On a whim...

On a whim, I made my family blog public again.  It feels oddly naked and exposed right now, but somehow, makes me want to blog again.  See, having it private means that no one is looking at it so I don't have to write.  I want to write.  So, on a whim, it's public again.

Yet Another Letter

Dear Dick's Market,

I accept your gift of an eclair and cake slice but now, your cake is added to the list of temptations. Do you really think that is fair?

Licking the crumbs,

Megan

A Letter

Dear Dick's Bakery,

Shame on you for making the best chocolate eclairs on the face of this planet. The same eclairs that remind me of my youth when my mother worked at the White House Reception Center and would bring us leftover mints, nut cups and those chocolate eclairs with peach colored flowers piped on them. Mmm...those chocolate eclairs. Oh my memories of the White House Reception Center.

Lush carpet (was it green?), the cascading steps for the bride's entrance where I pretended I was the bride, the dumb waiter, Aqua Net on the shelf and the fastest dishwasher on the face of the earth downstairs in the stainless steel kitchen. And eclairs. Oh, the eclairs! No temple mint, nut cup or trip down the stairs could ever compare to your creamy, sugary, chocolaty goodness.

Do you see what you have done Dick's Bakery?? Do you understand the depth of the temptation that you now present to me? Shame on you. Or should I shame the sweet girl at work that brought them for her crop night class. The same girl that taunts me with her homemade goods and Spinach Artichoke dips. Just one glance at those eclairs and it was all over for me. Memories flooding, my taste buds yearning for the tickle of chocolate. Going to work reminds me of those chocolate eclairs.

Don't you see what you have done Dick's? Shamelessly flaunting yourself to a sugar addict with fond memories. My only defense was that you weren't too close to my house but now you have gone and opened up another store just minutes away. My defense is weakening. Oh the shame. Shame, shame, shame.

With my regards,
A Sugar Addict

Megan

PS: I'll see you Saturday night.

Ode to Dishwasher

Dear Dishwasher,

I love you so much. You are so reliable and quiet. I can always count on you to do your job without having to be told more than once. You help keep the counter and the sink clean making the whole kitchen feel cleaner giving me that nice serene feeling of order in a home that has none.

Thank you for coming to live with us. Thank you for doing the dirty work that used to take me three times longer than it does now. Thanks to you, I now have an extra 30 minutes to my day. I may have to buy more glass dishes to fill your big belly up since we often run out of dishes before you are full. And dear sweet dishwasher, any excuse to go shopping is a good one in my book. :)

With all my love,

Megan

I've got nothin'.

So yet almost another week has passed since I last blogged. And yet again, I am amazed at how fast the week passed. Where is time going????? Is it really the 10th of November?? Is it really getting that close to Thanksgiving? Whose side of the family are we having Thanksgiving at anyway? And then after Thanksgiving, it's Sammy's 2nd birthday and then CHRISTMAS! What is going on?? Time seems to be going faster and faster and faster....

It's cold and rainy outside. I am so very thankful that after six visits from four different repair men, our furnace is working. (Knock on wood.)

I just threw away most of our pumpkins in our neighbors garbage can. They are kind like that meaning that I just helped myself to their garbage can. But you see, these neighbors are kind like that. And she makes a mean brownie. Mmmm mmm! Delicious! I am thankful for those tasty brownies although my hips aren't. A moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips.

My Samalicious just finished his morning drawing and is now wiggling on my lap. I am thankful for his fat cheeks to munch on. I am not, however, thankful for him wiping his runny nose on my shoulder. And he knows how to turn off the computer. Gotta watch that one I tell ya.

My kids have early out all this week. My kids and the teachers are thankful for early out. This mama is not so sure because it means that Miss 'Melia is going to be home in one hour and 17 minutes and I have yet to actually get ready for the day.

See, told ya. I've got nothin'.

Knick-knack

Knick-knack-patty-whack this dumb yard sale is DONE!

Did pretty good selling all my knick-knacks. Yeah!

I'm exhausted and I still have a stinkin' huge pile to take care of. Wah.

Not buying another thing for a looooooong time. I am sure I will last clear until Monday 'cause you know, tomorrow is the Sabbath Day and can't shop on Sunday.

Mom did decent for throwing together a bunch of her stuff at the last minute. I laughed every time she sold something for a dime. Then we bought knick-knacks from each other. And that was like this: "You like?? Yes. How much? You can have it. Thanks!" So see, I didn't technically buy.

