something

favorite photo friday - 1.22.12

2012-01-27T12:04:00.001-07:00

not the best picture composition-wise (it was too dark with the blinds closed but i didn't want to disturb them) but such a sweet picture anyway. i call it sunday afternoon nap.

random thought thursday

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

i found this shirt at lands end yesterday.

i really want it for zoe.

but mostly i really want it for me.

******

i'm catching up on project runway all stars

and burst out laughing when isaac mizrahi

called austin's dress "modest" on the second episode.

it was strapless, plunging neckline in the front,

and backless.

so funny.

******

i was grouchy last night,

doing laundry at 11 pm and making 3 trips to carry it all back.

so i started listing things i was grateful for as i walked back and forth

and by the time i was done, i was happy.

hm. counting blessings really works.

who knew?

******

isaac got his finger caught in a door at the church yesterday

while i was making up brackets for the cub scout pinewood derby.

it was so gross, with a huge dent.

he was sure it was broken

but 15 minutes later

he saw his best friend from school

and they played basketball together.

thank goodness for friends and distractions.

******

zoe is starting to display

the same behaviors as noah at her age

about wearing diapers and clothes

and i feel extremely worried about it.

******

i have sneezed 17 times today.

******

while it will probably give me skin cancer,
i'm grateful that we live this high up in the winter.
the intensity of the sun makes it feel at least 10 degrees warmer
than it actually is.
also, the winters here are 10,000 times better
than winters in utah.

******

i finally got a new cell phone
(one that hasn't been microwaved).
i can't believe how much easier and better life is
when you can text.

******

my dad is really awesome.

******

do you ever feel this way?

2012-01-25T11:39:00.001-07:00

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; ...and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. (Moby Dick)

stay away from me today,

or i might just knock off your hat.

if only i could get to the sea.

the weirdest thing we don't own

2012-01-24T11:38:00.001-07:00

when zoe was born, my mother-in-law came to stay for a week to help out at home. she was a little (probably a lot) surprised that we didn't have a broom, and bought us one. our kitchen was so small i didn't really feel like i needed one and just used a small handheld broom with a dustpan when i "swept". once i had a real broom i felt like an idiot--of course i needed a broom. until then, a broom was the weirdest thing we didn't own.

now? it's an umbrella. how is it possible that we don't own an umbrella? i was going to buy one for my trip to france but my sister had one for me to borrow so i just used hers. dave is in portland for work this week and this morning had to walk from his hotel to his meeting in a downpour with no umbrella. the thing is, i want a cute one, and cute ones are expensive. who has $30 (or $80 or $150) to spend on something so trivial? i feel like i would never use it because it's so much easier to just run from the car to the house or store or whatever when it's raining. once or twice i've been caught in my car and had to wait out a storm so i wouldn't get soaked, but that's very rare. it does rain in gallup the entire month of july and dave travels a lot these days, so i'm thinking it's time we bit the bullet and made the purchase.

what's the weirdest thing you don't own?

all images via pinterest

winter whites

2012-01-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

so tired of brown. feeling inspired by white.

(images from pinterest/anthropologie/potterybarn)

can you say...

2012-01-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

i took a picture of zoe yesterday, and when i showed it to her she said "that's zoe!" and then said "zoezoezoezoezoezoezoe" over and over. i got out my video camera to video her saying it and as soon as i got it out, she stopped. but i got some cute footage of her anyway.

my favorite is the end when she says "see you, bye-bye." too cute.

favorite photo friday - 1/16/12

2012-01-20T11:15:00.003-07:00

we were having a dance party and zoe had just learned how to spin herself around and around in circles.

i think it's the first time she's ever been dizzy and it was so funny watching her trying to walk afterwards.

hunger games nails

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

in case you want to look like somebody from the capitol,
because you know the poor folks in the districts sure don't have nail polish.

i think my favorite is stone cold, although dress me up and foie gras aren't bad either. i could see smoke and ashes on my toes, but definitely not that dark on my fingernails. what's your favorite?

random thought thursday

2012-01-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

i want to make this cake
for valentine's day
and replace the hard candies
with red jujube hearts.
it has white chocolate frosting, man.
if only i could find a recipe.
nevermind, emilie found it!

******

last friday i was singing to zoe

and she put her hand over my mouth and said "STOP!"

twice.

******

my vacuum only sucks up through the hose now.

when i'm pushing it like a regular vacuum

the wind tunnel doesn't...wind...tunnel.

******

how come ann de bourgh can inherit her estate
but the bennett's estate is entailed away to mr. collins?
why were some women able to inherit?

******

are contacts called contacts
because they come into contact with your eye?

******

i'm listening to the first harry potter book in the car while i drive
and just realized that if you say diagon alley a certain way,
it sounds like diagonally.
i always said it "die-uh-gone" alley.

******

whoever made up lego star wars is a genius.

******

zoe has started saying "oh yeah!"
when i ask her a question,
but the way she says it makes me laugh so hard.
she sounds like steve urkel but whinier.

******

what was with the girls skiing in bikinis on the bachelor?
that was all kinds of weird.

******

i have dinner in the crock pot
and it smells so good i might have to eat it for lunch.

******

the clothes we wear

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

it was my sophomore year of college, halloween day 1999, and all of my friends had costumes and were dressing up for the parties that night. since i generally hate halloween, i didn't have a costume but tagged along with some friends to hot topic in the mall to purchase a portion of one girl's costume. while there i saw them: black, skin-tight, vinyl pants. you read that right. i knew i had to have them. i bought them immediately. paired with a black tank top and vasoline slicked-back hair, i was an instant trinity

(from the movie "the matrix" which had just come out the previous summer and was a huge hit).

the first party included me getting trampled in a mosh pit (with shoe prints on the pants to prove it) and also lots and lots of conversations.

with boys.

cute boys.

we headed to our next party at the belmont, the posh living situation for byu students. more conversations with lots more cute boys. if you know me at all (or knew me in college), that was very unusual. i am on the shy side in that kind of situation and generally hang back out of the spotlight (unless i was at a dance getting kicked in the crotch, of course). but something about those pants put me in the spotlight and i lapped it up. as we were leaving that party, we got stopped by a car full of boys that we did not know. they told me and my friends to get in. we did. i sat on one of the boy's laps because there wasn't enough room in the car for everybody. we talked for a few minutes and then they invited us over to their house to watch a movie. we went home to change, went to their house, and the magic was gone. we were there for a very short few minutes but it was obvious, without the costumes, we were no longer invited and soon left. (side note: while this seems like an extremely dangerous situation, and it probably could have been, that's just life in provo. you meet strangers, you watch movies together. it would be a much different situation at a different school, so please don't try this where you live.)

i tell you this not to invite your criticism and judgment (while well-deserved), but to prove a point:

the clothes we wear affect our actions.

i would never in my life get in a strange man's car (unless i was in france) and sit on a strange dude's lap, but wearing that inappropriate costume made me somehow a little more brave...and a lot more stupid.

my church has a pamphlet that is distributed to young people and has a section on dress and appearance:

Your body is sacred. Respect it and do not defile it in any way. Through your dress and appearance, you can show that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and that you love Him. Your dress and grooming influence the way you and others act. ... Never lower your standards of dress. Do not use a special occasion as an excuse to be immodest. When you dress immodestly, you send a message that is contrary to your identity as a son or daughter of God. You also send the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval.

that is exactly what i did that halloween night, and to this day i am mortified when i even think about it. i can't even believe i'm putting it on my blog for everybody to see...i am inviting your criticism and judgment and that is so scary to me. but i feel like my point is valid. i find that when i wear sweats--which is most days--i act like a slouch. i don't clean my house, i don't get things done, i'm lazy.when i dress up for the day, i get more done. i get out of the house and run errands, i'm not embarrassed if friends stop by, i don't sit in front of the computer for hours because i don't want to waste that cute outfit.

so while it may seem shallow that i care about my clothes, or that i post about clothing a lot on my blog, i don't see it as a character flaw. i see it as me trying to help myself be a little better.

p.s. yes, there are pictures of this costume.
p.p.s. no, i will not be sharing them here. the story is embarrassing enough without the picture proof.
p.p.s. you are welcome to laugh.
p.p.p.s. if i know you well enough and you want pictures, feel free to email me.

boden - spring 2012

2012-01-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

i'll take one of everything, thank you.

left to right, from top:

crochet button cardigan
cardigan, jeans, top
hand crochet jacket
flower button coat
wideleg jeans
jersey tea dress in black, i could wear this every day
palazzo top
palazzo trousers i love a well-made pant, especially white, in spring
retro tankini
riviera shirt dress
chiffon placket cardigan... one of everything in the picture, really.

the perfect christmas gift...5 years too late.

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

i have a hard time buying presents for my mom. if she sees something she wants, she buys it (mostly), so coming up with something creative is sometimes tricky for me. a few months ago my friend had an online tupperware party and as i was looking through the site i happened upon these:

ice cube trays with lids, so the ice doesn't taste weird!

i knew immediately that this was what my mom needed. when we lived with my parents while dave was in graduate school we never used ice because it always tasted so gross coming out of the trays in their freezer. it was something she didn't have, something useful, something creative. i was so excited.

cut to the day after christmas. i accidentally had it shipped to our house so i wrapped it here and brought it with us to give to her a day late. i handed her the gift, feeling so excited, and turned around to sit down and watch her open it. as i did so, i looked into the kitchen and was reminded...

she got a new fridge a few years ago.

with an ice maker.

i was mortified. we had never had a fridge with water and ice in the door, not in my entire life! i had just completely forgotten about their new(ish) fridge. i wanted to grab it out of her hands before she could open it and see with her own eyes what a complete doofus i am. i begged her to let me keep it since our fridge doesn't have an ice maker and we could use it and i would get her something else, but she never did give it back to me.

i got a thank you note from my dad yesterday thanking us for the gifts, and this is what he said about it, after thanking me for the books i sent him:

And, of course there is also her new ice cube tray – what can I say.
It sure is something we didn’t have.

or need, might i add.

it was the perfect christmas gift...for 2007.

please tell me you've done something this stupid before? please?

golden globes 2012: best and worst

2012-01-15T21:03:00.004-07:00

my favorites:

i have no idea who this is on the left, but i am in love with her dress. also, navy blue!

kate beckinsale would look gorgeous in a sack. look at her GLOWING. don't love reese's hair.

love this color on sofia vergara but her hair is too limp. also, can't believe how perfectly stacy kiebler's dress matched the red carpet!

most modest:

this dress isn't doing amy poehler any favors, but look at how covered up she is!

most improved over the emmys:

i'm not a lover of purple, but this is much more age appropriate than ariel winter's emmy's peek-a-boo dress.

best back:

best hair:

her dress isn't my favorite but i love viola davis's hair:

worst....everything:

hair, dress, accessories....good heavens this was a bad choice.

worst hair:

i thought this picture on the left was hellen mirren and then realized i was off by about 40 years. why is kelly osbourne's hair WHITE? also, we get it tilda swinton. you're weird. your hair is weirder.

worst dresses:

oh sarah michelle. oh oh oh. it's so wrong. i love zooey deschanel. i do not love the green pixelated image on her dress. and that bump on the side of natalie portman's dress...what is that? because it just looks weird.

what did you think? who were your favorites?

my kind of sale.

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

navy blue dresses are on sale at shabby apple. that's my kind of sale.

shirt dress
phi beta kappa (my favorite)

favorite photo friday? 1/3/12

2012-01-13T09:06:00.001-07:00

i need a new series but i can't come up with anything clever.
what do you think? too much alliteration?
i'm still deciding, so i'll let you know.
but for now, friday will be dedicated to my favorite picture from that week
(or the previous week, in this case).
today it has nothing to do with the picture and everything to do with the subject:

dion's pizza with ham and green chile. ohhhhhh yeah. don't forget the ranch.

random thought thursday

2012-01-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

my mother-in-law sent me these cookie cutters for christmas.
my mind is spinning with all the things i want to use them for.
aren't they awesome?

******

i lost a blog follower yesterday.

i guess somebody didn't like my cute kids.

******

yesterday i drove to window rock to meet dave for lunch

so we could film a clip for jimmy fallon's

subs across america.

you should do one too, it was very funny.

but tape your sub shut before you throw it.

we have experience with what happens when you don't.

******

i got the cutest jammies for christmas

and now i want to wear them every night.

******

i wonder why i'm not a morning person?
i get more done in the first few hours of the day
than the entire rest of the day combined.

