Tuesday, October 30, 2007

We all love pictures, right?

Here are some of my favorite recent pictures that mostly tell the story on their own. Loving Life!
New slippers:The morning 'do:Thinking about breakfast: The love/hate relationship with Kino: (like, "Come give me a hug" then "Aaack stay away from me!" then "Why won't you come closer?") The after-bath cuddle:
Fascination with things she shouldn't have:

Friday, October 26, 2007

THIS is how much she hates taking baths

Birthday Dinner

Happy Birthday Kendall! With so many bloggers in the family I've got to jump right on this one to avoid posting repeat pictures. We had a fun celebratory dinner at the Texas, Adrie even wore boots for the occasion. As always the food and company were perfect and a great time was had by all!



Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Ripple Effect

Now that I have such a gorgeous purse:

*My keychain looks old and trashy. What sort of keychain do you put with a Coach purse!?
*I need new sunglasses to keep in it
*I definitely need a new, classier, more feminine wallet
*I have to dress more nicely to showcase it

What have I started!?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Photoshoots in Oregon

My camera made the trip to Portland with me, though sadly we only got it out for one Mallory-slash-Adrie photo shoot that made us late to church. (We're still so sorry about that.) Mallory was definitely a more cooperative model than Adrie.You can check out Mallory's shots here
and Adrie's shots here!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

...like a natural woman

I have never been one to get excited over name brand, expensive things.

Until now. While shopping at the outlet malls today I decided to step inside the Coach store, since everyone was ranting and raving about how this is the only outlet sale of the year where they accept the 25% off coupon on top of their 20% off sale and thus the store was a raving madhouse of people buying high-ticket items at a fraction of the cost - 20% then 25% goes a long way on expensive items!

And there it was. Gorgeous. Fine, soft, supple leather. Eye-catching contrasting coloring. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I left the store, wondering what had gotten hold of me. I couldn't seem to shake it. Seriously. I am normally a frugal and simple person (see the item on my list of 99 things where I wish I could wear the same 3 shirts only?!) So why couldn't I shake the thought that this purse should be mine?

As fate would have it, we were in the car ready to leave (and my Dad is a stressful person when we're to that point) but I had to go chase down mom - and just happened to walk by the Coach store again. No ten-minute purchasing line this time... it was a sign. So I brought that beautiful purse home with me. It was a steal of a deal and I didn't pay as much as you're all thinking. It's so beautiful I kind of wanted to cry the whole drive home. See? Even Adrie recognizes its goodness.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

