SUGAR & SPICE - BIRTHDAY GIFT GIRLY STYLE

Our oldest niece (on my side) just turned nine. As I was trying to figure out to get her (because let's face it. Kids these days are WAY more advanced than we were when we were younger!) I thought back to when I was nine. What did I love best? I was at the mall with my little brother and we happened to pass Claires. Bingo! When I was nine I LOVED jewlery, purses, nail polish, etc. Yes, I was a MAJOR girly girl! So, I decided to combine everything and came up with this:

My nieces name starts with an E (hence the E on the box) and she loves anything with peace signs. I found the great wire sign, letter and adorable paper here and finished up with a trip to Walmart. I've made one of these boxes before and always love how they turn out. Super cute and super easy! Happy birthday Ell bug! Hope you had a great day!

MOAB 2011

Back in October of 2011 the Bubs decided he wanted to run his first ultra marathon in Goblin Valley, Utah. Because Goblin Valley is so close to Moab, we decided to make a week out of it. I am SOOO glad we did! We had so much fun and were able to do a ton of hiking in Arches National Park. So, a little picture overload. We finally downloaded all the pictures off of our phones and found a ton from Moab. On the way to Moab.......

First couple days of hiking.....

Second Day of Hiking.....

On to the race in Goblin Valley (the course).....

Goblin Valley is amazing. There are the weirdest rock formations and the place is covered in them. We've been once before on a climbing adventure but got to see a little more of it this time.

The Bubs wants to run the ultra again this October, so hopefully we will be able to take another week off and spend a little more time in the Moab area. There are a couple of different hikes we still want to do and a whole other park to explore!

HE IS RISEN

The Church recently released this new video which is a compilation of several Bible verses of the Saviors last week on earth. I happened to stumble across it and being that it is Easter Sunday, I thought it more than appropriate. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and we can keep in mind the true meaning behind this wonderful day!

EASTER VISITING TEACHING

For visiting teaching this month I an putting together little treats for my ladies (see picture at the very bottom). I'm also going to include the following story and an empty egg to go with it (I thought I would post now just in case anyone else would like to use it). Far too often we forget the true meaning behind Easter and loved this little reminder (sorry,it's a little long).
Inspirational Easter Story

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain.

Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying? As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. “Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family,” she thought. “Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy.”

From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She stammered ... "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically ... all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk.

After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower.

"Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm."That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty.

Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?"

Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly ... "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped.

When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard ... Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket ... all of them empty.

Here's the treat I'm going to give for the kids of the ladies I visit teach and our primary kids.I found the idea here if interested! Happy Easter everyone!

'NUFF SAID.....

VISITING TEACHING HANDOUTS & CATCHING UP

So, I'm kind of bad at visiting teaching. I have the CUTEST ladies (including the Relief Society president) so I've been trying to be better. The other problem is my companion works nights. I work days. Our schedules aren't super compatible! Last night my companion and I were actually able to coordinate schedules and we went on a "drive by" visit as she affectionately called it. Usually I just take the Bubs with me. He is, after all, the best companion of all! My visiting teaching consists of dropping by the house, chatting for a minute (because these ladies are seriously cute. Plus we've had some of their kids in our primary class, so we love to see the kids too!) and dropping a goody off. I thought I would start posting what I do on a monthly basis for my ladies. Of course, I only have two, so it might not be feasible for some. Then again, I usually make extras for my mom's ladies, so maybe it is! This month I found some calendars via Skip to my Lou. You had to like her on Facebook and then you can download them. Or, if you don't want to download them or aren't on Facebook, let me know and I can email them you. They were stinkin' cute! I punched some holes in them, tied ribbon on the top and then threw some magnets on the back so they could hang them up or stick them on the fridge.Then I put together some fortune cookies (with some dipped and sprinkled) and attached the following: "We hope this year brings you nothing but good fortune." Quick,easy and cute! Next month I'm thinking cake pops or something with Rice Krispy treats. Not sure yet! I also stole the following from work.Okay, I didn't steal them. My boss happily gave them too me. He thought I was crazy because in his words? They were REALLY ugly! Of course they're ugly....I'm not keeping them for the pictures! I want the frames!

I have a friend who's brother was turning 50. She asked if I had any good ideas for a cheap but fun gift for his party. I came up with the following:I didn't have time to get vinyl for the bowl and the stupid stickers kept falling off. But, I stuck some glue dots on and called it good. Both she and her brother loved it! Yeah!

