Christmasing?

Well this weekend, I had all these ideas in my head. I was going to do some more baking because I love to bake and it is the holidays. That did not happen. I looked at the recipes but never quite got past that stage. The only thing I made was pumpkin dip. It is so yummy! Just a can of pumpkin, vanilla pudding mix, cool whip, and pumpkin pie spice. Then you dip ginger snaps in it. So good! I am taking that to the family Christmas Eve party. So I am all ready to go.

I did get my Christmas gifts delivered to the neighbors over the weekend. So that was progress.

I watched Elf for the first time this weekend as well. I enjoyed that.

Tonight, I have to get my car packed. I hope that the weather is ok when I drive to Idaho!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Quotes

I love quotes and here are some quotes that I found that I really like.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." Agnes M. Pahro

I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world." Norman Vincent Peale

"The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!" Charles N. Barnard

"Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing nothing else in life need to be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive." Robert Lynd

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" Bob Hope

"This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone." Taylor Caldwell

"Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." Dale Evans

"God Bless Us Everyone!" Tiny Tim, Charles Dickens

Shelly and Shane

Here are the pics that were on Shelly's Christmas card. Aren't they cute?

Merry Christmas!

It is the Christmas season and Thanksgiving seems like it was so long ago. Ever get one of those calls that just changes everything and not in a good way? Well I did last weekend. People can ask why. You can say it is the holidays. I have learned some things though. We all take things differently. Sometimes things are hard to understand. Love is eternal. Families are forever. Sometimes you don't have to say anything to be there for someone. Friends are great to just let you cry for a minute.
So even though things can be hard, the Christmas season is a great time to remember the birth of our Savior. That He brought us all peace and mercy.

Give Me 5

Ok I know I am copying Melissa, but imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and she has good ideas!

5 things I was doing ten years ago:
This is hard! I hope I am getting the time frame right.
1. I moved to Rexburg, Idaho. (Iceburg, ID)
2. Moved to my first apartment all by myself!
3. Attended a family ward.
4. Quilted a lot!
5. drove a Ford Tempo, the little bluebird

5 Things on My To Do List:
1. Get Organized
2. Make pies for Thanksgiving
3. Pack for my trip to Idaho
4. address Christmas cards
5. laundy?

5 Snacks I like:
1. chips and salsa
2. cookies
3. chocolate
4. crackers
5. ice cream

5 Things I Would Do If I Were a Millionaire:
1. Set Up a Shelter for the Homeless
2. Move to Idaho
3. Go Back to college
4. Save
5. Invest

5 Places I Have Lived:
1. Burley, ID
2. Salt Lake City
3. Stansbury Park
4. Murray
5. Rexburg

5 Jobs I Have Had:
1. Team Leader
2. Red Hanger Associate (cleaner outer of pockets, yuck!)
3. ZCMI associate in the luggage department
4. Claire's Boutique
5. Mormon Handicraft

There's some random information about me for you!
Have a happy day!

The 8 Things Tag....

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Ugly Betty
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Gossip Girl
4. Ghost Whisperer
5. 90210 (I know I am not 14, but so!)
6. Life on Mars
7. King of Queens
8. Dancing with The Stars


8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Cafe Rio
2. Bajio
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. Panda Express
5. Rumby
6. California Pizza Kitchen
7. Cracker Barrel
8. Ixtapa

8 Things That Happened Today:
1. I went to work
2. I missed the bus
3. I drove to work
4. ate lunch
5. went to a meeting
6. laughed
7. listened to music
8. drank Diet Coke to keep me going!

8 Things That I Look Forward To:
1. Twilight Movie
2. Going home for Thanksgiving
3. Christmas Season coming!
4. Christmas baking!
5. New Year Coming
6. Getting my craft room organized, whenever that happens!
7. Christmas music!
8. Visiting family at Christmas

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. travel to Europe
2. a love life!!!
3. go to cooking school
4. pay off my house
5. get an MBA
6. move to Idaho
7. travel more
8. be organized

Ok 8 things are a lot of things to come up with! That was hard! But yeah! Twilight is almost out!

Family Weekend

I had another fun family weekend. My nephew Shane was blessed and what a great experience. My dad blessed him. Shane is so special he has everyone loving him. How could you not? But it is fun to see. Grandpa says that we spoil him but he is right there spoiling Shane too! It is cute to see my parents as grandparents.
Even my oldest brother is getting in on it. When he goes to town with my mom, he is always finding stuff to get for Shane. A lot the toys are not age appropriate for a three month old, but he has good intentions. Mike told Shelly that he needs to figure out what he can give Shane for Christmas. It is a lot of fun to have a baby around.