******

every night by about 8 o'clock

i am freezing.

like shivering, teeth-chattering kind of freezing,

and the only thing that helps is a boiling mug of hot chocolate.

seriously it has to be boiling to warm up my hands

and by the time i drink the whole thing, i'm warm again.

except my feet.

not even socks helps warm up my feet.

maybe i should pour some boiling hot chocolate on them?

******

in our living room we have brown couches,

a green and white end table,

a white book shelf/tv stand,

a black computer desk,

and a blonde wood filing cabinet.

i hate it. i hate it much.

******

zoe scratches my face a lot.

i currently have a doozy of a scratch on my left cheek

that i think might leave a scar.

don't babies stop doing that when they're, like, 6 weeks old?

******

dave gave me these earrings for christmas

and i wear them almost every day.

they're super cheap but i love how they look.

i want one in every color now.

******

dave might get to go to new york city in may for work!

how awesome would it be to have an all expenses paid trip to new york?

i hope jimmy fallon is still taping then so he can go.

he also gets to go to portland at the end of the month.

he hates traveling for work,

but if it were me i would live it up.

******

is it just me or is food WAY more expensive than it used to be?

******

isaac finished diary of a wimpy kid #5 last night.

that dude is on fire with reading these days.

if only i could get him interested in harry potter,

my life would be complete

and i could say i was a successful parent.

******

today i'm having lunch with friends,
separating the thousand dollars of meat i purchased into ziplocs for the freezer,
hopefully going to play group,
putting out my valentine's decorations,
and making a delicious dinner.
it's going to be a terrific thursday.

******

the cutest

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

last night the kids decided to use dad as a jungle gym.

things got a little wild, but while i was watching them

i couldn't help but think i have

the cutest little family in the world.

p.s. the yellow picture at the top?
that was taken with the flash.
the rest was light from one lamp. go figure.

duchess birthday

2012-01-10T18:51:00.003-07:00

happy birthday to the duchess of cambridge--my style icon.

and lynette! what a fun birthday to share.

i stink.

2012-01-09T09:00:00.002-07:00

friends,
we talked earlier about me trying to improve my photography.
i really, really need help.
i'm doing project 366 in which i take a picture of something every day.
it's not going well.
i don't have a fancy camera or any training
but also, i just don't have an eye for it.
i just take 20 pictures of the same thing in the hope that one of them will look good.
i have 6 pages in my scrapbook of my first visit to the tomb of the unknown soldier in 1989.
whereas most people taking pictures would take one and call it good,
i had seventeen pictures of the same thing...and i scrapbooked them all into my scrapbook.
granted i was 9, but that failing seems to have followed me into adulthood;
i have no internal editor when it comes to photos.

let's take a look at a photo that i actually spent quite a bit of time "styling".
if you've been reading the blog for a while you might actually remember this post.

most embarrassing, this was the best picture of the 6 i took.
so tell me how i can improve.
emilie suggested that when i'm photographing my kids, get down on their level to take the picture.
that's something i actually try to do most of the time already.
also, i try never to use the flash but if it's dark outside i use it because the lighting in our apartment is terrible.
so get down on the level of what you're shooting, use natural light.
what else?
if you have any other ideas, please let me know.
i could really use some help.

pillow pets

2012-01-08T21:31:00.003-07:00

i have a love-hate relationship with the monster of pillow pets. are they cute? absolutely. but they are mostly really stupid, and kind of gross. because you need to be able to use a pillow case on pillows for the most obvious of reasons: drool. washing a pillow pet is not as easy or convenient as a pillow case. they can be used as stuffed animals, but not really as a pillow, which my kids want.

a few months ago zoe was on a stuffed animal craze and whenever she saw one she'd pick it up, hug it, and carry it around with her. it was during just this phase that dave took all 3 kids to walmart. zoe happened upon a generic-brand pillow pet hippopotamus and carried it around for a few minutes. dave was so enchanted with the sweetness of his little girl hugging a stuffed hippo, having not seen her do that yet, that he couldn't resist buying it for her. of course by the time they got home she didn't care about it anymore, but we kept it in case she wanted to carry it around some more at a later date.

this hippo pillow pet...it is the ugliest, most horrific thing i have ever seen. with its tongue sticking out and pink eyes it looks like a dead zombie hippo. every time i see it i shudder a little.

so when i was downloading pictures from dave's phone and happened upon the pictures he tried to take in walmart, i knew they had to be shared.

dead hippo pillow pet.

score.

look alike

2012-01-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

dave came home from a young men's activity last month and said that somebody had mentioned to him that the new sister missionary in our ward looked a lot like me. after the ward christmas party an older gentlemen told me he thought we were twins. i still hadn't seen her so when i saw her at church the next day i talked to her about it, and she said she had heard the same thing from a few others. personally, i don't see it, so last night when we had them over for dinner i figured we might as well take a picture to compare. what do you think? (excuse my lack of make-up, i'm too lazy for that kind of hullaballoo these days).

heh heh heh.

just kidding.

it's the one on the left:

and a close-up:

what do you think? my long-lost twin?

random thought thursday

2012-01-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

loving the dots at banana republic today.

******

i have talents.

i know i do.

but there is a talent i wish i had that i simply do not possess:

the art of taking pictures.

look at the pictures on this post.

i would die to be able to do what lynette does so effortlessly.
i'm attempting project 366 this year in the hopes
that taking at least one picture every day will help a LITTLE.

******

it hit me that noah is starting kindergarten is 8 months.

all day kinder, friends.

i feel a strong push to teach him everything i want him to know

in a very short period of time.

time is moving so fast these days,

august will be here before i know it

and then he'll be in the clutches of school influence.

******

my book club read "the book thief" last month

(meeting tomorrow).

READ THAT BOOK RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.

it's a little odd and quirky, which i like,

but also heartbreaking.

no other word for it.

i came close to sobs by the end.

one of those books that literally made my chest ache.

but it's not just heartbreaking,

it's uplifting, too...
a side of WWII that i had never considered.

******

i did all my laundry at my sister's house last week.
it was painful paying for it again last night.

******

my elbow is itchy.

******

happy birthday to debbie!

******

zoe was the cutest, sweetest, happiest kid yesterday.
it was like a breath of fresh air for our family
after weeks and weeks of crying and whining.

******

yesterday in words with friends i played "quixote" for 66 points.
the next word i played was "bank"...for SEVENTY-TWO POINTS.
what? i do NOT understand the scoring of that game.

******

zoe just fell asleep on my lap as i was typing.

too bad i have to pick up noah in 10 minutes.

blerg.

******

a week off

2012-01-04T16:21:00.001-07:00

zoe got really sick (again) a few days before christmas. she had been sick since thanksgiving and had been on an antibiotic but some virus got a hold of her and we decided to cancel our trip to utah. i was so sad--pretty much the only thing that got me through christmas here was knowing i would be with my family afterwards--but didn't want to get anybody sick, so it was decided. december 26th dawned and dave woke me up with "how soon can you be ready to go?" he already had the week off and the kids were at each other's throats after being cooped up together for a week. so we said to heck with getting everybody sick and went anyway. we stayed in my sister's fancy new house, ate at our favorite restaurants, played with cousins, and read. it was a nice, relaxing week. my favorite day was the day we spent on byu campus in provo. i ran into three of my cousins--holly, kelli, and julie--mere hours before holly went into the missionary training center for her mission. i wish i had thought to take a picture, i haven't seen those girls in years. we went bowling in the wilk (even my new camera can't handle all the action of bowling):

we had snacks at the cougareat:

and had a tour at the bean museum. one of my sister's old missionary companions (katy) works there and was able to get some of the kids in to see the live animals (the bean museum is mostly stuffed animals--as in real animals that have been stuffed. the actual term escapes me at the moment, for some reason "acupuncture" is the only thing i can think of and i know that's not right), but they have some real animals too. we were too late to see the private show but did get to see the public one and the kids were able to pet a snake. score.

and we spent one morning at my brother's house watching the byu bowl game and gorging ourselves on trays of chick-fil-a strips and nuggets.

zoe really hates it when she has to share.

i got to meet my niece rebekah, hang with my siblings and their kids, and my parents. i saw sherlock holmes with my sisters, dave saw mission impossible and hung out with his brother greg and his family for one morning. zoe was sick enough that we took her back to her old pediatrician and got another antibiotic, which meant i couldn't go see my friend maude and her new baby. bummer. one cousin told isaac that his parents are santa (whaaat?) and taught him and noah the word "sexy" while another got noah into the habit of saying "oh my gosh" so many times i had to ban the phrase from our house altogether. zoe got her cousins sick and the cousins got isaac sick, and basically it was a fun-filled week of sickness-passing. i'm so glad we were able to go.

christmas day

2012-01-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

isaac woke up at 2:30 am christmas morning to see what santa had brought. he tried to wake up noah but thankfully noah didn't respond, so isaac went back to bed. noah came into our room around 7 that morning to tell us there was a bumblebee racetrack out there, so we came right out to see.

i have four total pictures of isaac from christmas morning but i can't post 2 ofthem because of lack of modesty on noah's part, but i promise he was there too.

noah's face is so expressive, i LOVE it on christmas morning.

the pantsless wonders. ugh.

after opening presents we got ready for church at 10. dave had to leave early to help the young men prepare the sacrament and we showed up right on time. it was a packed house (we combined with the other ward) and the program was fantastic. the kids were so restless and anxious to get back home, but i really enjoyed being at church on christmas.

i got tons of great stuff from my wishlist. dave got a kindle, which he didn't even open until 2 days ago, so we'll see if he actually enjoys his christmas present or not. heh. it was a nice relaxing day and a great time spent with our little family. how was your christmas? did you get everything on your wish list?

backtracking: christmas eve

2012-01-03T13:01:00.002-07:00

it snowed on the 23rd but being up so high makes the sun very hot, and the snow melts fast. we headed out in the late morning hours of christmas eve to try sledding on what was left of the snow. it was a surprising success, considering how little snow was left. the kids LOVED it.

once dad took his coat off, zoe's coat was a goner, but it really was too cold for her so after a few minutes of that, we had to head home.

i decided at the last minute to make a turkey with all the trimmings--my first completely solo effort--and we ate around 2 in the afternoon. it was pretty good, the turkey wasn't completely done in the middle, i only mashed one potato, and the stuffing was a little too moist. other than that, success.

then we made our christmas cookies with a red m&m inside. whoever gets the red m&m gets to open the family present! i was the last to choose a cookie and mine had the m&m, but i was literally too full to eat one bite of it, so i handed it off and let the kids open the present--connect 4 launchers. fun, by the way.

the kids had baths and opened christmas jammies early and then we spent the evening at my friend ashley's house eating delicious treats and talking while the kids played. we headed home for a quick reading of luke 2 and bedtime so santa could make his appearance.

a nerf gun, an air hog, and the only transformer i bought him this year: a t-shirt, for isaac. score.

bumblebee race track, playdough ice cream maker ("i didn't even wish for that, i don't want it") and a perry shirt for noah

a kitchen. zoe isn't totally sure about it yet but if one of us (or the boys) will play with her, she'll mix you up a mean skittle/m&m skillet.

2011 recap

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

a visit from my friend andrea and her kids
a trip to thanksgiving point's dinosaur museum
zoe started getting into the fridge...which she's still doing, a year later
our family wrote "books" for family home evening and zoe realized the joy of sitting on the table
zoe had her first ponytail
dave accepted a job in new mexico
we started using wireless internet for the first time. no seriously.

***

zoe started walking
we celebrated valentine's day with balloons and mickey bowls
i got my first--and, incidentally, my last--haircut of the year
isaac gave me a valentine that said "this picture is love". too sweet.
zoe really started in with the messes
dave went house hunting in gallup and found a house...with a jacuzzi in the living room.
a girl fell in love with isaac at church

***

my friend tori threw us an awesome going away party
zoe played in boxes while i packed...and packed...and packed
we celebrated zoe's first birthday
we sad good-bye to the beckmans
zoe hugged my mom for the first time
we moved
isaac started school in a new first grade class (mrs. decker!)
the in-laws came to visit
i turned 31
we finished reading the book of mormon with isaac

***

we made our first trip to albuquerque to hang with my sister
we visited dave's office and the "window rock" in window rock, az
we celebrated easter with my sister
i went to france and spent a day in normandy, a day at disneyland paris, two days in paris, and a day at versailles.
i broke my camera again...for the last time.

