Cleaning House

None of you in the blogger world know this, but I can make jewelry... by hand! YUP! I used to do "at home" parties where I would come and teach everyone how to make jewelry. I am SURE I would have been a hit at Blogapalooza tonight!! However, I have a PROBLEM.... I haven't had a party since this cutie pie was born.
And I still have LOTS of jewelry! So, I decided to clean house. I am going to sell all of my jewelry at wholesale prices right here on my blog! (That means it is 50% off the original price) The great thing about it is that .... you don't have to make it! So, I will post pieces from time to time and whomever posts that they WANT the item first, gets it!(This does not mean you can't just post a general comment) Oh, and I only have a few of each item, so, first come first served. Shipping is Priority $5.00 and I will send you a paypal bill once I get your e-mail address. Easy as pie.
Lava Stone on Sterling Silver chain. Bracelet also has swarovski crystals.
Necklace $15 Bracelet $15 Earrings $5 Whole Set: $30
Long Single Strand Necklace (No Clasp) Pearls, Swarovski Crystals on Gun Metal Chain (oohh cool) $15 You can wrap it around your neck, wear it tied in a knot.. You name it!

Oh, and don't forget, Mother's Day is around the corner. :)

Setting Expectations for the Bachelor. . .

This sweet cute girl has set her expectations for this season of "The Bachelor" way too high.. I had to "gently" let her down...I did it in her comment section. Best wishes on your recovery Jeanelle. :)

How to get some zzzzzzzzzzzs

You might ask, what on earth would you do from 1:30 t0 3:30 in the morning when you just can't sleep???

I'll tell you, because now I know..

You would go down to the couch because you are sick of laying in bed with your mind racing and the inability to stop thinking..

You would pick up your lap top (which is ALWAYS on the couch) and you would lay down with your blanket and dim the brightness of the lap top so you can look at it without squinting.

You would catch up on a few blogs and marvel at how many hits Travelin' Oma linking to your page will get you. (Amazing Oma... you have a fantastic readership) And of course I am obsessed with statcounter.

You would then go to your favorite "news" website which happens to be the msn homepage. If you want to know why I call it "news" click here...

Then you will click on a few links but linger on the link that says, MILEY CYRUS ADMITS PHOTOS WERE IN BAD TASTE. You get curious about exactly what the pix were and you do a websearch that brings them up... (If you wanna look, do your own websearch)

You look at Miley Cyrus teenage goddess (no more than 15) laying on what looks like a BED with a dazed look on her face (drugs maybe?) cuddling up to her boyfriend. You see them wearing white t-shirts, and then you see her laying on that SAME bed with what looks to be a black bra on.. great...

You realize how even though you might seem like an incredibly stingy mother for not letting your daughter (6) watch Hanna Montana you are sure grateful that you didn't put this celebrity onto a pedestal and glorify how cool she is just to see trashy pictures of her pop up on the web.

Then you see a link to watch her 4 minutes video (knock off of the Madonna/Justin Timberlake video) and then you decide to find the real video of 4 minutes on Youtube..because you are friends with Justin and want to check it out. It was weird, and Justin makes Madonna look like a bad dancer.

Then, close the laptop and hope that that video of Justin will help you have good dreams or at least a better dream than the one you had the other night when, after seeing the "little people" on Oprah, you dreamt that you were in love with one and planning on leaving your adoring husband... Remember people, I am 6'2".

Nighty night.

Anatomy 101 as taught by Jaxon

So, I was helping Jaxon put on his shoes today when he points directly at my chest and says... "What are those??" My husband was sitting right there and we were trying to stifle giggling at the question and I am trying to figure out what to say that won't be repeated by my 4 year old autistic son. I wipe the smirk off my face and say, "That is my chest" not really wanting to use correct anatomy in this case.

He replies, "NO! That is not what they are!!!" A glance to my husband was a definite mistake because now he is visibly laughing and he is trying desperately to hide it. I was instantly curious as to just what he might come up with and wondering exactly WHAT ARE they teaching him at that school??? "Well, then what are they?" I asked...

