Home for the Holidays

I went home to Utah for Christmas and it was great, other than freezing to death in my mothers house. She did turn up the heat from 69 degrees to 71 degrees when icicles formed on my nose though, so that was very generous of her! She had to take off all of her clothes because then it was WAY to hot for her, but aren't mothers supposed to make sacrifices for their children? Thanks Ma!

We started some new family traditions this year. The first one is the making of the Christmas spaghetti.
Yes, Spaghetti! Who needs Holiday Ham when you have Italian pasta! I have never seen the children eat so much in my life!
He is 2 people, it is a rough age! I promise he does smile though and can be VERY charming!
Seriously, Belle had 4 plates! Pure bliss!
Oh they were eating the spaghetti too! It's just not all over their faces! Thanks Steph for the new Christmas Feast Tradition!

We also started a new family game called BeanBoozled! Basically you get 2 Jelly Beans that look the same and you have to decide what flavor it is. Options include Coconut or Baby Wipes, Peach or Barf, and my personal favorite Buttered Popcorn or Rotten Cheese! I don't have any pictures of the great faces made as I was an active participant in the game. There was a lot of spitting in the trash though, take my word!
Another change to tradition was the Christmas Tree. Growing up we ALWAYS had a fresh tree and a couple of times even cut it down ourselves. As we all grew up and moved out of the house, mom moved on to the fake Christmas Tree. Ok, I can live with that. This year though, it went a step further.....
Nothing says Merry Christmas like a fake mini tree on top of the table! I am hoping for a simple Christmas Tree Ornament next year hung from the ceiling!

The one thing that never changes though is the laughter, smiles and love! I love my family!!!


Oh yeah, one more Christmas memory I will never forget..... Being called a whore by my sister! Ha Ha Ha, ok she told me I looked like Pretty Woman, but same thing!!!!

There is no place like home

I went home to Utah for Thanksgiving and other than the freezing cold and the fact that my mother doesn't believe in a heater, it was great! I miss my family and it was so good to see them. We always have such a good time and there is always a lot of laughter. Once again, I am ticked that I did not take more pictures, but it is what it is!
My sweet momma, I miss her so much!
I learned you don't mess with grandpa's whipped cream
Because then he smears it on your face
I learned sometimes you have to stand on your tiptoes to be seen in the pictureI learned grandpa never smiles, ever. I also learned that he doesn't like the rules of Scrabble although he does manage to kick my butt almost everytime!
I learned that not only does Steph's hubby not have a face, but neither does their son. Their kids are so cute but unfortunately you can't see that. I was unable to get one of Libby because I only saw her at family pictures and cameras aren't allowed there.
I learned that Brian and Jamie have really awesome smiles, really they are perfect!
I learned that sometimes a 2 year old can be really mean
And is not afraid to wear a bow if that's what he wants
On a side note, notice his snotty nose? He passed that to me but it was worth it to kiss all over that face. I can't believe how smart he is and how much he is talking. When they showed up for family pictures, Brian got out his Utes flag and he said "Hey daddy, go Utes!" So cute!
I learned that a growling, moving dinosaur will cause hours of fun for both boys and girls
I learned that getting up really early for Black Friday is a great way to spend time with your sis, but can really make you look and feel your age!
How can you not love these faces!!!!!!

Catch up

I don't know what is wrong with me lately, but I have had no interest in blogging. I think it is partly because I know I am going to have to commit to some time as my computer is slower than molasses! I am going to try and be better though. Halloween came and went without any fanfare. Once again not one person came to my door (I did NOT buy candy this year) and once again, I was the only one who dressed up at work. Where is the sense of fun???? I was the Octomom (thanks for the idea Steph!)
I got so many compliments on my "hair" that I decided to mix things up and dye it! I don't have any pictures yet, and trust me, you do NOT want to see me right this second, so as soon as I decide to take one, I will post it.

I have also started baking a treat for work on Mondays. Mondays suck as it is, so I wanted to bring treats for everyone to try and brighten the day. Here are a few things I have made so far but unfortunately I have not taken pictures of everything I have done. First we have Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake.
Apple Toffee Tartlets
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (which took entirely TOO MUCH time!)
Here is my spin on Carrot cake in which I mixed half carrots, half sweet potatoes. I am so mad I did not take a picture of the finished product. I did it in my bundt pan and it was so pretty!
I also made 1,000 Calorie Bars, Peanutty Buckeye bars, and Lemon Squares. My next treat is Molasses Sandwhich Cookies. I LOVE to bake, and since I have been eating healthy it has been hard for me, but this allows me to do what I love and then give away to other people!

