Happy Valentine's Day

We hope you all have a great day!! We made these cards yesterday for the kids to hand out as valentines during their parties at school. (ETA: The cards were a big hit! We will definitely do something like this next year as they were inexpensive and fun.)

Brianna turns 10!

I know this post is a couple of weeks late, but it took me a while to find the photos. For Brianna's 10th birthday, she had a small birthday party at our home. The girls made miniature food and they all had blast. Here are a few pictures to showcase the fun.




I can't believe that my first is 10. Brianna has been such a joy. She loves to read, draw, cook, and be creative. She loves music and can be found listening to Hannah Montana, Elvis, the Beatles, They Might be Giants, and High School Musical. She is doing very well in piano lessons and also loves gymnastics and archery. As a first child, she has spoiled it for the rest of the kids. She is so good natured, helpful, obedient and loving, we love having her as part of our family.

So close!

Ella is almost 18 months old and will then be allowed to go to Nursery in church. Then we can stop trying to keep her quiet during class or chasing her down the halls. Yippee! Isn't she a cutie?

Tornado Warning

Last nights severe storms here in TN were amazing and, unfortunately, deadly. At times there was 40-60 lightning strikes a minute creating an incredible light show. It is amazing how beautiful danger can seem.

Luckily we were not affected by the storm seriously. The only thing lost was sleep as we couldn't go to bed until the Tornado warning had expired. We use our big coat closet for a shelter and we put the three oldest kids in there to sleep. Andrew, Ella and I hung out in our bedroom and watched the weather updates to see if we needed to take shelter as well. The closet fits all of us nicely and has a 72 hour kit just in case.

I should ease your worries though, since our town has never been hit by a tornado. We live near lakes that are believed to affect the path that a Tornado would take. I don't know if that is true, but it is what we have been told. I just hope that it works as long as we are here.

G.N.O

For a 10th birthday gift, my mom treated Brianna and I to a girls night out (G.N.O). She purchased 3 tickets to the Hannah Montana 3D movie before it sold out. So last night all three of us enjoyed dinner at a sushi restaurant (Bri's fave), some window shopping at the mall, and a great movie/concert of Bri's fave pop star. I will admit that the 3D movie format is the best way to attend a concert ever. You get great views of the star, the 3D images were fantastic, and the girls in the theatre were much more calm and quiet (no ringing in my ears after). Plus it is cheaper. Hopefully more concerts will do this (already looking forward to U2).

Chicago part 2

On Thursday, the kids and I went to the Children's Museum at Navy pier while Andrew worked. I was a little nervous going it alone, but this was the perfect museum to do so. The kids could touch and climb everything and even Ella had lots to do. Ty loved meeting Curious George, Ella loved splashing in the 'river' and catching 'fish', and Arick and Brianna loved building a house.

On Friday, we spent the day swimming at the hotel. Brianna and Arick practiced swimming and Ty was all over the pool with his floaties. Ella was scared at first, but after I put her in a baby float she was having a blast. In fact, she was so calm that I thought she would fall asleep.

Saturday we left for home but not before stopping at Trader Joe's for some of our favorites. The ride home was very long, but that was because I was coming down with the flu.

Chicago was so much fun and hopefully we get to visit again in warmer weather. Andrew and I miss the Chicago-style hot dogs (all beef hot dog, with onions, "nuclear-green" relish, mustard, diced tomatoes, chopped onions, a dill pickle spear, and celery salt) and Chicago-style pizza again (deep dish and stuffed), oh it was sooooo good.

*Just in case you are wondering why we visited so many museums, we did so because we had free admission (parking was another story).

Chicago part 1

We started our vacation on Monday and planned to spend the day driving the long way to Chicago. We stopped to see Louisville and visit the factory (below) but it was closed so we will have to visit another time.


Louisville Slugger Museum is Louisville Kentucky. The bat is much bigger than this.


On Tuesday, we spent the day at The Museum of Science and Industry, which is one of my favorite hands-on museums of all time. Ty LOVED getting to ride the tractors and the huge model train exhibit. I loved the Fairy Castle dollhouse which was amazing.


