taking what life gives you and making the best out of it.

She was friends with my brother on Facebook and ended up crossing over into my world. I'll be honest...when my brother told me...yeah...she's got 27 tattoos (or something like that), and how ever many body piercings, I thought wow....she's a crazy gal! I am SO VERY GRATEFUL that I didn't let my initial thoughts stand in the way of getting to know my amazing friend. I'm also truly grateful that she has helped me to realize how special each and every one of God's children are, no matter what! (Even with all of those crazy tattoos! ;) )

One thing I adore about Leigh is her gratitude lists. She has so often encouraged myself, as well as others to focus on the things we are grateful for that God has given us. In fact, one day when I was having a particularly bad day, she prompted me to say my prayers asking for nothing, but only thanking Heavenly Father for all that I have. It made me realize how absolutely incredibly blessed I am.

* I am blessed to have the knowledge of Jesus Christ our savior that gave his life for us so that we CAN be together forever.
* I am blessed with a wonderful God Loving husband, who does everything he can for our family. Who loves our kids like every father should love their children. Who appreciates me for what I do. Who recognizes my needs.
* I am blessed with 5 amazing children who are not only my dear friends but teach me love and patience each day.
* I am blessed with a beautiful home, in a beautiful neighborhood.
* I am blessed with friends in abundance, who love me even though I might not be the nicest or best of person at times.
* I am blessed with parents and inlaws that love me and my family dearly and would do anything for us at any time.
* I am blessed with by my children having wonderful teachers that give so much of their time and their talents to better my children.
* I am blessed to have clothing and food (although I'd do just about anything for a pizza right now! ;)

She is truly optomistic. One Thursday when I was having a rough time she sent me a sweet message, to which I replied that I was wrapped in warm fuzzies. She then replied:

That's the way it SHOULD be! My buddy texted me yesterday and told me to imagine myself all balled up in G-d's hand. I told her he was squeezing me too hard (!!!). She said he just loves me so much he's hugging me a little extra tight.

So if you imagine yourself wrapped in warm fuzzies/ on a beach/ on a boat/ in His hand...it might just help change your perspective in a tough moment. :)

Happy Thursday!

And all of this coming from a woman that has recently been diagnosed with Lupus, and keeps on smiling and counting her blessings.

I just wanted to take this small moment to thank her for what an example she is to me. And to share with you the thoughtful bookmark that she surprised me with.

Leigh...I love you - you need to get your hiney back here to Utah one day so we can meet!

(PS - there's the photo for you! ;) Bet you weren't counting on getting it this way!)

Adios Dos punto Dos!

2009-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to admit that seeing my scale drop 2.2 pounds is enough to face the torture of another day in "starvation camp".

What?

Starvation?

Yup. That's right!

When I first heard about the HCG diet, I couldn't believe that people would actually maintain a 500 calorie a day diet. Cause lets face it. That is dangerous! It wasn't until I did the research and really understood how this diet works that I felt comfortable and confident with using the protocol for myself.

If you aren't familiar with how it works, let me shed some light. (Now don't you poke fun, cause I'm no Dr. Lee. This is how my brain understands it all!)

You know when a woman is pregnant? Well she creates the growth hormone which is HCG.

This hormone is a wonderful growth hormone which not only helps ensure that the pregnancy moves along, but acts as a protection to the growing fetus. Think about it. How do women, in 3rd world countries, who are malnourished, continue to give birth to healthy babies. The answer in part....hCG.

During the hCG diet, the hormone that you put into your system, for lack of a better description, allows your body to safely settle into borderline starvation mode. By having the hormone present in your body, it unlocks your abnormal fat stores so that your body is actually consuming not a measly 500 calories daily, but upwards of 3500 calories, since the average daily fat loss on this system is 1 pound. It's the release of the dangerous fat stores that allows your body to maintain the energy needed to go about your daily tasks.

Another beauty of hCG is it protects the normal and secondary fats, which are the good ones. It also protects muscle structure so that you will not see a breakdown of muscle, cause let's face it.....when you've got good guns, why would you want to lose em?

Now you may be asking yourself, "well if this is such a miracle hormone, why do pregnant women typically pack on the pounds". Sugar. Starches. They are the mortal enemies of hCG. In fact, according to Dr. Simeons, if you are not 100% committed to protocol, and sneak in those sugary and starchy treats then you are running the risk of gaining weight "at an alarming rate". And lets face it....I don't know about you mommies out there but when I was prego donuts and cheeseburgers were my friend! I'd be willing to bet if you looked at the diets of those super cute basket ball belly mommies that they maintained a healthy diet during pregnancy filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Another wonder of the hCG hormone is the HCG actually resets the Hypothalamus, which means that at the end of your diet phases, your weight is actually re-set. Of course if you begin eating junk all of the time you will re-gain weight, but isn't that the same with any diet?

So for now, I'm managing my energy levels just fine...in fact even did an actual chin up for my first time ever last night. Also threw in a few minutes of crunches and push ups. My demon right now is trying to put the thoughts of starches and sugar out of my mind. I know it will be worth it! And hopefully I will train myself to have healthier eating habits, cause let's face it, starvation camp just isn't worth submitting to just to pack it all back on!

Even though it's been mentally tough, I expect it to get easier. It's nice however, since this diet doesn't come without an ounce of entertainment, cause if my husband were to take a pregnancy test.....well.....

Nuff said.

:0)

Journeyings of an HCG Diet

2009-10-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Wow. A resurrection to the blog. Don't all gasp at once. (All 0 of you that are likely looking. ;) ) I just figured it would be fun to document my daily journeyings on the crazy HCG diet.

I'll be honest. Over a year ago when I first heard of the HCG diet, I thought THAT's NUTS! Granted the temptation of being able to lose 20 pounds of fat in 20 days was ever so enticing, I never really put more thought into it....mainly because of the cost and the shots.

So I'm visiting teaching the other day and my partner, the bishops wife, begins speaking about her diet. Lo and behold she and the bishop are on the HCG diet. WHAT? REALLY? Not only that, our Fotoplay photography partner and wonderful friend Jen is also on HCG as well. Welllllllllllllll then.......I might just have to look into this cause if the BISHOP is doing it, then it must be okay! ;)

Research, research, research and MOOOOOOOOOOOORE research. Cause let's be honest, I'm not about to submit my body to something dangerous or unhealthy.

Finally.

Convinced.

This is okay.

And at such a fabulous price? I can't say no!

So many of you look at me and say, "you don't need to lose weight, you look great." You know what? I'll be agreeing with you. I do look pretty great for a mom of 5. But that's just it, I hate the tag line "for a mom of 5", cause I'll be honest, it doesn't really make me feel any better that I haven't been able to shed this gut. However I will be the first to agree if you look at me from the front, or the back? Well, it ain't too shabby!

But from the side?

ICK!

And for those of you who know me, you know I'm not an idle person either. I love to run. I mean I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy love to run. Look...this is me just after a race.

See! I do! I love it! But truth is, as crazy as I am about exercising, I just haven't been able to lose that belly fat. Granted, I have all too often splurged on foods that I shouldn't, so by forcing myself to have healthy eating habits at the risk of gaining some serious pounds if I do not follow protocol while on the HCG, I do believe is exactly what I need!

So this,

and these,

are my new friends.

I'm not saying it's going to be easy, and I'm sure there are days that will flat out kill me this first week, but I have already given my kids full permission to put me into time out if I get too hangry.

Cause I want this

to change to this

so that when I am one of these

I can be happy and healthy and enjoy every moment!

Somehow or another - the boy's got game!

2009-07-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

JM is crazy. He's a crazy, crazy boy. So much different than Aaron. Aaron is more "gentle", loves trains, that kind of thing. JM is all about balls, cars and sports. I have no idea where this "sporty" gene came from as Tracey and I could both care less about organized sports, but I'm thinking that pretty soon we will be finding ourselves hanging out at baseball games and most definitely......basketball. I'll have to have Tracey make a better video cause it cracks me up how JM will hold the ball like he owns it, and more often than not, makes a shot....even when he's standing on the ground! But my favorite? The way he flips his hands at the end, just like the pros do!

What a day!

2009-06-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Life with kids is always a surprise. What is actually a surprise is the fact that we've lived for 2 years with John Matthew and aside from normal bumps and bruises haven't had any accidents to speak of with him. And that my friends....is truly a miracle. We're talking this is the boy that sees a photo of a skateboarder or a snowboarder and the look of longing fills his eyes, because he wants to be that person living to the extreme!

Anyhow, this Wednesday past we decided to go up and visit Grandpa Lee, Aunt Michelle and the boys Lee cousins that were up camping in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I truly loathe camping at this point in life, because the kids are so hard to keep track of, so a day trip isn't too horrible. That way they still get the fun, and I maintain sanity since I can sleep in my own comfy bed at night!

It was a beautiful day and Sarah and I took some of the kids for a little hike. We also ate lunch and played some games.

After a few hours I had reached my limit of chasing the Chuzzle and decided to head down the canyon with the boys. The girls stayed behind so that they could have a little more fun.

All it took was one text from Tracey to mention Pizza Benders and I was a girl with a mission....to get to Italian Village.

Boy was it heaven.

After eating Pizza Benders, we had a spur of the moment jaunt to Wheeler Farm so that we could feed the ducks. We had been there with the boys just two nights before, while Tracey did some filming, but we didn't have bread, so decided to take them back.

The kids had fun and I had fun snapping off a few photos of my favorite boys.

On our way out Aaron and JM wanted to play int he playhouse for a few minutes. No sooner had Tracey and I sat down to watch the boys, did JM fall off of the stairs and fell about 3' through the railing. Of course it was all in slow motion yet neither Tracey or I could get there quick enough! We though he was just fine until his blonde hair turned all red! YUCK!

Luckily there was a nurse sitting right there and she helped us clean him up and told us that he would indeed need stitches, so off we went in search of an Instacare to sew him up!

Now THAT, my friends was NOT fun....watching your sweet little baby, strapped into a papoose board, screaming his guts out, eyes just about bulging out of his head looking at me like I - as his mommy should be doing something to help.

So sad.

He took it like a trooper and ended up with only two stitches. Luckily they are in his hair so you will never see a scar.

I can't wait to see what he thinks when we take him in next week to have them removed!!!

Who said pushing 40 was a bad thing?

2009-06-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

I love this photo. Every time it surfaces it puts a smile on my face. Why do you ask? Well because I was a 25 maybe 26 year old in this photo. Isn't that the age that you are supposed to be in your prime of looks? I don't know about you, but every time I see this photo of myself, I think "wow....you've got to be kidding me!"

I'm not saying that I'm any super model or anything like that, but I do think that for a mom of 5, pushing 40 (Okay so I really have 3 more years...just turned 37 last week), that I'm not looking too shabby. Oh and please excuse the self portrait that I just took of myself. No kiddos were awake to push the button for me!

I love that I have a hubby that encourages me to exercise and is every bit as motivated to keep fit and healthy himself so that we can live a long life together. So many days I find it TORTURE to get up an exercise, but then I remind myself of how I once looked, and where I'd like to be and get up and just do it. (With a little pulling and prodding and ripping the covers off of my by Tracey. You shouldn't have gotten me such a comfy bed setup for my birthday! ;) ) Seriously Tracey, thank you! And thank you for telling me that I look better now than the day we met. Same goes for you baby.

Another new addition....or should I say....Additions

2009-06-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

So last night we were strolling around the ol' Walmart, because that seems to be what we do when we are bored. Actually Tracey was looking for some furry fabric, and unsurprisingly Walmart did not have any. What they did have right smack dab next to their fabric section (strange if you ask me) was their fish.

There was some lucky lil' dude getting himself a goldfish and Aaron marches right up to the momma of that lil' dude and tells her that he would like a new pet too. I guess Gary wasn't too exciting or something. Maybe too snotty. Who knows. The mother laughed which I don't think Aaron appreciated, so he turned to the worker and told her that he in fact would like a new pet too. He quickly pointed out the fish he wanted and was shot down yet again when the worker said that he would have to ask his mom.

So he asked.

I said "Maybe, but not today."

Tessa then quickly says "Maybe means never."

Am I really that reputable with my "maybe" answer.

I decided that yes, in fact I WOULD agree to having a goldfish (even though Aaron just broke our goldfish jar all over the driveway a few days ago).

So this morning, I packed up Tess and Aaron and off we went in search of our goldfish.

Somehow our GOLDFISH turned into "Plankton" and "Shrimpy...."Ug" and "Sunny". Oh and let's not forget "Fire" and "Ice". I mean, why NOT get a cute fish tank with a filter for $10 when a regular stinky goldfish jar would have been $7. Sure, maybe not the BEST of setup, but for the sake of seeing how it goes with more pets in the fam, I think it's great.

JM? He thinks they are the total bomb. Hopefully he wont try to take them out! Amazingly enough it's been 5+ hours and no one has died yet!

Meet Gary

2009-06-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

I guess there is one thing to be said for the prizes that the kids claimed for themselves at Chuck E Cheese....we now have some "Fancy Livin" quarters for bugs.

What is it with little boys and bugs? Sheesh...what is it with little KIDS and bugs? Tess is equally as excited about "Gary" as the boys are.

We've already given Aaron the discussion how it would NOT be a good thing to feed Gary salt. Gary does not LIKE salt. Really, we don't know what Gary DOES like, other than Salt & Vinegar potato chips would likely be a bad choice.

Well Gary, I hope you enjoy your moments of captivity. I know the kids sure are enjoying having you around!

Baptism, Birthday & Campout.....OH MY!

2009-06-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

Wow! What an incredibly fun filled weekend we had. Sooooooooooooo busy, and not what I would call relaxing by any means, but most definitely one that will be remembered for sure!

Saturday, June 6th, Tessa was baptized by her daddy bright and early in the morning. We had to be at the church at 8:20. It was no problem getting there on time, since Tessa was so excited for her big day!

We had quite a few of the relatives from each side of the family in attendance. It just seems so strange to me that Tess is already 8 years old. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was a little squirt.

I was so proud of Tessa and her decision to be baptized. I know it's more of a "thing to do" at her age, but her face was literally glowing with happiness. I hope that she will always remember how important this step is in her life and how as she grows older she will realize more and more the importance of her baptism, and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

After the baptism we had a little shin dig at our house. Lots of food! I felt like quite the Martha Stewart after having made a million and 10 puff pastries for chicken salad sandwiches.

We also had a less than eventful for JM birthday party moment since JM's birthday was on the 7th. (Poor kid having is birthday on a big weekend for Tess. Oh well. He's 2. He won't remember....right?) Grandma and Grandpa Lee got him the one and only thing that I could think of that he would like, since he's a loopy kid and doesn't play with toys. They got him the Fisher Price Bubble Lawn Mower. The kid loves being outside and loves bubbles so what better combination could there be?!?!

After the party, we took the little kids to Chuck E Cheese for their very first time....EVER! Maddi and Sarah will be sad that they missed out on the fun, but I guess spending time with Grandma and Grandpa is more appealing! ;)

JM was a crack up. The way he'd pump a token into the machine, press a button and wait for the tickets to come out. I don't know what the thrill is of collecting tickets to buy junk, but they LOVED it.

After that we went to Cabella's on a whim. Another place we have never been. Again...too funny watching the kids like they were hyped up on full doses of caffeine, Zipping from one animal to the next to the next!

We woke up on Sunday morning and the kids were excited to sing happy birthday to their brother. I was the total slacker mom that didn't really want more junky food in the house, so opted for JM's birthday cake to be a left over piece of Tessa's baptism cake. Nice. I promise baby, I'll make it up to you next year! I'll make you a groovy cake. No left overs. OK!

JM #2 from Tracey Lee on Vimeo.

After church we gave Matthew his basket ball hoop and I was sad that it wasn't the same one that he loves playing with in Nursery. Well, loves playing with it providing I am right there with him. The kid is just not too fond of nursery for sure. Anyhow, he was a little frustrated with not being tall enough to make baskets, but he will grow into it....right? Nothing like getting a bang for your buck!

