Last of the vinyl!

A "Be attitude" square, that you would put on a tile, and an "All this because two people fell in love" - for $5 a piece - - - who wants them???

Out of the mouth of my babe.

M: Mom, there are THREE kinds of crickets!

Me: Really? What are they?

M: There is the BUG cricket, there is the CUTTER Cricut, and there is the STORE Cricket!!

So right!


My daughter is a genius, and a future scrapbooker for sure!

Stuff I'm grateful for, week 2:

1. Exercise, even though it wears me out and pretty much makes me useless the rest of the day.

2. Peanut Butter. Man, I love the stuff. Maybe if I didn't eat it so often I would actually see some results from #1.

3. Teachers. My girls LOVE their teachers, even when they're not so fond of schoolwork sometimes. It's so cool to see M absorbing so many two-letter phonograms right now; she's a sponge.

4. Birthday parties. Seems we have at least one each weekend. I'm glad that my girls have friends, and that we get some pretty cheap babysitting hours out of those parties!

5. My mortgage. Funny thing to be thankful for, huh? It gives me a sense of accomplishment with every statement we receive, knowing that we're making actual progress, and paying more principle than interest each month. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

Stuff I'm grateful for this week:

1.My cool visiting teacher.

2. Culture passes - I got one for the first time today!

3. My car, functioning perfectly at the moment.

4. Our school, which takes my girls away 7 hours each day.

5. Quiet afternoons.

It could have been worse.

After 11 years!

11 years, the anniversary of steel. Hmmm... I don't think I want any steel today, I'm all good on stainless steel appliances and swords and silverware and such, and I certainly don't want anybody stealing anything from me, either.

Two years ago on this here blog, I listed 9 things I loved about my husband. Those haven't changed.

Last year, I blogged about all the things we've experienced .

What to list this year?? The honeymoon has been over for a while. But in a way, I feel like we're just starting on this journey. I am thankful to be married to this man, and hope that we figure out each other, someday.

Feelings, nothing more than... feelings...

Do you know those people in your life that make you feel like a million bucks? Like you're oh-so-talented, or oh-so-funny, or oh-so-righteous, or oh-so-interesting-to-talk-to, etc? Go on, think about it... there's got to be some in your life!

I have lots of those people in my life. I consider them to be my closest friends (maybe I have self-esteem issues, and their affirmations subconsciously help me?? Who knows...)

What I've been thinking about lately is how, or even if, I reciprocate. I know I tend to lack attention in the listening department... SQUIRREL!... what was I talking about again?? Oh yeah. Since "Words of Affirmation" is not my love language, and I think words can be empty and meaningless (funny, coming from a journalism grad) I don't think I praise people around me nearly as much as I could, or should...

When it comes to blogs, I can't STAND those that are sappy love-fests. Comments in such blogs read like the following... "Oh you're SUCH a good mom!" "I wish I was as ( fill in the blank ) as you!" blah blah blah.... Again, my aversion to Words of Affirmation, I guess... hee hee...

What's the point of this here post? I guess I've just had this on my mind lately - how to be a better friend, a better support to those around me, a better visiting teacher... my new visiting teacher is so easy to talk to and STELLAR at making me feel good about myself. Maybe it's her yellow personality? Not sure, I just know that I want to be more like her! My old visiting teacher was no slouch either, let me tell you! I guess I'm just lucky lately!

Update.

Wow, I'm getting to be a pretty lame blogger, aren't I? I guess we've been busy, sort of, so how come I feel like I've still got nothing to blog about? Certainly nothing exciting like a visit from Super Nanny, and our Halloween costumes weren't even in the same realm of coolness as THESE were, even though Colman took the "TAMN"-garment-optional-approach, and I never got around to carving our pumpkin this week, so I don't have cool pictures like these, sigh... but I'll try to give you a rundown anyway.

N - Dressed up as Woody for Halloween, complete with boots and pullstring! Is uber-busy at work. Also busy running a networking group within work, plus starting up a local chapter of a networking group outside of work - if you ask he'll start throwing a bunch of acronyms at you in an attempt to explain what they do - be smart, don't start! Also busy with bishopric duties, basketball, his fantasy football league, Drudge report...

S - Is so not motivated to clean or finish any projects lately. Has been listening to Black Eyed Peas and U2 continuously since the concert. Got stuck throwing together a bunch of the details for Friday's ward party. Dressed up as Jesse for said party, and actually really liked the way our costumes turned out. Didn't get any pictures taken of herself in costume. Wishes more people would show up for volleyball on Mondays and Thursdays so it would become a regular event again. Wants Cricut cartridges for her birthday and Christmas. Is so excited for our California trip for my birthday, because we're flying and renting a car! Hello convenience!

N & S - Are having their 11th anniversary this weekend! S is going to Safford to scrapbook by herself to celebrate, hee hee... Just finished a "strengthening marriage" class, which we actually learned a bit from. Maybe I need to form a post with our takeaways from the class...

A - Is growing UP! Dressed up as Hannah Montana for Halloween. Will climb over our back fence and go play with neighbor kids for hours without telling Mom. Feels like she needs a "clubhouse" in our house, and keeps trying to take over closets, etc, to make her own. Like one bedroom, a closet, and a whole playroom aren't enough???!! Is defiant, and so independent it's driving her mother crazy lately. Testing the fence, if you will... I think that fence needs to be built up and fortified! Has started to sigh like her mother, and her grandmother, when she's irritated.

M - Dressed up as a witch for Halloween. Is a brilliant student in school, though she gets mighty frustrated when she can't form her letters PERFECTLY the FIRST time when she's doing her homework at night. Is getting so BIG! Eats like a horse, and almost always takes seconds of dinner. Has grown out of all her shoes, skirts, and pants she was wearing at the beginning of the school year- Sheesh! Is sweet and helpful most of the time. (She'd be sweet ALL of the time if her sister weren't around to fight with, or if we didn't expect her to take baths or brush her hair every day.)

J - Finally decided it was okay to put his costume on at the ward party, after he saw another little boy there dressed up as Buzz Lightyear too - hooray! Has a sweet tooth that is insatiable. Won't hardly eat any meals. Is starting to combine words more and more, and will mimic what anyone says, though he doesn't use the ending consonants for any of those words. Thinks he is hilarious when he wipes people's kisses off. LOVES to see and play with Finn. Will gladly sit on the potty, but hasn't actually USED the potty yet.