Cuddly Baby

Here is my nephew, the cuddly boy that he is. I am missing him! I saw him last weekend. He is so squirmy and so cuddly. He just puts his head on your shoulder and cuddles in to sleep. I thought this picture was so sweet I had to share!

Happy Birthday to Shelly and I

Sorry for posting my own birthday. It is a shared birthday since I am a twin so, really it is for her and me! Today we are thirty five and I cannot believe it! That is just weird to me. A blog is for stuff going on and this is something going on for me, so here goes!

Birthday Top Ten:
1. We get to share our birthday. That makes it fun to shop for someone!
2. Shelly is a mommy and I am an aunt!
3. We have lots of inside jokes with each other.
4. We can talk on the phone forever and ever.
5. According to our mom, we were born with our own best friend. So why did you ever need to invite friends over?
6. Shelly is older than me. Ok, it is only a minute but she is still older!
7. We sound alike on the phone and sometimes we have mistaken ourselves with each other. We have fooled ourselves!
8. We are fraternal twins, not paternal or maternal.
9. I really do like sharing a birthday with Shelly and it is harder being away from her on this day.
10. I have to agree with mom, I was born with my own best friend. We had to be born together because we get along so well.

I love you Shelly!
Happy Birthday to Shelly!
Happy Birthday to me!

questions

The rules: Answer the following questions with one word answers and pass it on to seven others.

Here are the questions:
1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? unfounded
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? giving
5. Your father? tease
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night?
8. Your dream/goal? marriage
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? papercrafts
11. Your fear? spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? vacationing
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? organized
15. One of your wish-list items? date
16. Where you grew up? country
17. The last thing you did? read
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? nondigital
20. Your pet? non-existent
21. Your computer? Dell
22. Your mood? positive
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? green
25. Something you're not wearing? dress
26. Favorite store? Tai Pan
27. Your summer? hot
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? unknown

Tag: Jennifer and Whitney (sorry I do not have a lot of people reading my blog!)

Happy Birthday!

I would like to say Happy Birthday one day late to my mom and my good friend Melissa! My mom does not read this blog but Melissa does so here goes...

Melissa's Happy Birthday to you because...
10. You shape young minds!
9. You have said yourself that you warp young minds!(I do not agree!)
8. You tell great stories!
7. You are a wonderful person, no really you are a wonderful person!
6. I love your sense of humor
5. I am doing this even though you laughed at me in a line at the movies. You know why!
4. You are a super aunt to your nieces and nephews.
3. You deserve a day for yourself!
2. I am late, so sorry about that but happy birthday anyway.
1. You are a good friend!
(forgive me for the cheesiness)

Mom's Top Ten Birthday List
10. This is the year you became a grandma
9. You have a fun personality
8. You are so incredibly patient
7. Great sense of humor
6. So giving to everyone in the family
5. a good example of family
4. You love unconditionally
3. I love to spend time with you
2. I can't think of anyone else as my mom
1. I love you!

Happy Birthday to the October 4th girls!

Fall is in the Air!!

It is my favorite time of year! I love fall and the fall colors. The mountains are full or yellow and some red. It is great. I like the change in seasons. I love the smells. I feel like it is time to bake too. I need to buy a pumpkin. I need to burn a candle. Back to reality though, I need to clean my house so I can decorate it for the season! hee hee! My projects kind of take over a lot! I have been thinking of the season and then we have Christmas on the way. I love this time of year!

What a smile!

Introducing

Here is a picture of my nephew. Of course, I think he is the cutest thing! Such a sweet boy. The other day I was listening to the radio and a song made me think of love and my family. It says "that's what you get when you let your heart win." Then there is also the quote: "sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" unknown.

All I can say is SO TRUE!!

Baby Shane

My nephew is a month old now, as of the ninth of September. I can't believe that it has been a month already. I am sad that I cannot see him all of the time. He is such a sweet boy. He is always making little noises. My sister calls me on the phone and I can hear him in the background and it just makes me laugh. He is getting a little belly on him. He smiles now and he laughs a little. Who cares if it is gas or whatever. He is so cute! I know just a blog about my nephew. I am a proud aunt what can I say?! The funny thing is my older brother. He has learning disabilities and does not always understand things. The other day he told Shane's mom to put him the floor and "see what he can do." She did not know what to say to him because she did not want to call attention to it. Crawling is not going to come yet. Then again maybe Uncle Mike knows something the rest of us don't!
Shane got his pictures taken at one month. My sister is supposed to be sending me new pictures of the boy so I am looking forward to that. Having a baby in the family is so much fun!

