This Is The Year

I know I'm a little late to the party - but I really miss blogging!  So I'm squeezin' in a post before it's time to pick the kiddos up from school! I'm linking up with 2 parties today - check the buttons at the bottom. Ten things to smile about: 1 - One more week until school is out for summer!  It has been a loooooong year!  I'm excited for that first morning of NOT setting the alarm!  Also, really excited to spend some fun time with my kiddos.  The school year is so hectic, and it will be nice to relax a little! 2 - Freedom.  I am so grateful for the privilege of living in this country.  And humbled by the great sacrifice of those who gave all to defend my freedoms.  We spent part of our day yesterday attending a Memorial Day tribute put on by our city.  There were touching words spoken, beautiful songs performed, the reading of the names of those from our state who have given the ultimate sacrifice since last Memorial day, along with a 21 gun salute.

It is a crazy week for this mama, but I wanted to take just a few minutes to whip out a quick FMM post. And I apologize for my visiting slackerness!!  I'm working on getting back into the groove! Here are the questions from Kenlie for today: 1- Three of your favorite movies: Clear and Present Danger A Knight's Tale Son's of Provo 2 - Three of your favorite things to drink: Water Dr. Pepper Cherry lime-aid from Sonic 3 - Three of your favorite songs: So hard to narrow down!  I'll go with: All In - Lifehouse The Spirit of God - Hymn O' Holy Night - Christmas 4 - Three people who have recently been a positive influence in your life: Elder Samuel W. Clark (LDS General Authority who spoke in our Stake Conference this weekend) His wife My primary children I serve in church. 5 - Three things you do to keep yourself entertained: TV texting crafting 6 - Three things you are attracted to in the opposite sex: Hotness Intelligence Hum

I haven't really gone into detail too much about my family outside of my husband and kids.  But today I'm going to share a little bit about my dad. I have mentioned a couple of times that he is in bad health, but I've never really shared on my blog the extent of his health issues. My dad has been unable to return to the workforce since I was 9.  He was placed on a medical retirement after his second back surgery, which damaged the nerve endings in his back and promoted the growth of scar tissue all around his back nerves, left him unable to do activity for more than a few hours at a time without having to lay down for a couple of hours to recouperate. As time went on his pain got worse.  He now suffers from chronic pain pretty much around the clock.  He ended up going from being able to be up for a good part of the day, and lay down for a couple of hours occasionally, to being in bed for a good part of the day, and only being up for a couple of hours occasionally.  No

Our family had the great honor this weekend to attend an evening of celebration.  It was an event to honor an amazing musician.  Jack Ashton. My son is amazingly fortunate to be taking private violin lessons from Jack.  He had to audition to get a spot as one of his students.  When his previous teacher first referred us to Jack, I googled him.  I found that he was quite the accomplished musician, principal violinist in the Utah Symphony, and was highly admired within the Utah classical music scene. We have been with Jack for about 2 years, and have come to know that he is much more than an amazing violinist.  But it wasn't until last night that we all realized just what a privilege it is for Bookworm to be studying under him.  He is truly a legend among elite musicians. The night was put on by several former students who have gone on to become masters (maestros even) in their fields.  As we were sitting watching a skit/musical number being put on by 3 men honoring Jack, Bookw

Disclaimer:  My family speaks very candidly about death, and other topics that some may find morbid.  Sorry. So my mom recently informed us that she has decided to be cremated when she dies. Really? The rest of us aren't really sure how we feel about this decision.  I mean, I know it's not like she'll be doing anything with her body anytime soon after she's six feet under.  But I always thought it would still exist , you know?  And she'd have a nice little grave marker that said something lovely about her, that we could bring flowers to on special days, or just because.  I mean I don't think about it OFTEN, but I guess I just didn't think of her as being a pile of ashes in a vase after she was gone.  You know? But she insists that it is just too expensive to buy a burial plot in a cemetery, purchase a casket, pay for a grave marker.  And she is being stubborn. So I'm thinking about looking into some senior burial insurance , or maybe finding out 

I thought I'd join up today with Emmy Mom and Kmama , to do a little braggin' on my son. If you remember here , I told you about our school's Pedals for Hope cancer research fundraiser.  As part of the event, my son committed to ride his bike 40 miles and collected pledges from friends and family.  I was a little unsure if he'd be able to complete the full 40, since he doesn't really get a chance to ride much, and he had only been on a bike ONCE since winter got over. But I'm proud to say my boy did it!  He completed the full 40 miles. Not only that, but we picked him up from the trail and immediately dropped him off at his Scoutmaster's to head to scout camp.  He returned from Scout camp and changed his clothes and immediately went to his soccer game (they won!).  Let me tell you that that boy was sore for a good couple of days after!! Thank you to those of you who helped him pass his fundraising goal.  He ended up having the highest amount of a

I just wanted to let you know about a fun little hop that's going on over at MiMi's , and Mindi's . It's a Pinterest party where you can show off and discover fabulous Etsy shops!  Go check it out!

