Jeff, Laura & Callie

Cold Turkey

2010-08-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Today I took one of my friends approach to potty training and we went cold turkey.

Together we threw away what was left of the diapers and the pull ups and had potty time pretty much all day.

And now I feel like a cheerleader after the biggest game of the year. All day long I have been jumping and running and reassuring, and cheering, and being all out crazy about the potty.

The final score,

Potty:12
Floor/Panties:4

Hopefully tomorrow's rematch will not be such a close one.

*The photo is totally unrelated, I just hadn't posted one in a while... like since my last post 6 months ago...

The Smile

2010-03-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Getting Inspired

2010-02-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been kind of uninspired. I didn't even pick up my camera for nearly 3 weeks, and when I did I just used it to get new shots of the YW at church.

Anyhow, we were outside playing the other day and I decided to snap a few shots. The second one is out of focus, but I love her expression, and the top one she was getting up from falling down on purpose, which is one of her favorite running around games.

Fall Fun

2009-11-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks back it was super windy but Callie wanted to go play outside, so out we went. She loved the wind. Whenever a big gust would come she would start running around yelling. It was hilarious. So I grabbed the camera and captured a few of my new favorite shots.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-09-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

For the last 28 months (note Callie is only 21 months old), Callie has been the proud owner of at least 2 BYU shirts.

So to make things a little more even and to celebrate unity among the MWC, I made Callie a Utah shirt. This is a gift to celebrate the start of college football TONIGHT!!!

Don't worry for the BYU-Utah game, we plan on a compromise and she can support our high school by sporting some purple.

Until then, GO DEEP and GO MWC!!!

Mother Nature's Diet

2009-07-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

It turns out that after last weeks fretting over what to eat and how much to exercise, Mother Nature had another plan for my weight loss goals.

All it took was 2.5 days of stomach flu, and I am nearly at my goal weight. I don't recommend the method, but it if you would like to try it come on over and we might be able to find you some germy love to take home and share with your friends and family.

The Cost To Be Thin

2009-07-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

The last 5 days or so, Jeff and I have been doing the South Beach Diet. It is a diet that my doctor recommended when I was trying to get pregnant with Callie, so since we would like to have another baby, I decided to make the diet a first defense instead of the last resort.

The basic concept of the diet is that in the first two weeks you eat no bread, no fruit and limited dairy. You have to eat protein with every meal (and snacks too), and at least a 1/2 cup of veggies with breakfast, 2 cups with lunch and 2 with dinner.

I am pleased to report that after 5 days, Jeff and I have each lost about 5 lbs. Yep, it feels good! I would love to keep losing weight this quickly, and when I have just finished a "no sugar added" fudgesicle I think it is possible. Then I look at what I have left to cook for dinner... not too much. Then I think about I will have the pleasure of eating for breakfast tomorrow--eggs (bleh), while I serve Callie my favorite, cereal. Then I see recipes like this, and I want nothing more than to be a glutton.

Since Monday I have spent about twice as much $$ on groceries as normal, and we are running out of approved food. My time spent in the kitchen has about quadrupled, and Jeff's has increased infinitely (as he has COOKED his own breakfast two days in a row).

Can you infer where I'm going with this.

I am wimping out. I have lots of excuses. And they are all good ones. I want to be thin, but I think I gotta find a new way.

Once Upon A Time...

2009-07-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

I had a little blog that I posted to every once in a while. Then my computer got a sad, sad virus. And when ever I would try to blog I would get sad because my pictures were all on discs, far away from my hard drive.

But now our computer has been reprogrammed and one day I will have it set up the way I like once again. Until then, I give you a couple pictures from our vacation. Which may or may not be where I left off when the computer fell victim to the horrible packed.200.generic virus...

Karma

2009-06-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

A few years back I took the picture below when I was in San Francisco. The poor tourist was just trying to look a little darker for her vacation. I had a good laugh over her fool hardy ways. I even pointed (behind her back) and laughed with my sisters and took a picture that I have often looked back at and giggled about.

This is what happens when you point at laugh at someone's spray tan and then think the same thing won't happen to you.

Now Jeff understands why I was so self conscious over my weird blotchy feet all week. In the end I decided the cute toenails would maybe distract from the overall ickiness of the spray tan.

Note to self: Just because something costs more doesn't guarantee better results.

Mother's Day Highlights

2009-05-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

This wasn't the best part of my Mother's Day by any stretch of the imagination... it was just one of the highlights.

While driving to church we noticed it, a toilet in the middle of a dirt/gravel lot. It wasn't just any toilet though. This throne had a brown bowl and a pink tank with a palm tree. Because when I see a palm tree painted on a toilet, well, it just makes me think of tropical vacations and exotic getaways to faraway lands.

**If you are in the Modesto area and looking for a beauty such as this, don't hesitate to swing on over to the corner of Encina and ElVista to pick this bad boy up, pretty sure you can take the five finger discount and no one will miss it (except me next week while driving to church).

Little by Little

2009-05-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

In my last post I mentioned my new camera lens and Robin asked about my other lenses. I only have one other lens and it is the kit lens (18-55mm) that came with my now somewhat out of date Canon Digital Rebel. When we bought our SLR I knew nothing about photography except that it was annoying when using a digital camera that had a delay in taking the picture. So I tried to find a camera with the shortest delay possible. In reading on a few websites and Consumer Reports a lot of people said to truly get no delay you had to have an SLR. I also figured we could afford it while I was still working and I would never be able to justify it once I was not gainfully employed (because I still work--like, A LOT!).

So the point of all that is basically that I bought way more camera than I knew what to do with. In time I thought I would figure it out and then maybe I could stop using that little green square that was the auto setting. And in trying to learn there is a lot to tackle and if you try to do it all at once it will make your head spin. So I read somewhere that shooting in RAW file format is what the pros do. So I decided I wanted to be cool like them so I should shoot RAW too. The thing is RAW files are about 5x the size of regular jpegs. But if you are still reading this boring post you probably already know that. The thing is though, it was an easy thing I could do to give me some cred.

The problem is, I didn't know what the point of all those huge files was. I knew I could change stuff about the pictures, but I was confused because I was still saving the images as jpegs too and the jpegs always looked a bit better than the RAW versions, so why would I waste all that extra space for poor pics.

Now I am figuring things out. Not everything, just a few things. This is a pic I shot a couple weeks back. Pretty bad, way over exposed, and I think it looks a little on the cool side. But with a few clicks, it gets better.

Here's the jpeg.

Here's the RAW version (and I realize now this is probably a bad example because the RAW version actually looks better than the jpeg in this case).

First, I warmed it up a bit by changing the white balance to flash.

Then the real magic happened when I hit the auto button to fix the exposure/recovery.

For the final touch, I cropped it a bit (I could have cropped a regular jpeg too).

It isn't perfect by any means, but it is way better, and I am starting to understand, just a little bit why shooting in RAW is cool.

**I haven't had a chance to play with the sharpening yet, but I owe the little bit I know about RAW to Digital Photography for Moms. This looks like a great blog that can give me (and you) lots of great tips.

Me

2009-04-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

I was scrolling through the Picasa pics and Callie looked up at the computer and said, "Me!"

So I had to post it!

A Buzz

2009-04-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

The lemon tree is in bloom right now and when I go out into the backyard I can hear it buzzing from several feet away with all the bees doing all their pollination.

I have also been playing around with my new 50mm F1.8 lens and I have taken a huge pile of bad pics. With some cropping I thought these were kind of cool.

The Ghost

2009-04-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have recently started playing around with some of the manual settings on my camera, but I don't always check to see how things are turning out, so I end up with a lot of pics to delete. Anyway, today when I uploaded pictures I found this one of Alyson. This is the straight out of camera shot. Kind of eery.

Where Credit Is Due

2009-04-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today I was blog surfing and ran across a recipe that looked very familiar. I remembered where I saw it before and compared the two. They were almost exactly the same. I first saw this recipe on Good Eats on Food Network and today it was on a random girl's blog. Maybe it is a common enough recipe, but when I did a google search for it, there were several recipes out there (in the first 30 finds) and the only ones that were close to Alton's gave him credit.

I don't know why this is troubling me so much. Did random blogger chick mean to plagiarize his recipe? Did she really plagiarize it, because she did change three sentences (everything else is copy and pasted)? How much do you have to change for it to not be plagerized?

I also find myself annoyed with the person who linked to her. I know the linker probably had no clue that this girl is a dirty rotten thief, but it is her fault I am mad at random chick. I am also mad at the post because I would like to leave a comment noting her plagiarism but she doesn't have comments open.