4 Months To Go

I know... I know... No one wants to hear this but today is exactly four months and Christmas will be all over! It has bugged me before when people say stuff like that. It gets me to thinking though. Where has the summer gone? This weekend will be Labor Day! Wow! Time really flies. I may sound like an old person saying that but it is true! Time does fly. You can feel the change in the seasons. I love the change in seasons. I don't like the heat of the summer anyway. I do like having all the seasons though. That part is nice about Utah. I like winter with the snow for Christmas but after that it could go away. So I like the changes but just not for very long. Fall is definitely a favorite of mine. I like the crispness in the air and the pumpkins.
I have seen Christmas stuff at the stores. That is crazy. It is a great time of year though.

A person

I am a "person" now. I mean I became a Stampin' Up demonstrator. A man at work asked me a little while ago why I wasn't a person. I told him that I like to consider myself a person. He meant why didn't I sell Stampin' Up stuff since I have parties and love to make cards and love to scrapbook. My demonstrator friend Jennifer has been wondering this for a long time, 5 years, as well. She has been bugging me about it. Last week, I succumbed...
It will be fun though. It will be something new for me to try. I love to create things with paper and whatever. So it is just something else for me to try!

Examples to Me

Last Monday, my mom and I went to the Twin Falls Idaho Temple Open House. We went on our way seeing Shelly in the hospital. My mom has already gone twice with my other sisters and then when I said I wanted to that was all I needed to say. We went early on Monday morning. Being members of the church we take it for granted that people serve, but there was all those people being ushers, tour guides, and then there was the missionaries. We went on our tour and what a beautiful building. It is definitely the Lord's house.
They even had water and cookies after the tour at the stake center. This was a new thing to me. It was great though. More people serving and teaching. In the cultural hall I turned and my mom was hugging a sister missionary. I had no idea who the girl was. She just happens to be there every time that my mom has gone to the temple! Such love she shows to the members and everyone coming. I was very impressed with both my mom and the sister missionary.
My dad has even been a missionary. This is not something he does. It is just a little out of his comfort zone really. A man at his work had said that he would like to go to the temple open house. My dad told him that he would go with him anytime after work. Their boss heard that and he told them to take work time and just go. So that is what they did. My dad is a convert himself. What an example to me about what he does in his everyday work environment.
With temple open houses you usually need tickets to get in. Well with this one you did not need tickets. I guess another church in Twin Falls decided to snatch up all the tickets before the mormons could. So they just made it that anyone could come in at anytime. They welcomed anyone in with whatever attire they had. They even had some protestors and the members went out to them and gave them water and cookies!
One more story I heard from my sister's visiting teachers. One of the ladies said that her nephew is in the stake presidency in Paul, Idaho. They were serving at the time with the tours and a man came up wanting to go to the temple. He had driven all the way from Carthage, IL. He had gone to Nauvoo to go to the temple but since he was not a member he was not allowed in. They told him about the temple open house in Idaho and that anyone could go in. He went and really felt the spirit. He was just so intrigued with temples that he just drove to Idaho from Illinois. It made me think of stories from Church History or something. The Spirit is strong. It works in all different ways with people.