***

we celerated mother's day
isaac turned 7
the last day of school for isaac

***

i was called to be primary president in my ward
we celebrated father's day
zoe became a pro at helping me with dishes
dave took noah on his first camping trip
summer days spent at the park
summer mornings spent at mommy school
dave read transformer books over and over and over

***

isaac caught his first lizard
my wallet got stolen
we celebrated the funnest 4th of july with friends and lots of illegal fireworks
we spent a week in albuquerque and went to the zoo, aquarium, and ate lots of delish food
we discovered the joy of gallup summers and zoe discovered monsoons

***

our family participated in a day of service and helped bag plums at the local food pantry
dave took the boys camping and some friends took them on their razor
we celebrated our 10th anniversary in boston
isaac started 2nd grade
noah started preschool

***

we spent a day at the children's museum in albuquerque
noah turned 5 and had his first "friend" party--transformers, of course
isaac continued catching lizards and spent all free time in that occupation
zoe turned 18 months and started going to nursery at church

***

we loved all the yellow wildflowers that covered every inch of gallup's free space after monsoon season
annual pumpkin carving
halloween in gallup: isaac (luigi), noah (mario) and zoe (princess peach)

***

i don't have a single picture from november but i spent a month being grateful on my blog
we spent a fantastic thanksgiving at my sister's house in st. george, utah (and her in-laws too).
my niece got engaged
we had family pictures taken. oh! i guess that means i DO have pictures from november.

***

we got our first real christmas tree (and have a carpet of pine needles to prove it)
we celebrated dave's 34th birthday with a delicious steak dinner and green chile stew
we attempted an advent activity for every day for a week until i burned out
my boys did snow angels...on the rocks
play groups with friends
sledding on christmas eve (and no, dave is not wearing a coat. the gall).
a fun-filled week in utah that included bowling in the wilk and playing with cousins
isaac lost his second top tooth in a fruit snack at my sister's house

***

whew! it was a busy year full of milestones and laughs. thanks for sharing 2011 with me. i hope your 2012 is merry and bright!

2011 year in review

2012-01-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? got a stamp in my passport.
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? i didn't make any, so no, and maybe.
Did anyone close to you give birth? my sister ellen, my sisters-in-law misty, jenny, lindsay, and jessica, my friend maude
Did anyone close to you die? no.
What countries did you visit? the united states of america and FRANCE. also i flew over england and ireland and either iceland or greenland, who knows which.
What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? only one house payment
What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
march 17 - the day we moved
april 25 - walking in paris for the first time
august 18 - our 10th anniversary
What was your biggest achievement of the year? my first year as primary president
What was your biggest failure? my first year as primary president
Did you suffer illness or injury? does a sprained ankle count?
What was the best thing you bought? blake's lotaburger--often
Whose behavior merited celebration? kate middleton and prince william
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? zoe
Where did most of your money go? house payments, car payment, phone/internet bill, student loans, a trip to france, gas....ummm, bills.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? my trip to france and our 10th anniversary trip to boston.
What song will always remind you of 2011? "mean" by taylor swift
Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? fatter
c) richer or poorer? poorer
What do you wish you’d done more of? reading good books
What do you wish you’d done less of? facebook
How did you spend Christmas? at our house with our cute little family, then a week in utah
Did you fall in love in 2011? i was already in love when it started.
What was your favorite TV program? happy endings
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? who hates people? i mean really.
What was the best book you read? these is my words
What was your greatest musical discovery? mindy gledhill
What did you want and get? a higher income
What did you want and not get? the sale of our condo
What was your favorite film of this year? the help or harry potter 7 part 2
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? i turned 31 the day after we moved to gallup. i spent most of the day crying and then dave brought me a baskin robbins ice cream cake and i was happy. food does that to me.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? selling our condo and being able to rent a house
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? dresses and scarves
What kept you sane? amazon.com
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? kate middleton
What political issue stirred you the most? mitt romney for president!!
Who did you miss? emilie and maude and my utah family
Who was the best new person you met? there are too many to name--ashley, sarah, carli, megan, mikelle, racheal, rachael, karina, mary...i could seriously name like 20 more.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. home isn't necessarily where you thought it was.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

sung to clearfield, utah:
...for me, it isn't over yet.
Nevermind I will find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too
Don't forget me, I begged...

Nothing compares, no worries, or cares,
Regrets and mistakes they're memories made
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?
(someone like you, adele)

how was your 2011?

see previous years in review: 2010, 2009

what i believe: Christmas

2011-12-25T19:48:00.002-07:00

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inns. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2: 7-11, 13-14

question of the week: favorite christmas movie

2011-12-23T09:11:00.001-07:00

what's your favorite christmas movie?

******

i have a whole list of movies i love to watch at christmas, and most of them are probably the same as yours--

christmas vacation
a christmas story
it's a wonderful life
little women
home alone
elf

--but one of those stands out as my favorite: it's a wonderful life.

dave asked for the dvd copy for his birthday because we always watch it on tv and 4 hours is too long to watch a 2 hour movie. we watched it last night and i was struck again by how good it is. there are some seriously funny lines, like "hey, brainless" when george is talking to mary in the soda shop, or when he tells his mom he's going to go find a girl and do some "passionate necking." and so many others. but the reality of the story is what i love so much about it. most of the time, people don't really live out their dreams. most people are completely ordinary. but each of us can touch other peoples lives in an extraordinary way, even if we feel totally ordinary. while george never became an explorer, an adventurer, or a builder of big things, he did make life better for the people he interacted with. that's really all i want; to make life better for my husband, my kids, our family and friends. when those people come pouring into his house with all their hard-earned money at the end, i lose it every time.

******

so tell me, what's your favorite christmas movie? why?

random thought thursday

2011-12-21T23:19:00.001-07:00

yesterday we went to my cute friend ashley's house
to make and decorate gingerbread cookies.
zoe had a terrible time
but everybody else had loads of fun,
and the cookies were the best gingerbread cookies i've ever had.
thanks ashley!

******

i am so thrilled to be getting all of your christmas cards.
thank you, SO MUCH, to all of you who have sent them.
ours is coming but it will probably be a new years card.
or maybe st. patrick's day.

******

two nights ago noah wet his bed.
i removed the top layer of bedding.
last night he wet his bed again...
and then MY bed.
and he was on top of the comforter,
so it went through about 6 layers,
all the way to the mattress.
darn my deep sleeping!
i don't let him in my bed for this very reason
but i never even knew he was there
until 4:00 am.
spent several hours at the laundromat to remedy the situation.
i just wish there was a way to clean my mattress.

******

it's snowing like crazy today.
i LOVE snow before christmas!

******

have you heard michael buble's new christmas album?
you should get it. it's awesome.

******

zoe started saying her own name yesterday.
i thought her singing was the cutest thing ever but i was wrong.
hearing "zo-weee" over and over is the cutest thing ever.

******

last night almost my entire family
went to the roof in salt lake for dinner.
today is the aunts lunch at pf chang's.
i hate missing family traditions,
especially when they involve delicious food.

******

there are so many movies i'm excited to see:
the hobbit
hunger games
sherlock holmes
mission: impossible 4
(side note: i saw mission impossible 3 on a date...NOT with dave.
can't believe the franchise has lasted this long.)

******

did anybody notice that i actually have pictures of my kids on this post?
in non-blurry photos?
santa came early and i am SOOOO excited.
i will NOT be dropping this camera.

******

it's back!

2011-12-21T23:18:00.002-07:00

maybe you didn't notice, maybe you did, but this blog didn't exist for about 12 hours today. it sent me into a tailspin panic and grouchy mood for the entire day. i no longer keep a personal journal, i rely on this blog for all of that, and i haven't backed it up or had it printed since i started it more than 4 years ago. i was sick, literally sick to my stomach and so worried that i had lost it all. and then tonight, there it was, back again. and dave said "what did we learn from this?" and i thought "to get pictures printed and write a real journal" but he said "start saving to have the blog printed into a book."

yes. i like that idea.

and also, maybe a move to wordpress.

christmas dress - for me

2011-12-19T15:01:00.003-07:00

if i was buying a christmas dress this year,

these would be on the short list.

with a red cardigan...i would DIE.

if only i could pull off a sweater dress

love the bright color

with a tank and cardigan--the perfect comfy dress

polka dots complete me.

if this was navy blue, i would buy it right this very second, bills be darned.

you have to see this on the model. gorgeous.

are you buying?

dotted dress
sweater dress
red dress
jardin dress
dots with sleeves dress
black with belt
black maxi with sleeves

slinger sunday

2011-12-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

15 years ago today dave entered the missionary training center in provo, utah to prepare for his 2 year mission to st. louis, missouri. in honor of that date he makes slingers. what are slingers? here's a reminder. a popular food in missouri (and perhaps other places in the midwest?). today he went all out with homemade chili in the crockpot and i can't believe how much better they tasted. while slingers are not my favorite food, i love a tradition. do you have any goofy traditions?

sorry, too lazy to post pictures. maybe i'll add them tomorrow.

funny things kids say

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

opera was playing in the background while noah and isaac were playing wii.

noah: "did you hear that girl song, isaac?"

isaac: "yeah."

dave: "did you like that girl song, noah?"

noah: "no, i didn't like it at all."

me: "but it was so pretty!"

isaac: "boys don't like pretty things, mom. they don't like pretty things at all."

******

we were reading the story of Christ's crucifixion in the book of luke when isaac goes,

"dad? i have a question."
"yes, isaac?"
"how do our fingernails stick in our fingers?"

profound insight into the Gospel, son.

******

i was listening to robyn's "call your girlfriend" and isaac said,

"is that lady gaga?"
and i laughed because how does he know lady gaga? and then noah said
"gaga? what's lady gaga?" laughing hysterically.
because gaga is what babies say.

******

we were watching rio and when the plane first flies into rio de janeiro noah saw the statue of Jesus and said,

"it's the Jesus of liberty!"

******

last night isaac was saying our family prayer and right before he started noah said "but mo-ooom, i was counting my centipede's legs!" when i asked him to wait 'til after the prayer, we all bowed our heads and then isaac closed his eyes and said,

"1...2..." instead of starting the prayer. we laughed and laughed and then nobody could say the prayer after that because we were laughing so hard. i guess noah's counting suggestion really stuck in his mind.

******

zoe is talking like crazy but only in a language i know.

thank you = tank
binky = beeky beeky
mine = my
no = NO!!!!!...all. day. long.
twinkle twinkle little star = teekateekateekateeka
happy birthday to you = happy to you, happy to you
mama = mama
dada = mama
isaac = ikeee
juice = shoos
shoes = shoos
snack = shoos
yes = dee or da

she has also started singing and it might be the sweetest thing she has ever done. i love it.

******

also, those PICTURES. i can't get enough. holla to sarahlove photography, right?

random thought thursday

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

i love this vintage christmas card.
i wish i had that girl's outfit.
also i want to print this and frame it at christmastime.
also, i want to send it out to everybody.
it's just the cutest card ever.

******

a clean kitchen

is very important to me.

******

monday was my last day of work.

if anybody is hiring

for a mom to stay home

and work whenever she feels like it

for a lot of money,

give me a ring.

******

i have never in my entire life been as busy

as i have been the past few weeks.

it's rough for a lazy person to be super busy,

i'll tell ya.

******

zoe started having tantrums
and saying "mine, mine!"
on monday when anyone came near her stuff
and it's getting worse every day.
nice that i can pinpoint the day the tantrums started.
looking forward to when she's 4 and this is over.

******

primary is in charge of decorating
for relief society's activity this saturday.
we were told to prepare for 20 tables (tablecloths, centerpieces)
and there are 32 tables set up.
i hope people don't mind eating on bare, ugly tables.

******

hiding christmas presents is tricky in an apartment,
so most of ours are in our storage unit.
the gates close at 8 pm.
somebody PLEASE remind me to get them out of storage
before 8 pm on christmas eve.

******

every one in a while, our van doesn't start.
it's not the battery, because everything that uses the battery works,
the car just won't start.
it's happened 3 or 4 times since we bought it.
today it happened twice.
prayers might not work anymore...it's probably time to take it to a shop.

******

the jim carrey animated version of a christmas carol?
NOT a children's movie, fyi.
it is sooo loud and scary and creepy.

******

my kids' christmas lists change every day.
too bad i already have most of their gifts.
i hope they're well adjusted enough not to be disappointed.

******

i HATE the images on pinterest
with a super hot chick that say something like
"nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels."
shut up.
first of all, that's not true.
i've been skinny and i've eaten really good food,
so i know.
second of all, can't people just keep those pins to themselves?
because i don't want to see them.

