Float like a Ladybug . . .

Announcement!

2011-08-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

We have an announcement to make! Alan and I have decided to adopt! We are in a situation where we could financially handle a baby, and it truly feels like the next step in our family. We have been blessed to have many wonderful examples of adoption in our lives, and are thrilled at the idea of finally becoming parents.

We know that the journey will be hard and may take some time, but we know without a doubt it will be worth it. Despite all the love and joy we have had as a couple, children have always been the missing factor - the thing that truly makes a family. Complications have prevented us from having children, and we are thrilled to have this option available to us.

Right now we are in the process of getting signed up with LDS family services, and are also contacting Utah Foster Care to become Certified Foster parents. We would prefer a child under the age of two, and would love a child of either gender. At this point we are open to all options, and are working on getting our paperwork completed to qualify for international as well as national adoptions.

Even with all of the options we are pursuing right now, we know that all of you will be out greatest asset. The most successful adoptions are via word of mouth, and we hope that if you hear of someone considering adoption, that you will think of us. Additionally, if you have had any experience with adoption, we would love your advice

We are so incredibly excited for this opportunity, and cannot wait to welcome a little boy or girl into our home and hearts!

We have started an adoption blog here. I haven't finished all of our bios and such, but this is the address for it:

http://achingforanarmful.blogspot.com/

Ideas

2011-06-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

This is a high image post, so beware. I just joined Pinterest, which is probably one of the coolest sites I've ever seen! I follow a ton of blogs, and find a bunch of amazing tutorials that I love, but organizing all of the tutorials so I can find them again is a pain in the butt. I have just been creating bookmark folders for them, but then I have to constantly export and import my bookmarks to other folders, which just adds to my troubles. With Pinterest, you can "pin" items that you see into folders that you customize. Now no matter where I am, I can look up my favorite sites an tutorials!

In order to add an item to Pinterest, it does have to be posted online, so I am posting some of the craft ideas that I have gathered over the years. I am not sure who made them, so if you know please reply so I can give them credit.

PICTURES!

Pearls of Wisdom

2011-05-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

I was reading Along for the Ride and thought this story was too perfect not to share.

via pinterest

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box..

"Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here daddy, this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny ...

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

Freezer Paper Stencils and Baby Onsies

2011-05-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Today's tutorial is on Freezer Paper Stenciling. I's seen it done on some adorable blogs as of late (Especially this one and this one), but had never attempted it before, and I was super surprised at how easy it was to do. I was mostly surprised that I actually LOVED doing it. I decided on a whim the night before Shambray's baby shower that I was going to make her some onesies and this is the result.

Adorable? Naturally. You wanna learn how to do it? Do ya? Huh?

Ok, you talked me into it.

Freezer Paper Stencils.

You will need the following:

-Fabric paint (I got this multi-pack of puff paint at Walmart for $10)

-Clothing item of your choice (I'm going to do some of my shirts next)

-Freezer Paper (NOT WAX PAPER or you will never get the stencil off your clothes. Freezer paper is dull on one side and kind of shiny on the other side, and it is the same type of paper your butcher wraps cuts of meat in.

-Iron

-Your design

-Cardboard cut to fit inside the clothing you are stenciling to prevent the paint from bleeding onto the other side.

-1in foam brush (these are about 60 cents at Walmart)

-small dish for your paint

-Something to cut it out with. I used my Cricut Machine with the program Sure Cuts a Lot. You can read my opinions/reviews on such here.

1. Iron your clothing item

2. Lay your Freezer Paper shiny side down and cut out your design. Remember to save any inside pieces as you will use them. As a side note my settings for cutting freezer paper on the Cricut were Blade 2, Speed 1, and Pressure 3.

3. Lay your design shiny side down on your clothing item and iron in place. Make sure that all of the edges are ironed down tight. Do not use steam.

4. Squirt out your paint and dip your foam brush in it. Less is more and you can always pour out more paint later.

5. Paint on your color making sure your paint does not go over the sides you don't want to paint. Apply as many coats as needed for nice, even coverage. Allow paint to dry (at least 20 minutes)

Another nice thing to note, this stuff is a lifesaver when it comes to cleaning your brushes, or cleaning it off the carpet if you happen to knock the brush off the table. I'm speaking from personal experience here.

6. Once the paint is dry, remove the freezer paper, making sure to get all of your little inside pieces out. I find tweezers and a needle are the best tools for the tiny ones.

7. If you are doing an image with multiple layers, paint the first layer then wait for it to dry and remove the freezer paper, then iron on your second layer. Make sure to iron on all of your little details.

8. Paint on your second layer, allow to dry, then remove the freezer paper.

These were so popular that I got a request for another one. It's one of my favorites.

If you think of any other cute sayings you'd like to see please comment below. These designs are for sale at my Etsy Store, though if you live in Utah feel free to email me your request and I'll waive the shipping.

Cricut Product Reviews

2011-05-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I own a Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting Machine like this one.

Sadly, I can't exactly say it was love at first sight. I had read up on the Cricut online, and was disgusted with it's need for cartridges. When you spend good money on a machine, no one wants to be told that they have to spend $30-80 a pop to make it usable!

I was pretty much set on getting a Silhouette, which is far more expensive but does not require cartridges, until Christmas morning, when I opened the biggest present to find that Alan had bought me a Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting Machine. I'm sad to say that I was not as enthusiastic when I opened it as Alan was hoping I would be. I was really impressed with him for getting it at such a deal - $180 marked down to $80 at Roberts. They hold that sale about twice a year, and it's very much worth waiting for the sale, especially of they will let you combine coupons with it.

After receiving some other cute cartridges I finally decided it was time to stop whining and start using my Cricut. Now I personally HATE cutting with just the Cricut. I'm more anal than I am a perfectionist, so not knowing EXACTLY where each letter and swirl is going to go before I waste my pretty paper or vinyl is frustrating enough to prevent me from cutting with it at all, and doing a test sheet on scrap paper is just wasteful. Cricut offers two different options to help out with this.

1. Gypsy - $210 on sale now for $100

The gypsy is a cartridge storage device that allows you to upload all of your cartridges. You can then design and customize your design, and see it on the screen BEFORE you cut your precious paper. You can create your images using multiple cartridges, and transform and move them any way you want.
As far as the negatives you can only use cartridges that you have uploaded to the Gypsy, and you cannot import outside images, text, dingbats, or true type fonts. Additionally the screen is pretty small, so it is not ideal for the vision impaired. It does have a zoom option, but I can imagine it would get pretty tedious to keep zooming and scrolling, especially if you're using a 12x24in mat.

2. Cricut Design Studio - $60

The Cricut Design Studio is a program that you install on your computer, that has the entire Cricut library listed. However, you can only cut the designs you own the cartridges for. You have to load the cartridges for each project you use, but you can design using the entire library. I liked that you could use the entire screen, and that I could test drive any cartridge before I bought it.
Negatives are that despite it being loaded onto your computer, you still cannot import outside images, text, dingbats, or true type fonts . You also need to load the cartridge each time you want to cut the design, so it limits you being able to share cartridges with friends (though you can share your design files).

So the total for everything that Cricut has to offer:
Sale Actual
$80 $180 Cricut Personal
$100 $210 Gypsy
$60 $60 Cricut Design Studio

$240 $450 Total not including cartridges.

CRAZY! For all of it's marketing Cricut is really not good at making it so that you can do anything you can imagine with their machine. I understand why they don't. If people could use fonts and images from their computers there's no way they would spend $80 on a Cartridge no matter how cute it was. It's all a marketing strategy (and a rather good one at that) which is incredibly frustrating to me, but I digress. I had the Cricut out of the box, and no marketing strategy was going to prevent me getting the most out of it! So I searched for other options and found a glorious program.

Sure Cuts a Lot - $50

Can I tell you how much I LOVE this program? If you are using a Cricut make sure you purchase the Sure Cuts a Lot 2.0. Craft Edge (the makers of SCAL) was sued by Provo Craft (the makers of the Cricut) and as part of that lawsuit the newer versions (3.0 thus far) are not compatible with the Cricut, so if you own 2.0 do not upgrade it! The program allows you to use any true type font installed on your computer, as well as any imported image or dingbat. You can download true type fonts everywhere (my favorite place to get them is DA Font) and I have yet to find a project that I could not download what fonts and images I needed for it for free.
The only negative is that there is no way to import your existing Cricut cartridges directly into the program, but if you can cut the image with your cricut then scan it into your computer, or if you can find the image online, you can easily import it into SCAL. I only have two cartridges, so that's not a big negative for me.