So wise internets, do I call her out and email her to see if she fixes it. Do I look at other recipes, find out where she stole them from (a few have sources noted, but some do not) and then call her out on all her recipes, when I find where she stole them from? Or am I getting myself all worked up for no good reason? (I know in the grand scheme of things it isn't really important, I am just mad. But seriously, should I email her and call her out? I don't know her, so is it presumptuous of me to even suggest that she is a no good, dirty rotten, pig thief?)

Updated Again: I am going to take down the links and email her, to see what happens. If nothing happens, it is okay because Jamie is right, the world will go on.

Updated Yet Again: She did go back and add that the recipe was originally by Alton Brown at Food Network. So I basically got upset for nothing.

For Real This Time

2009-04-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

We had a good run at breastfeeding. Callie will be 16 months old tomorrow and we are officially done nursing. I know I threatened being done about a month ago, but this time I mean it.

This is a picture of my delicious baby when she was just 5 days old. Mmm, I love that drunken passed out look. I also love that she had a milk mustache. I had talked to the lactation consultant earlier that day and she asked if my milk had come in, she was concerned because we used a nipple shield. After our conversation, I worried I wouldn't have enough milk, but looking back at this picture it seems like she was doing okay, and I worried for no good reason.

You can't tell from this picture but she was still on the bilirubin blanket at this time and we were nursing every 2 hours. I remember thinking at 4 in the morning that day I was going to be spending hours and hours and hours in that chair, with the boppy, for what felt like forever. Now I can't believe how quickly the last 16 months have passed.

Rock The Vote

2009-03-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

We once again pause our regularly scheduled blog (because you know around these parts, whenever I get around to it, is considered regularly scheduled) to tell you to vote for one of my friends in the Rachael Ray March Menu Mania contest being held by UsaToday.

Carla's recipe is for Italian Chicken Sliders and is in the final four. If she makes it through this round, she will get to go to New York for a feature on the Rachael Ray show and she will have a chance of winning $5000 worth of groceries!

Hurry up and vote, you only have until March 27.

*Sidenote: I have not had a chance to try her recipe yet, but I have heard from her cousin that it is awesome, and besides she is up against chili and that isn't very original.

**Elections are really just a popularity contest and she was "like, totally popular" when we were in high school. So you should go vote for her because she is cool and if you vote for her you will be cool too.

***That last part was actually kind of a lie, she was only cool because she was a senior when I was a freshman and she was "like, totally cool," by a band/colorguard definition.

UPDATE: She didn't win. Darn. She was disappointed (especially because she found out on her birthday), but I think she will use this as a jumping off point to do something else food related.

Self Portraits

2009-03-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

In looking at the millions of pictures amassed since Callie's birth there are approximately 42 that include me. Most of those include a nursing baby and/or me asleep with my hair in a state of disarray that was not even possible before I had a child (thus giving up daily brushing).

Back before the days of the digital camera the self portraits were the ones I took at the end of the roll just so I could get it developed, and they were usually placed in the trashcan upon viewing. But in today's world of the digital trash can (which is so much more convenient, not to mention cheaper) I can click to my hearts content and occasionally one might turn out that is cute enough to share with the world.

Do you have any self photos that you love, or any tips I might use for improving my own?

Self Conscious

2009-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Right now my nose is so stuffy, it hurts to blow it. I can deal with that.

I can deal with the headache.

And the sore throat.

And even the achy muscles.

What bothers me, I have no sense of smell.

Before I had Callie, when I was sick, it was a given there would be no sense of smell and really, I could care less. Now I have no way to inspect for messy diapers.

Nor do I get the friendly reminder if I may have forgotten to shower. Because I might not have showered after I went on a walk/jog at 8 this morning, and now it is 6:51 PM and I don't recall if I put on deodorant before or after the workout.

So if you happen to pass me on the street and notice a strange odor, please alert me so I can take care of it.

A Photoshoot

2009-03-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

For Mom's Birthday we headed out to Cowboy Country to the House of Beef. Yes, it was a meat and potato lovers dream. To celebrate a birthday they bring out this nifty hat and sing you their song. Better than their singing is you get to take the hat (and matching scarf) home! For some reason no one else wanted the hat so I didn't have to fight for it or anything.

After returning home I decided to post a pic or two on the blog of my new stylish hat, and what ensued was somewhat comical, so I thought I would share it with ya'all (sorry, being in the country does that to me).

The first pic Jeff took but the timer was on the camera and when I went to show him how to turn it off, we have the first lovely.

Then Callie had to be held and Jeff took this picture while sitting on the couch. After previewing this one I reminded him that taking a photo from that angle adds a double chin, he would have been shot (again, look what being in the country does to me) if he reminded me of the 15 extra lbs giving me the second chin.

There, Jeff is standing up, now Callie look at the camera and stop messing with the hat.

Now, maybe Callie smile while looking at the camera? You don't want to smile? That is okay I will smile big enough for both of us, or maybe if I open my mouth just a bit wider I will be able to swallow your entire head.

What's that you didn't realize one of my eyes is bigger than the other one, well it is, and Callie still does not believe in smiling.

Callie informs me that even though she requested to be held just over 30 seconds prior, she would prefer to be put back down.

Giving her the hat appeased her for approximately 2 seconds, then she got tangled in the tie. I freed her from the cords which held her bound, dropped the hat on her head and told Jeff to hurry up and take the "ding, dang" picture.

This shot does a great job of taking away the one eye bigger than the other one problem, but it would have been nice if Callie didn't have the "oh my gosh, what are my parents on," look.

Photoshoot, nearly over, baby approaching breaking point.

And that's it she's done.

So Many Sicknesses, So Little Time

2009-03-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Callie healed from the stomach bug in time for a taco dinner on Friday, but was sick again by Sunday morning. This time with a different ugly bug that kept her home from church and awake most of last night. With the new bug, she has a sore throat, runny nose, and an occassional fever. The worst part of the illness is sneezing. She always cries afterwards. So sad.

**You can go ahead and disregard that post from Saturday about weaning. On Sunday when I was rocking her poor sick little body I caved and gave in. I can't take away the booby when she is sick. That would just be cruel.

I Miss It Already

2009-03-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time in more than 700 days, my body only nourished itself.

I thought it would be freeing, and in a way it is. I went to a movie tonight and I didn't make it home in time to nurse. That part was freeing.

But I missed my "boo" cuddly time right before bed. And for that reason, I know I will never really be free.

And that makes me happy.

Chaos on the homefront too

2009-03-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Callie has a stomach bug. When she was just a wee little boo we both had the stomach flu, but this was her first time with throwing up real food.

It was disgusting.

I knew it would be, but all those people who said it would be easier when I had a child lied. I put up with more, like showering with her while she screamed at 4 am, drying and getting her dressed without putting her down so I could so much as get a towel, and then rocking her even when her breath stunk to high heaven.

As bad as I make it sound though, I wouldn't trade it to help my poor sick baby. I wish I could take all the pain away. There is nothing that makes me feel so inadequate as a mother as dealing with a sick baby.

The chaos ensued today when I was changing Callie's diaper and taking her temp. Alyson decided to try to suck on the diaper pail. Callie took my distraction as a chance to try to escape. I moved the diaper pail and assumed all was well with the child on the floor, not realizing that in Callie's escape attempt she had knocked the Vaseline off the changing table. Since Aly couldn't suck on the diaper pail she decided to play in the Vaseline instead.

aka Chaos Day

2009-03-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to church for my semi-monthly meetings with the 8-11 year old girls. These are a group of top notch girls with a lot of energy. Most of the girls are VERY outgoing. I am fairly certain, in each of their classes at school they are natural leaders. But sometimes I just don't know how to deal with all their excitement and helpfulness.

For example, we were having a moderately complicated relay race*. I had to explain the process approximately twelve times (and there were only 7 girls) because they would interrupt and reexplain the process to me, you know so I could make sure they really understood it. Then someone else would want to do a demonstration, who would then explain it to someone else and the other person would get confused. It was like a huge loud game of telephone (you know the one where you whisper a message around a circle and it is totally messed up by the time it makes it back to the beginning).

I struggle with how structured I want our group to be. I want it to flow smoothly but I don't want it to be too formal, because this is an optional activity and should be fun. There are times when I take a stand, because, really, a nine year old knows better than hiding under the table during prayer. I have also found that when I take a stand on certain things they usually comply and don't make a big fuss about it, but sometimes it feels so out of control, and I am freaked out that if one of the parents or the primary president were to walk in, I would most certainly be released the following Sunday.

So what is the balance? Will the girls be upset if I make more structured rules? Do I just let the chaos ensue? How long before one of the more quiet girls feelings gets hurt because I am not paying as much attention to them?

