I got my miracle!

Both my parents and my brother made it in time for Christmas. My sister decided not to come from Montana. The day everyone traveled I was on the phone and internet a lot of the day, rerouting around closed roads, bad traffic, and storms. I was kind of exhausted by the end of the day. My parents 8 hour drive took 14, and my brother turned around and went through Nevada to get here from Utah. But we've had a great time. My hatred for our camera has kept us from taking too many pictures, but I'll try to post a few here in a couple of days. Seems like time is going by too quickly. My parents are leaving tomorrow, but I'm trying to convince my other sister to stay another day. (They arrived after Christmas). I have NOT played enough games. I have consumed enough sugar. I'm going sugar free on January 2nd for at least a week. It's going to feel good.

It's been fun to read everyone's posts. I'll get back to commenting soon.

Amy

I need a Christmas miracle!

So, I think the snow gods are giving me a little payback for not being excited about the storms last week. I am now penitent. And asking for a reprieve. Both my parents and my brother need to travel on I-84 to get here for Christmas. There's just a teensy weensy problem. A 45 mile section of the highway is closed. And a new storm is set to start on Christmas eve day. So they have a small window to travel, which is tomorrow. I need the road to open. My brother Joel could go another way, but it is more mountainous and he would need to use chains. I'm sending out a plea for good wishes, prayers, and karma on behalf of my family and all others who are trying to travel. It's been quite a week for weather. But everyone knows there's no place like home for the holidays, and home is with family. I need my family! I also need my king-sized bed, which was supposed to arrive tomorrow. It's currently snowed in up in Seattle, so guess who'll be sleeping on an air mattress for a week. In her own house. Yep, me. I'm giving our queen bed to our guests, since that was my original intention. I'm pretty sure the bed is not going to miraculously arrive tomorrow, but I hope my parents and brother do! Good luck, guys!

Amy

Merry Christmas from Asparagus

Quite possibly the cutest thing you'll see this holiday season.

The Stockings Were Hung . . .

And not just ANY stockings, but homemade by my mother in the '80s stockings, the stockings of my childhood. I begged Mom to borrow them for this year, and she willingly obliged. Thanks much, Mumsy. I made 5 stockings once upon a time. I sewed them myself out of red corduroy and fleece on Kyle's Mom's sewing machine that only went in reverse. How handy. As you can imagine, they weren't the most well-constructed of stockings. And then candle wax ended up all over one of them, so we were down to four. Which wasn't a problem until Asparagus came along. Last year I got her a cheap-o "Baby's First Christmas" stocking which had a pitiful one or two things stuffed in it. Bean and Pea felt sorry for her. She didn't know to feel sorry for herself. I intended to make all new stockings (7, just for good measure) in time for this Christmas, but, alas, I was uninspired. Which is why I gaze daily at my Mother's stockings and hope for inspiration for the stockings which will hang by our chimney/gas fireplace for years to come. The stockings which will one day be vintage.

Why all the fuss, you wonder? Because in my house growing up, the stockings were quite possibly the BEST part of Christmas morning. They could be opened at will any time after, say, 4am. They could be indulged in long before parents woke up, long before the sun came up, and long before it was time for present opening. It was not uncommon for me to get up at 3am, carefully peruse the contents of my stocking, and go back to bed for a few hours. Stocking stuffing must be taken seriously. I wrapped several this evening. I think I am giving away at least 70 stocking stuffers to various family members this year. I have high hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be here.

In other news, I made a necktie. Yes, you read that correctly. And I am oh-so-proud of my handiwork. You can see it all askew on Hayden's skinny little neck. It wasn't that hard, either, thanks to my friend Sharen, who's a great seamstress.




And the last picture is of me, looking tired but getting excited to be the hostess with the mostest. My fam starts arriving on Tuesday. I wish you all the very merriest of Christmases! May you recognize the miracles in your lives and feel the love of friends and family.



Amy

Who would want to live with someone who acted like that all the time?

That's what Kyle's Dad said to me once, referring to Kyle. I raised my hand gleefully and said "Me!" We were engaged at the time and all was bliss. 10 years of mostly ups (and a few downs) later, I get what Kyle's Dad meant. Last night I asked my dear husband what he wanted to eat for Christmas dinner. I discussed the options of turkey, ham, and pork tenderloin. We also brought up crab, since it's Dungeness crab season here. Actually, this discussion was very one-sided. Until Kyle replied. "How about turducken." What, you ask, is turducken? Why it's the very simple dish of a chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey. Here's a recipe from Paula Deen herself. I'm sure it would be very simple for me to de-bone a chicken and a duck, stuff them successfully in each other and then in a turkey, cook it all just right, and then serve it. Actually, it sounds kind of gross. I guess in the middle ages they'd do this sort of thing with 10 or so different birds. Count on Kyle to suggest it. Did he offer his real opinion? NO! I guess I get to decide then. But at least I know life with Kyle is never boring.