Andrew couldn't resist!


More hands-on fun for the boys, it was very hard to pull them away or have them share with other kids.


On Wednesday, we visited the Natural History Museum. This is Sue the famous T Rex, the most complete skeleton ever found.

Back to our regularly scheduled blogging

I know that this month was a slow month for me and I apologize, but now I am healthy and ready to spend more time on the computer. Please start visiting regularly again. A summary of our vacation to Chicago will be posted shortly.

The greatest show on Earth

When we took the kids to the circus, we kept it a surprise. Brianna figured out where we were going when she saw the trailers that said "The Greatest Show on Earth". Arick was stumped, so we asked him what he thought was the greatest show on Earth. He pondered for a moment and said, "Star Wars!" Ha! Gotta love that Star Wars addict of mine.

Happy Birthday Ty!!

Happy Birthday to Ty who turned four today. He has grown up so much, figuratively anyway, since he just hit 30 pounds at 4 years old. He is obsessed with Disney's Cars, he prefers not to be alone, he mumbles when he talks, (which can be very frustrating), he would eat cold cereal for every meal if he could, he misses Arick and Brianna while they are at school, he loves to help me clean, and he smiles at everyone which just endears him to everyone. He adds lots of joy to our home and we are so grateful to have him in our family.

To celebrate his special day, we went to the circus. Gigi and Grandpa Craig came along too to make it even better. It was a surprise for the kids and they were delighted when they realized what our plan was. Ty was pretty mesmerized, we all were actually. We saw the Bellobration tour and highly recommend this version by Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey (they have another tour as well). Bello the clown is the only clown that has made me laugh. All in all, a great place to celebrate being 4.

Food poisoning, need I say more?

I don't know what I have done to deserve this but I have been bedridden yet again, this time with food poisoning. I am not happy. The likely culprit . . . vegetables. I try to do something right, in this case eat healthy, and it hurts me.

New years resolutions

I love new beginnings, especially the start of new year. While in bed for 10 days, I had a lot of time to think about the new year and what my goals would be. I always try to come up with a physical goal, a mental health goal, and a spiritual goal. For obvious reasons, I thought a lot about my health. Since December 1st, I have spent almost 3/4 of that time sick or suffering from pain. During that time I had cut back on sleep, ran myself ragged getting things done, and indulged my taste buds way too much. Basically, I neglected myself. So my physical resolution for this year is to establish healthier habits so that I can reduce pain and get sick less.

For my mental health goal, I plan to keep studying photography and to apply for and be accepted into a special photography group. This group requires an application with about 30 photos, and it would be a nice milestone marker in my photography when I do get in.

For my spiritual goal, I plan on attending the Temple here in Nashville more and to give more service to others.

I am still working on exactly how I am going to reach these goals, but I have started to make some changes and I am even beginning to see some success.

Hello, again

So the last remnants of the flu are finally leaving our home. Finally. I still fatigue really easily and we all have a bit of a cough still. This was my first time experiencing the real flu and I never ever want to feel that way again. I will get my yearly flu shot without fail. I know that lots of people are wary about the flu shot, but when you watch your husband(who was the only smart one to get the flu sho) stay healthy while the rest of the family suffers from the flu, you 'get' that the shot works. He never even got a sniffle.

Are we still alive?

Barely. The flu (confirmed by lab tests) has taken over our house. The total body count is 4 of us, hopefully Bri and Andrew stay healthy. Oh my gosh it is sooooooooooo awful. Arick and I have it the worst. Keep us in your prayers. Arick has been crying off and on about how horrible it is.

Auntie Shelley goes home

Auntie Shelley left for Buffalo this morning. It was so much fun having her here. We laughed a lot, cried a little, and just really enjoyed being together. Her Auntie skills were put into good use and she totally captured the hearts of all of my kids, especially Ella. We sure will miss her.