******

Fall 2011 TV - by david foley

2011-12-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

I realize that I watch way too much television and that as far as hobbies go my hobby of television viewing is quite shallow. There is a place for entertainment and diversion but I have probably gone a bit overboard. Fortunately for me there haven't been any new shows this year that I love so I hope I can begin whittling them down soon. I have included the following chart to illustrate:

The last time there was a season in which I didn't love any new show was 2002. This year New Girl, Suburgatory, Up All Night, and Grimm may end up as a favorite but I'm not too optimistic. For me, I think TV is dying.

I had planned to do some great post about all the shows I've been watching this year until I realized that it's no fun reading reviews from TV critics. There was a critic that I regularly read who is insightful, well spoken, and likes many of the same shows that I like. But nothing he writes helps me enjoy the shows I watch any more than I already do. I think where critics might be helpful is in their suggestions of shows to watch. So I'll simply rank the shows that I watch, with a brief comment after some, and recommend that you all check out the top 10.

24. Terra Nova: trying to be too much all at once
23. Last Man Standing: After the pilot the producers said "Screw it. Let's just redo Home Improvement."
22. Man Up : I believe it is already cancelled. They had one really good supporting character.
21. How I Met Your Mother: Just show us the mother and call it a series.
20. Once Upon A Time: A little cheesy for my taste. I guess I like Sci-Fi more than Fantasy.
19. Person of Interest: Reese must have grown up watching the A-team because nobody shoots at more people without actually killing them. By next season I hope every criminal is wearing bullet proof vests on their knees.
18. Suburgatory
17. Up All Night16. New Girl: has funny highs, but lots of dud jokes too. Once they figure out what to do with the dudes it will be better.
15. Grimm: even if you don't like the premise you could watch just for the colors.
14. Chopped: my summer obsession. What I've learned so far is that you should never use truffel oil, desserts shouldn't really be sweet, mascarpone goes with everything.
13. Castle: I've mostly watched out of the corner of my eye as I work on my NFL algorithm. It's lost some appeal for me but I'm not sure why.
12. Parenthood11. Chuck: Last week's episode was the first that felt like Chuck since they returned. I suspect this will move up the ratings because they do finales typically better than everyone.
10. The Amazing Race: I really wanted Bill and Kathy to win, and once I turned on Cindy for whining for the snowboarders to let them win a leg of the race I knew she would win. Also, I really love football, but Marcus' never ending football analagies almost made me want to stop watching.
9. The Office: Probably doesn't deserve to be ranked this high. I love the Nard dog, I own a shirt with his catch phrase, but something's missing.
8. Psych: The scene when they apprehend the murderer to the dulcet sounds of Kenny G is easily a top 5 scene of the season.
7. Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs
6. The Middle: I think we've documented the similarities between the Heck's and the Foley's. We can relate to almost every episode. I think it's a pretty accurate portrayal of the lower middle class. Also, their Christmas episode did an excellent job of addressing religion and faith without insulting either side.
5. Modern Family: For me, I think they've plateaued. Their characters are starting to feel one note. Although Phil getting tasered was pretty good.
4. Happy Endings: The only scene from the fall that I replayed instantly ( 4-5 times really) came from this show. If something gives me an asthma attack I know it's good.
3. Parks & Recreation
2. Fringe: I loved the chemistry and rhthym they created at the end of last season. This season seems out of balance (and I believe it's intentional), but if they can't recapture what they had, the show might slip for me.
1. Community : At the risk of sounding like a complete dork, I have pretty regular dreams that I'm a student at Greendale. My second favorite scene of the season may have been this one:

Yet to premiere this season and haven't been ranked: Southland, 30 Rock, Breaking In, Cougartown, White Collar, Alcatraz (new), and Touch (new).

Please give Community a chance. It's on the chopping block but is probably the most creative show on TV. You never know what you'll get week to week style-wise (musical, documentary, multiple time lines) but the characters are always true to themselves. The cast is great and after 2 and a quarter seasons is really clicking. In 2 years people will fall in love with this show on Netflix or Hulu and be disappointed that there were only 3 seasons. Even if you think it's too weird, just turn it on at 8/7 central so its ratings will be high enough to keep it on the air. If Chuck can live to see 5 seasons, certainly Community deserves 6 seasons and a movie.

emily-edit: you can tweet to @nbc with the hashtag #savecommunity even if you don't like the show, just for the sake of dave's awesome community blogs.

advent - week 1

2011-12-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

we were slow to start but here's how our first week of advent activities went.

day 1 - read christmas stories

day 2 - make christmas sugar cookies and decorate

i had dave get my magic kitchenaid out of storage specifically for this activity. if only he had also found a dishwasher and maid in storage as well. it took two full hours of clean up time. but the kids were crazy for it and the boys kept saying "this is the best day EVER!" and "i love you mom!" over and over.

day 3 - surprise snowball fight

dave came home to this note on the door that said "you are under attack starting now!" along with a bag full of "snowballs" (crumpled up papers). there had to be rules; dave lives and dies by rules. the execution was a little less than stellar (the kids attacked before he had a chance to set his stuff down and it was over within about 30 seconds) but it was a fun idea.

day 4 - elf yourself

elf yourself may be overdone, but my kids loved it.

day 5 - buy our first real tree and decorate it

isaac picked out the perfect tree.

noah and zoe loved watching the lady cut off the bottom and trim the branches.

i loved seeing it strapped to the top of the car. felt so christmassy.

hurray for car shopping carts at home depot.

the finished product:

the leaning tree of foley:

day 6 -- open this year's new ornaments

noah had his buzz and woody ornament for all of 10 minutes before he dropped it (twice) and broke it beyond repair.

***

and now i want to put the advent calendar away and be done!
sooo much work, so little appreciation.
what are you doing to get ready for christmas?

random thought thursday: david foley edition

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

david foley's favorite color

is blue.

******

david foley knows more about the tv show lost than any person alive
(outside of damon lindelof and carlton cuse).
before the final season,

this was dave's favorite moment of the series.

i don't know if that's still true.

i think my favorite lost post he ever did was his character map.
that thing was fantastic, and if you ever want to watch lost and haven't before,
use that map as a guide.
he also watched the entire series for the sole purpose
of creating a map of the island.
in the process, he discovered several errors on the writers parts
in terms of how long it took to get places
and which direction the characters should have walked to get there.

******

david foley loves
the tv show cheers.

******

david foley is an excellent writer
and a great speaker.
he has a very logical mind
and loves numbers and statistics.
he created his own algorithm to predict outcomes
of high school football games in utah
and is right far more often than he's wrong.

******

david foley never forgets a face.
he recognizes people in commercials and on tv shows or movies
and can instantly tell you where you know him or her from.
for instance, the best buy commercial with the girl
who fills her own stockings and then rubs it in santa's face?
that's tom haverford's ex-wife (from parks & rec).
betcha didn't know that.

******

david foley loves
caffeinated beverages.

******

david foley is super funny
but is mostly quiet in public.
he has a lot of interesting things to say,
and i don't think most people know that about him.

******

david foley has been a san francisco 49ers superfan since he was a small boy.

he is very excited about the excellent season they're having

but wishes they were on tv more often.

******

david foley is 34 today.

happy birthday, love.

i love it when you're

three years older than me again.

i also love YOU.

can't wait for our date.

******

christmas dress - for her

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

i'm not buying this year but looking is ~~just as fun~~ a nice substitute.

crewcuts gap

gymboree kayce hughes

olive juice old navy

janie & jack (my favorite)

they've done it again

2011-12-06T09:45:00.001-07:00

check out the foster family's newest christmas video:

Jingle Bells - Christmas Video Greeting 2011 from Jared Foster on Vimeo.

i posted about their "i'm dreaming of a white christmas" a few years ago. they're both amazing. mostly i'm stunned at how gorgeous the mom is, and how willing the whole family is to participate. i could never get dave to do something like that in a hundred million years...and in the end i'd probably be too embarrassed myself.

also. i just love the title of her blog: melancholy smile. she says "I'm finding joy in life despite a gloomy disposition." now that's what i call awesome. working hard to be happy even when it's not in her general temperament. perhaps i could learn a lesson or two from her!

would you ever do a video like this?

snapshots - 12.05.12

2011-12-05T20:20:00.001-07:00

this was our day. how was yours?

waking up from a nap

while i was putting up decorations, zoe was helping herself to some cake

she did a nice cutting job

noah peeking at today's advent activity

the stockings were hung...on the wall...with care

brrr

laundry day

homework

catching snowflakes


maneuvering in boots, an accomplishment for a woman at any age

random thought thursday

2011-12-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

it's december!

i'm dying to put up my christmas decorations.

we're getting a real tree this year

for the first time ever

so we'll probably wait.

if we get it this early i'm sure to kill it.

(image)

******

isaac was up most of the night coughing

so i kept him home from school.

he hasn't coughed once in the past hour.

******

the incredibles is super clever.

******

dave went to walmart with my brother-in-law jared

and jared's brother-in-law trent at 10 pm on thanksgiving.

dave headed to the play kitchen that was on sale.

there were women surrounding the pallet

with their bodies pressed up against the kitchens.

one woman said, "these are ours, we've been waiting for 2 hours.

get the hell outta here."

such wonderful thanksgiving and christmas spirit.

jared called ellen and said "i just want to leave, people are literally crazy here."

i HATE black friday.

******

i prefer mac concealer

to laura mercier.

lm is too dry.

******

dave has the only keys

to our storage unit and our mail box.

we haven't gotten the mail since before thanksgiving

and i need lots of stuff out of storage.

perhaps we should switch keys?

i would say yes but i used to have copies of both...

and lost them.

******

i still don't have a cell phone.

it's very annoying.

(zoe microwaved it.)

******

i hate washing my hands.

******

gratitude: good days

2011-11-30T20:20:00.001-07:00

today i am the WORST. and so today i'm grateful that i'm not always the worst.

also, i'm so grateful for nautical themed items. they make me so happy. i'll leave you with my nautical board from pinterest. i look at it every day. the next time i have some sort of party, you betcherbooties it's going to be nautical.

cannot get over those shutters. they are fantastic.

and thus ends my thirty thankful days (thank goodness. that was a lot of gratitude for one blog).

it's strange how it hits you.

2011-11-29T11:41:00.001-07:00

today i really miss utah. i miss running to the mall several times a week for cheese popcorn, chick-fil-a, and a peek at santa (noah was too scared to do anything but peek). i miss stopping in at crazy 8 for a cute skirt and tights for zoe on a crazy sale. i miss looking in the windows at the christmas dresses and vests. i miss going to target every few days for stocking stuffers and a look at the christmas decorations. i miss maude and her boys playing with mine. i miss having a grocery store right across the street with forty-seven cent cherry coke on tap. i miss sunday dinners with my family. i miss decorating our balcony with christmas lights. i miss our 9 foot ceilings that our tree almost didn't fit under. i miss our fireplace and mantle. i don't know how to do christmas in gallup. i guess it's time to figure it out.

today i'm grateful for memories, and specifically those i've posted about on my blog. as i was searching through my blog for these pictures today, i ran across so many posts of mundane things in my life that i never would have remembered. i had completely forgotten about this twilight party i threw; about zoe learning to crawl exactly one year ago tomorrow; about isaac being sweet to noah; about noah helping in the kitchen; isaac pretending to be cinderella; noah freaking out because he wanted more smarties; so many memories that i can look back on and smile about. i'm grateful that i have these memories in my mind and online to help me remember.

big news!

2011-11-28T12:20:00.001-07:00

my niece summer got engaged over the weekend. i am so excited for her! and really excited that i live in new mexico so i can go to her albuquerque reception, and maybe even help with some of the plans and preparation so my sister doesn't have a nervous breakdown planning a wedding in less than 3 months. i love weddings. now if i could just reconcile the image of the baby girl in my mind...

me & summer in my backyard on her first birthday

...with this girl, we'll be all set.

summer holding her cousin (my niece) rebekah this summer

CONGRATULATIONS, SUMMER & TYLER!!!

i feel like i should add...she is not pregnant. that last picture has nothing to do with her getting married, except that now she's a gorgeous grown-up and not a baby playing with the hose.

today i feel grateful that i get to be a stay-at-home mom. isaac has a wicked cough. he could absolutely go to school, but how miserable is it to go sit through school coughing all day long (for you and everybody around you)? i'm grateful we made the choice and sacrifice for me to stay home with my kids each day. i'm so glad they feel safe and happy at home and would choose to be here over almost anywhere else. i hate the feeling of knowing i have to go to work on monday and i'm so glad i don't have to feel that during these years that i get to be home with my kids.

gratitude: zoe's room

2011-11-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

sleeping in the same room/bed with zoe for 4 nights is not conducive to sleep. that poor girl is the most restless sleeper i have ever known. i can't be sure if she always sleeps that way or if it's just when we sleep in the same room with her, but she was awake so much that dave ended up sleeping on the floor and me on the couch in the other room just so we could get some sleep. so today, i'm very grateful that zoe has her own room, and that she's sleeping in it right now. g'night.

