Our No-Shopping Experiment -- Part 4

Our No-Shopping Experiment -- Part 4

Otherwise known as I Have to Shop so Maybe I'll Not Eat Sweets for a Month Experiment

I realized that I really don't do much extra shopping. Sure I bought new towels to replace old ones that could still function, but they were 10 years old. Sure I occasionally buy scrapbook supplies that I could do without, but I don't have a whole store's worth of supplies. So while I try to be frugal (like with my craft/exercise/guest room redo) I'm just going to shop as normal.

So, I decided to not eat sweets for one month. I will end over Presidents Day holiday weekend. Matt did join me for this one with only a few reservations, unlike the shopping experiment which he kind of sabotaged.

He only wondered

1. if bread pudding was a dessert, how about without the streusel topping
2. if he could still have honey on his toast
3. if pancakes and waffles were okay
4. If maybe date nights we could have a treat

So we are on our way. Why don't you join us?

MaLM - Painting

Make a List Monday -- How to Paint a Tree Room


You know the book Where the Wild Things Are? Remember how that fateful night a forest grew in Max's room? Well, that happened in my basement room. Except, that night when we sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks the forest didn't disappear. So we are painting it.





This is how.

1. Empty it out (this may take weeks depending on the state of the room)
2. Choose paint colors, white, yellow, white, yellow. . .
3. Buy supplies (paint, brushes, rollers, drip clothes, tape)
4. Do NOT forget primer (you are covering a tree, remember)
5. Be surprised about how much it costs, again
6. Dust, clean up dead spiders.
7. Tape, tape and tape
8. Paint ceiling, those darn branches reach way up to the sky
9. Paint trim, those darn trees dropped their leaves or sap or something resembling green paint on the trim
10. Another coat, another coat
And coming soon...
11. Spackle, tape, primer, primer, paint, paint, whew!

Enjoy living in a forest-free room.

Best of January, Week 3 - Draper, Utah Temple Open House

Winning the Best of January, Week 3 is the Draper, Utah Temple Open House.



We took our family to the Draper Temple Open House. It was so wonderful. The building itself was gorgeous, full of beautiful fabrics in blues, greens and golds, pretty art glass and glittering lights. The baptistry was so pretty, the Bride's dressing room beautiful, the murals on the instruction rooms were breathtaking and the Celestial room was inspiring. (I'm out of adjectives, I used up every beautiful one I could think of.)






But even more wonderful than the decoration was the Spirit. It is so peaceful and happy there, full of light and love. It is definitely the best part of the week.

A Beautiful Inauguration

Image from msnbc.com

What a wonderful inauguration! It is so inspiring to see the passing of the baton in this great nation. What a blessing to live here.

An interesting article here about the changing of the actual house part of the White House. They have 5 or 6 hours to move it all out, paint, redo, and move it in. Amazing.

Sweet Cupcake Stand

This is most darling. I might have to splurge if they were ever available again.



From Whitney Smith Pottery

Our Roadshow

"Every member in Utah liked Sundays a lot
But the Nursery leader, Sister Grinch, did not!

For she hated Sundays! The whole weekend season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. . ."


Back in October our Stake had a roadshow. Our ward's was awesome. Matt was asked to do the scenery. Right now it is in our playroom awaiting some down-sizing. I think it turned out brilliantly and wanted to share it with you.

The show was about Sister Grinch, the grouchy nursery leader who tried to cancel Sunday. To read the whole great script, written by our talented neighbor Lisa Elzey, click here.

A Spot of Sun

Charity's smile could clear the gloomiest day, and often does.

Mommy Reinforcements

I saw this and got a good laugh. Then I worried that it portrayed a desperate woman, not in control, waiting for her hubby to come home and rescue her. Then I realized that is me.

Then I realized that a stay-at-home-mom has been working for 11 hours AT LEAST, and when her husband gets home she gets her first break of the day, and it is only to finish dinner! So here you go, enjoy.



(Hillary Weeks at a Ladies Time Out)

Beautiful rooms

I know the holidays are over, but I think this room is beautiful and wanted to share.