Overall, with SCAL installed I use my Cricut a bunch, and it does everything I really need it to. The biggest difference I see between the Cricut with SCAL and the Sillouette is the price.
Cricut personal 12x6in cutter $80 + SCAL $50 = $130. The Sillouette SD 9x24in cutter = $300. The sillouette does not have a smaller edition, so if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, the Cricut works quite nicely. Even at the full purchase price of $180 plus $50 for SCAL the Cricut is still cheaper than the sillouette.

I hope this review has been helpful!

How to copy your DVDs to your computer

2011-05-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have been working on backing up all of my DVDs to my external hard drive as of late, and it's been quite the process, but so worth it! I can rest assured knowing that if Cleo chews up a DVD or if it falls onto the floor and gets scratched, we have a backup copy of it. Plus, it's a lot easier to carry around our laptop and hard drive than it is to tote around our massive DVD case, and that's even with them out of their individual cases!

Currently they are all sorted according to rating (I couldn’t find my PG-13 tag, so you’ll have to imagine it.

Imdb.com was a great resource for finding out what the ratings were, as I got rid of my cases a long time ago, and not every DVD has the rating right on it.

After they were sorted, I used three different programs to get them into the format I wanted. All of the programs below I downloaded for free, and they each have their download link attached.

DVD Shrink

The first was DVD Shrink. It takes a DVD and copies it to a .iso file. This is the first program I try when copying DVDs. When it loads you have the option to select the main movie, or the entire DVD. I almost always choose to backup the full DVD, because Alan and I actually watch the special features on movies ~_^ I love it because it automatically backs it up just small enough that I can copy the .iso to a standard size DVD. This is the only file format that you can copy to a DVD and have them readable in your DVD player. All others are readable on your computer or compatible device only.

You can also tell the program if you want to back up the language tracks. I generally uncheck all of the foreign languages, as it makes it so the DVD isn’t compressed so much.

The pros are that it is easy to use, it copies the quickest out of any program I’ve found, and it does exactly what I need it to do. Cons are that it only copies to .iso, and it sometimes cannot read encrypted or heavily scratched DVDs.

DVDFab

If DVD Shrink fails due to encryption or scratches, I go to DVDFab. It also copies DVDs, but it copies them to a folder structure, rather than a nice clean .iso. I have only had about 2 DVDs that it couldn’t read because of scratches, and those were pretty far gone anyways. When I use it, I select full disc, then I choose a folder for the target (Otherwise it asked for a writable DVD to copy it to).

Pros, it has more options to choose from, and it is majorly talented with scratched or encrypted DVDs. Cons, it takes a lot longer than DVD shrink, it can’t copy to an iso (as far as I’ve found) and when you use it to copy to a different file format (such as a .m4v) it breaks them up into little chunks instead of into one big piece.

Handbrake

After I have copied the files from DVDFab, I use Handbrake to copy the files from the folders to .m4v format. This format is readable on my phone, which is great, and it also is a lot smaller than a .iso. M4v is a flat video file format, so you cannot use any of the menus. Handbrake has the ability to take the video files from DVDFab, or the .iso files from DVD Shrink, and convert them to m4v. It can also convert DVDs straight to .m4v, but it’s really slow so it’s only a good idea if you are converting only one DVD to .m4v.

Pros, can convet both .isos and DVD folders to mv4, and can also convert directly from a DVD. It also has a queue feature, so you can select multiple files to convert overnight or while you’re at work. Cons, SUPER SLOW, but if you convert the files to .iso or movie folders first, you can use the queue and continue to copy other DVDs while you wait. Also does not do well with scratched, and cannot crack any encryption at all.

Those are my files to convert, but there are a few others I use as well through all of this.

Daemon Tools

For playing .iso files I use Daemon Tools Lite. It creates a virtual CD/DVD drive on your computer, so that you can view the .iso without copying it to a CD first. It’s also nice to have if you want to play a networked game like warcraft, and don’t want to waste a bunch of Cds. When I was little my dad copied all of our computer games to .isos so that we A) didn’t damage them while using them and B) we didn’t fight over who got to play the favorite game. Brilliant idea Dad! You can also use it to view multiple CDs or DVDs at once, so you can be watching one of your DVDs while you copy another.

ImgBurn

Most computers do not come with an iso burner, so I use IMGBurn. I have Windows 7, which has a built-in .iso burner, but it’s crap, so I use this. It’s great if you want to turn those pesky files/folders that DVDFab creates and copy them to a DVD or .iso. The only reason why I use DVD Shrink over this is because IMGburn does not compress the file to fit a standard DVD.

And there you have it! I know it’s been a long post, but I hope it helps! Any questions on any of them, or if you have any other programs that you like better feel free to comment below!

Craft Table Envy

2011-04-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

I really like the idea of a craft/sewing table that doesn't have to look like a craft table. I love these two designs from Walmart.

If I were going to this one I would go with the lighter wood. It would match the rest of my furniture so much better.

Or this one.

I love all of the extra storage space in this one, and I am amazed at how small it's "footprint" is when it's all folded up. I would also rather have this one in a lighter wood, rather than the white paint.

Which one do you like best?

Music list

2011-04-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here are 100 tunes I've been rocking out to as of late.
All of these were tagged using one of my favorite apps,
SoundHound Infinity.

Artist	Song Title
Ace of Base	Don't Turn Around
Aerosmith	I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
A-Ha	Take on Me
Alan Menken	Something That I Want
Billy Joel	The Longest Time
Billy Joel	The River of Dreams
Brad Paisley	Anything Like Me
Breathe	Hands to Heaven
Bruno Mars	Just the Way You Are
Carrie Underwood	Before He Cheats
Celine Dion	My Heart Will Go On
Cher	After All
Cher	Believe
Cindy Lauper	Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Cindy Lauper	All Through the Night
Dan Fogelburg	Leader of the Band
Daniel Powter	Bad Day
Daughtry	September
Deniece Williams	Let's Hear it for the Boy
Dixie Chicks	Landslide
Elvis Presley	Burning Love
Extreme	More Than Words
Fergie	Big Girls Don't Cry
George Michael	Careless Whisper
Grace Potter	I Want Something That I Want
Heart	Alone
Howard Jones	Everlasting Love
Jason Mraz	I'm Yours
Jefferson Starship	Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Jefferson Starship	We Built This City (On Rock and Roll)
Jerry Lee Lewis	Great Balls of Fire
Jimmy Cliff	I Can See Clearly Now
John Mayer	Say
John Mellencamp	Hurts So Good
John Michael Montgomery	Life's a Dance
John Oates	Kiss on My List
Jordin Sparks	Tattoo
Katy Perry	Firework
Keith Urban	You'll Think of Me
Kelly Clarkson	Breakaway
Kool and the Gang	Celebration
KT Tunstall	Suddenly I See
Lee Ann Womack	I Hope You Dance
Lifehouse	You and Me
Loggins & Messina	Danny's Song
Lonestart	I'm Already There
Madonna	Into the Groove
Madonna	Vouge
Madonna	Crazy for You
Mark Cohn	Walking in Memphis
Martina McBride	In My Daughter's Eyes
Matt Nathanson	Come on Get Higher
Matthew Wilder	Break My Stride
Men at Work	Down Under
Michael Buble	Everything
Michael Jackson	Thriller
Mr. Mister	Broken Wings
Mr. Mister	Kyrie
Naked Eyes	Always something There to Remind Me
Pat Benatar	Love is a Battlefield
Pat Benatar	We Belong
Patrick Swayze	She's Like the Wind
Peter Cetera	Glory of Love
Phil Collins	You Can't Hurry Love
Phil Collins	You'll Be in My Heart
Pink	Raise Your Glass
Plain White T's	Rhythm of Love
Red Hot Chili Peppers	Otherside
Red Hot Chili Peppers	Snow (Hey Oh)
Reo Speadwagon	Can't Fight This Feeling
Richard Marx	Hold on to the Nights
Richard Marx	Now and Forever
Rob Thomas	Sleep Til the War is Over
Rob Thomas	Someday
Rod Stewart	Forever Young
Roxette	It Must Have Been Love
Sara Bareilles	Love Song
Sara McLachlan	Angel
Savage Garden	I Want You
Savage Garden	Truly Madly Deeply
Smash Mouth	All Star
Smash Mouth	I'm a Believer
Taylor Swift	Love Story
The Cardigans	Lovefool
The Cranberries	Dreams
The Dream Academy	Life in a Northern Town
The Goo Goo Dolls	Iris
The Jackson 5	ABC
The Proclaimers	I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
The Rembrandts	I'll Be There for You
The Swinging Blue Jeans	Hippy Hippy Shake
Three Dog Night	Joy to the World (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog)
Timbaland	Apologize
Train	Marry Me
Uncle Kracker	Smile
Vanessa Carlton	A Thousand Miles
Vanilla Ice	Ninja Rap
Vertical Horizon	Everything You Want
Wilson Phillips	Hold On
Yello	Oh Yeah

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad!

