Enough Venting- Time to Craft!

Like I said previously, Friday I went to a Girl's Night Out at my ward with my great friend Kelee.  We had tons of the CUTEST things to choose from, but I only did two.  I know my limits!  Here are the pictures of what we did.  We have the most amazing HFPE leader, Andrea- who did more than above and beyond to get us ready for this!  Thanks thanks thanks!

 

I made a frame for my room.  It was super easy.  Tear, crinkle different scrapbook paper, then Modge Podge it to the frame, add some distressing ink, and for the final touch a piece of ribbon and a flower I embellished.  A few ladies made these for all the holidays, why didn't I think of that?

And a cookie sheet advent calendar.  Each of these were different.  I made two and once I got home I added glitter to the '25', cause I am like that.

Close up of some of the magnetic date holders.

The finished product!

I am also working on a new wreath for Christmas!  I will post pictures as soon as it is done.  Thankfully, my friend Verlinda is making it for me!  She is the best!  Can I take Halloween down, skip Thanksgiving and jut Put my tree up already?  Please???

A Little Vent...

We are all allowed to vent once in a while on our blogs, no?  And since I am the author/creator of this particular blog I can vent whenever and about whatever I want.  

Blogger: ihaatu

Me: I hate you also

Blogger: ruuustupd

Me: Maybe a little

Blogger: cat

Me: cat

Today that is Word Verification.  

Now I know many of you have blogged about this, it is annoying and time consuming.  And it just plain BUGS ME! Frankly, I think most of the blogs that have it either a) didn't know it was a choice when they set their blogs up(BTW it defaults unless you change it) b) don't know how to turn it off (one little click in settings FYI) or c) think it will stop strangers from commenting (thus the registered users feature).  

But more specifically, I hate-like fingernails on a chalkboard- word verify on Private blogs. I mean come on! I already had to log in to see your blog and now you want me to essentially log in again to comment. Captcha prevent spammers, and by having a private blog- you are already DOING JUST THAT!!!  And, it drives me crazy that by the time I am done reading all the post I read late at night, my eyes are fuzzy and if I am typing to fast and enter a l instead of an i and it makes me do it again, well, chances are I am skipping commenting and on to my next blog.  Blogging is fun for me, not a job...although I would make good money if I was paid for all the time I spend blogging...Really. 

SO, I thought I would educate you on what word verification is and why you think you need it, so that hopefully, some of you will turn it off and end my aggravation!

According to blogger.com the purpose is " This option (off by default) gives bloggers a tool to prevent the automatic creation of comments by nefarious ne'er-do-wells (e.g. spammers)".Wikipedia says, "CAPTCHA or Captcha (IPA: /ˈkæptʃə/) is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process usually involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade. Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human. A common type of CAPTCHA requires that the user type the letters or digits of a distorted image that appears on the screen."

I mean really, are you getting so many hits on your blogs that spammers have found you?  Me thinkest not.  I know my blog gets about a hundred hit a day, and I haven't yet (finger's crossed) had a problem with spam. Although, I do know that 100 hits a day isn't a ton.  And I will acknowledge that our {dot} com DID receive spam on our comments page, but that was after 5 years and nearly 70,000 hits-so we disabled it and starting this blog.  And bottom line, the point of being able to pop by your blog, love it enough to want to comment really quick and get to the next post is -well it is becoming a project!!!

Sorry if I offended some, I mean it all in good bloggin fun- except that I really really do hate word verify, and if it makes you feel any better, my own sister leaves it on her blog and I think it is PURELY to drive me crazy! And no, I am not gonna stop reading and commenting on blogs/private blogs that have Captcha- I will just vent a little in my head each time I do.

Whew, I feel better- and I am off to a fun Girls Night Out, where I will be making the cutest frame and Christmas Advent calendar!

Berkley is 'Two'-riffic!!!

