Caroline and I like to talk on the phone WHILE we work on the computer. We’re super efficient like that.

It usually involves a lot of typing, heavy breathing and the occasional commentary on what we’re each doing. It’s a great friendship.

When we need to clean the house, we call each other and solve the entire worlds problems in a hour and a half AND get a clean house.

We’re freakin’ brilliant!

One night while we were “working” and chatting we had the following conversation:

Caroline: Why did you like NPR on Facebook?

Me: Wuh?

Caroline: You liked NPR on Facebook. Why? They’re a bunch of whackos.

Me: What are you talking about?

Caroline: {sigh} On Facebook. You liked NPR. You’re not like that. They’re those crazy right-wing-nut jobs.

Me: Seriously. I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Caroline: NPR. Why do you like it? They are crazy gun people.

Me:  Umm… That’s the NRA. NPR is a radio station that is mostly Talk Radio.

{crickets chirping}

Caroline: SHUT UP!

Today we’re going to go to our local Nursery and get some bulbs to force. There are bulbs bread to specifically be forced for inside blooming, and nothing will lift the dreary January Blues quicker than some pretty inside flowers.

Today is a soup and sandwich sort of day. Here’s my favorite Potato Soup Recipe.

You’re Welcome.

Today we are going to visit our favorite local Book Store and browse the magazine section. Check out all the magazines you don’t normally subscribe to. It’s super fun, and a frugal way to check out new magazines. Don’t forget to get a Venti Godiva Hot Chocolate while you’re there!

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Karen White’s novel, The House on Tradd Street, is a ghost story, a mystery, with a dash of romance-- all rolled up in one! Melanie’s own past is connected to an old house both by ancestral ties as well as the similarities in situations between her and Nevin, the gentleman she inherits the house from. They were both seemingly abandoned by their mothers at a young age and as Melanie searches out the truth of one man's past, she in turn must deal with her own.

Melanie is one of those women that we all love to hate. She is not only beautiful but she can eat anything she wants without worry about gaining a pound. She has to have complete control of her life and I actually found her to be a little OCD with regards to organizing and scheduling.

She sees her ability to communicate with the dead as a huge burden and tries to hide her gift-- mostly because experience taught her as a child that people would laugh at her and think she was crazy. Because of that, she chooses to ignore the voices and spirits around her as often as she can. She assumes that the adults in her life will laugh at her ability-- but in reality they already all know what ability she has-- they are just waiting for her to accept it.

She is considered one of the experts in Historic Home Real Estate in Charleston, yet her personal life is sort of a shambles. Melanie does not let many people get close to her-- because of being abandoned not only by her mother, but by her Father as he looses himself to Alcohol. She has been disappointed too many times to take that risk again.

There were several times that I found myself smacking myself on the head as I hollered "Seriously Melanie?" She frustrated me with some of the reckless decisions she made. Everyone could see the obvious except her, and that was a tad irritating. It felt that if Jack or her Father said one thing, then she automatically did the opposite.

I felt myself actually being afraid when she would climb the stairs to her room-- would that scary man be there again? Why did he hate her so much? That is a question that I don't think ever got resolved.

Every time she was confronted with "did she see something" and she chose to deny it, or lie about her abilities infuriated me. But, I suppose that is what makes for good conflict in a book.

The ghosts that chose to show themselves to Melanie I found to be very interesting. Why Melanie? Why wouldn't they just tell her what they wanted? But, then again, Melanie never asked. (Which, after watching Sixth Sense would have been the first thing I would have done!)

I loved the setting in the book-- Charleston. I have never been there, but felt like I was while reading the book. The descriptions were excellent, and I even found myself smelling roses a time or two.

I did think it was a little too easy to figure out. If I would have had the energy I could have figured out the puzzle because as soon as they said they needed a "key word" I knew exactly what the word was. However, I was too lazy to take the time to do that. Some parts of the plot were obvious, but because of that, it was a rather easy, delightful read. This book is a great book to snuggle up to on a cold, rainy day!





View all my reviews

We’ve heard about Dream Boards for years. You imagine the things you want to have happen in your life, and then you put it on your dream board. You can cut out pictures from magazines, words that mean something to you and then you make an Artful Collage of your dreams.

Then you put your dream board somewhere that you can see it every single day. The first step of making your dreams a reality is putting them out “to the universe”.

Today, we’re going to make our own Dream Boards. You can do it Old School Style if you want and use a cork board or even a poster board. If you want to do it new school style, you can make a digital Dream Board (or you can use this site)  from the photos from your life—and the words that mean something to you. I spent a ridiculous amount of time making my digital Dream Board. I put up the photo of my dream house; my dream vacation; money to symbolize the cars and student loans being paid off; and a photo of my family all together—smiling, to symbolize us being happy TOGETHER. I am excited to see if my dreams start coming true.

Today, take the time to write it down for your posterity to read. Record your feelings about your faith in God and Jesus Christ in your journal or on your blog. Some day, your family will read it and be grateful to know how you felt about those sacred things.

Nothing makes me want to throw stuff away more than watching an hour of the TV show Hoarders. As soon as I start watching, inevitably I find myself standing in front of the TV, hands over my mouth gasping in horror. Then I promptly get a garbage bag and start throwing stuff away. I do NOT want to be like that.

Today, we're going to take a garbage bag and fill it full of stuff that we can throw in the trash. Set the buzzer for 10 minutes and see just how much stuff you can fill in that garbage bag. You'll get on a roll and may end up purging more than just one bag.

Seeing that stuff leave your house? Priceless.

