Blivit Contemplations

Pixie's Serenade

2012-01-28T15:56:00.000-06:00

Pixie and I are home today, as Scott's always working far away in our old town on Saturdays.

I got up the energy to start going through Pixie's toys and clothes and start organizing everything. She was helping me a lot (I was hiding the things I was bagging to get rid of!) and she came across the child's guitar that Scott has had for years.

I took a break and went on my laptop to check something. Pixie decided to take a break too, and serenade me. I quickly went and got the camera, then asked her to sing me another song.

She has a cold, so she isn't as easy to understand and I think her nose started running during the song.

I thought it was cute anyway. Here is what I got from the lyrics of "Pixie's Song".

Pixie's Song:

Is really fun and I really sing a song.
Then I really say sorry.
And I found the castle! When I see the things. And I see the lights.....E,F,G.
And I found that letters are E,S,B and W and H and healthy, Q and S and Q!
And I hear the presents not talking. And when I....when my mom told me to open the presents on Christmas. And my mom told me Christmas is over!
And I see the coats when I was found the coats and singing a really quick song.
How I want to....and I be a...when I found the...when I found the blankets and give it to me, when I was being alone.
When I was singing really of my song

Christmas Day Photos

2012-01-23T19:14:00.001-06:00

I'm very late posting Christmas pictures, but here they are! Christmas fell on a Sunday, so Pixie was very good waiting to open presents. Scott gets home exactly when we have to leave and rush to church. I didn't know how she would react, but was very pleased. We took some pictures in front of the Christmas tree before church.

(FYI, I did not ask her to pose!)

I found her Christmas dress on eBay (Hannah Andersson) for a steal. I made the flower clip to go with it.

Scott took a few after we got home. I thought this one was funny because neither of us were ready!

Don't you just love this daddy/daughter photo?

I shopped for Christmas very early, so in my opinion Pixie was spoiled. She opens one gift at a time, then plays with it, before going for another. Opening presents was an all afternoon affair. We even took a break and went back. Of course we saved the really cool presents until the end (you know, like a Rapunzel doll, Littlest Pet Shop, real ceramic tea set, tinker toys, Play-Doh, etc), so we didn't get any pictures of her opening those. We got bored with taking pictures and the battery was dying. She appreciated all of her presents, which was nice.

Got her own mat to do Pilates with me!

The women in a department that Scott manages, gave her a basket of presents. It was really sweet.

It was a little strange being at home the entire day for Christmas. We did get to go visit my parents the day before, so that was nice. Christmas was very low key and relaxing this time around!

Christmas Gratitude

2011-12-20T14:48:00.002-06:00

I just sat down with my cozy faux fur throw, after enjoying a busy morning and fun lunch with Scott and Pixie.
I made a quick vegetarian chili and some cornbread, I have regular bread in the oven right now and Pixie is 'reading' books in quiet time in her room.

I love the quiet in the house today. It's been raining out the last few days, which is so much better than ice or snow, and so we've left the Christmas tree lights on because it's so dark. The dogs are downstairs being quiet, even though cooped up due to the muddy backyard the last few days.

I decided to sit down to look up some craft projects I want to get done for Christmas, and look at some goodie recipes to make. I had this overwhelming feeling of happiness in my life.

I love my home. We've been here for almost a year now. A year ago at this time we saw it for the first time.
It's so wonderful to be in a house that you love, even if it still has many home improvement projects to be done on it. It's warm, efficient, cozy and roomy.

I love our growing little family. I love this little boy growing inside of me already, even though it has been more difficult to carry him. I had wondered if the second time around would be less exciting, but it's not. I think it's even more exciting. Maybe that's because Pixie will be getting a sibling or it is because we are more familiar with what having a baby around 24/7 entails. Hopefully it entails much more sleep and less stress than with Pixie. I think I've relaxed enough this time around that I 'might' be able to fall asleep reclining in our comfy new furniture, while holding an infant that won't let you lie down. Ever. :)

The prospect of getting the birth I'm comfortable with and want, is so awesome. The beginning of this month I found out that the birth center I wanted to go to had some fee changes that enabled us to go there. I was so ecstatic. We visited the next night and set up our first appointment. My first visit with them is on the 28th.

I just need everything to go normally and this boy to stay in for as long as he's supposed to, to have what I want!

I'm so happy for this Christmas holiday. I'm happy that we will be able to meet Scott (in between shifts on the weekend) at my parent's house on Christmas Eve. I'm happy that he'll come home Christmas morning to be with us for church and the entire day. I'm happy that he has work off the next day. I'm happy that even though we'll be spending New Year's Eve apart again for a few years in a row, he'll be home the next day and the next day after that. We are seeing more of him than ever and we love it, even if it isn't for full days. I'm happy that the new year brings the prospect of him being able to be home weekends, towards the latter part of the year. I can't imagine what that would be like.
Our whole family being home=happiness for all of us.

We've had many blessings come our way in 2011. Not that it's been easy, but it has let us gain experiences that are very valuable, and allow us to grow even closer together as a family unit.

It's Finished!

2011-12-13T11:51:00.002-06:00

The barrier fence is finished! It took a while to do it. We started a few days before Thanksgiving. Scott found this way of making our own custom fence panels, so nothing can be seen through the fence. There is an extra panel on top of the seams. We made them all ourselves, and measure the slopes, etc. It would have been easier if it didn't get so dark so soon and if Scott were home on weekends. Also would have been easier if I could help lift the thing more! I took it easy, don't want anything to happen with this pregnancy. Which meant Scott had to carry the panels pretty much by himself off of the porch. They were VERY heavy, due to the extra panels and that they are treated wood.

So now instead of this: (Minus the other two barking dogs; a fat beagle and poodle-type mix. Plus it's really awkward to be outside in the Summer when the lady and her teenage daughter are sitting in the pool, right there next to us.)

We have this!

This view is from our porch. When you are down in the back yard you won't see anything, except the neighbor's porch. I'm sure some of them might try to bark at us from there. No more fence fighting and biting through the fence. Nova teased them, but after Perrin got under the other fence and almost mauled to death, he's become even more aggressive towards them and a shock collar doesn't even affect him when he's in the heat of the moment.

I also don't have to worry about Pixie going up to all four of those dogs, and risk getting bitten. So annoying when they stood there barking at my three-year-old, who was the only one in the yard.

Eventually I'd like the other side of the yard done, just to be even, but because of cost (wood is expensive!) and the major slope down in the back corner, we're going to wait a while or hire it out in the future. There is an easement in the back and on the other side, the other neighbors are a really quiet older couple with one little old dog and some cats. They keep their yard in pristine condition. The way ours will be once we get it the way we want it! I've already started to think about all the fun garden things I can do on this fence. A place for climbing plants and maybe installing some gutter gardens I saw an idea for. Who knows! I think my ideas are bigger than my abilities might be next Spring. You know, with a newborn and all. :)

A Small Attempt at Family Christmas Pictures

2011-12-12T15:35:00.000-06:00

We had about 5 minutes before leaving to our church Christmas party, so I decided to try and take some pictures. It turned out to be a little difficult to get anything good, but it was fun.

Here are our three attempts at getting a timed family photo, using Pixie's dollhouse as our tripod. It didn't work out too well. I have no idea what got into her and the faces she made at the camera. I don't think she was holding them while we were waiting....

And this is the best one....oh dear. Between Pixie's face and my glaring spectacles...yikes. I''m opting for contact lenses next year at my optometrist's exam. :)

Santa made a visit at the church party. Scott got to for for an hour, unexpectedly, before he head out for work. It was nice, but he missed Santa and the treats.

Pixie is old enough not to cry on Santa's lap (btw, our Santa was British!), but she's still not comfortable being there. He asked her if she wanted to get off his lap, she said yes.

She was happy to sit on the floor with her gift.

After I got home and got Pixie into bed, I decided to try and get a few side views of my pregnancy. I had a request from my sister, Amy, so I thought I better do it. I haven't had any pictures since Halloween I think.
So here I am, 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant with our baby boy!

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-10-31T21:36:00.000-05:00

Here are the creepy witches!

We went down for the downtown business trick-or-treating, then we went to a few neighborhood houses. Pixie was pretty tired when we started the second half, she also didn't want to wear her hat, but she had a blast eating candy after we came home. I even got to hand some candy out. Our old house didn't get any kids coming around. It was fun!

Riding her broomstick...

I love her face in this picture!

Being creepy.

My 17 week baby bump...or lump. :)
I've been feeling the baby a lot the past week. That's fun and a little weird.

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bag Craft

2011-10-31T14:46:00.001-05:00

I saw this trick-or-treat bag at Williams Sonoma's online store and I thought it was adorable. I knew I could make my own! Well, I didn't do it until today. I was in kind of a hurry, so some things aren't exact or to scale, but I think it came out pretty darn cute!

Here is my version:

It Feels Like Fall!

2011-10-19T16:58:00.000-05:00

Even though autumn has been officially here, it hasn't felt like it in the Midwest. Last weekend our weather turned from extremely dry and in the sunny 80's, to overcast drippy days in the 40-50's. Last night was our first frost scare, coming dangerously close to a freeze. Some areas did dip down that low. I harvested my bunches of green peppers yesterday (so sad leaving those little buds there to wither!) and will be bringing in my green tomatoes, all in hopes that they will ripen. I have plans for them all if they don't, however.
Since fall has fallen, Pixie and I have made two soups this week. The first, a vegetarian italian sausage tortellini soup, the second was a vegetarian potato 'bakon' soup.

Here are a few pictures with my tiny chef. She was in charge of tearing off the leaves of fresh herbs and putting them into the soup.

I know this picture might scare some, but the burner was off and I'm always right there with her. Pixie is seriously the most careful and calculating child I've ever known!

This is the first holiday we have decorated our front porch for. I finally got my candy corn decoration on the door!

Halloween Craft - Candy Corn!

2011-10-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

Look at what else I did! Wow, I'm on a roll. Today has been the best day I have had in a long time. I felt a little icky here and there, nearly tossed my cookies when catching up on dishes, but after that I felt pretty decent.

I saw this Halloween craft idea the same time as my luminaries craft. I decided that I could sew it out of felt (since I have a lot of it). I noticed that there was something different about her product, then googled an image of candy corn to be correct. Yes, I was right. The colors were out of order. I like to be pretty accurate when I make something to look like a real product.

Here's the finished door hanger! I cannot find either of my door hooks to save my life, so I didn't get to photograph it in it's proper place.

Halloween Craft - Luminaries

2011-10-06T19:54:00.001-05:00

I've been keeping my glass jars from spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, salsa, etc.. because our local recycling doesn't recycle glass. I use them to store things in or give food in to people. So I was pretty excited when I came across this tutorial for a fun Halloween craft. It was easy, which I need right now. I did it at the coffee table one night while watching The Biggest Loser with my family.

It's just glass jars painted with acrylic paints, then sprayed with clear gloss spray paint. And yes, I got carded for it. I think it's awesome I could still pass for being at least a decade younger than I am. :)

Here you go, drop a tea light in it and you have Halloween luminaries!

Yet Another Surprise Funny of Pixie

2011-10-06T14:07:00.001-05:00

As I was typing the last words of my last post, I heard the sound of Pixie singing behind the couch. This is nothing new, she sings anything and everything...which sometimes includes songs on the radio I am shocked she knows. Anyway, first, a little background.

Our living room looks like a Halloween tornado came through it. I had Scott bring up the boxes yesterday, hoping I would be able to set a few decorations out before mutual. It didn't happen. Pixie was so excited to see all of the holiday decor and costumes, that of course every item had to be spread out over the entire room. I have picked up random costumes over the last few years at thrift stores, etc. I've haphazardly put some things back into boxes until I get a small burst of energy to deal with it, and all the many other things that need to be done.

So while I was posting my last post, I heard Pixie singing "I love you, you love me..." from behind the couch.

Now, I promise, she has only watched Barney one time. She usually tells me when it comes on after her other show, so I can turn it off. One time I was outside gardening and I missed the change of shows. It was too late. She was already singing along with every song they sang. Great.

I didn't think much of her singing, so I didn't pay much attention. That is, until she came out from behind the couch, looking like this........

...........

.........

......

....

I then realized what she had been singing and what she was wearing. I burst into laughter harder than I remember having for a long time. She said a string of unassuming sentences that I cannot remember now, but they made me laugh even harder. Then she proceeded to point out the different points of the costume. "This is my brown tail. It's for my body."
I am so tickled that she has my sense of humor. She doesn't over-do it and has a pretty dry sense of humor for a 3 year old. I love it!

Mother's Day Gift that Keeps on Giving + A Pixie Funny

2011-10-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted my own rose garden, with roses suitable for cutting. On Mother's Day, Scott gave me the most beautiful rose bush. He spent lots of time at a nursery looking for a beautiful, fragrant, cutting rose. How gorgeous is it? I love that it's still blooming in October, we haven't had any rain for 18 days and I haven't been watering a thing. It smells heavenly!

Completely unrelated, but Pixie just said something I thought was humorous. She cracks herself up a lot lately.

Here was our exchange:

Me: We really need to cut your nails.

Pixie: No, maybe later.

Me: No, we'll do it right now.

Pixie: How about tomorrow?

Me: Right now.

Pixie: (In a matter of fact tone) We can do it on the weekend.

Me: Did you say on the weekend?

Pixie: *peals of laughter*

I just love that she comes out with unexpected things. It makes me laugh a lot, which has been great since dealing with the sickness of this pregnancy. I love my little girl!

Update on the Last Few Months!

2011-10-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

I know I've been absent..a lot...from my blog lately. We had a pretty nice summer. I visited our stake's girls camp and went on the youth conference trip to Nauvoo, IL. Two days after I returned from youth conference, I discovered we were expecting baby #2. It's so exciting and I had high hopes of this pregnancy being different (better), but it has been exactly the same so far. I found out when I was less than 4 weeks along, so knowing for this long has been torture! Of course, I would have known pretty soon after that because around 5 weeks along, I started getting morning sickness. Which, I just call pregnancy sickness, since it's all day. I'm currently 13 weeks and it's starting to taper off. I hadn't heard about taking Unisom and vitamin B6 before for morning sickness, until the midwives/doctors at this hospital told me. It has helped greatly in the not actually throwing up as much part. I have actually gained two pounds in the first trimester, instead of losing 10!

Pixie is pretty insistent that the baby is a sister, but we're preparing her for a brother as well.
My due date is on Pixie's birthday, April 10th. Which is pretty cool I think! That will make exactly 4 years between them. She has been such an amazing child during all of this. She allows me to sleep in and is so sweet. She'll even bring me food (snacks or apples) and throw things away for me, without asking.
I can't imagine how much worse this would have been if she was a year younger!

