Lots of stuff...

Lots to share today.

First, look at this....



Yeah...I totally won this GORGEOUS print by Photo By Emilie. How lucky am I!! I'm trying to talk her into coming up to Southern Idaho to take pictures of the Idaho Falls Temple. And while she's here, why not run over to Twin? So come on girls. Go to here site, check out her fabulous work, and bombard her e-mail with requests of Idaho Temple prints!!! And good luck resisting buying what she already has. My Husband REALLY wants "Utah's Dixie". Thanks, Emilie!! And the website I won it from?



I only found their site a few weeks ago and already I won something. So fun! Go check them out!

So, how is the goal achieving going? Well, I think I've hit a least 6 glasses of water a day. At least my bladder thinks I have. And the bedroom? Haven't even started on it yet. Guess I'd better get busy!!

This week has been full of fun. Monday we ran down to Cory's parent's house after school. Cory's Grandpa has been visiting for a couple of weeks, and we wanted to take the kids down to see Grandpa Great. (that's what he calls himself.) Cute little man, he is. We had a big family home evening that my sil did on obedience. The kids loved it, and had a fabulous time visiting with their cousins, and seeing Grandpa Great. Tuesday was New Beginnings. We did the Jenny Phillips program she has on her website. If you haven't heard the music, you should go and listen to it on her sight. LOVE her music! Last night was Blue and Gold Banquet. Always happy for an excuse to get out of cooking dinner. It was fun, and Alex got his Weblos badge. Of coarse, the camera was sitting here on the computer desk. So no pictures. But, Cory's parents brought Grandpa Great up here to see everyone before he heads back to Utah. So we did get a 4 generation picture.




My photography skills leave a lot to be desired.

Tonight is Family Fun Night at the school. I should be baking something for the PTO bake sale. First I have to go pick up my kids. Before I do, here is a fun little meme I found on my friend Ashlee's blog, So Random. What did I learn from this game? Apperantly, Bonnie is a popular name for pets, and orangatans, and ducks. So, without further adieu (did I spell that right?), I present to you, The Google Game.

Here's how you do it: Go to Google. Type in your name + the words in the rest of each category. For example, if your name was Sally, you would type in "Sally looks like" and then see what Google could find for you. Of course, sharing is caring, so I want to see your answers as well! Have fun!

Bonnie looks like:
-a chubbier Ricky Lake. ( :( )
-a deer in headlights. (yeah, sometimes I do)
-exactly like my neighbor's dog as a puppy. (I think that was uncalled for!)

Bonnie likes:
-to sleep on the arm of the sofa. (?)
-to run. (not so much)
-the snow. (again, not so much.)

Bonnie says:
-I love you. (I do say that a lot.)
-UDMA is faster! (well, duh!)
-Bring it! ( I have said that before, as well.)

Bonnie wants:
-to play with bubby. (who's bubby?)
-be a mum. (check.)
-to fly away. (there are days....)

Bonnie hates:
-everything about Sherri. (I'm sorry, Sherri. I don't even know you.)
-rats. (I do.)
-baths. (I don't)

Bonnie can:
-touch her throat. (good for me!)
-'t find her way home. (I do get lost sometimes.)
-smell lemons. (that's what that smell is!)

Bonnie goes:
-up in flames. (ouch.)
-blogistic. (my new favorite word)
-to daytime TV. (I'm gonna be a star!)

Bonnie is:
-counting down the days until the end of the UW business plan competition. (aren't we all?)
-amazing (aawwww.)
-an adult domestic short hair witha colorful calico coat. (THAT was supposed to be a secret!)

Bonnie loves:
-Clyde. (no, it's Cory)
-snow. (again, I don't)
-Rickie. (no. say it with me...Co-ry.)

Bonnie, the:
-matchmaker.(it's a new job)
-whistling orangatan. (guess I should shave.)
-poodle. (sigh.)

Want somthin"?

I've seen this fun little thing on a few different blogs, and finally decided to join in. Because, who doesn't want to get something fun in the mail? The first 5 people to respond will get a little something made by moi. So, here goes....


1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year (might take a while).
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? YOU must repost this on YOUR blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! I know that you all want to join so hurry fast, remember it is only the first 5 people to respond and then put it on your blog. If you don't put it on your blog then you don't count!! :)

So, post this on your blog, then comment and let me know you did it! Woohoo!

Giddy....

