Seeker of Happiness

It's Clean for the Most Part...

2012-02-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one who keeps her house relatively clean all week long, and the one day I slack, a circus car of people stop by for a cup of sugar, a package delivery or a quick chat?

I swear my mother-in-law does this to me at least once a month.

The other day she looked about and then asked: "are you going on a trip?"

Oh man. She must think me disgusting.

Love Day Dinner

2012-02-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

This was one great Valentine's. Scott was gone all day, which was sad, but it was fun for Georgia and I to visit Mima and Papa, skype with Gammy and Grampy, and take some fun pictures.*

I also admired the roses I got.

Scott told me that he would make dinner if I made dessert and I took him up on that with no hesitation. My husband can really cook and I let him. He made us STEAK and LOBSTER with rosemary potatoes and asparagus. Heaven. I, of course, made sure we ate it by candlelight and kept the sparkling cider flowing. Meanwhile, Georgia chose to not go to bed and was sad she was missing the action so she joined us in her highchair with a MumMum. I love my family.

After dinner, I got going on the homemade Snickers. Scott wanted these so bad that HE pinned them on my Pin Board "For Scott." These babies did not disappoint.

They taste like a gooey Snickers. I had a one inch square and no more. If you make these, do yourself a favor and try not to look at the ingredients. I still can't believe we have a gigantic candy bar in the fridge right now. I have already tried to give a bunch of it away, so come over if you would like some.

We also have milk.

*I also made these conversations heart soaps but it was really annoying and not worth the effort so I'm gonna stop talking about it.

Que Sappy Post About My Family

2012-02-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

I feel Valentine's Day is the prelude to our anniversary. Honestly, I am pretty much a sappy mess from February-April.

This move (from over a year ago) has not been easy on us. I think we underestimated how difficult it would be having a baby while one of us is still in school. We have not handled it perfectly. We fight.* We cry. But in the end, we always end up in each other's arms, and for that, I am grateful. We are in it for life. We are in it for eternity. I have found my one true love.

"Our union is like this: You feel cold, so I reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet.

A hunger comes into your body, so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes.

You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance, and I quickly kneel by your side offering you a whole book as a gift.

You ache with loneliness one night so much you weep, and I say here is a rope, tie it around me, I will be your companion for life."

-Hafiz of Shariz**

Today, I am very blessed to be feeling love for not only my Valentine, but also my little heart on a leash who is sound asleep in the other room. She has my world on her string, and I love her for it.

So maybe our Valentine's Day will be a bit sporadic, what with Scott not getting home from school until 7pm and Georgia and I running little busy errands. But today, I am filled with the assuring promise that I will be with those I love forever, and that makes this a perfect February 14th.

In the end, that makes a perfect everyday.

*I am always amazed by the couples who have been married for years and say they have never been in a fight. I think we would be divorced by now if we did not fight.

**I found this poem a couple of months ago and have been saving it for today. Beautiful, no?

Made It Monday: 52 Reasons Why

2012-02-13T21:15:00.001-07:00

Because we spent my Christmas gift in Park City for Valentine's Day weekend*, we decided to keep things pretty low key around here for tomorrow.

Did you know that Scott and I are absolutely horrible at keeping gifts from each other? Scott sometimes accidentally leaves his out or something, and I usually get WAY to excited to wait for some day on the calender.

So far, Scott has given me a dozen roses and a high-quality (much needed) blow dryer that I found in the mail. A blow dryer might not seem to you so romantic, but to me it is. Because it lets me know that Scott hears me complain about my old blow dryer everyday. And I get butterflies when I think of him sitting at the computer, reading through reviews and learning what a "diffuser" is. What a guy.

I couldn't wait to give him at least ONE gift early, so I gave him this:

You've probably seen the idea floating around Pinterest. I thought it fit us pretty perfect since we are huge board/card game people. Also, Scott's favorite gifts are the ones like this. Whenever I ask him what he wants, he'll always say: "a poem or letter or something." Yeah. He liked it.

*In case you're wondering- our Park City getaway was beyond perfect. Our room got upgraded to a room WITH A HOT TUB and we had the best sushi of my life on Main Street. We saw The Vow (which was not so good) and went shopping the next day with my gift card where I got the worlds greatest bag from Wilson Leather. Then we strolled through Main Street the rest of the day. No pictures because I was taking it in.

Runaway With Me.

2012-02-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, Scott didn't get me a bunch of gifts, but he did get me a weekend getaway to Park City, Utah. I am beyond thrilled about it since we have not had a night to ourselves since the baby joined us. We drop Georgia off at Mima and Papa's house at 4pm today. I absolutely cannot wait.

Things I'm looking forward to this weekend:

-Sleeping in for the first time in seven and a half months
-Seeing The Vow
-Not having baby throw-up on any of my clothes
-Wearing my new little black dress out to dinner
-Shopping at the outlet mall (Scott's gift came with a guilt free $40 gift certificate and a pinky promise I won't spend it on baby clothes)
-A hot tub
-Walking around downtown Park City
-Things I can't talk about because they would embarrass you.

Most of all, though, I'm excited to be spending some time with my attention deprived husband and talking about things OTHER than school, work, bills, taxes, cleaning and baby.

Goodness... what will we talk about?

The Language of Costco

2012-02-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Some people have bilingual parents who taught them Spanish.

Mine taught me Costco.

And I probably use it more than I would have used Spanish..

Ever go to Costco, find that item you can't live without- decide to sleep on it but come back only to find it is gone the next day? I want to share a couple of tips you might not know about how to avoid this AND get the best price in the wholesale warehouse.

*LOOK FOR THE STAR ON THE PRICE TAG.

This doesn't mean that the item is being completely discontinued, but it does mean that all of their inventory in that building is out on the floor. This is usually the first sign that an item is being discontinued, but if you are really curious you can go up the membership counter and ask if they will be getting any back in stock.

*ANYTHING THAT HAS A PRICE ENDING IN 0 OR 7 IS BEING DISCONTINUED
Once I see that an item I want has a star on the price tag, I wait to see how low the price will drop. It may go from $14.99 to $12.99 but this not how low it will go. As soon as I see the item end in a 0 or a 7, I know it's time to act as that item price will not go any lower.
So it may go from $14.99 to $12.99 to $11.97. I know that the $11.97 will not drop further because it ends in a 7 as that item is being discontinued and they are not going to receive any more.
You will have the most luck finding these prices in the housewares, seasonal, and clothing sections of Costco rather than in the food department.

*CHECK THE PERIMETER WALLS FOR CLEARANCE
Many times, a person may return a discontinued item. Costco usually puts these items on some back wall where they will have the above basement price.

*GO TO A DIFFERENT COSTCO
Each Costco gets in slightly different inventory and marks their prices accordingly. So sometimes, you can find the item you want has already had its price reduced at another Costco.

So there you are, fellow Costco lovers.

And for you Costco-haters out there: I can't convert you. It is up to you to have your own Costco awakening. Like Mitchell did once he realized it was a lot like Cam.

Made it Monday: Lavender Rice Krispie Treats

2012-02-07T13:05:00.002-07:00

If you're like: "but, Carrie! It's not MONDAY" then you are probably one of those people who tell people you're parting with at midnight "good morning" instead of goodnight, and most likely we don't talk very often.

A couple weeks ago, Scott and I went to this swanky cafe that's off of the yoga studio I wish I could afford in Bountiful. At the end of our meal, they gave us a lavender rice krispie treat and we about fainted. Because lavender is one of my most favorite things in the whole world. And rice krispie's are Scott's favorite dessert (odd, for someone with such fine taste in food).

Anyway, we were determined to re-create them for some friends that came over for lunch, and we figured it out because we are genius. Well... it was pretty simple, really, You just throw in a teaspoon of finely minced lavender to the original recipe.

A little lavender goes a long way. If you don't have tons of lavender flowers like me, I'm sure you can add two to three drops of lavender oil and get close to the same effect.

For those of you without the original recipe, here it is:

Lavender Rice Krispie Treats

(A word to the wise- cutting out rice krispie treats with a cute heart-shaped cookie cutter is NOT worth the time or effort)

3 Tablespoons Butter
1 10oz Bag of Marshmallows (mini ones melt better)
1 Teaspoon of minced lavender flowers
6 Cups of Rice Krispie Cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir continuously until melted. After everything is melted, throw in the lavender flowers and mix well. Toss in the cereal and mix it up! Transfer to a GREASED 9"X11" pan and let cool.

To Some Ex's.

2012-02-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, a friend shared a list of "30 Things to Blog About" on her Pinterest board. I used the list when writing in my journal. It's actually that list that inspired my guilty pleasures post.
Anyway, there was a suggestion to write a letter to your ex's and I thought it sounded interesting. I wrote it in my journal months ago, but I thought I would share some of them here because they're kind of funny and a little bit of a timeline of my life.
For those of you who will secretly or publicly think this is weird: I love my husband very much and do not think of my ex-boyfriends on a daily basis. Just when the idea is given to me in a things-to-blog-about-list.

Dear A:
Remember how we "went out" in high school but we never kissed and I cried when I told you after 3 days of holding hands that it wasn't going to work? Remember how we stood by the French class portables and weren't too torn up about the whole thing anyhow? Just so we're clear- I never would have put out so it was probably for the best that you moved on.

Dear M:
First off, you should know that I am not the same 18-year-old you once dated. I got rid of that car, those pants, and my talent of communicating in the most vague and annoying way possible. I apologize for my hot and then cold antics and for being so incredibly jealous when you started moving on. I also apologize for being so irrationally angry at you when I found out you had been trying to break up with me long before I broke up with you. For the record, as my first kiss and my first boyfriend, you were fantastic. Thank you for being that experience for me- I needed it so that I could know that I was lovable.

Dear S:
I have to add you to this blog post but I really don't want to because I wrote you so many embarrassing letters in the past. Out of everyone I dated before my husband, I loved you the most. You, and Shawn Bailey from 6th grade. I loved you so much, I was CRAZY. Really...really crazy. I look back on our past much-too-young relationship and I just cringe at how obnoxious I was. I think about our break-up and how I used to call you and hang-up when you answered like some deranged stalker. You probably could have gotten a restraining order or something. My husband laughs at these stories because he can't believe that I was ever that big of an idiot. I pray that I will never have to talk to you face to face because even though I can laugh with my husband, I am still pretty embarrassed. The worst part is that I was your first girlfriend and you married the girl you dated after me. This not only makes me a crazy ex-girlfriend, but the one and ONLY crazy ex-girlfriend. I am your story at parties. I am the one your wife pities. You never think at the time about what memory you're becoming. Sigh. The older I get, though, the funnier it all becomes.

Dear C:
Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we left Alaska and lived by each other? Do you think we would have worked out? I don't . Sometimes, I don't even think you're a real person. You're just another northern light I danced with. Another moon-lit bike ride. Another secluded moment in the mountains. I was pretty confused when I got to Alaska, but you let me put myself together again without trying to help/fix me at all. You showed me that life and earth and our bodies are all incredibly simple- that's why you thought EVERYTHING was so wonderful. We never really connected super deeply, but I hold you dear anyway. Because you are a part of Alaska to me. And Alaska and I were in love.

Dear T:
I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I am sorry that you thought I moved so we could get to know each other and get married. I'm sorry I led you on like crazy even though I had zero intention of every having a serious future with you. I was incredibly desperate to be loved and you give me my fix. I used you and I feel sick about it. Whenever I think about the cruelest thing I have ever done, I think about that last email I wrote you. I promised myself I would never treat another man the way I treated you. Thank you for enduring me so I could beat you up enough to learn that I could be a horrible person- and then never be that person again. We were so awful at communicating that I wonder if you even know what I'm talking about.

Dear A:
You're not technically my ex, are you? We never seriously dated, did we? Then why do I feel like I should add you to this? Perhaps, because for 3 months after my mission, you were the best friend I could have asked for. And I know that life made it so we couldn't be friend any longer, but I want you to know that I say nothing but good things about you. You were one of the greatest friends I ever had. I always knew we weren't meant for each other- which is why I was THRILLED when you found a cute wife that loves you so much. You deserve to have all the love you put into this world come right back to you.

Bird Haven

2012-02-01T10:00:00.001-07:00

North Salt Lake, Utah is probably not considered to be the most beautiful city in America. The view from our apartment is a car port. And outside of that, the view is richer apartments. And THEIR view is an oil refinery.

There is, however, a wonderful park about a block away from where a live. The walk is wonderful. It's a straight shot to the park, but I want to take a detour, there is a Redbox and a gas station with giant soda's just up the road. In the summer, I like to peek over a fence and peer into an overgrown garden that I have never seen anyone in. I like to daydream about why it's overgrown. Georgia likes to look at the leaves drooping over the fence. She loves leaves.

In the winter, though, everything is dead. Barren. A gray wasteland. North Salt Lake does not wear winter well.

Which is why it is a treat, every morning to listen to this seemingly lifeless bush:

That, my friends, is full of birds. You can't see them because they all flew down to the lower bushes when I snuck up on them- but they are there. And they are LOUD. I don't mind. I think it is wonderful. Even when it's covered with snow, there are birds tucked away, chirping.

And so, we continue our walks.

Favorite Things Party

2012-01-31T12:40:00.004-07:00

Friday night a bunch of cousins (and wives of cousins) got together to celebrate their favorite things.

I explained how the whole thing worked in the e-vite:

"Each person brings their favorite thing (could be anything from lip gloss to a kitchen tool, to mixed CD of songs). It can't exceed more than $5 and each person brings five of the same thing.

We have each of you put your name in a bowl 5 times. Then, one at a time each lady will introduce her favorite thing and then read 5 names she picked from the bowl, passing out her gift to those 5 guests. After everyone at the party has presented her favorite thing, each person should end up with five gifts to take home"

Anyway, my MIL (Lori) and SIL (Sarah) threw the party at Lori's house and about a dozen people came and we were thrilled with the turn-out!

Lori made these really amazing sandwiches (sun dried tomato goodness in cream cheese- I swear I downed like 80), Sarah took care of the desserts, and I was in charge of drinks and scones. FYI, if a recipe tells you that lemon curd only takes 10-15min to make, it is LYING to you. And, call my crazy, but I saw these mason jar "slip covers" if you will online, and, with an occasion finally presenting itself, I made them. Lace and ribbon around mason jars. I thought they were lovely.

Also, we had bags for everyone so they could take home their goodies and I was pleased to see that most of the guests used the post-it notes I had made. Oh, and Sarah's banner was an adorable hit.

We all had fun sharing our favorite things- I forgot to take pictures of all the stuff, but some of the stuff included

a favorite brand of socks,

Redbox promo codes,

a Fuzzy Wuzzy blind cleaner,

Barkeepers Friend,

and some snacks and recipes.

The best of the night, however, was when two sisters decided to make their favorite things go together, not realizing that not everyone was guaranteed the "set" they had created. Therefore, some people got a bag of Pita Chips, and some people got mayonnaise and tuna. Everyone was cracking up at the idea that mayo and tuna was someone's MOST FAVORITE thing.

After awhile, things got a little crazy with some old school dance moves...

but all in all, it was a successful party.

Made it Monday: Polka Dot Dress

2012-01-30T20:44:00.004-07:00

For me, sewing is like exercise.

I always hate doing it, but I always like the result.

Scott and I are trying to get through the last season of 24 on Netflix right now. We usually watch it late at night, and I found that I was having really intense nightmares (for example, being interrogated and having bad guys break Georgia's fingers one by one to get me to talk). I hate nightmares, but I love 24. So, I decided that if I focused on something else while watching it, I didn't have so many nightmares.

Such is the background of this polka dot dress.

It's probably one of the better sewing projects I've done, and I like that I was able to finish it late on a Saturday night so Georgia could have it for Sunday. I even made that matching bow on her head because I am ridiculous.

At church, a lovely lady tugged on Georgia's new dress and said: "They have the cutest clothes for babies these days." I swear I was about to cry. I looked at her and said: "Really? I made this." She looked impressed and it made my day. My week. My year.

Georgia in the Fast Lane (or, Boring Mom Videos)

2012-01-26T13:52:00.008-07:00

In the fast lane of Miss Georgia Rose, we have passed by a few milestones. Because I went through labor and delivery, I feel it is my right to talk about my little one and all of her "tricks" as of late.

Bear with me, folks.

First off, we have our new high chair! I wanted a high chair that WASN'T gigantic and plastic with cartoon characters all over it. I wanted it to match my table and chairs. I wanted to be able to use it for more than one kid. I found one that I loved ($115, yikes!) and Scott (that Cheapster husband of mine) told me that I should keep searching in the classifies. Then, I found it.

A Stokke Tripp Trapp. For sixty bones. I have no idea why this high chair is normally $250, but I like the way it looks, I like that Georgia sits at the table with us, and I like that I can use it for more than one kid. I think Georgia likes it better than her Bumbo... at least, she gets much less distracted. Of course, her 14lb little frame looks pretty hilarious at the table with us.

Next stop- scooting. I used to put toys just out of her reach to encourage her to scoot but she used to just look at them and yell (yelling at things that don't go her way... I wonder who she gets that from...). Then, while we were visiting Rexburg last weekend, she got all excited and scooted that little bum all over the place.

Oh yeah, she can also sit up really really well, but she hates it. I actually saw her sit up from her stomach but only once and she immediately dove for a toy. She seems much too curious to sit and would rather dive at things and put them in her mouth. We were visiting a friend, and her baby was sitting up so good and strong and just playing away with one toy, and while I was admiring her, Georgia was sucking on stroller wheel. Keepin' it classy.

Also in Rexburg, she played with Amber and Lucas's dog, Moose and it was too cute for words.

At one point, Moose would bark and Georgia would laugh, which would make Moose bark more which would make Georgia laugh harder. I wish I had it on video, but that's just one of those sweet memories we'll have to keep. Anyway, I'm pretty set on getting a puppy as soon as possible. I told Scott to imagine this guy:

jumping around our baby. He responded, in all seriousness, "I wouldn't be able to handle that level of cuteness." But, c'mon. My teacup baby needs a Teacup Maltese, am I right?