‘Classic.’ A book which people praise and don't read.  -  Mark Twain

Have you heard about all the hullaballoo regarding Huckleberry Finn? New publications of the book are taking the “N” word out and replacing it with the word Slave.

I am totally against this.

Censorship of this form is wrong, and shouldn’t happen. While the word is disgusting and I would never encourage people to use it, the word in this book (and several others, btw) should be left alone. It shows how far we have come as a society—where there once was a time, based on your skin color and where you came from determined how much of a HUMAN you were.

Twain was using the word as social commentary—only the white people used the word—and at the end of the book Finn no longer uses the word because he understands who Jim is—a Man.

Scholars say we should take it out because it offends. That is what it was intended to do—be offended because of the word, not in the printing of the word.

What are your thoughts?  What do you think of censoring the “N” Word out of Classic Literature? Where do you draw the line?

*****

It has been seriously good weather this week. Almost 50 twice this week. I freakin’ love it.

I’ve taken the dog for a walk several times, and I think she loves it, too. I don’t do well with the doldrums of  winter. I need the sun. I was telling Jefe that I would really like to live somewhere were it was in the 40-50 degree range in the winter and then 80-90’s in the summer.

He looked at me and said: “I can’t afford to buy a house in San Diego. Mexico yes. San Diego no.”

Now I’m looking for real estate in Mexico. I wonder if I could homeschool the kids and sell leather on the beach?

*****

I realized the other night that I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do. Isn’t that a weird thing to realize at Forty? But, it’s true. I have a tendency to feel a “sense of responsibility” and “bridge building” regarding things that really are of no interest to me.

I realized that some of the things that I have been involved with cause me copious amounts of stress and no matter how much it would be “good for me” to be involved or do, I don’t have to. I can say no, walk away and never look back. And it doesn’t change who I am, or how those that are REALLY my friends feel about me.

I only have to do what I want to do, and what is good for my family.

Let me re-phrase that: Sometimes I do have to do things that I don’t like to do, but its because it’s good for my family. Like Laundry. I don’t like to do Laundry, but I have to do that—it’s good for my family.

Everything else? It’s just noise.

That realization is totally liberating and feels awesome.

*****

Someone said to me recently that she just didn’t know how I found time to do the stuff that I do. I laughed because I always think that’s funny when people say that to me.

“How on earth do you find the time do everything you do? Do you still clean your house? Are you dishes done? What about your laundry?” 

{<---- See?? My kitchen IS clean!}

At first, I was offended by these statements because really? That’s kind of rude to assume that because you don’t do a particular thing, and someone else does, then they must not be cleaning their house or caring for their children.

Which, in a recent conversation I had, was clearly what these people who made these statements thought about people who chose to spend time on the computer. “Get off the computer already and take care of your house and your kids”.

It sort of offended me—a lot—when they said this. Because really? I could say the same about the way other people choose to spend their time—Shopping, or watching TV, talking on the phone or any other myriad of activities that make a person “less engaged” with their family. 

My reply to my friend was simply this: “It’s just a matter of priorities. I do clean my house and I do the laundry. But I also have time to read, play on the computer and go to lunch with my friends. I am a Mom, but I’m also MORE than a mom and a housewife. It’s just a matter of priorities. You find time to go to the Gym every day. I find time to do the things that I love.”

Priorities.

That’s it. What I find a priority to do, you may find to be a waste of time. You may find time to exercise every day or watch TV and keep me updated on all the stuff going on in Hollywood.  I find time to read books. It’s just how we like to spend our time and what our priorities are.

None are better than the other, and I wish we could all just be accepting of each other’s Priorities. 

*****

That’s it for this weeks randomness. I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of relaxation, good food and fun friends!

Catch ya on the flip side!

1. Happy New Year – Camera Obscura

2. Broken – Lifehouse

3. Put Us Back Together Right – Headlights

4. 1901 – Phoenix

5. Before the Worst – The Script

6. Let Me Know – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. The Wrong Girl – Belle & Sebastian

8. Nothing Left to Lose – Mat Kearney

9. Heartbreak World – Matt Nathanson

10. Won’t Stop – One Republic

Bonus: Dreaming With A Broken Heart (live) – John Mayer

The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes--ah, that is where the art resides!  

~ Arthur Schnabel

 

 

Today, we're going to slow down. We're going to approach the day as if it were an Adagio--A melody played in an easy, graceful manner.  In the slowing down we will hear the pauses and feel the beauty that is our life.

Over the years I have had numerous people ask me HOW do you menu plan? And further WHY? It seems like so much work with very little reward. But here’s the thing: When I plan my menus I save money.

I like money. A lot.

When Jefe was in Law School we had ZERO money and I had to learn how to make things stretch. I had $200 to last an entire MONTH! That’s $50.00 a week, people. FIFTY DOLLARS.

Seeing that amount now seems absurd,  but you know what? I did it. I had to. There was no choice. I did the best that I could and I had to be organized and I had to plan. When I didn’t plan, I spent WAY more than what we had. When I planned I always came in under because I could always stretch two more meals at the end of each two week period.

I learned how to make four meals from a whole chicken. Five if I boiled the bones and made a broth for chicken soup. I actually became a very good cook, and once I figured out how to plan my meals, we ate well.

Here’s how:

1. Get yourself a Calendar. I used to print one off each month at printfree.com. Now I prefer to use Google Calendars because I can have that emailed to me and hot synched with my phone.

2.  Next, take 1 hour and write down all of the meals that your family will eat. If you only come up with seven—then hey! That makes your life a lot easier!

