Hannah's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Hannah's birthday and it was a big success. Although the party had to be moved indoors because of the only rain storm we have had in months and will have all summer,but it worked out just fine. Hannah had her Tinkerbell party. Here is a summary of what we did.

I hired a face painter. She was absolutely fabulous! Affordable, fun and really cute art for the girls. Tons of glitter, frills and colors. She did their faces, arms, legs, anklets, bracelets and necklaces. If anyone in Fresno needs a face painter... let me know... she is great!

When the girls came in they all got their wings and halo (This site had the best items for a fairy party... super cute and cheap). Then they either had their faces painted, decorated their own wands (which I got at Michaels) or decorated pretzel wands with melting chocolate and sprinkles. It was a lot of chaos, but tons of fun.

Next, we had lunch. Then the girls had a fairy coronation. Each girl got a new fairy name and a certificate welcoming them as fairy by the Never Council. I put a butterfly clip in their hair and they got sprinkled with pixie dust and got to make a pixie wish. Then we had a parade with their decorated wands and wings and halo, as they chanted "WE BELIEVE IN FAIRIES!"

Then we had cupcakes and opened up gifts.

Hannah definitely had to be given the new fairy name Tinkerbell. I was told for weeks that was going to be her new name. At first many of the girls weren't too sure about the face painting(including Hannah), but when they realized that they could get their legs and arms painted (instead of their faces) almost all the girls couldn't get enough paint! Most of the girls left covered in pretty paint.

Hannah's other request was to have a Tinkerbell candle on her cupcake. That was easy to do. The girls were all so cute in their cute wings and painted bodies and covered in glitter. Most of the girls pixie wishes were "to be a real fairy" and I told them all... that today they were!

As for clean-up... let's just say we will be cleaning up glitter for months to come. Our house is covered in it. But at least glitter is pretty and adds a sparkle to our house :-)

Need some Help!

So, my daughter is 5 years old and is still not potty trained during the night. I am at a loss on how to do this. She is such a deep sleeper, so how do I start the process? Do I have to let her wet her bed or are there other ways going about this?

Please all those that have experience in this matter... give me any tips you might have. Please!

Food Storage Recipe - Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I saw this recipe and thought... I want to make it (regardless of whether it is food storage or not)... but it can be used for both purposes... so that I why I had to include it on my blog. 1) food storage recipe and 2) just a great bread recipe.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 package quick rise yeast
¾ c. milk (can also use powdered milk)
¾ c. water
2 T. honey
2 T. vegetable oil
2 c. whole wheat flour

Directions:

Combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, salt, and yeast in large mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, honey and oil until hot to touch. Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add ½ cup all-purpose flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon, stir in whole wheat flour and enough additional all-purpose flour to make stiff dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, let rest for 10 minutes. Spray loaf pan with vegetable pan spray. Roll dough to 12×8” rectangle. Roll up from short end to make loaf. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in prepared pan. Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan, cool in a wire rack.

Thanks again FoodStorageMadeEasy.

Logo Design NEWS

I wanted to share some concepts of some logos I have been creating. I have had a nice steady flow of clients and it has been so much fun to be creative and work with these great individuals.

here is just a peak at what i have created lately... to see all the concepts and final logos....click here.

Also, I wanted to let people know that I am going to have a baby in about 6 weeks (give or take). So, with that being said... if you are at all interested in a logo... now would be the time. Depending on the project and/or person...it takes about 2-3 weeks to finish a project... so NOW is the time to contact me and get your project going. I won't be taking new clients past May 20th. And I will have to let you all know when I am feeling back to normal to take clients again.

So, if you have been thinking of "polishing" your logo or even just getting your first one... drop me an email!

Young Women's Lesson - Plan of Salvation

Normally, I don't do this. I try really hard to keep to the lesson schedule and the lesson in the Young Women's manual, but this week I am teaching and it is our fourth lesson (in a row) on the priesthood. I really tried to teach lesson #16 (Women and Priesthood Bearers), but the more I thought about it, the more I really felt like the girls would lose interest discussing for the 4th week in a row about the priesthood and how they as young women can support those priesthood holders in our lives.