It's just kind of sad to me that my baby is now two. These past two years have really flown by. As difficult as Matthew is with his speech delay, I know these times are precious and I try to enjoy each moment. Some moments are far better than others, but I know this time will pass all too quickly.

Having gone to Cabella's gave the kids the idea that they would like to sleep out in the tent. So we set up the tent, and they went camping for the night.

Honestly, back yard camping is my style. Dad gets to sleep out with the kids, and I get my comfy bed....no Aarons feet kicking my face....no Tracey snoring....just peace and quiet!

What a great weekend.

Sadly...I have to take JM for shots today. At least he will be accompanied by Sarah having shots as well. Happy birthday kid.

A girl has just got to love a NEW DO!

2009-06-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Maddi actually took the plunge to whack off her hair. She's been talking about it for quite awhile and both Tracey and I have been begging her to do something with her hair. Yesterday she finally did!

I can't believe how big and grown up she looks. I'm so grateful that she could care less about boys, cause heaven only knows, we are going to need all the help we can get when she does think that they are okay!

Here is also a photo that I took of some of the different varieties of iris that we have blooming in our yard right now. Don't ya love the nice chalk background. LOL!

Purple Cauliflower....who'd a thunk?

2009-06-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

So today I was at the grocery store shopping for veggi's for the chicken pasta salad that I volunteered to make for our Relief Society Enrichment dinner tonight. You should have seen me stop in my tracks when I came to the purple cauliflower! I mean, honestly! Isn't it great! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a little purple fun to the salad so into my cart it went.

I think the veggi producers must be onto something when it comes to kids. ALL of my kids were standing in line to try the "grape flavored" cauliflower. Much to their disappointment it tasted like regular cauliflower, but oh so much cuter.

Truth be told, I don't think grape cauliflower would be any good anyway!

Oh and the best part? It was actually CHEAPER than the regular cauliflower! Next time I'm buying the orange one!

Oh yeah. It MUST be summer!

2009-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

I mean, what is it....barely 8AM and I offer ice cream to my kids for breakfast? Yeah. It's true. I did.

Nothin' more to say about that than HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO summer!

:)

One girls trash = another girls treasure!

2009-06-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

So my DIY-er friend Natalie had THESE CABINETS that she yanked out of her laundry room. I was so fortunate that I happened upon her post announcing that she would be selling the cabinets at a yard sale for $15.00 each. You can bet I snatched those babies up BEFORE she even had the chance to put them out for sale! Why? Well let me tell you....because I've been on a MAJOR organization binge (not that you would really be able to tell by taking a meander through my house, but I'm trying!), and I have wanted cabinets for our laundry room for ages!

When I got the cabinets I knew I wanted to paint them since I had so much fun painting the cabinets in our bathroom black. I didn't want to do black and had almost settled on a nice pumpkin color, when I decided on a whim to go with the "Monterey Bay" blue. I mean it's a laundry room....lots of water in laundry rooms, right? Maybe not as relaxing as spending a day at Asilomar but maybe if I'm staring at the tranquil blue while I'm sorting through way more laundry than I want to, I can sort of pretend that I'm at the beach. Okay. Yeah. Long shot, but hey, it was worth a try.

I'm still somewhat second guessing painting the cabinets blue, rather than the wall blue, but I figured in such a small room I might not want to be overpowered with blue walls. No matter what I find myself walking past the laundry room...stopping myself and thinking "wow! those are happy looking cabinets". And you know what makes me happy? I don't have to see the laundry soap, or the dryer sheets, or the sock basket, or the cleaning supplies, or the rags, or the swim towels, or the....or the....or the.....

Organization.

Bliss.

Next step....white knobs and maybe a little vinyl lettering on the wall beneath the cabinets. Maybe. Just maybe. Or maybe a photo of the beach. Now we're talking.

Oh dear...what has Facebook done to me?

2009-05-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my finally caving in to Facebook has resulted in the near death of my blog.

This is not good. No. No. Not good at all.

I mean, THIS is my journal. Little status updates on FB, don't exactly constitute what is really going on in my life.

So here I am...the beginning of summer, and I'm going to do my best to be a better blogger!

So, what has been going on?

Not a lot other than mommy stuff. You know how that goes.

I am not shocked, but my project 365 fell by the wayside. I did so good for so long. I think I am still going to make a book at the end of the year and call it "Almost a Day in the Life of the Lee's". I mean, that's really how I do things....almost but not quite. Eventually things get done, but this one took a bit of a back seat for a little while.

Well, I will leave you with a few of my favorite photos I've taken recently. I'm sure loving our 5D. That thing rocks my world.

My First Wedding

2009-05-05T07:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, not *my* first wedding, but the first wedding that I shot. I have to say that I was equally, if not more nervous on this particular wedding day than I was for my own. I mean, I know how badly I LOATHE mine and Tracey's wedding photos, and how it is truly a one shot deal. (Or in this case a 986 shots deal!) A wedding day just can't be repeat, and it was my job to capture those moments for the bride and groom....so that they will never forget!

At first I was disappointed in the shots until I realized that my "photo journalistic" style truly captures the essence of life. Sure I've got a lot to learn in posed photography....but the real life shots? Well. I'm no "Jen", but I think they turned out pretty sweet!

BTW Jen....your check for 10K is in the mail! Thanks for the help!

Tracey, my video King

2009-04-26T08:36:00.001-07:00

I hafta say that the more I see Tracey's videos the more I am absolutely in love with his work.

This video is one that he produced for my awesome photographer neighbor. These two make a great team if anyone is ever in the market for a photog / videographer combo!

Enjoy!

JENNIFER ELIASON PHOTOGRAPHY

Lovin' my Daffodills

2009-04-23T12:11:00.001-07:00

I have to say that I love this time of year. I love when my yard is bursting with yellow flowers. I love that there are so many different varities of daffodils growing in my yard.

Sort of makes you appreciate God and all of his handiwork here on Earth, doesn't it?

FIELD TRIP!

2009-04-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

I'm so lucky! I got to go on a field trip last Saturday with my little peanut Tess. The field trip was the first "on location" photo shoot with my photography class group. It was a tad bit windy and a whole lotta cold for my little lady, but I still love the shots that I got. It's so liberating to finally feel 100% comfortable shooting in full manual, which every last one of these photos were!

Jennifer Eliason, my awesome teacher, is already taking sign ups for the next round of classes. Here is her information if any of you locals are interested in one crazy good time!

I *Heart* Photography Workshop

All I know is I can't wait to get back to this location to take photos of my big girls!

Enjoy!

2009-04-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

This is what happens while dad is left to babysit while mom is off to photography class!

Trouble from Tracey Lee on Vimeo.

Rainy days and Thursdays always....

2009-04-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

are interesting with 2 boys in the house!

I didn't realize that I had dressed the boys both in yellow shirts until they were sitting on my kitchen table with some of the daffodils from our yard. How could I pass up this perfect opportunity to take some sunny photos on a dreary day.

I swiped Tracey's camera cause, well, it rocks. My camera is dog doo compared to his, plus I haven't really had a chance to mess around with the 85mm.

I'm taking a class from an awesome neighbor and fabulously fun teacher and I finally feel comfortable shooting in full manual. I rarely shoot in auto, but mostly have relied on AV or TV. These photos are all fully manual (except for one or two of Aaron by himself...was just trying to compare what settings auto would give me). I know I need to work on the focus issues, but it gets a little tricky when not using a flash or tripod and there isn't much light since it's puring rain outside. A 1.8 is where I had to shoot to keep my shutter speed at 1/60, not really allowing a full range of focus. (JEN! JEN! Are you proud of me? Am I getting it?)

BTW - Jen is having an awesome giveaway to announce her new photography blog! Be sure to check it out and leave a comment for your chance to win some itunes!

My Mamarazzi Life. (How cute is that!)

Anyhow, here you have it. Some sunny photos on a dreary day!

My Toothless Beauty!

2009-03-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! Tessa finally lost her first tooth last night in a "normal" fashion. She had her first two lower teeth pulled out by the dentist because her permanent teeth had completely grown in behind her baby teeth.

I think she looks so sweet with a little hole in her mouth. I can't believe she will be EIGHT soon and is just now experiencing a gap for her first time.

She was thrilled that a "purple" tooth fairy came to visit her last night. Really it was more of a hot pink tooth fairy. Maybe she will get a purple one next time. We've had a full range of different colored tooth fairys visit our house and thanks to Doodlebug our rainbow has expanded! ;)

I was so excited about the tooth fairy that I completely forgot about Weigh In Wednesday. I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning before I eat to get accuate measurement!

Wiggly Tooth

Mini DIYer....gonna get that tooth out! She worked it for a good hour this way. (I actually ended up yanking it out with tissue)

The first gap!

SCORE!

My beautiful toothless beauty!

Project 365 Upload #10 & #11

2009-03-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Wow...where has the time gone? I'll tell you what I've been doing....I've been crazy busy with preparing for teaching at the Scrapbook USA Expo. Now that is done I need to put my house back together! ACK!

Here's a peek at the past 2 weeks.

March 8: For dinner, I had a craving for "Egg in Bread" like my Uncle Don used to make when we were kids. I really didn't know how to make it, and obviously I didn't do it right, but they still satisfied the craving for some nasty, greasy food.

March 9: We invited Grandma and Grandpa Lee to celebrate our goal of reading 1/4 of the Book of Mormon. We decided that we would go to dinner at Rubios and then ride Trax into town and go to Temple Square. We hadn't taken our kids to just look around at the displays at Temple Square for years. It was nice to spend time as a family, feeling the Spirit, and being able to re-emphasize to our children of the truthfullness of the Gospel. I am so grateful for a husband that is such a wonderful man and a worthy priesthood holder and for our children and the fact that our family is eternal.

March 10: You know you are definitely a Utah resident when you pretty much live in denial that winter is over and spring has arrived. We were treated to the first of what promises to be several late snow storms. At this point of winter, I want nothing more than to be outside, working in the yard and wearing my capris and flip flops. Unfortunately the Utah winters tend to drag things out.

March 11: Today Jana, Michelle and I put together 200 kits for my classes for the spring Scrapbook USA Expo. I really enjoy teaching, for the most part, and love that Jana and Michelle are always so willing to help put the kits together as it is a long, drawn own and tedious process. We do have fun and enjoy our sister time while making the kits and the bribery of buying them lunch is well worth it!

March 12: After about a month I finally finished up my railing painting project. I really love how it turned out and it looks great with our kitchen table. Now I need to decide what to do with our kitchen cabinets and get started on that project. Well....maybe I'll give myself a tiny break first!

March 13: Aaron loves to be artistic. To eliminate stress we wait until JM is sleeping before busting out the paints, or playdoh or toys with tiny pieces. Today Aaron chose watercolor painiting. I love watching him make people. They are my very favorite. I could have a house filled with his drawings of people and I would never quit smiling!

March 14: Today Uncle Don, Cousin Mike, Tracey and myself ran the Leprechaun Lope 5K up by Capitol Hill. I always forget how much I love running a race until I'm there...surrounded by the atmosphere and the other runners. It was a pretty tough course all in all...especially for someone just recovering from a foot injury. The first two miles of the course are uphill and the last 1.2 is all down. I have to smile because I genuinely beat Tracey. He was trying to beat me, but hit a wall and I came in just a few seconds before him at 30 min and 37 seconds.

March 15: There are days that it kind of hits me like a brick that I have a beautiful TEENAGE daughter. It is so strange to me to think that I was just a few years older than Maddi is now when I met Tracey. I look at her and don't ever want her to have boyfriends....let alone finding the person she will marry when she is 17! I love my Maddi girl. I love that we have grown so much closer together over the past few years. I love that she is my friend and my #1 text messager, and that they are such cute, random, silly, deep thought type text messages!

March 16: Although it surprises most people when they find out, I struggle with depression in a big way and have ever since I was a late teen ager. Today was one of my all time lows. I struggle the most with being a mom and all of the responsibilities that come with it. It is selfish, but sometimes I find myself filled with regret at the spacing of our children, as I sometimes want to just move on to the next stage in life. In fact, Tracey even came home from work at lunch today to check on me because he knew that I was deeply struggling. I know it has a lot to do with my attitude, getting enough rest and staying active. I am also grateful for the support of friends and loved ones, and ever so grateful that there is medical help. It makes me laugh to think of all of the years that I tried to just "get by" feeling like I was better than needing medical help. Now I realize how silly that was and what a blessing it is that I live in a day and age where help is readily available.
Oh and for the record....I do love my kids, and bottom line, I wouldn't trade anything about them for the world. Although, I wont lie! There are certainly horribly hard days along the road.

March 17: Today was St. Patricks Day. I love little holidays although we never tend to make a big deal out of them. We typically have breakfast for dinner on St. Patty's day and eat green eggs, and green pancakes.

March 18: I can't believe that JM is growing so big. Tonight I had to run to the store and buy some diapers. Even though he probably could have gotten away with size 4 diapers for another month or two, I figured it would be nice to have the extra pee catching possibility with the bigger diapers. He still seems like my little baby, but the truth is he's growing up and before I know it he wont be in diapers any more!

March 19: Today the exercise endorphines kicked in and I feel so genuinely happy. I tend to forget a little too easily how important it is for me to stay active. Even if I didn't lose an ounce, the mental health benefit is something that I need to remember that I NEED! It's so easy to get out of the exercise mode and then start to get down about lots of little things. When I stay active consistently I have a better handle on things and can deal with every day stresses in a much better way and honestly it just feels so good to be happy.

March 20: Today I taught classes for Polar Bear Press at the Scrapbook USA Expo. It's a crazy huge event where thousands of scrapbookers meet to shop, scrap and spend some more! My classes this time were not horribly huge which was actually kind of nice. Jana was my TA which was great. She always does such a great job!

March 21: I didn't buy much at the Scrapbook Expo as I haven't done much scrapbooking lately. However I did find this cute "camera bag" that actually works great for a new purse. I guess I'm kind of a purse junkie. I love to buy a cute new bag!

March 22: Today was Stake Conference so we were naughty and decided to have a family day at home. We have tried to go to Stake Conference in the past but it has just been so hard with the boys that we just decided to stay home. I had the urge to make my favorite cinnamon rolls from an Amish cookbook that I have. They are really involved and take the better part of a day to make, but oh so worth it when they are done.

March 23: Tracey and I have wanted a new TV for our bedroom for a very, very, VERRRRRRRRRY long time. We tend to watch a lot of movies on his computer while we lay in bed and are always complaining about how small the monitor is. We made out with a nice tax refund this year so we decided to splurge a tiny bit on a new TV. Nothing way fancy, but certainly does the trick! In fact tonight Aaron was happily watching Spongebob in our bed so that Tracey and I could watch 24 in the basement in peace!

Hellooooooooooooo Weigh In Wednesday!

2009-03-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love me the instant gratification of RUNNING! Not only do I FEEL better mentaly, I have an amazing response to dropping pounds - especially when I first start out running consistently. I figure since last Sat. I've put about 9 miles on my feet. I'm giving them a break today since my right foot is still a little sore and I don't want to overdo! Anyhow, good ol' Jillian from The Biggest Loser once did an interview which I read and she said hands down, the #1 best way to lose weight is to get OUTDOORS and run! Granted, my cute little neighbor that looks ever so FAN-TAS-TIC is experiencing the temporary weight gain from running as a result of enduring long distance running from training for the SL 1/2 Marathon next month. Just remember Kristen...from everything I've ever read, that's totally normal due to the stress your body is under and should just melt off as soon as you are done with the long distances.....

Anyhow, good news is, thanks to me and my 903's I'm down 2.2 this week! Only .4 to go to get back to where I was a couple of weeks ago.

Now if I could just get a handle on the eating thing! Then maybe I'd be into my goal pants before my birthday! :0)

I've said it before and I'll say it again...MY HUSBAND IS TALENTED!

2009-03-17T08:22:00.001-07:00

I'm so proud of Tracey. He just finished up shooting his first "spec" video as he has several potential music clients that wanted to see what he could do for them. I know I'm a hormonal wreck these days, but I have to say that watching this video made me cry. I'm not sure if it is because of the content of the video, or if it is because I am so incredibly proud of my husband and awed by his talent.

