I Cleared the Memory Card

Normally I clear my memory card daily. Lately.. I am totally slacking. These go all the way back to May 10th. Seriously what is wrong with me. I guess I have just been preoccupied with all my stuff around home. And other hobbies.

First they had a Kindy-500 Race.. The INDY 500 is huge here. Personally I am so not interested in it, but whatever. I was totally giggling at the fact that this was such a huge thing at the school, and they even studied it. See the boy next to Little Man, nice little card. Now do you see the BIG UPS truck made out of one of our wardrobe boxes.. yep that is Little Man's. He totally did it all by himself.
He ran his heart out and did a great job!! Even if his car was 3 times his size.
And because this is funny.. his look for Mom when I take pictures. This was just this past Friday, he loved every minute of it.. and I just sat there giggling.. we are from Washington, we so don't get this.

And then we had the Beach Bash at the school. It was tons of fun for both of the kids. They played, won prizes and just enjoyed every minute of it! They even got to climb a rock wall. Here they are all harnessed up.
Little Miss did her best, and enjoyed every minute. Little Man had a harder wall, but he did great!

All the way back to May 10th we did the Zoo. The kids went on the 8th.. remember the bucketing. I promised we would go back when it was warm.. it was nice two days later so here are some of my favorite Zoo pics. I totally giggle at the farm animals there, and the sign that says they will Bite, Kick or Butt.
The big Grizzly Bear. Looks so sweet chewing on his nice bone.. some poor sucker jumped in there.
I love the flamingos. I thought they were just awesome!
And the butterflies.. Not as many as at the Science Center, but it was still cool.

This is Little Man's common pose when I get out the camera. I am not sure why. Seriously pull one leg up jump up and down and think it is just awesome. Whatever dude.. you are cute and I love the memories.. they always make me smile.

The seals sun bathing.. they were just awesome to watch!
Randy and the kids before the Dolphin Show And we had to get one of me, to prove I am actually there!


The Giraffe's were so cool. You can feed them but the line was so long, I figured we would go another day. And the Zebra. I totally dig Zebra's.
So with tons of pictures here are a few things we have been doing this month. We had cousins to visit and I have those pictures, from when we went to the Speedway.. (overrated IMO) and I need to put those up.. maybe if I get around to it. I should.. but we'll see. Have fun with the picture overload.

70.69

That is how much it cost me to fill my van with gas today. Does that even seem right? I remember back when Randy and I were married in 1999 it was 98 cents a gallon. Now it is $.3.93 today and going up. When gas hit $2.00 I thought it was ridiculous. And hearing that it will go over $5 this summer is just crazy. Thankfully not everything has increased by 400% in the past 9 years. But I do know that I am definitely watching how much I drive and trying to conserve as much as possible. One good thing about not living by family or really having friends I pretty much stay home all the time and just hang out in my house. I drive less. Since moving here I have now filled up twice. Not too shabby.
What about you? How much was your last fill up? And what are you doing about it?

Tagged!

I was tagged by April!! Finally.. I am doing this. I think I might have done it a while ago.. but whatever.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Getting ready to graduate High School!!
2. Getting diagnosed with Lupus.
3. Getting ready to see Shania Twain in concert.
4. Getting ready to move.. something that has become quite a pattern for me.
5. Enjoying being a kid.

5 things on my to do list:

1. Clear my memory card.. I should upload and show off some pictures.
2. Get working on a Logo.
3. Practice Piano.
4. Finish the Host.
5. Get all my workouts in this week.

5 favorite snacks/food:

1. Ice Cream.
2. Skittles.
3. Starburst.
4. Chips and Salsa.
5. Smoothies.

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:

1. Pay off our house.
2. Invest.
3. Go on a cool vacation.
4. Donate to a charity I believe in.
5. Serve several missions for our Church with my husband.

5 bad habits:

1. Talking short in my tone, when I don't mean to.
2. Procrastination.
3. Shopping for therapy.. Bad habit.. but I love it!
4. Chewing Gum.
5. Not finishing my thoughts.

5 Places I have lived:

1. Washington State
2. Washington State
3. Washington State
4. Washington State
5. Indiana

5 People I tag:

1. Jackie!
2. Misty
3. Tiff
4. Alli
5. Marilyn

Peer Pressure

I finally succumbed to peer pressure. For a year I have been told I should read the Twilight series. I have resisted, I didn't want to read about Vampires, not my cup of tea. And finally some one handed me the first book to read. I took it resistant sure that it was going to be BORING. I am sure you can see where this is going...
I finally after having it for a few days started to read it. And then I kept reading it, and it was just awesome. And then I ran to Wal-Mart.. okay I drove and bought Book 2 and ordered number 3 from Amazon, and also ordered the Host. They arrive today! I finished book 2 last night and I am anxious to read the next book. They are great and taking all of my free time.
If you are fighting reading them, just give up. Read it, join in the obsession. I am glad I waited until now.. Book 4 is out in August. I can't wait!

28

I have officially been 28 for a day. It's not too bad. I feel the same as I did two days ago when I was still 27. The perks so far, after 9 years of celebrating birthdays I finally got what I have always asked for. I got to go shopping. And Randy chose all sorts of wonderful clothing items for me and it was just awesome. Thanks dear! Seriously what could be any better! And then this morning I see a sweet post from my best friend for the past what... 5 years Tiffany, wishing me a Happy Birthday. It was totally sweet and just made my day. Thanks girl. I had calls from those I love, and cards in the mail, and flowers from a sweet sister-in-law, and just a great day. So far 28 rocks.

Dude..

Our house is now under contract back home... I guess where I live is home now.. but that feels like 'home' anyway. I am giddy it is sold!!

And a quick shout out to my twin Dr. Kelli! Hope your birthday was awesome!! And how are you liking 28! Sadly I don't think she blogs.. if she does she hasn't let me in on her secret. We have been friends for 20 years now. Dude.. we are so old. Happy Birthday Girl!

