Do you remember the time? V

It's DONE!!! The wedding dress is ultimately and completely done. Well, I still have a sash to sew, but the dress itself is complete and PERFECT if I do say so myself.

I guess the best part is that the bride loves it. Or, at least it appears that way. Either she really likes it or she should go in to acting. Or, I'm really naive. All of these things are a possibility. I like to tell myself that she loves it, it keeps my hair from falling out in an unnatural way. And, it makes handing over the bill that much easier. Which, by the way, is very difficult for me, the reason why they say not to mix business with friendship.

Whenever I go to a wedding or see wedding dresses I always think of my own wedding. That's normal right? Sometimes I even try on my wedding dress, that's normal too..... right?. Then I go an buy myself a bouquet of flowers and walk around the neighborhood delivering fake wedding invitations.... Just kidding. That's not normal so I refrain.

Anyway, I seriously cannot wait to show pictures of this dress, but I will wait till after the wedding. Don't want to spoil it. And.... it looks much better on her than it does on the dress form. So, here's a picture or two, or four, from MY wedding.

Oh, my wedding. When I watch this neighbor and her daughter plan for the wedding I realize how little thought and money went into the planning and execution of my wedding. First, I was in school and working and we were engaged for less than three months so I had very little time to get carried away. Second, there was very little money to work with so getting carried away really wasn't much of an option. Yet, I still think it was nice enough. In hind sight I would have spent more on food/catering, but hindsight is 20/20. The whole day was a little bit chaotic but that was beyond my control. All the planning in the world couldn't keep my sister/florist from getting kidney stones, or made my brothers' flights come any earlier, or made my AWOL brother show up for heavens sake! Or made the temperature dip bellow 100 degrees. Or made my control freak mother get out of the kitchen to come say hello to her guests. I wonder if she's going to read this. I'm a bit of a control freak myself, but people kept asking me where she was for crying out loud!

While I didn't sew my own dress, I did sew these little cuties' dresses. Boy, how these girls have changed. Boy, how my tastes and sewing repertoire have changed.

I'm glad I don't have to plan or pay for any more weddings for at least 17 years or more.

Almost Paradise

Ezra is 11 months old! Wow! I can't believe he's almost one year old.

This kid is crazy! The best word I can use to describe him is Bruiser. He is a destroy now, ask questions later kind of kid.

For instance. I placed him on our recliner with his monkey to take pictures. Before I can even snap one shot, he has tackled his monkey and is sitting on it. He throws himself from one side of the chair to the other occasionally looking my way.

This kid desperately needs a hair cut. Can't wait for that. I'm going to have to duct tape him to a pole just to get him to hold still. He's not going to be happy.

I started letting him have his monkey in his bed this week. Ezra is so cute all snuggled up with him while he sleeps.

Man, this kid needs a hair cut.... Any volunteers?

Then, he threw himself a little too hard towards the arm rest and flipped over it and on to the ground..... here is the rest of the photo shoot. (after I checked to make sure he was OK)

Stopping for a moment to make sure I'm still there listening

Back to his sad story.

He says a few words consistently. Uh Oh and Hello are definitely the most understood ones. He also says Go! and Bye Bye (although it sounds more like Ga Ga).

He yells for food which makes going out to eat very interesting. OK, it's just plain painful but at least I don't have to cook.

Oh, this kid! He gets into everything! I sure love it when he laughs or crawls down the hallway at lightning speed with his head swaying side to side.

We like him. :)

Lou Lou, Skip to My Lou

So, I skipped this weeks flashback post.

I didn't mean to. I just kept getting distracted and it didn't happen. Story of my life. I will do it next Monday for sure.

Shane was in Colorado last week. I sure hate it when he goes on work trips. This time wasn't so bad though. I've learned a few tricks to making the time go faster.... cooking unusual meals, sewing into the late hours of the night while watching chick flicks, eating out a few times, this time it was Applebees and it was a disaster. We've got to start hiring babysitters if we want to go to a sit-down restaurant again. They are going to start blacklisting us. And, cleaning a corner of the house that hasn't been cleaned in a while. The whole house was candidate for that, but our bedroom got special treatment this time. The dust bunnies were growing legs.