HELP! I have been buried alive!

I have learned a good lesson this past month.

GIVE THINGS AWAY WHEN YOU DON'T USE/NEED/LOVE THEM ANYMORE!!!

We are having a neighborhood garage sale this Saturday. It's not getting here fast enough!! I am tired of tripping over this stuff and WHY did I keep any of it?? Seriously! Most of this stuff was in our storage room that was packed and put in storage for years before we moved.

I have had a constant stress headache for a month now. And I am really, really grumpy. And I hate tripping over, going through and sorting all this stuff. I really, really hope that once this stuff is out of here, I will feel better.

A Blogging Award

Well, looky-looky at me. I got myself my first blogging award. Isn't it funny?? It's the like the blogging version of chain mail. :) Anywho.....thanks Nicole of Our Cozy Nest! You are the super blogger girl of the blogs. Thanks for the award!

So, here are the rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.

4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. Show these rules.

And the nominees are (in no particular order ):

• Paige from SuperPaige's Pad: Paige is my sister Sharmyn's good friend since High School. She is fun, high energy and is currently in a play. She is great!
• Megan from The O Show: Doesn't she have a great name?? This girl can hang her own shelves and ceiling fan. She rocks!
• Sarah from The Misadventures of Mama and Jack: She's a got the eye for great vintage goodies, sews beautifully all while adventuring with her little Jack.
• Jessica of Me and Mine: Because we have been friends since Jr. High School. She's a super mom!
• Kemille from Garvin Family Scrapbook: Because maybe it will motivate her to update her blog more often: . :)
  

There ya have it. I tried to choose different blogs than I usually do. Enjoy and congrats to all.

Tagged

So here is my first tag that I have done. Nicole, my darling flutey friend, tagged me the other day. Have you seen her kitchen??? It's darling cute!! Go check her out and give her a little love.

How to play this game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

Okay, here we go:
Three Joys:

1. My family and children of course! Love them all!
2. Playing the flute.
3. When I finish a improvement project in my home.

Three fears:

1. Something horrible happening to anybody in our family. I just don't even want to think about it.
2. We have a huge vine covered fence in our backyard. I am afraid to work on it. I don't want to put my hand in their and find something that I don't want to find. Or get bit.
3. Making mistakes.

Three Current Obsessions/Collections: Let's call this one goals like Nicole did.

1. Catch up on scrapbooking. This is a big goal! I have a big collection of supplies and photos.
2. Updating and decorating our house.
3. Flutey stuff. I would like to practice more. I have recently started teaching again and would really like to get more students. Oh, and I would really like at least a new head joint for my flute. :)

Three Random Facts About Me:

1. I rarely admit to anyone that I have a blog. Still can't get over the fact that my hubby teases me insistently about it. :)
2. I was an aunt before I was born. I am the youngest of six kids. My oldest sister first child is actually one month older than me. Our family was very spread out over the years. It's almost like two families actually. The first three close, a few years for another, then another 5 years and then 3 1/2 years me.
3. I have been very good at guessing what gender of baby we are going to have. On Sam, I decided that I would not find out but I knew he was a boy. As people questioned me, un-confident me found it was easier to agree with them that I didn't really know and started saying it could be a girl even though all along I knew he was a boy. Every so often, I would wonder "Girl?" and my mind would automatically answer "No! Boy silly! You know that!"

There you go. So now, I tag: Jessica, Dawn, Kaylin, Brianne and work friends Christy and/or MaryLyn.

Satisfying day

Today has been one of those satisfying Saturdays that I always want to have but don't always get. Busy, but not to busy and nice and somewhat productive. Today we:

• Went yard selling with my Mom. We did pretty good too. I bribe the kids to do their work in the morning quickly by giving them a dollar to spend at yard sales. Mia got Ken and Barbie. She is so into Barbie's right now. She was thrilled to get a boy Barbie. Jake got a brand new Cranium Hullabaloo game and Sammy got a touch and feel kitty book. He has a thing for kitties. I got a nice big black shelf, a plate rack, fancy tin wall decoration thingy, two black bathroom mats for my soon (crossing my fingers!) black and white bathroom. Mom came home with a great decorative rooster that my dad loved.
• I put up the new shelf I bought when I went on a decorating super shopping spree with my sister Teryn and my niece-in-law Angie. I had to put in toggle bolts and it was my first time doing that. I did an awesome job! It's level, but maybe would be a bit better more to the left.
• I finally scrapped more wallpaper off in the kitchen. It's been how long? Oh yes, this long. That's a really, really long time ago. I think it's high time to finish. *groan and whine*
• Kids played and played and played some more with good friends.
• We enjoyed SEVERAL rounds of Cranium Hullabaloo.
• Made breakfast and dinner but got to eat out for lunch.
• Cleaned up said meals AND washed the dishes. I don't love doing dishes by hand but it is sort of relaxing as long as baby is happy. Sam happily splashed in the soapy water.
• Cleaned the house and vacuumed up then sent the kids to the shower.