Or am I worrying for nothing, because after all they are 8-11 year old girls and chaos is the norm at these things?

*Even if the teams are unequal, leader should not participate in the seal crawl relay race, especially if her pants can be pulled down without unbuttoning, because she might stop to pull them up and lose the race for her team.

A Good Excuse To Blog

2009-03-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

From my humble point of view, my life can be pretty boring. Pretty much the same ol', same ol' day in and out. And I sometimes forget that there was life before messy diapers, worrying about naptime, cheerios, and making sure the child gets more fruit into her diet, if you know what I mean.

So it kind of seems like my life is boring. My blog has no specific niche, besides wherever my thoughts take me. Which means I will likely attract only readers who are like me or who are impressed and/or entertained by my my not so stellar writing abilities.

But the other day, I went back and reread some of my old blog posts. When I did not post often my posts were boring, thus making the blog boring. I expected to read some really boring drivel in the months where I blogged everyday, when in fact quite the opposite was true. It was like the act of writing really did improve my skill. Who would have thought?

I planned on blogging everyday for February, but then the first was on a Sunday, so I forgot. Then the same thing happened in March and I realized I just need to start writing everyday (even if I did start this post on Monday, and it isn't going up until today)...

I am recommitting to my blog for daily posts. The posts will still be my own mindless drivel, because I refuse to box myself in with a niche (because I have a hard enough time finding something to post as it is), but for the next while (who knows how long) I will post something daily that you can ~~distract yourself from chores you are avoiding~~ be entertained by.

PS My stellar writing abilities have left me clueless for how to fix the above sentence. I don't think you are supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Give me a few months of posting regularly and maybe I will remember.

A Year Ago

2009-02-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

A year ago today Alyson was born. She displayed her excitement for her birthday party by using her ceral bowl (Cheerios topped with cows milk for the first time!) as a party hat. The bowl fell off, but you can see the evidence left behind, milk in her hair.

Callie decided to begin the festivities well before Alyson got here this morning, by waking up at 5:45. Grr. I was totally ecstatic to get the call last year at that time that Alyson had been born, so I guess Callie was just trying to help me relive those feelings... Yeah, it didn't work.

Baby Jail

2009-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

We have a play yard that I can set up to corral the children if I need to do something. I should probably use it more often than I do (since yesterday I was doing laundry with the garage door open and the babies were playing in the hallway, I put in the soap and was rinsing out the cup and I looked up and the babies were gone, they had made it all the way to the middle of the driveway). The girls take turns penning each other in. It is really quite hilarious, because they love trapping or being trapped, it is one of the few times when they pretty much always get along.

The Cheerio Face

2009-02-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

Callie gets to feed herself most all of the time now, mostly because I don't have the patience to feed her. That generally means a complete outfit change after each meal. On a regular basis there are Cheerios in her hair or on her chin, but I thought it was funny when she got this Cheerio stuck to her face next to her eye. It kind of reminds me of Jem and the Holograms with the sparkles next to their eyes, but baby style.

The Hideaway

2009-02-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

The girls love to play in the cave under the desk. We had to make a few minor adjustments under there to make it more baby safe. It turns out, when Alyson chews on a connected USB cord, the computer errors because it is connected to an unrecognized device.

Peekaboo

2009-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Katie and Lily are such great cousins! Here they are both entertaining Callie with yet another rendition of Peekaboo, which remains her absolute favorite game. When I am changing her diaper and she starts to get upset, I usually just have to cover her face with her pants and then she cheers up as the game gets going.

My Very Own Snuggie

2009-02-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I had a discussion on one of my favorite "As Seen On TV" gimmicks.

But well before the Bump It, I saw "Snuggie, The Blanket With Sleeves." And I thought the idea seemed like it was overdue. Because seriously have you tried to hold a blanket while doing simple household tasks like reading your child a book or preparing a cup of hot chocolate...

The reason it seems overdue is because the Snuggie's predecessors have been around since the 18th centur y. It is called a bathrobe people! The Snuggie secret is to wear it backwards because then it is more like a blanket. I guess it is okay if my derriere gets a draft...

But for 19.99 (plus 15.98 shipping and handling) you can have NOT ONE, BUT TWO with two free book lights.

Snuggie describes the fabric as being "super soft, thick, luxurious fleece," while Matt Lauer and Al Roker said it was NOT something that occured in nature and was subject to catching fire should one get too close to an open flame.

The commentary on the Snuggie that really gets me though, is from Ad Age.

And something about the Snuggie just matches the spirit of the times. "It's a tremendous value in today's tough economic times," Mr. Boilen said. "In this type of economy, people are looking for a value, and this is certainly a value at the price point. ... People are staying home more, and it makes them feel good.

Nothing says value like purchasing some creepy flamable bathrobe that will not be delivered for 4-6 weeks--because it is always so hard to stay warm come April 1.

But don't worry I won't have to deal with being cold while reading a book or dealing with a slippery blanket anytime soon. And since mine is actually a bathrobe I have the added value of being able to wear it with the opening in the front or the back, or even, gasp, tying it closed. Oooh. Fancy!

This is my submission to Navel Gazing At It's Finest Very Funny Friday. You can check it out if you need a laugh or two!

My Favorite NOT Holiday

2009-01-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite pastimes is cooking. I think it started in college cooking Sunday dinners for which ever guys we could con into coming over. Then I picked something random I wanted to learn how to make just to say I could--Chocolate Cream Pie (from scratch, no Jello Pudding Mix or premade pie crust for me). I have no clue why I chose that, but I could guess some guy probably mentioned in passing that it was his favorite.

So back to the current NOT holiday. I think the Super Bowl is my favorite Sunday of the year. I make tons of totally not healthy stuff and I watch football and commercials at my in-laws house. They have a nice big flat screen TV and my father in law usually cooks some other delicious foods. Babies run around wild with all ten of us crammed into the family room together.

On the menu tomorrow:

Shasta Root Beer and Tiki Punch (because I don't have ads like TAMN)
Grilled Steak Kabobs
Red Grapes
Carrott Sticks & Celery
Hot Artichoke Dip
Pico De Gallo
Cowboy Nachos
Guacamole
Triscuits
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Mmmm, my mouth is watering thinking about it now.

What are you having for the NOT Holiday? Or do you miss this wonderful excuse to cook and eat?

PS - I used to feel guilty for watching this game (but I always still watched it), and then last year a leader from Salt Lake (not naming names to protect the somewhat innocent) was at our stake conference the week before the Superbowl, and he mentioned he and his family would be watching the game as usual, while his wife grilled ribs. And then he mentioned he was glad his wife was not traveling with him because she would be none too thrilled with his announcement from the pulpit...

BUH-mp It

2009-01-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

Back in the fall of 99, my best friend and I headed off to Utah and all the crazy culture of BYU. Upon arrival we joked about the big Utah hair, or BUH for short. We laughed that it was some kind of weird twist on a hairstyle of the 80's. They were "like so behind" (because we were/are so hip and cool).

This hairstyle consisted of girls kind of teasing up their hair or a little pouf of hair at the front or crown of their head to make it look all stylish and cool. Oh how we laughed about the BUH.

Five years later, I moved back to good ol' Cali and my little sister was doing the BUH thing too, and lest you think she picked up the trick at EFY or some other Mormon pilgrimage, her non-LDS friends were doing it and showed her the technique. I cringed when I would see it because I remembered the jokes.

Now, I believe that BUH has taken the country by storm. I see it on TV and I saw quite a few girls doing it "that one time" I went to the mall.

My suspicion of the popularity was confirmed when I saw an infomercial for this handy BUH-mp IT tool. Could it look good on me? But the real question is should I "pump a pony" or "rock a bob?"

My next trip to Utah was for Women's Conference and I realized that BUH now stands for Blonde Utah Hair. Preferably with lots of streaks. Which leads to yet another dilemma, should I get a bump it to give my hair a bit of volume? or should I skip that trend all together and just bleach it since Utah obviously leads the way with hairstyles?

UFC Cage Fighting Edition

2009-01-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

When both babies wake up from their nap I take Alyson into Callie's room to change her diaper while I leave Callie in her crib. Occassionally I need to do a task that I would prefer to not be holding a baby for and I usually leave Callie in her crib and Alyson on the floor, but with Alyson's new found mobility I can't trust her not to crawl away now so while I was working in Callie's room the other day I decided to try to put Alyson in Callie's crib. Generally the two of them fight like a cat and dog, stealing toys or hitting each other.

I was so delighted, what I thought would be baby cage fighting, turned out to be quite the opposite.