More ornaments for your perusal:

One is made from an actual eggshell. I made it myself in 6th grade. I am totally amazed that it has survived this long. It has moved across the country and back with nary a crack. I had one more, but it perished long ago.

The next is the ornament from the year I was born. I love it. The baby on the ornament looks similar to how I looked as a baby. I hope I have this one until I'm 90. Actually, I kind of hope I die before I'm 90.

And finally, the ugliest ornament on my tree. The Pea picked in out in Disney World for his ornament for the year. I'm sure his father helped him. I am NOT looking forward to seeing Mickey Mouse pirate ears on my tree for the next 13 years until Hayden moves out. To solve this problem, we are going to put a little tree in the family room next year with all the kids' ornaments on them. Since they get one a year (and sometimes two), our collection is growing. I'm excited for them to each have a box of special ornaments to take with them when they move out. We can do things like macaroni garlands, etc. on that tree, and then I can have a grown-up tree downstairs. Perfect!

The kids finally went to school today, but had early release. Since it's supposed to snow tonight, I doubt they'll go the rest of the week. We just made their teacher goodies today though, so I HOPE they go one more day. Do you think you can freeze chocolate-dipped pretzels?





Christmas cards are out, goodies are mostly delivered, I'm almost finished shopping, I started cleaning for company, and I can feel that Christmas is almost, almost here. Just one more week! I can't wait to relax.

Amy

Snow Day

Well, it happened. It snowed. The storm came a day later than predicted, so now the children have no school. Did I mention that Hayden didn't have school on Friday and Jillian was home by 11:30am? Did I mention that Christmas, er, Winter, Break begins on Friday and they'll be home until the 5th of January? I mean, I love my kids and all, but I was kind of counting on getting 1,000,047 things done this week. Trying to make the best of it, I dutifully bundled everyone up in snow clothes (after unearthing them from various bins). Bean was most excited, and only lasted 25 minutes. Too cold, she proclaimed. Pea stayed out quite a while, but needs warmer gloves, and waterproof ones. I was excited to take Asparagus out for her first outdoor snow adventure (well, her first walking one). She hated it. She wanted the snow off of her boots, off of her mittens (mimis), and she did not want to walk in the snow. Guess we won't be having any mountainous snowy adventures this winter. At least not with Asparagus. Sigh. I'm off to entertain. And try to address Christmas cards. Luckily I got 22 plates of goodies made this weekend, and 19 delivered. I also made 11 pairs of earrings, and gave away 9. I also mailed off my packages. Just a little more shopping and wrapping left to do. And it's only the 3rd day of Christmas.

On the third day of Christmas, I gave to myself, a large diet coke and some fudge.

I wish! After my 5 miles on the treadmill I'll feel better, I'm sure.

Enjoy some photos from our snowy adventure.

Amy

PS -- Finished my run and heard the weather report. Not good. They don't have enough snow plows and gravel trucks to really clean up roads, and it's not supposed to get warm enough to melt the snow. My guess is that the kids will go to school 2 out of 5 days this week. Maybe I can convince Kyle to work at home . . .

What is wrong with these people?

Asparagus and me last Easter, when it snowed like crazy.


It is supposed to snow this weekend. Oregonians everywhere are smiling, murmuring things like "Isn't this exciting? I can't wait! It might snow. I hope it snows a lot." Blah. After spending the last 7 years in Boston and Michigan, where it snows 6 months out of the year and lingers in dirty piles until May, I don't want any snow! Call me winter scrooge if you want to, but I'm just not in the mood. I'll take 2 fluffy inches on Christmas morning, and enough for the local ski mountains to do well, but that's it. I reached my snow quota long ago. Although one of my favorite Christmas songs is "Let It Snow," I don't want to see too much of it. Besides, Bean and Asparagus don't even have snow boots, and I'm not anxious to run out and buy some.

I should look on the bright side of things, though. If it does snow, I have a garage. I won't be scraping any snow off the car while my fingers freeze and snow slides down my pant legs. And the kids would love it. And it is the weekend. Alright, I guess it can snow. But it had better be GOOD snow, and not just a slushy mess. Did you hear that, weather?

Amy

Design on a Dime

My WHOLE family is coming for or after Christmas. I'm so excited! Because none of them have seen our new house yet, I've been trying to get some decorating stuff done. The first project is decorating Jillian's room to also be a guest room. That means no HSM III stuff plastered all over. The other project is organizing the toys in the family room and putting up something on the big, blank walls. Because we've been spending money like the federal government bailing out Wall Street lately, I'm trying to decorate for less. Here are the results:



My fabric wall hangings for the family room. I want to add some candid black and white family and friend photos someday. Maybe when my sister arrives with her fancy schmancy camera.



I'm also making some pillows from this same fabric (found at IKEA for a mere $6.99/yd). The canvases I purchased at Michael's craft store. I used a staple gun to apply the fabric. The cost for all 4 canvases and fabric was about $40.



