Inspiration for a great Thursday!

Don't forget tonight!;) I am going to a family birthday party (Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!), so I will have to DVR it...this is fine though because I've become so used to fast-forwarding through commercials. Does anyone else go crazy when they have to watch commercials?
Jack and I are heading into Anchorage in a few minutes to drop him off at Jeremy's work while I go and measure a closet for a new client. I am slammed this week with work, ugh!
You all are cracking me up about that pic, the camara must have been at a wierd angle. Oh and Lauralee..I'm 5'-2". Yes, it is getting colder up here (this morning was high 30s) and YES I would love to send some of it your way Stephanie! If Only! Still no snow yet..so that's good. I've seen snow in September before.
Tomorrow night and Saturday I am going to a quilt class that my boss signed us up for. It's called Pen Pal Postcard or something like that. So..I looked it up on their website because of course I had NO idea what that meant and here's the description:

This is the latest rage for quilters! These post cards can actually be sent through the mail! Embellish your quilted cards with colorful yarn, variegated threads, and sparkly beads. Use those fancy stitches you never knew your machine would make! Use these post cards as invitations, Christmas or birthday cards, or “just because” cards for that special someone! Watch out, you may become addicted to the “Post Card Craze”.

Ummm.. we'll see! I don't think I would EVER send out something that I spent a whole weekend making. But, that's just me. I'd like to make something like this:

So, apparently I need to go buy some "colorful yarn, variegated threads and sparkly beads".

My sister Holly works for the Office of Children Services. She is basically the one who works with the families after a child has been removed from their home to be taken into fostercare. Her stories are heart-wrenching- and she's only been doing it for a month. She told me last night that when the children get pulled from a home, that they are taken to a general care center (owned by The Salvation Army) because there are not enough foster care families in Anchorage. So..it's basically like a large orphanage. Before they go, however, they get to pick out a quilt to take with them. Something to be with them constantly and to be a comforter. Apparently women make them and donate them.. I had NO idea. So, I've been setting some goals for myself. I would like to make several before the end of the year. My christmas quilt may be on hold this year. Speaking of which, the baby quilt that I was going to quilt..my MIL ended up doing most of it (which was SO nice of her, thanks again Vicky!) I went out there several times to work on it, but things just went slower than planned.
Hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Weekend Update..finally

I love being a Mom

This weekend I went to a Woman's Conference put on by Meridian Magazine (which apparently is a privately owned LDS magazine that is online..who knew?) in Anchorage. They flew up speakers like Brad Wilcox, Vicky Pahnke Taylor, Kenneth Cope (who spoke and sang) and Jane Clayson Johnson. Jane was like the Katie Couric of CBS for many years, hosting The Early Show and had interviewed many A-List celebrities, Pres. Bush etc. She quit anchoring when she decided to become a mother.

Her talk was on the inportance of Motherhood, and spoke of how many people gave her grief for quitting her important job to become "just a mom". She told us never to say that...So many times, people ask us what we do and we say "I'm just a mom"...

(Lauralee..her talk was taken from that book you have posted on your blog! The part about the shoes we wear and the whole bit. I SO want that book!!)

Anyways, something to think about! It was a good weekend and I left feeling refreshed and uplifted.

Today, there was a realtor Open House and our realtor had many of the local realtors here in Eagle River come and do a walk-thru. She left a note saying that everyone loved it (yeah.. we've heard that before!) and that she will forward us their evaluations tomorrow when she gets them. So, that should be interesting. During the Open House, I went to Jo-Anns to get some fabric for a Christmas quilt that I'd like to start. I couldn't believe how cheap the fabric was..I've mostly been shopping in the specialty fabric stores (Love my Amy Butler)- so I was totally expecting to pay WAY more. Soo nice!!

So funny how I mentioned Free Money and people came out of the woodwork;) Yes- such a perk!

ETA: I got my Modbe jeans finally and LOVE them. They fit like a low-rise jeans but come up a little higher in the back.. minimizing peep-shows. They are really long on me..but until someone invents midgetjeans.com, I think this is basically the story of my life. So, stamp of approval on those.

