Ebenezer, you are my kind of man!

Bah-freaking-humbug! Isn't it horrible? I am most definitely not in the Christmas spirit this year. It's weird, I want to be in the spirit, but I'm just not. I really know that I have so much to be grateful for. I have a good job and work with wonderful people. I have amazing friends. My family is awesome. My husband is my best friend. I have a roof over my head. And yet, I am in a funk. A baby funk. Instead of a monkey on my back I have a big giant BABY on my back. I know I am supposed to be patient. I try to have a positive attitude about it all. I know that nobody wants to hear a big whiner. But right now it seems that all the world is pregnant or has a baby. I keep telling myself that things happen for a reason and when this is all over I will know why I had to have this trial. But that doesn't always help in the here and now. I feel totally crazy because I want it so bad. It is biological I tell you! I am trying to have hope and be positive, relax and not obsess. All I have to say is that it's a good thing that last year I didn't know I would still be at square one a year later. Right now all I have is hope. That's it. Plain and simple. So there you have it. I have effectively vented. They don't call it a Pity Patty Party for nothing!

You make me wanna shoop... shoop shoop ba-doop

Wait... Not this Salt n' Pepa!

This is the Salt n' Pepper I'm talkin about!

The two little girls in the front are my cousin Misha and me. That's right Mish & Trish a.k.a. the ORIGINAL Salt n' Pepper! We are 2 weeks apart in age and we were inseparable whenever we could be together. We have so many hilarious memories. I will always treasure the weeks during the summer that I would go stay at Aunt Suz & Uncle Joe's and Mish and I would play, play, play. I just love Mish, she is so fun to be around.

Misha lives down in St. George with her little wild bunch! Cutest. Kids. Ever!!! Well my mom, my sisters, and I all decided to take a little getaway to St. George and have a girl's weekend. It was so much fun! Misha has a beautiful home and is the hostess-with-the-mostess. She just makes everyone feel comfortable and want to stay there forever!

We drove down on Friday afternoon and had plans to see Annie at Tuacahn (total diasappointment by the way). We pulled into town, freshened up, picked up Janalee, and went to dinner. (Salt & Pepper in the center!)

Here is Mom, Cic, Addy, & Mish @ Annie. The show itself was okay. The biggest problem was the sound was too high. Everyone was mic'ed and they were still trying to project as if they weren't. I'm sorry, but there is nothing more ear piercing than 25 prepubescent little girls screeching into a microphone.

On Saturday Mish's kids all had soccer games, so Mom & Janalee went shopping, Leah & I watched Lexi's soccer game, & Cic stayed home and watched the 3 toddlers (what a brave girl)!

Then we decided to cool off by taking the kids to the pool. It was so much fun. I intend on taking my future kids swimming often. LOVED IT *in a sing-song voice*!

Here, Cic, Craig, & I are playing ring around the rosies with Sami, Jax, & Beck. They were soo cute! Addy would rather be lounged out than anywhere near the water. I can't blame her. It was pretty chilly at first!

Later that night we decided to go get some YUMMY food at a place called Haven. MMMM. It's kind of home cooking with a twist. They also have delicious desserts, like deep fried oreos and homemade sugar doughnuts. They also have really cute decor. Our pics really don't do it justice. If you are in the area, you should really check it out, they do have a website at havencuisine.com. It is an experience!

Overall, it was a really fun weekend. I didn't want it to end. St. George is beautiful. Mish has some amazing views, and I could have just sat and chilled at her place for at least a week. I didn't get nearly enough sleep, and for good reason! I just didn't want any of the fun to end. Now that fall is settling in... ugh, I am already fantasizing about returning to our little getaway in the desert! Thanks Mish for being such an amazing cousin and friend! I will always have a special place in my heart for you! And you make me wanna Shoop!

Take me to Vegas, I'm on a roll...

Can you believe it? Two posts in 2 days?! Incredible, I know. This one is only to do a little bragging. Before the arrival of cute little miss Addy, I "slaved" away and made a quilt for her. I wanted something that wasn't too "babyish" and that she could grow up dragging around with her. I have to say I am pretty proud of how cute it came out! And then Leah has to go and upstage me with making Addy so cute.... Sheesh! Can't a girl ever come out ahead?

P.S. No, Leah doesn't stuff her baby into the corner of the crib. The baby in this picture is a fake... it threw me off at first too :)!

Leah was nice enough to model it for me. You can't tell here but she was 9+ months pregnant, and it was a long, HOT, active weekend! (She was even running around playing yard games, the crazy woman!!! When I am 9 months pregnant I am taking full advantage of it!)

Promises, promises...

Yeah. So I kind of still totally slacked in the blogging department. What can I say? Perfection has never been something I claim to be! This summer has been super busy and I have had plenty to do. My house is definitely evidence of this. It is a disaster area! But at least I can call it my own! One of our major projects this summer was to refinish our hardwoods. They are original and

needed a little TLC. These are after we sanded them down. I was too embarrassed to show how bad they looked before, hence no "Before" picture. Just use your imagination... 3 dogs + wood floors= one heck of a scratched up floor!

