Pictures of the House

I finally have a minute to post some pictures of our new place. We love it out here.






The Barn





Grandpa came to visit!


Lili calls this her park!

And We're Back!

Hip Hip hooray! We finally have a computer up and running and connected so I can actually tell you all what we've been up to the last month. I can hardly believe it has been that long since we left our beloved Utah. Maybe that's because we were pretty much homeless for the first 3 weeks. Now we are safe and sound in the place we will call home for a while.

Ivan is loving his new job and I couldn't be happier for him. Today the girls and I finally visited his place of employment to check out the studio and meet some of his coworkers. I have to say that it was pretty cool. The girls had a blast riding some prototype bikes around. I enjoyed the "museum" of all the bikes Lance Armstrong rode during his wins at the Tour de France. Speaking of the Tour de France, Ivan's first real design is going to debut at the next one. So look for Lance's really cool bottle cage =) designed by my dh.

As for me, I'm so beat after just one day of unpacking. The movers finally came with our things yesterday. We had been camping in our house for about a week. I learned though in that time that life is so much simpler without all that stuff. I have to admit though that I missed my bed, my couch and my computer the most.

I feel so blessed to be where I am. I have felt homesick a few times but for the most part I love being here. It is beautiful and the Lord has seen fit to bless me with all that I ever wanted and more. Sometimes I am brought to tears just wondering what I did to be given all of this. I truly see His wisdom now and waiting as long as we did was just so He had time to prepare the perfect place for us.

I do have to tell you all about where we are living. I will have to post some pictures later since I don't have any yet but this place is amazing. The town of Lake Mills Wisconsin is like something out of a movie. What every small town wants to be. It's like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting. And the house that we live in, perfect, for me anyway. We found a farmhouse on 3 acres with a treehouse/playhouse. It is quiet here and there is so much room to run and play. I can't wait until the spring when I can plant my garden and get my chickens. The best part is that we are only 9 miles from work so Ivan's commute is about 12 minutes. We are making friends and enjoying missionary opportunities already.

I have so much to blog about but very little time since I still need to go vote and unpack and make dinner. I will try to update again very soon, and there will be pictures.

I Knew It

Six months ago I would have been feeling overwhelming joy at the thought of leaving Utah. I had come to a place in my life where I was "done" with Utah. Or in particular, Utah County. Don't get me wrong, it had it's moments. I met my husband there, my babies were born there, I had great friends there and many other wonderful memories from my college days. It's just that I had out grown it in a sense. Provo is the youngest city in the US and with me being the 30 something that I am I felt like an old woman. There is a certain sense of immaturity that goes along with the young age base there as well and that was what annoyed me the most. Yes, I would have thrown a party six months ago, danced in the streets and shouted for joy from my roof top had we gotten this job then.

I knew though that the Lord wanted to teach me to love Utah. I knew he would wait until I would be sad to leave before he would let me leave. He would wait for me to not want to leave and then He would make me leave. That is exactly what has happened. When we moved to Grantsville 6 months ago I came kicking and screaming. I did not want to move here, nope, not one bit. I wanted what I wanted and that was a great job in some great place far a way from Utah. Instead I was getting Grantsville. I didn't understand it at the time but now I do. There were reasons I had to come to this place. Things I had to learn and relationships I had to develop. My children needed to get to know their cousins and my husband and I needed all the free babysitting they provided. We all needed this place. So now, yes, I am sad to leave. I have made great friends, been in a great ward with a wonderful bishop and grown to love my dear sweet sister even more. I had to learn all the things I was taught in our "Monday" group and I had to learn to love myself again.

Turns out that I am indeed grateful I came to this place. I hate to go. I hate to leave the wonderful friends I've made here. I am sad that I have to leave Utah. I feel though that all of my time here was for an even greater purpose. I feel I was being prepared to go out into the world to be an influence for good. Perhaps I was learning what I have learned so I can teach my sisters in Wisconsin. Who knows, but I do know that the Lord knows best. He sees the big picture and he is in control. I know that he pours out blessings on us even when we don't recognize them as such. How blessed I feel that He saw fit to have us wait so long for that "dream" job because in all that time He was teaching and preparing us and blessing us immensely. And in the end He did give us just was we wanted. Perhaps even more.

The Decision

Well, I'm sure most of you know by now that we have decided to move to Wisconsin. The decision did not come easy. Nope, not in the least. Here we had an offer sitting on the table for 3 weeks. We actually accepted that offer even though we knew we had things on the horizon still. We figured that the first offer would be our last anyway so we went ahead and took it. After much council with friends and family members we were advised that even if we took the offer, we weren't bound to anything until they gave us money. So, when Trek bicycles wanted to fly Ivan out for an interview we were all over it.

How could we turn it down? It just sounded cool and Wisconsin seems a much more desirable place to live than Kansas. After his interview Ivan called me to tell me it went terrible. I couldn't believe it. I felt bad for him. I asked him what went wrong and he told me that it was so bad that they offered him a job before he left. WHAT? His plan in all of this was just to go to the interview, network and get to know some people and be headed off to his new job in Wichita. He figured Trek would take a couple of weeks to get back to him anyway and that by that time we'd be on our way to living in Kansas. So things didn't go as planned. The next day we received the official offer and the day after that another offer from a company in Texas. Three good job offers sitting in front of us. Wow. We would have never dreamed of it. Deciding was a difficult task but we finally felt best about going to Trek. I am so glad that Wisconsin was the answer. I would have accepted it if Kansas or Texas was the answer but truth be told, Wisconsin was at the top of my list for where I would most like to live. Ivan had a really hard time turning down our first offer though. He felt like he was going back on his word and burning bridges. Hopefully they will forgive us.