3. Write down on the calendar what you will eat for dinners. In the Summer I also include Breakfast and Lunch because I need to shop for those meals.  Realize that you can be flexible with this calendar once you are done—especially if you use Google Calendar. It’s simply a function of drag and drop.  In the past if Meatloaf comes up (My kids LOVE meatloaf. Weird, huh?) and I don’t feel like Meatloaf, but I know that Pasta is on the schedule, then I just change it up.

I use allrecipes.com for all of my cooking. I have favorite recipes that I have gathered from family cook books and other books, that I have taken the time to type into my profile. Literally all of my families favorite meals are housed in my online recipe file. I always include a link in my Google Calendar so that when my meal for the day is emailed to me, it comes with a link to the recipe.

4. Once your list is made, go through and write down all the ingredients you will need to make each item.   After you do this a few times, you will get fast and will be able to remember what you have in your pantry and what you need to purchase.  If I use the last of something, I write it down on the grocery list I keep on the chalk board.

I usually purchase two of everything so that if necessary, I would be able to make two of all the meals scheduled for that time period.  It’s how I do my food storage—in a lazy-don’t-freak-me-out-sort-of-way.

5. Go grocery shopping. I plan my meals around what my family likes AND what is on sale. I haven’t mastered the whole coupon thing (2011 is my year), but I do do the price matching thing.

I use Deals to Meals to find where all the good prices are on all of the items that I need, then I merely write down the lowest price and have Mall of the Wart price match it. Yes. It’s time consuming—but it generally saves me about $100.00 when I take the time to price match.  That’s TOTALLY worth it to me.

6. Make your meal first thing in the morning when you have the energy. You are more likely to eat crap if you haven’t planned and executed your meal plan in the morning. Besides, from about 3pm-8pm I call those hours the witching hours at my house. Everyone needs something and I am expected to at the top of my game. Making dinner ahead of time eliminates one of my biggest stresses.

For my working friends: My girlfriend who is a working professional does this as well. She plans her meals to be strictly crock pot meals. She has found you can make pretty much anything in the crock pot so she whips it up, usually before she goes to bed, and then plugs that in first thing in the morning. Now, I’m too tired at night to do that, so I would totally be willing to get up earlier to get that chore done. But, my working friends, you can do it, too!

Watch for some more menu planning ideas on my other blog, MMB Community.

Today, we're going to plan our dream vacation. We're going to price the airfare, and the hotel's. Once we know the price, we can start to plan. You never know if you can do it until you find out how much it costs.

When I was twenty-five years old I was made the ward Primary President. I had just gotten released from being the Stake Primary Secretary, so I was rather certain that I knew everything I would ever need to know on how to run a successful primary.

 I had it all figured out. I was On. Top. Of. It.

Until Ward Conference, that is.

At first I was rather confident that I would show them how awesome of a primary we had, how reverent we were going to be and that they should most definitely use us as their training models in all of their upcoming training meetings.  I knew we would be the pillar of righteousness that they had been searching  for and they would beg us to tell them our secrets. Which of course, we would oblige.

I know. I was young and so, so stupid.

We had a great opening song and the kids sounded like angles. They were reverent, and it was going splendidly. Next we had an opening prayer that would make a grown man weep, and the scripture was deep and quite poignant. 

The talk from Hell came next and it was all down hill after that.

{dun dun dun dun}

The little boy speaking had parents that were both in leadership positions that made it impossible for them to come and hear him give his talk. Half way through his epistle, he decided that he had something stuck in his throat, so he started to clear it. And clear it some more. And then some more.  One more time he cleared his throat and then spit the biggest loogie I have ever seen spit by a 5 year old boy.

Which made all of the girls on the front row start to cry. BIG TEARS cry.

Wait for it, there's more.

I was so focused on this boy, his spit fest and the crying Sunbeams that I didn't notice two other boys decide that they were totally done with Primary and were going home, so they jumped -- YES JUMPED-- out the primary window.

Right then and there I wanted to crawl into a hole, never come out and die. D-I-E. die.


My perfect little primary fell apart in 2.7 seconds not only in front of the Stake Primary Presidency, but the Second Counselor in the General Primary Presidency.

Not just the top dogs, but THE TOP DOG, people. All of the top dogs saw my primary mutiny in front of their very eyes.

And, I think the primary won.

I love Hot Chocolate and Caramel Vanilla Steamers. They are a weakness and simple guilty pleasure. I have my favorite places that I like to frequent to get them, too.

Today, we're going to slow down long enough to get ourself a Hot Chocolate. Might I suggest 7-11's Vanilla Caramel steamer. It is simply heavenly!

My new calling at church is teaching the 5year olds. There are only four of them in my class, so needless to say, it is a comic routine in the making. They tell me things I'm rather certain their parents don't want anyone to know and they would be horrified if they heard repeated.

I'm not telling anyone, promise.

I am, however, going to tell you what I learned about myself yesterday during Primary Singing Time at Church: 

1. My hands are gigantic and my finger nails are super short. 
2. My nose is REALLY long. 
3. My feet are the biggest feet they've ever seen, and would I please take off my shoes so they could see how big they really are?! 
4.  The Holy Ghost lives in a Sunset.
5. Is my husband smaller than me? Because I'm REALLY BIG. 
6. Does this hurt? {pinch my hand} NO. Does this hurt? {pinch my hand again} NO. Does THIS hurt? {really hard pinch} Chinese Torture Artist in the making?!
7. Those {pointing to my boobs} are big. They're bigger than their Mom's. 
8. Why can't I take your nails off? My mom takes hers off. 
9. Being really good at video games is the best talent anyone can ever have
10. {takes my face in his hands} Can I Sit On Your Lap? Because I Love you. 

