Adventures in Home Ec.

So, there I sat looking at a relatively simple pattern for pajama bottoms. I was on my way to making adorable bloomers for my costume. I was at my friends house who is also in the play. She is a wonderful seamstress but I was doing my own so she didn't have to.

She gave me the pattern and told me to cut out the ones labeled "9" and "10". I proceeded.

She came over to look and mentioned that something didn't look right. Then we noticed that I was cutting out the skirt instead of the pants. That was a good laugh. I had wasted a little time but that was ok.

I cut the out the correct ones and pinned them on, cut out the material and you know, I was confident. I knew what I was doing. I have sewed before. It's not like I am a novice. I started to sew little tiny stitches on my new machine I got for Christmas. After I had finished, I held them up to me. Tash started laughing and said I had done great if I was making the skirt after all! I had sewed clear to the bottom without leaving legs!

Needless to say, I felt brilliant! So I had to unpick all those teeny tiny stitches. The back spacing was really hard. I did get it though and I finished the pants without further ado.

Next came the elastic. Did fine there until I realized it was twisted. I didn't even bother unpicking that! I just cut it and sewed it again.

When it came to the ruffles at the bottom, I told Tash she had to do it! So I took her dress that she was unpicking, to do that for her while she did my ruffles. My next comment to her was, "you don't mind a little hole in your dress do you?" I had accidentally gone through the material just a little tiny bit!

By this time I had had it !!! Now I remember why I got a D in sewing when I was in 8th grade!!!!

The finished product is adorable! There is a cute pink ribbon and lace around the ruffles and pink bows on the outside. You don't see them much anyway during the performance but you will see them during "the Butterfly Ballet"!

I love how my closest friends are so good at cooking, sewing and all those domestic things! It helps me out when I am required to use their talents!!

Historic Corinne

I am in a play! How dang fun is that!? My friend Tash is in it and in charge of choreographing the dances. She asked to me take the place of a gal who broke her arm.

I am not from Corinne and it is put on every year by the people of that community but I feel right at home.

The people there have become such good friends. I LOVE going to rehearsals. This is my cup of tea and I had forgotten that since I have grown up.

I play a snotty opera lady. It is a blast!. The performances are Friday and Sat. night this coming weekend. You can go to the web page at www.historiccorinne.com. If you can, you ought to come and see it. Bring lawn chairs and blankets! It's fun and best of all, it's free!

They serve homemade peach cobbler and hot dogs, hamburgers and the best dang root beer you've ever had! I went to it last year. SO fun! Anyway, I am so glad to be a part of it this year! What a great experience! You can get directions and times from this link.

See ya'll there!

It is a beautiful Sunday morning I have been lying here with Bry just visiting. I love that. Taking the morning slow. Enjoying the sunrise. I have a cold and don't think I will make it to church and I would have liked to go on a run but, as I said, I am not feeling red hot. I love to run on Suday mornings. It is so quiet and no one is out driving anywhere. Watching the sun come up over the mountains alone in the quiet has become one of my most favorite spiritual experiences.

My dear friend in the ward called and asked me to teach Relief Society in a couple of weeks. I just taught last week and now again. She said she felt like she should ask me and the she loves it when I teach and yet, she is seldom there when I do! I think HF has a strange sense of humor.

Once I am up there teaching, I have a lot of fun with it but I never feel like I am the best candidate for the job. But I do love how good it feels and how I feel the spirit when I study and prepare. That part is nice. I usually pray for a miracle and then I am always surprised when I get one! I love that too.

So, I hope you all have a lovely Sunday too and "May God hold you in the hollow of his hand" today.

I feel I need to clarify. Once again, I am being misunderstood. What a surprise. To understand this post, you will need to read my last post and comments.

My husband is the hardest worker I know bar none. He averages 12 to 14 hour days, 6 days a week. We run our own plumbing business. He is wonderful to work like he does and when he plays on the computer, it is usually after the kids go to bed and he wants to wind down.

My kids are in baseball, karate and piano lessons. They have chores required of them everyday. Not to mention keeping their rooms clean, and reading at least 20 min a day.

My 11 yr old, who is almost 12 mows our 1 acre yard and has the job of mowing a few of our neighbors yards once or twice a week to earn money. He has already built a tree house, and is currently saving his money for college, mission and other little things he wants! He works harder than ANY other kid I know and he does it with a cheerful heart!