Proving my Immaturity

I never profess to be like totally mature. Because like, I am so not.

Here in Indiana I have seen the names of two medical facilities that makes me go.. really you couldn't come up with a better name? And then I giggle. First the Colon and Rectal Care Center. Guess what they do? The other one is even better Hemorrhoid Center Plus. I pretty much bust up every time I see the sign, and it still shocks me. You can't help but see it driving along the freeway. Seriously is that the best name they could come up with? Hemorrhoid Center Plus.. plus what? What else do they do? They have no problem telling there main problem they deal with. Think the plus means they do pediatrics? Geriatrics? At least you won't stumble in there or the Colon and Rectal Care Center and get any surprises. The names lays it all out there for you. No questions at all.

And hey it give me a great laugh every time I see it. My kids are going to be like so mature too.

Kool-Aid

My wonderful Sister-in-Law was visiting just recently and I had just purchased Kool-Aid, because it was only 10 cents each, and dude I can hoard a lot of that, for just a little dough. I was on cloud 9 buying all of this yummy Kool-Aid. Okay.. back to the point.

The kiddos were thrilled that I had bought Kool-Aid and they helped me pick out the hundreds of packets we bought. And then they chose the flavor we were going to make that day to enjoy. I can't even remember what kind it was.. it was red so who knows?? The kids were in heaven, my husband was happy, my nephews were digging it, it was good. Then Julie had to go and get some, take a drink and was like YUCK! This is just nasty, way too sugary sweet and not worth the calories. Whatever. Too sweet? Who has heard of too sweet? Seriously who thinks things are too sweet? Not me. I pretty much like sugar in all shapes and forms. If it is sweet sign me up baby. And really Kool-Aid can't be that bad for you can it? We all need some Red dye in us, it helps keep our blood red.. right?

But now I do think twice before I have a big glass.. is it worth the calories?? Dang you Julie! I have to think before enjoying my sugary goodness. And how do you think that being married into my sugar-addicted family. At least I will have something totally good and sweet when everyone runs out of food. And I have the sugar to make it. Thank you new hobby.

My Hobby

I have a hobby that I am just realizing I have. And I think it might be an obsession. My hobby which is manifesting itself even more now. I hoard food. Who knew? Who knew it was a hobby? Evidently it is something I really really enjoy.

Since arriving in Indiana I now have two refrigerators. Seriously what did I do without two? I now can store over 20 pounds of chicken breast, 10 pounds or so of turkey bacon, 10 pounds of ground turkey, tons of frozen corn, beans, broccoli, strawberries, blueberries and so much more.

I am simply giddy to go to Costco and leave with my cart heaping and spilling over the edges with loads of food. Randy pointed out that we now have more food in our home than we ever have had. Very likely going past the three month standard rotation and into unchartered territory with the food. And that I am no longer storing my food, but I now hoard food.

So Hi, my name is Lee, and I hoard food. I have this need to have more food than I need for a long time so that we are prepared. Ironically, the other day I was asked what my hobbies were.. I said photography, and hoarding food. Nice huh? And then I giggled because I am sure they think I am a total nut job. But dude, at least I am prepared. When the rice and flour are all gone from the stores, I will be eating it for months to come.

So there you have it I am a food hoarder.. it is a hobby, obsession and it is slowly taking over my house one closet at a time. (Okay, not really but it sounds cool.)

And They Shall Call Me Wonderful..

and sing praises to my name. They will talk about their blessed Mother (Me) and rejoice in all of my wonderful doings...




Oh wait.. we are talking about me, and my real life, not the fake facade I am pretending is my life. Mother's Day was awesome. For a moment I was the perfect mother. And then I woke up. But my children appropriately told me I was the Best Mother, and the Sweetest Mother. They showered me with gifts. Little Man made me a new cookbook at school, full of sweet recipes. And Little Miss gave me new shoes. And then Randy gave me my new earrings. These beautiful silver beads from one of my favorite stores.

Randy was awesome and took over everything so I could have time to relax and just hang out. It was a much needed break. I was grateful for the break of cleaning, wiping, cooking, scraping, and running all over. I was blessed with snuggles, love, and everything I could possibly need to feel like I am Mother of the Freaking Year. It was awesome.

I hope you were sang praises to and treated like the Queen you are.

Happy Mother's Day

This one goes out to my Mom. This is the first Mother's Day I haven't spent with my Mom. And I miss her greatly.

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!
I love you because you are always there for me, and will talk when I just need to talk.
I love you for being the kind of Grandma I had growing up, and always making my kids feel like a million bucks!
I love you for loving my husband like he is your own son.
I love you for always having time for us no matter how busy you are.
I love you for being the best Mom anyone could ask for, and for the example that you have taught.
I love you for teaching me to look on the bright side of things. (Especially lately!)
I love you for being my Mom.
I love you for your patience and kindness you have always shown me.
I love you because I can giggle with you over silly things.
I love you for being not only my Mom, but an awesome friend.
I love you because even though this move has been hard you are always so supportive and encouraging.
I love you because you get teary eyed when you see my kids.
I love you for the quiet reassurances that I still need.
I love you for the prayers you offer in my behalf.
I love you for the quiet service you offer.
I love you for being the best Mom in the Universe.
I love you for teaching me to be a better Mom because of your example.

I love you Mommy. I hope your Mother's Day is wonderful and that someone makes you a wonderful dinner. I wish I was there to hug you and see you. You are one of the best people I know, and I can't wait to see you next month. Love you Mommy.

The Bucketing Has Ceased

I went to bed last night sure I would be running during the bucketing. I am happy to inform it has ceased, and the roads are dry.

Now back to your regularly scheduled day.

It's Raining, It's Pouring..

The old man is snoring...

Indiana gets a lot of rain.. at least that is what I had been told. And now I have experienced it. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It's not rain. Rain is light. This is like a bucket being poured on you. Hello, that isn't rain. That is something much different than anything I am used to.