So, with much thought and prayer... I have decided to veer away from the scheduled lesson plan and give a lesson on something just as important. Something that I feel doesn't get taught enough (or in depth) to the youth of the church. And that is the Plan of Salvation.

So, this lesson plan is on just that. In my defense, I do want to say that the last bit of my lesson does talk a little about what lesson 16's objective is.... which is "understand that a woman and her husband can enter the highest degree of celestial glory only together." So, I didn't completely ignore the lesson plan :-)

My lesson is focused on teaching the girls about the plan of Salvation as if it were a story or a play. I got this idea from a talk from Pres. Boyd K. Packer. I create a "Playbill" program titled "The Plan of Salvation. The greatest story ever told". Inside this program are questions about the Plan of Salvation and summaries about the different "Acts" of this play and elements of the plan. I also included below some discussion questions to help the girls get involved and learn a bit more.

Here is the my lesson including the text from the program I created. Also, I used the Plan of Salvation clipart I created awhile back.
NOTE: I am pretty sure it will take more than one lesson to go through everything... I figured I would start and see how far we get.

PLAN OF SALVATION

QUESTION 1
God’s Plan of Salvation is also known as the...
a) Plan of Happiness
b) Plan of Redemption
c) Plan of Mercy
d) All of the above

Think of the Plan of Salvation as a play or a story. Just like any play there are different ACTS that separate the play into segments. The Plan of Salvation has THREE ACTS.

Let’s discuss ACT 1

PRE-MORTAL EXISTENCE

QUESTION 2
How many of God’s spirit children rebelled and followed Satan?
a) 1/4
b) 1/3
c) 1/2
d) 2/3

QUESTION 3
Which of the following did NOT happen in the pre-existence?
a) God’s plan was presented
b) Kolob was destroyed
c) a Savior was chosen
d) Lucifer rebelled
e) There was a war

QUESTION 4
In our pre-mortal life we existed with God as what?
a) Matter
b) Spirits
c) Children of God
d) All of the above

Summary: Pre-mortal Existence
Before we were born, we lived with God. We are and were His spirit children and He taught and guided us while we lived with Him. This was an active time. We developed talents and we made friendships with our brothers and sisters. But we couldn’t progress as far as we needed to in God’s presence. The Plan of Salvation was set forth for our welfare—we would go to earth to develop and be tested, to see if we’d choose good even if it was hard. We would need a Savior to return, however. Lucifer asked to be the Savior, but rebelled against the plan. He didn’t like the idea of free will—his idea was that everyone should come back to God and that sin should be impossible, which would ruin the point of having a mortal life in the first place. Jesus Christ was chosen as the Savior and He and God created the world. Lucifer continued to rebel and became a devil, fallen from heaven. A third of the spirits followed him. The devil and the other rebelling spirits will never be born. They will never have bodies.

At this point, I brought out a jar of cookies and talked about the following parable:

The Parable of the Cookie Jar
Has your mother ever made cookies and then told you not to eat any of them? I know, it's the ultimate test! But how will you prove whether you have the character to leave the cookies alone? Is it when your mother stands there with her hand on top of the jar? Is it when she leaves the room momentarily?

Isn't your real proof when Mom leaves and goes off to pick up Jimmy from soccer? That's right. She has to be gone so that you really have an opportunity to exercise your agency.

The same was true in Heaven. God had to allow us some distance, so we could truly choose our way. That is why he sent us to earth and drew a "veil of forgetfulness" over our minds. We have to prove what kind of person we really are. So this life is a time of proving, or probation. Alma 12:24.

God sends prophets and gives us the scriptures to teach us of His plan for us, but we have to accept much of it on faith. That is a crucial part of His plan, because it allows us to have real freedom.

When we go ahead and eat that cookie (when we have been told not to), we have committed a sin or disobeyed Heavenly Father. It is only by using the Atonement that we can be forgiven and return to live with him again.

