Cute or Gruesome?

 
 A few minutes ago I decided it was too quiet and I'd better check on the youngest two. I heard their voices from inside their room, so I opened the door expecting to see a mess of goop of some sort. (A closed door hiding two quiet children is never good, right?) Instead, I found them dressed up in dance outfits with dolls and stuffed animals arranged around them. I went to grab my camera to capture this cute playtime "picnic", which was slightly enhanced by the fact that my boy was wearing a dance leotard and a tutu on his head. When I came back with the camera, I realized the picnic was not with their dolls. It was of their dolls. They were pretending to be lions that were eating the prey they had just hunted. But at least they were being quiet!

Pretty Funny

Kent found this for me today. I found myself thinking of all the people I would forward it to, and decided it would be easier to just embed it here. Enjoy!

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

I Lost A Quarter Pound Today

It's gone! That weight has been steadily growing for two (or more?) years, and finally, today, I took it off. See for yourself.



A professional stylist friend of mine asked me several months ago if she could have the "honor" of taking off my locks when I was ready. I've listed it for sale online, and planned to cut when the offer was right. I got all sorts of wrong offers, but that's another story. Last week I was sick of my hair getting caught in the seat belt guide, my coat, and #5's grip. This week, when it got caught in the hair dryer, I was so glad I'd set the appointment to chop it. I can't wait to figure out how to style it and try new hair accessories. But mostly, I'm just glad that my head feels like it's floating with all that extra weight gone! Yea!

So Spicy!

My mother-in-law got me involved in a bulk spice order from San Francisco Spice Co. that a friend of hers organizes every two years. 2007 was my first year participating, and I got a few items. They were high quality and priced well. This year, having a better idea of the deal I would be getting, I ordered a lot more. I planned my order with the idea that these spices will enhance my food storage and I needed a two-year supply on the quantities. Check out what I got:

That's 13 lbs. of spices: basil, lemon pepper, paprika, nutmeg, vegetable bouillon...and more! My total was $70, which for 13 POUNDS of spices is, I believe, excellent!

If you want to get in on the deal, let me know and I'll help you get on the email list for 2011. Besides basic spices, you can order blends, potpourri mixes, essential oils, cooking oils, etc.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

A relative asked me to email some pictures of my kids. She just needs head shots. Here's a sample of the recent photos from which I have to choose:




Maybe these pictures are only worth two words: "What the...?"

Apples Galore

Kent's mom has what we consider a small apple orchard in her front yard. Each fall we hope for mostly not-wormy apples to make apple butter. In October, the kids and I helped their Grammy pick several boxes of apples. Two days later my sister, Carolyn, came to Provo to help us process the fruit into yumminess-in-a-bottle. I was happy with our 21 bottles. I thought they would surely last until next Fall. But we've already gone through five quarts! (We really like apple butter!) Luckily, the apples kept coming. Our Aunt Jan offered some from her trees and a neighbor had a bunch of Golden Delicious left over from the harvest from her parents' yard. Adding that to the few I had left from before, we had enough for another two batches. So Carolyn came again last week and ran the process while I ran kids around town and pitched in when I could. We had 14 more quarts, plus a dehydrator full of cinnamon-sprinkled Fujis, plus a dozen apples left to just snack on. Here are some pictures of our work. I am so grateful for everyone's help.

Super Duper Super Saturday...and Weekend in General

Yesterday I attended our ward's Super Saturday. I was there to set up and stayed an hour past ending time trying to finish projects. (I always sign up for too much.) Coming home, I realized what an enjoyable time I'd had. I've been dreading the cold winter months, which snapped into place yesterday morning. However, walking home from the church, I was cheerful and ready for winter. I love spending time with friends snacking and chatting. We hosted Kent's Young Men's presidency and their wives for dinner on Friday. It was so nice to visit with adults in our cozy home with a fire going. Tonight we gathered with my extended family for dinner and FHE. And Kent and I squeezed in a dinner out for just the two of us Saturday night, too. For me, it was a perfect, if cold, weekend.

A friend of mine took a few minutes at Super Saturday to teach us ways to take stress out of the holidays. She asked us to consider what we want out of our holiday season, be it a family tradition to continue, events with children...whatever we most wanted. I immediately knew that what I most wanted was time with my friends and family. I truly wouldn't mind getting rid of the gift giving and just focus on gathering. Although...

...we did make some really cute flower clips for hair or for a clothing accessory. In my parallel universe where I have undemanding children and all the time in the world, I would make a hundred of these clips to give away to my friends and fam and then sell the rest on Etsy. In reality, I'll be lucky to finish the ones I started for my girls' stockings in the next forty days. (Yep, that's the countdown.) Happy holidays!