Sorry took a break.

  Sorry, took a break for a while. I'm going to say that I conscientiously took the break but lets be honest. Because that is what I do here. I totally didn't blog. Sorry. But I did have great photo opportunities and tried so hard to get the pictures but I can't find my battery charger for my camera. I left it on and now battery dead. Yikes. So you will just have to imagine what it was like in our home. BUSY!

With all the activities that the "Zoo" is part of, man it keeps me at the gas station on regular intervals. I should probably just have a spot reserved just for me. Sheesh!

My In-laws just left and the house has been really quite. Bug is wondering around looking for something to do. Grandma read to her for a whole month ( yes, at least someone is.). Played Candyland,( you all know how much I loooove that game). And just generally showered the little one with as much love as a little person can hold. The rest of the kids mourn their leaving but they have things that they have to get doing so there is really no longing like the Bug, who is all alone with her mom. Boring!

Other then that, nothing else really happened. Trunk or Treat was on Saturday and all the kids, ( including the ones over 18) had fun. There were some really good costumes this year. But really there are some really creative people out there and they really showed up for Halloween. Me well I'm lucky that I got all 5 dressed with full makeup, chili, and me cleaned up from my run, and to the church in time for the festivities. They had a blast and I'm still looting candy from their pillow cases. ( Yup we go old school, no fancy bags here, you get more candy when you use a pillow case. Plus, yes we can all say it, I'm cheap.)

 

 

 

What else has happened. Training again for a 15km. Couldn't do the 1/2 marathon this year so the 15km will have to do. Running with a friend so it'll be fun.

 

 

 

 

 Did laundry today and a Yoga class. It was fun. The instructor is leaving come this Wednesday. Sad, I really liked him. He was good. Not a lot of crazy stuff that I can never get my body into and if I do get into the position, stuff that I will never get out of. He calls it more of an athletic yoga. It's good, good stretching, strength and balance, I will be sad when he leaves. Hopefully, the new instructor will be just as good. ( By the way, I wish this was me, but in reality my face would be smooshed into the ground and the rest of my body piled in a heap behind it. But one can always dream.)

 

 

 

So what am I grateful for today. Remember I wrote a while ago that I was going to find something, any thing in the day that I was grateful for. Well, I did, I'm grateful for Sunday teachers that study and pray about their lessons. That teach with the Spirit, it made all the difference yesterday. It was a feast that filled my soul, one that makes my spirit and body want for more. That is what I'm grateful for today. Have a great Monday, I know so far I have.

Something quick.

Ok nothing really big to write about. Today was just like any other day. Waking up before the sun rise to get kids ready for school. Then reading my scriptures ( I try to do it when the house is quite, you know the time, right before everyone wakes up.) Most times I'm really just sleeping on the scriptures hoping that maybe by laying my head on them I'm getting some kind of spiritual nourishment. Then the rest of the day chores, dishes, laundry, dishes, laundry, sweeping, dishes, laundry. I'm sensing a pattern here. Did yoga that was a nice break until I thought I broke something. I don't think bodies are really supposed to bend that way. Anyway, for such a short post this is turning into a very long drawn out play by play of my day. So I was just going to add something for those that are looking for a little pick me up. No matter what you are facing right now. What trial may be at your doorstep or passed over the threshold into your life. I think that we need to remember this.

"When life is hard, remember-we are not the first to ask, "Is there no other way?"

                                                                                 Jeffery R. Holland



A blustery day!

Ohhhhhh! The wind is whipping. The temperature starting to drop. The trees are shuddering with the thought of another winter. The animals are in a feeding frenzy, trying to get as much stored on their bodies before the first glistening white flakes dance and twirl in the sky. So with this blustery day what would we find that is good. Oh let me tell you.

 

 

Watching people run from their cars to the store fronts. With their hair whipping and waving as the wind's fingers run through their hair. Smelling the crisp smells of fall. The sharpness of the cold, as you take a quick inhale of fresh air.

The twisting and shuddering of leaves before they are blown from their posts on the trees. The colours that nature provides to remind us that even when the death of winter is coming, there is always great beauty no matter what may be. This has to be one of my most favorite times of the year. The colours, the brisk cool air, the smell of the first frost hanging in the breeze. The warm sweaters, the cute boots, the warm hot chocolate that not only warms the belly but also the soul. The rosey cheeks and red tipped noses of those little ones we love as they run in the house from the bus stop. Playing in piles and piles and piles of leaves with no care in the world. Yes I love Fall. One of my most favorite times of the year.

 

 

 What do you like about Fall?

Gratitude!