BIRTH

QUESTION 5
T/F: Adam and Eve messed up God’s plan when they partook of the fruit.
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 6
We are born on earth to...
a) Receive a body
b) Become like God
c) Be tried and tested
d) Develop faith in Christ
e) All of the above

QUESTION 7
If Adam and Eve had not partaken of the fruit we would...
a) Have been born in paradise and not in this fallen world
b) Still be in heaven, waiting to be born
c) Have a perfect world with no sin

Summary: Birth
To be born, we had to have been faithful before we were born. If someone was born, they accepted the Plan. Birth is the first step.

End ACT 1

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) How did we respond to the plan of salvation?
2) Lucifer rebelled against the plan of salvation, what happened to him and his followers?
3) Who is the central figure of the Plan of Salvation?

Now we start ACT II.

We might think that this ACT is the end of the play or story and it should said
'And they all lived happily ever after' at the end, but there is no promise that this will happen. This line "and they lived happily ever after" belongs after the third act (which we will discuss later).

EARTH - MORTALITY

QUESTION 8
Under the direction of our Father in Heaven, who created the earth and everything on it?
a) Jesus Christ
b) Lucifer
c) No one, everything evolved from the big bang

QUESTION 9
T/F: Satan and his followers do not have a physical body.
a) True
b) False

Summary: Mortality
Again, we came here to be tested. Can we live how God would have us live if we don’t live with Him? We can, of course. Each one of us. We can learn to have faith in things that can’t be proven—things of the spirit. We can learn to treat each other gently and kindly and to look out for each other. And we learn to live within families.

QUESTION 10
T/F: There is no life after death
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 11
When we die...
a) We remain in a black void of nothingness
b) We remain in a black void of nothingness until the resurrection
c) Our bodies and spirit are separated

SUMMARY: Death
In many ways, death is like birth. It’s a beginning, rather than the end—a transition, really. We move from the mortal world into the spirit world.


QUESTION 12
T/F: When we die our spirits also die.
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 13
What do spirits look like?
a) Blobs
b) Gaseous matter that floats aimlessly about
c) Glowing light
d) Similar to that of a regular human person, just without a body

QUESTION 14
The spirit world is divided into...
a) Prison and premortal life
b) Paradise and post mortal life
c) Premortal existence and paradise
d) Paradise and prison

QUESTION 15
In the Spirit World...
a) Christ’s church was organized
b) Missionary work continues
c) People can repent and accept the gospel
d) All of the above

QUESTION 16
In the Spirit World can people be baptized?
a) Yes
b) No

SUMMARY: Spirit World
The spirit world is in two parts. People who didn’t learn the gospel of Christ in their life go to spirit prison, but they can learn and accept it in death. God will give us every opportunity. Those who learned and lived the gospel go to spirit paradise.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1)What are some purposes of our mortal life?
2) People who do not receive the gospel on earth will have that opportunity in the spirit world. What can we do on earth to help them receive all the blessings of the plan of salvation?
3) We are subject to physical death and also to spiritual death. What is a spiritual death?
What two things does the Plan provide regarding these two deaths?

End ACT 2

Let discuss the last ACT 3

RESURRECTION

QUESTION 17
The resurrection is the reuniting of the...
a) spirit and body
b) spirit world and premortal world
c) heaven and earth

QUESTION 18
T/F: Jesus Christ was the first person to be resurrected.
a) True
b) False

SUMMARY: Resurrection
It doesn’t matter if we are righteous or not—we’ll all be resurrected. Our spirit will join our body again. Christ’s death and resurrection gave everyone that gift.

JUDGEMENT:

QUESTION 19
How must we prepare for God’s final judgment?
a) Be selfish
b) Sin
c) Repent
d) Dance a jig

SUMMARY: Judgment
After the Second Coming of Christ, where He will reign over the Millennium, then comes the Last Judgment. We’ll all be judged for our obedience to the commandments and faith. There are four places we may go after this Judgment. The Lord revealed to the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith that there are three kingdoms in heaven—the Celestial (or highest), the Terrestial, and the Telestial. Only a very few, the very most wicked, go to Outer Darkness, where the devil lives.

