free give away, duct tape, a pencil ninja and a YouTube video

My friend, Amy is having a free contest on her blog. http://amyrnelson.blogspot.com/2011/01/csn-stores-giveaway.html I am posting this so you'll read her blog and with me well in winning the contest.  Don't try to enter.  Or do. She'll be reading this and probably disqualify me but oh well. (Amy, don't disqualify me.)

Here are some scriptures cases that were made at our family reunion.  All our of duct tape. That's right. We're that awesome.

Here is a photo of me showing off some more of my amazing skills.  It's was 1 in the morning. Don't judge

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YouTube Videos.

This post is packed with a whole lot of NO INFORMATION. Unless you count awesome YouTube Videos I've stumbled across as awesome information. I for one, do!  Please give up a few minutes of your life to watch a couple YouTube Videos. Some of them you may already know. I don't think you'll be disappointed in any of them. Thanks and have a good day!

If you only have time for 1, the first one is my most favorite. I've watched is A LOT this week.







Well, what do you think?

Walking on broken glass

Once upon a time, last Christmas, I didn't have any Christmas spirit. I was looking at the same ornaments on the same tree that I'd been looking at for MANY years. To some this is comforting. To me, for many years, it was comforting. Not last year. I hated my tree. I hated the decorations. I wasn't happy with the weather. I didn't know what we were going to give the kids as gifts. It just wasn't a great year. Christmas kept getting closer and closer, as it always does, and I was not getting excited. I was homesick and unhappy.

Christmas morning arrived with little fanfare. We were woken up early by children who were excited and for the first time that season I was excited and happy! Then it was over. I was even more sad. I left my tree up until New Years Eve. I NEVER do that. I like it cleaned up on 12.26 before lunch.

When I finally got around to packing everything up I decided I was done with all the non-homemade ornaments. I had looked at them enough years. It was time to move on.

Some people donate old stuff when they are done with. We donate a lot of stuff we don't want anymore. But not breakables. Some people don't like the sound of broken glass and actually cringe a little. I LOVE IT!

It started when I was a baby. glass bottles + split entry stairwell with a rod iron railing = happy baby...until all the bottles were gone and mom didn't buy more. boo.

When we get new dishes, we find an empty dumpster and throw the glasses in one at a time. It's music to my ears.

I've digressed...30+ years!

Matthew got a bb gun for Christmas and was shooting at anything he thought he could get away with. When I was done packing all the Christmas stuff up, I asked him if he wanted to shoot the glass bulbs. Of course he did! We took over 20 minutes of video and I made it into a montage of sorts. The only thing missing was it the song, walking on broken glass. I was going to post the video from you tube so you could hear it, but the video is weird!   Anyway, here's the montage.

Hind sight, being perfect, I am glad I got rid of those old ornaments and we started something new this year. This is the first year with out my mom. I haven't actually spent Christmas with my family in many years, but I no longer the option with mom. This new tree, or the decorations rather, is (in my mind) a new start on an season that may never be the same for me.

That being said,

HAPPY FESTIVUS!

You threw off my groove.

Watch from 1:55-2:10 please...or you may watch the whole thing but take special note to those specific 15 seconds.

My groove has been thrown off.  Big Time. and I want a theme song.

Life has taken some amazing turns this month. It started out uneventful. We attended band concerts, parent teacher conferences and gone to the park a few times. (I consider going to the park with the same regard I use when speaking of band concerts and parent teacher conferences. I don't heart the park. At. All.) We've make cotton candy for the holiday bazaar at the school to earn money for the science club and we made it again at the church for the primary carnival. EIGHT people in our family had birthdays this month. I hosted the book club in my home and we've had some friends over for dinner. I'm still playing the organ in Sacrament Meeting but Ken got a new calling. Ward Mission Leader take 5. That's right people, it's his 5th run. (Insert evil laugh here.) All uneventful.

Going to bed on a Friday night after a full day of house cleaning, book club hosting and having friends over for dinner only to wake up to a call from my friend Becky--amazingly life altering.