We are glad he's home. Roman especially missed him, but the kids enjoyed huddling around the speaker phone to talk to their dad every night.


While I ate my steak and smelly socks sauce and salad with scrumptious croutons the other day, it rained. My kids love the rain. So they played on the deck off the kitchen, and I ate and snapped pictures and messed with some different camera settings. I love these cute little kids.

Marisa's hair never survives nap time. Sometimes I do something about it, sometimes I don't. This day was a day that I didn't. :(

Roman's rain dance

This picture is a little orange.

and as a side note. Ezra slept in Roman's room last night. He slept till 6:22. Now that's a time I can handle although 7:30 or 8 is my time of preference, I know, I'm lazy. Hopefully he can keep it up so he no longer has to sleep in exile in the basement. Although, the basement is not so bad. It is dark, quieter, cool in the summer and out of the way. But it was quite the hike to get to him and in the case of an emergency, a long way from where we are, so he really needed to come upstairs. Once Roman is a little older and the basement is all the way finished, he can move down there.

put it all together and you've got a treat

I just ate a smore.... and now I have the smores song from Veggie Tales stuck in my head. I love that song. If I could pick any children's song to listen to over and over, this would be at the top of my list. Don't ask me why. Maybe because I LOVE smores, camping and campfires. Maybe because it's so fun to sing :)

Anyway, this is what I had for dinner last night. No, I didn't eat the whole steak, although I'm sure I could have. I've been drooling over a recipe that the Pioneer woman posted since.... she posted it. Shane wouldn't try it, so I made it yesterday while he is away. It's called Grilled Rib-eye steak and onion blue cheese sauce. And the salad is a Caesar salad that is also on her website.


I'm not going to post the recipes, I will just give you the links but I did want to give my two cents on the meal, just in case you are curious.

First, I didn't use a rib-eye steak. Every time I've had rib eye I was totally disappointed. (even the rib-eye at outback was BLECK!) I think it's all the fat. I know it makes it taste good, but I can't stand chewing it. So I went with a sirloin, probably not as tasty but at least I didn't have to gag down giant chunks because I cant chew it.

Anywho....as for the sauce. Let me start by saying I do NOT like blue cheese. It may have something to do with the fact that the only cheese I EVER ate growing up was cheddar and Colby jack. The most exotic cheese in my house was American and that was rare.

I keep seeing all these recipes with blue cheese an I feel like I'm missing out. The recipe begs you to use blue cheese even if you don't like it. So I did. I even ate a chunk of blue cheese before adding it to the sauce and it tastes good. But the smell.... oh the smell! Even when it was mixed into the sauce it still smells like moldy gym socks. I wonder if there is a less fungus ridden alternative. Gorgonzola, feta... honestly, I have no idea... Like I said, very little cheese experience in my pallet forming years. Other than the smell though it was a very yummy sauce.

The salad was pretty good too. I didn't like eating it with my fingers much, like it suggests. I think a high quality olive oil is in order as well. The only olive oil I had was a gallon. Yes I said GALLON jug purchased at Sam's Club of all places and was purchased in 2001! Yikes. I think it's time has come. I bought a new (smaller) bottle today. It was almost gone anyway.

But the absolute make me melt and stuff me silly part of my whole meal were the croutons. Who knew!?!?

I've never liked croutons much because they are so hard they cut your mouth just trying to eat them. But these croutons were DELISH! I've never made my own croutons before but now, I'm never going back. OH!!! they were SO GOOD! I made them from a loaf of french bread. They were flavored nicely. Crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. I could have had a meal of fresh croutons and skipped all the rest.

Needless to say, I'm making more tonight.

Anyway, here is a link to the recipes.

Steak and Sauce
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/grilled-ribeye-steak-with-onion-blue-cheese-sauce/

Salad and Croutons
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/pams-simple-scrumptious-caesar-salad/

If you try nothing else, try the croutons. Maybe I just like them because it's like a whole new world has opened up for me, but I loved them.

Do you remember the time? IV

For this weeks flashback I chose a picture that I found perusing my old website. Oh how I love this picture.


