Babe Update

...well on one of them anyway ;)

• Ryder is turning 8 months very soon and although we're not sure of his exact weight, we know he is tall. Every time I think I start to see him get a little plump around the edges, a little elf comes and stretches him out in the middle of the night and the next day I swear he is an inch taller. (Just kidding, there is no elf. After I read that, the idea scared me a little).
  
• Ryder got his first haircut the other day. His hair keeps getting lighter and lighter. He has gone from chocolate brown to a light golden brown. We find great joy in giving him mohawks and fohawks.
• As you can see from the pictures, Ryder is well into eating solids and has already formed a strong dislike for veggies (nuts). Thank goodness for sweet potatoes. And yes, dad, he still thoroughly enjoys spitting his food at us. Thanks again for teaching him how to do that. We finally bought him a high chair today. It's one of those that attaches to one of your kitchen chairs...a little less intrusive and utilizes space. We all think it's pretty rad.
• Ryder isn't quite crawling yet (he never liked being on his tummy much) but he still manages to get around by A) Bouncing/scooting his bum. We'll sit him down somewhere within a couple minutes he'll miraculously be two feet closer. B) Rolling. This one gets us into trouble. C) You know the army crawl? Well Ryder does it REALLY good backwards. He reversed right underneath his crib today. It gave me the giggles.
• He also loves to talk...and yell. Lately, when Phil gets home from work, they both engage in an excited yelling match until we're all laughing. I really should get this on camera before the phase passes.
• Ryder is still a great sleeper. Whenever I put him down (unless he is super tired) he will always wake up a little to pull the blankets up over his head before falling asleep, because he finds this and any other type of cloth on his head, to be one of things he just can't seem to get enough of.
• He is also currently at a stage where if he is tired enough, he'll snuggle with me. I encourage this.
• As you can tell, we're crazy about our little guy and feel so blessed to be his parents. I spring cleaned his room today and went through all his clothes trying to get a stash to give away. I got all nostalgic looking at his little newborn stuff that I barely came up with anything to get rid of (which is very unlike me). To say Ryder brings us joy is a gross understatement. There are not words to describe the happiness and completeness he brings into our lives. He is our best little friend.

Now That's a Cupcake

So my friends Elizabeth, Jeanelle and I took a mini field trip to nationally renowned Trophy Cupcakes recently featured on the Martha Stewart show, this last weekend. It was super fun and we got to meet the owner who actually was on the show. She humored us with a photo and pretty much gave us the skinny on Martha and here experience with getting on the show. Anyhow, Jeanelle wrote a much more well-written and interesting post about our adventure. You can read it here. If your curious, my favorite was the triple-chocolate cupcake. However, I'm still daydreaming of the lemon cupcake I decided not to buy. If your in the area, you should totally go. If you're not, come visit me and then we'll totally go. And I'll get the lemon one...

(Click on photos to make bigger)

Late Evening Thoughts

• Do any of you feel like the files on your computer are an unorganized mess? I do. In the process of organizing those.
• Speaking of files, I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize, save and back up digital photos. It's a new age folks. No more boxes and boxes of random photos that need to be organized or put into albums, just files and files of them. I'm working on this as well. I obviously want to back up our photo files every so often. I also want to assign a drive per child to put photos and digital scrapbook pages of them on for them to keep. (ya know as opposed to an actual personal scrapbook or baby book)..to much work? Perhaps. If any of you have thought the whole digital photo storage thing out long-term and have a good system going, please share.
• Speaking of organization, a definite spring cleaning session is needed at my house. It is time for a purge of our clutter to make more necessary storage room in our small area and ever increasing assets (mostly baby assets).
• Speaking of babies, you parents of babies and young children, living in Utah, if you haven't discovered Magical Moon Toys in Logan, you should. It is pretty awesome. My mom showed it to me while I was in there and I couldn't help buy Ryder some stuff. It has EVERYTHING plus these cool wood toys made by a company called Melissa and Doug (wood toys are very durable and last a long time).
• Speaking of all things fun, have any of you noticed the commercials and teasers for So You Think You Can Dance on FOX? I have and that's exactly what they did... teased me. I am so excited for that show. Coming in May, people... in May.
• Speaking of TV, every time I listen to conference, I feel the prompting/motivation/guilt, whatever you want to call it, to watch less TV, and use less Internet. I think one of Phil's BYU professors once coined it as "Screen Time". Yeah, I need less "Screen Time". I keep hearing our leaders telling us make to make our homes a place where the Spirit can dwell and to avoid at all costs letting evil things in. Automatically, I ask myself, how am I letting in the evil things of the world in my home? And almost just as automatically, I think of the TV being a small window where little bits of evil creep in through forms of crude language, liberal attitudes toward morality and well, you know what I'm talking about. It's funny because I will never read books that have such filth in them, but for some reason I have a much higher tolerance when it comes to watching it.*
• Speaking of bad things, why am I still up? Good night.