The Candy Bar Bandit

2009-01-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

The other day I was eating a Snickers (because it satisfies) when I realized Callie needed a diaper change. I regretfully sat down the candy bar to take care of business and while I was washing my hands afterward she made her move. Jeff called it the old poop distraction trick--gets me everytime.

Baby Got Back

2009-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

For some reason we (Jeff and I) find it hilarious to say what we believe Callie is thinking and would say herself if she could.

Our conversation last night.

Me (as myself):When Callie walks she sticks out her butt.

Jeff (as Callie):If I didn't stick out my butt how else would I get the boys?

Me (as Callie):With my milkshake.

Okay, so maybe Jeff and I are the only ones who find it funny, but I am laughing as I post it now, so at least it is good for a couple of chuckles from the peanut gallery.

A Future Jon(i) Schmidt

2009-01-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

While I have never seen Jon Schmidt in concert I have heard he plays the piano with his feet (Traci, correct me if I'm wrong).

Callie decided to regale us with some music on Christmas Eve.

Only a few more years until she is old enough for piano lessons. Hopefully, by then she will become more discriminating in her musical taste and abilities.

Christmas Morning Video

2008-12-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

I know there are ways to share video without posting it on my blog, but I really don't know what they are, and I really don't feel like learning at the moment. So, to share some video with Grandpa Fast for Christmas, ya'all get to see Callie and her Christmas stocking.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

Callie was reading this book for quite a while on Christmas Eve, and I decided to get out the movie camera because it was so cute, but when the camera came out she was WAY more interested in me holding her than in reading.

A Christmas Eve To Remember

2008-12-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

Every year my sisters and I cut it pretty close to the wire when it comes to shipping gifts. Usually we opt for priority mail and pray they get there in the three days, even though it isn't guaranteed.

A few years ago, the weather was particularly bad, and we waited (as usual) to ship until December 22. The person at the post office reminded us the package would likely not arrive until after Christmas, but it was out of our budget to ship it overnight (which at the time couldn't be guaranteed either because of the bad weather back east). We sent the package on its way and decided to tell Dad on Christmas that the package would arrive that week. It wasn't the best situation, but it would have to do.

Christmas Eve was on a Sunday that year. The small town post office where my Dad's PO box was was closed until the day after Christmas. But a wonderful employee was in sorting mail on that Sunday morning and he saw my Dad's package. He saw it was addressed to "Dad" and felt like he would want it for Christmas. So he looked up the phone number for his mail box and called him to say he had a package and he could pick it up that day.

I know it might not seem like a big thing to some, but getting that call meant a lot to my dad. He doesn't live close to any of his family, and the Christmas package was his connection to us. The postal employee had no obligation to do what he did, and actually, he probably wasn't supposed to do it. But it made a huge difference to our family. When I heard the story I cried because I couldn't believe the package had made it all the way from Modesto, CA to a small town in Eastern Tennessee in two days despite the freezing weather and blizzards that were sweeping the nation and grounding flights everywhere. I cried because this man had zero obligation to do what he did, and he did it anyway, just because he had Christmas spirit. I cried because I was lame and didn't make sure his package went out before December 22 and if it wasn't for this wonderful man, my Dad wouldn't have had our gifts on Christmas.

I know not all packages get delivered on time (hopefully, they will get there on time again this year, fingers crossed), but that year, one man made a difference for our family and I will be grateful to the good ol' USPS for many years to come.

In Loving Memory...

2008-12-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

The toughest writing assignment of my life. Writing someone's obituary. Keep it short and sweet, yet, meaningful and poignant.

If you look at it like a formula, the first sentence (or paragraph if you are verbose like that) is easy; as are the last two, or three. Name, where and when born and/or died. A few sentences (or paragraphs) to sum up someone's lifetime. And then a few more easy sentences, who the deceased is survived by, preceded in death by, and the service information.

Those few statements to sum up someone's life are so intimidating. What would someone write about me? A few cliche's about being a wife, mother, daughter? Some personality traits? A fun memory? What if those things are really how you feel, but you don't want to seem to be treating it lightly or commonplace?

I don't have any grand answers, I am just pondering.

The Expected Unexpected

2008-12-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

My grandmother, "Granny Goose," passed away yesterday morning.

It was unexpected...

Well, kind of. In 1985 she had a massive stroke and the doctors said she was brain dead and would not make it. That arrangements needed to be made. So my mom began making arrangements. The doctors then advised the removal of the feeding tube. My mom said no. They could cut off all other forms of aiding her, but we had to leave the feeding tube in place. Then my mom realized that when she asked Grandma questions she could blink in response.

Very slowly she made a recovery. But she never regained the ability to talk and she was paralyzed on her left side. She was still there though. She would laugh when you told jokes. She loved seeing family and made friends with EVERYONE at the nursing home where she lived for the last 23 years (incidentally, the longest she ever lived in one place).

Then shortly after my wedding she began heading downhill. There is a family history of dementia among some of her siblings. She began having gran mal (sp?) seizures about two years ago and then just over a year ago the nursing home recommended hospice care.

At that point when we would go visit she would seldom open her eyes and she could barely hold up her head. When she was awake she didn't know us, and would just stare into space or randomly start laughing and pointing at nothing.

But then she started getting better. She would be awake when we would visit. She loved seeing and hugging the babies. She would make eye contact and be engaged when we spoke to her. She was improving.

Then yesterday morning she passed. I know she is in a better place now, no longer held captive by her body, but it still surprised me.

How does something so inevitable, and long time coming, come as such a shock?

The most delicious combination

2008-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite food combinations in this world is chocolate and peanut butter. It is no coincidence that my weight remained steady during swimming season, as it coincided with the annual senior trip candy bar fundraiser, and I could not resist the Reese's temptation.

So imagine my excitement when I was invited to try Ghiradelli's new Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares.

In a word, delicious! I love Ghiradelli chocolate so I thought the decision to mix it with peanut butter was long overdue.

In all honesty though I thought it could use a little more peanut butter, but I don't like plain chocolate and I only use half a bag of chocolate chips when I make cookies, so for you, the regular chocolate lover, it would probably be perfect.

**Just to let you know, I am totally not selling out (yeah because someone would be willing to pay the big bucks to get their advertisements to my 12 readers), but I was given the squares for free and I really did enjoy them.

Bubbles

2008-12-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Grandma insisted Callie have a bubble bath. So last week after we put up the Christmas Tree, Grandma gave her a bubble bath. Daddy went a little crazy adding the soap, so she was a slippery little boo. She was also kind of scared of the corner where there were mountains of bubbles. Very cute!

A Friendly Reminder

2008-12-07T13:40:00.001-08:00

When you decide to reorganize the bathroom, don't trade the locations of the toothpaste and the diaper cream. On Sunday morning you might not be paying attention and you might reach for the old spot.

And the A&D ointment just doesn't have the same fresh taste.

Some People Come Into Our Lives

2008-12-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I decided to email someone about a bookcase on Craigslist. It was kind of on a whim and I almost didn't do it. Turns out, the listing was from some good friends of ours. The email prompted them to invite us to dinner this weekend where we found out they are moving across the country. If I wouldn't have emailed on the listing, I might have missed the chance to get together with these friends, for what could be the last time before they move at Christmas.

These were great friends who happen to have a baby just a few months after us. We had some things in common and I always enjoyed the conversation when were together. I am quite sad to be losing them (but quite happy for the great chance their getting).

After dinner, Callie seemed okay for one more stop so we went to Borders to get some Christmas shopping done. While we were there we ran into the (only) other normal couple (there were some serious weirdos) from the childbirth class we took. Turns out we weren't the only ones who wasted the $65 in learning about the process only to have a non-optional C-section. What is it with all these breech babies?

Anyway, after we finished chatting with them we headed for home. Before we got to the car Jeff asked me what their names were. I have no clue, other than the baby is Emily. Jeff said why didn't you give them your blog address or ask their names to add them to facebook. I didn't know, other than the thought didn't occur to me until he brought it up. Then I was a little sad. If I would have at least gotten their names, or offered my number...

It was kind of strange in a way. I don't think about how I need to exchange numbers with people I run into who I went to high school with, but these people who I met for literally five, three hour classes, I can't get out of my head that I should have done more.

Maybe it is because I am losing a friend soon, but it feels like a missed chance. So, Emily's parents, if you are out there, drop me a line if you want to be friends and we can get together for pizza sometime.

Turkey Toddler

2008-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Callie stepped it up (pun intended) for Thanksgiving and we saw a huge improvement in her walking. This isn't her walking (obviously) but is a picture of her special onesie from Aunt Shelly for her first Turkey Day.