He said, "THEY'RE BUMPS!"

Silly me.. of course they are.. I guess Jaxon is learning his anatomy from Fergie. How on this good earth did he figure out how to turn on my Nano!?

Gabi Knock Off

I love to read other blogs... and funny enough, there are a few blogs I love to read and the people are all RELATED! Gabi, fun entertaining mom, Marta, seriously creative, Christie, thought provoking and great at writing (ok, she is related by marriage), and of course Travelin' Oma, loving travelin' momma.

I was thinking about this 'oh so amazing' family the other day and decided that I would find out what makes them tick.. I mean, they all seem so wonderfully NORMAL, and ABNORMALLY GREAT!

I decided to act in true Gabi form (she likes to conduct hard hitting interviews of intriguing bloggers) and interview her! (Since she probably won't interview herself.)

Here is what I was dying to know about her family, and here is what she said! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Gab. I think you and your family are AWESOME!
What on earth was happening in your family growing up that gave you guys such wonderful attitudes and allowed you to foster so much creativity? I mean, I am constantly blown away by the things the Marta finds to put on her blog and by her own wonderful creativity and craftiness, and you are so witty and talented and positive. What was your mother feeding you?? And can I get some for my kids? Wow, Lindsey. Clearly, we come off a lot better in cyberspace than in real life. Really, we are just boring and normal and not exciting at all in person. Remember--we only post the good stuff (and the bad if it is funny)...

Truthfully, my mom was very creative in her parenting. She really took her job as a mom seriously and was always planning little projects and parties and activities for us to do. For a few summers she did a whole summer school curriculum. We did all these learning activities together and she took us on field trips and wrote plays for us to perform for relatives. Looking back, I don't know how she did it! (Of course she did have a very helpful oldest daughter...)

Mom also left us alone sometimes and I think we got most creative then. (Usually creating trouble!)

She fed us lots of stuff with sugar and butter. Unfortunately it turned into a lifelong addiction for me...

You and your sisters seem so down to earth. What happened in your family growing up that you think attributes to that wonderful attitude? Well, we are all very short (except for lucky Christie who is not blood-related) so this is probably the reason we are so down to earth! Low center of gravity and all that. Also, I think you just cannot grow up in a big family--there are three boys and four girls--without a sense of humor and a general flexibility towards all kinds of people and situations.

Your mom and you girls seem so incredibly well read. Is this just a favorite past-time of your mom's that was handed down? Or did you all have a natural love of reading? My parents are both extreme bookworms...they have travelled all over the US and Europe and spend most of their time in bookstores! Dad collects first editions and other old books. Mom especially loves children's books. So, I guess it is just in our blood. I love to read and it is the only thing I can do quickly...so I do it a lot!

You and your mom and sister (and even sis-in-law) are so incredibly creative, and such excellent writers! How was this talent fostered and developed in your home growing up?These are the things my mother did NOT teach me: gardening, quilting, sewing, low-cal cooking, canning, bargain shopping, knitting, coupon clipping, cross-stitch, flower arranging, etc. Mom is not the traditional Relief Society homemaker. (And she would be first to admit it!)

Mom is creative in the sense that she writes beautifully, plans parties and gatherings to be fun and festive, teaches fabulous lessons at church, tells stories from her past to teach a "moral lesson" to her children. She has a great sense of fashion and style and creates lovely home environments wherever she lives. Also, she is a delicious cook (although she doesn't do it much anymore...) and has a beautiful singing voice. One of my favorite things to do with my mom and sisters is sit around the piano or guitars and sing the old family songs in two or three part harmony!

We never had "writing class" or anything growing up. I did always keep a journal and I know Marta did too. We DID talk a lot. Mom is a talker. Most of her children and her husband are REALLY good listeners. She likes DEEP TALKS and philosophical discussions. She is a great storyteller. Also my dad is a historian and writes people's stories for a living. So writing and having a lot to say are genetically inevitable in our family...(And Christie just came along already full of spunk, opinions and lots of laughter...so she fits right in, whether she likes it or not!)