I love you Tracey! I can't wait to hear what your clients think of this!

Enjoy!

Oh and the entire video was shot with the Canon 5D

KIDS! Let's face it....they are not easy

2009-03-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

It's been one of "*those*" weeks around here. One of those weeks where I have found myself slipping into not so positive thinking and finding myself thinking on a whim that I regret the spacing that we chose for our children. I know, I know...a lot of that stems from having a hurt foot, not sleeping well, and the crazy weather keeping us more or less house bound.

It's also been an exceptionally trying week with Aaron and his seemingly non stop whining in conjunction with being ever the bully to his little brother.

And then there is Matthew...the kid with the face of an angel but the energy of a tasmanian devil.

The combination of those two, day after day, while the girls are at school is nothing short of wearisome, and I sometimes wonder why we chose to have our kids spaced out enough that we will have a high school graduation and a kindergarten graduation in the same year. Wrap all of that up with a mom that is 36 years old and there are days that it is hard. VERY hard.

However, it makes me grateful for little moments like these...when the purity and sweetness of our boys shine through, to give me a boost when I need it. It makes me grateful that even though I must put my own personal every day freedom on hold for a few more years, that I HAVE this sweet little face to greet me each day. It makes me grateful that somehow we were blessed to have our 5 children. It makes me more aware of the pain that many struggle with who have the challenge of infertility in this life. It also makes me incredibly grateful for a husband that understands the sacrifice of staying home and just being mom.

Honestly, as hard as days may seem at times, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Please vote! and a little Weigh In Wednesday!

2009-03-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Apparently as has been brought to my attention by one of the parents that had a child disqualified from the Nick, Jr. contest there were some unknown factors involved in resulting thousands of votes for at least her child.

I do owe "J" an apology as it apparently wasn't her fault that her child was disqualified Hopefully that was the same situation with the other two children and if Nick has mistakenly disqualified these children I hope they will put things right. I do feel badly as anyone that knows me knows I would never intentionally set out to hurt the feelings of anyone. So, lesson learned! Think before I type!

Anyhow, THE GOOD NEWS IS, it isn't too late to HELP ALIZA WIN! Please, if you've got the time, go to the Nick, Jr. website, look for the photo above and cast your vote! If we get enough of us together, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Now as far as Weigh In Wednesday goes, I've had the worst gain that I've experienced in a VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY long time. I'm up 2.2 pounds. It just frustrates me that the minute I start exercising I start packing on the pounds. But frustrations aside, I LOVE the way I feel, I LOVE the sense of accomplishment in running and pushing my body to it's limits.

Unfortunately this past week, I obviously pushed too far and I am currently suffering from a running injury. Honestly today I can barely walk. I thought I was pretty much healed up so merely went out for a walk last night and half way through thought I was going to die. TOday is even worse. I'm actually quite heart broken and have cried because I just want to run. I want to be healthy. I want to look good.

I will not get discouraged over my weight gain and as soon as I am able I am going to pick myself up, brush myself off and get on track to those size 8's!

Project 365 Upload #9

2009-03-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here's to another week! I admit...this was the first week that I thought "Why am I doing this...I think I'll quit". Hopefully I can get over those thoughts, cause it really will be fun when all is said and done, and I have a nifty book in my hands.

Mar 2nd:

I really do love our house with the exception of our laundry room. You would think in a house of 2,750 square feet that the architects could have found a slightly bigger nook to put a laundry room. I guess for an "average" sized family the laundry area would be workable, but for a family of 7 it is truly not practical, especially since the laundry area is also the walkthrough to our garage, and when laundry is a constant, there is always a mountain you have to tread over walking in our out of the house. We're hoping to figure out another solution to our laundry woes this year.

Mar 3:

After a good run there is nothing better than hitting the gas station for an early morning Diet Coke. Yeah, yeah...I know, if I'd just give it up, I would probably not hurt as bad running, but it is one of those simple pleasures in life that I'm just not willing to sacrifice. And it's not even the caffeine that is an addiction. 90% of the time I am drinking Caffeine Free Diet Coke...at least whenever it is available.

The boys don't seem to mind when I make my morning stop for a beverage either because they most often score a little treat themselves.

Mar 4:

I've been trying to work hard at shrinking myself and being fit so that I can enjoy my children and enjoy my life to the fullest. Last year at this time I was a size 12. I bought a pair of "goal pants" that were a size 10, that I wanted to fit into by my birthday in June. It was such a great reminder every time I was in the shower to see the pants hanging on the door. I decided that I wanted to repeat the same incentive this year and bought a pair of size 8 pants that I hope to fit into by my birthday. It will be very exciting to reach that goal, as I have not been a size 8 since I was 15 or 16.

Mar 5: Today the girls had their orthodontist appointment. It's always fun to see the colors that they choose for their elastics. I'm so grateful that we have been able to make the investment to give our girls a perfect smile. Both Tracey and I recall all too well the negative impact of having a "monster mouth", and hope that our girls will always appreciate the gift of straight teeth.

Mar 6:

I'm always so impressed with the "DIY" abilities of Tracey. If it's something he is interested in having he will make it happen. Tonight he and Aaron spent the evening in our garage making a dolly for Tracey to use in filming. They tore the wheels off of two cheapie skateboards and used some PVC piping for track. I love that he can make a great tool for a fraction of the cost of a "professional" rig.

Mar 7:

Today Tracey spent the morning using his DIY dolly and 5D to begin filming a mock music video. The video is a Johnatha Brooks cover of the Alan Parsons Project song - "The Eye In The Sky". Tracey is incredibly gifted in his filming abilities and I can't wait to see what the final product looks like. This is a photo grab from the video that he recorded.

PLEASE VOTE~!!!!

2009-03-05T06:33:00.001-08:00

My very good friend Michelle Hammond, the owner of Polar Bear Press and our amazing accountant who is crazy fantastic, who also has 5 kids, very close in age to our kids' ages, and whom I am trying to convince to audition for THe Amazing Race with me.....well her little girl is a finalist in Nick Jr's Super Fan of the Year contest. How cool is that!

So if you have a spare minute, would you mind popping over to vote for Aliza?

Click on THIS LINK, scroll over until you see THIS PHOTO and cast your vote. You don't even have to register. You can vote once from each computer in your home per day.

Michelle has been such a great help and blessing in our lives and I'd be thrilled for little Aliza to win a huge party and bedroom makeover. I mean truly...what 4 year old kid wouldn't want that?!!?

THANKS!

It's Weigh In Wednesday again...with a little added motivation!

2009-03-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

So it's Weigh In Wednesday again. I guess it doesn't matter if I eat like crap or exercise like a good girl....I'm just sort of on this steady 1 pound down a week thing. It makes me laugh that over the 4 weeks I have dropped exactly one pound each week. I guess that is a good amount since it's likely going to stay off as it's not a massive quick downfall. I tell you what though....I'll take the being active over the eating crap lifestyle anyday. It FEELS GREAT to be running again. I ran 4 miles this morning and can't wait to get back out there...even though my foot is protesting! I may have to give it a rest for a day or so, so that I can be ready for my 5K on the 14th.

Anyhow, some of you may remember my "goal pants" that I bought last spring that were size 10's. I had those babies hanging on my bathroom door for about three months before I could even get them on. I did it by my goal in June and on my birthday I wore the jeans for the first time.

I thought I'd like to get another visual to work toward and have a new pair of cute size 8 capris hanging on the back of my bathroom door. I hung them on a hanger from a size 16 something or other that I bought 2 years ago. It will be a great day to cut my pant size by 1/2! Here's hoping again that by my birthday I will be able to take a photo in these, cause heaven only knows it isn't a pretty sight in them right now! It will really be a dream come true for me as I have not worn a size 8 since I was about 16 years old. Granted I think the sizes are a little more "generous" than they used to be but hey...I don't care. Call me vain. Call me whatever. I'll just be one proud mama, to have 5 kids and have a label size 8 huggin' my butt!

Keep up the good work everyone out there that is striving to get more fit! It's a long process, but if you keep at it, you'll make it!

After a good run...

2009-03-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

After a good run there is nothing better than hitting the gas station for an early morning Diet Coke. Yeah, yeah...I know, if I'd just give it up, I would probably not hurt as bad running, but it is one of those simple pleasures in life that I'm just not willing to sacrifice. And it's not even the caffeine that is an addiction. 90% of the time I am drinking Caffeine Free Diet Coke...at least whenever it is available.

The boys don't seem to mind when I make my morning stop for a beverage either because they most often score a little treat themselves.

Obviously JM wasn't completely happy with the choice he made as he shortly made a move on brothers treat!

Silly boys.

Project 365 Upload #8

2009-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

You know I was sitting there thinking the other day that I really need to re-name my blog to "Life Photographed." I can't believe how long it has been since I scrapped anything. In fact I haven't even unpacked from the night I went scrapbooking with Traceys sisters in January. I really need to dig out my new WRMK stuff...maybe that will give me the drive!

Anyhow here is a peek at our lives last week!

Feb 23:

We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Lee over for dinner. Maddison had forgotten her phone charger at their house, and to be a teenager with a dead phone would be nothing short of devestating, so after work they drove it down. We love spending time with them and wish that we lived closer, but are still grateful that we can see each other within an hours drive.

Feb 24: Matthew has proven to be a major "outside" boy. The weather was nice today so we spent the afternoon hanging out in the back yard. The boys played in the sandbox while I sat and finished reading The Giver, which is an excellent book!

Feb 25:

Being a part of the Facebook community has been an absolute blast. It's been SO much fun to hook up with old friends, really get to know some of my neighbors, which I'd never have had the opportunity to do otherwise, and most of all has been great to have daily contact with my brothers whom I love so much! I found a bunch of old photos from our childhood and posted them on my Facebook page for everyone to have a good giggle over.

Feb 26:

Tonight was Maddisons parent teacher conferences. She and I spent 2.5 hours meeting with her teachers. For the most part Maddison is doing great in her classes. Her English class is her favorite, just as mine always was. Her teacher was so impressed with a recent essay that she completed that she asked if she could use it as an example for her students next year.

Feb 27:

Tracey took the day off of work so that he could catch up on his RNG business. All morning long Aaron was talking about the Thomas pieces that he wanted to buy. We kept telling him that we didn't have money to buy him whatever he wanted and he simply asked if we could just "buy more money". We took him to Target and told him he had $10 to spend on something Thomas-y and he chose a 3 car Percy set....mostly because of the log car.

Feb 28:

Tracey's cousin Danny got married today. The kids were SO excited to go to the reception and because it was close we decided to take them. It was a beautiful reception and Tracey's cousin and new wife looked very happy.

March 1:

After church Tracey and Sarah decided to make chocolate chip cookies. We didn't have any chocolate chips, but the big pair of solid chocolate lips that Tracey gave me on Valentines worked quite nicely when chopped up! It's a good thing that I didn't eat them and had them to put in the cookies. Tracey and Sarah did a great job!

It's Weigh In Wednesday!

2009-02-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

Well I think I'm on my way to crawling back up onto the healthy / exercise wagon. Granted at this point I'm just hanging on by my fingertips....but it's a start.

I've been exercising a little better and even went running yesterday thanks to two friends that posted on line that they went which gave me the motivation!

I have also been good and had my Lean Cuisines for lunch both days so far this week and have made dinner.

Anyhow, I'm down exactly one pound since last Wed.

It's kind of exciting. I was cleaning out my car the other day an evaluation from the first time I met with a personal trainer at my fitness center last year. It was on March 4th. I weighed 184 pounds. Granted I don't think I'll quite make it by March 4th, but if I can lose just 3.2 pounds I will be down 20 pounds from that date! I know 20 pounds doesn't seem like a lot until you visualize 20 pounds of ground beef stuck to your butt or carrying around 80 sticks of butter. Yup. I'm a whole lot smaller of a person than I was last year. Hopefully one more year and I will reach my final goal of 155 pounds and a size 6!

Time. Will. Tell.

Project 365 Upload #7

2009-02-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

Well, here you go....an oh so exciting peek into the world of Lee!

Feb 16th:

We had a moment of weakness wherein we bribed the girls with a Wii Fit if they would not complain about babysitting for us on Valentines evening. We couldn't find the game on Valentines night and after about an hour of calling around on Monday morning we found it at Target in Orem. It's so fun to have a game that even Aaron enjoys playing.

Feb. 17th:

JM was beginning to look like a shaggy little girl, so Tracey took the scissors to his hair. Usually JM doesn't mind too much to have a haircut but this time it was not something he wished to endure! This photo is actually a screen grab from the video that we took. Now we call him "new boy" because it is like having a new boy in the house!

Feb. 18th:

I have to admit, that due to my "extreme dermatitis" in my ear canals I am forever itching my ears with qtips. My ENT gave me drops which help immensely but every so often I can't help it. Obviously I itch a little too much as JM thought that pretzel sticks would do the job for his ears quite nicely!

Feb. 19th:

Today, Aaron started hollering at me from the kitchen to "come quick and see". I went out to see what he was so excited about and he warned me not to "break it". I truly giggled when I saw what he was talking about. He was so amazed by all of the dust particles in the air floating around that he could see through the slit of sunlight creeping in between the curtains. It immediately took me back to being a kid when I was so intrigued by the same thing.

Feb. 20th:

Tracey and I are truly spoiled by his parents that always willingly take all 5 of the kids for sleepovers. We cashed in on our Christmas present weekend, and were planning on eating at Setebello's. On our way there all of the sudden we had the craving for Killer Nachos from The Red Iguana. We hadn't been there in ages, and despite being there at 5:30 we still had to wait nearly an hour for a table. It was worth every minute of waiting cause their nachos are truly killer!

Feb. 21st:

Since we had no kids for the day we rode Trax into Salt Lake and spent the entire day walking around taking photos and making video. This is one of my favorite photos that we took. I love how you can see Tracey's reflection in the glass.

Feb. 22nd:

The girls are so funny. They are entirely addicted to a website called Fantage which their friend Savannah M. introduced them to. I was a "cool mom" and paid a small fee so that they could become "premium members". It's really kind of a fun site with lots of games and fashion shows. You play games to earn points to buy different items for your character. The girls often make me sit down and play the typing game for them so that they can rack up the points! We have had to put limits on their time spent playing as if we didn't they'd sit on the computer all day long.

The Date Video

2009-02-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

Tracey doesn't like it, but I think he did a great job!

Click....

2009-02-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

All of the sudden I have the Go, Diego, Go! "Click...take a pic" song in my head. Today was truly a wonderful day! Tracey and I took advantage of our no kids for the day and headed into downtown Salt Lake for a day of wandering, photographing and filming.

I have to admit, that after playing around with Tracey's 5D a little bit today, my 20D seems like a piece of doo!

Here are a few photos from our journeyings around town. I suppose we must have walked a good 4 or 5 miles, which is good considering the amount of lovely food that we consumed today!

These photos were from one of our first stops. There's nothing quite like walking aimlesly around downtown, finding all sorts of unique colors and buildings. The only drawback is that sometimes the corners you can find really stink!

For Christmas Tracey's parents gave us a gift certificate to Settebello's. Honest to goodness, it is the BEST and most authentic Italian pizza that we have had since leaving Europe. It was really hard to save the gift certificate for our special date weekend...and I am already wishing to go back. Tracey got a cheese pizza with salami, and I got a "white" pizza with procuitto costo and spinach. Mmmmmm...

After lunch we stumbled upon this German bakery. I told Tracey that we had to go inside to see if they had any chocolate crossiants like we would get so often in Germany. They do make them there but they were out. We settled on a delicious piece of Apfel Streudel. The only thing missing was the vanilla sauce!

We then made our way to the Gateway and these were perhaps some of my favorite photos that we took all day. I wanted Tracey to take a photo making sure that he was showing in the reflection of the window I was standing by. I think he did a great job!

Here are a couple of random shots that Tracey took that I liked. Even though my hands are looking old!