2011-04-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to all of the little obsessions in my life.
*Note, these are listed not in order of importance or level of obsession, but merely in the order that they come to my mind today.

1. Rainy days.
I know, this is cliché, but for me a rainy day is not an obsession in enough itself. I love rainy days with no work, school, or other obligations, and when my house is clean. Days where I can cuddle up in bed with my hubby reading a good book with the window blinds open and the rain streaming down the windows. A day where the rain becomes an excuse to be comfortable. These days are kind of rare lately (especially the no work and clean house part) and they are some of my all-time favorites.

2. Technology
I an a bit of a tech freak. I LOVE figuring out how to make computers/phones/TVs/technology in general do what I want it to. It's such an empowering feeling! Some of my latest tech enhancements are:
*BTW, no laughing at this. You may have known how to do these things for years and good for you, but don't steal my steam by saying it's juvenile or easy as pie. However, if you have a better way to do it, that I would LOVE to hear!*
   1. Hooked up my entire tv surround sound system to work with my tv, dvd player, and comcast DVR. Next, I will connect it to my computer so I can use it as a 2nd monitor.
   2. Found an amazing appstore in Amazon's appstore. They are offering a free download of one of their paid apps each day. All you need is an Amazon account. I have been using it for about 2 weeks now and have had no problems with it so far. Plus, since Alan and I use the same Amazon account, he can download any of the ones I've ordered for free on his phone as well.
   3. I just downloaded a whole bunch of stuff from my dad's computer, including a bunch of photos and music that I thought I'd lost.
   4. My cricut now works perfectly with my computer thanks to sure cuts a lot! I LOVE this program! It is so easy to use, and can cut any font on your computer using the cricut. It was $50 to download, which is less than most cricut cartridges. You can also cut anything based on a JPG image, so you can use any clipart you can find. As a warning, Provo craft is suing Sure cuts a lot for copyright infringement, and the last I heard they had reached a settlement where all future updates to Sure cuts a lot will not be compatible with the cricut. So all of
those SCAL users out there make sure you check before you do any updates to it!
   5. I have reorganized my external hard drive, so that everything is where it should be, and is all properly labeled. This is something I have been meaning to do for a long time, so it really is a relief to have it done.
   6. I have copied about half my DVDs to my computer in .iso format, which is basically a virtual copy of the entire DVD, special features included! This is great for Pixar movies in particular, which have so many special features and shorts on them. Now to find a program that will copy them in AVI format so that I can easily watch them. My plan for these movies is pretty far in the future, but I plan to get an android tablet sometime in the future, so we can load all of our movies on there for roadtrips. Plus, when we have kids it will be really easy for them to just touch the movie they want to see to play it, and we won't have to worry about them scratching the dvds.

3. Crafting
This one encompasses the areas of Crating, Cooking, Sewing, Scrapbooking, Interior Decorating, Thrifting, and all of the other things featured on the amazing blogs I follow! I can't believe how creative you all are! I hope that if I ever get rich enough to not work full time, I would be as enterprising and ingenious as you are, rather than ending up with a messy home and my butt permanently glued to the computer chair or the couch in front of the TV. Seriously, this is why I do not work from home, even though my work would allow it. I would never get dressed. EVER. Ok, maybe on Sundays for church, but that's only once a week.

There are so many things I want to try! One of my first priorities is going to be making me some new clothes. I mean, I certainly have enough clothes to wear, but I cycle through the same clothes over and over, and they are all so plain! I have maybe 3 shirts with any sense of style to them. I really want to make me some more skirts too. Particularly ones as amazingly simple and adorable as this one from No Big Dill

Isn't it gorgeous? The best part is that it's so easy! just one seam in the back and then an elastic waistband! The fabric she uses is also really low maint, no ironing required! Wrinkles just add to the skirt's character!

4. Blogging
It's really a relief to put some of my thoughts down. I was importing this blog into facebook, but honestly, I prefer forcing people to go to my site to read it. I get so excited when I get a new follower, and I love seeing new comments! I can be free to express my thoughts, and if anyone has a problem with what I say, they can just stop reading. ^_^ I have had a goal lately to include at least one picture with each post, and I really think that it helps. I know I have a tenancy to skip most posts without a picture, and I don't think I'm the only one.

5. Becoming an authority on random subjects.
OK, so maybe not an authority, but I love to know enough about a given subject that I can offer an opinion on it. Some of my favorite topics as of late have been childbirth, foster care,
adoption, technology, crafting, medical, blogging, etc. It is so nice to know things!

6. Camping
The worst thing about this winter is that I have not been able to go camping! As tech savvy as I am, it is so nice to just get away from everything for a while! It's especially nice going with a bunch of family, with all the dogs, and a river nearby!

Family picture right before going down the green river. This was after 5 days camping with no shower, so please forgive the crazy hair on all of us.

7. Playing Cards
For years my family has played card games as a family. One of our favorites in my family is Nertz, especially now that most of us kids are old enough to play it. I can't tell you how many times I pulled out my cards at debate tournaments. I always had at least on deck in my purse, and I now have an entire box of them in my car. My love for games was only strengthened when I married Alan, because his family also are avid card players. It's the main activity at camp-outs, and in the above picture the table behind us is covered in card decks. Our favorites include Nertz, Hand and Foot, Mormon Bridge, Golf, and Slamwich (which is called Egyptian Ratscrew when played with face cards)

8. Roadtrips
I think this is the one I have been craving most as of late. I really REALLY want to just get in the car with Alan and drive to some far off location. Seattle is first on my list. I went on a Seattle road trip soon after graduation and it is to this day one of my favorite memories. There is something so freeing about driving through the country with a good audiobook on the radio and a friend by your side, eating snacky foods and stopping at random little tourist locations on the way.

Alan and I went on a roadtrip to Cali on our honemoon, and despite all the disasters along the way, it was still a blast!

Outside the San Diego Temple just about to head home from the trip.

What are a few of your favorite things?

Have you ever prayed for the strength to live through a day?

2011-04-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Have you ever prayed for the strength to live through a day?
That was my day today. Yesterday we received news that Alan's Grandpa Vance Calder passed away yesterday morning after suffering a massive, though fortunately very quick stroke. He and his wife of 65 years this August were alone on a Mexican Rivera cruise at the time. He passed within a few minutes of the first pains of the stroke, so it was as painless of a death as one could hope for.

Right now Alan's uncle Steven is flying out to meet Grandma. He will board the ship, then they will travel to the next port, which is a larger port and is more able to accommodate them. Because he passed away on the ship, they do not have to have the Mexican government release his body, which is really fortunate.

His affairs are all in order. They have the headstone, casket, and plot all purchased, so our main concern at this time is getting his body back home. We will update when we find out more.

We love you Grandpa!

At our wedding in September of 2008

Whittling in the rain while camping in 2010.

Always the fisherman!

At the Flaming Gorge Dam in 2010 with Glissy and Ginger in tow.

At the BYU-San Diego game in 2011. Thank goodness BYU won!

I married into the family, and Vance always treated me as nothing short of a Granddaughter. Some of my fondest memories are of going camping with them, and watching him skunk us all in cards. We always figured that God was cheating for him. You could always count on Grandpa finding some old stick to whittle on at every camping trip, and you could follow his trail of wood shavings all over camp. He always used pet names like sweetie, honey, little lady, and beautiful, and somehow always managed to give me a kiss on the lips goodbye, no matter how much I tried to direct him to my cheek. ^_^ I fondly remember him going river rafting with us last summer, sitting proudly at the head of the boat, with Grandma beside him and Ginger wedged in between them.

Glass Etching

2011-04-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

I have been inspired.

It all started today when I was looking for some cute sayings to etch on the bottom of my pyrex dishes for Enrichment tomorrow. I could just do my last name, but I would rather do something like this

Or

Those links take you to A Girl with a Glue Gun. Her tutorials are great and super easy to follow!

Oh but then, I came across this lovely web site. Chris Sommer is a wiz with glass etching! As a warning, there are some glass etched topless mermaids on there, so the site isn't 100% safe for work. I now have a goal to be as amazing as him at it! I'm going to start training by getting a bunch of dollar store picture frames and mirrors and practicing. I'll post the ones I don't use personally on Etsy, so I can pass all of my supplies as "a way to bring in a little extra money" rather than a vain attempt to boost my crafty self. I mean seriously! Aren't these fabulous?

I would kill for this bathroom. Pity mine doesn't have glass doors.

So pretty! And this one I could probably actually do with my Cricut really easily.

I love how much detail he puts into it. I don't know if I could get to the point of where mine look this good, but I could so handle the solid shapes ones.