The last 24 hours in pictures

The last 24 hours have been bliss, well except for the sleep deprivation and this cold that has taken my voice. It has been one of my most favorite Christmas' by far. Visits with family and friends have been perfect, the food delicious, the Spirit abundant, and the smiles plentiful. As an added bonus I got incredibly spoiled by my wonderful husband, children and my Mom and Craig. In fact, it was the first time in years that I have been completely surprised by my gifts. What fun it is to be surprised! Yet as much fun as it was to receive the joyful reactions from my children, Andrew, Craig and my Mom were even better. Today was a fabulous day. You can see all of the fun that we had in the many pictures in th slideshow.

I do hope that the rest of you had a Merry Christmas as well and that this new year is full of happiness.

Ella at 16 months old

The above is a picture of Ella taken a few days ago. The photo captured the face we have seen a lot around here. She has developed this habit of sticking her tongue out like that and it is so cute. She comes by this trait honestly from her father and grandfather who are known to do the same thing.

It is hard to believe this tiny (18 pounds 11 ounces at her check-up) troublemaker is 16 months old. I wish this time would stop flying by so fast. She has such personality and she is beginning to understand and say so much. She can say the names of all of us, as well as the words: baby, hi, baba, no, three, and amen. She also babbles a lot and gets frustrated when we can understand her. She adores all baby dolls, climbing the stairs, and being chased. She is a wonderful sleeper and still takes two naps a day. Our favorite thing about Ella is her laugh, which can put even the grinch in a good mood. She finds so many things funny so we hear her laugh often. Her best laugh happens when you try to surprise her, what a hoot that is.

My top 25 movies

I was tagged to list my top 25 movies so here is my list. I thought it would be much harder to come up with 25 but I definitely had to whittle it down. The ones that I chose either had to have to be ones that I can watch over and over and still enjoy it, or they were movies that made me think about them for weeks after I watched them. I did not put any movies, although I was tempted to with ones like Shawshank Redemption and The Matrix, that were originally rated R (I don't watch unedited rated R movies) that can be seen edited on TV, because you can't rent them edited. So here is my list:

Mary Poppins
Spitfire Grill
Gattaca
You've Got Mail
Annie (the original)
Sound of Music
Castaway
October Sky
Ocean's Eleven
The Pelican Brief
Pride and Prejudice (A&E version)
Pursuit of Happyness
Sliding Doors
Hitch
Men in Black
Elf
The Santa Clause
Big
Contact
Disney Pixar's Cars
Anne of Green Gables
Catch Me if You Can
The Bourne Trilogy (cause you can't watch just one)
The Fugitive
National Treasure
The Italian Job (oh I know, that is #26, but I just remembered it and it deserves a spot)

You may have noticed that none of the Harry Potter movies are on there. As much as I love the books and the audio recordings, the Harry Potter movies are just too short for me to truly love. Now if A&E would like to do a long miniseries as good as Pride and Prejudice, well I will revise my list.

Now I tag Jamie, Logan, and Monique, and anyone else who wants to do so.

Brianna's homework assignment

Brianna wanted me to share with you her latest homework assignment that she worked really hard on. She is so pleased with her work. This was done with very little parent help and we didn't let her use spellcheck. Andrew helped her format and insert the picture, and she typed 90% of it. He also would read it and tell her what sentences she needed to write in a different way but not how. She is one smart cookie.

You know you live in Tennessee when . . .

Santa Claus is a drive through experience! Drive-thrus are crazy popular here in TN. I just didn't know how popular. Here's the story.

This last Monday night, Andrew was in charge of Family Home Evening. He planned a little car trip to go see a Christmas lights display. You know the kind that you stay in your car and drive through after paying an entrance fee? Well this one was very fun and at the end was a barn that you drive through to get to the exit. Much to our surprise and the kids delight, in the barn was Jolly Old St. Nick (he was watching Monday Night Football in between visits from the children, ha!) Santa came right up to our car and asked all the kids what they wanted for Christmas. We had know clue that Santa would be there so the kids weren't sure exactly what they wanted yet, however, Santa reassured them that they could change their minds. We topped off our night with some Frosty the Snowman Cocoa (a.k.a. chocolate Frosty's from Wendy's) and headed home very happy.