So this week is another busy week. Really just today. Today is the day that I found the fountain of youth. Well not right now but 9 years ago I did find that mysterious, and ellusive way to stay young forever. Time and age has unfortunatly not figured this out, as wrinkles are still making their marks. Grey hair is sneaking its way into my life, joints are aching and well as I found out a couple of days ago, my body is not as limber as it used to be. ( Not making a full rotation while doing a back roll will let your body know pretty quick how unlimber you really are.)

 

But this day I stay 26 forever. This day another animal in the crazy zoo made her appearence. This day which is the day that I graced the world with my little light, another was sent on the same day to grace with the world with her enormous flame.

Everyone says what a great gift, this is the best gift to ever have, a child that shares your birthday. Somthing that will always connect us. Now it is the best gift I ever did recieve on my birthday, but at the moment of birth, I was not really thinking that.

 

She is an amazing little kangaroo. She brings such joy and a calm spirit into our house. She is quite, she is soft spoken, she is shy and she is a snuggler. Like all my children she is strong, she knows what is right and what she wants.She follows the promptings of the Holy Ghost. She is a wonderful girl. Today that is what I'm grateful for. My own little Fountain of Youth.

 

Ok here's the secert. Subtract our ages and I'm always 26!!!!

Like it or Hate it.

Well I told everybody about the Pinterest experiment. Well I did it I did a pinterest craft. Did it turn out? Well you can be the judge of that . I did the glue on canvas that I saw floating around the pinterest universe and tried my hand at it. It did not go as I had planned.

First, coming up with the design was difficult. I had to ask Trout to help. She just looked at me like I was the biggest geek and said " You don't know how to do this? It's so easy look."

She then proceeded to show me her mad art skills and they are amazing. She can do all my crafts. We got a design idea picked out and started.

I have to pencil before I do anything, I'm just that way. No free hand here. Well pencil does not come off canvas very well. Also white glue is not the medium you want. You want hot glue or puffy paint. Something that is really going to make a contrast. White glue just melts into a thin little puddle once it is dry.

I went over it again with hot glue but with the white glue and the hot glue well it's just a mess.

White does not cover the pencil lines, Great! So now I've got to come up with another colour. I'm thinking sea foam green/teal. We will see, Kangaroo is excited. She actually gets art work ( not amazing art work) on her walls. Well Pinterest made one little girl happy. So I guess it worked. Now time to do the other 2.

P.S. Changed the colour to sea foam grean. I'll post when all three are done.

Panrty re-org

Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a Pinterest junkie. Actually what I should say is that I'm a Pinterest stalker. I don't really pin things myself I see what other people are finding and latch on to that. But one thing that I have fallen for is the pictures of beautiful pantry's. I know, many of us salivate over the thought of walking into our pantry's ( or even having a pantry) and having all of our wonderful food at our fingertips. We open the door the angels are singing, the sun is streaming in and there is a cool breeze carrieing the fragrant bouquets of wild flowers. Oh what bliss, then reality strikes you actually open your eyes. Yikes, this place looks like a bomb went off. Grocery bags are still sitting on the floor, or outside of the panrty waiting to be put away. Kids have been raiding your stock of chocolate chips that you thought you hid so carefully ( cause the real chocolate costs too much. Drat!), and there is a funky smell coming from the direction of somthing that looks like potatoes, but you really don't know. Life can sure be a slap in the face. But, still those beautiful pictures of beautiful panrtys becon and well I'm going to fall for it. I'm going to go in and try to get it prettied up. Not like anyone goes in there, unless I ask them to, or they are hunting for that stash of chocolate. So how am I going to do it. First thoughts were just to throw out everythin and start fresh. But Daddy Warbucks I don't think would be verry happy and neither would my budget. So I'm going to do this the hard way. Keep everythin and try to make what I have pretty. I'm hoping that this project only takes a week. But I guess we will see.

These bueaties were my inspiration. Will my pantry look like this probably not, but it will look tidy and neat. Also I don't know if their pantrys really look like this all the time or just when a camera is around.

This is what I started with. See just the dump zone not so pretty.

After some work and it's gettting there. Step by step. Container by container.

My favorite, the snack basket. Full of good yummy treats. I don't think my kids would say that but I like these kindof things.

Love these kind of days

Ahhhhhh! A do nothing day. I love do nothing days. Days where you well, do nothing. Really I don't think that really happens 'cause we all know that there is never a " do nothing day". Something always has to get done. But it is nice to play pretend and do nothing.

A day where hair is not washed, comfy clothes are thrown on, ( not a big change from jammies ).

Dishes sitting by the sink waiting to get done. ( Remember it's a pretend " do nothing day", they will eventually get done.)

Beading with Bug and her friend Angel hair.( Girl has the whitest most angelic face and hair ever).

Trying to catch up on a manual I want to read and start lessons on. ( Not getting far.)