Remember how I told you all I've been taking French lessons?  I am having so much fun with them.  I know I'm not learning as quickly as if I were younger, and taking lessons every day, but I so appreciate my weekly visit from a dear friend who takes the time to teach a slow learner a beautiful language! I took French class in middle school, and my teacher told me I had a gift for the language.  Back then my bestie and I used to say that we would live in twin chateaus in France.  We knew the names of the boys we would be married to, what they looked like, how many kids we would have, and their genders and names!  Man we had it all figured out! Back then, I imagined that because of my gift for the French language,  I would one day be working for a translation agency contracted by the government.  Or maybe I would get to be an undercover intelligence agent that used my bi-lingual skills to infiltrate international criminal organizations and help bring them down. Of cou

It feels like it's been forEVAH since I've done a fun printed craft.  I recently participated in a weekend boutique, and besides my usual hair accessories/baby items, I wanted to have some cute framed art to sell. Rather than just stick a cute print into a frame, I decided to turn to my ever trusted Mod Podge and give it a little more character.  Instead of prints behind  the glass, I mod-podged the print to the front  of the glass, then put a couple coats of Mod Podge over the top of that.  It gave a glossy, fun texture to the finish of the picture.  I included a couple of shots with the flash on, just so you could see the reflection, and get an idea of what the finish looks like.  I SUPER love how they turned out: And for my Mormon peeps: I have soooo many ideas for variations on this project.  I created the above prints in several different colors, and I have a few more that I created, but haven't yet made into the final product. Okay, I

Meeting blog friends has got to be one of the best experiences out there.  Seriously.   My meet up with MiMi still remains one of my best memories. And now I have a new best memory to add to my list. 2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet and spend time with beautiful Vivienne !  Viv is one of the first blog friends I made back when I started blogging in 2009.  She quickly became an online friend and I always felt that she was someone I would love to spend time with in real life. Guess what?  I was right!  Vivienne is not only beautiful, but warm and funny and sweet.  She is smart and sassy, but completely down to earth and real.  I always got that vibe from her, and it was so nice to see that she is exactly what she seemed. Stole this picture from Vivienne, because I have a dumb phone that takes dumb pictures! I first got to spend time with her at the airport while she was waiting for another friend to get in.  They were both coming here for the SNAP blog conference.  I

I confess.... The 2 weeks prior to this one were 2 of the most insanely busy and high-pressure weeks I have had in as long as I can remember. I confess... Making it through was such a huge relief that this week I have been a total slacker.  Seriously no motivation to do anything (including blog - so sorry). I confess... I can't imagine making it successfully through, and with my sanity intact if it weren't for the new Mind Organization for Mom's program that I have been implementing.  Not even kidding.  Check out my review and your chance to win a copy for yourself here . I confess... I participated in a boutique last weekend and it was lame.  I barely made back my booth fee and the gas it took to travel back and forth for set up and tear-down. I confess... The fact that I now have a bunch of product made to list on my Etsy site doesn't give me much comfort, due to the fact that I now have to actually photograph and list all that product. I confess..

Hello darlings!  Have you missed me?  I have missed you SO!!!  But I had some life that had to take priority for a little bit. I'm back though - and I've got a bunch to tell you.  But first things first.  Remember I promised you my honest opinion of a new program called Mind Organization for Moms (M.O.M.) ?  And that if I liked it, I would be giving away a copy to one of my lucky readers? Well guess what?  I LOVE it!  Really I love it. If you know me more than a little, you know that my trial in life (or at least one of them) is lack of organization. It is something I have always struggled with.  And I hate it.  As an adult it has become even more of a struggle, as I try to balance motherhood, my board member responsibilities, church responsibilities, and owning and operating a small business with my husband.  I have missed weddings, and forgotten about appointments until the very last minute, and then scrambled to keep them.  I am always overwhelmed by projects and ide