Rock bugs for the garden :)

I have been wanting to paint rock bugs for my patio garden for a while now. I LOVE living on the ground floor so I can work in the actual soil some. :) But even with the colorful flowers, it just needed something extra to cute-ify it. So I painted the rocks that section off my lettuce and flowers from the rest of the yard.

I was going to paint wings and eyes, but I kinda liked the way they are without them. If I had known ahead of time, I would have made it more mod & representational--yellow/black stripes, red with black polka dots, and green with black chevrons and just a big dot in the middle. :) Oh well. I still love the way they turned out!

Somehow when I put them back I had an extra rock.  :)  Can you find the extra bee in our "yard?"

More things on my mind today

I am SO GRATEFUL that Caida is doing well!  Her surgery went well, and other than a complication with something in the prep work that left her with a bad rash for a few days, things couldn't have gone better.  Even better, on Friday they turned on her VNS and that night she had a horrible seizure--and Cerene swiped the magnet over the VNS and it sent those impulses to her nerve and it WORKED.  Seizure stopped.  That's the first good thing that has happened to that child in a LONG TIME, at least health-wise.  I AM SO GRATEFUL.  It is worth every other bad thing that has happened these last couple of weeks to know that our prayers and fasting were heard and answered so quickly and so favorably.

BOTH our Elders are getting transferred tomorrow.  Now that Paul is the ward mission leader, I've gotten to know them better (not ONLY did I actually learn their names, which I almost never do, but I know all kinds of things about their personalities and life-before-missions), and I'm actually going to miss them! 

I really wanted two cars this fall, but I guess one new-ish one isn't a bad consolation.  Can't wait 'til next month's paycheck so we can make that down payment and go car shopping!  This will be the third car we've owned together, although two were from family/friends for $1 and one was from craigslist for $1000, up front.  So this will be the first major, actual lot-bought car for us, with payments and all that.  Woohoo!

I REALLY want a teaching job.  I got 7 rejection emails in a row last week, and that was NO FUN.  I understand it, especially with all the layoffs a few years ago (they have to hire those people back first)...and that means there are still 6 jobs in TSC that I might get to interview for, not to mention all the other districts around town that I don't even care about as much.  :)  But still.  It doesn't do much for my self-confidence lately.

I'm trying to eat better, since it seems like it's the ONLY THING I can control lately for my health and weight management.  It's hard!  I still allow myself dessert on the weekends, which helps, because I tried not having chocolate and after six days I BINGED like crazy and it was not good.  So, moderation.  And more (quantity and variety) of fruits and veggies.  I even made up a table of fruits and veggies, organized by color, and laminated it so I could get more variety in my diet.  I like fruits and veggies a lot, actually.  I just also like meat and chocolate.  And bread.  And all of that together, with lots of cheese on top.  :)  So it's a learning process.  Thank goodness for Google and Pinterest!

I have had some bad back/hip pain for the last week and a half, and I AM SO DONE WITH IT!  I suffered for a week before I took any pain killers, and then this weekend I had lots to do so I took Excedrin (the only thing that works for me) twice a day.  It did WONDERS for the pain, and I briefly thought to myself, 'Why didn't I do this sooner?'  Then I felt better enough to not take it for the whole day yesterday and I remembered why.  I HATE COMING OFF painkillers!  Especially Excedrin, which has so much caffeine.  :(  I had a headache all day long, and I have a little caffeine hangover today, too.  Not to mention the small pains I feel now hurt so much more that they would if I'd allowed myself to just feel the pain in the first place.  You do what you have to do sometimes, but MAN ALIVE I cannot WAIT to have a perfected body someday!!!

I finally learned how to pick out a good watermelon and we had some yesterday.  It was DELICIOUS!  And I'm not even a melon fan.

I can't wait for our craft nights to begin.  SO EXCITED for this vision I've had for a craft club to finally be coming to fruition! 

I hate doing dishes almost as much as I hate doing laundry.  How do you make those things more fun? 

I'm getting a BIKE next week!  Woohoo!!!

I know you all have those moments like I do when you realize how quickly life is passing by.  One of our first primary girls, who had just turned 9 when we married into the ward and started teaching primary, turns 12 TODAY.  She's about to embark on the adventure that adolescence and young women's always is.  I can't help but feel a little old, and a little misty-eyed, when I think about how fast they grow up.  And, of course, it has me thinking back to when *I* was 12, and counting down the days 'til young womens myself, and all the travels and spiritual journeys I went through as a youth.  It was a difficult, glorious, broken, defining time, and it went TOO FAST! 