Moving along, Georgia has also found fart noises to be hilarious. One day, she tooted and then started cracking up. Another day, I was making raspberry noises and it was the first and only time I have ever seen her laugh so hard she cried.

That time, she laughed and then tried to make the noise herself, and now if you make a raspberry sound at her, she will do it back.

Oh my potty humored baby... what have we taught you?!

She sleeps through the night really well, thanks for asking. We didn't "train" her at all, we just got REALLY lucky and she did it herself. I do NOT envy any of you mommy's with restless babies and wish I had some magical advice for you. Instead, I just have a baby who, like her mom, just loves to sleep.

Is that enough boring mom video's and repetitive pictures for you? I don't feel like I do this often, but thanks for sticking with me. I'm just pretty much obsessed.

...sigh... Scott and I need a get away.

Made it Monday: Post-It Notepad Covers

2012-01-18T14:24:00.008-07:00

Because I feel like it, I'm making Mondays "Made it Monday" where I post about something I made this last week. We'll just see how long I keep it up!

My mother and sister-in-law and I are all throwing a favorite things party at the end of this month and we are beyond excited about it. In my opinion, you always leave an awesome party with a little favor. I decided to do something simple and practical for our upcoming party by covering some post-it notepads in cute paper.

Seriously, they are super easy and fun to make and a great way to get rid of all that funky paper you love but have no idea what to do with.

Pretty self-explanatory, but here's my simple how-to for those who would like the step-by-step guidance:

Needed:

-Double-sided tape (or glue)

-A sticky notepad

-A piece of double-sided paper cut the same width of your notepad and three times as long as your notepad

-Sticky back velcro (or magnets)

-Embellishments and/or decorative scissors

Using your double sided tape, tape your notepad in the middle of your paper strip

Now, you can either measure where to crease your paper by measuring the height of your notepad and making two creases, or you can do what I did and bend it around the notepad and score it with your fingernails. Either way, do this twice: once at the top of the notepad and once at the bottom so your paper folds around it.

If you want, use your decorative scissors to cut your paper to the size you want. Make sure that your top and bottom pieces still overlap.

Then go on and embellish it. I used a brad and left over paper from the previous step.

Instead of trying to line up your velcro, stack the velcro pieces on top of one another, stick it where you want, close your notepad, and when you open it again, you should have the two pieces perfectly aligned.

See? Easy. I went ahead and made about a million of these babies. I was thinking they could make pretty cute valentine's too, if you used the right paper and wrote something on the notepad like: "Please note, I love you."

Valentine Doilies

2012-01-16T19:41:00.004-07:00

While I was at Michael's the other day, I found these heart shaped doilies and I immediately got the itch to start decorating for Valentine's day.

(the wreath on my front door)

I love Valentine's day. I love any day that celebrate's love and brings color to the winter months.

(Makes me wanna sing "what the world needs now/is love/sweet love")

I didn't always love February 14th. But now that I have a Valentine, I can't help but buy into it. We love to over celebrate holidays.

(sparkling cider bottles wrapped in doilies, fabric flowers, and tied with metallic ribbon)

Stop and smell the...

2012-01-13T20:40:00.008-07:00

Yesterday, I was up at 7am taking care of baby, cleaning up my house, entertaining a couple of visitors, and working on a new shop I am helping to open. When Georgia was sleeping, and the guests were gone, I popped in a movie* and folded some laundry. I was annoyed when I heard Georgia stirring early because I wasn't done with folding the clothes yet. She's been pretty clingy lately. Then I remembered visiting my friend who had a 1 year old at the time. He woke up from a nap and wanted to cuddle and she told me: "I'm sorry, I can't talk for just a minute- he never wants to cuddle." We just sat there in silence while she closed her eyes and breathed in her son's sweetness before he squirmed, got down, and played with something else. I don't think I'll ever forget that.

So I took a lesson from my friend, and I put down the laundry and just held my baby. I breathed in her sweetness. I don't do this all the time. I am known for dumping her in her exer-saucer and running around trying to get things done. This time, though... I'm glad I paused.

I used to smell the roses. Now I smell my baby's hair.

*I watch movies Scott would hate but I sort-of like while I do laundry. We call them "laundry movies" and Scott made me put them on a separate shelf from our regular movies so no one would think he likes them.

Amber and Lucas

2012-01-10T11:45:00.004-07:00

Our friendship started in August of 2006, when Lucas and I were in the same MTC district about to serve missions in Toronto, Ontario. We became quick friends and stayed that way through the two years that were served. After Lucas got home, I was pretty much engaged to Scott, and I remember talking to Lucas at our mission reunion on a ranch style property in the middle of nowhere Utah. Leaning over a wooden fence and looking at the night sky, he told me that he was excited to find someone he had an undeniable connection with. It was as if he was already connected to her through the stars.

Lucas and Amber got married a week before Scott and I did and moved into our small Rexburg, Idaho town to attend BYU-Idaho. Even though we were moving in, and we had all just got off of our honeymoons, I insisted that Lucas bring his new wife to meet me.

That's where our couple friendship began. I instantly fell in love with Amber, the same way everyone does. And, as it turns out, Lucas and Scott became quick friends. There are very few couples that Scott and I can be 100% ourselves around, and Amber and Lucas were the first.

I remember how Amber would talk about being a nanny in Hawaii and how she wanted nothing more to be a mom and how she was going to adopt tons of babies! Lucas would smile, maybe pretend like he was being practical, say a few "we'll see when we get there"s, but we all knew he would give Amber the world in an instant if he could.

So when they announced to us that they were pregnant, we were beyond thrilled for them. Amber NEVER said one negative thing her entire pregnancy. She laughed at the discomfort she was in. She would give anything, go through ANYTHING for her baby.

Which is why it was so heart-breaking when Lucas called me from the hospital and told me that, at 32 weeks, they had lost their little girl. I pretty much ran to the hospital. Amber told me the horrific story. She told me how they kept Lucas out of the room during the emergency C section. I asked him what that was like. He didn't hesitate, but with a straight face said: "It was hell. Not being with my family was hell." I remember him teaching a principle like that on the mission. We helped him take apart their crib and put it storage. Scott bought Lucas a Subway sandwich. I took Amber to get a pedicure the day she left for her daughters funeral. Pretty toes don't solve problems, but they can help you feel like you have somewhere to be- a purpose in this life.

Over the next couple of months, we continued to talk and laugh with our dear friends. They were scarred, but healing. Their love ran so deep you feel it when you walked in their house. It was like they had been married for 50 years instead of 2. They bought a dog who showed them all of the love and affection they showed him.

When we got pregnant, they were happy for us. When we moved away, Amber and I cried and hugged and cried. When we had our little girl, they missed their Molly.

After they got pregnant again, Scott and I were beyond excited for them! Finally! Amber and Lucas can be those awesome parents they have always wanted to be! They found out they were having a boy and I secretly sighed with relief. This pregnancy would be different in every way.

Which is why it was even more heart-breaking when they lost their second child. They were told in the same hospital room something was wrong. Our sweet friends had to live their worst nightmare all over again. Bury another child.

I have talked to Amber quite a bit since her son passed, and she has told me that while it is not EASIER, they have come to peace quicker than they did with their daughter. They had already read all of the books and scriptures about families being together forever.

Amber asked me if it was selfish of her to be thinking about adoption so soon after her son passed. I adamantly assured her that it was not.

Amber and Lucas are two of the greatest people I have ever known. Any child would be blessed and lucky to call them their parents. They are currently moving forward with adoption through LDS Family Services. They have a blog with more details about their life that can be found here. If you know anyone who is looking for a loving family for their child, please refer them to our dear friends who want nothing more than to love.

I can promise you that that child's life will be filled with understanding, caring, and laughter. I know because Lucas and Amber have already added all of those things to mine.

The Coffee Table and Me.

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is more than a coffee table re-do post. There IS that tiny part of me that just wants to throw up some before and after photo's of my coffee table, but I feel like saying things like: "just a little spray paint!" and "such a fun project!" would be grossly understating the emotional journey I took with this thing.

Indulge me, if you will.

When I had Georgia, becoming a mom was everything I dreamed of. Becoming a STAY AT HOME mom was not. I hated being at home all day with no friends, no school, and no way to contribute to our family financially. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was so... annoyed. Annoyed that all of the sudden I had a new, lovable responsibility (that was still incredibly challenging) AND that with her came me being, pretty much, solely responsible for all of the horrible chores around the house. Taking care of bills, garbage, dishes, laundry, that sort of thing. It was difficult for me to take pesty chores and turn my mind set into "this is my job." I remember crying to Scott about it saying: "I don't know how to be a housewife! I went to college to be a social worker! I know how to do that! I don't know how to do this!"

Poor Scott. What can he do? Last semester he would be gone with school and work until like 10pm. He would help where he could, but he was so busy.

Anyway. Sometimes, I dove into keeping my house really clean and organized, but I gotta tell you- it's not always as fulfilling as they promise. I decided I needed to find a release. I tried to volunteer more at church, but I wasn't really needed there. I tried making girlfriends, but that's hard where I live because everyone has family here so a "friend" to them is what I would normally describe as an acquaintance. Basically, no one really needed me as a friend, either. I even tried helping out with a new business my in-laws are starting out, but I ended up way in over my head with no idea what I was doing and feeling like a complete waste of resources.

So, I decided to paint my coffee table red.

My coffee table is huge. I got it at a garage sale for $50 and I love it. It has these four, big wicker baskets that make it the most useful piece of furniture I own. It was becoming pretty banged up though. I thought that transforming it would give me a sense of purpose and individual accomplishment.

I took it to my in-law's shop and set it up in a spare room (because I live in an apartment, I have no garage or work space). I began to sand it. By hand.

After that didn't work, my family came to visit and my dad (a master at transforming furniture and stuff) helped me set up a make-shift table and take apart my project. We sanded it with electric sanders and he told me all the next steps I should take.

I also realized that the room I was painting in had a lot less ventilation than I was expecting. This meant that I would not be able to bring Georgia with me and have her sit outside the door. This meant that I would have to have a babysitter.

Weeks went by. I would go to the shop and work on my table when I could, but it was hard with Scott's unpredictable schedule. Soon, I was growing more and more overwhelmed by the project, and more and more overwhelmed by the mess the over-spray was making in my in-laws spare room.

More weeks went by. My meetings with my coffee table became shorter every time. We were fighting a nasty fight, and it was winning.

A couple more weeks go by. By now, I am feeling pretty useless in life. I pretty much suck at being a housewife, I feel overweight, and not really needed (I had always thought people had kids to feel MORE needed). My coffee table began to be a symbol of my past year in Utah- trying so hard and feeling like I haven't gotten anywhere.

I really started to tackle the project, if anything, to get it out of the way. But after I applied the black glaze to the top, something happened and it turned gray and bumpy. I felt totally defeated. Ruined. Stupid table. I hate you. I hate you so much. I cried each time I worked on it.

People who saw the table in progress told me to put a vase over it, and no one would notice. But I had not just put MONTHS into dealing with this thing just to take it home and have to put a vase over it.

My dad visited again, and helped me sand the mistakes. He told me that it looked good. He told me that no matter what, I will always see the mistakes and there is nothing I can do about that. He helped me get the table back to where I needed it.

Finishing the table was still a challenge after my dad helped me for a second time, but I was determined to conquer it. On New Years Eve, I told Scott that I refused to ring in 2012 without my table in my living room. I worked on it for hours that day. I finished it, and I brought it home piece by piece with several trips in my car.

When I set it up, I was amazed, if not a little surprised, at how good it looked. The mistakes (that I still can see) did not stand out like I thought they would. The table looked like it was made that way.

I did it.

I refinished that gigantic thing with very little help from anyone. My dad swooped in when it counted, and Scott was willing to watch the baby when I needed, but overall, I did it.

But I did more than refinish a piece of furniture. I refinished myself. I changed. Because I have a whole new life than the one I had 6 months ago. An entirely new can of paint. I have mistakes that I will always see, but if I take the time to look at myself the way my Father and Creator looks at me, overall, I look pretty dang good. I am doing pretty dang good for what I am.

Not perfect, but beautiful, and useful.

Incredibooth.

2012-01-05T11:12:00.011-07:00

I love me a photo booth. But ever since they closed the one at Kmart in Boise, Idaho, I have been without my favorite strips of paper. Now, you can only find photo booths that are in four rectangle technicolor sheets with borders and weird clip-art.

Lucky for me, I just discovered INCREDIBOOTH which is an app on my Ipod touch. I am freaking out and we are going a little crazy over here with it. It costs money, but I promise it is the best dollar you will ever spend.

Christmas, New Years, a Resolution, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

2012-01-04T19:40:00.010-07:00

I think 5 weeks has been the longest I have ever gone without blogging.

Where have I been you ask? In self-pity land. You ever been there? It's full of dark caves that aren't dark enough when compared to another dark cave. There are people there who tell you that you can't be a blogger because you don't have a nice camera, or photoshop, or an etsy shop, or clothes worth taking pictures of every day. It's a weird place that makes you magically forget the blessings of family, friends, and the things that matter most in your life and instead focus on the temporary.

But, I can escape self-pity land when I look at my daughter. She is my passport to happiness and light. My husband is my locomotive who gets me moving. I love them.

So let's play catch-up eh?

First, some Christmas cuteness. These were taken by the ever so talented Anna Harrison.Georgia is all decked out for the season in Christmas pajama's and her dress!

She looks like an American Girl doll!

The big bear came from her Aunt Dani and Uncle Kade. I had told my mom not to buy her that bear (seeing as motorized mini-jeeps and oversized stuffed animals are universal symbols of spoiled children), and she agreed... since my sister and brother had ALREADY bought it for her!

Christmas Eve and Day this year was spent with Scott's family, who, luckily, almost all live within 30 minutes of us (we sure did miss Mark, Heather, Charlotte and Ruby)!

It was just Scott, Georgia and I at his parents house on Christmas Eve though and we had a lot of fun. Like, crazy amounts of fun. We ended up staying up until 2 in the morning making a movie that, God willing, NEVER see the light of You-tube. It was crazy fun to make though and we just cracked up through the whole thing.

In the morning, Georgia got an Exer-saucer from Santa. 360 degrees of never ending fun. She has been freaking out ever since :)

I told Scott to hold up his favorite two gifts:

That's an Entertainment book and a Harry Potter 3D Magic Eye book. They may seem random to you, but to Scott, they were tailor made.

My Christmas day was Groupon themed. They all came in envelopes! My favorite one, though was a little letter from Scott telling me he had got us a room in Park City and a gift card to the outlet malls (!) for a "romantic winter getaway." I am so excited!

We went to church, and then spent the rest of Christmas day eating good food, laughing with family, and playing our new Wii games (Wii games are way more fun with nieces who are 2-7 years old). It was all-in-all relaxing and memorable. It's hard being away from my family at Christmas, but I am truly blessed with amazing in-laws that I get along with and who get my sense of humor.

After Christmas, Georgia turned a whopping 6 months old (and weighing in at a whole 13 lbs) aaaand my family came to visit! I was kind of surprised and absolutely thrilled! We got to see the lights at Temple Square with them (something Scott and I had done before Christmas, so it was fun to do it with no crowd) and we also played games and just talked.

For New Years, Scott and I were a bit worn out by all of the people and I wanted to spend the holiday quietly. We went out to eat (with a gift card) and I got STEAK AND LOBSTER for the first time! Then, after I finished a HUGE project that had taken me months, we played Trivial Pursuit while Georgia rolled around naked on the floor (pictures I am NOT going to post, but take my word for it that they are pretty dang cute).

You have never seen more happy or relaxed Chapman's.

At around 11:30, we had fondue (per our annual tradition) and watched the ball drop. I hadn't planned on making a big deal out of 2012 coming, but at midnight, I felt hopeful.

I feel hopeful.

I'm hearing a lot of people around the internet bash on new year's resolutions. But what's wrong with looking at your life and saying: "I can do a little better. I RESOLVE to do a little better" no matter what time of year?

So, I resolve to be happier doing the things I love instead of dragging my feet just because I made the mistake of comparing myself to others. I will create something new, I will blog when I want. I will sing. I may not have a degree in creative writing, or any photography skills, or a singing voice, but it is release that I need. Stay tuned, folks- you'll be hearing from me.

G-Dizzle

2011-11-28T23:15:00.006-07:00

Often, conversations with young moms who are about my age who have children about Georgia's age go like something like this:

"My daughter just LOVES music. She really responds to Disney tunes."
"Oh yes, my daughter loves music too- we listen to the classical station and it just soothes her right away."
"My son kicks and giggles when we listen to big band music!"
"Carrie, does Georgia respond to a type of music?"

"Yeah. She really likes hip-hop dance music."

"Really?"

"Yup. And rap. She cracks up when Nicki Minaj raps Super Bass. However, mostly she likes the Black Eyed Peas and that Tonight, Tonight song. The other day she got a hold of our Ipod and all of the sudden 'I Gotta Feelin' came blaring out along with her belly laugh. I don't know how she got that song to play, but she did."

I'm being serious folks. My daughter is gangster.

I blame it on Scott.

He had a plan to have Georgia love classic rock music like him so we would listen to Journey and he would drum on my pregnant stomach. The plan backfired, obviously, since Georgie learned instead to like music with a heavy bass... mainly of the club genre.

20 bucks says she'll be one of those teenagers you loathe that pull up next to you at a stop light and give you an instant headache because all you can hear is their booming bass. At which point, you can call Scott and thank him for it.

To Darcy.

2011-11-10T11:45:00.005-07:00

I just wanted to give a little shout out to my friend Darcy, who FEARLESSLY put up her Christmas tree a month and a half before Christmas.

I respect you, Darcy. You follow your heart. You stay true to yourself.

And for all dem who gonna be tellin you you ain't got no biznaz puttin up your own tree, remember:

Love you girl.