Free Money Is Awesome

OK, I know this has gone around before, but I got this recently and had to post it because it makes me laugh.

Dear Tech Support:
Recently I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a slowdown in the overall performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 un-installed many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and automatically installed undesirable programs such as Football 5.0 and TV 3.0. Now Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and House Cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?
Signed, Desperate

Dear Desperate:First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. At the command line, try entering C:>>ITHOUGHTYOULOVEDME and download Tears 6.2 to install Guilt 3.0.If all works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, HappyHour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will flood you with SnoringLoudly.wav files.Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-Law 1.0 or re-install another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have a limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider additional software to improve memory and performance. I personally recommend Hot Food 3.0 and Lingerie 6.9.
Good luck,Tech Support

So, yesterday they announced the PFD(Permanent Fund Dividend) amount- $1,654. Yes! For those who don't know what a PFD is, I'll give you the short of it: PFD=Free Money= I Love Alaska. Every man, woman and child is eligible who has been a resident of Alaska for at least one year. Needless to say, come October 3rd, Wal-Mart will be overflowing.
We, however, will be putting ours towards:
- New tires for the Pathfinder
-Spending money for Mexico
- Reserve account to help pay our land mortgage
-Paying off our credit card
- And, oh yeah, fixing our garage door that just BROKE today! Darn't!

Tuesday

Today has just been a wierd day. For starters, I've been trying to blog all day- but everytime I typed anything my____ writing___ looked____ like____ this or itlookedlikethis. My space bar was all jacked. Anyways, so I turned my computer off for an hour or so, and waa-la- it's fixed. (That is, by the way, the way I fix everything)
I am STILL trying to get an insurance agent to call me back. I talked to several today who kept referring me to others who either don't call back or refer me to someone else. Guess everyone hates small businesses!? Anyways, I hope to get that wrapped up tomorrow. We have one order in progress with our current manufacturer and after that- I hope to make the switch.
Jack and I are both a little sick today. I have a sore throat and he has a cough, and we both enjoyed sleeping all we could. (Which for me- just means I slept in till 9)
I got my vinyl order from Lauralee, it looks great..thanks again!! She included the above in my order as a gift, SOO nice!
Tomorrow I have to go into work early so we are taking Jack out to Jeremy's moms house to spend the night. Tomorrow when I go out there to pick him up after work, she is going to help me use her long-arm quilting machine. My boss pieced together a minky baby quilt for one of our clients who adopted an adorable baby girl from China, and I am doing the actual "quilting". Scary. I'll post pics when I'm done with it-- once again, I hope that noone expects it to be that great, haha!

Free collagen injection!

So I woke up this morning with a fat lip ...SOO wierd! The right half of my lower lip was all swollen and numb (it's gone down some now with the help of Advil) but I was seriously freaking out. Of course, we have people coming over for dinner tonight so I was considering telling them it was all part of my collagen injections or something. Lopsided and puffy, it's very attractive. Angelina, eat your heart out.

Jack's favorite word is still "thank you!" He says it all the time- after you're done changing his diaper, when you give him food, or even when HE gives YOU something (Doesnt fully understand it's context yet) I'm so enjoying every single stage he goes through and wonder every day where he gets his silly personality! I wish my personality was that good;)

Sept. 11th

I was in my Senior year of college at USU in Logan on September 11, 2001. I will never forget how eerie the campus was that day, so quiet and somber. I went to the design studio for class and my friend Brooke was sobbing- she has a lot of family in New York. (Luckily, none of them were hurt) We, like many others, painted a large American flag in our window. We watched TV for weeks afterward, always the same thing- secretly hoping for something to make it better or to see justice... Guess we're all still waiting for that something.

I remember going to a candlelight vigil held in memory with my roommates and best friends- Becky and Mica. I still remember coming home from that and Mica leaving the candle burning underneath the kitchen cabinets- made a big burn mark in the cabinet but luckily no fire or fine at the end of the year. ;)

Since that day, I have viewed the world in a much different way. I am also very proud of my country in many ways. Let us always remember...

And, Happy Birthday Mica! Love you!