Little Callie Wild Hair

2008-12-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is what Callie's hair looks like about 90% of the time. After her bath we comb it into place and it looks nice until she eats, sleeps or nurses. Then we are back to the wild look again. It is a battle I usually just let her hair win.

The Birthday Cake

2008-12-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

This was Callie's centipede birthday cake for her bug themed party. The picture doesn't show it all that well, but it really was cute.

The whole thing was covered with green frosting and dyed green coconut, on top of a strawberry cake. The flavor combo totally reminded me of Zingers. Callie wanted nothing to do with the cake unless Grandma was feeding it to her from a spoon, but that was remedied by Tuesday when I gave her a mini cupcake to enjoy on her actual birthday.

A Year Ago Today

2008-12-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at 3:41 PM less than 30 minutes after Callie was born last year. I can't believe how quickly she went from this to this:

Almost One

2008-11-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

Callie, the party girl strikes a pose!

Switching Roles

2008-11-29T08:37:00.000-08:00

For about the last dozen years or so, my mom, sisters and I always go shopping on Black Friday. We pour over the ads all day Thanksgiving, get a game plan and then we attack. After my sister and I had our license it was even better because we could all hit different stores to get the deals.

My dad, who lives in TN, always said we were crazy. There wasn't a deal in the world that could take him out of bed and into the craze of Black Friday.

Then we had a baby. And my sister had a baby. And we take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

And we told him how he could view all of them on email if he would just get a computer. He resisted at first...

But yesterday he caved. He went shopping for a laptop so he could have email and new pictures of babies (who are, I think, officially both toddlers now). He went and waited in line for two hours so he could see pictures of this

and this

a little bit of this

and a few of these
All while my mom, sisters and I slept in and did our Black Friday shopping online, in our pajamas. Next year I am sure he will come back to the dark side and Black Friday shop again... he will just do it online.

So funny

2008-11-28T21:52:00.001-08:00

I laughed when I saw this. You might too.

A Thanksgiving Meme

2008-11-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

This holiday I am thankful for at least these 100 things:

(also, so as to avoid any public ridicule, over analyzing, these are just in the order they popped into my head, there is no double meaning in the order, k?)

1. Jeff
2. Callie
3. Church
4. Mom
5. Sisters
6. Dad
7. In-laws
8. Nieces (no nephews)
9. Home
10. Friends
11. BYU
12. Football
13. A Shower
14. Fresh Bread
15. White turkey meat
16. Computer
17. Blogs To Read
18. Health
19. Milk
20. In A Fridge
21. For Cereal
22. A Lemon Tree
23. Washing Machines
24. Dishwashers
25. Telephones
26. Our Car
27. Coastal day trips
28. Callie's First Birthday
29. A Comfy Lazy Boy
30. To Nurse In
31. The University of Utah (for paying Jeff to go to school)
32. Salsa
33. Cost Less
34. Day After Thanksgiving Sales
35. Good Books To Read
36. The Scriptures
37. Food storage
38. Clomid (not now, we aren't there yet)
39. A Camera
40. Photos
41. Videos
42. Sleep
43. Hospitals
44. Their staffs
45. Fuddrucker's Hamburgers
46. Guacamole
47. French Fries
48. Tacos (I'm starting to sound hungry, dinner isn't for another 3 hours 45 min, darn)
49. My friends families
50. Missions
51. Rain
52. Automatic Sprinklers
53. Snow (even if I haven't seen any for nearly 3 years!)
54. Christmas music
55. The Temple
56. Marriage
57. The Prophet
58. Yummy smells
59. Flowers
60. That I was able to work with flowers for 4 years
61. That I don't work (away from home)
62. To watch Alyson
63. 5:00
64. Grandparents
65. Carpet
66. Air conditioning
67. Central Heat
68. The postal service (especially of Jasper, TN who made my Dad's day a couple years back on Christmas Eve.) (maybe I will post that story later, it is one that makes me cry with happiness when I think about it)
69. Stories that make you cry because you see how great people can be.
70. Baby naps
71. Two baby naps at the same time
72. Socks my husband will wear for 15 minutes to warm them up before he gives them to me
73. Instant Messenger
74. Windows to let in sunshine when I can't be outside
75. Homegrown tomatoes
76. Jamie for giving me the idea for this post
77. That I made it to number 77 before really having to stop to think
78. Education
79. Insurance
80. The mountains
81. The chance I had to live in the mountains, if only for a summer
82. TV
83. The feeling of satisfaction when you've done something hard
84. That I can do hard things
85. The edit post button when I realize I hit publish without proofreading
86. Hope
87. Country music
88. Beautiful piano music
89. ok, music in general
90. Babies laughter
91. Seeing babies dance
92. Cinnamon Rolls
93. Pantene Pro-V
94. The ability to walk,
95. run,
96. dance
97. That one day we will payoff our house
98. Hugs
99. Kisses
100. that you were ~~bored~~ kind enough to read this far

To See If I Can

2008-11-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

I know I shouldn't encourage it, but it was just so cute!

Biggest Loser Recap

2008-11-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I watch the Biggest Loser every week.

Last week we concluded Amy C. made a mistake keeping Vicki on the show and voting off Coleen.

Tonight was proof. If Vicki would have been gone, and it would have been Amy C. and Heba below the line, we all know Heba would have been headed for home.

And that would have made how many viewers ~~happy~~ ecstatic...

Seriously. Now we know for sure one of the evil 3 (Heba, Ed, Vicki) will be in the final, grrr!

I'm done with my rant and still feeling a little depressed, so please excuse me while I eat some Swiss Cake Roll goodness.

Trying To Be Blissful

2008-11-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was blissfully frugal as I cooked dry beans for the first time.

I wish I could say I loved them, they were so delicious, and I can't wait to cook them again.

But I can't.

They were definitely okay.

And I will probably cook them again, maybe with better luck next time.

The Sick Baby

2008-11-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Last week was the first time Callie was really sick. It ended up being Roseola (so the urine sample was a HUGE waste of time and $). The lovely thing about Roseola is it is only contagious before any sign of symptoms, so you can be blissfully unaware while your child shares the germs with the world (or the sweet little baby who came over for playgroup). Lovely.

The fever broke just after the dr appointment last week and on Friday she had a rash all over. The rash is fading now and she pretty much seems like she is back to normal.

Seriously?

2008-11-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Five turnovers.

No wonder we didn't win.

So sad.

RA, RA, RA, RA, RA, GOOOOOOOOOO COUGARS

2008-11-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

Let's keep it short, sweet and to the point

GO BYU!!!!

The Story, In All It's Glory

2008-11-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

So doc says she wants to make sure there is no urinary tract (or track?) infection so we need to collect a urine sample just to rule it out.

She tells us this is a relatively easy process accomplished by attaching a baggie over her privates to catch the pee before it hits the diaper.

She must have missed the memo, that when baby has diarrhea, things might not go so easily.

Also note, when babies have said stomach problems, they tend to have diaper rash, thus, leading to a very upset baby when removing said bag o'fluid, which is attached with adhesive to the irritated area.

The Way To Healing

2008-11-20T20:28:00.001-08:00

The best way to heal a sick toddler?

Schedule a dr.'s appointment.

Her fever went down steadily beginning just before I called and set up the appointment. It went up again in route to the office, and since we left has been going down, down, doooooowwwwwn (imagine that gopher from Winnie The Pooh saying it with a bit of a lysp as he falls in a hole, hehe).

Since we returned home, and collected the urine sample (the fun story on that tomorrow, I know, isn't it fun to have something to look forward to?), she has started eating again and is a lot more active.

Hopefully the doc giving her the once over is all it will take to kick this bug's trash (hopefully, just like BYU will kick U trash this weekend!

Woohoo!

2008-11-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

What a week! A friend had her beautiful baby girl and I have found out 3 friends are expecting!!!

Yea!

PS Sorry so brief tonight, baby is still sick and wants Mama's cuddles (even though I am evil and I made her nap)

How Can Something So Small

2008-11-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

Today I was humbled.

Callie made me feel about this big, except maybe a bit smaller.

She really didn't want to take a nap, but I have been trying to keep her to a schedule. Jeff had mentioned that she thought she might be feeling under the weather, but I didn't think so (and I'm the mom, so I should know, right?). She was just having nap rebellion.

Fast forward seven hours from the time I first tried to unsuccessfully put her down (which was followed by 25 min of constant SCREAMING, then holding her for about 30 min with intermittent crying, an hour and a half of feeding and playing littered with each baby taking turns crying, and then another 40 min of SCREAMING, before calm blessed silence for an hour and half, then some more feeding and playing), when I changed her diaper I noticed she felt warm... like HOT. Then I took her temperature.