*From my previous comment, it sounds like I'm a stay-at-home mom who watches soap-operas all day. No silly, I don't do that. Come to think of it, because of my blog, I think all of you are well aware of what I watch :)

Heaven

So I just wanted to write a brief post about Conference. I love General Conference* weekend. Saturday we had recorded the first session while we went about some morning to do's. I had purposely made a batch of potato soup and bread sticks Friday night so we could enjoy the leftovers throughout the weekend. Anyhow, as we sat there for the first session, Ryder had gone down for a nap, and I had just heated myself up a hot, yummy bowl of soup as we started watching it. Sitting there all relaxed with my food watching great things, I told Phil, "I am in heaven right now."


We then watched as Pres. Uchtdorf proceeded with the solemn assembly, which was quite profound and brought tears in my eyes when without question Phil stood, even in our living room, to sustain our newly called Prophet. And then, I of course put down my soup to stand as well :) Besides historical, this was a very sweet and memorable moment for me.

As usual we continued to enjoy the rest of the talks, which always make me excited for the May Ensign. I just want to mention the most prominent thing that stood out to me this conference was President Monson. We all loved President Hinckley so much so I don't think I'm alone in being slightly nervous/ protective/whatever about that sacred position being filled by someone new, even if it was our beloved Pres. Monson. However, if I know anything, I know now that Pres. Monson is exactly where he should be and he is a true Prophet of God. My love for him multiplied as I watched him perfectly fit into his new calling. It was a very peaceful thing for me to watch and made feel that everything was right in the world.


*A weekend where leaders, apostles, and prophet from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather for a world-wide broadcast, to give uplifting and guiding talks.

There is a First for Everything

After being a dedicated fan for some years now, it should go down in history that tonight was the first time I actually voted for someone on American Idol. And probably the last.

Who I'm pulling for (in no particular order):

Brooke White: I love her mellow style, wholesomeness and how she is slightly nerdy. Plus, gotta support our fellow Latter-day Saints :)
Carly Smithson: I love her because I think she is just plain talented. And I think she has a way cute personality.

David Archuleta: I think he is adorable, incredibly talented and I LOVE how he has this innate humility about him. And it doesn't hurt he's from Utah.

Jason Castro: He makes me smile and I think he is hilarious. I totally think he'll fit the next Jack Johnson/Ben Harper bill.

So! Who did I vote for? I know you're dying to know. Drum roll please...

Carly Smithson

Why you ask? My answer is four-fold. (Yes, mom, here it comes*):
A. I really think she has one of those crazy amazing voices that can hit notes that leave you in awe.
B. She was in the bottom three last week. That worried me and I'm doing what I can.
C. She sang and aced, in my opinion, one of my favorite songs, "A Total Eclipse of the Heart" last week. I almost voted for her then, but didn't.
D. Already thinking I needed to right my last week's wrong I almost ran toward my phone when I saw her face drop when Simon insulted her style. She was so happy up until then and if you have been paying attention wasn't feeling so great last week because there had been news reports of her being pregnant. Just what every girl loves to hear. And then, I love how she handled it with grace by making a funny comment about her spanks, but the very next week to be told she needed to pay attention to her wardrobe??? It was very low, very low indeed.

So even though I don't have a real favorite amongst my top 4, I just really felt like Carly needed me tonight. And that is what I think about that.


*So you know how some people have a bad habit of saying "like" a lot? Well, while I was in Utah I picked up this awesome habit of constantly making lists bulleted by the alphabet. My mom and I talk a lot and so she just thought this was the funniest thing...especially because I rarely had a 'B.' or a 'C.'

Have You Seen This?

I could possibly be the last person on this band wagon, but have you guys seen this? While I was in Utah I saw their infomercial and haven't been able to get it out of my brain. Not really paying attention and following into the potholes of common advertising schemes I thought that it originally cost $50. Nope. Five payments of $50. Nuts. And it looks like if you buy it online, it costs a whopping $300. However, this small roadblock does not take away from the fact that I think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. I'm not a big scrapbooker, in fact, I'm not a scrapbooker at all. But I do like making cards and it totally got me with the whole "And look what else you can use it for" gimmick. I am now utterly convinced my creative self will not be content until I have one. Apparently, they are currently sold out. Good to know I'm not the only person who feels this way. Do any of you have one?

Oh and if you don't know what it is, it is an automatic decal cutter. That sounds lame. Just go to the website. They will tell you all that it can do.

Oh goodie, with some more research, they sell them at JoAnn's for $219! Add a little coupon...much more reasonable.

Home Sweet Home

So the last two weeks I've been in Utah visiting family and friends. It was so much fun. It was so great to see everyone, especially my parents after this whole cancer business (my mom is doing great, bytheway. Thanks for asking.) and my sister's brand-new baby boy. Besides having so much fun there was a specific reason why I was not really enthused about coming back yet. However, I have to say after getting back to my little home, it felt sooo good. I wasn't anticipating that. But it was a pleasant surprise, indeed. Needless to say, I completely enjoyed myself as I put Ryder to bed in his crib, drove my car, took a hot bath in my tiny, but very loved, bathtub and then sat on my couch with my cozy throw, some popcorn and dark chocolate m&m's to catch up on some missed shows.

