Jack-o-lanterns

For the past few days, we have had breakfast by the light of our Jack-o-lanterns! After we all get our food, we sit down at the table and turn off all the lights. Oh, it's so fun and spooky!

Great News for Me

Yesterday Paul called me on the phone to ask if I heard the bad news from the insurance company. I had no idea what he was talking about. Recently we had our health exams for new life insurance (that we purchased through Paul -he is now licensed -this goes hand in hand with his estate planning firm) and Paul got word of the results.

The good news was that Paul is ranked in the Preferred status, but the bad news to him is that I was ranked in the Elite status. What? That is good news! But to a competitive man, he wanted to know why he wasn't ranked Elite, also. They assured him that he had excellent health and that only 1% of people are ranked in the top echelon - it is a category for marathon runners.

Oh, I teased him all night. Of course, I was surprised by the outcome because I am not a runner. However, I do workout at the gym 5 days a week - so I guess it's paying off. I asked "what do you expect?" At the time of testing he wasn't exercising regularly (like he does now - at 5 mornings a week), if he got the same rating as me "it would be a mockery of exercise...and you don't deserve it!"

This was all said in fun. Paul said I should be happy with my health status. I am very grateful for a healthy body and a gym nearby. I would love any of you to join me. How about a little "Group Power" (strength training class...I have a free pass for someone to come with me) or a little cardio?

I'm really not an exercise snob - I was pleasantly surprised by the news Paul shared. I said that is what you get when you eat lots of candy and chocolate. (I eat more junk than Paul - but for the most part we eat healthy.)

Cute Coupon Binders

I just saw these binders on a giveaway at Fabulessly Frugal and they are adorable! Check them out here at Stylin Binders. They sew them...Tonya do you need another project? Very cute!

Meet Cosmo

Tisha sent me a picture of a little puppy on my phone yesterday! It was their new puppy, Cosmo. We had to meet him - so after dinner (girls in pjs) we made our way over to their home. Oh, he is adorable. We are so happy for them and hoping we get to "puppysit" him soon! Here is Tisha's post about their new pet.

The "bum water" and Dolphie

This morning each girl had a melt down. The first one happened as Vivian was about to take a quick morning bath following Olivia. Vivian saw Olivia in the bathtub nakie on her tummy -so we saw her buns. Vivian then cried out that she wasn't getting in the "bum water". And the mean mom that she thought I was, made her take a bath in the same water. Can you believe that? Vivian was freaking out - the crying went on for a good 15 minutes! Oh, if she could only remember that the last bath she took they were both nakie in the same water at the same time!

The second episode happened when Vivian claimed that this little stuffed animal "dolphie" was hers and not Olivia's. (I took a picture of it on a post it note for scale). This sent Olivia into a crying frenzy because she wanted it. She kept telling me "I can't believe that you are letting her get away with this!" I believed it was Vivian's toy because Vivian cuts the little tags off of all her stuffed animals and this one had the tag missing. So it was case solved! (However, they all have the same little dolphie from Lagoon so I can see how she might be mistaken).

Oh girls, sometimes the just cry at the craziest things!

p.s. the correct name is "dolphie" not sharkie - oops!

G-Force

This was a fun movie. The best family movie that I have seen in a few months...the last ones have been duds. The guinea pigs are so cute, I'm sure lots of family will getting new guinea pig pets after this cute movie (not us)! It was entertaining from beginning to end.

Later while Paul and I were talking he told me that the movie doesn't show any parents or families. Hmmm....the more I thought about it the more I realized that this was probably intentional. You hear a mom calling for her son - but you don't see her. There is a very subtle attack on the family right now in the world - be careful, be vigilant, and protect the family.

Birthday Night with the Family

The girls are ready for the movie to start!

We took the family out for Taco Tuesday because Paul loves tacos (yeah- I didn't have to cook)!

The boys love trying all the sauces - even "Del Inferno". Paul stopped with the hottest sauce after his crazy hiccups began. I tried to catch them on video, but then they magically stopped.