Scott went in with his two siblings and we flew out his grandma. She's like a grandmother to me and I love her to bits. I never got to know any of my grandparents and they are all gone now.
We had SO much fun with her while she was here for a week. I wish I felt better, but it was nice to not be alone with Pixie all the time. Pixie just adores her great-grandma.
We knew we were going to have to get a big bed for Pixie, with the new baby coming, but Scott did it even earlier so that Grandma had a place to sleep. We found a coiled futon mattress with awesome reviews on Amazon, for a very reasonable price. Then Scott got lumber and made a platform bed. It's not painted yet, but it's cool! Now that Grandma is gone, Pixie has a full-sized bed to herself. I admit, I sneak in there and lounge on it quite often. It's firm, so it's nice on my back. I'm thinking a king sized one is in my bedroom's future. :)
During Grandma's visit I had a prenatal appointment for the baby's heartbeat. Grandma got to come, it was so neat. We had been preparing and explaining to Pixie what a heartbeat was, so she knew what it was when we heard it. It was cool. I don't think it's completely hit me yet, but there is a baby in there!

Here are some pictures from Grandma's visit. Pixie fell asleep on her one evening! It was adorable.

Scott took a day off of work and we went into the city. We visited a children's farmstead. This calf was only a few months old. She was cute. Pixie wouldn't pet her head because she was majorly licking my arm..almost gave me tongue burn! They're so rough. (Pregnant or fat? Haha...probably both. Pregnancy doesn't like me at all!)

For anyone who has known Pixie since before age 3 will be shocked and amazed at these photos. This is a child who would go up to almost any animal as a baby, but scream if a person approached her. At 2 we couldn't go within 20 feet of men in the store, without screaming. They didn't even allow parents to go up to the loading dock. She walked up and let the guy put her on the pony. AMAZING!

I just love this photo. Sorry, dear! Grandma and I were sitting down on a bench, a little worn out, while they fed the koi in the pond.

We took a trip to the new Trader Joe's and I instantly fell in love. I just wish it wasn't an hour away!
After that we visited a park in a very well-to-do area. We saw nice things and nannies. Then we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was amazing, as always. I have to get the avocado egg rolls every time I go. I can make them myself, but they take quite a bit of effort. I did something different and got an alfredo dish. I almost never buy pasta out, but it was so good. Plus, there's no way I would add that much fat to my own!

We miss you, Grandma! We hope to see you in the spring, with a new addition!

A Cinderella-esque Pixie

2011-08-15T18:19:00.000-05:00

This happened a last month I believe. I heard some noise and went into the kitchen to see what Pixie was up to. She was sporting fairy princess garb that day and decided to clean my floor. She grabbed my spray bottle of All-Purpose Charlie's Soap and was hard at work. I took the perfect opportunity to snap a few photos.

Sing a Song of Pixie

2011-07-14T17:16:00.000-05:00

We really like the movie "Tangled" and one of the extras is a montage of Disney movies, set to this soundtrack. I like the song so much, I've been listening to it on my YouTube playlist as well.

I had to hide to get this next video. Pixie will not sing for the camera. She was busy playing with Play-Doh and singing the day away. I do not think she knows the words very well, but that didn't stop her!
(The clip is a little long, but grandparents will not mind!)

At the end of the video, she asked me to take her picture. Here it is!

Pixie Fun...For Us!

2011-06-02T18:36:00.003-05:00

Pixie had a so much fun over the last few days, that I think it left her a little more tired and irrational than usual. Doesn't help that she developed some sniffles on the journey home, but thankfully it hasn't progressed.

It was nap time and she really didn't want to go, but the only way she could comply in her mind was if I took a picture of her. I decided to take video of her silliness first to keep, but also to show her later on how goofy she looked. It didn't really work. She loves to watch the video now.

Happy that her wish was granted. Crazy how she cranked out a pose so quickly for the camera!

Then I just thought this was funny. Having straight hair that looks the same, whether I am entering bed or rising from it, I find Pixie's curly hair amusing. I had given her a bath before nap time and this is what we found when she got up.

Strawberries!

2011-06-02T17:53:00.000-05:00

Pixie loves strawberries. She would ask for them and gaze in awe of them at the grocery store. I have fought myself on it because I know they are on the "dirty dozen" list of conventional foods, but I have even more gained the desire to have my own patch after hearing about the possible approval of a new pesticide to be used on them.

“I’m not in blanket opposition to the use of pesticides, but methyl iodide alarms me,” said Theodore A. Slotkin, a professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University Medical Center and a member of the scientific review committee. “When we come across a compound that is known to be neurotoxic, as well as developmentally toxic and an endocrine disruptor, it would seem prudent to err on the side of caution, demanding that the appropriate scientific testing be done on animals instead of going ahead and putting it into use, in which case the test animals will be the children of the state of California.”

Full article here.

Besides all of that, they are simply so expensive to buy in a constant stream from the local grocer. I would love to have a bumper crop of my own and stuff ourselves silly with strawberries every year.

Moving a few months ago, with all the many things that have to be done inside and out in this house, I have attempted to get a strawberry patch. At first I tried to put some in one of those Topsy Turvy things that we found for almost free at Menards. Some of the root balls never grew and all but one of the plants died.

I discovered that on the less sunny side of the house, a previous owner had planted lots of strawberries, but I wasn't sure how much sun they got on that side, so I wasn't in high hopes for a good crop.

I took a look at the other side and decided to shovel out the rock garden, rip up the plastic, cultivate sand from the pit and peat moss into it.

I was pleasantly surprised when the rocks and plastic came up easily and almost in one sheet, then horrified when I found a horrendous colony of ants beneath it. Sadly, I had to wait. I bought those granules that can be used around gardens, then had to endure torrents of thunderstorms until my patch was ant-free and dry enough to dig in. Yesterday I worked outside for hours and hand cultivated the patch. I planted my lone alive strawberry plant, along with three others I got at a local store. I meandered to the other side of the house to see if those part-sunned strawberries were, in fact, going to ripen.
And this is what I found!

They were delicious! And I say 'were' because Pixie at almost the entire bowl. There are more ripening and I'm planning on taking some cuttings to plant in my new patch on the other side of the house.

Hooray! Get rid of your rock gardens and plant strawberry patches!

Memorial Day Getaway

2011-06-02T17:29:00.002-05:00

We had just bought a couple of kayaks off of Craigslist, when we realized we might not be able to go on a far away nice vacation. Why not set ourselves up with fun for years to come instead?

The only thing we needed, was somewhere fun to take them. Scott asked around at work and found that a co-worker's sister owned a small house a block from a very nice (and large!) lake near the Ozarks in central Missouri. We found a really nice and affordable place to board the dogs, and took off on Sunday afternoon.

We were impressed with the amenities and the cleanliness of the house, even after not being used since last season. We settled in for a nice quiet evening and decided to do the bulk of our kayaking on Monday.

We relaxed on the back porch while waiting for the coals to turn ashen and ready for our homemade veggie seitan polish sausages. I really outdid myself there, changing up the flavor and adding more moisture so the middle stayed tender. The best I have made so far!

In the meantime, some odd close up pictures were taken....

Don't you love the contrast of our eye color? It'll be so much fun seeing what our kids get. We thought Pixie might be taking the green from Scott, but recently I'm not so sure.

(Ignore my melted make-up look. It was hot and humid that day!)

Pixie found some sticks to play with..

..and I realized I had packed two different colored flip flops. At least they were the same kind of shoe and the right feet!

Scott and I went to bed at around 9:30pm on Sunday night. It was lovely to get a good night's rest. Even better for him since he only gets to sleep in once a month or two, during holidays normally.
We had a leisurely morning and headed out to kayak at around 10:30am. The weather was perfect. It was so nice of it to go on hiatus from the thunderstorms and tornadoes we've had for weeks on end.

We weren't sure how Pixie was going to handle it. She had been asking to go boating ever since we got the first kayak a few weeks ago. She took to it immediately.

My kayak is made for the ladies. It's an eleven foot ocean kayak, so it does better with choppy water.

Scott's looks like a canoe hybrid and is fourteen feet. It's more suited to lakes and hauling children in the cargo hold. :)

We had such a blast stopping at inlets and exploring the area. We waded around in the water some too and I found two small white snail shells for Pixie. She's still carrying them around the house now. It was the least I could do to give her a fake beach experience!

She was not happy when she couldn't reach the water. We had to situate her so she could.

We had a fun and relaxing Monday evening. We went back out to kayak Tuesday morning, got into some windy and choppy water, so we turned back because we weren't comfortable getting into that with Pixie. I had fun crashing over those little waves though.
We paddled around the sheltered inlet for a while, until Pixie asked to go eat.

We returned home that afternoon, picked up our doggies and went home.

The next day, yesterday, Scott called into work because the sunburn he got was worse. On Monday we all slathered on the sunscreen, but while we waded around it must have come off. Pixie and I didn't get burned at all, but look at what happened to Scott's delicately white legs. Can you see how swollen the left one is? He's home today too. Poor guy couldn't even walk on it!

Home in Progress

2011-05-28T18:41:00.002-05:00

So, my intention was to show before and after pictures of each room in our house as I finished it. Well, here are before and 'progress' pictures. It's just taking too long to do it all! We went on hiatus to start doing the gardening and landscaping, now we're putting it off to start on the basement.

I painted the dining room and kitchen walls (our bedroom too, but I'm waiting for furniture and new carpet for the transformation pictures). The dining room and kitchen were two different colors, so I had to prime first. It took about 4 coats total! Quite the pain. Eventually I want to paint the living room (maybe!) and definitely the trim, but that will have to wait. I reused lots of our furniture, hiding all of it's falling apart flaws, but we did get to pick out a new leather double reclining sofa, glider/recliner chair and dining room table. I love them! We took forever to find exactly the right ones at the right price.

Haven't found my candles for my candlesticks yet....

Our first picture we've picked out together. We looked through hundreds, maybe even a thousand, prints before I settled on this one. I like it because it's not too realistic, but not too abstract. Perfect! It's called "Aspen Glow". I recycled a frame from a print I found at Salvation Army for $7, just cleaned it up and applied Old English stain to it. It looked so much better! Frames are so expensive, especially big ones like this!

The kitchen cabinets are a work in progress too...they are taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Framed some prints from our photo shoot with Sam last October after she started up her photography business called Orange Photographie.

This bookshelf is really falling apart, but I rigged it and it doesn't look too bad...

Pixie wanted me to take some pictures of her with Perrin. We never did give him away and I want to keep him anyway. Put a bark collar on him and he's an angel outside, even with the 4 dogs next door.

She loves him and he's good with her, unlike Nova who wants to be alone and finally bit her last week. He's a good watch dog, even though he is a stubborn dummy at times. He's very loving. :)

Anyway, we are still loving our house and can't wait until we just have to maintain it!

My Little Garden Gnome

2011-05-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

We had a few hot days in a row. I set up the kiddie pool and let Pixie try out her new rash guard suit from Old Navy that Becca snatched up for me for a great deal, now that I don't live near civilization!
I hauled lots of soil to make raised beds (hurt my lower back in the process!), Scott helped me make the boxes out of wood we recycled from the deck stairs we replaced.

Pixie decided she wanted to help. It was so cute, I had to run for the camera.

Pixie's First Zoo Visit

2011-05-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

We hadn't been to the zoo since we were first married. We hadn't taken Pixie yet because she wasn't really old enough to enjoy it and....she was not a good crowd/no nap handler.
Now that she's 3 and knows a lot about animals, we thought it was the perfect time to go.
Scott had a day off of work the 9th, so we planned for it for over a month. Since he works weekends, a day off at home doesn't come around too often.

We had just gone through a cold spell of weather, but this day it turned to a steamy 90 degrees out. It was great. I dawned on my silly straw hat to keep the burn off my face and neck.
They were doing some construction on the zoo, so my favorite funny animals (giraffes) weren't on display.

Here are some pictures from the day!

I love the polar bear exhibit!

So sweet...

Due to the construction, you had to walk forever to the overlook to see the elephants. They were kinda far away, but it's the thing Pixie talks about the most!

This peacock......

...totally dissed us.

I'm not a fan of monkeys, but this one was adorable. I caught his attention when he was overhead and he had to pop down to see who was there.

Sheep. The naughty one on the left stole some food out of our bag.

Back at the polar bear. He was doing back flips, off of the glass, in the water.

We took a trip to Cold Stone Creamery, then headed home.

Pixie took a nap in the car, then woke up and was pretending to be asleep.

I love this picture. My face and Pixie's expression. It's so goofy!

Why I Went to a Tattoo Parlor

2011-05-03T08:55:00.000-05:00

..to get my ears pierced.

Take a look at this video found here.

My Birthday Weekend

2011-05-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

My 27th birthday was on Saturday. There is no denying I am on my way to 30 now!

There was a first birthday party for a niece of mine in our old town, and since Scott was there working anyway, Pixie and I spent the day there.

I got a few big presents early this year. I bought myself a KitchenAid Stand Mixer and Scott got me a digital antenna, so we now get an awesome fistful of free tv stations.

We dropped Pixie off at Becca's house on Saturday, then went on a date. That's all I wanted for my birthday!

Scott took me to the local miniature golfing range. It was a lot of fun. He won of course, by three strokes, but I was the one that won a free game at the end.

It was so nice going out without Pixie for a change. It had been months since we've had a date by ourselves, out of the home! We went to Chili's afterward. They are the only place around here that will substitute any of the burgers on their menu with black bean burgers. It was so good. I gave my compliments to pass onto whomever was on the grill. They really knew how to cook a veggie burger. It wasn't dried out like they can be, it was moist and delicious. I got the mushroom swiss burger and Scott got some kind of bbq one. I saved almost all of my fries for Pixie. I'm not a big fry person.

We got to hang out with Scott's siblings for a while. That was really fun. His sister is getting married in 2 weeks, so I took her shopping and we did some wedding talk.

All day Scott had been trying to find a tattoo and piercing parlor to get my ears pierced. I haven't had it done, but have been seriously thinking about it for the last year. I didn't want to take Pixie into one of those places, so we dropped her back off at Becca's and went to get it done, before we came back and ate raspberry cheesecake she had made me.

We found a place that was open. I was really hesitant to go in, thinking I'd look like a dork for just wanting my ears pierced when they looked like bikers, but they thanked me for being educated enough to go to them and not to the mall. I did my research on it and piercing guns in a store or mall are not sanitary at all. Plus they shove the earring through your ear and that can cause more issues with healing. At a piercing parlor, they are sanitary. The gal I had had been doing it for 15 years and had a medical background. They wash their hands, put on gloves and open a sterile hollow needle that will take a piece of your skin out, not just shove something through it. And I got small hoops, not studs. I didn't want studs.

I think it hurts more this way, but I'm glad I had it done the right way. I said I'd rather have blood drawn and I was right, it did seem to hurt more than that. The sound is horrible, but at least it's done now! I bled quite a bit. It was great.

I got to open some more presents (along with eat some cheesecake! Thank you, Becca!) and scored a laptop bag and socks...with rock climbing instruction passes tucked into them. Those were more gifts from Scott, of course! Mom and Becca gave me money for another year membership to Sam's Club, which is such an awesome gift!