A new Christmas deadline

2011-11-07T10:00:00.003-07:00

Most people have a holiday deadline of December 24th. If you're like my husband, you do your Christmas shopping December 22nd and feel like you got done early. I, on the other hand, shop for Christmas gifts all year long. A little here, and little there, so we won't be b.r.o.k.e. by January.

This year, it's my family's turn to have us for Thanksgiving- this means, since we won't be there come December, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving AND Christmas. I'm also going to be up there a week before Thanksgiving, which means I need to do all of my shopping for my family by November 17th.

You would say: "Well at least you have the rest of the month to do your in-law Christmas shopping, Carrie!" But that's not entirely true either. Scott's siblings rotate giving to each other and this year we are giving to Scott's brother's family who just moved to an out-of-the-way place that costs a million dollars to ship to. Then I found out they will be visiting around Thanksgiving (no one follows the in-law/family schedule but Scott and I now) at the precise time that I will be in Boise. To avoid spending the same amount of money on shipping as I did on the gifts, I need to have THEIR gifts put together by November 17th, before I leave, as well.

I'm a little overwhelmed by all of it, but looking on the bright side: I will have a very minimal amount of Christmas shopping to do once the rush starts! I'm happy about this since it means that Scott and I can focus more on experiencing Christmas this year, rather than buying it. Last year we were in the middle of finishing up a semester, moving and traveling- this year it will be a lot slower pace. More time to come to know the reason for the season.

So excuse me if I seem to rushing through Thanksgiving- I got Christmas on the brain and a deadline 11 days from now.

Have a Very Punny Halloween

2011-10-31T11:33:00.003-06:00

Every year, we dress up as some sort of pun. Last year, I was a tiger wrapped in leaves ("Tiger Woods"). This year, Georgie got in on the pun action before she gets too old and says she wants to be something boring like a witch or a princess.

Presenting: the "Dust Bunny"

(you can't really see the ears, but she's still cute)

Being stalked by the wolf

Don't worry, she got him.

And Scott and I went as...

"Ceiling Fans!"

My friend has a Halloween Photo Shoot every year and she took all of these amazing pictures.

Just to give you a taste of what the whole shoot was like:

A chimney sweep attacking a wolf, chasing little red riding hood who is riding a unicorn- all being cheered on by a ceiling fan.

It was epic.

All the cheesiness of how we came to be.

2011-10-24T12:18:00.004-06:00

I saw this on my friend's blog and thought I should participate since my blog url IS "adventuresof SCOTTand carrie." It seems that Scott only makes small appearances on here, but I love him more than that. Anyway, here I am answering 20 question about Mr. Chapman.

1. Where did you meet?

There are two stories to this. The first is that we ORIGINALLY met in a corn maze. Or, at a corn maze. We both worked at a corn maze. He was a senior in high school with braces and a serious girlfriend, and I was a really mature 18 year old who had done a whole semester block of college over the summer. I worked in concessions and got to know his friends that would come flirt with all the other concession girls- but I didn't get to know him because he genuinely liked to work in the corn. When I worked at my other job at a video store, he would come in as the only customer with his guitar, and play it while he browsed DVD's. I sat behind the counter reading. We never said more than "$3.50 please, and it's due back on Thursday. " "Thanks."

The second part of the story comes after you fast forward about 3 years. Scott served a mission in South Africa, and I served one in Toronto, Canada. We both returned home about a week apart and ended up attending the same college. I had been home a few months and the dating scene wasn't really jiving with me and I was getting frustrated. One night, I was so fed up that I prayed for a boyfriend. And then I felt really stupid. Desperate. I told myself I would never do that again and just go through life.

Meanwhile, that SAME night, Scott had seen me at a large church meeting and thought: "Carrie Sylvester. I remember her- I want to talk to her." But I had disappeared so before he went to bed he (for some reason) prayed that he would see me again.

THE NEXT DAY I was walking on campus when a breathless Scott Chapman caught up to me. I thought his name was Steve.

2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?
My stomach dropped and my heart raced, and my head spun. All of those typical symptoms you hear about in pop songs and see in Disney movies. And then I thought:

"Carrie. You are the most PATHETIC and DESPERATE person on the planet! You pray for a boyfriend and the FIRST guy that walks up to you you think is the one? Get a GRIP! Stop forcing yourself to feel this way! How embarrassing!"

After I composed myself, he reminded me of his name and I noticed that he had a dazzling smile with a dimple on the left side of his mouth.

3. Do you remember what he was wearing?
A backpack.

4.Where was the first time you kissed this person?
On my doorstep. It was all innocent and very sweet sixteen. It had been a few months since we had met and we had started dating just each other. We had gone out and when he took me home he gave a quick goodnight kiss and left. It left me wanting more which apparently was his intention. That sly dog.

5. Where did you go for your first date?
Again, two stories for this one. All of our friends wanted us to date each other, so when I had planned a big, guided canoe trip through the school, everyone canceled so it was just Scott and I. I didn't know if it was a date, or if he liked me and felt pretty stupid. On top of that, another guy that I was interested in was the GUIDE for said canoe trip so I was trying to keep my options open while wearing an unflattering wet suit with a blue patch on the bum, in the pouring rain. Not my best moment.

But, Scott ASKED me out to an opera concert on campus. After that, we went bowling and then went to the grocery store because Scott wanted grapes- which he washed in the drinking fountain. We went for a drive and looked at stars and ate the grapes and chatted about who knows what. All I really remember from that date is that I really felt like I could be 100% myself around this guy.

6. How long did you know this person before you became a couple?
We started being friends around the middle of April and became a couple the beginning of June.

7. How did he/she ask you out?
Facebook chat. We were really just chatting about what we were doing that weekend and I had mentioned that I wanted to go to the opera scenes concert which he had gotten tickets to. Then he said we should go. This was too vague for me, so I responded: "Do you want to get together to the opera scenes, or do you want me to go with you to the opera scenes?" There was a big, heavy pause before he made sure I knew that this was going to be a date.

8. Has this person ever proposed to you?
Heck yes he did! We had talked about getting married around the end of September, but Scott was really freaked out about having a long engagement (since we wouldn't be able to get married until the following April) so he prolong proposing. Of course, he didn't communicate this to me so I sat around for a month thinking something was wrong. Every time I talked to him about it though, he would just say: "these things take time." He didn't know it, but I had promised myself that if didn't propose within 10 days, I was going to tell him to forget it. I couldn't be with someone who I thought was just dragging his feet because he was scared.

One night (close to the 10 mark), we went out to a concert and he made me a really amazing dinner. He made sure we were alone the whole time. Then, we started re-enacting our first date. I was sure several times that he was going to propose, but it never came. Finally, he said he had to get home early because had a meeting in the morning. Then he started texting someone. I couldn't hold it in and I started to cry. "Is something wrong with me, Scott?" He looked like I had slapped him and got really frustrated. He started speeding. He kept apologizing and took me home.

When I got into the apartment, my best friend asked me how it went and I started sobbing and ran into my room. She followed me in and comforted me while I told her all about it. "And then he started TEXTING," I wailed. She excused herself to her bedroom.

Just then, I heard a tapping on my 3rd floor window. Scott was throwing rocks at it. I had told him before that I had always wanted someone to throw rocks at my window, to sneak me out- ever since I saw The Sound of Music. I was so excited that I ran out of the apartment on a November night with no shoes on. He took me to the park that we spent the whole summer in, and underneath golden trees and standing on a blanket of fiery leaves, he pushed his forehead to mine. Then, he got on one knee, and he proposed. Of course, I said yes. I think, followed by a "what took you so long?!"

9. Do you and this person have kids together?
Yes. She's perfect and her name is Georgia and she is almost 4 months old.

10.Have you ever broken the law with this person?
Scott used to speed all the time. And we used to end up in places that were trespassing all the time without realizing it.

11. When was the first time you realized you liked this person?
When we went on a roadtrip to Utah and I saw him with his family.

12. Do you get along with his/her family?
HA! Yes. Yes I do. It is not perfect 100% of the time (everyone has in-law moments), but overall they are an incredibly loving family who want nothing more than for everyone to feel safe, loved, and welcome. They also get my sense of humor.

13. Do you trust this person?
Do I trust Scott with my life and the life of our daughter? Do I trust that he will lead us to live with God again? Yes. Do I trust that he will be on time places and take out the trash? No.

14. What is your favorite thing about this person?
My favorite thing about Scott is that he is always willing to try new things. It doesn't matter what I rope him into, he will do it for the sake of experience.

15. What is the best gift he/she gave you?
Our daughter.

16. What is one thing he/she does that gets on your nerves?
He tells me things last minute. Like "oh yeah, they're coming over in two hours." Or, "Did I tell you we're going there tomorrow?" I used to be able to live my life like that, but with the baby it really bugs me- he 's getting better at it though.

17. Where do you see each other 15 years from now?
3 or 4 kids (I won't be able to do kids close together), I'll be a stay at home mom and Scott will be working for some awesome company that allows us to travel with him. That's my dream, anyway.

18. What causes the most arguments?
We are on totally different schedules, so most of our arguments have to do with calendar planning and cleaning up at night.

19. How long have you been together?
We've been dating since June of 2008.

20. Are you married?
Happily married. Three years in April- my, how time flies.

Currently.

2011-10-16T17:52:00.004-06:00

Scott is currently:

-Wrapping up the first bit of filming for Cheapster.tv's reality webisode series "Cheapster!" He is officially in the running to win $10,000 by being the cheapest person there is! We can't talk about the challenges or anything (obviously) but I will tell you that it is going to be worth watching. Rumor is the first show should go up on October 25th, but we will keep you posted. In the meantime- here is Scott's audition video:

-starting looking into going on a Weezer Cruise since he is already spending the $10K in his head.

-a walking zombie since he is balancing school, work, a baby that loves to fuss through the night, and this Cheapster thing.

Carrie is currently:

-decorating her house for Halloween and getting costume's ready.

-planning a Halloween party for her apartment complex with her neighbor.

-participating in a lonely wives dinner club who's husbands are gone all day and night at least once a week.

-painting her coffee table red (not a door, or the town- her coffee table).

-beginning to realize that she is becoming a hunchback and is trying to stand up straight.

-ignoring more and more housework in order to give her child the increasing attention she demands.

Georgia is currently:

-increasing her attention demand.

-taking up the entire family bed when she naps.

-wondering why Mom put her in a Johnny Jump-Up when she clearly doesn't jump.

-talking all the time in high-pitched squeals that resemble a baby pig or a dinosaur.

-tipping 11lbs.

Pocket Full of Sunshine.

2011-10-14T23:30:00.005-06:00

Pretty random movie to think about almost everyday- but this clip cracks me up every time it pops into my head. Which is everyday.

Laughing.

2011-10-08T00:44:00.003-06:00

Have you ever been with friends and family and you started laughing really hard? And then you start laughing harder BECAUSE of the laughter? And you want to stop SO BAD because your stomach is really starting to hurt and you're getting tired, but you just. can't. stop. laughing?

Georgia had this experience with her Uncle Kade yesterday.

That was toward the end of the 10 minute giggle fest that was killing all of us- but mostly Georgia. As you could tell she was getting so tired! She pretty much fell asleep while laughing.

I feel ya, girlfriend.

Five Guilty Pleasures

2011-10-06T10:26:00.005-06:00

We all have 'em. That song you hope no one hears you listening to, that bottle of canned cheese you hide in the back of your cupboard, those stained pajama's with the holes in the them no one on the outside world knows you have. Guilty pleasures. Perhaps Scott will be embarrassed that I am sharing these but...

Carrie Lynn's 5 Most Guilty Pleasures:

1. This song. I like to spout how much I hate Ke$ha and how she should go get some talent and real letters in her name... BUT. This song is on my play list. And I dance to it. A lot.

2. McDonald's. Sick, right? Hamburgers made out of like 50 cows? Gross! But I love it. Call it comfort food or something. You know what else I love? The Monopoly Game AT McDonald's. Yesterday, Scott and I got our first fast food combos in YEARS. And we put our little properties on our little game board. And we entered the property codes online. And Scott won a $10 EA game and like 150 Coke points. And it was so fun.

3. Bathrobes. Who even wears bathrobes anymore? Me. My roommates used to think this was the weirdest thing ever, but I have a problem with jumping right out of the shower into underwear and clothes. I hate how my sticky body acts like sensitive velcro with whatever I'm trying to put on. So I cozy up in a big, ugly bathrobe, make myself breakfast, check my email, and THEN get dressed.

4. The Real Housewives. Not all of them- just New York and New Jersey. I love seeing them throw tables and repeat "This isn't the time for the ******* place for this!" I don't know why I love it. But I do.

5. Zac Efron. There. I said it. But not in like a "ooo baby" sort of way. For some reason, I feel like I KNOW Zac Efron. Like we were in high school drama together and I watched him get his "big break." I love to watch Zac Efron movies because for some reason, I feel PROUD of him for "making it." Aaaaaand I may or may not find him incredibly good looking. Oh man. Did I just admit that? The skinny high school musical kid? Yup.

So there you have it. Bold and true. Please don't judge me.

Cheapster Giveaway!

2011-10-05T21:58:00.007-06:00

UPDATE: GUY AND MALLORY IS THE WINNER OF THIS GIVEAWAY! CONGRATULATIONS! Also, Scott DID get enough votes and he is officially in the competition! His first challenges will be next weekend!

Here's the thing.

My husband is so cheap, he uses free shampoo and conditioner samples he orders in the mail instead of buying shampoo and conditioner.

My husband is so cheap, he pops his popcorn at home so he'll have popcorn at the movie theatre.

My husband is so cheap, he got a free razor on campus and has been using it for the past 6 months.

My husband is so cheap, we signed a 2 year lease on our apartment so that we could save $25/month.

My husband is so cheap, he ate Rasienettes out of the garbage because he couldn't bare to see a half-eaten bag of something so expensive thrown away.

My husband is so cheap, we only go OUT on dates if there is a good groupon.

My husband is so cheap, if he won $10,000 he would be excited... to pay off student loans.

And that's why Scott deserves to be a Cheapster. Zion's bank is letting 10 "cheapster's" compete in thrifty challenges on a web reality series to determine who is the "Ultimate Cheapster." And THAT person will win 10 grand.

8 people have already been chosen, but 2 more are picked based on who has the most "likes" on their photo on Facebook. Right now, Scott is in 2nd place, but 3rd place girl is close behind him.

We want this really. really. badly.

So bad, that I'm offering a giveaway:

A Custom Made Picture Frame by Yours Truly

*Pictures are examples of past frames taken with a low quality camera*

Whatever you want it to say, look like, feel like- it will all be up to you. Also, I'll throw in some other happy stuff... probably some coupons since- hey- it goes with the theme.

To Enter:

"Like" Scott's photo through THIS LINK and leave a comment to enter to win.

"Share" the photo on your Facebook wall and leave a separate comment for an additional entry.

If you have already done one or both of these things, go ahead and leave your comments. That's two entries total.

The giveaway closes Thursday, October 6th at midnight because that's when voting closes.

So vote for Scott! Unless you think my baby is ugly.

Break Me Off a Piece

2011-10-05T08:07:00.002-06:00

The other day I called my mom from the store and she was all: "Is Georgia with you?" And I was all like: "Uh. Yeah. Always."

And I love that we spend our days together, I really do. I like that she smiles at me from the bathroom floor when I'm getting ready. I love that when I have her on my hip vacuuming I hear start cracking up for some reason I honestly can't tell you. I love it. I mean, really. Look at that face. How can I not?

But you know what else I love? My "break." When Scott gets home from work and school, I give him some time to unwind and then I leave for about an hour. Sometimes I run an errand, sometimes I window shop, sometimes I read (always I get a Diet Coke). It's so nice to have some time where I'm not constantly thinking baby and Scott enjoys his daddy daughter time with Georgia.

I've discovered that we are a pretty independent family. I love Georgia but I crave my alone time, as does Scott. We all need our space- even Georgia gets sick of people in her face all the time. So while I love the moments when we are all taking a nap in our bed on a Sunday afternoon, I also like these moments. The ones where Georgia is happily playing with her feet on the floor, Scott is winding down with a TV show, and I'm catching up on blogging.

What can I say? I love my family. They're perfect for me.

(written last night)

An Autumn Art Journal (so far)

2011-10-04T15:04:00.005-06:00

I am currently participating in Janel's "I Will Fall For You" art journal class. I have never made an art journal before- and quite frankly, I had little idea what it was. I liked what I saw with Janel's art journals that she posted, but I didn't think I could lose my inhibition enough to let my own creativity flow like that. Lately, I've been trying my hand at sewing- and with sewing, you gotta follow rules.

After a particularly frustrating sewing session I said to myself: "Don't you miss throwing some stuff around on a page, wildly expressing yourself through slightly blurred eyes until you feel like you're done and then look at the finished product and wonder how you got there?"

At first, with this art journal class I was insecure and intimidated by everyone's creativity- but now I am having so much fun with it! I use weird things like doilies and foil cupcake liners and masking tape and I think it's looks good because it feels good. I almost forgot what it felt like to be the kind-of-out-there-artsy-kid.

I will go ahead and post what I'm doing every 5 pages. At the end of the month, I'll post the whole book together (mostly for my benefit, since it would be nice to see it all laid out).

Cover

"Title Page"

"Journal Goals"

"Fall is a time for..."

"Transform"

Of Dogs and Moms

2011-09-29T16:03:00.008-06:00

When my good friend Jessica came to visit my family in Boise with her pretty newborn son, my boston terrier, Scout, about had a heart attack. He showed signs of dog-like-anxiety that I have never seen in him before! Every time Jessica's baby made a noise (let alone cried), Scout would jump up with a frantic look in his eye- a look that said:

"I NEED to help you but I don't have thumbs! Someone help this child!"

But when the baby was calm and content, Scout focused his energy on Jessica. When Jess went into the kitchen, the dog went into the kitchen. He was right at her heels the whole time- unless, of course, his duties were summoned by a screaming baby. By the time mom and son left our house, Scout was exhausted and I was sure all of his hair would fall out any moment.