The Three Kingdoms

QUESTION 20
We believe that heaven is divided into three kingdoms called...
a) Heaven, Hell, and the Spirit World
b) Celestial, Telestial, and Outer Darkness
c) Tappestia, Pardisia, and Gloralia
d) Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial

QUESTION 21
Those who are cast into Outer Darkness are...
a) Satan’s followers from the pre-existence
b) Those who rebelled in the pre-existence
c) Sons of Perdition
d) All of the above

QUESTION 22
T/F: Children who die on earth will live with God in the highest kingdom.
a) True
b) False

CELESTIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:50–70, 92–96; 131:1–4; 132:19–24; 137
The glory of the Celestial Kingdom is compared with that of the
sun. It is the highest degree of glory we can receive and is
where God and Jesus Christ dwell. Those who receive this glory
have:

* Accepted Christ as their Savior
* Repented and received a remission of their sins through
Christ's atonement
* Kept God's commandments, and
* Received the saving ordinances (such as baptism, and the
Gift of the Holy Ghost)
* Children that have died before the age of eight years old

The Celestial Kingdom itself is divided into three degrees. To attain the
highest degree and be an eternal family one must receive the ordinance
of marriage, called a sealing, which is performed in sacred temples.

TERRESTRIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:71–80, 91, 97
The second degree of glory is the Terrestrial Kingdom and its glory is
compared with that of the moon. Those who inherit this kingdom of glory
are they who were good people during life but "were blinded by the
craftiness of men." (see DC 76:75)

They are also those who:

* died without law;
* Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards
received it.
* These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the
fulness of the Father.
* These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore,
they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God"
(D&C 76:72,74,77,79.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve explained: “Those destined to inherit the terrestrial kingdom are: (1) those who died ‘without law’—those heathen and pagan people who do not hear the gospel in this life, and who would not accept it with all their hearts should they hear it; (2) those who hear and reject the gospel in this life and then accept it in the spirit world; (3) those ‘who are honorable men of the earth, who [are] blinded by the craftiness of men’; and (4) those who are lukewarm members of the true church and who have testimonies, but who are not true and faithful in all things” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 146).


TELESTIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:81–90, 98–106, 109–12.
This last kingdom is like the glory of the stars and is for those unrepentant
sinners who did evil in life. They will suffer for their sins before inheriting the
Telestial Kingdom.

A good way to help the girls understand what order the kingdom go in... "telestial" has the "L' in it for LOSER (put your fingers in the shape of an "L" to your forehead). Only "LOSERS" will be in the telestial kingdom. And you don't want to be a LOSER :-)

You may need to explain that the “hell” is spirit prison, a temporary state between death and resurrection. Those in spirit prison who do not accept the gospel will eventually be resurrected and inherit telestial glory.

They are also those:

* who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
* These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
* These are they who are thrust down to hell.
* These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the
last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have
finished his work.
* These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but
of the Holy Spirit" (D&C 76:82-86.)

Outer Darkness

Those who are cast into Outer Darkness are...
a) Satan’s followers from the pre-existence
b) Those who rebelled in the pre-existence
c) Sons of Perdition
d) All of the above

Outer Darkness is where the sons of perdition are sent. A son of perdition is
someone who denied the witness of the Holy Ghost. This means that God
revealed His Son Jesus Christ to someone who, after receiving a witness of
Christ's divinity through the Holy Ghost, later denied it. (See D&C 76:43.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 358).

An example of a son of perdition would be Cain, son of Adam and Eve. He
walked and talked with Christ but he chose Satan and denied the truth
when he lied to God, thus becoming a son of perdition. (See Moses 5:16-26)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Who will be exalted in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom?
2) Why are sons of perdition condemned to experience such great suffering?