Would anyone be interested if I did any glass etching? I was thinking of doing something similar to this for a first attempt. I would be happy to take requests, and it would be a great starter project.

What do you think?

Prayers for Japan

2011-03-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

If you're not scared, you're not paying attention.

2011-03-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am a worrier. I accept that, and I make the personal justification that "at least I'm prepared for anything". Well this year has really challenged that for me. I realized that while I am prepared in a lot of areas, I am not ready for the future. And by the future I mean the future I am living in.

Have you seen the news about Japan? Have you heard that the death toll from the Earthquake and the resulting Tsunami could reach 25,000? That the nuclear reactors melting down could increase that even more? That there are parts that will never recover from this disaster?

Call me Chicken little here, but the sky is falling and falling fast and I am freaking out. I still go to work, still go to church, still blog, still become increasingly dependent on my phone and my electricity and my internet. I can sew, cupboard cook like a fiend, knit, crochet, clean, peaceably negotiate, and , but I certainly don't have as many end-of-the-world marketable skills as I'd like, and I'm working on those. I'm starting a garden, and I have a list of things that still need to be done. Some are a little bit far in the future, but nevertheless here's my list:
1. Buy a HAM radio (Call sign KE7ELJ if anyone's interested.)
2. Increase my food supply, especially my water supply
3. buy a gas generator
4. Get an emergency supply of fuel.
5. Get hand powered tools (such as a wheat grinder)
6. Get some kind of power source, such as solar panels or a windmill
7. Never let my car get below half full of Gas (for quick emergency escapes)
8. Get a more advanced water filtration system (my Brita is not going to cut it if I have to filter lake water)
9. Get a 72 hour kit created
10. Get at least 3 months income in savings
11. Buy gold or silver coins with that savings
12. Get chickens and/or a goat
13. Stock up on toiletry items like soap and toilet paper
14. Start recycling
15. Start couponing
16. Learn to hunt.
17. Purchase a gun and ammunition.
18. Make a portable first aid kit

And just for fun I may get myself one of these.

I will probably add more to the list as I go along, but I think that will make a good start. What about you guys? Am I the only one freaking out here?

Thank you hubby!

2011-03-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is going to be a blog post about Alan. I have good reasons for it. Go with it.

I was reading over the blog http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/ and I am loving it! I don't agree with all of it, but the vast majority speaks to an area of my thoughts that I don't really touch in my conversations with people.

A little background on me. I am an independent woman. Oldest of ten, and born in a family that didn't force me to hide myself. I have parents that encouraged me to develop my talents, and one of mine happened to be public speaking. I loved drama class, and I was a wiz kid in debate. I went from not bringing home a single trophy my sophomore year, to competing at nationals my junior year, to taking first place in state my senior year. I was already an outspoken kid, but I grew into my own with those experiences, and I loved the confidence it gave me.
Fast forward to college. I moved away from home to a single's ward and an apartment with 5 roommates. I'd had inklings before, but this was the first time I had really realized that I was not doing what I was "supposed" to do. I was getting my education, I was outspoken, and I was not afraid to let people know what I thought. This knowledge that I was doing something wrong did not come from my roommates, or from my church leaders, but rather from the guys around me who were not interested in a vocal girl. After a horrible relationship where the guy attempted to train my confidence out of me, I became convinced that if I was to get a husband I would have to change myself.

I was shocked when I met Alan. I was not looking for a relationship, and I tried to get rid of him by being confident and opinionated, which I had learned were the most men-deterring personality traits I possessed. Instead of dismissing me as troublesome, he loved it! He loved that I wasn't afraid to have a conversation with him, and I learned that it was possible for someone to romantically love me without sacrificing a huge part of my personal identity.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who isn't bound by expected gender norms. Alan cooks the most amazing dinners, tears up when he thinks about starting a family, and who cleans even better than I do. He gets excited about our garden, and encourages me to "talk it out" with him when I need to rant. He keeps our cars in running order, and he knits to keep his fingers occupied when watching tv. He is obsessed with sports, gives the best hugs, and constantly plays fetch with our dog Cleo.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Life as we know it

2011-03-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

I have no plan for this post. That doesn't seem so unusual to most, but all of my blogs are planned out and this one isn't. I haven't even decided if I am going to actually post it or just keep it safe in a draft. I miss livejournal's ability to make some posts private, some for only friends, and some for public. Blogger should really REALLY get on the ball with that, especially since livejournal was doing it when I was in Jr. High.

This is my life right now. I have been married for over two years now, and I am further away from getting pregnant than I was when we got married. And I really want children. I have ALWAYS known that would be my highest calling in life, from when my playing pretend as a little girl was always playing house. My parents were very against forcing children to gender identify, so they bought me dolls and trucks and tools and pretend makeup kits. I chose the dolls, and I used the Tonka trucks as strollers.

*note, this is not actually me in this picture, but you get my drift.

When we considered breeding our dog Cleo I asked my mom if she would be a good mom and her question to me was "Does she 'Mother' her toys?" I'm not saying by any means that if you played with cars as a small child that you will be a bad parent - far from it. Dogs are not people, and have nowhere near the resources and intelligence and common sense that we do. But the point remains that I have been in the practice of 'Mothering' for a very long time. I have invested so much in that goal. And you know what? I WILL be a mother some day. I will hear little children scream "Mommy!" and that will be my name. It hasn't happened yet.

This "not happening" is not without trying. I have never been on the pill, and we still have the full box of condoms we got when we were married. I have spend about 8 months on fertility meds, and we know I am broken. "Perfectly healthy people, as a general rule, have no problem getting pregnant" Right? So I am in need of fixing. I can accept that this body in it's current state has almost no chance of conceiving, and even if I could it would probably be a hard pregnancy. So now I have a choice of what to do moving forward, and there MUST be a choice. I will not accept this without a plan, and no one around me would either.

1. Do nothing. Convince myself that there are other things that I should be focusing on. Throw my efforts into loving my wonderful husband, school, loosing weight, and getting a better job. If I am patient I will have less stress, my relationships will improve, and I will not be the crazy wannabe mom, who cannot exist without relating everything in her life to children and infertility and birth and pregnancy.

2. Throw myself further into fertility treatments. Spend thousands of dollars on forcing myself to get pregnant, only to be a basket-case when I see time after time that negative test. This one has the highest possibility of conceiving. There are methods I have not tried and tests I have not done and one of those could do it. It is my highest chance of getting pregnant.

3. Start the process of adoption. Get a lawyer, save up for court fees, get registered with an adoption agency, create a bubbly profile for LDS family services that justifies ourselves as the perfect place for someone's baby, because no one is going to give a baby to someone that they have any doubt will be able to take care of them. And we could wait. Wait for potentially years, being turned down because our jobs aren't stable, we don't have college degrees, we've only been married for a short time, we don't have any other children, we're too fat, our eyes aren't the right color- the list goes on. And what if there is someone who likes us enough to consider us, and we go to pickup the baby and they say "No, I'm sorry, but we've changed our minds" even though we have been supporting them through the whole pregnancy and we were so sure that it would work out. And what if that happens one, two, three times and we never ever get to bring that sweet child home?

None of those three sound anywhere close to perfect. We have decided on a mix of one and three. We will focus on other things besides getting pregnat. We will work on improving our life and our jobs. While we do that Alan and I are working on our certification to be Foster Parents. There is no need for fancy adoption blogs, and the children are so much more needful of loving people with open arms. We realize that 90% of children that we may get will be unadoptable as their birth parents work with the court to get their children back, and the ideal is for a child to be raised by loving birth parents. The whole 100% are in need of a loving home, and that is what we can give.

If you want to be a parent you have to be where there is the possibility of children, and foster care is the perfect place for us. I know that God will know if we are supposed to adopt a child. I know that we have a lot more to offer than a fancy blog will ever show. I know that we will be blessed because of the role that we play in their lives, be it for a day or a lifetime. With Alan and I both working, many people would consider us crazy for even trying, even going forward with it with no plan as to how we are going to provide for them, but we know this is what we need to do. We are going to go through the classes and become licensed. We can't be powerless to give a child safety anymore.

It's a start. It is progression. I am moving toward 'Mommy'.

Not your momma's mommy blog

2011-01-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

First, everyone should go here and read the article "Why I Can't Stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs".

I totally know how she feels. Granted, there are a few things on the checklist that I have. I have various crafting abilities, I am Mormon, married, young, and I do drink a fair amount of chocolate. Of course, some things don't quite fit (I have never seen Alan willingly wear plaid, and he has perfect vision, so the glasses are out) but most of the things are similar. Then we reach the disqualifications. I have no children, I am also constantly arguing with Alan over who gets to/has to be the breadwinner, and I don't have enough energy to make more than a microwave burrito most nights, let alone construct a new kitchen table out of used popsicle sticks.