Well then I had a baby. And Scout resumes his guard-dog duties with diligence for little Georgia. Last time we were in Boise, I arrived when no one was home and had to go the bathroom something terrible. Georgia was starving and screaming about it as I entered the house, put the carseat down in the front room and ran to the bathroom. When I came out, Georgia was still proclaiming she was hungry, and my little dog was doing figure eight jumps in the air in front of her. I could just hear his inner monologue:

"It's okay! You're okay! Watch me do these jumps! Please stop crying! I'm jumping for YOU!"

I tried to take the above picture to show Scout sniffing/soothing Georgia, but he turned and looked me when I snapped the photo.

"What are we gonna do about this, Mama?"

That whole weekend, Scout made sure that if Georgia was crying, someone who could make her stop knew it. When HE couldn't make her stop, he took his aggression out on his dog toys. As if all of his energy tearing up the stuffed lizard would somehow transfer to the poor baby and calm her down.

And when Georgia wasn't crying- who do you think he followed? Me. Into the kitchen, the bathroom, and slept at the foot of my bed every night. I recently read Inside of a Dog which talks about where dogs "human like" characteristics come from and what they actually mean. Nothin' in there about dogs and babies or dogs and moms. I like to think that Scout is aware of who is the most vulnerable. He somehow knows that Georgia can't help herself and also knows that I need protecting too- because without me, who would make the baby stop crying?

Good dog.

Help My Husband Become a Cheapster!

2011-09-26T16:00:00.002-06:00

So, my husband is the cheapest guy I know. Like, will do anything to save a buck. Which is why you should vote for him to become a "cheapster." It's a reality web game show where 10 "cheapster" compete through money-saving challenges to win $10,000 and the title of ultimate tight-wad. Anyway, 8 people are chosen through a panel of judges and 2 are chosen based on how many people "like" their photo on facebook.

Go HERE: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=283717488305659&set=a.270780022932739.75168.247997451877663&type=1&theater

And like the photo. And I'll love YOU forever. 

Survey Says

2011-09-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

I hate not making money. For this reason, I have usually had some sort of employment- and when I was not employed, I was selling Scentsy candles. Upon moving to Utah, I worked about 40 hours per week at my internship and ignored the fact that I wasn't contributing financially to our family. After all- I WAS about to graduate.

And then I had Georgia- contributing the most valuable thing I could to our family.

But I miss my guilt-free spending money.

So I started taking survey's online. For money. I am a survey-whore.

And you know what? I get my first 50 bucks on October 1st.

I take most of my surveys through vindale.com. So far, I have been paid to play video games, try out make-up, get an auto insurance quote, try out a savings/coupon site and rent movies. It's been a pretty sweet deal, and I am on my way to having the Anthropologie dress of my dreams!

P.S. If this sounds up your alley- you can check out Vindale through THIS LINK. And hey- I get $5 if you sign up and take a survey. Help a sister out.

Scott turned 25 on Tuesday.

2011-09-25T23:14:00.008-06:00

Raspberry Patch

Heber Valley Railroad

Big Breakfast, Presents, and Pumpkin Pie

If you would like to wish Scott a happy birthday, you can "like" his picture through this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=283717488305659&set=a.270780022932739.75168.247997451877663&type=1&theater

Ticket Bookmarks

2011-09-17T11:29:00.004-06:00

You know when you go to a really good concert/sports event/movie/play and afterwards you have the ticket and you know you SHOULD probably throw it away because what the heck are you going to do with it anyway? But you just can't seem to part with it so instead you stick it in the bottom of your wallet/purse/diaper bag and wait for it to collect rips and unknown gooey stuff before you find it and throw it away? And if you're anything like me, you get kind of, well, SAD that you didn't DO something with it.

I had some tickets like that. Except, I kept them neat. And I liked the way they looked. So I made bookmarks out of 'em

And you know what? I USE them! And I LOVE them! And they were EASY!

I "laminated" my tickets in packaging tape, punched a hole in the top, and then add whatever ribbon I felt like.

I think it would be fun to tie some yarn with beads or something too.

Anyway. That's what I did on Friday night. That, and re-organized my kitchen. It's a glamorous life I lead, let me tell you.

September 11, 2001

2011-09-11T12:10:00.002-06:00

I was in math class. None of us knew what had happened, and when I went to 2nd period my science teacher was watching it on the news. I thought he was watching a movie that he was just really into. Once we were told about the attack, our teachers let us watch the coverage. I remember in 5th period a kid saying: "Can we not have class today? Can we have TV instead?" And I was so mad at him. But I had just moved into that high school and was shy so I didn't say anything. I just fumed and fumed.
My last hour of school was Seminary (a relgious class for LDS high schoolers) and I had never been more grateful for it. We talked about good and evil in an eternal perspective and prayed for those being effected.
For school reports, many children ask their parents and grandparents "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" That was a big tragedy in America. I'm saddened that, in my lifetime, there was another tragedy my children and grandchildren will do reports about- asking me:

"Where were you on September 11th?"

Georgia's New Best Friend

2011-09-08T21:51:00.002-06:00

My daughter wants to make eye contact with someone at all times. The other day, I was riding in the back seat with her, but I wasn't looking at her so she screamed until I did. I've tested this theory. It's true.

I like to take Georgie girl shopping for this reason. I can prop her car seat up in the cart, and she can stare at me all day long. She gets the attention she's seeking, and I get a break from holding her in my arms all day.

But her constant need to be looked at has me concerned since we're going on a 5 hour road trip tomorrow... just the two of us. Will she scream the entire time because no one is there to talk to her. I decide I need a mirror to put in the back seat so I can keep an eye on her.

Of course, finding a mirror like this on such short notice (and one that is made for my car) seemed impossible. But I found a small monkey mirror thing at a used kids store. It didn't work for my car, but Georgia acted like she liked it so I forked over the $4.25. When I put her in the car, I secured the mirror in front of her and hopped in the driver's seat.

While I was driving, I started to hear a familiar cooing behind me. And the sound of little feet kicking. Georgia was smiling and chatting away with her new best friend- her reflection.

I can just see her talking about it with other babies:

"Yeah, my best friend rides in the car with me. She is just ADORABLE and we really 'get' each other you know? It's the funniest thing, too- we always wear the same thing and we don't even PLAN it!"

Late Birthday Post / 26 Things to do While 26

2011-09-07T10:39:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday, my husband spoiled me. We left Georgia in the capable hands of my in-laws for a day and drove off to Park City, Utah. There, we went shopping at the outlet malls (hello Aldo flats for $12.95), ate at Ruby Tuesday (hello free birthday burger) and partied at the Olympic Game Park by going down the Alpine Slide and the steepest zipline in the world (hello buy one, get one free). It was pretty amazing to have six hours of just Scott and myself- I'm finding that alone time is the best birthday gift.

That's right. I said birthday.

On Monday, while most of you were celebrating Labor Day (and not caring what that holiday even means), I celebrated my 26th birthday. 26. When my mom mentioned that I was getting old, I decided to focus on how old that made HER rather than me. Poor, mom. Always my scapegoat. Anyway, because my actual birthday was on a holiday, Scott didn't have to go to school or work and this made me happy. I slept in while Scott tended the baby and made me a breakfast quiche in bed. Georgia greeted me with a sign around her neck that read "Happy Birthday MOM!"

Then, we went shopping for a while to hit the sales and I came home and took a nap. It was a great nap. After that, Scott gave me a list of things that we could go do, but I wanted to just have some peace and quiet. In the end, he took care of the baby while I painted my nails in my underwear watching Bachelor Pad and drinking a tall Diet Coke with lime. Like I said, the best birthday gift.

But after a few hours, Scott's parents stopped by and we played Just Dance on the Wii (oh yeah, we got a Wii. I have more to say about that later) and ate this AMAZING cake. I had found it in Martha Stewart magazine- zucchini cake with orange glaze.

It looked just like the picture. Good job, Scott.

This last year, I set 25 goals to accomplish and I accomplished 13 of them. While I didn't do ALL of them, someone pointed out I did the most important/time-consuming ones (read: graduate college and start a family). When you look at it like that, I'd feel pretty successful.

And now...

26 Things to do While 26

1. Ride a zipline (this really was my goal, and then Scott took me on one, so I'm counting it as already complete).

2. Get in shape

3. Serve my family more (both immediate and extended)

4. Buy a dress from Antrhopologie

5. Finish redoing that rocking chair

6. Read the New Testament starting at New Years and finish by Easter

7. Throw an awesome first birthday for Georgia

8. Keep all of my personal/spiritual goals

9. Attend a mission reunion

10. Go to yoga classes for a month

11. Try a new food

12. Create something (handmade) at least once a month

13. Juggle

14. Keep a private journal

15. Join a book club

16. Take an IQ test

17. Read at least 24 books and record which ones they are

18. Visit another state (besides Idaho)

19. Have a food fight

20. Play a hymn on the piano (with BOTH hands)

21. Ride the Heber Valley Railroad

22. Create a soundtrack to my life if it were to be turned into a film

23. Go a month with no internet (... or a week... with a baby this one is hard because everyone will want to see how she is growing. Still. Even a DAY with no internet would be difficult for me)

24. Make an origami bird garland

25. Be on TV

26. Run (or walk) a half marathon

2011-08-30T15:48:00.003-06:00

So there's this girl that lives in my building. She's really, REALLY nice. She has a baby about Georgia's age. She's about my age. I feel like we could be friends.

But she runs. Like, for fun. And she's an accountant. Yeah. An ACCOUNTANT.

She doesn't like to read.

...

I don't feel like I can talk to this girl. How am I going to be friends with a girl who ENJOYS running AND accounting but DOESN'T enjoy reading?!

Talking to her makes me nervous. Not because she's unkind or even dull, it's just that I feel like I have nothing to say to her. I can't complain about how much I hate exercising or how I use my husband more than the calculator on my phone when I'm trying to determine if the sale is worth it or not. I bet she doesn't drink Diet Coke. I bet she flosses everyday.

You guys. The only way I can talk to her about books is if she has seen the movie. THE MOVIE!

Look, it's not like I'm not gonna try. I'm gonna try to hang out with her. But seriously- she makes me nervous.

Moab looks like Mars.

2011-08-27T22:02:00.008-06:00

Have you ever logged on to blogger and noticed that you have about 6(million) posts that you have started but never completed because things are happening so fast that you just. can't. k e e e p. up?

No? Oh. ... Heh-heh. Me neither.

I'm on top of things. I mean, I was PLANNING on waiting this long to discuss our current adventures...

Way back two weeks ago (when I blogged here last), Scott and I headed to Moab, Utah where we met up with my Aunt and Uncle from Virginia, their kids, and my Grandma! I obviously don't see them often, so Scott and I knew that if my Grandma was as close as Moab, we had to take the 4 hour trip down. It also didn't take Scott long to agree to go to Moab seeing as it's the one place he's wanted to visit all summer long. I went for the family, he went for the sights, and Georgia went for ANOTHER big trip with her traveling act parents.

We drove into Moab at about 8:00pm- which was right at sunset. There was no way we could capture a picture of it, but all of the sudden, there were huge red rock walls, and the sky was a deep red-orange to match. I felt like I was on a different planet! It was truly breathtaking. But to top it all off, in front of us the rest of the drive was the most vibrant, beautiful, vertical rainbow shooting out of the red rock into the red sky.

God is great.

The other thing that Scott and I discovered on this trip is that we are hard-core vacationers. We CONQUER wherever we are going. We make a battle-plan and then we execute it seamlessly leaving no time wasted. We both come from families who are the same way, but I'd say we even surpass their intensity (if you don't believe me, check out our 10 day trip to Washington state here, here, here, here, here and here. Phew). So this last minute weekend trip to Moab threw us for a vacation loop. Especially when the gang we were staying with had no plan. They were doing what I can only guess "normal people" do on vacation... relax.

Since our philosophy is that you can relax at home, Scott, Georgia and I took the two days to do our own thing. We ended up just hiking around Arches but it was WONDERFUL.

Georgia was a little trooper. She was basically bathed in sunscreen, put in my sling, and then covered with a light-weight blanket. Her hat and her outfit made her look like she was ready for a Moab safari.

(FYI: You may see some pictures of Georgia not shaded from the sun- she was only uncovered for the few seconds it took to take the picture. She left Moab as white and pretty as when she got there :)

She slept most of the hikes, only to be woken up by us constantly checking on her and spraying her with peppermint oil water and holding her in front of the air conditioner after a hike. We also dealt with a lot of Europeans OBVIOUSLY whispering about us bringing a baby to hot-hot Moab, but it's ok. They don't know what great parents we are. Scott's family was also a bit worried about us taking her hiking, so we sent them this little low quality gem of a video:

(I'm sad you only see Georgie girls forehead in this...)

Of course, Georgia did get hungry and I nursed her under the Balancing Rock.

(When no tourists were around, I took off my cover for a second. It was only a second, but I felt tribal and free).

We spent two days hiking only Arches National Park before we went back home to Salt Lake, but we don't regret the trip. Scott got to see the Landscape Arch, and I got to see my Grandmother hold her Great-Granddaughter.

Sunday Reflections

2011-08-14T10:00:00.002-06:00

I realize that I have not been blogging here as often as I used to. But I've been busy. Usually, when I'm busy it's from a whole huge list of things, but this time it is just one thing: family.

A week ago, we had our sweet baby blessed. In the LDS faith, we believe that children under the age of eight have no need to be baptized, because they are already free from sin and do not fully understand the promise they will be making in the baptismal covenant quite yet. So instead of being baptized, they are given a blessing from those holding the proper authority to do so. I am lucky enough to be married to a man who is worthy to hold this authority and received revelation to bless our daughter. She's going to do some amazing things.

To celebrate her blessing, my family came into town from Boise and family from all over Utah came too. My family decided that they would plan a summer vacation around the event and ended up at our apartment for 5 nights. It was so great spending time with them! We went shopping, toured around Temple Square, spent time with some cousins, and they got to go to Lagoon and hit the rides. Later that week, my cousin (who I had not seen in TEN years) came into town and stayed at our place. I feel like we had no need to "reintroduce" ourselves. We picked up right where our little teenage selves left off.

We also all went to the Springville, Utah museum. That might sound pretty random, but it's special to us because our family helped to settle Springville. Which means my Great-Great-Grandfather's wedding suit is there. And my Great-Great-Great-Grandmother's rocking chair. And in doing some research while there, we find out that my Great-Grandma Georgia (who are daughter is named after) had a baby that died at birth. Her name was Georgia.

Then, this last weekend, we drove up to Logan to hang out with my aunt and uncle and their family. Last night, we had dinner at Scott's parents house.

NOW, we are heading to Moab where my aunt and uncle from Virginia are having a family vacation. I wouldn't normally crash someone's vacation, but I found out they had trekked my Grandma Kitchens here. I have been trying to figure out a way to get to Virginia just to see HER! It's a miracle that she is only a few hours drive away! Luckily, my aunt and uncle don't care that we come and I am beyond excited to introduce my Grandma to her great-granddaughter.

Phew.

I guess, in the end, I have been a little MIA because I feel like I have been focused on what matters most to me. And that is my family.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

What are YOU doing today?

2011-08-05T11:00:00.001-06:00

Today, I am doing a few things.

I am desperately trying to clean my house to "Sylvester standard" in preparation of my family coming to visit for a few days.

I am getting pictures of Georgia printed so I have some cute pictures to put up at her blessing after party.

I am picking up her/my/my sister's blessing dress from the dry cleaners and praying they didn't ruin it.

I am growing increasingly impatient with the on and off rain because I desperately want to wash my car.

I am probably going to Costco. Just because I love to walk around Costco with a 59cent Diet Coke.

I am realizing that, based on the above statement, I should have my own show on Bravo because I'm such a typical Mormon housewife.

I am talking about poop and stain remover when someone asks me how my day is going.

I am walking around the park more times than I have in the past because I want to be as skinny as when I thought I was fat.

I am talking to my mom on the phone.

I am anxiously awaiting Scott to get home from work so our family can cuddle. And so he can help me finish cleaning the house to "Sylvester standards."

But for your additional entertainment, my dear, sweet readers, I am guest posting over at my cousin's blog Wise Owl Baby. It's all about chubby cheeks and picture books. I discuss my obsession with Peter Pan.

Hope your day is as gloriously typical as mine!

The Birth Story

2011-08-03T18:35:00.005-06:00

It only took me 5 weeks to get it up here...

Do not read if you don't want to hear about water-breakage and the word "dilated."

{this was a picture I took the day before I gave birth. I was pretty huge}

All day on Monday (June 27), I had lounged around my house bored out of my mind and procrastinating housework. I had about 10(,000) loads of laundry to fold and put away strewn across my living room and a whole lotta dishes piling up in the sink. I hadn't done anything that day except talk on the phone and go for a walk. I decided that in order to get the motivation I needed, I would do a project and chose to make some freezer meals. I went to the grocery store, got all the items I needed, and as I loaded a bag of cans, felt a cramp. I thought: "Whoa. Better not lift anything heavier than that."

And then my water broke. In the grocery store parking lot.

And when you hear people talk about their water breaking, it's usually about some small trickle of what feels like pee. This was NOT my case. It was a GUSH and it did. not. stop. I yelled out loud: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" put my shopping cart away (I mention that because I am very passionate about people putting away their shopping carts, and if I can do it with amniotic fluid running down my leg, you can too), and jumped in the car. I called my mom who was exasperated from me calling her all day and let her know. They live about 5 hours away and my mom later told me that you never saw our family get ready for a trip so fast.

Then, I called Scott and told him that I was on my way to his work to pick him up since my water broke. Through the entire process, this was the only time that Scott was not calm and content. He was downright frantic! When we got home, I was trying to get a hospital bag put together (something I had on my to-do list) but my water was everywhere and I ended up having to dictate from the bathroom. Scott could not focus to save his life, and kept talking to people on the phone- it's amazing we had anything in that hospital bag :) Meanwhile, I kept lamenting over my previous decision to avoid housework as now I would have to bring my baby home to a disaster!