So now things are happening fast and we'll be leaving in 11 days. I am excited for the new adventure that awaits us and am really excited to live where it is green. I am sad though to leave Utah. Funny thing is that 6 months ago I would have been jumping for joy at the thought of leaving this state but I have grown to love it here. OK, I've grown to love Grantsville and the people here, I still have my issues with UT county. It may have taken us 18 months but we finally did it. We got a real job. I feel so blessed.

What would you do?

First of all I have to say HALLELUJAH! A long awaited job offer has finally arrived and we are ecstatic to say the least. It's been a grueling 16 months of emotional turmoil. So many almosts and so much disappointment. Yes, finally, the day has arrived! However, there is one small problem.

Don't get me wrong, the offer we got was good, better than expected, definitely a step up for us but they want to know what our answer is right away. That would be fine and good but "I" is scheduled to fly out to another interview next week. We're not sure what we would prefer as far as job is concerned but as far as location, the yet to be interview place wins out hands down. We also have no idea what kind of offer this other place would give us or if they will give us one period. So what would you do? I know nothing would be set in stone yet but would you say yest to the first offer or wait to see what is behind door number 2? If you say yes and then get a better offer from company #2 and decided to go there instead would it totally burn bridges and be a bad move career wise? Keep in mind that company #1 wants an answer uh....by tomorrow. We really don't know what to do. We don't want to burn bridges in either direction.

Feeling a bit sad

I've been feeling a little depressed lately. I've been trying not to dwell on it but I just keep being reminded of why I'm depressed. Why was that...oh yeah, because I am so baby hungry. Seriously folks, I want a baby so bad right now and every time I turn around I find out someone else is pregnant. It seems everyone I know is pregnant or has already passed me up in the baby category. I am happy for all of you but I am sad for me. I wish it were as easy for me to decide.."ok, let's have a baby" and wa la I can go ahead and get pregnant. Not so easy for me. I won't go into details but it's just not so easy for me to get pregnant. There are a lot of factors involved. Unfortunately I've been so busy taking care of the kids I do have that I haven't taken care of myself the way I should and that means no baby right now. We also have other issues such as our current living situation, no insurance etc...that are factoring into the baby equation.

I just want all of you who are my friends who are with child (so that would be just about everyone I know)to never take for granted what you have. Be grateful for the sickness, be grateful for exhaustion. Be grateful for a big belly and all the comments that come along with it. Be grateful for the pain that is to come and the sleepless nights that are inevitable. I would give anything for any of that right now.

Archie's #1

I just couldn't resist putting a link to David Archuleta's new single on my blog. I love this kid and his first single does not disappoint.

Nostalgia

I took a walk down memory lane last Friday while on a trip to Idaho for my niece's graduation. I love Rexburg. I am so glad that my niece decided to go to school there just so I could have the excuse of visiting and reliving my glory days. Even though in my time it was just the 2 year Ricks College and now it is a blossoming University campus the spirit of Ricks still lives on. In my day we used to say that BYU was the church's university but that Ricks was the Lord's school. I still think that statement rings true. BYU has its great quailities but it will never outdo BYU-I where feeling the spirit is concerned. I think that is the biggest reason that I have such deep feelings for my Alma Mater.

Ricks was the place where I essentially "grew up". Where I learned about the ups and downs of life and how to handle them. Not only was my education secular but it was an education in life. It was where I learned how to study the scriptures and where I gained a true testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was where I learned how to deal with terrible room mates and how to nurture lasting friendships that I still hold dear. I will forever look back at my time there with great fondness.

I don't remember much of the Commencement address because I was too busy thinking about all the wonderful times I had spent in the Hart Auditorium. All the devotionals , firesides and performances I had attended and participated in. Same goes for the Barrus concert hall where the Convocation was held. That is a special place for me and I couldn't help but remember all the times I had been on that very stage performing. My very last concert at Ricks was held there and that in itself is one of the most cherished memories of my life.

So to my Alma Mater I say thank you. Thanks for all the wonderful memories and all the knowledge I gained. Thank you for all the wonderful friendships I made and all the life lessons I learned. I will always think of that time in my life as the most important because it is essentially the time that shaped me into who I am today. I only hope that one day my own children will have the opportunity to experience what I did (well, the good stuff anyway) and attend that great university.

And the Stars Aligned

There are few times in life (at least my life) when the stars align and things work out more perfect than you could have imagined. Monday night was one of those nights for me. It may not seem like much to most but for my honey and I it was marvelous.

Two months ago I bought a single ticket to the American Idols concert. (You all know how much I LOVE AI!) The main reason for the single ticket was my husbands selflessness in wanting me to have a great seat and at $68 a pop that meant we could only afford one ticket. Even though he himself is a fan of the show, he was willing to let me go by myself and have a great seat.

So Monday night the plan was this: meet at Chili's by the E-Center for a birthday dinner for Lili (don't worry, her birthday was the next day, I would never skip out on my baby's birthday to go to a concert)after picking my dad up from the airport and then "I" would take the girls and my dad home and I would head off to the concert. Lucky for us we had my ever friendly father with us who struck up a conversation with some lady who just happened to have 2 extra tickets...and....she wanted to GIVE them to us. FREE! OK...so what to do...Again, my dad stepped up to the plate offering to take the girls with him to my sister's house so that we could go to the concert.