In October I got the Bubs tickets to see the Foo Fighters for his birthday. Cage The Elephant opened for them and then the Foo Fighters played for almost three hours. It was one of the LONGEST concerts I've ever been too. They did an amazing job! I didn't know a ton of their stuff, but all in all it was a good night!
For the Bubs Christmas work party they decided to have an ugly sweater contest. The Bubs found his at the Salvation Army and ended up getting it for free. Score! After being much loved by the Bubs and some other friends, it was returned home to the Salvation Army so next year someone else could love it.
Finally (sorry! I completely forgot about most of these pictures until I was looking through the pictures the other day) we have some pictures of our trip to Moab. The Bubs decided to run his first ultra-marathon in October. We decided to make a little trip out of it and stayed in Richfield the first night and then headed to Moab for a couple of nights before heading to Goblin Valley State Park for the race. On the way down to St. George is a little place called Cove Fort. Ira Hinckley was asked to establish the fort as a stage coach stop between St. George and Salt Lake. It's still completely standing and everything in it is pretty much authentic. If you're ever down in the area, stop by for a tour. It's pretty dang cool!

Phew! That was A LOT of catch up! I need to stay more on top of things! Hope everyone has a great night and wonderful weekend!

LIFE LESSON'S - #2

You are not what happened to you in the past. – No matter how chaotic the past has been, the future is a clean, fresh, wide open slate. You are not your past habits. You are not your past failures. You are not how others have at one time treated you. You are only who you think you are right now in this moment. You are only what you do right now in this moment.

Life is interesting. Think back to when you were a kid and what you wanted to be when you grew up. Did you ever think of where you wanted to be and what you wanted to accomplish by the age you are now? Of course, when you're a kid, anything over twenty seemed to be pretty dang old. Now, raise of hands, who has accomplished everything they set out to? I don't think many of us have. I know I haven't. In fact, I'm FAR from where I thought I would be at the ripe ol' age of 31. Of course, there's still time. Well, unless you're one of the one's that thinks the world will come to an end in December. And then, well, I guess it sucks to be you! Anyway, moving on, I have a lot of things I'd like to accomplish this year. Some might call them goals, others aspirations. Me? I'd like to call them completed or in progress. For instance, I REALLY would love to go back to school. I'm one of the one's that had a past school "failure." I dropped out when it came time to really decide on a major. I thought I would take a little time off, nanny for a while and see what was out there and what interested me. Then of course I would go back, finish school, make tons of money and live the dream life. Um, yeah. Actually, I can't really complain too much. Due to the nanny thing, I met my best friend and love of my life. I've also had so many adventures with this great man I KNOW I wouldn't have had otherwise. So,what's holding me back now? I STILL don't know what I want to be when I grow up! I told the Bubs if I was going to go back, I want to do something I LIKE. Why waste the money otherwise? I know what I'm good at, but that doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with what I like. Of course, what I like doesn't really go hand in hand with money. Sigh. But, finishing school is something that would give me a huge sense of accomplishment. So, here's to finding myself in the here and now! ;)

LIFE LESSON'S - #1

While browsing the Internet, I found a post about life lesson's. Since it's January and a new beginning, I thought it appropriate to post them a day at a time. I also thought, as it's my blog, I would post how I feel about them and how they affect me. It's a little more personal information than I would normally post. But hey, c'est la vie!As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

#1) The end is a new beginning. – Say to yourself: “Dear Past, thank you for all the life lessons you have taught me. Dear Future, I am ready now!” Because a great beginning always occurs at the point you thought would be the end of everything.

How many times has that happened to you? You're at the point where you can't possibly go any further without completely breaking. You know something has got to give. You're just worried it might be you! Then, the clouds part just a little bit and you get a small glimpse of what could be. And you realize whatever is it you are dealing with at the time is worth it. And not only will you get through it, you will be a better person for it in the end. Of course, it's easier said then done. You just have to hold on long enough to get that future you want and let go of the past you don't need. I felt this way about my parents divorce. It was long. And bitter. I longed for the day when it would finally be over and we could put it all behind us (yes, I was naive). Of course, we are still working towards that point (and in a small way probably always will). Yes, it's gotten easier over time and we've had time to re-group and re-evaluate. But, I don't know if it will ever be completely behind us. It's different now and we actually are better people for it. We've learned how to stand on our own, sibling wise, without needing our parents. We've learned how to be the parents as sometimes that's what I feel I am with my mom. We've learned to appreciate each other as siblings, our spouses, our friends and our extended families. We've also learned what we want out of our own marriages and how to achieve it. But, a little piece of me still longs for what was and having that happy, whole family together again. Especially during the holidays. However, that will never happen and I'm learning to let go of the past and look towards the future. After all, that's what we are here to do, right? Especially this time of year?