Who was the first blogger in the family?I think Anna, my younger brother's wife, was the first. Until I met her, I had never even heard of blogging. Then my mom started and Marta. I have to admit, I did not get the whole thing at first. Like, why would anybody want to read about my life online? But I loved reading my mom's memories and was so inspired by Marta's beautiful photography and creative look at the world. I felt like I was getting to know my family in a whole new light. Still, I felt like I had nothing "important" to blog about myself.

Then, my sister, Amy (who blogs privately) and my sis-in-law, Christie started up these cute mommy blogs and I loved them! Finally, I got it...I could just blog about my everyday life--there was plenty of humorous material--and my faraway relatives would know about our daily routine.

My brother, Micah, also blogs. He is a genius lawyer and writes really deep legal posts. I love trying to read them and pretending I am intelligent.

Several of my cousins and my aunts blog too. It's fun checking them...because we are literally spread from coast to coast. This has been a great way to reconnect with loved ones, to share family stories and recipes and see cute photos of everybody's babies!

You all seem to have an amazing love for one another. How do you create such wonderful friendships within your family? The main secret is everyone lives in different states! It is so easy to get along this way...

Seriously...my Mom and Dad started it all by being really, truly in love with each other. They are the best of friends and this was the foundation of a very loving, happy home. We always did family home evening, family prayers, scripture time and just lots and lots of fun family field trips. We were constantly encouraged to be each others' best friends and see the good in each other.

I think the secret of happiness at home I learned from my mom is--family life may not always be fun in the moment--so have fun planning for things and then have fun remembering things! Then if you are in a dull or contentious moment, at least you have something fun to look forward to or some fun memory to laugh about.

I am lucky to have lots of happy family memories!

Thanks again Gab, for sharing all of your family secrets!

Birthday Aftermath- STILL CELEBRATING!

So, my birthday was finally yesterday and I had a FABULOUS day at Zi spa with an hour long massage and a relaxing and rejuvenating facial. Really, everyone should do that on their birthday. I talked a friend(Heidi) into going with me and we had a marvelous time being pampered and letting other people watch our kids. We are sorry that we came home 2 hours later than we said we would and that I had to make emergency phone calls to pick up my kid from the bus stop. Thank you Kara for bailing me out and picking up my son!

You know, I don't live in Utah, but I might as well with the swell group of neighbors I have. There are about 11 LDS families that live in my hood and it makes for a wonderful network of loving and caring people who like to help each other out. It is awesome, and I feel totally fortunate and blessed.
From left to right Holly (sorry Holly, but this was a better picture of me.:)Me, Amy, Kara, Heidi(fellow spa go-er), Lori, and Lindsay. These lovely girls spent the night out with me at PF Changs and then came to my house for CUPCAKES and some good old fashion REALITY TV! (What a perfect birthday)They were happy to oblige.
But guess what, they are on to me... they know I LOVE CAKE! Here is the barrage of sweets I got for my birthday.(Including the leftovers of my FAVORITE cupcakes)and a can of sprinkles cupcake mix from AMY! Thanks for all the goodies girls.
If anyone feels like a little cake fix today, I know where you can get one!

Is it bad that I was eating one this morning at 9:30 a.m.? Don't worry, I didn't eat breakfast. I didn't want all those added calories. (Of course I had to wait until my kids were all off to school so they wouldn't see me eating cake for breakfast--that would NEVER work)
Thanks again for a WONDERFUL birthday!

Happy Birthday To Me!

My sister dedicated a blog to me! :) She has a private blog, so, she sent me the html so I could post it! She is sweet, and I appreciate it. Here it is!!!

This week is both my sister Lindsey and my Dad's birthday's. I love to read little tributes to family members on other people's blogs, so here is mine...

For those of you who do not know my sister Lindsey, she is the next oldest to me and lives in Washington State. She is a ball of energy and so if you ever need anything done, or need to know how to do something, she can do it, or at least tell you how. She is a mother of 3 who is passionate about traveling, food, laundry, and her kids (now you see why we get along so well)! She really sees me as her friend, and not just her "baby sister".

