life= good.
christmas= good.

it's snowing and i love it. there is truly a time and a place for everything and the time for snow is Christmastime. i will not love it so much mid january on, but for now it has the ability to complete the season and make things magical. -- i'm all about magical.

for those who were wondering and those who were not, my birthday (the day itself) was ab-fab. i had a great time. B took me to the roof restaurant, which has a killer view and then we stayed the night in the marriott hotel downtown. it was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l!!!

all apologies to the in-laws for missing the girl's night, but i'm glad you ate cake for me. trust me, i would have rather been there than pulling my hair out over little H who's been sick for 2 1/2 weeks now. ps- took him to the doctor on monday. all he said was that H had a virus and it was normal for kids this age to take 2 -3 weeks to get over something like this. whatever. thanks for not calming my fears at all. so at this point i don't know if he's sick or teething or both. i just know he's miserable and i'm at the end of my vast mommy knowledge for such things.

thanks to friends and fam for the b-day wishes. love you all.

-j

i'm the cute thing in the middle. the cute things on either side of me are my sis, Janna and my bro, Andy.


as is tradition in the mommy blogger world i am going to give a tribute to myself on this my day of birth. actually, the tradition is not to tribute yourself but since i am the only author on this blog it's going to have to be me. here are some reasons i think i'm great:
* i can be fairly entertaining
* i'm not bad to look at
* i bathe regularly
* i like to laugh
* i like to poke fun (at others and myself)
* if i put my mind to do something i'll do it
* i'm not super judgemental --unless you're being dumb, lame, or otherwise intolerable
* i'm honest
* i'm mellow
* i'm fairly laid back
* i'm a decent listener
* i'm cool with you if you're cool with me
* i like my kid and my husband a great deal
* i value family (even the weirdies, and boy are there a few of those...but in a good way)
* i'm not a bad friend, sometimes i'm even a GREAT friend
* i can roll with the punches
* i like life and life likes me. life and i fairly fully agree.

that's all i can think of, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some photos from our sometimes annual Christmas tree cutting down excursion. We packed H. in a sled and off we went. It was a b-u-tiful day. Almost 50 degrees in the Uintas, if you can believe that. We went with theMIL and a BIL and had a very nice time.

In the pics you see B and H sledding down a small hill, H sitting like a King in his sleigh, B Julie, and H posing after all was finished, and B cutting down our tree.

This is what Christmas is made of.

A few bits of gratitude that need to be made public:

To my mom for spending a ridiculous amount of time helping me paint, clean and a random assortment of other things (including LOTS of babysitting) to help me move upstairs. Seriously don't know what I'd do without that woman. So DON'T move!!!!

To my mom-in-law for taking time out of her busy schedule to help clean the basement apartment in prep for the new tenant (my second cousin, Emily).

To Michelle for watching H. ALL day on Friday so we could move in a more timely fashion. This is especially significant as H. has four(?) maybe more teeth coming in and is insanely cranky plus he vomited and had some bowel issues while at her house as well. What a trooper (Michelle, not Hayden)!!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

we are currently in the process of moving upstairs. though it is not far, it is still moving and takes time and energy (something both my husband and i are running out of). the upstairs is not quite where we want it to be, but will be soon. i am soooooo thankful to finally be getting out of the basement though that i almost don't care what the upstairs looks like (almost). it will still be a bit before i'll feel like i can invite people over. but, the time will come, my friends, the time will come!!!

ps- yes, i do realize that i overuse the comma. i am and always have been the queen of the run-on sentence. get over it.

Saturday I got on the computer to quickly check my email when I noticed that a friend of mine, Eric VanTielen had tagged me in a photo on facebook. I found this odd, as I have not seen Eric VT in several years and couldn't remember the last time we had taken a photo together. Intrigued, I logged onto Facebook and was met with the photo below. Hours and hours of therapy were erased as I stared, in horror, at my junior prom photo. There I was, on the internet, in all my chubby, brace-face, closed-eyed glory. I had to sit down... further into my chair.

you may want to enlarge it to get the full effect.