For lunch, Paul and I met at Carinos for a tasty pasta dish. (Just a reminder: On Monday and Tuesdays they have 1/2 price on the family platters - it's a great deal!)

We didn't have time to celebrate with dessert or blowing candles....Vivian howled half of the way home when she realized this. She cried, "I've been waiting for this all day". Oh, I guess that the birthday will carry into Wednesday!

Paul was happily surprised by how many people remembered his birthday. He received many phone calls, some cards, texts, and notes on Facebook. You made his day!

Happy Birthday Paul!

Happy Birthday sweetie, we hope you have a great day!

Paul loves bday phone calls and texts! (hint...hint)

I don't like to remember how old I am so I frequently ask Paul how old he is and then just minus a year. Last year it was my birthday and I told everyone I was a year older than I was. Thanks to Kami who gave me the good news that I wasn't that old for another year! That was the best bday gift.

Pumpkin Time

The pumpkins have been named from left to right: Skeleton, Midnight, Pumpky, and ?

After our FHE lesson, we enjoyed carving pumpkins. Vivian choose an easy design..the others carved more intricate faces! We lit them up with tea lights and turned off all the lights (boy it gets dark early - an even earlier next Sunday with daylight savings). Earlier we had a fun dinner of a soup in a bread bowl - all homemade by myself!

War on Religion

April (my sis-in-law) wrote an excellent post about the war on religion. I'm linking it here because I think everyone will find this valuable and everyone should be educated on what is going on around us. Thank you April, for sharing it with us.

Skirt -n -Pants & the Halloween Fast

Paul and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. Before we left I struggled with how my legs were going to stay warm since I was wearing a skirt. I expressed this out loud with Paul and told him that my legs would freeze. I could wear nylons, but they are so thin and not too warm. I could wear thick tights, but I don't have any. So my only choice was to wear pants under my skirt!

When I came out with my long pants under my skirt Paul gave me weird looks. He didn't get it. I explained that I still wanted to observe the Sabbath Day by dressing appropriately but that I didn't want my legs to freeze. He snickered and teased me as we walked, and I said "hey baby, I'm holding onto the rod!" I know he must have been a little embarrassed to be seen with me - but, oh well, I feel strongly about staying dressed in my Sunday clothes all Sunday.

Later during our planning session we came to Saturday night when he reminded me that Sunday, Nov. 1st was fast Sunday and that we would begin our fast Saturday. What?! That is Halloween night...how can you expect me not to eat any candy? Now Paul wants to hold to the iron rod while I want to let go for a moment in the cotton candy mist to pursue the all-you-can eat candy buffet! Hmmm....dilemma. We had a few good laughs during all of this.

My New Journal

Today I begin my first online journal. I haven't been good about writing in my journal for a long time. I use to be faithful and write daily. I think I am really going to like doing it this on the computer. I was introduced to this at Time Out for Women - I didn't attend this year, but I did walk through and see their booth.

Check out their website here.

Spiritually Fed

We attended the adult meeting of Stake Conference last night and the session today. Wow, this stake has amazing musical talents. Last night a young women sang "Abide with Me" with the most beautiful voice I have ever heard at church. Then today the choir sang "Did you Think to Pray?" and "How Great Thou Art" and it sounded better than the Tabernacle Choir - no joke! I think everyone takes voice lessons here.

We were blessed to be taught by our President Alder, our Stake President, and Elder Paul B. Pieper of the First Quorum of the Seventy. This morning I was able to shake his hand. I was so impressed that he took the time to stroll through the church and shake hands with members and try to connect with as many people as he could. He knows Uncle Larry (Larry Gibbons, 2nd Quorum of the Seventy) and said he would tell him that he met me.