I am Giddy. Cory and I went to the Temple last night. Afterwards, I went to Roberts to get some beads to make a little sumthin'. More on that later. I went to check out the scrapbook clearance area, and found this:




...for 90% OFF!!!!!! That's right. I got an alphabet die set for my Quickutz that usually costs $150 for only FIFTEEN DOLLARS!!!!! I almost got as good a deal as Amber did on her Hoosier! This kind of bargain finding never, ever happens to me. I was seriously giggling through the whole store. My husband thought I was nuts. If you have a Roberts, you should go see if they have 90% off, too. They had a bunch of stuff. So fun!


And now, back to "For Just One Week" goal setting. I don't even remember my goals from 2 weeks ago, but I don't want to go back and look, because I know I failed. And I skipped last week, just because. But now I'm back and ready to start over. I've decided to change things and do them my own way. I'm going to set weekly goals, and some of them may end up being extended to hopefully turn them into habits. We'll see. And my goals may seem pathetic or silly to some, but at least I'm trying to better myself, right?
So, 2 goals this week. Number 1... I am a sad, sad housekeeper. And it seems my bedroom is always neglected. It's always last on the list of things to do, and since I can never get everything done, my bedroom suffers. So, this week, I am going to get my room clean. "A whole week to clean your room?" you might ask. Yeah, it's that bad. If I give myself a whole week to get it clean, maybe I won't get overwhelmed. Number 2... I need to start taking better care of myself. Again, so much I need to change, that I get overwhelmed. I'm going to start with something easy. Drinking water. And to make things interesting, no pop at all next week. I am going to drink at least the reccomended amount of 6 glasses of water daily. Hopefully I can make it 8. I am prepared to pee. Wish me luck. Oh, and for more info on "For Just One Week", go visit the Ice Cream Lady, here.

I'm goin' to jail....

So, as I was driving the kids home from school today, I passed a bus...lights flashing...stop sign out. (Just to clarify, I was driving towards the bus.) Wasn't even paying attention. Didn't even realize it until I heard the very loud bus horn, and looked at the driver's very angry face. Then, I felt very,very bad. Heart pounding. Face hot. I guess that's what happens when you pay attention to your children instead of the road. So, I thought I'd better post one last time before they haul me off to jail, just in case they got my license plate.

Last week was a big blur, all leading up to Gabby's baptism. Gabby was baptised on Valentines Day. A fun day for her. She will never forget the date she was baptised! Our Stake does things weird, and all the Stake baptisms are done on the second Saturday of the month. Anyway...here are some pics of Gabby. Not so fond of the one of me, and not so anxious to post it for the world to see. But, I thought maybe, it would be a motivating force to start exercising. It will probably end up motivating me to go eat a donut and mope.














It was a great day. Gabby had lots of support. Aunts and Uncles, cousins, Grandparents, and friends. We had about 40-ish people at our house afterwards for a luncheon. After the lunch, everyone left, except my parents, and my sister and her family. We had a very romantic dinner of tacos, and a fun dessert of ice cream sundaes. It was so fun to have them stay and visit and play. Thanks to everyone who came to help make Gabby's day special! We are grateful for great friends and family!

I WANT IT!!!!!

I found a link to a fantabulous giveaway on one of the blogs I read. It's a purse. I'm a purse-a-holic. Love purses. Seriously need a 12 step program for this. Not just purses, but diaper bags, church bags...anything that you can fill full of stuff and sling over your shoulder. So, I was way happy to find out that a blog called Simply B Simply Me was giving away a one-of-a-kind-original-homemade beauty of a purse. And I am shamelessly scrappin' (both words used by B herself...should be good for another couple of entries, right?) for as many entries as possible, so I'm sharing with you. Click on the F*U*N*K GIVEAWAY button on the right. Enter. Tell her I sent you. But don't go getting any big ideas and start shamelessly scrappin' for entries on your own blog. This purse is MINE!!! Thank you.

My legs get tired...

Hi.

So, Jake and I were watching The Price is Right when a Hoveround commercial came on. You know, the little old people scooters. Jake pipes up and says, "Mom, I want a my size one of those so I don't have to walk so much." (like from the kitchen to the bathroom?) "My legs get tired."

Whatever.

For Just One Week...

To learn more about For Just One Week, click here.