The funny thing about junior prom was that I was nominated for Prom Queen and won second attendant! I'm still baffled as to how all of that happened.

This weekend I caught up with my prom date, since he was in town from the NYC and we decided to take an updated version of our prom photo. Good times, good times.

I'm sorry that it's sideways, I can't figure out how to rotate it.


Prom Revisited (almost) 15 years later.
Julia and EVT

Because I should be painting I'm typing on the computer. Brent would be so disappointed. But, I'm typing because of some interesting things I've seen and heard of late.

1. On a box of Christmas lights it says to wash your hands after handling because once you touch the lights you will have been exposed to lead and lead can make you sick and lead to birth defects. Oh. Ok. Thank you. ** I just purchased this box o' lights today (obviously without reading the box). **

2. On MSN a few days ago there was an article about the Feds releasing their weather forecast for this winter. It listed a few states with semi-specific forecasts and then it said that the rest of the country could plan on wetter, drier, colder, warmer, or normal temperatures this year. Hmmm, very helpful. Who paid for this study?

3. H. has a zebra whom he calls Debra or Barbra (depending on his mood) and sometimes even Bubba. I guess the "z" sound is too hard to make, but I don't have the heart to correct him because it's so stinkin' cute.

that is all.

some idiot across the street did one of two things: 1) rented their house to five boys between the ages of 18-22 or 2) sold their house to 5 boys between the ages of 18-22.

aaaaargh. i realze i'm getting old because this bothers me. it also bothers me that they have parties regularly allowing their lame friends to take any and all street parking. they also sit on their roof and talk in loud voices, because it isn't cool enough to announce your presence by just sitting on the roof.

i'm trying really hard to remember that at one time i was twenty-something and i thought stupid stuff like that was fun and no big deal and why are the neighbors getting so bent out of shape and being such old fuddy-duddies?

they haven't been super intrusive so far, other than taking up parking and revving engines at midnight and speaking in their ridiculously loud voices in the middle of the night... but i am crazy irritated by them nonetheless and i want to give a good talking to whoever it was that thought it would be a good idea to let a bunch of freshman boys have their own house in a fairly quiet neighborhood. i mean, seriously, we just got rid of the Whiskey Tango who lived a few doors down and parked their cars on the front lawn and opened the doors to listen to the stereo and now we have THIS?

did i mention i'm getting old? just give me the walker now because soon enough i'll be telling stories about how i used to walk uphill both ways in the snow just to get to school. or how, in my day, kids knew how to respect adults and other such nonsense that only comes from being old and remembering things the way they never used to be. sigh... thanks for allowing the rant.

the end.

I just purchased Barbra Streisand's Christmas album, much to Brent's chagrin. I believe his exact reaction was, "Are you kidding me?" Nope. I 'm not. Waaaaay to much nostalgia wrapped up in Bab's renditions of those Christmas songs. And, we all know what a sucker I am for anything nostalgic. So, my hands were tied and the money was spent.

Is my purchase a bit hypocritical you ask? Possibly. BUT, I'm grateful I found this little gem (a nod to the Thanksgiving Holiday just around the corner) and I promise not to play it until December 1, 2008.

Here are photos of some of Hayden's latest obsessions.

H. enjoys reading "peek-a-boo" books with himself, mom, or dad. He loves to pull back the little flap and say, "dat?" which we are interpreting as "what's that?" We of course then tell him the appropriate name of each item pictured. From this little exercise he has added "bull" and "blue" to his vocab. ooooh. so smart.

He also loves anything mom or dad. Hence the photo of him in mom's sunglasses and dad's headlamp. After discovering that the lamp lights up and seeing dad wear it on his head H. will try to put it on any time he can find it. Once on, he will wear it for hours at a time. B. is proud simply because he takes this to mean that H. already has a love of gear.

When did Christmas start after Halloween? What about that "Thankful" holiday in between? Now, what happened to THAT?

Why, if Mervyns is going out of business do they have a "now hiring" sign posted? Now hiring for what exactly? To help them move their stuff out?

Why do sooo many women/teens feel it necessary to cast aside their clothes and become an uber skank all in the name of Halloween? --I've actually wondered about this phenomenon for some time.