I do believe I have the best calling at church and I'm sort of excited to see what I learn next week!

Today is not only a holiday but it's a lazy day. We're going to stay in our jammies all day and be lazy. It's going to be so fun, too! We're going to watch movies or read books and just  lay around.  This will be a great way to spend a cold, January day.

Today, we are going to read the scriptures with purpose. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Say a prayer asking God to communicate with you, and tell him the things that are troubling you. Read the scriptures and listen. He will speak to you. I promise.

Today we're going to get some fun magnet frames to put on our fridge. In those frames we will put photos of the people we love--including our pets. If there is something that you particularly want to come into your life, place a picture of that in your collage, too. Seeing these pictures helps us to be grateful!

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.   - Oscar Wilde

About this time of year every year since the beginning of time, I start dreaming of sun, warm beaches and cool breezy nights. I even go so far as to find Condo’s that we can rent in Mexico, or San Diego. I price out air fare and then I dream.

I hate winter. I really do.  It’s nice for about a week during Christmas, but then I want the warmth back. I spend way more time in my car driving around simply so I can be warm than I would rather not admit to.

I found that I could rent a 3 bedroom Condo on the beach in Mexico for only $950 for seven days. It sleeps 6-8 and includes an awesome kitchen, family room, beach view and place. Seven blissful days of sun, warmth and all the amazing, authentic Mexican food I can muster.

The trick now is convincing Jefe that he can’t possibly live one more day in this dreary place and that in order to NOT die a slow, painful, cold death we have to go to Mexico tomorrow.

One can dream, right?

*****

I am having the last measure person come in today to measure for carpet. I have mine all picked out and if the stars align, I think I should be able to get it installed at the end of February. Which would mean only 30+ more days of having to look at my murder carpet.

Praise Ba-Jeezus.

*****

Speaking of Mexican Food:

I have a hot lunch date at a new-ish Mexican restaurant with my girlfriends today.

Can. Not. Wait.

*****

I keep telling myself that if I pretend that we are moving and get my “house in order” so that it would be move-in-able, maybe the stars would align and I would actually be able to move.

At least that’s what I tell myself.

My kids are convinced that I hate to move because I have wanted to move from the first day we moved into this house.

Which is true.

We bought the house out of desperation and I really don’t love it. I want to live in something I love not something that makes me groan every time I walk into it.

But the truth is, I do like to move. I like to move places I have never been before and then I love the rush that comes with a brand new adventure. Figuring out the best route to church. Figuring out which store is going to be new favorite grocery store. I like the adventure of it, the way it brings my family together and how you have to rely on only each other.

I love that and miss that all at the same time.

*****

Stay warm this weekend. Bundle up, hunker down and dream of warm Mexican beaches with me.

Catch ya on the flipside!

1.  Hands Up Baby  -  Camera Obscura

2. Today -  The Innocence Mission

3. The Great Salt Lake – Band of Horses

4. Your Arms Around Me – Jens Lekman

5. I Get the Message – Ivy

6. By the Sea – The Essex Green

7. Whatever You Want – Club 8

8. I’m an Animal – Neko Case

9. Alaska – Camera Obscura

10. I Heard Something – Charlemagne

Bonus: Back for Good – The Concretes

I don't believe; I know. - Carl Jung

I am having a torrid affair with allrecipes.com.  I have been, actually, for about three years now. I try to convert others on a rather regular basis and present them with the tastiest Kool-Aid I can find, but most of the time they scoff. “You are so funny about that website” they say. But, oh! If only they would taste the sweet, golden nectar of the All Recipes Dot Com  Kool-Aid. They would be proselytizing, too!

My sister is the one that got me to drink the All Recipes  Kool-Aid and once I did, I have never looked back.

Seriously.

Best drink I’ve ever had.

You can store all of your family favorites in there—and then there really is no reason to keep all that clutter of 87-bajillion cookbooks because of that ONE recipe. Take the time to go through them all, type those recipes into your online recipe box and then send those books to Charity.

See how awesome Allrecipes.com is?

It’s the site that just keeps on giving.

Good food AND a DE-cluttered house.

Ready to drink the Kool-Aid yet?

Another thing I love is that they have a rating system, and when I follow the system I invented for myself, I have never made anything from this site that isn’t out of this world awesome!

1. Has to have 4.5 stars or more

2. Has to have been reviewed more than 200 times.

3. The more people that have saved it to their recipe box, the better I know the recipe is going to be.

Take, for example, this French Toast Casserole:

• 4.5 stars
• 673 reviews
• 63, 887 people have saved it.

You know what? IT’S FREAKING AWESOME, TOO!

The other thing I love is that I can enter ingredients that I have on hand, and it will find me recipes to make with those particular ingredients.  This is awesome for the last few days of my meal planning cycle—I can usually get 17 days of meals out of a 14 day menu cycle when I do this.

Also, it’s a great way to get out of the cooking rut. We all get there—in the “rut”—cooking the same 5 things every single week. Totally Boring.

This little feature helps you explore new recipes and you don’t have to worry about if it’s good or not. In the past, that was always a big deterrent for me when presented with trying new recipes—it looks good in the book, but what if it tastes like dog crap?

It’s like Russian Roulette with your mouth.

Homey don’t play that. 