Definite fever.

Thus shrinking Mommy's ego/pride down to about zero.

Go Me.

Rain Rain Come Again Some Other Day

2008-11-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

I took this picture the first day it rained this season. It's a little blurry because I'm not a very steady hand and I didn't want to use the flash because I loved the way the light was hitting her. I opened the windows so the babies could hear the soft patter of the rain drops that I love!

Anyway, I miss the rain (I also miss the snow, but that is another post). It rained for a few days about a month ago and lately we have been dry and spring like again. Today the high was nearly 80!

How do you achieve your goals?

2008-11-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes after we eat out, I look to the internet to recreate the meal at home. The other day I was looking for a recipe and I thought this ad was a little oxymoronic.

In case you can't read the pointed out text:

"Claim Jumper Cheese Potatocakes"

"Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole"

"Enter Goal Weight ____ lbs."

Needless enough to say, Jillian asking my goal weight rules out making either of those recipes anytime soon.

Adventures in Babysitting

2008-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Once again, I prove my stellar child care skills.

Alyson decided she wasn't getting enough fiber in her diet and decided to grab a bit of carbon cellulose to round things out a bit.

The best I can figure is she picked this receipt up from my scriptures or off the end table and then proceeded to suck on it for the next 3-4 hours. Only slightly freaky that she ate lunch with it in her mouth, played a little bit, TOOK A NAP, and then nursed on one side, before her mom found it, more than an hour after leaving my house.

We Interrupt This Blog

2008-11-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog

To tell you to go visit Oprah.com NOW! So you can get a free Snapfish Photo Book.

Coupon dispersal ends tonight at 11:59 PM PST and you have to redeem by Sunday night.

I don't watch Oprah daily or anything, but this show had a lot of great organizational/clutter control ideas from Peter Walsh.

Fraggle Rock

2008-11-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I caved to Jeff's pressure and finally put pigtails in Callie's hair for church.

There was a slight flaw in his plan. How still is a 10 month old going to sit while her mother tries to figure out how to get pigtails in, somewhat symetrical, and maybe not too bumpy? After we had to hog tie her to put them in, Jeff said I put them too far forward on her head and that she looked like a bug, and maybe we should take them out.

I disagree. I think she looks more like a Fraggle.

Oh, and I made her wear her hair like that to church, because she needs to learn to sit still or people will laugh at her, because I am into old school parenting like that.

PS That post I have been promising for a couple of days? It just might not happen, like ever. I can't get it to come together. After we got home from doing a small service project I was feeling all happy, and on that service high, you know the feeling... Anyway, the feeling has faded, and the idea for the post is pretty much gone too.

Yeah, So I Lied

2008-11-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

The post I promised yesterday? It just isn't going to happen.

Tonight was one of those nights when conversing with your spouse is so much more important than blogging. If you want to feel included too, we were talking about this. Go on, click it, you know you want to.

Or fine don't. Just think about what you could be missing.

Losing Yourself

2008-11-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight I got a little lost. Tomorrow I will share the details.

Wishing and Hoping

2008-11-10T10:09:00.001-08:00

My husband and his dreams of winning a Publishers Clearinghouse giveaway are starting to rub off on me.

Blissfullydomestic.com is giving away an Epson Artisan 800 printer.

This printer has had a blogger press lately, mostly because I think people are getting paid to say how wonderful this printer is, but maybe it's true and it can perfectly capture the photo of walking on water.

So I am supposed to tell you all the reasons I would love to win this printer and how it would change my life to get an extra entry in the contest.

1. My husband is tired of having to print stuff for me at work. I am tired of making him do it.

2. This thing has a scanner, and that would mean I could scan humiliating photos of ~~my friends and family~~ myself from the past to share with the blogosphere.

3. I could save, like a million dollars, by printing my own coupons.

4. Pretty much, I just want to win and this would be a great thing to win.

Now you can go here to enter too, but remember, if you win, think of the little people (aka me) who don't have a printer, and consider sending it my way instead, kthanx!

The Sunday Dinner, Corn Chowder Edition

2008-11-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

Back in college days, my freshman roommates and I decided the best way to snag a guy was to invite them over for Sunday dinner. Our plan was slightly flawed, in that we always had pretty much the same group of guys over and we only went on a small handful of dates with them.

Anyway. At the same time we were also pretty poor and not very skilled in the kitchen, but somehow, we were all talented enough to impress these 18 year old guys with our "home" cooking (actually, I think it was mostly Beka's dinner rolls, yum).

One of my favorite recipes came from the quietest and most studious of our apartment, Tanya (who is now going to pharmacist school). So simple, so cheap, so quick, so delicious... Can you tell why we loved it so much?

Here's the recipe.

Parmesan Corn Chowder

2 c. boiling water
2 c chopped potatoes
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 c sliced celery
1/4 c onion

Cover and simmer 10 minutes, do not drain.

Meanwhile, make a white sauce, with
1 & 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 butter/margarine
1/4 c flour
2 c milk

After sauce comes together, add:

1 c. parmesan cheese (I don't think we added this when I was in college, and frankly I found it to be a bit over powering, but Jeff LOVED it, I think it would be best with about a 1/2 a c), oh and don't worry about using that fancy fresh off the block stuff, grated Kraft in a jar would have been stretching our budget, if you know what I mean...

Add sauce to veggies, plus:

15 oz can corn (could be creamed corn, or about a can's worth of frozen corn)

Heat (do not boil) and serve. Oh, and add a bit more pepper if you are like me and you like a little more kick.

Seriously, so delicious and done from start to finish in less than 20 minutes!

One last note about making the white sauce, when I made this in college I would just throw everything in the veggie pot (don't judge, it was before foodnetwork) and it always tasted great, but last week when I made it again, actually making the white sauce, it was better than I remembered!

Check out others who are Blissfully Domestic here.

Some Romance For Your Weekend

2008-11-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of new blogs you might find fun. They are both Mormon, Utah based, romance stories.

First, checkout My Super Hopeless Romance, a fictional tale about Cordy and her two loves.

Next, head over to Keeping the Flame Alive, a true story, a wife is writing to her husband chronicling her life before they got together.

For both of them, I recommend starting at the first article in the archive and then reading up to today. Kind of fun to reflect back at romance past and to remember why life is SO MUCH BETTER now that I am married!

A Glimpse Into The Life of A SAHM

2008-11-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

This week I have been quite busy, between two babies feedings and diaper changes, Callie has been quite busy perfecting the art of cheating at Peek A Boo.

She doesn't always close her fingers when "hiding," but she has made real progress in her skills.

While I spent HOURS today playing this thrilling game, when I could have been ~~blogging,~~ cleaning, wouldn't you do just about anything for this sweet face?

**We believe one of the reasons she loves this game is because it repeats her nickname, Boo, over and over again.

My 6 Quirks

2008-11-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

I think this is the first time I have been tagged in a blog! Yea! Thanks Jamie!

My six quirks:

1. The first odd thing that comes to mind is my HATRED of cotton balls. Seriously. I know you are laughing. They are just so, bleh, it is like fingernails on a chalkboard. The only thing worse than the cotton balls, is pulling cotton balls apart. Yeck. On that same line, I don't wear fleece clothes if they feel too much like cotton balls and I don't like to pull wet sweaters out of the washing machine. Oh and if there is a cotton ball in the top of a bottle of medicine, I use tweezers to get it out.

2. My favorite food is salsa, which is normally a condiment. If it is a good pico de gallo, I will eat it with a spoon. And the best way to get good salsa is to either make it yourself or if you're feeling lazy, buy it from a taqueria/Mexican restaurant.

3. When loading the dishwasher I prefer the silverware handles all pointing up, that way when they are unloaded, no one is touching the part I eat off of.

4. My family called me big foot when I was in high school because of my "huge" feet, but in college I wore the smallest size of almost all of my roommates (I think there were 26 total roommates and only Bekabootwo, had smaller feet than me, I wear a size 7-7.5, which is pretty average).

5. After every shower I have to use a Q-Tip to clean/dry my ears (sorry Traci). After Traci told me it was bad to use Q-Tips when we were in college, I stopped for about a month, but then one day I did it again and I haven't looked back since.

6. I don't like plain chocolate. Mix in some caramel, or even better, some peanut butter and it is delish. Dark chocolate and semi-sweet are also not tasty, so when I make Chocolate Chip Cookies, I always use milk chocolate.

Now for six people to tag... I only know of one person who reads my blog often enough to tag (besides Traci and Jamie, who were already tagged), so I guess it goes to Robin if you want.

I need something light

2008-11-05T10:31:00.001-08:00

The other day I saw this blog and I had to submit something I heard. They added a MUCH better title and posted my story.

