Roomate Weekend--Day 1...Short Version

We had a great first day despite having to wake up at 6:30 to get ready on time, but we were determined not to be late for Sister Beck's opening session, and it did NOT disappoint! I think that session alone was worth my $49 registration fee, I just couldn't write fast enough to keep up with her great thoughts.


I don't have time to post about our very full day, but wanted to make sure to say that we're planning on eating in the Wilkinson Center around 12:30 tomorrow (in the room with all the tables across from the Sweet Shop) if any of you are interested in meeting up with us. It would be fun to visit for a bit and gather together so we can go to my sister-in-law's class at 2:00 in the Varsity Theater. Amy has been preparing for this all year so far and it will be great to go together to support her. We hope to see you there!!

Comment Window Tidbit: The hassle of getting ready for our Women's Conference weekend is quite vast for all of us, but it is SO worth it!

It's That Time Again

The cleaning has been done.
The family has been relocated.
It's time to have fun, woohoo!

Comment Window Tidbit: I think I'm back to normal again...who knew that could be such a relief?

SPT--NonExtreme Makeover

I was going to do a before and after shot of my nonmade-up face and my made-up face, but the "before"shot was so frightening that I couldn't bear to have it out there for all to see. This is rather upsetting considering I often go about town in that nonmade-up state. Apparently I've been cutting myself too much slack.

So, my nonextreme makeover is the difference in my face when I wear lipstick. It is the last part of my beauty routine when I get ready for the day, and sometimes it's hard to wait to put it on, but if I'm going to be eating something or if I haven't brushed my teeth yet, then I wait so it can be unblemished.

Before Lipstick

After Lipstick

I think I'm nearing the need for an extreme makeover for real though...damn forehead fissures!

**What's your nonextreme makeover technique?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I am no longer sick, but I am not all the way well either. I am still weak (what a nuisance, especially while preparing for house guests) and am quite sure something is amiss in my intestines. They are loud! I don't know what's happening in there, but they want to be heard...gurgling internally, nothing external thank heaven!

Moving Slowly

You may or may not have noticed that I didn't do a Sunday Thoughts post yesterday (which is highly unusual for me) so I'd like to tell you why.

We had Stake Conference which meant having the 4 of us ready and at church by 10:00, which was embarrassingly difficult for us because we've been so spoiled by our 2:00 church time all year. We love it!

Anyway, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time watching Stake Conference on the big screen at our building from the soft seats (a Stake Conference first for us), then went home and ate a few chocolate donut holes (whim purchase from the day before) and settled in for some quality reading and napping.

Four hours later Randy and I woke up feeling well rested and a bit smug. But then I felt a tell-tale rumbling in my guts...oh no. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I spent the next few hours in and out of the bathroom (thank you modern plumbing) and back and forth to my bed. I thought I had matters under control until I started feeling nauseous as well, what the? Not good. We managed to have Family Home Evening on our bed and I was able to surface later to watch The Amazing Race with the family, but that was it. Sweet Fancy Moses, what is up with the universe?

This morning I was down 8 pounds! If only there was a more pleasant way to lose this much weight in such a short period of time.


I was feeling dehydrated, dizzy and weak but was too afraid to eat anything, so when Michelle called to check on me (she knows there's something wrong when I don't post) and offered to bring me something I took her up on it. She and Eva kindly brought me a bag of ice, some Gatorade and some rolls for when I felt like eating again.


What a relief it was to be taken care of like that and to have supplies. I spent my day on the couch reading and napping while eating the ice and the rolls (so far so good).

Look at their cute ensembles and shoes!

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Why is it so hard to ease back into normal life after being sick? Part of me feels like saying, "Do you have any idea what I just went through?" Maybe that's why, I'm in shock that I recovered yet still have post-traumatic stress going on.

Seven for Saturday--Miscellaneous Plus Winners

1. Last Saturday, Whitney and I finally went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. She has been asking to go since it came out, and since Randy and Landon were gone all day at their service project, Whitney and I had a girl's day out.


After the movie, she wanted to "go to a store like the Red Balloon". We were in a different town so I had no idea where a store like that would be, so I turned right and thought I'd just drive for a bit until we found something that looked promising. Imagine my surprise when I saw a sign for...The Red Balloon in the very shopping center we were in!? Whitney was beyond thrilled. I let her wander the store and dream for about an hour (no easy feat for me). When she came to the wall of animal figurines (her favorite things) she said dreamily, "I could live here!" I let her pick one item (a black panther) to put in the marble basket for her to earn at a later date.


2. Whitney had to write a report all about cardinals. Of course she loved illustrating the book and did drawings on each page, but it was her writing that cracked me up (click the photo to enlarge it and see what I mean).


3. Randy was the M.C. for our ward talent show this week. He did a good job and was such a good sport to agree to do that, especially since he was asked just a couple days before.