The Strongest Woman I Know

The strongest woman I know is my twin sister Shelly. Mothers are so strong. I knew that before but this past weekend taught me so much with eye witness experience!
Shane Kolby made it into the world on Saturday August 9, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. weighing 7 pounds 4 ounces and measuring at 20 inches long.
My sister went through so much to get him here. I kept telling her that she was brave and she was! To go through all of that, she is definitely brave. She threw up, she shook, she was hot, she was up and down. She had so many IVs that I told the anesthesiologist that she was not an entertainment center! She hung in there though. She was induced on Friday morning early and had a c-section on Saturday morning.
Once the doctor decided that Shelly had done enough and that a c-section was next, they told us that only one person could go in with her. My mom volunteered me. I was glad I was there. Shelly had so many things hooked to her that I just held her thumb. Then our little boy came. It was so fast. I heard the doctor say we have a baby and it's a boy. Words to change my life! What great words! I was crying and fogging up my glasses. Shelly then asks me if I am ok. She is the one having a baby and she asks me if I am ok!
I got to be the first one to hold him. That was awesome. The nurse put him in my arms and I got to show him to Shelly. Then while she was in recovery I went with the nurse to the nursery. Then with tears in my eyes I went and told my parents that we had a baby and that Shelly was ok. I took both grandma and grandpa to see their new grandbaby. It was cute to see my dad like that. He introduced himself to Shane. It was pretty cute.
Whenever Shane starts to cry and my mom is holding him, she just says "Now, now, let's not do that." I guess she thinks that is going to work.
Shane Kolby has some light brown reddish hair. It is neat to see him with Shelly. He knows his mama already and quiets right down for her. He loves feeding time but hates to be changed! He likes to sleep a lot right now and loves to have his hands by his face. I know not much different than most babies but he is my nephew and this is my blog, so I can write whatever!
Anyways, that is all for now!

Special Delivery On the Way

Tomorrow I am headed to Idaho my twin sister Shelly is having the baby! She is being induced on Friday. It is all so real now! I am kind of worried. This is my twin here and to see her in so much pain. I can't not go though. I have to be there! I am so looking forward to it. This is one of those times that you can never get back. I love her so much and she is going to be a good mother. She is so cute, she keeps doing these story problems about diapers and wipes and how many she needs and what outfit to bring him home from the hospital in. Our mom, the grandma to be is cute too, she got her hair done yesterday, so she is ready for the baby to come as well. Over the weekend she said that she better get a perm before the big day. She is going to the coach. I hope I can get some good pictures! I will not be back until the 13th, so until then on anymore blogging. At that time, I will be an aunt to Shane Kolby Baker!!!!

Weekend in Review

On Friday I made my favorite bread. Orange chocolate chip zucchini bread. It is yummy. I have been eating it this past weekend a little at a time.

Here's the recipe:
Chocolate Chip Orange Zucchini Bread
Submitted by: Jules Paulus

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chips 1 tablespoon orange zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, nuts, chocolate chips, and orange rind. Blend in sifted ingredients. Turn batter into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 minutes, or until bread tests done. Remove loaves from pans, and cool. Chill before slicing.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 8/4/2008

It is so good!

I stood in line at Wal-Mart for Breaking Dawn. I have less than 100 pages to go. So today I will be able to finish I am sure.

On Saturday, I went to High School Musical the production at Capitol Theatre. That was fun.

Guess What I am Doing This Weekend?

Reading Breaking Dawn! Of course... You knew the answer to that. I can't decide if I am going to go stand in line at Wal-Mart or wherever and wait for 12 to buy my book. Or should I just get up on Saturday and get a book? Even my Wal-Mart in Tooele is having a wedding party. I am not doing much so maybe I will.

A friend from work also gave me a zucchini. So I have to get busy grating zucchini for bread. I might freeze some of it for later (the bread and/or the zucchini). It has been too hot to bake but maybe that is what I will do tonight waiting for Breaking Dawn the book not just the breaking of the dawn. ha! ha! Dumb joke, I know.

Have a happy weekend reading!

Tag!

Melissa just tagged me so I here goes... Post these rules on your blog. Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog. Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Here it is:

Joys:
1. spending time with family
2. spending time with friends
3. reading a really good book

Fears:
1. spiders
2. heights
3. ?

Goals:
1. get organized
2. clean my house
3. go on a date

Obsessions/Collections:
1. cookie cutters
2. scrapbook stuff, paper, stickers, stamps
3. Willow Tree Angels

Random Surprising Facts About Me:
1. I played Santa Claus one year at Girl's Camp.
2. I was a surprise child to my parents. My mom went to deliver her baby and found out she was having twins. I was the second one born and they did not have a name for me at the time. They looked in a baby book for Lesley.
3. I am the only person in my family with blue eyes.

Tag: Jennifer and Whitney (Have fun!)

Chic Flick Wisdom...

This past weekend I did not go to any new movies. I did watch a few of my movies at home. Now I am not even sure if I remember them all, but I will give it a try. When nothing much is on I put in a movie.

Saturday, I watched Penelope. I think it is going to turn into my new favorite. I already have some parts memorized! From Penelope you learn that the most important thing is to love yourself. I think it is really cool that she saved herself, no one else did it for her and that she did not want to change she liked herself just the way she was.