As silly as a drive-thru Santa sounds, it was definitely our best Santa experience ever. Seriously, no crying children, you wait in your comfortable warm car, no trying to keep your kids from running away, no long lines, and no overpriced pictures, how can you top that? We will definitely do that again next year. A new tradition, love that.

(sorry no pics because the evening was a surprise and I didn't know to bring my camera)

GeoBee

Yesterday, Brianna took a school-wide test (4th grade and 5th grade I believe) for the National Geographic Bee. Brianna came in 9th. That allowed her to participate in the 100 question test today. Brianna was very excited about coming in 9th yesterday, so today she comes home and says to me with perfect drama,"Mom, remember that practice geography bee thing yesterday and how I came in 9th? Well, yeah, I just won it for the whole school." Then she whips out her medal. A real medal from the National Geographic Bee which has engraved on it "2008 School Bee Champion" She is so stinkin' pleased with herself. Apparently, she is now famous at school and will have her picture in the paper. A kid at school even asked if she could hug Brianna because maybe some of her smartness will rub off. Yeah, that's my kid.


And for a little dose of humility, Brianna only got 24 out of the 100 questions right to come in first. The next closest was 18. Apparently, geography isn't very advanced in 4th grade.

A photoshoot of three stylish sisters

I had another great session today and it was really fun. I am still struggling with group shots, so I think I will focus on learning more that this week. The three beautiful girls are daughters of my good friend, Sandy. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

I created a poll, please vote!

I am trying to pick a website address for me as part of my effort to start a photography business. I would wait but I have learned that waiting means risking having some of the web addresses taken by someone else. So I have created this poll to see what potential customers would like best. Please vote so that I can purchase my domain soon. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben is married to my sister-in-law, Paula. He is a great dad, husband and uncle we want to wish him a happy birthday from all of us here in Tennessee.

So to Ben :
"Happy Birthday! We hope you had a great day!"

Our fears

We all have our fears. Andrew's fear is losing one of the kids in a crowd, my fear is a house fire, Brianna's fear is getting bad grades, Arick's fear is getting lost, Ty's fear is showers, and Ella's fear, well hers is balls. Yep, you read that correctly. Our little punkin is scared of balls. Beach balls, basketballs, soccer balls, etc. If you roll one towards her, she runs away in a panic with sobbing soon to follow. Absolutely hysterical to watch, not so much fun for her, but fun for us parents. Maybe Bounce-a-Rounce 2007 was just too much for her to handle.

Don't be fooled by that sweet face!

Don't be fooled by that sweet face. In that little brain of his, he has dreamed up plenty of mischief. Unfortunately for me today, the stars aligned (a.k.a. mommy was busy making lunch when he discovered a perfectly sharpened pencil and lots of empty wall space) and his dreams became reality. 100 ft of scribbled wall art later, he came to me so proud to show me his accomplishment. Oh how his excitement/giddyness was quickly erased (both literally and figuratively) in the ensuing freak out by me. Ugh, two broken hearts today. It is so hard to punish sometimes. Thank goodness for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Brianna at a glance

It has been a while since I have posted about Brianna, so here is a current picture and a few facts about what is going on in her life right now.

* She is attending a gifted and talented program at her school that she totally loves.
* She is currently reading Harry Potter 5 and can't wait to finish it.
* She is doing very well in piano and is currently practicing the song "The 12 Days of Christmas."
* Her current challenge in life is to keep her room clean much to my frustration. Ella will have lots of access to her stuff and she doesn't realize the importance of keeping everything out of reach just yet.
* She is an incredible helper. She will change Ella's diapers, help me make dinner, watch her siblings, without much complaint and usually with a smile.
* Her current sport is archery and has earned 3 awards so far.

The winner is . . .

Susie. At first I didn't know which Susie, but after a quick phone call I solved the puzzle. She didn't believe me when I told her, so I have to put this on the blog to make it official and all. Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and leave a comment.

Some statistics

One of the reasons I am doing the blog birthday prize (which includes a gift certificate to Target by the way, just in case you needed more incentive to leave a comment and be entered to win the prize) is to see who is reading the blog. According to my idcounter, I have had:


Total hits: 6068
Total visitors: 2961
Average visitors per day: 12
Total for last 30 days : 481

I am very surprised that I have had that many hits and it totally makes me curious to find out who. Even more interesting is where you all are clicking from. If you go to the bottom of this blog and click on the map, you can also see a very general area of where the visitors are from. Quite interesting.