My big little man is two.  Where did the time go?  Was is spent chasing him around when he started walking at 9 months or was it spent dodging every round thing he could get his hands on? Oh, that's right, it was spent cuddling, playing 'bee ball' (anything sport related), 'pooh-boarding' (skateboarding-mostly watching) and trying to figure out how to get the kid to sleep! He has caused me countless 'clean up on isle first floor' moments, run through my years' supply of paper towels ('I pilld'), shown his inheritance of my obsessive compulsive gene, sent me to the doctors office more times than I care to count (everything from a broken nose to relentless ear infections).  He has more frequent flier miles than most adults I know and has been to and thrown fits in Eight different countries! And best of all- he has given me laugh lines that I will carry with me forever.

Happy 2nd Birthday Berkers, 

We love you and your craziness.  

For fun there are links throughout this post with funny posts about my little man. And I put a couple short clips of this little wacko plus a bonus clip of him laughing-watch till the end..... it is well worth it!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

 You at two!  You love Elmo 'met moe'. You insist on making the dog jump on the tramp-while the monkey is in the pool (in Webkinz). You love being 'as-side' playing or 'winging'. You call anything liquid 'gwag-gua'. You tell me 'No' and 'Never' when I beg for a kiss. You love your little cousins that you can pound on and the big ones that dote on you. You HATE 'dugs!' even if it is only a fly. At nighttime you have to have your 'yight' on and your 'yanket' over your toes-but once you do you tell me to 'GO!' and you are off to 'nigh nigh' land.  You have to 'aalk' when we go to the store and insist on holding my 'han han han' when we are in the parking lot. You know all the neighbor kids names and cry when it is time for them to go home.  You call Curious George and all other monkeys 'Oo oo, ah ah's' and laugh every time George gets in trouble. You love to 'draw draw' but usually NOT on paper-lucky Mommy.  You cry when I take away your books, which reaffirms being that you are indeed my kid and gave us bonus points at the pediatricians office. You sort, stack, and any other way arrange any and all things you are playing with, which gives us great pleasure when we move a pile of yours and you freak till it is fixed! You may look like your Daddy but your brain programming DNA came from your Mommy!

Haven't Been Yet? You Gotta Go! (part2)

These little markets starting showing up last year all over the place.  One opened up right near me and a month or so after driving by it daily and curious about it, I finally stopped.  

First off, they won my heart for having 'car's with kids' parking spots, right up front! Sorta like the stork spots at some stores.  Love it.  Second, it is a small  enough store that I can let the boys walk without fear of losing them.  They are about the size of a pharmacy type store.  So you can't think that you can do ALL your list there, Walmart they are not.  But, they have shelves of fresh veggies and freshly prepared healthy meals all ready to go. Not to mention their flowers, which are always so pretty.

Head straight back to the kitchen area and taste a few of their foods. Wander through the dinner stuff where I recommend the Chicken (or shrimp) Alfredo, Mac n Cheese, egg rolls and their chocolate pudding. Gross, not all together though.  Their little dessert section has cute little pies and cakes, pudding and lots of yummy things.  Down the grocery isle and pick up some of their pre made pizza dough, white or wheat, and bam you have instant dinner!  My boys love, and Braden begs, for 'noddle pizza' every week (Chicken Alfredo + Pizza dough fr less than $6).  

The snacks isle has a large assortment of F&E brands that rival national ones.  My kids new favorite snack- kinda a combo of popcorn shape and cheetos crunch, is called Pirates Treasure.  Braden & Berk polished off a bag in less than an hour.  But it is white cheddar, who can blame them?

They are an organic store, and I noticed a lot of gluten free products for those of you with kids on special needs diets.  And their prices are reasonable.  They do have cereal, milk, bread ect for those forgotten dinner items too.

Bottom line, if you need a dinner fast and don't want fast food, pop in to a Fresh and Easy and get something!  I am telling you, they are now on my weekly grocery shopping rotation, mostly because of the Pirate Treasure, but whatever.  Let me know what you think!  They should pay me for this blog I think.

