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.

Christmas Vacation

Well, the time has arrived for me to fly to Utah to celebrate Christmas! Although I have a few ideas for some posts (they are going to be thrilling, I assure you), I keep thinking to myself that I need to reserve them for after the New Year. I've always been a girl who loves, loves, loves Christmas and when I was younger would seriously go through a couple of days of depression once the magical holiday was over. In essence, I have trained myself to plan a few fun things to do during the darkest and most boring months of the year. Silly enough, these plans include some posts I've been wanting to write along with other exciting tasks like organizing my cupboards. But since I don't have anything of real interest to say, I'll leave you with some pictures of Phil and I's first date since Ryder was born.
Things to note in the photos: 1) My hair--bottom, right-hand photo--a slight wind-blown look with the curls makes me look a little fabulous 2) Phil holding my purse.

A little about myself....

My great college friend, Lisa, tagged me with the following: Name 4 or more... Places I've lived: 1. Tremonton, UT 2. Provo, UT 3. Seattle, WA 4. I can only name three because...well, I've only lived in three places... Places I've been on vacation... 1. London 2. France 3. Spain 4. Jackson Hole, WY Foods I like... 1. Fettucini Alfredo (pretty much any pasta with a nice white sauce...mmm) 2. Potatoes! Mashed, baked, fried, you name it! 3. Cereal 4. Ice Cream, brownies, cookies, etc (Can you see why it's so hard for me to eat healthy!?) Hobbies I have... 1. Decorating 2. Cross-stitching and I hope sewing to become one soon 3. Singing/playing the guitar 4. Reading and writing Things I would do if I were a billionaire... 1. Build my custom dream home 10 minutes from where Phil will be working (Lisa, this one was so good, I just had to copy it!) 2. Use it to visit family whenever I wanted. 3. To take Phil's dream vacation to Central America and my dream vacation to Europe and then head on over to Australia and New Zealand (well, not all in one trip ;) 4. Decorate and redecorate my house whenever I wanted T.V. shows I like... 1. The Amazing Race 2. Chuck 3. Survivor 4. Samantha Who? Places I'd like to be... 1. In Tremonton for Christmas! (Only 10 more days!) 2. Sleeping (It's been a long day, why am I not in bed?) 3. Christmas shopping with no crowds (Love shopping, hate the crowds) 4. Pretty much doing anything with my boys. Things most people don't know about me... 1. I have a creative journal where I keep lists, fabric/color swatches, magazine cut-outs, notes or ideas 2. I love the smell of my baby's breath (I now know why they named a flower that) 3. My wedding ring fit up until I was 8 month pregnant and almost 4 months after giving birth, it still doesn't fit. And believe you me, I was a lot bigger 8 months pregnant than I am now...it's like my knuckle grew or something. I've resigned myself to getting it resized ~sigh~ 4. I still have one clock in my house that I haven't moved an hour back. Why you ask? Because it's huge and quite hard to get on an off. Now I'll tag... 1. Autumn 2. Shauna 3. Katie