I had never been to the "new" Salt Lake library so after hanging out at the Gateway we walked over to the library. It was amazing. I'd really like to take the kids back there one day as I am sure they would love it. It's really high and there are glass elevators. I couldn't quite convince Tracey to go up with me.

There is a display of hundreds of tiny mechanical butterflies. When you look at it from the right angle it is a persons head. The light wasn't great for capturing what it really is like but I did catch a few photos of the butterflies.

It was such a great day. Thanks Dan and Karen for watching our brood. I know it's a lot of work but it means the world to us to be able to have times like these.

Weigh In Wednesday - Color Me Confused!

2009-02-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

You know...I just don't get it.

I have to be honest, that recently I've sort of fallen off of the wagon so to speak. In fact let me lay it out for you.

I've exercised only 2 times in the past month. Once yesterday playing Wii Fit, (and boy do I hurt today), and for about 30 min. a week ago Monday. That's it! No gym. No running. No Billy. No Firm. No nuthin'.

I've sort of thrown the good eating choices out the window...especially over the past week. Maybe it was more of a trying to par-tay before buckling down and getting serious again.

Here's what I can recall that I've eaten, and I'm sure there is more.

Mostly diet coke.
One of those big pink cookies every morning last week after I dropped the kids off at school. The boys and I hit the gas station for drinks and treats.
Yesterday - Apollo Burger and Onion Rings
Monday - A big ol' Whopper with Cheese and onion Rings
The Weekend - No less than 10 sugar cookies with frosting
Valentines Day - Dinner at Rubios - Fish Taco, shrimp burrito, beans and rice
Friday - I'm sure Tracey and I ate somewhere for lunch, Costco Pizza for dinner
Thursday - Lunch with Jana and Tracey at Cafe Rio

Okay...you get the idea.

So I jump on the scale this morning and I've lost yet another pound. Since the beginning of the year I am down just just over 5 pounds.

So what do I do? Keep indulging in all of the pleasures of life and hope that I stay constant in my dropping a pound a week, or get back on the wagon?!?! It's just so frustrating when I work, work, work...and be so dilligent about everything and only lose ever so slightly more than I am losing now or in many weeks just maintain my weight! Oh and get this...my measurements....The same or smaller.

Color me confused!

Project 365 Upload #6

2009-02-16T10:00:00.001-08:00

Wow...I can't believe another week has gone by and I have managed to continue to find things to take photos of!

Feburary 10th, Day 41:

Thanks to Facebook, after nearly 20 years a few of the Murray High School girls were able to get together and meet each other for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Many of us have not seen each other since the night of graduation, so it was absolutely fantastic to catch up on the happenings of each others lives.

Feb 11th, Day 42:

I promised Tracey that I could bring home a piece of cheesecake for us to share. I TRIED to save it for when he came home from work, but the boys decided to help me eat it at lunch time instead. I mean seriously...how can you say no to such a sweet face that is enjoying cheesecake so much!

Feb 12th Day 43:

Poor JM has had quite the case of diaper rash thanks to the anti-biotics that he's been on for his ear infection. Even though we tried to take preventative measures by giving him a pro-biotic with each dose of medicine, he still ended up with quite the sore tooshey.

Feb 13th Day 44:

I remember how fun it was in Elementary school to participate in the Valentines parties every year. My girls were no less excited than I remembered being. They came home from school eager to share the goodies that they scored from others.

Feb 14th, Day 45:

I have to admit that I was pretty excited for Valentines this year because it fell on a Saturday. Tracey and I never do much for each other and always find pleasure in making it a great day for the kids, but this year I decided to treat him with his own personal "heart attack". I made 2 dozen hearts and wrote little reasons why I love him. I placed all of them in a heart shaped pancake for him at breakfast. I think he liked it!

Feb 15th, Day 46:

Today was our turn to host Family Home Evening with my side of the family. I really look forward to the second Sunday of the month when we all get together for a lesson and a treat. We take turns hosting the evening and today happened to be our turn at our home. Grandpa Dahl said he had heard that President Hinkley and his family carried this tradition, and I can say in the past 5+ years since we have been doing this that it has made a great difference in our family and the closeness that we share with each other.

How on Earth can you say no....to this?

2009-02-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to The Cheesecake Factory with some of the girls that I went to High School with. Most of us haven't seen each other since graduation day, so it was pure delight to catch up with the happenings of the past ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, 19 years. I honestly don't feel myself aging, yet when I look around and see what we have and where we've been since high school passed, it's only obvious that time has ticked on. I have to say however, that with the exception of Kim's flat ironed hair, none of us look any different...maybe a little softer around the eyes, but that is about it!

So I told Tracey that I would bring home a piece of cheesecake for us to share while watching 24. As the evening happened, we actually ended up going to see a late movie, so I didn't get home until nearly 1AM.

I tried to resist the bag in the fridge. I really and truly did.

I *thought* I had put the cheesecake on the top container in the to-go bag so I purposfully reached for the 2nd container to warm up my lunch.

Oops.

Wrong container.

Sadly enough the cheesecake has been consumed.

But honestly....how can you say no to this?

At least I shared....right?

Project 365 Upload #5

2009-02-09T15:15:00.001-08:00

Well, sorry it's not anything more exciting than more photos. I have really enjoyed this project so far....being able to capture little snippets from the life of our family.

Feb 2nd Day 33:

I finally finished the bathroom project that I've been working on for most of January. I really, REALLY love how it turned out...especially the cabinets. I feel like it's such a classy room and I really did it for very cheap! I got all of the decor items at Ross for dollars, and the towels came from clearance at Target for $2.50 each!

Feb 3rd, Day 34:

I am so proud of Sarah. Today she graduated from the Nova program at school. She worked so hard to complete all of the assignments including no television for an entire week over Christmas break. She was one of about 11 students in the entire 6th grade that completed every assignment, earning herself the Super Nova award. I know the things that she learned will help her as difficult choices arise in the next few years.

Feb 4th, Day 35:

I liked the look of my black cabinets in my bathroom so much that I have decided to start in on re-finishing the railing to our downstairs, and then hopefully move onto the kitchen cabinets. I started sanding down the railing today and it really isn't the funnest of jobs, but I am sure the end result will be worth it.

Feb 5th, Day 36:

Tonight we had our parent teacher conferences at the elementary. It's always so nice to go and hear good reports. In fact I was told by Tessas teacher that thanks to her, and her alone, the entire class was able to have an extra party, since she stayed in during a recess and cleaned the entire room. I wish she'd feel that passionate about cleaning her bedroom! Tessa still struggles with math, but her reading has really improved over this year.

Feb 6th, Day 37

After a rough night of screaming and no sleep, I decided to take JM back into the doctor as I suspected that his ear infection had not entirely cleared up. Mothers intuition was right and he started on another round of antibiotics. This time we are faced with the awful side effect of diarreah, so we have had to get a pro-biotic from the health food store to give him before each dosage, which helps, but doesn't eliminate the mess!

Feb 7th, Day 38:

Today we were able to go to Tracey's Grandma's 80th birthday party. It was a surprise party and I am glad that she didn't suffer from a heart attack when she walked into the room! I am so grateful that our kids have the blessing in their lives of knowing not only their grandparents but their great grandparents. I am so happy that we could all be there at the party to give her our love.

Feb 8th, Day 39:

My family issued a challenge for all of us to have the entire Book of Mormon read by the middle of October. We were a little slow on starting up with the challenge but have taken seriously this week to making it happen. Our personal challenge has been to read 6 pages a day. While some days we have been a little short, we haven't missed a day of reading since we began last Sunday and have completed about 37 pages so far! I love the opportunity that it provides us as parents to discuss the happenings of ancient times and relate them to our lives today. Even though it tends to be chaotic with the boys, the spirit that is brought into our home has is unmistakable and I am so grateful for it.

Feb 9th, Day 40:

Yesterday afternoon I landed myself an awful headache and at some point during the night it turned into a full fledged migrane. I woke up wondering how I would take care of the kids. I popped into Facebook for a moment to update my status and jokingly asked if anyone wanted to take my boys for the day. I was absolutely touched as 2 wonderful neighbors both showed no hesitation in wanting to help me out, and another drove my kids to school. I am so blessed to live in a great area with great people. Thanks Jen and Amy! Luckily I was rescued shortly thereafter by Tracey who came home early and I then slept the entire afternoon, waking up feeling much better.

WHATEVER!

2009-02-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

My husbands attempt to sabotage my blog!

Just another movie...

2009-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

The other day we made JM some "Easy Mac" since he was asleep when the family ate dinner. He obviously didn't wake up on the right side of the crib cause he wasn't happy about his food offering. Or at leat it took him a few minutes to warm up to the idea!

Weigh In Wednesday #4

2009-02-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Nothing too exciting to report. I'm exactly where I was 2 weeks ago which kind of surprises me since I haven't exercised but only once over the past 2 weeks and yesterday I had Arctic Circle for lunch, and a nasty gas station bratwurst and donut for dinner last night.

Aside from feeling like I have food poisoning from the brat, I guess life is good!

Stay tuned for the bathroom photos!

Project 365 Upload #4

2009-02-03T08:11:00.001-08:00

Wow! I guess it's a good thing that I've got this little project going or I may have fallen off of the blogging bandwagon!

Actually I've been so busy making my bathroom pretty over the past couple of weeks that I haven't really had time for much else. I'll be putting the finishing touches on what I can today and then I will take some photos.

Just a little piece of advice to you all however....DON'T MAKE CURTAINS. Buy them. Your life will be much better! However, I am a girl that isn't going to give up, so before this day is done, I WILL have them looking decent. I hope. :)

Jan 26th:

Tracey has a great job in the fact that he is able to travel on occasion. Surely I don't love being on the single mom status, but his trips are always quick. It's nice that he has the opportunity to see a little bit of the country even though filming dentists doesn't exactly fall into the "wow that was exciting" category. However on his trip to Minnesota, he was able to spend a bit of time at the Mall of America.

Jan 27th:

Today we went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. How grateful I am that I am sealed to my family for eternity. I hope that my children will always remember the peace that they felt in the temple and strive to make the choice of having an eternal family for themselves one day. I am so grateful for my best friend, and my husband who is such a pillar of strength and an example to our family. I'm also happy that he doesn't seem to mind that he's stuck with me....forever!

Jan 28th:

I can't believe that Sarah will be heading off to Young Womens this year. Tonight was New Beginnings. She's so excited to be moving on and to be going to activities with Maddi. They both made a commitment to pray morning and night, read their scriptures for 5 minutes daily, and smile every day. I really hope that they both realize the importance of these simple things and how building a testimony while they are young will carry them through times of doubt as they grow older.

Jan 29th:

As part of one of our new years goals Tracey and I decided that we would make a better effort to take the kids out one on one for "dates". Even though this week wasn't exactly one on one, (because we got started a little late and had to double up), we sure had fun. Maddi, Sarah, Aunt Jana and I hit the local roller rink for a little skating fun. I have to say roller skating is a whole lot harder than I remember it being. However it was a great evening and we were able to have some good chats with the girls over a shake at Iceberg, about the difficulties of growing up and the importance of making good choices. More than anything I want my girls to know that I was a real teenager too, and that whatever they are going through I truly understand!

Jan 30th:

I get the biggest kick out of my boys. Never did my girls get a thrill out of watching the garbage being hauled away. Both Aaron and JM can hear the engine of the garbage truck from a block away and scurry to their bedroom window to watch for the truck to come. Every other week is a double treat when 2 days row they get to watch the show as the recycling man makes his rounds.

Jan 31:

There is never a dull moment with JM in the house. In fact, if it is ever quiet you know there is trouble going on. After a few too many moments of peace this is what we found. And the walls and floors and couches decorated quite nicely. Thank heavens it was washable!

Feb 1st (Day 32):

As much as we try to be conscious about eating right, Sunday afternoons always seem to be a time for indulging in a little "not so good for you" food. We often make brownies as an after church treat and eat them while playing games or watching a movie. This particular day we played Scrabble Upwords.

Families are Forever

2009-01-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the extreme priveledge of attending the Draper Temple openhouse with my entire family. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love that we have the temples so that we can be given the keys that we need to have a Celestial and eternal marriage with those that we so dearly love.

I love when new temples are built for the opportunity of being able to tour through them as children and with children, as they have not yet been dedicated. I distinctly remember being 8 years old and being able to go to the Jordan River temnple with my family. It actually stands out in my mind as if it were not nearly 30 years ago but only a few. I remember being a small child and feeling the spirit that the temple brought into my life and knowing then that I wanted to be married in one of the Lords holdy temples.

It was amazing to me to sit and watch my children as we were watching the 10 minute video presentation before heading up to the temple. I have never in all of our years of going to church seen my boys sit so reverently and be completely engrossed in what they were seeing.

Inside of the temple I was yet again amazed by the beauty and peace of our surroundings. Every time we would pass one of the many paintings of Christ it filled my heart to see John Matthew grin his big cheesy grin as if he was seeing a painting of his best friend. Our little ones are so precious.

Aaron was so impressed with the baptismal font. JM just wanted to get in and go swimming.

The best part without a doubt was taking a few minutes to sit with my entire family in the Celestial room of the temple. To look in each others faces and to know that we are a forever family. My sweet husband sent me an email today that will go in my "happy things" place. He said.."When I looked at your face in the Celestial room it gave me a reassurance that you know the truthfulness of the gospel and that it is so important to you. I am so thankful for that!" I in turn am so thankful for my husband and the good man that he is and the example that he is to our children.

I pray that the experience of going to the temple will stay with my children and that they will remember the feelings of peace therein and that one day they too will choose to be sealed for Eternity with the loved one of their choice....or their "pretty girl" as Aaron and I discussed while sitting in one of the sealing rooms.

My testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is nothing earth shattering. It is a simple yet firm knowledge that the true church of Christ as been restored here on Earth in the latter days. I pray that I can teach my children well and that they will learn while they are young for themselves of the truthfullness of the gospel.

I am so thankful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and for the sacrifice that he made to make all of this possible.

Project 365 Upload #3

2009-01-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

Amazingly enough I am still hanging in there with the photo a day thing. I think the fact that my new computer will open up Photoshop in about 3 seconds flat helps!

Here's a peek into our life over the past week.

:0)

January 20th:

We watched a little of history in the making during the Innaguration of President Barack Obama. I never imagined that we would find ourselves one day with an African American president. I think it shows great strides in the freedom equality that our country stands for. I pray that President Obama will do Gods will and will lead our country in the right direction.

Jan 21:

Much of the country has been hit with extremely cold temps, Utah being no different. We've spent a good share of the beginning of 2009 with temps reaching their highs in the mid teens. I've never been a lover of winter, and the older I get the less I like it. Here's hoping that things warm up soon so that I can get running again outside!

Jan 22:

There is nothing better than a girls night out with a bunch of friends. There were a bunch of us from the neighborhood that spent the evening having scalp massages at the Paul Mitchell hair school. All I can say is that was the one of the very best $6 I've ever spent. Especially since I didn't have to flat iron my own hair! Following our scalp treatments we all went to dinner at The Brick Oven in Provo. It just doesn't get better than that!

Jan 23:

I love the fact that I gained some wonderful sisters through Marriage. I begged Jana to go to lunch with me at Sweet Tomatoes as I was having a massive craving for their wheat bread. So not good for you with all of the honey butter smothered on top, but oh so good to get out and have some sister time.

Jan 24th:

Recently John Matthew has been incredibly stubborn about staying in his high chair. Two children ago, we tore the seat belt out of the high chair because it got all nasty from food, and neither Tessa nor Aaron every thought to try repetedly to escape the seat. JM on the other hand, has to be buckled into every high chair, shopping cart or any other seat possible if we don't want him to move. After tiring of worrying about him falling onto the tile floor we went to IKEA and bought a chair to hold his booster seat. He is now part of the family at the table and very pleased about his new seating arrangement.