The new bookcases to hold the toys. Yeah! Getting these up meant getting some more moving boxes out of the house. I don't think there are any left.



My lovely assistant.



I turned Jillian's old white laminate bookcase into a vanity. We found the mirror for $30 at TJ Maxx/Home Goods. I bought the fabric and used velcro (one half sew-on, one half stick-on) to put up the curtains. Her books and trinkets hide behind the curtains. We got the little stool at Ikea. I'm also making her a pillow for her bed with the same fabric. Not my favorite fabric, but she got to choose it!



This painting (by Jillian) is the inspiration for her room. Her bedding is a nice light blue with some subtle embroidered circles/flowers on it. We're getting some vinyl lettering for above her bed. I'm looking for curtains right now. I'm also going to paint a cork board that we already have to match her mirror -- an antiqued cream. We will frame more artwork as it comes home from school.

I have a lot of fun decorating! Now we have to save up some money so we can get Hayden's furniture and then we get to do the master bedroom. Can't wait!

Amy

PS -- It seems like the photo upload thing for blogger is really old. I never got the HTML before. Some of my options for fonts and colors don't appear anymore. Anyone else having that issue? I just hope I got my photo comments below the right photo!

My Favorite Ornament

is this one. Oh how I wish we had a whiz bang camera that would let me take better pictures. Our 5 year-old Canon works fine, but seems to get clunkier and chunkier with time. Maybe next year! Back to the ornament. This one doesn't have a lot of sentimental value, but I love it. Kyle bought it for me when we lived in Boston. He was on a business trip in Vermont. I had just started collecting ornaments. It was so thoughtful of him to seek out an ornament for me. This Noel ornament is pewter and was made in Vermont. It looks like a stained-glass window and is quite beautiful. It is my favorite ornament.

Amy

Tree photos

Arbor Day in December

We had a lovely tree-filled day yesterday. After Kyle and I battled insomnia the night before, we slept in, skipped our exercise, and got ready just in time for Kyle and Bean and Pea to go plant trees at the park across the street. A group of neighbors put in two maples that should grow and give shade in a few years. The kids thought this was a delightful activity as it involved marching in fresh dirt, something that is usually off limits.

After a quick lunch we headed off to a local Christmas tree farm (Did you know that Oregon is a major producer of Christmas trees, and that many go to Mexico??)to find our first live tree. We've been making due with a sorry fake 4 ft fat tree for the last several years. Can you tell how I feel about that tree? The weather was gorgeous as we set off on our well-orchestrated adventure. We rode the wagon to the noble fir part of the farm (that's a variety of tree) and proceeded to find and saw down the one we liked. I have no idea if this is an environmentally acceptable thing to do. But we did support a local farm, so I think we get some credit.

Getting the tree off the car and into the house, and then decorated, took up the rest of the day. The kids loved it, though, and the tree is lovely. In the stand it seems to be about 8-9 feet tall. I'm going with a new color scheme this year, red, green, and black. I love it. It will be fun to find some new ornaments after Christmas to add in next year. I'm going to scope out Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn for some glass ones in unique shapes. As a feature on my blog for the next week or two, I'll be telling the stories behind some of our ornaments. Example: The Ugliest Ornament, My Favorite Ornament, etc.

Hmm, I've tried to upload the photos three times and all I get is HTML gibberish. Soo, you may have to wait for those. Bummer.

In closing, I have one observation. I haven't received one Christmas card yet. Does that mean everyone else is as behind as I am? I hope so!

Amy

Confessions of a frazzled mother

(If I HAD posted last night, it would have been about how Vicky looked a bit too much like The Joker from Batman with her red hair, white makeup, and shocking red lips. That was a bad makeover! And I want a dress with cute pockets. But I didn't post.)

Today Kara is needy. Not play with me needy. Not read with me needy. Just hold me needy. But she weighs about 28 pounds, so I can't really lug her around on my hip all day. So I was a bad mom. I stuck her in her high chair with a tootsie pop (full size cherry-flavored). She loved it. She sat there for a good 30 minutes. I blow-dried my hair, did my makeup, helped Jillian with homework, and unloaded the dishwasher. I'm sure there were a few more things in there too. It was lovely. Giving my 15-month old a sucker rates pretty high on my "Mommy Don'ts" list, but I don't really care. I needed that 30 minutes. And I brush her teeth every day.