President Alder taught us:

• We all have challenges and face uphill battles. The Lord will prepare the way for us and he did for Nephi and his brothers as they were following the Lord's command to get the brass plates. And as Henry Knox, a Bostonian man in 1775 who joined the army under George Washington. He was asked to retrieve cannons and field pieces and bring them back to the battle front which was 300 miles away (in the winter). He had no idea how this was to be done but he acted and the way was prepared for him. Henry ended up retrieving 120,000 lbs of artillery and bringing them by raft and sled to the Continental Army in Dorchester Heights to fight back the British from overtaking Boston.

• We were reminded that our true conversion is shown in how we share the gospel with others.
• We need to connect with the youth- are we preparing them for the future?
• Get your own personal testimony of God, if we don't, our hearts will fail us.
• Challenge to be 100% obedience. All blessings come from obedience.
• Youth follow Strength of Youth pamphlet.
  

Elder Paul B. Pieper taught us:

• These are times of accelerated goodness and accelerated wickedness.
• He spoke to the young adults and said that Satan is trying to postpone marriage. But that it's not good for man to be alone. You are stronger together than you are separately. It takes more faith to get married than to serve a mission...increase your faith.
• Satan is trying to delay having families. We are told to multiply and replenish the earth. It takes more faith to have families and it makes us stronger.
  
• It takes great courage and faith for mothers to have children. Husbands can be more helpful. A man should and first place preside over himself, then over wife and children in righteousness and then over branches of the church.
• Satan would have us live in a virtual world and desire to be with another companion. Addictions can never be satisfied. There is no virtual exaltation! Satan would also have us enter the virtual gaming world - not good.
• He told of a friend he met through work who was a former Soviet Colonel and his conversion to the gospel. Wow!
  
• Hold onto truths more than ever before and share them by being a good neighbor.
• We need you to be the best you can be...we need you more than you know.

• What do we do when there is crisis or an economic storm? What do we do as members? We make a personal decision to check the status of our discipleship. We look at the Savior's teaching. The first talk that is recorded from Christ is the Beatitudes. This is the disciple requirement checklist. Happy people are the people that follow these:

1. Poor in spirit - means without pride ("Beware of Pride" -President Bensons). This is misunderstood sin. The core is the enmity toward God and fellowman. (This is a great talk for us all to review frequently).
2. Blessed are they that mourn - for loss of loved ones, illness, those that sin - this gives us compassion. We help them alleviate their suffering.
   
3. Blessed are the meek.
4. Blessed are those who thirst after righteousness (for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost).
5. Blessed are the pure in heart - summary of all the others.

Check out this great talk "The Beatitudes: Pattern for Coming unto Christ" - it is fabulous about explaining these points in more detail.

I left feeling spiritually feed - just what I needed.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers - a HIT!

I have been wanting to make this all week - today I did! And it ended up to be a hit. It was so easy that I whipped up another (double) batch and put it in the freezer. Check out the recipe for the Buffalo Chicken Burgers here.

Weekend of Family Fun

I dipped strawberries for the school carnival...but I just realized after coming home from the carnival that I never saw the bake sale. Oh, I was so looking forward to some goodies. Vivian dipped her own strawberries after I was done...she loves chocolate and strawberries. Who doesn't?

Porter celebrated the end of a great soccer season with a chilly party at the field. Here is him holding his trophy. He loves trophies. He is looking forward to more soccer, but that won't be until the spring.

K- 3rd grade performed a few musical numbers before the carnival. I guess the school wanted to get everything done at once, which was nice. Vivian and Olivia were cute little singers. I captured some video, also. Porter watched the performance from the top of the slide. The other picture is of Corbin and his friend, Robb.

Carnival fun. Oh, the caramel apples were delicious. They dipped them fresh right in front of your eyes and then rolled them in the topping of your choice. Mine was M&M's...it was heaven.

Emile and Olivia hula hoop. Right before we left I convinced Paul to do the limbo. Oh, it was so fun to watch. He was a head taller than the others and of course, less flexible than the ladies. Afterwards he was sore...I think he tried a little too hard.

