Strange Dream

I took a nap with Taylor this afternoon. I'm not usually a nap person but lately I've been getting up at the crack 'o dawn to get my bum to the gym, so by 2 p.m. I'm exhausted.

Anyway, today during naptime I had the strangest dream. I was at a party with friends and family and everyone was laughing and playing and having a great time. At one point I needed a break and found a quiet corner to sit down. As I sat I overheard a conversation that took place between two women sitting next to me. I glanced over and had to do a double-take - sitting there next to me was Stephenie Nielsen (a.k.a. "NieNie") and her sister.

(Side note: If you've never read her blog, I suggest you start. She's an amazing woman, to say the least.)


So at one point her sister got up and it was just the two of us sitting there. I wanted to say something to her but wasn't sure what to say without sounding like some weirdo. Eventually she broke the silence by complimenting me on my sweater. I said thanks and then told her that I read her blog regularly and thanked her for being such an inspiration to so many women. We then sat and had a long conversation about everything - life, love, fashion, anything we could think of. I told her that I wanted her to know that she is so much more beautiful than she thinks she is. We had this wonderful heartfelt conversation and toward the end even exchanged books with each other. I gave her one of my favorites that I thought she would like, and she gave me one of hers. Shortly afterward I was abruptly woken by a little monkey who was laying on my chest and smiling at me. For a brief second it felt like I was still holding the book Stephenie gave me.

Strange, huh?

I woke from the dream feeling such a strong connection to women throughout the world. We all go through separate trials and hardships, but somehow have this strong bond of womanhood that connects us all and helps us to feel strong. I'm so grateful for all the amazing women in my life, the women I read about and gain inspiration from, and the women throughout history that have carved the path I now walk as a fellow woman, wife, sister, mother, and daughter.

Halloween Deals

I went to Walmart tonight and noticed all their Halloween costumes and decor on sale for 90% OFF! Now I know Halloween is a year away, but I can NOT pass up 90% off.

Here is everything I scored:


- 3 Platters
- 3 Serving bowls
- Wall decals
- 3 glass votives
- 2 yard stakes
- Happy Halloween banner
- 2 sets of 20 mini puzzles
- 5 plastic trick-or-treat bags (that I will be using for some cool fused plastic projects in the near distant future)

Total Cost: $4.20! Can't beat that!

I'm excited to pack all this stuff into our growing Halloween decor box, and it'll be fun to use all these cute decorations next year.

Decorating Projects

I've been in a super crafty, decoratey (yeah, I know that's not a real word) mood lately! I decided to re-arrange Taylor's room to make it a bit easier for him to find the toys he wants, plus un-block one of the two closets in his room for easier access. As soon as I finished I quickly took pictures to document the fact that his room really is clean sometimes. (Those of you who were at his second birthday party might recognize the banner on his wall).





I'm also really into holiday decorating right now. I took some great ideas from my Aunt Leanne's AMAZING blog and made some super inexpensive Thanksgiving decorations for the wall in my living room.




I'm really proud of the "Give Thanks" banner, and thought I'd show you all how to do it! I had the letter cards in my craft stash (I believe they're available at JoAnn's) and just sandwiched the cards between some dark brown double-fold bias tape and pin with clothespins. Voila! I clipped the ends of the bias tape on an angle and pinned the banner to the wall with pushpins hidden under the top fold of the bias tape. I then made some little bows from ribbon and safety pinned them to the underside of the top fold of the tape. Confused? Here's a picture to make it a little easier to understand:


I then went over to the Graphics Fairy and printed off some Thanksgiving-themed sheet music and a turkey, put them in some 8x10 frames I already had, and hung them above the banner.

I love how this turned out, and all together it only took me about 30 minutes to put together and cost me just a few dollars!

What are your inexpensive ideas for Thanksgiving decorations?

If I Had...

I saw this on another blog and thought it was cute, so I decided to do it too! It was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be and it took me a while to decide what I'd do with certain amounts of money.

If I Had...

