Happy Birthday Kristi!!!

This is a birthday list of 38 things about Kristi in the last year. She is inspiring to many of us and is a great friend to me. Have a wonderful birthday Kristi!!


1. She has an enviable zest for life.


2. She went to Europe again last summer with Jeff and their 3 kids!


3. She ran 2 more marathons in 2008.
4. She's the Young Women's President again!



5. She has managed to stay on top of Pink Christmas even though it got huge this year.
6. She has turned Pink Christmas into a charity and donated to families in need.


7. She found so many great bargains at Goodwill last year.



8. She started a fabulous idea blog with her genius friend Stacy.


9. She sent a ton of good mail in funny packages.


10. Her word for the year was PACE.
11. She taught the Young Women about the power of choosing a word for the year.


12. She finally read and loved "These Is My Words" by Nancy Turner.


13. She spent a lot of time at the pool and even had a private lesson from her daughter.


14. She spent 4 days at my house for our first ever Women's Conference weekend.


15. She celebrated Leap Day.


16. She had to goodbye to their wonderful D.C. Ward.


17. She got good at making rolls.


18. She took notes/doodled during a church lesson and then copied them and sent them in a card to the speaker. (Brilliant idea!)
19. She got to have several BYU mint brownies while visiting Utah.


20. She did a lot more exploring of Washington, D.C.
21. She went to Girl's Camp.


22. She wandered Chicago by herself and had a great time.
23. She's done changing diapers!


24. She still cries easily.


25. She made the blog party much more fun.


26. She's super generous with me.


27. While staying here she said she was too shy to play SingStar, but then after oh...3 seconds totally got into it and belted out the songs. Shy...what in the world?


28. She practices Random Acts of Kindness.


29. She taps all the planes she flies on as she boards.


30. She writes in the sand whenever she's on the beach.


31. She went to two of her brothers' graduations.


32. She sent generous good mail to Whitney!


33. I love how she takes pictures of good mail hanging from a tree in her yard.


34. She has taken a lot of great family self-portraits.


35. She has started hosting give-aways on her blog.


36. She loves shopping at the commissary.


37. She appreciates her beautiful surroundings and is good about documenting them.



38. She took a lot of amazing photos.

Happy 38th Birthday Kristi,
you are a remarkable woman!!!

**How does Kristi inspire you?**

Yipee

Yesterday ended up being such a good day. I had the morning to myself at home, everything was clean and orderly because I'd worked a lot on Monday, I finished a primary project I needed to do, and was expecting a call from blogging-friend Jen so we could meet up as they passed through town.


We ended up meeting at Cafe Rio for a long lunch (I think I kept them too long). Even though I've met quite a few bloggers in real life, it's still kind of surreal to meet someone after only knowing them through their blog. I feel like I really know Jen, her husband Shane and their son Kellen so it was only fitting that we took a self-portrait with all 4 of us.


They must have thought I was crazy as I followed them out to their car (it wasn't parked near mine) but I just had to get a self-portrait of Jen and I together before she left. They live in Alaska, so there's no telling when I'll see her again. Her blog is one of my absolute favorites because she's honest, insightful, funny, real, intelligent and can laugh at herself. It was a treat to meet her and I hope I didn't disappoint in real life.


In other news, Whitney got some cute good mail from her pen pal Luci. Luci sent a little card adorned with 4 green pompoms (I've never sent pompomed mail before where have I been?) with a long sheet of star stickers wrapped around it. Whitney was thrilled and immediately put the stickers to good use. Also, notice Whitney's keen fashion-sense here, she has a long-sleeved sweater under a hoodie-type shirt.


We have gotten an insane amount of snow and it was still going, but I actually felt like being outside and shoveling. It didn't feel cold out there and was rather peaceful, so I shoveled the driveway and finished right as Randy pulled up (he usually does the shoveling).


He ended up fine-tuning my work (ahem) and then helped me shovel the walk. We can't believe how much snow we have. This is our 6th winter here and though we've had lots of snow, it hasn't piled up quite this much before.

Seriously, that's a lot of snow!

**Do you mind shoveling?
Have you ever sent pompomed mail before?
Have you met many blogging friends?**

SPT--I Resolve Week 1

This week's SPT topic is "I resolve to take more self-portraits", but since I'm already addicted to taking self-portraits this isn't a resolution I need to make. I've taken self-portraits in the dentist's chair, on an airplane, at the grocery store, at the movie theater, in my car, in my kids' classrooms, under my dryer and on and on.


I think there is a greatness to taking self-portraits and here are just a few reasons I can think of right off the top of my head.