My blog layout is not coordinated, I don't have a catchy crafty blog name, and I still have not posted about the myriad of things that have happened to me over the past few months because my house is never clean during the daytime, or if it is the Camera battery needs charging.

*note to self, must blog about Moving, Christmas, Fall Pictures, Cricut, and all of the other things that have happened*

But you know what? I am doing ok. Life is not what I planned, nor is it what the "Mormon Mommy Blogs" lead me to believe my life should be, but I am ok with that. My life is at a point where it has to progress in some way before I go insane. There is change that is needed, and I don't think it's going to go in the order I planned. The kids plan isn't working and I really need to move on. Alan is considering reenlisting, which scares me to death, but I have this feeling that we really need to look into it.

So here's to hoping that the future will turn out great, and that things will work out better for me than for this guy.

22 Read, 18 Started.

2010-11-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety. Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Ani

2010-10-20T16:39:00.001-07:00

I have recently discovered that I am a god,

a bird,

and a prefix for a Tibetan nun.

Go figure.

Oriental cravings

2010-09-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

I should not blog while hungry. Seriously, it's bad, there are so many good recipes I've found and so little time and energy to make them with!. Today's kick is oriental food.

I am aching to try this lovely looking Wonton Tutorial by Gourmet Fury. Seriously! Don't they look so good! And so easy too! I have some boneless ribs at home that would be wonderful for it. The wonton wrappers you can get at just about any grocery store in the special produce section (walmart has them for sure).

I'm loving homemade sushi as of late! It's a lot easier to roll than I was expecting, and I love being able to put only what I want on it. There are some great video tutorials on Youtube that are great for learning how to roll it on your own. It's actually a pretty affordable meal at home depending on what you use. Alan and I love a California roll (rice on the outside) with crab, (we use imitation, I know, shame on us, but it's way cheaper and a lot easier to work with) cream cheese, avocado, and cucumber! It's especially good with a little eel sauce and a touch of spicy mayo. *EDIT: If you are looking for an alternative to the seaweed wrap for your sushi, you can use this really simple egg wrap.

My only problem with it is that I'm having real difficulty finding a good sushi rice recipe. I use a rice cooker, so the good recipes that don't require a bunch of ingredients are currently eluding me. If anyone knows of a good one please let me know!

I love the adorable little Bento boxes from Lunch in a Box. She totally makes me want to get up an hour early to make Alan and I one for work. She lists prep time for each of her boxes (most are half an hour or less, though they would probably take me significantly longer, hence the hour early for work), and there's almost 100 pages of bento goodness on her site!

I think the kitty's legs are mozzarella cheese or possibly tofu, but I could be mistaken.

(And yes, that adorable thing in the corner of the bagel box is an OctoDog, with the tutorial on that link)

Most of the dividers are silicone, so they bend and mold around the other food. My favorite are the silicone cupcake liners, because they are multi-purpose, and according to the great Alton Brown, the only single-purpose item that should be in the kitchen is the fire extinguisher.

If you're looking for a great date night with a fun twist, I love Sam Hawks Korean Restaurant in Provo, Utah. It doesn't look like much at all, but the food is SO GOOD! I love the beef Bulgogi

It's a korean BBQ beef that is to die for! You wrap it in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and other awesome goodies. If you're going in a group (5 or more) it's a good idea to call ahead and let them know you're coming, also if you know what you want order it then. They're a really small restaurant, but they are so worth the wait!

Yum!!

Creative laced tank/vest tutorial

2010-09-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

I am planning to make one of these

With this tutorial by Ucreate

I'll probably also do it in black, with a stretchy jersey knit for the bottom rather than the lace like the example pic, Though I'm still deciding which colors to do it in. I seriously just need to spend a day of sewing at my parent's place, because my mom has the most fabulous collection of fabric, sewing machines, and crafting paraphernalia I've ever seen. One of these days Alan will have his tricked out garage and I will have my craft room sanctuary, but for now, I am happy to drive the half an hour over to their house, rather than dig my sewing machine out and re-thread it with the black, white, or brown thread that I have available.

Sewing machine

2010-09-09T13:52:00.001-07:00

I never though to wonder, but it's cool to really know how it works now.

Babehs!

2010-09-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm Ani, and I'm baby hungry.

Scoff if you wish, but I think it qualifies as an addiction. Poor Alan has to hear about it all the time, especially when I tear up at little things like Playskool commercials or clips of babies on AFV.

I was watching a documentary the other day called The Business of being Born, and I can honestly say it's one of the best "alternative birth" (watch the documentary and you'll see how ironic that term is) documentaries I have ever seen. Sadly, that's probably because it's the ONLY one that is publicly available.

As a warning, this is a documentary about birth, so there are naked women giving birth everywhere, and you should not watch it if you have objections to boobs, bellies, butts, and baby heads. Netflix totally has it in their instant queue, so if anyone doesn't want to spend the $8 for the DVD from amazon.com you can totally come over to my house and watch it with me for the 5th time (seriously, it never gets old, and I learn so much every time I watch it).

I really really wish that I could find a doctor and a midwife as good as the ones Abby Epstein had in the documentary. I have NEVER seen a doctor that is that enlightened about birth. He admits that most births have no need for a doctor's intervention, and that outcomes for the vast majority of women (above 90%) who do not have serious complications, are BETTER outside of a hospital. Doctors are wonderful and necessary for those that need the medical intervention, and I wouldn't give them up for the world, but I do agree that medical intervention has gone too far.

I am so grateful for the wonderful advancements that medicine has made over the past few years. Lets face it, C-sections have saved a bunch of women and babies that would have not survived without that medical intervention, but they are actually part of the cause of our high infant and mother mortality rate. In the developed world (England, Germany, New Zealand, ect.) the US has the second to worst infant and mother mortality rate. In Europe and Japan, midwives deliver 70 percent of all births; in the U.S. midwives deliver a mere 8 percent of births. Coincidence? I think not!

Some may ridicule me for speaking out about this, having never had a baby myself, and yet, I have more experience than most first year medical students. I have been in attendance at 1 hospital birth and 3 home births, and I can honestly say that the atmosphere was so incredibly different. In one, there was screaming, yelling, medical malpractice, major bleeding, anxiety, exhaustion, and panic. In the other, calmness, peace, comfort, and better care for the infant and mother. Can you guess which one was which? In my experience, the home births were by far a better environment to bring a baby into the world.

Kind of a roundabout way of getting to it, but I am looking for a midwife. Because of the lack of demand for them, there are relatively few of them that can remain in practice for long enough to gain much experience, and the ones that do usually have mega long waiting lists, hence the looking before I'm pregnant. I'm also looking for a doctor who would be ok being my backup if something does happen to go wrong, so if you know one I would be happy to hear about them as well!

Grump

2010-08-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

I dare you not to laugh. I just dare you.

I’ve decided that I’m going to be happy.

2010-08-30T12:19:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I'm going to be happy.

I <3 John Bytheway! I know that most of his stuff is for teenagers, but the principals and stories he relates have just as much application in adult situations. For example, one of my favorites of his is "What I wish I'd known when I was Single". In it, he talks about people who interject their singleness into every situation.

"Hey, are you going to the concert this weekend?"

"Well, I really wish I had someone to go with, but I don't because I'm single"

Or

"Can you believe the construction on I-80 lately?"

"Yeah, the traffic gives me time to think about how I'm still single"

At first I laughed at it, but you know what? I realized that I'm that same way about pregnancy and babies. Maybe not quite that bad, but pretty close.

There's another part that stuck out to me, when he said that "An unhappy single person will almost never, by the simple act of becoming married, become a happy person" and it made me think, I'm somewhat unhappy right now without kinds, and I was definitely unsatisfied with being single, so what makes me think that just having kids will make me happy? I was an unhappy single person and I am not a very happy married person right now, so what needs to change?

The answer my friends, is that I need to change. Aubrey mentioned in her blog that happiness is more like a habit, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. There isn't a magical happiness fairy that sprinkles happiness on our lives like the last missing ingredient in a killer casserole. Happiness is like the hearty, homegrown-with-love starter ingredients. A little bit of paprika happiness is not going to help if your macaroni is rotten.

Call it a mid-year's resolution, but I am going to get into the habit of being happy. Not "I've got to put on a happy face for my friends" happy, but genuinely in-love-with-life happy. I think the biggest part of it will be getting out of my routine some more, and for Alan and I to spend more time among the living.

Wish me luck!

Everything Android

2010-08-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

At the request of Shambray, this is a more detailed description of why I love android phones

The apps

Android allows you to download apps to your phone, just like the iphone (iOS) does, but there are some different pros and cons

+Most of the apps are free with Android

+ you can download a bunch of them, just depends on how much space you have on your phone

+ there is no restriction to the apps that can be developed with Android like there is with the ios. If there is already a similar app, iOS will not allow the second one, even if it's a better app. This means that Android has more duplicates, but you can find the one you like the best. Also, since there is more freedom with an app being released, the prices are generally lower to increase popularity of one over the other.