Lindsey is tall and by far the best athlete in the family. She also is a marvelous cook (see favoritefamilyfood.blogspot.com), loves to dance and sing, and is pretty crafty too.

Lindsey is funny, and we share the same sense of humor which makes all family functions a blast. We were even able to make a trip to Branson Missouri hilarious and fun.

Lindsey is my sister and I will always look up to her and feel so glad to have a buddy to talk to, swap recipe's with or just hang out with. I love you Lindz and hope your B-day is 10 days long and lots of fun!

GOOD BIRTHDAY COMPANY

If you don't know, I am celebrating my birthday WEEK... That is right, as mentioned before, I think EVERYONE should celebrate for a whole week because it is much more fun. Anyway, when your husband is gone on a trip on your birthday, you have to celebrate on a different day anyway because celebrating on your birthday would then be less fun. However, I am still going to celebrate with my girlfriends and I will be spending all morning at a day spa, and eating my favorite cupcakes (don't worry, I ordered them ahead of time) and going to a more universally liked place of dining... PF Changs.

So, I will be in good company, but it turns out that I have good birthday company as well! And since I am celebrating for a whole week, I will show you who I also share my birthday WITH!
Jennifer Garner: My favorite, I was a HUGE Alias fan.. So happy to celebrate with her... I hear she is crafty too!
Victoria Beckham: Ok, I will never be as into fashion as she is.

Kate Hudson: Super cute hippy.. I would never let my boy have girl hair.

America Ferrera: All american woman.

and, my husband's favorite: Ashley Judd.

All of these ladies share this special WEEK with me ALONG with the famous blogger....Bridget!
(See! I am not the ONLY person who takes pictures of themselves! I am sure she took more than one!)
Happy Birthday Bridget! You are in good company!

Oh, and just so you know, I only share my ACTUAL birthday with Jeffery Dean Morgan, Aaron Spelling and Jackson Nicholson. Oh well.

Your Best Side

So, when I was in Utah, my kids fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner. My parents went in to get a table. I stayed in the car.. parked... no radio... quiet... what should I do????

What is your best side???



My husband saw these and was like..."What on earth were you doing????" Oh well, want to know the funny part? My dad is in one of the pictures...He was coming to tell me the table was ready...

I think I need some botox in my forhead.. those lines are getting WAY too deep.

LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!

I personally believe that EVERYONE should spend a week celebrating their birthday. Why not? I mean you only get ONE chance a year to celebrate YOU so, why not let it drag on a bit...

My birthday is not until Tuesday, but I started celebrating on Friday with a date to my FAVORITE sushi joint in my home town.. I stare down this plate of sushi
at LEAST once a month and the sweet people there know us so well that they gave us a gift at Christmas time... and when they were having their opening anniversary. They love us..

Here is what a love about them....

The same waiters have been working their for two years! TWO YEARS! I mean, how many places do you go that you recognize a waiter much less ALL of them. They are great...

I love the SUSHI... it is good...EVERY TIME. The plate you are looking at has two Rainbow Rolls (multi-colored fish on top) one Caterpillar Roll (BBQ'd eel covered with avocado) and two H2 Rolls. (It is not on the menu) Tempura Fryed Shrimp inside the roll with crab, shrimp, and a yummy spicy sauce. DIVINE... TRULY.. We have "cheated" on them several times to make sure we are going to the BEST sushi restaurant in town, and guess what, we have regretted it every time.

The owner is there every night we go, and she is always kind and recognizes us.. (Ok, we are hard to miss. I am 6'2" and my husband is 6'5". But she is SUPER sweet and comps us things here and there just to let us know she loves us...

Now... don't YOU want to go there??? I admit, they have probably been open for 3 years and when we started going, we were one of 4 or 5 tables out of 20 filled. When we showed up on Friday night there were only two tables left.. People are catching on... :)

Dearest Visitor

I love that you visit my blog. I am not sure why.. probably some kind of weird validation in my own mind. I know that you visit too because I have a counter... it tells me where you are coming from. I know where you live... I know how long you visit my page and I know how often you come back... Do you feel violated?