What would be on my "bucket list" if I had one? I really don't know. I have no real desire to go skydiving or climb Mt. Kilimanjaro or anything. What do I want to accomplish before I die?

Why are relationships so much work? I don't just mean marital relationships, I'm talkin' any relationship-- spouse, family, friend, co-worker. I'm not even saying I always mind the work, it's just interesting to me that when I was young I used to watch my parents and the way they interacted and assumed that once you became and adult you'd have it all figured out. Not so my friend, you're just the same person in an older body with a bit more experience under your belt.

Why can't H. take a three hour nap EVERY day? Seriously. Do you know how much I could accomplish?


These are just some thoughts running through my head of late. Not very profound or anything, but it's what rattling up there in the ol' gray matter nonetheless (is that all one word?).

Drum roll please...

The newest addition to our little (and rapidly growing) fam is a GIRL. Yippee! Yahoo! Hurray! The ultra-sound tech got a shot that made him 99.5% sure of the child's gender, though true to my predictions the little scamp was moving ALL over the place trying to get away from that thing compressing her living space.

that is all. have a good week.

Here's Halloween! Yippee! It was, sadly, quite tame for us this year. We were all a little under the weather, and Hayden was tired so we hid in our basement and watched movies. LAME-O!!! I always have these dreams of doing something fun and festive but then, when the day actually arrives I've never actually planned anything fun and festive. I keep thinking that when Hayden gets older and truly cares about the holiday it will be different. I really hope that is true because I want to capture that fun old-time Halloween spirit again and not be such a fuddy duddy, and as previously mentioned, it's not as if my husband is a great celebrator of things (though he has dressed as the Easter bunny for an Easter party for the last two years) so I guess it's pretty much up to me and the kids to get the festive spirit going. Next year will be different, as you are my witness, we will never be lame-ohs again!

PS- We find out the gender of Number 2 on Friday. I'll keep you updated.

Congrats that need to go out:

To Megan and Luke for having a beautiful baby girl!

and

To Stacee and Andres for getting engaged! Yahoo!!!

I just read my youngest sis's blog and she tagged me. Normally, I would prolong doing a fill-out, but I'm bored and my husband is hunting and I am sick and I should be doing other things, so I will do it now.

8 Fave TV Shows (I type these knowing that you WON'T judge me or my lack of taste):

1. So You Think You Can Dance (soooo much more entertaining than crappy Stevie Wonder night on AI)

2. America's Next Top Model (I can't help it. I'm sucked in by waif-ish, bratty, young ladies seeking jobs that make non-waif-ish ladies, like myself, feel completely and utterly ginormous)

3. Brother's and Sisters

4. The Office

5. Biggest Loser (I'm also sucked in by severely obese whiny people trying to shed 100+ lbs)

6. Arthur (that's right, the Aardvark)

That's all I got... and that was stretching it

8 things I did yesterday

1. woke up at 3:30 am for no apparent reason

2. calmed my son who woke up at 5:15 am for no apparent reason

3. went to playgroup and socialized

4. worked with my madre' on painting the base and case in the remodel

6. played with stink-bug (Hayden)

7. ate pizza because I was too tuckered out to cook

8. chatted with B while he packed for his hunting excursion today

8 things I look forward to:

1. the holidays--so warm, so cozy

2. moving upstairs

3. finding out the gender of child in the womb

4. Halloween

5. seeing my first neice on the Ras side: Abigail (seriously, this kid is CUTE! according to the pics)

6. Ali to come home and continue to make me jealous with stories of her exploits in London

7. Janna having a girl (it has to be a girl--because I said so)

8. getting over this nasty cold. i am not a good sick person... i get really whiny.

8 Fave Restaurants:

1. Blue Plate

2. Cucina Toscana (yummy)

3. The Red Iguana

4. Lonestar Taqueria

5. Red Robin (I crave hamburgers alot)

6. Z Tejas

7. Aristos

8. um.... basically if the native people who eat the food are round and happy I like it: Mexican, Italian, Greek. Not so much on the Asian thing. The people are so austere and severe looking, and not very round--except for Buddha, but...