7 BAD Habits

So awhile ago I posted 7 of my better habits and said I would follow-up with my bad habits and then finally, the wishful habits. Well, who wants to talk about their bad habits? But here they are, some of my moderately bad (you don't get to know the REALLY bad) quirks that I continually manage to repeat (or not repeat). 1. Thank You Cards I take way to long to get out my thank you cards. In fact, I'm just barely getting out thank you cards for a shower thrown for me almost three months ago (which is why I probably thought of this one because it's hanging over my head). I don't know why either, because I get done and feel very grateful for such great friends. 2. Day Dreaming I have a powerful brain. Keep in mind I didn't use the word smart or intelligent, but rather "powerful". I cannot tell you how many hours I have wasted sitting there thinking. I can zone out and come up with the funnest thoughts! (I can come up with negative ones too, but I work very hard to push those out, because they're NOT fun) Usually they consist of decorating or an upcoming event or even dwelling on fun memories. Phil has left me in our bedroom staring at a blank wall only to come back fifteen minutes later to find me still staring. I tell him I am thinking. This is bad because if I don't want to listen to something, lets say in Sunday School, I can just go to my "zone". 3. Finishing Books I am currently "in the middle" of three books. The one I'm reading now I fully intend to finish (Austenland). One I think I might finish (The Historian) and one I know I'm not going to finish (I can't remember the title). I love to read, but if the book bores me or makes me sad I some how end up not finishing it. This sometimes frustrates me, you know, leaves me with a very 'unfinished' feeling, but it is what it is. 4. Warming Up My Car I hope Phil or my dad doesn't read this, because I should be WAY better at letting my car warm up. But when I get in my car, it's to go somewhere and usually I need to be there at a certain time and usually it's cold (hence the need to let it warm up) which brings me to being in a cold hurry and not taking the time to let my car warm up properly. Phil, I will work on this! 5. Staying in Contact Returning emails, making phone calls, posting on Facebook...not so good at. If you get one of the previously mentioned from me, I must really love you. Blogging, however, I'm pretty stinkin' good at! ;) 6. Flossing and Dental Care in General, or rather lack thereof. I rarely floss and I hate going to the dentist. I would tell you the last time I went to the dentist, but those first seven words are embarassing enough, thank you. 7. Feathers I pull out the poky feathers in our down pillows and toss them on the floor. Oh wait, no, that's Phil who does that. I'm the one that has to clean them up off the floor every day. (Sorry, as I was thinking about my final bad habit , I saw yet another feather on the carpet)

Goodbye...

I received tragic news Monday that my cousin, Dane, passed away in Iraq. This event is truly heartbreaking. Dane is my only cousin my same age and had a family life very similar to my own (married a few short year with a baby boy). Through this tragedy and reflection on his life, the first word that comes to mind to describe Dane is brave. My heart and sympathies go out to his wife, Megan and son, Kyle, and my Uncle Rick, Aunt Marva, Eric and Kimberly. I love you.

For family and friends who didn't get a chance to read his obituary and article in the Idaho Stateman:

Dane Richard Mortensen Dane died, in Iraq last Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007 while escorting a convoy supporting coalition efforts in the war. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 30, 2007 at the LDS Meridian North Stake Center, located at 5555 North Locust Grove Rd. in Meridian, Idaho. Dane entered this world on March 31, 1984, weighing 10 lbs 7 oz in Boise. His physical size was perhaps necessary to hold his spirit, love of life, and mischief. He attended Joplin Elementary, Eagle Middle School, and graduated from Centennial High school in 2002. Through out this time he was active in baseball, football, soccer, wrestling, and tennis. Dane loved hunting, shooting, and all outdoor activities, and people loved doing these things with Dane. Dane was a natural leader who generated enthusiasm, and fun for those involved in any activity he participated in. During middle school and high school Dane developed a deep pride of America, and a desire to serve his country in the military. His patriotism was deep, sincere, and unwavering. While a senior he joined the United States Marine Corps, going to boot camp just after high school graduation. After boot camp and training he was stationed at the Bangor Naval base near Silverdale Wash. While, there he met the love of his life, Megan St. Jean. Megan brought about a positive and profound change in Dane; he was completely happy and satisfied. They were married on Sept. 3, 2004. Subsequently, in 2005 he was sent to Iraq, where he served a combat tour. Dane was stationed in Ramadi, when it was a stronghold of insurgents and he saw combat almost daily. Dane was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2005, with the rank of corporal. Dane spoke highly of his military experience and particularly of the Marines, and the deep and steadfast friendships he had made there. Megan and Dane were blessed with a son, Kyle on March 23, 2007. Dane deeply loved both Megan and Kyle and overjoyed to have a son. At the time of his death Dane had returned to the Middle East to work for a security company. He worked in Qatar and Iraq. Dane is survived by his wonderful wife Megan, and beautiful son Kyle, His parents, Rick and Marva, brother, Erik, and sister Kimberli Stevens, a brother in law Dave Stevens, a nephew Damon Stevens and niece Meylnn Stevens, his Grandmother Evelyn Storer, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. All will miss him, but remember him always.