4. It rained and hailed and was all kinds of crazy on Wednesday, but Landon's soccer game still happened. Whitney and I huddled under our big, beach umbrella and tried to stay warm and dry but we really should have worn heavier coats because we ended up freezing our nards off.


It was kind of fun to watch the game in such a setting. It drizzled, then poured, then stopped, and then really poured as we were packing up and running to the car. Whitney said the mountain looked like a big volcano erupting.


5. Whitney started art lessons again after having a month off while her art teacher tried to adjust to finding herself pregnant unexpectedly at age 44. She has been super weak and sick and wasn't able to teach for a month. Whitney said she ate the whole time she taught their lesson this week as she tried to settle her stomach (I think Whitney wanted to get in on the snacking).


I enjoyed the hour of quiet reading in the car, and enjoyed this view from my side mirror.


6. Crystal and I finally got together for lunch at Chili's after talking about it via blog comments and emails for far too long! Blogging proved to be a short cut to friendship once again because we ended up talking for 3.5 hours!! I had no idea how long we'd been there because it felt so fun and comfortable and our conversation never lagged. I'm just surprised we didn't eat more than we did, we only ate our soup and salad and half of the chips and salsa in all that time, what the?!


7. Randy and Landon went on a scout camp out (I'm hoping for an official write-up from Landon) last night with Landon's scout troop. I love it that Randy is so good about going on these outings with Landon.


Apparently Landon does too because he left this note by the side of the bed while Randy napped and tried to recover from his crappy night's sleep. What a kid!

**What store could you live in?
Would you ever M.C. a talent show?
Have you frozen your nards off recently?**

Tulip Photo Giveaway Winners
23--Michelle D.
1--Becky
32--Lisa
15--Michelle O.
21--Lelly

Comment Window Tidbit: Whenever I spend any substantial amount of time in the sun I feel wiped out and rejuvenated at the same time. It's a conundrum really, especially because sometimes I end up with a headache as well.

Creative Friday--Just A Dab'll Do Ya Edition

Michelle and I weren't expecting much from this day because I had a visiting teaching appointment until 12:30 and she had piano lessons at 3:00, so we knew we'd only end up with 2 hours.

I figured I'd bring lunch and we could just hang out and talk during that time so that we ended up doing something this week rather than having to cancel all together.

Robyn called me and asked for help with Ashley, so I had her drop Ashley off at my visiting teaching appointment (that was a first). It worked out great and Ashley just sat on my lap quietly for 45 minutes.

I called Michelle after my appointment to double check her schedule and see if she still wanted me to come, and it turns out her piano student canceled so she was free until 4:00, woohoo!


Ashley was excited to go play with Eva, and asked me many, many times when we'd get there. Apparently the concepts of picking up lunch and drinks were time-consuming and baffling for her.


We stopped by my house just as my mom pulled up. She needed to watch American Idol since her DVR had failed to record it. I thought it was cute that she'd brought her lunch to enjoy while watching the show (originally she was going to be there without me being there, I just happened to stop home for supplies). If only I had known she was going to Cafe Rio she could have saved me a trip! Side note: I failed to take a picture of this, but the name on her receipt was "Taffy" instead of Kathy...what the?

I picked up Cafe Rio and drinks for Michelle and I, mmm.

Ashley was all excited to jump on the trampoline because she didn't even realize they had a trampoline. I explained to her that it was in their backyard, and she said, "Where's the backyard in the backyard?" I couldn't answer that question.

Unfortunately the girls didn't make it past the steps down to the yard because Eva found the outdoor noises too terrifying so they came back inside. I was surprised Ashley didn't get upset or choose to jump without Eva, but she was fine to come inside and play.



Michelle tried to help me cut out Barb's good mail labels because I was having trouble with her raised quilting ruler (I'd forgotten my flat one) but even she had trouble because the paper kept sliding. So the labels didn't get cut out, but Barb you were definitely part of Creative Friday.



Michelle was working on Eva's dino birthday invitations (so cute).


The girls played in Eva's room for over an hour, but when they came out by us to color they seemed to take over the place. Suddenly Michelle and I were taking food orders and being interrupted a lot. I love this picture Michelle took of Ashley coloring with one hand and snagging some M&Ms with the other.


She stuffed her mouth with them and had to be reminded to chew!


Ashley helped Eva write her name on the envelope for her party invitation.

This is the lesser known spelling of Ashley.

Michelle also worked on creating some flowers for some hair accessories she's making. I forgot to ask her how she even knows how to do this.

Because the girls had to be next to each other on one side of the table, that meant Michelle and I ended up being "same-side sitters". I'm opposed to this sort of thing and am always baffled when I see couples in restaurants sitting next to each other instead of across from each other. I guess I've never felt the need to be that close to Randy while eating, I prefer to have eye contact while talking. So it was kind of funny for Michelle and I to be working on our stuff side by side.


I only wrote two notes, but both of them were heart-felt notes to people from church so I was really glad to get those done. Then I flipped through Michelle's Women's Conference class schedule and scoped out Amy M.'s class, it's one week away!