We were gone for 5 days. We left in a rush after Ken went to the leadership broadcast at the church. While we were gone we met with the social worker and talked about home studies, walk threws and other boring but mandatory things. I told her I could just call my neighbor and have her let them in. I didn't even need to clean first, unless it's a against the rules to have one bedroom that looks like a hoarder lives there.  Another time, another post. Anyway, no walk through was necessary, we were able to come home.

We were home for FOUR days before I vacuumed again. Have I vacuumed since? Umm, that would be a big fat no. Laundry is piling up. School has been non existent. My explanation for that is winter weather and Nicole's had the flu, but still, we could have done something. My shower is happening later and later, there seem to be toys in every room in my house and I've have made a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

My friend Kelly described Anna as 'Just what I never knew I needed.' It's SO TRUE. It is awesome having 3 children. I thought since Nicole and Matthew were so much older that #3 wouldn't be as hard as everyone has told me. Maybe it hasn't been as hard as could be, but I still doubled my capacity by 50%.  It is hard. I'm repeatedly thankful she is 4 and done with bottles, diapers and all the comes with infants. I love 4 year olds. One 4 year old specifically.

I have been in contact with the social worker from Yakima County and one here in Thurston. They are going to do the walk threw of my house tomorrow. No big deal right? Don't even call, just come over. NOT ANYMORE! I'm freaking out. Now my whole house looks like a hoarder moved in. I will be cleaning all day today...if I can pull myself together.

Maybe I will take before and after pictures and somehow count this as a value experience for my personal progress.

My Oh My!

Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus died Wednesday of a heart attack at his home in Bellevue, WA, according to a spokesman for the team. Niehaus, 75, had been the team's voice since the Mariners' inception in 1977.

TAG! I'm it.

If you are recieving this in email, the preview came up showing that some of the questions were in random orders and not with their answers. I'm not sure why, so if that is the case...sorry! I'm trying to fix it.

I have been tagged my by friend Kate. The rules for this tag include answering the 8 question written below. I then have to make up 8 new questions and assign 8 new people to answer them. So here goes something--or nothing. You can choose.

1. What is your creative outlet?
I have a couple of creative outlets. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sew. I like that I can have an idea in my head and make it out of fabric. I use a pattern the same way I use a recipe. It's a good guideline but I'm going to do what I want to make it the way I want it. I also enjoy cooking; and I have tons and tons of rubber stamps that I use periodically.



2. What is your favorite place to be?I'm not sure I have a favorite place to be, but I LOVE being with my family--immediate and extended. Each January our whole family rents a lodge at the church property in CleElum and we all hang out for 3 days eating good food, playing games and freezing in the snow. That time each year with many of my brothers and sisters and parents is priceless.


3. Do you now, or have you ever had a collection of anything? (mine was and is Pez dispensers)
I used to collect mini tea sets. I have over 75 sets of rubber stamps. I guess that is a collection, although I don't buy them anymore. I have made it a rule not to buy anything that is not of use in daily life. I don't want to have to take care of it or store it.  I do have 18 Christmas Trees though...I'm going to have an enchanted forest this December. I'm pretty excited about it.

4. Share 3 things or objects you love most, and why. (people included)
I've decided not to include people in this answer only because I can't narrow them down to 3. There are way more than that. So objects win this time. 

I love my Kitchenaid Mixer. I love it because it is red. It does a lovely job mixing cookies, kneading bread dough and mashing potatoes.  It is easy to clean up and I've learned this weekend that it is also portable. It was put to good use at my Dad's house.

I love Rough & Ready styling gunk made by shortsexyhair. It's the best 'gunk' available for spiking short hair. I use it everyday when my hair is short.

I love my cell phone. I wish I didn't. I wish I didn't need it or only had it around for emergencies, but I don't. I love it's qwerty keyboard. (I had fun typing qwerty just now--twice.) I love it's big screen, that I have over 25 speed dials and that I can access the internet on it. I love it too much.

