Turn it up, it's 5 minutes to midnight...

Okay, well it's more like 40 minutes until midnight but I haven't blogged in a really long time so I figured I should at least make an end of the year post.

So, what did 2010 have in store for us? Oh so many things... The best of it all was watching Thomas grow up right before our eyes.

January


We celebrated not only Jack's birthday but also had Thomas' baby blessing. Jack's parents were able to make it, and so also was my grandpa.

March

Thomas started eating baby food and was still on to eat pretty much everything. Woo!

April




Celebrating Easter! Yay! Aaron and Laurel joined us to decorate cookies and watch General Conference.

May



Thomas hung-out with Grandma & Grandpa in New York and Jack and I went on a cruise to the Cayman Islands and got burnt at Cozumel!

June


Another trip to NY where Thomas was able to get pictures with my Grandfather just weeks before he passed away.

August

Thomas watched so patiently as we painted the house. By then he started walking.

September


We took a trip to Alaska and Thomas got to meet any of his cousins and other relatives.

October



So much fun! Trick-or-treating and Thomas' first birthday!! The Taylor Swift concert in New York and celebrating turning 1 again with Grandpa & Grandma T

November



More traveling with a journey to New York and than Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with Thomas' great grandma Karen. We also got to explore at the museum of Science & Industry! Thomas loved the little baby chicks

December


Christmas!! In just a few short months Thomas came a long way and learned how to unwrap presents quick. We all had such a great time :)

Happy New Year everyone!!

Little Big Boy

Thomas is growing up so quickly, I just can't believe it!

I haven't blogged in a very, very long time but I guess I've just been out doing things. Thomas is growing up so fast and is just cuter than ever!

His favorite thing is playing with "big people" things. Such as toothbrushes, my shoes, and more:

 

Thirteen Reasons Why

I just finished reading Th1rt3en Reasons Why by Jay Asher for our September book club book. I seriously read it in one day. It wasn't that it was so beautifully written, or just so good, but it really was a page-turner. I just couldn't bare putting the book down and not knowing what was going to happen next in Hannah's story, I needed to know what happened in her life. I think it's a good book for a high school kid, but I guess I was hoping there would be more depth to it. I mean, it's a book about suicide, of course it's deep, but in my opinion, it was hard to really feel the emotions of the girl. I guess that's a good thing though right? I mean who wants to relate to a girl who killed herself, right?

Anyway, now that i have finished that book, I am going to be starting on A Certain slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and then I have to read all the books in  the Hunger Games seri es by October since the newest one, MockingJay is our October book. I'm not worried though, i'm sure I'll be able to read them in time.

Today is my first day working a 12 hour shift at work, and although I am tired of sitting down (I know, I can just stand up but my extension cord on my headset isn't very long) it hasn't been so bad. I think I can do this! But who knows, I haven't worked my 9:45-1:45am shift yet, maybe I'll change my mind!

Having all of Tuesdays through Fridays off has been a really weird experience for me. It's made me decide I am really not the Stay At Home Mom kind of person. I just dont' have enough to do, and it feels weird. It feels weird not to try and get everything done by 3:30 to go to work, it feels weird that by 2pm I have done the dishes, started some laundry, even vacuumed and am on my way home from grocery shopping, and still have an entire day.
I am going to have to get more hobbies I guess!

Today our refrigerator broke down. The temperature on it just kept going up and we don't know why but we didn't hve time to call a service guy because by then all our food would ahve gone bad (they're not going to send anyone labor day weekend!) so we bought a new one! Can you believe it?! $900 for a new fridge. Ouch. I'm still confident we can reach our goal to pay off our cars though, we just have to try not to have anymore big expenses. Jack is saying he has to get his wisdom teeth removed, i have no idea how much that costs, but according to him our dental covers 50%.

I feel like I should be really bummed about this big expense, the fact that I was working and couldn't go with Jack to pick it up, and yadda yadda yadda, but in all honesty, our refrigerator was going to crap. The shelves were broken, the drawers would fall of the sliders and break when you tried to open them, the water dispenser was broken (thanks, mom), it was a little depressing! And it didn't hold things very well due to the fact that all the shelves were messed up. So I'm actually kind of glad that we now have a new fridge.
I did hear the other day that they are offering a tax credit for people who buy new energy star refrigerators in 2010 and I want to make sure the one we bought qualifies for that. I've been having trouble finding it online though so i need to go grab my magazine (Lowe's) and look up the article again.