I look so young. It has only been a little over 3 years since this picture was taken but I look so young! BOO HOO! ;)

Shane is drooling over his goatee. He loves that nasty thing. I like it nice and short.

Look at that cute toddler! Where did he go?!?!

This picture was taken in Pittsburgh in May 2006. We went there as a little mini get-away before heading to Shane's parents house. We didn't see it all but it was such a pleasant city with amazing views and a nice little zoo.

This trip could not have come at a better time it turned out. Literally one day before we were to fly out, I found out I had yet another miscarriage. It was actually really nice to forget my woes and be away from home where I would have surely curled up on the couch for a week and watched endless hours of useless T.V. to escape.

I need another vacation like this one. Short, relaxing, fun, inexpensive. It will be a while before I actually get one since vacation with small kids isn't much of a vacation. I'm not really the type to ditch my kids either. Especially since one is still nursing. But I'm looking forward to the day when we can either all go together and achieve adequate sleep or I can leave my kids without a huge amount of guilt. Guess I better start saving my pennies.

A dream is a wish your heart makes

But not in my case.

In high school I often had very vivid, very strange dreams. More times than not, they left me confused and sometimes panicking because even though they were so strange, they were so vivid, it seemed real.

Now, that I am exhausted and very sleep deprived, I don't have many dreams that I remember. Usually I just remember little snippits and basic outlines of my dreams but nothing solid, and they are so vague that I'm usually telling myself it's just a dream before I even wake up. Very strange.

Lately though, I haven't been sleeping very well. It may be because of this wedding dress. Not because it stresses me out, but because it plagues my thoughts constantly. I'm always thinking about what I have to do next, or how I'm going to sew a certain seam. It keeps me up at night just thinking about it. The basement project used to do that to me, but it's been so many years now, and I've learned that I have to just not think about any of it until it's absolutely necessary. I think that bugs Shane a little because he occasionally likes to go down there and dream up more ideas. I roll my eyes and walk away because I just can't think about it anymore.

Back to the subject.

So I'm blaming these crazy, vivid and irritating dreams I've been having lately on the dress. I guess we'll see if they go away once it's done.

Last night I dreamed that Shane broke up with me. I know that sounds strange considering that we are married, but in my dream I'm pretty sure we were just dating and he flat out broke up with me. I was devastated, panicked and so worried. I woke up shortly after just feeling awful. I can't shake the sick feeling all day. Just like I got the pink slip on a relationship. Uggg. How can a dumb old dream do this to me? Maybe I will feel better once he gets home from work.

The other kind of dreams I detest are the ones where I do something bad. I wake up with a horrible guilty feeling that sticks with me all day. Or, I've had several dreams where Marisa drowns. Uggg Those ones were awful!

I need some happy dreams. Mostly though, I just get strange ones. Maybe I need to think about ice cream more often (if that's possible) Or the beach... I could use a good refreshing dream on the beach where I'm sitting on a towel eating ice cream. Ahhhh

I guess at least I know that I still love Shane and would feel awful if one day he picked up and left me.

On another note. It's Sep. 11th. I remember this day, not so long ago. How it changed everyone forever. Although I'm not sure I cried that day I'm sure stunned and shocked were an understatement for how I felt. I've cried many times since. Any time I see the New York skyline, or see a video, or read a story, I fall into a melted mess of tears and mascara.

I remember. I won't ever forget. Makes me want to do some not so family friendly name calling.

Beef.... it's what's for dinner

Well, it was for dinner the other night anyway.

I found this recipe in the Deseret News a while back... it sounded good and I was in the mood for beef stew so I made it and Shane LOVED it. (if you don't already know this, that doesn't happen often)

So, I'm going to share the recipe here. It doesn't look delicious, but I don't think any beef stew looks all that great. It just tastes great. As soon as the weather cools down, try it. You will like it. Unless you generally don't like beef. Even then, It's pretty good.