8 Things on My Wish List:

1. World peace

2. for the damn elections to ooover.

3. finding a good present for B. this Christmas

4. a house that magically cleans and organizes itself

5. the remodel to over and complete. down to the last nail and blade of grass

6. a pony

7. my family to come back to Utah and find jobs they love (even if it is in politics)

8. H. to get over his milk and peanut allergy. I wish Gabe would get over his allergies, too.

8 People I Tag:

The first people to read this. You know who you are...

Recent happs:

1. Went to Odyssey Dance Theatre's Thriller performance with the hubby on the 24th. Loved it. If I could come back in the next life with some major talent I would want to be a dancer. I L-O-V-E dancing as it is, but I'd like to actually be good at it. And be able to say, "Why yes, I dance. Here are some moves." Sadly, what I have to say is, "I like to free-style it. You know, do whatever the music moves me to do." Which is really code for: "I couldn't be taught a dance step to save my life." Enjoyed the show, though. Also enjoyed the fact that my parents watched H. for the evening (the entire evening and into the morning...). I was worried about his first "sleepover", but he apparently did very well and didn't miss us at all.

2. Coerced my husband into trying out the social thing again. Baby steps is all I ask, really. So, we went to the ward Halloween party. And, woo-hoo! I got him to stay for 45 minutes rather than the 20 we stayed for at the Christmas party last year. He did, however, look like he was taking a bullet the entire time we were there. I don't know that we'll ever have couple friends. *sigh* My dreams of having people over for games and such are slowly drifting away.

3. Am perfecting the art of the "hunting widow". I won't lie, it's not my favorite part of this time of year. But how can you deny a man the happiness that is "walking around Wyoming in beautiful weather with a gun"? I can't, which is why I am alone most weekends starting in September through the end of October. And let me tell you doing the church thing with no back-up and a mobile 15 month old is NO picnic. Who decided they couldn't go to nursery until 18 months? Probably the nursery leaders...

I believe that is all. I'm sure there will be pics of Halloween forthcoming as H. is the CUTEST pirate I have ever seen.

Went to the doc today to get the routine monthly check-up on baby. Nothing big other than the baby kept kicking and moving making it hard to get a good heart beat reading. In fact the OB said, "Hold still, kid." This makes me laugh because H. was never a big mover in the womb (which is why I believe he wasn't mobile until 12 months... he had never cared much about moving before, why be in a hurry now?), he was always very mellow and continues to be so today. His cousin, Noah, on the other hand moved quite a bit (from what I understand) and man is that kid an explorer! Anywho, it just makes me wonder, if at 18 weeks this kid is already movin' and groovin' what's he/she gonna be like when he/she gets here? Hold on Brent, we may be in for a wild ride!

A problem: if I sit H. down to take a picture he immediately scoots away. I end up with a lot of pictures like this.



Keeping with tradition, Hayden, Michelle, Taytum, Brock and little Mia visited a pumpkin patch on Friday. Okay, it wasn't really so much a patch as a little square of nicely decorated asphalt, but H. doesn't really know the difference so we'll continue to visit such places at this time of year.

Just a side note. I don't really get the whole putting a graveyard in your front yard as holiday decor-thing. I find it kind of weird and creepy all at the same time.

i just joined facebook. weird. very weird to request a friendship from someone and feel all kinds of giddy when you receive an email that says "Mr. X has accepted your friendship." it's almost like entering high school again. feeling all meek and what-not. approaching people... can i sit at your table for lunch? hoping they'll say "yes". can i say awkward? but hey. if you are ever in the neighborhood of facebook. drop me a line... i'll totally be your friend.

I recently took Hayden out in hopes of getting some photos of him. As you can tell by the first photo, which was taken moments before we left the house, H was NOT happy about the idea. But, I persevered and off we went to the park for some time with the camera. We had some moments of serious un-cooperativeness both from the camera and the boy. First he wouldn't look at me when I was trying to get him with just the flowers in the background (or the trucks in the background for that matter), when he finally looked he scowled. We tried a different locale which led to several pics of the child scooting away. Finally, I gave up and took him to swing, which he loves. At least he's smiling.