On Sunday, I watched Hope Floats. That is always a good one to watch. There are a lot of quotes from that one to learn from. There is the one about beginnings being scary but just give hope a chance to float up and it will. There is also one about being extravagant with your chances. These both come from her mother. Such a smart woman, she just lived life her own way and was happy. In the end her daughter learns the same thing.

I also watched Never Been Kissed on Sunday. Another movie that I love and have memorized. I love it when she shouts "I am not Josie Grossie anymore!" This movie is so sweet. She is a different person and can be whoever she wants. Her brother helps her to see that which I thought was cool.

I did not know that I had a theme to my movie viewing this past weekend but there it is. I think I watched something else but now I can't remember the others. I thought I would share the wisdom from chic flicks.

One More Post for Today

Ok, I am copying another blogger today...

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave a comment about you on my comments.

Have a happy day!

Bipolar at the movies

I went and saw both the number one movie at the box office over the weekend and the number two movie. Both in the same night! How is that for a double feature? How is that for polar opposites?!
Mama Mia was great. So much fun with dancing and singing from people that I did not know could sing or dance. No really, I liked it. It was fun to see.
Dark Knight was good too. Totally different but so good. Very dark as the name implies. Christian Bale is very attractive, so looking at him is not bad at all. (am I twelve? who cares, right?)
I enjoyed both movies, action, romance, comedy, suspense, singing, dancing, motorcycles, what more could I ask for?

I miss you, Ugly Betty

I was just looking online today and I found out that Henry is not coming back on "Ugly Betty." That is great because I was getting tired of him. Christopher Gorham is cute but his character was bugging me! So I thought Gio will be a shoo in for Betty! Then he is only signed on for one more episode! That is just nuts! I really liked Gio. Betty and Gio are so great together. I know these people are not real! I guess I am really missing Ugly Betty with it being summer and all. I can't wait for the new season to start. They have signed on some other guy that I don't know about. His name is Val Emmich. I have not seen him in anything. So I will have to wait and see how that goes.

Shelly Belly

My twin sister is having a baby. She is really showing. She looks so cute! She is tired and all that but I think she looks cute. She is my twin so of course I think that!
I have called her Shelly Belly before but that is just because it rhymes. Now that has a whole new meaning! ha ha
She said that lots of people at her work ask to touch her belly. Why do people do that with pregnant women?
It is getting closer. She is due August 21st. I am so excited. Little Shane is on his way very soon!

Happy Fourth of July Everybody!

Have a happy holiday weekend!
Here's some quotes in honor of the day:

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." Erma Bombeck

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." Camus

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." Benjamin Franklin

"I love my freedom. I love my America." Jessi Lane Adams

I love this country. I am proud to be an American. I am thankful for the people who serve our country and who have served our country. There is no better place to be!

Weekend Fun

I am glad to say that I survived the yard sale. If ever I say that I want to have one just remind me that it is too much work! It was fun though. It was definitely an adventure. My sister and brother in law helped a ton! They were great to come! Thanks!
The little neighborhood kids came and spent. That was cute. I did not know they liked yard sales. We all like a good deal. I know I do!
On Friday night, it was a girl's night out. We had so much fun at PF Chang's and of course, we had fun seeing Jerry Seinfeld afterwards. I laughed so much! It was great. What fun women to hang out with.

Operation Save Yard

On Saturday morning I went out to get my sprinklers going. I know that I am late this year, but I hope that I have not killed my yard. It did not look fried. So the sprinklers are on and going. So hopefully with some TLC, it will be ok. The valve box was not full of dirt this year, so no gophers to thank for that. I don't know where they have gone, but my yard is not as tempting or something. That is good. I hope it stays that way!
I called the little boy who mowes my lawn to not come on Saturday because I thought it was not growing. Then I get home later that day with a message from his mom. She said that my message was cute! He had been over on Thursday! I bet they got a laugh out of me! I am such a dork! My grass was growing, but it had been mowed. How efficient of the twelve year old!

Happy Birthday to a friend!

It was my friends birthday today! It was a fun day. I am writing this late, so she might not see it until the day after, but she is great! We decorated her desk, I wrote a poem, made an accordion card, and we went to lunch. I almost could not keep the surprise of her birthday present because I ordered it awhile ago, but I made it. She is a kind, caring, creative person. Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Here is the poem:

A Birthday Poem by me!