Take yesterday for instance. Back home if it was sprinkling no big deal you could plant flowers and be fine. I decided to plant 6 dozen petunia's yesterday and it was sprinkling when I started. I kid you not 5 minutes later it was bucketing. Not raining, bucketing. In 1 minutes I was drenched. I am kind of a die hard. I don't like to stop mid project and since I was already drenched I might as well finish what I started. And right as I finished the it went back to raining, and the bucketing stopped. Nice huh? My neighbor came out and was curious why I stayed out through the rain. She had watched and was surprised to see me out there with my daughter digging away.. I guess I am stubborn.. determined.. strong-willed. One of those.. or maybe all 3.

The rain continued.. light and normal in a non-weird fashion. Then I went to basketball last night. Upon leaving the bucketing started again. And I am not sure it has stopped.

Today Little Man had a field trip to the Zoo. And Little Miss and I were meeting them there so we could join in the fun. We stopped at Target on our way and purchased the kids umbrella's.. something they have begged for forever, but never needed. Needless to say they are thrilled. I refused to buy myself one I couldn't justify spending over $40 on umbrella's in one day. I figure I can totally handle getting wet, it's just water. Little Miss and I stayed for few hours and then decided we were both soaked enough and came home. The bucketing just won't stop!! And while I am talking about the Zoo.. they have cows at the Zoo. And Horses. Since when are they at the Zoo? I giggled at it. Hello city-folk. When it is nice I will do a full Zoo post and take pictures to show off the fantastic Zoo we do have.

Back to this bucketing.. we are supposed to get even more tomorrow! I have heard we should get over 2" of water just today. Crazy huh? I keep meaning to get pictures, but I want a nice rain, not bucketing. Then I could have some fun with the kids.. Or I need warm weather and the bucketing would work.

And now for your new vocabulary word, Bucketing, when water falls from the sky like a bucket being poured on your head. It is similar to rain but in mass quantities freakishly strange and unnatural. Something that will drench you in under one minute and make you wonder what planet you are really on.

YAY!

I didn't puke this morning! I did my run and I didn't puke!!! Aren't you proud? I ate a piece of bread and drank a glass of water and I was off. My run felt good today, and I am totally looking forward to being able to run the whole time.. 6 more weeks and I should be there.

Coming unto Christ means walking away from the world

I was reading my friend Jenn's blog, and she was sharing some stuff from BYU Women's Conference.. and seriously I need to go to that. Anyway, I saw this quote. And it spoke to me, along with a million others. But this one was so true for me.

Coming unto Christ means walking away from the world. - Sheri Dew

This just rings so true for me. The things that really matter are not of the world. Does it matter what the latest fashion is? No. Does it matter about the celebrity gossip? No. Does it matter that we look like we did before we had babies, or the way Hollywood has decided is perfect by nipping and tuckng? No. Does it matter what the best show is on TV? No. Does it matter that I read scriptures with my kids? Yes. Does it matter that I have taught my kids to pray? Yes. Does it matter that my kids think they are the most special children of God, and that their Heavenly Father loves them so much? Absolutely. The things that really matter are simple. I learned them all in Primary. If I can do that, I will be a success. If I can get rid of the noise caused by the World I will succeed. My kids will be blessed if I can walk away from the world and Come unto Christ.

Accomplished

I am feeling accomplished so far today, and it has just begun. I got my butt out of bed the earliest ever here in Indiana! Go me! Guess what time? 7:30AM. Thank you very much. I just keep thinking back home that was 4:30AM, I am so rocking. I am totally patting myself on the back. I am slowly getting acclimated, and I was up before my kids and after Randy did his run. Then it was my turn. I am trying to get in shape to run a 5K and I am doing a training program. I started on Week 3, and it wasn't bad. I didn't want to start on Week 1, I can totally do the run 60 seconds, walk 90. I figure I am not in that bad of shape so I started Week 3 of a 9 Week program. I am hoping my knees can handle this, and time will tell. It was great! I love that it is pretty flat here, it made it doable.

I was right at 25 minutes done when I had this horrible feeling come over me. I hurried home and ended up with my full 30 minutes. I was praying that I would get to the porcelain throne, and not embarrass myself in front of all of my neighbors, no one wants to do that. I ran in the house up the stairs and made it to my toilet just in time to vomit. Nice Huh? But no one had to witness me getting sick.. and really, my workout shouldn't have made me sick. I think it because I got up so crazy early! I mean seriously it was like 4:30AM far far away. Hopefully Wednesday won't hold the same fate for me.

Check it Out.

My friend Les is having a give away. You really should check it out. She is super talented and giving away one of her pieces of art. Go sign up! And check out how awesome Les is!

The Internet

Remember back in the mid 90's when the Internet was new? No one had it in their homes. I remember my brother being at BYU and telling me to email him, and giving me an address with the dots and the com and the at. What the heck is this? I was so surprised and dial up rocked. It wasn't slow it was AMAZING! Now a little over 10 years later who can even tolerate dial up. We have much more important things to do than wait 1 minute for a page to load.

Some of the things I love about the Internet is I am able to shop from home in my grubbies whenever I want. Although I prefer the real stores, at times online is just better. I love that I can keep in touch with so many friends, and they can keep in touch with me. I totally need to redo my blog roll. I love that Jackie and I just found each other again after I don't know how long of not having contact. We were in the same ward from our Sophomore year on, and she is just one of the girls I know. She comes from an awesome family, and I just love her!!! She is one of the best examples to me in High School of how to be a great Daughter of God and an example to everyone. She rocks. Seriously it made my day to get a message from her on Facebook and to realize we aren't that far from each other.

Moving so far away from everyone I am able to email people and get instant responses. I love that I get offers on my home via email, hello, that is just terrific! Really the Internet has totally changed my life and how I communicate with others.

And Al Gore, you didn't invent the Internet.