We were at Costco today buying everything from wrapping paper to ravioli. The total? Over $300! A lot of that was a present for my parents from the sibs, though, but still, made me gasp. J and H both wanted hot dogs. What the heck! Have some saturated fat, sodium, and beef by-product. I'm going to Kyle's work party sans veggies, so what do I care? (My verb tenses are getting all convoluted here. Please ignore any grammatical errors.) H managed to drop his on the floor right after I put the ketchup on it. About 2/3 of it hit the floor. The rest stayed on the foil. What did I do? Wrapped it right back up (after adding fresh ketchup) and handed it back to him. It was on the floor for a total of 5 seconds, so I figured it wasn't too dirty (Didn't you read that study? You should!). I'm sure the people sitting right there gave me a look, but I couldn't stand to go back into that line again. He might die, but I doubt it. If he does, I'll let you know. So, what I'm wondering is, would anyone else out there do that? Am I a terrible mother? Seriously, let me know.

In other news of the day, Kyle got two papers accepted at an accounting conference. I'm very proud of him.

Amy

Tis the Season!

This is my last official National Blog Posting Month post. As you recall, (and I'm sure you don't) I missed November 1st, so I'm doing December 1st instead. I feel like Martha Stewart lately, although much nicer and more animated. I'm getting lots of fun projects done. One involves an advent calendar for the kids to do. I've been looking for one for a few years, but haven't come across the perfect thing. So I settled on this one from Target. I like that it has the Nativity scene on top and isn't too big. BTW, it's $19 on the website right now with free shipping. I paid $25 for it in the store. They have a few other designs too.

Because I wanted it to be more than a chocolate-a-day until Christmas experience, I typed up several activities and ideas that tie in with the family traditions we usually do. I also wanted to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and the Savior. Here's what's behind each little door:

December 1^st – I hope you like opening a new door on your calendar every day. I love you so much and want you to feel the real spirit of Christmas. It’s a spirit of love, friendship, hope, and joy. Let’s talk about why we celebrate Christmas. And you may have a sweet treat because you’re neat!

December 2^nd – Ask Mom to find the Christmas books and read you some. See if there are ones you remember. Hayden, which ones can you read to yourself? Jillian, can you read some to Kara?

December 3^rd – Color a picture to send to Grandma Catie. Maybe you could draw a snowman or a Christmas tree!

December 4^th – How was your first art class today? I hope you had fun! Here’s a chocolate. Dad will be gone tonight, so let’s watch a movie together. Maybe a Christmas movie!

December 5^th – Ask Mom for a special Christmas craft to do. It’s the ward party tonight. Do you think Santa will be there? Only 20 more days until Christmas!

December 6^th – Did we get our tree today and get it all decorated? YEAH! When you’re all ready for bed, turn out all the lights except the tree lights and enjoy the beautiful tree. You may want to lay down for this.

December 7^th – It’s Sunday today. Of course you need a chocolate! And we need to sing some Christmas carols. Let’s also read from the new Friend magazine. I’ll bet there are some great Christmas stories in there.

December 8^th – For family night tonight we are going to get gifts for the kids we “adopted” for Christmas. I want you to try and feel that special feeling you get when you serve others. Enjoy picking out some great toys!

December 9^th – How’s the tree looking? Does it need some water? How are you doing? Do you need some chocolate? Let’s make some snowflakes to hang on the window.

December 10^th – Wow! We’re down to 15 days already! That will fly by. Let’s start making some goodies for our friends and neighbors today. Should we make some fudge?

December 11^th – Dad is leaving for a short trip today. Make sure to give him hugs and kisses. Let’s have hot cocoa together tonight and turn on the fireplace. It will be cozy!

December 12^th – As a special treat, Mom is going to take you out to dinner tonight! You two decide a place you’d like to go. Afterwards, let’s come home and play some games together. Here’s a chocolate!

December 13^th – Dad’s home! Have you finished all of your Christmas shopping? Do something secret and special for someone in the family today.

December 14^th – Tonight for family scripture study, we should read about Samuel the Lamanite proclaiming the birth of Christ. They we can read about what happened in the Americas when Christ was born. How much of those two scripture stories do you remember?

December 15^th – Wow! Can you believe it’s only 10 more days until Christmas? For family night tonight, let’s deliver our goodies to neighbors and friends. We could sing some carols too.

December 16^th – Let’s make some gingerbread cookies today and decorate them. That sounds like lots of fun!

December 17^th – Using Jillian’s nativity set, or by making up a play, act out the story of the nativity. I’m sure Dad will be the donkey! And here’s a chocolate because I love you.

December 18^th – Has it snowed yet? Let’s read some more Christmas books to each other. Have Mom and Dad each tell you a story from when they were little and it was Christmastime.

December 19^th – What can we do to help someone in need today? Let’s think of something to do!

December 20^th – Are all of your presents for other people wrapped? Let’s watch a video about the birth of Christ today. And then we can watch “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas.” That’s always a good one!

December 21^st -- Today we need to make sure all of the presents are wrapped and ready. And we need to eat a chocolate.

December 22^nd – Today we need to clean the house. Let’s put on some Christmas carols and help each other do our jobs.

December 23^rd – Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Joel are coming today! Make them a welcome sign.

