Boxtops For Education

We are asking for your help in collecting boxtops for our school. There is a school contest in February and we would LOVE your help. Boxtops are found on Betty Crocker foods, General Mills cereal and much more - Thank you for your help.

For a little incentive, I will personally make some beautiful, handstamped cards . For everyone that donates at least 20 boxtops, I will put your name in a drawing for the set of cards (with envelopes). Are you in?

Today I leave for Hawaii

This trip was planned months ago and the day has finally come. Tara and I both fly out this afternoon - we meet up in Seattle to continue our flight to Honolulu. Tomorrow we will be touring Pearl Harbor and so much more! I'm excited for the warmth, the beaches, the hikes, the shopping, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the snorkeling. Thanks to Uncle Wade and Aunt Marilyn for letting us drop in on them. I wish you were all coming with us. I'm always up for a trip if you are.

Guess who is the newest Glenn Beck Fan?

Yesterday Vivian insisted that she wanted to listen to Glenn Beck - so I let her use my little AM/FM player (Yes, it's a sad one - it's missing a button and a battery cover- but I don't want to spend $35 for a new one. I looked for one around Christmas time - but they are difficult to find with the AM station). She listened to him for at least 30 minutes - while I used my alarm clock in the kitchen. I love to listen while I make dinner.

However, today Paul figured out how to download the podcasts onto a MP3 player - thanks to Corbin for lending his to me. I need my own! Anyone have one they want to donate to me? It is the greatest thing ever. Today I listened to Glenn while exercising at the YMCA - oh, I was in heaven! Without commercials it cuts the program in half - so you see it saves me time and I feel like I am more educated about current events. Yeah, I'm an INSIDER!

One project done! Pictures Hung

The big collage frame above has been a project for the past two years! I was always waiting for a couple more pictures to fill it. I enjoyed that project because they show the process of building our home - and I remember all the fun memories of laying 1000 sq. feet of tile, picking colors, choosing bedrooms, landscaping, laying sod, building the fire pit, eating picnic lunches at the house, etc. The kids were so small when we moved here! When Stampin' Up! made the vinyl letter saying "Home is built of love and dreams" I fell in love with it!

The bottom collage are the prints that the kids chose for their bedrooms -I am proud to say that I hung them all this morning (yes, they have been waiting for a couple months). I am trying to encourage myself to finish projects. I enjoy starting them, but finishing is another story.

Nancy Pelosi: Abortions Will Stimulate The Economy

When I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today he mentioned this clip from Nancy Pelosi. We must be aware what is going on - these people definitely have an agenda. I couldn't believe this when I hear it. They actually believe that "family planning services" will help the economy because it will reduce costs. What they mean is that it will reduce the number of people that are dependent on the state and federal programs because it will reduce the number of people born. Watch it for yourself.



STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?

PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.

Ballet On Broadway

Olivia and Vivian take ballet from Treasure Valley Ballet Academy. Yesterday was their winter showcase "Ballet on Broadway". It was a very long day for all of us. For starters, I woke up to tired from going to bed late (so I was already lacking energy). Then they had a mandatory rehearsal that was about 3 hours. By the end, they were hungry, tired, and cranky! Luckily Vivian fell asleep on the way home and took a long nap to help fuel her for the long evening. The recital was that same evening - so back we went. It was so fun to watch their dances. I was crossing my fingers on Vivian's class because they have had lots of trouble with their dance- all of us moms were very worried. But somehow they pulled it off and performed it the best they ever have! Vivian's class danced to "Be Our Guest". Olivia's class danced to "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from My Fair Lady - they did well.

It was so fun watching all of the different classes. One class was especially enjoyable because they were dressed up in the cutest little pirate dresses with one pirate boy. They were so small (very young dancers - three-ish). They practiced two times and still didn't pay attention to their teacher at the recital. They just sort of did their own thing!

The girls and I walked to our car at 9:00 pm! They were tired but thrilled to get a flower and special princess chocolates - from me! On the way home, Olivia decided that she wanted to stay in dance. A few weeks ago she told me she was done and wanted to quit because she wants to play soccer. Now I guess I will wait and see what she decides for sure.