With that said, I'm back to blogging. I don't blog much or at all while I'm visiting family because that time is very precious to me. But here are some highlights of our trip: (I foolishly forgot my camera, so until those photos from the "will you email me one of those" cameras come in, you'll have to settle for the two photos of the Ryder-man we took while messing with my dad's new i-phone.)

Phil had to leave for a training on Sunday the 16th so Ryder and I took off ourselves to Utah on St. Patty's day. Terrified he was going to get pinched on his first St. Patrick's day, Ryder strongly requested I put him in his most green outfit. We arrived in Utah late that evening.

A little nervous about that whole pinching business:

(we love doing Ryder's do in a mohawk, but as you can see it has taken its toll after a long day)

During our first few days, my sister came down with Gracie and Jared and let me tell you, we played like crazy! There was sidewalk chalk writing with a picnic, multiple games or horsey, cook, camp and car. Whew, if you feel a little envious of our fun...it's probably with good reason. I have to hand it to my mom. Even while in the recovery stages of cancer, she has got to be one of the most fun Nanas I have ever seen. She put both Autumn and I to shame in the creative department. But lets give credit where credit is due. I did come up with 'camp'...well, actually, I guess Gracie gave me the idea when we were walking up the stairs to change Ryder's diaper and she informed me we were 'hiking a mountain'.

On Saturday, Phil flew in from Utah from his trainings and joined us just in time for some Easter festivities. These included a delicious dinner, an Easter egg hunt all topped off with some strawberry shortcake. Phil, Ryder and I just chilled with my parents the rest of the week while visiting, eating delicious food and at one point introducing my parents to our Wii that Phil brought along where I do recall my mom beating me in tennis. I think both my parents did, actually. Hmm. One day my mom and I got to have, what I think is becoming our annual date, where Phil watched Ryder and my mom and I went to Logan for some lunch and browsing shops. My mom showed me the coolest toy store ever. (More on this informative tidbit for parents everywhere, later.)

Ryder Ridin'

Phil and I spent our last couple of days with his grandparents in Ogden where we continued to have more great visiting, chilling, eating and Wii playing. I must give a special thanks to my college roommates and bestest friends for going out of their way to visit me while we were there. You three are some of my most favorite people and only wish we could have hung out a little longer.

Thanks again for everyone who was a part of making this trip so wonderful. We love you and can't wait to see you again!

Notes

So I've been out for awhile, as you can see and although I am still currently detained, I just have to write a quicky because I miss blogging so much. Plus, while I've been away, I've had so many post ideas, but know the second I get back into the routine of things, will forget every idea I had, so for more personal knowledge than anything, here is a list of things I hope to be blogging about in the near future. 1. Flying (on an airplane)...my mind is a whirling dervish every time I go to the airport in wonderment at our worlds' flight system. Perhaps boring to you, rather interesting to me. 2. Date with mom and coolest toy store ever 3. Brief roomate reunion 4. BB&B 5. Blogging, in itself 6. I'm already forgetting my ideas...ahh! 7. Weird dream 8. General Conference 9. nuts, I'm done...my brain is empty, empty as can be W/B/S ("Will blog soon". Not to be confused with the common elementry acronym of "Write Back Soon". No you do not need to write me back soon.)

Phone Home!

I'm a worry wart. It's true. I learned a long time ago to keep this problemo in check with help from my Heavenly Father and Savior and my faith in them. However, I know myself well enough to know the strength I've worked hard to gain to fight this weakness would be tried when I had children. I was right. It makes sense, really. I've worked it out with just myself, but some definite re-grouping is required when you introduce someone into your care whom you love way more than yourself. I look at parents with all their children happy, healthy, fully grown and starting families of their own and the only word I can think of to describe it is 'miraculous'. When I'm foolish enough to begin dwelling on the innumerable possible tragedies that could befall my sweet boy or future children, I begin pulling out the methods that work (for me) to combat these negative, depressing and completely unproductive thoughts. Well, last night I had some unwelcome thoughts going on (which is when I thought of this post) and before drawing on my usual tactics, it was easier to steer my thoughts toward a different route: problem solving mode...prevention. It's silly, I know but I was surprised by the amount of comfort it gave me when I thought of this and after doing a little research, found exactly what I was looking for. Ryder will have one the second he knows how to use it :)

The Verizon Migo! Basically it's a cell phone for kids. There only allotted 4 numbers to call (mom's cell phone, home, dad's cell phone, etc.) plus an emergency button. This is my favorite part. It has a tracking device, so you always know where you child is! And if you pay a little extra, the parent can set boundaries and any time your child leaves the designated boundaries, it sends you a text message! All it needs is a little carabeener clip with a string to hook onto his jeans and put into his pocket so he doesn't lose it and an abductor wouldn't notice he had it.