December 24^th – Oooh, finally Christmas Eve! What present are you going to open tonight? Here’s your last chocolate. But don’t worry, there are lots of treats to come tomorrow.

December 25^th – Merry Christmas! I hope we have a wonderful day with our family. I love you!

What's good about this is that it's going to help me remember to do some of the things the kids love. It also gives me a "schedule" of events for the month. I even remembered a couple of things I should add in: going to our church's creche exhibit and driving around to view neighborhoods with good Christmas lights/decorations. I'm excited to get going!

Signing off for a few days,

Amy

Look what I did!

This is the best I could do with Kara. Not in the mood for a picture is putting it mildly.

I finished the Christmas dresses just in time for church today. I think they turned out so cute! It was nice to receive some compliments on my handiwork too. I need to get Hayden's necktie done this week. Wish me luck, because I'm nervous!

And as a bonus, two pictures from our race on Thanksgiving morning. My run is staged, just in case you couldn't tell. I can't wait to run tomorrow because I'm feeling SOOOOOOO fat. I had a lot of pie this weekend, and I don't love pie.



Up tomorrow: Advent calendar reveal.

Amy

Heard at the Veggie house

From the Pea, regarding Asparagus (right after she tripped for the 4th time in 10 minutes):

"Babies aren't the smartest things in the world are they, Mom?"

From the Bean, at the computer. Set up: Bean wanted to play a computer game and use the headphones. I told her to get them out of the drawer and plug them in. She replied "Who do you think I am, Hayden? I don't know how to do that stuff." So funny and so true! Hayden is a whiz on the computer already.

And two shout outs tonight:

One to the weather, which was about 64 degrees and sunny today. Wow! Is it really almost December?

Two to the Oregon Ducks, who gave us a team to cheer for today. Nice win, guys!

Only two more days of posts, and then I'm going AWOL for a bit. Hurrah!

Amy

Black Friday -- 2nd annual

I headed out again this year to hit some of the Black Friday sales. I'm so glad things were orderly and not too crazy here. I feel so sorry for the man who was killed at a Wal-Mart after being trampled. My prayers go out to his family. How terrible! No DVD, TV, or toy is more important than someone's life. And then I read that two people were shot to death in a California Toys R Us. My advice: stick to online shopping or homemade gifts!

We also decorated for Christmas. Our meager decorations don't stretch too far in this house. I can't wait to go cut down our FRESH LIVE Christmas tree next weekend. Oregon is known for growing great Christmas trees (and importing them to Mexico!). We're going for a tall skinny one. Kind of like someone I know . . .

Two more days of the weekend left! Yeah!

Amy

Race Redemption and ThanksGIVing

Kyle and I ran a 5k this morning. Since the "chip"timing was the worst I've seen (waiting in the chutes at the finish line for someone to wave a wand over my bib, wasting at least 30 seconds), I'm going to go with my Garmin GPS time for my race. The time? 25:40! Yeah for me! I came in under my goal of 26 minutes. This is a PR for me at this distance, and I'm glad. Kyle came in at about 23:45. He beat his previous time as well. It was a fun date and a great way to start the day. Thanks to Aunt Shauna and Uncle Jonas for feeding and watching the little veggies.

I was thinking about what a great month it's been. I was really able to focus on being grateful. Our grateful tree turned out so gorgeous, with all sorts of things on the leaves. The kids were happy to do it, and I'll miss it when it's gone. It occured to me yesterday that the season of Thanksgiving turns into the season of giving over night. This can be a powerful time of year. I'm talking about giving of things well beyond the latest video game or newest gadget, although those things are fun and certainly have their place. I'm really looking forward to giving to those around us who need a little extra, giving cards and treats to new friends, sending updates to old friends, and showing love. I have a fun and meaningful advent calendar idea in the works. I'll post more on that later.

My challenge to you is this: Transform your feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving into meaningful actions of giving this Christmas season. It doesn't have to cost any money, and the rewards will be priceless.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Amy

Too Scary TV

I know everyone's off making rolls and pies and such, but I have a commitment to post every day the month of November, so here goes today's. Even if it's not read. BTW, I myself made 4 pies today. Well, only 3 are done, but they all will be by the end of the night. The varieties are:

Pumpkin (a must in my book)
Pecan (my first attempt -- this one's for Kyle)
Chocolate cream (always a good idea to sneak chocolate in)
Pumpkin ice cream (Also for Kyle. Hey, how'd he get two pies?? Wait a minute!)

And now, the two scariest things on television, according to moi, a self-proclaimed expert in such things.

1. Rosie O'Donnell promoting her new variety show. The sight of her in a white fur coat with nothing underneath is enough to make me shudder. And then vomit up a little bit of my dinner. Ew. I don't think I can watch one minute of her new show because I'm just not a fan of Rosie.