$1: I would give it to Taylor to put in his piggy bank.
$5: I would go to the Dollar Store and buy some random craft supplies.
$10: I would buy a couple books from Amazon that I've been wanting.
$25: I would take Taylor to the Living Planet Aquarium.
$50: I would go to Pei Wei with my hubby for some nummy sweet 'n sour tofu.
$75: I would buy some new winter clothes at Ross.
$100: I would put it toward paying off the Neon (yep, still paying that dang car off).
$200: I would go on a shopping spree at Roberts.
$500: I would take a spontaneous trip with my hubby to St. George/Zion National Park.
$1000: I would cancel our lease and move to a 3 bedroom townhome.
$5000: I would pay for Sean to get Lasik surgery.
$10,000: I would pay off the majority of my student loan.
$25,000: I would pay off all my debt and open an IRA.
$50,000: I would put a huge down payment on a house and invest the rest.
$1,000,000: I would buy a house, invest $500,000 for retirement, take my family on an amazing European vacation, and donate the rest to charity.

What would you do?

Halloween 2009

This was one of the best Halloweens I've had in a long time, mostly because my little bug was so excited about it this time around. For months he's talked about pumpkins and dressing up like "Leo-ardo" the ninja turtle (completely his idea; Sean surprisingly had nothing to do with this decision).

We started our Halloween festivities with carving pumpkins and decorated the porch. Tay loved pointing out to our visitors which jack-o-lantern was his.

Then later last week we baked a TON of Halloween sugar cookies for the neighbors (and ourselves). Taylor helped with the cookie cutters, and then when it came time to decorate he was in charge of sprinkles. He thought it was super fun, but very quickly started demanding a sample of our cookie creations.





On Friday night we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. Sean and I dressed in our Doba Day garb as the Mad Hatter and March Hare. We both got lots of compliments on our costumes and it was nice to wear them again since we put so much work into them. Taylor had lots of fun during the trunk-or-treat, but, "Trick or Treat" quickly turned into, "Gimme some candy!" We had to have a little chat about the proper trick-or-treat etiquette.

On the big night Tay was super excited about going trick-or-treating, but we had a hard time convincing him to wear his costume. It was a bit frustrating that the kid who had talked for two months about how much he wanted to dress as a Ninja Turtle now didn't want to wear his costume for more than a couple of minutes. He was fine once we got to my aunt's brothers house and he got to see all the other kids dressed up too.



He had a blast trick-or-treating this year and was a little better able to keep up with the older kids. He had a hard time just saying "thank you" and continuing to the next house after he got candy though; he wanted to tell each homeowner his life story and thank them a million times over for their generous candy giving. He also had a hard time being assertive and at least once was lost in the back of the pack of kids and didn't get candy. It was so cute watching my little turtle run from house to house, and he got pooped out pretty quick.





It was a really great Halloween this year and now we're gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love celebrating the holidays with my hubby and sweet boy!

Carving Punkins

When we went to Hee Haw Farms a two weekends ago we bought some pumpkins to bring home and carve. We got as far as drawing the faces on them, but then they just sat on our kitchen table while we worked feverishly on the craziness that was Doba Day (and unpacking boxes we shouldn't have packed in the first place. *sigh*).

Well, this last weekend we finally had a break from the mayhem and broke out the pumpkin carving kit. Taylor loved watching Daddy pull out the "punkin guts" while Mommy gagged a lot. I don't know what it is about that gooey pumpkin slime, but my poor stomach just can't take even the sight of it.




After our pumpkins were officially gut-less, we went to work cutting out the faces while Taylor looked on in amazement. We each had our own pumpkin this year and Tay Bug is so proud of his silly little jack-o-lantern. We had a bunch of fun and love that we can celebrate the festivities of Halloween with our little man!



Oh, and here's an idea I got from one of my favorite new blogs - take a baby pumpkin, cut it in half (like you're slicing a dinner roll), hollow out both sections, set a tea light in each one, and voila - you have a set of sweet and spooky Halloween candle holders!

Someday I Will...

- Keep up with my journaling.
- Accept myself exactly as I am.
- Not have an attitude about cleaning my house.
- Grow an amazing vegetable garden.
- Love myself enough to resist eating 3 fudge bars in a row.
- Become an amazing chef.
- Have a beautiful home filled with the sound of children's laugher.
- Go back to college.
- Write a novel.
- Truly accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
- Stop giving myself guilt trips.
- Stop letting others give me guilt trips.
- Allow myself to be surprised.
- Build a treehouse for my kids (and me).
- Travel to amazing places where I don't understand a word anyone is saying.
- Learn to play the piano. Or guitar. Or cello. Or all three.
- Read every page of the Holy Scriptures.
- Stop being afraid.
- Be amazingly, recklessly spontaneous.
- Let go of the past, stop worrying about the future, and LIVE.

-- Journal entry from August 24, 2009