With that said, I know phone won't solve my problems. And I also know my little family has a variety of trials waiting for us and I know through our Savior, Jesus Christ we'll be fine...better than fine. We'll be molded into what He wants us to be. But I do still have this little thing I always need to stay on top of and hey, if a cell phone helps me sleep better at night, then this cell phone they shall have :)

A Little Selfish Perhaps...

So I go out to run errands for about an hour. As I pull into our parking lot I notice a rather large and red fire truck sitting in front of my building accompanied with a police car. A sight NO one likes to come home to. Panic strikes. I immediately began thinking of a flat iron I possibly could have left on or a candle I forgot to blow out. I couldn't seem to park my car for the life of me and consequently almost hit the fire truck. I get out, grab Ryder, leaving my groceries in the car and quickly walk over to one of the firemen:

Me: May I ask what's wrong?
Fireman: Oh, someone's not feeling well over in that building (not my building)
Me: Oh good, so nothing is wrong with that building (my building)?
Fireman: Nope [smile]
Me: Thanks, this isn't really the type of thing one likes to come home to. [I walk away]

It's about when I get to my front door that I realize what I complete jerk I was. Well, good, as long as nothing was wrong with me. If I were that fireman, I'd have a really low opinion of me. This goes to show that I have absolutely NO relationship with my neighbors. I need to work on that and well, a charitable attitude in general.

I need to go. My groceries are still in my car.

If Only I Weren't So Lame...

So I'm a little frustrated because even though, I'm mostly better, I still have a very annoying cough and a meager amount of energy. I wake up, play with Ryder and clean my house and it's about all I can do to get from Ryder's nap time to nap time. This makes me feel lamo. So if I weren't feeling so lame, this is what I would do: -Get back to running. I was doing so good (well, in my head, I was doing so good). -Blog more. -Care about plucking my eyebrows and other unsightly facial hairs. -Go to Costco and get Ryder 101 Dalmations while it's still out of "The Disney Vault" (or maybe more for me). I'm still very mad at myself for missing Cinderella. -Exchange a hat I bought at Target. I realized I got a color I can't wear with anything. -Take my 40% off coupon to JoAnn's to buy fabric for a new sewing project. -Stop eating this rather large bag of m&m's -Buy Ryder some sweet shoes for our trip to Utah. I feel he is old enough now that shoes should start becoming a necessity on longer outings. -Color my hair -Go on a thorough grocery run to Winco -Work harder on my callings -Write some long over due 'Thank You' cards. I know a lot of nice people. -Purchase some organization items for my bedroom. (I need to stop writing things that involve the words "buy" and "purchase") -Read more All right, so maybe some stuff like reading more and writing thank you cards I can do now. No excuses there. Oooo, this list has been fun to write and has made me excited to get back to normal. An optimistic attitude can't hurt anything. Well, I better go drink some fluids. Later Skaters.

Here's to Good Health

When I was 1 yr old I got ammonia, or that's what I told everyone until I was like ten and learned it was actually called pneumonia. Well, at 24 I got hit with that dang pneumonia bug again (I'm sure my parents would agree a little less traumatic this time around) and the reason I'm so very behind on my blogs. So for journal entries sake, here is a recap of the happenings of our lives from the last couple of weeks.

Phil's 27th Birthday!
Right before I got sick, I was able to pull of a rather cool shin-dig with just a few high-profile guests (Ryder & myself):


Ryder Started Solids!
...just kidding. We started him on rice cereal, not blatant apple slices. Sheesh. He was so excited to finally be entrusted with mommy and daddy food!

I DID get my hair cut!
You all are probably like, finally! Now she can quit talking about her stupid hair. Anyhow, here it is and I love it. It's very fun so far. I didn't include a profile photo because that would mean I would have to post a photo of the side of my face and I'm not willing to do that, but it actually goes pretty short in the back in an A-line.

A little bit of Ryder
Some more photos of the babe:

Congratulations!

Welcome to the world little boy! My sister, Autumn gave birth to a healthy, 8lb 6 oz baby yesterday. Here are some photos of our new little friend. I think mommy is looking exceptionally beautiful as well.

{he's a little blue because he came out so stinkin' fast! But Autumn will have to tell you all about that}


We love you, Jared!

Bag Tag!

I thought this tag was a rather brilliant idea because I love bags. Thanks Randi for tagging me! I actually have a serious bag fetish and usually can come up with a great rational if it means getting a new bag. Here is this one's story: After having Ryder, I thought I'll just put my wallet, keys and cell phone in the diaper bag and give up on a purse for awhile. Finally, my inner-yearnings for this accessory I value as much as my Internet surfaced (plus, carrying around the essentials got annoying when I went some where without a baby) and I ended up with this fine little (I'm usually a rather big bag gal) bag here. I figure it's small enough to carry around my necessities and I can carry it with my diaper bag and not feel like I have everything with me but the kitchen sink. I just got this baby and Target and have found I really like a good gray bag.