It took us most of the weekend and the dogs were not so happy to be locked out (They could use a lot more of it, if you ask me!), but after all was said and done, we are pretty happy with the results.

Now I just have to get my dogs acclimated to wearing booties around my house!

There's a V.I.P. in my family!

I am very proud to announce the much anticipated arrival of a special little person in my life. Her name is Adalyn Lila and she is the first grand-daughter in our family. My brother Aaron and his wife Leah welcomed her on July 28th at 2 am. As you might have guessed, I could not help myself and had to rush down and get a glimpse of her with my own eyes! She is absolutely scrumptious and I can't wait to be her FAVORITE Aunt! (So take that Cic & Kenz!) She has a beautiful full head of hair and is all cheeks! The poor little turtle takes after her Daddy and has no neck, just rolls and rolls of skin.





On a side note, I have to tell everyone what a special person little Adalyn's mommy is. She has really been a blessing in our family. Leah is one of the most sweet natured and easygoing people. She does not have a mean bone in her body, but do not be deceived, she has a backbone! She keeps my brother in line! She is so thoughtful and is going to be an amazing mother!!!!! My only regret is that we don't live closer! She is definitely a kindred spirit! I hate to say it, but if anything "happens" to them, Aaron is sooooo screwed, cause I think we'll all keep Leah and get rid of him! (Just kidding Aaron... we all know you would never be dumb enough to mess things up! LOL!)

And the three of you that read this blog die of shock!

So obviously I've been a bit remiss in my posting! Tsk, tsk! Well I am back by not-so-popular demand! So those of you who were giving up faith in human kind or otherwise just ready to beat me over the head with my keyboard, you may all take a deep sigh of relief. I am going to catch up on my posting!!! I have been up to many projects and have lots of fun to report on this summer! Life in the fast lane...

So keep checking and there will probably be a few posts a bit more regularly!

(What, you didn't think I was going to give it to you all at once did you? I am what you could call a blog tease!!!)

New post

Here ya go Sarah! This is technically a post!

Onesies

Last weekend Sarah and I threw a baby shower for our best friend Brandy. It was a ton of fun and there will be more to post later. However, I am so happy with the results of our activity. We set up a table for everyone to decorate onesies and this is what I came up with. I think they turned out really cute and it was a lot of fun!

Also, I recently made these bibs for my friend Jackie's little girl. I am not a great photographer so I apologize for the less than adequate pic.

I used hot pink and teal hand towels for the terry cloth backing on these. I think they are pretty cute!

Introducing baby Duffin....

First here is our daughter Levisha.

Who knew we would have a blonde?! She is the "Little Princess"!

And now, our sweet little Trevi...

He is the apple of his daddy's eye!

Last, but certainly not least, please meet Levi Jr.

He's quite the little handful, but we are just so blessed to have the little dumpling!

Okay, so they are only simulated, but it is way too funny not to share! If our real kids are going to be this scary looking, I may be having second thoughts!!!

Honest scrap, or crap? You decide!

It is called the honest scrap award and these are the rules...A) First list 10 honest things about yourself--and make it interesting even if you have to dig deep.B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap...

I feel like my life is pretty much an open book so any of this information is probably no surprise to anyone who knows me! Well, here goes!

1. One of my favorite things to do is sing in the car. I love turning the radio up and singing my guts out. I have to be alone though, otherwise I am too worried about what I sound like.

2. I have cetaphobia. In layman's terms, an irrational fear of WHALES! It is really bizarre and I totally know it is irrational. It has gotten worse as time goes by. Killer whales don't bother me though. Just all others. I get sweaty and nauseous and the chills anytime I see a picture of them or even just get a mental picture of one. Even the animated one in Finding Nemo puts me over the edge. However, everyone thinks it's really funny to point them out to me whenever they can. GROSS!

3. I am a comic book geek. This has been somewhat recent. I had a friend in middle school who would lend my his X-Men comic books and I liked them then, but recently Levi has been getting into them which in turn has had me getting hooked. My only problem is that they are not cheap! I have a really hard time spending that much money on something that takes 15 minutes to read, and then you can't wait for the next issue to come out. They are pretty entertaining though. I think it would be kind of fun to go to Comicon in San Diego. That would probably be quite the show!

4. I love, love, love the demolition derby! I have only gone once because no one else will go with me, but I loved it. There is something so exciting about seeing a car from across the arena driving on a collision course at full speed toward another car. What reckless abandon! Too funny!

5. I really dislike french manicure toenails! Gag! To me a french manicure is meant to make your nail bed look longer and more elegant. The last thing I want is long looking toenails. I much prefer fun, bright colors or classic red toenails.