I have been doing a lot of craft projects too and Celeste gave me this idea from a Womans Day magazine.
You take your old sweaters and make pillow cases out of them and close them up using cute buttons. So cute! I of course have been doing a lot of crocheting but nothing new or exciting.

I have also been trying to help with my "carbon footprint" in small ways and I found these bags at Ross for $1.00 and use them whenever I go shopping. I don't only use them for groceries but also at the bookstore, the craft store, and the little ones I use as my lunchbox!
That's about it! The weather here has just been wonderful. We are finally getting into fall though and the reason I could tell was this.....
Yes, we have a tree in Vegas, and it changed colors! Very exciting, as you can see from the background that we do not get a lot of color out here! I am so excited to come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and can't wait to spend time with my family! Even in the cold ;)

As promised......

I have had neck problems for years and I have been through countless pillows trying to alleviate the pain. I decided that maybe my problem isn't the pillow, but the mattress. So I went and bought my first grown up purchase. A beautiful king size bed with an overpriced (hopefully worth it) mattress.
I have never bought anything brand new, it has either been given to me or I picked it up at a yard sale. It was very difficult to throw the money down, but I am a grown up now, and can handle grown up things! It has been very difficult for me not to just lay in it all day.......

I also had some friends down this weekend and it was so good to see them and we had a great time. We of course were able to enjoy the benefits of the pool! I love that it is still warm enough here in the day to worship the sun!
Yes, I still have to plug my nose, don't judge me!Joy your straddle is amazing, and way to be brave about NOT plugging your nose!Celeste, your ability to smile for the camera while tucking really shows your skills!

We also hit the strip and walked around for awhile. We were able to witness a really proud moment in someones life......
Apparently what happens in Vegas, sometimes ends up on someones blog! We of course did a little gambling and as a joke I put in $2.00 in a penny machine and won $18.00 Why was it a joke you say?
Who comes up with these games? I ALSO played Wheel of Fortune and won $90. This is not typical for me as I never win on the rare time I play. I was smart though and cashed out and walked away!

It was a great weekend and it was so good to hang out with friends! I do have some apologies to make though. First, I apologize for the violation of the card slappers as we walked down the strip! I also apologize for making you go see "the most terrifying movie of all time" and then having it totally suck! Oh and I apologize for the temperature of my house, I do like it a little warmer than the average person! I love you girls!

Pillow talk

At the beginning of the year, I started a lifestyle change (I refuse to call it a diet) and am proud to say that I am down 30lbs from when I started. With this weight loss, there has been a lot of changes in my wardrobe as things have become to big on me. As I have been cleaning out my closet, it has been really hard for me to give some of the things away because of the great fabric. So I decided to make pillows! No they do not match anything in my house, and yes I will probably have more than I need, but look how cute they turned out!

Now as we all know, my sewing skills are severely lacking and luckily pillows are forgiving, just don't look to close at my closing stitches! I had only one mishap and surprisingly I wasn't even sewing yet. I was simply threading the bobbin........
It looks like that because I got it so twisted up that I had to cut through all the thread to get it off the bobbin. If that was the least of my problems, I am happy. I may attempt to put together a funky blanket next!

On another note, sometimes I see weird things in Vegas. This happened to be in the parking lot of my work building. I guess it's not that weird but if you have never seen a hot air balloon up close, they are HUGE. See how small the truck looks?
And just because I miss it........
***Coming soon, my first grown up purchase!

Surprise!

Bear with me, I have a lot of catching up to do. Last month I was laying on my couch in my pajamas when I hear a knock on the door. What the? NO one ever comes to my door! When I opened it I was delighted to see this standing there...
(Her chest was not that big at the door, that came later in the weekend, we are in Vegas after all!) My cute little family surprised me with a visit and we had a great time! There was TONS of pool play in which I learned many things. First off was that Brian can't float (even with all this help!)
And these 2 just love to swim. Trent was jumping off the side like he knew what he was doing!
I also learned that this one isn't as innocent as she may look! (Jamie, not Belle)
She almost got us kicked out of the pool area because she didn't want to take off her pants. Again, your in Vegas. The pants come off! I also learned that Trent and I share some common interests.....
That's how I do it to buddy! Of course we do not share this.....
I have NEVER been this unhappy in a Baskin & Robbins! Although my face has been that messy there before. I was also able to meet Jamies uncle and we all had breakfast together which was nice. Jamie and I also watched a girlie movie together while Brian snored on the couch. Thank you so much for coming to visit! It meant so much to me and I love having you here!