I can see you!

I added a live traffic feed so I can see you! Now that I know who you are out there - I know who isn't leaving me a comment. I would love any reply - even a quick hello! It makes my day when I hear from you.

Blue Ribbon Brownies

I found this brownie recipe on Bakerella this morning while I was on the computer preparing my young women lesson (I guess I got a little sidetracked)! It was featured on Bakerella. With all of my time before church, I decided to try it out. I must say that it is a chocolate lovers delight. Check it out, click HERE! Hum - who should I share with?

I first named it Sinful Brownies - but Paul thought that was inappropriate. Do you have a better name. They are sooooooo good - the best I have had so far!

A new favorite

Last night when I was with the girls at Albertsons, Olivia told me she wanted Tortellini like the Richaels make. So we found the frozen noodles and dashed home to make a delicious dinner (tortellini, french bread, corn, edamame); yes, we strayed from the menu. This morning Corbin was eyeing the leftovers and telling me that we need to have this recipe more often. Check it out on the recipe blog. Thanks Jody for another great one!

Virtue is added to the Young Women Theme

This is the 2009 Young Women's Theme taken from 1 Tim 4:12. This year the Young Women's Motto has a new standard - virtue (to assist the young women in setting high moral standards). If you are looking for some great lesson helps (YW/Primary/RS) check out THIS site (Sugar Doodle) - I just love all the ideas and extra resources.

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:
Faith
Divine Nature
Individual Worth
Knowledge
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity
and Virtue.
We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

Cents of Style

About 4 years ago, Andy Paige from Cents of Style came to Boise, Idaho. I was lucky enough to attend one of her seminars and a cosmetic coaching class (I think I need to brush up on this - it's been a while). I knew Andy from the show "Starting Over" that was aired for three seasons and then dropped (even though it was a hit)- a show that I absolutely loved and watched daily at noon (I recorded many of the shows and still have them). I felt privileged to actually spend some time with her. I offered to help at one of her events and she gave me a beautiful turquoise necklace, earrings, and bracelet as a gift. She is an amazing woman - check out her website she sells the coolest accessory suites. You will glean lots of info. about how to look your best without spending lots of money! I have received her newsletter for years. Oh, and her makeup brushes for $50 are the best thing ever. If you don't have any, these are a MUST. I just saw her the other day on TLC's show "Ten Years Younger" - which I watched at the gym because we don't have cable.....boo hoo.

It's My Store

Okay - I added up all my Albertsons receipts for this sale and tallied all the items I purchased. Are you ready? I bought:
56 Betty Crocker Muffin Mixes
13 packages of Bounty paper towels with 8 giant rolls
39 Boxes of General Mills cereal
4 packages of frozen corn on the cob
2 boxes of Bisquick
3 boxes Fiber One pancake mix
3 boxes of Fiber one toaster pastries
19 boxes of fruit snacks (these are hidden for those rare occasions)
67 boxes of General Mills granola bars (Curves/Fiber One)
39 packages of Charmin bath tissue (9 mega roll)
3 packages of chex mix
1 razor
1 crest toothpaste
1 deodorant
27 boxes of Puff tissue
2 bottles of Pantene shampoo
62 cans of Progresso soup
11 cans of Betty Crocker frosting
27 boxes of Go-Gurt
6 packages of Minute Maid Juice boxes
18 Betty Crocker brownie mixes
2 packages of Mr. Eraser
1 package Tide Mini pens
2 packages of Powerade (8 pack)
2 packages of water (24 pack)

I spent a total of $513.57 and saved $1543.35 - all in one week! Yes, I am a little crazy.


