Friday

This is Livvy. Livvy is wearing a homemade oatmeal mask. She is the only person I have given a facial to since graduating.

That is what I am doing right now- a facial. On myself. Because it's Friday. And I can. And Denna Carter's 'Strawberry Wine' is playing, and that just makes me want to pamper myself. Someday I will take a before and after picture.

So pamper yourself. I give you permission. Let your kids watch the tube for an hour and scrub your skin off (just please don't use apricot scrub or you will be taking that 'off' literally).

Christmas

I know, it's almost March. I have been taking it really easy and I don't have much to show for myself.

We are going to play a game my blog knows well, catch up.

Christmas Catch Up, to be exact.

And a note to the fam, Taft and I didn't take any pictures over Christmas, so if you gave me photos, you're blogged, if you didn't, don't go saying I'm playing favorites- it's your fault.
(These are in no particular order and I'm too lazy to rearrange them)

'Diary of a Mad 3 Year Old'
Elise found a baby snowsuit and decided to run around the house like a crazy, but she didn't want anyone taking her pictures. Lauren jumped out and stole one, and I think Elise is going to eat her for it. The snowsuit looks like it could have been mine, but that is how we roll at our house.

Lauren and I worked all week to teach these two the 'Sisters' song from 'White Christmas' as a surprise present for their mom (it's her favorite). These gowns were created about 15 minutes before the surprise performance by your truly. . . L helped. It was such a hit! I couldn't have been more proud. They knew all the words and even had the coordinated dance moves to go with it!

P.S. If you make the picture big, you can check out the AWESOME present L made for our parents this year. It's the frame with all the of the grandkids silhouettes. She's pretty much the bomb, and made my giftcards look lame.

She acted like she didn't know any of the words until she got this magical ensemble on. Then she couldn't stop posing.

Sunday morning photo shoot. Claire feels really awkward smiling for pictures, so we tried putting marshmallows in her mouth to make it look like she was smiling. She hated it and we are cruel.

A lot of us went ice skating. This little lady is from L.A. and the only ice she knows is in her drink. Good thing she is so stubborn because every time she fell, she just kept getting back up and by the end, she was out on her own.


I know, I am a ghost. We went to see the Temple lights.

There were only a couple of families over on Christmas Eve, but we managed a nativity pretty well.

Christmas morning, Jenny's girls got these Sesame Streetish puppets. It was the highlight of my Christmas watching Livvy react to this monster. . . we are cruel.


This Christmas was probably my favorite. We kept things really simple and family oriented with the recession and economic situation. We really only did presents for the kids (and their favorites were my 3-d books from the dollar store!). It was so nice to sit home on Christmas Eve and wrap presents for the young ones while watching 'It's a wonderful life' with my dad. Usually the girls are running to the mall last minute to get presents.

After Utah, we got to spend some time with Taft's family in San Diego. Once again, no pictures, but it was so nice to go out and see everyone. It really made me miss the west coast. Insert tears here. Someday. . . Someday I will not be so cold.

Big Day

Today is my husband's birthday. Taft is 26. What did he get for his birthday? A comic book, work clothes, and. . .

a BOY!!

speechless

Who the H-E-Double hockey sticks thinks of this stuff? I don't think you could pay me enough to let you make a picture like this, let alone, pay for a picture like this. Unfortunately, I will be paying this company money to tell me the sex of my baby. . . So big post to come Sunday!

Am I crazy or fallin' in love?

This post is dedicated to MY MAMASITA, who had me calling 'American Idol' literally 75 times during the finale to vote for little Archie. . . Guess I should have voted 76 times.

It is just great to see that same enthusiasm from Austin!

Great to see Archuleta is still wearing those signature graphic tees.

The kid in the green shirt is hating Austin right now.

Is it just me, or is Austin tanner than David? And the kid is still hating Austin.