Pixie and I finally got home a little after 10pm. I wish I could have spent more time with my sister and her family, but it was over 1 1/2 hours to get home. I took the small country roads too, which thankfully, I didn't meet any critters on.

I got home and got a package of goodies from my mom. It was a wonderful birthday!

Here are a few cute pictures I took of Pixie while we were waiting for Scott to pick us up to go to church yesterday morning. Look how old my Pixie is! She's such a little lady. I can't believe she's 3!

Easter

2011-05-02T14:56:00.000-05:00

We had a very nice Easter this year.

Here is a craft I made for the women I visit teach in church.

While Daddy was at work on the weekend, Pixie and I did a little decorating. I snipped some branches off of our magnolia tree and we decorated them with sticky backed foam easter eggs. It was fun, easy and cute!

Since Scott doesn't get home from work on Sundays until just before church, we met him there and opened presents later. I found a wonderful Easter presentation on Christ's life and resurrection and showed it to my Young Women group for the lesson. There weren't a lot of dry eyes in there. :)
I also made these 'carrots' and filled them with good Easter candy. I mainly used orange paper, but ran out and used yellow instead. There are yellow carrots, and they are yummy!

Here are a few pictures of us opening the Easter box from Grandma Maridee and Grandpa Dennis. Thank you guys!

I start holiday shopping too early. I tend to forget how much stuff I have!

I gave Scott a little Easter bowl. :)

They decided to take a nap on the back porch, while I talked to my mom and prepared the dye for eggs.

Egg coloring!

We did a little egg hunt in the back yard, but I didn't get any pictures. It had gotten pretty chilly by that time. It was hilarious. Scott went out to hide them, then I took Pixie out. The first thing out of her mouth was "daddy made a mess!" She wasn't sure about putting eggs all over the lawn!

We had our old standard of eggs benedict, consisting of poached eggs, homemade bread toast (no english muffins this year), steamed asparagus and hollandaise sauce for brunch.

For dinner I baked a seitan roast in the crock pot, with tri-color fingerling potatoes and veggies. I also made some roasted asparagus. It was quite the delicious feast!

Pixie's 3rd Birthday

2011-04-15T19:13:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday was Pixie's 3rd birthday. It's hard to believe that my only child isn't a baby anymore!

She's growing up so fast. She's such a little companion right now. I'm enjoying it.

We had been planning on going to my parent's house to visit, so we did a last minute birthday party on Saturday with them.

My mom and dad drew and painted this card for her. She loved it! My parents really know how to make things special and add that extra thought. We all sang "Yellow Submarine" later, accompanied by my dad on the guitar.

Grandpa showed her the kale in the garden. She kept picking it and eating it at this picnic table.

Becca and her family made it. Pixie has missed her cousins.

We headed up to the park for the party. Kizzie and her family made it too! It was fun.

On Sunday I invited the branch president's family over for a little party.

Their daughter made hair bows for Pixie and gave her a little lamb. She's very much into animals right now....and hair bows!

She was a little shy with all of the attention, and she had icing on her face from the spatula I let her lick.

Here she is wearing one of the flower clips she got.

After we had cake, all the children disappeared into Pixie's room and they had a ball. I found some pictures of them all on her kid camera she got.

It was a nice birthday. Thank you to my family for remembering and making it special, and to the Day and Westover families for sharing with us at the last minute!

The Cheeky Review

2011-04-04T18:37:00.000-05:00

Have you ever tried to research a product or project, but cannot find any information on it?
I have. In fact, it has happened a lot.

I also have been asked by many friends about various products I use around my home, what works and what doesn't. Well, I decided to help my fellow friends and internet searchers in the form of another blog.
I call it "The Cheeky Review". It's a place where I will share what products, services, businesses and do-it-yourself-cheaper projects I'm familiar with around our house. Hopefully some of these will help someone!

So head on over to The Cheeky Review and follow this new blog of mine.

You may just learn something you'll need to know in the future. :)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-18T23:23:00.000-06:00

We didn't do anything planned on Valentine's Day, but one of the departments Scott manages sent him home at lunch with goodies for us. They made awesomely decorated brownie bites and heart cookies for me.

Pixie loved them.

She's a strange one. She licks off the frosting, but doesn't like cookies. She actually asked me for a lightly salted rice cake instead. While I'd rather give her the icing and take just the cookie!

Her first self portrait. I let her use the camera the other day. She's been carrying around our old one telling everyone to say cheese. I noticed she was doing it from different angles and heights one stairs, etc. I think it's from the photo shoot with did with Sam! She's going to love her birthday present I got for her on black Friday.

I helped with this one a little.

I included these last two just because she looks so old in them. My baby isn't a baby anymore!

A Good Lookin' Classical Rocker

2011-02-18T23:04:00.002-06:00

I first heard of David Garrett through a blog giveaway of his cd, back in 2009. He had his first US tour that year, but that was back when Scott had just graduated and was looking for a second job, with not much luck. So, I missed out.

Last August tickets came on sale for another tour, this time in Omaha, so this time we got some for February 8th! Unbeknown to us, we were going to decide to move almost two hours farther away a week beforehand for a new job.

With Scott just finishing training and being on his own the day before the concert, needless to say, he didn't think it was a good idea for him to take work off on a Tuesday and Wednesday.

So.

Got.

This person to go with me.

Rebecca!

James watched Pixie and their children for us, so we drove up to Omaha and had a blast.

We even managed to innocently and accidentally park in a restricted access parking garage through the fault of a faulty system. Had it occurred to me that we entered wrongfully? Yes. But I had a splitting headache and it was 2 degrees outside. Did I think how we would be able to get back in? No. I did not. We preyed upon the kindness of the security guard to let us back in, but had it been warmer, I'm sure we could have gotten in another way. Either way, even though we appeared like dumb out-of-towners, we got free close parking!

The show was spectacular. We had 5th row center seats. If you haven't heard of David Garrett before, I urge you to look into it. He is the record holder of being the fastest violinist in the world. He plays classical music, but also arranges rock music into his repertoire. My favorite of the night had to have been Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Amazing. I pocket dialed my parents and Scott, just so they could experience some of it.

He seems so genuine and nice, maybe because he's still new to the world wide fame.

He seems to be good friends with his band and shares a lot of the spotlight with them.

The stories he told were cute. One was of when he was with his parents vacationing in Italy (he's mostly German). He wanted a toy, but his parents said no, so he decided to become a street performer. He played for an hour and got up enough money to buy what he wanted. It was the first time he had thought about making a career out of playing the violin!

He does a lot of meet and greets, but we didn't stick around as it was about 0 degrees when we left. And I read on Facebook that he had to be in NY the next day. I found out later that he did a very very short meet and greet. Sure it might have been cool to say hello, but that's not the reason I went!

He is pretty easy on the eyes. He modeled for Versace I think it was, while going to Juiliard.

Here's the song I liked. It was amazing live, even though I own the cds. They had a smoke machine that added just the right touch to the whole show. Love, love, loved it!

And also remember, if rock isn't your thing or all your thing, he plays classical music with the same, if not more passion.

Our New House!

2011-02-18T22:36:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. I've been asked multiple times when I'm going to post pictures of the new house.

We got word on Friday, January 28th that we were set to close on Monday the 31st. I had planned to just meet Scott down here on Monday, until we found out that a blizzard, yes blizzard, was heading our way. I knew we had to get our little Honda Civic down there early or there wasn't any way it (or I) was going to get down. So, after attending the first hour of church, we booked it home and packed like mad. I thought I was going to get that extra day, so it was pretty crazy.

We got the only motel room in the small town that allowed pets and spent the night there. I didn't want to touch anything, it was so old and gross. To make matters worse, not only did the next door lodgers have the tv on all night, they decided to get..intimate..at 6am for a long time. I was so ill and horrified that you could hear everything and until Pixie woke up, there wasn't much I could do. Gross. I feel like throwing up.

The day of closing they moved the closing up half an hour, so I had to race to the nearest town that had our bank, to get the closing costs out. It started freezing rain on the way there and Pixie fell asleep just as I pulled into the town. Scott was at work, so I had to haul her out of her seat and gingerly walk across the iced parking lot.

I made it back in time, we went to the closing and everything went well. After we were done, we were supposed to wire transfer the closing funds, but wire transfers don't go out after 2:30pm and our closing wasn't until 3pm. So, even though we technically weren't supposed to stay in the house that night, we did anyway. Our realtor was awesome. She stopped by the house while we were at the bank, to pick up the lock box. She found that the foreclosure company had taken it and left the keys inside, with the door locked. So she found a window that wasn't latched and sent her daughter inside. She even went in and turned up the heat for us.

We camped out that night as the storm started to progress. At about 5am the door bell rang. It was a police officer and it scared the heck out of Scott. His first thought was that he was going to tell us we weren't supposed to be there, but actually, Scott must have left the car door open. It was sitting there open and nothing was stolen from inside.

Here are a bunch of pictures. This one was taken last week, after the snow had melted some.

The dumpster was finally picked up today! Yay!

Living/ Dining rooms and coat closet.

Kitchen (the color is already gone!)

Door to garage and laundry room straight ahead.

Two car garage. The openers aren't working like lots of things in the house. Found out that a troubled young man lived here with at least his mother. They didn't take care of anything and broke lots of stuff.

The garage has lots of storage shelves and even a large bench for tools.

Laundry room.

Laundry room closet I'm using as a pantry.

Bathroom off of laundry room

With a shower!

More of the kitchen. This window thing is amazing. It pops out over the house like a little sun room for my herbs!

Double ovens!

Pixie's room. Don't know why it has linoleum in it, but after she played with Play Doh in there, I'm considering just keeping it and getting an area rug I can roll up when she wants to play!

The blue beast of our room. (That color is gone now too!)

Main bathroom.

Another closet in the bathroom. There are also two linen closets on either side before entering the bathroom.

There is a sliding door and a regular door off of the living room, to go to the back deck. If you go right around that corner, it's the stairway to the basement.

Scary basement!

The view of the back yard when the storm was coming. The deck is covered, so that's really nice.

Front view.

We just hung out. Here is Pixie watching an old Johnny Appleseed cartoon and eating an apple she requested because of it.

We had to wait until Thursday night to load the truck at the old house. After shoveling two feet of snow here and almost that much at the old house (all the way up the hill and on the street for the truck), plus 4 1/2 hours of loading, we were all set. Well, not all. We thought the 22 foot truck would be more than enough, but it wasn't. We ended up getting back down here with the truck at midnight, exhausted, only to realize that we couldn't fit it in the driveway until we did even more shoveling. So, I went in and put Pixie down, then went back out to help Scott shovel until 1:30am.

The next morning at 6am, we got up and took Scott to work, then Pixie and I headed back up (1 hour 40 min) to the old house to clean and pack up some more. Thankfully Becca watched her for me. We had to be back down here to pick Scott up from work at 3:30, but I had to swing by the house first to empty the passenger seat.

Then we took Scott home and he left straightaway back to the old town to load some more stuff and go to work. He kept his job up there on Fri and Sat nights.

The next morning we had people from our new branch at church help unload us. They did it in an hour! It was awesome. The guy Scott replaced (he retired) at work brought over two crock pots of soup, homemade bread and crackers.

We took the truck back that afternoon and Scott went back up to the Joe once again for work.

It was quite the hectic week.

Since then we've been trying to unpack simultaneously with painting and fixing things. It's going slowly, but it's going!

Better Now!

2011-01-28T13:20:00.002-06:00

I'm still anxious, waiting for the call to tell us when our closing date is, but I'm better now!

Scott got to go into the new property with our agent and make sure everything is working. I'm so excited for the new house and all that comes with it...which I will reveal when we actually get in. Our agent has made this whole thing start working. She even reported the listing agent and her bank to whatever realty authorities govern that! They were really mean to her. I guess the listing agent already has a 'record'. Haha. Between them and our loan officer sitting on it, nothing was being done I guess!

The appraiser came back, checked it all, and it's good to go! Now we have to wait for underwriting. Should be ready Monday or Tuesday. I sure hope the snowstorm that is threatening us those days, will either hold off or go away completely.

There is still a pipe to be fixed in this house, money to scrap up and the logistics of moving around Scott's and the weather's crazy schedules, but I'm done painting and it should be over soon!
Plus today is going to be a gorgeous Spring like day. All I have to do is pack!

I was listening to my YouTube playlist, when this song came up and it completely matched my mood. There are some songs that I just never get sick of, this is one of them.

Enjoy!

Angel in Disguise

2011-01-25T15:10:00.000-06:00

I've been hearing about this "Blue Monday" thing going on yesterday, for a while. I didn't believe it, but yesterday was the bluest Monday I have had in..well...since I can remember.

All of you know that we have been preparing for a move. The day (Friday) was coming up and we started to get nervous/excited. Since Scott has been keeping in close contact with the bank, we thought all was fine. Until he called to confirm yesterday that we were all set. Suddenly, this never before seen/heard about list was generated and we were told it's unlikely we'll close Friday. This was so upsetting. Our tenants are taking over on the 1st, they have to be out of their house and we don't want to lose them, so we're looking at being homeless. Not to mention the fees they charge up the nose for not closing in time.

I cried. I cried a lot. And I haven't gotten much done in the house since then.

Our real estate agent gave us some hope, and even gave the loan officer an earful. Hurdle after hurdle has come up, just when we thought we were making some progress. It has made me physically ill.

I had to get out this morning to get information to bring to the loan officer, so after shoveling myself out (and getting a little stuck), I got the Honda out. I dropped Pixie off at her aunt's house, then ran my errands.

On our way back home, as I turned onto our street, I realized I hadn't shoveled the pile of snow left by the snow plow. It was impossible for me to park on the street and my little Civic will not make it into the driveway. I tried to steer down the street a little and park on the side, so to give me room to shovel and for cars to pass, when the car slid into a large drift of snow. I was stuck. I spent half an hour trying to dig, push, chop and burn my way out, but it was no use. As truck after truck of men passed by, not one stopping to help, I started to think chivalry and kindness were dead at this hour.

After another round of shoveling and chopping, I saw a man walking down the street. I've seen him walk up and down before, but have never spoken to him. He was older, not well dressed, missing some teeth, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He told me he had seen me struggling and came to help. After trying to push, then stopping to shovel, he had me drive forward over the embankment as he lifted. Within 5 minutes I was free. I rolled down my window and thanked him as deeply as I could. He just kind of nodded, said some pleasantries, then continued walking down the street.

I know this man doesn't know what that meant to me, but the Lord does. As I drove around the block to park in my now somewhat shoveled space, tears started streaming down my face.

In the midst of these dark 'blue' days,

I found a glimmer of hope,

in the act of kindness from my angel in disguise.

