surprises et al.

It dawned on me that I should probably let y'all know where the heck I've been, and where I am now... ARIZONA! That's right, we came down early. Brad finished his last final of the semester a week ago, and we left right after to surprise my family!

My mom recently had foot surgery, so we were hoping that I could be of some assistance... turns out that it's a little difficult watching a baby, helping your mom and crafting all at the same time! I hope we haven't been more of a burden than a blessing...

Moving right along, Brad is done with his first semester of law school!!! Woohoo! He had a teacher tell him that if he could make it through the last three weeks of the semester, that he would be able to make it through the next three years and graduate. Well, looks like he'll be an attorney after all! It was a rough week on everyone. A few kids from his section alone dropped out before finals, and Brad was studying 12+ hours a day, with a little help from me too. It was a lonely and long two weeks, but we are happy to be done! And I am so proud of Brad! Now we just have to go through that ordeal five more times. And let's not forget the patent AND bar exam, which makes it a total of seven hell-fires!

So we've been pretty busy here. Brad's been studying for the patent exam that he will hopefully take in the next couple of months. And I've been making Will's ABC blocks. They are taking a lot of time and patience, but I am totally loving them! I can't wait to post pics of everything I've been creating this month, just so you can share in on the joy and stress!

Well, I best be going. Merry Christmas to you all!!! Oh, and I'm also working on a family newsletter via email... hopefully that will get to you guys in the near future. No promises!

when it rains, it pours!

I know I've already posted today, multiple times in fact... but this was just too good to pass up! Here we have Willie just waking up from a nap, with some dang crazy hair! Hence, the stoned look and rosy cheeks! And, as you can tell, I tried to get in as many shots as was humanly possible!

o tannenbaum + o wooden blocks = most lovely

Here you go, here's our tree for a night and a day. I ended up taking off all my ornaments from my garland and mini tree at home so that I could graciously donate them to the one we had to show that night. You might be able to pick out my blocks I made, if you have a trained eye! To aid you in your quest, I've included zoomed-in images of three of the blocks. I'll post solitary pics of them later.

Notice how the bottom is a little more bare than the top. I was nervous of having all the little kids around poking and prodding at my prized possessions. We had to leave early from the party, so Brad could study and Will could sleep, so we left everything there. But we gathered them all up and packed them for a safe trip home (about 30 minutes). They are now back on display in my house and everything looks better than before! Just you wait!

in the meantime...

It seems like it's been a while, and it probably has! If it's any consolation, I've been madly updating my "Mess" and it's all done, through Christmas at least (since we'll be gone for the rest of the month, visiting family)! Check it out!

I'm also working on getting some pics of my "finished" ornaments. I still have to seal them with acrylic... And I've got pictures of our tree that we decorated for the Ward Christmas Party, which was adorned with the said ornaments (although I doubt you can see them). What's more, I'll get some pictures up of our little decorated guest house... So stay tuned!

But for now, I wanted to share some silly lists that my clever cuz came up with to help bide some time! Be warned: if you consider yourself weak in the stomach when it comes to nauseating sappiness, then don't read "creepy pickup lines." And if you consider yourself polite and proper, don't read "what to do at wal-mart."

creepy pickup lines

Ok, so one day my cousin and his roommates were watching this weird dating show on TV called "Parental Control." On it, some kid used a really weird line, that went something like this: "You are the beautiful unicorn jumping through the crystal waterfalls of my soul." He was inspired, and when a friend came over they got right to work. So here are some that they came up with. Watch how they get increasingly more sappy as time went on (these are in chronological order).

1. "Your voice is the melodious music that lulls me into my dreams."
2. "Your feet are tip-toeing along the pathways of my heart."
3. "Your soul is like a dove, calling to me from the sunrise of our eternity."
4. "Your eyes are like a lighthouse, glistening in the moonlight to lead me safely home."
5. "Your nostrils are gulfs in the depths of our love."
6. "Your hands are the warm breeze of life bringing me out of the sorrows of reality."
7. "Your lips are the trumpet of love, calling me to the warmth of your embrace."
8. "Your eyebrows are whisks of sensuality drawn on by the paintbrush of Aphrodite."
9. "Your neck is a pillar of sunshine emblazening the emptiness of my life."
10. "Your love is my constant foundation in a world controlled by chaos."
11. "Your laughter is like a chorus of angels which bring me from misery to amazement, from pessimism to gratitude."
12. "Your anguish tears apart my soul, penetratingmy deepest emotions."
13. "Your hair, glistening in the moonbeams of our existence, radiates your loving countenance."
14. "Your companionship makes me, although poor, feel higher than the richest king."
15. "The warmth of your spirit warmed my icy soul."
16. "Your loving embrace makes my soul take flight."
17. "The pleasures of heaven do not compare with the joys of your presence."

what to do at wal-mart

I warned you! Read at your own discretion...