2. Vicky on The Biggest Loser. She is E-V-I-L. I would not want her on my bad side, because she thrives on revenge. Or at least that's how the editors and producers make it seem. She's conniving and playing the game very, very well. If you're watching, I'd love to hear what you think of Vicky. BTW, I'd love a few sessions in the gym with Bob or Jillian. I'm sure they'd whip my bum into shape pretty fast! I'm not willing to gain 100 pounds to be on the show, though. Bummer.

I promise to have a much less fluffy post tomorrow. Maybe one about, say, gratitude?? Kyle and I are running a turkey trot 5K first thing in the AM. How's that for a date?

Grateful for you, wherever you are,

Amy

A balanced meal

I haven't been eating very well lately. I have breakfast at 9am, or later, and then I have very random lunches. Some days I'll have leftovers at 2pm, or apple pie at noon, or just snack from 11am on, hoping to finally eat enough to constitute lunch by 3pm. I'm sure I'm taking in more calories than if I just sat down and ate. Here's the problem. During breakfast time Kara's in her high chair for a good 20 minutes, so I have to make the most of it. I usually blow dry my hair or do dishes, two things I don't like her to help with. Then it's pretty late by the time I eat, and I don't want to eat too much, so I end up hungry. I'm always hungrier on the days I don't exercise first thing, which is weird. And if I exercise late, after Hayden gets on the school bus, I'm showering afterwards and I don't eat lunch in time.

I have more problems with the lunchtime meal. I'm trying not to eat much meat, and I'm also trying to cut back on saturated fat in things like cheese and eggs. So my "old" routine of a quesadilla, cracker and cheese plate, or a sandwich (egg salad -- yum!) is out. Kyle usually takes the leftovers, if there are any, so that's not really an option either, unless I plan on more leftovers. I know I should do something like make a pot of healthy soup at the beginning of the week, but I'm just not that together. So I usually end up doing what I did today. I eat some of my homemade bread and some fruit. Today the bread was warm and perfect and I had three slices. Add in some apples and clementine sections and you have a balanced meal. Kind of. What do you eat for lunch?

I am confessing my eating sins here in an effort to be better. Starting next week I'm going to keep a food journal for two weeks, and I'm going to eat regular breakfasts and lunches. I'm going to make some homemade granola, more breakfast cookies, and get some pita and hummus and other vegetarian options for lunches. I'm going to have regular snacks too, things like fruits and veggies, nuts, and yogurt. And I'm going to be more careful about my 1-2 sodas a week rule. I've been cheating a bit! And I'm not going to eat 6 toll house cookie bars in one day. Maybe 6 gingerbread cookies, but not 6 toll house cookie bars. Ha!

Amy

The Bag Revealed (and a bonus!)

I did it. I bought a bag. Now I want a few more! I couldn't find the perfect green bag, so I settled for a nice toffee brown. I like the silver buckles. It's very comfortable, wasn't very expensive, and is just the right size for the stuff I have to carry around. Here are the pics from our photo shoot. Jillian cracks me up! She loves taking photos and being crazy. I wish we had a better camera. Maybe next Christmas. Santa's already pretty busy for this one.






Oh, did you see the bonus picture? That's the dress I made for Kara. It took me just a day or two. It was so fun to do because it was mostly making the skirt. I bought the turtleneck and connected the two. Anna, my craft/sewing coach, found the pattern and the material. I'm making a matching skirt for Jillian (she has a matching turtleneck too), and a necktie for Hayden. I hope that goes well. I'll post pictures of the finished products when all three of them are looking so adorable. Kyle Carrot, however, does not care for this dress at all. What a Scrooge! Maybe I should make HIM a tie. I don't have any good books to read right now, so I'm glad to have a good project.

Decided to skip Twilight. I'm saving my movie money for James Bond! He's much better eye candy. Did I say that?

Amy

Giveaway winner and a piano recital

Ta da! We have a winner. Thanks to all 16 of you who participated. I will have another giveaway soon. And the winner?

Kenandamy! I know who this is -- Amy Po! I will email you soon with details on your Christmas music prize.

Jillian had a little piano recital on Friday night. It was in the home of her new piano teacher. She did very well, but didn't want me taking pictures. I snuck one in. Here are some of the rest of our fam at the recital too. I am pleased with her progress in piano and hope that she continues. And I really love her 30 minute piano recitals. So much nicer than the 2 hour affairs of my youth. : )

Jillian always likes to turn the camera and get a funky angle. How artistic.


The only shot of Jillian I could get before she noticed I had the camera.

Kara started off the recital by climbing on the piano bench and plunking out a few notes.

The official race results are in. My time? 2:00:25. That's 25 seconds off of my goal. Do you think I could have shaved 25 seconds off somewhere? Yep, I could have. Oh well! Nothing I can do about it now. Let's just say that next time I run a half marathon I will be more prepared, and I will finish under 2 hours. Always nice to have a goal!

I didn't end up finding a bag I liked on my shopping trip on Friday, so I'll try to find one tomorrow. It's a tough decision! I know you're all just WAITING for me to get one. Try to be patient.