Moving Update

2011-01-24T11:42:00.001-06:00

So, we're moving this Saturday! That is, if all goes well at the closing on Friday. I'm pretty nervous about that. It's not over, until it's over.

Good news is, we found renters! And even better, we found rent-to-owners. They are a middle aged couple, whose children are grown. They have only owned their houses and fixed them up, so they pretty much want to do lots of improvements to the house by themselves! They have their own appliances and are even going to finish some of the projects we started. Such a blessing. We were worried we might not get someone to rent before we moved, let alone someone who would pay rent and take care of the place. We have high hopes for this arrangement and hope it works out splendidly. We've heard so many rental horror stories!

Scott went back to work early this morning and I am snowed in again after the storm on Saturday night. Church was canceled and I was actually glad. While I did have a few things to do there, I wasn't looking forward to being sad about Pixie's last day in nursery here. Silly I know, but when you've had a child that doesn't feel comfortable anywhere, then finally does, it is heartbreaking to take that away from them!

I have many things to do, and nothing you would want to see pictures of, so here. I haven't really grocery shopped in a while, trying to use up reserve so we don't have to move it. I wanted to make an easy Sunday dessert, so I took puff pastry and Amish peaches, and made glazed turnovers! They were surprisingly really delicious.

The Thrifty Gene

2011-01-11T12:01:00.004-06:00

I hate the 'thrifty gene'.

Have you heard of it? Scientists are researching the possibility that some people possess a gene that basically stores fat in the body, to protect against famine.

I say, if I'm starving, just let me die already!

Now, I don't know if this is for sure fact, but I'm inclined to believe it is.

We all have that friend who can eat whatever junk she/he wants, and never gain a pound. Those are all around. I wouldn't mind at all to be one of them, but I'd settle for this person. I have friends like this...you know who you are! They say "I needed to lose some weight, so I started walking and I lost that last 15 lbs." or "I decided I wanted to get down to my super skinny jeans, so I stopped eating fast food" or "I stopped snacking in between meals/ not eating after 8pm" or "I started doing Zumba a few times a week and lost 30lbs over the summer!".

Now, I would gladly be one of the latter people. I'm not giving myself an excuse to be obese, but currently I am considered overweight, even with these self imposed dietary guidelines for myself.

I don't eat fried food. Once in a blue moon I'll have onion rings or fried falafel.
I don't cook with oil when it's not needed (soups, saute) and cut it down in recipes
I avoid sugar and don't eat artificial sweeteners. When I do bake something sweet, I substitute stevia for half of it, which has no calories.
I try to avoid carbs. I eat small portions of rice with stir fry/curry or when I do eat pasta, I add more veggies than pasta.
I avoid cheese (of course I"m already a vegetarian, so calorie laden meats are out too)
I don't eat fast food often. Literally once a month maybe I'll eat a burrito at 490 calories.
I don't butter things.
When I do have carbs, I usually eat whole grains.
I don't make creamy dishes.
I don't keep any kind of junk food in the house.

You would think a normal person would be at a healthy recommended weight by adhering to these guidelines, yes? Well, these guidelines keep me from being clinically obese, but not overweight!

Maybe higher protein? Tried that. It made me gain weight. Maybe exercise? While it's great and a needed addition to every healthy lifestyle, I did intense cardio classes a lot this past summer. I had a goal of working out at least 3 days a week formally for at least an hour. The result? I gained 5 lbs over the course of a few months. Muscle? No. I have read up on this and it's not possible for me to gain that much in muscle. My clothes also didn't fit better, if you were wondering. I even just did a thyroid blood test to test my TSH and it was very well in range.

So what does work? Vegetables (raw/cooked), fruit, salad (with dressing calorie count under 40 a serving), 1 oz nut, beans, greens, and no more than one serving of whole grains a day. No dairy, no oil, low salt. That's it.

I lost 13lbs in 12 weeks doing this last year (without an exercise regiment), but it crept back when I stopped. Probably need to adopt it as a permanent lifestyle. At least for a while.

Now, I wasn't always this way. I was a slender child, with a pudgy phase from 16-17. After that I was thin again until after I got married at 22...and I married someone who celebrates every tiny thing with food. Greasy pizza type food. If I knew then what I know now, things would be different!

At least I get sympathy from my husband, he's just as baffled as I am, and empathy from some fellow thrifty family members.
Some good news is...I'm forced to eat food that keeps my insides healthy, I should save money on food since I can't eat a lot, and I now know what works!

But seriously, I hate the thrifty gene.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T21:22:00.001-06:00

The week of Christmas was a busy one for us. We started the week as usual, Scott working almost non-stop Sunday through late Tuesday night. The week before hand we decide to take a job offered Scott, in a town almost two hours away. More on that later, but we did some more research on Wednesday morning, then went to lunch at the local yummy Chinese restaurant. I happen to have worked there a few years ago. We visited afterward and the day slipped by, as Scott's siblings came and had a Rock Band war with us on the Wii. Thursday we went to the town we'll be living in to look at houses, and put an offer on one. There were a few offers in, so we're in the process of waiting to find out the outcome.

Friday, Christmas Eve, we visited more with family and readied ourselves for Christmas. We drove through the holiday park with Scott's siblings and saw all of the lights.

Christmas morning Pixie woke up at 8, so I only had to hold her off for an hour until Scott came home from work. We let her open her stocking while we read the Christmas story. It's a good thing I didn't wrap anything in it. She had taken out Disney princesses magnets and nothing else by the time we were done!

Gold coins are kind of an unspoken tradition in our family. We realized this year that at least three of our families got them.

Terence Pez dispenser from Tinker Bell. Those candies were gone in a flash. I think she sneaked them into bed with her.

This is the neatest little toy violin. I found it on Amazon. It plays 18 different songs. How fast you bow is how fast the song plays. And it only plays when you bow, unless it's on demo. It's really cool! Dad noticed that it's made for a lefty, but she won't really care I guess! I thought that was funny though.

She's eyed these in the store for some time. She got a bit freaked out, but then later was fine with it.

Nova also loved the duckling. She kept goosing it and knocking it over when it quacked.

I know, she was totally spoiled this year! I actually held back a few things for her birthday.

Scott and I got most of our Christmas gifts early for ourselves. We got each other a few things to open. This is an Anderson "Spider" Silva MMA shirt. I've been eying it for over a year for him. It's his favorite fighter and I really like him too. When I get to see it.

No presents for doggies!

Grandma Maridee made matching scarves for us women. Isn't this adorable?

Adorning some gifts from Maridee and Dennis!

We went to my parent's house for dinner that night. Rebecca's family was sick, so they didn't come. It was a bummer, but we had a nice time anyway.

Here's Pixie dancing with her grandpa.

My Dad and brother, Joseph.

Us.

Pixie was using wrapping paper as a blanket.

With her grandma and grandpa.

She wanted to play with her toys again when we got home, late as it was. She's riding her tricycle while holding her duck, Terrence Pez, and Tinker Bell toothbrush.

A Few December Pictures

2010-12-21T20:51:00.000-06:00

The beginning of this month we went to visit Scott's sister, Laura, her husband Jonah, and their five children.

Pixie actually had fun playing with them, when they played gently. Here are some shots of them playing ring-around-the-rosey.

Pixie went up and sat next to her great-grandfather. Scott's maternal grandfather.

We finally decorated our tree last week. I found Pixie holed up underneath it with toys, water, and a blanket.

This is what her hair is doing in the dry winter weather! I have to wet it or put it up every time we go out.

The Whimsical Gourmet Giveaway!

2010-12-04T22:22:00.000-06:00

My sister, Rebecca, is hosting a giveaway for my Etsy shop at her blog.

Win your choice of the sushi or new sandwich set! Plus a coupon code for everyone!

What are you waiting for? Go enter here!

Scott's 27th Birthday

2010-12-01T08:56:00.000-06:00

Scott's birthday was Sunday. I had planned to take him out Saturday evening, after he spent some time with his family, but all my plans got foiled by him having to be to work at 9pm. So, we just brought Pixie with us to do some window shopping. We went to 54th Street and got some stuffed mushrooms to go. He loves those things. They are filled with some kind of cream cheesy mixture. It was really too late to do anything else, so we didn't.

I invited Rebecca's family over for a birthday lunch after church. I prepared as much as I could the night before, because what else? Scott had to work again at 3pm and church isn't over until noon.

Becca helped me get everything prepared. And she brought a cheesecake as well.

We made curried coconut veggies, jasmine rice, cream cheese wontons with a dab of curry in them, veggie lo mein, fried rice, and I made a white chocolate strawberry cheesecake with a dark chocolate crust. Yum! It was amazing.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

2010-12-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

We went to my parent's house again this year. Rebecca's family went as well. It's always nice to get us all together, as it doesn't seem to happen very often.

I did most of the baking the day before. I concentrated on healthy foods and made everything vegan, with half gluten free as well for my Dad's diet. I baked two pumpkin pies (one GF), an apple pie, a GF tofu cheesecake with strawberry topping, and a GF chocolate cake.

Scott left early Thanksgiving morning to play football out there, so I figured I'd take the morning to bake the rest of my goods. I had been keeping an eye on black friday sales and the Kohl's one was supposed to go live at 3pm on Thanksgiving, but when I woke up and checked at 8am, it was already up! So I spent a good hour selecting my items. I felt so savvy ordering all I wanted the day before, online, with free shipping, and using a promo code for an extra 20% the already awesome prices. Pixie has so many gifts now that we're considering keeping some until her birthday. Which is fine, because we didn't really get her anything her first two years holidays.

Back to Thanksgiving. I then spent the rest of the morning humoring Pixie and baking. I made a stuffed seitan, roasted brussels sprouts, carrots, and parsnips; butternut squash risotto and a quinoa dish. I was very happy with how it all turned out. It was yummy. Pixie loved the quinoa.

I packed everything up and had a nice drive out there. Pixie was too excited to fall asleep and she didn't take a nap the entire day. We had a great meal, all of the men were very satisfied with our spread. We had lots of pies, cakes, cheesecakes, stuffings, seitan (gluten), mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potatoes (mashed with butter. The only way I like it!), and cranberry relish.

The boys watched some football on tv, took a nap, then we played a Wii for a while. Scott had to be to work at 6pm and I forgot to take pictures while he was there. I still got some good ones.

I love having a toddler. She just ran around and I didn't have to worry about her!

Blue mouth from M&M's. I don't think she ever had the peanut ones before, if any, so she was an addict.

Some self portraits with my brother, Joseph, and me.

Rebecca's littlest one.

Becca's oldest children playing Wii.

Pictures of Mom and Joseph.

My Mommy!

Isn't this one gorgeous? Everyone had a good laugh at it. I have no face.

It was starting to get late. Pixie was dazed.

Dad even got to play bowling on the Wii.

This was adorable. Pixie was sitting with her cousin, stroking her hair.

Pixie and I didn't get home until after 10pm. She fell asleep in the car within minutes.

The next day we didn't brave the early black friday crowd. We went to a couple of places later on when Scott got off work at 8am. We found everything we wanted (except a couple doorbusters) ditched in random aisles. We only had to wait 5 minutes to check out! It was great.

Hallo-Weekend! ~Sunday~

2010-11-01T13:24:00.005-05:00

Yesterday started out just like every other Sunday. Get up, rush Pixie to get dressed and fed, get myself ready, hope that Scott will get off work in time to rush home and get himself ready. We went to church, had a nice Sacrament Meeting, then we decided to leave early so Scott could spend time with his little brothers, who were in town. He said he was really missing them. Since I didn't have any assigned duties this week in Primary, and we both might end up with Pixie since she refused even the idea of Nursery for a second week in a row, I made sure all the Primary teachers were there and everything was in order, then we left.

We stopped by home to grab a few things and I realized I forgot to gate Perrin in the kitchen. I was in a hurry and hadn't zipped back up my under-the-bed-shoe-box, he pulled out a sandal and ripped it to shreds. Thankfully it was one I didn't like wearing, but it was an odd thing for him to do. And he should be growing out of this at 2 years old, right!?

We cleaned that up and took time to open the coveted Halloween box from Maridee and Dennis. Here are some cute videos of that. We made the mistake of not securing the box and only leaving it on a chair, then we headed out to visit Scott's brothers. After all, we had the whole day since Scott got work off!

This is Pixie opening things. She thought I was just taking a picture.

This video is after we opened the box and Pixie was testing the goods.

We brought his brothers back home with us so they could play, while Pixie took a nap and I baked some pretzel fingers. We walked in the door and saw that Nova got into our Halloween box, pulled out a dark chocolate bar, opened it, and ate the entire 6.8oz of it. Dumb dog. Last time I tried to make her throw up and she didn't, but was fine, so I didn't do anything. Just kept an eye on her hoping that she would throw up. If she died, it would be her own stupid fault!

I was really tired, so during one of the many processes of the pretzels, I tried to take a short nap. I kept being awakened by the loud boy noise. Then the phone rang. It was a Primary issue that wasn't dealt with the right way and I had to make another call to right it. Communication and appreciation is key when dealing with the wonderful people who accept Primary and Nursery callings! While dealing with that, I ruined some pretzels and Nova threw up. Scott cleaned that up, thankfully.

Pixie woke up and Scott left to take his brothers home. I was on the phone not 5 minutes after they left, when Pixie (who was playing under a blanket again) fell off of the couch. I went over to help her, still while on the phone, when I heard dog heaving. "Nova just threw up again, twice. I have to go". I put the dogs outside when the neighbors came home and Perrin went all Cujo (no, I haven't seen it, but it sounded accurate to the sound I heard from outside) on them. I had to go yell him inside. I cleaned up most of the barf and got out my new carpet cleaner (an early Christmas present to myself that seems to already have paid for itself in how much it's saved me), when I hear "I have to go potty". In fact, the potty was already done...on the couch. I helped her finish in the bathroom, when Scott called and heard my plight. He quickly and sweetly informed me that he would be home in a few minutes.

Scott came home, we finished the pretzels, and I halfheartedly went to get dressed up in my "blonde bombshell actress from the golden age" costume. I had been really excited about it. I had bought false eyelashes from the cosmetics aisle and proceeded to try and put them on. I've done it before, but this glue was all crumbly and not sticky at all. Since it was vital to my costume, I was in a bad mood anyway, and it was Sunday so I couldn't buy more glue, I had to forgo dressing up. It was sad.

So we just dressed Pixie up in her costume for the third time (she was sick of it by now and would only wear the skirt) and went to dinner at Scott's mother's house.

Micah and Stephen were there with their little girl, wearing the cutest little ladybug costume I've ever seen! She's such a good baby. I want the next one I have to be like her! (And no, that's not an announcement. You'll have to probably wait at least another year before that!)

We decided to skip trick-or-treating. We were tired, didn't have a lot of time left in the day, and had enough candy. We headed over to Becca's house, enjoyed our ghoulish treats, and played the best two rounds of the story game I've ever played. It was hilarious. Pixie had a blast playing with her cousins and their cousin, that we didn't see her for quite a while. We went home, put Pixie in bed, Scott went to sleep at 9:45, and I stayed up and watched a show online in bed before going to sleep.