My kids play hard swimming, riding bikes and various other physical activities on a daily basis so yea, when they want to relax and play WoW on the computer, I let them! (with supervision mind you) My computer is in my room so no one uses it without my permission. Every kid needs down time. This game is no different in fighting good and evil then half the stories in the Book of Mormon for Pete's sake! Not to mention Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings etc...and no more addictive than many other activities that parents allow.

My kids are honest, hard working and fun and I am do a dang fine job as a mother! I am doing my best and that is all we are required to do. Someone else might have a different opinion on what is best and that is fine but I do what I choose. I follow my own heart, not some other persons opinions.

Some people are so judgemental and always have something critical to say about the way others live when they don't even know half of the story.

As for Lisa, she is one of my closest friends. Nothing I wrote in my last post had anything to do with her and if she had a problem with something I said, she would tell me so herself.

People don't always need to agree but please, have the courtesy to attack without a mask on.

Lisa made an interesting comment on my last post. She mentioned how this game was the cause of some terrible marriage problems friend's of hers were having.

I thought about this. My guess is that it is probably the husband who has an addiction problem. He probably plays all the time, never spending time with his family and ignoring his duties.

There a quite a few addictions that can cause the same strife in any home. To name a few, Pornography, and alcohol, which are very dangerous in and of themselves. Then there are games.

Whether you play on a computer or play a gameboy or Xbox. I used to be against these things. I have learned since I have aged that these things are not bad in and of themselves but do need to be regulated. WoW is a huge incentive for my kids. I love how they can get their stuff done fast to play. They only get an hour after their things are done and if they want more time, they have to do another job.

The fun thing at our house is that we all like the game so we actually spend time together watching each other play. It drives me crazy to watch Bry play! He lets himself get killed while I would run away! His pride doesn't let him be a chicken! It is so fun. What I really want to do is buy a laptop so we can run around together. I know a couple that do that. They don't go to movies, they don't watch tv, they like to play together.

Addictions like over eating, or shopping when you have no money, or other things like ignoring your home and kids while playing would definitely fall under the line in my opinion. I think it comes down to being a mature adult and mature parent.

We as parents need to teach our kids to take care of responsibility first and make play time at anything, the reward. It is too bad that there are so many people who struggle with this. It can ruin lives and families. On the flip side of the coin, it can bring a family close and give them something in common and fun to do together that is no more of a waste of time than watching tv would be.

Be careful folks. Don't judge a book by it's cover. I used to do that where games are concerned. Life doesn't always have to be a "test". I believe we can have a little fun too!

World of Warcraft

I know many of you will think I am nuts and will think it is hard to believe, but I am a player. A WoW player. Yes, believe it. I love this game.

My friend is a player and introduced me to it. I thought it was the stupidest game I had ever seen not to mention a complete waste of time. I would go over to her house and if she was playing, I would just think"how dumb". Well, she talked me into getting it (after a year). I did it mainly for an incentive for my kids and it works great!

It has slowly burrowed it's way under our skin and now we can't get rid of it. Even Bryan loves to play and I have noticed that he is much less stressed or ornery since he has started. He created a woman who looks like Hale Berry for his favorite character. She is a warrior and he picked her because he claims girls are meaner!

We all fight over the computer! It is so fun! I can't believe I like it.

It is a game where you create your own characters and it is a world like Lord of the rings where you have warriors, hunters, priests, mages, Shamans, and others. There is the bad guy side called "the Horde" and you can create bad guys if you want.

All my characters are good guys of course! I love my priest because I can go around healing people as they fight! You are given quests and can earn mounts and shape shift etc.. Certain characters get certain traits and abilities.

The point is, it has become a favorite for our family. Weird! who would have thought! I'd love to know who else out there loves it. It has really surprised me to find out how big the WoW family really is! Too fun!

So, this is it. Jacob, my oldest, is going to South Dakota for a month tomorrow. He is going to help some elderly cousins of mine on their sheep ranch.

He will have a great time and learn a lot and be able to help out but man, I don't want him to go! I will miss him so much! I know it will be good for him and I remember spending the summer with my grandmother at that age in another state but I hate to see him go.