As the house stands now. Front o' house. The Garage and Back o' house. As you can see we stuccoed over the ug yellow brick and that helped tie the addition in nicely. We still need to paint the dormer shakes, the garage siding, and stain the doors and window frames, but other than that the outside is finished. Yippee. Oh yeah and the landscaping and concrete. I think that will have to come next year, though.

The inside is also coming along. With tile almost finished. Carpet and hard wood on the way and appliances to be installed next week-ish. When that fun stuff happens I'll post pics of the inside. Right now, however, it is still a bit of a mess.

Good times. Good times.

More photos. Here we have the framing in progress. Top you can see the garage where the shed was. Middle is looking into the mud room/kitchen area. Bottom is the master suite. Please excuse the shutter shadows. My camera was having issues.

Sorry this posted out of order. I should've thought of that when I started, but I didn't. Plus, I don't know how to fix it because I am a medium-low in the tech savvy field.

Kelly requested pics of the remodel. Here is where we came from.

Front of house.

The upstairs kitchen before. Actually this is after we had already taken out the appliances and were using it for a storage room/mud room. But you get the gist of it's tininess (sp?).

The backyard looking at it from the driveway. Again, this is actually a photo of the remodel already in the process. The carport's been removed and Brent is in the process of taking down the shed at the back of the property (all of the various stuff from said shed is now in my front room upstairs...nice).

Backyard, again.
Back of house.

there is nothing sweeter than watching a 14 (almost 15) month old explore the room that he's explored dozens of times before with rabid enthusiasm. okay, maybe not rabid, but definitely enthusiasm. as he does this he talks to himself and makes the sounds of various toys and laughs and just overall enjoys himself. when he really wants to get a kick in the pants (figuratively not literally) he'll scoot on over to where the cords from the tv and vcr dangle down then, as he reaches toward them he'll look my way to see if i'm looking. i immediately say, "no!" and start across the room at which point he giggles and pulls the cords until i reach him. i know. i know. not a super safe game, but he really gets a kick out of it. that kid is just darn-tootin' funny, with a seriously developed sense of humor.

aaah. the pride of a first time parent.

is it wrong if i am tired of politics? because i am.

random thoughts on what-nots

* i drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon today to deliver payroll to B. (he's working on a house up by Donut Falls). can i just say, B-U-tiful?!? holy cow! the higher you go the more brilliant and amazing the colors were. laws, i LOVE this time of year.

* recently read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. this was a fab book and i absolutely recommend it. such a refreshing take on a way to tell and narrate a story. fabulous. i also recently read The Memory Keeper's Daughter. the jury is still out on my actual feelings towards this story. it was sad and depressing and the ending seemed to be too neatly tied up for it to work with the rest of the story. it also gave a rather grim picture of marriage and most of the characters were completely self-absorbed making it hard to like any of them.

* i read Breaking Dawn not too long ago as well. true to form with the Twilight series i read it in three days. don't let this fool you into thinking it was a good book, because truthfully, it wasn't. it was one of those books that i kept thinking how ridiculous it was as i read it, but couldn't bring myself to put it down. i keep trying to explain this phenomenon, but can't. also, the end....blech! "we're going to kill you all!!!! oh, never mind, i guess we'll just see you later." LAME-O.

* the remodel goes on. and on. and on. and on. and on. and on.

* i absolutely loved/enjoyed the LDS General Relief Society meeting last Saturday. especially Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. i'm just wondering, why can't i get it in printable form? all of the ladies' talks are up and available.

* finally, for those of you who don't know. i am with child (but don't expect to see any floating babies to the left anytime soon). yay for babies! i think there must be a population explosion going on because there are 5 other chicas in my area (read: ward) who are also with child and due not long after myself (which is end of march, first of april btw). crazy. crazy.

Is the gremlin who steals socks the same guy in charge of "misplacing" infant/toddler shoes? Above is a picture of all the single shoes saddened and unusable without their mate. I have no idea where their mates have gone, but I find it rather disturbing that my sons shoes keep disappearing.