Now that I spent the morning lazing about posting on my blog, today's agenda is to get the house back in order, let Pixie polish off tons of candy, get back to the gym (I joined one two weeks ago!), and start a strict diet until Thanksgiving!

Hallo-Weekend! ~Saturday~

2010-11-01T10:56:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning Pixie opened a Halloween card, specifically address to her from Grandma Maridee and Papa Bear (Dennis). She was so excited for her "present". It was cute. I'm going to keep it and scrapbook it with the pictures of her costume this year.

Saturday was also Aunt Becca's 32nd birthday. Yes Becca, I posted your AGE! Hehe.

We had been wanting to go to an Indian restaurant that Sam loves, so we took her to the buffet for her birthday. It was nice and yummy, although a bit too spicy for both Becca and Scott.

Then we got ready for the church Fall Festival and the Tinker Bell costume came out again. This time with more sparkles, er...pixie dust. She helped me put it on.

This is one of those twins I posted about in the last post.

And here's the other one.

This is their beautiful mama, Jamie. She has 5 children and is amazing. Pixie adores her, making her the first person outside of our family that she really looks up to. She likes to talk about her and I can get her to do things like not scream while I wash her hair, just by saying Jamie would like it. It's great.

You can see all the 'pixie dust' she painted onto her eye lids. She tries to put make up on already too.

This is an awesome friend that I served in YW with for a short time. She's from Venice, but also has lived in Brazil, so she and Scott speak Portuguese together. She's hilarious.

Here are some of Becca's kids, "the cousins" as we call them with Pixie.

And this is a brand new baby girl, only 4 days old. I've been her mama's visiting teacher since I've been married and she's the 3rd child born within that time!

After the ward party, we went over to Becca's for birthday cake and ice cream. Scott went to work at 9pm and we played for a little while longer, before heading home for bed.

Hallo-Weekend! ~Friday~

2010-11-01T10:34:00.001-05:00

Friday, after the bittersweet dealings with selling the lake house in the last post, we returned home and got ready for a Halloween party at a friend's house. Scott got work off until midnight, so that was nice.

Pixie was Tinker Bell. As if she could be anything else! I'm pretty sure this was the only thing she would wear. Have I mentioned she is already picky about what she wears? Yeah, at 2 1/2. I'm in for it!

She was upset that the slippers wouldn't stay on, so we wore regular shoes. Pink of course!

Scott was an old west sheriff (or could pass as Walker Texas Ranger!) and I was his squaw.

We stopped by Becca's so she could take pictures of us. Pixie did not like leaving her cousin.

One of the guys from our ward. He's actually the YM President, but this obviously wasn't a church party! This is one of his twins. They were Micky and Minnie Mouse.

Pixie had a blast running around the yard. It was dark and cold out, but they had swings! She never complained of the cold.. She's getting so much more used to people and will play with other kids now. It's nice. When we pulled up I saw all the scary decorations, music, masks, etc and thought she would freak. She didn't cry once!

I decided to warm up by doing a fire dance.

We didn't plan on Scott having the kiss on his cheek, but I was trying out my red lipstick for my second costume and gave him a kiss. We decided to leave it and just say he was in a saloon.

Funny thing was, Scott ran into Walmart after the party and completely forgot about the kiss on his cheek. When I reminded him, he remarked how that's why he was getting smiles and nods from everyone in the store!

Goodbye Lake House

2010-11-01T10:09:00.001-05:00

We had only a few good times there, but they were good times. We bought the lake house when I was pregnant with Pixie. Scott and his brother fixed it up the whole summer while Pixie was an infant, then the next year we actually got to use it. This year however, it flooded in June. Our house was above the flood plain, but besides the heavy rain and flooding, the levy at the lake broke.

I can't seem to find any inside pictures, but it was seriously nice. And we had nice leather furniture.

Here's one of our good times up there, posted here.
The boy scouts in church used it a lot for camp outs. I got to take the YW up there in spring for a pre-camp.
The saddest part for me is that my parents would have loved it, but never got to see it. And neither did some of my best friends!

The siding was almost done. The inside was near perfect.

Here is the inside after the flood. After they scrubbed the walls and threw out all the moldy furniture.

Living room.

Kitchen

Our bedroom with the awesome huge window and beautiful view.

Micah and Stephen's room.

I'm sure I have the nice inside pictures saved on a backup disk somewhere. I'll post them when I find it.

There are so many 'what-ifs' on this. What if the flooding came a week later? We were just having the property appraised and it would have been covered. One good thing that came out of this, is that the commercial property we had got flooded and the insurance completely paid it off. Boy was that nice! Now if we could find a buyer to buy that place, it would be nice.

So, we had a hard time letting the Lake House go. We bought it with the dream that we would fix it up to use as a vacation home for our family, then pass it on to our children. It was hard only getting one summer's use out of it too, and to see all Scott's hard work go to waste. But, a cash buyer came to us that wanted to fix it up for his grandchildren, so we sold it. It was the right thing to do, but was a little sad. We just don't have the time, money, and effort to put into it. Besides the fact that we don't know what direction our lives are going to take us in the near future. We went up on Friday morning before the closing to get some things and say goodbye. We got to see the blue heron that lives on the lake. He flew by like he was saying his own goodbyes. Thus closes that chapter in our lives. The feeling of letting it go is bittersweet, but has a hint of excitement. It feels good to let it go.

Now maybe we can plan a vacation with the money that isn't going to go to the upkeep of it....in the next couple of years. :)

A Walk, Photo Session, and Vehicle

2010-10-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, the 16th, we walked with our group Autism Unity for the Walk for Autism Speaks at the Kansas City Speedway. We walked with and for our little nephew, who has autism. Sam was in town and visited with us before the walk. She got some good pictures with her fancy camera, I'll probably post some when I get them. It was the perfect day for it. It was windy enough to keep us cool on our walk....er..run for Pixie. The little squirt ran the whole thing, then almost half over again. All the other kids were hitching rides in strollers or on their parents about half way through. She just kept running.

She started out with her a cousin that's less than a month older than she is. He is much bigger!

Then they're off!

Afterward we got some pizza and headed to a park to visit with Amy and Michael, and their family. I thought we got a picture of the other three of us, but maybe that's on Amy's camera.

Jumping forward to last week, we got to spend most of one day with Sam. She did an awesome photo shoot with us in the downtown area. I am so happy with the photos and can't wait to see them all. Then frame some! Here is the link to some highlights from Orange Photographie.

It was great seeing Sam again. I miss that lady. She has always been with us for big events and it just so happened that after two months of searching, the day we were with her we bought the car we had been looking for! After scouring the internet, in multiple states, I found the SUV we had been looking for....right in our own backyard. We got a 2006 Toyota Highlander Limited, with only 15,905 miles on it. Yes, that's actual miles! An old couple owned it here in town and traded it in for a new Cadillac. I am in love. It has all wheel drive (a must for the winter here), heated leather seats, third row seating, a moon roof, etc.

Scott has a boss that installs car stereos and the like. He said that he would charge us wholesale on any installations we want. Hmm..navigation, dvd, bluetooth, remote start.....I could fill a few years worth of Christmas and birthday gifts! :)

Enjoying the Nice Weather...While it Lasts!

2010-10-11T15:00:00.003-05:00

We've just been enjoying these last days of our indian summer.

Two weeks ago we visited the Deanna Rose Farmstead. It was perfect weather and there was a lot more to the park than I thought. The best part is that it's free during the week. You just pay for feed or rides.

All the goats were mauling her to get to the bottle, so Scott and I cornered this one and acted as a barrier against the jumping others.

Those are all the farm pictures I have. I forgot to bring extra camera batteries!

This has been Pixie's favorite play time activity lately. She is obsessed with Kipper the Dog. She likes to go around the house with a blanket as a cape and say she is "Wonder Dog". Sometimes she says she is "Super Girl" that's to the rescue, and puts glasses on a stuffed animal to be Wonder Dog. In one episode of Kipper they start reading a scary book over and over again, but keep getting interrupted. She now likes to recite the book and play with a flashlight, under this blanket.

Saturday we went to PumpkinFest for about an hour. It's a small redneck festival, so we never stay long. They did have a llama, wallaby, cavy, and other interesting animals in the petting zoo area though.

We found out that Scott's group is definitely going to be addressed for positions in the October 18th FAA panel, for air traffic control. It's still a long shot, mixed with luck, but we'll be praying that he gets an offer. All prayers for this effort are appreciated!

Sauer Kraut and Mister Snake

2010-10-05T15:19:00.001-05:00

Lunch conversation with a two year old.

I overhear from the kitchen "I like a the sauer tout". I sit down with my dear toddler and she continues. "It's so awishious". Next is a bite of crunchy lettuce "mmmmm". She tries only one bean from Aunt Becca's BBQ baked beans. We were lucky enough to get that one bean in her, she won't accept any more. Even though they are yummy to me. Seitan is gobbled up, but surprisingly not as much (or as fast) as the sauer kraut. Definitely my daughter. Random Kipper quotes are spouted and I decide to record the rest of our exchange.

P.S. Mister Snake varies in different forms day after day.

The Chocolate Tantrum

2010-09-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

A few days ago Pixie asked for chocolate while I was making lunch, I said no. How horrible of me! She started throwing a fit, spreading toys and stuff everywhere, then she plopped down in the middle of it and well...this is what happened! I missed the first few minutes, which were hilarious!

A change of pace? Yes, please!

2010-09-21T15:38:00.001-05:00

I know I've been missing from the blog scene this summer. I hate writing when I don't feel uplifted. Making myself find the silver lining in life, in writing, isn't my thing. I would rather deal with it, then look back and say "I'm pleased with how I handled that, and I'm so glad it's over!".

Late Spring into Summer was filled with the flooding of all three of our properties. Our basement flooded multiple times, just after we finished Pixie's room down there. We were able to fix the gutters a while later, but it set us back a lot. We had to rip out the lower part of the newly painted drywall. It is still unfinished today. Some good news on this house though, the leaks associated with the roof are contributing to our insurance giving us a new roof! That will be done in the next little while. The other properties have started to take care of themselves, either through insurance or us listing them to sell. We're not sure if we are going to sell the lake house, but we are taking offers right now.

I enjoyed a calling as the 1st Counselor in Young Women for 4 months this year. It was my favorite calling by far. I even got to go to most of Girls Camp and a day of Youth Conference. I developed a relationship with some of the girls that has carried over, even after being released. I am still asked to be a part of activities, when they need volunteers. I am now the 1st Counselor in Primary. It is a pleasant calling, even though I wasn't sure it would be, but it's turning out to be a fine place to be.

Our city in which we live has lost it's appeal for me. Due to changes in the social dynamic in our ward and area. Dear families have moved out, and less desirable people have gathered to the area. I have been hoping for a change for a while now, and now I am all but hanging on to that hope. The FAA process for air traffic control is finally moving forward. Scott submitted his geographical preferences the beginning of this month, and we are hoping they are going to address his group at the mid October panels. We nearly put MO as our second choice, but I said that we could not do that, with my family here it had to be first. We chose NC as our second state and now we wait. If we don't get a rejection letter by Thanksgiving, there is a good chance Scott will be offered a tentative offer. There are also panels happening in March. The government sure does take it's time! The hiring chances right now are reportedly slim, so we're not holding our breath on this one.

The alternative to this job is that Scott would get in touch with real estate appraisers in the area. This is something he would really enjoy doing, but you need a sponsor to do it. I have been applying to entry level financial positions for him, just in case something did come up. There has been a loop of dialogue running in my head that says "we have to get out, we have to get out". Out of this city, out of this job...I don't know if it's just me, or something is going to change. I need it to change!

Our SUV bit the dust last month. With Scott's work schedule, I am without a car from Sunday until Wednesday. It has not been good for us. Pixie and I go bonkers. We are almost ready to be able to find another vehicle. That should be fun, after all the researching we've been doing. We have to get an AWD or 4x4 for Scott to get to work in the winter. They don't just shut down these places! I am dreading the winter. I do not want a repeat of last year. Seasonal depression is a horrid thing. I wish we could move to NC now....and take my family with me. There are so many fun things to do out there. This area is so...lacking in anything I find amusing.

After a very trying week, and a good long month, it's safe to say that Pixie is toilet learned. She has gone for weeks without accidents, and then had a couple in the last week, but that's to be expected. She also does well about 2/3 of the time at night. Naps are almost always dry too. It is very nice and strange at the same time. Strange to have one child...a 'kid'...and not a baby. We've been wanting to take her to somewhere she'll appreciate more now, like the zoo. It hasn't worked out so far with our schedules and sicknesses, but I'm hoping we can do that before the weather takes a turn to the bitter cold. In spite of my fear of the winter weather, Christmas should be a fun one this year. Pixie is old enough to really get in on the festivities, and very much knows what presents are. That is one thing I am really looking forward to.

And that is what we have been up to, for the most part. Maybe Autumn will bring a more relaxing, fun, and exciting season for us!

Pixie is Two!

2010-04-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

My baby is two! Pixie's birthday was Saturday. I can't believe how much has changed in the last two years. Pixie is so much easier to take care of now. She handles strangers and crowds better and sleeps through the night usually. She is speaking so much that sometimes it's difficult for Scott and I to carry on a conversation, she loves to sing, and recently has found a burst of energy which comes in the form of running around screaming and jumping. Pixie loves Tinker Bell (fitting, eh?). She loves to pretend play with her dolls and felt food. She still is an amazingly healthy eater, in spite of the fact that she's starting to develop her independence like a toddler does.

We had a party at the park Saturday morning and ate lunch there too. I decided at the last minute to make Pixie's cake into a teapot. I didn't have powdered sugar, so I tried to create my own. It didn't work too well and it was grainy, but I don't like icing anyway! I made a bunch of cupcakes and a dark chocolate ganache to go on them. They were amazing. I had cupcakes from a "gourmet" bakery later on that day that weren't nearly as good as mine!

I won this birthday shirt last year and it fit her perfectly!

Scott's Grandma Janet and Grandpa Jay

Our wonderful neighbors, Mark and Kim.

Our friend, Kara, from church and her little girl. They are moving and we are sad!

Becca and her family

Proof that Pixie finally let her uncle hold her!

Scott and Stephen. Doesn't Scott look so young without his goatee? I miss it, but I'm kinda getting used to it.

Scott's cousins and aunt was there...

Here everyone is playing ring around the rosey.

Cake and presents time! She got so many presents. So many! I found some things at thrift stores and such, so I got her a lot too. I found a $45 dollar brand new Gotz doll for $3!

My mom came and was taking pictures at this point. I didn't get one with her in it. :(

Can you guess that this gift was from Daddy?