Heavenly Father’s plan is to help each of his children to return to
live with him again. To achieve that divine potential, you must
enter into celestial marriage with a righteous priesthood bearer.
Man is essential to woman, and woman is essential to man and
together living righteously and in harmony with Heavenly Father’s
gospel together you can have all the promises, blessings,
mansions and joy your Heavenly Father has in store for you!

.........And that is the greatest story ever told!

My handout were the cookies and the "playbill".

Ay Matey Pirate Party

I came across this Pirate Birthday party on Becks & Avi's blog. It is amazing and so fun. I had to share it. I loved the decorations, the favors and the cupcakes. When my boy is big enough... this is one party I am going to "copy". Check it out.

Tinkerbell Invites

Hannah has had her birthday party theme planned out for months. I asked her in February what kind of birthday party she wanted to have and without a second thought she said "a Tinkerbell Party". I tried and tried to change her mind (I wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party or a Candyland Party or a Fancy Nancy Party), but she wasn't about to falter. So, for the last several months it has been all about her Tinkerbell party.

So, I have of course given in and went with my daughter's wishes. Although I have dubbed it "An Enchanted Fairy (Tinkerbell) Party". Here are the invites that we handed out. I had them printed at Costco as postcards. They really turned out great.

New Soap, Old Bottle

I love this idea. It is clever, practical and fun. The company takes old soda bottles and puts a simple label on them and sells them for household cleaning products. I love the look and the organized feel of them. I might just go and buy myself some.

Click here to see more of their bottles and products.

Patriot's Day

Every third Monday in April, I really miss our time we spent in Boston, MA. We lived there for 8 years and fell in love with the East Coast. But why do I miss it in April, it is because of Patriots Day. Patriot's Day is an official state holiday in Massachusetts and Maine (which was part of Massachusetts in 1775), so state offices and schools in those states are closed on Monday, giving inhabitants a three-day weekend.

And although that is reason enough to love a state that gives you a 3 day holiday, just because... it really is because of all the fun things you can do this weekend. Each Patriot's Day, we would wake up at the crack of dawn and watch the re-enactments of the historic battles at Lexington and Concord. Everyone is full costume and loud muskets being shot off.

Than later that day, you head to the Boston Marathon route to cheer on the runners (I use to live 30 feet from the marathon route). I was always inspired and motivated to run after watching the runners and being a part of the fanfare and festivities of the marathon.

Lastly, (but not every year, since they are hard to come by) is attending the kick-off game between the rival Red Sox vs. Yankees baseball game.

Seriously, this is one of the most fun weekends. So much to do, see and experience. Someday I hope to make it back on Patriot's Day, just to take part in the fun again.

No Way

that was my first thought, when I saw this picture. No Way. I can't believe it is real, but then again, I can. I am not sure where this picture came from originally, but i saw it on someone's blog. Please, oh, please... don't let that happen to me.

Oh, so Cute!

Awhile back, I created a logo for a client that creates the most adorable clips and headbands for girls. There are a lot of hair accessories out there, but these girls make the cutest ones I have seen... by far.

Well, they just launched their site LylaLou's and they are up and running. So, if you are interested in some of the cutest hair accessories for that little girl in your life.. check them out.

And here is a special deal just for you.
From now until the end of April, 15% off any order of $25 or more. Just enter in the coupon code SPRING09 to redeem your discount.

a "common" blog redesign

I was asked to re-design a blog as mother's day gift for this woman. She gave me her ideas and away we went. It was so much fun to design and I am so happy she is in love with it.

You can check out her blog Common Hours. She has great ideas and is a blog I visit often, so check her out.

72 Hour Kits for a Baby

With all my thoughts on getting our food storage ready, I have to admit, I haven't given much thought to have the necessities for a baby if something should happen and there is an emergency. So, thanks to Food Storage Made Easy, here is a great list of things to have for your 72 hour kit for an infant.

* Instant formula. Make sure to buy the kind you do not need to mix with water. Also, track expiration dates and rotate through them frequently.

* 5 small bottles for the formula. You can fill them with purified water to provide extra drinking water in your kit.