One of the best things about Indy

I just found my favorite soda that I haven't had in years. Caffeine Free Diet Mt. Dew. I am digging it. I think I'm going to like it here.

And the Basketball, our ward has a women's basketball night every week, seriously how cool is that! Another reason I think I am going to like it here.

And the workout, I am doing Body by Glamour online and it has some great stuff. You should totally check it out.

Ouch.

Yesterday I decided to start a new workout regimen in the morning. It was good, it kicked my butt. And then I had basketball for the first time in I don't know how long. And if I wasn't already trashed from my workout basketball finished me off. 90 minutes of wonderful ball playing after not touching a ball forever will destroy you. I was exhausted, red faced, sweaty, and a little wheezy. It was the most fun I have had working out in a LONG time! I was the girl gasping for breath, partially from my asthma, and partially because I am not in basketball shape. Oh my goodness I forgot how hard it was. But my skills are really rusty. I can't wait for next week and the next! Hopefully if I continue my workout plan I won't gasp for air and feel like my legs are going to fall off.

This morning my whole body hurts. Especially my butt. Thank you one legged squats, and defense. Each step is accompanied by ow, oh, ow, oh. You can hear me coming before you ever see me. And today is my cardio day. Let's hope I am able to move tomorrow.

Eastern Time...

The Eastern Time Zone.. wow it is just a pain. I miss my Pacific Time. I am slowly adjusting, and I am amazed how much I can get done before anyone back home is up. It makes me feel so accomplished. This morning I did my workout, and then I made Little Man a Dutch Baby Pancake, he is so excited! We went to the Original Pancake House on Saturday for breakfast, and I tried one, and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. And they are so easy to make, and just delish. They should be with 1/3 C of butter in just one! HOLY COW! He is in heaven as he sits eating this massive pancake. I think it is more of a dessert than breakfast.



Okay.. back to my original thought. I try to not call my Mom until my sister is off to school which is after 11:00 AM here. I feel so productive when I think of what time it would be at home, and I got up so early. Really I am not that productive for Eastern Time.. but I like to pretend I am so I think in Pacific Time.



The time zone has thrown my kids off too.. but finally they were asleep before 9 last night! WOO HOO! We are making progress.



And just for fun here is a fake Easter picture that I love. And you can see the dress I made for Little Miss. I am quite proud.



Have an awesome Tuesday! Do something fun and new! I am playing basketball tonight and I cannot wait! It has been too long.. hopefully I come home unbroken.

The Luncheon

My friend Allison the week before I left organized a luncheon for people to come have lunch with me. And guess what? People came! Shocking, I know. I have been meaning to blog this, but life has been hectic. We had a wonderful lunch at her home where we were able to chat, laugh, have fun, and have me cry in front of everyone. Have I mentioned I hate crying in front of people. Because I really do. I wanted to crawl into a whole and hide. But I didn't.. I did my best to let my friends know how much I love them, and will greatly miss them. I felt so loved by each of them, and it was just wonderful. So here you go, my wonderful friends, who came to a lunch just to see me. Or was it for the food? Hmmm.. Don't mind that I look pregnant in this picture.. because I am so not pregnant. I have gorgeous friends huh?

Thank you Allison for a delightful lunch. And thanks to each of my friends, Tiff, Meg, Laura, Traci, Missy, Kim, Shawna, Alli, Andrea, and Angie. You sure know how to make a girl feel loved.

Guess What?

The camera cord has been found. I am giddy.

Here is one picture.. from the day we left. I love it.

More to come.

By The Way..

We are here, we are settled.. for the most part. I would post pictures but my camera cord isn't where I thought it was, and I am too lazy to go find it. So.. no pictures.

We have officially been in Indiana for one week. Last Saturday we left bright and early and with tearful goodbyes. My parents took us to the airport, us being my family, and two dogs. My in laws and brother-in law came to see us off also. We appreciated the family support.

It was hard to leave. Friday night was hard knowing that the next day we would leave. The kids ate up every last second they had with Grandma and Grandpa. Our finally goodbye left Little Man coming over hugging me fighting back the tears, and I had been holding up until then, and the tears came. I hugged my parents and my little sis and felt so sad. I have a terrific family, and it broke my heart to leave them. A tip for the future, don't cry during take off, it makes your sinuses pop, a lot.

We landed and got Sage (the dog) and our luggage and went to our hotel. And then we were back to get Izzy from the airport, they went on separate flights.. long story. Now before you think this is normal for my family, we only take the dogs on trips when we are going camping or something. This is not a normal thing for us to fly two big Labradors on airplanes, and we will not be making this a habit, unless of course it is for relocation purposes. Oh... wait.. I am totally off track.

We did the Church thing and then Dallin had school, which he loved. And Tuesday we moved into our home. I love our new house. It is amazing how having your stuff in your home makes it feel like home. My kids, my husband, my stuff and I feel at home.

Evidently I am allergic to Indiana. My allergies are killing me, thankfully I was able to get into an allergist and I am totally drugged up trying to get me breathing decently. The weather is beautiful, and Spring is gorgeous here. I just wish it wasn't trying to kill me slowly.

We are unpacked, the lawn is mowed, Izzy (the dog) was spayed on Tuesday.. seriously why did she have to come into heat the day after we got here! The kids love the neighborhood, and I totally fit in here, (minus the allergy thing).

The kids have been homesick.. so have I. But we are doing well. Love and miss you all.

3 Things You Want to Know

1. I am not blogging again until I am safely in Indiana. We are insanely busy!

2. If you go HERE you can get that bread recipe. Make sure and thank my lovely friend.

3. I am totally going to miss all of my friends. Love you! And see you on the flip side.

And one more.. I my new lens came.. YIPEE! And I used it at I am in love. Check out here to see some fun new images!