Pixie had so much fun. It was unusual for me to go somewhere and not have her wanting me to hold her every second. She ran off and played with the other kids for almost the whole time! She was so tired by the end of it. Scott took her home and got her down for a nap while I rushed over to my sister-in-law's baby shower. It was a good day!

Some Things

2010-04-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

These are just some odds and ends that I have been meaning to blog about.

First, I won a giveaway from Forever and a Day. Selissa makes awesome custom crochet items. This is what we won and we love them. Thanks, Selissa!

Garage sale season is upon us! I've been wanting the Frog Pod from Boon, but did not want to spend $25-30 on a bath toy holder. I found it at a garage sale for $1! I also found a Pampered Chef bamboo knife block for my knives, brand new. Wahoo! But that was not a $1. :(

Here is the frog pod sitting pretty in our shower. Btw, Scott replaced the shower surround on a whim. The old one was a nasty yellowed beast and we've hated it ever since we first saw the house.

I thought this was kinda funny. Our dog ripped our front door screen...again...and I found a tennis ball stuck between the screen and the door. I'm not for sure if it was Nova or Pixie, but oddly enough, my bet is on the dog. She's done stuff like this before!

Speaking of dogs, Perrin is becoming mostly an outside dog. I bring him in at night and sometimes during the day to eat or if it's hot out. We bought a shock collar for him. I didn't want to at first, but I was so sick of him barking at our poor neighbors. It was to the point of trying a shock collar or getting rid of him. It was worked wonderfully! I think he's only been shocked mildly once and now stops if he hears the beep. It beeps first until they keep barking. Nova was setting it off when they played though, so I had to put it on her so she'd know what the beep meant. Perfect opportunity was when the Parents as Teachers lady came this morning. Nova doesn't bark when she's outside normally, but we have to put her on a chain if we don't want her to dig out. This makes her bark at us to let her off of it and if there is someone visiting, it is worse. So, I put it on her. I heard her bark, keep barking, then squeal. She then would freak out and scream every time she just heard the beep. She is such a pansy inside dog. She screamed when the other dog just touched her. I guess she's not a good candidate for it, but I am glad she knows what the beep means now! I kinda feel bad for doing that to her...kinda. Here is Perrin lounging on our hammock in the back yard. He loves it out there.

The weather has been so nice that we've been going to the park a lot. Pixie has gotten pretty brave on the medium sized slides. Here are some pictures of our first visit with daddy of the season.

And lastly, Pixie loves wearing hats. I find her like this at random times throughout the day.

Easter and Pixie's New Room Pictures

2010-04-13T11:25:00.003-05:00

I haven't gotten around to post pictures from Easter weekend. It was a busy one! We worked madly on Pixie's room downstairs and got it finished the night before Easter. We also made a mad dash up to the lake house to haul our bed back so I could have a bed a few nights early. We made it back just in time to throw it in and for Scott to leave for work. This is the almost finished product. We still need to cut a hole for the heater vent and put molding around the door. The hallway and stairs still need to be finished as well, but Scott's been working on the lake house again lately.

Pixie's new room.

You have to see how the basement was before to appreciate this. The beams were all uneven, there was a lot of work that went into the walls and ceiling! It stays so cool down there. Last night I put her to bed and it was 67 degrees down there, while it was 84 upstairs!

I have to decorate it still. Those projects are coming soon...

She loves her room!

Easter basket!

We went down to wake her up (she sleeps awesomely well in her room!) to give her the basket

For our Easter breakfast I made poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, asparagus, and biscuits. Pixie ate about a dozen asparagus spears. She wouldn't touch the hollandaise.

We then went to church for the first session of General Conference. Just to feel like we've been to church and to wear our Easter outfits! I actually won this dress from Kuki Kids last year.

We had a nice Easter morning, then daddy went to work at 3pm. We went to Becca's house for dinner and had a nice time with them. The end.

My Busy Weekend

2010-03-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

This last weekend was busy and fun. Saturday morning I went shopping by myself (hooray!) and hurried home so we could go to the Saint Patrick's Day parade. That didn't end up happening. It was so cold! It was 40 degrees outside, but we had snow flurries that morning and the wind was whipping cold air all over. On top of that, it was noon and Pixie was exhausted from being up between 1-4am. Again. So we skipped that. I went to a baby shower at 1pm and had a really nice time visiting with the other ladies. I came home around 3pm, took a shower, got into a dress, then left a little after 5pm to go chaperon a seminary scripture bowl/dance. It was a blast. I taught a bunch of girls the EFY line dance we used to do when I was in youth. Even though I never did get to go to EFY. We rocked it on the dance floor and my thighs are still hurting from that line dance! None of them could keep up with me though, I still have it. :) They were begging me to go to IHOP with them afterward, but Scott had to go to work at 9pm and dropped Pixie off at Becca's. As it was I wasn't going to get back until 10:30, so I had to decline. I got Pixie, went home and put her in bed. I was reminded that DST started the next morning, so that was good. So technically Pixie went to bed at midnight. I remembered that I was teaching Young Women, so I planned my lesson and then went to bed.

Pixie was a grump all day Sunday. We came home from church, Pixie went down for a nap, Scott went to work, I started on making food for New Beginnings, and preparing letters for the girls..etc.

Ok, a little background information. As you know, Scott and I are currently in the Pound Plunge weight loss competition. We have been losing ground the last few weeks. Sorry guys! I think it's mostly my fault. I just can't seem to keep losing, even though I still have a little way to go. Scott and I decided we would do a juice/smoothie fast for the rest of the competition. Which was like 11-12 days from Friday. So I started on Friday. The first day I cheated a tiny bit, the second I did super well. Sunday was the third day

Back to my story. So I was making tortilla wraps and had all the ends from them. I didn't want them all to go to waste and Pixie wouldn't touch the stuff. She's not a creamy type of gal. So I figured I would see what happened when I nibbled on a few. Well, it was really weird. I didn't think it would be that bad because it was only the 3rd day, but I felt sick. I felt like I had low blood sugar or something and then I got really hot. It didn't last a long time, but I won't be doing that again! When you come off of this type of thing, you need to do it slowly. Just eat fruit and veggies for a couple of days. So this leaves us with a problem. We have a friend we haven't seen for two years. In that time he has been married and has had a child. They only live 30 minutes away. We've been trying to get together for a few months now and they want to cook us dinner this Saturday. Not sure how that will go, but we'll see!

New Beginnings went well and the tortilla wraps were a huge hit. One of the girls has a father who is a really tall and big guy. He scared the pants off of Pixie. At first he tried to get her to like him, then he just started terrorizing and teasing her. It got to the point that she was shaking and screaming even when he wasn't in the room. I was glad it was over, so I left as quickly as I could. I thought she forgot about it, but I asked her about the big man when we got home. She got very serious and worried, then said she was sad. I had found out that that man is our home teacher and has been for a long time, but now I'm not too keen on him coming to visit! Pixie has a very long memory. She will not like him for years or if ever. Even if he wasn't big and scary to her. I wish she would just think of people like she does dogs! But then, there are good things about a child being cautious of strangers.

So, today is day 4 of our fast. It has been the easiest day so far. I have read about what to expect on a fast and some of them are true for me already. One of the things is you sleep less. I will feel kind of tired, then get a second wind. Last night I lied in bed, knowing I should be really tired, but I wasn't and I couldn't fall asleep. I did eventually, but it was strange. Today I notice that I have lots of bursts of energy, then I'll kind of get foggy. I think the fogginess is from me not drinking enough water. After I drink, I feel much better. Scott has lost 6lbs so far doing this (of course not all of it is real weight loss), but I have only lost 2. We're just hoping to pull really good numbers on the final weigh in day and maybe lose a couple pounds in the process. Before this fast, Scott had already lost about 35lbs since we started on January 5th!

Pixie is awake. Thus ends my blogging time!

Sunday Getting To Know You

2010-03-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday again! Time for another getting to know ME!

1. What's your favorite Easter candy?

I love good quality chocolate. Dark chocolate with nuts. I used to would have said Reeses peanut butter eggs, but they are WAY too sweet for me now.

2. Who do you think is cleaner..men or women?

Of course it depends on the person, but I lived with girl roommates that weren't the best housekeepers. While Scott lived upstairs with a bunch of guys that cooked, cleaned, and decorated. And no, none of them were gay!

3. Which do you prefer..wordy blog posts or ones with pictures?

I don't mind wordy blogs if I'm friends with the person blogging. Of course I like to see pictures of my friends! I prefer to follow crafty or informational blogs of people I don't know.

4. Were you popular in highschool?

I was home schooled, but I had a large group of friends in church. I was popular with them I would say. And still am. :)

5. What's your bra size?

A little personal here, eh? I'm not shy though. I usually get them from Vicky's (VS) and I wear a 34C from them. Maybe they just like to boost a girl's ego?

6. How many states have you lived in?

Ummm...5.

7. What's one blog you read every day?

I don't read blogs every day. But I like to keep up to date on my friends/family's blogs a couple times a week.

8. Peanut butter or Nutella?

Hands down, peanut butter. The natural kind, not the crisco kind with sugar. Just roasted peanuts and salt. I am so addicted to peanut butter. It's terrible. I could eat the whole jar probably.

Nutella tastes artificial. I just can't seem to like it.

Pixie's Night at the Movies

2010-03-08T22:08:00.001-06:00

Pixie and I were settling in for another dull evening alone together. It was a nice day out, but the sunshine didn't last past nap time. Then I got a nasty and foggy headache. By the time I took the "magic candy" (as James has named the generic Excedrin) it was getting dark outside and I didn't want to take Pixie out. Becca called me at 6:30 and invited us to go with them to see "The Princess and the Frog" at the 2-dollar theater, for Family Home Evening. I was hesitant at first, but then I thought what the heck. So I said yes. This was Pixie's first movie. Well, since she was a few months old. We got there just in time and Pixie settled in between Professor and Princess. I sat behind her at was surprised at how happy and calm she was. I was ready for the darkness, loudness, length, etc to freak her out. It didn't! She was enthralled with the whole process and she even laughed at inappropriate times. Wonder where she gets that from.....? Anyway..the movie started out well and I really liked it. I really wanted to like it enough to own it, BUT I won't. For some reason this movie didn't scare Pixie. I have no idea why it didn't. She is terrified of "The Incredibles", freaks out in the beginning of "Ratatouille" when they are being chased from the country house and when Remi first falls into the kitchen at the restaurant. She also is scared of the advertisement for the Pixar Shorts DVD.

Like I said, I really like most of this movie. I laughed a lot. I did not like the dark voodoo magic in it though. If they had just referred to them as witches or made small hints to voodoo, without the voodoo dolls and blatant black magic, it would have been ok with me. That is the main reason I don't think I will own this. If I did, there would be a few chapters to skip. I also do not like what happened to Ray at the end. Not so much the end result, but how it was started. Ew. I loved Ray's character, Charlotte's too. They made me laugh! The music was so great. I just wish they would have made it more child friendly. I saw Princess hiding her eyes a couple of times, don't know about the boys. I also didn't like the hunters hitting each other, but of course, I laughed a lot. I don't, however, want my child to think that hitting is funny.

Disney, you disappoint me again. It was so close to being a favorite! Why do they have to make villains so villainous in their kid movies? The point of it is to be good wholesome entertainment, right? Not to scare children and cause nightmares! Really, Disney, you can take the bad guys down a notch and the kids will still get it.

Sunday Getting To Know You

2010-03-08T13:16:00.001-06:00

I thought this would be fun. I love getting to know more about my friends, so maybe you do too! It's obviously not Sunday anymore, so I guess I'm fashionably late? :)

Go to http://www.mannland5.com/ every Sunday for a new questionnaire, then link back up to her site.

Here it goes:

1. Are you more of a talker or a listener?

It depends on who I'm talking to. I'm more of a listener to those I don't want to know a lot about myself. I'm more of a talker to those who are shy and quiet, that I'm thrown together with. And I am pretty equal for those I really connect with. It is important for close friends to talk to me about themselves. I feel undervalued if they don't talk to me about what is going on in their lives.

2. Bra. Underwire or wireless?

I like to be wired. Don't know why, it's not like I really need it, but I like the way it fits.

3. I wish I was.....?

on vacation. :)

4. The Academy Awards are on tonight..will you watch?

They were on last night. Yes, I did watch. Pixie and I had our own "On the Red Carpet" party and then I watched the rest after she went to bed. I watched it streaming live from the UK online, so that was fun. The awards themselves were kinda boring. Especially since I didn't see most of the movies. Most of them are inappropriate for my viewership.

I think the only one I saw was Avatar. I wished I had seen Up. It's on the list.
I did, however, like seeing Sandra Bullock win an award. She looked beautiful and even pulled off the red lipstick! "While You Were Sleeping" is one of my very favorite movies.

5. Do you put your deodorant on before or after you get dressed?

It depends on what I'm wearing. If there is a risk of getting marks on a black shirt, I will put it on afterward. Most of the time it's after.

6. Would you rather do the dishes or clean toilets? Honestly, if it's my toilet, I'd rather clean the toilet. But then, so would my husband. I am doomed to do dishes forever!

7. How much did you weigh at birth?

WHA!? Oh, birth. I can handle that. 7lbs. I don't know if there were any ounces. Maybe Mom could help me out?

8. If you could only buy one thing for the Spring/Summer season..what would it be?

Some bermuda shorts. If in fact, I can get to the point of actually looking good in them!

Gaining Hope

2010-03-01T21:49:00.001-06:00

I have been plodding along. And that's really all the last few months have been. Just trying to make it through. I feel as though I'm running a marathon and I'm trying to hold on and push through to the end. Of course, I have no idea where the end actually is. Is there something wrong with me? Am I depressed? I ask this question quite often. Could I be depressed? What's it like? Then I dismiss it because I don't think I could ever truly be depressed. I'm just lonely and down trodden. Yes, that's it.

We were worried about Scott's work hours being cut. This was bittersweet. I liked the idea because my husband wouldn't be working 80 hours a week, but on the flip side he needs to work that much for us to be able stay afloat. Both of these jobs don't pay much and have no benefits. Ok, one has a tiny credit for health insurance for just him. His hours changed around like crazy for a month or two, and they have settled down now. I got called to be the first counselor in our church Young Women organization. I am over the 14 &15 year old girls and am the first assistant to the president. I was very happy to leave the Primary children behind and work with the teenagers. I have always wanted to, but didn't get the chance until now. Now that I am a mother and very removed from teenagers, I get called. Go figure! My duties include making sure activities are planned and carried out, teaching lessons on Sundays, going to the Wednesday night activities, and chaperoning weekend events at the stake center half an hour away, and more. I love this, but it puts a lot of strain on us and I can't participate in everything because sometimes there isn't anyone to watch Pixie at home. My sister watches her whenever she can. Anyway, as a result, I miss my husband even more. I still am a coordinator for our co-op, so that stuff comes around every 4 weeks, and I'm still trying to keep up my felt food business. Not sure if I'm going to keep doing The Pampered Chef though.