Other than that, I guess not much else has been going on. Thomas toddles around the house everywhere now, walking like a pro, and rarely if ever, losing his balance. It's really adorable! We've been teaching him how to clap his hands and give hi-fives, and lately he has been having fun smacking his lips all around town. He is such a funny little boy, I love him so much!
One thing about only working three days a week is that we get to spend so much more time together and I don't have to worry about him being in the care of someone else so much. Even with me working downstairs and a baby-sitter upstairs, I always worried about him the entire time, it just broke my heart.

Mondays are still hard though. He has only been with the new baby-sitter once, and luckily this Monday Jack has off so he won't have to go this week either, but I was so incredibly nervous the entire time! I just want to know without a doubt my little one is perfectly safe and happy, and you just can't know. Things like that are hard about being a mom, now I understand why my mom was always so overprotective. Luckily though, because I had to grow up with a very over protective mom, i know it's important to let my kids live a little, even if it kills me inside!

Crap I feel all grown up now, it's freaky. Responsibilities and such, who would've thought.

The Sleep Zone

Last night Jack woke up after having fallen asleep on the couch and looked at me begrudgingly. As if to accuse me of staying up way too late, and not going to bed. I gave him a look back and said, "what? It's just now midnight." To which he responded, "yeah, in Utah." I blinked at him and then laughed, "we are in Utah, Jack. Well at least I am, not sure where you are." It took him some time but he got awake enough to admit that in his sleep-mind he was somewhere else. Although, I'm not sure exactly where. Wherever it was he was in the Sleep Time Zone.

This morning, I woke up early but Thomas was still sleeping so I figured I would just rest my eyes for a little bit. Amazing how in ten minutes my sleep transported me somewhere else, to a completely bizarre world that for some reason felt incredibly real.

I dreamed that My parents were building a house, I think in Utah but can't be sure because the property looked like our home in New York, and they had the kitchen done and a tiled spot on the floor that they needed to frame in and make the bathroom. I was offering to call up some friends and help but Jack and I were apparently running late. We had left Thomas at my Abuelita's apartment to be looked after. Which is incredibly strange because unfortunately, my grandma passed away a few years ago.

Anyway, my dad and I got into the car and started driving to Queens, so I guess we were in New York. While in the car he asked me what I thought about at this woman that was there at the house that actually used to be in my church back in New York. She was obviously flirting with him and I got mad and told him that she was ugly and mean and my mom was a hundred thousand times better than her, which is true. He missed a turn and turned around for it, I was frustrated that we were running late and insisted that I drive. He pulled over, after turning around a bunch of times, for me to get int he driver's seat at which point I said, "forget it, you drive" but it wasn't my dad anymore, it was Jack and we weren't in a car anymore we were in an old pickup truck. At this point I realize I hadn't left any extra formula for my grandma to feed Thomas with, and I dropped him off in the morning and it is now dark so I'm really worrying. Jack, his usual self, even in my dreams (must be because he's so perfect), tries to comfort me and says everything is fine.

Well, we drive around for awhile and then I look out the window and notice that we are barely on a road, and that there is water moving all around us. Jack and I get out of the truck and discover that we are on a small cruise liner! Apparently, we had accidentally driven onto the ramp they were boarding from and the boat took off. One of the director's inform us that we are going to Canada and I of course start crying. He said we've only been traveling for 5 minutes so we're not going to reach land anytime soon.