Anticipation

I am waiting.. waiting.. waiting. I am not patiently waiting either. Sometime very soon FedEx will be here with my lens. A new lens! I am beyond giddy. I am not leaving my home until it arrives here safe and sound. I have drooled over this lens for months, and have used it twice thanks to Misty allowing me to try it out. I cannot wait to use the nice wide angle and enjoy how fast it is. And I get to use it tomorrow on a fantastic wedding. Oh yeah.. I am shooting a wedding 1 week before the big move.. crazy huh? But after this week I am looking forward to the time away to relax and have fun!!

It's still not here. It is 4:30 and I have yet to go anywhere today because I don't want to miss my beautiful lens. That's all.

9

Nine Days. Do you get what happens in nine days? I will say goodbye to living in Washington State forever. It will no longer be my only place of residence. I will say goodbye to Pacific Time. I will say goodbye to living close to my wonderful family. I will say goodbye to what I know. And I don't want people to see this as sad, and think I am not excited, because I am. But it is so weird.

And you want to know what I am doing to prepare? I am driving to see Misty today, I am running around crazy with my kids enjoy Spring Break. And I am sticking my head in the sand, plugging my ears, and singing la-la-la all the while. It is enjoyable. And I do a great job at it.

9. That's it.

Dear Angie,

The bread... I am drooling just looking at the picture. It is delicious. Delicious I tell you! And not only is it delicious, it is healthy, made with whole grains, freshly ground wheat. It is so healthy that it doesn't matter that I have eaten half the loaf since you brought it to me! Do you see the crumbs on the bread board? Don't even think of wiping them off, I will be eating every morsel of this wonderful goodness. I think your bread you baked must have been manna. It is that good. I could eat it day in and day out and be perfectly content.

And another thing that makes this bread so great, it is mine. I don't have to share it. Thank you for bringing me bread when I can devour each crumb all by myself. So no, I don't plan on sharing.. well maybe a small bite with my children that keep begging me for bread. But they can have the cheap Wonder bread, they don't appreciate the goodness of this bread yet.

My tummy thanks you Angie. This is just delish!

Uplifted and Edified

General Conference. I love it. I feel renewed and able to go out and accomplish the many tasks that are before me after listening to our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and listening to the many wonderful witnesses of Jesus Christ.

I especially loved Elder Ballard's talk on Motherhood. I hope I can be a better Mother and enjoy the moment more.

And on a final note were are down to under two weeks. HOLY COW.

Oh yes and I did a fantastic engagement shoot.. you really should check it out. Now.. I am done.. Really I am.

This one goes out to the one I love

While hanging out in the Cincinnati airport I took pictures of the man of my dreams. We traveled all day on his birthday, and it was long and tiring, but I enjoyed every second because I was with him!
Randy Happy Birthday! I still remember celebrating your 22nd birthday together and giving you all of your ties. It is amazing how quickly nine years have past.
I love the Father you are to our children.
I love your smile.
I love that look you get when you are thinking of doing something that you know when get me riled up. It makes me smile just thinking of it. And no this is not giving you permission to do any of those crazy things.. but I think it is cute.
I love how great I feel with you.
I love you.
You are totally hot, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, every day. And I dig the scruff.. hot!

Happy Birthday babe!
Hope 31 is as rocking as 30.

Exhausted

Need I say more? This is at the airport waiting for our luggage this evening. I think we all wanted to crash like my lucky boy. Now off to bed.

Psych!

We aren't really gone yet. We should be. But we aren't. We are sitting at home waiting for tomorrow to come bright and early. Our flight was delayed coming in from Salt Lake, which made our flight going out very late. It was late enough we were going to miss our connecting flights, and they couldn't get us on any other flights. Thank you Delta. They sent us home, we are going back at 4 AM tomorrow to catch a 5:30 flight. Seriously who gets up at that hour? Evidently us. And we get a great flight plan tomorrow.. seriously wonderful. We go from here, to Salt Lake, to Atlanta, to Indianapolis. At least we are getting frequent flyer miles for ping-ponging across the country. And our trip is going to be oh so quick now. We are flying home on Thursday as originally scheduled. Chaos I tell you. Pure chaos.
On the bright side I get to spend all day with the man of my dreams on his birthday. I am a lucky girl!

FYI

• I will be MIA.
• We are going to Indianapolis to show the kids around, and to show them the new house!
• They can't wait to get on the airplane!
• Randy is celebrating his 31st Birthday on Tuesday, April 1st.
• We didn't want to miss his birthday and since he has to work in Indiana this week; we get to party in Indiana this week.
• I will be back late Thursday.
• Don't miss me too much.
• Have a fabulous week.

Year's Supply

I read Tiffani's blog and she had talked about food storage.. it gave me an idea to blog about.

Want to see my years supply?



A year ago I decided in a few weeks time I would buy my food storage. My parents are on a service mission at our local cannery and had been telling me I needed to get it done. I took the money and decided to go and do it.



It was such a great experience, I took Little Miss with me and she was a terrific helper. It was nice to go and buy all of the basic necessities for one year for my family. And now that I have it I feel so accomplished. I was transferring some of my items this week from bulk to buckets and I felt so excited that I know we are truly prepared. We wouldn't have a lavish diet but we would live for one year.

I am so excited when I go in and look at all of my food. We had an great 3 month supply but I have been dwindling it down since we are moving and I will restock it once we are settled in our new home. I am thrilled to know I have the sugar, milk, grains, legumes, that I need. I still want to add more to it, but we have what we have been asked to do.

And my little plug. If you have wondered about doing food storage, do it. You will be so very blessed. I have such a testimony of having your years supply and also of having your 3 month supply. We have felt so blessed by having this and feeling like we are prepared. I didn't have to strong desire to care about it until I did it. And I love that with our 1 year basic they aren't saying we have to constantly rotate it, it is good for 30 years! And then I have my 3 month stuff that I rotate. And your basics for a family of 4 will cost under $1000. Quite the bargain if you ask me.

I am looking forward to building up more three month supply again it is always nice to have extras of peanut butter on Sunday when you realize you are out. It has saved me many times.