Our schedule is kinda like this:

Sunday: Scott gets off work at 8am, we rush to be at church at 9am. Get out of church at 12pm (barring any meetings), go home, have lunch, put Pixie down for a nap, Scott goes to work at 3pm until 11pm.

Monday: Scott goes back to work from 7am-11pm

Tuesday: Scott goes back to work from 7am-11pm

Wednesday: Scott's only full day off! I have mutual at church at 7pm and twice a month a meeting at 6pm. Scott then goes to basketball immediately after I get home and is gone until 11pm.

Thursday: Scott is home until 6pm and works overnight.

Friday: Scott is home until 6pm and works overnight.

Saturday: Scott is home until 9pm! But, I have activities to chaperon sometimes. The next two Saturdays are booked for me. Scott works overnight until Sunday morning.

Then it starts over again! Poor Pixie doesn't get to see her daddy from Sunday until Wednesday. She is starting to get better, but Tuesdays are usually really rough for her. It's gut wrenching to hear her break into a chant of "daddy, daddy, daddy!". I am really grateful for Scott and how much he works. He doesn't complain. Lately he's been coming home and going straight to working on projects in the house, like the bedroom he's making in the basement. It will be so nice when that is done. We've been sleeping on a futon in the living room for 16 months now and it's been wreaking havoc on my back. The only bathroom is through where Pixie sleeps, so that makes it impossible to get up early on Sundays and shower. Or for Scott to be able to shower after/before work. I don't complain nearly as much as I thought I would. It would make it harder on Scott. I have been cranky lately. Probably because of food. I hate that food has that much of a hold on me! I love to cook and bake. It is in my womanly blood and I'm good at it. *she says very modestly*

Since January 5th we have been on a weight loss journey. We entered into our community pound plunge with another couple and out of hundreds of teams, we have been flirting with 4th and 5th place. The top 3 teams get money and/or trips. This has meant that I haven't been able to cook as I was before. What I cooked before was considered very healthy, but we've taken it up at least 5 notches! That makes me feel sad. Sad that I'm not putting these delectable meals together for my family. It sounds really dumb and I think it is, but it has been hard for me. Especially since I've been struggling with losing more weight, after the first initial loss. I have lost 12lbs, but I want to lose 20 more to reach my ultimate goal. In this competition, which ends this month, I would like to lose 10 more.

I recently have discovered that a lot of my doldrums have been because of this winter. We've had a bunch of snowstorms and about 50 inches of snow. The sun has been almost non-existent and it has been so cold. There was a "warm" day last Friday. The sun was out and it was 40 degrees. I was at the co-op delivery talking to someone in the parking lot and I wasn't cold! This was because it was blocked by the wind, but it made me so happy. I was happy that day! It made me realize how much the weather has affected me. I long for Spring. It is my favorite time of year. I don't think it's because I was born in it or that my daughter is too. I love the creeping warmth that covers the earth. I love the crocus that poke through the ground, many times with snow still around. I love seeing the trees start to bud and the fields to get a hint of green. I love to notice these little things. I love to drive on the almost vacant highways with plowed fields on either side of me, the new green hue on the trees, and the wide expanse of the blue sky as I almost seem to drive into it. I love to visit green houses to peruse all of the flowers and feel the excitement as I push past them, into the herb and vegetable aisles. Some of my happiest days as a child were going to green houses with my family and planting a garden with my dad. I now love bringing my daughter to visit with her grandpa and to cultivate that love for the earth in her too. Last year was the first time Pixie was able to harvest food out of grandma and grandpa's garden. It was so sweet. Growing up without knowing my grandparents, it has been a wonderful experience seeing my daughter and her growing relationship with her grandparents. We picked tomatoes with Mom last year and Pixie would only pick green things. She finally learned and was picking and eating her own cherry tomatoes. A lump came into my throat when she took her grandpa's hand for the first time and walked off into the garden with him. I love my parents. They are so dear to me. I love being able to give them the happiness they deserve, through Pixie. She brings a special light to them and the rest of our family.

So, I am trying to focus on the good. The good like...we have running water! If anyone has lived without it, you know what I mean! I have a working kitchen. Scott has not one job, but two, and they are starting to pay the bills. We are healthy. I'm a good cook and know how to be savvy with money. Our cars are working. Heck, that we have cars! My daughter isn't ugly like I feared. She's actually quite the beauty. =D

My dogs are getting easier and they provide comfort/protection. I'm glad my sister, Becca, lives close by and that Pixie loves them as much as they all love her. I love how Pixie asks for her Aunt Becca and her cousins by name. Scott is handy. I have come home a few times to home improvements in progress or already completed. Thank you for tax returns! We got a really nice all in one printer combo for a great price. I'm thankful I don't have to run over to print co-op invoices at Becca's every month now. Even though she really didn't mind.

I am thankful that Scott tries to make the little time he has with us really count. It's hard when all he has at home are the daylight hours. There are so many errands, bills, and projects to be done. Somehow he fits in quality time with both of us. I am thankful for the many nice women in church. I know that I can call on them if I need them, even though they don't replace my old friends. Life is just too busy now for everyone to hang out and get to know each other that well. I look forward to being able to designate a "date night" in the future. I am thankful that I'll appreciate a 40 hour work week and free weekends someday!

We stopped hoping for a new house in town. That's partly why we're doing home improvements on this house. First off, the mortgage here is very inexpensive and we need that right now. Secondly, we don't want to do anything else until we find out from the FAA if the air traffic control job is a go or not. The process can take 18 months, so we'll see. I think we're about 7 months in. If he does get in, our preferences would be Kansas City, North Carolina, or Tampa, FL area. So in other words, if he did get in, we wouldn't be living in this town anyway. If he did get in, he would be making just as much as he is now, just going to the training. And working only 40 hours a week. AND getting benefits. It's a government job, so the benefits and pay are really good. Pay is based on locality, but is still very decent. Plus, the retirement is great and you don't have to wait long to retire. Is it too much of a dream to hope for? I hesitate to hope too hard. If he doesn't get in, we'll have to figure something else out. There is no way he's going to be working these jobs in health care for 80 hours a week, with no benefits or retirement. But the alternative is scary. Just because we haven't thought of a good one yet. There isn't anything else in this city, so a move is probably inevitable.

I realized right now that I could print this post out and plaster it into my journal. My neglected journal. I used to keep a great record, but my want to write or even read has diminished greatly over the past few years. I have sunk to the low mindless level of watching tv series online after Pixie goes to bed. That's all I feel the energy to do. Sometimes the idea of concentrating on words seems to expend too much energy. It doesn't even feel like physical energy. It's more mental energy. I feel very out of touch with the world and other people. I used to watch world and local news, but I don't have tv anymore and I don't make the effort to look online. I am glad I have set myself up to have to be out in the community at least a few times a month. It would be too easy to get lost at home. No more! At least, no more when it is warm enough outside to actually go outside. Yes, Spring is coming. I feel it trying to break it's way through. And with Spring, comes the real Karen. I can't wait to have her back!

More Snow!

2010-02-21T17:02:00.000-06:00

The millionth snowstorm of the season.

So, we've already had 40 inches of snowfall this season. Before this storm. Our last storm was Friday. I finally buckled down and took Pixie out in the snow just to play. We lasted about 10 minutes. It was too cold and wet for the gloves we had on, but at least we got to use her snowsuit and boots at least once!

This picture was taken around 11am.

And this was taken at around 3:30pm. It has snowed non-stop all day and it doesn't look like it's going to stop. It's 5pm now and still going strong. We're in the heaviest band of the area. I keep hoping this will be the last storm of the season, but I keep reading on the weather blogs that we'll have snow into March. Drat.

Pixie's Funnies

2010-01-27T15:14:00.003-06:00

There are a couple of things Pixie has done lately that I found pretty humorous.
First, she has started to give hugs to people a lot. Every time daddy leaves for work, she says "need hug?" over and over again. She holds out her arms behind her.
Now, she'll hug some people outside of the family, but gets nervous if they lift her.

Since we have been stuck in the house a lot these winter months, Pixie has become a whiner. I have baby gate in between the living room and the kitchen. Mainly to keep the big dog in and Pixie out of my kitchen and pantry. Pixie has taken to whining at me when I'm cooking or cleaning in the kitchen. Sometimes it goes like this:

Pixie: Watch show? Show? Show? Show?
Mom: No. No show. Why don't you go play with your toys?
Pixie: show, show, show, showshowshowshow
Mom: No.
Pixie: Yes. Show, show, show, shhhoooow, SHHOOOOOWW

Then there is this one at the gate too:
Pixie: Want up. Up?
Mom: No, just a minute.
Pixie: Want up, up u...need hug?

That little smartie. She knows we usually pick her up when we hug her.

Last night Pixie got a hold of my bag and emptied the contents. After finding her trying to write checks, I found her with my wallet. Mind you, daddy was at work and nowhere in sight.

Pixie: Mommy's?
Me: Yes, that's mommy's wallet
Pixie: *pulling things out* Mommy's, mommy's. Then she proceeds to pull out my debit card and says...daddy's!

I guess she knows who brings home the veggie bacon!

Felt Play Food Giveaway!

2010-01-21T14:36:00.002-06:00

I'm holding my first giveaway for my Etsy shop!
Head on over to my shop blog to enter. There will be more giveaways on other blogs soon too!
http://thewhimsicalgourmet.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveaway.html

Etsy Blog Button

2010-01-12T12:33:00.003-06:00

It's up! I started a blog for all my felt food items in my Etsy shop.
Go ahead and follow my felt food blog to keep up with my available items. Grab my button too!
New items and giveaways are just around the corner!

Low Calorie Alternatives

2010-01-12T11:57:00.004-06:00

So, after my last dive into the Eat To Live program, I went on vacation out west to visit friends, then the Holidays hit and I pretty much gained all the weight back. I knew I would! Now Scott and I are doing the community Pound Plunge for 12 weeks with another couple from church.
We made a few concessions to the ETL program, like being able to use some very low calorie dairy. For example, I get pecorino (sheep) romano cheese from Sam's club to sprinkle on salad and we've used egg whites once in a while.
These are some really awesome ideas I have come across on the internet to help with my cravings.

Spaghetti Squash! I knew it before, but I had no idea how much better it was for you, than pasta. A cup of whole wheat pasta is about 175 calories, while the squash alternative is only 45 calories. Plus, it is much more nutrient dense so you get fuller faster! I use it with veggies and a tomato sauce or I made a nut-based cream sauce that has been in our family for years. It was SO good and it completely satisfied my cravings for pasta.

I just found this tip. Cauliflower! Now I've heard you can mash it like mashed potatoes, but I haven't tried it yet. On this diet you are allowed brown rice, in moderation, but this is a lower calorie alternative. You take a head of cauliflower, chop it up really fine like rice or couscous (food processor works great), then microwave it (NO water!) for about 3 minutes. You can use this instead of rice! I just tried it with stir fry and it was great. You don't want to use it in recipes that is supposed to soak liquid up though because it won't.

Fat free AND low calorie salad dressings. Yes, they aren't the same thing. I am getting salad dressings that are 40 calories or less a serving. Normal ranch dressing is about 13o I believe. Big difference. Also, watch for high fructose corn syrup. It's in many of the "free" dressings. Besides the health facts, HFCS is bad for weight loss. It is quickly converted to fat, addictive, and it does not register in our bodies that we are full, leading us to overeat.
These low calorie salad dressings can be used on other dishes too, to make them edible. My favorite is ranch on potatoes.

Sweetener. Okay, I can use pure maple syrup, honey, agave (really great), dates and fruit. But, as far as calories go, they are really high! If you use stevia (it is a plant and I have grown it!), it is calorie free. If you aren't familiar with stevia (you can buy liquid or powder forms), you can use the new Truvia sweetener. It isn't all stevia, it has some other natural extracts in it, but I know it's better for you. I know because every other sugar alternative makes me sick and gives me a nasty headache!

Dessert cravings..these are the worst! They make me want to dive into the peanut butter. I have found two things that keep it at bay. One, a banana with a TINY smearing of natural peanut butter. Still higher calories (175 maybe!?) so I came up with these.
Apple crisp, without the crisp. I just cut up some apples, put whatever spices I liked into it (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger), some stevia or Truvia, a few raisins or dates, and a couple of nuts (walnuts or pecans). Microwave or bake until the apples are soft. Voila! It is so good.
Next, out of desperation, I found that the light whipped cream (real cream, people!) only has 15 calories for two tablespoons. I'm not a cream person, so a little will go a long way! I grab a banana (blueberries, whatever you want) and cut it up with some whipped cream in a bowl. It reminded me of banana cream pie and was really good.

Hope these help someone else as much as they helped me!
I posted this on my recipe blog, along with the nut-based cream sauce recipe. It's creamy lemony goodness. And remember to focus on the veggies and salad for your main dish. Those should be your first defense against those hunger pains and cravings!

My Etsy Shop! Anyone Want to Host a Giveaway?

2009-12-21T20:31:00.003-06:00

So, I have been off of the blogger grid lately, but I finally found something I really enjoy doing...that makes some money! Really, by accident, I found that I really enjoyed creating felt play food and that there is a demand for it. I decided to put some up on Etsy after a craft sale went bust and I was sold out in a day. I am working on developing patterns and inventory of what I can do. I have so many ideas to put into play! Right now I'm working on getting a good selection down and then I want to do some blog giveaways. Any of my established blog giveaway followers want to host one? If you do, just send me an email! I should be ready to hold one after the new year.
Here is my shop and how to find me:

Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/thewhimsicalgourmet
Blog - http://thewhimsicalgourmet.blogspot.com/
Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Whimsical-Gourmet/190628445963?ref=ts
Twitter - @thefeltgourmet

My Favorite Food

2009-10-07T12:50:00.006-05:00

VEGETARIAN SUSHI!

Okay, I'm not sure if it's my FAVORITE, but it's way up there with pizza. As in, I can probably eat it every day and not get tired of it. Which, for me, is a really big thing.
I made it for dinner last night, then more for Scott to bring to work (I love making his co-workers jealous!), then more for myself for lunch today. Pixie is a fan of it too!
So good, and I made it myself for a fraction of what it is to buy it.
To find out how much I saved by making it and how I made it, go to my recipe blog:

My Weight and Health Journey

2009-09-20T16:31:00.004-05:00

I have known about true nutrition and have gleaned many things from the studies of my parents on the subject. I know how the government recommended food pyramid is is way off on what our bodies really need and that the American view on health is completely wacked and backed by big food industries. Calcium? A good kind comes from green leafy veggies that don't have fat and cholesterol. Protein? You don't need as much as you think. There is more protein in broccoli than in steak, apparently. Protein might help muscle growth, but it means a shorter life span and other things. Think about what animals live the longest, the ones that eat diets rich in plant-based foods. I thought I knew a lot, but my eyes have been opened even wider after reading "Eat To Live" by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.. I know you've seen the ever-so-famous Dr. Oz on Oprah (love that guy) and he actually refers people to Dr. Fuhrman and is quoted in the book. Also, if you're familiar with "The China Study", the author T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D wrote the forward in Dr. Fuhrman's book on nutrition for children.