I was so excited that my honey was going to get to come with me only, I was not so willing to give up my very good seat to go sit in the back corner with him. (I know, I'm so selfish aren't I?) So again with the star alignment thing, it just so happens that whoever was supposed to sit next to me didn't show up so by the time Carly sang Ivan was able to come sit by me and there he stayed. It was so fun to have such a wonderful time with my honey there with me. We haven't been on a date in so long and to get to go to a concert together, well, pretty much unheard of. It was a wonderful night and we both had a great time. My favorite part was when David A cried because he was so moved by all the love he felt from the crowd (seriously, it was crazy loud for him).

So here are a few pics from the concert. I may upload a video later but it takes so long and I am very tired so it will have to wait.

Proud Aunt

I just had to post this little video of my niece Heidi performing at the "Little Miss Grantsville" pageant. I had never heard her really sing before and was just blown away by her talent. She is only 10. I know, I could be a little biased because she's me niece so you'll have to judge for yourself. By the way, she came in second. (We all think it was because her older sister had just won the Miss Grantsville title) =) Anyway, enjoy!

Too long

I just noticed that it has been over a month since I blogged. How pathetic. There really has just been nothing to blog about in my opinion. We have had nothing exciting happening which I guess can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I guess I should stop waiting to blog about our ever elusive family vacation which by the way will never happen. Every time we start thinking about going somewhere we remember that we don't have any money for a vacation. I have tried to come up with something cheap we could do like camping but it winds up it wouldn't be cheap since we have no camping gear to speak of. (Unless you count a 2'x 2' kids tent as camping gear)Then there is always the thought of the generic trip to California in the back of my mind. There is so much to do there and a free place to stay at my sisters, but oh yeah, it would cost us gazillions of dollars in gas just to get there. So anyway, there will most likely be no family vacation blog this summer. Blogs about being stuck at home (mostly because I'm too cheap to spend the gas to go anywhere) or an occasional trip to the pool will have to do unless by some miracle something exciting happens for us.

So this is what we've been up to the last little while. My niece was crowned Miss Grantsville. I'm not quite sure what it means since she doesn't get to go to the Miss Utah pageant but none the less, kind of exciting to have a local celebrity in the family. "I" gets to work from home on Fridays. He works 4 9 hour days and then 4 hours on Fridays. We love it because it saves us about 20 bucks in gas a week and we get to hang out together an extra day. Lili started gymnastics and not that I'm a proud mom or anything, but she is a prodigy. =) OK, maybe not a prodigy but she loves it and she is actually very good. All that jumping on my bed has really helped her have a step up on the trampoline skills.

I have 4 baby tomatoes on my tomato plant(and a baby pepper too). I am so excited because I have never grown anything before. Also, in addition to my Monday group (which is now on Wednesdays) I'm part of a scrap booking group that meets every week and a walking group that goes walking at the High School track every evening.(Side note: thanks to the walking and eating really healthy the last couple of months I have lost 20 pounds, yeah!!)

We also recently acquired a Wii. I know, you're probably thinking we could've gone on that vacation with the money we spent on the Wii, but actually, I'm pretty sure the Wii was cheaper, a lot cheaper. Anyway, we have had great fun with the games and the girls even get into them. Lili is actually quite a pro at boxing (neither Ivan nor I can beat her) and she's not bad at tennis either. Guitar Hero is my game of choice and I'm not too bad at it. I have even mastered a few songs in the "Hard" category.

So folks, that is about all that has been going on with us. I know, boring. I really am hoping for something more exciting to blog about in the next little while. Until then this will have to do.

The Monday Ladies

I wish I had a picture of my group of ladies here in Grantsville to show all of you but it is nearly impossible to get us all together at the same time. Too many of us have to chase after kids, etc. So my one measly picture will have to do.



This picture is from cheese making day.

Since I moved to Grantsville I have been lucky enough to have a group of ladies to hang with once a week. My sister started a group that meets on Mondays and we have learned everything from gardening and herbs to how to make our own soap and lotion. I have loved being a part of this. Not only do I get to learn more about being a true granola (although I doubt I will ever get there since I refuse to give up wearing a bra!)but I have made some great friends as well. These ladies are wonderful and I love having some women who are a little older and wiser to learn from. Some of the other things we've done:

1.Planned our gardens and ordered seeds together in bulk to split up.

2.Made our own soap, lotion, lip balm, salt scrub, and tried shampoo although that one didn't turn out so great.

3. Made an herbal salve for burns/ diaper rash and other skin irritations.

4. Grafted a whole homeopathic kit.

5.As I mentioned, we made cheese. Now I know why cheese is so expensive. It takes a gallon of milk to make about a pound of cheese plus it takes a lot of time. This is not something I plan on doing by myself unless someday I have my own cow (which is not totally out of the question, I would like my own cow or at least one to share)

6. Some of the ladies got chickens and one even hatched some in an incubator. That was a fun educational experience for my girls and I. I had never seen a chicken hatch before. (I wish I could have gotten chickens, I really want some)

We also have some great things planned like going for a hike in the canyon to identify the herbs that are growing wild up there. We can also suggest things we want to learn or do. The best part is that my kids are usually so entertained. Most of these women home school so their kids are there and the older ones help take care of the younger ones. It is so nice.

I really am so glad that this has been a part of my life. I love being around like minded people who don't think all of my "natural" ways are weird and I like knowing that there are some people out there who are more quirky than I am. (although sometimes I revel in being the "different" one)

What's wrong with America?