By the way if you have a blog of your own, the idcounter and clustrmap are free, just go to their website and sign up. I bet you will be surprised at how many visit your blog too.

Happy Blog Birthday

So I just discovered that I have been blogging for 1 year, and I would love to mark this occasion with a contest. Leave your name in the comments section and I will draw a name and mail a special surprise to the winner. It would be a lot of fun for me to see who is even reading this blog. You have until Sunday night to leave your name. I will draw the winning name on Monday morning. Good luck!

A family of four photo session

Yesterday I did a family photo shoot. Photographing families and toddlers are the hardest to photograph and I knew that this would be a challenge. The family was so gracious to let me do my thing without pressure and they were very patient. I did make mistakes and I learned a lot, so it was totally worth it.

I just love this photo:

Poor Arick!

This cute kid is very sick, so sick that he had to miss trick or treating, and that just really stinks.

"Attitude determines your altitude"

If you asked me a year ago how I was doing, I might have responded that I was doing fine or okay. Today, I might respond with the words wonderful,great or fabulous. Why the change in answers? Well,I have changed my attitude. I started counting my blessings and focusing on what I have, not what I am missing. And you know what? My life is pretty great. Everything isn't perfect and I still have my quirks and struggles, yet that isn't what I dwell on anymore. I love living with this attitude! I have never been happier. One of new my favorite sayings is, "Attitude determines your altitude." That is so true. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out how much my attitude can affect my life, but I am so grateful I finally did.

Disclaimer: Please don't confuse my new attitude as perky. Perky does not exist in my life, especially in the early hours of the morning.

(This picture of me was taken yesterday by a friend. I very much prefer being behind the camera but I figure one picture every few years won't hurt.)

Happy Birthday Cory!!

We just wanted to wish this special boy a "Happy, Happy Birthday!" today. We love you and hope you are having a great day!

(Blogger won't let me upload a picture, so I will try again later.)

Ty's Best Friend

I was able to do another photo practice session this morning with this beautiful little girl. Her mom (Andrew knew her in Hawaii) and I have become very close friends, while this little girl has become Ty's best friend. They play together almost every week and they get so excited when they see each other.

Session from this morning

I had my first portfolio building session this morning and I learned lots! Here are a few from the session. What a cutie!

Tag I'm it! again and again and again!

So I can't answer all of the tags I have been receiving just yet, so I will put up a few random facts about me.

1. I am just not that into the costume part of Halloween. Honestly it is the cost, it has gotten so ridiculous. If money was no object, I could get into it, but other needs are higher on the priority list. In fact this year I offered the kids $5 each to come up with their own costume with stuff around the house. I am happy to report that my offer was accepted with glee, especially from me.

2. I can't stand Campbell's Tomato Soup.

3. Dove milk chocolate is by far the best chocolate on the planet.

4. I only cut my hair twice a year.

5. I dislike anything with peanuts or peanut butter.

6. I have paid more money in library fines than I would like to admit.

7. When I am feeling down, I plan an imaginary trip to Disneyworld. Happiness soon follows.

8. I have to eat Kit Kats a certain way. First, I eat all of the chocolate on the outside (accept for the thin layer on the bottom) and then I eat each wafer layer individually.

Well so that should tide you over until I can answer the other questions.

The cutest pink flutterbug you have ever seen!

Here is a shot of Ella wearing her warm and cozy butterfly costume. Such a darling!

Ella (14 months old)

Just had to share how much she is changing. Ella is 14 months old and loves to get into everything.

My 5 year plan

I would love to put more pics of Ella up, but shoot she is hard to get to sit still. However, Ty will pose for me anytime I ask and he is pretty good about being still, as long as I don't take too long. So here is the shot from our session today. He is such a handsome little dude.