Fun Monday!

I can't pull off the belt
More of a summer shirt- I guess I'm a little behind!

This one is my favorite I think

Stars? Yes, stars.

Again, the belt...

I got the center dress

Why fun, you ask? I got my DownEast Basics package today. I LOVE this store. I was not such a fan before, but they have got some of the cutest shirts out. These are some of the shirts I was talking about in my back-to-school shopping. I also got one as a gift for a friend's birthday. My friends- they look SO cute on! Highly recommend!

Today was a lot of running around- Drove 1.5 hours taking Jack out to the Valley for his babysitter (and aunt!) Tina, met with a potential closet client, stopped by my work to get stuff to take home to work on, met Span for a closet shipment at my house, had to go get Jack (he's been a little sick all weekend but doing better now), met Heidi for lunch (usual Subway!), and am now home working! Phew.

Jeremy has several closet installs this week, we have friends coming over for dinner (the ones that invited us to their cabin) and another open house on Sunday (Ugh)- SO busy week!!

Finally Fall at my House!

The best thing about our Saturday out on the town was the little stop we made to Pier 1.

I was in and out of that store within 5 minutes. I knew I wanted some fall essentials, so I figured if I only gave myself that much time, I couldn't go TOO overboard. (Pattern not quite as blurry in real life. Oops.)
Quite possibly my favorite purchase. This Cranberry wreath goes with the fall decor but can take me all the way through Christmas. Such a deal!
Seriously, though, if you can walk into that store and not leave at LEAST $50 poorer- You are a stronger person than I.

The complete ensemble.



Now, I'm off to make some pumpkin bread, curl up in an oversize sweater and read a good book. Welcome back, nostalgia.

This one's for Trisha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Fl2yWalH4
They also sing that song "Hate Me"- Im sure you've heard it!

You girls have me laughing- YES of course, any of you guys can stay with me! Although it might be best to wait until our house is built (unless you're coming soon, we all know my house isnt selling fast!) and may I suggest SUMMER time, especially June or July (June has better fishing though, I think!) Let me know!!

Blue October

Last Friday, we went to Blue October at the Alaska State Fair. It was so fun to see these girls. I've known them all since 6th grade, they are such wonderful friends. Jon and Tamara are on the left- they are getting married in just over a week in Napa, California. I SOO wish I could go! Lauren is the diva in the green and her husband Cody is behind her. They were married Christmas time of 2005. Megan (center, top pic) is marrying Kyle (right, bottom pic) on Jack's birthday up here in the Alaska temple. Wow, we have all grown up! It's been such a fun journey.

The acoustics at the concert weren't too great and it was general admission which meant we all stand around. I wore my tallest shoes in hopes that I might see something besides the backs of people's heads. It worked..kind of. The band was good though!

Labor Day weekend

Jeremy and Jack, ready to go!

The Cabin. It was so nice on the inside as well!

Mt. McKinley

Family Pic

Jeremy and his Arctic Grayling

Our trek back on the last day of the trip. This was a scary, rickety log bridge. Only ONE 4wheeler allowed across at a time.

Maybe if you're good, this little baby can be yours someday.

Jack fell asleep while riding back so we layed him down to sleep while we ate lunch.


Bear tracks along the trail


Here we are back at the parking lot. I love this little grin of his!


So, first of all I have to say that it DIDN'T rain at ALL this weekend! It was so sunny and gorgeous. Not necessarily warm.. but it was beautiful. We 4-wheeled into the cabin which took forever, I think we started at 11:30 and got there around 3:45. Jeremy didnt realize that you cant 4wheeel right up to their cabin, you have to HIKE the last half mile!? So, needless to say we packed both ATVs full of stuff we really didnt need- Jack's pack n' play, sleeping pads, lots of extra clothes, sodas, and what seemed like piles of bricks as we were carrying them on our backs to the cabin. Jack alone is quite the load, my shoulders are seriously still sore from carrying him this weekend. Other than that, the trip was relaxing and so fun! Lots of great food, fishing (for the boys), board games etc. It was a perfect way to end our summer.