Where did all the spiders come from allasudden?  And what caterpillar or bug colony had the NERVE to eat through all my lettuce yesterday? I'm about to give up on this little patio garden this year.  Replanting three times is enough!

I should really get off blogger and go DO SOMETHING on my to-do list.  :)

Blown tire

We have had so many problems with our car lately, we are seriously considering buying a new (used) car very soon. These tires cost a whopping $150 EACH to replace. :( And this will be the second one this spring to replace...

Anywho, you can imagine our surprise Sunday morning as we piled our gear in the car and started to drive...but as soon as we were in motion we heard the strangest, LOUDEST flapping sound. So we back up right back into our parking space and take a look.

Needless to say, we had to get a ride to church and had a friend come help us replace the tire afterwards (neither of us are feeling well enough to do it today alone).

We drove it last night without noticing any problems...I guess our parking lot is treacherous! :) It did THIS in 9 hours. :)

So we're hoping to make a down payment on a used car next month.  Which will be good--driving the missionaries around in that soft-top, 2-door car was getting old.  :)  We'll probably be giving this one to my sister, who needs a car desperately enough she'll take one even if it has a few problems. 

Hope we can find a Honda.  :)

I'm not good at keeping secrets!

Well, at least my own. I can keep confidences just fine, but when I'm working on a project I'm excited about, I have a REALLY hard time not posting pictures and blabbing all about it. Same with birthdays...it's hard not to tell all ahead of time. But since what I'm working on isn't done yet AND they are a "surprise" for a few friends that are pregnant (one just had her first baby TODAY!), I will have to keep you in suspense a little longer.

I hope I don't explode.

I'd be a mess to clean up!

Okay, I can't take it...here's a hint:

Obi's "hiding places"

Here are Obi's favorite places--some where she can "hide" or get away from Voodoo, and others that she just feels super comfy and can sleep for hours at a time:

Under the kitchen table.  I think she likes how dark it is there more than anything.  Can you see her hiding in the shadows?  :)

ON the hope chest.  This is relatively new (this month), and for some reason really entertains me.  Maybe it's because she has to curl up so much to be comfy on it.

Curled up in front of the bookshelf to my left, between the couch/chair and the wall.  This is where she goes when the lawnmowers come on--she gets SO panicky and this is the only place she feels safe.  After her little panic attacks, she usually falls asleep--and loves it when we give her a blanket.

Of course, ANYWHERE with "Daddy!"  She LOVES him and follows him around the house anywhere she can go possibly cuddle with him.

Wherever her "spots" are, Voodoo always finds her.  Obi always gives up trying to hide.  And they always end up on the couch, falling asleep together.

Our cleaning schedule

I finally got around to making our dry-erase cleaning schedule.  It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

I just used clip art and Microsoft Word to make it...the pictures are a little more fun to cross off than words would be.  :)  I have dishes and trash/recycling symbols every day, since we really just do these as needed.  Kitchen cleaning, besides sweeping/mopping, always happens when I do dishes, since our kitchen is really the size of a hallway...so if you have a BIG kitchen that needs a lot of attention you'd need an extra symbol for that, too.  :)

MONDAY= sweep/vacuum and mop (I made these two separate symbols because I always sweep and vacuum at the same time, but I rarely get around to mopping...)
TUESDAY = bathrooms and windows (since I'll already have the Windex out for the mirrors anyway...)
WEDNESDAY = bedrooms.  If I ever get on top of laundry, bedrooms will actually be a breeze...so it'll be a nice mid-week "break."
THURSDAY = living room.  Mostly just straightening up.  This is a good day to do this for us since we both have Church meetings that night, one of them IN our living room.  So just making sure movies are put away, any trash/dishes are cleaned up, and especially our dining table and hope chest are cleaned off.
FRIDAY = shopping day.  Grocery shopping to make sure we have everything we need for the weekend.  If I ever get a REAL teaching job, this will be a good day to do it.
SATURDAY = LAUNDRY!  (And dusting, while the laundry is going...)  To make sure we have clean clothes for Sunday and for our work week.  If I actually have a designated laundry day, maybe I won't be so overwhelmed with six or seven loads of laundry all at once.  MAYBE.  :)
SUNDAY = mostly a day of rest.  I usually have trash and dishes taken care of by then, and I put cleaning out the fridge in case it needs it, but I usually do that whenever I go shopping to make room for the new food.  But having a "blank" day looked weird, so I *had* to have some clipart.  :)

Bigger projects, like cleaning out the storage shed or reorganizing closets, will be on an as-needed basis.