Its contents:
- Some change
- My cell phone
- My keys
- A pen
- Some gum
- A baby blinky (of course)
- Debit card, gift cards, insurance cards and other various forms of ID (don't worry ladies, they weren't swimming around in there free style, they had a nice pocket they fit into)
- B&BW lipgloss, lancome lipgloss (my favorites), lipstick-mauvette, and cherry ice chapstick (my preferred choice of lip-wear so I can kiss Ryder whenever I wish)
- Color swatches, because you never know when you'll want to repaint your bedroom
-And of course, a little pile of random trash

Now I tag, Autumn!! (after you have your baby), Jeanelle & Bonnie

Movie Review

Since Ryder was born, Phil and I don't go see movies very much, so we usually catch them as rentals. Tonight we chose to watch The Nanny Diaries. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I was going to and that was going in with pretty good expectations. Besides being cleverly written, it has a lot of great truths about parenting. This is a great pick for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Apparently, it was a book first, I'll have to look into reading it.

Holy Smokes!

Its been awhile. Goodness, like a whole week since I've posted last. I don't know where the time went. I feel the only way to get back on track is to do another purge of thoughts. 1. I LOVE Skittles. Berry flavored Skittles especially. I just finished a pack of them. Mmm, mmm. 2. My take on the Grammy's: I like Alicia Keys. What is the big to-do with Amy Winehouse? I heard her music for the first time that night along with her reputation and I'm still trying to figure out how she walked away with three Grammy's. 3. I need to register to vote before November. I'm surprising myself because I think I'm going over to the D side and backing Obama. I'm not a fan of McCain and I really, really don't want Hillary to win. 4. So back to cutting my hair. I couldn't bring myself to writing an entire post about it because that would make me sound shallow, so I'm disguising it amongst these random thoughts. I was dead set on going short--like jaw line to mid neck short--but when I told someone I was thinking of doing this they gave me a look like I just told them I was going to shave my head. I don't know why its such a big deal. In fact, I think planning to do it is half of the excitement. Anyhow, see my anonymous poll. 5. Ryder starts solids soon. I'm pretty excited, but I think if he knew it was coming, he would be the very most excited. For a month now, he has been completely fascinated with anything Phil and I put in our mouths. 6. My mom gets radiation treatment on Friday and I just have to say I think she is amazing. For those of you who don't know, she got thyroid cancer and is now fighting off its remains through nasty radiation treatment. Besides the sheer exhaustion, quarantined period and long recovery, the prep for this event has been just as bad. However, here attitude through it all has been upbeat and inspiring and she is one of the strongest and bravest people I know. We estimate she'll be feeling more like herself in a couple of months, so here's to the best spring ever! 7. On the familial note, I have a really cool brother and sister. With my sister due with her second baby in less than two weeks and a brother who is currently juggling crazy, stressful events (graduation, the bar, job search to name a few), I hope you know how wonderful I think you both are. Compared to the rest of my family, I feel like Phil and I are on easy street. 8. Finally, I figured out my favorite oatmeal combo. 1/4 C Oatmeal, 1/2 C of Skim Milk 1 Dwallop of Peanut Butter, sprinkle sugar to taste. Not the most healthiest option, but we need protein too. I still want to try steel oats, because I hear they're rather good as well.

Blogging

I knew there was a possibility that I was addicted to blogging. Anyhow, I found this quiz and although I'm pretty bad, after reading some of the questions, I've realized there is a lot worse. Have you ever heard of "live blogging"? Go ahead and take it to see how addicted you are... 74%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

A Solution for Mom's Everywhere!

Forget the expensive Bumbo Chairs and Jumperoos! Just go to Home Depot and drop $2 for a Homer's All Purpose Bucket! (When they say "All Purpose" they weren't kidding)

{...or maybe not}

Not So Happy...

Cute, but not so happy.

{Phil taking a picture of a rather grumpy Ryder out in the foyer during church, with his cell phone}

I Think My Husband is Funny

So I was sitting here updating my "Connections" links and while I was thinking about the fun people I'm lucky to know and I told my husband, Phil, how I thought it was cool when married couples have names with the same first initial and I threw out an example, "Like Michelle and Mathew."

{a few seconds of silence}

Phil: "Well, you can always change your name to Phasmine, because I'm certainly not going to be Jill."