While in the Shower

Little Miss came in Mommy, can you be done? Can you turn off the shower? I peaked my shampooed head out and asked what was so urgent. She looked at me and sweetly said Mommy I want snuggles.
Isn't she the cutest!

The Strength of You

The Strength of Youth pamphlet is one of my favorite things published by the Church. Recently at our Worldwide Leadership Meeting Julie B. Beck was talking about how it is the Strength of You. I have been thinking about this. And thinking about the meaning of what she said.

This is something that we teach the Youth of the Church so that way they have all of the tools they need as adults to go into the world and raise righteous generations. I don't know that I appreciated this doctrine nearly enough as a youth. Now as I teach the youth of the Church I see the valuable tool that it is. It is something we teach the youth so they will live it forever. It doesn't just apply when we are young. It is for all of us.

We taught at a Conference this past weekend and we talked about it so much. I spoke to them about the importance of modesty.. I don't think that it can be taught enough! Explaining to the kids this isn't just guidelines it is scripture written by our Prophets. I know I have known this but it spoke to me even more. Our leaders have blessed us with scripture to help us in every situation, agency, gratitude, education, family, friends, dress, entertainment, music, dancing, language, dating, sexual purity, repentance, honesty, sabbath day observation, tithes, health, service, and faith. They have helped to clear the grey areas and have given us guidance and right and wrong. The path has been marked so very clear. I read it and think that it should be so easy, but sometimes it isn't. I re-read the pamphlet and I have been trying to apply it to my life even more. We can always do better, try harder. With it mapped out so clearly it should be easy right?

And my favorite part, because I feel so strongly about modesty.

"Never lower your dress standards for any occasion. Doing so sends the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval and that modesty is important only when it is convenient.
Immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire. Young women should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low-cut in the front or the back or revealing in any other manner. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. All should avoid extremes in clothing, appearance, and hairstyle. Always be neat and clean and avoid being sloppy or inappropriately casual in dress, grooming, and manners. Ask yourself, “Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord’s presence?”"

Trunky

You know when missionaries are counting down the days until they go home. That is where I am at. Counting down the days until I move. I am seriously ready. And before you get me wrong it isn't that I am wanting to leave my family and friends and where I call home. I am just ready to go do the next thing. We know where we are living, we know when we are moving, we know how we are getting there. Now we just need to do it.

Before I go I hope I get a chance to see many of my friends I rarely get to see. I would to do lunch, run to Target, or just get a chance to sit back and chat. We are under 4 weeks until our move day. How crazy is that! And next week we aren't even here.

Randy and I were both talking about how ready we are to move forward. We feel like our lives have been on hold as we have waited to find out what the next step was going to be. And things are all finally in place and we are just ready to move forward and get started on our new adventure.

Easter Pictures.

I took the CUTEST Easter pictures today. My kids looked just adorable, and Little Miss had on her new dress I made her, and Little Man looked super cute. It was great.
I went to upload them and my CF card was corrupt. All images are now gone, I am ticked, sad, on the verge of tears, and ready to scream. I am in mourning. Stay tuned for some "fake" Easter pictures. Hopefully on "fake" Easter it will be nicer weather.

Photoshop Before and After

I have been contemplating showing some Photoshop stuff. And today I decided I would show a before and after of a pictures SOOC (Straight out of camera) and then what the edited version looks like. This is Misty, my wonderful very pregnant friend.

This is the before. The composition works, but the colors are blah. I take my pictures in manual. I adjust my settings and override the cameras standard settings to get better exposure.

First thing I did as an unsharp mask, it actually sharpens the pictures. Then I crop the picture. It needed to get rid of some of the excess that didn't add to the picture. I have Photoshop CS2 that I use to edit, (CS3 is in the mail, I can't wait!) Any who.. I cropped it, then I did adjusted my levels, just slightly to brighten the skin.

(this has been sharpened, cropped, and levels) And then I use the curves tool. It adjusts the contrast a little, and helps to brighten it up a bit. I do a very small s curve in the lower left hand corner staying in that bottom square. It is very slight.Then I add my color balance, I add more red and yellow to warm the picture up. I do it for the highlights, midtones, and shadows. See how much nicer it looks?Then I use a lasso and lasso around Misty and feather at 250, and then select inverse and adjust my levels with the slider on the far left to intensify the colors. And this is my finished product.

Part of editing the pictures and using the 'digital darkroom' is what helps to make your images go from blah to wow! Hope you enjoyed and let me know if you want more like this!

Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is my Mom's birthday. I have mentioned several times how much I adore my Mommy, and how wonderful she truly is. I am planning on spending as much time with her as possible today. She has practice for the symphony tonight so we are doing the family shin-dig tomorrow. I went looking through my pictures for pictures of my Mom and I together, this one is almost a year old. Looks like it is time for a new one!!

I won't tell her age, because she is so not happy about it, and I am going to respect her by not telling everyone her age.. I think that is a first for me! I am so proud of how gorgeous my Mom is and how great she looks for her age I tell everyone because it is shocking, but Happy Birthday Mom, today I am keeping your secret.

Here are six things I love about my Mommy.

1. She is a phenomenal violinist. I could listen to just her play for hours. I love playing with her. Music comes to life when she plays.

2. She is kind.

3. She is the best self-sacrificing Mother.

4. She makes her Grandchildren feel like they are the only thing that matter. The world stops when she is with them and they know how much she loves and adores them.

5. She is FUNNY!

6. She is a great example of the type of woman I hope to be.

I could go on and on and on. But those are a few things I love about my Mommy. I am grateful to have spent so many years with my Mom on her birthday, and every other day. I have 30 days until moving day..(yes it is always hanging over my head. ) I plan on spending as much time with her as possible. We went to Spokane together on Tuesday and I am taking her shopping today. Hopefully I will get a good dose of Mommy before I leave.

Happy Birthday Mommy! You are the Best Mom I know. I am grateful that I am your daughter, and that my kids get to call you Grandma. Love you.