5. Why do you blog?

I started my blog because I am a copy cat and a friend of mine that I was serving in the primary presidency with had just started one.  She only updated hers once a month and I didn't think that was enough. All of the sudden I had a place that I could write down my thoughts and when you talk as much as I do, you have thoughts come up more than once a month.  My next reason was because I lived over 29 driving hours away from my family and I thought it was a perfect medium to show them what was happening with our family. My reasons now for blogging are 1.This is my politically correct journal. Since I can't say something mean on here--or I won't, this helps me to see the glass half full. 2.I'm my number 1 fan and when I think I'm hilarious I inflict my bad humor on your people.  3.I want to be published. This is a good medium to practice being creative.4. Why shouldn't I blog? It's super fun!  :)

6. What is your take on pets in the home/ as family members?
Define pet. Cats are not pets. I HATE THEM. They are good for mousing--outside and...mousing--outside. I don't like them. I don't think they are cute and they bug me when they rub against my leg and get hair on me. Dogs on the other hand...believe it or not, I don't love dogs as a breed or animal type either. I do love specific dogs. Animal--the dog. He's very nice. My neighbor's dog, Tator. He's very nice also. That being said I take it on a case by case base. (HA! Poetry!) Dirty houses don't need pets. If you can't feed your family, sell your pets. If you are going to have a pet, take care of it and love it. We actually got rid of our dog about 3 weeks ago. It wasn't working out in this neighborhood so he went away. I am sad about that, so obviously I'm not totally against dogs in your home and as a member of your family. DON'T HAVE A SNAKE AS A PET! They are disgusting.

7. What are your internet 'guilty pleasures'? (aka facebook, youtube, etc)
Facebook was my guilty pleasure for 2 years. I was consumed by it, so it turned more into an addiction. So, I deactivated my account for a couple weeks, deleted all my friends that I see on a day to day basis, and then reactivated it so I can keep in touch with distant friends every few days that I don't ever get to see in person. I also love YouTube a couple times a week. I spend most of my time on this website though...blogging amazing tidbits for your reading pleasure. You are welcome.

8. I hate the dentist. OK, that's not a question, but it IS open for discussion amongst yourselves. :) I feel like Linda Richman, from coffee Talk , leaving you with a topic to discuss...WHAT? You don't know who Linda Richman is? See that YouTube Video below to be introduced to her. The Dentist. I actually love going to the dentist. I love that the dentist can fix a painful tooth. I love that the hygienist can make my teeth sparkling white. Free toothbrushes and floss are appreciated. I like good check ups and being told that I don't have any cavities. Yep, I love the dentist.


 
OKAY, I am tagging the following 8 suckers:
1. Donna, my new friend in my new ward.
2. Ben and or Liz, my old friends in my old ward.
3. Kelly, my friend from High School. Her blog is PriVaTe! 
4. YOU! If you aren't included in the other 7 spaces, you win the prize for #4, my favorite number. Blog these answers then comment to let me know so I can read them. Gracias.
5. Gina, my little sister who NEEDS to update her blog ASAP.
6. Margaret, my cousin whom I have never met.
7. Carina, one of the best visiting teachers I have ever had. We moved from a town to go to school and she moved to that town after they finished school.
8. Elise, one of the best sister missionaries I've ever had to pleasure of getting to know.
 
Okay ladies and Ben, here are your questions...
1. What are your favorite soup and or bread recipes?
2. What are your nicknames? How did you get them? (Bonus points for embarrassing stories.)
3. Where is your favorite place you have lived? Why?
4. What kind of camera do you have? Do you like it? Hate it?
5. What is the worst meal you had to eat? This means you didn't just stir it around on your plate then dump it, you ATE it. Think mission stories people!...or newlywed ones. haha
6. What is your favorite television show that you probably shouldn't watch?
7. What is something you did as a child that you couldn't tell your parents until you were an adult?
8. Why do you blog?

Updates from thoughts at 7:10 a.m.

Matthew eye is crazy swollen still. I took him to the Urgent Care this morning because he was experiencing blurred vision in his other eye. It turns out that his 'good eye' is just over compensating for his swollen one and it is tired. They prescribed prednisone to get rid of the swelling.


I still need to vacuum.

Lastly, a new thought...

I can play the penny whistle. I taught myself and it's AWESOME! I'm going to do put on a concert for my family. They don't know it yet and they probably won't be excited, but I'm going to do it anyway. muhahaha

WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO! It's a school production of a great broadway play AND in honor of this song, I made Nicole write a summary of the book Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. (Mother of Harry? haha)

I just learned about this group...