Do you remember when Albertsons had commercials that said "Albertsons, it's your store"? I think I could seriously do a commercial for them because it has been my store for years. I was sad to move away from southest Boise because I felt like I had a relationship with the Albertsons cashiers (on ParkCenter) - now I am feeling like I have a friendship with some of the cashiers at my Albertsons here. I make it a point to talk to them by name - by now they know that I am LDS, that I am always working on my "food storage", have four children, etc. Today I took a couple pictures - the store picture isn't very good because it was extremely foggy outside. I hit the weekly sale so many times I can't even count because I had multiple transactions every time. I know that today I bought 33 packages of Charmin toiletpaper (9 big rolls in each) - I'm thinking that will last me over a year. I just love their sales - when you combine that with coupons, it is "screamin" as Marne said earlier this week!

I'm a youth again!

I have the priviledge of being a Beehive Advisor in our ward. I love greeting the new young women and helping them transisiton from primary to the young women's program. It's another phase in their lives - I remember really enjoying mutual and having great leaders. I hope that I can be a positive influence in their lives. In the pictures above, we are enjoying black light miniture golfing, a combined activity with the young men. Do you recognize the boy in the brown shirt - I just noticed that he is the shortest one! He is growing by leaps and bounds according to grandma. Corbin had a wild swing- the ball would fly around, luckily it never hit anyone. Any young women reading this? Please leave me a note - I would LOVE to hear from you!

Bowling at the SUB 1/2/09

Tisha thanks for the great bowling idea! Everyone had a great time. Look Porter raises his arms as he just bowls a strike! Vivian also bowled a "stripe" (as she called it). I thought I was doing better this time with a couple strikes and spares - then I started getting gutter balls. At least I scored over a 100 this time! The girls really liked their ball aide - Vivian was sure to be the one to line it up exactly where she wanted it to go.

New Years Eve

The Richael's have a fun family tradition - they play bingo on New Year's Eve with little prizes. The bingo was even more interesting because instead of calling out "B4" - a questioned would be asked like "Have you ever riden in an ambulance? If yes, you get to cover a square in row B." We all had a great time - the fun part was opening the prizes - which were mostly discounted Christmas themed gifts from the 75% store clearances.

Menu Monday

Monday- Soup (from a can) and grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday- Swedish Meatballs, brown rice, veggies, cherry cream pie
Wednesday- Spaghetti, french bread, salad
Thursday - Garden Burgers (make them like hamburgers), healthy oven fries, veggie tray
Friday-the kids are out of school this day so my plans may change/they don't have school Monday either!.... homemade pizza, bread sticks, and some healthy veggie
Saturday - I'm counting on leftovers!
Sunday- Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, edamame, fruit salad

I backdated some posts!

I still had some posting to do for 2008 - I learned how to backdate them so you need to scroll down to see my new (late) posts including: Christmas, sledding, gingerbread houses, The Nutcracker, The Christmas Sweater, Tree Lighting, My Bday, and Thanksgiving. Soon I will be really posting in 2009!

Okay, so you're wondering.....

I'm sure you are surprised or wondering why I finally returned to my blog. I have actually wondered that myself. I do this with journal writing - if I miss too many days, then I just give up all together because there is too much to write (then I forget it when I do make the time). This morning I decided that I wanted to reclaim the office - it was a pure mess. My stamp table was covered in stamps, paper, ink pads, and junk along with the floor being covered in scrapbook paper. Everyone had items piled high on the computer desk including hair barrettes, an empty juice box, faxed documents, receipts, notebooks, computer cords for digital cameras...do you get what I am saying!? So with the room being in order I finally took advantage of having "my turn" on the computer (with the kids on break everyone seems to be fighting for their computer time). It also helped that Paul spontaneously decided to take three of the children with him to visit good ol' Burley.

I opted to stay home with Vivian and enjoy some peace and quiet. Vivian and I have had a great night - we played badminton at the church with the Richeal family, ate dinner at Subway, rented Redbox movies, enjoyed ice cream, and soon I will be snuggling with her in bed. Oh, my baby is growing up too fast.

To capture all these memories I am recommitting myself to writing daily in my journal. This use to be easier for me but I have let go of the habit - so it becomes my first new years resolution. I think that will also result in more consistent blogging!

P.S. I squeezed in some posts into Nov. and Dec. of 2008- so read below. I just manipulated the posting dates - but they are still new to you!