1. Being documented in my own life and blog.
2. Finding humor in things that otherwise might not be funny.
3. Seeing different sides of myself. (It's eye opening for sure.)
4. Making peace with aging.
5. Finding beauty in daily life.
6. Documenting changes in myself.
7. Recognizing a huge difference in my face when I smile.
8. Becoming quite strategic with the camera so as to minimized my chins.
9. Writing about self-portraits often leads to epiphanies.
10. I have lots of pictures with my friends because of it.

Thanks Lelly for helping me cultivate this great habit!!

**Are you indicated to self-portraits?
What have you learned?
Will you join Self-Portrait Tuesday this year?**

They Saved My Bacon

I wasn't planning on having game night last Friday night because I knew we'd be getting together with the whole family on Saturday for Austin's baptism. But Adam called in the afternoon to see if we were up for it, and though I told him I had to cut out lots of laminating (the return of the Articles of Faith cards from November) he still wanted to come over for paninis and games.


I had foolishly left this project, once again, until the day before it needed to be done. Apparently I'm very slow to learn my lesson because any smart girl would have finished it before the holidays. Not me though. I kept telling myself that since it was already half finished that it wouldn't be so bad this time, but I grossly underestimated the amount of work involved.


Even after Adam, Amy and the girls arrived, I still felt optimistic about the amount of work I needed to do. Amy offered to help cut out the cards, and then I volunteered Randy and Adam to help too so we could finish quickly and play games sooner.


It ended up taking 4 of us an hour and a half to cut all the cards out (which was made worse by the fact that I did some sub par laminating which resulted in some overlapped cards), then to punch holes in all of them and put the groups of 13 cards onto a ring. I needed 39 sets of 13 cards, so that meant working with 507 cards!


It was such a blessing that they came over and that they were so willing to help, they totally saved my bacon. I probably would have been up all night working on that project and would have been begrudging the time spent doing this, even though it was my own fault. Instead it turned into a quality SEP group therapy session (Adam should seriously start taking appointments) and a good time with the four of us.


We finished all the cards by 8:00 and were able to play Speed Scrabble and Scum until 10:30.

Happy Birthday Daniela & Shawna!!!

**Do you leave things to the last minute?
When was the last time someone saved your bacon?**

Sunday Thoughts

Our church time moved to 11:30-2:30 today so if I don't post my Sunday Thoughts before church (like today) they're going to be showing up later like this...just FYI. (All 9 Sunday post commenters can now breathe a sigh of relief, ha.)

I've been reading I Am A Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson again (thanks again Melinda) and have been highlighting passages like crazy. This one seemed especially good.


"Elder Bruce C. Hafen said: "Can we love and support each other without judging each other harshly? So many of us are trying our hardest to live the commandments, often against great odds in our personal lives and unique family situations. Heaven knows, the world isn't giving us much support in these relationships. Let us support one another, even when--especially when--we differ on matters of personal choice and circumstance. Those are usually differences of preference, not principle."

"In every woman's story there are unknowns--struggles only she knows about, fears she's tried to overcome but still harbors, disappointments and sorrows she bears. The last thing any of us wants--or needs--is to be judged by others who don't know our stories, in part or at all." page 104

I love this and really appreciate the reminder. We never have all the information about anyone and really don't need to be tsk-tsking about other people's lives anyway. I would really like to live without judgements (both about me and from me) and want to make this an area of improvement in my life this year.

**What do you think??**

Daddy Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

We spent New Year's Eve at home in our Jammies playing games, just the four of us, and I must say it ended up being a really fun night.


We re-taught ourselves how to play Yahtzee (Randy and I hadn't played since we were kids), and taught the kids for the first time. It ended up being really fun. One of the times Landon was shaking the dice cup I told him to say, "Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!" This proved to be hilarious, and I'm sure is something he'll start adding to his witty repertoire.


Whitney prepared this artistic dessert for us earlier in the day. The recipe (because I know you'll all want to make it) is an unwrapped Airhead, with 3 fun sized butterfingers spaced evenly, 2 peppermints placed in-between the chocolates. She added a ring of peanut butter for decoration, but you substitute anything you'd like there. She also added crushed peppermints to the peanut butter garnish and a couple m&ms for flair. She was beyond excited about us sharing this dessert, though she ended up eating almost all of it herself.


We also played Pictureka, which is our new family favorite. It's fun for all of us, but the kids really love it. It's kind of funny because when they opened it on Christmas morning they both responded with indifference, but when we played it for the first time during FHE the other night they kept saying how much they loved it and how fun it was. (I think there's a lesson to be learned here...mom always knows best!)