It's so nice being at the end of a Saturday with happy, clean and well fed kids and a few projects finished. Now it's time to decide if I like the shelf in the kitchen.

Tumbling Review

Jake's tumbling review was on Thursday night. He has improved so much since the last recital. I am so proud of him for sticking it out. I think that he honestly enjoys it now.

Here is the one picture that I got that night and it's pretty bad. I only had the choice of video or pictures at the review so I chose to video him. It's too long to post, but it sure cracks me up. He is such a HAM! Jake is on the left. Those boys talked through the whole thing. He did a cartwheel that didn't go so smoothly so he hopped up and down holding his ankle. At the end, he ran over to his spot and flopped down pretty obnoxiously. Guess we will have to work on his stage presence! I am not sure that we will ever get him to control his urge to be the class clown. Still love him though!

HELP!!

It feels that I am tripping over clutter and chaos in every room of my home. The corners, the middles, the sides all covered in crazy messiness. I keep going through things and adding more to the pile for DI, but it doesn't seem to help. Washing and folding mounds of laundry but the pile is not getting any smaller. Pulling weeds, scrubbing the toilet, washing dishes, breaking up arguments, making meals/snacks, going through piles of school papers, wiping the counters and table and highchair, only to turn around to another yet another mess. Ahhhh! If you don't hear from me, send help. I might be swallowed alive in this mess.

A few tidbits of cute.....

Ryan "a-tackling" Sam. "Atackle" is one of our favorite Jakey's made-up words. and baby giggles are addictive.

This birthday purse that I could not leave because it was only $1. It's fabric is like a carpet. Thus the name of carpet bag possibly? I honestly don't know what I would do with it, but I like it just as much as Ryan doesn't like it. But he let me get it anyway. Because it was my birthday. And it was a dollar.

Apparently, it's time for the lemonade/garage sale. Jake is the major sales man of the family and has been selling pencils all Winter long. When there is the slightest bit of sunshine, Jake is out there working the crowd of neighborhood kids. All three of them. Must remember to buy more cups. It's going to be a loooooong summer of sales.

Seeing yellow

*Edited: It's like I knew that Cottage Magpie's Color Change: Yellow would have yellow as the color challenge this month. *

This last month I found that I have been craving yellow. I am not usually a yellow person, but I kept picking it over and over again. It started with a yellow shirt I bought for myself then snowballed from there. Since we are stuck inside since it's snowing today, yes snowing. Yesterday, in the 70's. Today, snowing. Anyway, since we are stuck inside, why not post our own little rays of sunshine?

(1. Our first daffodils 2. Mia's new yellow skirt which is now in the mending pile after she shredded it after wearing it twice. 3. Ryan's childhood blanket just recently found. 4. Dandelions - we grow 'em good! 5. Forsythia 6. Sammy's baby bike 7. Beatrice Bunny 8. Mia's Easter dress 9. Sammy's Easter outfit.)

Or how about making your own little ray of sunshine?? These lemon squares or lemon cheesecake perhaps?? Or how about joining in with Ryan thinking that I am crazy for seriously considering repainting the front room that I just did yellow, like Pratt and Lambert Chamois ?

Sprinkling little rays of sunshine when there is none to be had, yellow is really making me happy right now!

New Finds

For some reason, I have seem to be in some sort of funk this month. Usually, I love April because the flowers start to bloom, it's getting warmer, our wedding anniversary and my birthday. All good things but so far, I am not feeling it. So, in an effort to feel more anything but blah, I have been wanting to shop. Oh, what a good little shopper I am! Shop, shop, shop, shop, shop! Isn't it fun when you find the best little treasure or that perfect something?? I know you girls know what I am talking about.

This month, I found a few favorites while thrifting. (Thrifting sounds so much fancier than saying shopping at the DI. I just found this interesting article about how Desert Industries came to be.) I found lots of little things, but here are my favorites:

• This vintage material. It was in a bag that had some natural colored canvas and some really loud 70's floral for just $3. I really liked the colors and the design and it wasn't until I came home that I discovered the border. I think it is cute, but but doesn't the girls bonnets look a bit more like duck heads. Duck headed maidens or bonnet wearing maidens. What do you think?

