not much to say just need to talk to stay sane

So I have a 4 (almost 5) year old that is making me crazy today. His birthday is right after Christmas and so I have the double fun of him counting down to both. Every couple minutes he tells me its Christmas or his birthday. I know he is excited and I will be sad when he doesn't care anymore but right now I am pulling my hair out.
I could swear he is 14 not 4 he is being mouthy and throwing tantrums he didn't do this when he was 2 or even 3 it started about a month ago maybe a bit longer, about the time he started pre-school. I a starting to wonder if he is with other kids that get away with being naughty. He has spent so much time in the corner it is going to have a permanent groove from his nose.
I have threatened that Santa doesn't bring gifts to little boys that do naughty things. No effect he just cries and ends up throwing a fit that ends him back in the corner.
I am thinking I could probably sew a straight jacket with a gag but that could take me out of the mother of the year running and you know how much that award means to me.
I hope I can help him out of this "faze" before I am totally bald.
Until next time Hugs to all,

Check out this great new quilt pattern

>Click here to discover more details about this beautiful quilt

So much to be thankful for...

I am thankful for:
my family
-my sweet eternal companion
-my 13 year old that is a good girl and rarely acts like a teen
-my 10 year old that has the biggest heart
-and my 5 year old that makes me laugh every day
the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life
a warm home
good friends
better health
our free country
the men and woman who are willing to serve to keep it that way
all my sweet "online" friends who help me in so many ways.

I hope to everyone the reads my blog that you can take a day to remember you are blessed, To those of you in the USA enjoy your Thanksgiving and have a piece of pecan pie for me HUGS!!

Swamp Smoothies

So I promised to post a picture of my green smoothies, Wade calls them my swamp smoothies. This one has about a cup of water, two large handfuls of spinach, about 1/2 c of parsley, 1/2 c frozen blueberries and a banana. Its a bit brown from the blueberries instead of green but hey Wade loves them.

drowning under a pile of laundry

I am so sick of laundry I could scream, you just get everything done and more shows up. BLECH!
What if we had biodegradable clothes, stuff you could wear once and then it just melted.
I see issues with sweaty people that could be bad cause really if you are extra sweaty do we really want to see you walking around with the armpits of your shirt melted?
In the summer under your boobs would melt. That could be dang frightening if you happen to be shopping at Wal-Mart. EEWWWW!!

HMMM!

Okay so biodegradable/melting clothes aren't the greatest idea let me keep thinking on this one, I know I can come up with something to get out of folding 5 peoples socks and underwear aside from asking them to stop wearing them or wear them dirty.
SIGH!

So I have jumped into the raw food thing

I will post a picture of one of my green smoothies as soon as I take one. I have started eating raw for breakfast and lunch. That is the easiest cause I only have to worry about what I am eating at those meals.
I feel more energy, I feel less run down I even made it to the gym today and I am not dead.
I am hopeful that this is a sign of things to come and that I will feel better than my old self in no time.
(I even put some hemp seeds on my salad today I am such a hippy)

Parent teacher conferances

I think that they plan these just to make my life a pain in the bum!
It means that for the next two days I have to remember to go get the kids at 11:15 not 11:00 not 11:30 no that would have made sense, 11:15!
Not only that but it also means the kids will be home and in my space and invading my me time. LOL!
I sound like the worst parent in the world, I have to remember my kids and have them around. Boy its no wonder I never get to ride in the parade on the fourth of July as Mother of the Year!
The kids have been doing well at the new school and they really like it so PTC shouldn't be to bad, I don't expect them to tell me my children have a great future in the fast food industry or that they are future serial killers. That's always a bonus.
I guess I better get my tooshie in gear if I don't want to be the only mom picking up her kids still in her PJ's ;O)

Raw food diet???

Has anyone heard of this? Its not so much of a "diet" as a lifestyle, like being vegan or vegetarian, You only eat things that are raw or dehydrated. Nothing heated to over 116 degrees. I find this very interesting, I am not a huge meat fan and I like my veggies raw. I have to wonder about how you get enough protein in your diet, I believe tofu is cooked so you would be down to nuts and raw beans. That sounds really hard on your digestive tract.
The biggest down side I can see to this is no sugar, no chocolate, and no CF diet coke. Now I know I can hear you all saying "Carin your diabetic you shouldn't be eating sugar and chocolate anyway." I know I know I am working on it. Not very hard I admit but I am trying a little.
Anyone with thoughts or experience with this "lifestyle" I would love to hear it.

Celebrating and Honoring our Veterans (USA)

Celebrate Veterans' Day
The History and Origin of Veterans' Day



In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.

November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. On Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in a parade through their home towns. Politicians and veteran officers gave speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for the peace they had won.

Congress voted Armistice Day a federal holiday in 1938, 20 years after the war ended. But Americans realized that the previous war would not be the last one. World War II began the following year and nations great and small again participated in a bloody struggle. After the Second World War, Armistice Day continued to be observed on November 11.

In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans' Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the federal holiday to Veterans' Day. 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November.

Americans still give thanks for peace on Veterans' Day. There are ceremonies and speeches and at 11:00 in the morning, most Americans observe a moment of silence, remembering those who fought for peace.