I even know EXACTLY who some of you are because you post a comment and I can tell who you are by when you posted it! (I am so smart) I would just like to give an official THANK YOU... for visiting my blog. I love that you visit me... you can count it as VISITING TEACHING! (kind of) But really, you probably know how I am BETTER than my own VISITING TEACHERS!

I have been distracted as of late... other things to think about... things that are altering my life. Last Sunday, I wrote a depressing post and then deleted it... Some of you read it because you have blog readers...Sorry I deleted it. I regret that now... but, I needed to at the time. I know some of you don't have a reader because you check my page a couple of times a day (thanks Anne-- You make me feel good) ANYWHO... let me tell you what a reader will do for you.

GIVE YOU MORE FREE TIME TO SURF THE INTERNET!!!! (Oh, and maybe attend to your other responsibilities) That is right! You will never have to check my page again because it will TELL YOU when my page is updated! Google has one, bloglines has one.. It is free... but if you don't want to use it, that is ok because your hits make me feel good. when I am checking my stats page, my husband calls it the "who loves me" page. Oh well... I guess I just like to know that I am loved... just like everyone else in the world.

Oh, and to you lurkers... people who visit often but who don't comment... Or when they DO COMMENT comment anonymously.. (YES I AM TALKING TO YOU ANONYMOUS NICOLE DEFENDER!) All I know about you is that you live near me and you check my blog regularly. That is ok.. but, it would be nice if I knew who you are. I will let you read Celia Fae's Blog note to lurkers.. because she said it so well. :)

Much love again to you... thanks for checking in with me... even though I have been checking OUT. I will be posting again soon. :)

Does this scare anyone else?

I am going to take a page from Paige and ask, DOES IT SCARE ANYONE ELSE THAT THIS LADY IS SUPPOSEDLY 5 MONTHS PREGNANT?

I don't know about you, but I am thinking, WHAT BABY?

TIME OUT!

This is a time out chair in our home... I feel sorry for the bear. Whatever he did, it musta been a doozy.

My Love

I only have 10 more minutes left for this post. 8 Years Ago Today, I got married. Although we already celebrated in Vegas, I had an insane day, and my husband has been horribly neglected. So, I want to show him that I really do care. My inattentiveness today in no way reflects the blessing that this day has been in my life. I still want my husband to know how much he means to me on this special day.
He is patient, loving and kind. He is more generous than anyone I have ever encountered in my life and I love him for that. At Christmas, we go to the tree of sharing and pick out a person matching the description of a person in our family and buy their gifts. Not just one, or two, but EVERYTHING they put on the list (Peter insists it be so) and then, he will buy the most coveted item that he can find and buy it for an 8 year old kid. (We don't have an eight year old)
Most people would never know the kindness he has in his heart. But I do.
Most people would never see what he goes through for our family. But I do.
Most people would never understand how much he gives to others. But I do.
Most people would never believe how much he gives to our family. But I do.
Most people will never know how strongly he believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and tries to live it. But I do.
Most people never give him the credit he deserves. But I try.

Peter, I love you just the way you are and for all the things you do for us and everyone around you. Thank you for my beautiful family and for all that you do to put a smile on my face. I love you. Thank you for marrying me 8 years ago.

Discourse on CUPCAKES the Best and the Worst

As you may know, I recently went on a few trips. . . One to SLC to visit with family, and one to Vegas to celebrate with the husband for our anniversary.

I took it upon myself to check up on all of the cupcake stores that I had researched. I am proud (or embarrassed) to say that I visited each store and ate a variety of cupcakes JUST so I could tell you how they were and for my "research" of course. I say "research" because it sounds better than visiting cupcake stores just to eat cupcakes and secretly, I want to open my own cupcake store. (Would you come?)

Here is the run-down.

SALT LAKE CITY:

Mini's Location: 800 South in between state and main.
Yummy cake and fabulous cake to frosting ratio! YUM!

Every flavor was super delicious! I got to try a few sneaks off the kids cakes, but I personally had the black and white cupcake.

