I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of myself...Okay, I admit, I have a lot that I can improve on.

17 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

Merry Christmas

I license the artwork of many talented artists and thought I would share some of their artwork that reflects my own feelings of the season.

(Artist Karen Tribett)

(Artist Susan Comish)

(Artist Jon McNaughton)

(Artist Jo Moulton)

Merry Christmas to all our friends and loved ones.

I am grateful for Larry and for the relationship we have. I am grateful that he is willing to forgive when needed, that he still loves me despite all the unloving things about me. I am grateful that he is my husband and my friend. I am grateful that he is willing to work so hard for our family, to provide for us, and to take care of us. I am grateful that he is such a wonderful father to our boys.

I am grateful for Dresden and for his tender heart. I am grateful that he was my firstborn. I am grateful that he is healthy and strong. I am glad that he likes to use his brain and hands to figure out how things work. I am grateful that he teaches me how to be patient. I am grateful that he loves me. I am grateful that he wants hugs and kisses before I leave anywhere. I am grateful that he is my Dresden.

I am grateful for Logan and for the smiles he brings to my face. I am grateful that he shows gratitude for everything that he receives. I am grateful that he is healthy. I am grateful that he admires Dresden. I am grateful that he loves to cuddle with me. I am grateful that he wants to learn and try new things. I am grateful that he is energetic and happy. I am grateful that he is my Logan.

I am grateful that my boys have such wonderful Grandparents that love and adore them. I am grateful that Larry's and my parents are willing to help us out when we need it. I am grateful that our boys have the opportunity to know both our parents and are able to share moments with them that will be in their memories forever. I am grateful that I still have my Grandparents in my life. I am grateful that my boys have the opportunity to know and love them.

I am grateful for my sister and brothers. I am grateful that we can plan a vacation together and everyone actually wants to go. I am grateful that they all have jobs that support their families. I am grateful that they have their health. I am grateful that each of them has a wonderful spouse that we all love. I am grateful for my nieces and nephews and the opportunities my boys have to know and love them.

I am grateful for my sisters and brothers-in-law. I am grateful for all the many ways they take care of De and Bertha. I am grateful that they love to get together for family parties. I am grateful that they love my boys. I am grateful that I am a part of their lives. I am grateful that we can spend the holidays with them.

I wouldn’t know any of these blessings if it weren't for my Heavenly Father, whom I will be eternally indebted to. My blessings have been abundant and I am grateful to have such a loving Heavenly Father.

Month of music

Metallica, Jason Mraz, & Coldplay!!! What a fun month it has been. I have sort of been on a binge of treating myself to fun things. I figured, my birthday was this month, I may as well live it up.

Larry's friends all wanted to go to Metallica which was on the 3rd of November. The wives weren't sure if we wanted to attend with our husbands but we decided it would be fun to all hang out. We met for dinner and then headed to the concert. Our first experience after walking into the Energy Solutions was a guy spitting on the ground right in front of us. Yes, Metallica brings out the best in people. We then had some fun people watching. There were plenty of women still dressing like their bodies are that of a 20 year old. Some of the bosoms weren't as perky as I am sure they were 20 years ago and stuffed into shirts that didn't exactly hold them in very well. I just don't think some people will ever grow up. Our seats were in the upper bowl and the sound was terrible. This type of music is meant to be heard from the lower bowl of the arena. We have seen Metallica a couple times and I think I prefer the outdoor shows a little better. We had a lot of fun with our friends and are glad we can enjoy concerts together.

The next concert we went to was Jason Mraz. This has been planned for a couple months and I was eagerly waiting for this trip. For this concert we flew to Vegas for a quick weekend trip. It was just Larry and I that went. We stayed at the Monte Carlo which was just fine as rooms go but the over all ambiance of the hotel and casino was lacking. Let's just say it's no Caesars or Bellagio. Still, the room and service was nice. Saturday night was the concert at the Pearl Theatre. This concert hall was designed and made just for that, concerts. We had such a great time!!! I love how witty and clever and quick talking Jason Mraz is. If any of you have a chance to go see Jason live, DO IT! You won't be disappointed. We sang, we danced, and we had a great time! After the show we had dinner at Little Buddha which was very tasty. This restaurant was not lacking ambiance in the slightest. It was a beautiful restaurant that had a fantastically huge red chandelier, awesome lighting through out the restaurant and a huge golden Buddha sitting above. Our food was delicious our dessert chocolaty and our overall evening worth every penny! I completely enjoyed being with just Larry and we were both in need of the one on one time we got.