NEW YEAR.....NEW WORD!

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we don't do resolutions around here for the New Year. In fact, if anyone is friends with the Bubs on Facebook, you probably saw his HUGE rant about it! If not, he posted the following: "Can't wait to hear every ones planned failures for 2012... aka new year resolutions. Face it, you won't follow through, just like every other year. I'm gonna lose weight, be nicer, save more money, bla bla bla. When all is said and done, you'll be on your butt on the couch watching tv, eating Domino's wondering how you got so fat and broke. You're welcome!"

Um, yeah. He can be SUCH a little ray of sunshine sometimes! Love him anyway! But, moving on, we do dedicate a word that will be used and worked on throughout the year. I actually had a word all picked out. And then I talked with the Bubs about it. I wanted to do individual words and then a word for us as a couple. After some thought, he came up with a word that was all encompassing. So, for 2012, our word is:It's perfect! It's something we an work on individually and together. I'm pretty excited for this year. We didn't have a horrible year last year. It was actually pretty great. Yes, we had some problems, but we were also able to accomplish some goals. But, for some reason I just feel this year is going to be a great one! So kids, can we do it?What about you? If you had to pick one word for the year, what would it be?

CHRISTMAS

Well, it's over. The hustle, the bustle, the stress and the getting ready to kill people. What? Oh, that's just me? For some reason I REALLY wasn't into Christmas this year. We put the tree up around the 10th of so, but it stood undecorated for quite a while. I finally finished the tree and putting up all the other decorations about a week and a half before Christmas. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were nuts. As I mentioned on Facebook I still had pumpkins on our front porch from Halloween and Thanksgiving at the same time our non-decorated tree stood naked in the living room. For some reason I just didn't care. So, after talking to the Bubs about my lack of Christmas cheer, we decided to change things up. Not only for this year, but next year as well. This year we (the Bubs and I) started a new tradition which I loved. We didn't get any gifts for each other (except for a couple of stocking stuffers). I asked him at the beginning of December if he could even remember what I got him last year. Big fat nope. Same with me. I do remember a couple of things, but not much. So, we nixed the gifts. I did get him a "free" gift. And ladies if you want this next year for your hubbies, let me know. Cuz' the Bubs LOVED it. I did the 12 Lays of Christmas for him. I gave it to a couple of co-workers for their husbands (at their request....I just don't go around handing out sex things to co-workers, I promise!) and the husbands loved it! And yes, when I say "lays" of Christmas, I do mean, um, not the flower kind? Anywhoo....it was a hit and it was free. And while it did take a little planning to put together, it wasn't the stressful, scrambling planning.

Anywhoo...a little off track. So,instead of gifts this year the Bubs and I headed up to Park City on Monday for a get away. We booked a room at a bed & breakfast and just RELAXED. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We got to Park City on Monday in time to check in and then headed back down to Salt Lake to go to a movie. There's several out we've wanted to see and just haven't had the time. After the movie we picked up some dinner and then went back to the hotel. And guess what? We slept in the next morning. It was GLORIOUS! Didn't have to get up for work or worry about the millions things still waiting back at home. We had a late breakfast and then headed out shopping at the Outlets. Had a later lunch and then headed back to Salt Lake for more shopping. After shopping we headed to Temple Square to see the lights. We've been married almost eleven years and I think this might have been maybe the second or third time we've seen the lights together. Sad,huh? After a late dinner we headed back home. We had so much fun we are already talking about where to go next year. And next year a couples massage will definitely going to be on the list. Also, after much discussion with the Bubs we (well me, cuz' let's face it, husbands don't have a lot to do with the Christmas gifts for others)will be revamping how we approach Christmas next year in regards to gifts, extravagance and expense. Because I think that was one reason I was such a Scrooge this year. I was just burnt out. Do you know what my favorite thing about Christmas was this year? Well, besides our get away? It was on a Sunday and we were able to go to Sacrament. It was peaceful and the Spirit was so strong. I hated it as a kid when church fell on Sunday. This year it was exactly what I needed. I wish we could have Christmas on Sunday every year (and yes, I know. I'm not a parent, blah, blah, blah). It just makes it a little more special and a little less commercialized.

So, a little belated, but Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a wonderful, safe holiday and were able to enjoy it. Now, on to New Years! And resolutions!