So to sum up...We had to get together on Thursday and only got 2.5 hours, but it was fun for Eva and Ashley and was rejuvenating for Michelle and I, so all was well!

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Why do I dread making salads so much? It's like a character flaw at this point in my life. I really need to get over it and embrace the fact that as a woman I am required to make salads from time to time and really should do so more often. Good grief.

This Boy

I originally took these pictures to document Landon's "uniform" which has been jeans with either his Michigan t-shirt or his BYU t-shirt (they look almost the same) all winter. Yes, he has an entire closet full of clothes that he likes, but apparently these are the only shirts he LOVES.

I am ready to burn these shirts!

Landon recently started wearing deodorant (he authorized me telling this) after attending the 6th grade's Maturation program with Randy (phew, one milestone I didn't have to navigate!). He came home looking like a deer in the headlights, but recovered nicely and embraced the notion of showering often and wearing deodorant.

Now that the weather has been nicer he can wear shorts with these shirts and he's even happier about that. I tell him he's basically wearing jammies day and night, and it turns out he's okay with that.



This boy has confidence, charisma, comedy and the smarts to back them all up. He is almost always agreeable and easygoing, and is able to recover quickly the times he isn't. He genuinely wants be obedient, struggles with himself when he fights it, and has a gift for humbling himself and admitting when he is wrong. I could take a lesson from him.


Last weekend he was given the choice between joining Randy and a bunch of men from our ward for an all-day service project that would require hard labor outside AND would mean missing his soccer game. We left this choice entirely up to him because we already told him he'd have to miss this Saturday's soccer game for a Scout camp out.

He weighed this decision all day and didn't decide until after game night around 10:30pm Friday. He said, "I'm going to go with dad." Then he said, "I remember Brother Todd saying that there are life choices and now choices and I think this is one of those life choices." (Cue tears.) I was so impressed, pleased, touched and grateful all at the same time.


I wrote his primary teacher/scout leader Brother Todd a heart-felt thank you note that made me cry as I wrote it and recounted this story to him. What a blessing it is to have righteous leaders who do their best!

Tonight, Landon heard me telling Randy about all of this and he said, "I want to grow up to be a good person." This did my heart good and made think how wonderful it is that he knows this as an 11 year old boy and doesn't have to muck through years and years before figuring it out.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Don't forget to vote for your favorite photo from yesterday's post to be entered to win one of them.

It's Good to be Alive

Yesterday was such a gloriously beautiful day that I felt like skipping around shouting "It's good to be alive!" I didn't do that though (have you ever seen a fat girl skip? It's not pretty), instead I finally took myself to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. It has taken me years of good intentions to finally get myself there and it did not disappoint.

{This reminder helped me get there.}

I revel in the beauty of spring in general and take great pleasure in the meager spray of flowers growing in my own yard. I check them out each day for progress, document the stages of their development and am sincerely sad when their time of blooming is gone. So for me to be somewhere as glorious as the gardens at Thanksgiving Point was euphoric. I would like to live there or maybe have an annual pass so I could go there often.

{Tulips at our house}

My outing was almost ruined because my camera was acting up. It was giving me an error message and wouldn't let me take pictures. I've been feeling like it's in the winter of its life as it is, so I feared it was giving up the ghost on me. Thankfully I looked online (thanks to a panicked call from Michelle who encouraged me to do so) to see if I could find an answer to the error. It took me two minutes to Google the issue and resolve it...it's a good thing I hadn't been using my camera for 5 days eh? Idiot!

That meant my camera was in good form for my outing, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it. I know that's silly, but not to me. I love nature photography and would have felt like I'd lost a limb if I'd gone there without a good camera.


It felt great to have actually followed through on one of my intentions and to be outside enjoying the gorgeous weather (76 degrees and breezy).

I'd like you all to vote for your favorite photos (I labeled them under each picture for you) and thought it would be fun to randomly select a winner or two to receive an enlargement of their favorite photo.

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After an hour and a half of wandering the grounds I found a nice bench and read for awhile. The only way it would have been better is if I'd had an ottoman and a waiter.

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{Photo 18}

I've noticed that I've become a little shy with my self-portraits lately due to the ugly period I'm going through. I think that's rather sad.


After further wandering I found myself up by the vendors and treated myself to a churro and sat down to read and write for awhile. There were kids running wild and rolling down the hill (I even saw a couple grown-ups do that) and everyone just seemed happy to be there.


I wrote in my Paris-inspired outings journal and talked myself out of buying a burger (they smelled so, so good).

{Photo 19}

It's a good thing I went yesterday because this is what it looks like today! I'm fine with rainy days if I've taken advantage of the sunny ones.

**Have you had any days like this recently?
Do you like taking pictures of flowers?
Which photos do you like?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I hope it's not presumptuous to think anyone would want an enlargement of one of my photos. I just really like doing giveaways and would be happy to receive something like this from someone else, so I'm doing it myself.