- Most apps cannot be downloaded and used from your memory card, they must be downloaded to the phone memory, so you cannot just increase your space to store more apps. I usually go through and switch out apps for games and such about once every 2 weeks

-There are less apps currently on the Android market than there are on the iOS market.

- Some apps really REALLY drain your battery, and the battery life is pretty short on my phone.

As far as apps I love:

Farm Frenzy - Game

One of the best live action games on the market, this one was so worth the full version (less than $3). You buy and raise farm animals, and produce different things with what they give you (IE, sheep give you wool, which you spin into thread, then weave into cloth). It has a bunch of levels, and you can set up multiple users with the full version. My siblings always steal my phone when I come over just so they can play this game.

ShopSavvy- Shopping barcode scanner

Anytime I see any shiny new electronic (cameras, laptops, dvds) I whip out this app, scan in the item, and find both locally and online (usually for nearly half the price on amazon.com). It even links up with the site it finds the item on, so I can order it right then and there. I'm amazed at how many barcodes it has stored, as I find almost everything from food to clothes to electronics quickly and easily. This is actually the app that inspired me to get my Android phone.

Google Maps - Maps/navigation

This app saves my butt on a fairly regular basis. Alan has his gps and I have my phone. I can pull the address from my contacts, and then it will give me turn by turn directions to the location.

The voice is a little robotic sounding, and it sometimes gives more information than needed (did you know there are apparently 5 different names for Geneva road?) but it does a great job in getting me where I need to go, and I don't need to lug around yet another piece of equipment around.

*In case you can't tell, I am really really proud of that picture

This one's for you Shambray!

2010-08-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Now seems like a good time to promote some lovely tutorials by some fabulous people.

First, this Family Tree picture frame by The Bird's Papaya

So cute! This would be adorable with pictures of each family member!

Secondly, this Receiving Blankets Baby Wrap by Shannon Makes Stuff

Her design is so cute and definitely would help keep your little ones snugly wrapped!

A shout-out to my peeps

2010-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

A shout-out to my peeps

1. My wonderful Husband

Alan, you are the best man in the whole wide world! You put up with my crap, and don’t even complain about it (for the most part ~_^). I am so grateful that you are a part of my life, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Some people will pull out that cheesy line “I married my best friend” and you know what? I did! I can talk with you about everything, and you understand me better than just about anyone else. I love that with a look we can read each other’s minds about certain situations (the tramp ten-year-olds in the grocery store) and that our plans for the future are so in harmony. I love that you tear up when you talk about our future kids, and that your love and loyalty for your friends and family knows no bounds. I love how safe and protected you make me feel, and how your eyes light up when you see me. I love that our strengths and weaknesses complement each other, and how selflessly dependable you are. I can’t believe that in 11 days we will have been married for two years! The time has flown by and I can’t believe how lucky I am that I get to spend the rest of eternity with you!

2. My tolerant neurotic dog

Oh poor Cleo! The things you put up with when your owners are baby hungry! You’ve been dressed in sweaters, shoved in purses, dragged with us all over the place, and you still are hopelessly devoted and sweet. And yes, you do have your own facebook page, because you’re just that cool.

I love you guys!

Android

2010-08-20T14:46:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned before how fabulous Android is? Oh let me count the ways!

I got my first android phone back in April of 2009. The G1, which I still have to this day (I plan to switch to sprint when my contract expires) is rather clunky, but totally worth it for the touch screen, plus the full keyboard which I LOVE.

I've had it in a case with a screen protector nearly every minute since I got it, and I would recommend it to everyone! It is so worth the extra bulk. I am someone who is prone to dropping a new phone seconds after I pay for it, so it was definitely worth it for me.

I won't go over all of the lovliness of the Android market, because it's basically old news, but I will mention the app that initiated this post: Kindle for Android!

I mean, honestly, is this not amazing! I personally am not one of those people who are Nazi's about having a physical book - I'm way more about convenience. I read books on my phone all the time right now, but I've been limited as to which books were available for cheap. One of my main reservations with the kindle is that it's freaking expensive, so you have to buy a ton of books to justify the cost of the reader. With this, I can get the books for cheap, they're with me wherever I go, and that also means one less piece of technology that I need to carry around with me.

I think this illustrates my point, and those are just some of the things that it can do! So for all those people that complain that Android phones are clunky, I say to you neener-neener!

I'm way excited about it! I've already ordered Mockingjay on it, so it will automatically upload to my phone when it releases, and is about half the price of buying the book in the store, or ordering it online with same day shipping.

Ani=content

Buying a car...A better approach.

2010-08-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is awesome!

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=162601&t=1941590

Wishes, Dreams, and "What if?"

2010-08-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

I get my hopes up way too easily.

I was watching Star Wars (yes, all of them) the other day. Many people have found such deep personal revelation and insight from the series, and I guess it was about time for me.

I would not make a good Jedi. I live far to much in the future, looking forward to the "When we have money" or "When we have kids" or "When we have a house". I suppose I've always been this way, only it's been "When I have a boyfriend" or "When I have a good job" or "When I have my degree" or "When I get married". I missed most of the opportunities available in my first year of marriage, because I was too obsessed with the future to enjoy what I have. I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than anything, a hopelessly devoted puppy dog, family on both sides that care about me, a wonderful job that I enjoy and do well at, and wonderful people wherever I go.

I still can't help wishing sometimes. I can't help just hoping that one of our big dreams actually comes true. It's not like they're outside the realm of possibility, far from it. We may get carried away in the details, but every one of our wishing have a basis in an actual opportunity that has been waved tantalizingly in our faces, but for one reason or another the bottom has completely fallen out of it. And I'm getting really sick and tired of getting back on that horse.

If wishes were fishes mine would probably look like this.

Hair!

2010-07-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting a change for a while, so I convinced Jessica to give me a cut and color.

Before:

Ok, so I was out camping in this picture, so it's not the best one, but still...

During:

Without a doubt, I have the best radio reception in town!

After:

Blonde!

Because I haven't colored my hair in a while, it's really bright in this picture. It's faded slightly now that it's been through a few washings. I love it!

I also found some pretty, easy to do hairstyles here and here from I am Momma, hear me ROAR! She has a ton of really cute stuff that is definitely work checking out!

Flaming Gorge - only 3 more days of work!

2010-07-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I have been waiting for this trip for such a long time!

I'm also freaking out, because, let's face it, I'm sure I'm going to miss something. Fortunately I have saner heads involved when it comes to food, so I won't spend $50 on fruit rollups and forget something crucial like chicken. I'm planning on going shopping through my mom's pantry for part of our foodstuffs, and we'll head to costco, where she will be the only one allowed to put anything in the cart. We'll see how that goes!

In other news, our cars are almost fixed! The Sentra's strut issues will be fixed tomorrow, and I'll be taking our rodeo in to get the gear shift welded back on. Yes, this is the same gearshift that we were supposed to get fixed when I broke it off in December. We've just had a screwdriver stuck in there for a temporary fix, but I'm getting sick and tired of it. Plus, it's the one we're actually taking with us, so it's important that I can stand driving it.

On the trip we will probably be listening to New Moon, at Alan's request. He's watched all the movies with me, and wanted to know all the details that are in the books, but not in the movies. We've listened to Twilight already, and Alan is DEFINITELY on team Edward ~_^ Funny that he's chosen a side, while I'm still comparing the two. Ok, I take that back, he's primarily on Emmett's side, because he think's that Emmett is the best character, but I digress...

I have been really worried about my camera on this trip. I ordered this lovely bundle for it, which should arrive today! Our poor camera has been out of commission for months, because we haven't been able to find the battery charger. I really want to take it with us on the raft, but I'm afraid of getting it wet. Thus far the best idea I've found is a somewhat awkward one, but if the military does it to protect their guns (pun not intended) why not? I also figured that I could get some colored ones for some cool filter effects ^_^

Kaiti and Kyli are planning on coming with us on the trip, so that should make it even more fun. It'll be good to have some young blood with us until Marianne and Joe arrive. We've got the tents and such all ready, though I'm gonna get all of the extra tarps in case of rain. I'm hoping it won't be too bad, but the 10 day forecast gives me cause to worry.

I'll update with pictures when I get back!

Designer sweatshirt tutorial

2010-07-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this hoodie idea from Alisa Burke! I can't wait to make one of my own!

Aliens!

2010-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

This little jem has been floating around my head for a while now.

