2011- Who Know's When?

Time again for my look back at 2011 and give you my favorites! Yay!

Favorite Song:

Its a toss up between Crossfire and Only the Young by Brandon Flowers. I am OBSESSED with these two songs right now! LOVE IT!

honorable mention:

Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 (oddly those two songs both have Adam Levine singing, huh.)

Favorite Movie:

Kung Fu Panda 2 (I really loved this movie!)

honorable mention:

Thor

Sherlock Holmes 2 (I haven't seen this but I KNOW I would love it! Mmmmhmmm)

Harry Potter--so epic!

Tangled

Favorite TV Show:

The Vampire Dairies

I am obsessed with this show and can't wait for it to start again in January! Whoo!

honorable mention:

Any of the Real Housewives of course ;)

The Rachel Zoe Project

Project Runway

Favorite Book:

I Capture The Castle

I read over 60 books this year, its hard to choose a favorite!

There were a couple series I loved, Gregor the Overlander and Inheritance (which is the Eragon series), I really enjoyed those!

honorable mention:

My blog friend Melanie wrote The List and I honest to goodness LOVED it, it was hysterical, seriously had me laughing out loud and grinning stupidly. It was a fast, light read and I so enjoyed every minute. The ending was fabulous!

Favorite Vacation:

We honestly didn't take ANY trips this year. Not even a camping trip. What a lame year. My husband did take many trips to Washington DC for work and he spent a month in Korea, so lucky for him. :/

Favorite Outfit:

I'm changing this from clothes I own to ones I want ;) I discovered Pinterest this year, so there is a lot to be inspired and want from off there! haha

Yes, I realize these don't really have anything to do with 2011, except that I spent a lot of time coveting these outfits. If I had the money, I would have dressed like this in 2011. ;)

Favorite Project:

(this isn't mine, same idea but picture it in a mustardy yellow)

It would be my favorite project if I could get it to work, but I redid a coffee table into a tufted bench. Except that I've redone the top twice and need to again since Kimball's pulled half the buttons off. This time when I re-do it, it will be PERFECT! :)

Most drastic change:

I cut my hair short again, and dyed it bright red!

Highlights:

Bethany was baptized!

Kimball turned one

new family pictures

fun summer and fall

Peter Pan themed Halloween:



Maddie started kindergarden (Bethany 3rd grade)

Fun 30th birthday for my sister

Kimball started nursery!

Lowlights:

my computer crashed and I lost a LOT of pictures :(

Dave was gone for a month in Korea, that was hard :(

Definitely this was a good year, much improved from the year before, I like the thought of every year getting a little better. We grow a little more, we become a little more patient, a little more loving, a little...more. Here's hoping we can take 2012 and make it what we want it to be!

Christmas...I Don't Want to Talk About It...

There are many, MANY things on my mind about Christmas right now. But since today really IS Christmas, I'm thinking it would be bad karma to actually complain about it...right? I mean, just a few small...you know...observations about the holiday, that I absolutely LOATHE right now?!?! (*huffy breathing* and *crazy eyes darting back and forth*)

Okay, you're right. Its wrong. I won't complain about Christmas on Christmas. The only thing I'm going to say is "I don't care if I ever give presents to anyone ever again."

See, there, that wasn't so bad was it?! Naw, not at all.

So to end this post on a slightly more positive note, here's our Christmas letter! Whooey!

Well, I've tried four times to upload our family picture but blogger is a total mo fo and I hate it.(*this was said very calmly by the way*)
Since blogger won't let me upload our actual Christmas picture, this was going to be the back up:

Honestly, we had a very nice Christmas; just the stress of it about sent me into a psychiatric coma and let's face it, I will not learn anything from this and do it next year as well. And however many more Christmas's until someone begs me not to participate anymore. Sooooo...

Meeeerrry Chriiiistmaas!

Sometimes This is How I Feel

*shuffles in, peaks around the corner, bows head*

Hey guys...

Just a few random things to let you know that yes, I am in fact still alive. I'm freaking out about getting the homemade Christmas gifts I planned, actually out of the planning stage and done. And by freaking out, I mean watching every episode of The Vampire Diaries I can squeeze into my day. And sometimes The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The two shows are surprisingly alike, just based on drama. And sucking the life out of people.

I did get my Christmas decorations up, hallelujah for that.

I was on my period this last week and decided I would be completely happy to have my uterus removed altogether. I don't need it right?! Also, I'm pretty sure whoever designs feminine hygiene products is a man. A big, fat, stupid, hairy man that has never bled a day in his life and has no idea what "absorption" means. Because that crap does NOT work.