So I am really working hard trying to become a professional photographer. Art school around here costs $20,000 so I have decided to just teach myself. Fortunately, in this day and age, the Internet is available. I have found fantastic photographers who are happy to share their skills for free and answer the long list of questions I have. I spend about 2 hours a day studying and learning. I am not ready to start charging yet. I still have so much to learn, but I feel like it is coming along.

When I first decided to make photography my career path, I created a five year plan. The first 2 years will be spent learning, practicing, acquiring the gear, and building a portfolio. I have to learn about printing, packaging, advertising, plus all of the actual photography skills. The third and 4th year, will be more of the same, however I will charge more and keep a limited schedule. By the fifth year (when Ella is in school full time) I hope to have an established photography business with a studio. I am totally excited about this. I will get to set my own schedule. It isn't about the money, although a little extra to put in savings would be nice. I just love photography and the idea of doing this forever just makes me giggle. hehe.

Bento goodness

I thought I would update you all on how the bento is working. I am still doing bento lunches. I am pretty much making the same bentos that I have posted before. To make it easy, I have a list of available bento foods on my fridge so I don't have to think so hard in the morning. It definitely makes the prep go faster in the morning. All this bento stuff has been worth it though. Brianna told me she would rather have my bento lunches than buy lunch at school. I do believe that I have officially won the lunch war, woohoo!

Here is a pic of today's bento, enjoy.



Sticky rice with spam and teriyaki sauce (nori and sesame seeds are sprinkled on top)
Carrots and Cucumbers
Mini Gala Apple

Orionids Meteor Shower

Early on Sunday morning (5:00 AM), Andrew, myself, and Brianna went out to the back yard to view the Orionids Meteor Shower. We have Andrew’s self-described “astro-nerdiness” to thank for this fun star-gazing activity.



Each time Comet Halley swings by the sun, solar heating evaporates some of the ice and rock from the nucleus. The trailing comet particles are usually no bigger than grains of sand. Although they are very small, these tiny meteoroids make brilliant shooting stars when they strike Earth's atmosphere at nearly 90,000 mph! The Orionids meteor shower happens each year toward the end of October when Earth passes through the debris stream of Halley’s Comet.

We stood outside and watched as about 10 or so “shooting stars” streaked by Orion. The meteoroids are visible in the area of Orion and Mars in the south sky before sunrise. October 21st was the peak of the shower.

This link explains more about meteors and meteor showers: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/meteors-ez.html

This link shows the schedule for more meteor showers: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/meteor_showers_2007.html

And this link gives you a better idea of all the other things you can look for in our night sky: http://www.space.com/nightsky/

By the way, here’s Andrew’s favorite space picture. Back in 2004, scientists in charge of the Hubble space telescope must have been a little bored looking at visible objects, so they decided to spice things up by looking at non-visible objects. They focused in on a small, very dark region of space where there was absolutely nothing visible to earth’s telescopes. They wanted to confirm, by taking a very long picture of that area, that they were looking at the ‘end of space’. So, after THREE MONTHS of staring into that blank space, Hubble produced the following photograph.



Keep in mind that most of these tiny dots and swirls are either galaxies or CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES!!! Just to blow your mind, one galaxy is a collection of BILLIONS of stars like our sun!!!!!! If this doesn’t ram home the fact that we’re not alone in this Universe, I’m not sure anything will. It’s almost comical to think that scientists here on earth have a good idea of what life, the universe, and everything is all about.

Ashley

I took this photo of my friend, Ashley, and her baby 6 months ago (before I left for TN). That adorable little boy is now 1, which is so hard for me to believe. Ashley and I became friends through our mutual love of scrapbooking, stamping, and photography. If it wasn't for her, I never would have pursued this photography dream of mine. I sure do miss her.

Happy birthday to Papa!

Today is my father-in-law's birthday. He is a wonderful man and we all love him dearly. So on his special day we wanted to wish him a happy birthday and let him know that he is a mighty fine Father, Father-in-law, and Papa. So to Papa: Happy Birthday from all of us, we love you!

Some pics from Dave and Logan's wedding

I finally have been able to work on the pics from David and Logan's wedding in August. I tried to give the photos a vintage, classic feel and I am pleased with the final product, I just hope David and Logan like them too.