(photo by sharon)

gratitude: sisters

2011-11-25T21:16:00.001-07:00

today i'm thankful for my sisters. my sister alice who has hosted us in her home so graciously so many times since we moved to new mexico. my sister ellen who has hosted us the past few days for thanksgiving. my sister sara who has offered to host us around christmastime. for their friendship and advice, their stylishness and senses of humor. we never run out of things to talk about when we're together. whether it's trivial (what should i do with my hair?) or serious (how am i going to help noah make good choices when he already says he doesn't want to be baptized?), they have good advice and helpful, kind words for me. we laugh like crazy every time we get together. my sister sara drove 5 hours today just to hang out with me and ellen before i have to go home tomorrow. everybody should have a sister and if they don't, they should get a really great sister-in-law. i have 6 of those, too. i was lucky enough to see my sister-in-law jessica (and brother-in-law greg, who is also awesome, but we're talking about sisters here) as well today; she is funny and insightful and has the cutest little girls. it reminded me that my family is full of really great women. i am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing sisters.

gratitude: family and friends

2011-11-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

today i'm thankful for my family. we're staying with my sister and ate two delicious dinners at her in-laws house. they have shown us so much hospitality and we feel so welcome. last night the huddlestons all came to my sister's house and we played games for hours. i had forgotten how much playing games in a big group can be. i am so blessed to have a big awesome family, and even more "family" by extension--my siblings in-laws, my husbands entire family, my cousins and aunts and uncles. for my sweet new niece grace that feels light as a feather (especially after holding zoe).

i'm also thankful for my friends. all of you who read this blog, all of the people in my ward at church, all of the people i'm friends with on facebook, my sweet neighbor mary, our friends from the boys' school and soccer teams, the friends i meet at the park. there is something so comforting in shared experiences with other women (and men); someone to talk to and relate with; someone with which to share recipes and have parties and laugh. i'm grateful for the many people in my life who bless it just by being in it.

gratitude: emilie

2011-11-22T22:11:00.001-07:00

today i'm grateful for my best friend emilie. emilie and i knew each other in person a very short time before she moved to the east coast. i was so sad to lose such a good friend and figured we'd keep in touch through blogs but that was about it. i'm not great at calling people and definitely don't visit. but then emilie called me to tell me about this crazy pigeon living in her apartment stairwell. we laughed and talked for hours, and we've never gone back. we talk almost every day. she can make me laugh like nobody else. she is constantly doing things for me, from making my "thankful thirty days" header to sending my kids halloween costumes. she has great advice when i need it. she is exactly what a best friend should be; when i need to talk trash, i know i can count on her to listen and not judge. when i need to cry i know she's available for me. i mean, she threw me a baby shower for zoe from 2000 miles away! i'm so grateful to have a friend like her. every time i see something on pinterest that she's made or done for her year of fhe blog, repinned by a stranger i want to comment and be like, "dude! that famous chick that made that? she's my best friend." she is smart and funny and has lived an amazing life. over the past few years she has become like a sister to me--and i have 3 sisters already. i am one lucky girl. i'm grateful just to know her, but so grateful to call her a friend. i'm grateful for emilie.

* Eye patch explanation here.

gratitude: isaac

2011-11-21T09:14:00.001-07:00

isaac's second grade picture; he chose those sweet blue flames for his background all by himself.

i'm thankful for isaac. he made me a mother when it was what i wanted so badly. we had a rough patch while he was 3 but other than that, he has really been an awesome kid. isaac is 7 1/2 and this has never been my favorite age with kids; i was a little worried about my kids getting to this stage. i worried for nothing, because i love it. he is smart and funny. he has terrible handwriting. he is kind to his siblings and helpful around the house.

soccer picture - team elite laundry, fall 2011

he didn't love playing soccer until he discovered defense. for some reason he's not proactive about going after the ball unless it's coming towards his net. even against the big kids--his team had two kids that were literally half his size, while every other team had rather large boys--he had no fear. he would just charge them down and kick the ball away, and then do fist pumps and cheer for himself. while the ball was over on the other side, he would search for grasshoppers, dance, and daydream. at parent-teacher conferences his teacher said he gets distracted fairly easily, but not by things in the classroom...by his own mind. he wants to be an astronaut, a brain surgeon, a scientist, an inventor, and a movie producer. he and his best friend at school, brock, catch lizards every recess. he still wants me to lay by him every night. when he was a newborn dave blessed him that he would have "a special love for his mother" and i see that in him every day. he is so sweet to me. i am so grateful for isaac.

gratitude: strength (and pinterest)

2011-11-20T18:17:00.001-07:00

today i'm thankful for those who show up. those who commit to something and then actually follow through. i appreciate those with a strong character that can admit when they're wrong. i appreciate people with integrity and honesty. basically, i'm thankful for strong people. i admire them so much and want to be like them. it's nice to have somebody to look up to and try to emulate. i am so grateful for those that don't take the easy way out.

i missed yesterday so i'll also add: i'm thankful for pinterest. i used this as my outfit inspiration today. somehow it wasn't as cute on me as it was on her--possibly because i weigh 150 pounds more than her?--but it's always nice to have a new outfit that's not new at all, just a new combination of what's already in my closet. there are so many ways to use pinterest and even just looking at the header of the page makes me happy. it may be a time-waster but i don't care. i'm grateful for pinterest.

. : something i love : .

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

jimmy fallon.

seriously, he is one of the most talented, funny, and nice men i've ever seen.

he is friends with everybody. he seriously is. he's not just acquainted with some people. he is friends with everyone! if you're not watching his show, you should be. one of my life list items used to be to see oprah live. cross that out. now it's jimmy. he is fantastic! instead of doing lame stories and jokes with guests, he talks to them for a few minutes and then plays games with them--beer pong, basketball, shooting bows and arrows at each other, you name it. he is perfectly suited for his job. also, the roots (the band on his show). i don't know much about them except that i've never seen a more talented group of men. i mean, have you seen the history of rap? no? watch it right now.

history of rap part 1:

history of rap part 2:

history of rap part 3:

the talent is undeniable! i'm so glad dave got me to start watching jimmy fallon. you should be too!

p.s. it's on too late for me, i watch it on hulu when i have time.

i'm grateful for washers and dryers. even though i don't have one in my own home and have to pay to do my laundry, at least i'm not washing them by hand and hanging them out to dry in the frigid temperatures. when our complex laundry room was shut down for a few weeks it was one of the hardest things of my entire experience here--which sounds ridiculous, i know, but true. so i'm extremely grateful to have a washer and dryer close.

random thought thursday

2011-11-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

if you haven't seen the preview for hunger games yet,
please watch it right now.
if you have seen the preview,
please watch it right now.

******

have you ever read

the black cauldron series

by lloyd alexander?

it was one of my favorites growing up

and i got the first book for isaac at the library yesterday.

now i'm wondering if it's too dark for a 7-year-old?

******

i want a new camera

for christmas.

******

emilie says the reviews for the kindle fire are terrible.

it's so disappointing!

it's like an affordable ipad,

and it's not like amazon to put out a shoddy product.

bummer.

******

my friend maude had a baby GIRL yesterday!

this is huge, especially after 4 boys.

they named her naomi.

LOVE it.

******

isaac lost tooth #5 yesterday,

his first top tooth!

it's been loose for weeks,

just hanging at an odd angle and freaking me out.

then noah jumped on his face yesterday

and out it popped!

sadly, the tooth fairy forgot to come.

AGAIN.

we are the worst.

******

zoe has started noticing the moon

when we drop the boys off at school.

she goes, "oh, moooooo!!!"

at the top of her lungs.

it's the cutest.

******

dinner was GOOD.

******

isaac went on a field trip yesterday

to see the national christmas tree

that they'll put up at the white house this year.

he even got to sign his name on the truck that's taking it.

it's making its way from california to DC

and made a stop in gallup.

******

i'm thankful for lamps. i hate using big overhead lights; they're too bright and too hot when you're just trying to watch tv or hang out and read or something at night. so i'm grateful for lamps. not only can they be a super cute addition to a room, they also serve a very appreciated function.

(lamp image from pottery barn)

the case of the missing silverware

2011-11-16T09:08:00.001-07:00

riends. my silverware is missing.

i've had the same silverware since i was a 19-year-old college sophomore. my mom bought me service for 8, along with two extra boxes of matching spoons because you always need more spoons. this silverware has lasted me through 6 moves and a thieving roommate (don't worry, it's none of you roommates reading this, unless you ARE reading this genevieve, and in that case, i want my tupperware back).

since our most recent move, my silverware has slowly been disappearing. i know i have thrown away one fork due to an unfortunate encounter with the garbage disposal, but the spoons, friends, the spoons! where are the spoons? and the small forks? i have 6 normal size forks. i had 8 small forks when we moved here, and now i have 2. TWO. i had about 11 or 12 spoons when we moved...and now? we're down to one. i have ONE SPOON. this just won't do, friends. we use lots of spoons in this household, what with all the yogurt and cereal consumption that happens, not to mention my fall obsession with soup for dinner. i've looked for more matching silverware because mismatched silverware kills a piece of my soul, horcrux-style, but it is $26 for 4 spoons, so that's not happening.

i do have another set of silverware that i got for my wedding, my "nice" silverware that we save for sundays and special occasions, and now i'm being forced to use my nice silverware on non-special occasions and it's killing me. KILLING ME. (apparently when i'm upset i repeat myself a lot.) special things don't belong on regular days. also, the small forks aren't small enough for zoe, so, there's that. i just want my silverware back, is that too much to ask?

we do have plenty of knives though, so, if you ever need to spread butter on a piece of bread, i'm your girl.

i'm thankful for the internet. i grew up without the internet and i imagine my kids will look at me with eyes wide open and say "you didn't have the INTERNET when you were a kid??" the way i do with my parents and television or my grandparents and cars. the internet is a very necessary part of my daily existence and i'm grateful for how it has allowed me to keep in touch with old friends, earn money to help support my family, find a way to make you all listen to my weird ramblings, look up a definition, watch a funny video, research interesting topics, purchase anything i could ever want, and on and on and on. the internet is amazing. i remember reading an article in time magazine in 7th grade about something called "email" and having to present it to the class and having no clue what it meant...and now i can't imagine life without email. i'm so grateful for the internet.

pan am

2011-11-15T12:24:00.001-07:00

the new series pan am has me intrigued. it's not necessarily a great show, but i can't seem to stop watching it. i love most of the characters (especially the french stewardess) and the pilots. the storylines are interesting, if far-fetched, and the clothes. good heavens, the clothes. it's mad men style meets interesting story. i love how the women carry themselves as well; such poise. are you watching?

and now i have a new thing to add to my wish list:

(images from the pan am imdb site)

today i'm thankful for television. no really. i don't know how people can live without television! i don't watch tv during the day but at night, after the kids are in bed, it's ON. wednesdays are my favorite with the middle, happy endings, and modern family. there is something almost every night that dave and i watch together. it's the perfect way to relax at the end of the day and be entertained. i even have tv on in the background while i work to help the time go more quickly. i think dave missed his calling with epidemiology; he should be in the television industry for sure. he knows what works and what doesn't and knows which shows will be canceled first...although he is generally baffled by cbs and its success. heh. i'm thankful for television.

gratitude: sleep

2011-11-14T22:21:00.001-07:00

today i'm thankful for sleep. you don't get a lot of sleep as a mom with young kids--not a lot of consecutive sleep, anyway. apartment living woke me up in the middle of the night saturday night/sunday morning and then i couldn't sleep due to my heart pounding out of my chest. i was tired all day, and then zonked and took a nap and felt so much better. it's such a simple thing but something i am so grateful that we get to do every day. after a long day, there is no better feeling for me than falling into my bed that has cold sheets and a soft pillow. i'm grateful for sleep.

gratitude: food

2011-11-13T20:38:00.001-07:00

i love food. i probably love food more than i should--i'm sure healthy people see food as a way to stay alive; i see food as a REASON TO LIVE. i think about my next meal as soon as i'm done with the first. i like to cook, i love to watch the food network (chopped and iron chef, mostly), and i love to eat out. since moving to gallup we've had dinner at two different friends houses and both times it was incredible--crazy amounts of delicious food. i should get the recipes and share them with you because seriously, it was like an out-of-body experience both times. yes, eating makes me happy. desserts, breads, steak, chicken, noodles...you name it, i love it. this might also be why thanksgiving is my favorite holiday--a holiday that centers on food? yes please. i am so thankful for food.