Your diet is directly linked to your health and eating processed foods, sugar, white flour, white pasta, and dairy in large quantities actually cause disease because your body doesn't get the nutrition to work like it should. Even eating diets rich in these things as a child can cause disease later in life, even cancer, because your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs. Wow. So, mainly I jumped into the 6 week diet plan for weight loss. It is a jump start and is really strict, but after that is the life plan. It allows you to eat the things you want, but only in small quantities, if at all. Once you get used to eating this way, you may not even want those things.

I had a leg up, I already try to eat healthy foods and do not think candy bars are tempting in the least. I threw all the dairy products into the bottom freezer drawer and gave away any open processed foods I had. I am 11 days into the 6 week plan and am finally getting over cravings. It's interesting. Hunger as we know it is just withdrawal symptoms. Really, think about it. He explains it really well and I found it to be true. Scott and I were heading to the grocery store to go shopping. I was talking about how I still felt full from lunch and then later I caught a whiff of a no-no food and my stomach growled. I was not hungry, but my stomach was going through withdrawals and is like a drug addict, addicted to the low nutrient food.
I have lost 6lbs so far and am excited to keep on seeing what happens. I am going to adopt this lifestyle wholeheartedly.
Right now my diet consists of oatmeal with fruit or just fruit in the morning. Not more than 1 cup of whole grain a day, not more than 1 cup of starchy vegetables. Salad first at lunch and dinner. Lots of fruit, veggies (cooked and raw), beans, tofu, sprouts, greens (kale, collards, spinach), <1 oz of raw nuts, and a small amount of avocado.
White breads and pastas are off limits, all dairy, little to no salt, no oil or fat, no sugar or any sweetener (besides fruit), and no fruit juices (unless used as dressing).
Like I said, this one is really strict, but I'm hoping it'll give me great weight loss results and let my body detox from the processed foods. The portions recommended are also bigger than anything I can eat. I am so stuffed on this diet! There are many people who have gone on this diet and have reduced or eliminated medication for all types of disease, within a matter of days to weeks! He recommends if you are taking medication (especially insulin) to tell your doctor about going on the diet because you might get over-dosed when you don't need the extra medication. After the 6 week diet, Dr. Fuhrman recommends eating a 90% plant-based diet, but he says even eating 60% will give you a 60% less chance of developing disease.

I have now moved on to reading his book for children. Pixie is already pretty good at eating healthy foods, she eats anything green, but she doesn't have the molars for lettuce yet. Although, she loves to crunch on the white parts of romaine and iceberg.
This is an excerpt from the book I'm currently reading:

"Humans suffer greatly from misunderstanding what our nutritional requirements are. We have evolved to a level of economic sophistication that allows us to eat ourselves to death. A diet centered on milk, cheese, pasta, bread, and sugar-filled snacks and drinks lays the groundwork for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune illnesses to develop later in life. It is not merely that sugar, other sweets, white flour, cheese, and butter are harmful; it is also what we are not eating that is causing the problem.
When you calculate all the calories consumed from the typical foods most children in America eat, you find that the calories coming from natural foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables, beans, raw nuts, and seeds is less than 5 percent of their total caloric intake. This is dangerously low intake of unrefined plant foods guarantees weakened immunity to disease, frequent illnesses, and a shorter lifespan." -Disease-Proof Your Child

His books are amazing and are based on scientific facts and research. I don't know that I'll follow it 90% after this, but I am for sure going to keep this a big part of our life. Maybe 80%.
Even if you don't plan on following this diet completely, I recommend reading the book "Eat To Live". It will change the way you look at what you put into your body and how you view nutrition. It will help you protect your children from nutrition related illnesses later in life (pretty much all of them) and make for healthier adults with no medical bills. Even childhood illnesses like colds, flus, excema, and ear infections can be cured by eating the right foods.
I'm on to something big here and want everyone to read what I have learned!
I'll update on my progress from time to time. The weight I have lost already was without exercise too. I only went to the gym once because I felt like I was coming down with a cold. But lo and behold, the cold passed me by! Coincidence? Maybe not!

Forever

2009-09-10T14:08:00.002-05:00

As in, it's been forever since I've posted something.
Really, my cop out is this. Remember how the desktop got that virus? Well, Scott fixed it and then the whole hard drive crashed two days after that. So, I haven't blogged because I like to blog with pictures and I haven't downloaded the software on the laptop yet.
Also, I am using a dinosaur of a laptop at this moment. Which is, I swear, the same exact laptop that Tom Hanks uses in the movie "You've Got Mail". It freezes up about every 20 minutes or so.
I have been able to use Scott's newer laptop for the past few days. This is because I have some good news! Scott found a second job! He is working in the same capacity as he is now (with mentally handicapped people), but with a different company. He has been working on call for them, then started full time this week. If all goes well in securing the two clients in a house, he'll be a house manager next month over his own home. So, his schedule is like this right now.

Monday- Thursday 7am-3pm
Thursday 6pm-7am (Friday morning)
Friday 7am-3pm
Friday 5pm-9am (Saturday morning)
Saturday 9pm-8am (Sunday morning)

Kinda crazy I know, but he really likes his job. Besides the fact that there aren't many jobs hiring right now, there is job security in this field. Health care seems to be one field that is growing, instead of downsizing.
We are hoping to be able to move soon. We were hoping to sell a business property that would give us a down payment right now to look for one, but that isn't happening. So, we'll have to save for one and hope that our dream home comes up for sale next year. We get pickier and pickier as we see all the good deals go by. My brother-in-law is a realtor and shows us how much house you can get for a cheaper price now. I sometimes avoid looking because I start pining.

We are without hot water and water to the washing machine right now. The water heater started leaking even more and the whole basement had water in it. I sucked most of it up last night and we bought a new water heater, but we need to find someone that can install it. We have a friend in church that can do it, but we're trying to figure out scheduling.

So, besides the stinky water heater issue, life is looking up! Scott has decent work, I have another Pampered Chef show coming up, I started a new eating plan for the next six weeks, and Scott has tomorrow night off so we can go camping at the church camp out!

Keeping the Sparkle in Your Marriage

2009-08-06T22:39:00.003-05:00

There was a mini class I attended at a church Relief Society event about marriage. I came across this list I had kept from the class and thought I would share. Read it with your spouses and maybe you'll both get some ideas!

Keeping the Sparkle in Your Marriage

Express appreciation to your spouse for little things he/she does that you often overlook.
Say three nice things about your partner today- to your partner.
Touch your partner non-sexually three times today, just to show you care.
Try a little humor. Think of something funny, a joke or something cute about your kids.
Make his favorite dessert this week.
Buy her a few flowers on the way home from work.
When shopping, buy your spouse a 'treat', just so he/she knows you're thinking of him/her.
Ask her today one thing you could do that would make her happy.
Offer your services in helping with the children before bed time.
Open the car door for her.
Hold her hand.
Tell your spouse he/she looks nice today.
Call him/her from work just to say hello.
Go out on a date together once a week.
Leave town together (without the kids) every four months.
Leave town as a family for vacation twice a year.
Say thank-you for meals prepared.
Surprise your partner with a night out on the town, reservation at a local motel, or a birthday party.
Hug your partner twice a day.
Leave a little note that says thanks or expresses appreciation or love.
Develop a hobby or outdoor activity together.
Do something with or for your spouse, even if you don't want to.
Take a walk around the block with your partner daily.
Tell the kids how much you appreciate their mother or father.
Sneak a snack into your bedroom that the two of you can eat without giving it away to the kids.
Do a chore around the house, even if it's not your agreed upon responsibility or turn.
Give her an extra $20, just to spend on herself.
Take the phone off the hook so you can just be together.
Designate six hours of one day a week as spouse care time.
Tell your partner he/she still excites you.
Spend 20 minutes each evening reviewing the day and just chatting informally.
Watch a TV program together, side by side.
Say something decent when you first meet at the end of the work day.
Ask how you can assist with dinner and housework, instead of making demands.
Call your wife and tell her to forget dinner- you're taking her out to eat.
Tell your spouse you appreciate all that he/she does for you.

Seriously Salad

2009-07-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

I posted the Sweet Onion, Tomato, and Cuke Salad on our recipe blog here.
It is seriously so good! It was gone in a flash..I ate almost the whole bowl. No kidding.
This is the perfect lettuce-less summer side salad. Try it! It would be great at a picnic or potluck.

Boon Products on discount at Hautelook!

2009-07-10T14:45:00.002-05:00

I signed up with Hautelook. They have designer items discounted. Some are still too steep for me, but some are awesome deals!
They have Boon on sale there.
This animal bag is 29.99 from 59.99!

And the bath scrubbles are 5.99!

They also have toddler utensils, snack pods, and dishes.
Visit Hautelook and join, get this deal, and to be notified of future sales!

Floods, Viruses, Blood, Battery Acid and No Husband

2009-07-10T11:41:00.004-05:00

Sounds like a plague, right? Nope, all in my wonderful week so far.
This is how it went.
Sunday morning Scott left to go on a canoe trip with his brother. Sunday was fine, Monday was fine, even though Pixie kept me up that night.
I decided to get the house organized a bit more and clear some stuff out for him while he was gone.

Tuesday
I packed up the SUV with boxes that have been cluttering our basement. I get a lot of Frontier and Pampered Chef boxes, along with anything else that comes in the mail. I ran some errands, picked up Scott's work check, then headed out on the 40 minute drive to my mom's house. I gave her the boxes to use as weed control in their garden, then took mom into town to take her shopping, since she doesn't have a working vehicle still. We stopped to deposit checks at the bank. I turned off the SUV to save gas and it wouldn't start again when we were done. Scott had mentioned that he thought the starter was going because it didn't start well for him once, but he didn't think it was a big deal. Mom went straight for the battery and there was our problem. Battery acid build up. We didn't have any tools because Scott took them out of the SUV, so the bank tellers sent out a man to help us out. Long story short, he got a tool and wiggled it while I started it. Then we went to Walmart where mom got a pair of pliers and sandpaper to clean it off. My mom is amazing.

Wednesday
I started clearing more of the basement out. We've had phantom leaks down there. One we think is from he bathtub seal, but it comes and goes. About a week ago Scott told me that he thought the water heater overflowed through the drain pipe and got water all over. There was a nice little stream when I went down there, but I didn't have enough time to do everything because Pixie woke up from her nap. She can hear everything in the basement as well.
After her nap, we went to Target and Sam's Club. Scott finally called me, he hadn't had reception, and Pixie freaked out every time I took the stroller into a store.
That night I noticed blood all over the kitchen floor. Perrin had split one of his paws and was bleeding all over. Lovely.
That night I was up with Pixie too.

Thursday
I baked bread and made 2 dozen cookies for the blood drive that afternoon. During Pixie's nap I again attempted to tackle more of the basement. Got a bit done, but Pixie woke up after 40 min. Shoot. While I was down there I investigated the water heater after finding another lovely stream of water. I couldn't find any moisture coming from the overflow pipes, so I went around to the other side...lo and behold..the middle of the entire seam that holds it together is bursting apart. It is a gas one and they are a lot more expensive. Heaven knows we don't need this right now. I wasn't too keen on Scott going on this canoe trip, as I'm not buying even much food right now and living off food storage until he finds an additional job, but he promised his little brother months ago that he'd go. So, I'm going to go down to the basement today and remind myself where the shut off valve is, just in case it blows.
Later that day I dropped Pixie off at Becca's while I went to the church blood drive.
It was my first time donating. I went in, everything was fine, my iron count was 14.8. I was really happy about that because being a vegetarian, iron is a question I get a lot. Ugh.
Everything was great the whole time I was donating. One of the other ladies got sick and almost passed out. That's because it was too hot in there, you need it to be 68 degrees and the people asked didn't make sure it got there. Anyway, she felt like a total wuss. Until I was done donating.
So, I was almost done..great! My Red Cross girl, Essence, did a great job and she was going to check on someone else and come back to finish me up. There was this other girl (whom I found out later was new) that came over, told me I was done, clamped the tube, and walked away. I started to feel like there was an anxiety attack coming on, then I was dizzy so they laid me down. Almost immediately after that I got nauseous and said I was going to throw up. I didn't have much time to react, the vomit came coughing up and it went up my nose, on my shirt a little, then the girl brought over the trash and it oozed down the side of my face, thankfully mostly in the trash. They wouldn't let me up, even though I felt fine after that, so I had to lay there smelling like barf, with vomit in my nose leaking into my throat. Finally they let me sit up, then let me go. Gross. But, I made it!! I guess there is something that happens to your body when the blood stop flowing and it makes you sick. Combined with the heat, I was a goner.

I went back home and felt a little shaky later, but was okay. I parked in the parking lot up the street and across the way since they are sealing our road today. It takes two days to do it and it's dry by that evening, but the lovely city road crews decided to make those two days Friday and Monday, so we can't drive on our street the entire weekend. Anyway, that parking lot is owned by my brother-in-law who owns a salon by appointment only. The woman at the salon will have you towed if you park there without being a customer. So I called him to ask permission and he said he would leave her a note. I put a note on my car saying I had permission to be there, just in case he forgets.
Last night I needed something to wind me down to get ready for bed. I usually talk to Scott, but he's out of cell phone battery, so I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother". I finished all the new episodes the other day, so I decided to see what the "Big Bang Theory" was all about. I went to a site I normally go to to watch videos and watched the first episode. All at once I got windows security warnings that I had been attacked with trojan horses, spyware, and worms. Great, just great. I remembered that Scott did something to the virus protection last week and got rid of a program he was told interfered with it. I don't know if that was the cause or not. I tried to run the virus scan in safe mode, but it didn't do any good. Now the desktop is out of commission until Becca's husband, James, fixes it for me.

This morning I went to step on the scale to see if I lost more than that one pound this week, with all the stress, and to top everything off...my scale battery is dead.

You know that feeling where you are worried you will forget something? Now imagine worrying not only that you will forget everything, but that your husband will too. I even have to remind him to go to work sometimes. I realized today that this is one of the reasons I feel so stressed. I put reminders in my phone for trash day and some other things. I am going to make Scott start taking brain function herbs as well and see if it will help. Of course, that'll be one more thing I have to remember. Wouldn't be nice to have an assistant to remember everything for you?

I just took a break from posting, woke up Pixie from her nap early to go babysit Becca's kids while she goes to her doctor's appointment. I walked all the way up to the parking lot and the driver's side wouldn't unlock. Finally got it unlocked, then got Pixie in, only to find out that it won't start again. Now the SUV is stuck in that parking lot and Pixie didn't have a full nap, plus Scott's laptop erased part of my post and it was saved over. What next? I feel like crying. In fact, I did a little.