6. I used to be really obsessed with Gone With the Wind. I loved Scarlett and her story. I loved how men adored her and how she was idolized by them. She got whatever she wanted! However, as I have gotten older my perspective has changed a bit. I now see her as a spoiled rotten, selfish brat! When she finally found out what she truly wanted, she had already ruined everything and couldn't have it! I still do love the story though and Rhett makes me weak in the knees! I just don't idolize it like I used to.

7. This may not come as a surprise to anyone at all, but I always dreamed of being an actress. As a little girl I would memorize my favorite movies and reenact them for hours. I love the world of make-believe and I think that is mostly what acting is. I would still really love to be an actress, but I know the lifestyle that involves is not necessarily what I want either. Oh well, a girl still has to have a dream!

8. Another phobia I kind of have is of wind generators. It's really weird. As we were coming out of Spanish Fork canyon this last summer, I totally got the willies from the giant windmills at the mouth of the canyon. They were so huge and looming. Levi thinks I am just afraid of really big things. I think it is just really big things that move! It just creeps me out. They don't bother me from far away, it's just when I get close. (shiver!)

9. I also used to be obsessed with Seth Green! I just really liked him in a lot of his characters and I think he's cute! I know I'm weird, and I don't expect anyone to feel the same as I do, but I like him. My friend Jana even gave me an autographed picture of him for my birthday. I have to admit, I got a little teary eyed! I'm not as bad as I used to be, but I am still a fan. I just think that I am more gaga over Seth Green the actor than Seth Green the person. I don't know him personally so I can't say whether or not he is a good person. But he is really cute in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series!

10. Lastly, I am horrible at correspondence! I am so bad at writing letters! I just talk myself out of doing it. I think of all the things I want to say and get overwhelmed with it all. I feel really bad about it though because I have lost touch with so many great people that I have met through the years. I really need to get better at it! I'm so bad I didn't even write to my own little brother on his mission! I am definitely ashamed of that. So, to anyone who I have lost contact with over the years, it is nothing personal. I promise! I just really suck at writing and sending letters. I still love you!

Well, that pretty much sums it up! I don't know if there are even 7 people that read this blog, but I tag Sarah, Katie, Jana, Karlie, Kacie, Jenny P., and Jackie! Good Luck!

... and all of her dreams came true!

Okay, well, at least my sofa dreams came true!!! After years and years of "making do" with our old, nasty, 6th-generation sofas, I finally got the sofa of my dreams!!!! We saved up and were able to buy it outright which felt really good. We were laughing when we put it on my check card how it is the largest purchase we have ever made with that card, and how the bank was probably going to go into seizures! However, there was much anxiety over whether or not we would be able to even get it into the basement (we were, only after removing a window)! I hate being there when deliveries like that come. I am always worried that they are going to say, "Nope. Sorry. We refuse to haul this mammoth sofa/bed/washing machine down those stairs. You and your husband are on your own!", and then I am left fretting that while Levi is maneuvering the aforementioned, he gets pinned at the bottom of the stairs, clawing for his life, all the while cursing the fact that I am never happy with what we already have!

Needless to say, I am oh so happy with this purchase! I refused to "settle" and got what I really wanted. I wanted something that would last us years and years! I wanted something that our entire future family could sit on. I wanted stainproof and dirtproof. This glorious, glorious, glorious piece of furniture will hopefully be a centerpiece to many family memories! (I know it sounds silly to care so much, but you have no idea how bad the last couches were!)

So here I unveil the sofa that I love. The only picture I currently have of it is from my phone and it was still in the store. I also am awaiting the arrival of a matching ottoman that we ordered. We originally wanted a chaise, but ultimately decided an ottoman would work best so we wouldn't be "locked in" to any certain setup.

If you can't tell, it is chocolate brown with teal and brown pillows. The fabric is kind of like corduroy but checkered instead of lines. It is totally comfy and am thrilled with it.

This month has been "sew/sew"

Well I have to admit I have been a little distracted this month. I got this puppy for Christmas and I have a million little projects that I can't wait to do.

I love this machine! I wanted to get something that was easy to learn on, but one that I could also grow into. This was the ticket! It is an electric machine and all the stitches are adjusted with the push of a button. There are so many stitches to choose from so my imagination is just running wild. I love that I don't have to fiddle with knobs because it has auto tension and it has a self threader so it is a breeze to thread! Needless to say, I have been sewing up a storm.

My latest project is for one of my best friends who is expecting a baby boy this spring. I am so very excited for her and can't wait to see that little guy! She has some very cool prints of children with rockets that she wants to decorate the nursery with and I found a fabric with really cute rockets on it, so I just couldn't help myself! I still have to put the back on, but I am so excited about how well it turned out. It is my first patchwork quilt ever!

I want to thank my lovely friend Sarah for "modeling" the blanket for me. Since you didn't get a good look at her face, I have included a picture so you can all see how cute she is!