A few days ago I was listening to Glen Beck. I really like this guy, he just makes sense. I wish I were able to listen to him more but since my kids never let me listen to anything but the likes of Raffi it is a rare occasion that I get to tune in. This particular evening Glen was talking about how much little things add up to define who we are. Take for instance people who wind up getting fat, he said it wasn't because they pig out (although I'm sure some do) but rather it was the one little cookie here, the donut there, the soda pop at the party, whatever it is it is all the little things that add up. HE talked about kids growing up and parents allowing them to watch inappropriate things or play video games that they shouldn't. That parents rationalize that it's just one TV show or just one movie or just a magazine, what harm could it do? Well, by themselves perhaps not much but over time all the little things wear at a person and break down their morals and self esteem. I was in total agreement with Mr. Beck on this. It is so true.

So time for me to get on my soapbox. Last night my honey and I got the rare chance to go to the movies. It has been a very long time since we've gone to the movies and since we were celebrating my birthday we got my niece to babysit and headed out to see Ironman.



(a great movie might I add) I had only seen perhaps one preview on this movie but just from seeing that I knew this movie would have the typical super hero good versus bad violence that they all do. And, just from the movie marquee it also looked a bit scary (Ironman's suit is definitely a bit creepy). Just before the movie starts a family with 3 small children come in and sit in the row behind us. The youngest was about Lili's age, I'd guess 4 and the other 2 were not that much older. To see IRONMAN! A 4 year old! Ok, am I bit off or is it not obvious to any person with some intelligence to not that this movie would be inappropriate for a 4 year old? I know as a parent that there is no way in you know where that I would ever take my kids to see this movie. It was violent and scary (any 4 year old would be scared seeing a scene of a kid crying for his father who was about to be shot point blank by bad guys) Kids this age do not know that what they are watching is not real. AS much an any parent might think that they aren't paying attention or just won't get it they are wrong. I am sure that this movie would have an affect on any kid.

So Glen, I have to agree, it's all the little things that add up and most of it has to do with stupid parents. That is what I see as the problem with America. Parents who don't parent. Parents who want to be their kid's friend instead of teaching them the difference between right and wrong. Parents who don't care what their kids watch on TV or what they do while on the internet or playing video games. That all they care about is whether or not their kids will leave them alone. I wish that parents would wake up and do what's best for their kids instead of what is best for them.

p.s. My husband, trying to give these people the benefit of the doubt said: "Maybe they couldn't find a babysitter." To which I said: "well then they should have just stayed home (or at least gone to see Horton Hears a Who or something)."

Editing

I have finally tried my hand at photo editing in Photo Shop. My hubby is a master with this program but I have been intimidated by it for a long time. I have just never felt like I had the time to sit down and learn how to use it. Last night my sweetie took the time to show me a few things and this is my first attempt at making my pictures look cool. I'm afraid though this may become an addiction since I love scrap booking but had pretty much given it up because I could never make my pictures look as great as the ones in magazines. I still have a lot of things to learn and a lot of practicing to do but at least I'm not so scared to give it a try.




By the way, the picture was taken yesterday in front of our house. We had gotten a fun sprinkler for the girls to play in this weekend since its going to get hot. They couldn't wait to play in it so we donned the swim suits and spent most of the day outside. Sofi was a little hesitant to run through it but loved splashing in the water.

Groupie for a Day

Since my life is pretty much like "Groundhog Day" I decided to create a little excitement for myself today. I took a little trip....a trip back in time. Back to the time of pimply faced prepubescent boys, braces and bottle cap glasses. A time when hanging pictures of New Kids on the Block all over my room was a very cool thing. A time when the biggest worry I had was whether I would happen to see my "true love" that day AND if he would say anything to me or not. Boy oh boy, those were the days. Yes indeed, 13 was such a great age....NOT!

So back to today, if you know me well enough you will know that I am a HUGE fan of American Idol. I love it. I've watched it faithfully since ...about the middle of the first season, when I discovered it. I seriously can't get enough of it and I go through withdrawals throughout the week just waiting for Tuesday to arrive so I can get another fix. Nothing can be planned on Tuesday nights because AI is on. (I can't tell you how many times I have chosen AI over enrichment...is that bad??) Wednesday nights...same thing. I love love love American Idol. I even love Simon.

This season of course has been no different. I have taken a particular liking to little David Archuleta. I fell in love with his voice during his first audition and have been routing for him since. Maybe it's because he's a Utah boy and who doesn't want to route for the home town kid? Maybe it's just that he puts a smile on my face when I hear him sing (do I sound 13 yet?). Who knows what it is. I just like him. So of course when I heard he was coming home for a big celebration I just had to be a part of it. That's right, I dragged my sorry 30-something self (and my 2 little kids) to the Gateway mall today to see the child prodigy in person. I was not prepared for what I would experience. There I was, and old lady (practically old enough to be his mother...ok..aunt)amongst a multitude of screaming teeny-boppers (do they still call them that?))just to catch a glimpse of good ol' Archie. And you know what? It was so fun! I loved it! I felt young again and for a brief moment there was something to be exited about. I didn't scream but I did laugh (mostly because I couldn't believe all the mayhem over this kid) and I took a few pictures. I hope you enjoy....and I hope you vote for him because I really really do want him to win. (just a note, I want Archie to win but I still do like the other David very much and will vote for him too...at least this week). Anyway, if you're a David Archuleta fan enjoy the pics.

Classic!

Sorry to post another video but this one just had to be shown to all the world. Ok, if not all the world, at least all those who are alumni of the 172nd ward. Thanks Lori for permission to post this.

Gotta watch this

I love this video. I laughed my head off!

Bio-Kinetic what??

Most of you know that I am a bit on the kooky side. I'm into healthy/organic foods, I home birth my babies, I plan on home schooling, etc....Well, if you didn't think I was kooky before then you will surely be convinced after this blog posting. I have found a new degree of kookiness to explore and I'm loving it.