I think the price is a little steep ($2- for a MINI! Usually full sized cupcakes are about $2.50) and it isn't really a place to "stop in" and grab a fun treat. Weird store location. Well worth it though if you are driving by (I don't know why you would be), need a special treat for you OR a friend, or if you are just cupcake obsessed like me! Oh! And only ONE table in the store... if someone is already there, you are outta luck.

So Cupcake: Highland Drive, Holladay. I was driving around trying to get Wade to fall asleep in the car before I went to my sister's house and although I didn't have plans to stop by So Cupcake, I saw it (across from Neilson's Frozen Yogurt) and HAD to stop. After all, I wanted to be thorough. The report from my mom and sister were true... Dry, not so flavorful cupcake. Sorry Natalie! (It just happened to be opened and run by a girl I went to highschool with) She opened it with her daughter, great story, great cause, but just... Not so good. (Don't worry, I am sure she will never see my blog)We ate them in the car and I didn't take pictures.

Curious Cupcake: Delivery Only

I know, DELIVERY ONLY??!! I didn't love that about it ($10) but they were OHHHHHHHHH SOOOOOOOOOO PRETTYYYYYYYY!!! (and good too) If you have a special friend, that needs a special pick me up, and you don't have time to do it yourself...Order. This would be great. This is how I may have to start up my cupcake business to test out the market. I am not sure I can make mine as pretty, but I can sure try!
Very good cake, and super pretty flowers, but personally, I like more frosting.

Her presentation CANNOT be beat!

But you can only order one flavor per box. :( Not good if you like to try different kinds, so, I can tell you, the vanilla was very good. :)

There is one other place in SLC called Sugar Rush, and they only do catering.

ON TO LAS VEGAS!!

I didn't have too many intentions on going to get cupcakes in Vegas. We were short on time, but I was surfing to see where they were on the Husband's PDA and he was listening to the addresses as I was asking him if they were in the "direction" we were going. To my surprise, he was heading straight to TWO of them (They are in the same parking lot) At the Cupcake Lane Bakery I ordered one that looked like a Hostess Cupcake, and a lemon flavored cupcake. I can say that they Hostess Cupcake was dry, and not good (not enough frosting) and the lemon one was good, but here is a hint, if it isn't memorable enough to take a picture... it isn't worth going back.

MAD HATTER CUPCAKES was in the same parking lot, but a totally unique experience. They call themselves the "Cold Stone" of cupcakes and you order a bare cupcake... !
they will fill it,
frost it,
and top it right in front of you!

I hope you enjoyed your cupcake trip as much as I did!

Sidenotes: There was one other store in Vegas called the Cupcakery we didn't get there, I heard it wasn't good. Also, my friend AMY stopped by Cupcake Royale this weekend in Seattle and said, "It was a dissappointment."

BUT IT WAS ON A DOILEY!!

So, my husband and I were having our late dinner after arriving in Vegas at the China Grill in the Mandalay Bay. A very shwanky restaurant with a fusion nouveau asian style. Nothing was under $30, and EVERYTHING was a la carte. Love those kind of places eh? You just KNOW you aren't getting out of the restaurant for under $100.

Anyway, we were sitting at a table for two, and there were 3 or 4 tables for two in a row, tight together. So tight, we could see what everyone else was having for dinner. The couple to my left, left and left their dessert tray on their table only 1/2 eaten. Their were a variety of cookies, and something that looked like a creme brulee, and they had eaten that, but left everything else untouched. (Click on it to see the yummy left-overs) Can you see it? Just sitting there in all of its goodness???

We finished our meal, but decided dessert would be a bit MUCH, so I JOKINGLY said, "We should just take theirs!" (It had been sitting there for at least 10 minutes) My husband said, Ok! Go ahead, GRAB IT!
I protested and started to giggle, thinking it WOULD be kind of funny. But was WAY too embarrassed to be even thinking of such a thing in a fancy restaurant. Then he said, "Well, if you won't do it, I WILL!" He started to lean over to grab it and I kicked him under the table. His big gesture to grab it was WAYYY to obvious, and although the restaurant was dark, I KNEW someone would notice.