Check it out.

This Election Day...

2008-11-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

This election day, I am voting according to my conscience. I have prayed over each of my choices and I am voting for the best for our nation, my family and me.

That being said, elections aren't all that simple for me. I am a pretty black and white kind of person. If I am right, then you must be wrong. What makes politics palatable for me though is that I know when it is all said and done there aren't really any completely black and white choices. Do I think Obama or McCain is really the best for all aspects of the job? Not so much. They both have their good and bad points.

The same goes for many of the ballot initiatives. Most of them have points that are good, and if my pockets were a bit deeper, I would be great with adding on some more taxes to fund a road project that I agree with on (some points of), but since Jeff and I have been married (just over 5 years) one of the roads on their projected project list is a road that has been resurfaced 3 times. While other roads (on our side of the creek) have been in a continuously deteriorating state of disrepair since I left for college (maybe all those drives through Nevada made me realize just how bad Modesto's roads really are).

Or voting Yes on a bond measure that Jamie Lee Curtis assures me means no new taxes (really... just how is that bond going to get paid back then), after all it's for the children (I guess since it is for a Children's Hospital, it is only fair for them to have to pay the bill for it when the bonds come due right?)

All that being said, I just wonder about if we should consider how carefully we are budgeting the funds already available.

Right now I would love to have a second car, a new wardrobe, or even some gourmet cheeses, but that just isn't in the cards. I choose to turn the AC off when it would be more comfortable to have it about 5 degrees cooler. I walk to the grocery store if I need things while Jeff is at work. I even make due with the off brand super size bags o' grated cheese.

So for now, I don't think the Bullet train is in the cards for us. I would love to be able to hop on the train and have a short ride up to Sacramento, or even take a super quick trip down to visit my sis in So. Cal. But if the train was done right now I wouldn't be able to afford a bullet train ticket to either of those places, and that is before more of my income would be taken to pay back the bond necessary to pay for it.

I do feel strongly about Proposition 8. Marriage is a union between a man and woman. Period, end of story. This proposition is not going to take away any of the rights of homosexuals, it only restores that marriage is between a man and woman. Gay and lesbian relationships will still have the option of joining in Civil Unions that give them THE SAME legal rights as marriage. I believe this proposition has a lot to do with a definition of marriage and nothing to do with rights. I believe that even if this amendment to the California State Constitution passes, future legislation will be enacted to make it a requirement for adding homosexual education to current sex education in public schools (while I believe it would happen, I don't support this). I believe passing this amendment would protect religious groups and their first amendment right to practice their religion. I fear that if this amendment fails it is one more way for judges, lawyers, and government to dictate who (my church in particular) must allow to be married.

Life will go on if the voters disagree with these particular measures. I will ~~somehow~~ be able to pay my bills and my faith will not be shaken. I believe in our system of government and even if things get really crazy for the next four, eight, twelve years, I know that eventually things will get turned around.

Last but certainly not least, I have been trying to do an exercise the past few weeks (even before I saw the article)... Read all about it here

(I know you have been reading for a really long time, and like the last time I waxed poetic on politics, a lot of it might not make sense, but you really should go read this kind of fluffy article that is better written than what I have had to say, I promise)

Scary Politics

2008-11-03T14:03:00.001-08:00

The election season is a scary time, but don't worry, this political watchdog has our backs.

Under her watchful eye, there won't be any monkey business

Sorry, you have now reached the end of my ~~not so~~ witty puns comparing Halloween and the elections.

Halloween was fun. Callie was pretty good for all of our constant dressing and undressing her as we showed her off to friends and family. The same went for Alyson. Since the weather was still so warm and their costumes so fluffy they were both miserably hot. Shelly came with us to our ward trunk or treat and party and by the end of it, Callie was just in tights and a body suit, Alyson's top was unzipped, and it was "Babies Gone Wild, Halloween Edition."

Stay tuned for tomorrows political commentary.

I'm Tired, So Very Tired

2008-11-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

A few things working against today's post.

First off, it is dark outside and it has been for a while. My body has not yet caught on to the fact that Daylight Savings is over and the baby must have missed the memo too, because she got up at 5:30 AM... and that is too early. She did also decide to go to bed early though, so the debate begins, do I transition her back to the staying up later/sleeping later, or now that she is on the get up early/go to bed early do I just stick with it... On second thought, who am I kidding? Anyone who knows me can tell you how much I love mornings.

Second, the camera and the computer are not getting along again, and given my current state of mind, I don't think I could manage to sit through a restart.

And last, but certainly not least, since it is NaBloPoMo, there were a lot of other posts to read when I sat down at the computer today and my brain was drained by the time I finished reading them (funny, most of the posts I read were like mine, lamenting that they had nothing really to say and it is only day 2 of 30).

Tomorrow, I promise a real post that will include pictures and maybe a political statement or two... Tis The Season, right?

A Tear Jerker

2008-11-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite blogs to read these days is C Jane.

In it she posts about her life and the recovery of her sister, Stephanie, of NieNie.

Just in case you haven't been following their story, this article does a great job of summarizing what has happened and even if you have been following their story, you should read it-- warning: it will make you cry.

Tada!

2008-10-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah!

I finally figured it out. Well kinda. There is no way I would be smart enough (yet) to actually write code for my own blog template...

But luckily, I found a cute template that I kind of like that I was able to use. I actually liked her other templates quite a bit better, but they kept giving me some bx error messages, and I couldn't really fix 'em because I don't know anything about code other than copy and paste (I even know the short cuts--impressive, right?).

This update should get me ready for the real NaBloPoMo, which begins tomorrow. Don't you think the new template is inspirational, and surely with a cute page like that I won't run out of things to say for each day next month...

Sobs...

2008-10-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I joke that once you get close enough to a popular destination, like an airport or national park, there are "stupid signs" and all you have to do is follow the stupid signs and you will get where you need to go.

I figured if I wanted to change my blogger template there would be some stupid signs to follow and all would be well. Now I have deleted a whole bunch of stuff, seen a ton of error messages, and I am currently scared to try anything else, for fear of losing my entire blog history.

If I'm not here tomorrow, cry for me... and then find me a good web designer who works on the cheap (aka: free), so I can have my sanity restored.

In the shower...

2008-10-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

Do you ever think of a great idea for a blog post while you are in the shower? And then, start planning out how you are going to write it and forget if you have washed your hair yet? And then while washing your hair (for possibly the second time), realize that would make a funny observation post and forget the other idea you had?

Oh, you don't... I was just curious.

Have You Seen These Posts?

2008-10-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

So ~~a couple days~~ ~~almost~~ a week ago, I promised Traci I would post some links to some of my favorite blogs that day. I still haven't done it, so I guess the time has arrived. When I was talking to her I realized I hadn't updated the list of blogs I read and occasionally comment on. Then there was a new way to list blogs, and I realized I don't read all the ones I had listed before... So basically a big list of excuses, when all you really want is the reading ~~assignment~~ suggestion.

A few favorites:
Seriously So Blessed-- A total Mormon Mommy Blog satire. It is written by a grad student who attends the University of Utah and she is a relatively new mom, but is keeping her identity a secret all while she rakes in the readers. Check out today's post and this one from a couple weeks back.

What About Mom--I have been following the life of Jane for quite a while (like 6 months and that is forever in blog-time). I originally saw her comment on someone else's site about singing Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam and I figured she was a Mormon Mommy Blogger and I went to check out her blog. She is really talented. Anyway, her last three posts have made me giggle and I would love to make ya'all laugh too, so you should go check 'em out. In order of my personal giggle factor, The one dish towel day, Throughly unworthy emotions, and What's in your cupholder.

The last bit I will note today is California Proposition 8. Proposition 8 defines marriage as a union between a man and woman. I fully support this measure for moral and religious reasons. Over the past few weeks, a friend of mine has been doing a great job posting about Proposition 8 and the implications of it on her site. My sister in law also sent me this link to a site an individual put together. Or you can go to the Protect Marriage site and see some of the ads and implications there.

Wordless Wednesday--Riding Off Into The Sunset

2008-10-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

A Wordless Wednesday post at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Ahoy Landlubbers!

2008-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

Everybody is happy!

Windblown baby!

In front of Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey there is the Monterey Maritime and History Musuem. We had about 30 minutes to look around before babies got bored (and pooped, literally) but it was pretty interesting while we were there. On the way out there was a ship that we paused to take pictures at. The girls loved it.