Read your favorite blogs. Love this blog. I'm totally obsessed about it. She keeps it real. We are like best friends ( she does not know that yet hahaha.) On a side note about blogs, (sorry, just popped into my head and if you know me lots of things pop in and then out just as quick, so I have to write it down.) I wish someone would post a blog post about what kids are really like. We see so many pictures of perfect kids on blogs, happy, playing nice with their siblings. I think I'm going to post pictures of the real deal. Walking in from school, grumpy, tired, hungry. Then maybe a smile here and there, then on to the tantrums, sassyness and down right Mr. Hyde. Then dinner, Ahhh no one eating anything. Hating what was made for dinner, mom forcing the kids to eat, everyone trying to cajole the little one to take one more mouthful, with little tricks. Then a picture of everyone happy doing their after dinner jobs, HAHAHAHAHA! Right then trying to get some control after to have scriptures and prayers. Littles off to bed ( more screaming, crying, pleading, down right trickery), The not so littles trying to stay up with the adults 'cause they are older and more sophisticated then the little ones. Finally peace and quite! Ya right. Then night time wake ups. Oh man that would be the best post ever. That would be a real day that I think most people would totally relate to. Of course it would have to be someones family to post it 'cause my family is perfect. HAHAHAHHAHAH! (sorry had to pick myself off the floor.) That would be fun to see. Back to the " do nothing day" ( sorry for the detour, you can get lost very quickly up there in my brain.)

 It's just one of those days. Not a sad day, or a gloomy day, just a " do nothing day". Sometimes you just need to sit back and " do nothing."

Pinterest

So I have had this idea popping up in my head every now and again. I have a friend who took an idea off of "Pinterest" and decided to make it for her kids after school snack. Well she posted what it looked like on Pinterest and what hers looked like. Well lets just say the pictures do no do it justice.

So the thought came, how often do we look at pinterest (everyday), pin our favorite things and then move on. Some of us try them like my friend only to maybe have them turn out. So do the things that we pin really work. Or are we getting the wool pulled over our eyes. 'Cause I'm guessing that if everything worked on pinterest why do we still struggle with yellow armpit stains, bad hair, makeup mishapes and fruit flies. Why do we all not look like supermodels with super clean, and well decorated houses ( with no fruit flies, can you tell I'm having a little problem with them today) and great relationships with everyone we come in contact with.

Well here's the challenge. I'm going to pick something to do every week from "Pinterest" I'm going to see if it really works, or if it should go in the round file. Some experiments might take longer then one week, but some may take only an hour don't know yet. I thought it would be fun for others to jump on the bandwagon and try this adventure with me. I don't know how to do those linky parties and I don't know if anyone well really care. But I thought it would be fun. So if your on board just post a comment on the bottom of what your are going to try and then lets say every Wednesday we will weigh in and see how everyone did. You know the middle of the week everyone needs a good laugh. So what to start with......?

So this is the project. I thought I would start out simple. Well I hope that it is simple we will see.

Wish me luck!

Monday Happenings

Had a great and busy weekend. Ran a race ( 10 km), poorly planned race but the running company was wonderful. Went grocery shopping ( boo!). I hate grocery shopping. I hate watching all that money being spent on food that wont even last the whole week. But that is it's own post all together.

The General Relief Society Broadcast for my church was as always uplifting and amazing. Then Sunday brought this. Oh I'm salivating at the pictures. Most likely 'cause I just ate my last one and want more.

I received from Daddy Warbucks a delightful cookbook. A french cookbook none the less. I love French food. I really mean that I adore French food. If I had a choice of what ever food I would want to eat for the rest of my life it would be French food. Before we moved the "Zoo" we would frequent, ok really not frequent more like go about twice a year, because if you have ever had French food it is expensive. And with as many animals we have and well a lack of CEO finances it was more like a special occasion that we went to this little French restaurant.

So the food was so good that if it was not against all etiquette, I would like my plate clean and ask for more. It is that good. If you have never tried French, oh my you need to try. I'm totally not kidding you need to try.

So with the new cookbook Trout has decided that we will bake every dessert in it. I'm thinking ooh la la. Yes let us do that. I have no problem being the taste tester. In fact the whole family has come on board. Who does not like dessert made with real butter, lots of eggs and cream. Good grief you would be mad. Mad I say. These are the pretties she made on Sunday.

Action shot. It was hard filling the pipping bag with the sticky dough. But it was worth the effort.

 

 

They cooked up wonderfully. Nice and golden brown, but man it was sure a production. Everything had to be timed perfectly.

And Viola! The finished product. Home made vanilla eclairs. She did vanilla cause Daddy Warbucks does not like chocolate. I know don't get me started. Oh man these were so good, I have no idea how the French stay so thin. I would eat a dozen of these if I could.

Yummmmmmmmmy!