President Hinckley

I don't know what I can say about this marvelous man. He was a prophet of God. I love him. Here are two tributes that I enjoyed; I hope you will too.
Via Color Me Red

BYU Tribute
and Glen Beck's tribute.

January goals

Okay, here is the rundown.

I have not exercised more than a handful of times. Excuses, excuses are piling up, including the one I carry around my middle. Oh well.

I have met two birthdays with on time celebrations.

I haven't been posting any spots of sun. My main problem is getting a picture taken, so I may try them picture-less. I'm thinking I should start a blessing journal. Matt has been writing in a journal lately per Elder Eyring's G.C. talk. Maybe he will inspire me.

My room is doing okay. I got rid of the 3 Primary boxes, 1 maternity box, piles and piles of stuff let over from the holidays, an old sewing table used as a cd player holder, and 2 old lamps. I got 2 new IKEA lamps, simple white curtains and one small bookcase. I did not paint the dresser yet, as you can see from this recent post.

Matt still has quite a pile we need to work on. Then I'll post some ending pictures.

That's it in a nutshell. So, on to February!

Shopping in Sugarhouse

I read an article in Sunset Magazine about some great shops in the Sugarhouse area. I want to share them and mostly document them so I can go someday when I have time and few kids in tote. I wonder when that will be?

Bountiful home: French furnishings, faded chic, 2021 S. Windsor St.
Hip & Humble: faux and real vintage items, 2030 S. 900 E
Edish.com: china and crystal, 815 E 2100 S, www.edish.com
Green Ant: mid 1900's decor, 2011 S. 1100 E.

Have you ever been?

Repainting my "vintage" furniture

As part of my bedroom focus for January I want to paint my bedroom dresser. We received this dresser for a whopping free and was always going to paint it. The color kind of grew on me and seemed beachy. But the hardware never did and well, I think I was just fooling myself. So now the question is, what color and how to paint it.

I'm leaning toward white, maybe crackled, maybe rubbed. I do have a lot of color in my bedroom already, thus the white idea. But blue? or a sandy color? What do you think?

And while I'm at it, I am definitely going to paint this one as well. This is my dear husband's childhood dresser. It is not fine furniture, but it is our furniture. This one will definitely be a non-neutral color, probably blue.



Any bets on when I'll get around to it?

Tag

I have never really wanted to play tag, I am 7 months pregnant after all. Once when I was pregnant I tried to play frisbee tag with a bunch of teenagers and I ended up sprawled on the ground. It wasn't pretty. But Paige, I love you and so. . .

1. 10 years ago I was 19, engaged to Matt at BYU, studying hard to be a nurse.
2. 5 things on my to do list today: laundry, nap, go to IKEA, keep 5 kids alive and keep myself sane while doing so.
3. If I were a Billionaire I would buy furniture, renovate my kitchen and many other parts of my house, get a new car, buy a house in CA and HI, help all my family, etc. All the usual. Matt would retire.
4. 3 bad habits: waste time on computer, put off chores, get frustrated with my kids.
5. 5 places I have lived: Newport Beach, Paris, Provo, American Fork, Cedar Hills
6. 5 jobs I've had: delivered newspapers, cemetery care taker, Subway sandwich artist, Mail Boxes Etc. guru and MOM
7. 3 Things people don't know about me: I like to burst into loud song, especially pirate songs, I am totally going gray, scratch that, they probably know that, I am a grand champion lamb showman, I love plants and thinking about gardening.

MaLM - Selective Amnesia

Make a List Monday - Places that trigger my selective amnesia

1. Grocery store
2. Target
3. Ward Council
4. Anywhere I meet a ward member unexpectedly
5. My bed (I forget my goals at night and forget my to do list in the morning)

Mint Musketeers

The new mint 3 Musketeers are a little bit of a disappointment. Dark chocolate is good, but the mint stuff is hard and not that yummy. Bummer. Just thought you'd like to know.

hard to type

It is hard to type without your right pointer finger. But when it gets slammed in the door of your minivan there is no other option.

Isn't it interesting how much more compassion you have for someone else when you actually go through it? To all you with smashed fingers out there, ESPECIALLY my children, I am sorry.

Make a list Monday (MaLM) - Resolutions, Goals and To Dos

I was going to add to this before I posted it and then promptly forgot. So here it is, 2 days late.

I'm not sure that resolutions, goals and to dos for the year all have unique and recognizable features. However, they mean different things to me. My resolutions are generally "big" things that I want to change about myself or my life. My goals are generally smaller, yet still very important things. I do have a list of to dos for the year. They are more like things I want to do or get done, but don't really have the weight of a resolution.

Does this make sense or am I just trying to get out of the pressure and guilt (because I never get all my to dos done and it never bothers me:)?