David and Logan when they first came out of the temple.






The beautiful bride, Logan.

Ty, just chillin'

Just wanted to share what Ty is looking like these days. He is as handsome as ever. Right now his passions are anything with wheels and Scooby Doo. He is having a hard time being a little guy these days and really wishes he was big like Arick so Arick would play with him more. He loves to play with water, ugh, and we are struggling to keep him away from the faucets. Such a little stinker!

My new favorite veggie!

I have my friend Cristina to thank for introducing me to my new favorite veggie. Purple yam, or ube, and it is delish. I bought this at the local international grocery store. I steamed them for about 30 minutes. I like eating it cold the best. It has a sweet flavor but it is hard to describe. So if you ever come accross this veggie, don't be scared to try it, it is very tasty!

My first stitchery

Here is a stitchery that I did, my first one. I like how it came out, although I am sure I could make it better. I just need to figure out where I am going to hang it.

I. Can't. Keep. It. A. Secret. Anymore.

Okay, I recently learned a new skill that I desperately wanted to blog about. However, Andrew asked that I wait until I see his siblings in person to surprise them. I tried, but it might be a year or more until we are all together again, and I can't wait. What is this secret skill? Well I learned to make manapua. Now if you are not from Hawaii you probaby have no clue what I am talking about and you are probably pronouncing it wrong. Here is a good definition from Wikipedia:

"Manapua is Hawaiian slang for the Chinese food cha siu bau (pork-filled bun). The word does not mean "chewed-up" (mana) "pork" (puaʻa) in the Hawaiian language, as its spelling suggests. Rather, the current form is a shortening of meaʻono-puaʻa, meaning "pork cake" (meaʻono = "cake"). In the US mainland, the Chinese term is commonly used. The Chinese brought this dim sum item with them when they were brought over as plantation workers. This food usually consists of a white bun with a red-colored shredded pork filling. The bun is occasionally baked, but is more frequently steamed when it is made."

Manapua is super yummy and a favorite treat in our home. Here is a picture of one that I made:



Now I can't take all the credit. I learned how to make this thanks to my friend Cristina. She is from Hawaii and actually knew Andrew in high school. Small world. She and I share a love of Asian and Hawaiian foods, so we are becoming fast friends. We made 80 buns and split it up between us. Sadly the 40 buns I took home barely lasted us a week and I will need to make more soon. We had a great time and the results were fab, even Andrew couldn't believe how authentic they were.

So to the Smith clan, the next time we are together I look forward to making this for you all. You can act surprised if you want to, hehe!

Frugal Gift Giving

Last night I taught a class on frugal gift giving and I thought I would post a little bit about it here. I love to give gifts. I love
the whole process, including the planning, shopping for (or making) the perfect gift, and finally giving the gift. It’s definitely one of the things that make me happy. Since I don't have a limitless supply of money to fund this gift giving love of mine, I have had to learn to be frugal. Now my definition of being frugal may be different than others', but the following tips that I have learned are valid no matter what your definition of frugal is.

The Four P's of Frugal Gift Giving Plan

One day a year, sit down and write a list of who you need to buy gifts for and when you need to give the gifts. Don't forget to plan for those birthday parties that your kids are invited to attend. Make sure to include all gift-giving holidays that you participate in. Also, when you plan, pay special attention to the date. It is very important to make sure that gifts are received on or before the special day, as this attention to detail is noticed and appreciated by the recipient. A late gift, especially an obviously frugal one, may end up conveying the wrong message.

Ponder

Now that you have your list, think about the people that you need to give gifts for. The less money you spend on a gift, the more time/thought you should probably spend on it. People recognize when thought has been put into a gift and they appreciate it. Find out their likes and dislikes, their favorite colors, hobbies, foods, places, music, brands, etc. Keep little notes if it will help you remember. When you are shopping, it will save you a lot of frustration and make it easier for you to select the perfect gift. It also increases the chances that the recipient will love the gift no matter how much you spend.

This master list will be key to your success as a gift giver and will enable you to make your purchases when its financially beneficial for you, not for the retailer.