gratitude: david foley

2011-11-12T19:30:00.001-07:00

dave outside alcatraz on christmas eve 2003

this morning was a frantic rush as we tried to get out the door by 7 am for our 9:30 am albuquerque photo shoot. i got home around midnight last night from a church meeting in arizona and wasn't prepared for the early morning. i couldn't find zoe's leggings, i couldn't find the boys new shirts, i couldn't find my blue cardigan, i couldn't find my blue shirt, i couldn't find ANYTHING. we finally got out the door and down the road when i realized i'd forgotten my belt. we're 20 minutes away from the location when i realize i've forgotten my foundation and i'm wearing zero make-up. and then i realized i'd forgotten the checkbook so we couldn't pay the photographer. through all this, dave was calm, kind, and patient with me. i was seriously a mess. at the photo shoot he held a very clingy and sad zoe and did his best to help her smile for the camera. he bought me chick-fil-a for lunch and dion's for dinner. he drove both ways so i could take a nap. and for those reasons alone, he is the best husband in the world. when you add up everything else he does every single day for me and our family, he becomes the best husband in the history of the universe. so today, i'm thankful for my amazing (and smokin') husband.

gratitude: freedom

2011-11-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

today, on 11/11/11 i am thankful for the veterans of the many wars our country has seen in its short history. as i listed the wars off to isaac this morning i felt a little sad to think of how often our country has had to fight for ours and others freedom. he asked specifically about world war ii and dave and i told him about hitler. how sad that i have to explain the sick mind of that man to my seven-year-old. my thoughts of wwii are intrinsically tied to my visit to the beaches of normandy this past spring. i can't describe the feeling of reverence that i felt; of how i wished to honor every american, living or dead, that ever fought in a war. i am grateful to all the men and women that fought and faced those horrors so that i didn't have to live them. i'm grateful for our nation's veterans.

random thought thursday

2011-11-10T07:51:00.001-07:00

i love this dress

from victoria beckham's 2011 spring line.

if i had a waist (and several thousand dollars)

i would totally buy it.

******

the worst part of the day

is waking up.

considering i was combing throw-up out of zoe's hair

in the middle of the night,

bathing her, and changing sheets,

and then rubbing isaac's back

while he tried not to throw up for 2 hours,

i must really hate waking up.

******

i am loving the thankful posts that people are doing.

it puts me in such a good mood.

******

i put on "the princess bride" for my sick kids today

(you know, 'cause kevin arnold is sick at the beginning of it)

but they didn't care one bit about it.

rude.

******

dave has had an insane 2 weeks

at work and church.

after our trip to albuquerque this weekend,

it's finally over.

thank goodness.

i need that man around.

******

today on facebook my friend lex said,

"you've got to wonder what our world is coming to

when people riot over a coach being fired and NOT over the rape

of an innocent child!!"

word.

******

my friend is selling 4 tickets + a parking pass

to the 49ers-cardinals game next week

for an insanely reasonable price.

i want so badly to get it for dave for his birthday

but the game is on sunday and he said no.

it's killing me a little.

******

today i'm thankful for amazon.com. i liked amazon before, but it has become my lifeline since moving to gallup. i subscribe to amazon moms so i get free 2-day shipping. i buy diapers. wipes, and baby soap through the subscribe and save program and save quite a bit of money on those necessities. i have done all of my christmas shopping so far through amazon--they have everything at really great prices. i probably single-handedly keep UPS in business, as they are at my house several days a week. i appreciate their customer service, their selection, and their free shipping--i can't handle paying shipping, it kills me. and so for those reasons, i'm grateful for amazon.

question of the week: family pictures

2011-11-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

how do you coordinate your family pictures? last year's pictures were borne out of necessity--i just grabbed what we had, and it happened to coordinate. this year, we got nothin'. i started with dave because it's easier to coordinate off of him (and it's more expensive to buy him a new outfit than anyone else). so i think he's going to wear his grey sweater with green and navy argyle. here's what i'm thinking for everyone else:

for isaac - looks almost exactly like dave's sweater - with jeans? - OR - a white button up with a blue blazer

for noah, with his grey pants

for zoe, with a navy cardigan and navy ballet flats - green bow?

for me, with the belt below. white t-shirt and navy scarf, or navy ruffly silk shirt underneath?

i'm thinking either my wide leg jeans from the gap with high-heel boots or skinny jeans with boots on top? i love how cute this mom looks, but i'm not as cute as her and it might not be a great look for me. what do you think? i mean, if you hate it, don't say it because the pictures are this saturday and it's too late to revamp the whole look. but if you have little changes i could make, tell me those. :)

how do you coordinate your family pictures? matchy-matchy or just grab what you have?

******

today i'm thankful for running water. i did two sinks full of dishes yesterday, and today i've done 6 loads of laundry (so far). i've taken a shower, brushed my teeth, and filled up my brita water pitcher twice. i can't imagine what a pain it would be to lug that water from a nearby well, boil it, and then use it. the fact that hot (or cold) water comes out of the faucet whenever i need it is awesome. i'm thankful for running water!

gratitude: books

2011-11-08T18:39:00.001-07:00

noah asked me the other day why i liked books so much. i had a hard time articulating just what it is that i love about reading, but i think it's the escapism of it. i love reading about a world i've never known (or that would be impossible to know) and seeing into the lives of interesting people, even if they're fake.

i fall in love with characters (jacob); i think of them as family (dumbledore); i ache for their heartaches (sarah) and i cry when they succeed (elizabeth). my heart pounds during the tense moments and i read as fast as i can. sometimes i have to cover the words with a piece of paper so i read one line at a time during a particularly good book, otherwise i rush through and miss some things. i don't know how to teach the love of books to my kids; it's something that's always been a part of me. i hope they learn to love books too. i would rather sit and read a good book than do almost anything else. a well written book is my favorite work of art. i am so grateful for books.

gratitude: zoe

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

let me set the scene:

it's a normal sunday evening. we've just had dinner. dave is on his way to phoenix for work so it's just me and the kids. i'm doing dishes and the kids are playing in the living room. suddenly i hear isaac say "stop, zoe, stop!" i walk around the corner to see what's happening. zoe has taken off her dress and is standing on isaac's back, in her diaper, growling in her deepest voice and trying to jump up and down on him.

cut to 20 minutes later, isaac falls and knocks his face on the ground pretty hard. his top two teeth are loose so they get a little bloody from the fall. zoe comes straight over, gently pats his face, and gives him a kiss, while using her tiny sweet voice and saying "ow?" over and over again. a few minutes after that we go into her room and she brings me clothes from her drawers to try on for half an hour--completing each outfit with shoes.

it's hard to believe this is the same baby girl, but this is just a day in the life with zoe. she is wild, she is sweet, she is rambunctious, she is funny, she is a tomboy, she is girly. she is her own oxymoron and i love her for it. she is so many things that it can be exhausting sometimes. but mostly, i am overwhelmed with love for that girl every single day. i swear she's the cutest little girl i have ever met, and even when she's driving me crazy, i can't help but laugh at how funny she is. i love how she loves her daddy more than anyone else (isaac is a close second). i love how having her changed our family. i am grateful for zoe anne.

(baby picture of zoe by sharon)

gratitude:

2011-11-06T20:17:00.001-07:00

today, i'm thankful to be a mormon.

i know that a lot of people see members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as restrictive, stuffy, and close-minded. when i was in college there was a mormon girl on the real world--julie--and her family came to visit. one of the housemates asked julie's teenage brother how he could stand living by so many rules, and this 14 or 15-year-old kid said "but by living the rules, you're more free." it sounded slightly ridiculous, but it's completely true. by obeying the word of wisdom, you aren't addicted to harmful substances. by following the prophet's counsel to get out of debt and live within your means, you aren't a slave to creditors. so i believe that while others might see us as close-minded and restrictive, i don't feel restricted in any way. some might think that because we stand firm on certain beliefs that we don't love people who don't. quite the contrary. we love the person, but not what the person might be doing. mostly, i love being a mormon because i know that what our church teaches is good and right. i'm sure i'm a happier person than i would be if i wasn't going to church every week, serving in a calling that i love and that challenges me. i'm grateful to know that i have been sealed in the temple to my family, that even after we die we will be together again. i read a great letter on facebook this week in response to pastor jeffress calling mormonism a cult. if you haven't read it, click here (or if you're not on facebook, click here). it's a well-written account of why mormons believe that our church has direct authority (priesthood) from Jesus Christ and why we believe we are christians. i am a christian because i believe in Jesus Christ, and i believe that he suffered in the garden of gethsemane and died so that i could be forgiven for the things i do wrong and someday be saved and live with Him again in heaven. regardless of what anybody else thinks, i am grateful to be a mormon. i love my church, and its leaders, and what it teaches. i'm a better person because of it.

gratitude: home

2011-11-05T11:34:00.001-06:00

Source: konfettiform.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

this apartment isn't a place i would have ever chosen to live, but today as i listen to the wind whistle and watch the snow fall, i can't help but be grateful that i have a home with a heater that works really well. i'm grateful for my home.

gratitude: noah

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

pre-school picture - red rock elementary school 2011

this boy melts my heart. he is sweet and funny and talks nonstop the entire four hours between preschool pick-up and picking up isaac. i get the play-by-play of who was good and bad at school, what's happening on his video game, and what's running through his mind. other kids love noah; he's naturally a friendly and happy kid. he cracks me up most of the day.

the past few weeks, he's been more like this:

soccer picture - team turney, fall 2011

after his last soccer game we had isaac's coach take his picture since we missed the official picture day, and he sobbed. i guess he really didn't want his picture taken? i'm not sure what orchestrated the change from happy to sad and i'm not sure how to help him, but he's been very clingy and sad. he'll ask me for a cup of water with tears in his eyes, on the verge of sobbing...like he thinks he's going to get in trouble or something. it's been sad for him, but kind of nice for the extra hugs and love he needs from mom, especially while isaac is at school and zoe's napping. i'm happy to give it to him. i was worried that i would wish he was in kindergarten this year, but i don't. i'm grateful for one extra year at home with my boy. i am so grateful for noah and the happiness and craziness he brings to our family. i am so thankful that i get to be his mother. at parent-teacher conferences his teacher gushed over him. she couldn't say enough about how smart he is, how she had to ask him to stop answering questions to give other kids a chance, how helpful he is with the other kids, how happy he is all the time, how she's never had a preschooler that could count to 100 on his own, and on and on. as a mom i see the greatness in him, but sometimes it's nice to hear it from other people too. he is one fantastic kid and i am so thankful for noah.

random thought thursday

2011-11-03T14:17:00.000-06:00

Source: gymboree.com via Emily on Pinterest

how do you feel
about little girls in tutus
in family photos?
i got this one for zoe
and can't decide if it's too much
when the rest of us are wearing regular clothes.
honest opinions, please.

******

thursdays are park days

for me and my friends.

noah always says he doesn't want to go

when i pick him up from school,

but then he never wants to leave once we get there.

i'm so glad the weather is still gorgeous so we can go.

i feel like i'm living on borrowed time,

just waiting for the bitter cold to hit.

******

i finally got a bruise on my foot

from my big fall...

and it's at the top of my foot,

right underneath my toes.

what? shouldn't it bruise where it hurts?

******

i've only seen new moon and eclipse

once each (when they were in the theater)

and i feel like i need to watch them again

before breaking dawn comes out.

too bad i don't own either one.

******

i spent an hour

organizing dave's sock drawer the other day.

it looks so awesome,

i could kiss myself.

i guess i'll just let dave kiss me instead.

******

my sister is having baby #5 today!

likely the last larson niece/nephew i will have.

******

i know people think tv makes you stupider,

but if being stupid is wrong, i don't want to be right.

i LOVE happy endings.

the characters don't even have to say anything and i laugh.

******

my friend ashley started a book club.

i'm SO on board.

reading good books,

hanging out with women and no kids all night

(we stayed out past midnight!)

and eating delicious food?

i can't believe i haven't done this before.

******

our primary program

was this past sunday.

i was so proud of the kids

and so grateful for our teachers.

if nothing else, gallup is full of some really really awesome people.

******

i have two printers;

zoe broke both of them.

any suggestions of where to get

another free laser printer?

******

the mornings are so cold now
and it takes almost the whole drive to school
for the car to warm up.

i hate sitting on cold leather.

so today, i'm especially grateful

for heated seats in my van.