BUT! If you follow my system up there, more than likely it will rock your palate!

The last thing I love is this: The Dinner Spinner.

Oh my heavens to Betsy! It is a glorious tool! I have all my favorites right at my finger tips—in my handy dandy little iPhone.  I seriously have no more excuses for not cooking healthy meals for everyone. I highly recommend this App—you can get it on the Droid, too.

This App makes it possible for those rare times when you feel like being nice. You know, the times when you decide while you’re at Wal-mart that you want to make the kids their favorite Buttermilk Pancakes for breakfast, but you can’t remember what goes in the recipe? You could, if you had this App.  No more trying to remember all the secret ingredients—just pull up the dinner spinner and you’ll be good as gold!

You can also add the recipe to an on going SHOPPING LIST – see how it just keeps on giving?

Or, if one of your family members loves what you brought to the annual Super Bowl Party last year and she wants to make it this time, you can simply send her an email—straight from the site. No more retyping recipes. You can also print it as a recipe card if that floats your boat or share it on Facebook.  Which is what I like to do: “I made this for dinner and it’s only 9:30am—what have you done this morning.” 

(Just kidding. Not really. Only sort of.)

Seriously, I could keep on going about all the ways allrecipes.com will rock your world. Because seriously,  it will. I bet they are even right now, as I type this out,  trying to figure out how to get the site to walk the dog. I mean they have already figured out how to help us de-clutter—now all we need is for it to walk the naughty dog.

Wanna drink my Kool-Aid?

 

Disclaimer: I was not paid one single dime or even warm fuzzy foo-foos for this post. It is simply because I am converted and want to share the good news of the All Recipes Gospel.

 

Do you have a comfort station? I do. It's my bedside table. Inside my table, I have all my favorite comfort items-- chocolate, lip-goo, books, Advil, pencils and a notebook. That way when I feel like curling up in a ball and hiding from the world I have all my necessary comfort items and I can. Hide that is.

Today, make yourself a comfort station.

Every girls wardrobe calls for a pair of red shoes.
It's a must-have. Do you have your red shoes? If not, go buy them.
Today, we're wearing our red shoes. Just because it makes us feel sassy.

Whenever I “take my life back” and eliminate things that are stressing me out, it seems like my home life sort of spirals out of control.

Which is the exact opposite of what you would think would happen.

Not busy should = clean house and a Martha-esq dinner every night, right?

Not for me.

That only seems to happen when I am super scheduled out and spread extra thin.

I think the reason is because when I find myself needing to be 97 different places at once, I am organized. I am structured. I am scheduled.

I use my Google calendar—that I have emailed to me every morning of what I’m cooking, cleaning and doing that day.  I plan my menus and I follow my cleaning schedule.

Yes. I actually plan two weeks worth of meals AND I have a schedule of what I clean on what days. Monday’s = Laundry.  Friday = Bathrooms.

Being busy means I have to be organized. I try to always follow the cleaning schedule but I am pretty flexible on the cooking.

Although, when I started having my menu emailed to me daily—with a link to the recipe—I  stayed on course pretty well.

When I take my life back my house always looks like a tornado tore through it and we have pop tarts for dinner.

I have tried over these past several months to “take my life back” and not be 97 different places at once. And, by doing that it has actually had the opposite effect. My house looks like WWIII, we eat super crappy meals – not not together I might add—and everyone is ornery. Me most of all.

So, I’m getting back in the saddle. Not of being in 97 different places at once, but in being organized.

 I’m throwing crap away. I’m following my schedule. I’m planning my meals.

I will be organized.

Hear me roar.

I have my spot in the kitchen that put my little Netbook. While I do the dishes in the morning, I let the computer warm up. I also have my iHome there—and we listen to Scripture Podcasts (or this podcast—which my little kids LOVE)  in the morning. When we do that, there seems to be less chaos in the morning.

While everyone is eating breakfast and listening to “the man read the Lord” (as Thing 2 used to call it) I get the dishes done and the lunches made. Then I check my email and see what Google tells me I’m supposed to clean and cook that day.

I always include a link to the recipe from allrecipes.com because then it’s just one stop looking—read my email, click on my recipe and we’re in business. See. I know myself. And, I know I’m lazy. If I have to go looking for the recipe, I’m less likely to get it done and more likely to get sidetracked. I’m the queen of sidetracked-ness.

So, when I schedule the meals, I take one extra step and include that link to the recipe.

Trust me. It’s awesome.

Here’s the trick to eating healthy: Make your dinner first thing in the morning  before you’ve done 97 other things. Before all the kids come home and turn into emotional vampires—and suck you dry. Make that meal first thing in the morning. I don’t usually bake it until later. But, dang! When I’m tired, and it’s 4:30 and I remember I have to actually feed these people? It feels really good to remember that I already took care of that little chore.

I will take my life back this year. I will keep my house organized and I will make healthy meals.

All thanks to Google and allrecipes.com!

Do you have a good junk store you like to visit? One where sifting through the vast amounts of junk can wield you a hidden treasure? Everyone needs a good junk store in their repertoire!

Today we're going on a treasure hunt to our favorite junk store. If you don't have one, its time to add one to your repertoire.

I recently read nOprah's list of the Top 5 Must Read Books of All Time and promptly gaged.  They were boring and made me want to go to sleep. For a year.

(I say nOprah as a way of saying No Oprah—she is trying to take over the world. Like the Emperor and Darth Vader.) 

(Yes, I realize several of my books were in her book club—but I liked them first. Pinky Swear.)