Published in the Idaho Statesman on 11/28/2007.

More Photos!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What is Thanksgiving without expressing our blessings?

HUGE Blessings I am grateful for this Thanksgiving:

RYDER!!!, My wonderful Phillip, My family (I miss you and have a wonderful Thankgiving!), My testimony of the Gospel, Phil's great job and his hard work & The opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom.

smaller Blessings:
My thick, knit socks & my fireplace--they make my chilly thanksgiving morning Oh so cozy.
Ryder's binky--it has helped me out a number of times.
The Internet--I've gone two days without it and I really felt like I suffered.
Mashed potatoes, gravy, pie & rolls--my favorite things to eat at Thanksgiving
A good haircut--I got a haircut the other day and I like it!
Holiday flavored Yankee candles--hmmmm....
The Macy's Day Parade--because it's on my television right now and it makes me feel very thankgivingish

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

Sad Froggy

Just this last week I took Ryder and flew to Utah for a few days to spend some time with my family and introduce the little guy to where I grew up. I just love my home. Anyhow, after a very busy day of traveling back to a very rainy Seattle, Ryder and I finally rolled in around seven. Not wanting to have to deal with unpacking in the morning, I forced my very tired self to unpack right then. Well, during this process I noticed something on the floor....

It is at this point, I need to explain something: You know how when it rains, worms appear out of nowhere? After it rains, there are all of a sudden tons of worms on the pavement! Well, here in the wet Northwest, not only do worms appear, but so do frogs, slugs and mini-lizards.

....I walked closer to it and as I did so, it jumped. I had a mini-frog hopping around in my living room! It hopped right into a corner where my slightly scared of mini-frogs self let it stay while I thought, I'll come back and get it later since I have about five things in my hand, one of which was a baby. Unfortunately, in my tired state I went to bed and forgot about the frog. It wasn't until the next morning it dawned on me that I had a froggy somewhere in my living room. I went to it's corner--not there-- I looked around and he was nowhere to be found. The more unfortunate thing is I know he didn't get out and I know he can't survive without water, so yes, my friends...I have a dead little frog somewhere in my living room.