Jan 25th:

I hate spending time alone when Tracey is out of town on business so we decided to spend Sunday evening over at Grandma and Grandpa Dahl's. Aaron was so thrilled to go there as we don't often have time when we are there for Family Home Evening, to play with the Geo Trax train set. I'm sure playing with these trains will go down in Aarons memory as one of the happy thoughts of when he was little at G&G Dahl's home.

Weigh In Wednesday #3 - Must we go there?

2009-01-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

Yes...we must...because you all are my "free" form of accountability. Sure I think of joining a group that I have to pay for but really, I know what is good, I know what is healthy, I've read enough about how to eat to teach lectures (just kidding...but boy have I read a ton), and I know what I need to do to get where I want to be. So YOU all are my weekly accountability.

But this week was not one of those weeks that treated me well.

I have not exercised since Friday. Too many sleepless nights with sick kids has sucked any will of exercising out of my existence!

Tracey's birthday "cake" was sheer evil...and who ate most of it? Me. Yup. Even when I demanded that it be gone or thrown out before I got home from scrapbooking on Sat. I found it tucked away in the pantry due to the resistance of my older girls freaking out at the thought of it being thrown out. Did they eat any? No. I went ahead and ate it for breakfast on Sunday, many nibbles throughout the day, for breakfast on Monday and finally threw it out on Mon. afternoon.

Yesterday in a moment of pure desperation at not having a mental breakdown I hit the ol' drive up at Arctic Circle. French Fries, Ranch Burger AND Cheesy sticks. Oh yeah. I know how to kill any chance of a decent weigh in, don't I.

So yup. I'm up. .6 pounds. I guess it could be worse, but if I don't get back on track I'm going to be moving farther away from my current goal of a size 8, which I am OH so close to achieving.

Here's to getting back on the wagon!

Project 365 Upload #2

2009-01-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe I haven't missed a day yet of taking photos. Here is the second batch of photos for my "Photo a Day" challenge.

Jan 11th:

There are few and far between photos taken of me and any of the kids. I ADORE this photo that Tracey took fo me and Aaron on a lazy Sunday morning. I especially love that this is not one of the photos that we were posing for, but Tracey happened to catch the quick kiss that I stole from Aaron right before I got up.

Jan 12th:

I've been so careful to take care in watching what I eat this year. Dedication to portion control, vs. eating the right amounts of protein and carbs has really paid off. This week alone I have managed to lose 3.6 pounds!

Jan 13th:

Having JM in the house is like having a constant, full-time, non-stop job of supervising him. The kid does not stop. Aaron had left his morning bowl of cereal on the table and JM quickly snatched it up and threw it on the ground. I guess I can't complain that we've been married for 16 years and this is the first piece of Pfalzgraff from our wedding gifts that has been broken.

Jan 14th: It's been so much easier having Tracey on board with the exercise program. We've actually both been very active since last March when Tracey started training for the Ragnar Relay Race. This is often how our morning starts when it is too cold to run outside, by leaving the house at 6AM to go and workout at our gym.

Jan 15th:

Tracey is always so good to help me out with the kids. Today I had a doctors appointment and rather than deal with the boys during my visit, Tracey came and picked them up and took them to lunch. The only sad part was that I wasn't able to join them for chips and salsa!

Jan 16th: Today Tracey turned 38 years old. I'm really not quite sure when this happened as he was a mere 18 year old boy when we met. 20 years of knowing him and I only grow to love him more and more each day. I am so blessed to have such a loving and devoted husband who loves the Lord immensely and is always so quick to show that and remind me of what is truly important in life.

Jan 17th:

I eagerly look forward to scrapping with Traceys sisters once a month at Archivers in Orem. I'd be lost without my "sisters" to scrapbook with as I have no sisters of my own to share the passion of the hobby. It was so nice this day to have a break from the kids, although I was really not in the mood to be creative, and actually spent most of the day just sitting at the table chatting.

Jan 18th:

Today was a total sick day in our house. Actually Maddison and Sarah were good girls and went to church on their own. I was so proud of them. Tracey stayed home to take care of the kids while I tried to rest. After having slept horribly for many nights, my yucky dizziness problems returned and I just didn't feel well enough to even stand up. The kids spent a good share of the day in mine and Tracey's bed watching movies on his computer.

Jan 19th:

Aaron has officially succombed to the pink eye infection that his brother so thoughtfully shared with him. It's been a rough start to a new year for the kids with their colds and infections. Thankfully Dr. Mumford is willing to call in a prescription for eyedrops for Aaron, saving us both time and money.

No, this is NOT trick photography! :0) Weigh In Wed. #2

2009-01-14T06:59:00.001-08:00

I have worked SO hard this past week. Since last Wed., I've exercised all but 2 days (last Friday and Sunday), I've been drinking water like it's going out of style and I've been careful about what I've eaten, trying to balance my protein vs. carbs as well as feeding my face every 3 hours.

And it has paid off.

For sure.

I was stunned after I got home from the gym this morning to do my 2nd official weigh in for the year. I was hoping to have lost a pound or two but was so excited to have lost 3.6 pounds. IN ONE WEEK! Wow. I might be reaching my goal of 164 sooner than later if I can keep it up like I have been.

Just for a little visual for you all, I found this photo of a pound of fat vs. a pound of muscle. Yup. I'll take muscle any day.

One more photo for you. I took this one this morning out my window of the beautiful foggy sunrise.

Have a great day everyone!

New Years Revolutions

2009-01-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh when we were in church the other day and some kid gets up to bare his testimony and talks about his New Years Revolutions. So now Tracey and I have dubbed that as our term for the items we wish to resolve.

Tracey and I have talked quite a bit about the things that we'd like to do better with in our lives. Neither of us have committed our "revolutions" to paper, and after reading my sweet SIL's blog this morning I realized what better place to put down my goals than here, where it will never be lost.

Goal #1 - Pray every night with Tracey. So far we've done great. I think we've only missed one night and that was cause I fell asleep. I am good and don't even pull the "it's your turn" stunt anymore. I know if it's an even day it's my day and no dancing around turn issues is allowed!

Goal #2 - Spend more one on one time with the kids. Starting today we are taking them on a "date" once a month. (Oh dear...what will happen when JM is big enough? There aren't 5 weeks in the month!) It's not going to be anything fancy. Most likely just a trip to the gas station for a treat or something. Just some time to connect and find out what is really going on in their lives.

Goal #3 - Attend the temple once a month. Be it together or be it separate, we plan to go once a month.

Goal #4 - Finish reading the Book of Mormon by mid October. At FHE with my family the other night my brother issued our family (my whole side) to finish the Book of Mormon by mid October. I don't know why I am so excited about this. I think the fact that it is a goal that I will be trying to reach with the people that I love so dearly will make it that much more enjoyable. Not to mention that April promised us a pizza party for those that complete! That girl sure knows how to throw a party for sure!

Goal #5 - Exercise / lose weight. Yup. It has surely been a struggle for me. Granted, I know I look fairly decent for a mom of 5, and I know I have people getting mad at me all the time when I tell them that I want to lose more weight, and often get the "gee I wish I had only 10 pounds to lose, but the truth of it is, it is equally as hard for me as it is for anyone, and I don't think people often realize that. I work my butt off. There is no doubt about that, and I am proud at the results that I have seen, but It's so frustrating to see where I once was and hope that I have the potential to get there again. (Allthough that was 2.5 pregnancies ago! Maybe my 30+ year old body say NO!) Regardless, I have the revolution to continue exercising. Tracey is a mad man and is exercising 6 days a week for an hour, but my goal is a little less lofty with no less than 4 days, preferrably 5. So far I've nailed it. I've only missed a couple of days since the new year (not counting Sundays cause I don't exercise on Sunday), and I feel good. I've really been conscious of what I eat lately and it's making a HUGE difference. Even if I'm not drastically dropping pounds, I am dropping inches, and it's nice to have to be tugging up the ol' jeans once again.

Goal #6 - I guess this really goes in hand with exercise. I'm going to run another 1/2 marathon this year. Running is addictive. Running is so much work, but the reward is un-describable. I just can't wait until it warms up enough to get out there regularly once again.

Goal #7 - Take a photo a day. So far so good! I think it will be fun at the end of the year to have a complete visual documentary of the people I so dearly love.

So I know that was mostly for my benefit, cause really, who cares what my goals are. Just nice to have it outta my head and onto "paper". Thanks for the inspiration Michelle.

My Other Daughter

2009-01-12T09:33:00.001-08:00

Yup. Take one look at this photo and tell me this sweet girl shouldn't be my own flesh and blood?

It's sad when you have to rely on your brother and his wife to create a child that actually looks like me.

I just love my niece Briana. She's one of the spunkiest, funniest, happiest 15 year old girls on the planet. There isn't a family function that goes by that she's not there to give Grandpa Dahl a huge hug and to just make everyone happy with her presence.

I'm glad I'm your aunty Briana! And my "other" daughter! :0)

Project 365 Upload #1

2009-01-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

I figure while I am waiting for the CK Project 365 kits to come back into stock, I'd better start storing my information somewhere so I don't forget the reasoning behind why I took the photos. I love taking photos, and am excited about the idea of taking a differnt photo every day during the year of 2009.

So far I've done well! I just hope I can keep it up, because I am sure that this will be an album that I will cherish forever.

I love photography, and I generally strive to take pretty good photos for scrapbook purposes, but this album is going to feature a lot of "real life" and that means not having perfect lighting conditions or perfect subject matter. But real life....isn't that what it's all about?

Welcome to Project 365

Jan 1st: Moments after midnight, someone in my in-laws neighborhood bringing in the new year with some "illegals".

Jan 2nd: Aaron, starting the year out with a bang...or a bump anyway. He found a jar of my leave in hair conditioner and was laying on the ground. He held it up above his head and accidentally dropped it prompting an instant goosegg that just about made Tracey pass out.

Jan 3rd: Our first completed puzzle of the holiday season. What is it with puzzles? I can go an entire year without thinking about them but once Christmas hits a puzzle is a must!

Jan 4th: 11:00 church. After years of being stuck with the 1-4 church block we finally graduated to 9:00 church in October of 2008. While we were hoping to stay at 9:00 this year, we did move to 11:00. In all actuality it was nice not having to be so hurried in the morning.

Jan 5th: School is back in session! After 2 weeks of a Christmas break, school started up again. I really love having the kids around, so it was hard to see them walking out the door to the beginning of the rest of the school year.

Jan 6th: We're starting the year off with a bang! After a nearly $4,500 dental year last year we thought we'd jump right into 2009 with another dental expense. Aaron had extensive dental work done in Aug. of 2008 and was in question for a pulpotomy (baby root canal) for one of his front upper teeth. It finally came time to get it done. Nothing a little sedation and $300 can fix!

Jan 7th: 2009 is the year that I strive to get my body back to where I want it to be. While I've made great progress after having peaked at 215 pounds with my pregnancy with JM, I still want to lose more weight. I'm pleased with my hard work and determination that has brought me to my current size 10 and weight of 172 pounds, but I know with a little more effort and dilligence I will look better than I ever have!

Jan 8th: The long awaited arrival of Traceys new DSLR finally occured! Today the Canon 5D came to reside in our home. Tracey is SUCH a spoiled stinker, yet if he can continue to make money for our family with his gadgets then I truly can't complain!

Jan 9th: 2 years. TWO YEARS of living with a horrid blue bathroom and I had finally had enough. While showering I stood looking out of the shower stall envisioning my perfect bathroom. That's all it took (in addition to being incredibly bored!). I finally took the plunge and began the facelift of our master bathroom!

Jan 10th: Who can say no to a little Rock Band? Jana and Bryan and their boys came over to play Rock Band with us. I can't believe that we've been "neighbors" since the beginning of October and we've had such few opportunities to hang out with each other. I really love having them close, and love that they are a part of our family.

My Maestro

2009-01-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

Last night as we were trying to say our family prayers, JM kept interrupting. I had no idea that we have such a little composer on our hands! (Let alone I had no idea he figured out how to turn on our keyboard!)

I was laughing so hard that I made Tracey use his new 5D to film it. Sure didn't have to twist his arm too hard.

And yup. Missing lense life has begun. I think my 50mm got swiped and taken to work with him today.

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow.

2009-01-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Wow. Snow. Not my favorite thing for sure. Yet we do seem to have an abundance of it. I guess that sort of comes with the territory of living in a city that doesn't care about plowing itty bitty culdesacs until SO much snow has fallen that they have to pull out the bobcats to do something with all of it.

And how did we rate? Getting all of the snow dumped right in front of our house!

Actually the kids have been having a ball with it and I'm sure if I was a kid again, I'd be out there non-stop, climbing, digging, sliding on the massive mound of snow.

So for the next few days at least (or months with my luck) we've got recreation, right out of our front door!

Weigh In Wednesday #1

2009-01-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

Well it's a brand new year so I figure what better way that starting it off by a visual documentation of where I am at with a scale that is actually accurate! As much as I wish my former scale was accurate, since it weighed me in a few pounds lighter, I am loving my new scale that weighs me dead on with the one at the gym, AND tracks whether I've lost or gained in between weigh ins.

Let's just say winter hasn't been too favorable to me. I really miss running outdoors as I swear with all of my being that it the best way to lose weight and keep it off. I've read that it is from many different sources, and from personal experience I will vouch that everything I've read about running is true.

So, here I sit. Middle o' winter and not being able to run outdoors as much as I'd like, which is sad, but at least I haven't gained wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much over the holidays. I've managed to pack about 4 pounds on my hiney in the month of December, but I've already lost a little bit of it, thanks to being very diligent at going to the gym in this new year. In fact, at one point on this very scale, which I got for Christmas, I weighed in at 178.5. Granted it WAS in the evening and I'm pretty sure I had my jammies on. Nevertheless, I do feel like I'm in the groove, and will hopefully see some good results this year. I hope anyway. I swear though, being this old makes it tough for losing anything except my mind! However, I do feel pretty dang good at how I look for being a mom to 5 children. My hips and abdomen may never be the same, but I've got 5 beautiful creations to remind me every day that my body is not what it once was and that is OKAY! The benefit of having each one of them far outweighs the body I once had.

So here's to a new year of Weigh in Wednesdays, and no you aren't going to get a visual documentation every Wed. For some reason I just don't feel like being so public about it since it's been a struggle the past little while. Maybe when I reach 165 I'll throw you a photo. THen again....maybe not!

Good luck to all of you dear friends and your quest to be healthy!

ROCKS

2009-01-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

Rocks I tell ya...ROCKS. They MUST have been the secret ingredient in all of the food that I've eaten over the past few weeks, cause I really can't think of any other explanation for having gained 4 pounds over the past week and a half. I mean seriously? It couldn't have anything to do with eating out WAY too much, eating junk food like it's going outta style OR polishing off the last of a box of nasty chocolates could it? No. I'm telling ya, it must be rocks.

Here's hoping it warms up soon, cause running is my best tool for losing weight and keeping it off. For some reason the treadmill just isn't quite the same.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't believe that it is 2009! Honestly. Where DOES the time go? I remember as a child thinking that there was no way the world would still be around by the year 2000. Now I am thinking, do I even REMEMBER the year 2000?

We had a great evening last night. I spent most of the day in my kitchen yesterday creating a little of this and a little of that and thoroughly enjoying my new kitchen knives that are beyond sharp! In fact I think I enjoyed them a little too much, because I kept creating and kept creating and pretty much ended up with enough appetizers to cater a small party!

I have to say that my very favorite creation was my Southwest Egg Rolls & Cool Avocado Dip. Granted I decided to bypass the avocado dip and shoot straight for the knock off of the Cafe Rio house dressing.

We went to G&G Lee's for the night along with Tracey's sisters and their families. It was fun. Chaos with 8 small children, but fun.

We ate until we were sick. We played games and then more games. We ran outside at midnight like crazies making as much noise as we could, which in turn scared the bejeebies outta Tess, and then went to bed.

Today I started the new year off to a bang by waking up at 5:30 (thanks JM), then going to the gym with Tracey. We then took the kids to go and see Bedtime Stories which made me laugh out loud far more in a movie than I have in a very long time. (Even though it was quite cheesy!)