 I started thinking about what my Top 5 List of Must Read Books were and here's what I've come up with. These are the books I always recommend to people when they ask me for good books to read-- My Go To List.  Feel free to share yours in the comments.

Top 5 List of Must Read Books

1.  To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
2. The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver
3. Harry Potter Series – J.K.Rowling
4. The Road – Cormac McCarthy
5. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Honorable Mentions:

Drowning Ruth – Christina Schwartz
The Help – Kathryn Stockett
A Lesson Before Dying – Ernest J. Gaines

When I was a child, one of my most favorite things to do was go through the couches and the car to find loose coins. Then I would ride my bike to the local Drug Store and buy penny candy. More specifically Red Fish Candy. Oh the sweet joy of counting out-- one by one-- those little tiny red fish! The cashier would patiently wait while I counted, sometimes over 100 and then put them all in a little brown bag for me. I would walk my bike home, and savor every single little fish.

Today, we're going to the local dollar store. Walk up and down the isles and see what kind of treasures you can find. Maybe you can finally replace all those tattered kitchen dish towels.

"We will give ourselves continually in prayer" - Acts 6:4

 

Did you think to pray?

We all need to reclaim our sanity.
The way to do this is to concentrate slowly
on one task at a time, one hour at a time, until the day is over.
Today, we will be present in every single moment.

How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.  - Benjamin Disraeli


I have been watching this whole "Ted Williams the Golden Voice Man " story unwind on the Internet and TV over the past couple of days it's been inspiring. I have found myself smiling and tears streaming as I listen to him speak-- and he really does have A Golden Voice.

I have always tried to teach my children to never judge a book by it's cover. But, how easily we forget and  do it with regards to people-- and particularly homeless people.

For the last 15 years I have considered myself an advocate for the poor. I have tried to always remember what it was like we when were poor. And, I don't mean just poor, but POOR. I never want to forget how I felt when people assumed we were "trash" because of the circumstances we found ourselves in. We were doing our best to better ourselves, and yet there some who were just plain nasty to us. And frankly it hurt. Deeply.

Sometimes people only see what they want to see-- the outside-- and not what is inside a person. Once people got to know who we were and what were about, they realized we were good people who were actually educated, smart American citizens pursuing the American dream.

We had zero money coming in while Jefe was in law school. I had to learn how to cook meals from scratch and make them stretch. I can remember making meals and only having enough for Jefe and Thing 1,  so I would conveniently "not be hungry".

Seeing stories like this "Golden Voice" story inspires me and reminds me to never forget and to always Pay It Forward.

*****
It's friggin' cold.

How cold is it?


Well, it's so cold:
... we had to chisel the dog of the fire hydrant.
... people are looking forward to getting a fever
... you'd have to jump start a reindeer
... Richard Simmons has been seen wearing full length pants.



*****
I've been picking out hardwood floors, and carpet this week. I'm so freaking excited I can barely stand it. My family room looks like someone was murdered on the carpet. Three times over. I lovingly refer to that room as The Murder Room.

It's gross and disgusting and I actually HATE having people come over because the house looks like a dorm.

I'm hell bent on changing that.

I had someone come measure the house for new counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms and later I'm going to go and pick out new baseboards. I'm also going to paint my stair railings (or get new ones if I can afford it). If I can't move, then I'm going to do everything within my power to make my existing house look as new-ish as possible.

Then maybe we can move.

*****
I don't have much more to offer this fine cold Friday morning.

So I'm off like a dirty shirt.

Today's Random 10 is brought to you by Moxie. Whenever these songs come up on the player -- or Rock Band--  she comes running from where ever she happens to be and jams. HARD.

We call her our Back Up Dancer whenever we're playing Rock Band as a family. She knows how to rock it hard! And, it's hysterical! 

I put together a play list with all of "her songs". The ones where she says "Dis my favorite song, Mama."

Watching her shake her bon-bon  makes me smile down to my toes.

Thank you Rock Band. 


Music Playlist at MixPod.com


1.  I Got A Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
2.  Hey Soul Sister - Train
3. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
4. California Gurls - Katy Perry
5. The Middle  - Jimmy Eat World
6. We Will Rock You - Queen
7.  Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts
8.  Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
9. Don't Stop Believing - Journey
10. Ghost Busters Theme Song 

Bonus: Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Did you have a hope chest when you were younger? I did. I got it for my sixteenth birthday. I didn't really get what it is was for, so when my mom would tell me to clean my room, that's where I would quickly toss everything. Later, when people would give me crap "for when you're married" I'd put it in my chest.
Recently I've realized what that hope chest was supposed to be for-- a place to store my HOPES and DREAMS.

How weird is it at 39 to be starting a hope chest over? Only this time I'm not going to use the actual “hope chest.” I have a secret little place where I stash away the things that I'm hoping for. Do you have a place where you stash your hopes?

A tangible spot where you can file that photo of what you want your office to look like? Or the new counter tops you want? Or that crazy secret vacation you want to take? We all need a place to stash our hopes and dreams.

Today, find that secret spot. Whether it be a shoe box, a hamper, a shelf in your closet or a pretty red box. Find somewhere to start collecting and stashing your hopes and dreams-- so they will then become realities.

The other video I had posted got pulled... so here's a new one. I could seriously listen to this guy read the phonebook. LIKE BUTTER!

2. I LOVE brown sugar pop tarts. A lot. And, I hide them in my house so no one else can eat them.  But, they have to be toasted, with butter and 3 sides of the crust cut off.