Also, I've been invited to see Twilight tomorrow with a couple of ladies. I have no idea if I want to see it or not. Is it worth a few bucks? Advise, please, if you've seen it.

Amy

What I learned in 13.1 miles today

If I don't commit early enough to a race, I don't train quite enough. It is hard to run.

It is still amazing that I ran 13.1 miles in one session. My body is cool like that.

I don't know my official chip time, but my gun time was 2:00:45. I sure hope my chip time comes in under 2 hours, since that was my goal! But if not, I'm only off by a few seconds. Won't that stink!

I need to work more on the mental part of racing. I find it very easy to talk myself out of pushing hard.

My chest cold is not completely gone. And I need to address my asthma with my doctor.

I can look very dorky when I run. I picked out a cute outfit (not quite matchy-matchy, but coordinated). Then I realized the capris I chose didn't have any pockets. One pocket was necessary to carry snacks along the way. So I went for some longer shorts -- blue and black. They looked quite dorky with my green shirt. Then I had another shirt tied around my waist. Then I had to fix my headband mid-race. I got a look at myself later and my hair was all askew. Nice. Very nice. Can't wait to see the official race photos of that get-up. Good thing no one I was with brought a camera!

My husband and kids love me! They made some signs while I was gone and posted them. I felt very special when I returned home.

I love Sport Beans by Jelly Belly. They are awesome electrolyte-filled carb bites of yumminess. I'm sorry I dropped about 5 along the way.

Water is my favorite beverage. I think I drank a gallon today. Easily.

Anxiously awaiting official race results,

Amy

PS -- I will say nothing about THAT ONE football game that was on today. And I will post no comments that degrade THAT ONE team that I still like. I just had to walk away after the 3rd quarter, so I've erased the game from my memory forever.

Does this count?

Hi. Happy weekend! Enjoy the weather, whether cold or warm. Enjoy friends and family and football and food, or any combination of those. I have nothing else to say today.

Amy

Thursday Thoughts

Not much deep thinking here today, but it's been a very good day.

Thought #1 Hearing your three kids play happily together, with each of them chiming in with his or her own personal giggle, is one of the most satisfying things one can feel as a parent. And Kara was giggling the loudest!

Thought #2 Trying just a sliver of 6 different kinds of pies at the pie class I went to seemed like a good idea, but I still got a stomachache. Could it have been the chocolate peanut butter ice cream I had after dinner? No one told me there would be samples!

Thought #3 I'm finally feeling like I belong here. It feels good.

Thought #4 Tomorrow I'm buying a purse/satchel/handbag/carry-all. Pictures will be forth-coming.

Thought #5 I'm running a half-marathon on Saturday. I don't feel particularly prepared. That could be a good thing?? I don't know which I'm more nervous for, running the race or the BYU vs. Utah football game. GO COUGS!

Thought #6 Only 9 more days of posting every day!

Reminder: The deadline for the Christmas music giveaway is Sunday, Nov. 23rd. I'll choose a name (randomly) that night and notify the winner. If you missed that post, scroll back a few to last Sunday. Hope you're enjoying your Christmas music!

Amy

Fashion Reject, purse edition

I need a new purse/bag/thing to store things while I'm out and about. I'm sooo over my current diaper bag, but I feel fashion-challenged when it comes to selecting handbags, or whatever you call them. In my research I've seen words like skimmer, clutch, wristlet, cross-body, hobo, satchel, tote, and on and on. Do I know what all these are? NO! Here's what I'm carrying now:

But in black. It reads "diaper bag". And now that I have a toddler who only needs a snack, sippy cup, and one diaper (plus wipes), I don't need to be toting around this number.

In the past I went for this kind of bag, rugged and functional, something from Eddie Bauer.

But I think I'm more chic than this now, although I do live in tree-hugging Oregon. So how do I get enough glam, but not too much BAM? I've been out looking a bit, and everything looks too fancy for me. Do I just buy the bag and embrace the fancy? Can I even pull off chic?



I think I like all of these, but I can't really picture myself toting around a purse. What do you think? I need some help here, ladies! Or gay men with taste for these things. Not many of those reading this blog, I think. And one more thing, it seems to me you need a few bags, like you need lots of shoes. Can I get away with just one? Advise, s'il vous plait.

Amy

Confessions of a sentimental sob

I got teary-eyed twice already today, and it's only 3:06pm. Better stay away from any sappy TV tonight, eh? I have always been an easy crier. I think I've posted about this before. When I was young, my Mom called it "sensitive". Now we refer to is as "drama queen". Anyway, although I don't cry EVERY time I hear children sing at church anymore, the faucets were primed and ready today. What made me cry?

