This Is The Year

I confess ... I have 1,667 emails in my inbox. Because I never delete 'em. And I can't delete the whole inbox, because some emails have information I need. I spent about 20 minutes the other day going through and deleting/saving different emails individually, but then I got tired of it. So I didn't make much progress. I confess ... I'm mildly depressed that today my baby brother turns 26. My BABY brother. I am not old enough for my BABY brother to be 26! Booooo. Bookworm with Baby Brother at his wedding 2 years ago. I confess .... that I thought it was hilarious when Tanielle and I went to the McDonald's drive-thru late last night to get ourselves some Dr. Peppers, and then when we didn't think they were very good, we went to the Carl's Jr. Drive-thru and ordered new Dr. Peppers, and when we got up to the window and the lady handed us our drinks, we gave her the ones from McDonald's and told her they were yucky and asked her to throw them away f...

Babysitter? Check. Claret and Cobalt hair flares? Check. Appropriate team apparel? Check. Tickets to the biggest soccer match in the history of not only the state of Utah, but the entire US league? Check and CHECK!!! I know this means little to most of you...but I am so freaking excited I can't even stand it! I don't think I've been this excited for an event since NKOTB reunited and Tanielle and I went to their concert! It is seriously going to be the BEST date night ever! Tonight my boys take on Monterrey, Mexico in the Final leg of the CONCACAF ( Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Champions league tournament. It is history in the making. RSL is representing the entire league tonight. No U.S. team has ever made it this far, and if we take the trophy tonight, we will be the first U.S. team EVER to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. Updated: This video seriously gave me chills. In conclusion I would like to pen (keyboard) a few ...

I received a few comments on my friendship post concerning the fact that I am part of a blended family. Those comments made me realize that I haven't really shared the complete story of my childhood. So I thought I would enlighten you. Before we begin I wanted to clarify a couple of things. When I refer to my "dad", I am speaking of the man who adopted me, and raised me since I was 8 years old. "Bio father" refers to the man who is my biological father, and was married to my mom at the time of my birth. Hopefully it won't be too confusing. I was born in Twin Falls, Idaho in July, 1976, and lived the earliest part of my life in California. When I was almost 2 years old, and my mom was pregnant with her second child (my brother "D"), my bio father left and he and my mom divorced. After D was born (also in Idaho), we came to Salt Lake City where my mom found work, and was completely away from the rest of her family (all in Idaho). She was a si...

A beautiful song reminding us what it's all about. Happy Easter everyone.

I CONFESS…… I may never come back down to earth again. BECAUSE I FREAKING MET Chris Wingert !!! That's right people. I met him. For real. If you know me, you have probably heard of my love and undying devotion. To the point of wanting to choke me, because you're so sick of it. Sorry. The team flew back from Mexico last night. They were returning from the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Finals. It's sort of a big deal. Like REALLY a big deal. The first team in Major League Soccer to go this far. Ever. Making a huge name for ReAL Salt Lake, as well as representing the entire League of US Soccer. At the last minute we (and by "we" I mean "me") decided we should go over to the charter air strip and join other fans in welcoming the boys back home. Had NO idea that we would actually get to mingle with them. And take pictures, and just basically be in soccer heaven for a short time. I CONFESS: I would normally never, EVER post the followi...

Check it out...another party that I have been cordially invited to. Okay, it was a general invitation to anybody in the blog world. But still. My middle name is fun, so you know it just wouldn't be a party without me. Just nod your head in agreement, okay? Thanks. It's a weekly Q&A - and this week's theme is friendship. So here are the 5 questions: {1} Do you make friends easily? {2} What 3 qualities are a MUST in a friend? {3} What makes YOU a good friend? {4} Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life? Yes? Tell us about the meet up. No? Who would you love to meet? {5} Who is your best friend? Tell us about them. Do You Make Friends Easily? I think so. I am fairly outgoing, and generally like people. I am pretty actively involved in church and my children's school, so I have a lot of opportunity for meeting and working with new people. I have made some of my closest friends through my church callings, and my work with the school. What 3 Quali...

I promised it would be a little while before I did another soccer post. It's been a little while. I'm in mourning today. I wanted to go to this game soooooo badly. Tonight our RSL are playing Colorado. The new defending champions. We were the previous defending champions. It's going to be epic. And I won't be there. I've chosen the fiscally responsible road of paying my bills instead of purchasing soccer tickets. Can I please get a little sympathy? Just humor me and watch the video....it's cool. And short. Also, I promised someone that I was going to post a new Chris Wingert picture every time I did a soccer post this year. You. Are. Wecome. He's always so great to the fans.