A Few Thoughts

• I feel as though I've had nothing to blog about
• I then realized, I do, but I just don't consider them "fun" thoughts or worthy of blogging, but here they are anyway.
• Exercise. I don't like it. Every day I get up and ask myself "When am I going to exercise today?" And many time instead of just doing it, I spend that time figuring out an excuse not to do it. I need to figure out how to make it a daily routine, like brushing my teeth. I don't necessarily enjoy brushing my teeth, but it's okay and it has to be done.
• Did any of you watch LOST last night? I thought those explanatory subtitles were hilarious.
• I am highly convinced Ryder is going through a growth spurt. He sleeps quite a bit and he is looking like a string bean.
• So our Relief Society is doing this "Feel Great in 8" program (don't let the 8 confuse you for the year. It's there because the program is only 8 weeks long). It comprises of exercise, eating good foods and other things that promote healthy living. It's based on a point system and teams. I've done it one day and have found it very motivating. I'm even eating
• oatmeal. My first bowl of plain old oatmeal from the cylinder container with milk and some sugar and honey. Not bad, however 1 cup oatmeal is A LOT of oatmeal. Let me know if you know of other great/healthy ways to eat oatmeal.
• I finally decided I'm going to cut my hair. Short. This is a big deal and pretty much deserves its own post a little later on.
• I'm going to slowly start redecorating my room. Some decluttering and organization is in order first.
• I really need to call the Phillips Electronics because our remote to our DVD player doesn't work and you wouldn't think it, but it's causing us a lot of problems. I'm thinkin' if they have any marketing sense at all they'll send us a new remote free of charge and hassle.
• Speaking of good customer service, did I tell you I got my Comcast bill lowered $30 the other day. Yeah, just because I called and told them that price was no longer working for me.
• Another cool thing I did that day...fixed my vacuum. I still feel pretty cool about the whole thing. Why it was broken in the first place? Too much of my hair got caught in the brush so the belt couldn't rotate. (Another reason for me wanting to cut my hair.)
• This blog has turned into an throw-up of thoughts. I must stop now before I divulge any more personal information. Because as you can see, I live a rather fascinating life.

We Thank Thee, Oh God, for a Prophet...

VIDEO
ARTICLE

I feel like my heart is broken. It's hard to love someone so much and feel so close to them only to find out about their passing from a forwarded email. I'm sure many of you can relate. For fellow members close to my age, President Hinckley is who we have known as our prophet for practically all of our mature lives. I love this photo of him. It captures so many elements of who he was and the memory of him I'll have in my heart forever. After sobbing over his loss, I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy because I remembered that he's with Sister Hinckley now! What a happy hour it must be in the heavens right now. I love him and I will miss him and his gentle, yet strong direction that was commonly accompanied with his delightful sense of humor. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

I know and testify that President Gordon B. Hinckley is a prophet of God and I feel priviledged to have lived under his guidance for the past 12 years. I hope one day, it will be face to face that I can thank him for all he has done for me.

Iconic America

So I was watching Oprah the other day (shocking, I know) and its theme was Iconic America--major things that make the great U.S.A. what it is today. While watching this show I was reminded of my personal claim to Iconic America and felt it appropriate to share something I and many other women in my family are rather proud of. Are you ready? (drum roll please....) We're related to THE Marilyn Monroe. I know what you're thinking: "Yeah right, and I'm related to Elvis". But it's true. So I don't have the pedigree chart to prove it, but we're related distantly right up through my mom's paternal side (maiden name, Mortensen). For those of you who know Marilyn well, are you making the connection?

In fact, I'm so proud of this I decided to share this fact with my A.P. U.S. History class in High School. My teacher, Coach Webb, was going on about the 50's and certain icons that defined that particular decade. To illustrate his point he began reading an article about Miss Monroe. It was in the middle of him reading this article my beaming pride shot my hand up in the air where I had to share with the entire class that I was related to Marilyn Monroe. I was surprised by the harsh response.

Coach Webb: [Throwing his head back] "Oh, you are not!"
Me: Yes, I am.
Coach Webb: "If you can prove it, I'll give you 400 extra credit points."
Me: [Butterflies in my tummy while wondering what I had gotten myself in to]
Coach Webb: "If you're related to Marilyn Monroe, like you say you are, tell me what her real name is."
Me: [Pure elation] NORMA JEAN MORTENSEN!


Not knowing her real name himself, and just getting the information from the article he's reading, he was so sure I was wrong and replied, "You're wrong! It's [looking at the article] Norma Jean Mortensen."

(Oprah, that was one of my "Ah ha!" moments.)

He starts laughing and for fun, later in class actually printed out our class's grades with my 400 extra credit points. It like gave me a 120% A or something. Naturally, it wouldn't have been fair for me to get an A just because of my social status so he had to change it back. But it was a great moment for sure. Coach Webb was actually one of my favorite teachers. He was funny and I remember A.P. U.S. History to be one of my most favorites classes in high school.

This is one of my favorite photos of her. She looks real and I can see the family resemblance the best in this one...mom, aunt lancy, I'm talkin' to you!).

"Goodbye Norma Jean, Though we never knew you at all..."

Middle School Memories

While Phil was studying for his GMAT last night, I ended up sitting with him and just for fun seeing if I could answer some practice questions. Well, we began reminiscing about school days, favorite teachers, classes, yada yada, and I just happened upon this middle school memory that left me lying on my back laughing out loud for five minutes straight. Now, Phil didn't really see what was so funny, (he just sat there staring at me while I was laughing so hard) so it's okay if you don't really find this story funny either.