I think I will pronounce my first attempt at "For Just One Week" a success. I did get my bed made every day (except one day, when my husband made it for me because he wanted me to succeed...aaawwwww, so sweet!). And I did manage to persuade the laundry that had taken up residence on the couch to find real estate in the kid's rooms. That one took all week, but at this moment, there isn't any laundry left on my couch. Woohoo!!
So Liz the Ice Cream Lady has added another aspect of goal setting to the "For Just One Week" method. She has discovered the joy of setting combo goals. (go here for more info) Basically, it's setting a goal to help you do more of one thing, and less of another. Like- I won't do...until I've done... She has explained it really well on her blog, so click on the link for a much better explanation.
Now, on to the new goals. For just one week, I will do the dishes before I go to bed, every night. And for a combo goal...For just one week I will not turn on the computer until the kitchen and living room are tidied up. That one will be hard. I'm an Internet addict. But, I will do my best! If you'd like to join in, check out Liz's blog (link above) and make sure to add your name to Mr Linky, so we can read about your goals. Good Luck!

For Just One Week...

So, I found this blog called My Ice Cream Diary.(thanks Amber M.) Who could resist a blog with a picture of chocolate chip mint ice cream on the side bar? That is my favorite. So I was browsing her fabulous blog and read about "Just For One Week" (click the link for more info). I was seriously so excited to participate, I could hardly wait till today to post! I have a list longer than me of things I need to work on. But, instead of trying to better myself, I do nothing. I think out of fear of failure. Possibly out of laziness. Probably a combo of the two. But now, I have found a way to avoid failure. I always set unrealistic (for me) long-term goals. Then I get discouraged and give up and feel like a loser. So, I figure if I can set a goal, and actually stick with it for a whole week, maybe it'll boost my self esteem. So, thanks to the ice cream lady for the idea! And who knows? Maybe if I can do it for a whole week, I'll do if for another whole week, and eventually it will become a habit!

So, I'm starting out easy. Probably too easy, but I don't want to fail the very first week! I will make my bed every morning, and (to steal the ice cream lady's idea) keep the laundry from making permanent residence on my couch. If you want to join in on the good fun, check out the ice cream lady's blog, (her actual name is Liz) and add your name to mr. linky. Good luck to us all!!

Life...

So what's going on at our house?

*My 10 year old asked me why I don't have any chores. I. was. speechless. I truely did not know how to respond to that. But then it came to me. I started naming off everything I do on a daily basis. I think he decided maybe taking out the garbage and picking up the front room before playing on the computer isn't so bad.

*My 4 year old is talking like my 12 year old. He now says "sweetness" for anything he thinks is remotely cool. Which is pretty much everything. I caught myself saying it tonight. Dang kids.

*I have so many loads of laundry to wash, dry, fold, or put away, I don't even know where to begin. It's in the double digits. I hate laundry.

*I have a lesson to do, a YW fundraiser to finish, my room and bathroom to clean (because apparently I don't have any other chores), a really lot of laundry to do, and no motivation to do it.

*Our home in Twin Falls still hasn't sold. And the ecomomy is wreaking havoc on the construction business right now. Kinda scary.

on the brighter side...

*Jaxson is waving now. On cue, even. If he hears the word "goodby", he starts shaking both arms up and down. It's so cute. It makes me smile.

*Thanks to my sister, I have a new book to read. It's called "the mother in me". It's a compilation of stories about being a mom. It's sure to inspire, lift my spirits, and pull me out of these January blues that hit me every year. Thanks Wendy!

*My house is still mostly clean from Gabby's family birthday party. Mostly clean.

*Lastly, I have a warm home, food to eat, healthy kids (knock on wood), and a family who loves me. I am a lucky gal.

YW birthday gifts

My calling in our ward in Beehive advisor in Young Womens. (young womens is the girls in our ward, ages 12-18). Love it. YW's is so much fun. Even all the hormone driven soap opera crap. The other Beehive leader and I were put in charge of the YW birthday gifts this year. This is what we came up with.



She cut the wood and painted it, and brought it over to me Sunday night. I printed up the words on the computer, inked up the edges of the papers, modpodged it all on, added the ribbon and flower, and voila...inexpensive gift. I was so happy with the way it turned out. Now we just have to make about 30 more.

I also saw these ideas...

Melinda is making these necklaces for her YW. She has a tutorial here.



Melinda also has an etsy shop, and is selling some cute wooden decorations that are related to this years theme of "Be thou an example of the belivers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12. This one is my favorite.



And you can get the unfinished kit for $2.50. $2.50!!!! What a steal. But, she is a generous lady, and has posted the pattern for free on her blog, if you have the tools to make it on your own.


And I saw these at kellieannie's etsy shop. She designs the graphics herself. So talented, and so cute!!! $8 might be too much for your whole YW, but what a cute gift for new beehives coming in, or Seniors who are leaving!




So, there ya go. Hope this inspires you in some way today!