* Refrigerated bottle bag. This is helpful in case you get the chance to warm up or cool down the formula you can keep it at that temperature for around 4 hours.

* Plenty of diapers. The exact number needed depends on the age of your child. I recommend including about 20 disposables and also 3 cloth ones that can be washed, dried and reused in case you run out.

* A travel package of wipes. These are great for washing as well. If you have space I’d
recommend just storing a full box of wet wipes.

* Pacifiers. Put in two just in case. If you’re stressed the baby will probably be stressed and it’s a comfort for them.

* 3 cotton/flannel wraps, and 2 muslin wraps.

* Baby food. Depending on the age of your child you will probably want to include some jars of baby food. Once your baby can eat mostly regular foods just pop these out of your kit.

* Washcloths. Stored around 10 small ones, it’s an eventuality, you’ll require them at some point.

* Small comfort toy/s. If you child has a specific toy or blanket that he/she really loves, try to grab that in an emergency. But if you can’t, then try to have a usable substitute that will help comfort the child in lieu of their favorite item.

* Clothes - and plenty of them! This is a tough one as babies grow so fast. One trick I recommend is that as you swap out their closets to put in the next size of clothes to remember to do that in the disaster kit at the same time. Make sure to include clothes for all types of weather and include lots of spares.

* Ziplock bags. These work great for storing used diapers or anything else that is dirty, or clean for that matter.

* Bulb nose syringe and saline. Saline loosens mucous and syringe sucks water/mucous/misc out of ears, nose, mouth etc. You never know if you’ll need one so it’s great to keep in your kit.

* Infant tylenol/motrin. It never fails that kids get sick as soon as you are somewhere WITHOUT your medicine. So this is a definite requirement for any child disaster kit.

* Desatin or other diaper rash cream and travel-sized baby powder. The last thing you’d want in an emergency situation is a sore bum and nothing to treat it with. This will be especially useful if you have to resort to using cloth diapers.

The most important thing to remember is to always be thinking about what is appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development. For example, if your child is no longer drinking bottles then there is no reason to keep formula in your disaster kit.

Simple, Elegant and Cute

So, many times... I personally think you have to go all out to throw a party, but Steaphanie knows how to throw a simple, yet elegant baby shower that is worth going to. I love the little details, but I love more that each detail is simple enough to duplicate and doesn't take a ton of money or time.

Check her ideas out... I love it!

Our Easter Day and Menu

Yesterday was a whirlwind and I didn't have time to write an entry wishing everyone a happy Easter. But we had a great holiday weekend. We decorated cookies and delivered some to our new neighbors, we went swimming at our friend's pool until 9:00 pm.

The girls woke up to their Easter baskets and Ella was so excited about the edible Duck sitting in her basket. She kept saying "duckie, duckie". Ella went straight for the eggs, opening each one and without an hesitation she started to chow down. Luckily, we had to go to church to stop the "candy monster". We came home and all had afternoon naps (which was so nice), then we colored Easter eggs, watched a movie about our Savior and his life and then had our Easter dinner. Lastly, we had our little Easter Egg hunt (inside our house, because our front yard is small and our backyard isn't finished and it was dark), but the girls didn't care, they just love hunting for eggs. Next, year I plan to do more of these things on Saturday, but this year it just didn't happen.

I know everyone has already had their Easter dinners, so this entry is probably not helpful to any of you, but I am including it here, because I want to be able to find it for next year... and in case you are looking for recipes next year... here it will be.

The Ham - recipe

The Potatoes - recipe

The Salad - recipe

The Rolls - Rhodes Rolls (I cheated, but can you blame me)

The Dessert - Recipe

An Easter Classic

I loved this book growing up. It was one of my favorites and I had completely forgotten about it until I was in Borders looking for Easter books and there it was. I bought it on the spot and am so excited to give it to my kids so we can read it together and pass on the love of this sweet little book.

If you haven't read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes... go and get it.