Jack and I kind of give up for awhile and hang-out on a sofa when another attendant, this time a lady, comes in. After talking for a little bit, we explain to her why I'm so upset and she says she can do something, i don't' remember what it was called, to get the boat to anchor up back by a road for us. I am so incredibly grateful and within the next few minutes the boat has stopped and we are getting into the truck, this time with me driving, trying to maneuver it through the narrow walkways of the boat.
I can kind of hear people talking in the background about the weather or something being too warm outside and they need to turn off the air conditioner. Jack is now still sitting on the sofa, and trying to climb through a window thing to get into the truck with me. I turn my head out to the water and feel a sickening feeling in my stomach as I see a huge wave forming right in front of the ship. I turn to the attendant and ask what to do, "you'll be safer on the boat than on land in that truck," she replies. "Probably you're only chance of survival." Of course I'm freaking out but nod and say, "okay." I climb out of the truck, "just let me make a phone call first." I rehearse in my mind the conversation i'm going to have with my grandma to make sure everything is okay and to explain we probably won't be back until the next day. Keep in mind, my grandma doesn't speak a word of English so this conversation is in Spanish. Which I am not very comfortable speaking but of course, in my dreams I speak it perfectly. The wave crashes over us and the attendant helps me cover my nose as the water surrounds us. Soon, the wave has dispersed and I grab my phone and start dialing my parents. The plan was to ask them to buy formula, bring it over to Abuelita and explain everything. Just then, a second, much bigger wave is forming and about to crash over us. The attendant ditches me to get inside the boat, but I don't have time. I throw myself against the railing and reach one of my hands out for Jack, sticking it through an open window on the boat. The wave crashes over us and we are underwater, but I feel Jack grab my hand. I hold my breath for what seems like forever, and I feel Jack losing his grip and it occurs to me that he is wanting to take a breath. I clasp my hand over his nose, afraid of him drowning since we're still under water, but he still starts to fall limp. I myself am running out of breath and I keep kicking my legs upward hoping to break through the surface. Jack goes limp and I start freaking out- and then I wake up.

For a split second waking up, it felt totally real. Like my hand was going through the mattress, which was actually water, and I was at the surface of it trying to grab hold of Jack. It was totally crazy. Than I woke up and realized the bizarreness of it all and now I'm sharing it with you. Very, very strange...

You're A Good Man, Jack M

Today I have been feeling somewhat gloomy... Yesterday was a hard day and Thomas broke my one and only favorite lamp that we have. It's the only lamp I picked out for the house myself and I was just really bummed and annoyed that he broke it. I alsojust finished reading a particularly sad but insightful book called The Space Between Us so that may have something to do with it, but I think that was only partially it. I think the main reason was because lately I have been thinking about my own life and the mistakes made in it.

Sometimes I just have this urge and need to write about my past, my story. Like writing about it will help me understand all the things that happened that don't make any sense, but it gets me worried too. Like, what if someone were to find what I wrote and read it? I don't want people taking things the wrong way, or judging me or worse, members of my family, based off of things that happened years ago. Life is different now, and while I have forgiven people around me and they have forgiven me, I guess in a way, I feel like I'm not really 100% over it. Like maybe I've never really, truly, forgiven myself and so I can't let it go. This book just reminded me of the fact that the past never really leaves us. It seems like no matter how hard I try to forget or shut out certain things, they just keep nagging at me, haunting me, and I can't forget them until I take the time to really think about them. And then they only go away for a brief period of time, only to come back again.

So I finally gave in and started writing. Or perhaps I should say typing. Sad how I don't use pen and paper anymore, but it's much more terrifying, more permanent. Easier for someone to stumble upon... so I use my computer instead. It feels good writing. I thought i wouldn't know how to say the things I wanted to, but things just seemed to fall into place. I said enough without saying too much, and things started making sense to me in a way they hadn't before. Reasons for my actions that I had never thought about. There is so much more to write, I only wrote a few paragraphs briefly summing up from ages 6-13 without going into too much detail, but that is only the beginning of things. I don't know if I'm ready to write the rest, but I feel better having written what I did.

I've tried many, many times before to write something similar to my story, a girl in a similar situation but different, a portion of my experience through the eyes of someone else. But now is the first time I've started from the beginning, changing only a few things and circumstances, and of course names. I know some people would say I shouldn't do it, that it's better to leave the past in the past and move on, but I just can't. I've tried it and it doesn't work, not for me anyway.

So perhaps that is why i was a little gloomy today and maybe why Thomas was so cranky, feeling like I wasn't giving him enough attention or something. Or maybe he was just tired because I finally set him in his crib and he seemed to go to sleep and I started dinner. I was disappointed that a few things for dinner hadn't turned out exactly how I planned but was moving ahead. Jack got home from work early and I guess he could tell I wasn't in the best of moods, and do you know what that wonderful man did? He insisted on helping me finish cooking. Together we prepared the rest of dinner and sat down at the table to enjoy it together. So often when I'm in a bad mood, he just doesn't get it, and I just get annoyed and want to be left alone, but he didn't really say much, just asked if it was something he did and I said no, and went right along trying to make my day a little easier. It meant a lot to me, even if what he did was small.