As we drove to the hospital, I was pretty calm and Scott seemed to settle down. We felt very at peace and had a peaceful excitement that, because my water broke, we would for sure be meeting our daughter in a matter of hours!

At the hospital, I found out that I was at 2cm and 90% effaced and my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I labored for what felt like 15 minutes but was acutally 5 hours and discovered that I had only progressed 1 cm!

{Me on the birth ball. I loved that thing}

The doctor recommended that I go on Pitocin but I was nervous as I had heard pitocin can make your contractions worse than naturally going through them. But it was 10pm and I noticed that while I could breathe through the pain of my contractions (not comfortablly, but still), I was exhausted after each one. I had not eaten anything since 11 that morning, and they would not let me have anything to eat at the hospital. After a lot of talk, prayer, and consideration, Scott and I decided to have the Pitocin and to also get an epidural. I waited to get the epidural until my mom arrived because I was getting nervous about it. You always hear the horror stories of grumpy anethesiologists who just walk in and stab you in the back and mess up. Well, my anethesiologist was probably one of the nicest people I met at the hospital, and while I had a brief few seconds of frantically reminding myself this was scary, I calmed down probably because everyone in the room was so relaxed and calm. That epidural was a really good decision. I was able to sleep a little through the night and by the morning was ready to push!

When I was told it was time to push, I felt a determination I have never felt before. I was determined to not have an hours upon hours pushing phase and with every push gave everything I had. There came a time when I would always throw in one more because I wanted to meet my daughter so badly! When the baby crowned, they asked me if I wanted the mirror, and I said sure (because I really didn't care and did not want to be asked any questions). The first look at her crowning gave me a huge rush of motivation, but after that I hated it because it was showing me every time the baby didn't come out! You know, people talk about how they don't feel a thing through their delivery, and while I wasn't in tons of pain- it really did feel like I was pushing out a watermelon.

I pushed for about an hour and a half- and then things got really intense. AKA, epidural wearing off a bit, unrelenting pressure and burning. I started to really focus on the pain and Scott and my mom tried to help me focus on my breathing instead. When I look back on those last few intense moments, I'm really glad I got the epidural because I don't think I would have been able to focus on my daughter through the pain of active-late labor. My biggest concern with the epidural was that I would not be in control, but I felt very in control of my experience.

And then she came. A blue and white little cone-head that was all mine. She screamed, and I cried. They put her on my chest and I couldn't stop kissing her sticky little body. I looked up at Scott who had tears on his cheeks and I felt like we had all been together forever.

Georgia Rose Chapman was born on at 7:28am on June 28, 2011. She was 7lbs 1oz and 20" long. When they took her to do the stats, I was being sewn up (I had a small tear). I felt the stitches and it did not feel good to say the least. I kept trying to focus on Georgia but I really hated getting stitched up. Later, when they were pushing all the extra stuff out of me they found what they called a "lobe." Could have been a piece of the placenta, could have been an extra growth. All they could tell me was that they didn't know what it was and they had to make sure I didn't have anything extra. That, also, was no fun.

That day the nurses and doctors were wonderful! I loved having my daughter and my family around me even though I hadn't showered and was pretty gross. Later that day, while my mother-in-law was holding Georgia, we heard Georgia start to gag. And then she turned purple. I couldn't do anything from the bed but call the nurse and when the nurses came in they were quick and silent. It's never a good thing with nurses are quick and silent. Apparently Georgia had gulped down some amniotic fluid and was coughing a bunch of stuff up. It explained why she was so angry being laid on her back (gas- hello!) but I hated that she kept turning colors and we kept having to call the nurses in. That night, Georgia would wake up every hour SCREAMING a scream I have yet to hear to this day. I think her stomach really bothered her. That was a very long night. In the end though, it's made all the other sleepless nights bearable because compared to that first one, the others aren't so bad.

I told the nurses and doctors that I wanted to be out of the hospital in 24 hours. They insisted that I stay for 48 but I did not want to sit in a hospital bed that long when I would have so much help at home. They agreed to let me be released early. It's a good thing I was so persistent about this, because it meant that they checked Georgia for jaundice earlier than usual. She had to be under the bili lights for 12 hours- which meant we were able to get out of the hospital in 48 hours instead of staying an extra day.

I hated the special care nursery. I was all postpartum emotional and it broke my heart every time I heard those babies sad cries and their families whispering about giving them blessings. My heart prayed for all those families. I had a hard time watching them put the sunglass head wrap on my baby and I knew she was going to be okay! I could only imagine being a parent who didn't know.

In the end, her jaundice went down and we went home to house that my family had scrubbed top to bottom! My poor sister folded all 10(,000) loads of laundry and everyone cleaned my embarrassing house.

I'm so glad that our sweet Georgia girl is here with us. While there are nights/days that I cry and am convinced I can not give any more, in the end, my life has never been better. I love my little family with all of my heart. It is when Scott and I are laying in bed reading, with Georgie Porgie asleep between us, that my soul sings. I am so grateful that I am sealed to them for eternity. I know that it is through Christ alone that that is possible, and for this gift, I praise Him.

Separate and Unequal Libraries.

2011-07-19T14:56:00.003-06:00

I'm feeling slightly discriminated.

We live in North Salt Lake, Utah. It's about a whooping 10 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake City- which is wonderful. I love living close enough to the capitol that it's not stressful to join in during events, but far enough away that I don't have to listen to sirens in the middle of the night. Ten minutes from the heart of Salt Lake is perfect for me.

But that ten minutes is the difference between using the state of the art, gigantic public library located downtown, and using one that smells like cat pee.

I TRIED to use the Salt Lake Library. I even brought my utility bill to them and everything. But they told me I didn't live in Salt Lake county. They told me MY library was the one 15 minutes away from my house instead of 10. They told me if I wanted to use THEIR library I would have to pay them $80 a year.

For $80 a year, I'd just BUY every book I wanted to read thankyouverymuch.

So, begrudgingly, I ventured to the Bountiful library. It's book selection is about the size of my pinky. It's walls are a mix of brick and that faux wood from the '70's. It has flickering lights. Even the newest books are dirty and look old. It smells bad. I went there once, got my library card and hadn't gone back.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, Georgia and I took our first "just us" trip to the Bountiful library because I wanted some summer reads. I had a list of seven books to get.

The library had one of them. ONE.

Georgia was so upset about this that she began to wail down aisle P-S. I did not have much to comfort her with since I was pretty upset about it myself.

We gathered our feminine emotions, however, and went to check out when I realized that in all my preparation, I had forgotten my library card. And my driver's license. Don't worry- I had my wallet with my BYU-Idaho ID and an old Blockbuster card, but nothing of real importance. I explained to the librarian that this was my first time out with my baby and that I had just gotten a little frazzled.

I was expecting this librarian to tell me to get out of her library and "don't come back without a card." In my experience, most librarians are kind of uptight and protective of library policy. I was imagining this would be no different since she worked in a place that smelled like pee.

But instead, she smiled. And laughed. And told me all about when she helped her sister take the twins to the grocery store. All the while, she looked up my account and let me check out two books. She congratulated me and wished me a very nice day.

I bet the snotty SLC librarians wouldn't have done that. I bet they would have made me pay. I bet they would have told me to shut up my baby and take her back to Davis county where she belongs.

So while I despise how small my local library is, I am grateful that a.) I have one at all and b.) that the people who work there are reasonable.

Big Hands and a Fat Lip

2011-07-17T11:44:00.002-06:00

It's been a long couple of days in the Chapman house.

The other day, I woke up all scratchy. I had what looked like about 30 mosquito bites all over my body. I thought that with the daily walks in the park Georgia and I take I must of had a bug fly up my dress and attack. I sprayed some lavender oil to ease the itch, and when that didn't work, I should have known something was up. Lavender oil ALWAYS eases my mosquito bite itches.

That night, I noticed I had more of these "bites." And the palms of my hands were itchy. And then, when I was up with Georgia in the middle of the night, I noticed my left middle finger was painfully swollen. Then, my right pinky became painfully swollen. And then, my hands began to swell. And swell. And swell.

I warily looked up some things on the Internet, but I had a feeling I did NOT have rheumatoid arthritis and I have NEVER had an allergic reaction to anything in my life. I decided since my hands were still growing that I should go into, at least, an Instacare place and get it checked out. The one that took my insurance didn't open until 9 so I went back to bed.

When I woke up, my hands and morphed into paws that were twice their original size. I could neither make a fist nor open them all the way and instead had to settle with a half-cupped position. To make matters worse, I was unbearably itchy and my bottom lip had swelled up so I struggled to keep from drooling. Also, those "mosquito bites" had gotten around my eyes.

I looked like a cross between Lennie from Of Mice and Men and Quasimodo.

I fed Georgia and left her asleep with Scott before I drove myself to the clinic. Looking back, this was probably not a great idea. What if I had stopped breathing or something?!

At the clinic, the doc in the box asked me what I had been eating differently. I told him I was sure nothing new because I had been keeping track of everything I ate since I was breastfeeding. He then told me that "sometimes our inflammatory cells just flare up for no reason, and that's why you're swollen and have these hives." I asked him if it could be from postpartum hormonal changes or stress.

"Doesn't matter what caused it- just matters that we treat it."

"I totally disagree with that."

"Well, we'll get you cured. Put you on some Prednisone and you can take some Benedryl too."

He was half-way out the door before I shouted after him that I was breastfeeding and wanted to make sure it was safe to do so while on the medication.

"Oh- sure." And he bolted out the door.

Yeah. Like I'm gonna trust what you say, you "just treat it" jackass.

Talking with the pharmacist, he didn't know if it was safe or not either. And neither did the people I talked to at my pediatrician's office. And the hotline they told me to call was closed on Fridays. Awesome.

I had to do something (since I could barely hold my cereal spoon without pain, let alone my baby) so I took the prednisone and decided to give Georgia formula. I also asked Scott to stay home from work to help me. This is when I'm glad he works for his parents.

My swelling slowly went down that day and so did the hives. I did the "pump and dump" thing to keep my milk production up.

Side-note: If my soft, dough like stomach full of stretch marks is not enough to make me feel ultra-sexy, let's add nursing underwear, giant pads, hives, swollen hands, puffy eyes, and BEING ELECTRONICALLY MILKED to the mix. Not gonna lie, by the end of the day, I was locked in the bathroom crying and Scott is never allowed see me pump.

All the while, we were giving Georgia formula (a kind she had in the hospital and did really well with) both through a nipple shield and syringe and a bottle.

You should have seen her with the bottle. She would just sit there with it in her mouth and look at me like: "what the heck do you expect me to do with this, lady?"

The next day, I called a REAL doctor who assured me that breastfeeding on that dosage of prednisone is perfectly safe. I was relieved- and so was Georgia.

But now, we have a constipated baby. A constipated and fussy baby. It's awful. I mean, for her. And for us. Because she scream-cries a lot.

And I'm still on prednisone. And we're never giving Georgia that formula again.

Last Day of Class

2011-07-14T16:47:00.002-06:00

I attended my last college class (barely awake) this morning at 8am.

This is a big deal because of the following break-down of my academic career:

Summer 2004: Attend BYU-Idaho with no other motivation than to eat as many Fruity Pebbles as I can. Live with my best friend Anna and bond with life-long friends Mandy and Nathan.

Fall 2004: Move home to Boise for my off semester. Work behind the counter of Clean Flicks, as a Target Portrait Studio photographer, a bank cleaning lady and a concessions girl at a corn maze AT THE SAME TIME. Somehow found time for my first boyfriend ever and ignored the senior in high school with braces who worked at the corn maze. His name was Scott Chapman.

Winter 2005: Attend BYU-Idaho and live with Anna and Mandy. Focus more on getting involved in the theatre program. Get cast as Dolly in Steel Magnolia's. Become life-long friends with Meredith who played Shelby. Have my first love/heartbreak- act like crazy ex-girlfriend (yeah. I was one of those).

Summer 2005: Still at BYU-I, move Anna and Mandy in with Meredith- have a whirlwind summer of rivers, bon-fires, camping, Rigby and bathing suits. Oh yeah, and class. Still a bit of a crazy.

Fall 2005: Move to Alaska and sell T-shirts that change color in the sun. Basically have a relationship with Skagway Alaska (a tour guide, and a helicopter pilot). Feel the best I ever had before in my life. Make tons of money. Not wanting to move home, move to Provo, Utah where I leave with $100 in my pocket, a weird relationship, a broken car, an "injured" biker and a speeding ticket. Swore never to give Utah another chance.

Winter 2006: Move in with Anna, Sarah, Ashlee and Nicole. Ignore school, ignore my major, get ready to go on a mission but feel very unprepared. Dark time.

Summer 2006: Get my mission call to Toronto, Canada. Leave August 16th which means dropping out of my summer classes. Go white-water rafting before I leave and have a life-changing experience.

End of Summer 2006-Beginning of 2007: Serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Winter 2008: Come home to Boise where I make the decision to change my major. Work as a substitute teacher- still my favorite job ever. Date some weirdo's but find a great friend in a guy named Ammon. Ammon and I talk about our missions a lot.

Figure I would like to major in social work.

Summer 2008: Re-take classes to get my GPA back up, take some intro social work classes, decide to change my major from theatre education to social work. Start work at Artco- still my least favorite job ever (that's a lie... it's a toss up between Artco and cleaning banks). Date some more weirdo's, pray to find a normal boy to date. Scott Chapman runs into me on campus. We start hanging out everyday. Then we start dating because- why not? Then we fall in love because I had never met someone so ok with themselves than Scott.

Fall 2008: Take more intro to social work classes. Realize that it will be a long time comin' till I graduate. Scott and I talk about marriage. Scott proposes in November under golden trees. I serve as the Relief Society President in my ward. That was hard.

Winter 2009: STILL taking intro to social work classes. Marry Scott in April. Play on the campus improv troupe, Comic Frenzy.

Summer 2009: Finish up taking intro to social work classes. Live in the smallest and hottest apartment known to man. Play with Comic Frenzy. Quit Artco.

Fall 2009: Move into a real apartment. Have my first off-semester in a while. Work nights as a waitress at JB's. Start playing on the community improv troupe, The Humors. Scott works for his parents as a salesman.

Winter 2010: Start the social work program! Love my classes more than I thought. Get cast as Lady Macduff in Macbeth. Discuss finishing the class portion of the program by the end of the year and am told it is impossible.

Summer 2010: Become very involved with my major- putting my heart and soul into it. Get on the fast-grad program. Scott graduates from BYU-Idaho with his associates degree. Try to decide what Scott's major is going to be and where he is going to go to school. Live below life-long friends Liz and Jacob. We decide Scott will attend University of Utah in the winter. I am not happy about this.

Fall 2010: Despite everyone saying it was impossible, I figure out how to get done with all of my classes but one and my internship. Become vegan for a month. We find out we are pregnant.

Winter 2011: Move to Salt Lake City. I start my internship at Salt Lake County Youth Services. I also start my final social work class at U of U. My professor is racist and I drop the class. We find out we are having a girl. I am not happy about living in Utah, but after a while figure out I need to just accept it. Scott excels in school and at work.

Summer 2011: Finish my internship in half the time. Give birth to the most beautiful creature you've ever seen. And, coming July 22, 2011: Graduate.

I don't expect any of you to have read that, but it was cathartic for me to write it all out none the less. It's been a long road for me to get through college, and I feel very proud of myself for never once thinking about giving up. I always knew I wanted a degree, and even though it took me a bit to get there, I'm happy to check it off my list of things to do before I die.

The Baby and The Blanket

2011-07-12T16:29:00.005-06:00

One night, while I was holding the baby in a delusional half-awake-half-asleep state (at around 3am), I noticed that the comforter was moving up and down and I was CONVINCED our baby was somewhere under the covers and about to suffocate.

In a slight panic, I started to thrash the comforter around and very seriously and firmly told Scott "where is the baby?! Help me find her! She's somewhere under here!" At which point, a very confused and sleep deprived Scott said: "She's right there" while he was throwing around the covers in the same fashion I was.

So there we were, FRANTICALLY throwing the blankets and pillows around, all the while with me shouting: "where is she?!" and Scott shouting: "She's right there!"

Finally, I couldn't move the blankets around anymore and still safely hold my baby in my arms, so I stood up, walked to a corner of the room and swallowed a cry lump while shouting: "Find my baby! Please find my baby!"

Scott continued to throw around the covers and say: "Carrie, she's right there!" Until I woke up, and realized that I had been holding my baby the whole time.

Both of us silent and panting, Scott and I stared at each other and figured out that I had been dreaming.

It was weird.

The Good News Is (or) The Update

2011-07-06T17:20:00.007-06:00

No worries, I am still here!

I thought about posting my birth story here, but I'm still writing it because I want to get every single glorious detail. There was a moment in the delivery room that I said: "this is the best day of my life" and I meant it so it's a pretty important day to document right. I'll post it soon for those of you who are curious and don't mind reading words like "dilated."

Ya'all. Miss Georgia Rose is a whooping 8 days old. I remember when I used to hear 1 month married newlyweds say things like: "I just feel like we've been married forever" and wondered if something was wrong with Scott and I because we STILL feel like brand new newlyweds 2 years later.

So, when Georgia turned a week old, I was expecting to feel the same way- like we just got together. But I feel like SHE has been with us FOREVER. 8 days doesn't seem that old to me. It's astounding how much your mind and body and heart and soul can change in just 8 short little days.

(Fourth of July. We didn't do anything, but Georgia wore her patriotic dress)

For anyone curious, motherhood, so far, has not been as traumatic as everyone warned me it would be. I know it will get worse as she gets older (aka bigger tummy = more feedings and less sleep, teething, teenage years, etc) but I am feeling pretty good. I know that most of this has to do with the fact that my family cleaned my apartment top to bottom before we came home and I did not have to worry about it at all while they were here. Scott and I have been pretty OCD about keeping it clean because hormonal Carrie cannot handle little sleep, breastfeeding, AND a messy house. Last week, I couldn't find a shirt to wear (since nothing fits) and the closet was messy so I just put my head on a shelf and started sobbing about how overwhelming our closet was. Yup. Mom and Scott organized it for me before my family went home.