7 GOOD Habits

I, as well, have decided to take this idea (from sister's friend Alyssa) and post 7 of my good habits, 7 bad habits and 7 habits I hope to have one day. Starting with the good...I'm not going to lie, I had a hard time coming up with 7 good habits...that probably isn't a very good thing. Okay, here we go (in no particular order): 1) Cleaning I wouldn't call myself a cleaning fanatic or anything, but ever since I got married my standards of cleaning skyrocketed. Maybe it was because I could finally control my environment without three roommates...I dunno. However, I also found cleaning keeps me very happy. I can be in the worst mood and I know if I go scrub my bathroom, that frown will be turned upside-down. As for the habitual part of it, I clean my house everyday; pick-up clutter, empty garbage, kitchen and bedrooms. I also have Saturday-morning chores every week (on Fridays if we're busy on Saturday). This includes deeper cleaning, scrubbing the bathroom, mopping floors, vacuuming, dusting and any other needed chores. The opposite also applies--if my house is dirty--I get VERY grumpy. 2) Eating an Apple a Day This is something I have picked up recently. If there is an apple in the house, I will eat one, usually as part of my lunch or for a snack,when I really want left-over Halloween candy (usually I just end up eating both). However, it helps me get my needed fruit servings and the fiber doesn't hurt anything either. 3) Bedtime Routine I also have a very detailed bedtime routine, that if not followed leads to severe consequences. It goes as follows: Remove contacts, wash my face with my Neutrogena soap bar, brush my teeth, put in my retainer, blow my nose, put on my glasses (which can be rather difficult if they weren't previously located before taking out my contacts) and prayers. 4) Smelly Good House Anyone who knows me well knows I have a thing with smells. Poor Phil, not only can he not smell (well, he can, but I have like this super-capacity smelling shnoz that usually leaves his smelling abilities by the wayside) but there has been more than one occasion I have called him at work because I couldn't pinpoint a weird/new smell. Basically it comes down to I LOVE good smells and completely disgust bad ones. What I find good and bad...well that sometimes surprises people...but having a smelly good house can be more difficult than it sounds. Every day it is my mission to make sure my house smells normal and clean and hopefully on most days, absolutely scrumptious. I put high-quality candles on our "Needs" list and can hunt down a bad smell like a dog. 5) Exercise I don't know how long you have to be doing something for it to actually become a habit (I heard once it was like 21 times or maybe 11...I dunno) but I have gone running--scratch that-- jogging, every other day for almost three weeks. The first week was a little scattered, but I found a couple of gals in my ward who also just had babies and they're training for 200 mile run (between 12 people) next August and they're gracious enough to let me tag along. It's nice because they aren't totally in shape yet, but still ahead of me by quite a ways, so it's a great way to push myself. If you only knew how much I hate running and how bad of shape I'm in, you too would also consider this quite a feat for me, even if it's only been three weeks. 6) Scriptures I have this goal by like age 50 to be this awesome scriptorian. I say age 50, because if I start now and work hard, I'll be lucky to make that goal. I really try hard to be in my scriptures at least once every day. Sometimes that does mean staring at the same scripture for 10 minutes while my brain processes every thought not relating to what I just read, but I do try hard to spend quality time with my scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, on a daily basis. On a side note, I'm taking a Preach My Gospel class where we are color-coating certain scriptures in application to PMG...really fun. 7) Finances I somewhere along the lines assigned myself with managing our finances. Anyhow, now that I'm able to stay at home I check and record our financial transactions daily along with adhering to a dedicated bill-paying schedule. Great habit? Yes. Whether I like it or not...all depends on the amount left when I'm done.

Change

I'm itchin' for a change with my do. Whether or not that's a good idea...you tell me. After some serious thought and lack of funds for consistent upkeep, I don't think I'm ready to go short, but since I would like to one day, let me know what you think.

I got this idea from another blog and as you can see, they are styled after certain celebrities. If you are interested in doing this yourself the info is by each photo.

This is pretty close to what I have now...it just doesn't look that good.

This is one of my favorites, but stylist is key and I have a cowlick.

I like this one, but I don't know what I'd do without my layers

I think I kinda look like a man in this one....

I like it but with a little more length with less dramatic angles

I may be shallow for putting this much thought into my hair, but it's rather fun, I think.

Daylight Savings!

I always love winter Daylight Savings because you get you sleep in an extra hour. However, that only works out if you ACTUALLY remember that it's daylight savings. Because if you don't remember, you end up sitting in front of your computer at 6:30 a.m. thinking "did I look at the clock wrong?" being really, really confused for a second and then figure since you're already up, you might as well blog about the whole thing. Good thing the clock on our computer changed automatically or else we would've been sitting in church VERY confused. I wonder if people do that. Instead of going back to bed, maybe I should use this extra hour to show up to church at 7:50 and see...

Happy Halloween!

We wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Photos of the Week: New Duds Fashion Show

So I tried a 3 month outfit on the little guy a few days ago thinking, "oh this will be too big" and although it was still a little big, it wasn't a little long (his little ankles were showing). This threw me into a dress-up frenzy because I wanted to make sure he didn't grow out of any other cute clothes. I was excited to find he fit into some very cute 4-6 month stuff. Here is the fashion show...