Anyhow, what better way than to say goodbye to what was an incredible year and to say hello to a new year surrounded by the people I love.

Happy New Year!

Southwest Egg Rolls & Cool Avocado Dip

2.5 C shredded cooked chicken.
1.5 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained
5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. grated lime peel
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 pgk. (16 oz.) egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep-fat frying

Dip:
1 cup ranch salad dressing
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
1 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. grated lime peel.

In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Place 1/4 cup of chicken mixture in center of one egg rol wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat.

In an electric skillet or deep fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry egg rolls, a few at a time, for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on towels.

Meanwhile, combine the dip ingredients. Serve with egg rolls.

Just Because I Can

2008-12-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

I guess I'm just so happy to be able to work on photos on my computer again, that I couldn't help snapping off a few photos of the boys just now. I loaded up my actions, determined to play with some different ones and while I did manage to use one that I don't usually use, I got sucked into my two favorites.

I can't believe how absolutely different these two boys are. They don't look a thing alike, Aaron is a drama queen, JM is far more active than any of our other children put together. (Notice he's on the counter....again! I can't keep that boy off of there!) Yet these two boys fill my life with such happiness. As crazy as both of them make me in different ways, my life would not be complete without either one of them. Love, love, love my A-Ronny, and my Funny Honey.

Last night Tracey and I went to see Valkyrie. I really liked it, with the exception of the guy sitting next to me. Of course it didn't start off that way. There was the obligatory seat in between me and his date and then someone asked if he wouldn't mind moving down seats. Now Mr. 50+ Chilvary opted not to let his "classy lady" in her Walmart boots move over so he hopped over her and sat next to me. (Don't get me wrong! I love WalMart. I really do. I just had to chuckle cause the guy said to her "those boots are really cute. They make you look like a classy lady." I only happen to know they were Walmart boots, because I thought they were cute too, and tried to convince Maddison to get them on our still ongoing quest for boots for her). Anyhow, usually a stranger sitting next to me wouldn't bother me in the least, except he had a cold and kept "snogging" his boogs during the first half of the movie. I was so irritated that I had a hard time following the story line.

After the snogging had ceased, I was treated to some full fledged snoring that even Tracey could hear during the loud parts on the opposite side of me.

So yeah, e-harmony - or whatever dating arranger those two love birds found, I wonder if it's a perfect "match" or not.

Anyhow, the movie....I really did like it, snogging and snoring aside. I really don't care for Tom Cruise whatsoever, but he did an amazing job. I don't know that it's one that I'd ever watch again, but if you're into true life war stories, then I'd definitely recommend it!

Photoshop-ing again!

2008-12-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Oh I feel just about complete with my new computer. Photoshop is up and running again. I still need to load on my favorite actions, but at least I can resize a photo with a program that I am familliar with. Now I just need to re-load Illustrator, find a copy of Word and Publisher and I will be back in business again!

Anyhow, I took these two photos this morning looking out of one of our windows. I loved how the sun was reflecting off of all of the houses and the steam coming out of their roof tops. (And would you believe I didn't even pick up my camera on Christmas Eve, Christmas or Boxing Day! I was boycotting!)

Well, I'm off to go and see Valkyrie. It looks so good!

Getting Sorted

2008-12-27T09:16:00.001-08:00

Wow....I can't believe that I actually have a new computer. My dear sweet hubby surprised me with a new computer for Christmas, after a long, long year of massive computer malfunctions which prevented me from working on photos like I like to.

It's so nice to know that I can get on line, and I wont have my computer shut itself down due to low memory and I'll even be able to open photoshop and work on photos because my "scratch discs" will not be full!

HOO-RAY!

So bear with me for a little longer while I work through this new Vista stuff. Not loving it, but hey...it's a computer that works so I'm quite happy! It's just too bad that the stinkin' Macs are so expensive! I got so used to Tracey's Mac that now I am having to re-learn a PC!

Hopefully soon, I'll be up and running just like old times, but without the quarks!

So TTFN!

Hope your Christmas was lovely!

We're expecting!

2008-12-23T11:11:00.001-08:00

Made you look, didn't I?

Well, my hubby is expecting. Hee hee.

Good thing it's not a child of flesh and blood for me, because despite what my mother in law thinks, if I were to get pregnant again, I'd either end up in the crazy bin or give the baby up for adoption!

The baby awaiting arrival is just a small little peanut. His name is Mark II (5D) and is a pretty snazzy number. I'm just calling him Mark. I figure if we have to have another child in the house then it may as well have a name.

Thanks to Canon (the best - of course ;o)) and a few other cameras that have decided to put filming capabilities in their SLR's, the adapter world is running out of time (GRRRRGH!), and since I'm not really eager to go out to work, as the president of our company I decided that moving forward with the industry was the best choice. Well, I am hoping anyway. (Hee hee...I love being president!)

There are several other items that Tracey has in mind to accompany the D-SLR film maker, so Tracey is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mark, so that his creating can begin.

Now what does this mean for me and my sweet little 20D? It means that my lenses are going to be constantly on the go with Mark. Then again, Mark might feel that my average lenses are far less superior to his needs and he will likely be looking at some L-series lenses (only after income starts rolling in!), but that just means that my stuff will be where I want it, when I want it!

;0)

So yeah....Mark...Now we will have 3 of the 4 gospels covered in our house! Sorry Luke. No room for another baby. EVER!

Oh if you're interested in what this piece of equipment can do, here is a link to an amazing video!

Whoever said my attempts at learning cake decorating was a wasted effort?

2008-12-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I never got the knack of cake decorating, but my stash of "real" food coloring is pretty impressive.

So what if it didn't get used on cakes. At least it got used.....

Right?

A little disturbed.

2008-12-20T05:08:00.001-08:00

First off I have to say that I hope to bring no offense to the thong wearers of the world. Truly.

That being said, I am a little disturbed.

Granted. I am not a thong wearer. Never have been. Never will be. So really, "who am I to say" on the following matters.

Last night we were out parousing the aisles at Target, having to stock up on items you'd rather not spend money on, and I came across these.

I have to be honest. I just sat there in the aisle giggling. When Tracey rounded the corner, I had to make sure that he had a look at them too. The look on his face was priceless. I mean...any interaction for the common male with feminine hygene products is frightening enough, but to bring to his attention that they actually create liners for thongs was just too much.

I mean, I guess everyone has the right to a little extra protection, but seriously....wouldn't the bulk of that riding up your hiney make for the most permanent permawedge of the century? Permawedge aside, I think you'd definitely be dealing with some chafing issues.

But then again.

Who am I to say?

:0)

I gave birth to a shark

2008-12-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

It's true. I've got photos for proof.

As if our dental visits haven't been enough this year, I've gone ahead and scheduled a visit for Tess to see the dentist next week. I mean, why not take advantage of our unused dental benefits before the year expires.

Maybe I have a bit of a warped sense of humor or perhaps I'm just a mean mommy. I don't know which. All I know is I purposely scheduled Tess' appointment to have her baby teeth pulled BEFORE Christmas so that she can sing "all I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" for me. Even though she does have nubbies already growing in already, this will be the closest that we will have ever come to having the missing teeth in time for Christmas.

I can't believe that she hasn't lost any teeth yet! And furthermore that we have to schedule a time for the tooth fairy to come.

Kids.

Hormones & Weight Loss Part II

2008-12-19T06:47:00.000-08:00

All right...a few of you asked, so I will finish up the last few tidbits of info...some of which was new news to me.

* pyy & glp-1 if you wait more than four hours to eat:

Like I said before, I really think that three hours is a better interval to try to be eating. After reading The Three Hour Diet, I'm pretty much sold on the reasons why, so if you are in for a good read, you should get it. Very interesting.

Anyhow, after a meal PYY, a chemical that is produced in your gastrointestinal system travels to the brain where it helps to switch off the urge to eat. An empty stomach squelches the production of PYY, so the longer you wait between meals, the more you may consume before the "full" switch kicks in. The key is to keep hormone production revved up. You can outsmart this delima by eating frequent small meals which will help activate the hormone GLP-1 which is another satiety hormone, increasing your feeling of fullness.

I know that I've turned to raw almonds as my every few hour snack, (and wasabi almonds....SHHHHHH....not as good for you), but I'm here to tell you that both Tracey and I dropped 8 - 10 pounds in one month and the only thing we can think of that we did different was adding the raw almonds. We both had been exercising regularly, but the month that we added almonds our weight dropped significantly. We got lazy about eating them, but stocked up at Costco a few weeks ago, and have both seen a difference again. And boy oh boy are those wasabi almonds pure heaven!

* Progesterone during PMS (This was new info to me. Interesting!)

Estrogen dominates the first half of your menstural cycle peaking during ovulation leaving you energized. After ovulation, progesterone increases in preparation for a possible pregnancy slowing you down and prompting you to eat more calories, sugar and fat. You can outsmart this problem by overhauling your diet in the first two weeks of your cycle when eating healthy will be easier. Don't try to start a new habit when progesterone is raging. You're least likely to suceed then. Also consider days 14 through 28 of your cycle "red alert" days when your fitness vigilance matters most. In other words, don't be like me and get lazy about exercising the week that flo comes cause it's hard to get back in the swing!

* Ghrelin & Leptin when you don't get enough sleep.

This one if for you Tracey...if you're reading. Also new info to me!

These hormones mess with your weight on their own AND together. A lack of sleep drives appetite inducing ghrelin up and leptin - the "I'm full" hormone down, so you wind up feeling even hungrier. Not only do you want to eat more, you crave junk food to get a quick energy boost. Outsmart this delima by aiming for at least 7.5 hours of sleep a night. (Yeah..Tracey...no more going to bed at 3 AM! - Sorry you were having RNG woes!) Can't get that much rest in one shot? Even catnaps help. "Just 30 minutes can help reset appetite-regulating hormones".

Well there you have it. Havoc wreaking hormones!

Dear Santa & GASP I scrapped Christmas!

2008-12-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

I know, I know....before you pass out from shock, take a deep breath! I do believe this is the first anything Christmas related that I have scrapped since a layout that I did of Aaron when he was a teeny tiny baby. I just don't love scrapping Christmas, although the new WRMK Christmas stuff sure made me want to play. Thanks Tavnir for doing a knock out job on the holiday lines!

Anyhow I also had to put in my plea once again to Santa. I know I've told Tracey numerous times that all I really want for Christmas is some new Balga Hidden Comfort running socks. I know it sounds silly and I know that Tracey keeps telling me it is a boring and far to practical Christmas gift, so I'm throwing my plea out to Santa.

Dear Santa...please, please, please, please, please.....all I want is some Balgas! $10 and I will be a happy girl. Well, make it $20, cause I'd really, really love 2 pair!

Thanks Santa. You're the best!

(Yes, I DO know Santa! He comes to visit us every 2nd Sunday in December at my mom and dads house!)

Random musings

2008-12-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

Could it be? Another boring, no photo post? Yup. It is.

So I'm kinda bummed. We decided this morning that we are going to forgo the Beat The New Years race. My good, sweet hubby with his heart always in the right place, made me realize it's more important to ring in the new year with our precious kiddos than the two of us, freezing our butts off in the cold. I'm bummed, because it seems like race after race that I try to do, something changes. Oh well. There will be other races for sure, and I totally plan on doing another 1/2 next year so that will be fine.

It's one week! ONE WEEK! I think I am more giddy about this Christmas than I have been in a very long time. I'm beyond excited to give my inlaws their gift, cause it's freakin' awesome! I'm also totally psyched to give Tracey his mystery box. I hope he will love it. It's such a great idea that he will not ever suspect. Sorry love....It's not the Mark II. :0( Maybe next year.

Veggies? Anyone have any great veggie dish recipes? I'm taking veggies to my inlaws for our Christmas dinner this upcoming Sat. and I'm not quite sure what to take.

Hormones and weight loss. Did you know our bodies produce lots of hormones that can cause havoc on trying to lose weight? This is all stuff that I've learned over the past year from doing research on weight loss but I just got the info again in my Fitness magazine that just came and figure that some of you might like the info, cause I know a lot of you are trying to lose weight just like me!

Ghrelin if you skimp on protein. Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced in the gut and normally spikes before mealtime stimulating your appetite. The bigger the spike, the hungrier you are. Eating protein curbs ghrelin. Try to reduce carbs as they are digested so fast that it causes hunger-inducing ghrelin to rise and rebound to higher levels. Outsmart ghrelin by increasing your portion of lean protein in your diet by about 25%. Try snacking on low fat cheese.

Cortisol during stressful situations (the nasty bugger). When you are tense your adrenal glands increase the release of cortisol or the "stress hormone". Your body interprets the sudden surge as a response to a fight or flight situation, causing you to crave high-fat and high-sugar foods meant to replenish the energy your body believes it spent warding off danger. Cortisol is also partly responsible for the belly bulge or muffin top as I so lovingly refer to it. Because the abdomen has a greater density of cortisol receptors than other areas in the body stress affects that tissue the most. So eating sugary or fatty food in combination with high cortisol levels tends to cause fat to be deposited around your middle and central organs. Outsmart cortisol by EXERCISE! Physical activity triggers the release of endorphings that signal to the brain that everything is okay helping to drive cortisol production down.

Letpin after you consume high-fructose corn syrup and sugar. HFCS has been shown to lower levels of leptin a hormone that gives the "I'm full" signal to your brain. Sugar does the same thing. While consuming any food containing sugar or HFCS may lead to weight gain, sweet drinks are the wors. Not only do the lower leptin they put more strain on the liver than food because they are processed so quickly. Experts believe that the fast action may decrease the livers ability to store the sugar leading to an unhealthy jump in triglycerides which is a harmful blood fat. Outsmart leptin by reading ingredients. Avoid items with sucrose or HFCS in any of the first three ingreditents.

Bored yet?

I'm bored of typing.

If anyone is interested in learning more, I can post some more tomorrow. Really it's all pretty basic stuff, but I had no clue about a lot of this stuff before I really began researching earlier on this year. I think paying attention to some of the little things has really helped me to drop my 20 or so pounds so far this year, and hopefully continuing to pay attention to these little things will help me drop another 15!

The other topics are PYY & GLP-1 in combination of waiting more than four hours to eat (Although I firmly believe that 3 hours is a better target for eating), Progesterone during PMS (This was actually new info to me that I hadn't learned before....interesting stuff) and Ghrelin & Leptin if you don't get enough sleep. (Also new education for me!)

Well. Have a great day!

It's no wonder!

2008-12-17T08:15:00.001-08:00

Okay. I have a little confession to make. I haven't gone running since the day that I made the post at how surprised I was that I was still running. In fact thanks to monthly torture last week I didn't exercise. Not one lick. But you know what? I dropped 3 pounds. What gives with that. Happens every time I quit exercising and makes me wonder why I torture myself!!!!

Anyhow, this morning I decided that if Tracey and I are going to "Beat The New Year" in our 5K run that starts at 11:30 pm, I'd better get my hiney out there and start running again.

Man, was it cold. COLD. COLD. COLD. Colder than a heartless witches nippies in a bra made out of dry ice! Even though my lungs were raging on fire, I think my fingers hurt the most. (Yes...I was wearing gloves). :0) However, the music pick of the day got me through without stopping except to stretch at my stretch out point.

I have to say, if you are a Beatles fan and haven't heard the I Am Sam soundtrack you should check it out. As much as I am wholeheartedly addicted to my Mercy Me Christmas album right now, I've kinda OD'd on Christmas music for the moment.

So yeah as I was driving the kids to school this morning I was commenting to them how cold it was out there and I looked down at the temperature gage and it was a whopping TWENTY ONE degrees.

No wonder I froze my tooshkey! Too bad I didn't freeze it off!

A Highly Caloric Day

2008-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

Wow. I think if I ever bake again it will be way too soon.

Today I was somewhat pinned to the home as we were waiting for a UPS shipment for the business that had to be signed for. Since I had no idea when the boy in brown (although it was actually a girl today) would show up, I decided to declare today as my Christmas treat making day.