• How can 50 cents make your life so much happier? When you buy this darling pattern! I love how it wraps and that it is reversible. How fun! I am excited to try it out for Mia. It's marked size 7 so it might be a while. I want to make one and see how it fits. It's marked "easy cut - easy sew" so it shouldn't be to tricky.

• This cute tin wall flower bucket. It still had the price tag on it from J&J Nursery, a fancy dancy garden shop. Originally $44.99 (though I really doubt any one would pay that much for it) mine for only $2. Added the greenery and it makes a very cute new spring door hanger.

Speaking of the front door, it's desperately in need of new paint. Ever since we bought the house, I thought that I would paint it black but now, I am leaning towards a pop of color. What if my door was say, springy green similar to the bucket there? Opinions?

And of course, today is my darling niece Lauren's birthday. She is so stinkin' adorable!! She is so fun to be around. Ryan and I got married the day after her birthday so of course, the day before the reception, my family decorated the church all day. It was beautiful and they did a lot of work and of course, were there late. Lauren was there with her parents and didn't complain even though it was her birthday. She is wonderful like that. Her big sister Kaylin wrote a nice post about her today found here. Kaylin is pretty cool too. Happy Birthday Laursy! We love you!!

Tap, tap, tap.....

Hello? Is anyone there? I haven't been much of a mood to blog. Been busy playing. The weather was so nice and springy, we were outside everyday until it all turned on me and has been snowing ever since last Thursday. Such a hard time of year. The daffodils are blooming and the tulips are coming up and the sun is shining and it all feels so lovely and then BAM! Snow. Reminds me of our wedding. It was a lovely spring and then the day before the wedding, a huge, blizzard-like snowstorm. Thankfully, the next day was beautiful and Springy for our pictures. Wasn't very warm, by still nice. So, instead of playing outside, I am inside wasting time on the computer reading blogs. Hmm.....probably should go wash the dishes. And the laundry. And the bathroom. And the....well, you get the idea.

Now I am a winner!

Baptism invites are mailed. Phew. It's a bit on the later side, but with all the commotion over when we were going to have it and Mom and Dad going out of town, it was just up in the air for the date.

I also won a little something from one of Design Mom's contests. This fancy pants little bowl, plate, and cup with utensils finally came the other day. It's from Modern Minis and I do like the depth of the plate. It's kind of like a plate bowl. And they are microwave safe!! Thanks Design Mom. It was so fun to win something!! I have entered a ton of the these contests, so I felt that I could comment whatever I wanted. I sound a bit whiny, but oh well - I won!

Failed

• Failed hearing test (this makes twice)

• Also failed hearing test
  
  
• And I failed to send out the baptism invites, yet again. They are done though! (And there is no sun and I am not fancy smancy to figure out how to make these look any better. Very simple but I still like them.)

Am I still tagged?

If you get tagged to do a meme but then the tagger loses their original meme entry and doesn't re-tag you, does that mean that you are still tagged? That is the question of the day.

Five random or weird facts about me:

1. All my siblings have been on world travels with my parents except me. They have been to France, Russia, and lived in Iran just to name a few. I was born just after they got back from Iran and they stopped traveling with the kiddos. The biggest trip that I have ever been on was a trip to Hawaii with the college Symphonic band right before I got married.

2. At any time of the day, you will find at least 3 pairs of kiddies undies randomly strewn about my house. Right now, there is a pair of little girl panties next to the desk. I am not sure why?

3. I love zucchini but can't stand cucumber.

4. I used to be the one that all my friends came to for hair and makeup before the dance. So much that I didn't plan enough time for my own hair and makeup before my first prom and therefore have scary hair that reminds me of our old Shitzu dog Dhalie and very, very pink lips with my really ugly lilac dress. Really, really not good.

5. I can nurse and still type with both hands. TADA!

Now, I tag Jessica, Dawn, Kaylin and anyone else who reads this blog that would like to play along. Just link in my comments so I can learn five random things about you.

Waiting to see baby Aubri

Hoping to go and see baby Aubri today. Hoping.....hoping....hoping. It's so hard to wait!

I just learned that you can get free tickets once a year for the Utah Symphony for your school age kids. Very cool!

Really liking this song:



Still waiting......