1. Get 24 boxes of condoms OR pregnancy tests and randomly put them in people's carts when they aren't looking (during Mother's Week).
2. Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, " 'Code 3' in housewares".... and see what happens.
4. Go the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.
5. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
6. Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll invite them in if they'll bring pillows from the bedding department.
7. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'
8. Look right into the security camera; use it as a mirror, and pick your nose.
9. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knows where the anti- depressants are.
10. Dart around the store suspiciously loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.
11. In the auto department, practice your Madonna look using different sized funnels.
12. Hide in a clothing rack and when people browse through, say "PICK ME!" "PICK ME!"
13. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal position and scream "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"
14. Go into a fitting room and shut the door and wait a while; then yell, very loudly, "There's no toilet paper in here!"

mock dream home

I've said this many times to many a dear friends; a list of comrades that seem to be growing exponentially. They are friends who are purchasing/placing offers on home or have one in their current possesion. I'm starting to feel a little left out. I know, I know, we're still in school and all that jazz. Yippee for me. Anyway, today, as part of Brad's break after yet another final (in an effort to keep him from going comatose), we meandered through a pleasant neighborhood here in the canyon. Unfortunately, we have fallen in love with California, especially this area. But what's even more unfortunate is that we can never afford to live here! Modest sized homes here are going for 800K to 1 mil! Like I've said before, a bunch of crazies here...

Needless to say, since our foolish side trip, I've found myself slowly spiraling down the roller coaster of pity, induced by debt and jealousy. So I did what any girl in my circumstance would do. Peruse through real estate websites to compare prices and decide where exactly we will have to end up. I'm sad to say that it is not California. On the other hand, Spokane, WA is looking mighty good!

So here's a pic of a current dream home of mine at said location, if I were in the market. As in, this would be a house that I would love to go and check out, because it is darling (aka Victorian) and small/cozy, making it a good transition home between starting work and climbing out of our debt hole- while digging another hole for our children to live in.

3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1500 sq. feet. And the best part: only a $767.96 monthly payment vs. a $5k monthly payment (and there's nothing better than knowing that you're putting that money toward something, instead of our current situation of paying rent at twice the amount. I'm sorry, did I say "paying?" I meant, throwing away money...)! Woot woot! Don't ask me why having a house is so important to me; it always has been. But make no mistake! No matter where we live, we will always have a home!

PS- Sorry for such a seemingly negative rantable post. In my defense, this is my journal and we are in a high stress situation here people!!! I'll be fine in the morning, most likely. Besides, I'm going Christmas shopping tomorrow, so yay! And I really do mean congratulations to y'all who are buying/placing offers and I am really excited for you! xoxo

my little man

While Brad remains the love of my life, Will is certainly my pride and joy!

happy belated thanksgiving!

I finally got the pictures from our turkey day. Thanks mom! Here's a picture of my family on that fateful day... we're missing a member and I'm sad to say that I don't have a photo of him to share with y'all. But his name is Adam and he is serving in the Kentucky, Louisville mission. He'll be home this summer and I get to talk to him Christmas (hopefully, if all works out)! He's my best friend and I wasn't the only one missing him that day. But regardless, we are all proud of him and we had a great time without him (without sounding harsh).

And here's an early Christmas present to all of you: our family picture! I haven't decided whether or not I'll be sending holiday cards, and if I do, I don't know if they will be accompanied with a picture... so here it is, just in case I fail on both accounts. In fact, this will just count as both for now and you'll just have to let me know if you would like a hard-copy! But I'm not making decorative frames for anyone... (without sounding harsh).

And here are some pics of Nana's babysitting experience. Nevermind the precariously perched baby on a mobile machine! Just kidding mama, I love you and Will does too! What a monkey, he knew exactly what to do! And poor Nana, all alone with a toddler while we were enjoying a long movie at the theater. Thanks again ma!

a little somethin' somethin'

Well, I'm sure I have lots to write about, yet it's not coming to mind... oh well, I'll probably write a novel regardless. We've been busy here, with finals and projects. Brad had his first final yesterday (Tuesday) and has another tomorrow, and then Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And then it's time to study for the Patent Exam, yay... I've been engrossed in making Christmas ornaments. They are soooo cute and I am exceptionally eager to post pics of them, when they are finished. And then you too can bask in their glory! Between that and madly updating my recipe blog, I've been somewhat absent from this online journal/rant page of mine... oh, and Brad's been studying at home, so I can't just hop on the computer and waste gobs of time like usual. It's probably a good thing.