In the latest issue of Real Simple magazine there is an article written by Gretchen Rubin of New York City who conducted a year long "Happiness Project". She felt that what she wanted in life was to be happy and that she was falling short of her goal so... she made it a project (and a bit of a study). Here are some of her findings:

10 Ways to be Happier
1. Don't start with profundities like meditating for hours on end (sorry Elizabeth Gilbert) or answering questions about self-identity. Begin with the basics. Eat well balanced meals, go to bed early, etc. ** this makes sense as it follows Maslow's hierarchy of needs**
2. Go ahead and go to bed angry once in awhile. "Expressing anger related to minor, fleeting annoyances just amplifies bad feelings, while not expressing anger often allows it to dissipate."
3. "Fake it until you feel it." If you aren't feeling particular positive or cheerful ACT as if you do and you soon will.
4. "Challenge and novelty are key elements to happiness." Don't be afraid to try something new, even if it means you will fail the first (fifty- third) time.
5. If you are feeling down don't try to assuage the feeling with a "treat". Whether your treat is food, alcohol, shopping etc.
6. "Buy some happiness." The author looked for ways to spend money to stay closer to her family and friends. For example, she bought herself a new digital camera which gave her a lot of bang for her buck.
7. Don't spend your time waffling over a decision because you think something better will come along. You'll just spend more time making the decision and then still feel anxious about the choices you've made.
8. Exercise to boost energy.
9. Stop nagging.
10. Take action.

Why did I put this on here? Well... the author's reasons for starting her happiness project were pretty similar to what I'm feeling currently. Not unhappy, per se, but maybe a tad unsatisfied with what I'm doing with my life. My mother says I'm in a mode of change, I think this is probably a pretty accurate statement. I think I'm also in a mode of finding and redifining myself (as lame and cliche' as that may sound). Anywho, I'm thinking I'll start my own "happiness project" and see what I come up with. Maybe some of the things on my list will be the same, but I think many will be different. I think there just might be a little something more to all of this. I'll keep you posted.

I couldn't leave this blog with such a depressing post at the top for long, so I decided to do something silly, which some of you will have undoubtedly seen before. The "game" is to type your name and needs into Google to see what comes up. Here, according to Google, is Julia needs...

* a bathtub toy --this would be nice, especially if I had a bathtub
* to worry about leaving a legacy
* a tripod
* to drink more to avoid kidney problems (I'm on it!)
* a time-out --this is true, I'd like it in the form of a vacation!
* new shoes --also, very true.
* to lose some weight--hey! i just did!! gooooo weight watchers
* an audition song--i need an audition VOICE, first!
* to step up her game
* to find something to sell, throw-out, give away, or burn--very astute observation
* a hug
* to drink less cola
* to be herself-- truer advice there never was.

Now you try. It's kind of entertaining, even if you don't post it on your blog.

In Memoriam

Sarah Elizabeth Lefoll

"Scout"

Sept 12, 1983- Sept 16, 2005

"She lived her life as a shooting star--burning so brightly and all too soon extinguished."
-Zachary Lefoll

"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky, as someone told me lately, everyone deserves the chance to fly...I'm flying high, defying gravity...and no one's gonna to bring me down." - Elphaba in Wicked (Scout in the front seat of my car).

There are people who enter your life for a brief time but leave a massive impact, Scout was one of those people. If you knew her then you loved her for the fiery, sassy spirit she was. Scout was an amazing talent. She had the outwardly appreciated talents of a stellar, Broadway worthy voice, and fantastic acting ability. She also possessed the talent to make anyone, anyone feel good about themselves. She could see the absolute best in all those around her, but failed to see it in herself. I'll never understand that. I'll never understand how she didn't see the people who surrounded her that would do anything for her. Following is something I wrote for her in an English class, a month after she left. It's pretty juvenile and kinda' lame, but it captured for me, at the time, how I felt.

she

stood on the shoulders of giants. and, that day, she stood a little taller as she perched on the precipice of a colossal steel structure that swayed faintly when the wind blew, carrying with it the angry chi of ghosts from her past.

she

was defiant and her fingers were swift flying across the digits as her message burst through the lines of telecommunication: she will leave, she said. she can't do this, she said. she has nothing left she said.

her

life of emotional schizophrenia no longer held its charm. and from atop her existence on that foam steel she knew she could not stay.

still

her heart skipped a beat as she sent her final texted plea: a single word that would haunt those it reached, but who couldn't respond, restrained by a force stronger than their own.

so

she spread her arms and they became the wings she'd longed for. with one quick step she left her perch and soared to her next existence. releasing her demons, her friends, her life.