I know I have a good husband who cares about me and our family and I feel very lucky for that. I never would have thought I would be so lucky to have a person like him. Too often my own insecurities and doubts get in the way of truly appreciating what I have, making me feel like it's all just an act or something, but today was not one of those days. I hope we can have more days like this, and find ways to show each other we care about each other in actions that are meaningful. I'm so blessed to have Jack in my life.

I'm back

Due to our recent trip to Alaska (we got back Sunday night) I haven't updated in awhile.

We had a really fun time visiting Jack's family up there and I'm sure I will post about it later.  But right now, I want to post about some other things...

Jack said before we can buy a house we need to pay off our cars, which makes sense to me although it's frustrating.  So today I have been plotting things out and as long as we get a decent return on our taxes next year, we can have them paid off by April or May 2011.  While my original goal was to pay them off by my birthday (in March) so we would have more time to save up for a down payment I suppose I can live with this.

The down payment saving up is going to suck because I want to move soon, but I guess we can do it if we are really careful about what we spend.  If we sell our house, that would help a great deal but Jack wants to rent it out- something I'm not super eager to do, but it would be nice not to have to sell this house just yet.

So in the meantime, and to give myself an idea of how much we are going to need to save up I have been looking at houses.  I have a very lengthy wish list that I know I won't be able to find everything but hey, i can dream right?

Anyway, this is my wish list for a new house not necessarily in any order:

• Master bedroom with walk-in closets and dual showers would be cool
• at least 3 additional bedrooms
• main bedrooms (preferably all, located on different floor as main floor)
• Formal dining room
• 2 car garage would be nice, 1 car okay
• big backyard-fenced, nice patio
• Living room space & TV/den area (I want like a sitting room for visiting, and a separate area for the TV)
• TV/Den fits our big sectional *that's a must
• Craft/Office room big enough for Jack and I to share and me to have a craft area and a work area for JetBlue
• Nice kitchen, doesn't have to be huge but definitely needs to be functional
• Lots of storage throughout the house
• Back door into backyard with a mud room
• Functional entryway (closet nearby or hooks for jackets, tiled entrance, etc.,)
• Hidden laundry room
• Climbable trees in the backyard (for kids, and hey maybe me too) 
• No HOAs
• Built after 1980 (preferably 1990)
• efficient heating/cooling
• at least 2 bathrooms

In addition to all of this I think it would be really cool to either have a shed out back or a room in the house I could use as a "Project Room" and splatter paint and wood shavings everywhere to work on construction projects, painting projects, and just crafts in general that are more in depth than just scrapbooking.

I think that's pretty much it... lol I know, it's a lot, but that's what I want- what I think would be really cool.  In addition to that, I love bay windows and sitting nooks and any addition of those to bedrooms or the living room would be an added plus.  :)

It's fun to dream...

Don't You Just Love a Good Nap?

Today I feel FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!  Or should I say, I'm "Feeling Fabulous" ;) 
Thomas took a good nap from 8:45am to almost 12:00pm and I am not ashamed to say, I slept the entire time, too!

And for the first time in who knows how long, I actually feel mostly rested.  It is a fabulous feeling, and I wish I could feel like this forever.  Which is sad, because I am still a little tired, but a lot better than usual.

Anyway, we are in the middle of getting ready for our trip.  The flights are booked and as long as we make our standby flight to Long Beach tomorrow, we will be set!  I really hope we make it without a problem, I am feeling pretty confident but you can never be too sure with Long Beach, it's kind of tough to get through. 

I made a tank top the other day which I thought was pretty cool.  It didn't come out exactly how I wanted but considering it was my first time I think I did pretty good.  I am going to try again when I find some more cute fabric for really cheap.

That's about it for now... I probably won't be posting much while we're away (but I have auto-posts scheduled for my other blogs so I can mark it off on my daily goals!)

Adios!  Keep your fingers crossed I find my camera so I can take pictures in Alaska.  Thomas needs pictures with the in-laws, his poor scrapbook is in dire need of pictures with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Otis.

(mostly) Wordless Wednesday

They grow up so fast

Don't forget about Feeling Fabulous! Yesterday's score was a meager 13. But I will try and do better today, I promise!

Nap, please.