My favorite part of this is having it in a picture frame outside of our bathroom door, with the marker resting right on it.  Our single hallway in our apartment has NO PICTURES, and this is a colorful first step towards fixing that.  It's pretty AND useful, AND easy-to-reuse.

If you want to download this (you can change any text or move pictures around to your liking for your own schedule), the word document is available for download HERE.  :)  I used the font "stamp act," which you can download for free online (just google "stamp act font" and a few places will show up)...or you can change it to any font you like.

Happy cleaning!

Caida's Surgery (Pt 1)

If you want the whole story, with pictures check out THIS POST.

But basically the surgery itself went really well--thanks to all who thought of/prayed for her yesterday!  She HAS had some bad complications related to either the surgery or her pain meds or the new seizure medications, they're not sure which yet.  She developed a BAD rash that is spreading and she's had some bad seizures that would have been life-threatening if they hadn't already been in a hospital.  So continued prayers and thoughts and well-wishes are always welcome!

I'll keep you updated as I learn more, but she will be in the hospital until they figure out this rash business.

I Click, Do You?

(Please excuse me if I already posted about this or if nothing I say makes sense.  My brain is tired and I'm just trying to catch up in the least *thinking* way possible. :)

A while ago now, I joined a fantastic movement. 

As I've mentioned before, I don't think I'm a super-negative person, but I DO struggle with depression from time to time, and a large part of that includes (a) not being grateful for what I have and (b) being really down on MYSELF.  (The rest of it is health-biological-poor stress management...)  And, as all women can attest, when you don't love yourself, or believe in yourself, or feel good about yourself, it really colors the way you see the rest of the world--not to mention other people around you who seem to be everything you're not.

Even more than an anti-depressant, sometimes even the happy ones just need a little healthy pick-me-up.  We may need to retrain our brains to think more positively to manage stress, keep our temper in check, lighten our mood, and preoccupy our mind with GOOD things.

Enter billionclicks.org.

I was lucky and was sent a clicker by my dear friend Clair.  For one week I carried the clicker on my wrist and counted every thankful, self-affirming, TRUE thought I had each day.  I watched the numbers climb, from 47 to 93 to 136--turns out, driving is a GREAT time to click happy thoughts--and after two or three days I was HOOKED and I went out and bought several for my family.  They have LOTS of colors and stickers to choose from, by the way, and are a cheap little gift to give in Easter baskets, Christmas stockings, and everything in between--or even just as a "just because" present for friends and family you love.

It was SO interesting to pay attention to my thoughts--especially my negative self-thoughts--and realize how *not* positive I really am sometimes.  And it was just as interesting to see the change that happened ALMOST IMMEDIATELY in my mood and my self-love when I started clicking.  It wasn't just ME that was affected, either--I was calmer in my classrooms as I clicked away stress and focused on the positive about my day, which helped my students IMMENSELY.  My dogs were happier.  My husband was happier.  I was more productive as I grew more positive, which meant the many people that count on the little things I do benefitted.

And this is all in FIVE DAYS.  Imagine what a true three-week "mental cleanse" of this kind could do?!

I'm not saying you have to go out there and buy a cute little clicker, of course.  Or log all your happy thoughts onto the website (they're over half a million so far, but they're trying to reach a billion!).  But I WILL say that it is an interesting and WONDERFUL little personal project to do if you want to be happier.

And I do.  Who doesn't?

So I will probably do this again--for three weeks so that the habits I'm teaching my brain can really stick--and let you know how it goes.  I click.  Do you?

More Seasonal Bucket Lists!

Since it's not even officially summer yet (I consider the start of summer either the day after school gets out, or Memorial Day, depending on our life circumstances), we haven't started on our summer bucket list.  But I DID put it in a cheap frame on the mantle!

Since the glass in picture frames work GREAT as dry-erase boards, I've just got a dry-erase marker hiding behind it so I can cross off what we've done--that way I can reuse these "bucket lists" year after year after year.  I really want to paint that frame light green, though.  Gold is nice and all, but light green will go with ALL these other seasonal bucket lists I've made up, too!  (I dunno, maybe gold will do...)