Slow cooker beef stew

1 C. Cubed white potatoes
1 C. Baby Carrots
1 C. Diced Celery
8 Oz. Sliced fresh mushrooms
1 ½ lbs lean beef cubes for stew
¼ C. dry onion soup recipe mix (Lipton)
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
½ t. dried thyme
¼ t. black pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
1 can (10.75 oz)cream of mushroom soup
1 can ( 14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
½ C. frozen green peas
3 Tbsp corn starch

Do not stir stew until step 3 because potatoes and carrots won’t get tender unless they are on the bottom

Peel the potatoes (optional) and cut into ½ inch cubes. Place evenly in bottom of slow-cooker pot. Scatter carrots over potatoes. Cut celery into roughly ½ inch pieces and add to pot. Add remaining ingredients except for peas and cornstarch in order given.(do not stir)

Cover Pot and cook for 8 to 10 hours on low or until meat is fork tender. Remove lid and stir stew well.Rinse frozen peas with warm tap water to defrost slightly and add to pot. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water, mix well. Add half of the cornstarch mixture to stew gradually, stirring gently but well. Add remaining cornstarch as needed to reach desired consistency . Serve at once

Shane likes this with a few tbsp of sour cream mixed in.

We didn’t use mushrooms, Shane suggested adding some onion cubes and I used Italian flavored tomatoes. Other than that. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great.

I like to serve ours with warm rolls.

Like I said, it's a perfect cold day meal, but it's good enough that we still enjoyed it on a 90 degree day.

~ENJOY~

Do you remember the time? III

Tomorrow I'm running a 5K that is the alumni race for my high school. GULP! Yes, I will get totally smoked by all them young spry kids. But hey, it's a free race and something that has kept me running two more weeks. And, after that 1/2 marathon, 3 miles will be a breeze.... or not.

So, with that in mind, this week's flashback is a photo from the peak of my running days. Dang, I was good! I'm not bragging. OK, maybe I am.... I'm just wishing I could still run that fast. What a rush it was when our team won state my Junior year and I came in 18th place.

I was such an awkward teenager. I was 6 ft. tall by the time I was 14. I was as skinny as a rail. I was shy and lurpy. OK, so not much has changed except for the rail part. Thanks to three exhausting beautiful children. My stomach will never be the same. But running gave me something to grow on, be proud of, and look forward to. And, it gave me a whole bunch of instant friends. We were strange, yes, but we had fun.


I love this picture. This was at the start line of state my senior year. I had no idea someone was taking my picture. I was in a world of my own. I can see it in my eyes how nervous I was. I was that way before every race. The overwhelming need to pee even though I just visited the bathroom three times over. The overflowing adrenaline that sometimes had me running way too fast at the start. The fake smile I smeared on my face even though if I let myself, I would easily run straight to the school bus and hide until it was time to go home. I still get that way now, even though I'm only running for fun.

Ahhh, but once it's over. I feel great! Free. Accomplished. Empowered and confident. Even when I run/jog/hobble a 10 minute mile. I love it! Love it! Love it!!!! I still have dreams sometimes that I am back in high school, and almost all of them involve x-country practice. And in my dreams, I'm fast, young and sprightly again.

Ain't seen nothin' yet

I got to the point on the wedding dress last night where I could finally see what it's going to look like. And it will soon be finished. YEAH!!

I pinned it all together and was giddy with delight at how well it's going. I've only really made one mistake so far and lace is so incredibly forgiving, no one will ever know.

All I had to go by were some pictures. So, I was a little nervous. But I found some great patterns to work with and the fabric is being so nice to me.

I thought of showing a picture of the dress pinned up on the dress form but I don't want to spoil it. So I've got a few glimpses for you. I'm so excited! Luckily, so is the bride. Which makes all the difference in the world.


Also, we worked in the basement bathroom some more and we got the bead board and the baseboards up. WOW! It sure classes the place up A LOT! It looks nice. And the white sure toned down the whole unwanted pink hue we were struggling with. So now... the rest of the painting and finish plumbing and were DONE!!! But I can't paint until I get this dress behind me. So.... it's just going to have to wait a few more weeks.

Tired Eyes

Kindergarten is Exhausting.

Well, that's not the whole story, but I will spare him and you by not sharing the details. Let's just say he wasn't feeling very good.

This is an epic event. He has NEVER, past the age of 4 months old, fallen asleep anywhere but his bed and very rarely the car. I was shocked!

They must be working and playing hard at school. The daily mile long walk in the heat probably helps a little too.