I love you, Scout and will forever miss you.

The New and Improved Scoot

Look Mom. No hands!

http://www.americanaimages.net/waterfalls.htm

I bought a calendar in January, which is what one does at that time of year. There are certain things that always take place at certain times and calendars in January is one of them. Anywho, I bought this calendar because I liked the photos. They're Americana-esque, and I'm always a sucker for such things. I was unaware, however, that it is also an "inspirational" thoughts calendar complete with accompanying scriptures. Not that I have anything against that, I just wasn't expecting it. Which in truth is kind of silly because all I had to do to expect it was pay attention--something I'm not well known for.
Most of the thoughts are interesting though not super thought-provoking, until this month. September says:
"Accepting Your Assignment: You weren't created just to consume resources-to eat, breathe, and take up space... You were created to add to life on earth.
We...created...to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 NIV"
When I first read this I was thinking, "Oh. Ok. Multiply and replenish. I can do that, and apparently I can do it fairly well." I, clearly, was not reading very carefully since on further examination I realized it was talking about what we do in this life and what we add to it. Kind of like the not burying your talents thing. This was interesting to me because it is something I have really been contemplating of late. What am I adding to this life of earth? Is it worthwhile? Sometimes, for myself, I would argue that it is not. There are many doers in this world and sadly I am not naturally one of them. I am a floater, if you will. I tend to float through life just kind of take whatever as it comes. I don't really do a whole lot. I can be a doer if I choose to, but it is definitely a choice and not a natural inclination. I am not like my sis-in-law who has to be constantly doing and creating and project-ing, I am completely content to just be. I digress...
I guess my point is, I want to be more of a do-er. But I want to my do-ings to be meaningful so that I can truly add, in a positive way, to life on this earth. I haven't figured out how to do this yet, but I hope to figure it out soon or at least in this lifetime.

sorry for waxing a bit philosophical, but the calendar is right above my computer and thus i see it whenever i'm on here.

the end.

I cut my hairs. Some of them more than others. Here are some pics. Yes, I realize my facial expression is a bit much, but I was tired of taking pictures of myself and trying to make them look good. Truthfully, I really like it. Brent says, "I don't hate it." He is attached to long hair, like most men, no matter how young and ridiculous I look. I blame this mostly on his mother and sisters. They all look great with long hair and as a bonus, they actually know how to DO long hair. Me? Not so much. Pretty much my hair is tucked behind my ears or pulled back when it is long. Not that this is a bad thing, I would just rather have a sassy short do that has personality. Besides I figure long hair is really only beneficial when you have a fancy function to attend (ie wedding, formal party/dinner, etc) and since I rarely, if ever, have such an occasion I figure I'm safe. So, long story short (ha ha) I'm back to my short hair ways and I think I look hot.

These are just some pics of H. because he's cute and as B. says, "That kid is damn photogenic." This is true. Some updates on the little man:

* he says cookie both in sign and in spoken language (although it comes out "kie")

* he has become very proficient, or is efficient? H. has become very___ficient in his scooting as he no longer uses his hands. it's actually pretty funny to watch, perhaps a vid to come?