No, seriously. Words cannot describe how much I don't want to do this. But for the love of a few awesome chicks, and also my need to not feel left out, or like a wuss....I am succumbing to the pressure. I'm joining in with the monthly Vlog hosted by Mamarazzi and Shawn. I've always known I hated my voice. Ever since the very first time I heard it play back on an answering machine message. But now I also get to see that not only do I have a super annoying voice, but I also do weird things with my mouth while I'm talking. And also make weird smacking noises before starting a sentence. Oy. All I have to say is certain people better NEVER miss another blog post of mine again, and the comments should be filled with lots of kissing up. This month's theme is accents or dialect. We have a few instructions, including saying the flollowing list of words: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, ...

It's surprising the different things that inspire us. I look around my world, and my life, and inspiration comes from so many different sources. In recent weeks I have been inspired by a (gay) mormon guy , powerful talks delivered by great men and women during General Conferenc e, the perseverance of some dear friends enduring difficult trials in their lives, and the faith my children have and bear witness of on a regular basis. Today I was inspired as I attended the funeral services of a dear and wonderful lady. She is a former neighbor of ours, and Hubby and I have looked up to her and her husband for many years. Her son and his wife are currently our neighbors, and 2 of our dearest friends. Today I was able to glimpse a little more into the wonderful life she led, and the amazing family she leaves behind for a short while. As I sat listening to stories of her faith and service and loving kindness to everyone around her, I was inspired. As I looked at her family, some of whom...

I confess: I stayed up last night watching Ion Television's late night movie. It was Superman. Despite the very dated looking special effects - I still really loved it. And I still really love Christopher Reeve. I confess: I am sitting here on the computer refreshing the Ticketmaster page every 5 minutes so I can be first in line when Taylor Swift tickets go on sale. I think Taylor Swift is a mediocre singer. But I think she is a great songwriter, and a good role-model. I don't have the money for concert tickets right now. But she is coming to town 2 days before Cowgirl's birthday. I confess: It snowed again last night, and I am marginally depressed. I have absolutely no motivation to get anything done around my house that needs doing. I confess: I have eaten like crap since returning from Portland. I just can't seem to get back with the program. I confess: I am not nearly as outraged as the rest of the country by last nights AI results. Pia has a beautiful voice....

I really wish I was clever. Do you ever look at people who have just said or done something clever, and wonder how they got to be so clever? Do you see something online, or on TV and just ponder the cleverness of others? Do you have cleverness-envy? I do. What, you think I'm over thinking this whole cleverness thing? Maybe. But I've always wished I was clever. One of my favorite ways to waste pass the time is to watch funny/cute/clever videos on youtube. Today I'm going to share with you a family favorite - I cannot tell you how many times we have watched this in our family. I promise you'll enjoy it - so just take the time to watch it...kkthanks. Don't you love the way young children tell stories? It's hilarious. And when some clever person comes up with the idea of the ADULTS acting out the story as told by the children - well you get a little something like this: You are welcome. I'll be sharing 3 more episodes for your viewing pleasure in future po...

Overnight, we went from this: To this: Nice, huh? Cowgirl took these snow pictures - she is turning into quite the little photographer. I'm thinking this poor robin is a little confused.... I hope everyone has a fantastic week! I'm linking to: Because I wanna win this , not because I think I have any particularly great posts this week!

Those of you who know me well, or have been reading me for awhile, know that my faith is a very big part of who I am. Actually, it IS who I am. More than anything else my religious beliefs define me. These beliefs influence the decisions I make - the way I try to live my life. They influence the rules of our house, the activities our children are allowed to participate in, the way we dress, and allow our children to dress. These beliefs influence my political opinions, and the way I act and speak. That being said, I am so far from where I'd like to be. Spiritually speaking that is. I feel like I go through phases. Like sometimes I am right up there, really living my life in a way that I feel is pleasing to my Heavenly Father, trying hard to set a good example to those around me, serving others, being productive with my time. Then I have my times where I am not doing so hot. Where I know I am not being the mother I should be, or speaking as appropriately as I should . Tim...

It's that time of week again! Time to link up with the ever-fabulous Mamarazzi and share some happy! Having nice enough weather that we could take Monkey to the park this week definitely brought some happy. Having this girl all to myself while the other kids are at school has made this a very happy year. This week we've had lots of time vegging on the couch while we recover from the Portland Plague together. I'm happy to have my other 3 children involved in things that enrich their lives, and help them develop their talents. Currently we have Cowgirl and Pixie starting spring soccer. Cowgirl is excelling at her piano lessons, and Pixie is getting ready to start. Bookworm is continuing to develop his talent with the violin. He has a big state-wide Junior Concerto/Solo Federation that he is performing in next Saturday. He will be judged, and is very nervous! He also was selected to be on the graphic design team that is designing the T-shirts for our school's Peda...

Yesterday was supposed to be Mod Podge Mania. I forgot. Again. I actually have a really cool project that I want to do, and show you. But yeah, I can't seem to get on top of it. I feel like such a failure. Again. The end. I'm linking up with MiMi . Because she's awesome. Go check it out.