1. ER. Yes, the TV show. And the weird part was I was watching it while exercising, so you'd think my mind and body would be so tuned into building my biceps that I wouldn't get emotional. You'd think. It was about this hard doctor who was trying to help save a little girl while reliving the death of her own son. There was one line that I thought was especially well-written. The doctor commented that if you lose your parents, you're an orphan. If you lose a spouse, you're a widow or a widower. But we don't have any word for what you become when you lose a child.

2. I got teary-eyed upon reading BYU-Idaho magazine. There was a reference to how Thomas S. Monson felt when he heard about President Gordon B. Hinckley's death. He said something like "I'm sure he's meeting Jim (James E. Faust) right now." I never thought about how it would be hard to be the last of that trio left on earth. They worked so closely together. That's a legitimate teary experience, right?

Perhaps we can chalk this up to hormones. Women are always blaming things on hormones, right? Anyway, let's just hope I make it through the rest of the day without tearing up.

Hoping this post didn't make you cry,

Amy

Accidental and Blatant Nudity Runs Rampant!

How's that for a headline? Today I was in the shower while Hayden and Kara were in the family room. H was watching a show, and KJ was supposed to be playing. She knows how to open doors, though, and often comes looking for me, so when I heard a voice outside the shower door, I thought it was Kara. Just so this makes sense, please note that our master bathroom has a closed door area that contains the shower and toilet. The shower doors are glass, which means they are transparent. When I opened the door to say hi to Kara from the shower, I was shocked to see Hayden there. He was probably shocked to see me in the shower as well, since we try to avoid such things. I hope he's not scarred for life. He played it cool, though, so I'm sure it's fine. I was just surprised!

When I got Kara out of the bath today, she immediately shucked off her hooded towel and bolted for the door. I'm not sure there's anything quite as cute as a little naked baby bum running away and jiggling as it goes. When my bum jiggles when I run, I don't consider it cute. And she looks MUCH better naked than I do. You will just have to take my word on this, because this is a PG rated blog.

In other news, my last grandparent, Grandma Catie, fell and broke her pelvis last week. She's in a nursing home for a few weeks, but should be able to return to her own home. I'm thinking of her! It will be hard when I have no more grandparents. I got really sad and worried when my Mom called to give me the news. Luckily it wasn't too bad.

Amy

'Tis the Season -- for a Veggie Bunch giveaway!

Ta da! Here it is! The long-awaited giveaway post. Let me start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

When I was young, we had two Christmas albums I remember listening to. Albums as in records that we played on the RECORD PLAYER. They were the Carpenters' Christmas album and Anne Murray. I still listen to the Carpenters, but my repertoire has expanded to include many other artists. Our family's current favorite Christmas song is Jason Mraz's Winter Wonderland. Catch the You Tube video here. Kyle's trying to learn it on the guitar. I hope he's successful!

Every year I have a debate with myself over when to start listening to Christmas music. I used to be a staunch "not until after Thanksgiving" kind of gal, but I've been easing up lately. Since Thanksgiving is rather late this year, I think I'll start listening this week. After all, the season for Christmas music is a bit short. And I have a lot of Christmas music! But there's always room for more, which brings me to the

Giveaway!

Leave a comment telling me one of your favorite Christmas songs or albums, and when you plan on starting to listen to Christmas music this year. I will choose a winner next Sunday, November 23rd. The prize? A brand new Christmas CD delivered right to your mailbox, courtesy of Moi! I may even let you pick the cd or genre you're interested in. Happy Caroling!

Amy

Saturday is a special day

Because I get to watch college football! : ) Just got home from a day trip to Portland and we recorded three games, so this will be fast. I really like Portland. Wish it were closer. I don't like waiting an hour to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, but I do like eating with good friends. Thanks to Mandy and Michael for hanging out with us again, and watching our kids while we went to the temple. No protesters there, but there were quite a few in our fair city today. But that is another post, and one I'm not going to do.

Have I told you lately I'm soooo nervous for the BYU/Utah football game next weekend. It's going to be a nail biter! Go Blue!


Amy

PS -- Yes, this is a lame post. I don't expect any comments.

Game Night!

For those of you that know us well, you know that we love to play games. I've invited 5 couples over tonight for a game night. I know that three are coming. We're having:

homemade huckleberry ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce
spinach/artichoke dip with chips
veggie tray
wassail
pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

We might play some of our favorite games, which include:

Wits and Wagers
Guillotine
What's It To Ya?
Coloretto
Loaded Questions

Or some good party games, which include:

Scattergories
Who What Where
Guesstures
Apples to Apples
Cranium

We won't be playing some of the strategy games we like, due to numbers. They are:

Settlers of Catan (which DF loves too, right Polliwog?)
Carcassone
Ticket to Ride
Perfect Ten

The games we're loving playing with the kids right now are:

Sleeping Queens
Pigasus
Rat a Tat Cat
Racko
Yahtzee

We LOVE games! But we also love you if you don't love games. If you have a favorite game not listed here, comment and let me know. We always get new games for Christmas.

Amy