Need a Laugh

Last night, we were flipping through the channels and in one of the 400 channels, we came across the movie Staying Alive. Does anyone else remember this movie? I told my husband you have to leave it here. I loved this show as a teenager. I informed him that I had this picture (as a poster) up on my wall in my bedroom with heart stickers all over it. (yes, that is the funny part).

So, he left it (and left the room) and I ended up watching the last 30 mins. How painful was that! That was probably one of the worst movies I have seen, with mediocre dancing and horrible acting. The only good part was the last line of the movie

Tony Manero: You know what I wanna do?
Jackie: What?
Tony Manero: Strut.

And cue in the Bee Gees song "Staying Alive".

I am not sure what I was thinking as a teenager (both on the movie and the poster), but I do have to say, no one can strut like Johnny T.

Latest Logo and Logo News

I think this might have been the most fun logo I have designed. How could you not have fun creating a logo for a business called "A Yummy Life Photography". The ideas were just overflowing. But the best idea, was she wanted to see what something would look like for the idea "too hot, too cold, just right". How fun is that?

Well, here is what I created for her. To see the final logo, she chose go here.

Also, I have raised my prices yet again. Not much, but a bit to cover certain business expenses and to be more competitive. Thank you everyone for you business and referrals, you are all awesome!

Weekend Update

It was so much fun to go to SLC this weekend for General Conference. Although it was terribly cold Saturday morning and snowing (a drastic change from our 70 degree weather), it was a wonderful weekend.

We were able to go to both Saturday sessions and the big treat was to be able to be in the conference center when my dad was sustained as a new Area Authority of the Seventy. I am so proud of him and the example he is to our family. Congrats Dad!

The other big treat (and always is) is to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person. There is nothing like hearing them sing live... it is one of the most beautiful "noises" in the world.

then later that evening, I went to dinner with my cousin Laurel and my Aunt Larrie. That was about as fun as it gets. We chatted and laughed for 2 hours. My cousin Laurel is amazing and is so funny. She has great stories, great insights, great wisdom and makes everyone feel so special and loved. Thanks for making time for us, cuz! it was a blast.

Then Sunday, we stayed at my in-laws and the extended family came over for lunch. About 40-50 people... it was nice to see everyone and socialize again with family.

It was a quick trip and over way to fast, but a wonderful treat to be able to be there this weekend and experience such wonderful events with family. Probably one of the best conferences yet!

Oh, and of course the talks were outstanding!

Craft Time with Hannah

I realized that I needed to do more crafts with my daughter. She loves anything craft related, so I have been keeping an eye out for fun projects we can do together. It has been a huge success. She plays with the projects for days/weeks after we have done them. I thought we would work on them and that would be it, but nooo, they are all now apart of our lives.

Here are some of the projects we have done the past week or two. They are super fun, easy and help teach things too.

Paper Plate Animals

Paint Blending and Colors - Get ziploc baggies and put a dollop of red paint and then a dollop of blue paint. Seal and squish... what do you get... purple. Do the same for yellow and blue and red and yellow. A fun way to teach the color wheel to kids.

Homemade Clock to teach telling time

Conference Weekend in Salt Lake

We are heading out today to Salt Lake City to enjoy General Conference weekend. I hear that SLC has received a lot of snow and is cold right, so it probably won't look like the picture above, but nonetheless, it will be great to be able to sit in the conference center and listen to the talks without any interruptions. What a nice treat, since the last time we did that was 5 years ago.

The above photo, was taken by RJ Snow

Candy Heaven

This post is all about candy. I love candy. I think I prefer it over chocolate sometimes. I have mentioned that I wish I had a mini-candy store in my house with the pretty glass containers and all the pretty colors, but alas I don't have the willpower, so I don't.

It probably started as a kid when we went to the summertime matinee movies, we would stop at 7-11 and we could pick out ten pieces of candy from the bottom shelf to take with us. I remember that being just the greatest thing ever. Things haven't changed, when we go to our local candy shop, I let me kids do the same. They can pick out (right now only 3) pieces of candy to take home.