Ooo, I do have something to share that I am also extremely excited about. I just bought this Old MacDonald hand/finger puppet board book. What a mouthful! I already have one, which at first might be confusing as to why I purchased another one. I'll tell you why! I'm going to brutally cut off the fingers, thereby removing the puppets and then I will stuff them with batting, pop a magnet in there, stitch them shut and voila, instant animal fridge magnets! And I'll still have the other one so we can continue taking it to church. I'm excited because even after S&H it was about $6.50! Gotta love Amazon! I had been surfing around on ebay and couldn't find any finger puppets or said book for any cheaper; most were twice as much as what I ended up paying! Who out there can appreciate a good bargain?! I know I'm not the only one!

So, in the future (hopefully near) I will be posting pics of my projects this month: ornaments (take that Anthropologie!), ABC blocks, Nativity soft book (maybe...) and animal magnets. I'm a busy bee- I'll also be making a cover for our trash/recycling area, if I feel like it. Alas, it has to be done at some point or I'll continue to lose my Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (due to Will's new obsession with "putting things away," which in and of itself is a wonderful fixation. But it's all about the application dears).

what fun!

Oh fun-ness of fun! We defrosted one of our refridgerators yesterday! In all actuality, I get all warm and fuzzy when I can actually clean something and see that it's clean. And I believe it was the first time I have defrosted a fridge! Sad, but true. We hadn't gone grocery shopping yet so we took this one out front and let it sit for a bit. And then I went a-hacking at it and the ice fell off in chunks. We then finished up with a hairdryer and some sanitizing wipes... and voila! A clean fridge! We're going to wait to do our other one right before Christmas. Ooh, and we switched the two coolers, too! We now have the white one out in plain site and the black one hidden. It makes nice for a clean slate look in our kitchen area, since the walls and microwave match in hue. Now if only they (machine and kitchen) could match in function: one being well designed vs. poorly designed... But hey, at least we do have a place to cook; that's something to be thankful for. That and my imagination.

blockheads

My blocks, they finally came! Not like I was waiting long... but I was and am excited, nonetheless! We quickly opened them up, examined their softness and geometrics, and upon our approval, stacked them like there was no tomorrow! I think Brad got up to 30 blocks before they tumbled and Will got up to 3 or 5 stacked (he was suppose to be napping, gosh darn it). Anyway, now all I need to do is start decorating/designing them all before Christmas! It should be fun, what with Brad studying and basically non-existent this entire month! Wish us luck!

california crazies

A couple o' days ago, my dear Abs and I went back to Santa Monica to shop. It was fun, as always, to promenade the street of 3rd. We didn't find what we were looking for, but someone sure did find us! We were at Starbucks, getting some hot chocolate/steamers and letting Will jam out to some kidz Christmas tunes at their music bar, when we hear this foreign-tinged voice behind us. Here we are, two "single" women with a baby, approached by a man-of-sorts. Nice guy, really. Persistent though. He tried his best to make some small talk, asking about the baby, our names, our purpose for being there, etc. He asked what we were going to do after guzzling our hot drinks (which you can't quite guzzle, in all reality... but what a fun word...). Oh, you know, we're just shopping. No, we wouldn't like to go on a walk with you. Oh, it was nice meeting you, too. Bye.

After exchaning our polite farewells, we head back out into the "cold." I start struggling with Will, my hot bev and the stroller, all in my efforts to make my boy a bottle. Well he falls out of his vehicle (don't worry, he's fine, he's tough, and I AM a good mother), but our gentleman friend is quickly there to help us... we're not sure if he followed us out the door or not, but there he was. He asked us if we would change our minds about his offer, only to notice that, gasp, we're both married! Yay for wedding rings! Finally, he stops hitting on Abbie (he stopped with me long ago, since finding out I was the mother of the child we possessed... that and Abs initially caught his double-winking eye), and we continue our excursion in peace. Except I spill my drink on me twice! Oh well. Let's hear it for beautiful and covetous California and all those who inhabit it, even if their minds do not!