The last concert I went to was over the weekend, Coldplay. I had upper bowl tickets for this one as well so I wasn't really looking forward to another concert with horrible sound. After having dinner with some friends we headed over to Enegry Solutions. Natalie and I made our way 16 rows up in the upper bowl and sat down and waited for the bad sound that was sure to make its way to us. We were pleasantly surprised to hear music that was clear and crisp and sounding great. I had a great time and was glad that Natalie was able to come with me. I hope you had fun! I do have to say that I think Chris Martin has ADHD. Seriously, how can one person have so much energy! He was a manic running all over the stage, keeping his feet moving to the beat, playing the guitar and piano, all while singing and sounding good. He wore me out just watching him. He did keep the audience entertained and I would definitely spend the money again to see Coldplay live.

This is completely uncommon to go to so many concerts in such a short time but I have to say, this was the best birthday month, EVER!

Reading

One of the things I have been enjoying lately is watching Dresden read. It started out to be a hardship for him but everyday he has gotten more comfortable with reading. Here are some pictures I got of Dresden and his friend Sophie reading. They read the book out loud and I loved hearing them help each other with the words they didn't know.

This is when they noticed me sneaking around taking pictures of them.

Collin reading to Dresden, Logan, and Sydney.

Willow Canyon Community Council

I wanted to thank everyone in the community that voted for me. I know, it was pretty tough to decide between me and...well, me. The gentleman that was running against me bowed out so it was an easy win for me. Anyway, I appreciate the support and the kind words that have been given to me. I hope to serve my community well.

I'd like to thank...

I have been awarded the Brillante Weblog-Premio 2008 Award...really, I've just been tagged .

Rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others.

Here are the questions:
1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? blonde
4. Your mother? babysitting
5. Your father? work
6. Your favorite thing? icecream
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? DIY
11. Your fear? unloved
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? vacation
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? awake
15. One of your wish-list items? migrainless
16. Where you grew up? Sandy
17. The last thing you did? type
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? big
20. Your pet? Lady
21. Your computer? work
22. Your mood? sleepy
23. Missing someone? friends
24. Your car? camry
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? DSW
27. Your summer? vacationless
28. Love someone? Larry
29. Your favorite color? lots
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? awhile
TodayI pass the award to . . .
Anyone listed on my blog that would like to participate.

If you feel so inclined

I'm not here to talk about the presidential race but about my little neighborhood. I live in an unincorporated Salt Lake County island that is surrounded by Sandy City. Basically, my ward boundaries are the county boundaries. Recently a Community Council was put into place for the Willow Canyon Community in order to become a voice to the county for our community concerns. One of those concerns that a lot of the residents are concerned about is a House Bill. HB40 is a House Bill which is a sunset clause on all Salt Lake County unincorporated areas and Townships. The majority of the Willow Canyon Community does not want to be annexed into Sandy City, therefore the Council was created as a way to have a voice for our community concerning the HB40 bill among other community concerns. Anyway, my concerns fall into completely different areas other than the HB40. I have had concerns about the presence (non presence) of police officers, traffic speeds on our streets, lack of sufficient street lights, and zoning in our neighborhood. I have attended a few of the community meetings and listened to other concerns of citizens and voiced a couple of my own. I like being involved and want to find ways to better my community. I figure, if I'm going to live here I may as well do what I can to help make it the safest place to raise my boys. This is where the craziness comes in. There will be an election for the new Community Council (Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, North, East, & South Area Reps) that will be held on election day, Nov. 4th. I must have lost my head because after the community meeting last night I turned in my intent to run for the North Area Rep. The North Area consists of Indian Ridge to East Point, The north side of East Point, Shoshone, the two circles at the top of Shoshone, and 1400/1380 E. Larry wonders WHY? but I figure, WHY NOT? I'd like to get involved in a more official way and learn more about how our government works. SO, if you are in the Willow Canyon Unincorporated Community I urge you to register to vote. When you go to vote at the elementary school, please remember to look for the Willow Canyon Community Council polling station. And, if you feel so inclined, please vote for me!

Strike a pose

Today we took the boys out to get some pictures of them. Although the weather wasn't the greatest and the decision to have the boys wear white was a bad decision, we did get some good shots. These are a few of my favorites...

What kind of sports car are you?

I'm a Lotus Elise!