It was then that it happened... He goaded me on... referred to my prior college days when I would do all sorts of things upon a dare (crawling army style down the aisle at Safeway with a jar of salsa in my hand, on a Saturday night...at BYU--Don't ask, it was a dare). My adrenaline started to pump, and I started to laugh at the thought....I couldn't let him think that I had gone SOFT! I thought about it for a few more minutes... and my husband goaded me on a few more times, and .... I DID IT! I grabbed it!!!! You might think that is gross.... BUT, IT WAS ON A DOILEY!!!!!

What Happens in VEGAS, STAYS in VEGAS

My husband LOVES me. Wanna know how I know? He knows that the nicest thing he can do for me is put me on a beach with warm weather, and that is just what he did. Here are my red toes, in Vegas, on a warm 80 degree weather beach. (So what if there is no ocean near by! I got what I wanted.) And THIS is how I know, my husband loves me.

Wanna know how ELSE I know he loves me? He got me a room at the Mandalay Bay, JUST so I could put my red toes in the sand. (We could have stayed elsewhere for free) But the best part is, he got us upgraded to a jacuzzi suite on the penthouse floors. (Floor 60! We even get to take a special elevator!) Here is our view from our room. [When he checked in, they only had smoking king, or a queen queen. He said, "But it is my ANNIVERSARY!" and they upgraded him for a deal!]

The Importance of Red Toes

My husband planned a trip for our anniversary. I had one day in between coming home from Utah, and leaving for our trip and in that amount of time, I had a LOT to do. Being gone for one week in Utah I was doing laundry and getting the house cleaned and ready for Grandparents to take over for the weekend. I got everything done...pretty much.... everything but my Pedicure.

All my kids were home because spring break was this week, and I never had a chance in between 5 loads of laundry, cleaning the house, depositing checks, returning clothes etc. etc. etc. to get my pedi.

But, I ask you this ONE question.... CAN YOU GO TO VEGAS WITHOUT A PEDICURE? I think not. Luckily, I had an hour layover in Seattle and as I was walking down the terminal, I saw BUTTER. A pedi/mani shop right there in the airport! What a fabulous idea! I guess they figured there are plenty of people out there like me who just can't get something like that done unless they are in an airport. I only had an hour layover, and they claimed the process only took 20 minutes (no water is involved). It didn't matter to me, because all I needed was red toes. Of course, I couldn't put my shoes back on, so I had to wear the little spa slippers and shuffle through the airport terminal. (Would you do that for red toes in Vegas? I think so.)

It took a little longer than I had anticipated and Peter and I were planning on having a late dinner in Vegas, so after my Pedi (still wearing the spa flip flops), I stopped by the magazine shop to grab a snack and a mag. I arrived at the gate with about 10 minutes to spare to find.... the GATE WAS CLOSED.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH...My anniversary date with the husband would be ruined! I approached the desk, and the man looked right at me and said, "Are you Lindsey? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN????" I was hoping he didn't see my bright yellow flip flops and I said, "The Magazine Shop?" I put a question mark because I wanted him to think I was the most stupid person on earth and that I had no idea what I was doing. It worked. He never looked at my feet, (Thank heavens) and walked me over to the gate and with a little more scolding, told me to never do that again... I played dumb and yessired him all the way. . . On my way to VEGAS WITH RED TOES! (It was worth it)

Faith Restored.

Some of you may be wondering how my return flight from Utah was since I was definitely SCARED SPITLESS on the way there. I am happy to report my faith in traveling by myself with three children has been restored. No miracles happened this time around unless you want to call

1 bottle full of milk
1 handful of goldfish
3 cheese sandwich crackers
20 fruit snacks
1 Rice Crispy Treat
1 sippy cup full of apple juice
and
3 shredded cocktail napkins a miracle.
Sometimes you just gotta STUFF THEIR LITTLE FACES so they have too much food in their mouths to SCREAM! :) We made it, and Wade is 10 lbs. heavier. All is well.