I am soo tired! I wonder if exercising will help me feel more awake. It usually does... but I am so tired I don't even want to start thinking about using any energy whatsoever. I put away the dishes, cleaned the sink, and cleaned up a bit downstairs but I don't really want to do anything else except sleep.

I scored 15 points yesterday though which isn't bad. I am on my way to getting even more done today. I will be so glad when this week comes to a close though. It will be nice to get away for awhile. I'm starting to get back to working on my site for cards. I am in the process of designing more cards with a cute unique twist that I think will be very successful.

I don't know how working 12 hours a day every Saturday is going to go next month but it definitely will be nice to have off 4 days a week and only need a baby-sitter on Mondays.

There is so much I want to do, I just don't know where to start sometimes. I want to redo the basement so we can make more efficient use of the space down there but Jack isn't eager to do that. He has his collection of computers down there so I don't know. We'll see.

Oh and you may have noticed the new blog button on my sidebar. I am SOO in love with this site. It's called Knock-Off Wood and has tons of plans and projects for working with wood. So great! There are so many projects I want to do from there! I'm trying to decide at what age to transition Thomas to a bed, I'd rather do it sooner because then his bedroom will have a lot more space in it. I want to make a boyish daybed and then just have a trundle under it for visitors etc.,

I think if I do it with a back and "arm rests" that are high enough up, then all we would need is a detachable railing for the front and it would basically still be a crib so I don't think it would be a big deal to transition him over. Anyway, it won't be until after his birthday (which I am so excited for!) so I have some time to think about it.

It's Monday!

Despite the exclamation point, I am not feeling particularly exclamatory. I am very, very tired today. I feel like i haven't slept in weeks *sigh*
Hopefully this feeling goes away soon. I am excited that today is the official start of Feeling Fabulous though. It is rather unfortunate that I do not feel very fabulous, but I did get quite a few goals accomplished today, even though I was not extremely motivated to do so. I will keep trying. I am going to work on a craft during work today that I'm excited about (will post later this week if I can).

This week will be very busy as we are getting ready to go to Alaska and I am working a ton. I am picking up hours to get off for our trip, but I sitll have some time that I need to get off so hopefully i can take care of it and not get stuck! That would suck.

I'm still doing the cooking and Baby's Mama blog, I actually enjoy it quite a bit. And surprisingly, I've earned $4.00 from Google Ads. :P I don't know who is clicking on my links since it feels like I have no readers, but somebody is! How cool would it be if I actually made some money blogging? I do it either way, and it would be pretty awesome if I could make money off of it...

Yesterday Jack and I were talkin about some of our goals for the future. We are trying to save up as much money as we can to get our cars paid off quickly. I don't think we will be able to get them paid off until next Spring, but that's not sooo far off, and if we get a good tax return maybe sooner!
After we get that paid off, we want to try and rent out this house, and BUY A NEW HOUSE! YAY!! Once we get a new house (and evaluate our financial situation again), we may decide to have another baby. I am starting to want another one again, but I want to time it so I'm not 8 months pregnant in July! I am so excited about these things to come though, and I really, truly hope we can reach our goals and be in a new house by next summer.

See? Setting goals is a good thing :) FYI it was also the topic of the talks in church on Sunday.

Getting Organized With Goals

So, I am getting ready for the Feeling Fabulous challenge (of which you have TWO more days to get your lists ready)! I discovered a few things... there are only 4 categories, meaning 20 goals, not 25. I think that's much more reasonable anyway! Feel free to include more goals in your list but the official challenge will be for 20!

Also, I am really excited about this! I really think I can do this! I was so excited about it, but I knew i would need a way to remind myself and keep my goals organized so I came up with this great idea to make a weekly organizer. I used a picture frame to put my list of goals and then popped it into place. Now everyday, I can cross of each goal as it is accomplished with a dry erase marker. It's perfect because I can just wipe it down at the end of the night and then begin again. My planner included each day of the week for other appointments and so Jack doesn't keep asking me my work schedule (he can look and see now!) but if your only priority is your list of daily goals and weekly reminders, skip the weekdays and just focus on that.

I have included a tutorial for the weekly planner on my Baby's Mama blog. I am also looking for guest posters for the week of the 23rd so if you're interested, have kids, or are expecting, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP! I can give you a topic or you can come up with your own post. Thanks!!