The Bed

We will chronicle this ride down memory lane from worst to best. Below, I give you the 'Living out of a Suitcase' phase of our life. We had 3 air mattresses before we finally gave in and got a bed. Nothing was worse than waking up at 2:30 in the morning on the hard wood floor due to a deflation.

Like the rug? NOT. This is what happens when I let Taft pick things out from Urban. I think my brother brought me home a backpack in the same pattern from his Guatemalan mission- at the ripe old age of 8 I had the sense to know it was fashion suicide but my mother made me use it for the next 2 years. That is what you get in a family of 7 kids.

Thank you Mom and Pop. They said if we let my sister use our car that was parked in their driveway, they would buy us a mattress. Once again, that is what you get in a family of 7 kids. We were in heaven!

I still want to paint the wrought iron a granny apple green, but I am satisfied for now. I also want to throw more pillows on there, just waiting for some fabric that I can't live without.

Where to Begin?!

It has been a fabulous start to February! After a fantastic shower for Shana, we met up with Erin and Dave to complete a life long dream for the guys... A wing fest. Taft and I discovered 'House of Wing' last year and have been loyal patrons ever since. We knew we had to introduce Dave and are we ever glad we did. Who else would have been up to this challenge?

The party platter. It was a little daunting when Erin and I opened it, but I think we fared pretty well.

This picture is disgusting and I obviously have no shame because I am posting it. This is the COMMUNITY bone plate. Don't go getting any ideas that my appetite is back with that kind of vengence. Even with our buffalo wing hangover we managed to make it to church on time.


Ahhh, Quiltology, how I love thee. A million thanks to Mo for introducing me to this mecca. It is the cutest little fabric shop and the owner, Collete, could not be nicer. After I took Erin and Alex here, we knew we needed to get involved.

So we signed up for the next quilting class and had our first one on Tuesday night! We were so excited and it was a blast. I'm so glad I have a friend to take it with me. There is just something about the first day of school, or class, that is a little intimidating!

Erin will have to post a picture of her quilt when she is done. Her fabric is GORGEOUS and her quilt is going to be awesome. Mine. . .well I went for a kid quilt, the fabrics are a little more loud and not as matchy, so until I can see the finished product, the verdict is still out.

Erin was a master cutter. She went for 2 at a time! She was the only brave soul in the class to try it and she did great. . . I was jealous. . .

For the most exciting part of my week. . .

This little lady just decided to have a baby! And that stinkin' baby couldn't be any stinkin' cuter if she tried. I'm serious. You all know in your head that sometimes newborns can come out a little funky looking, and you're like, 'oh yea, uh-huh, ummmm, she's really cute. . .' cricket, cricket. Not this one- she is straight angel.

Well tomorrow will be the big bed reveal. . . I know, I know, try to calm yourself. I'm determined to make my husband set up the bed frame that has been sitting on our floor for the past 5 nights. My toes are tired of being stubbed twice a night for my bathroom runs in the dark. And I don't feel bad at all when it makes a huge crashing noise and a bad word slips out and jolts Taft out of his sleep.

This feels weird. . .

I present to you. . . my new project! What can I say, it was L-O, L-O,LO-,L-O-V-E (is ashlee simpson singing in your head?. . .) at first sight. But this project will take every ounce of my patience as I quietly sit and wait to decide what color to paint/fabric it. Plus, the best news is that it's not just a desk! It's a. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .?

changing table!!

Sorry if you get creeped out by ultrasound pictures- I know they aren't for everyone. But it just wouldn't be as dramatic without it! Yikes. . . it feels weird to be pregnant. I still feel like I'm 14 years old- I can't be a mom!

Well, it started off as shock (is that put delicately enough for you?), and then you start to convince yourself that you really are pregnant- I mean when else has your 5th bowl of 'Oh's' cereal and brushing your teeth induced vomiting? It never had for me! So you start to get used to the idea, even though you don't really 'feel' pregnant. And then you have an ultrasound, and you think, 'Okay. . .MAYBE I'm a LITTLE pregnant. . .'