Constant

Today I went to my rheumatologist. It was my last appointment with him, and my next one will be with my new Doctor in Indiana. I am quite attached to Dr. Craig, and that might sound a little weird, but I am. He is who diagnosed me with Lupus 10 years ago. I knew him when I was still a Senior in High School. He has been my doctor dealing with all of my issues with my health. He kept tabs on each of the problems I had while pregnant and is one who seriously talked to me about the reasons I needed to be done. I trust him fully to keep me healthy and to do what is best. When I look at the last 10 years of my life it has been crazy and ever changing. This is the one thing that remained constant. I had a Dr I knew and trusted more than any other. He has an awesome Nurse Debbie, who knows when I call needing help, I really need help. It has been the same and one of the only things that has stayed that way for 10 years. As long as I have dealt with this disease. It was sad to leave today, they wished me well and gave me a hug and made me promise to come back and visit with my kids. I almost teared up when I left. It is always a familiar place and somewhere I feel okay. They know all the crazy things wrong with me, and are able to laugh at it with me and keep things light and help me to deal the way I do. I don't know many doctors or offices that help people as much as they do. It's been the constant in my world when everything else is always changing. It's been a good ten years.

Blah.. blah.. blah..

Yesterday I pouted. Really I did. We all have bronchitis, thankfully we are all on meds an getting better. We sat at home and I realized that in 5 weeks, I won't be here. Sad huh? I pouted.

Today, I have been productive. I locked in our interest rate, and found out we get to re-lock one time if rates drop! And Merck bought our rate down a little!!! I talked to the movers to schedule the moving date. One month from today is what it is looking like. *sigh* I am excited but not. Does that makes sense?

Want to know my schedule for the next month. This week Randy is home. Next week he is in Pennsylvania for training. The week of April 1st we are all in Indiana. The next week Randy is in Pennsylvania for training, and then he is home and we move the week of the 17th. Do you see how quickly this is happening? Do you feel overwhelmed for me? You should! :)

While in Indiana I loved it. Really it was nice. I just wish it wasn't all the way over there. Seriously it is in the Eastern Time Zone. That is FOREVER away. Part of me just wished it was at least in Central Time.. I don't know why I think that would be easier but I do. At least we will get to fly back and forth. I already have one flight with the kids booked home.

I love the house we are moving into. Really I love it. I love that they don't have fences. It is just pretty and the lots are nice sized. We are going to put in the underground electric fence for our dogs. They should do well with that. (We hope!) They are getting older and lazier. (Sage turned 3 yesterday!) And the kids thankfully stay in the yard now.

Some great things.. so I am not negative or pouting.. because really today is better it is just sad to leave what we know as "home". Wonderful restaurants. I mean WONDERFUL! The shopping is awesome. My mall has Saks in it! How cool is that? Costco is close!! YIPPEE!! The manners, and a little bit of Southern Hospitality. Yes Ma'am and No Sir. I want my children to pick up on this. The schools are some of the best rated. It is one of the best places to live in America! They have the best Children's Museum in the World. Everyone told me that. They have a zoo! With dolphins. We can go to a Pacers game.. okay we can go cheer for the Sonics. And I know two nice women there both named Emily, so I won't confuse their names!! I think once it is done and we are there it will be easier.. right? The main parts are figured out.. now it is just getting there.

Back!

We had a nice time in Indiana. It is flat there. Very flat. I was surprised. And there are cornfields and ponds everywhere. Tons of trees, and just quite different from the two colors of greenish-brown, and brownish-green here. We looked at several homes, I had vowed we would not buy a home on this trip, this was purely just to get acquainted with the area.

We saw several homes I was not interested in at all. I thought I would be, but they were not desirable. And then we pulled up to a house and I thought this is nice. We went in, it was nicer, we toured the whole thing and I knew I was in love. I told Randy when we came back in a few weeks with the kids we could make an offer.. no one else would love it like I did right? We decided to go through it one more time and after going back, I knew it was where we were supposed to be. It was the neighborhood, the house, this was going to be our home. We decided to make an offer. And after some negotiating, we are under contract with our new home in Indiana, far far away. We are excited, and looking forward to the move. It helps knowing where we are going and starting to feel things falling into place.

About Indiana, the people are nice. So nice. Seriously I was so impressed with people offering to help us get to know the area, giving us their phone numbers and email addresses in case we have any questions. Those who know me well know that I talk to anyone anytime about anything. I fit in there, everyone there does it too! They wave at you driving down the street, they talk to you like they have known you forever. It was awesome!! Evidently I am a Midwest girl who didn't know it!!

Get ready for picture overload, we love this house, and it fits all of our requirements and then some.

The Details

Or at least a few of them. Our house goes on the market officially tomorrow. It is so surreal to me. But we are excited and looking forward to the next stage.

We are going to Indianapolis this week. I was supposed to go to Spokane this weekend, but we need to go look for a home and where we are going to live. (Sorry to all of my friends I am ditching.. hope you still love me.) We get two trips, this week and again the first week of April. I am excited to go see Indiana, see where I am going to call home. It will be Randy and my first trip to Indiana. Is it crazy to agree to move somewhere you have never been?

The question most asked, when do you move? I like to say 8 weeks. It is a good answer, and one I might continue to use for the next 8 weeks. Realistically though we should be moving in less than 6 weeks. It is quickly approaching. That is part of the reason we are going to Indianapolis this week, before long we will be on our final flight there.

I am getting much more excited. There are so many great opportunities and I am just so excited. I am extending an invitation to all of my friends to come visit me. You know you want to! I have had several of the Young Women I teach and have taught tell me they are coming to visit me. I seriously hope so.

Thankfully I already have a trip planned to come back home in June. I have a wedding I am photographing and they want ME so I am flying back with the kids so I can capture their special day.

Good news.. we don't have to pack a thing. If we pack it it won't be insured. Moving will be quite simple, we get our suitcases and go the airport with our dogs and fly to our new home. Our van and belongings will come shortly after. Could it be any easier? I don't think so. Here is to a stress free move!