99 Things About Me

1. I compose things (like this list) in my head for days or even weeks before I actually start. This often leads to me thinking I've sent an email or shared information when in fact it only occurred in my head.
2. I like to pluck leg hairs and try to get the black bulb on the end. This becomes an obsessive addiction at times.
3. I secretly AM interested in celebrity lives but try to pretend to scoff.
4. I get overwhelmed easily by details, like all the steps necessary to install something or put something together.
5. I hate confrontation.
6. I am hypersensitive. When given criticism or even if someone looks at me the wrong way, I dwell on it and analyze it for a long time.
7. Gatorade is the greatest thing ever. Hooray for staying hydrated and drinking something that tastes good for only half the calories.
8. That being said, I cannot stand diet soda. I think Diet Coke tastes like battery acid.
9. I love efficiency and I am very impatient with people who move slowly.
10. I see life as one huge checklist and constantly live with the pressure to get things checked off the list.
11. Any time I go shopping I feel really worldly because I just want a lot of money to buy nice things. Especially in craft, clothing, and home decorating stores.
12. I LOVE little girl clothes and shopping for Adrie more than myself.
13. I cannot look at myself in a mirror in the dark, it really scares me. As long as I can remember I've avoided mirrors in the night.
14. Taking short, cozy naps is the greatest feeling in the world.
15. I sleep on my stomach.
16. I like to read, and re-read, and re-read things I've written. I guess I take pride in something well-written, be it a text, email, or journal entry.
17. I crave sugar sometimes so badly it's all I can think about. And by "sugar" I mean thick, gooey, fatty dessert-like sugar.
18. I think I'm obsessed with email. If there's a computer around I look for new messages constantly, and I'm usually disappointed.
19. I abhor being sticky. This includes that warm-sweaty state and having anything at all on my hands.
20. I get a thrill of excitement in my stomach when I wander a bookstore. There's just something magical about all that information at my fingertips.
21. I have done my makeup the same way, with essentially the same colors, for 12 years.
22. I have ordered the same thing at Chilis (chicken soft tacos) for at least 8 years.
23. I have used the same makeup bag (despite the fact the zipper is broken) for 11 years.
24. I have used the same brand of face soap (Dove) for at least 9 years.
25. I have used the same deodorant (powder fresh) since day one.
26. I get really excited about a plan and obsess over every detail of it for a day or two before reality sets in and then I often get discouraged and move on to the next thing.
27. In general I am too passive and un-opinionated about things like world affairs, politics, and things that don't immediately affect me.
28. I can go weeks without eating a fruit or a vegetable.
29. A sound I hate & dread more than anything on earth is the base or front of the car hitting pavement.
30. I still catch myself typing phrases I hear or rote phrases from my head on tabletops or in the air. This started in 1995 with my summer school typing class and hasn't stopped since.
31. At random times I also catch myself playing memorized passages from my piano lesson days.
32. I love the smell of fabric softener.
33. I invented the idea of a cd player that plays scents at least 15 years before Febreeze came out with their "scent stories" player. I should've patented it.
34. I have a hard time starting a new book. As much as I love reading there's just something about actually reading the first few pages that has me delaying.
35. I cringe at the thought of having my toes pulled to pop them. Ick!
36. I love being hungry and then sitting down to a meal you've been looking forward to. Especially going starving to a restauarant is a little bit like heaven.
37. I melt m&m's under my tongue before chewing them.
38. I could eat cookies or similar sugary sweetness all day long and be just fine.
39. I like to drive FAST. At least 80 on the freeway.
40. I still get intimidated by snobby teenage girls (you know the type).
41. Pan Pepperoni Pizza with extra cheese from Pizza Hut is my favorite fast food meal.
42. A Beef Quesadilla from Café Rio is my other favorite fast food meal.
43. I don't eat very much. I think small portions is my luck in staying thin.
44. I drink Orange Fanta more than any other liquid on earth.
45. I drink Gatorage more than Orange Fanta.
46. My Bose ipod speaker dock is the best invention ever and I am ruined for regular speakers.
47. Camping in Hobble Creek with friends are some of my best memories ever.
48. If I won the lottery I would take all of my extended family on the Disney Cruise first thing.
49. It is my dream to own a house with different zones for heating/cooling.
50. It is also my dream to own a home with radiant (under-floor) heating in main areas.
51. I think I'm crafty & hands on, but mostly in reality I'm not.
52. I love to eat chocolate-chip-cookie-dough without the chocolate chips.
53. If I could get away with it, I would wear my favorite three shirts over and over and own nothing else.
54. I always scoff at new-fangled fashions, and then end up joining the bandwagon about two years later.
55. Other people's refridgerators sort of gross me out. Except Grandma's because it's sparkling clean and only half full.
56. I have to sleep with a pillow for my head and a pillow for my side. HAVE to.
57. I can't stand grimy countertops.
58. Getting a voluntary hug from a baby is the greatest thing in the world.
59. The more I think about it the more I have to go to the bathroom.
60. Lying in bed thinking about going to the bathroom, I always convince myself I have to go. ALWAYS.
61. A smell worse than any other is an old washcloth in the sink. And the smell sticks to you if you touch it.
62. I love photographs. I love examining a well crafted, beautifully colored photograph.
63. That being said, I just spent 15 minutes going through my family's screensaver of photos.
64. I got a 30 on the ACT, the highest of all my sisters.
65. However, I've been told since age 15 that Natalie is smarter than me, she just doesn't apply herself.
66. I often feel the need to defend just about anything, even in casual conversation like "Speed limits are so dumb" and I jump in and...
67. I hate having dry hands. Lotion please?
68. I once worked for wilderness and was quite content being dirty dirty dirty. I’d wipe my knife off on my pants, leave the dirt under my fingernails… Now it just bothers me to be dirty.
69. I used to obsessively pop zits. Now, unless they're green, I leave them alone.
70. I do have a small obsession with black heads and squeezing out their center.
71. I lied without remorse for the first 18 years of my life. Not all the time, but I could lie with the best of them.
72. Integrity and honesty are some of the most important qualities to me now.
73. After a repentance sunday school lesson in 7th grade I told Natalie that I would forgive her for everything she ever did to me if she'd forgive me for everything I ever did to her, and then it wouldn't count against us in heaven.
74. I need a clean kitchen to start cooking or baking.
75. Preparing food is often such a daunting task that I either a) don't eat or b) eat out.
76. I lifted my feet and touched a car screw when going over railroad tracks until I was at least 20.
77. I never appreciated nature and its beauty until wilderness; now my favorite thing is to gaze at the mountains or the clouds or notice colorful trees and flowers everywhere I go.
78. I love the feel of clean pair of socks. Or underwear.
79. Natalie has bought/given/advised on at least half of the clothes I own.
80. There's so much I want to do in life (even right here & right now) that I sort of do nothing because if I can't do it all, I don't even start.
81. I eat my waffles with butter, syrup, and whipped cream.
82. That first step into the shower is always awful, no matter how warm the water is the first spray to touch my skin is dreaded.
83. I would own ten billion houses if I could. There's rarely a model home, condo, even apartment I look at that I don't wish I could own/live in for at least a little while.
84. I am learning to be content in life instead of wanting so much. If you're content, you could have nothing and still be happy!
85. My grandparents are some of the funnest people I know. I love to hear their stories - like Grandma wearing a scarf to dinner when Grandpa asked if she could use some wrinkle cream on her neck!
86. I'm going to try to talk my kids into "courting" instead of dating. I may accomplish this with bribery.
87. I love having bare feet. (Except on cold or dirty floors.)
88. I was cursed with the family's dry heels that crack and HURT when I go bare-footed too often.
89. I am often so embarassed by things (boys) in my past that I can't let myself think about it for fear of shriveling up and dying.
90. I love kittens. So much. They are darling and it's a shame they have to grow up.
91. Vacationing with my family is the only way to do it. Food, fun, laughs, shopping shopping shopping!
92. I can't eat berries or berry pie or berry jam if it has seeds. Are you supposed to chew them or just swallow them? Augh I can't do it.
93. I don't like to sleep in other people's sheets, or have anyone else sleep in mine. If they're freshly washed it's okay.
94. I practiced the piano for an hour a day, six days a week, from elementary school through 6th grade. That's 78 straight days of playing piano.
95. One of my fondest memories is Saturday morning family cleaning, with the jobs divvied up and the jukebox playing.
96. I can't stop kissing Adrie. No wonder she kisses everything that gets near her face.
97. Being freshly showered and made up is the best feeling in the world, even if you have nowhere to go.
98. I'm a little big OCD about punctuation and spelling. Finding even one small mistake in something I've written demands fixing right away.
99. It took me five months to compose this list. I started in May all gung-ho and excited... and just like #26 explains above, I lost steam and wasn't so excited about it. And so I end, having come full circle!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Two in One Day!