******

little known fact: speed limits

2011-11-02T12:40:00.003-06:00

i'm sharing some things about my new home to help you all get to know it better.

today's little known fact?

new mexicans strictly obey the speed limit...

except on the street in front of my house.

in utah the speed limit is more of a suggestion, and NOBODY listens to it. i remember coming home from my first semester of college and driving 80 on i-40 (because that's what people drive on i-15 in utah and you get passed). i quickly realized the speed limit was 55 and i was going to have a major crash because nobody drives that fast. i had sort of forgotten that until we moved back here. it is freakish how nobody here speeds. but in front of my house, which is a busy street with 2 hospitals, a fire station, a police station, and a big church, the speed limit is 15. and somehow, people think it says 55. i'm not even kidding. people SPEED UP when the speed limit drops from 35 to 15.

i don't get it, but i like it.

for more little known facts, click here.

******

today i'm grateful for my thanksgiving decorations. as i put them up this morning i teared up a little, thinking about each one of them and the memories associated with buying them--mostly at swiss days with my sisters. every time i look at them it makes me smile. people say the best things in life aren't "things," but these things have really brightened my november.

gratitude - sun visors

2011-11-01T08:51:00.000-06:00

at last, halloween is over and now we can focus on thanksgiving! finally. i'll post something i'm grateful for every day through thanksgiving; i'd love to hear what you're thankful for during this season of gratitude as well.

today i'm grateful for sun visors.

that's right. it's weird, but man, i NEED those things. i'm short so it seems like the sun is always in my eyes while i drive. the road to isaac's school faces directly into the sun in the mornings--like "i can't even see the lines on the road" kind of sun in your eyes, and i seriously might die (or kill somebody) without that visor. dave never even uses it, i think because he's too tall and it would block his view of the road. but me? i love 'em.

how do you feel about sun visors?

halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:40:00.000-06:00

isaac (mario), lydia (olivia!), andrew (superman), noah (luigi), zoe (princess peach)

it. is. crazy. here. think ET times a hundred thousand and you have halloween in gallup.

a friend from my church purchased 1500 pieces of candy.

last year she bought 1200, and giving away only one piece to each kid

(and shunning the ADULTS that go trick-or-treating here), she ran out at 8:00 pm.

we went with my friend ashley and her two cute kids and had so much fun.

emilie made their awesome costumes--mario, luigi, and princess peach. it was a hit!

poor noah has been very clingy and sad lately, so he didn't have a great time, but everybody else did.

unfortunately, my camera is still broken, and dave's droid camera chose this week to stop working as well, so...blurrier/darker/worse than usual pictures. ah well.

happy halloween!

(the good, clear pictures? those are thanks to ashley, in case you were wondering)

pretty

2011-10-28T09:47:00.001-06:00

made these for noah's preschool halloween party today. best fruit tray EVER.

all images via pinterest

random thought thursday

2011-10-27T14:18:00.000-06:00

suburgatory is a pretty funny new show.

took a few weeks but i'm liking it now.

only...i really struggle with "elton" from clueless

playing a teenager's dad.

i'm not THAT old, am i?

didn't clueless come out, like, a few years ago?

******

exactly.

******

i'm adding lithuania to my must-travel-to list:
there are fourteen whole things to do there!
this website boasts:

"All 14 things to do in Lithuania!
Here's our complete list of the top Lithuania tours,
sightseeing and Lithuania things to do."

i can't miss going there now,

knowing i can do 14 things when i get there.

******

yesterday there was a grasshopper on zoe's leg.

she screamed like a girl.

******

my kids made the cutest mario/luigi/princess peach

you have EVER seen last night.

their costumes are perfect

(and not transformers, so, score).

******

i have two friends that have offered to help

me get over my fear of my sewing machine.

i've decided sewing is going to be my new hobby.

******

we went to albuquerque this past weekend

because dave had a work meeting,

only the meeting got canceled and nobody notified him.

so we partied it up anyway while he worked in our hotel room.

******

speaking of albuquerque,

we went to the temple while we were there.

it was the first time i'd been back to that temple since i got married.

i'd forgotten how pretty it was--and how many people my parents know.

i got stopped by two old family friends inside.

******

i can't get enough of this

gorgeous fall weather.

******

adrienne posted pictures of her daughter's halloween costume yesterday.

it is awesome, and if i had half of her talent

i would love to make a boy version for noah,

who wanted to be "blue" from rio for halloween.

the first comment? a criticism on how spending time and money

on a costume reflects poorly on her business

and is "symptomatic of the sense of entitlement, excess and

(possible) waste that North American people are up in arms about".

what now?

this mother spent her time and money to make an awesome costume

and to make her daughter happy, and this is what she gets?

sometimes i really hate the anonymity of the internet

and what it does to people.

women, in particular.

******

party on, wayne.

******

question of the week: how old were you?

2011-10-25T13:42:00.000-06:00

emilie wrote such a great post yesterday with advice about marriage, and it's got me thinking. go read it (click here), then come back.

i'll wait.

there. i got married when i was 21. for most people (including me), that seems very young. at the time, i felt old. i wasn't getting along very well with my roommates at the time, i had been in college for 3 years, i was the only person in my family not married. that christmas was brutal, with all my siblings married. i felt so lonely. it felt like everybody on campus was engaged or married. and then there was dave. he was so dreamy, and smart, and i couldn't help falling in love. i had the choice: marriage, or mission? i chose marriage. when i think of how young i was i think i must have been nuts--but being nuts about dave worked out for me, because he's still dreamy and smart and i love being married to him. but i do sometimes think that it could have easily gone the other way, if i hadn't been more careful in my decision.

Source: 100layercake.com via Emily on Pinterest

here is one of my favorite quotes from emilie's post:

Love is exciting and wonderful, and marrying the one you feel that way about is the BEST! But a marriage that can sustain the tests of time and trials is one built on a solid foundation of compatibility and a mature understanding and depth of knowledge about the one you are marrying. Rushing into a decision about whom and when to marry is a mistake of the immature. Be patient. If this person is right for you, a year of dating and seeing each other through different situations and coming to know each other fully before marriage is an investment well spent and shows true maturity.

yes! gosh it's hard to wait when what you want is right in front of you. in lots of ways i think going on a mission would have been very good for me, to help me learn better self control and not worrying so much getting what i want right now. i am obviously not an expert. i just thought her post was so well written and had such great advice. and not just about marriage--about lots of things! rushing into a decision, any big decision, is a mistake of the immature!

i have a distant relative, maggie tolman porter--i can't recall exactly how we're related, but it's through my dad's family--wrote her life story and each of my siblings and i have a copy. she was married when she was very young, i think she was 16. she had met a man named orson, who was 25 and anxious to get married. maggie had made a pact with her mother that no matter what, or how much in love she was, she was not to give her consent for maggie to marry before she was 22 years old. she dreamed of being an author and her brothers were able and willing to put her through school. though she was in love with orson, she wanted so badly to get an education first. so when orson said he was going to ask her mother for permission to marry a few days before christmas, 1893, she wasn't worried. only...her mother gave orson permission. from her own account:

"No, Mother, no--I am too young," and I began to cry. "I want to get an education," I sobbed. They were both first-class salesman for I was married January 4, 1894. I 'll be honest. I won't say that I never regretted my marriage when I was so young, for I did regret it. When I...saw what an education really meant, I wept my pillow wet many nights. My advice to all my blessed granddaughters and grandsons is this: Don't be in a hurry to marry. You'll have all time (and Eternity!) to be married but only a few years to get an education and prepare yourselves for your life's work. You can accomplish so much more for yourselves and for Our Heavenly Father if you are well educated and understand about things both past and present, the sciences, etc., and the blessed Gospel.

wow.

so tell me your story. how old were you when you got married? or if you're not married, how old do you want to be?

by no means comprehensive

2011-10-19T12:44:00.001-06:00

i haven't won a giveaway in a while so i'm trying to win the MACK DADDY of all giveaways by posting 15 things from my bucket list.

get a stamp in my passport

visit italy
kiss my husband at the top of the eiffel tower
serve a mission for my church
learn to play the guitar
be on the amazing race
own a house with a yard that has grass and a fence
cook thanksgiving dinner
own a perfect pair of high heels
fly first class
learn to surf
write a book
get a master's degree
support my kids on missions for my church
buy something from tiffany's

clearly, some of these things have been met already in the past year. doesn't matter. they're still part of my list, right? do you have a bucket list?

******
This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

our resident lizard catcher

2011-10-18T10:24:00.000-06:00

isaac has a new obsession. (don't worry, he hasn't forgotten about transformers, this is in addition to that obsession.) it is: catching things. he is desperate for a pet. for a while it was grasshoppers, crickets, and moths, but now he's moved on to the bigger and better.

lizards.

they are rampant here! at first he could only catch the babies because they're not as fast, but now even the big guys are no match for him. every recess he and brock catch lizards. every second of daylight at home is spent looking under rocks, in cracks, and behind pieces of wood for more lizards.

he keeps them in a tupperware for a day or so and then we make him let them go. we've starved enough animals to death (caterpillars, grasshoppers, and the like), i'm not having lizard carcasses in my house. although one of the lizards did escape onto the couch (i didn't know about that one because it was a "secret") and again underneath the computer desk. luckily it was caught both times or i would have put the kibosh on lizard-catching forever after.

i think lizards are cool, but i do not want them in my house. and i definitely don't want to touch them. zoe sees them and screams. noah says he wants to hold it and then promptly drops it. isaac? he holds it lovingly, pets his tummy, and "keeps it warm." he is all boy, that one.

i totally win

2011-10-17T09:57:00.000-06:00

on friday i was in the laundromat with zoe and feeling very sorry for myself. a couple near me started cussing each other out. they were both extremely drunk (or had very slurry speech and sloppy movements at 8:30 in the morning) and this scripture kept running through my mind:

Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins? (alma 5:27)

and it honestly crossed my mind that this was it. i was officially "humbled". there was no more pride left in my body. i even said this to my sister on the phone later that day.

and then came sunday.

we were practicing for the primary program and had a short break. zoe needed a diaper change so i went to get the bag from dave. dave was with all of the priesthood--every boy/man aged 12-90 or so--sitting on the stage by the gym in our church. there are about 8 steps to get up to the stage. i walked up a few steps, grabbed the bag from dave, and somehow thinking i was still on the bottom step, moved my left foot to walk out. only i was 3 or 4 steps up. i'm sure it looked something like this:

luckily zoe was okay, and i thought i was too, until i stood up and tried to walk. i was certain i had broken my foot, but more than the pain of that, i have never been so embarrassed in my entire life. every man in my ward had just seen me fall...in a skirt...holding my baby. sadly i couldn't walk away, so then i had to endure the men walking off the stage to head to their classes and walk past me, asking me if i was okay. i really was--it didn't hurt that bad--unless i tried to put weight on it. there was a golf-ball-sized lump on top of my foot and i knew if i took my shoe off it would keep swelling, so i just left it on. my friend karina brought me a chair and some ice and helped finish up primary. my friend stefanie came to my house to hang out with my kids while dave took me to the hospital for x-rays. i had 8 or 9 phone calls from people offering their help. we went to dinner at my friend ashley's house. i realized i am surrounded by awesome people and also? never ever say to yourself or anyone else that you are sufficiently humble--there's always more pride to be lost.

so getting kicked in the crotch at a dance?
tearing your acl in front of everybody on the mountain at sundance?
falling down in front of people you'll never see again?

nothing. this is absolutely the most embarrassing thing i (or you) have ever done!

i win.

p.s. i asked dave how to write this so it's funny
and not "oh i'm so sorry!" from all of you.
i promise, this is something to laugh about, not
to feel sorry about.
promise.

random thought thursday

2011-10-13T09:10:00.001-06:00

is it too early
to be thinking
about thanksgiving?

******

you've got to see my cousin's

awesome playroom makeover.

no real befores, but the afters are fantastic.

and it all seems so realistic and doable,

unlike most makeovers you see these days.

******

got an email from my brother this week:

"have to go to paris again next week. ugh."

i could punch him in the face for that.

******

the funniest compilation of blog posts

i have ever read.

literally laughed out loud at each successive post.

******

sarah is doing our family pictures in november.
i'm very excited,
but can we just repeat our outfits from before?
'cause i got nothin'.

******

i've heard halloween is a pretty big deal here--
think streets packed like in E.T.--
and i'm kind of excited about it
(even though i hate halloween).

******

i think i broke my toe this morning.
i kicked a toy stumbling into the family room
at 6:30 am.
the weird thing?
it's the fourth toe,
the one next to the pinky toe.
how is that even possible?