After the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, the emphasis on holiday activities has shifted. There are fewer military parades and ceremonies. Veterans gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to place gifts and stand quiet vigil at the names of their friends and relatives who fell in the Vietnam War. Families who have lost sons and daughters in wars turn their thoughts more toward peace and the avoidance of future wars.

Veterans of military service have organized support groups such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. On Veterans' Day and Memorial Day, these groups raise funds for their charitable activities by selling paper poppies made by disabled veterans. This bright red wildflower became a symbol of World War I after a bloody battle in a field of poppies called Flanders Field in Belgium.

I am proud of the veterans in my family, my grandfather was at pearl harbor when it was attacked then went to the Philippines, my other grandfather helped work on the a-bomb, My father is a Vietnam vet and I have several cousins that have served in different branches during peace as well as in Iraq most recently.

Thank a Vet today, remember Freedom is not free, it has been paid for by these brave men and women.

I admit it I am an addict

I am addicted to Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew. This is a great interview with Dennis Miller.Dr Drew

Representing my state (hope I did okay)

I am part of a swap with some online friends from across the country, we each had to make a block that represented something from our state. I picked Arches, Delicate Arch because it is so recognisable as part of Utah and I found some way cool fabric in the oranges. I will post the rest when they arrive next week some time.

A scary dose of reality

49 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes, and 30 seconds left until Christmas!

for all of you here in the US!

Fun with printer ink.

This is why one's husband should throw away the old printer ink cartridges immediately. I also had the fun of cleaning ink of the computer desk and I don't think the 3 small spots that got on carpet will ever come out. SIGH!! Its no wonder I am tempted to sell him ;O) Good thing he's cute (both of them)

My favorite holiday!

Hope your day is full of M&M's and Smarties and its "spooktacular"

Turkeys!

I took part in a really fun swap of turkey blocks, the one above is what mine looked like. I now have 9 different turkeys including one of mine. I am trying to decide if I should make a wall hanging, a table runner, place mats or what. Any ideas? I think they probably have to be put on point otherwise the turkeys kinda lay on there side and look drunk or something. SO suggestions?

Mary Kay in the news

Mary Kay is making the news!!! Please watch this very short video and if you want to hear more, leave me a message or e-mail me and I will get right back to you. With the economy and job market the way it is, you or someone you know may like to hear more.

This is why I am so proud of what I do!!





Channel 33 Interview
http://www.the33tv.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3039259

Pre-school visits the firestation

We went this morning to visit the firestation with Wade's preschool. He had a blast! They watched a cute video with "Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers" about fire saftey, then they got to go out and climb on the firetrucks and the ambulance. While we were there they even got called out on a call so the kids got to see them jump into the firetruck and ambulance and take off with lights and sirens. In the end the gave them all plastic firefighter hats. It was a lot of fun for the kids. Please excuse the poor quality of the picture they were taken with my cell phone (as I am mother of the year I managed to forget BOTH digital cameras we have at home.) Until next time, HUGS TO ALL!!!

Political Science for Dummies

First let me start out by saying this is not intended to insult anyone it is a joke, comedy, satire... Therefore with that in mind read on.

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.


AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an
IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have down sized and are reducing expenses.
Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.
Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy
weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.
They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.
The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half.
The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows.
They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegal. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

Utah Quilt guild show

A couple weeks ago I went to the Utah Quilt Guild quilt show, it was being held here in Ogden this year so Wade and I went. They gave Wade his own white glove so he could show me around the quilts. He told everyone we ran into about his "Wade size sewing machine" and even voted for his favorite for viewers choice. It was a small show but a lot of talent was on display. We had fun just the two of us and he even came home with a couple fat quarters for his own stash courtesy of the sweet vendor ladies.

Picture update!!!

I thought since my picture was 2 years old it was time to post one that looks like me now. So here you go check out the profile picture it was taken yesterday.

oh to be a cat...

It was 28 degrees this morning when I took the kids to school so when I came home I built a fire. The cat thinks that I did it just for her. I swear she waits all year for us to use the wood burning stove.

Whats your Quilty name??

I found THIS and thought I should share.
My quilty name is Her Illustrious Highness Fabric Hoarder
Whats yours?

Count down to Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday, I love to dress up, I love the treats and the scaring each other, I love seeing all the cute ideas people come up with to have a unique costume.
I love the miniature candy bars and the smarties but my very favorite is bottle caps its the only time of the year I see them and I love them!
This year Wade is going to be a spider (I am still searching for black sweats to finish that)
Austin wants to be a samurai I am having no luck in what to do with that.
and Miranda as always wants to be a witch, she is almost always a witch. I am trying to talk her into something different.
This year Mike and I are invited to a Halloween party minus kids so I need to come up with something fun, Mike wants Morticia and Gomez Adams and I said Romeo and Juliet. Maybe Roger Rabbit and Jessica Rabbit LOL! I will keep you informed.

I need to get reading!

I found this on my friend Kristi's blog and thought it was very interesting so I thought I would share it here

"The Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program designed to encourage community reading initiatives and of their top 100 books, they estimate the average adult has read only six."

Here’s what you are supposed to do:
Look at the list and bold those we have read.
Italicize those we intend to read.
*Star the books we LOVE.



1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien*
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*My all time favorite
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling*
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte*
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare most of it not all
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger*
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell*
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams**
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis*
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis*
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne*
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo Okay I started to read this after I saw the broadway producton but didn't make it through the whole thing. I am counting it anyway!!