3. Watching someone eat a banana kicks my gag reflex into over drive. The smell is even worse.

4. I'm super competitive. So much so that when we were invited to participate in an Iron Chef party and I was assigned the dessert with my secret ingredient being Tropical Fruit?  I promptly decided to make Banana's Foster-- which you SET ON FIRE because Hello. Fire!  I'd win!  (even though I'd be gagging the whole time!)

5. I only like to drink Diet Coke from McDonald's. Mostly because it's $1.08 WITH TAX.

6. I hate to fold laundry and right now I have a MOUNTAIN of clean laundry that Moxie likes to play on. She say's "I'm climbin' da mountain, mama!" Guess what I'm doing today?

7. I like to dance in the car like Elaine on Seinfeld. Just because it totally embarrasses my children. The more they ask me to stop, the more ridiculous I get.

8. When no one is in my house, I will sign Broadway Tunes at the top of my lungs and envision a Broadway Producer driving down my street and screeching to a halt to find that amazingly beautiful voice he just heard. *snort* Like that's gonna happen in small town Utah. But, a girl can dream, right?!

9. When I get really frustrated with my family I like to go outside and pull the crab grass in my front yard. My grass is being over run with it, and it soothes the savage beast in me. Jefe calls that "Calming the Demons".  If you ever drive by my house and I'm sitting on the grass pulling weeds-- you know I'm upset with someone or majorly frustrated. Winter time totally blows, yo. I haven't found anything to tame that beast in me yet.

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time" - Andre Gide

Today, have faith in yourself. Set the sails, pull the anchor and cast away. Feel the wind at your back and keep your eyes on the horizon. Dare to make your dreams your new reality.

Today, find a photo of yourself as a child, and put it in a pretty frame.  Place it on your desk or night stand and remember. That child had dreams, remember? Have you accomplished any? Write down those dreams and choose one to make a reality.

Last Christmas Jefe got me an iPhone and it's practically glued to my hand. I don't go anywhere without it now, and it is by far the best present I have ever gotten. Period.

Sometimes Jefe falls asleep to the soft florescent glow of my iPhone as I'm surfing the App store trying to find the latest greatest Apps to download. I know that I haven't even scratched the surface of the App's out there-- seeing how I'm still an iPhone newbie-- but here are my favorites from this past year.

Leave me a comment with your favorite Apps!

Listed in no particular order:

1. Pandora - Every music loving person needs to have Pandora. You type in an artist or song you like and then Pandora creates radio stations with similar songs/artists. I have a very eclectic station list and I use that
App every single day. I wish there was a way to stream Pandora in my car.

2. White Noise - I have a difficult time sleeping and this App helps me fall asleep and stay asleep.  You can pick the type of noise you fall asleep to-- whether it be actual white noise, airplane noise, crickets, rain or the ocean. It is also an awesome App to use when Jefe gets to snoring. I can drown him out and sleep like a log.

3. Facebook - Do I need to say more about that? It comes in real handy when I'm standing in long lines and see crazies.  I can take pictures as proof that I don't make up all the crap I see at Wal-mart.

4.  Hootsuite - It's a twitter App that lets you schedule out tweets AND Facebook status updates. Truthfully,  I wouldn't use anything else! People will think you are updating your profiles like crazy when really your sitting in your cozy bed reading a stupid Vampire book.

5. Hipstamatic - This is probably my newest favorite! You take pictures with this App and it makes them look vintage. I'm a complete sucker for vintage and these are outstanding! My kids and I spent over an hour one day taking pictures of completely random things and posting the photos to our Tumblr accounts.

6. Tumblr - I love this one. It's a fantastic way to save or share a photo, a quote or even a simple blog post. I have my blog imported to Tumblr which then is imported to my Facebook page. It's just one more way for me to look like I'm in 27 different places when really I'm reading a stupid Vampire book.

7. Words with Friends - This App is just a fun game that you can play with your friends! It's basically scrabble on your phone. I have a couple of people (including my kids) that I play regularly with and I am addicted to trying to figure out new words. It's completely worth paying the .99 cents to get the app without ads.

8. Netflix - I love this App for many reasons. First, when I have somewhere I have to go, and there isn't a babysitter for Moxie I can plug her into a Netflix Dora movie and she will happily sit there and watch the shows. I also love it because when I'm needing a break, I can plug into an episode of 30 Rock or The Office or Community and feel myself unwind. I will never watch TV any other way, other than streaming it through Netflix. Netflix = ZERO commercials. AND did you know that Netflix accounts for 20% of all Internet traffic after 5pm. True Story.

9. Rhapsody - I use Rhapsody on my computer all the time and totally love it. It's an awesome way to make play lists and I don't have to pay for every friggin' song I download. I pay $14.95 a month and can download all the tunes I want to my computer, iPhone and the kids mp3 players.

10. Red Laser - This App is the coolest shopping App around. It saved my cookie multiple times this past Christmas and I can't imagine shopping without it. You open the App and then take a picture of the bar-code for the item you're considering buying. It will then search around you and online for the best deal. I did this all the time and then had Wal-mart price match the cheapest price I found. The only bad thing is that Wal-mart wouldn't price match their own online prices. Dumb.

11. Drop Box - I really love this when I'm working. I work on so many projects that it's a pain when I need to access the documents and they're on my computer at home. I can save my documents to drop box and then access them from any of my computers or my phone. It's also really great when you are collaborating with people and have to share images or documents. You download all your photos or images to the drop box and then you all can access them. Saves TONS of time and energy sending emails.