Cute & Casual: Here we have model Ryder in a casual layered onsie with his first pair of jeans and some camo shoes

Designer: Shirt-Komal & Shuib
Pants-Nana
Shoes-Cousin Bethany

Yay for Baby Beanies!: Here we have model Ryder in the same thing except with a striped layered onsie and a matching beanie! Of course, mom had to be thrown into the line-up after realizing they matched quite well!
Designer: Shirt & Beanie-Komal & Shuib
Pants-Nana
Shoes-Cousin Bethany


Happy & Handsome: Here is the little man in cool striped, button-up the front shirt and cargo khakis with light blue sneaker socks.
Designer: Shirt & Pants-Aunt Carly
Sneaker Socks: Granma Shorten

Gasp! No Duds at All!: After that, some serious R & R was needed, so here is our little guy chillin' in a warm tub...all in the life of the Ryder man
Designer: The man himself
Oh, and the washcloth: Phil

Thanks to everyone who made this fashion show possible...we couldn't have done it without you! Stay tuned for more duds later...

My Weather Forcast...

Mon 60°F | 48°F

Tue 53°F | 46°F

Wed 51°F | 43°F

Thu 54°F | 47°F

On a Funnier Note...

I'm just blogging like crazy today. I figure if I just sit here long enough rocking Ryder with my foot, he will fall asleep and take a respectable nap, plus a great way to procrastinate the rest of the things I should do today...like shower.

Anyhow, so Phil and I attended the baby shower of one of his co-worker's wife a few weeks ago. Well, we just happened to be sitting by the guest of honor and therefore in almost every single picture. If only I had known. Here are some possible thoughts that could've been going through my head...

"Now, where can I get one of those?"

No words needed

(Perhaps after a night of partying with Ryder)

"Cute..."

(Hello! Let's work on our posture, Jasmine.)

"Mmmm hmm... big fashion no, no"

(Actually this is what we got them)

*Despite what my unphotogenic self might communicate we had a great time at Komal's shower and wish her and Shuib congrats on their new baby boy!!

Phil and me...

I thought this was a nice looking photo of my man and me. I love you, baby, and I think you are quite wonderful.

October General Conference

I love fall! And one reason I love it so much is because of General Conference. I just love getting cozy in front of the TV and letting the Spirit fill my home as I'm motivated to become a better person. (I only wish that motivation stayed with me a little longer!)

>Loved, loved, loved Sis. Bech's talk--I would like to hang that one on my bathroom mirror.
>Everything about Elder Wirthlin's talk--We talked about this in my Preach My Gospel class this morning and thought it was interesting how his talk was on charity considering the circumstances.
>I just love Elder Eyring
>Loved Elder Oaks' talk as well--however, I believe I was tending to Ryder some of the time, so I'll have to go back and reread this one among many others.

Photo of the Week: "Pure Joy"

I know I slacked off a week with a new photo of Ryder (his blessing and cute visitors left me no time), but you have to admit, this one is totally worth the wait.

Ryder's Blessing Day

Here is a little photo of our little family on the morning of Ryder's blessing-our official, first family photo- (well besides in the hospital). The timing was quite fitting because this was the first morning he was just all smiles...which was so fun for us. His little smile melts my heart. The day was wonderful. We hit a little snag when the mike went out during his blessing, but thanks to a couple of nice people in our ward sitting close enough and Phil's good memory, we got most of it down on paper...whew! It was a beautiful blessing and Phil did a wonderful job. I was so grateful to everyone who came to support us that day, especially my parents who flew down for the weekend right before my mom's surgery.

On a fun note, my sister and her darling niece, Gracie, came to spend all of last week with us. We had such a fun time and I stupidly didn't take any photos, which is quite a loss because Autumn and I were the only ones who got to see Gracie holding Ryder (I really need to improve with the whole picture thing...I will work on it).

On a sad note, while my sister and I were pow-wowing up here in Seattle, my mom had to get her thyroid out and in the process discovered she had cancer. Thankfully, thankfully, this is something that can be totally taken care of and now she is on the mend and I'm so grateful we can get the recovery process going.

Mom, you are one of the bravest and strongest people I know. I love you!