He is my right hand man. He is so much fun. (most of the time) and I am having a hard time letting go. Bry thinks it will be really good for him and I feel outnumbered! Jake is really excited to go but I worry. What if something happened to him while he was gone! I would never forgive myself for letting him go!

I'll keep you posted on how it's going but today, I already miss him.

Well, let me tell you. The waxing thing HURTS!!!! I had my first bikini wax today and a few other spots too and I thought I would DIE! The girl was really good though and fast. She also told me I was really tough. I guess I didn't yell like some do. So now, I look good. Except for the redness and it's a little sore. But man!

The things we do to beautify ourselves! The waxing thing definitely has to be the worst of the tortures. But there are so many other things. High heels for one. I bought some sexy cat woman boots this last winter and I didn't have them on for 10 second before I sprained my ankle!

Lipo, injections in faces, stretching, tucking, tightening, piercing etc.... It is amazing we live through it! Anyway, just wanted to share. Misery loves company!! But how soon we forget! Just in time to do it again in a month!

Fun day

Well, I guess I need to write a retraction. Communication is not something my family has a problem with. In fact, we probably communicate too much if you get my drift.

I talked to my sister about the Cherry Hill thing. They live 5 minutes from it. They have a pass for the season. She says they go almost everyday. They go for and hour or 2 just to break up the day's monotony. She told me I am always welcome anytime and that I should know that.

I do know that and when I realized it costs $16.00 a person for an all day pass, I realized that I was being a little melodramatic.

She ended up coming up here for the day yesterday. It was a blast and guess what the kids wanted to do? Yep, go swimming. Go figure. We played at the Brigham pool for 3 hours and came home to play away the rest of the day. It was so much fun. I had forgotten how fun this sister is. I had really started to think that we had grown apart. I realized that that happens only if you allow it.

Granted, she has her own set of beliefs, personality, and way of looking at life, but the older I get, the more I believe that we can't let stuff like that get in our way and if you really look, I think we would all find that we as people have more in common than not.

Anyway, here's to you S. I love you and am so happy you came for the day!

It has been a few days since I posted last. To be honest, there isn't anything I want to write about. Life is pretty good. I am loving summer vacation.

I was planning on getting together with my sisters and their kids this week. We were going to let the kids play before Jake leaves for South Dakota for a month. I heard that they are going to Cherry Hill today. A water park where they have a pass. We were not invited. Granted, I do live 45 minutes away from them and I don't have a pass there but I would hope, if the tables were turned, that I would at least be the kind of person to say, "we are all doing "this" if you would like to come." It is nice to be invited whether or not I go but when all the other cousins are going, I feel bad that mine are left out because we live "farther" away.

Maybe I am being a little sensitive but I don't really care. I think it is good form to include people.

So, I guess we will stay home and do something around here.

Jacob did make banana bread today. He is so talented. Even though he is only 11, he acts like he is 15. He is so grown up and I hate to see him leave for a month. He is going to work on our cousins sheep ranch. He is so excited! I am not! Bry thinks it will be good for him.

Well, I guess I did think of something to write so now, I am off. I need a nap!

What is this obsession we women have to be thin? I wonder if there is anyone unaffected by the trend to look a certain way. I know even in my mom's time, the girls wanted to look certain way. In her mind, she was too thin and hated it.

I am not immune to this mentality but what I really want is to feel good and feel strong. I want to be able to run 5 miles without dying. I want to be able to take my kids out and not have them be embarrassed. I say this, because I had feelings like this once in a while with my mom. I don't really think it was because she was over weight but because she wore those stretchy, thick polyester pants with the seam down the front and a shirt that accuntuated all the wrong places!

I sure love and miss her but the truth is, she had no sense of style! Anyway, I want to be the kind of mom who has energy and feels good about herself.

I have put myself on a new eating plan. I don't consider it a diet but I am losing weight and working out and I feel so good. This is a plan I can stick with the rest of my life and it is the first one I have been able to stick with without "feeling" like I am on a diet.

Let me tell you how it started. I was talking to my sister and complaining that none of the diets have worked and that I was eating healthy and working out yet.... no change.

She said "it's all math. You have to burn more calories than you eat. Plain and simple" She said that if I eat only 1200 calories a day, I WILL lose weight. even without exercising. So this is what I did. Weight watchers has a similar thing with points but it is too flexible for me. I want to know exactly what I am eating.