I know a certain lassie
Who some call sassy
It is her big day
So in anyway
She should celebrate
It is the year 08
The 17th of June
Mark it with a birthday croon
Sing a song
It can be short or long
Eat some cake
A party you should make
From the bottom of my heart
Make happiness a part
Of this day and this year
May each be filled with cheer
From your friend the poet
You did not know it
Happy wishes to a great friend
Now, at last the end!

You need to ask to see her dance picture, it is so cute!

Pops

Ok, I know I am copying some other blogger friends, but I have written about my mom, so I should write about my dad. Happy Father's Day! This is late, but I thought I should add my thoughts as well.
You know the saying that I am turning into my parents... Well I know I am doing it, even though it is still kind of weird. I wanted to call my dad pops, but he said as long as you call your mother mops. It did not work. Here I am telling this story! His corny sense of humor and I am sharing it. I shared the story over the weekend, too. Mom said rather emphatically no; even though it was a retelling of the story.
I found one of those cards that opens out and tells a story with a little pictures as it goes along. My dad loves those cards, so I had to get him one. It made him laugh and that was good. He has a good laugh and a good smile. The card made me think of when I was younger, we would get him cards like that. He also got cards like that for my mom for their anniversary.
My dad is such a good example to me. He will give you whatever he has. He is so forgiving. He has a strong sense of family. He loves my mom. He cares about people. He is the hardest worker I know. He is smart. He can put things together and build almost anything. He would share his black licorice with you that he got for Father's Day but no one wants any!

Grandma to Be

I am headed to Idaho this weekend for Father's Day and for a baby shower. It will be nice to have the whole family together. That does not happen enough anymore.

My mom is going to birthing classes with my sister. They have been twice and already it is interesting. It is so fun to talk to my mom about the classes. She knows she is the oldest one there. I told her that it does not matter but try telling her that. She said that it is a lot for this old mind to take in. For all of her talk, I think she enjoys going. She likes being a part. I know that my sister really appreciates her support. My dad drives them there and falls asleep in the car waiting for them. Now my mom said that she cannot quote "Gone With the Wind" anymore and say that "I don't know nothing about birthin' no babies" because these classes are teaching her a lot!

Shelly wishes that I lived closer so that I could go to the classes but living in another state makes it hard. I can't wait until the little one gets here! Sounds like his name is going to be Shane Kolby now. Hopefully, she does not change her mind about the name, but that's ok if she does.

Fabric Anyone?

Just an update here from the weekend... I actually worked on the craft room and all of that fabric! Yeah, me. I have more to do but there is always more to do. Story of my life!

Being Grounded

Last weekend I grounded myself to my house. I have a hard time motivating myself sometimes because I get overwhelmed and then I don't do it. I know it is not easier that way, but anyways... So I have been needing to clean for awhile. I need to get my craft room organized! It is on its way. Still a lot to do but I am in the process. Now I just want to jump ahead to when it is all done!(don't we all, where is my fairy godmother to clean the house, but she is for getting to the ball, that is another blog)(what a tangent!) I have more to do this weekend as well. Maybe that is why I am blogging this, this will be my motivation as well. Like if you write down a goal it means more type of thing. I need to get the closet cleaned out. The room used to be the sewing room and now the fabric is going to go! I think that I have worked through getting rid of the fabric. Why is it so hard to get rid of stuff that you are not using! Ugh!! It is all so cute and I could do something with it! Right?! I know, I know... I am only going to save one tote of fabric, the rest is going for yard sale stuff! The yard sale fun will be in a couple of weeks! Wish me luck!

Yard Work

Last night I worked in my yard for the first time this year. I know, I know... I am behind! I got some bark over the weekend. There was an area in the yard that really needed to be patched where the bark was supposed to be but wasn't. So I worked on that. Then a neighbor of mine came over and chatted and helped me. She is great. I am so grateful for good neighbors. Her little girl came with her. She is two and half and the cutest thing. Even she was pulling weeds. What a good mom my neighbor is to teach work and service to her beautiful little girl. So we got more done than just me alone. It looks much better. Now if I could just find a way to exterminate all morning glory my life would be great! ha ha!

A Door is a Door...

Today I moved to an office at work! How exciting is that? It is definitely quieter! That is nice. It is really a cubicle with a door. That door is important though. In cubicle world a door is a rare and hot commodity. I even got a congratulations about my new space. That is different.

Then yesterday my sister closed a door in her life. She made a decision that needed to be made. I am glad that she did it. What is most important is that she is glad too that she made this decision.