While we were playing games I brought out a box of chocolates that I'd gotten for 75% off at Target that night. You would have thought I told them we were going to Disneyland or something because they were so excited. Landon took one bite and said, "Where have you been all my life?" We devoured the top layer of chocolates quickly so I lifted up the little tray to reveal a second layer and Whitney just about lost it. She couldn't believe there was a whole other layer of goodness in there. (We don't get out much.)


We then moved into the family room to play a new PS2 game "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" I'm happy to report that I am.


We also played SingStar until almost midnight. It's kind of great that we're all pretty horrible singers because there's no pressure whatsoever to be good, it's just fun.


We turned on the TV at 11:57 just in time to see the ball drop in Time's Square. That was the first time the kids had ever seen that happen since this is their first year staying up until midnight for New Years.


We took this self-portrait in front of the TV while the celebration was going on. It felt memorable even while we were doing it. It's weird that the kids are old enough now to really remember things like this.

Happy Birthday Mandy!!!

**What board games do you love?
Do you remember New Year's Eves from your childhood?
What did you do to celebrate?**

Creative Friday--Christmas Edition

The kids and I went over to Michelle's house on Tuesday to exchange Christmas gifts with them and to hang out, so it wasn't a Creative Friday but I'm labeling it that because it was our get together for the week.


Landon gave Lucas the game Rummikub, but Lucas had just received it from a white elephant exchange at school...what the?? That is NOT a white elephant type gift. We ended up taking it home with us and will have to choose something else for Lucas instead. Lucas gave Landon an iTunes gift card which is great because Landon is always wanting to make mix Cd's but doesn't ever have the money to buy the songs he wants. (Notice Michelle's gorgeous new curtains.)


This was the beautiful scene on the table, a bounty of gifts and our lunch. The gifts were so pretty that it seemed a shame to open them.


I brought an Alfredo, Tomato, Ham pizza from The Pizza Factory for our lunch, it was so good! It kind of surprises me that I like this pizza because I'm usually so picky/boring with food, but I love it.


Michelle's mom gave me this darling set of 3 bowls with a matching whisk (could they be cuter?) and this sparkly Merry Christmas sign. She is the best gift giver ever, and I am always giddy to receive something from her. Thanks Susan!!!


Michelle's Aunt Denise (who is a blogger and friend) included a gift for me in the box of presents she sent for Michelle. As if her thoughtfulness wasn't enough already, she also had this very sweet tag on the gift.


Inside was a large monogrammed notepad! This is right up my alley, thanks Denise!!!


Michelle's mom had also left a gift for Michelle and I together...intriguing.


We were delighted to find huge spools of gorgeous May Arts ribbon inside. There is a ton of it for us to divide up. I love having a large supply of ribbon. Thanks again Susan!!!


Michelle gave me a trash can because she remembered that during one of our summer sleepovers with the cousins the foot pedal of our trash can got broken. This one is much more stylish than the one we've had for 5 years so it was an unexpected delight to receive this.


Michelle also gave me this cool, typewriter ornament. I like it so much I think I will hang it year round in my scrapbook room.


Michelle also gave me these darling, little cards and envelopes. Apparently her mom put a bunch of them in her stocking then told her she gave her enough that she could give me some. How nice is that?


As if those items weren't enough, Michelle gave me these awesome advent stockings like she'd made for herself and for Jessie! I was with her when she'd made them for herself so I know how time and effort intensive this project is (which confirmed that I would never make it for myself) and was touched that she'd do it all again for me. Wow!


My gift presentation for her was not fancy at all, though luckily she really liked the beautiful ribbon I used (which was a gift from Kristi).


I just had to give Michelle her very own headlight because she often wakes up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep. I wish I could have given her the gift of guaranteed good nights of sleep, at least the ability to stay in her cozy bed and read is something. Her headlight is about 4 years newer than mine so I found myself admiring the more streamlined design of hers, ha.


I also gave her a gift certificate for a pedicure since she so rarely gets them (except that she did last week while her mom was in town) and because I know that the care of her feet is an indicator of her sanity level. So hopefully this will come in handy sometime in the next few months when she needs some pampering and a boost.

The other thing I gave her was a card describing a new thing I'll be doing this year. (Though when she first saw the card she thought I was changing Creative Fridays to Wednesdays.) On the third Wednesday of every month I'm going to be picking up Eva by 9:30am and spending the day with her until about 5:00pm so that Michelle can have a day at home alone.


We hurriedly took this self-portrait as I was leaving and got this one on our first try. Either we're getting better or the planets aligned for a moment.

**Did you exchange gifts with friends?
Do you love ribbon?**