And boy what a day it was.

I began with carmel making at 9:00 this morning and worked pretty much non stop all day, until about 5:00.

All in all today I made a batch of carmel (thumbs up), a batch of english toffee (so-so), two batches of peanut butter fudge (they hit the trash), cream cheese candies (sorta eh...but they look nice on a plate), santa claus cookies (my kids' favorite cause they're cute), and a huge batch of egg nog snickerdoodles which I had never made before but kinda liked.

So yeah. Like I said, if I ever bake again, I'm afraid it will be too soon.

We wrapped up the plates and delivered them to some of the neighbors tonight for FHE. Unfortunately, they didn't go as far as I needed them to go, but I do have a ton of carmel left. Just ran out of wax paper to wrap them, so maybe everyone else will get baggies of carmel.

Aaron had so much fun helping me roll the cream cheese candies and was ever so good at "gently" pressing them with a fork. And yes. He did wash his hands. :0) Actually I made him use clorox wipes on them since I know how well a kid washes his hands. Hee hee.

Well, there you have it. Holiday baking 2008 - complete.

Christmas Questionaire

2008-12-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

I found this on my cute Sister In Law, Michelle's blog, and figured since I've neglected my blogging addiction for a few days this would be a fun thing to do.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I DON'T REALLY LOVE EITHER, WASTE OF CALORIES.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? WRAPPED, UNLESS IT IS A BIG ITEM, LIKE AARONS TRAIN TABLE LAST YEAR, OR WHAT JM WILL BE GETTING THIS YEAR.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? WHITE LIGHTS. GLAD I FINALLY CONVINCED HUBBY OF THAT. HE HATES COLORED NOW. I EVEN PUT THEM UP ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE THIS YEAR. MAKES ME HAPPY.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? BLECH. WHO WANTS TO KISS.
5. When do you put up your decorations? WHENEVER WE FEEL LIKE IT. THIS YEAR WAS THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? HMMMM....NOT SURE. I LOVE HAVING COLD CUTS AT MY MOMS.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? DRESSING UP AND ACTING OUT THE NATIVITY EVERY CHRISTMAS EVE.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? OH SUCH A SAD STORY. I MADE SANTA A MINI LOAF OF HOMEMADE BREAD FOR A SNACK, AND FOUND IT A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER, HIDDEN IN THE BACK OF A CUPBOARD ALL MOLDY. I ASKED WHY SANTA HADN'T EATEN IN AND THE TRUTH CAME OUT.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? YUP! IT'S ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO. WE DRAW NAMES IN OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY SO THAT THE KIDS HAVE THE CHANCE TO PICK OUT A GIFT FOR SOMEONE ELSE, AND WE OPEN THOSE PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? LIGHTS, STRING OF BEADS, SILVER AND BLUE ORNAMENTS FOR THE BIG DOWNSTAIRS TREE. RED AND GOLD FOR THE SAD CHARLIE BROWN UPSTAIRS TREE.
11. What is your favorite holiday tradition? PROBABLY CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST.
12. Can you ice skate? HAVEN'T FOR MANY YEARS. NOT SURE IF I STILL CAN.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? AS A KID MY BARBIE DREAMHOUSE. AS A GROWNUP THE VIDEO THAT MY HUBBY MADE AND PUT ON MY IPOD LAST YEAR.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? BEING WITH PEOPLE I LOVE AND REFLECTING ON THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? OH PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING. ALAS, THAT IS WHY I GAINED 10 POUNDS LAST YEAR I AM SURE. DOING GOOD SO FAR THIS YEAR!
16. What tops your tree? A BIG SILVER STAR THAT WE GOT IN GERMANY.
17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? GIVING
18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? #1 - O COME O COME EMANUEL, #2 - OH HOLY NIGHT, #3 - STILL, STILL, STILL.
20. Candy Canes? DOUBLE BLECH.
21. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized? OF COURSE, BUT IT SURE HELPS BEING ABLE TO PULL OUT THE OL - "SANTA IS WATCHING YOU!" CARD WHEN THE KIDS ACT UP.

I promise....NO MORE!

2008-12-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yup. These are officially the last traveling buckets that I will be doing this year. Not that I wouldn't adore making more, cause I'm really quite fond of doing them...but when your hubby asks if you are going to make one for every family in the ward, I guess it is time to quit. :0) Oh wait! I lied. I think I will be doing one more. I always like to make something for the people at WRMK and give to them, so I'll probably make a bucket and fill it with my homemade carmel! Mmmmmmmm.

I had so much fun last Saturday scrapping the day away with Jana at Archivers. I was entirely unproductive, as always, but still loved my time creating.

In addition to these two pails, I completed most of two layouts. I just need to finish up journaling on them, then they will be done.

Otherwise not much else going on here other than regular life...although I do have to share my exciting find of the day.

For Christmas Santa is bringing Aaron the Matchbox Skull mountain. I bought it awhile back at Target for $34. Today I found it on Amazon today for $13.99! I had also bought the Rolling Redwoods for him at Target for $22. Got it today at Amazon for $15.00. So I splurged a tiny bit and got JM a bucket of Clipos for $8.00 and the kids New Cadoo for $7.00! I'll still be making out $15 ahead than I did with just the two Matchbox toys for Aaron. Gosh I love a good deal!

Downer news right now is that JM still isn't talking. I just took him to his 18 month check up and his doctor wants to have him start in the Kids On The Move program. I just hope he's a late bloomer and that he'll start talking full sentences soon, cause I tell you what...I'm tired of all the grunting, groaning, and yelling as his way of asking for things! :0)

Still running after all these years....

2008-12-05T06:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, maybe not years, but that silly song keeps popping into my head that says something or other about "after all these years" when I think of how long I've been running.

I guess I have to give myself a little pat on the back here because I can't believe that I'm actually still running. Nearly 9 months ago I started running with Tracey while he was training for the Ragnar, and here it is December and I'm still doing between 8 and 10 miles a week. Not quite the 14ish that I was doing in the summer but it IS colder and way dark too!

I thought for sure that once the colder weather and the holiday season hit that I'd give it up...pack on the 10 pounds like I did last year and start up again sometime in the spring.

I'm just so proud of myself! So often I get lazy, and slip out of the exercise habit, but I really think that this time it is here to stay!

Thanks for letting me have my little pat on the back post. Hopefully it will be something more exciting tomorrow or the next day since I'm having a loooooooooooong scrappy day tomorrow and will hopefully be productive enough to have something to share!

I never met a tomato I didn't like

2008-12-04T08:57:00.001-08:00

At least that is John Matthews theory. I cannot believe how much that kid likes tomatoes. He usually eats a whole tomato every morning for his mid-morning snack. When we go out to eat, we always order him a side of tomatoes and you wouldn't believe the bizarre looks that one gets. If you put a pile of fruit loops and tomatoes on his tray, he will undoubtedly go for the tomatoes over the cereal.

I kind of found it funny the other day, when it occurred to me that I had a massive craving for cherry tomatoes when I was barely pregnant with him. I even did a layout about it, or I am sure that I would have forgotten. Makes me wonder if somehow that love of tomatoes passed through the ol' cord. Guess I can't really determine if he's in love with corn nuts at this point. My only other craving that I had with him.

Well, I guess if nothing else, he's going too have a healthy heart....downing the tomatoes like he does. I need to make a Costco run so I can replenish! We are nearly out!

(Oh yeah..and color me lazy for taking a photo of him eating tomatoes on my phone and emailing it to myself. I couldn't be bothered with actually dragging out my camera!)

Oh and another thing! If any of my lovely neighbors would like to go to a Scentsy party with me tonight you are more than welcome! My SIL is having a party and so far the only people coming are me and her sister and her mom!

A little Christmas fun...

2008-12-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

My mom...the woman that lives and breathes in thinking about sweet things to do for the grandkids gave each of the families a gingerbread house for the kids to decorate.

Rich and April invited us over for Family Home Evening so that we could build our houses together.

I had such a great time...even though I had to keep giving April crap that she is ditching us here in Utah this weekend to go and spend some time in Hawaii with her sister. Somehow that just doesn't seem fair....but whatever. ;)

As I was taking photos of the kids having so much fun I actually got a little weepy as I sat enjoying the wonderful family that we have, and the fact that they love their cousins so deeply. (Dang PMS hormones!)

Even though there are days that my boys...especially...drive me nuts, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for sending us such a large and lovely family!

Uh...maybe I have a bucket addiction...

2008-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Yeah. I couldn't help myself. I made more buckets. I've had SO much fun using up some of my ancient Christmas stash, altering these pails.

Over the weekend we stopped at Lowes so I grabbed a couple of more paint cans. Not as cute as the clear ones from Roberts, but I couldn't quite convince hubby that he wanted to go there.

We delivered the buckets last night. The kids always have such a riot choosing who they go to, all though I was stubborn and picked on of my favorite neighbors this time. I'm sure it will be no surprise to her from where it came....especially since she reads this blog, but hey.....sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl has gotta do.

The other bucket we were totally busted on. Just as the kids were placing it on the porch they happened to open the door.

Kinda funny.

I know I'm sick in the head, but I think I might do up a couple more buckets, although I'm running out of cute Christmas embellies. I just think with 6 of them traveling around the ward that there will be a greater number of homes that get treats. (Like any of us NEED treats....Hee hee).

I'm also sitting here feeling quite proud of myself. I...yes...I downloaded music from Amazon, AND figured out getting it put onto my ipod with only 3 calls to my hubby for help! I think I am FINALLY getting the hang of it.

I haven't bought new music forever but just treated myself with the Christmas albums by Barlow Girl, and Mercy Me. I also picked up the most recent album by The Verve and a handful of free Christmas songs by Bare Naked Ladies, Leigh Nash, Rosie Thomas, Jars of Clay, Michael Bubble....I think that's it.

I'm happy.

My ipod is happy.

My hubby is happy that I finally get it.

Happy Birthday Maddison

2008-12-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Maddison turned 14 last Friday. It makes me wonder where the time has gone. It truly seems like only yesterday Tracey and I were making wedding plans and now we have a beautiful 14 year old daughter....

Her birthday was truly perfect. We had so much fun, and it was wonderful to see a smile on her face all day long.

Our day began by my waking her up early to go Black Friday shopping. I've only ever gone once before and she has never gone so we made a morning of it. We managed to score some pretty sweet deals and didn't even have to wait in lines for much more than 5 min.

We had breakfast at IHOP and the wait staff sang to her. I told them it was her birthday but wasn't really expecting them to sing, but sure enough they all came out and sang as loud as can be! I thought that Maddi might crawl under the table when I realized that they were going to sing but she just sat there smiling from ear to ear.

In the afternoon we took the kids to the movies. 1/2 of us saw The City of Ember and the other half (Team B + Tess) went to see Igor. Well I guess I saw more of the lobby than anything since I spent most of my time out there with JM.

After that we met G&G Lee at Red Robin for dinner. The wait was excruciating but in the end it was worth it for my birthday girl. Her most favorite food on the planet is french fries and the fact that Red Robin offers bottomless steak fries was a winning deal for her!

We then came back to our house and Jana & Bryan came over to have cheesecake with us. Now I have to tell you...this is one of the VERY BEST cheesecakes that I've ever had...aside from something from the Cheesecake Factory... Now get this. Maddi made it. Her first ever. Totally from scratch. I have to say that I'm a little jealous that she managed to pull off such a delicious, moist and perfect cheesecake when I've been making them for years, and while they are pretty good, they pale compared to hers. Who knows...maybe she's got a future as a chef!

We got her an outfit, The Host and a tuner for her flute. She's a crack up. She bought herself a few things with some of the money that she was given from family and insisted that she wrap them up and open them along with the presents that we got her.

Maddi girl! I sure do love you! I love that you came to our home. As trying as times can be, I wouldn't trade you for the world.

Traveling Bucket - Take Two

2008-11-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Here is the 2nd version of the traveling neighborhood bucket that I made.

For Family Home Evening last night we made a treat and then we let the kids pick where they wanted to ship it off to.

If I wasn't housebound, I think I'd go and get a couple more buckets to make to get passing around. They are so fun and easy to make!

Well, life is dull here, so this is about as exciting as it gets for today.

I think we're going to put up the Christmas tree today.

GASP!

Well ya know....it's exactly 1 month from today until Christmas!

How not to plan a wedding but how to pick your man!

2008-11-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's believe it's been 16 years ago today that Tracey and I were married.

I remember as a kid that the years seemed eternal...summer seemed never ending, and yet as an adult the years seem to be flying by in the blink of an eye.

I seriously don't know what I was thinking when planning my wedding. I mean, I flat out insisted that Tracey wore a white tux. Okay, seriously....WHAT WAS I THINKING? He says that he is still scarred to this day from the flat panel (which oddly enough he prefers flat panel now) bell bottom, white pants.

Oh and then there is the kitchen curtain bridesmaid dresses and yes people...take a close look at the mothers dresses....SAME print as Jana and Michelles, only a different color.

Oh please...where was J Lo the wedding planner when I needed her?

And then there were there were the carousel horses as table top decorations and the photographer that couldn't shoot a photo to save her life. Jen...where were you? Oh yeah..you were probably still in Jr. High.

The one thing I DID do right in regards to my reception was my cake (thanks a lot crummy photographer for not getting a decent photo of it!), and ice cream crepes for the dessert tray.

Another thing I did right from my parents point of view, I'm sure, was doing my entire wedding, dress included for $1,200!

All of those silly frivolities aside, I'll tell you what I DID do right. I chose to be married forever to the love of my life.

Sure we've had rough spots over the years, and it still makes me crazy that he can't seem to wipe up the counter after making toast, but I wouldn't trade him for ANYONE in the entire universe.

Tracey is my best friend, my listening ear and such a great dad.

He loves our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to the point that I am in awe.

We've had such great testimony building experiences...especially over the past year that have brought us closer together and more focused on our goal of being an eternal family.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him or look at him and thank my Heavenly Father for the blessing that he is in my life, and for what a hard worker he is to provide for our family...allowing me to stay home...even though there are days that I'd rather eat my hair than listen to the kids begging for something one more time!

So Tracey John Lee...I want you to know how much you mean to me.

I love you baby.

Little things you might not know about me....

2008-11-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

So my cute friend Michelle that is looking way too good for having her 5th kiddo also had this fun diddy posted on her blog.

I'm at a loss as to what to post today so I thought this would be fun. And heaven only knows you don't want to hear me drone on about my woes with my near 14 year old. I swear...I just don't know what to do with that girl and I'm darn near in tears about it.

Anyhow, this is much more fun!

If you're inclined, play along. I'd love to see what you've been up to in your life!

Here's how it works. Change the items to bold that you have done in your life.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (Can I go again please?)
5. Watched a meteor shower (By myself at 3:00 AM one night...kinda scary!)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis (Many, many times just this past summer...blech...the things you do for boys!)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (I've been in a rain storm at sea...does that count?)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (Do Cabbage Patch Kids count?)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (Does a 1/2 count?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Well at least how to order at a bakery in Germany!)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (at times)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (Just a few weeks ago in fact!)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (as of last Friday I officially own ours! HA HA!)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (When our family lived in Germany, incredibly somber & life changing!)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (Thanks to Randy Ewell!)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (Allthough I don't remember it)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (only used ones for us!)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Cover story thank you!)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I've seen the outside...does that count?)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved some one's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one (I've lost grandparents, but I wasn't very close to them)
94. Had a baby (Been prego 7 times! Ack!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Looks like I've got some more things to chalk off before I die!

It's weigh in Wednesday again!

2008-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't believe another week has passed along. I did relatively good with the eating but could have done better with the exercise. It's always so hard to get back in the swing after being sick and hosting mother nature.

I'm off to a decent start this week though. Yesterday I did my new Firm workout. Oh man. Do I EVER hurt today. My cheeks are screaming with pain, and not the cheeks on my face either.

This morning I did my duties of going to the gym and did the treadmill for 30 min. and lifted weights for 20 min. or so.

Let's just say the scale wasn't my friend today. Again. What's with that thing?