What I Like About ME!

I have mentioned before I like myself. And I was reading a couple of blogs and decided I would join in. Because lets face it this is my blog.. and well I like to talk about me, who doesn't! :)

Little Man took this picture of me.. it makes me laugh, because I am so not this serious, and I realize I am no longer this teenage bride.. I am almost 28!

But check out that picture, do you see my neck? I always thought I had a short neck, but I don't. It is a long slender neck, and I love it. And it just makes me feel HOT! Everyone likes to feel hot right?

My hair.. I used to straighten my hair ALWAYS. I never wore it curly. Then slowly I would do it on occasion curly, and now it is rare that it is straight. I love my curls. They are fun and so me. Always random and never quite the same. And I can't forget the color.. I love how dark it is, and the contrast it is to my light eyes.

My hands, I have long fingers, and long slender hands. I can reach two keys over an octave on the piano, I can palm a basketball, and my hands are bigger than my husbands. I love that they are long.

My scars on my body. If you look closely in that picture you will see one at the base of my neck. I love it. All of the scars from my surgeries I have had I look at with pride. My body struggled through many things and I came out on top. I can do hard things. (I especially have to remember this right now as I am preparing to move away from my family.. cue the crying.)

I like my lips. I have always been told I have perfect pretty lips. And the edges almost always are curled up.. life is too fun to not smile and have a terrific time.

And I love my eyes. They are blue or green depends on what I am wearing. They are light, and they are like that of my wonderful Mother.

It was supposed to be five things, but I got carried away. As I have said before it is important to like ourselves. If you would have asked me two years ago what I liked about myself I would have said my clothes that cover up my body. I have watched women with confidence in who they are and the people they are becoming and have been in awe. Many of my friends have been these women who just are so confident who they are. I decided I needed that in my life. I needed to know who I was, and that by knowing that about me, I would like me. I learned I am a Daughter of God. He loves me. He made me just the way I am. He didn't make me to look like some girl on the cover of a magazine, or to aspire to look like someone/something else. He made me perfect in His eyes. I realized that finally. It only took SEVERAL years. I realized it when I looked at my own daughter and saw how absolutely BEAUTIFUL she is. And realized my Mother felt the same way about me. I would be greatly saddened if my daughter ever felt she needed to do things to change herself to be beautiful. The media has twisted what true beauty is. I love how Danyelle talks about how she despised her nose, but now loves it. That is an awesome thing and something I hope we as women will do. Embrace ourselves for who we are, not what we think we should be. We are made unique and beautiful and individuals.

Embrace yourself, what do you like about you?

The Slump...

My Blog is in a slump. It has been for a month. I have had pretty much just one thing on my mind. I am moving.. where? when? why? blah.. blah.. blah. Really I only have one thing I want to blog about and who all wants to hear about me moving to Indiana.



Now I know the where, and pretty much the when, and the why because the boss said so.. and well so did the Lord. My questions are answered.. kind of. But then it opened up a whole bunch of knew questions. What house, which city, schools, church, shopping, and the list goes on.



I am asked if we are excited. I will be honest, the opportunity for Randy's job is totally exciting! And really we feel so incredibly blessed to have been given such a wonderful promotion. The adventure is exciting, the chance to live so close to so many Church history sites is exciting. We are going to be close (well driving distance) to where Randy served his mission! How cool is that! There are so many things we are so very excited for. It is a new adventure, and we love adventures. They have a zoo there, and the best Children's Museum in US there. Everyone is telling me all about it. We will have amazing experiences there, I have no doubt. And I am going to live outside of Washington State for the first time! So yes we are excited for part of it.



And yes I am very sad to be leaving my family. We have been blessed to live close to family for so many years that it will be hard to not have them close. My Mom is one of my best friends. I don't want people telling me how it is good to be away from family, I get that we cleave to our spouse and our children our little family unit. But I like having my Mom around. Thankfully we will live near a big airport, so flights shouldn't be too bad. We have our cell phones, the Internet and web cams that we can use. It will all be okay, but I do know that this will be hard.



These are the things that are going on in my head daily. Am I strong enough to do this? Does the Lord really think I can do this? Will my kids handle this okay? Is this going to be our forever home? What next? HOLY CRAP IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? What happened to my life as I knew it just a few weeks ago?



The Lord has blessed me with quiet reassurances that this is indeed what we are supposed to do. I can do this, and it will all work out. I know this. It is still sinking in, and I don't know that I will fully comprehend it until I am there. I do know that I am truly grateful that the Church is everywhere. I will have a ward family instantly and I will have a place to call home. The Lord has a reason for sending us to Indiana, and hopefully one day I will fully understand them. But for now I trust Him. I am thrilled for the opportunities that Randy has with his work. Seriously we could not be more blessed. And I am thankful I am not a pioneer or it would take me three years to get there and I would never see my family again. I feel blessed in so many ways, and we have truly felt like we have been so blessed and have had many things so inspired throughout all of this.

*Beware if you don't want to read more or learn more about this you might want to avoid my blog for a while. Hopefully you love me enough to want to hear all of the gory details!

MLM Returns!! 6 Word Life Memoir

My Life Monday is back! Are you excited? Because I am excited. I love love love love love love love love love love love My Life Monday! Understood? Great!

Today's topic is 6 Word Life Memoir. I have felt stumped.. and unsure.

I am choosing It's the Little Things that Matter.

In my life it always seems to be the little things that make a difference. It never fails that when one little thing gets thrown off my whole life gets out of whack. When I take time to take care of the little details that keep everything together my life is better. I apply this to the Gospel and the way that when I skip a scripture study I notice. It matters, it changes my day and I don't feel the Spirit as strong. When I take time to listen, to stop, to be aware of the little things in my life I feel so blessed. The small things move mountains for me, and help to keep me grounded.

Now go to Rachelle's blog and join in!