So, I am 4 months pregnant today (17 weeks/July 9th). Hooray for the 2nd trimester! Minus the part where you haven't really popped yet so you REALLY look like you are gaining weight. Well, this is a lot of pregnancy talk. For the future, fear not. There will be no postings about "dream" nursery's, strollers, baby clothes, etc. . . I live in the real world with a dusty old apartment that has a view of naked people showering (literally- but I will save that story for another time, it's straight out of a 'friends' episode). I guess what I am saying is that it will feature more 'projects'.

P.S. When my belly does start to pop, please don't touch it (crazy street people included).

Come Out Meg- They're Ready!

These have been on my mind the last couple weeks. They have been on my mind in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and in my sleep- especially last night. I had been working on these little soft blocks so much it was all I could dream about. So while tossing and turning at 4 this morning, I promised myself I would finish them and rid myself of these monotonous dreams.

They may look a little crazy in the pictures, but they are pretty cute in real-life, if I do say so myself. What I love most about these little blocks are the textures. Some of the pictures have

3-d wings or ears, button eyes, and each block has a side covered in satiny soft ribbon tags of different lengths.

A, B, C's, but I guess you can read since your reading this blog so that was really pointless.

This dino is kinda freaky looking. I think it's because the teeth pop out. Now don't look too close at these when you get them Alex, I made plenty of mistakes. . . but thanks for letting me practice on you! It was really fun using up my old fat quarters. Now lets just hope this is some motivation for your babay.

3 day weekend update

This weekend we had Andy and Alex over for a riveting game of blokus.

If you haven't played it before, you should. Doesn't it just look fun? And I'm not being sarcastic, those are genuine expressions.

The object of the game is to try and put all your tile down without getting blocked. Taft won with the green, then Andy with the yellow, Alex with the red, and I lost big time with the blue. It's funny because growing up, whenever I would play games, I liked losing because I didn't mind and that way nobody had to have their feelings hurt. Now, even when I try to win, I loose- so I guess I'll just keep telling myself I do it on purpose to spare other peoples feelings.

We finished the night off with this deliciousness. The bad thing about this dessert is that it is so compact, you can eat alot of it without even realizing. Also, it is probably the most caloricly dense dessert I have ever made. Did I mention it is totally worth it?


And just to tease you for upcoming events. . . We did go shopping this weekend and I do have a new bed. I love it. It is almost done. I can't wait to be able to post the after shot! We will finally be off the floor! Oh, and in case you are confused, we stick our bed into this little nook next to the closet. That way our room is alot more open and now Taft has room for a little studio. By studio I mean for music. A lot of people in Chicago don't know the depths of Taft's musicianary. You are missing out.

Jazzin' it up!

A year and a half ago, Taft and I moved to Chicago with one suitcase, a guitar, and about 100 dollars in our bank account. We had never seen the apartment we were moving into, and had no idea what our neighborhood was going to be like. Luckily we were only in that first apartment for a month. . . but we think we hit the jackpot moving to Goldcoast. The second apartment we moved was definitely nothing fancy. It is often described as 'charmingly vintage' which I guess you could liken to character. I could never bring myself to buy the nice furniture I actually wanted. Why? First, we had no idea if we would be here any longer than a year, and I would rather get rid of any furniture we had than pay to move it. Second, after we moved into this apartment (with no furniture) we realized that the coat closet juts out in front of the door, making a normal couch impossible to fit through. Lastly, and MOST importantly, we wanted to pay off any debt we had. Good news! After living frugally and making the most of what we have, we are going into 2009 debt free!

Anyways, this is a longer post than I'm used to writing- gosh I'm liking all this time on my hands! Well with all this time I've been busting out the sewing machine and getting a little crafty.

This is what our old computer desk/chair from costco used to look like. Drumroll please. . .

Ta Dahhh! Yea still nothing too fancy, but maybe when it's not -14 outside I will do some spraypainting of some sort.