For hundreds of years we have observed the world around us and made assumptions about other life on this planet based on those observations. We see two animals making exaggerated movements towards each other, followed by intercourse, and we assume that the prior movements were a mating dance or courtship ritual. We see two of the same species year after year, and we assume that they are monogamous. We see a group of the same species living together and assume that they have a social structure.

Have you ever wondered, if an Alien came to our planet to observe us, what they would say about our species? We try and believe in true love and romance and all of that, and yet the alien would observe humans cheating on their spouses, and all the divorces, and then just to throw their minds for a loop, you have things like polygamy and same sex couples and transvestites, and prostitutes. It would be really hard to give a broad spectrum sexual classification. Would Vegas, with it's drive through weddings, be considered our courtship grounds? Would they wonder at our courtship rituals, varying from huge elaborate weddings, to picking up someone in a bar? Realistically, would they say that those who spend more time going through the elaborate courtship ritual stay together better?

Additionally, their assumptions about us would change depending on where in the world they were observing. Comparing the human that live in the US to those that live in Asia or some other country would be like comparing a house-cat to a tiger in the societal and environmental differences.

What do you think aliens would say about us?

Photo Dump Day

2010-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

I should have done this a long time ago. After all, I have this nifty card adapter thing that jessica borrows on a near daily basis (I love you Jessica!) and it's about time I use it.

Ooh Pretty!

So here are all of the pictures that have accumulated on my phone as of late.

A pretty rainbow outside of work.

Playing cards with my siblings. Kaiti and Kyli decided to give me buns.

From the back...

My wedding ring all shiny after the amazing work done by Kay Jewlers.

LDS missionaries at Gunnies looking at the rifles

Work boredom in the form of plastic bubble potato heads.

You can see my candy-cane light and ice decorations behind him.

Side view of his lovely lips.

This one's story is a little bit longer. Alan and I decided that we wanted to go to strawberry reservoir fishing, so we gathered up our stuff and convinced my brother Daniel (Pictured above) and Alan's dad to come with us. We fished for a couple of hours with no luck. Daniel and I became bored, and noticed the crawdads in the lake, and decided to catch them. So with nothing more than a net and very quick fingers, we caught over 30 of them! Our total when we came home? No fish, 30 crawdads. This is the trophy picture we took for Daniel's fishing patch for scouts, to prove he did catch something, and I believe he caught both of them with his BARE HANDS! Way to go Daniel!

So you think you can dance, Gold's gym style.

2010-06-03T14:36:00.001-07:00

Alan and I were working out the other day when what to my wondering eyes should appear...

Ok, I know you probably cannot see that very well, (I was trying to be inconspicuous, and was taking the picture over Alan's shoulder) but it's Ryan, from last season's So You Think You Can Dance. And here is the hunky close up picture of him.

I had no idea that Gold's had such regular celebrity appearances. Needless to say, I will be going back more often ~_^

Birdie!

2010-06-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was in the breakroom today getting lunch, when I came across this little guy sitting by the window. He looks like he's a baby Peregrine Falcon, probably born this year sometime. It looks like their next is right above this, so he probably fell about 20ft.

Fortunately my dad knows some falconers, so hopefully they'll be able to come and either get him back to his nest or take care of him.

2010-05-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I love this idea!

Upload success!

2010-05-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to wordpress, livejournal, and this blog post I have now updated all of my posts from suffrinsucatash and tentegang! I'm so proud of myself! The next step is to read through all of them!

Ancient history

2010-05-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been keeping myself busy over the past few days. I have never been one to keep a journal. my posts jump back and forth so much, so that I resolve that I'm going to keep one, and my next entry isn't for another year. However, I have been pretty good with electronic media.

My first blog was on livejournal with the good old Tent E gang. It was started after Aubrey and I went to go watch Holes in the movie theater, and decided that we wanted cool nicknames too! Me (Fang), Aubrey (Pockets), Jenni (Hairball), Cameron (Flip), Austin, (Spaz), Mike (GusGus), Adam (Glitch), Marianne (UK or Red), Lou (Chotti) and Alyssa (Mole). Thus, a blog was founded where we could talk about our lives. The logistics of that many people all sharing a blog are kind of staggering to think of now. And yet, it worked.

After that, we mostly all split up to our separate blogs, and I switched to a livejournal entitled suffrinsucatash. This one was mine and mine alone! I started out strong with it, but faded as I got caught up with life in general. With the two blogs still active I didn't post much, but I did keep up a running email back and forth with Sven that spanned about two years. I saved every last email in a word document, and if you ignore the sappy romantic stuff, It's probably the best record I have of that time in my life.

While working at Bluehost I kind of started another blog, this time a wordpress. I liked it, but it never got far. I got married, and didn't really have then energy to write much.

We move out to MN for Alan's job with APX, and I started this blogger blog to join the hip crowd of APX wives. I've kept it ever since.

So suddenly yesterday while I was updating this blog I thought back to all of those posts, and realized I really didn't want to lose them. Ever since then I have been trying to get my old posts and such into this blog. I have been able to transfer most of them to wordpress, so that I have backup number one, but I'm also trying to transfer them here, which is proving to be difficult as Blogger doesn't really play very nice with the other blog programs. Wish me luck!

New Blog Look

2010-05-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

My blog has been updated! The old blog look:

And the new one:

I'm really liking it! I think it fits my current lifestyle and mood better than the other one. Let's face it, I'm not the most together person out there and that other layout was way too zen for my life. Not to mention it had a baby, and that's just misleading. The wide freaked-out eyes with huge bags underneath, disheveled hair, pale skin from sitting too long in front of the computer...Yeah, it all fits.

Let me know what you think!

Ups and Downs and Girl's night.

2010-05-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Oh wow... I have been way to absorbed into work lately. I just about started this blog with
A: Life is going pretty well, but money issues are dragging me down.
R: On the plus side, I had an absolutely fabulous weekend and girl's night
A: However, I totally spent too much while on said girl's night.
For those non-work people reading this, we log our calls using the format of A: action (what we say) and R: response (what the customer's results are.)

Girl's night was a total blast though! My mom, me, and my 4 sisters all went over to my Aunt Diane's for haircuts, which turned out fabulous. I also got to see some of my cousins, which I haven't seen in a very long time.

After haircuts we went shopping. Shelli and I introduced everyone to the glory that is Victoria's Secret. My mom hasn't had a really well fitting bra for at least 5 years, and was kind of reluctant to have them measure and size her, but we did finally get her into the dressing room. Next thing I know, I hear her exclaim in delight "It fits! This is so comfortable! Can I wear it out?" The sales ladies were happy to oblige, and with much gusto my mom strutted out of the dressing room, shooting her old bra into the garbage can in a marvelous three pointer, heralded by the applause and laughter of the sales ladies and the rest of the people in line.

After that we went to Charlotte Reuse, right in the middle of their buy one get one free basics sale. This is where I wasted most of my money. After that was dinner at Chinese buffet, then 5 minutes in Kohls, where the rest of my money was spent. We finished off with Robin hood, which was really good until the last battle, which made me really angry at the filmmakers and their politically correct agenda.

Crafts, Houses, and Careers

2010-05-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sadly, still no luck with the craft room. We have to get new lights for it at the very least, and every time I plan to go out there it always seems to be raining. I know I'm being a huge slacker with it, and I'm intentionally avoiding it, so I just need to get off my butt and do it!

I am so excited to buy a house! It won't be for several months yet, but it looks like it is going to work out. We just talked to our amazing mortgage guy, who really thinks we can manage it. We're looking for a house that has a finished upstairs but an unfinished basement, so that we have enough living area to live in while we work, and it would give us the freedom to do repairs when we can afford them.

I'm feeling kind of wishy-washy about work right now. I love the people I work with, I mean you cannot find a better group, and the benefits are wonderful, but I really don't want to do tech support for the rest of my life. I started down this career path due to a couple of things:
1. It pays pretty well, especially for someone without a degree
2. My dad has worked with computers for as long as I can remember, and I grew up learning from him, so I had an edge when it comes to understanding the programs
3. Tech support is generally way more lenient in things like dress code, desk decorations, and a relaxed attitude than a lot of other jobs.
4. I have great people and communication skills that I have been working on through speech and debate since I was in 8th grade, and it shows in my calls.

However, there are several reasons why I don't want to work in tech support
1. My degree in progress is in communications, not computers.
2. Being behind a desk all the time is doing my figure no favors.
3. I don't know if it's just ego or what, but I would like to be in a job where I make a difference, and can see the effects of my efforts
4. I want a career where I could fully support my family if needed.