Haven't been yet? You gotta go! (part 1)

Have you been?  Most people I have talked to have not (poor people)!  Recently a Hobby Lobby opened in Mesa, (Baseline/Greenfield) and I was counting down the days till it did!  It is a combo of Michaels, Joann's and a hobby store.  They have everything!  From fabric, to the best silk flowers, to furniture (and my fav) CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!  That's right, they have a whole section of Christmas ornaments right now.  Not just one isle, but isle after isle after isle.  And in the coolest colors, browns, blacks, creams, all the fun colors you can never find!  Themes, events--sorry I get a little excited about decorating my tree- and they have more than just ornaments, too.  Obviously they have a ton of Fall things right now and I have a few in my house already.  

But it is not just Holiday decor.  They have all kinds on metal work, small furniture pieces, jewelry making things, framed prints, scrapbook stuff.  The home decor changes frequently, so if you see something you like, get it!  Things always go on sale, so watch the ads!  There are coupons online and in papers too.

By the way, the website lists another store that isn't opened yet in Mesa at Southern/ Signal Butte-so QC people can get in on the fun!!!  I promise it is worth your time, and I dare you NOT to buy something the first time you go!

Guess I'll Get My Wish...

When we were in Europe this summer we saw a ton of incredible things.  We saw so many beautiful churches, basilicas-even the Vatican.  When we were in Rome we went to the Trevi Fountain, where it is custom to throw a coin in the water and make three wishes. The first is to return to Rome one day, the second and third are what ever you choose.  Well, listening to Conference this weekend I was more than excited to hear that they were building more temples around the world, and I just about flipped when I heard they were putting one in Rome!!!

Now I have even more reason to make that wish come true!  That country is so beautiful and to think how special it will be to have a Temple in the midst of such great landmarks like The Colosseum, Circus Maximus, the Vatican, St Paul's Basilica, oh- the list doesn't end.  I feel like we saw so much in the short time we were in Rome and Rusty and I will go back there someday, and spend time seeing all the things we missed.  Now I will have one more thing to add to that To Do list! 

This is the land where the Temple is supposed to be built!  I can't wait to follow its progress as it is built.  Guess I need to start saving up those frequent flier miles... Any one want to come do a session with us when we go?

Happy Birthday Braden!

You are 6 today!  I can barely believe it! 

We had to have his party a day early since it falls on Conference Weekend.  We had all our family and a few close friends come celebrate with us. Rusty got home early so we could go eat at Red Robin- Braden's current fav ad then we came home to set up for the Par-tee. Since Braden's current fav is still Curious George we had that theme, complete with George Pinanta. He was so so so excited to open his presents, especially the one he had no idea about- a snowboard with boots and bindings.  He has had a step in snowboard since he was three and we decided he was old enough for ski school this winter and needed a proper board.  He also got three new Webkinz, bringing his total to 17 (totally out of control- but he loves them!!!) , a few Curious George books, a batman play set and a number of figures that go with it, and Berk gave him an I-Dog so he can listen to his shuffle in his room.  He loves all his gifts and loves all his family and friends who came to celebrate with us!  We were even lucky enough to catch the Robison family in town and got to see them too!

(photos from the day, click to view large)

So for his actual birthday day we got invited to go to the lake with Blake, Addi & their boys.  It was the perfect day at the lake.  Cool, cloudy and other than the wind ruining the water- it was so fun.  Braden & Rusty wake boarded, then Blake & Max even tried.  Both guys went on the AirChair, although Blake had much better success than Rusty-who was trying it for the first time.  We got totally sunburned and have learned that if it is nice enough to go to the lake in October, then sunscreen is still a must!  We even got rain on the way home! And THEN, because we weren't already tired, we took B to an empty lot nearby and let him ride his quad for a while.  He had a blast.  Berk even got his Pops to ride with him.  Then only thing left to do is to go out to dinner to Logan's for dinner after the guys get out of conference.  Has this been the longest two days for anyone else???  Guess all the smiles and laughter was worth it though.  Happy Birthday buddy, we love you!

(photos from the day, click to view large)