You know, kids really are disgusting. You ever walk into a room and see something sitting there and you can't even explain WHAT THE CRAP that is? I have to periodically go in and clean my kids rooms (yes, after they've done it themselves REALLY GOOD--according to them), and it so disgusts me with what I find. Why the crap is everything shoved under the bed? A used tissue wadded up under something? Something I can't even begin to describe? Check. I feel like I should call my mom and apologize for ever being a disgusting child.

I realized the other day that the only time I feel like blogging is when I have something to complain about. Thats bad. So when I was a teenager and my mom would hear me gossiping to my girlfriends for hours at a time and tell me that that was wrong and when I was an adult it wouldn't just go away--she was right. Not that I sit around and gossip, just meaning that I'm a complainer and I like to talk about complainy, whiny things. That those things are the things that I like to think about and talk about and analyze kind of things. Things. There were a lot of things in that last sentence. But the point is that I complain a lot and I guess I don't like that.

I was thinking how awesome it would be when all my kids are in school and how much more stuff I would get done during the day, and then I realized that I would probably be just as lazy as I am now. That wasn't a complaint I swear.

So much stuff to avoid doing...but I should probably get something done before my youngest wakes up from his nap and before I have to pick the other two up from school, at which point everything goes to pot. So yeah...thanks for the little chat...

*neck hurts from talking into my chest that whole time, shuffles away*

Laying Out My Weaknesses

Okay FINE! I am finally posting.

I don't know why I haven't felt like blogging lately, I haven't even felt like reading blogs really and that has never happened before! There are things I've been thinking about and the thought keeps popping up: "You should blog this before you forget about it!"

But then I forget about it.

Okay fine, I DO know why I haven't felt like blogging...

A couple weeks ago my husband and I were asked to speak at a youth Standard Night. The Bishop asked us to talk about (get this:) media, the computer, phones, texting, Facebook--that kind of thing. The irony in this is hysterical. Since I am completely addicted to my computer.

So I started preparing and I started reading and I started feeling really, really...guilty. I was reading quotes about "idleness" and being accountable to God for how we use our time, and how Satan tries to minimize the importance of our bodies by sucking us into a life of "unreality" instead of living a REAL important life and enjoying the time and people we have right in front of us. Ugh.

So, although the point of it wasn't to say that the computer (or phones, or texting or whatever) is BAD, it is highly addictive and we have to be careful about not "becoming a slave" to it.

So I've tried to make some changes--do you know how hard it is to be addicted to something thats right in the middle of your living room, that calls to you, that says "just sit down for ONE minute, take a little break, its okay..."?! Its hard I tell you. I've also found that I don't know what to do with myself a lot of the time. Okay I won't sit on the computer, my house is clean, now what do I do? Is that not completely pathetic?! (Please don't answer that, I'm going through a very rough time...)

So I've tried to get organized, come up with ideas, make lists of things to do and whatnot; and its starting to sort of work, I think. Yeah. You know, I think Satan is pretty smart because although I haven't had a real sort of physical addiction to anything (except maybe Mountain Dew), I think a mental addiction could be just as hard to break. Its like my brain is fuzzy, its like every time I stay away from the computer I have a million questions that need to be answered by google RIGHT NOW...

So anyway, thats about it I think. I'm working on using my time better and not being completely consumed by the convenience of the internet. I did have a great post to write about my thoughts on Pinterest, but somehow this came out instead. Sorry. Next time we'll get to the addictive qualities of Pinterest. See its related!

Masquerade!! People's Faces on Parade!

It was my sister's 30th birthday at the beginning of the month, since she has a long history of kind of sucky birthdays her husband REALLY wanted to throw her a big party. It was a little bit of a rough go, trying to find a place to have it, trying to figure things out and get stuff done, my sister made her costume--it was AMAZING--but that takes time, so it was a little stressful for her I think.

You guys have to know, that my sister is one of my very best friends, I was really hoping this party would be awesome for her! It was a masquerade ball, so everyone should have some kind of mask and be dressed up. I LOVE dressing up and I LOVE Halloween parties, I wish I'd taken some pictures of the food (shame on me!), because there were intestines and worms and eyeballs and all kinds of awesome stuff! She had the party in a dance studio, so we even got some fun dance instructions too! We set up a little backdrop and had fun props and took pictures and really just laughed and danced and had a great time! I hope she knows how much I love her and that I at least had a fantastic time! :D Here's a couple pictures from the party:



This is my costume, I did a kind of "steampunk" costume. Its a little bit victorian with a punk twist, lots of clocks and cogs and stuff. Google it, I love it! :) And YES, I did make my costume!


This is my brother in law, he was a pirate (with a leprechaun belt...) and apparently the top hat just finished things up. :)


This is my beautiful sister! Doesn't she look awesome?! She really seriously made that dress! And you'll have to check her hair out in the other pictures, it was so great (I know I don't sound humble, but I did her hair too and was freaking out it looked so cool! haha)!!


I know she's cut off in these pictures, you'll have to click on them to see them full size!