I guess it could have something to do with the fact that yesterday I made up for a relatively good week of eating with a momentary break down of candy and peanut eating. Dang gas station treats.

Anyhow I'm up .2 pounds. I guess that's better than last week. Good news is I measured myself yesterday and I'm actually down close to 2" around my waist, and I think close to an inch off my hips and even 3/4" off my legs. I guess I'm just building muscle. Sounds like a good excuse anyway.

OH WAIT! I can't do math. I just looked at my original post. I'm actually down .8 pounds. I'm .2 more than when I started keeping track at the beginning of the month. Hmmm...Sweet!

Have a lovely day everyone!

Neighborhood Traveling Pail

2008-11-18T13:00:00.001-08:00

So I totally stole this idea from my Sister In Law. She made one of these when we went scrapping the other night and I loved it so much that I wanted to make one myself. I ran to Roberts yesterday and picked up the pail. I had so much fun making it in the afternoon. I actually want to make a couple more to circulate around our ward.

I know that some of my neighbors peek at this blog, so I'll have to figure out someone that doesn't look at this to send it to. Maybe we'll even send it to someone that we don't even know very well, so they can't make the connection. So to you neighbors that DO peek here, if anyone asks you don't know where it came from. Got it? :0)

I just love how it turned out so much that I had to share with all of you non-neighbors!

Thanks for the idea Jana!

ETA: Here is the poem that is on the top of the can:

This is our traveling Neighborhood Pail to say "We love you! We think you're swell!" Enjoy these goodies we have for you, then here is what you have to do....Fillit with treats and give it away, Share love with your neighbor for this special holiday!"

I then printed out a copy of a Christmas tree that has a tag attached to it that says something about hanging a copy of it in your window where everyone can see so that as many different people can have the bucket before Christmas as possible.

I don't anticipate getting it back, but that's okay! it will be fun to see how many homes in the neighborhood it hits.

I think I'm trying to put off running...

2008-11-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

Man. I feel lazy. Then again that could have something to do with the fact that I had 2 extra boys in bed with me for a good share of the night, so I actually ended up sleeping across the foot of the bed. Why I didn't just go get in Aaron's bed, I don't know.

Anyhow, just thought I'd share the other two layouts that I did scrapping the other night.

I'll have to post a photo of the cute bucket that I made yesterday afternoon to pass around the neighborhood.

Well, I guess I'll get my runners on. (My mom should like that term!) And then face the mountains of cleaning to be done today. Other than that...not much going on here!

Enjoy!

Witchy Woman

2008-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

SHOCK! I know, I know...for those of you that know me you know that you are witnessing a miracle right before your very eyes. Yup. I scrapped Halloween stuff. How can that possibly be? I'm surprised that it's not one of the official "signs of the times" because like I said...it's a miracle.

I had so much fun scrapping with my sisters the other day. It was truly, truly a perfect day with maybe the exception of sweet pork burriots for dinner. Yeah. I might be the only person on the planet that just doesn't love sweet pork.

Anyhow, here is one of the layouts that I did. I did two others as well, but I need to get the photos figured out.

TFL!

I need YOUR help!

2008-11-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

So you know my cute hubby that I think is ever so talented with his videography? Well he "whipped up" another Doritos commercial for a contest that they are running. This one I ABSOLUTELY love. I mean, I loved the other one that he did...but this one? It's awesome.

The scoop is that Doritos judges will pick 5 winners. At that point it becomes open voting and the winner gets a million bucks!

Right now we are just trying to push his video into the "most viewed" arena, so if you wouldn't mind taking a moment to watch his video....two or three or four (hundred) ;o) times that would be awesome!

Also if you are bored and want to spread the word to your friends that would be groovy!

Thanks!

The Ultimate Search Doritos Commercial

Doritos - Mans New Best Friend

2008-11-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

So Tracey and one of his buddy's decided the other day to made a video to enter into the Doritos commercial contest. Who knows what will happen. I know what I would LIKE to have happen...walking away with a million bucks for 1st place! Heck, we'd even take 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th place at this point and walk away with a cool 25K. Anything to ease the stress right now! LOL!

So what this means, when it comes time to vote, I'm going to be begging you to beg everyone that you know to go and vote for them. (That is if he makes it to a voting round).

Anyhow, it's kind of a silly commercial, but fun.

Enjoy!

It's weigh in Wednesday

2008-11-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

Ick! Ick! and more Ick!

Oh I cannot even begin to tell you how frustrated I am with my weight and the way I look right now, but hey...I guess I can look at it as I still have a goal to work toward...something to do....right?

So after running with Tracey for the first time in over a week this morning (brrrr!), I hit the gym to get my accurate scale reading. Unfortunately I am up 1.2 pounds which doesn't really make me smile.

BUT....

There is always a but, isn't there?

I weighed in AFTER running 2+ miles, AFTER eating breakfast and stinky ol' flo hit today as well. I often gain up to 3 or 4 pounds as a result of that torture, AND I haven't exercised much this past week cause I've been so sick.

So, I'm really hoping for something more positive next week.

If not I'm going to just forget about trying to look better and eat cheesecakes every meal for the rest of my life!

:0)

On a happier note. Tomorrow begins the 2nd annual WRMK warehouse sale! YIPEE! I can't wait to go. Here's hoping I can beg Tracey for a buck or two to spend.

So I know it's not spring....

2008-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

but I was messing around a little bit with some of my spring-y WRMK stuff. That's the joy of the scrappy world is that you often work 6 months in advance if you want to try and get something published.

So while Tracey was out playing with Doritos on Saturday (quite literally...I can't wait to show you when the video is done), I was at home doing a little scrappy stuff. I managed to finish the mini-album for my friends baby and also did this card.

Oh the PAIN of Max Payne

2008-11-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

So last night we decided to go to our second movie of the weekend. On Friday night I gave Tracey the option of going to see Forever Strong, The Secret Life of Bees or Eagle Eye. He chose Eagle Eye. (Wasn't that nice of me to give him a "dude movie" option). I actually really liked Eagle Eye once I figured out how things were happening.

So last night we decided to take advantage of no kids and go see another movie. I kept trying to persuade him to go and see Forever Strong, but somehow the lucky butt chose Max Payne.

As we were sitting in the theater before it started I leaned over to him and said "I've got bad vibes about this one".

Sure enough...half way through he leaned toward me and said "I'm sorry."

So yeah...DO NOT waste your money. Don't even waste a dollar at red box when it comes out. Not even the somewhat decent looking Marky Mark could save this one for me.

However all was not lost because I have in hand our tickets to go and see Twilight on opening night for our official anniversary!

Thank heavens for that.

So...anyone want to go and see Forever Strong with me?

Thanks G&G Lee!

2008-11-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

I think Tracey and I are some of the luckiest parents on the planet. Dan and Karen are always, ALWAYS so willing to take our kids so that we can have a break from the constant "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, ........." You get the idea. Oddly enough I am not sure that our kids realize that their father is a capable body that also meet their needs.

Anyhow, months back Tracey and I decided that we were going to run the Snow Canyon 1/2 this weekend for our anniversary, so I called Karen up and asked her if she wouldn't mind taking the kids for a couple of nights. Sure enough, without a moments hesitation she agreed.

Since then we decided not to run the half, for various reasons....NO...not cause I couldn't handle it...hee hee. Well actually, I might not have been able to handle it this weekend since I've had a yucky cold and have had a hard time with what exercise I have done this week, but she still offered to take the kids so we could have alone time anyway.

I am counting down the seconds. I LOVE my kids, but wow....I've felt insanely overwhelmed with them recently. Okay...I'll be honest...I've been insanely overwhelmed with JM recently. That is one HARD kid to take care of. For sure.

We've got such a great weekend planned...dinner and a movie tonight, a long run in the morning and then Tracey is filming for a contest with a friend, while I will scrap without having to beat the baby off of my table, a late lunch and then Christmas shopping for our kiddos with a little cash I've set aside just for this weekend! I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to take me to Cold Stone as well where I shall indulge in my very OWN creation!

So thank you G&G Lee. Thank you for being so wonderful to take on such a huge task for a weekend. Thank you for being sensitive to the fact that we, well, I am in dire need of some kid free time....even if it means a workout of a weekend for you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

and....

I love you...both!

Who IS that girl?

2008-11-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow...um...would somebody please tell me when I got old? Okay, maybe 36 isn't really THAT old but sheezy...I'm starting to look a little age-ed. It truly seems like just yesterday that I was some silly 17 year old looking forward to my next date with Tracey. And look at us now. Wow-ee.

Well, this is the new me. Maybe dark hair makes me look older. Do you think? Maybe that wasn't such a good choice. I went and had it fixed last night and added some extreme red highlights, which you can't really see in this photo, and now I'm wondering if THAT was such a good choice. Sheesh...are women ever really and truly happy with their hair? Eh....who really cares anyway. It's not like anyone else has to go around living in my head of hair, which is probably a blessing for them. :0)

I just can't believe what 4 years has done to me. Don't I look so much more youth-ful in this photo?

I know...it's all of those boys' fault.

:0)

Got Sisters?

2008-11-05T08:40:00.001-08:00

Yeah...sometimes it really blows being the oldest boy in the house. That means, when you've grown a mammoth amount over the past year and you no longer have "boy" gloves that fit you, you have to turn to sisters hand me downs.

Never fear....if it means getting to play in the nasty white stuff that has come all to early, then so be it.

What? No SpongeBob for President?!?!?!

2008-11-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

What gives? I can't believe that he didn't make it!

But guess who I did vote for. Dick Clark. Yup. I kid you not. Some guy running for treasurer in Utah. I laughed out loud when I saw his name and figured we couldn't go wrong there. Now before you go getting after me for voting for someone that I really didn't know anything about, he was the only one. Most of the spots I just left blank because I don't know any of them from Adam.

I do have to say that I was impressed with Obama's acceptance speech last night. Even though I really wasn't happy with either choice for president I have faith that our Heavenly Father will guide our leaders in a positive way.

Anyhoo....enough of that. Wanna hear my screaming deal for the night last night! So about a month ago Albertson's was having their buy one get one pound free of the 93% lean ground beef. Well they were short on their shipment so I had to get a rain check. I went shopping last night and much to my delight all of the 93% lean beef had a $2.00 off coupon on them so get this...I got 8 pounds of extra lean ground beef for $10.76! I was giddy!

So in the fashion of my good friend Michelle, I am having Weigh In Wednesday's from now on. I'll try to get to the gym every Wed. morning so I can have a more detailed weight reading. This moring...fully clothed I was 173.0, so I figure I'm about 1 pound more than my scale reads me at home, figuring that my clothing and shoes is probably 2 pounds...but never mind that. I'll just try to remember to wear the same stuff every Wed.

So there you have it! No SpongeBob for Pres....a screaming deal....and I'm exhausted from my workout this morning!

Oh and hey...I actually got scrappy yesterday! I even did 4 more cards, but I haven't photographed them yet.

BOO! It's Election Day and that's SCARY!

2008-11-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

Yup. I can't believe it's election time again. I know it's horrible but I'm sitting here contemplating if I even want to go and vote. I think I'd have to drive to my old neighborhood since I don't think we are registered here, and being as the only things that I'd truly care to voice my opinion over are local matters, I wouldn't be able to have that option in the old hood.

I'm also so pathetic in the fact that I am so un-educated about our choices for President. I guess being a resident of Utah I don't feel that it will make one lick of difference whether or not I go and vote since I don't think our state has ever won a democratic vote. Now I'm not saying that I'm a Democrat by any means, all I do know is from what I've seen of Sarah Palin, she should NOT be in office. (In my humble little opinion). The best was when she was questioned by a bunch of school kids about what the job of a Vice President is exactly and SHE COULDN'T GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER. Yup. Problems. So here's hoping that whomever makes it into the big office will at least have a clue as to what is is they are supposedly supposed to be doing. It will be interesting for sure. Scary in either way that it flows.....that's my opinion. Who knows. Maybe I'll go write in Sponge Bob for president. He seems like a happy fellow!

Anyhow, don't be scared! Take a peek at my cute Halloween peeps!

Can you believe my cute Maddi girl made her OWN Candy Corn costume? Not only that...she whipped this baby up the night before Halloween.

She's so funny. She's taking a sewing class at school right now and that is all she wants to do now. You should see the mountains of fabric we've got hanging around the house for PJ bottoms that she is making for all of her Lee cousins and some of her Dahl cousins for Halloween.

And you remember that Aaron was going to be Iron man? Well he changed his mind about 20 min. before we had to go to Tracey's work and decided to wear his Batman jammies instead. Funny boy.

I need to get the other kids dressed back up again so that I can get some better photos of them.

Well....happy voting! Vote for SpongeBob!

(The "other" people in this photo are my fun brother Rich and his kiddos that my kiddos just LOVE! I had to laugh that JM and Ethan happened to be the same Monkey!)

I've been photo tagged!

2008-11-03T08:46:00.001-08:00

Jana tagged on her blog. She asked me to post a photo from May of 2006. Since I didn't take any photos on the 21st of May in 2006, I went ahead with the 4th folder, 4th photo rule, which is how the challenge was originally issued, but since I don't keep my photos that way, I went with the 4th day of photo taking in May 2006 and the 4th photo, which happens to be this one.

And boy oh boy is this ever a horrid photo. Let's just say life pre-SLR was not fabo! Hee hee.

Oddly enough this is my Tessa girl. I almost don't even recognize her. I can't believe how much she has changed in 2.5 years.

She's such a little sweetie all though I often feel so badly for her. She's a true "middle child" and I feel so badly that so often she gets lost in the shuffle of changing diapers or dealing with teenage drama. She's so sweet and draws each Tracey and I about 20 pictures a day. I love that she is still so eager to snuggle with you, and her face just absolutely lights up when she has 100% attention from you. I really, really, really, REALLY need to do better about giving her more one on one.

So thanks for the challenge Jana!

I tag all of you that want to play. I'd love to see a random photo stored on your computer!

Laying it on the line...It's OVER! Jen G! You are my winner!

2008-11-03T07:07:00.001-08:00

Wow...one month of trying to be good...OVER!

You know I often wonder why I try doing these sorts of things, because I almost ALWAYS gain weight. If I just do my thing...I almost undoubtedly maintain or lose weight.

So I have to be honest...half way through the month I busted out my scale since I found out that by mid month I had gained nearly 5 pounds. I'm sure our trip didn't help, but I wasn't way thrilled about how badly my plan had backfired, so I had my constant guardian checking in with me every morning for the last half of the month.

I AM pleased to report that I am back to where I was at the beginning of the month, so I guess even though I gained 4.5 - 5 pounds in October, I lost it all, AND I've also lost 3/4" from my waist, 1/2" from my hips, 1/2" from my thighs and not sure about the arms since I didn't measure them.

The great things that I benefited from over the month are a MAJOR cutback on soda, as well as I made dinner nearly every night. Of course we went out to eat at lunch WAY too much, but hey...I'm doing better than I was for sure.

I'm also quite happy with my exercise level. I've heard it time and time and time again from many, many different sources that running is the quickest and best way to lose weight and I believe it. 20 pounds lost since May is proof! Even though I still don't love it, I guess it's my thing, cause it works. (Even though I was complaining my head off to my sweet hubby at how bad the cold air hurt my lungs at 6:00 this morning! He's so good and patient and encouraging to me. Thanks baby!)

However I'm stuck at a friggin' plateau, but that is also normal. But hey, one of these days this plateau is bound to crumble and I'll be back on my way to losing again.

So there you have it! Laying it on the line is OVER!

Oh and I put y'alls names in a bowl this morning and the winner of my 13 scrappy items or $13 bucks is Jen G!

Jen, I figure that you probably don't need/want any more scrappy goodies so maybe we can go to lunch and I'll buy. But then again...if you're totally hankering to have some MORE stuff to add to the pile you let me know sistah and I'll hook you up!

Thanks everyone!

Keep up the good work during this challenging season for exercise and eating goodies. Just think how happy you'll be to make it through without being a slave to calories!

:0)