It's called Bio-Kinetic testing and let me tell you, it's amazing. I have known about it for a while but have just barely begun to gain a true appreciation for the art. Testing is using a person's energy ( everyone has their own unique energy) to figure out what is wrong (or not) with their body. Responses are received through a negative or positive reaction when asked a yes or no question. For example, let's say you have had a stomach ache for a few days and you want to know what is going on. You can actually ask what it is through a series of questions and figure out for yourself if you have a virus/bacteria etc.. So here's my story:

A couple of weeks ago I called my sister to ask her to "test" me. She has been practicing it for a little while and I wanted her to do it because I didn't trust myself and I wanted to get it right. I waited a week for her to be able to sit down and actually take this upon herself. The results were so amazing. I now know exactly the things that are wrong with me (which are many and I knew there were many when I went into this) and how to fix them via herbs and supplements. She told me some very acurate things that she couldn't have known and I know I haven't told her. For instance, strangely enough my allergies are affecting my ears. Now I know why my ears have been itching a lot and why I sometimes get a strange pain in them. Makes total sense. She also said I had a virus in my stomach. Sure did but she didn't know that. I could go on and on. So long story short, I have been on my herbs (which by the way you can test for which ones you needs and how much etc...)for a week now and am feeling so much better. I won't go into the details of all the things I need to fix but I will tell you that through my own testing I am improving day by day.

I know it sounds weird. It sounded weird to me too but now I have to say I am totally convinced and am working on my own testing abilities so that I can help myself and my family. I am a true believer that people should take more responsibility for their own health instead of running to the doctor every time they have a sniffle. Not that I don't believe in doctors, I think they are important for a lot of things but not for everything. There are so many things that we can do to take care of ourselves. I also believe that herbs were placed on this earth for that specific reason. Yes, conventional medicine has it's place but so do the things that God himself has provided us with.

I have to give you an example of how this whole testing thing has helped a good friend of mine. (I hope she doesn't mind me using her as an example) We'll call her Mary. Mary has had Epstein-Barr virus (which is actually very common) for 6 years. She was diagnosed by a doctor and told pretty much that there was nothing they could do for her, it was going to be her lot in life to be sick and tired all the time. Her immune system was so weak that any little cold her kids had would turn into serious issues for her, including having pneumonia. She was tired all the time and had said she wouldn't have anymore kids because of her tiredness and inability to take care of another baby. Anyway, she got tested, got on a special diet and some herbs and after about a month she was feeling so much better that she says she could even have more kids. She says she hasn't felt this good in 6 years. Where conventional medicine failed her, herbs and diet helped.

I know most of you probably don't believe in going all natural and perhaps are even afraid of herbs but I have to tell you for the record, they work. I guess you could say I have kind of gained a testimony of them. (hopefully that doesn't sound sac religious)Not only through this experience but over the past 4 years as I've seen how I have benefited from knowing what natural things to do for my health and the health of my family. I am actually so grateful to have this knowledge now and I know that my family will benefit from it. I would totally recommend reading this book and studying it out for yourself. You won't be sorry.

Pictures

I haven't posted any pictures of the girls in so long I thought it was high time I did so. Here are a few from Easter and a day at the park. Enjoy.

"Bup"

This is "Bup":



Aliases: "Bupany" "Buppy" and "Bupity bup"

Who knew such a cute little innocent looking bear could cause so much trouble. When I was pregnant with Sofi, Lili and I went on a little shopping trip for her soon to be sibling. We didn't know whether she would have a brother or sister so we picked this little bear. He turned out to be Sofi's lovey. She will not sleep without him and if she wants him and can't find him she cries and screams and carries on until we find him for her. I have become obsessed with this bear. I am always very very conscious of where he is especially if he goes out of the house. I know that my life would turn into a living hell if ever he were to be lost. This was made quite evident during our move a couple of weeks ago. Even though we were only going for a short hour and a half ride I knew she would want him. We were all ready to go and loaded up when I realized we didn't have the infamous "Bup".

So like I said, my life was a living hell for an hour and 20 minutes. Somehow "Bup" had been inadvertently packed up in the big truck so we had to brave the journey without him. And a rough ride it was indeed. Of course, I was the only one who had to endure as Lili had ridden with daddy in the big truck. Sofi screamed (and I mean screamed) and cried and screamed and cried the whole way. It was miserable. Luckily he was found quickly after arriving at our new place. Phew!

A couple of days ago we went to my sisters to play. Of course "Bup" was with us. He was in my plain sight most of the day but nearing the end of our stay Sofi disappeared with him. She wandered upstairs without me knowing and was getting into all kinds of things. The first time I found her she had chocolate all over her face. She had found her cousin's leftover Easter candy. The second time I found her she had what appeared to be concealer all over her lips. She had apparently thought it was lip gloss. None the less, she had invaded her older cousins room much to my dismay. After that it was definitely time to go. I cleaned her up, loaded the girls in the car and drove off. After a few blocks I realized that we didn't have "Bup". So we turned around and I went in search. I searched for about 10 minutes and then decided I would just have to come back after dinner.

Search I did. For over an hour. I looked outside, inside, going room by room looking under everything. No Bup. I was very very stressed out. It was nearing bedtime and no Bup. What on earth would we do? I cried, I prayed and still I couldn't find him. I started to imagine that he was lost forever and it actually made me sad. I was really really quite sad over the loss of this little inanimate bear. Finally I called my hubby and told him to bring the girls so we could all look for Bup. As soon as they arrived I took Sofi Upstairs and told her to find Bup. She lead me right to him. All of that stress for nothing really. If I had just had her look in the first place ....duh. Well, luckily at least he was found and we can all rest easier knowing that he is home safe and sound.