I love this sink, though I vow to only use pedestal sinks in powder room baths.

These next two are from a house for sale in Newport Beach. Be still my heart.

MaLM - Parenting, What's Not to Love

Make a List Monday -- The things I don't love about parenting (gasp!)

1. Potty training
2. Potty training
3. Poopy underwear
4. Wet pants
5. Potty training
6. Not being strong enough to deal with poopy pants 5 times a day.

Our No-Shopping Experiment -- Part 3

I went to Target to get diapers, we were out. They are a necessity. I bought a package of 75% off caramels. I love caramels. It didn't even occur to me that I wasn't supposed to be shopping. I also bought a gravy boat on clearance. It is white and cute, and so it was a necessity because my current glass one has a crack in it.

What, you don't have a gravy boat, and you are okay? Who wouldda guessed?

My experiment is really not going well. I think I'm going to postpone my experiment until the last 2 weeks of January and first two weeks of February. Wait, will that interfere with Valentine's Day? What four weeks are the least likely for me to want to shop?

Our No-Shopping Experiment -- Part 2

On New Year's Day, we were discussing resolutions. Matt's brother said that they had a FHE on resolutions and they all set some. One of his daughters set a goal to have 20 Daddy Daughter dates this year. I asked him how often they had "special times" (which is what they are at our house because we do dad and mom dates).

He said and I quote,

"That was her resolution, not mine!"

Well, this little shopping experiment is turning out like that.

I discussed it with Matt. He listened without much comment but the heaviness in the air that meant he was not wholly on board. So I asked what he thought.

In a nutshell, he thinks it's great if it doesn't affect him. He pointed out that

1. He's been purposefully waiting until after Christmas to buy new fish and a tank heater

2. He's still having dates and going out to eat.

3. We were planning on organizing our craft/exercise/future guest room and he's ready to do it now.

4. If we are just putting it off until February, what's the point.

5. If we can get stuff on sale now, why wait until February (or next Christmas season) to buy it at full price.

6. If I don't buy any house decor or scrapbook stuff, he thinks it's a great idea.

So our experiment is not going well.

Our No-Shopping Experiement -- Part 1

Have you heard of Judith Levine? She wrote the book Not Buying It. She went a whole year without buying anything that wasn't a necessity i.e. food, gas for her car, etc. I had heard of it, but not much about it. But I am thinking of doing this for a month. So, I looked her up.

There were a great many criticisms of the book and her experiment. One was her categorization of needs. For example, she deems her $55 haircut a necessity. She also, with her partner, have 3 houses and 3 cars. Of course heating and gas are necessities, even for 3 houses. Another was her rather-off topic rantings (politics).

Anyway, I'm not reading the book, I'm just thinking about not shopping for a month. I'd eat, but not fancy foods. I'd keep my house running as it is. I wouldn't cancel my high-speed Internet (like she did). But I'd not buy all those great deals on whatevers (house stuff, crafty stuff, etc).

What do you think? Would you give it a try? Why or why not?

MaLM - Our Christmas Holiday Highlights

Make-a-list Monday -- Our Christmas Holiday Highlights, 2008

1. The Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, always wonderful, always inspirational
2. The Nutcracker with the Utah Regional Ballet at the Covey Center, beautiful music, fabulous dancing, and my girls' shining eyes
3. Our ward Christmas party, just adults, where we met a new couple in our ward, our 2nd cousins! followed by seeing Twilight (uhhh, maybe not a highlight, but a mid-to-lowlight)
4. Christmas Eve with our parents
5. Christmas morning with everyone thrilled, including me!
6. Christmas dinner with family in Salt Lake (followed by a hazardous, death-defying drive home through snow steeped passage ways and swirling winds)
7. Christmas vacation in Paris with family (after the crazy 5 hour drive through the snowy river and woods)
8. A New Years Sleepover
9. A great vacation full of family time, happy music, delicious food and relaxation.
10. Lots of nights by the tree with our sweet family, my favorite!

If only all this didn't have to end with Christmas cleanup. . .