Yikes! Just looking at the old pictures of these brings back bad memories! Just look at those stains. . .

The best part? This wasn't just a mere staple gun feat, that fabric is tightly wrapped with an elastic hem on the bottom. So next time you come over for dinner and you happen to spill on the chair, don't sweat it! I can pop it off and throw it in the washer!

My next project is a bed. In that one suitcase of ours was a rolled up air mattress that we slept on for almost the whole first year. Then my parents were kind enough to trade us our dead car that had been sitting in their driveway this whole time, for a bed of our choice. Now I'm in love with our memory foam mattress, but would like to get it off the floor. Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Catch Up Part 1

You would think that with school over, I would be a little more on the ball with the blog. Not so much. But I will slowly try and play catch up. First- early December, Erin and I decided to treat Alex to a special night to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Meg (can't wait!). We did a little dinner at CPK- Alex's fav, a little 'Twilight' even though the other 2 cheated over Thanksgiving and saw it! And last but certainly not least- a sleepover at 'The Inn of Chicago' complete with a feast of grapes for Alex's poor gall stones! She was such a good sport. It was so fun staying up late and talking with these girls-I couldn't be luckier- and I can't wait for the next girls night! We hope you felt special Alex. You deserve it and we love you!

I Love you, I hate this

I'm not even going to pretend to apologize for my lack of blogging. I just don't care anymore. I will care soon, just not for the next two weeks. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has come in to get facials and support me. Anyone who still wants one- you have one week left. After next Friday, it's just finals and then freedom. I can't wait to reintroduce myself to the social world. . .

A Video from Austin

We had a really fun weekend, but the batteries in our camera are dead, so that post will have to wait. Until then, I thought some of you might like to see this video that Austin's ward at BYU Hawaii made. He's having a great time out there.

Stereoscopes

Austin introduced us to a cool way to see 3-D photographs or "stereoscopes". To make it work, click on a picture and then cross your eyes so that the pictures overlap. Focus your eyes when the overlapping pictures match up in the middle. At that point you should be looking at a 3-D picture. If you're having trouble getting it to work, try moving the picture further away from you (so it looks smaller). Don't get angry if you can't get it to work; not everyone can do it. Here are a few stereoscopes that Austin made when we were on vacation at Catalina Island, CA.

Redbull

We attempted the redbull flugtag last weekend. Here are some of the 'flying machines' that they push into the water.

This is where they fly off into the water. I thought it was pretty overrated. You couldn't really see much, but it didn't seem to bother all the people below. From our beach (oak st.) all the way up to North Ave. people lined the waterfront.

Kinda Creepy

So I'm the first to admit that this picture looks kiiiinda creepy, but just know that I did it on purpose. You gotta find some way to spice up getting three facials a week. Why not a kookie photo shoot?

But seriously, I LOOOVVVEEE the program I'm doing. They are long days, and my brain is usually fried when I get home, but it's exactly what I wanted.

Anyways, I won't bore you since this isn't a journal and you don't need to know all the details, but I will tell you that I am indeed alive, and will have more posts coming as soon as Taft and I get back from California. . . Also, once I get back, I will be taking 'clients' on Thursdays and Fridays, so talk to me, and you'll get an additional 50% off the already DIRT CHEAP prices- and I will try not to look so psycho. . .

We love relaxing at Oak Street Beach! It's just a couple blocks from our apartment and it provides a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. They even plant palm trees here during the summer, so we can pretend like we're in the caribbean, not the midwest.

Taste

Sorry all these posts are so late. . . I've been busy with school, which I will continue to procrastinate blogging about until later. Just know that I LOVE it. Anyways, for the weekend of the 4th, Taft took Thursday off in addition to having Friday off so that we could have one last mini-vaca before I sign my life away for the next 6 months. We opted for the much talked about 'Taste of Chicago'. I will let the pictures speak for themselves since I have some catching up to do.

Indeed the famous silver man took a break from his mag mile spot to make and appearance at the taste.