Foot Muffs in Action

2008-10-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

When we bought this stroller, the previous owners gave us all the accessories, including these foot muffs. I took them and thought I would probably not be likely to use them. After all, they were probably made for people in really cold places like New England or Utah in the dead of winter (or during homecoming weekend as I heard the first snow arrived last week). Actually though, they were helpful because the babies could not kick out of them like they could a traditional blanket. And while I thought to take the muffs on our journey to the coast because it could be the only chance to use them, they will probably become a regular accessory on our fall/winter walks.

Monterey

2008-10-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Fast came for a visit last week and at first he suggested going to Monterey. He later tried to change his mind saying he didn't know how the babies would do. Jeff, Shelly and I tried to reassure him that all would be well, babies would sleep in the car and it would indeed be a lovely trip. We were right only on the last count. It was a fun trip, but sleep was definitely lacking. It turns out when babies are face to face with their mama's they see no good reason to sleep. So the trip to and from included crying and sadness, but for some reason, even with the small amount of sleep, they were both so well behaved while there. For us, given the choice between a happy baby in the car, or a happy baby in a restaurant and museum, we'll take the happy baby in public. What can we say? We like to keep up good appearances!

The wind was pretty intense, but it made the ocean gorgeous. After we left the wharf, we drove down cannery row and then drove along the coast for a ways just before seventeen mile drive. The ocean had this really pretty green, aqua, seaglass color that you can kind of see in the middle of this picture.

Mobile

2008-10-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

Callie has been crawling like a crazy baby for over a month now. She is also more adventurous and willing to go out on her own, which keeps me on my toes and keeps all the doors (interior and exterior) in our house closed.

Last weekend cousins came over and she decided she wanted to walk. She has been cruising when the mood struck for a while, but after watching the cousins literally run cirlces around her she wants to walk. She stands up whenever she can, and will even let go of things and stand still for a couple of seconds before she carefully sits down. I don't think it will be too much longer before she figures it out for real. It is hard to believe how much my little baby has grown and learned in the last ten months.

And last, but certainly not least in the Callie brag blog, she now calls me Mama. It is one of her two words. The other is bye bye, but she has to be in the mood to say it.

Travel In Style

2008-10-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

For the first two months of babysitting Alyson I was pretty much house bound because I couldn't figure out how to effectively travel with both children and no double stroller. I had pretty lofty goals for my double stroller. I wanted something that folded up pretty compactly and tandem (notice the one I got is side by side, not tandem), be in good shape, and cost less than $40 (I was planning on buying used).

I sacrificed on the tandem thing because I was able to get such a good deal on this stroller. I found it on EBay as a pick up only item. It was about an hour and a half drive away from here, but we took the chance to go to the coast for the day and try a seafood restaurant several friends had recommended to us (Barbara's Fishtrap in Half Moon Bay if you were wondering).

After using it for the past couple months now, I really don't mind that it isn't tandem. It would be a little hard to use if I went to clothes stores, but I don't so it isn't a problem. It works fine in grocery stores, going for walks around the park, and it actually fits through a standard size door. Not too bad for 11.50!

Happy and Sad

2008-09-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

So tonight had the makings to be awesome.

Oregon State vs. USC could have been a blow out. But it wasn't. As the game started I told Jeff "if Oregon State wins this, it could be the best night ever, because tonight is also the premier of the office."

So, we had the DVR set. I finished watching the game knowing my precious episode of the office was being recorded. I know what some of you might be thinking. I am often a technology clutz and I probably set it up wrong.

I will have you know though I did set it up correctly. And because The Office is so important to me, I even checked to make sure the recording was working properly before I resumed watching the game. The game ended.

Oregon State won! Fans rushed the field! It was awesome!

Then I went to watch my beloved. It was there and I was laughing for a solid 20 minutes. Then the purple screen of death made me want to poke out my eyeballs. It seems KCRA was having a few problems tonight and so the following 49 minutes and 45 seconds was purple screen with the occasional blue screen that stated they knew they were having problems, please don't call them.

Spoiler Alert:

Now I know Toby is in a hospital somewhere, for something, and he probably had a joke somewhere in that last 15 seconds, but I wouldn't know because even though the picture came back for that brief time, the sound was still gone. Lovely!

Swings

2008-09-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Callie has tried the swings at the park a few times now and she throughly enjoys it. I also love these pictures because you can really see a couple of her sharp little chompers!

(oh and there are two pictures because I couldn't choose which was cuter)

I also love that our house is close enough to the park for a small child to walk there, and far enough away that people don't park in front of my house when they are at the park.

The Happiest News Since The Hiccups Stopped

2008-09-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

On Friday night the hiccups stopped.

Then on Saturday, my beloved BYU Cougars renewed my joy.

Not that I could see the game... (please note dish network really needs to add The Mtn. to its programming, since I am sure your decision makers read my blog, kthanx)

59-0!!! Rise and Shout Cougar Fans!!!

This was one of those games when BYU was up 59-0 with :39 left in the third quarter, my friends would have tried to convince me to leave... I would have stayed. I am that friend. They would have been annoyed with me, but stayed, because they are those friends (aren't they great, PS sorry about that, oh and sorry about the apartment dates -- hopefully you aren't too damaged by either)

I am feeling a little poetic right now as I have joined Facebook (if you aren't my friend yet, request me so I can find you) and it is kind of fun, but also it makes me feel old, as this fall will be my ten year reunion. But it is late, so instead, I will shout victory from the roof for the MWC, because this was a seriously good weekend for us.

Utah beat Utah State
New Mexico beat Arizona
TCU beat Stanford
Air Force beat Houston
Wyoming beat North Dakota State
UNLV beat No. 13/15 Arizona State

and

Utah is ranked 20th

and

BYU is ranked 11/14!!!

Last but certainly not least, Go Max Hall. If I had neighbors who cared I would put a big sign in my window each week noting his total passing yards, but alas, I no longer live in Provo, and while there are a few BYU alumni in the neighborhood I don't think they walk by often enough to care (besides I don't think neighborhood traffic is as good as blog traffic) (does anyone besides me remember the apartment in Heritage Halls Fall of 99 that had a counter for Feterik's passing yards? anyone, anyone... okay, so I'm a freak) (and I think the parentheses of my random thoughts are a little annoying don't you?).

The Hiccup Remedy That Worked

2008-09-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

So I get terrible, body shaking, headache inducing, violent hiccups. I don't get them often (maybe once a month or so), and they really haven't been so bad since I am no longer pregnant or recovering from major abdominal surgery.

Then on Wednesday they struck again. It was horrible. I hiccuped when singing lullabies, feeding babies, and talking on the phone. At around lunch time my long time friend called and our conversation was interrupted by the awful quaking squeaks. She recommended I drink a glass of water while plugging my ears. I laughed as I imagined trying this endeavor on my own and imagining the spilled water I would be cleaning up. She then explained to just hold the cup with the heels of my hands and plug the ears with my fingers.

By the time our conversation was over the hiccups were gone again. Only for them to return two more times during the course of the day. I tried other remedies, holding my breath, drinking water, doing breathing relaxation exercises, to no avail. Eventually, the hiccups would go away on their own each time.

Then after dinner they struck again as I was doing dishes. I took a glass and finally tried Traci's suggestion.

It worked. I should have known she was right all along and just put her on hold to drink the water, but I didn't. I probably really shouldn't have admitted I didn't do it all day long, just because I didn't think it would work, especially when someone I know and trust explicitly, recommended it to me.

The point is it worked. Sorry. No photo demonstrations for this one right now. Maybe later if I am feeling adventurous.

The Last of The Cool Ranch Stuff

2008-09-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

While I was out at the ranch I couldn't resist pretending like I was cool and taking a few scenery pictures. How cool is this view off the back patio?

These flowers are at the edge of the grass off the patio.

This pumpkin is monstrous. I should have put Callie on top of it to give ya'all a relative size.

And last but not least, hard chain, soft roses... poetic, isn't it?

Horsing Around

2008-09-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Reading Callie's mind, I don't know about that big thing... He's big and he runs fast...

Okay, now I want to touch him and that hotwire!

Mom, are you seriously still taking pictures? You really haven't gotten the perfect shot in one of the first 56 pictures you took?

My favorite horse of all... Daddy makes the best horse noises!

Ranching

2008-09-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure when Jeff grows up he wants to live on a ranch. He wants about 12 dogs, which will all have names from Tolkein or Robert Jordan characters.

Until he grows up and gets the ranch (or at least a couple of the 12 dogs in his dream) we will be content ranch sitting for friends when they are out of town.

Baby Mohawk

2008-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

After swimming at Grandma's, Aunt Jen took this picture of Callie's new do.

Crawling Into Trouble

2008-08-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

I don't think she wanted me to grab the camera before untangling her from this mess.