I realized I have neglected some pictures to go along with the previous posts.

ALSO I forgot to add to the list today: Adrie often brings me a book, climbs into my lap, and lets me read about 2/3 of it before she loses interest and wanders off somewhere else. All those months of thinking she hated reading books, now my diligence is paying off!

She knows just what to do with these:
I can't keep her away from Grandma's NOT kid-friendly decor (and a view of my new favorite shorts):
First princess shoes with Aunt Kendall:
Helping me pack tonight:

Teeth! And other baby news.

After what's seemed like weeks of unpredictable nights, a tooth has finally erupted - a big fat molar! Nevermind that she still only has two cute little bottom teeth, the bottom molars got impatient and decided to come out first. It looks so huge in her little mouth. No wonder nights are so miserable. (And I'm sooo tired.)

I thought of some more "tricks" that I should document (if you're tired of baby updates stop reading HERE.)

* She has a new love for necklaces. Anytime I hand her one she puts it up over her head right away. Sometimes she ducks her head for me to put it on her. Other times she gets really creative and makes necklackes out of odd things (a short rope... her toy ring...)
* A new sound has emerged that I call "Baby Dolphin." Kendall has heard it - she opens her mouth wide and emits a sound that perfectly mimics the soft screeches of a dolphin. "Ehhh-ahhh-aaa-ehh!"
* She opens her mouth and says "Ahhh" when she wants a bite of something.
* She also wraps her arms around my leg or pulls on my shirt when she wants me.
* The best one of all - she's gotten SO much more cuddly. She'll walk up and give me hugs almost anytime I ask. She actually laid her head on my shoulder a few times. It was worth the wait. :)

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Slumber Party!

Kendall and Rachel took time out of their fun college lives to come hang out with me and Adrie. Here we are shopping!
We then multi-tasked, watching all of the romantic scenes from Season One of Prison Break while eating ice cream and facebooking on three separate laptops. In between scenes we had a little flashback to the jukebox days with "That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia" and some of the better Romeo & Juliet soundtrack songs. Fun times.

Adrie still kisses everything. For example, last night I said "Where are Kendall's eyes?" and she leaned forward and kissed the tip of Kendall's nose. She makes a big smacking sound, too. When we read books she kisses each character, when we get home from somewhere she kisses all of her toys. This morning I kneeled down by her crib to say morning prayers with her and couldn't stop giggling because she kissed my face all through the prayer.