They bent the rules for the adults. Anything goes...just no hands or body parts touching the ground.

At the YMCA harvest carnival the kids had their faces painted. Oh, we are with the Richael's (and Tisha) again. They are family to us by now! Too bad I didn't take pictures of the before and after of going into the "haunted walk". Olivia was crying her eyes out and Paul let her exit half way through the walk, then some others followed her out. Vivian and Allie made it all the way through and got some candy. And Porter made it through on the scariest level, a 5 out of 5 (ours was a 2 out of 5 rating). After that we all went swimming.

Evernote

I learned about Evernote on my sister-in-laws blog (Marne). On her blog she says, "It is the perfect organizing tool! Here are just some of the things it can do:

• Keep recipes organized
• Save web searches
• Clip complete articles, including photos
• Ability to click to the original web address from your note
• Record audio clips & memos for later
• Write handwritten notes in digital ink....to do lists, notes, and reminders"

It's FREE - unless you want to upgrade to more space for $5!

I started using it today - because I find things all over the place and don't know how to organize them on-line. Just tag it and save it to Evernote. I watched a couple of their tutorials to get me started. This is so cool!

Make any web page Print Friendly

I just learned how to do this today! Check it out here. There is also a short video teaching you how to make any webpage print friendly and cut out all the ads.

Now our recipe blog is print friendly. Find a new recipe and print!

What is the Big Shot?

Here is a you tube video explaining the Big Shot. And there are more youtube videos about their products. Many of these cute pictures come from the splitcoaststampers gallery . You can search by specific die cuts to see all sorts of ideas.

Here is the Big Shot resource page on Stampin Up's website. The ideas are endless.

Holiday magnets, designs on clothing, and a cute basket

Valentine's gift boxes

Cool Color Blog

I came across this Color Contest blog from It's the Little Things That Make a House a Home blog. It is full of creative decorating ideas in many color palettes.


Did you all know that I love color?


Check out these before and after pictures of ikea dressers from this post.

Bitty Boxes and Envelopes

I made these cute little boxes and envelopes using a diecut and the Stampin' Up Big Shot. Each box holds four sets of cards with envelopes. Oh, it feels so good to create again. I have lots of plans for the holiday season. This is just getting me in the spirit!

Vivian's Note of Love

Vivian wrote this cute little note for dad. It says, "I love you Dad. You are a good father." Oh, she can be so precious.

Chocolate Crockpot Surprise

Okay, I don't know yet what we are having for dinner but I sure know what we are having for dessert. A chocolatety crockpot surprise. Oh yum! I will reveal the recipe after I taste it myself (first time I have made this recipe). Is your mouth watering yet?

P.S. It turned out moist and delicious...great with a scoop of vanilla icecream.

I was just introduced to a Kindle

A lady brought her Kindle to ballet class today. We stared asking her questions about how it worked and she gave us a mini tutorial. Wow! They are amazing little gadgets. They can hold 10,000 book titles! You can connect with it online to websites, blogs anywhere you go with no monthly charge (the book downloads cost money though). They aren't cheap at around $250 a pop. Pretty amazing - hopefully they will become less expensive and a little more universal with downloading capabilities. If you have one of these, do you love it? Is this on your Christmas wish list? Here is a short video about what it can do.

Sarah Palin's Book

Sarah Palin will appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Monday, Nov. 16 the day before her book, Going Rogue: An American Life, is released. On Monday her book was rated No. 4 on Amazon.com's best seller list - and it's not even released yet! You can pre-order it for $9.00! 1.5 million copies will be printed by Harper Collins for this release.

Of course, I am going to have to watch this show. I love Sarah Palin. I believe she has a lot to offer our country. I'm looking forward to reading her book, I just reserved a copy at my local library. I am number 15 with six books that will be available.

Cannery Price Lists

Current Dry Pack Price List from the LDS cannery


Current Wet Pack Price List from the LDS cannery

If you double click on the image it will allow you to download the document.