I feel a little bad that I took a picture of Jesus out of the frame to make it lol, but we have many pictures of Jesus around the house so I think it's okay. I promise, I will find a new home for the original picture.

In other news, today Thomas got my cell phone, put it in a bowl, and shook it all around. Afterwards, he attempted to "drink" my cell phone by holding the bowl to his lips and tilting it up. It was very cute! Maybe my Newbie Cooking Attempts are rubbing off on him (PS that is a link to my new blog, please follow, i would appreciate the support!).

One more thing about that poll I posted to help choose a picture for Thomas' invites. The beach one is definitely in the lead but don't you guys think it would be weird to have a beach picture on his invitations when his birthday is in October? Last year it snowed the day after, so I just wonder if it would be strange... but maybe i'm over thinking it, I mean it is just a stamp haha. Let me know! Thanks guys!

Baby Time Out

Don't take the post title the wrong way, this isn't a form of punishment. It just seems in the past week, Thomas has gone from a cheerful, happy, giggly, playful, baby to one that screams, cries, throws a tantrum, and whines for NO REASON. *insert frustrated, tired mom sigh here*

So, today I tried something new and it seemed to work. I decided to call it "the baby time-out". As Thomas got more and more impossible to deal with I got more and more frustrated. So, even though it was quite some time away from his nap, I just said forget it, and put him in his crib with a bottle and a little blankie rattle, turned the light off and left the room.

He whined for a little bit like he usually does (like 5 minutes) and then went quiet. I finally got a break to eat something, rest my eyes, and clean around the house a little bit. He stayed in his crib for about 30-40 minutes (not sure if he slept or not but I don't think so because I heard him playing at one point) and then started crying again so I went in there and took him out. It's been about about 2 hours since his little alone time and he has been perfectly content!

Seriously, I am thinking this works. He didn't do his morning nap, but I really don't mind because he is so much happier right now. He ate some apples, we cleaned in the bedroom, and now he is tackling his activity mat like he usually does. I hope I'm on to something here! And I'm so glad I have my happy little guy back!

Need Your Help!

Okay, so I need your help with some decision-making here. I've decided since Thomas' 1st birthday invites are not going to have his picture on them, I want to do photostamps for the invites. But i need help choosing what picture to use, so please vote from below. If it makes any difference, it's a Pirate themed party, and his birthday is Oct. 26th (I'm an early planner!) Which picture to use? If you don't like any of my choices and have a suggestion of your own (maybe from my facebook photos or just another idea all together) please post a comment with your idea! Thanks :)

^1- all dressed up ^2- surfs up ^3-Flashback #1 ^4-Flashback #2 "baby blues" ^5- Like my hat?

(mostly) Wordless Wednesday - The World is A Lot of Fun When You're Only 2 Feet Tall

Thomas loves to bounce around and play on his activity mat, watching him is soo fun!
I tried to capture some video of his "game" but the first time he caught me, and the second time he got hungry.

Here's what I got:



It sounds like he's saying "HEelllooo" when he's going in to grab the camera.  So cute!





PS I hope you are thinking of your Feeling Fabulous goals!

The "JetBlue" Guy...

To preface this post, although I am a JetBlue employee, this is my own personal opinion, and does not reflect any statements released from JetBlue or anything like that.

I just have to say that I feel really bad for this guy!  I am 99% sure that anyone who has a job in customer service has had a near-breaking point moment and wanted to do something  similar to what he did.  His actions took it a bit far, but i don't know the whole story.

Honestly, some people are just SO HORRIBLE to talk to.  They act like they are completely entitled to everything, that you know nothing, and because they, like millions of other people, select your company they can treat you like a jerk and we will bend all of the rules for them.  Who doesn't want to curse someone like that out?  ugh.

The real issue here is how disrespectful people today are!  If that lady had just complied with what is not JetBlue's policy, but FAA regulation  there wouldn't have even been an incident.  It's disgusting the way we as "customers" treat the people who are there to help us!

There have been some circumstances, I've talked to people who have been rude to me, and I have gotten defensive back, but I've never demanded that something be done, or said "You HAVE to do this for me!".  The fact is, when you talk to someone on the phone, chances are, they can help you out with what you need, but if they can't, it's not because they don't like you, or because you need to ask a supervisor to do it, it's because it is the company's policy and they are protecting the company, the revenue of that company, and keeping it fair for everyone by denying your request.  And guarantee you, if you are nice, understanding and pleasant about it, they will be much more inclined to try and find something to help you.