Two new words - "Eye" and "Uh-oh". The day after Grandma Jan left she started pointing out all of the eyes in her books - "Eye, eye, eye." She'll poke your eyes out while showing you, too. And she says Uh-oh every time something falls, whether she dropped it or someone else. It's darling.

Her new favorite game is getting chased. She wiggles and screams while running away from me, falling every 2-3 steps because she keeps looking back at me and wiggling in anticipation. She keeps me so entertained!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Help!

I'm getting ready to print some large-sized photographs (and pay a pretty penny to do it) for a boutique/exhibition at Heritage, and I'm also going to use a few to display on a table at my ward talent show for my talent of "Photography and Digital Creations."

Which should I use? Which are YOUR favorites? Or any you want to warn me to stay away from? I need help, advice, etc. Speak freely. I need you!

http://adigitaldarkroom.blogspot.com to see most of my favorites, just in case you forgot!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Happy Tuesday!

* Adrie slept twelve hours straight for the first time in weeks last night. 7:30 to 7:30. Hallelujah!
* I was eating grapes yesterday when I picked up one that had a dead garden spider residing on it. I then lost my appetite.
* I did 50 calf raises on Saturday and I still hurt! Weakling.
* I bought the best new coat EVER yesterday. It's salt & pepper tweed, long (mid-thigh), big black buttons... Anyway a picture is worth a thousand words:

* To go with my new coat I bought calf-high black boots with a semi-point toe and a real heel - not a block. Again, I am two years behind fashion here and finally joining the bandwagon. I can't wait for it to get cold.
* Adrie hardly eats. We are doing only whole milk now, which she is ok with, but she doesn't like me spoon feeding her and doesn't yet have the coordination to feed herself. I hope she doesn't starve.
* Today I spent thirty minutes at Kinkos making color copies and using their paper cutter for flyers. My ward calling is Activities Committee Publicist and it is fun to have a calling where I get to be creative and DO stuff - have real responsibilities that matter. Sort of stressful too, but neat to feel needed.
* My Dad told me I spound like a bitter person sometimes so I'm trying hard to not let these 'lists' be full of complaints. Life is good. Conference this weekend was LOVELY. President Eyring's talk was my very most favorite. I am downright excited for my Ensign Conference Issue.
* I have seen 7 of my 10 girls for therapy already this week. I like being ahead of schedule.

Friday, October 05, 2007

My sad little helper

I took pictures for Becky's family in the rain today. Adrie wasn't very happy about it.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Last Night

I had the pleasure of Kendall sleeping over. She managed to catch Adrie in a naughty act. There seem to be a lot more of those lately....

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

O Star

Many of you may not know how important music is to me. I don't wear it like a badge of identity, I don't keep up on bands or concerts or the top 40, but from the depths of my soul I crave the feel of the magical mix of lyrics and melody that's like no other. Am I making sense? I don't love music like most people love the culture, the gloss, the popular. I love the emotions that music creates.

I help crazy teen girls find "coping skills" to healthily handle their lives. I think my best 'coping skill' is to drive with music so loud it hurts your ears, and just feel. I don't feel a lot. I'm pretty numb to life - maybe I have to be to do the job I do. But music helps me feel.

Today's mad song: Santa Monica by Everclear
Today's soul song: O Star by Paramour

Yesterdays Life song: Franklin by Paramour

What are your best feeling songs?

Monday, October 01, 2007

My Beautiful Adrienne

She has grown exponentially this past week!

New Tricks:
* Blowing kisses - even with no prompts! Smacking sound and all.
* Saying hi to EVERYONE. She just does it more and more. We passed a couple yesterday on our walk and I then heard the guy say to his wife "Did she just say hi to us?"
* Barking to "What does a dog say" (though it sound more like "Ahhh Ahhhhh")
* Patty-caking her hands
* Running. Her walking has progressed to super speed walking.
* Pointing out the kitties in Grandma Wood's shelves. She bangs on the glass with one finger.
* Giving Hugs. I'll hold out my arms and say "Gimme a hug!" and she'll walk across a room and wrap her arms around my neck.
* "Thank You." She won't always perform this one on demand, but I do believe this is her second word (sounds like "Tack Tcha"!) Over the weekend at Grandma's she became obsessed with this large brass tin. Usually it's covered by glass and used as an end table, but not once Adrie figured out how fun it was to climb in and out! And her last trick of all - getting chicken pox. I thought the whole point of the vaccination was to avoid chicken pox!? My goodness the poor girl is covered. The picture doesn't do it justice - her whole torso is bumpy. Watching her scratch is the most darling thing in the whole world. I have mixed feelings because I hate for her to itch, but I love to watch her scratch!