I think that's all...but I'm a bit of a bad mother when it comes to remembering all of his accomplishments.

the end

Highlights from the Labor Day camping trip to WYOMING:

1. Hayden's first four-wheeler ride.
2. My first experience with Baked Spaghetti in the dutch oven (very good, ps).
3. Sooooo sleepy because I can't for the life of me sleep on an air mattress with a husband and a 13 month old.
4. H. was a bit of a stinker as he wanted to get down a lot more, but bum/dirt scooting is icky.
5. 2 mice in the tent at 1am. This also makes it hard to sleep when you keep hearing strange noises, but have NO idea what or where they're coming from.
6. Cold, cold rain and some snow.
7. No elk, but one Blue (or Rough, a consensus was not met) Grouse shot with an arrow.
8. Relaxed husband.
9. Ridiculous amounts of laundry and other things to air/clean out.
10. Family time.... aaaaah.

Sorry no pics with this one. I'm lame and forgot the camera.

Sometimes I miss school. I miss this time of year and buying school supplies or books or new school clothes or being to the first bus stop on the route at 6am in order to secure a "cool" seat for the ride to and from school. I miss walking on campus (either HS or college) and smelling the crisp air that comes with late September and October. I miss people watching, and believe me, there is plenty of that to be done in the Performing Arts Building on the U o' U campus. I miss that feeling of anticipation when meeting a new teacher or reading through a syllabus to determine what we'll be reading/studying/writing that year and/or semester. I miss being a part of a bigger whole and having a niche'. I miss it all, I'm kind of a geek that way. I think I would have been a perpetual student if it had been profitable or even feasible, I just dig on that stuff.

B. and i are in the midst of an experiment... or maybe it's not an experiment, maybe it's a new way of life. who knows?
let me 'splain.
monday i came home and B had removed the rabbit ears from our television. thus, we not only do we not have cable/satellite, we have no channels whatsoever. my initial reaction was of sorrow and disappointment. what will i do in my days? how will i fill them without my "stories"? i shed a tear and held a moment of silence then trudged into the bedroom to find a book. i picked up Lonesome Dove (which i had set aside for a time to read The Book Thief, this is a really good book,btw, and i totally recommend it) and dived into the pages. okay, not literally. i literally just opened the book to my bookmark and began to read. now, 260-some odd pages into it i am loving it!
my point? you ask, as you already are aware of my joy in reading. my point is that i am discovering that without the tv there are a ridiculous amount of simple things to find joy in and to occupy one's time with. those of you who've already discovered this may laugh it you're so inclined, but truthfully it's not as if i wasn't aware of that little morsel of knowledge it's just that i forgot. you know, kinda' like i forgot how good consistent exercise makes me feel. or how much i enjoy getting up the minute my alarm goes off as opposed to hitting snooze 18 times until i feel more groggy than when the alarm first interrupted my sleep.
anywho, i'm feelin' pretty grateful to my husband for taking away the temptation o' television, even if it was in the middle of the Olympics.

NOT on Rex Manning Day!

i recently viewed the movie Empire Records for the umpteenth time and i must say that i love this film. not because it is great cinema, but because it makes me laugh and amidst all of the random vignettes and lack of cohesiveness there are some pretty stinkin' quotable lines.
"Who know where thoughts come from? They just appear." or "What's with today, Today, Joe?"
plus, this movie comes with a killer soundtrack, one i have listened to almost as much as i've seen the film (until i lost it, that is). if you haven't seen it, you might want to think about it.

other films i love for several different reasons:
Reality Bites (another mid-nineties "classic")
Big Fish - i just loved the storytelling and imagery of this film.
Dead Poets Society- it's good.
The Mission- great performances by both Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro
The Usual Suspects- violent, but the story is fab-o.
Lucky Number Slevin- also violent, but again, the story is great and full of surprises.
When Harry Met Sally- classic and perfect chick flick.
Sleepless in Seattle- i have a thing for Meg Ryan films, what can i say?

there are many, many more, i'm sure of it, but this is all that came to my head at this point in time.

As promised, here are some photos of beautiful baby Mia (and one of Miss Taytum). She was born on July 27 (her due date) to Michelle and Brandon.

Here's a photo of the fam at Lake Barstow in WY. It was taken over the fourth o' July weekend. I like it because H. has a fab smile.

PS: I think the reason Hayden has been a ridiculous sleeper and fantastic fusser is because of the two molers that have been not quite coming in for a month. I believe they may be trying to cut through, and that would make me grumpy as well.