As a customer service agent, I plead with all of you to next time you talk to someone on the phone, or at the grocery store, to take a moment and be a little more courteous and friendly. 

That is all!

When Baby's Grow Up

When Thomas was an itty bitty baby, every new discovery was exciting and fun!

The first time he discovered his reflection ,
the first time he discovered his toys .

And even the buckle on his car seat
(which he is still fascinated by, by the way).

Now however, as he gets older, his discoveries are getting more fun for him, and more work for me!  For example, in the past week he has "discovered" where mom keeps the nice china (in a cabinet he can access- yeah, I'm changing this STAT).
He has also "'discovered" that toilet paper spins on a fun little roll, and he can make it spin, and spin, and spin, until it's all on the floor!

He is getting more curious about the world around him, and taller every day!  His height helps him to reach the keychain that hangs off the hook on the wall (almost pulled the picture frame off the wall! Jack had to re-nail it).

He is still so much fun though.  He was entertained watching a street cleaner out the window for about 8 minutes straight today, just staring wide-eyed with his face pressed against the window.  He also caught an ant crawling on the floor haha.  And he is walking!

I wasn't able to get a very good video, apparently, he doesn't like to walk on command, but here is the best I could do:



Until next time!! <3

Feeling Fabulous Challenge!

So I found this blog post about a "Feeling Fabulous" challenge. I'd never heard of it before so decided I would give it a try.

It consists of making 5 different goals in 5FOUR different categories. You are to score yourself each day on how you did on keeping your goals which basically gives you a total number of points for each week. Goal is to get as many points as possible. This is a great spreadsheet to help you keep track of each day/week.

So the challenge starts. Here is my list of goals, I have one weekly goal in each category (except Diet because that is so important, so I threw an extra weekly one into mind) the weekly ones are marked with (W) and my daily goals are marked with a (D)- pretty obvious huh?

Mind
1- Blog in at least one of my blogs (I have many!) (D)
2- Read book club book (D)
3- Spend face-to-face time with a friend (W)
4- Go the temple (W)

Diet
1- DRINK LOTS OF WATER (D)
2- Eat more fruit (D)
3- Take care of dinner (D)
4- Don't buy junk food (D)
5- Help Thomas eat healthy (D)

Home
1- Craft/scrapbook (D)
2- Clean at least one room a day (D)
3- Vacuum/Sweep at least once a week (preferably every other day) (W)
4- Work in the "problem rooms"/ If those get finished complete Home Improvement projects (D)
5- Manage money wisely, don't spend more than you should. (D)

Body
1- Get enough sleep (D)
2- Drink water! - I cheated because it's that important! (D)
3- Walk with Thomas around the block at lest once a week (W)
4- Exercise 30 minutes every day (except Sunday) (D)
5- Stretch more (D)

Every Sunday I will be making a post with my weekly score and expect you to post your score in a comment too! We can do this together, it's always more fun doing these things as a group and being held accountable by each other and a little friendly competition to see who is in the lead for that week! If you're in the area, when we complete, we can all meet up for a party or something and discuss our goals. If not, please feel free to make a post and link to your blog int he comments so we can share your experience.

The challenge is going to go for ONE MONTH! I am starting today but giving you all until Sunday to join in. Which means our official Blog Feeling Fabulous Challenge will begin SUNDAY August, 15th (goals are due, but start on Monday the 16th) and go until September, 19th. (How appropriate, that's my anniversary!) Post a comment below so we know you're in!!

Good luck everyone! Let's go!

My First Word Book!

Remember the other day when I was talking about how I've been working on Thomas' scrapbook?  Well, as I wanted to 3-dimensionalize it more and also be able to add more pictures than the 4 to 5 I can fit per a page, I decided to test out my new knowledge of working with my awesome Pazzles Inspiration and make a wordbook! 

Because this word book is for a little boy, who likes to pull and chew on things, I decided to make it very elementary and skip all the cutesy ribbons, embellishments, and hidden tags.  It was a hard decision to make but I figured it would be worse to put so much time and effort in to something that would be destroyed.