Feel free to download anything you want.  They are all 8"x10" prints.  I'll admit, there are one or two things in there that AREN'T as universal--like going to the Feast of the Hunter's Moon in autumn, which is a Lafayette, Indiana, thing.  :)  But, for the most part, they are generic things anyone can do--so you *could* just cross out the one or two things that don't apply and get a head start on finishing up that list!  If you don't want to do that, though, I've made just the backgrounds available for download as well so you can add your own text to them (in image-editing software or even print them off and write them by hand with sharpies, whatever you prefer).

AUTUMN (special thanks to Designs by Megan Turnidge at Scrap Orchard for the wonderful kit "Autumn Thoughts"...the kit couldn't be more stunning!)

Autumn Background Download HERE

Autumn Bucket List (complete) Download HERE

WINTER (using the amazing "December in Thornhill" kit by Sweet Maple Designs)


Winter Background Download HERE

Winter Bucket List Download HERE

(I didn't really like this one--LOVED the kit, but it was too busy for my liking, so I made another one. ) :)

WINTER, TAKE 2 (using "Winter Holiday" by my favorite digiscrap designer ever, Connie Prince)

Winter Bucket List #2 Background Download HERE

Winter Bucket List #2 (Complete) Download HERE

SPRING (thank you to Shabby Princess for the beautiful kit that I see EVERYWHERE, "Spring Promise!")

Spring Background Download HERE

Spring Bucket List (Complete) Download HERE

SUMMER, if you didn't download it before, using Connie Prince once again--the gorgeous kit "Sunbeams and Daydreams".

Summer Background Download HERE

Summer Bucket List (Complete) Download HERE

Enjoy!  I know that if I focus more on making these little, choice life experiences happen every day, I will have fewer regrets as the seasons change.  How often have I thought to myself, "I wish I had done ______ this year," etc.?  Let's not put off for tomorrow what we can do today!  :)  Let's make some memories!

Digiscrapping, Week 4: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

This week we'll just be using EVERYTHING we know to put together our very own scrapbook pages!

What I'm going to do instead of working through a bunch of tutorials is issue a new "challenge" (really, just a basic step you should do every time anyway) every day. 

At the end of each day, save your work as a .pdn (paint.net project)--this will allow you to go and undo things, continue merging layers as you wish, etc. without having to commit to any of it yet. 

By LITERALLY spending only 5-10 minutes a day working on this layout, you'll have a brand-new scrapbook page to brag about by the end of this week.  The more you do these things, the more ideas you'll get and the faster you'll become.  There are "speed scraps" in the digiscrapping world where designers issue challenges similar to this (but more specific and therefore more challenging/fun) and you put the whole page together in an hour or two.  Even if you don't participate, looking through these challenges and everyone's submissions can really inspire you!  SO.  Without further ado...

DAY 1. Pick out 3-5 papers from the kit of your choice and layer them in any way you want as your background.

DAY 2. Add 2-4 photos of your choice on the page.  Decide if you want to change them in any way--basic editing, artsifying, recoloring, etc.

DAY 3. Anchor the photos to the page--with papers behind/around it, actual frames, using the gradient tool, or even using staple/tape embellishments to tack them down visually.

DAY 4. Add embellishments--clusters, ribbon/elements, etc.

DAY 5. Add shadows!  This will give added dimension to your page.  (This step is optional, of course...you don't have to do it.)

DAY 6. Add text/journaling and a title.

DAY 7. Change/move anything you want to, flatten, and save as a .jpg. 

(NOTE: sometimes, when I'm all caught up on scrapping my pictures and I have the time, I'll use these same steps except #2 to create my own quick-pages out of free kits for future use (I delete the space on my background behind the frames so it's transparent and save as a .png).  Like the Project 366 pages--I did all of them in a few weeks last Christmas break, knowing that I wanted to participate this year.  I think it's a GREAT time-saver, but, then again, I really just enjoy doing that, too. :)

CONGRATS!  You did it!  YAY, YOU!  Thanks for following along with all my step-by-step tutorials this last month.  I hope I didn't confuse or overwhelm you, but rather that you now feel more empowered to give it a go.  I hope you capture the joy and the simpleness of capturing family moments in this digital/information age!  And now it's affordable for ANYONE.  You can make several more pages and compile them into a book at the printing service of your choice, or just print each page off as you go and stick them into a binder.  Either way, you'll get through those piles and piles (or folders and folders) of photos in no time!  :)

If you ever have any questions or need encouragement, you can always leave me a comment or email me and I'll be happy to help if I can.  :)

And, FYI, if you want some more inspiration for future pages, check out these forums for past (and future) Speed Scrap challenges:

ScrapMatters
GingerScraps
Gotta Pixel
Scrapbook-Bytes

Book Clock!