First, we must go back to Mrs. Lee's seventh grade math class at Alice C. Harris Intermediate School (why they couldn't make the school's name shorter than that, I'll never know). Mrs. Lee loved me. I knew I was one of her favorites and I loved her right back for that. You must understand, even in seventh grade, I took my education very seriously, which is why when I got one of my tests back with a bad score I was left feeling very distraught. Feeling my face get warm, I told myself to hold it together and that everything would be okay. I would just stay after class, talk to Mrs. Lee and get things figured out. Well, "after class" finally came and she came over to my desk to see what I needed. As I began asking, "Mrs. Lee, I was just wondering why I got this score on my test?" I felt that all too familiar knot in my throat. As she started to kindly explain the mistakes I had made, the tears began flowing freely. Feeling rather embarrassed, I knew I needed to pull myself together fast. Mrs. Lee was also concerned and said "Oh don't cry. Here, let me grab you a tissue". However, during her comforting words I had already sprung to action. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my Franklin day planner where I knew I had a singular Kleenex tissue from one of those pocket packs neatly tucked away for emergencies such as this. Mrs. Lee smiled (I'm guessing fighting the urge to laugh) and said, "Oh look, you already got one. You're so prepared."

Oh, I'm still laughing. What seventh grader not only carries around a Franklin Covey day planner (my mom gave me her old one. Thanks mom!) let alone puts a singular, emergency tissue in the credit card compartment? Me. That's who. I guess a 12-yr-old needs to fill those wallet compartments with something.

2007 Christmas Glimpse

Ryder's First Christmas

{w/Dad}

{opening a present}


All of with our Christmas Bootie

The Amazing Race: In Training

First of all, I was happy to see TK and Rachel win. There were things I liked about all three final teams, but TK and Rachel kept their cool and treated each other great the entire time and I thought they were quite deserving of the million dollars.

On a more personal note, I think anyone who watches this show has thoroughly thought through who they would take as their partner and why. Autumn and I have discussed how well-suited we'd be for each other and have a fabulous time doing the first round (because we'd be the first ones off). I also think my dad would be a top candidate because he is a good traveler and when you find yourself in a tight spot, who better to be with than dad? (You can see I've had some experience with that :D ) But of course, Phil is the top choice. I think half of the fun of watching this show is talking about our strategy and how we'd do it if we were there and how we SO wouldn't argue when we got stressed ;).

Well, it just so happens, Phil and I got a little practice yesterday. We made a very quick trip to Las Vegas to see Phil's best friend, Todd get married. Let me begin by saying Phil and I aren't "arriving late to the airport" type of people. We are the type of people that arrive two hours early. However, (and this is what I believe started this whole downward spiral) we have figured out we can get to the airport a hour and a half early. It gives us time to get in, check our luggage, grab a bite to eat and before we know it, we're boarding. Perfect system for traveling with a baby. Well, mix in a little foolishness + a busy airport and this is what happens:

Flight leaves at 11:40 a.m.

9:55 a.m. We arrive at the car rental return. Only about a mile away and either one of us never having been to Vegas decide to cruise the strip before we return the car. Pure foolishness. But it only knocks about 10 minutes off. Oh and we had to return it full of gas.

10:15 a.m. Return rental car and catch the shuttle to the airport.

10:35 a.m. Arrive at airport. I'm not a fan of how the LVS airport is set up. We find luggage check-in and HuGE line.

10:55 a.m. Get thru line and arrive at counter where we are informed our one suitcase might not make it on our flight because we didn't check it 45 minutes before the flight left. We look at each other and do that math, look at counter lady who says, "Well the computer is like one minute off, so it will probably get on." She then proceeds to hand us boarding pass substitute thingys because apparently if you're over 45 minutes late you have to get your actual boarding pass at the gate. It's at this point fear strikes Phil and I's souls. Without saying anything to each other we start running towards security. Yes, little Ryder is in tow, thankfully in the stroller.

11:06 a.m. We can't find the security checkpoint! Oh, wait, no, it's only that we can't see it because the line goes all the way back to the Belagio.

11:07 a.m. I start praying profusely in Sin City.

11:20 a.m. The line moved pretty fast and we get to security. The guard starts coloring my "boarding pass" and marking it with capital "S's" and yells "Supervisor". Another guard slowly saunters over to me and escorts me to Secondary Screening. Of course. Phil and Ryder cutely follow, but the officer informs me they can't go through the line because of the stroller. I bravely tell them to leave me and go in another line. (This was very traumatic for me and I hope this scenario stays limited to airport scenes and nothing more.) I go thru the blow machine and another machine and then they let me know I had to get my bag inspected. As they begin to pull out my personal belongings, I see Ryder and Phil waiting for me and tell them to go to the gate and get the stroller checked.