This is my studly husband, I LOVED his costume. He kinda looks like a soda jerk, and I wish his mustache would have stayed on, but seriously so cute!


This is the backdrop, pretty fun right?



I made this cake special for my sister, its a lemon cake with raspberry filling, it was like five layers thick! haha

Sometimes This Happens With Short Hair

Just realized how much I look lesbian-ish today...

...don't ask how my posing reflects that, that part is just because I'm weird.

I Like Wasting Time Apparently

So its happened. I must have been super bored or my blood sugar was low or something but I decided to join...

...pinterest.

If you're on pinterest, you totally know what happened. If you're not you'll think this is totally dumb.

So for those of you WEIRDO's who've never even heard of pinterest, let me try to explain it simply. Have you ever been browsing blogs and come across a great tutorial or idea that you loved and wanted to bookmark for future reference? I don't usually bookmark sites, so I would normally email myself the link and hope I'd remember about it when I actually needed to use it. Well, with pinterest when you find that great idea, you "pin" it to a "board" about whatever interest you have and its all in one place for you. So lets say I have a board about cake decorating (which I dooo), if I come across a cake I like the style of or whatnot, I can pin it and find it super easy for future reference.

Now past the simple part, you also get to see what all your friends are pinning, so thats super fun and good for more ideas. PLUS you get to see what EVERYONE IN THE WORLD is pinning so even MORE fun. PLUS (yes theres more!) if you want specific ideas for specific things--like last night I was looking up "halloween food" for a party--you can type a search in for that and get thousands of ideas. Its awesome.

Also, its addicting.

All of a sudden not only do you want to pin ideas-- you want to SEARCH for more and more things to pin because its fun and its cute and people like what you pin and you feel super validated when someone sees your pin and RE-pins it because they like it too. Its like the cool kids group for craftiness or something.

I don't know if this is a post telling you to join pinterest or warning you of its evils...I'll leave that up to you! :)

Swass and All That Too

So this week on Blossoming Bloggers, there's a recipe for fish tacos and the prompt is:

"Tell about one of your favorite dates you have ever been on."

Hmmmm. Favorite date huh...honestly, I got married right out of high school. Like five months after high school, and I was engaged those five months, so those kind of dates aren't real...datey; mostly just making out...heh heh...yeah...

Before I met my husband, all my other dates were in high school and you know thats not the same as dating as an adult. Not that the dates I went on then were BAD, they just were lame high school dates. :)

When my husband and I were dating, they were good dates, but pretty normal: dinner, movie, putt-putt golfing, baseball game...and then we were engaged...haha

This is the only story I can think of to tell you:

For my husband's thirtieth birthday we decided to invite some friends and go play lazer tag. We were super excited about it because...well, because lazer tag is freaking awesome, thats why. So we get there and get all geared up and ready to play, I'm pretty sure we played guys against girls. We're in the arena, its dark, the black lights are going and we are running around all crazy ninja style trying to be awesome and get the most points and MUTILATE the boys. We played several games until we were so hot and sweaty and exhausted we were done.

We go back and hang up our vests and guns and I turn around and look at my dear sweet husband. He has sweat lines all down his back, across his chest and under his moobs (man boobs). I looked at him and all I could say was, "You're really lucky this isn't a first date, because I'm not sure I would have gone out with you again..." and busted up laughing.

So there, not only do you get a fun story, there's some sound advice for dating:

Don't do a physically sweaty date for a few weeks, until you're sure they REALLY like you. And it helps if you have a few kids together already... :)

Lunch Bunch

Okay, for this week's Lunch Bunch, the question is:

If you could address a graduating high school class, what would you say?

Boy, do I want to go short and sweet or long and boring? Hmmmmm, I'll probably think I'm doing short and sweet, and end up with long and boring...

Its different being general to everyone or even just specifically for boys or girls. If I was just talking to girls, I would say BE NICE TO EACH OTHER, working together women can do amazing things--but put against one another we can be seriously awful.

One thing I have tried to have as a motto is: You will always feel bad about doing something wrong, but you will NEVER be sorry you did what was right.

I think I love this Mother Theresa quote though:

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

And I think that about sums it up. :)

What would YOU tell them?

Schedule Schmedule

My kids are just going back to school today. Our district had a strike and they were out of school all last week and all this week until today. Now they're back and I can start that whole worrying about my kindergartner all over again. Its lovely.

But at least we can hopefully start our "school schedule" now, you know the one that says I should have showered by now...

I suck at keeping schedules.

I surely like to make lists and plans but thats about as far as I get most of the time. And I love it if I accidentally do something so I can cross it off. Thats awesome.

This is about what my day was like with all the kids home (in picture form):

It was craziness I tell ya.

This is how it is now with only the boys home:

A whole lotta this. Why are boys so gross?