So here is a list of my 2008 to dos.
1. Organize my scrapbook stuff (again)
2. Start a yearly scrapbook for each of my kids (and perhaps a baby one for my 4 year old, ha)
3. Sew a cover for my glider
4. Sew nightgowns for my girls
5. Get a bike and ride it
6. Get Dawn in piano lessons and maybe dance lessons along with Rachel
7. Get fabulous patio furniture
8. Dream about getting a pergola over my patio, maybe really get one
9. Write in a journal
10. Read the Joseph Smith manual for church
11. Plan out a new flower bed and fill in the old ones
12. Make SURE kids all get swimming lessons
13. Go to Newport Beach
14. Go to Yellowstone
15. Use my new library card at least once a month

Christmas 07 -- a recap

The tree

Making our gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. (A little tip for you, make it fresh and then eat it the next day while it still tastes yummy!)

Our version of the nativity

Christmas morning, youngest to oldest

The only thing that salvaged Santa's gifts to Andrew -- chocolate!

Taking turns opening presents

Pink flowers are the prettiest

I love pink. I can admit it. It is my favorite color, along with blue.
I love this picture by Samantha Lamb.

My tummy is beeping

"Mom, want to feel my blood in my tummy beeping?"

"Sure." I feel his tummy and sure enough, his tummy is beeping.

"See. It's beeping."

Aren't kids cute.

Beautiful Blog

I just found the greatest blog, A Room Somewhere. Leslie is the guest mom on Design Mom this week. I checked out her blog and I must admit, I have now looked back clear through June! I pretty much love everything she does (a little much Project Runway perhaps). I usually put new blogs in a test blog folder because some I really like at first fizzle out. But this one is going right in favorites!

Go check it out.

Beautiful homes

Here are a few pictures that I love. I don't know where I got all of them unfortunately, but they inspire me.




Absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com




I really love homes filled with light. They feel airy, warm and happy to me. I need to make my own house more like these. Could I just swap my kitchen straight over with this last pic? I promise I'd do my dishes more faithfully.

A new nativity for 2008

Perusing blogs right now is a little funny. I'm kind of done with Christmas at this point, you know, really ready to move on. But every one's blogs are full of Christmas stuff. Well, I found this hand carved German nativity (as well as other things) from katiedid. They are pricey and beautiful!

You should check out the website. It is full of beautiful things like this pyramid. I've always wanted one. Some day.

Lest you think he died

On New Year's Day, after a good 14 hour sleep, Andrew was looking a little better. And so with all his energy, he braved his first haircut. Yes, that would be the first haircut of his life, 2 years and 2.5 months after his bald birth. Doesn't he look handsome (and not quite so deathly ill)?





Don't you just love his silky locks?

More love from Andrew

I didn't feel like my last post quite conveyed the full extent of Andrew's New Year's Eve. So here is a more detailed explanation.

Happy New Year from Andrew

My New Years Resolutions

I think the first order of business is to work out my big list of lists. Sometimes I know well ahead of the new year what I will be working on. Other years I need a while to evaluate and work things out. This holiday has been busy with sick kids and Dawn's very wonderful baptism day. But tonight Matt took the last Christmas box downstairs and so bring on 2008!

This year I am feeling sufficiently busy. So I haven't made a lot of resolutions about new things to try or do. I am going to set a new goal each month. I can do that, I think. I am also assigning a room to work on each month, along with a few over-arching goals. Here they are:

1. This year I am going to be more aware of my blessings and the joy I get out of being right where I am. I will be using my Friday "Spots of Sun" to chronicle some of them.

2. I will be absolutely prompt at celebrating birthdays.

3. I will have a lovely and sweet birth of a healthy baby girl!

Now for January: I will walk at least 2 times a week and do yoga or pilates once a week. This is pretty advanced for my tired, pregnant body, but I am resolved.

My room for January is my bedroom. It is a mess. I'm not sure there will be much buying and shopping going on (unfortunately), but a lot of organizing and developing better habits (not using it as a dumping ground). I may try to paint a dresser if I feel really motivated. We'll see.

Looking ahead:
February - the boys' room (moving Andrew into Scott's room) This will also involve the guest/exercise/craft room because it will be supplying the bed for Andrew. That room is atrocious and may put me into premature labor.
March - the nursery
April - hmmm. I'll be busy.
I'm not sure what rooms will come in what order, but will definitely include the playroom, the girls' room, the craft room (if I don't get it all done earlier), the downstairs bathroom, the garage, the patio, the kitchen/dining room, and family room. We'll see.

Christmas vacation doesn't officially end until I have my Christmas stuff all taken down and packed away. Due to some wonderful (Dawn's baptism, family visits) and some not-so-wonderful (coughing, runny nosing, ear infecting, throwing up lousiness) circumstances, I am just getting to that today.

Tomorrow I should finish, if all goes according to plan. Then I will be done.

Then I will again return and post all about my wonderful Christmas break. See you soon.