As far as sleep deprivation goes, Georgia Rose is pretty consistent through the night and I try to sleep when she sleeps in the day. Honestly, I thought I was doing great on little sleep until we had to take Georgia into the hospital to get her bilirubin levels checked, and interacting with everyone made me realize just how fried I am! But hey, at least I am awake and aware as I tottle around our apartment.

While the weather is nice I have made a goal to walk around a 1/2 mile loop by my apartment at least once and day and that has been really good for me to get some sun. The other day I walked to my husband's work (a mile and a half away) but had to be driven home since I was wearing jeans (it's all I had that fit me besides the skirt I've been wearing every day) and decided that a passed out mama on the side of the road was no good for baby Georgia. But like I said, the sun and the walking has been most healing.

Although we are not perfect at it yet, I am a fan of breastfeeding so far. I don't have tons to say about it since every mom and baby are different but for us, it has been going great.

I think the biggest noticeable change in my life comes in the form of a split mind. Suddenly, I am not only taking care of my husband, but I am taking care of a baby that needs me every minute of the day. This results in my mind being split wife/mother. It's interesting being SO aware of Scott because for years, me showing love him I love him has come without thinking and now it has to be a bit more thought out. Not in a negative way, just in a different way.

Further, Scott and I both agree that our relationship feels different since Georgia has entered our life- "deeper" is the word we use because it's the only vocabulary we can find to describe it. Deeper. And I wouldn't change that for the world.

Anyway, if you read this far through this post, here is a little squishy reward ;)

(Kisses from Baby Georgie!)

The Best Creative Project of My Life

2011-07-02T21:40:00.002-06:00

Introducing:

Georgia Rose Chapman

Born June 28, 2011 (10 days early!)

7lbs 1oz and 20" long

I'm a little distracted at the moment with the above bundle of cuddly happiness, so you'll have to excuse my absence for a few days while me and my peach get this whole mother/daughter thing figured out.

But it's the best kind of puzzle :)

Book Clock (tutorial-ish)

2011-06-24T12:07:00.003-06:00

So when I found some old children's books at a garage sale last week ($0.25. Bam), I knew that I wanted to make one of them into a clock for baby's room. A friend of mine asked how you do it and I thought I would give a little tutorial...

Now, honestly, it is so simple that I kept forgetting to take pictures. And also, I originally followed the awesome tutorial found here.

But if you don't feel like clicking through the internet, I'll show you what I did.

You will need:

A cool-lookin' book

A cheap-o clock with cool-lookin' hands

(I got mine at a thrift store for $1)

A drill

(although you COULD just use a knife and a pen. I've done both, and I HIGHLY suggest using a drill)

An ex-acto knife

Step 1: (sorry, no picture) Bust the guts out of your clock. My husband does this part- not because I can't, just because he likes to be destructive. You will only need to save back piece that holds the battery and the clock hands.

Step 2: Drill a hole in the middle of your book cover (or wherever you want the hands to be)

(Hey- look at that! A picture!)

Step 3: Place your clock piece inside the book and trace around it.

Step 4: Hack away. Use your knife to slice out a hole the same width as the clock piece

It should look like this when you're done:

Step 5: Close the book (with the little clock spoke sticking through your drill hole) and attach the hands on the front.

Above was my finished product. Easy-easy, cute, and thrifty.

There are a lot of things you could do with this- like drill a hole in the bottom right corner and have your clock in a funky place. Or get vinyl numbers to put right on the book. I love making these out of those old Reader's Digest books you always see at thrift stores. These make great gifts and are so inexpensive and simple- which is right up my alley.

"Sorry about the mess..."

2011-06-23T02:07:00.003-06:00

Scott just hates it when I apologize for a messy house. He thinks no one will notice the mess if we act like it's normal. He thinks no one really cares if there are shoes everywhere a couple dishes in the sink. He's mostly right.

But I was raised that the slightest clutter is a mess and should be apologized for the instant someone walks in the door so the person knows that you really do care about them, but you simply did not have time to clean up for them.

I get mortified when I imagine someone thinking that the normal state of my apartment is... well.. normal. I want them to know that I am aware of the problem and will fix it. The first step is always admittance, right?

I've tried to follow in my family's footsteps of cleaning up the house when people are coming over, but I'll be honest- I get a lot of unexpected visitors. And my house is never totally picked up and clean. And Scott says I apologize like 50 times. I guess this can make people anxious.

With baby coming, I have a feeling that, at least for a while, there are going to be dirty dishes in the sink and stuff lying around and unexpected guests that come over.

So, in preparation, I made this sign and I put it on my door:

(For the record, I saw this saying on Pinterest, but liked my version better visually- feel free to take it).

Rude? I don't think so. Fair warning? Yes.

More nesting and full-term some thoughts.

2011-06-20T00:20:00.007-06:00

So, I changed some things around in the baby room, and I like it a lot better :) It is by far my favorite room in the house. I catch myself just standing in it sometimes. Cheesy? Maybe. But some women paint their feelings or photograph them. Others have the ability to write what they want to say perfect. I have this. I'm not some master decorator, but I feel like this nursery is my love letter to my baby and my prayer of gratitude to God for blessing me with her inside me.

(this is the changing table, but I haven't got a pad yet)

Of course, my wallet can only show this baby so much love, so I have taken to trying even harder to be thrifty-nifty. This weekend Scott and I hit up some garage sales for some great finds:

I should also mention I got that rocking chair and ottoman at a garage sale a few years ago for $15. Go me.

It's weird to be all "full term" and stuff... I went to church today and saw all these new babies and I realized I am next on the list to have one.

If we were having a conversation, you would no doubt ask me:

"How are you feeling?" (it's okay, everyone does).

Well, I am feeling pretty great. I AM shocked that my stomach is still growing, and I am uncomfortable all the time- except for when I am swimming. I love to go swimming.

Due to being uncomfortable, I cannot sleep to save my life. If we were having a conversation, you would respond to this by saying:

"Well! You better get as much sleep as you can!"

To which I would stifle a raging pregnancy hormone and give you a hearty fake laugh. Because what do you think I'm trying to do? Stay awake? OF COURSE I want to get as much sleep as I can! OF COURSE I would sleep if I could sleep! The only thing more annoying than not being able to sleep at night when I have no reason to be up is your good-natured commandment to sleep. I wish I had some narcoleptic super power that made it so every time someone told me to go to sleep, I would just fall down in a slumber right then and there. I would be all caught up.

Texting Mom is Better Than Blogging

2011-06-14T01:30:00.008-06:00

Back when I was too busy to blog, but not busy enough to stop making little things, I would snap a picture on my cell phone and send it to my Madre.

Does anyone else do this after they are excited about a project they made?

Sometimes, shooting a picture text to Mom it's better than blogging.

Mom's always respond pretty fast and when it's a compliment, you feel really good. And even when it's a "I can't see that picture very well, but I'm sure it's cute" you still feel good. And you never never have to worry about your mom judging your picture quality or poor lighting. There's no "sorry for the bad pictures" apology because she KNOWS it's from a cell phone.

And the final reason texting mom is better than blogging, let's get real, folks:

for most of us, mama's opinion is the one that matters.

Here are some past projects that are currently immortalized in my cell phone that have demanded a compliment from my mother:

Felt Flower Hair Clips

Old Scrabble Board turned super-awesome-picture frame.

Felt Sushi for my 2-year-old niece

Lemon Raspberry Cake for Mother's Day

Some decorated burp cloths

And of course, there is the occasional bargain-brag that you just HAVE to tell your madre about because, honestly, she taught you everything you know.

"I got these for $7 at Target!"

I've been away in a nest.

2011-06-09T23:41:00.004-06:00

Okay, so it's been awhile. But this time it's not because I'm stressed beyond stressed- it mostly has to do with finishing up my internship (how do you 40 hour/week people have the capacity to blog everyday?), and nesting. If you don't like to hear about baby stuff, you should probably go elsewhere for awhile. I've tried not to overwhelm my blog with boring pregnancy symptoms and get-ready-for-baby posts, but I'm afraid I can't help it anymore. Our little girl is due in 29 days and that's all I want to think about and talk about I'm afraid.

But honestly- can you blame me?

I'm huge! Nothing like a GIGANTIC reminder to cause fatigue and remind you that you are, indeed, going to have a child soon.

AAAANYways...

Whenever I think of nesting, I think of this:

Vanessa Loring: "What to Expect say that readying the baby's room is an important process for the woman, especially if you're adopting. It's called 'nesting.'"

Mark Loring:

"Nesting?"

Vanessa Loring: "Yeah."

Mark Loring: "Well, are you gonna build a crib out of sticks and spit?"

(Can anyone else watch that movie over and over again? I love it- Scott hates it)

Anyway, I'm in the process of putting together baby's room, and I thought I would show you some of the progress I've made. It's not done yet, but I've been so darn crafty lately I thought it's worth a post ;)

Above, I made the decorative burp cloths (because hey! why not?!), the picture frame, the green minky pillow, and that rockin car seat cover.

There will be more added and taken away as I get things figured out (*cough*money*cough), but so far I've been able to allow my nesting instinct to stay on a budget. But I really want to redo the rocking chair in a different color and maybe grab a rug.

I also have a changing table, but it doesn't have a pad yet and I'm still trying to decide how to decorate that wall...

Anyway, hope your summer has been as graciously cool as mine! Some people complain that the weather here is too cold, but with this little incubator baby, it's just right for me!

Sewing Challenged.

2011-05-22T18:52:00.003-06:00

I am seriously sewing challenged. I try so hard, you know? And in compacting our stuff to make room for baby, I even moved my sewing machine to be right next to my computer so that I could follow step-by-step instructions with online tutorials. Did it help? Nope. Not really. And I read the comments of people who are challenged like me asking questions and all I see are responses that say: "I don't know how to make it any more simple."

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm just going to buy patterns from now on instead of trying to follow "easy" tutorials. Maybe I should just give up on the whole sewing thing all together and stick with the simple paper crafts I'm good at.

I've decided that if there was one talent in the world I wish I had, it would be sewing.

Should have paid more attention when I was 10 and my mom was trying to teach me.

What one talent do you wish you could develop?

White Pants and Weird Conversations

2011-05-17T15:46:00.005-06:00

So after hearing my mom talk about how she was looking for a pair of white capri pants for Spring, I too developed the itch to dress myself nautical. I found some light-weight, bright white maternity capri's at Ross for like $12 and a long navy blue shirt to go with 'em.

All weekend, I was looking forward to wearing them, but when I showed up at work on Monday I ended up having an incredibly awkward conversation that revolved around my pants.

The following convo is not word-for-word accurate because it was so uncomfortable, but I have put my thoughts in subtext.

Weird co-worker #1: "Whoa. I can't believe you're wearing white pants"

Me: Whoa. You seem really concerned about my clothing. "Oh, well I really like them. They are super comfortable and light-weight."

Weird co-worker #1: "I just think it's pretty brave."

Me: "Well, heh-heh... it IS May. After Labor Day and all that." That should end this convo.

Weird co-worker #2: "Aren't you worried about (lowers voice) accidents?"

Me: Blank stare. I have no idea what she's talking about but I should just agree with her to end this conversation. "Um, nope."

Weird co-worker #2: "Like, the MONTHLY accident?"

Me: Looks down at giant 32 week pregnant belly "Nope." but if I did have some sort of bloody accident at 32 weeks, I'm pretty sure I would way more worried about MY BABY than my white capri pants.

Weird co-worker #2: "Oh, I would just be really worried about that."

Me: Just smile and agree, Carrie. Get out of this. "It's not like I'm going to wear them home from the hospital!" Why do I keep fighting for this ridiculous topic?

Weird co-worker #1: "Well, I'm just saying walking around will get them dirty."

Me: Now's your chance! Agree and walk away! "But they are CAPRI pants!" Shut-up! Shut-up! Shut-up! "They are high off the ground!"

Weird co-worker #1: "Still."

Me: Eating a Tootsie Roll.

Weird co-worker #1: "See! Like, aren't you worried about getting chocolate on your pants?!"

Me: Might as well keep fighting since you obviously can't just shut-up. "NO! It's a Tootsie Roll! It's not going to melt!"

... awkward silence... awkward silence... phone rings.

sigh.

Car hygiene

2011-05-09T17:45:00.003-06:00

So, for about two months I've been asking Scott to clean out our car. Actually, I had been complaining about it for longer than that, but on Valentine's Day he had given me a coupon book with "Wash the car" in it and I almost instantly ripped it out and gave it to him.

For two months, I have been threatening going somewhere and paying $50+ to get it detailed but Scott would turn white and literally beg me not to because, as a job, he used to detail cars. Yup.

Then, I told him we were turning my car in the old Contour. He gasped at such an accusation. Even Scott can admit he let the Contour trash and grime pile-up get really bad.

Anyway, on Saturday he was scrounging for a Mother's Day gift and decided he would actually clean the car out (I won't point out that I had already cleaned out half of it). I thought he would just throw the trash away, and I was preparing myself to finish the job the way I wanted it.

But he took his time, and he cleaned out EVERYTHING. The glove box, under the seats, the middle console, everything. And THEN he took our Camry somewhere and attacked it with a high-powered vacuum. Yes, the carpet mats probably need to be shampooed (or thrown away) but there are no dried up french fries under them! He scrubbed everything inch of that car down, including the door pockets that had empty CD cases in them and crumpled up chinese-food-fortunes stuck at the bottom.

What a guy, right?

Now, every time I get in my car, I feel like a grown up. I feel like I could put a baby in the back seat without worrying about her getting an infection.

Having my car this clean makes me feel one step closer to being able to be a mom. And that's what made it a good Mother's Day gift.

Bloggers Block and Antsy Pants

2011-05-06T16:37:00.003-06:00

Bloggers Block.

We've all suffered from it... right? Right? Am I RIGHT?

SOMEONE RELATE TO ME!

(yes, Brandilyn, that was an inside joke directed to you)

The past few weeks have been admittedly boring around here, and if you're still reading this, you have my apologies. I have not been feeling overly inspired the past two weeks.

Might have something to do with getting violently ill (thank you MSG)

Might have something to do with visiting Boise and then, for the first time in my life, becoming devastatingly homesick.

Maybe it has to do with working 40 hours a week with troubled youth that have both had horrible things done them and have done horrible things (it's weird what you begin to think is "normal" after a few conversations with the same kind of kids everyday).

Maybe it's the 3pm to 11pm swing shift.

Maybe it's the fact that Scott is officially done with school until August, but we still never see one another because our schedules are still opposite.

Could also be from spending all my waking hours thinking "how on EARTH are we going to fit a baby in this apartment?"

Maybe it's because my car and my house and my attitude all need to be cleaned up.

Whatever the reason, I'm getting pretty sick of it.

My madre says I'm just antsy.

I DO get antsy around this time of year. Doesn't everybody? I always look up crazy adventures to do like sky dive or something. This summer though, I'm pretty limited in what I can participate in. And instead of taking the healthy route and thinking: "there's always next summer" I just end up having an imagination attack of me sitting in my bathrobe, in an apartment that gets zero natural sunlight, holding a screaming baby, trying to get over postpartum depression.

See? I'm a ball of sunshine lately.

But like I said, I'm pretty sick of feeling this way and I PROMISE I'm still seeking happiness.

I go on a walk everyday in the sun and that's been helping.

Anyway, just know that there will be a special effort made on my part to be a bit more of a happy camper and therefore a more consistent blogger.

Pinky Swear.

Thanks for reading this, though. I don't often express my appreciation for my readers, but I really do feel grateful for this little cyber-support group. You guys are the best.

And the Winner Is:

2011-04-30T09:17:00.003-06:00

Congratulations Liz!

I will send out your package this week!

...you know, after I'm done walking a 5K at 30 weeks pregnant.

Again, a HUGE thank you to everyone that donated!

LAST CALL!

2011-04-29T18:44:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow, I will be headed out for a 5K for MS awareness in what the weather channel is saying will be freezing weather.

But it's worth it, right? Because so far we've raised $36.

So, right now I give you one final plea to ENTER THE RAFFLE I'm holding in this post!

Donate ANY AMOUNT and be entered to win a fun package that I promise I will wrap up all cute and happy for you to find in your mailbox.

MS Raffle/Drawing/Fun Package Thing

2011-04-25T12:10:00.005-06:00

So, as some of you know, I will be celebrating 30 weeks of pregnancy by (doing my best to) complete a 5K for MS awareness on April 30th.

I don't know anyone personally that has MS, and I thought: All the more reason to walk- sounds like it could use some awareness!

Anyway, I'd like to try and raise a few dollars for the event and so I got the help of some lovely ladies and together we put together a little incentive for you donate ANYTHING to MS Awareness. If you donate ANY AMOUNT you get entered in a drawing to win this loot:

Scrapbooking supplies

courtesy of Miss Courtney from You Will, Won't You

Some yummy lip balm (a 4 pack!) and an MS awareness badge

courtesy of Miss Lindsay from Pixies and Bears

and a rockin' orange bling necklace

courtesy of Brandilyn from Cats and Cardigans

Also included is a

frame lovingly made by yours truly, a cute stack of blank cards and a funky pen

to write in them with.

THE RULES

MANDATORY ENTRY:

1. You must donate ANY AMOUNT and then leave a comment on this post

You may donate through this link:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=8618748&pg=personal&fr_id=16822

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

1. Blog/Facebook/Tweet this with a link back here and then leave a comment on this post for EACH one you did

2. Go HERE and vote for my little sister's essay so she can win a scholarship then come back and leave me a comment telling me you did.

Winner will be announced Saturday, April 30th at 9am right before I go on my walk!