11:30 a.m. Finally, wiped down and through! I hit the ground running. I realize about 20 ft later I am running toward a glass window amid a large standing group who are waiting to catch a tram that unfortunately goes to my gate. "Noooo!" I think in my head.

11:35 a.m. Running, running. toward Gate C-9. I meet up with Phil who is finishing getting our gear checked and our boarding passes confirmed. I have never been so grateful that I had been running the last couple of weeks (Thanks Elizabeth!). We board in front of the rest of the stragglers because we're "family" and got the last two seats on the plane together. Whew!

Ryder slept with me for an hour on the plane. Watching his parents go thru so much drama really wore him out. At one point while we were running together I noted to Phil to just pretend we're on the Amazing Race. After that, I'm pretty certain we're ready to rock and go win a million dollars.

I mean, seriously, don't we look that part? (Do you think they'd notice the baby?)

Current Winners


Future Winners

My Space, Facebook and the Like

It seems as though every time I turn on the television I hear another news story or talk show topic on the detrimental effects of these social web sites. I, personally, have never taken part in My Space, but I do have a Facebook account that I'm really bad at updating. (I've never been great at keeping in touch with people.) However, I think another reason I don't use it very often is because it lacks that whole exciting, socializing aspect that only comes with being single. Unfortunately, with that aspect I speak of, it seems as though youth are very eager to gain attention by posting what seems to be everything about themselves, practicing absolutely no caution toward predators or in some cases future employers or universities. I've heard of everything from a teenage girl being driven to suicide from a mean girl's mother through My Space, to a substitute teacher getting fired twice for publishing crude and p*rn*graphic music videos on his page. Even Phil said when they're recruiting, they check out candidates' Facebook pages for further information and in some cases, left unimpressed. It pretty much comes down to young people feeling violated for unexpected visitors invading what they call their "personal" information. My problem is there is nothing personal about posting all of your information on the World Wide Web (hence the name). Anyhow, I bring this up, because I'm not quite sure as a parent, what stance I am going to take on these types of things with my children. A large part of me wants to not allow accounts with such sites at all, and another part of me wants me to wisely steer them in a direction that they make the right decision on their own. Part of me even wonders if it's going to be an issue that will eventually find a place in conference and fireside talks. After talking to a cute 17-year-old girl in my ward, she told me she chose not to have a My Space account and explained that there is no need for everyone to know "all that about me". I should probably have a chat with her mom. Wait... are blogs considered "and the Like" ???

Introducing.....(drum roll please)...

PUTTER WALL No. 24!

This is my new blog! I have wanted to post a lot about interior design and decorating and I figured this was the best way to do it. I would love nothing more for than you to take a look. And if you have any interest at all in design or all things creative, please take a look see and let me know what you think!

www.putterwall.blogspot.com

A Winter Look

Here's a little change in design to switch it up. I really wanted to go with Spring colors, but I felt it was a little too early for that. In other news, I think I'm going to make a new blog (gasp). Not a replacement, but an addition, rather. The specifics are still brewing in my head, but I would gear Jazzy's Jive more toward life updates, family, photos, and embarassing/random moments. My "addition" if you will would be about interior design. But more on that later because, well, it's 3 a.m.

Holiday Recap and New Year Ideas

Besides feeling the need to get all my New Year resolutions done in the first week of the New Year it has been incredibly difficult for me to find the time to blog this last week. And since I love to blog, this made me a little sad, so instead of doing finances and stuff for Primary (like I should be doing while Ryder is taking a nap) I'm blogging instead :)

So the holidays were wonderful. We spent 10 fun days in Utah with my family over Christmas where we were able to visit with family and friends, relax, play and eat delicious food. Then, after we flew home to WA we drove up to Phil's parents the same day and did Christmas all over again! After a weekend there we made our way home again (jig-adee-jig) for one final day of vacation to recoup before Phil had to go back to work.

I then began to start out my new year like a whirling dervish; cleaning and organizing cupboards, trying to learn how to sew (p.s. Santa brought be a sewing machine for Christmas. p.p.s. Sewing is really hard), working on my cross-stitch and finding some sort of jumper for R, which is currently inhabiting my small living room. All of this left me very...tired. So I'm trying to balance out things a little more and come to the realization that I have a whole year to get these things done (well some of them). So with that said, here is something I thought was cool:
Did ya'all watch Oprah yesterday? Then you've heard about Bitten. For those of you who didn't, it's a fashion line created by Sarah Jessica Parker that provides apparel items all under $20 in sizes from 1-22. SJP's fashion philosophy behind the line is that any woman despite age, class, or size should be able to purchase well-made fashionable clothes. Woohoo for me and my low clothes budget! I first heard about this on Project Runway and then, of course, yesterday on Oprah. I really want to buys some stuff and try it out. However, because of the high demand, Bitten clothes are sold exclusively at Steve & Berry stores only, no shopping online. So if any of you try it out or have tried it out, let me know what you think.

I also think the Starburry Shoes was a really cool thing too. Apparently athletic shoes are a pretty big deal.