You believe in maximum performance and minimum baggage. You like to travel light and fast, hit the corners hard, and dance like there's no tomorrow.

http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/

First day of school

Summer is officially over! Dresden started his first day of First Grade today. I think he was pretty excited about seeing his friends that he hasn't seen all summer long! We spent last night memorizing his school lunch number and making his "About Me" book as well as signing dozens of papers.

I can't wait to get home from work to ask Dresden all about his first day of first grade! How was the teacher? the students? how many friends are in your class? how was recess? how was the school lunch? who did you sit with? etc. etc. etc... I am sure I will bore him with all my questions.

I hope your first day was a terrific day, Dresden!

Calorie Counting

Back in May when I was in NYC I noticed that the chain restaurants that we went to listed the nutritional values next to the menu item. Apparently, it is now required to show the nutritional values on the menus in NYC. So, I was pretty taken back when I saw how many calories even the "healthy" entrees have. So, I have been a little more conscience when I have been going out to eat. Granted, we still go out way more often than we should but we are getting better about eating at home. So, last night we had dinner at home and for dessert I thought we could walk over to Dairy Queen to have us a little treat. The first thing I noticed when we walked in...okay the dirty floor was the first thing I noticed but a quick second was the nutritional values poster that was hanging up. So, I drifted over to take a look at how bad this treat really was going to be for me. I think my mouth literally was hanging open and my eyes were bugging out of my head. I SO wanted something big and tasty smothered in chocolate and sprinkled with peanuts. I LOVE ice cream and I have been so good about exercising, but one of the large items I saw had 1300 calories!!! Okay, that ruined the whole experience for me. I ended up with a banana split which still had 520 calories, 13g fat, 94g carbs..73g of which were sugars. I couldn't even bring myself to eat the entire thing, although I came close. I know eating out isn't good for you but come on!!...I really didn't know it was THIS BAD for you!

Hmmm, I wonder where Larry and I will be going for dinner tonight.

I'm Yours

I just thought I would put a post up of Jason Mraz. I just booked tickets to the show in Vegas and am pretty excited. Jason's music just makes me smile and I can't keep my foot still because it just has to be tapped to his music. Anyway, this is a pretty lame video but the song is great. There is actually a different version that I like better but you get the idea...

Baby Wanted

Steve and Deidra are great friends of ours. We admire them and love spending time with them. After having Zack they decided they wanted another baby and have spent the last few years trying to get pregnant again. They have learned that Zack was a complete medical miracle. They would love to add a baby to their family and honestly, they are so deserving. Steve and Deidra are wonderful parents and we would love to see them with another baby to love. We would also love for Zack to experience a sibling relationship. He loves kids and I know he would love to have a brother or sister.

This is in their words...

After much prayer, Steve and I decided about one year ago that we would like to add to our family by adopting a child. We were approved for the process a few months ago and are waiting, waiting, waiting for this miracle to happen. We would love it if our friends and family would keep us in your thoughts and prayers and especially if you would keep your ears open for any situations in which a mom is wishing to place her baby for adoption. Anyone can view our profile at: www.itsaboutlove.org/profile (then type in our names Stevenanddeidra)

If any of you know of someone who knows of someone that is in a situation that they need to put a baby up for adoption, PLEASE consider Steve and Deidra. They are wonderful people with wonderful values and are wonderful parents!!!

Fitness

Crystal has made me think a lot more about fitness since her "mid-life" post. I am excited that she will be keeping a journal that we can go to and read about her success and challenges and suggestions and so on. I did want to post a website that I occasionally go to. I am planning on changing my ways and visiting the website daily. You can log in and keep track of the exercise you do and the food you eat and it will graph your weight loss. It's a really good resource to find out how many calories you burn while running, walking, reading, or even your bedroom activities. It is also a good resource for finding out how many calories are in a banana, broccoli, Big Mac, or Rocky Road ice cream. It's a pretty great website if you are dedicated to logging in and taking advantage of the resources it offers. Oh, and did I mention it's free?! http://www.calorie-count.com/

Mom or Referee?

Do you ever feel like most days you are more of a referee calling "time outs" rather than the mom? Yesterday, I was sitting at the computer while the boys were playing Indiana Jones Lego. The boys were playing well together and then suddenly, within a matter of seconds, they were fighting. By the time I got across the room to separate the boys Logan had a bloody lip and Dresden had teeth marks on his shoulder. PERFECT!!! The game was taken away for the rest of the week and the boys were in their bedrooms in "time out" until they could come out and apologize. I think if Jo Frost from The Super Nanny were to make a visit to our home her advice would be welcomed with open arms!!! In fact, I think I would invite her to move in and live with us permanently.

