12 on the 12th--January 2018

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1. Our fridge ephemera right now.
2. I worked 7-11 for Angie and got to enjoy Popcorn Friday at work.
3. Michelle's house for Creative Friday.
4. I put together a bunch of photo cards.
5. I took apart my new set of letter board letters.
6. Michelle and I went over accountability goals for the week.
7. Mailing the cards we wrote.
8. I'm still grateful for and loving my new car.
9. Ferris enjoying dinner.
10. Ice cream and Netflix are always a good idea.
11. Blissfully home alone while Randy is out of town and Whitney is at work.
12. What I'm reading.

12 on the 12th--June Edition

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1. Whitney is hard to wake up in the morning.
2. I brought Junie in to help coax Whitney out of bed (it worked).
3. I made a new blog banner and changed the background color on my blog.
4. Book of Mormon reading for the day.
5. Shot of the stuff on my dresser as seen from my spot on the bed.
6. My friend Shannon sent Whitney a good mail package with goodies for Junie (Whitney has a bad sunburn on her shoulders, hence her attire). 
7. I got my hair cut and colored (it's getting harder and harder to keep up on the gray).
8. Quick stop at the grocery store to get taco fixins for dinner.
9. It was pouring rain as I left the store (of course my car windows were partially down).
10. The big bottle of aloe gel I bought to help Whitney's shoulders.
11. Catching up on So You Think You Can Dance.
12. I'm currently reading the 5th Flavia de Luce Mystery, which is a treat.

Miscellany from November

Here are some miscellaneous moments from November...

Sometimes on our gmail at work people will put a little message, I had this message just before my trip, but I took this picture because of Marci's message about the Fall playlist cd I gave her since I'm her Secret Pal--apparently she liked it!

Oh Whitney, why must she torture me so?!

My co-worker Angie gave me a bag full of goodies for my trip. It was so unexpected so nice of her to do this, I wore the sunglasses the entire trip!

My mom brought Kneaders for a car lunch the day before I left for California...it was my first car lunch of the year since I only work 3 days a week now there isn't as much need (though I still enjoy them).

Michelle texted me while I was in the car with my mom saying she was bringing me cookies! I felt so spoiled as I had my mom leaving and Michelle arriving...spoiled!

Michelle made these tasty sugar cookies for Cookie Monday (which she posts on Instagram every Monday) and I had commented that I almost showed up at her house to taste them, so she kindly delivered them to me at work!

I came home from work that day to find that Michelle had delivered my wreath! I had been working on it but felt stumped about how to attach the "S" and the bow so she and her mom tweaked it for me (which was the most important part).

One of our office aides put this note on my computer, this is funny for two reasons 1. She is NOT my favorite at all 2. I think the word "totes" is pretty funny.

My Secret Pal this time around hasn't been very into it but did give me these goodies after I sent a reminder email to the whole group.

I got a nice thank you note from Amie, oh how I love good mail and miss its frequency.

Amie and I went to the wedding reception of our friend Lisa's son. He was in the first primary class I ever taught 11 years ago! I loved that primary class so much I had them for 2 years. It was surreal to see him as a married man.

Our old oven broke so our landlords got us this one. It's very nice but looks a tad modern for our old house!

This is the only lipstick I've ever had that will actually stay on all day, and is a color I like. I usually have a back up stash but ran out of it last week and started to panic when I couldn't find it at 2 different Wal-Marts (nothing but the best for me). I ended up getting the last two our local Walgreens had which leads me to believe that Cover Girl might be discontinuing my color. Oh the humanity!!

Since Michelle and I didn't get together the Friday I was in California and weren't going to be able the Friday after Thanksgiving we opted for a Cafe Rio car lunch.

Creative Friday--2 for the Price of One

For our September 20th activity we originally planned to go to Sundance to ride the ski lift and see the Fall colors, but after going on outings for 3 weeks in a row we had a hankering to stay in.

I picked up some Cafe Rio and drinks and we had a long, leisurely lunch and life catch-up; it takes us about 40 minutes to eat all of that.

We both wrote several notes...I'm loving these colorful cards Michelle gave me for my birthday.

Eva came home from school and was instantly bored (how can this be?!).

That girl has some serious attitude.

Michelle made my new favorite treat, Paula Deen's Butter Bars.

Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients 

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. 
Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well.  Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

These are sinfully delicious, easy to make (I've made them twice) and make your house smell like heaven!

For our September 26th gathering we went to DP Cheesesteaks for lunch, then to TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby.

Michelle embraced the peppers!

 It is so unusual for me to be shopping for fabric that Michelle insisted on taking this picture. I was rather embarrassed to be doing so, but have now decided that I should always carry large bolts of fabric in front of me so I can hide my gut and chins!

I wanted to make some fabric coasters like the ones Michelle gave me a couple years ago. It makes perfect sense that coasters would be fabric. I thought these would make for a fun, little gift for my co-workers who are always battling condensation from their beverages.

There were so many cute fabric choices, but ultimately I went with basic black and white.

These are the fun items I bought at TJ Maxx. I'm always looking for cute gifts for my Secret Pal and I always find good things there. Of course I find stuff for me too.

I put Washi Tape on my keys (as seen on Pinterest) and am delighted with the result even though it's not as cute as the one I saw online.

Michelle printed some faux library cards for me to use for bookmarks (also for my co-workers)...the girl has skills.

I wrote a couple notes and put together a little good mail package.

I snapped this while Michelle was lost in thought while on the phone.

Creative Friday--6 Hours Edition

The kids and I went over to Michelle's house last Wednesday for Creative Friday. I had assumed Whitney would opt to stay home alone that day, but instead she consented to play with Eva all day for $1.50 an hour. This works out well for everyone so I agreed.

I picked up some tasty Los Hermanos for our lunch.

Michelle returned two of my books and loaned me another one, I love having something good to read on-deck (I'm currently reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.

Lucas and Landon are officially huge.

Michelle has to hand sew circles of fabric to center of 44 quilt squares! She made a large dent in her to-do pile that day, but man oh man this is a high-effort quilt.

I surprised Michelle with a self-inking, personalized return address stamp since I knew she'd been wanting one.

Cadbury Egg deliciousness!

I had a lot of birthday photo card thank yous to write.

I love postage!

I was so pleased with myself for leaving enough room on the envelope to fit Amy H.'s entire street name! I have written her many thank you notes over the years, yet somehow I always have to squeeze her street name onto the line or make it take up two lines.

Max joined the boys for some video games and chess, they love it when he agrees to play.

We hardly saw the girls (which is ideal) since they played in Eva's room most of the day, so we were fine with them coming to draw nearby. Eva chose to kneel at the piano bench...

while Whitney choose to stand at the kitchen counter.

I was mighty pleased with my output for the day. I finished my birthday thank yous and wrote several "just because" type cards as well, that always feels good.

Creative Friday--Hooray It's Summer Edition

Michelle, Lucas and Eva came to our house today for the first Creative Friday (on a Wednesday) of summer because their air conditioner at home went out and it's way too hot for us to be creative there. Fortunately we were comfortable at my house with the windows open and one fan going, I love it when it's not super hot outside yet!

Michelle brought Kneaders for our lunch and was kind enough to stop at McDonald's for our beverages since they have the best mix.

Landon, Whitney and I thoroughly cleaned the garage yesterday so it would be in working order today for the girls. I hired Whitney to play with Eva today (for $6.50) but I think she ended up having a good time.

We enjoyed some Christmas-colored Cadbury eggs today (I hoard these).

The boys walked to the elementary school to play basketball and then down to the Sno Shack to get snow cones (hence Lucas' Tiger's Blood colored teeth), then they "willingly" posed for this photo.

Michelle is making a rather ambitious quilt for Eva's bedroom redo and spent the entire day cutting pieces for it.

She also did some texting with her air conditioner repair man who gave her an estimate of over $3000 to replace her whole system...it may end up being a very sweaty summer at the Olivier's!

I started slowly (mainly because we had so much talking to do) but eventually found my groove and wrote 8 cards.

Michelle's stack of quilt fabrics made for a pleasing picture, but as I looked at it I felt the opposite of envy because I don't want to have anything to do with a project like that...I have no patience for it!

I found my stack of stationery pleasing though.

This is how curly Whitney's hair gets after being in the water. She fights it so hard, but I'm trying to help her embrace the curl. Michelle knows all the ins and outs of having curly hair so she gave Whitney some tips about her curls.

Landon and Lucas sidewalk chalk message to any drivers who may be looking at our driveway.

A parting shot.