C'mon, it's for a good cause. Hope you're able to scrounge up a bill or two!

Thanks!

Easter Reflection

2011-04-24T11:33:00.002-06:00

I realize I have been a bit MIA, but after starting my internship full-time (stacking some hours to get done before baby comes), getting crazy sick from (I think) MSG, and then traveling to the healing land of Boise to celebrate my sister's 17th birthday and Easter, it has been a long week.

Regardless, I love Easter.

I'm always reminded that my trials, while important to me right now, are only for my good in the long run and that if I choose correctly, everything that happens to me can be the best thing that's happened to me. This includes the car troubles, school disorganization, someone using my social security number, and getting ill. Almost all of those things have turned out, so far, to be blessings and I know it's because of the reality of Christ.

Happy Easter, folks. He lives.

Of Motto's and Progression

2011-04-18T12:07:00.004-06:00

This whole long-winded blog post came from driving in the car with Scott last night and saying: "I feel like I'm better than I used to be." He agreed, and told me he noticed I was living by a whole new set of motto's. I asked what he thought those were and he said:

"Put God first and you will be happy,

Don't feel guilty about being sad, and

Try to come up with the most effective thing to say to get your point across."

I laughed at the last one because I am notorious for just saying what I think but Scott told me that I STILL say whatever I want, he just noticed it's a lot less emotionally driven and more to-the-point than it used to be. Some people call it "being assertive."

I sat back and thought a little about how these motto's have become such a part of my life when, just a few short months ago, they didn't seem to be there at all.

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I went kicking and screaming in our move to Utah. And then, for two months, I just screamed. In fact, when Scott and I talk about that time period, we call it "when Carrie was still screaming." I was very unhappy, sad, depressed, anxious, what have you. But on top of all of it, I felt a huge, looming amount of GUILT for feeling all of those things.

Because when you're righteous, you're happy right? When you're healthy, you're happy. When you're SANE you're happy. So, because I did not feel happy, I assumed I must not be any of the other things either. And this made me feel bad. WORSE than bad. It made me feel like I did not deserve happiness ever again because I was such a horrible, sad person.

And a little voice in my head was all: "You should put God first in your life and see what happens" and I was all: "I don't have TIME to do EVERYTHING I'm supposed to to put God first!" And then, as if to prove to myself it wouldn't work, I slowly did a little bit to put God first. I would read my Bible first thing in the morning. Most of the time, it was really frustrating because I would expect to feel some grand amount of peace and happiness but I didn't feel much. At first, I would get up at noon, read a chapter in the scriptures and go back to bed. I thought it was pointless, but I kept doing it. I can not tell you the steps or moments that turned me around, but I can tell you that I am AMAZED how much my life and perspective have changed in the last 4 months.

One of the biggest changes came when, over time, I realized that it was the guilt that was holding me back. Guilt, and feeling like I had to be perfect right away instead of going through a process of making my life better. I felt bad that I felt bad! But here's the thing: feeling sad, angry, hurt, depressed, these are all feelings that come with this life. No one is exempt from them. If we do not know the sorrow, how can we know the joy? Sorrow is essential to our life on earth. Allowing myself to feel it and then reminding myself that I was STILL OKAY helped me so much.

Getting out of this rut with God's help has brought me closer to Him than I had thought possible. Like I said, life is a PROCESS so I'm not where I want to be, but my marriage is better. My mental health is better. I find that I am passionate about what path my family is on and take an active role in making sure we headed in the right direction. I find that while I still say pretty much whatever comes to mind, I am more patient with people and stop myself to think what the most effective thing to say will be. Not too long ago, I used to just shout out whatever I wanted and then threw my hands in the air and said: "I just say what I feel, and if they don't like it too bad for them!" Sick right? What am I? 13 years old? There is a level of tact that comes with being a grown-up. I am far from where I want to be with this, but at least now I'm getting there. At least now I'm realizing that feeling like the world should accept whatever you say whenever you say it just because you FELT it right then is not being a passionate person- but being a self-centered one. Like I said, I still have a long way to go because I am so emotionally charged, but with God's help, I know I'll be able to reach my goal.

So there you have it.

I do not write this post to pat myself on the back or try to "motivate" anyone to become like me. It might sound like I am oh-so-proud of myself but really, I am just in awe at how little I have changed and how the grace of God has blown up that change into blessings I highly doubted were possible. I am far from where I want to be, but for the first time in a long time I feel like I am PROGRESSING.

Maybe it took moving to the one place I told Scott not to move me to so I could be compelled to be humble and recognize the journey I'm on. I am no saint, no perfect example. But I write this so I can look back and remember that there was a time in my life that I was happy when I followed the motto's I'm following now. There was a time in my life when God showed me what I could become by being patient with the process and His timing.

Sunday Reflections

2011-04-17T10:00:00.002-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about how many people there are in this world who are compelled to create. Be it creating a successful career, a beautiful home, pretty knick-knacks, outfits, clothes, or babies the world is full of man-made and God-inspired creation.

Accordion Paper Flowers

2011-04-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

I made some medium-sized accordion paper flowers for my door in honor of SPRING:

I am not, by any means claiming to have invented accordion paper flowers, but they ARE one of my most favorite things to make. They are so easy and versatile! I first found out how to make them by following this tutorial and I have not stopped. I've made them for events, cards, packages, everything. I made some for a friend's bridal shower I threw, but ended up giving them to Brandilyn to add some color to her store:

Next up, I'm going try to use double-sided paper and make a mobile for baby. Fingers crossed that will work- we'll see how it goes :)

Lavender Cookies

2011-04-14T13:33:00.003-06:00

I love lavender. Too much.

It's an obsession.

Last year, I made lavender lemonade.

This year, I was planning on making lavender ice cream, but I got distracted by a recipe for lavender cookies and I couldn't resist!

I love the taste, the smell, the look of lavender. I use lavender oil for almost everything. I can hardly wait for the lavender festival here in Utah that I'm going to in June. If I could re-do my wedding, it would be at the end of June and all the bouquets would be lavender.

You can check out all my lavender love on my Pinterest (I'm under Carrie Chapman) where I have a whole board dedicated to it because it's wonderful.

Meanwhile, g'head and treat yourself to some great tea-time cookies!

You put dried lavender buds right into the batter! I usually stock up in the summer on lavender, dry it, and store it all year long so when opportunities like this arise, I have some on hand. I think I only have about a half a cup left haha! Also, the recipe says use "Superfine Sugar" but I used normal sugar and it was fine. I had everything but the pudding mixes on hand so this recipe only cost me about $1! The photo is mine, but I got the recipe here.

Lavender Cookies

½ Cup Butter (room temperature)

¼ Cup Vegetable Oil (Canola, whatever, just not Olive Oil)

½ Cup Superfine Sugar

¼ Cup Water

1 Large Egg

1-2 Tsp Dried Lavender Buds

2 3-4oz Boxes Vanilla Pudding Mix

1 Tsp Baking Powder

½ Tsp Salt

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (unbleached will work as well)

A small bowl with some Superfine Sugar for rolling

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine Superfine Sugar and Lavender in blender or food processor and process until Lavender begins to break down. Combine all dry ingredients together, except for pudding mix, and set aside. In your mixer bowl, combine all other ingredients and beat until thick and well-combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined. Scoop by teaspoon-full, roll gently into a ball shape between your palms, roll in bowl with Superfine Sugar and place on cookie sheet. Here, you can leave them to their natural shape, or, press them down gently with a glass-bottomed item. The cookies in the photo have been pressed. (I re-purposed a tea light holder as a cookie press.) Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks. This recipe will make around 4 dozen cookies if you make them teaspoon size.

To ice, use the Whisk Drizzle Icing recipe. Place waxed paper, butcher paper, plastic wrap (whatever you have) under the wire racks the cookies have cooled on. Mix up a batch of the icing and drizzle over cookies. Allow the icing to set and serve.

Whisk-Drizzle Icing

This is a very simple cookie glaze and will harden nicely.

1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

1 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup

2 Tbsp Milk (you’ll need a little more after you’ve whisked in the first amount)

In a smallish bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Keep slowly adding milk until you get a slightly thick, drizzle-able icing. The icing will settle out and smooth nicely once you’ve applied it. This recipe will ice about 4 dozen cookies and can be colored with liquid food coloring if desired. I drizzle this icing with a whisk. By all means, if you prefer, put it in a zip lock bag and snip off a corner for a make-shift icing bag. Drizzle away…

Spring Break Update

2011-04-14T11:49:00.009-06:00

I have been MIA because it is my spring break and I have been doing nothing but lounging, eating, creating, and sleeping (when my back isn't killing me). Blogging seemed like "too much work" this week, if you could believe it! But I reserve my right to pick and choose my activities seeing as, starting Tuesday, I will be at my internship full time for about a month and half in order to stack up my hours and be done before baby comes.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to:

Anniversary Weekend

Scott and I went to Keys on Main in downtown Salt Lake last Friday night to see the "dueling pianos." I got a few comments from the staff seeing as they don't often get pregnant ladies in their bar, but since neither Scott or I drink anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal for us. We sat kind of up and away from the crowd so as not to get bumped around and there wasn't any smoking which was nice. We got virgin strawberry daquari's, some nacho's, and a never-ending flow of soda (the waitress didn't charge us for the soda and kept talking to me like I was four haha)! The show was really fun and funny and the pianists were pretty impressive. But, of course, the pianists know how to make their sense of humor match the decreasing intelligence of their drunk audience for tips, so... we left after about two hours (Ha)! It was fun while it lasted though!

On our actual anniversary, I didn't think we had anything planned, but Scott found out that The Melting Pot was celebrating National Cheese Day and giving away a free cheese fondue! We went and got a chocolate fondue on top of it and it was a.maz.ing. If you have a million dollars, I highly suggest you check out The Melting Pot next time you decide to go out to eat.

Chapman Ladies Night

Some of Scott's aunt's and cousins decided to put on a Chapman Ladies Night for all of us Chapman ladies. Now, the Chapman's are engineers who also happen to be amazing artists. Take a minute, and imagine the combination. Yeah. Their gingerbread house making nights are insane. Anyway, I was expecting to just get together with the girls and maybe have some good food but instead, I walked into THIS:

That's right, folks. Grandma Chapman purged her epic scrapbook room. She gave away everything you see on this table and then some. When I walked in, I drew a number and was given a gigantic pack of scrapbooking paper and embellishments to make the craft we were doing AND to take home. I was in heaven! It was so great to be able to chat with some of my favorite in-laws, I just loved it!

The lady of the hour: Grandma Chapman

Oh, and I FINALLY was able to hang out with Scott's cousin, Rachelle, who Scott has been dying for me to meet since before we got married. I knew we would get along when she recommended the duck face for our photo:

And here is my finished project for the night! We made frames out of pages from children's board books. I made this one for baby's room:

I have been crafting in the meantime, but figured I would do separate posts for those projects, so stay tuned! I'll be posting the lavender cookies I made last night later today!

2 years happy

2011-04-11T10:51:00.004-06:00

Today, I slept in because I was feeling horrible and Scott went to work. He came home for about two minutes before he had to run to the bus for school. He found me sitting in bed with the phone in my lap wearing a tank-top and his Pac-Man pajama pants. I was complaining about Medicaid and my rib pain and he was telling me to "make it quick" because he really had to run.

He kissed my face, darted out of the door and left me feeling huge in our unmade bed.

And on my phone was a text message from him:

"This time 2 years ago, i was frantically trying to get ready and leave the hotel room on time while trying not to cut myself while shaving. You were frantically trying to put on your wedding dress and pin it up and trying to remain calm. We were in great anticipation!"

Today is our 2 year anniversary, and if you would have told me two years ago that I would be writing this from Salt Lake City, Utah I probably would have declared that I would go anywhere with my Scott but still would have felt that he would never move me to Utah. If two years ago you would have told me that I would be celebrating my last anniversary just him and I 27 weeks pregnant I would have squealed with glee at the idea that we were going to have a family. If two years ago you would have told me anything about my life right now, at this moment, my newlywed-bride-self would have laughed and smiled and felt like the description sounded perfect.

Because it is. Perfectly what I've always wanted, I mean. It may not be what some consider glamorous, and sometimes I do get a little sad that we can't take some exotic trip or even a small town getaway because we are strapped for funds, but we are together, and we are happy. I am happy with Scott's occasional dandruff and he is happy with my occasional acne. I am happy with his one-size too big pants, and he is happy with my new stretch marks. I am happy with him and his desire to be better every day and he is happy with the goals I have set for myself. And we are not as boring as today will suggest. In fact, I think we are pretty adventurous people! We have taken many a road trip, been to many a museum and show, have tried new sports, camped in interesting places and have run hand in hand into new experiences.

So, while today is not going to be spent over a fancy dinner or in a fancy hotel room or giving each other fancy gifts or doing anything fancy at all, that's okay. Scott will go to school and work, I will clean the house and run some errands, and in the meantime I'll probably get some reminder text messages that I am my husband's "two-year-bride."

And I am happy with that.

You're Welcome

2011-04-07T09:59:00.003-06:00

I still have no car and the ant exterminator woke me up and kicked me out of my apartment this morning. Still trying to get life sorted out, but I promise I will be back! Because after today, I am going to be crafting my little heart out to work through all the anxiety this week has given me!

In the meantime, please watch this hilarious video and you can thank me later.

After all that...

2011-04-05T17:58:00.005-06:00

I am PROUD to report:

After the 2 hours on the phone with the government, I officially know what I need in order to get what I want (which has been the battle).

After about 10 emails back and forth with a professor, I found out that I can move some classes around and OFFICIALLY GRADUATE July 2011! This is HUGE because I had one more class I had to take before I moved to Utah and didn't know how I was going to fit it in, but thanks to my sweetheart professors (who probably just want to get rid of me) everything is ironed out! I am happy that I will be in my cap and gown GRADUATING and not just walking across the stage pretending I'm graduating.

It's been a long time comin'. I'm pretty thrilled about this.

After two days in the shop, Scott and I are getting our car back tomorrow. Turns out it will cost us a few hundred dollars because there are some old parts that need to be replaced while we have her opened up. But I really feel like it is a blessing that our car decided to break down when she did. You know, at a stop light instead of on the highway. And I'm really grateful that we can get it all fixed in one shot and that that will save us money in the long run. And I'm REALLY grateful it happened right before we get our tax return so we're not really missing the money. I mean- c'mon. That's a pretty big blessing.

After sitting on the phone and on my computer getting tons of other errands figured out, my landlord came a knockin' to tell me that the exterminator will come get rid of the ants on Thursday! The ants have been hiding, but I'm happy they will be gone for good. Also with my landlord came the over-powering need to clean my apartment. It's amazing how quickly you can get things cleaned up when you're embarrassed. But it feels so nice!

After racking our brains for a fun and inexpensive anniversary getaway (last anniversary with no baby = gotta make it count), Scott found the best deal evah! If you live in the Salt Lake area and want a fun getaway to Park City follow these steps:

EDIT! We called the Hotel and they said you cannot use the city deal with their package deals! Dumb because City Deals did not explain that so we will be returning ours!

~~Go here and choose your package: http://www.bwlandmarkinn.com/hds301.html~~

~~Go here and purchase $100 gift certificates for $50: http://www.citydeals.com/?ref=CDUMTcwMTEz~~

~~(if you buy this, please make sure you go through this link as I will get a $10 credit for referring you!)~~

~~Enter promo code VIP15 for 15% off~~

~~Have fun.~~

~~Yeah, that's a one night epic stay for like $42. I still can't decide between the romance package with dinner included or the massage package.~~

Being a grown-up

2011-04-05T12:19:00.002-06:00

Today has been spent:

-In an online class (last one of the semester!)

-On the phone for 2 hours with government people both rude and nice

-Car-less and trying to figure out how not to be

-Food-less

-Emailing professors back and forth trying to figure out how to graduate

-Organizing work stuff

-Ignoring the dishes in my sink because I'm too busy

-Recovering from some probably-pregnancy-related-illness that hit me like a train yesterday

-Brainstorming ways to get to my internship in 3 hours

-Adding something to my to-do list every 5 minutes

And it's only 12:30 in the afternoon.

Sorry, folks. No oh-so-inspirational blog post today. But I love you and am grateful you're reading this. It makes me feel like the world is not so mean.

Sunday Reflections

2011-04-03T09:00:00.001-06:00

("Mary heard His word" by Walter Rane)

While a big part of my weekend consisted of finally getting a new cell phone, visiting the Church History Museum of Art and enjoying the great weather I have also been participating in General Conference. It's a semi-annual conference of the ENTIRE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where we can all listen to the voice of a modern prophets and apostles. Because I live 10 minutes away from the HEADQUARTERS of the church, traffic has been out of control, but I finding it doesn't bother me much.

If you have two minutes, you can watch this video about the importance of conference and why I dedicated 8 hours of my weekend to it and have no regrets.

Aaaand if you're feeling curious, you can watch General Conference online here.

Have a wonderful Sunday, friends.

People have cars that break down.

2011-04-02T20:43:00.005-06:00

Today my car broke down. Just stalled at a light and wouldn't start again. I was with Scott (luckily) and we pushed it off the side of the road and tried to figure out what was wrong. Probably the timing belt, he mumbled. I guess. If you say so.

Then it started raining.

And you know what? Even though I KNOW that this stupid car will be in the shop on Monday and take up hundreds of dollars and I have no idea how I'm going to get to my internship, I'm not really that stressed out about it.

Because people's cars break down. Rain falls from the sky.

God is not singling me out for punishment.

I am not the first person this has happened to.

It's just life.

April 1 is sometimes not what you think.

2011-04-01T16:03:00.005-06:00

Today, Scott came home from work for a few minutes so I could have the car. When I was taking him back to work I got a phone call.

"Scott- roll up the window it's the doctor's office!"

The lady on the other line told me that Scott and I needed to come in because the ultrasound tech that did our baby's gender ultrasound was bothered by something and wasn't sure if there was TWO babies bouncing around in my uterus.