Fourth of July

Proof that having strep didn't ruin a thing!!!
I love the blur made by little bodies rushing to get their share of candy

Again, we had a fabulous weekend and are so happy that our friends and family decided to spend part of their holiday with us.

Strep

So, my body has decided to go on strike for holidays. It first started this routine on Halloween. I was all ready to spend a fun evening with the boys trick-or-treating. Instead I had a headache, fever, and strep throat. I was still able to get all dressed up as Bat Girl and hang out with my little Batman and Robin at their daycare party. And then New Years Eve rolls around. After waking up with a sore throat I looked in the mirror and saw the familiar signs of strep throat. Strep didn't dampen our New Years Eve evening. We still had friends over until 4am playing Rockband. It will take more than a little strep throat to stop us from having a good time. Well, here comes the 4th of July weekend. I thought it would be a lot of fun to get some friends together that we haven't seen in some time. So, I plan a party. We bought hamburgers, brats, hotdogs, veggies, fruit, a pinata for the kids and fireworks. The morning of the 4th I wake up with a rather sore throat. Again, I looked in the mirror and saw the familiar signs of strep throat. I drove down to the clinic to have my throat tested, and sure enough, I have strep throat. Seriously, I have had enough of this. Now the dilema starts...do I call and inform everyone or do I just stay away from people and their food. Nope, I do the right thing and call everyone to give them the opportunity to back out if they want to, which I totally wouldn't blame anyone for backing out, but they all decide I wouldn't be giving them kisses, or as the doctor put it,"licking them as they come through the door" so our guests decided to still come, which I was really thrilled about. (sorry John & Crystal for not being able to get a hold of you, I really need your phone numbers.) The party went well and I had a great time seeing everyone. I really sincerely apologize to my guests if any of them end up getting strep.

So, strep..bring it on! It's gonna take more than a little sore throat on a holiday to get me down!!!

I Do

Eight years ago Larry and I
were joined for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. We have been through good times and bad times and we both feel lucky to have made it to where we are today. I look forward to many more experiences that life will offer us and I feel blessed to have Larry by my side as my husband.

Happy Anniversary, Larry.
I love you!

Tag

JOYS
My boys: Larry, Dresden, & Logan. I love it when the boys come into our room and jump up on our bed and we wrestle and tickle and giggle and laugh together.

Driving fast on the freeway in the evening time with the windows unrolled and the wind blowing through my hair.

Swimming. And I’m not talking about swimming laps. I just love being in water. It is so relaxing and soothing to me. I would love to have a swimming pool in our backyard but that is completely impractical so I may just have to settle with a hot tub.

FEARS
I am afraid that someone will break into our house. I don’t know why I have this fear but I will wakeup in the middle of the night fearful that a door isn’t locked. I know they are but I will have to get up and check the locks anyway.

Not being liked. Everybody wants to be liked and I am no different.

Going along with wanting to be liked I am afraid that people think I don’t like them because I am not outgoing or talkative. I am not one of those people that have something to say about everything or that can talk about themselves easily. I like to keep to myself and in doing that I am afraid I give the impression that I don’t like people.

CURRENT OBSESSIONS
I’m not much of an obsessive person but I guess one thing that I obsess over is real estate. My most current obsession was the polygamist compound at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I researched the property and found a notice of default. I got all excited thinking maybe I could find an investor to help buy the property (two houses on nearly 4 acres) if the price were reasonable. But after addition research I discovered that there are two notes on the property, one at 1.7 million and the other at 7 million. I guess I won’t be looking for an investor after all…

I love having a clean house but frankly, working fulltime just doesn’t allow for that. Atleast not for me. Anyway, when I vacuum I have to vacuum in straight lines. I love seeing the vacuum lines when I am finished vacuuming and it drives me insane when someone walks across freshly vacuumed floors.

I guess another obsession would include loading the dishwasher. I have a very set way the dishes go in. The forks go in their own slot as do the spoons, forks, knives, and so forth. And, the knives need to be facing down so the boys don’t poke or cut themselves when they get the silverware out. Bowls go in their spot, kids cups in theirs, small glasses, tall glasses. They all have a spot. Larry doesn’t get this but I haven’t really explained it either. It’s just best if I’m not around when he loads the dishwasher.