Funny thing is, I realized that perhaps I have my own feelings of attachment to Buppy. I actually kind of love him too. He has somehow made himself a big part of our family that will one day be missed when Sofi is too old for him.

Stuck

I'm wondering if any of my friends feel a need to head out of the city and go for a ride to the country for a day. I fear I may become quite lonely and perhaps even go berserk. My van is broken. Sad sad day for me. We knew it was coming, the starter has been acting up for a long time but since we never had any money to fix it we just prayed it would keep working for us and it did.....until Sunday. It would not start for us and consequently we were nearly late for church. Lucky for us they run on Mormon standard time here. We all piled into "little red" ,the girls without their car seats no less, and drove our little country bumpkin selves to the church 6 blocks away. Good thing church was so close and that we do live in a place with absolutely no traffic.

Anywho, we still lack the fundage to fix our van (partly because Ivan had to take 3 days off last week to go to an interview in Kansas City) so I just might go crazy being stuck in Grantsville for the next few weeks until we can get it fixed.

Oh, and if any of my friends feel like hosting a Stampin' Up! party for me so I can earn some extra cash to fix my van then I would greatly appreciate that as well. =) (except you might have to come pick me up =) ).

Country Girl at Heart

So I've figured out in the last couple of weeks that I must truly be a country girl at heart. I have not minded one minute of my stay here in Grantsville so far and to my surprise have actually rather enjoyed it.

I think this must stem from my early childhood. I was born in a very small town, actually, I was born 30 miles away from my house because we lived in a very very small town. We lived on a dirt road and only had a few neighbors. There were no traffic lights and the high school was a combo jr high/high school with about 70 kids. Yes indeed, a very small town. I think I liked it there. I don't remember much but I must have liked it because I am back in a place that could compare I think and I love it.

Country folk are just different from city folk. The things that matter to them are a little less worldly and they are also much more friendly. I have felt at home from the second we walked in the door to our new place.

I have also gotten the homesteading bug. I think it would absolutely fabulous to have a house with a lot of land for a big garden and lots of animals. I know it would be a lot of work but fun work. What wouldn't be fun about planting your own food and growing it yourself (organically might I add) instead of relying on others. And teaching my kids about it would be priceless. I have even started by going in with some ladies here on buying seeds for my garden. I've ordered 3 kinds of tomatoes, peppers, onions, cauliflower, squash, melons, lettuce, spinach...etc.....you name, we'll have it. I also ordered a bunch of herbs so I can have those as well. Too bad I don't have anywhere to plant them yet. I will though (I hope)by next year. I am on my way to self sufficiency (as long as I can figure out how to tend my garden).

I have been thinking a lot about this self sufficiency thing lately and how our world is right now. I admit that I'm a little scared by all that is going on and the price of gas, which affects everything! There is also talk of a trucker's strike which could really do us all in where food is concerned. It's an uncertain world we live in right now. I'm grateful that we have church leaders who have counseled us to store food/ get out of debt/ save money. I have a feeling we are going to need it sooner rather than later.

Happy Easter

I just wanted to wish all of you a happy Easter! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Huggies baby wipes do quite a good job of getting poop out of fancy frilly Easter dresses....and off of shoes... and socks. They work pretty well on chocolate too!

Back by popular demand!

Since everyone seems to want me to keep blogging I guess I will have to oblige. I guess I had been in one of my moods last time and really really just wanted to quit the blogging thing. I have thought it over however and have decided that my life really isn't so bad after all. My mom used to always say that things never turn out as bad as we think they will. It has proven true over and over. I thought I would be super depressed over leaving my house and moving so far away from my friends and all I know but it hasn't been that bad actually. Maybe it hasn't hit me yet but I'd like to think that I won't ever be sad about my house.

Granstville is turning out to be quite nice really. I enjoy the quiet a lot. The most that I ever hear is an occasional car (oh, and yesterday a tractor went by....the joys of living in the country!). Ivan even saw an owl in the tree outside our house this morning. So cool. Here is my short list of the good things about living in Grantsville:

1. So so quiet
2. I can see the stars bright and clear
3. Fresh air!
4. A yard to play in! Yeah!
5. Being in a family ward
6. I can go to the grocery store and not have to deal BYU students making out in the aisles
7. No traffic
8. My car insurance is lower (due to the fact that there is no traffic!)
9. living close to my sister
10. no annoying noisy neighbors that leave their trash and tobacco remnants in front of my house.

The only things I could do without are not having a dishwasher and being so far away from everything. I miss Target and Costco.

So I guess I will keep on blogging so that you all can keep up with us. Hopefully I will have a lot of happy stuff to write about.

I Quit

After much thought and consideration I have decided to quit blogging, at least for the time being. I look at everyone else's blogs and just think to myself at how utterly depressing my life is compared to everyone else's. It seems everyone has wonderful things happening, new babies, vacations, buying houses etc..... As much as I try I just can't seem to come up with anything positive to blog about. Negative things are consuming my life right now. I try to look on the bright side and see the positive but really, I can't seem to considering everything that is going on. So since I can't say anything nice, I'm just not going to say anything at all.

Perhaps is life gets a little better I will be up to blogging again but for now it's adios amigos.

Home Sweet Home

Since some of my friends now know and since I am feeling a little less embarrassed to tell the whole world, I am letting you all know that we are moving. It is not by choice either. We have to be moved out of our house by March 15th. I am very sad and very very scared but I know that everything will work out in the end. I am actually taken back by the love and concern that has been showed to us the last couple of days. We've already had 3 offers from friends for us to live with them. Since I like my friends and want to still be friends we have declined those offers but I am very very grateful for them and their willingness to share.