Thinking about my sister and what is ahead for her makes me think of the quote from Helen Keller. It gives me hope for her. "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." That tells me that happiness is there. It is not going to do anything good to dwell on the past. Just move forward.

Mother's Day

I am on my way for a family weekend. Heading to Idaho with my sister and brother-in-law. We are combining a birthday and Mother's Day.

Here are a few a quotes in honor of Mother's Day, albeit early:
"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around-- and why his parents will always wave back." William D. Tammerus

"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." Oscar Wilde

"The sweetest sounds to mortals given are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven." William Goldsmith Brown

"Sweater, n.: a garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly." Ambrose Bierce

-- This Mother's Day coming makes me think of my twin sister too. She is going to be a mommy this year. One thing that my mom has said that is hard for her is that Shelly is sick and she cannot do anything about it. Before she was able to make things better and now she can't. Another time of change for us. Life is like that.

Happy Mother's Day, even if I am early!

Got the giggles?

My friend and I were having a project day over the weekend. We actually got stuff done. Sometimes we just humor ourselves and nothing gets done but watching a few movies.

We went out for reinforcements i.e. more crafts supplies and some food from Sonic. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time! How come you can't ever understand the people at the drive-thru? I was trying to understand the dude. My friend has already told me that I have my "ordering voice" so I am wondering about that. Then while I am waiting for the dude to come back and take our order, this dog yips. I am embarrassed to admit it that it scared me! I jumped, Jennifer started laughing. I started laughing. Of course, then the dude comes back at that time. I could barely speak I was laughing so hard. I did not know if I was going to recover by the time we got to the window. It took awhile but I made it! We both recovered but I could not look at her because I thought I was going to start all over again.

We got back and finished our projects. Jennifer made way cute canvases for her craft room and I made invitations for my sister's baby shower.

Here is a quote that goes with the day: "Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." -Danny Kaye

I have people

Friends are the family you choose for yourself.
I am not sure who said that right now, but it is so true!

A friend of mine is so great. Her family is great, too! They just accept me and treat me like a member of the family. That means a lot to me. Family is so important to me, so sometimes it can be hard not living close to my own family. It helps to have people.

I am a softy but the other day one of the nieces told me that she loved me. It made me think... It means something to me. What a sweet child! And I get to spend some time with her even if I am just borrowing the time with her through my friend.

a boy on the way

My sister had her ultrasound! A little boy is going to join our family. I am excited. It sounds like his name will be Remington. My mom says Billy Bob. She is joking. I can't wait to meet him. Now I know what to shop for. I am going to have fun!

spring quote

Here is a spring quote that is very apropos (if I can use that word, hee hee!)

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" - Mark Twain

Happy St. Patrick's Day too!

addendum: I don't know what it is with me and the formal phrasing today, I just used addendum. Earlier I said that "I was entertaining the idea of purchasing a new TV." Using apropos in my blog. I guess I am on a roll! I am not sure what I will say next!

Spring is in the air!

Spring! Spring! Spring has sprung... Here is my list of spring things going on for me!

1. I love the change in seasons. I like living in Utah because we get to have all the seasons. Sometimes even all four in one day! lol!

2. My best friend and I have been to Penelope twice now. It is so cute. So you could say love is in the air! That kiss, wow!! James McAvoy is just too cute.

3. Spring is in the air, too because I really am feeling like I need to do some spring cleaning. Now where is the time to do it all?

4. New season, new hope... I am being positive and moving forward with life and with things that I want to make happen. Positive energy is very powerful.

5. Just like a new year, a new season can bring new things. I can't wait for the flowers to start popping up! Makes me think of a quote from "You've Got Mail." Where Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan's character that it would be a shame to miss New York in the spring when he brings her flowers. Daisies, he brings her daisies, "don't you think daisies are the happiest flower?"

Just some random thoughts from me...
Happy Spring!

Quotes, quotes!

I love quotes! I love the way the words come together. The way that people put them together. I have added a quote to my blog. It is hard to name a favorite because I feel like I pick a new favorite all the time.

I think it comes from my mother. She is a quote lady. She is also a phrase person. She always has a phrase for something. The one that we always share is:"Always remember and keep in mind a bluebird's tale sticks out behind." I do not know what it means but it makes me laugh. She said it once when my sister and I were teenagers and we both said 'what?' Mom laughed and we laughed. Now at the end of letters she will write P.S. and then that phrase. It will make my day and make me giggle.