"But everything's okay? There's nothing wrong?"

"No, no, we just want to make sure we know how many babies we have in there!"

I relayed this information to Scott who was listening intently anyway. A smile grew across his face.

"It's April Fool's!" he shouted proudly.

I smiled too.

"Susan! Is this an April Fool's joke? Do you do this to all of your patients?"

She laughed.

"I realize this is probably the worst day to be doing this to you but no, it's no joke. We just need you to come in for a quick ultrasound."

My face dropped. I got flustered.

"Okay so tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday."

"Sorry- I'm distracted..." I fumbled opening my planner. "Monday then?"

Scott was quiet. He said to do it as early as possible in the morning.

We set up the appointment.

I hung up.

"HOLY! CRAP!" Scott yelled.

He yelled it over and over again.

"Well, I mean it makes sense, honey. I AM really big and this would explain the stretch mark I found this morning..."

"Yeah," he agreed, "and I noticed that your belly moves on BOTH sides when the baby kicks."

Scott continued his "Holy crap!" exclamation and hit the steering wheel. He was smiling, but he was hitting the steering wheel and yelling. I asked him what we were going to do. He didn't know what to do with twins any more than I did.

Then, his mom came out of his work and Scott leaped out of the car.

"MOM!" he shouted across the parking lot, "We're probably going to have TWINS!"

My mother-in-law stopped in her tracks and her jaw hung open. I watched from the car. Scott explained in about 2 seconds and one sentence the call we got just minutes earlier. I saw my mother-in-law's face change to skeptical. I jumped out of the car to reassure her.

"APRIL FOOL'S! It wasn't Susan from the office, it was ANNA! I had her call and pretend to be Susan! I GOT. YOU. SO. GOOD!"

I was jumping up and down. Scott fell down and my mother-in-law cracked up laughing.

I'm just saying. That went better than planned.

A good little reminder.

2011-03-31T17:41:00.000-06:00

Is it the end of the semester yet?

2011-03-30T16:26:00.002-06:00

Listen.

I'm not a traditional student right now. "Technically" I'm enrolled in classes, and yes, I DO work 20+ hours at an internship, and yes- my ONE online humanities class takes up a lot of time. But I don't wake up and go to class. I don't walk across campus and I don't have to worry about taking any tests in the testing center.

Moral of this story is that I should NOT be feeling like the semester should be over.

But I am.

And in my defense- it's not like my internship is the most relaxing place in the world to be. I work with troubled teens AND their parents and we are currently short-staffed. I mean, I have to start it all over again but the break is just so dang appealing right now!

Maybe it's because I would really like my one week free of responsibility before the baby comes. Maybe it's because I'm feeling crafty and inspired but my schedule is seriously stunting my creation time. I don't know. But I would really REALLY like April 8th to get here FAST.

That's all.

Sunday Reflections

2011-03-27T19:40:00.003-06:00

(image via)

Scott and I just got back from a whirlwind weekend trip to the exotic Rexburg, Idaho. I don't miss Rexburg, but I do miss my friends who live there. A lot. I accomplished everything I wanted/needed which mostly consisted of seeing people I love and spending time with my beautiful bride-t0-be friend.

When some people we were visiting found out I was spending time with my girlfriends at showers, clothing stores and restaurants, they couldn't help but inquire:

"What's Scott going to do?"

This question kind of comically threw me off guard. I don't know what Scott's going to do... he's a grown man. Was I supposed to plan arts and crafts activities to keep him entertained? Was I supposed to worry about him sitting in some dark, lonely place anxiously waiting my return? I say all of this with a smile, as these are the images that ran through my mind when the question was asked. I know that really, the people asking were just inquiring about his plans. But I honestly DID NOT KNOW what Scott was going to do while I was gone.

When I went to my friend's bridal shower, we were asked to write down our "recipe for marriage" as advice for the bride. I ended saying something like this:

"Once all ingredients are mixed together, be careful not over-stir. You are still an individual with your own hobbies and interests."

Do you know couples that "over-stir?" Couples that are so obsessed with each other that they lose their hobbies and passions because their hobby and passion becomes their spouse? I'm not saying this is a horrible way to live if this is what you choose, but Scott and I never really went through this phase. He has always been very supportive of me and what I choose to do with my free time, and I in turn am glad that he has kept up on the things that interest him. I feel like we avoided that "I-got-married-and-now-I-don't-know-who-I-am"-crisis. Not that we tried to, just that we did. And not that people who don't are horrible or something, just that we couldn't ever be that way.

I like our differences. I like how into March Madness Scott gets. I like that he knows how to screen-print. I like that he knows random stats and facts about the world.

If I demanded that Scott only do things with me that I could do too, Scott would be a different person. He would be me. A really, really, boring version of me. I'd much rather have a man that can play the guitar than a man that would rather just cuddle and watch movies because I cannot for the life of me figure out the F chord.

Turns out Scott hung out with his guy friends and watched basketball, went to Taco Bell and saw an improv show on campus. Quite the opposite of what I did this weekend, but when we got back together at the end of the day, we loved each other the same.

Was it just me, or was today beautiful?

2011-03-23T19:31:00.002-06:00

Ten Things That Make Me Terribly Happy

1. My little sister got her driver's license today! Here's to runaway trips to see her super awesome older sister, brother-in-law and niece!

2. It was so warm and pretty outside today that I played hooky and called into my internship (no worries- I'm ahead on my hours) . It's been a long time since I've done something like that and I feel no guilt. Because you know what? Soon, this little baby is going to come and there will BE no more "hooky." I won't be able to just call in from being a mom and drive around with my windows down. So I did it today and it almost made me cry.

3. doTerra essential oils. Seriously, this stuff heals you in like 1 second no matter WHAT the problem. I was introduced to them by my friend Kami who runs a family/whole living blog that is pretty great. The point is, they are amazing and I have a list t h i s l ooooo n g of oils that I want.

4. This weekend, I get to go to Rexburg for my friend's bridal shower. This means best friend time with Anna, spoiling Meredith, chatting all hours of the night with Liz, visiting Brandilyn at Panache and telling "can you believe that?!" stories, laughing til I puke with Amber and getting a big fat Horkley's soda for like 2cents.

5. Full-panel maternity jeans and the 30% off coupon that allowed me to get them. My life is changed.

6. Yeah, you're probably sick of product plugs and baby stuff, but my sister-in-law is letting me borrow her pregnancy pillow that looks something like this. I toss and turn a lot in the night, but at least with this pillow I fall asleep pretty fast off the bat.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusaks and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. For some weird reason I decided to start both of these books at the same time and now I'm so committed to each one that I can't put either of them down!

8. Ding! Dong! Our ants are dead! We had a mini infestation here of tiny sugar ants that made me gasp every time I walked into the kitchen. I tried a few natural remedies but after a couple of days my fear took over and I just sprayed Raid like crazy. My apartment was ventilated so here's hoping baby doesn't come out with an extra arm. Anyway, my kitchen floor is an ant graveyard and it makes me happy.

9. Yesterday I started another part of my internship where I am helping to run a girl's empowerment group! We had a lot of girls and we made medicine wheels and lit candles and I just love support groups. THIS is the kind of stuff I want to do as a social worker.

10. Spring cleaning my house and doing what people are telling is "nesting."

It makes my heart feel like bursting when I get stuff done.

10 Pet Peeves

2011-03-22T10:06:00.003-06:00

We can't know the happiness without recognizing the crap, right?

10 Pet Peeves

1. When bloggers try to post a satire but SUCK AT IT so it just ends up sounding like mean, pointed sarcasm.

Example of bad satire:

"Oooo! Look at me! I'm a mom blogger and I don't have anything better blog about then baking and pictures of my baby- I'm soooo cool!"

Example of good satire: Read this blog.

2. Bloggers who, for some reason, are SO BOTHERED by fashion bloggers. I've read so many posts lately with people who are like:

"Do these girls really think people care that much about what they wore that day?!"

To which I always respond in my head:

"Do you really think people care about what YOU have to blog about? What makes what you're expressing so much more important than what they're expressing?"

To make matters worse, the complaining blogger usually ends up saying something like:

"Don't get me wrong, I read a few fashion blogs..."

I don't get this.

3. Bridal/baby shower invites that tell you what to do. Ever gotten a bridal shower invite that tells you that you MUST bring a gift to correlate with an assigned time of day? Or that you MUST bring a recipe as your gift? Or you MUST bring something for the bride to decorate her home with? Or the baby shower is a "diaper shower" and you have purchase an expensive diaper while at the party? I have gotten all of these, and every. single. time it makes my blood boil.

It's like the invitation is saying: "Yeah, uh, we don't think you know the bride well enough to know what she REALLY needs nor do we think you're creative enough to give her something special so just give her this okay?"

If I'm going to show up to a bridal or baby shower, I will bring a gift and it is tacky for you to tell me what that gift should be. I will give her what I want and can afford! Luckily for me though, I have never followed the gift giving directions and I have never had the bride or mom-to-be complain to me later.

4. When people show up to a shower with NO GIFT and yet they eat the food, take a favor and win a prize. You people are the reason people send out bossy invitations! I have thrown showers in the past where NO ONE comes with a gift and I am baffled. I think it's so rude to the host and to the person it is in honor of. What do you think they meant by a "shower?" You're supposed to "shower" the person with gifts, you moron!

5. That game people play at baby showers where they melt a chocolate bar in a diaper and then you have to smell it and guess what it is. Sick.

6. When people read over my shoulder while I'm typing. I'm not done with what I'm writing yet! If you want to read it, I promise I will let you know when I'm done! Meanwhile, your breathing down my neck makes me anxious and causes me to make more mistakes than I would have if you had not been looming over me!

7. When someone corrects me when there is no need to be corrected. Like if I say: "The mall is like 10 miles away" and they say: "Well, TECHNICALLY it's 12 miles away."

Does adding the extra two miles I rounded down from make you feel like a genius or something?

8. Bloggers who leave angry comments on posts that say something like: "Well OBVIOUSLY you don't have MY life because what you just said could NEVER work for me."

If it doesn't apply to you, then why do you care? It's like if I went to some backyard gardening blog and left angry comments about how I CAN'T grow squash because I live in an apartment.

Obnoxious.

9. Punch cards at stores that are not worth it. Like, you get one punch for every $10 you spend and after 50 punches you get 20% off. Thanks for telling me $500 is only worth a 20% discount.

10. Really big headbands on really small babies. Ug.

Feel free to vent any of your own pet peeves! I'll come back later tomorrow or something with a post about 10 things that make me happy, because there are more things that make me happy than there are things that bug me.

Poor in Money, but Rich in Love. Cheap Date Ideas.

2011-03-21T12:47:00.007-06:00

Ever since Scott and I moved to Utah, our lives flipped upside down and all around. We don't really see a lot of each other during the week like we used to. Saturdays are our only day to spend that quality time together and usually by the end of the week we are so desperate to be together we start talking about taking elaborate runaway trips to foreign countries and obscure states.

Then we look at our bank account.

To satisfy our needs for dates but simmer down our impulsive big vacation ideas, we have an itty bitty dating budget of $10-$15/week. This might seem crazy to some, but thanks to a few handy websites, living close to a big city, some luck, and a little creativity, our budget has fit us just right.

And look, I know that if you live in like New York or something, this little budget is probably impossible for you, but I feel like sharing how WE do this because I used to be so hungry for date ideas.

First, the tools we use:

1. Groupon.com has become our new best friend.

For anyone that lives under a rock and doesn't know, Groupon.com offers one deal a day where you can purchase a gift certificate for a discounted price. For us, this means $20 worth of food at a new restaurant for $10. Each day, we check the deal of the day and decide if that's what we want to spend our budget on for our Saturday day together. We also use livingsocial.com and citydeals.com.

2. The Cheap Theatre is God's way of saying "you two are important to me."

We are incredibly lucky to live just a few miles away from a theatre that is not quite a dollar theatre, but not quite a new theatre. It's $4 for a matinée and $6 for nights. They show movies that are not quite in the cheap theatres yet but are a little old for the big kid theatre. Yeah, our shoes stick to the floor and it smells like popcorn breath, but the price allowed me to hold hand with my husband through True Grit. Twice.

3. Free/Cheap/Creative Things To Do Around Town: There might be more than you think. You're probably thinking that you just CAN'T afford to go that museum/art show/concert. -But what about free hot dogs at RC Willey while looking at dream furniture?

-When's the last time you visited a new library and picked out books for each other?

-Are there any free classes being offered at businesses near by?

-Is there some summer event that happens once a month that you don't know about yet?

-Have you visited a place of worship you don't know much about and learned together?

-Maybe there's some greasy spoon restaurant that's been on your corner for YEARS and you've never tried it.

4. Getting Creative is key. My husband is great at this BECAUSE he's such a cheap-skate. I have been on picnics in the most unlikely of places and have been driven to tiny towns for tiny town events I never would have visited had it not been for Scott. Another factor to "getting creative" includes taking advantage of opportunities. That means speaking up when a co-worker says she can't go to the car show that weekend and offers anyone that wants them the tickets. That means raising your hand when your brother-in-law offers someone the free basketball game tickets he got from work. Getting creative and taking advantage of free stuff has helped our status as "best friends" remain.

Anyway, put all these tools together and you get a super-cheap date night/day! You don't have to have some big elaborate picnic with vintage bicycles and a perfect sunset. You don't need print-outs of rhyming poems and "invitations." The most important thing is being together.

For example...

*We had brunch at a Tea Shop and Bakery (using a groupon) in downtown Salt Lake and afterwards explored the Salt Lake library (where we discovered a rooftop picnic area!).

*We ate at an authentic Thai restaurant (again with the groupon) on Friday night and on Saturday went to a free gardening class at a local nursery. We also signed up for the future classes that interested us and grabbed a $3 lunch at Costco.

*We helped Scott's brother's family move and when we got home, cuddled up to watch the Gonzaga vs BYU game. After that, we had milkshakes at Iceberg.

Perhaps I'm recording this because I know that we will have child soon, and in a few years we will no longer be newlyweds and I'll be sitting somewhere in my bathrobe grumpily huffing that "there just isn't time or money to date!" Maybe then I'll browse through my old blog and remember that my FAVORITE time of dating Scott was not when we were courting, but when we had no time or money.

P.S. If you are some sassy momma that is feeling the need to leave a snarky "just wait til you have kids because this post is laughable" you can keep that to yourself. I realize these won't work for everyone, just thought I'd share what works for us. :)

Sunday Reflections

2011-03-20T20:06:00.003-06:00

This past week, I've been thinking a lot about love. Part of it probably came from getting my baby's crib set up, but I have just been pondering what it means to truly love as Christ did. Then I read this post on Amy's blog and I found myself vigorously nodding along as I read it. Love is the single most important feeling and action we can have in this life.

Today in church, I was very moved by woman who taught a lesson on charity. We read a few scriptures, and discussed what we thought charity was. We noted how 1 Corinthians 13 talks about one having faith to remove mountains, but without charity, they are nothing.

I was hit with how IMPORTANT it is to love AS CHRIST LOVED- with no judgement, condemnation, or selfish motivation.

The woman who taught the lesson told us that she had done a study for her master's thesis (in psychology) on the correlation between happiness and service. In her mind, the two should have correlated perfectly, and she was somewhat surprised that they didn't.

Later, in her doctorate program, she did another study for her dissertation to see why happiness and service correlated for some and not for others. She told us that she had randomly selected 184 stay-at-home moms and asked them to keep a journal everyday for a week. At the start of the day, they were to write their plan and schedule and at the end of the day write what they ACTUALLY did and how they felt about it.

I could go into all the interesting details, but in short: the conclusions of the study found the women who were focused on THOSE THEY WERE SERVING (be in their family, community, etc) were happy when they served, and those who were more focused on themselves did not find the happiness in serving others.

Obviously, there needs to be "me time" for these mothers and they should not just be all-consumed with everyone but themselves. But how many times do we put ourselves ahead of those who are most important? How often do we forget to love AS CHRIST LOVED and love instead as it is convenient for us?

The point is, I am so far from perfecting the attribute of charity, but feel that it really is the key to happiness. It never fails.

St Patrick's Day & Butter Beer Recipe

2011-03-18T11:56:00.006-06:00

So, outside of wearing green, the only real St. Patrick's Day tradition Scott and I have is eating corned beef and cabbage with potatoes.

Last year, I made some green cupcakes last minute, and this year Anna told me she was making Butter Beer (Harry Potter style) for the holiday and I decided, last minute, to follow suit. I served mine cold so there was hardly any carbonation left so it just tasted like a butterscotch milkshake but I had no problem with that.

Butter beer is diabetes in a sip, but SO WORTH IT! Here's the recipe from Food Network.

I made mine cold, but you can always leave it warm. Because mine was cold, I wanted to add an extra-thick cream. You can find that recipe here. You're welcome.

MS Awareness Week

2011-03-16T13:18:00.003-06:00

MS awareness week is right now!

March 14-20

I just wanted to blog a little ditty in support of it :)

I only know one person who has MS. I learned about it through reading the blog of Jamie over at Inspired Mess. She lays everything out and still keeps a positive attitude. Her blog is indeed an inspiring place to be and you should check it out.

Again, I have no real personal and moving story about MS in my own life, but I have been deeply touched by reading Jamie's MS story which you can find here.

I found out that on April 30, 2011 there will be an MS walk in SLC and I decided to sign up and join in! I'll be in my third trimester and most likely walking alone but I think it's important (I also had a goal this year to run a 10K but I don't think that's gonna happen before my birthday, so walk a 5K it is).

It's free to sign up and walk so if you would like to join me at the Gateway in SLC April 30 that would be great (register here) but if you can't make it you can still contribute by donating any amount to my Walk MS personal page and help me reach my goal of raising $125!

If you do decide to donate, leave me a comment and I will do a drawing and send a HAPPY PACKAGE to you in the mail as a small prize/thank you for supporting a good cause! I will post later the contents but I just wanted to get the word out starting now!