For our anniversary, I wanted to make my book-loving hubby a book clock for our bedroom.  I'm sure you've seen them around the internet, but here is my version.  That I love.  :)

Turns out, it's not too hard, and it's as cheap or cheaper than buying a nice clock from WalMart (the whole project cost me $11...if you have to go out and buy paint and stuff it might be a little more expensive for you, but not much!).

SO.  Here's what you need to make it happen.

1. Cardboard book (that opens up).  I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $4.  I wanted to buy twenty of them.
2. Two other ACTUAL books of your choosing--we used books that we had bought at GoodWill and not really liked that much.  Make sure they look good, size-wise, on either side of your cardboard book.  I went with something rather uniformed (black with silver/gold lettering), because that's how Paul likes things, but you could easily do an eclectic mix of different colors and prints.  :)
3. Clock movement/kit--this is all the actual clock parts.  :)  Got mine at Hobby Lobby for $6.  NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SIZE!  I got a 3/4" kit when I should have gotten the 1/2", and it made things difficult.  I'm still tinkering with it.
4. Paint/sealer/modpodge/possibly stickers (depending on what you want).  I used gold stickers and just wanted the 12 and 6 for my clock, but other versions out there cover the books with fabric or paint and paint on the spine.  Do what you like here.  :)  But the sheet of gold stickers cost me $1, and I had black paint/mod podge/sealer already on hand.
5. GLUE.  Here I used some of my E-6000 glue, but you could easily do hot glue, too.  You want something strong that dries relatively fast.
6. EITHER a drill with fancy bits or, if you're poor, a hammer and nails and some willpower.  :)

HERE'S HOW YOU MAKE IT:

1. Drill an appropriately-sized hole in your cardboard book--make sure it goes ALL the way through both layers.  (Look at clock movement instructions if you're not sure how wide it should be.)  We don't have a fancy schmancy drill, so I used a hammer, poked a nail through, and wiggled it around until it was wide enough.  That's how I roll.

 2.  Use your mad-awesome painting skills to paint your cardboard book.  I LOVED the way my pages turned out--I put a little brown in my white and only partly mixed it up, then painted long strokes with a 1/2" wide brush over and over again. It looks so realistic!  :)

 3.  If you're adhering any stickers, do it now.  You could PROBABLY just stick them right on (like with vinyl), but I wanted to be sure they didn't go anywhere so I Mod-Podged the crap out of that sucker.

 4.  While your *everything* is drying, take some cute pictures of your dog, who has just found a new "hiding" place (I didn't have the heart to tell her I could see her, but I think she got the hint when I snapped this photo...). 

 5.  Seal anything and everything with your clear spray paint/acrylic sealer.  This really is optional, but I like the "safe" feeling I get when I do this.  It's nice to know a sneeze or a humidifier won't mess up the paint job.

 6. Admire how awesome it all looks...you're almost done!

 7. Follow the directions on the back of the clock movement package to install your clock pieces!  (If you struggle with this, enlist help.  And eat some chocolate.  I'm sure those of you who are more mechanically-minded will have an easier time of this step than I did...)

And voila!  You have an awesome book clock that is TRULY all your own!  You could put it on a shelf to blend in, but since our bookshelf is already crammed in the ugliest way with books from GoodWill and Freecycle filled to the brim with quality literature, we put it on our bedroom dresser.  For now.  We'll see where it ends up.

Giveaway Winner and my memoir!

My 6-word memoir-to-date was a struggle to write! Here were just *some* of the final contestants:

You'd have to ask someone else.
I tried my hardest every day.
Really, I could have done better.
Struggled against the "other me" within.
I wish life had an eraser.
My life was not my own.
I am happier than I look.
I ate more chocolate than necessary. :)
Hit the "reset" button...multiple times.
I lived my life inside-out.
Stuck forever in the waiting place.
Good things come to the patient.
Work in progress. Quality takes time!


But the winner?
"Afraid I'd get what I wanted."