Purchase/Prepare

Many people believe that frugal gifts are always homemade. While it’s true that you can often save money by making a gift ourself, it is not always true. I have handmade items that have ended up costing more than store bought gifts. Frugal gifts can be purchased or homemade. No matter what you decide, try to decide early. This gives your more time to find or make the perfect gift that fits your budget.

Now that you have a master list and some guidelines, carry the list with you. Every time you go shopping (especially at Target with their regular clearance deals) make sure to go through all the areas. If you don’t walk down that aisle, you will never notice the good deals that will fit in your frugal budget and be perfect to give as a gift. Doing this only takes an extra 5-10 minutes of your time, and it will help you find the perfect, frugal gift. Also, watch for sales in craft stores to save money on materials for homemade items. You can even bargain shop online, go to yard sales, etc. Be creative, be alert, and have an open mind.

Presentation

Although we are told never to judge a book by its cover, it happens all the time. A gift wrapped in newspaper just doesn’t have the same impact as an attractive, well-wrapped present. A beautiful presentation will show the recipient that you paid attention to the details. Nice gift wrap and packaging can be purchased inexpensively as long as you buy it ahead of time. Clearance deals of 50 – 90% off are not unheard of at end-of-season sales. Don't wait until the day you need to give the gift or you will likely discover that you don't have the wrap that you need, forcing you to spend more than you’d like to.

Finally, depending on the situation, the gift can be accompanied by a simple card (handmade or purchased on sale, of course) to let the recipient know how much you care.


So that was the quick version of my class. The ladies loved it, especially the examples that I brought in. The following item was probably the most popular and it may actually be an upcoming Enrichment project. It is a church activity book that I hope will keep the kids reverent during Sacrament Meeting, while helping them to focus on gospel topics. There are about 100 pages of gospel-oriented activities (crosswords, puzzles, games, coloring pages, etc), some that I came up with myself and others I printed from the online version of our Church magazine for kids. It took me about 2 hours to print all of the pages from lds.org. Once you print, make sure you keep the master copy for yourself to always make copies from so you get the highest quality copies.

Cover:


Inside:

Kazoo

On Monday I took Ty and Ella to the zoo with friends. Later that day I told Ty to tell Andrew what we did. He ran up to Andrew and said, "Daddy, Daddy, guest what? I went to the KAZOO!" Ha. Kids. Gotta love 'em because life just wouldn't be as funny!

Relief Society

My day was pretty crazy. All of us spent the day cleaning the house so that we could have guests over this evening. Andrew had invited a fellow BYU fan and his kids over to watch the football game. His wife and I then left to attend the broadcast of the General Relief Society meeting ( I know some of my readers aren't familiar with some of the terms I use, so let me clarify a bit. All the women in the L.D.S. Church are part of the Relief Society. This society of sisters, bound together under the motto Charity Never Faileth, has grown to become the largest women's organization in the world.)

When I first arrived for the meeting, I was assigned randomly to the pink table. One of the goals of the evening was to get to know the women from the other congregations. It was a little awkward at first but pretty soon we were chatting away. We were served dinner and then we watched the broadcast from Salt Lake City over the satellite. The talks were phenomenal and I was truly inspired to be more observant of the needs of others around me, so that I can provide more 'relief'. Relief can be given in big ways, but it was stressed that those little bits of relief that we offer others (providing a meal, giving a compliment, sending a note, babysitting in a pinch, etc) can be just as crucial. I learned many other things as well and it felt great to be inspired to live better.

One special thing that I want to note is the size of the group of women that met to night at the Stake center (An LDS Church with a larger floor plan so that bigger groups can meet together). The event was standing room only. There must have been 32-40 tables set up with 8 seats at each table. The chapel was also packed and we filled every inch of the pews, plus the overflow room. I was incredibly impressed with how many came when they could have watched the meeting at home on their own tvs. The best part though was when we sang the hymns, how powerful and beautiful this large group of ladies sounded.

Happy Birthday Unckie Dave

We want to wish Andrew's brother, David, a happy birthday. He is 23 today! The picture above was taken on his wedding day this past August.