I didn't have any chipboard, so I made the book out of a Raisin Bran cereal box :)  I also put layers of Mod Podge over the entire thing to make it more durable, semi water proof, and therefore drool proof and somewhat baby proof!

Here is the finished product (before attaching it into the album):









The back is really simple because most likely it will be stuck to the album page and nobody will ever see it!

It really was a fun project and I learned a lot about the different features my Pazzles can do!  I am falling more in love with it every day!!!
Next time I attempt a book though, I will study the overlap of the letters more carefully, and use a capital I that has the crosses on the top and bottom because otherwise it is hard to differentiate.

I am planning on doing one with our last name and making it all cutesy and stuff to display on the shelf in our Living room.  Really loving crafts, always have but now that I don't suck at them (as much as i used to) I am loving them more!

(one more quick picture of my work) Ta!

Karate - painting the house

not really, this post is all about house painting!  Although, painting the house did help me overcome face my fear of heights.  I'll start with some pictures and then explain:


The left side is a good example of how awful the house looked before, the right side is a great example of how awesome just one coat of paint is!

By the way, we used the Valspar Duramax, it is a paint & primer combined.  I'm not one to get excited about paint, but that paint was pretty sexy.  It went on really smooth, and just applying it you could feel what great quality paint it was!  Putting on the regular Valspar Exterior for the trim was almost disappointing after using such amazing quality paint!!  I HIGHLY recommend it.

Anyway, back to pictures:



Thomas sat quietly watching us (Otter Pop in hand- sorry Elizabeth, they work!) like the cute little boy he is:




We juggled between baby, and paint and got to the front of the house!

By this point, Jack had given up (he really hates painting) so I was pulling double duty and instead he took the chainsaw to the mess of bushes that used to be in front of the house.  So glad those are gone!



It already looks sooo much better!




Determined to get our house finished, I worked into the night.
Prepping...

and painting...



Now, determined as I was, it got too dark to see and I had about a million, okay five, bug bites so I finally went inside.  So, Jack left his ladder home one day so i could finish painting the trim while he was at work.  Well, I got Thomas down for a nap, put the ladder up, and decided to paint the trim around the roof before he woke up.  Didn't put the ladder up right though because it's a little too heavy for me to pull out in the long flat shape to lay against the house, so i lfet in the "A" shape and I jumped the small gap uip on to the roof.

Even before I got up there, I could tell it was a mistake.  I was shakey before even getting on to the roof.  And then once i was up there, i was pretty much freaking out.  There were spiders all over, the roof was super hot and i was burning my hands and feet and my mesh shorts were sliding on the roof.  i thought i was going to die!

I never knew i was so afraid of heights until I got up there!  I was light-headed, nauseous, shaky, and pretty much a mess.  I kept telling myself, i could do it and I wasn't going to die and just tried painting to get my midn off of it.  When I finished painting i tried to get down but the gap was too far for me, I was just too scared of dangling for that short period of time, and roof was too hot to get a good grip.  So I decided to jump over to the carport and painted over there until I ran out of paint.  Then I debated jumping off the carport because I felt i would rather fall in a semi-controlled way than try to reach the ladder, slip, fall, and break my neck!

The whole tme I was completely worried that Thomas was going to wake up , or something was going to happen to me, and he wouldn't have anyone to take care of him.  It was seriously nerve-wracking.  I was up there for about 40minutes and then some lady walked by and I asked her for help! LOL I know, totally embarrassing but I knew I wouldn't be brave enough to get down on my own.  She moved the ladder slightly closer for me and then just stood there to help make sure i didn't fall and I was able to get down pretty easily except I was pretty much hysterical.

Anyway, that was my little adventure, and newfound discovery that I am not only afraid of heights, i am TERRIFIED of them!  And that part of the roof is really only about 8-9 feet tall haha.  Yeah, what can I say.  Give me a tree and i will scramble up and down no problem, but a slope high in the air with no railing- NO WAY!

However, the trauma was worth it because I finished the trim around the roof and yesterday Jack helped me with the rest (I tried to get back up on the ladder but just got light-headed).



We are so close to being finished and probably next summer we will add a little porch in front of the house (probably not covered so the front of the house can stay open).  Here's a before and after so you can see just how huge an improvement was made:



umm and please don't say anything bad about the colors, i give myself so much anxiety over picking colors, what's done is done!  Okay, whew! :)  That's all.