Remember how I said that what I write today isn't necessarily what I'd write tomorrow?  Well, this is SO true of me at this phase of my life--today, this month...  I think I don't even totally know what I want, really.  I mean, I've felt pretty strongly about some things over the course of my life, but then the Lord has given me something else and I feel at first bitter and betrayed, then hopeful, then excited about the new thing--just in time to have my life change drastically in some way and have to realign myself OVER and OVER and OVER again.  Being polished, to the point of second-guessing myself.  Like maybe I have no clue what's going on and it's a good thing the Lord is in charge because if *I* were in charge completely, I'd screw myself over.

And then I worry all day long about the things I *DO* want, and how I'd handle them, and whether or not the reality would live up to the dream, or if I'd be good at it or even like it once I had it...well, "afraid" is probably the best word to describe me these days.  Not that you'd know that if you knew me or saw me every day.  But it's true.  So this was the winner.  At least this month, with job applications and anniversaries and baby announcements that make me pensive today.  Maybe next month I'd have chosen another phrase instead.  :)

And, anyway, speaking of winners...
I pulled a name from one of my MANY awesome hats...

...and the winner of the 2-book giveaway is...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...

(Excuse my just-woke-up grossness, especially my "sleeping bun" that fell to the side of my head overnight.)

Congratulations, Christina! Email me at omadarland@gmail.com with your mailing address and I will get the books out to you in the mail ASAP!

Thank you, everyone else, for sharing your memoirs with me. It's always fun to see what people come up with. Don't be discouraged if you didn't win...there may be some more giveaways with a purpose coming your way soon. ;)  None of them will be very big, but I figure I can swing a *little* something every once in a while.  So be on the lookout for more fun little things you could win!  :)

LAST DAY for 6-word memoirs!

If you haven't done it yet, today is your LAST DAY to submit your 6-word memoir as an entry for the double-book giveaway!  Click HERE to go to the post and share your 6-word life story with all of us!  :)  I'll pick a name out of a hat tomorrow morning and announce the winner then!

What's on my mind today

I hate being sick.  I'm feeling much better than I have in a long time, but I'm worried about having enough energy to be a good sub for the next two weeks 'til school is out. 

I gotta find a job, not only for this next week but for next YEAR!  Why hasn't anyone called me back yet?  I have a high GPA, great references, more work experience than the average fresh-out-of-school graduate, and I'm technically an internal hire!  AND I'M AWESOME, DANGIT! 

I feel kinda proud of myself today--I spent 2 1/2 hours this morning updating ALL of our primary records and documents (with all our new move-ins, even some that don't come 'til July, and our CRAZY changes in staffing this last month...with more to come).  I'm feeling MUCH more prepared for the meeting on Wednesday night now.  (And yet there is still SO MUCH I should really do...)

Why is ink so expensive?  For real, I don't get it.  In some cases it's cheaper to BUY A NEW PRINTER!  (We've actually done that once before.  Don't judge!)

I want to start a monthly craft club.  SO BAD!

I REALLY need to set up that sewing machine and finish Tiffani Dustin's quilt!  (SORRY, TIFFANI!  I WILL SEND IT TO YOU SOON!!! I'M ONLY 3 MONTHS BEHIND SO FAR! ;)

Speaking of massive projects to finish...I should really get back into crocheting...I have some other baby gifts to send out to people and I'd like them to still fit/be useful!

Tomorrow is my 3-year ANNIVERSARY!  We're gonna go see Avengers in the theater!!!  And I have to finish my present for Paul (stay tuned, it's AWESOME, I know many of my friends will want to rush out and make one, too). 

I LOVE PAUL!

Speaking of which, that means today is the last day to enter your 6-word memoirs!!!  I should make a separate post about that in case you only skim the titles of these posts...

My house is messy and I need motivation to clean it.  FOR REAL.  All these other crafty projects are on hold until I do the IMPORTANT things first.

I gotta budget and go grocery shopping.

I gotta work on my FHE blog.

I gotta start clicking again.  And I still haven't even posted about it yet!

I gotta get a haircut.  :(

I gotta get back on my visiting teaching...

I'm SO WORRIED about Caida.  I need to calm my nerves about this, but nothing has helped yet.

Falling asleep to the Book of Mormon guy's voice is nice and calming, and I LOVE MOSIAH!  Although, I miss the guy and girl from the first part (after a few books I guess they switched readers)...and I wish I could time it to go off after an hour or so so that I could actually fall asleep to it and not just listen and get sleepy and then notice and wake myself up enough to turn it off before my battery dies...