So who knows what will happen to us. For now our plan is to live in one of my sister's rental houses for a little while until we know what we are doing. Heaven knows I don't want to live in Grantsville but at least the rent will be super cheap and my girls will get to see their cousins more.

Now it's time for my bawl session. I love my house. This place has been my home for 4 years. It is really the only home I've had since the home I grew up in. I've had my babies here (literally had them here...in the house), we've grown into a family here. We have painted it crazy colors because that is who we are and now we have to leave it. I guess I would feel different if we were leaving for good reasons. For a job somewhere and a new adventure but since it's not that way it is super super hard. We are going backwards here. I thought we were supposed to be progressing. All I know is that the last year of my life has been about the hardest I can imagine. The Lord has seen fit to stretch me as far as I can go and then a little more. I only hope that I am proving my worthiness. Most of the time I feel I am not but I am trying. So now I have to get my act together and pack like crazy. The thought overwhelms me more than you can know. I have no idea how to pack a whole house. I've only ever had to pack myself up really and that's nothing. Now I have to pack myself, a husband, 2 kids and a piano....a very very heavy piano. Yikes. Any strong men want to come help us on the 15th??

Latino-American Love

I thought this was hilarious. But you might only get it if you've taken a semester of Spanish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw

A Sign

This past Saturday our family had a wonderful outing to of all places, IKEA. We do love IKEA but boy were we exhausted afterwards. On our way out Ivan and I had the following random sarcastic conversation:

I: Maybe I could design caskets for IKEA.
J: Huh?
I: You know, a put it together yourself cheapo version but still make it look cool.
J: Now there's an idea. You could make some novel ones you know like they do now a days where they make caskets in the shape of guitars and pianos and such to reflect how the person was while living.
I: Hmm....maybe I should sketch some and stick it in my portfolio.
J: That's sounds kind of morbid.


I know, weird conversation. Why on earth would we be talking about this? I have no idea.

Then yesterday Ivan got one of those emails from Monster where they send you job openings in your field. This was the job the came up:

Product Designer

Looking for a challenging opportunity with a successful corporation where your dedication and results will be noticed? Batesville Casket Company offers a team environment where we recognize and promote dedicated and results oriented employees.

Batesville Casket Company is more than the world’s leading producer of premium caskets and cremation products, we set the standard for success and productivity. We play a vital role in the funeral process, assisting funeral directors in helping families honor the lives of someone they loved.

Several of our manufacturing facilities have recently been recognized by both the National Safety Council and Industry Week for their best practices and efficiency as well as their commitment to excellence. Join a winning team and receive the spoils of success such as competitive pay and benefits.

We are currently looking for a Product Designer at our Batesville, IN location.

So how random is that? Is it a sign? I don't think that we want it to be a sign because really, who wants to design caskets and urns. Not exactly a dream job. I guess it has one advantage though, I'm sure business is always steady no matter what state the economy is in. At any rate we are going to apply. It couldn't hurt and besides it's right outside of Cincinnati which we love so it couldn't be all bad right?

Being creative

Here is a little something I made for a friend last night. I thought it was actually blog worthy. Hopefully this qualifies me as good enough to do the Stampin' Up! thing.

Free stuff

I love getting stuff for free. Who doesn't? Take today for instance. We splurged a little and met daddy for a lunch date. We have not done that in forever. I guess we were feeling pretty rich since it was pay day so we went to Chili's (Lili's idea). And I have to admit that nothing makes me happier than having a good meal with out me having to do a thing but just sit there and be served. However our food took much longer than we imagined. A lot longer. Our server never even came to check on us and we had run out of water to drink. I was getting a little antsy. I didn't even see her anywhere to flag her down. I was getting annoyed. FINALLY she came to the table to give us water. I asked about our food and told her we had been waiting a long time. After all, Ivan only has an hour lunch. So we finally got our food brought out to us by the manger who apologized profusely. Now the good part. We got the girls' food free and then he gave us an envelope with some gift certificates that would cover nearly a whole meal for all of us. Score! I love it when that happens. Of course we had to be extremely annoyed (and had to pay for our food) in order to get our free stuff but I'd have to say it was worth it.

I had another free stuff thing happen this week. My sister in Cali called me on Tuesday and asked me if I had any secret desire to own a Bosch. Uh....YEAH! I've been wanting one for years but figured it would have to wait until we were settled into a real job. Hallelujah! Just so happens her neighbor was giving away her Bosch. She said she had prayed about who to give it to and she just kept thinking of my sister. Funny, because my sister already owns a Bosch. My sister was very gracious and asked if it was alright to give it to her sister. I feel so lucky. But that's not even the best part. It also just so happens that a good family friend who lives in Salt Lake is heading down to CA for the weekend and will bring me back my Bosch. Funny how things work out sometimes. Now I just need a wheat grinder and I can be the true granola that I know is inside of me!

To stamp or not to stamp

Lately I've been quite into doing crafty things. In particular making cards and other cute paper things. I love it. It helps me be creative and it's a good distraction from all the poopy things going on in my life. Last night my wonderful friend Laurie had a Stampin' Up party. I was so excited to go because I love their stuff and I was determined to actually buy something. (Last week I sold something on Craigslist just so I''d have money for it). I wound up spending nearly twice as much as I had planned but that's because they were having a deal where if you spend $50 you get a free stamp set and of course, I love free stuff so....I just had to do it. Besides, it is all stuff I "need".