******

i need some cheap flat brown boots.
can y'all keep a lookout for me?
i'm thinking target should have something.

******

i wish i could stay wrapped up
in a big fluffy towel
all day long.

******

isaac had a field trip yesterday
to arizona's petrified national forest.
he didn't get home until 5 pm
and he loved every second of it.
he could barely sleep the night before
and ran inside the school without so much as a wave
when i dropped him off at school.
if it hadn't been a 2 hour drive to get there
i would've loved to go with him.
i've never gone on a field trip with him before.
isn't that what stay-at-home moms are supposed to do?
if so, i fail.

******

no matter what else is happening,
when my kids laugh really hard,
i can't help but laugh right along with them,
even if i didn't hear the joke.

******

color

2011-10-12T00:05:00.004-06:00

a few years ago, when orange was at its height of popularity, my friend emilie told me she was over orange.

"i've been into orange for years--my wedding was orange, years ago!" she cried. "but now i'm over it. now i'm into grey and mustard yellow."

boy did she know what she was talking about.

Source: tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

fantastic.

what colors are you into this fall?

pumpkin carving 2011

2011-10-10T12:12:00.001-06:00

we usually carve pumpkins for family home evening a week or so before halloween,

but this weekend my kids just couldn't wait.

it was freezing outside, so this seemed like a good inside activity.

i worked while the boys scooped and cut.

heavenly.

(no seriously, i hate scooping pumpkin guts.)

i forgot to add a picture of the finished product. maybe another day.

what did you do this weekend?

also, if anyone has tips for zoe's hair, i'd love some.

it's curly in the back, straight in the front, and altogether...awful.

my own space

2011-10-07T00:12:00.000-06:00

love reading the blog "secondsister suaviloquy". everything april writes resonates with me. she writes beautifully and is an amazing artist and a mother with young babies and struggles and succeeds just like the rest of us. a month or so ago she wrote about how everyone needs their own space.

verybody needs a space to go to and think. Or pray, or whatever it is you do in your still moments.

when i read that i discovered that i don't have a space. in utah it was zoe's room. i could lay on the floor in her room and be surrounded by chaos but still feel calm. i loved that room. i loved it before it was hers too, when it was blue sailboats for noah. something about that room.

i don't have a space here. there isn't really enough room for me to have a space, which is fine, but i think april is right--everybody needs a space. i've been trying (and failing) to create a clean, clutter-free, harmonious home. i don't have it. part of it is that i thought this apartment would be temporary so i didn't unpack most of our stuff, which means we have printers sitting on boxes, and toys still in boxes, and a half-empty box in our master bedroom, and boxes in the closet...it just doesn't work. there is stuff everywhere. i have tried, and i have failed, but i cannot keep this home in order, especially as long as i have zoe-monster. so last week i decided to make my van my space. i spend a lot of time in that van, shuttling kids around, and playing with zoe (she likes to "drive"). it's filthy. we bought it from a family with 5 kids and it was gross when we bought it...and we never did anything about it. i kept meaning to take it to get detailed but never did. i decided last saturday after 20 months of driving in filth, it was time. i spent a good 2 1/2 hours scrubbing it from top to bottom; i washed the floor mats. i scrubbed the leather, cleaned out the cup holders, and vacuumed every inch of it. i armor-alled, windexed, and dusted. now every time i leave the car i take every single thing inside the van, inside the house with me. it further clutters up the house, but that van, it's mine, and it's spotless.

ecause i need a space to go and think in my still moments.

do you have a space?

images courtesy of sharon johnson photography

random thought thursday

2011-10-06T12:36:00.003-06:00

i want to try one of
these pumpkins this year.
time to bust out my drill.

******

it's a hot chocolate

and soup kind of a day.

i'm thinking this one.

******

the steam from our showers

sets off the only smoke detector in the house.

******

i've had 3 play date invitations

from 3 different people

in the past 3 hours.

******

there is a whooping cough outbreak in albuquerque.

it makes me SO MAD because there is a vaccine for pertussis.

now the immunosuppressed, elderly, and babies near those kids

will get very sick and probably die

because of parents who think they know what's best for everybody else

and don't get their kids vaccinated.

******

the first computer i ever used

was an apple computer.

i wish i could afford one now,

but my iPod will have to suffice.

so long, steve jobs.

stupid cancer.

******

my sister-in-law's brother was in a plane crash!

luckily nobody was hurt, but man, so scary.

he only owned his plane for 4 days.

******

my other sister-in-law DID have her baby.

welcome ivy lynn!

i love baby girl foleys.

(i love baby boy foleys too, for the record.)

******

my neighbor brought over

collard greens and cornbread last night.

the cornbread was SO good.

my first taste of collard greens, ever...
and probably my last.

******

what are your holiday plans?
i'm anxious to start making plans
and hope the weather doesn't deter them.

******

today

2011-10-05T11:52:00.000-06:00

today on our daily walk i had to bundle zoe up in a hat and gloves and blanket to keep warm.
today i put things back on the shelf at the store so that i could stick to my budget.
today i'm wearing socks and this scarf in my house so i don't have to turn on the furnace. --------------------------------->
today i'm eating leftover baked potato soup for lunch, and it's delicious.
today i'm playing mario party 8 with noah.
today i'm doing homework with isaac.
today i'm watching my favorite tv shows with dave.
today i'm working.
today i'm wasting time on pinterest.
today i'm hoping my sister-in-law has her baby.
today i talked to emilie.
today i'm changing diapers.
today i'm folding laundry.
today i need a haircut.
today i can't stop looking at lynette's pictures. she took them. this is her house! it belongs in a catalog.
today i killed a spider outside my door. not as big as the tarantula from last week, but big enough.

******

what are you doing today?

2011-10-04T11:20:00.000-06:00

i bought knee socks like these in gray and black at h&m when i was in paris.

it's a rainy day today so i pulled on the gray pair with my whale wellies to take the kids to school and run errands...only one of the socks doesn't fit. it's so tight i can't pull it up over my calf. the other one is just fine, it's stretchy like a normal sock and pulls up with no problem. how in the world did i get two different size socks--one stretchy, and one not--in a package?

i better take a quick trip to paris to return them. i want my 4,95 € back.

anyone want to come with?

hope your sunday was as yummy as ours!

2011-10-02T15:58:00.000-06:00

if i can't be with friends and family in albuquerque,
at least i can be at home watching this and eating this.
happy sunday!

zoe girl, 19 months

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

28 pounds
has started having dreams (wakes up confused/scared/sad)
has started putting words together (more juice, where's dad, i want that)
doesn't love nursery
follows me everywhere i go unless we're outside and i need her to follow me. then she goes the opposite direction
loves to swing and slide
eats broccoli like a champ, not much else
loves taking her own clothes off, and does it very often
doesn't like yucky things (almost anything is yucky to her and she freaks out and says "yuck" until you fix it)
colors on every surface of the house with any writing utensil she can find
puts her hands over her mouth when she's excited or worried, and squeals
desperately wants to see the lizards isaac catches, and then freaks out
doesn't like bugs, but wants to see them up close
has hair that is getting completely out of control

worried about a stink bug that crawled on her arm. and the hair in her eyes.

words added to the list:

bye - she waves and says bye over and over until you can no longer see the person she said bye to
hi
what's this
binky
hello
mine
yuck
diaper
truck

this video is so zoe. i love the way she looks around for dave when i say "can you say 'daddy?'" and when the microwave beeps. she's just a funny nineteen-month-old kid.

random thought thursday

2011-09-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

okay, i give.

autumn wins.

check out my dad's posts

from a few recent hikes.

i never knew utah was THIS beautiful.

******

emilie sent me a christmas present yesterday:
this new laminator.
i feel a new obsession coming on.
strongly.
merry christmas to me!

******

prayers are answered, friends.
i promise.

******

we're not going to make it
to the balloon fiesta this weekend.
i feel so sad about it.

******

i wish i could slap somebody's face.
nobody in particular...
anybody will do.
i've never done it and it seems so refreshing.

******

this friend is moving
and she is devastated about it.
if you have a minute,
go here and leave her a comment
about something you love about utah.

******

i thought for a minute the other day
that i might want another baby.
and then i thought about how much fun zoe is right now.
i just want to enjoy every second of this little girl.
so no, don't ask me if i'm pregnant.
i'm not.

******

speaking of,
i thought of a good one for the next time somebody asks me if i'm pregnant:
"so when are you due?"
"i'm not pregnant. when are you having plastic surgery to fix your face?"
that'll get 'em.

******

blogger's new dashboard interface is really interesting.
my "pretense of autumn" post got 230 page views,
while most other posts average between 15 and 50 views.
who are all of you?

******

design mom posted this week about
how your home is a true reflection of who you are.
gosh i hope not.
maybe some day, but please, don't let this home define who i am.
horrible, mismatched, cluttery, dirty, ugly...
wait. maybe it's true after all.

******

heh heh.

******

little known fact: mosque

2011-09-28T13:58:00.001-06:00

i'm sharing some things about my new home to help you all get to know it better.

today's little known fact?

gallup has a thriving muslim community.

(a bad picture of the gallup mosque on route 66)

i first noticed the women dropping their children off at isaac's school. i was intrigued--you don't see many muslims in utah. they all speak arabic, from what i can gather, and sit together while we're all waiting for our kids to get out of school. they all seem to know each other. from what i've noticed they also appear to be very well off. most of them live right around isaac's school, which is probably the most affluent area of gallup. all of them drive fancy suv's (escalades, yukons, etc.). what i love about these women is their fashion sense. they all wear the head scarfs, but along with that almost all of them also wear fancy high heels, tight jeans, sequined shirts, designer purses and sunglasses, and lots of jewelry...but always sequins. either their ḥijāb, shoes, or shirt has sequins almost every day. they also always seem so happy. they pick up each other's kids, they talk and laugh and share snacks...and i want so badly to be their friend but i don't know how to weasel my way in. zoe is a good start because they always comment on her blonde hair and blue eyes, and share their snacks with her. but every time i've tried to initiate a conversation it doesn't last long. not that they aren't friendly, they are, but it seems like they prefer to speak arabic. i went to a purse party with my neighbors a few weeks ago and it was in a house right on the golf course. there were sayings up on the wall like in every house you go in these days, only the writing was arabic. the women there didn't have head scarfs but did appear to be middle eastern, so i think the muslim community is even bigger than i thought before. isaac has a friend on his soccer team named khalid moustafa! it's just so...cool. i think the diversity here is so interesting, and so good for my kids. they don't even notice it, which i think is great.

i hope this post doesn't seem weird...i'm not ignorant but i don't really know much about the muslim religion and it's been fascinating to observe this small but thriving community in my new home town. you can see a bit more about it on this video.

for more little known facts, click here.

something

favorite photo friday - 1.22.12

random thought thursday

do you ever feel this way?

the weirdest thing we don't own

winter whites

can you say...

favorite photo friday - 1/16/12

hunger games nails

random thought thursday

the clothes we wear

boden - spring 2012

the perfect christmas gift...5 years too late.

golden globes 2012: best and worst

my kind of sale.

favorite photo friday? 1/3/12

random thought thursday

the cutest

duchess birthday

i stink.

pillow pets

look alike

random thought thursday

a week off

christmas day

backtracking: christmas eve

2011 recap

2011 year in review

what i believe: Christmas

question of the week: favorite christmas movie

random thought thursday

it's back!

christmas dress - for me

slinger sunday

funny things kids say

random thought thursday

Fall 2011 TV - by david foley

advent - week 1

random thought thursday: david foley edition

christmas dress - for her

they've done it again

snapshots - 12.05.12

random thought thursday

gratitude: good days

it's strange how it hits you.

big news!

gratitude: zoe's room

gratitude: sisters

gratitude: family and friends

gratitude: emilie

gratitude: isaac

gratitude: strength (and pinterest)

. : something i love : .

random thought thursday

the case of the missing silverware

pan am

gratitude: sleep

gratitude: food

gratitude: david foley

gratitude: freedom

random thought thursday

question of the week: family pictures

gratitude: books

gratitude: zoe

gratitude:

gratitude: home

gratitude: noah

random thought thursday

little known fact: speed limits

gratitude - sun visors

halloween 2011

pretty

random thought thursday

"All 14 things to do in Lithuania!Here's our complete list of the top Lithuania tours, sightseeing and Lithuania things to do."

question of the week: how old were you?

by no means comprehensive

our resident lizard catcher

i totally win

random thought thursday

color

"All 14 things to do in Lithuania!
Here's our complete list of the top Lithuania tours,
sightseeing and Lithuania things to do."