I have a food counting book I bought a couple of years ago that has EVERYTHING in it. and I just subtract the calories in my day timer as I go.

At first. I was utterly amazed!! Did you know that a pbj has 500 calories??? Anyway, I have gotten smart in the last month so that I eat what will fill me the longest that has the fewest calories.

I am a 100% ranch girl but 1 tbsp. has 150 calories! Now, if you only get 1200 a day, that has got to go! So I bought one of those salad spritzers and it is really good. I snack on my favorite Gouda cheese. It has about 150 calories but it tides me over longer. I will eat fat free cottage cheese with fruit and I love grapefruit. I use stevia as a sweetener because it is natural and not full of chemicals like splenda and others. I eat a great combination of food and feel really good. I do not feel like I am starving and in the last month, I have lost 8 pounds. It is slow and steady but that shows me I am doing it the right way.

I will lose a pound, stay there for 3 to 5 days usually, then go down another pound. Just yesterday I went down 2 1/2 pounds which really surprised me but I was sick yesterday and didn't eat or do much.

Anyway, It is working, it is healthy, I feel energetic and good about myself. I work out 4 or 5 times a week and I am not so strict that I don't give myself treats once in a while. I do not want to go through life missing out on favorite foods. I don't feel deprived and well....I am just happy that I have found something that works for me. I do fluctuate between 1200 and 1500 but I always try to stick to the 1200.

Those pop cycles that are sugar free only have 15 calories and are really good! You ought to try them!

Anyway, this is what I do and have loved it.

Woo hoo! What a ride!

I had the most lovely experience today. Remember when I told you that Bry had gotten me a gift certificate for mother's day? Well, I used it today. I got a massage that was 1 1/2 hours long. Absolutely delightful. Then a pedicure. My first ever and now my toes are so cute and then a facial.

I have had a facial before and it did not even compare to this! This girl is fabulous. Not only does she do facials but waxing and eyelash extensions and she is really good at what she does. Should I go for a Brazilian?

I don't know that I am that gutsy but who knows. I found out that a friend of Bryan's gave him the suggestion for the gift certificate. Thank heavens! I think I will drop the hint that this is a good present for my birthday next month and then Christmas, Easter, Valentines....and a really good "I'm sorry" gift too.

I am not used to being this spoiled but I think I could get used to it. You know, I have been trying to lose a little weight since my surgery and I am going to use the eyelash extensions as my reward for getting to my desired weight. They looked so good in all the pictures of what she's done and they don't look fake or unreal. Ya know?

You see, I have a really hard time wearing mascara. It really irritates my eyes. I have one kind that works. It is the Mary Kay kind that has been discontinued. Of course. Anyway, I think it would be fun. I don't want to live life being afraid to try something new and different.

So that was my day. I think of a saying my sister has on her fridge when I think of today. This is what it says:

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO--what a ride!"

This is my new motto for life!

Happy summer vacation!!! It's official! Today was the last day of school. This was almost better than Christmas for me as a child!

I started out on the wrong foot, where school was concerned. When I was 4, the neighbor boy who lived across the street told me that teachers were really mean, they spanked you and did all sorts of horrible things to you while you were there.

Horror of horrors. That first day of kindergarten. I ran away everyday. I still find that odd, considering I had to be there for part of the day until recess and no one ever hurt me.

I had to cross a busy 4 lane road that normally had a crossing guard. I quickly learned to not go in the house, as my mother would take me back. I would sit out front with my feet in the gutter.

Mom soon learned that she needed to consistently check to see if I was out there. My poor sister T, had to drag me to school every morning, literally kicking and screaming.

I do remember that the running away gradually stopped and I would just cry for the first few days of 1st and second grade.

The sad thing is, that it ruined my attitude towards school. That dread in the pit of my stomach on the first day of school never left until college.

I had made every effort to make school fun and exciting for my kids. I talk it up and make it seem like the celestial kingdom!

But.....the last day of school is still my favorite!! Even as an adult! I can't wait to spend the days relaxing in the sun, camping, hiking, swimming and swim lessons. YEA!!! And now it is finally here! FREEDOM!! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God above, we're free AT LAST!!!