Then I got to thinking, what if I become a demonstrator? Would I get a good discount? Could I earn enough money to support my habit? Would it be fun? The thought has actually crossed my mind before but I've thought that there is no way that I'm talented enough to do it. So I am in a dilemma folks. What do I do? I want to do it. I want to do it for the social aspect of meeting new people and hanging out with gal pals doing girly stuff. I want to do it for all the stuff I could buy to make cute things. It's a little bit of an investment though. Ahh....what do I do? My husband actually supports me in my endeavor but do I feel confident enough to go through with it? "Sigh". I will mull over it for a little while and get back to you with my decision. Feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

My cry for help!

(Again, read at your own risk! BTW, this is not meant to offend anyone who may be taking Prozac or any other type of anti depressant. It's just me being....a bit sarcastic.)

I've decided that I need to start taking Prozac. I just can't seem to figure any other way to get out of this funk that I'm in. I mean really, I've gone a little loony I think. Does crying yourself to sleep every night fall under the category of being depressed? What about bursting into tears every time I see a Florida or Texas license plate? (Which it seems happens every time I go out. Why are so many Texans living in Provo?) And never mind the fact that I have the desire to sit in front of the TV every night with a carton of ice cream to drown my sorrows in. Not that I eat a carton of ice cream every night...I just have the desire to. So yes folks..I do believe I can be considered depressed or at least a little off my rocker.

Those of you who know me know that I'm kind of anti doctor and anti meds so I'm looking for some suggestions on how to get out of this stupor. Please no "eat healthy and exercise" crap, I already know that. What I'm looking for are .....ideas for things to do to distract me at least. So anyone got any brilliant ideas? Please please please tell me. I'm crying out for help here people! And if I don't get any I may just wind up being committed.

Why?

(Note to all readers: This post is meant for therapeutic reasons only on the part of the author. If you choose to read this post you may be subjecting yourself to negativity and cynicism. Read at your own risk.)

Why? That is a question I have been asking myself a lot lately. Why aren't we moving to Florida? Why not Texas either? Why on earth did we just spend the last 3 and a half years sacrificing our time and money (that we didn't have) to finish school when we are in the same place we were 3 years ago? Why does everyone else get a job right after graduating and we are still stuck here? Why did we get ourselves into a ton of student loan debt going through school only to be making the same we would've been making had we stayed at our job that we had before going to school? Why do we have to still be poor? Why do some people get flat screen TV's and Wii's for Christmas and we have to take back all of our presents in order to pay our electricity bill etc...? Why doesn't GM have a contract job for us? Why have we not seen the fruit of our labors? Why are we stuck in such a state of non progression? WHY have I been sentenced to life in Utah? (sorry to all my Utah friends, that's not to offend you, I just would rather live somewhere else.)

Why? Why? Why? I have not come up with the answer to any of these questions as of yet. I am hoping that soon I will receive some answers so that I can get some sleep and stop feeling so depressed over all of this.

Other things that are happening in my world: Sofi is driving us all nuts. I now believe there really is a thing called the terrible 2's. I deal with her temper tantrums all day everyday. I'm about to pull my hair out. God help me!

Also, we got a cat. We rescued her from the shelter. We love her, she is the best cat ever. She's quiet and well mannered and tolerates the kids. I was going to post about her and put a picture but I can't find the cord to upload my pictures to the computer. Argg!

I hope this post wasn't too much of a downer. I guess I need all of my friends to know just what I'm going through right now. I promise to try and post something better next time.

Resolution # 3

I thought that maybe I might give up blogging. It seems lately that I can't come up with anything to blog about nor does it seem that I have to the time to blog either. However after reevaluating the situation and seeing as I have quite the international audience, I have decided instead to make it a goal to blog at least twice a week this year. We'll see how I do. It may work for a couple of weeks and then wind up in the pooper like all of my resolutions seem to do but at least I will have given it a go.

While we are on the subject of resolutions, another one of mine this year is to be more frugal. By choice not by necessity. I have had to be frugal for the past several years with Ivan in school and me being at home with my babies. It has not always been fun but out of necessity I have been able to come up with a couple of good meals that have now become staples in our family. Making things that everyone will like, OK, that Lili and Sofi will like, is quite the chore sometimes. The other day I stewed most of the day over what I would make for dinner. Mostly because I did not want to go to the store or spend money on food until absolutely necessary. I took inventory of what I had on hand and came up with a great idea. The result was a a great little mexican chicken thing to put in tortillas. I thought it was yummy........my girls did not. Well, actually, they were repulsed by the sight of it. Wouldn't even try it.

Our dinner went something like this: Sofi: "boo hoo hoo. Wa Wa Wa!"
Daddy: "Lili, eat your food. It's really yummy."
Lili: "NO!! I DON'T WANT TO!"
Mommy: "Sniff Sniff." (feeling depressed because no one liked what she worked so hard to make)
This basically went on for 20 minutes or so. We had quite the Super Nanny moment. I was mad and feeling like a failure as a mom. After all, I was doing my best to make something yummy and healthy with what we had and not spend money that we don't.

After the girls were in bed that night I came downstairs and turned on the TV to veg and forget about my sorrows. So what show happens to be having it's season premier? None other than Super Nanny! It took about 10 minutes for me to snap out of my doldrums and realize that I am not the worst mom in the world. No sir, there are plenty that are worse off than I am. I suppose I am doing OK if an occasional unwelcome meal is the worst thing that happens. Needless to say though, the next day I made sure to get a few things at the store and we had a very well received spaghetti dinner last night. So for now I will put my "black bean and chicken mexicana" recipe in the archives and maybe pull it back out when my children are old enough to appreciate such fine cuisine.