After not eating chocolate for a WHOLE WEEK (can you believe it?), yesterday made me sick.  I really gotta learn some self-control...why, no, I did NOT eat an entire HUGE dark chocolate bar in 24 hours...

Laundry is the bane of my existence.  Who's with me?!

Does anyone read my blog?

Why do I care if anyone reads my blog?

My puppies are SO cute.  Most of the time I ADORE them, and I'm glad I married a dog person.  :)

I LOVE PAUL!

You know what is NOT cute?  Dead bird babies on my patio.  I had to clean two of them off (they didn't even have feathers yet) yesterday and it was HEART-BREAKING!

I want voice lessons.  And a bike.

I love my life, flaws, disappointments, bumps in the road, and all.  I'm really a very lucky woman.

Happy Mother's Day!

I honestly thought today would be much harder than it was.

Confession: part of what made this week so rough was learning that we were NOT pregnant (we had thought I miraculously was, I mean, who is 3 weeks late for no good reason? And there were other reasons, too...but I digress, the point is, I'm not). It was a tough day on Monday and I was glad Paul was home sick so he could hold me all day. I was NOT looking forward to church today, or the day in general. But I'm so glad I moved on and put the focus on MY three AWESOME mothers and came to church anyway, sick but smiling. If I hadn't had such a cough, it would've been as good a Mothers Day as any of you have had, I bet! I even got presents. :)

I got woken up by my babies. These are them.

Happily chewing away at new bones.  After the blow of Monday, I went out and got $30 worth of new toys/treats to spoil my only babies with.  :)

They're not usually allowed in our bedroom, but there they were on the bed this morning, to lick my face and wake me up before my alarm went off--super early, I might add. :)

Voodoo gave me this card:

(Paul said the paw print was extra hard to trace. :)

And in it was an iTunes gift card! Woohoo!

Obi gave me this card:

(Love the margerita glass filled with chocolate milk. ;)

And in it was a GIANT Hershey's special dark chocolate bar. Score!

And then they all (Paul included) went back to bed for an hour. When I got ready for church and then came out to the living room, Paul had left this sweet card on the tv table for me to find:

(The center, when it opens up, says, "You deserve a wonderful day." Paul said he concurred. :)

I have the coolest, sweetest hubby ever.  :)

At church, we learned about some awesome women in the scriptures, and the young men passed out chocolate and live flowers to all the women in the ward 18 and over.  Can't wait to add them to my mini-garden out on our patio.

I feel pretty spoiled. :)

Even more important than all this gift-giving and segregating into "mom" and "not moms" is the doctrine of motherhood, of womanhood. I love being a woman (most days ;) because I know the power I have to influence the world for the better. Love you men, for sure, but even prophets have said that no power or influence is stronger in changing the nations of the world than that of women and mothers. People who think the church is all about anti-feminism and taking away the rights/education/futures of its women REALLY DON'T GET IT AT ALL!!! Women are so loved in the gospel plan, and so honored, and so remembered. They are the crowning glory of creation. Eve is venerated as the true mother of all the earth, even before she had given birth, because she sacrificed her own comfort in a feat of heroic faith, setting the Plan in motion to make this life possible for each and every one of us (isn't that what mothers do?).  Women are all over the scriptures if you read them carefully--in some of the most touching moments, especially interacting with the Savior, women have been missionaries, pillars of strength, friends to the friendless, and heroes in their own right.  We can partake in every necessary ordinance and blessing the church and the gospel has to offer--not just as a side note or an afterthought but as VITAL, EQUAL PARTNERS in an eternal companionship that is the highest of all blessings the Lord can give us. We have sacred responsibilities in our homes and in our communities that NO ONE ELSE CAN DO.  Bearing children is really only one small part of the doctrine of motherhood, and I feel SO EMPOWERED when I think of how the Lord sees me and my role, in my family, my ward, and His kingdom.

CHECK OUT THIS TALK.  It's one of my favorites EVER about the eternal nature of womanhood and motherhood.  There are LOTS more like it out there, too.  We have a specific role to play, women, no matter what our situations are.  And today is a day to celebrate THAT.  To celebrate YOU.  I'm so happy to know this, and to have a husband that knows and understands it, as well.  I love being a woman and knowing what that really *means*!  SO HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you ALL!  :)