RANDOM THINGS ABOUT MYSELF
Remember when I said I don’t easily talk about myself???…..

I was once Miss Congeniality in the Miss Teen Utah Pageant. (my sweet grandma talked me into entering the pageant…not something I wanted to do but I did it for her and had a good time doing it)

I think I should be a racecar driver.

I asked Larry out on our first date. (He'll tell you that my friend asked him out for me but I still figure I did the asking.)

I tag Kristin, Nikki, Bekee, & Deidra

Sense of Style

Just because I don't have girls doesn't mean

I don't have a little boy that LOVES to dress up.

If I were a nice mom I would let

Logan go to Skool Days, church, shopping,

and restaurants dressed like this.

But I'm not...I'm soooo mean!

Moments

Last night I let Logan crawl into bed with me to fall asleep. Logan snuggled up against my body and had his arms wrapped around my arm when he had this conversation with me...

Logan: Mom?

Me: Yeah?

L: Are you going to marry onebody else?

M: No honey, I am married to Daddy. Who do you want me to be married to?

L: Me

M: (chuckling)Oh honey, Mom's can't marry their kids

L: But when I am big like Daddy will you marry me?

M: Sure I will

(pause)

L: Mom?

M: Yeah?
L: Will you stay with me forever?

M: (heart melting) Of course I will stay with you forever.

I know that kids have this conversation with their parents all the time and Logan has said the same thing before but last night he was so sweet and sincere in the way he asked me that it made my heart melt. I don't know if it is possible to love my boys any more than I do but at that moment I thought I would burst with love.

Earlier in the evening my companion and I went to visit teach the neighbor. My companion read a quote taken from the Conference talk that Elder Ballard gave called "Daughters of God". The quote read, "First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

Last night in bed with my sweet Logan was definitely one of those "moments". I should also mention the "moment" I had about a half hour earlier...When I came home from Visiting Teaching I went downstairs to find the boys. Dresden jumped up for me to hold him and he wrapped his legs around my waist and his arms around my shoulders and tucked his head into the side of my neck and gave me the biggest hug. I'm not sure what provoked the hug but I certainly enjoyed that "moment" of love Dresden was giving me.

Needless to say, I am blessed with two amazing boys!!!

New Zealand

Larry and I returned earlier this week from a trip to Wellington, New Zealand. Larry had an opportunity to meet with a man he really admires so instead of Larry going alone we decided to make a trip of it...thank goodness for tax refunds. After a 20+ hour trip to get to Wellington we arrived to a beautiful landscape. The scenenry was much different than what I had expected. There weren't sprawling sandy beaches and crystal clear water but still it was amazing! The hillside houses and lush landscaping was very appealing. Larry's meeting went extremely well. I feel horrible that I travelled all that way and ended up with a migraine the day of Larry's meeting. I took a cab with him to the office of Richard Taylor but by the time we got there I really wasn't feeling well so Larry put me back in the cab and sent me back to the hotel. Larry's meeting went much better than he could have hoped for. So, the vacation was well worth the expense. We had a great time going to dinner with some of Larry's friends. We had dinner with Erica and her husband. Erica is one of the founders of the website that Larry is involved with. We also had dinner with Daniel Reeve, an artist that works on many films, and one of Larry's "adoptive" sisters, Rachel. Rachel is a young aspiring film maker. She and her Hollywood agent have been pitching a TV series to Disney, which they are apparently interested in. Larry kind of took her under his wing and has introduced her to some people that have made a difference in her life.

Our trip was fabulous and it was great to spend some one on one time with Larry. Enjoy some of our favorite pictures of Wellington...

This is of us on top of Mt. Victoria looking over Wellington Bay

Nothing more than a great picture that Larry took!

We were waiting for the ferry to take it across Cook Straight to the South Island and these tug boats were lined up outside the ferry port. Another great picture!!!

This is a view of Cook Straight when we were on the ferry. A beautiful look of the dimensions of the Marlborough Sounds.

One of the days we went on a fourwheeling excursion. We had a local pick us up in his jeep and drove us over one of the mountains and down to the other side. We fourwheeled along the beach which took lots of experience navagating. We drove out to these rocks where around 20 seals make this there year round home. This seal was very photogenic and it seemed he was posing just for us. I think the fourwheeling was one of my favorite experiences in New Zealand!