12. Lose It - This App single handedly helped me lose 40 lbs this last year. I downloaded it last Christmas Day and put in how much weight I wanted to lose by May 27th. I had to HONESTLY put in the amount of exercise I did, and then the types of food I was eating. Then the app will tell you how many calories you can eat to get to that weight loss goal. It only took about 3 times of me getting crappy fast food and seeing my entire days worth of calories go out the window for me to quit fast food.  I also realized how many things burn calories and started really keeping track of what I ate, and the exercise I did. I have 15 more pounds to lose and then I will have hit my goal.

13. Angry Birds - Only the most downloaded App around. And seriously? It's freaking fun to play!

14. Evernote - This App is a lot like Drop Box, only it can do a lot more things. I like the fact that I can take screen shots of things and send them to myself. I also use this program on my little Netbook that doesn't have Word Processing of any kind. I can take notes, and then access those notes from any computer that has Evernote.

15. Tip Calculator -  I eat out a lot so this App has really come in handy. Particularly when I don't feel like using my math skills from 8th grade. I can put in how much the bill is, how good the service was (10%, 20%) and then if I am splitting the bill. The calculator will then figure out how much the tip is, and if I'm splitting the bill, how much everyone's portion is. AWESOME!

16. GPS Drive -  I used the free version for a while and then upgraded to the .99 cent one. Completely worth it. I have a very good sense of direction, so this app is awesome in that I can put in an address and then I can put the phone on speaker and it will tell me where to turn. I really like this app-- especially when I'm in an area that I don't know very well. I actually used this in Anaheim this summer, and it was dreamy!

17. Instagram - This is another really fun Photography App that takes different types of photos and lets you share them with all your social media pals. Photography is sort of my thing, so this app rocks my world.

18. CNN - Self Explanatory. I get my news from this app. I think everyone should have this one because then you can help yourself not be stupid and know what is going on in the world around you. There is no excuse for not knowing what is going on around you-- even if you don't watch TV (like me) you can read the news on your phone or computer. Be informed people. (yes that's a pet peeve of mine)

19. Paypal - EVERYONE needs a Paypal account. I don't know how you buy anything online without a Paypal account! With the business I run I have money coming and going quite a bit. This is a great app for me to show me when I get money and to keep a current balance.  Who doesn't like money? I can even bump phones with another App user and transfer funds that way. SLICK!

20. Shazam - Have you ever been listening to a song on the radio and wished you knew who the artist was or what the name of the song was? This app will record a snippet of the song and then tell you what the name and artist is within 30 seconds. It also gives you links to download the song from itunes. I freakin' love this app!

21. NPR - I am an NPR junkie and love this app. I have it customized and can listen to NPR stations all over the country. I also get the NPR Music App as well as follow all my favorite NPR shows. There is also a This American Life App and I have that one too. Ira Glass?! Yes please.

22. LDS Library - I have multiple apps in this category. They were all free and from the churches site. I have all the scriptures, church manuals and song books in several different apps. It's super nice for church because I don't have to take a giant bag-- just my phone and I can pull up the RS manual and my scriptures.

23. Goodreads - I'm a huge reader and this app helps me keep track of the books I want to read. There is nothing more frustrating than going to the store and not remembering the names of all the books I want to read. This App helps me keep track of those books as well as see what my friends have to say about them.

24. Flickr - I use flickr all the time for my photos and was thrilled when I could take pictures with my iPhone and then upload them to flickr for storage. I love that I can access ALL of the photos I've taken with my flickr app.

25. Dog Whistler - This app is very useful when I want to bother my children. It's the same concept as the mosquito ring tone and it cracks me up. I can hear the tones too, but it doesn't bother me the way it does my kids. My dog usually comes running to see what I'm doing and then she runs and hides. I like to see how high of a frequency I can go with my kids still being able to hear it. DRIVES THEM CRAZY! And frankly, that is oh so fun!

Honorable Mention: 
Weather Channel
Allrecipes Dinner Spinner
KSL News
What the Font
Solitaire

Rearranging the furniture to a woman is like going on vacation to a man.
Today, pick a room and rearrange it, and see if you don't fall in love with that room again.

Everywhere all over blog land I am seeing "The Best of" or "Top 10 blah blah blah".  I wasn't going to participate in that blogging ritual this year. That is until I read Oprah's List of "The 5 Must Read Books" and promptly fell asleep. Snooze city. Seriously.

I mentioned that fact on facebook and my compadres asked me what were my Must Read Books.

I caved.

I have not only come up with my list of 5 Must Read Books, but several others as well.  I'll be sharing those lists this week as I get back into the swing of writing something every day. I am trying to get back on track of being scheduled 2 weeks out-- which is a blogging god send-- and lists are the perfect way to get those creative juices flowing.

So, without further adieu:

Top 15 Favorite Songs I Downloaded This Year 
(Yes. I'm an over achiever like that. They're listed in no particular order, either.)

1. September - Pomplamoose
2. Never Tear Us Apart - Saint Etienne
3. I Need All The Friends I Can Get- Camera Obscura
4. Lost In Translation - Cameron Rafati *I couldn't find this one online anywhere so I put in another favorite*
5. Crazy For You - Adele
6. Come Ye Children Of The Lord - The Lower Lights
7. Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies
8. Nothing Left To Lose - Mat Kearney
9. Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River
10. French Navy - Camera Obscura
11. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here  - She & Him
12. Feels Like Home - Chantal  Kreviazuk
13.Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon
14. A Night Like This - Caro Emerald
15.California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dog) - Katy Perry