Well, here are some fun candy and goodie websites that I have come across that I thought I would share. Mostly, because they are fun and who doesn't like candy.

I love this one, because it allows you to shop by color. What a great idea.

This one is more about brownies, but they are just as fun and so colorful and cute. Love the website.

My all-time favorite candy are Jelly Belly jelly beans. I love the flavors, the colors and of course the taste of eating each one all by itself. You have to enjoy each and every intense flavor - so I never put more than one at a time.

Here in town, we finally have a great candy shoppe. I love it and we go there quite often. It is Powell' Sweet Shoppe. It has all the old fashion candies that are hard to find and of course the latest and greatest. We also love it because it has tons of unique and hard to find sodas and root beers. Each time we go, we try a new one. Yippee for fun candy shops!

An Easter Egg Tree

For years now, I have wanted my own Easter Egg Tree. Martha Stewart did one years ago (she used pussy willows which I love) and every since then I have wanted to do one myself. Well, I came across this Easter Egg Tree and my resolve has become even stronger to put start putting together my very own.

The thing I love about the Easter Egg Tree from Skip to my Lou is that she has been collecting her eggs for years (just like Christmas ornaments). That makes it even more cute and meaningful. So, this year, I am going to start collecting eggs and someday in the future I will have my own Easter Egg Tree!

Spring Zoo Trip

We have been home for the past several weekends and so we have decided to go out and about here in town. This last weekend it was so nice that we headed to the zoo. Chris had never been to our local zoo, so we were so happy to take dad!

This was Ella's first trip to the zoo (at an age she would know anything). she loved seeing all the animals that she has been learning about. She was excited to practice her animal noises and see them in real life. She really like the monkeys and the giraffes. Hannah you can tell is older. She didn't spend as much time with each animal, but there is still some "kid" in her. She loved feeding the giraffe and kept asking to do it again. They both liked to look at the Stingrays, but either one of them were willing to touch the water or the rays.

It was fun to go as a family and to spend a great spring day "animal exploring".

Calling all Opinions

So, with baby #3 coming, it is time to think about a stroller, yet again. We have a Joovy Sit and Stand and liked it somewhat, but don't know that I want another one. (It has seen better days, so we are going to get a new one). It was hard to push (but then again, that might be the nature of the beast with all double strollers). That is what I am wondering.

I would love all you moms out there, to share your opinions on double strollers and what you like and don't like. Tandem, side by side, front and back... pros and cons. I don't want to spend $300 for a stroller, but I do want a good one and one that won't break my back pushing it. Although, I might be considering the Per Perego Aria Twin, so maybe price isn't an issue.

Please, oh please... everyone share your wisdom with me!

Food Storage Recipe - Mexican Casserole

So, I am going to start a category that will include all things food storage, but mostly recipes. That way, someday I will have a place where I have all my food storage recipe in one place, just in case I need to use them. (Obviously, I will have to print them out to use them in case of an emergency, but at least I will know where they are all when I am ready to print.)

I will mostly likely be posting recipes that I feel are truly emergency-type recipes. Recipes that you would make if there were a real emergency situation and limited access to the everyday luxuries.

This week, I am off to buy a lot of mac and cheese and chili and corn as part of my food storage.

Cowboy Delight - Mexican Casserole
Ingredients:
1 family size package Kraft macaroni and cheese
(I used 3 C macaroni, 1/2 C powdered cheese, 6 tsp butter, 6 tsp of powdered milk)
½ lb. lean hamburger (or turkey), browned (or leave out the meat altogether)
½ onion, chopped (can use dehydrated onion flakes)
1 can chili with beans
1 can tomato soup
1 T. chili powder
1 can corn
cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
fritos (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Cook kraft dinner according to directions in large pot. Meanwhile, brown hamburger with onion. Add to kraft dinner with remaining ingredients. Heat through. Pour into casserole dish and top with fritos. Cover and bake 30 minutes.

This recipe is from www.FoodStorageMadeEasy.net