So it goes without saying that I like quotes that are serious or not so serious. I love movie quotes too! I am always asking a friend what movie a quote came from. She is good and humors me. She remembers the songs from movies and I remember the quotes!

That is one reason why I like to read so much I think. I like the way things come together. I wonder how they put things together like that. The quote from Mitch Albom is from his book "For One More Day." I have found that I can learn something from a book like that or from Harry Potter or from a movie or a play or a song.

Boy? or Girl?

My twin sister has a doctor's appointment in three weeks. At that time, she should be finding out what she is having. She is pregnant and I am excited to find out! This will be the first baby in our family. It's weird but I am already attached to this baby. I love it already. I think it is going to be a boy but we have not found out officially yet. I can't wait to spoil it. I can't wait to hold the little guy or girl. If it is a boy it sounds like the name will be Cole. I am not sure how she will spell it. I saw some stuff yesterday to buy but I held back. I will wait.

Happy Halloween!

I did it again! I have done this before and it has been awhile since I did it last. Today I referred to the big upcoming holiday as Halloween. Talk about a Freudian slip or whatever! It's Valentine's Day in two days! I know! Maybe it is scary to me on some level...

Jane Austen, You are My Hero!

Jane Austen is awesome. There are probably better words to use to describe her but I think she is awesome. She was a true wordsmith. The way that she could put things together is just amazing. I love her stories. I love Pride and Prejudice. I hate to admit though that I have a hard time getting through Austen's books. I am not used to that language. In "You've Got Mail" Kathleen Kelly says that she gets lost in phrases like mischance and thither. (I had to quote my favorite movie!) I am intrigued by her other books that I have not read yet.

I am reading "The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen" by Syrie James right now. It makes Jane Austen so real. I have to keep reminding myself that it is not real. I wish that it was. I wish that she could have had a love story. The book is great.

I know I am not the only one that loves Jane Austen. I love the "remakes" of her stories too. They are fun. They are timeless. That is why Jane Austen is awesome!

Winter, winter, go away...

It is snowing as I write this. One more storm came our way. I know we need the moisture and everything but the cold... well I think I have had enough. I have to admit it does make things look softer and more beautiful. A tree without the lush green leaves does look magical with soft snow just sitting there covering it with glitter almost. I don't like the shoveling and the ice. I love Christmas. I should remember that I live in Utah, so I should not complain. I like Utah though. I do! I like all four seasons. Winter just seems to be dragging on! It makes spring even better when it gets here. What do they say on An Affair to Remember "Winter's so cold for those with no warm memories and we have already missed the spring."

Reading

I love to read! I do! I can't imagine when people say that they hate to read. How can you hate to read?! There is so much in a book. So much to learn that you would miss otherwise.

Right now I am reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I am not done yet but it is great. She is so descriptive. I can't help but think what if I looked at the world that way. The comparisons and the imagery. It is really a story within a story. It is a long story and so descriptive that I am kind of going slow just so that I do not miss anything.

I read a book and I feel like the characters are my friends because I have gotten to know them. In Inkheart, Meggie really loves books. She has been taught to love them. They help her feel safe and at home. Her home is with her books. Her home is where her books are. Imagine that. It does not matter what kind of book. Meggie feels that books speak to her before she opens them, they are waiting to tell her their story.

Meggie cannot believe that Dustfinger does not want to know the rest of his story. He tells her that what is wrong with that, does she know the ending to her story? It is a work of fiction but it made me think. Just as Dustfinger can change his story depending on whether he can get back in the book, Meggie is living a story. I am living a story. It is not in a book, but right here. I can choose to change it, too.

Tagged!

I am supposed to write a letter to myself when I was thirteen...

Lesley,

Hello!

Don't be afraid to be yourself! Have fun. Laugh and make memories. Make friends, do things.

It is hard to write to your younger self, because they say that hindsight is twenty/twenty. So maybe I should write this and take it to heart now.

I am glad that I do not have to be thirteen again. What is it that the little girl says in Hope Floats? You spend the rest of your life trying to get over your childhood. A thing that I have learned is that each time of life can be fun. Be yourself! No one is better qualified. Someone said that once, but I can't remember who. Be it thirteen or thirty-four if you want something go out there and get it. Work! Try! Live! Laugh! Love! Life is great! We are meant to have fun. We are meant to learn and grow. Not that it is easy, but you have to keep at it!

End note: I guess I am part of the blogging world now! Thanks, Jennifer. She tagged me and now I am hooked.