I'm really really considering becoming a mediator. They are the people who try and negotiate court battles and arguments before they go to court - IE, they help prevent people from feeling that suing someone is their only option. My aunt and uncle have just started, and they love it! I've considered being a lawyer, teacher, counselor, and motivational speaker in the past, and this job would combine elements of all of them, while utilizing my talents, and fulfilling my career needs. Who knows, this may come to nothing, but I am really getting to the point where I feel it would be something I could really get into.

I have the bestest husband in the whole wide world!!!

2010-04-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was definitely a crazy day. I was stuck on a call about half an hour past my usual shift at work, so I was way rushed getting home in time to workout with Marianne, only to walk in the door and see that Alan had cleaned up the apartment after he got off work to surprise me! Seriously, it was spotless! Now all I have left is some minor organizing in our apartment and we'll be ready to move on to step 2 of my storage unit craft room plan!

Crafting complications

2010-04-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have seen so many wonderful blogs as of late that illustrate these wonderfully beautiful designs for clothes, jewelry, knitting, crochet, etc. You name it, they craft it. And oh how I want to be one of those cool crafty people!

I am one of those people who starts projects, but never finishes them, or at least not in a timely manner. I used to do art a lot in highschool, but I think I've finished maybe 5 drawings in my whole life. My sketchbooks are full of disembodied heads and headless bodies, all of which I meant to finish but either forgot about them, or thought they were unworthy of finishing because the arm or leg or eye wasn't quite right. My mom will also tell you what a pain it was to get me to finish a sewing project, and half the reason why most of them got finished was because I had to wear them to a school dance or play that very night, and they were always finished one minute past the very last minute.

And yet, despite knowing all of this about myself and my procrastination, despite how untidy and unorganized I am, I am itching to make something. I want to sit down and spend some time doing something productive. Reading definitely keeps me occupied and it doesn't make a mess, but I want something to show for my free time.

So this is my resolve. I have a few steps that will make this possible.
1. Clean my apartment. Why? Because it is messy, and I need it done to feel comfortable starting any other projects.
2. Clean and reorganize my storage unit so that there is enough room for it to be my new craft room. It is about 25ft from my apartment, so I could go there whenever I wish, and it's far enough from my kitchen so I wouldn't snack while I craft. Additionally I've been meaning to clean and organize it anyways, and it would make it so that our apartment feels bigger with any extra stuff organized and usable. Moreover, if I follow through with my past pattern of not finishing what I started, then the mess will not be in our living space. Hurrah for multiple birds with one stone!
3. Set up my craft room. I have a dresser and a table in there that don't fit in our apartment that I can use. Must needs buy a fan for the summer if it's going to be bearable in there. Fortunately there is light and I think there is electricity...ok, that may be something I need to check on first...
4. Start crafting! There's enough space in there beyond what is needed for stuff that doesn't fit in our apartment that I would have all the room I need. I might even share it with Alan, but the jury is still out on that one.

So there's my plan! The electricity could be a problem, but I will find a way somehow! I'll update with the progress.

I < 3 Dr. Elmore!

2010-04-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I tell you what, I am so grateful for Dr. Elmore! I went to him yesterday for the first time in a while. Last time I was there I had major issues with too much estrogen, which fortunately has almost resolved. When I got there he started with the Nutrition Response Testing, which looks totally bizarre, but is really entertaining. My body pretty much screamed at him that I have lead poisoning, and wouldn't let him see anything else until he had taken care of it.
Other than that, my thyroid is really having issues. I have a temporary allergy to eggs and rice, and have some plastic toxicity, but those should be fixed within a month. He also gave me a thyroid booster, so that should really help me feel less sick.

When I grow up...

2010-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting conversation with Marianne the other day. The topic? What we want to be when we grow up. I know, it sounds kind of weird to ask that question at 22 years of age, but I've never been old enough and experienced enough to really honestly answer that.

I considered being a lawyer in high school. Goodness knows I would probably be good at it, but the schooling is another 4 years, and I don't think it's really worth it for me at this time in my life.

I considered being a teacher, which I would love, but what would I teach? The only subjects that I had a passion for were English, Debate, and Drama, and with those programs being cut at such a huge rate around Utah, I don't know if I would even be in the running, let alone if it would pay enough with just those classes.

I've considered doing something with computers, which would pay well, and I could learn, but it's not my ideal field in any means.

I've considered psychology, but I don't think I could deal with the secrets and the burden of helping fix people's problems, let alone be able to give them the tough love everyone needs at times.

I considered being a mediator, and that one...that one I think I can do. Some good friends of my parents just got into it, and I think it would be a great job for me. It's like being a lawyer, psychologist, and teacher all rolled into one, but lacking the responsibility and take home frustration of each. So that, ladies and gentleman, is my new goal. Wish me luck!

News and rants, as always.

2009-09-26T01:55:00.000-07:00

Things are finally starting to settle back down again. Alan and I are getting to a point where we're ok again. Alan is loving his new job. He's now working as a night stocker for the wal-mart in american fork. He loves that he can work at his own pace and listen to his ipod while he works.
As for me I've been working at a couple of things. I'm lone peak high's assistance debate coach and I LOVE it! It's something that i can do really well and the kids are really benefiting from what i have to say. It's incredible how uplifting it is to feel like I'm making a difference, no matter how slight.
I also have an interview here soon for two other jobs; one a bluehost in the billing department and one as a caretaker for a woman who is a parapalegic. I would love either job, but bluehost will pay better. Cross your fingers for me!
I never thought i'd say this, but I'm starting to realize that I've been suffering from some mild depression for a while now. Not anything serious enough to be of real concern, but certainly a struggle for me and my family. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for this is our struggle to get pregnant. I've wanted to be a mom for as long as i can remember, and it was something that I had never worried about. After all, my mom gave birth to 8 kids! She was pregnant with me before their honeymoon was over. To make matters worse there are several couples around me who are getting pregnant as unhappy accidents. I have no problem with those couples who happily embrace an unexpected pregnancy, it's the ones who cry worrying about how their lives will change. It seems so unfair that they should look at what would be my greatest blessing as a burden!
Poor Alan. He's so patient with me when it comes to this. Every month without fail I get his hopes up and every month he's so supportive when tests come back negative. I tell you what, i don't know where I'd be without him.
I don't know, maybe it's just that it's late and i'm missing Alan being here at night. Either way, tomorrow is another day.

Weekly woes

2009-07-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

And now, for a bit of a rant;

I am seriously starting to freak out. Alan and I came out to APX with the hope that we would actually be able to earn enough money to get us completely out of debt. So far though, we are just accumulating more of it. Maybe it's just the stress of having Alan gone for the second week in a row (which will most likely turn into a third as they go to their new area next week), or maybe it's the stress of not finding a job that works, but I am nearly at my breaking point.
I hate being such a baby about Alan being gone. I'm constantly worrying that everything will go right. I had hoped that I would be able to help out with some of his installs when he's in town, but that's not an option anymore. So for now, I'm sitting at home alone waiting for a job offer to come through and hope that it will be something that will have a pay off soon.
Gnar... I hate this.

If anyone knows of anyone who is hiring (online or in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area) please let me know!

Why I love Maurices!

2009-06-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I was shopping at the mall the other day and found Maurices, which could become one of my favorite stores because of their jeans!
They have Ani brand jeans!I was so excited! Not only do they have my name, but they are the best brand they had, and amazingly comfortable! I bought two pairs I was so happy! They were having a buy one get on half off sale, so it worked out to be about $16 a pair.

Yay for clothes!

Tech BBQ

2009-06-24T14:18:00.001-07:00

And, to compliment Megan's pics, here's some more!

Puppies!

Float like a Ladybug . . .

Announcement!

Ideas

Pearls of Wisdom

Freezer Paper Stencils and Baby Onsies

Cricut Product Reviews

How to copy your DVDs to your computer

Craft Table Envy

Music list

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad!

Have you ever prayed for the strength to live through a day?

Glass Etching

Prayers for Japan

If you're not scared, you're not paying attention.

Thank you hubby!

Life as we know it

Not your momma's mommy blog

22 Read, 18 Started.

Ani

Oriental cravings

Creative laced tank/vest tutorial

Sewing machine

Babehs!

*Grump*

I’ve decided that I’m going to be happy.

Everything Android

This one's for you Shambray!

A shout-out to my peeps

Android

Buying a car...A better approach.

Wishes, Dreams, and "What if?"

Hair!

Flaming Gorge - only 3 more days of work!

Designer sweatshirt tutorial

Aliens!

Photo Dump Day

So you think you can dance, Gold's gym style.

Birdie!

Upload success!

Ancient history

New Blog Look

Ups and Downs and Girl's night.

Crafts, Houses, and Careers

I have the bestest husband in the whole wide world!!!

Crafting complications

I < 3 Dr. Elmore!

When I grow up...

News and rants, as always.

Weekly woes

Why I love Maurices!

Tech BBQ

Grump