They're called the Cactus Cuties. I'm sure some of you have already heard of them and if you have, thanks a lot for telling me about them! Here are a couple of YouTube videos of them. It's totally worth your time to listen! (Dad, log onto my blog to listen to these. )

I'm not sure if they have any CDs, if they do any original songs or if they are just performers of traditional music. Whichever it is, I like them! Enjoy





This last one is just 2 of the girls.

Stolen from another blog...

I took this picture off a great blog called http://oinkledoinkle.blogspot.com/. Here is a youtube video to explain it...

I LOVE music!!

I learned about this guy from my cousin. He reminds me a little bit of Yanni. His name is Maksim Mrvica. He is a Croatian pianist. Enjoy!

To My Family, Watch this!!

This post is for my family. Of course you are all invited to listen/watch it too. It just happens to be the BEST CHRISTMAS SONG EVER played in our home...if you ask my humble opinion. We only listened to it hundred of times growing up.

It's MAGIC!

Tonight we went to a magic show at the local city auditorum. It was an hour and half of free entertainment...a perfect evening if you ask me.

We met up with our friends, Ben and Liz. This is their handsome son, David.

During the course of the evening Matthew won a D.A.R.E. bracelet and 3 people sitting near us were picked to be volunteers on stage because our group was loud and got the guy's attention. The 2nd victim of the evening was our friend, Ben. I got a small part of his embarrassment on video but lucky for him, my battery went dead. I was worried that I was going to have to leave so that he didn't kill me or get me volunteered but sadley, their daughter threw up and they had to leave early. Sorry Ana got sick Liz and Ben! Here's video of the the short part of his embarrassment.

On another note....

Have you ever seen Napolean Dynamite? If not, we are no longer friends. If so, you know the part of the movie when Napolean is eating tator tots during class? Tonight I took the kids to Wendy's for dinner on the way to the magic show. Matthew stuck all his fries in his coat pocket and ate them during the show. I felt proud.

Here are the top 10 parts of Napolean Dynamite...if you have or have not seen it.

Here is the tator tot scene.

Too early for flapjacks?

We make pancakes for breakfast A LOT at our house.  When I am feeling like letting the nice Mom out for a while, I cut the pancakes into shapes they like using cookie cutters.

Matthew LOVES airplanes.  The cirlce is a cloud...in theory.

Nicole is super excited about Halloween.

Ken LOVE Mickey Mouse.  The heart is because I love him.

I know you are dying to know what shape I enjoy eating my pancakes...afterall it wouldn't be fair for them to get awesome shaped flapjacks and mine are just boring circles.  Have no fear though...mine are the coolest of all...

AWESOME right??  Having trouble figuring them out?  Here's another photo.

Seriously, even nice Mom is not going to waste food and according to my THREE children eating at the dinner table this morning, those were ruined.  :)

Whenever we eat pancakes, I always think about the part of the movie 'Groundhog Day' when Phil is driving drunk thru town and the police are chasing him.  Here's a clip for you if you've never seen the BEST MOVIE EVER MADE.

I Want To Break Free

A few years ago, Ken and I, Heather and Farrell and Gina along with her date went to see Oceans 12 in the theater. We were sitting quietly in one of the back rows when the previews started. The first preview was a coke commercial. We heard the intro and recognized the commerical because we had seen it on TV a few times. About 4 counts before the actualy singers were going to start singing the song on the ad, Ken belted out, in prefect pitch, REALLY LOUD, 'I want to break free!' ALot of people turned around and looked at us. All of us on the back row--except for Ken--were laughing too. Ken just sat there with a smug look on his face, proud of what he had just done. I found that very ad on YouTube. So I hope you like the ad, and for Heather, Farrell and Gina, I hope you enjoy this little walk down memory lane. I'm smiling right now as I type it.

Danny Boy

I LOVE the group 'Celtic Thunder' and my favorite song they sing is Danny Boy. Here is a clip of them singing it on YouTube.



I also LOVE the muppets and their ability to ruin anything beautiful. Here is a clip of them singing it on YouTube.