chat with ya soon!

ok... i am off to buffalo, new york! i fly out this morning! i am very excited about this show. and even more excited to see niagra falls!

have a great weekend and i will tell you all about it when i get back!

jen

a day to remember-

first of all... happy memorial day!

now... i was on a blog today and saw this cute questions thing (thanks kate!) ... and thought it would be cool to do on mine...

so here it goes... the abc's of homemaking...

rules: answer the following questions related to homemaking and then tag 3 people. don't forget to link to to the person who tagged you and let the people you tag know they have been tagged.

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aprons- y/n? if y, what does your favorite look like?
yes... my mom made me a really cool one! it is navy blue with 2 big pockets in the front!

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baking- favorite thing to bake
i really don't bake a ton, but when i do it is usually cookies. i do have a super recipe for a brownie thing... i love it and it is baked... so maybe that is my favorite.

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clothesline- y/n?
not really... we used to have one when i was growing up. i just remember my poor little brother getting stung by a bee once cuz we didn't shake everything out well enough.

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donuts- have you ever made them?
not the official "donuts". i have done sopapilla's before. i did just get a new recipe for spudnuts that i want to try though...

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everyday- one homemaking thing you do every day.
well, i should be dishes, but that doesn't really happen. i do make my bed everyday. not the fancy, tuck the sheets in just right, kind of "making", just pull everything up...

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freezer- do you have a separate deep freeze?
yes! i have always wanted extra freezer space... i love frozen stuff! for my 30th birthday ann gave me a small one. it was perfect! we grew out of it and now we have a giant one. it is awesome! and i got it for a steal of a deal! even better!

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garbage disposal- y/n?
unfortunately, no... so sad...

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handbook- what is your favorite homemaking resource?
that would have to be my mommy!

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ironing- love it or hate it?
pretty much hate it. i don't iron. period. they have invented this wonderful thing called cotton release. it is a spray that takes all of my wrinkles away... on clothes that is...

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junk drawer- y/n? where is it?
growing up we always called it the "it" drawer. if you are looking for "it" or if you can't find "it", look in the "it" drawer. "it" is in the kitchen.

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kitchen- color and decorating scheme?
my kitchen is full of apples. red, green and a little bit of yellow. the story behind it is kinda funny. when i was engaged i was the store manager for a hallmark store. i was pretty stressed with everything... wedding, job, church, life in general. i was making myself sick. at night i would feel horrible and i would try to think of something that would calm me down. unfortunately, everything that i thought of was linked to one of my stresses. until i thought of apples... nothing... no stress! i started picturing a big white bowl filled with green apples! this became the unofficial theme for the time. i started getting tons of apple stuff. and walla! the theme began!

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love- what is your favorite part of homemaking?
well, if i was able to stay home it would be wonderful... however, until then... i love working on projects to make my home beautiful.

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mop- y/n?
not really. i have only 2 rooms that have floors that i can mop. and i usually like to get down and scrub with a washcloth, cuz the rooms are so small.

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nylons- wash by hand or in the washing machine?
machine...

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oven- do you use the window or open the oven door to check?
door...

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pizza- what do you put on yours?
the meats, cheese and pineapple

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quiet- what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
get online or read

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recipe card box- y/n? what does it look like?
i love recipes! i have mostly recipe books, but when i graduated from high school ann's mom, maryann, gave me a recipe box filled with all her recipes. she is such a great cook! it was a great gift! i since have moved them all into a 3-ring binder.

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style of house- what style is your house?
we are renting a cute 4 bedroom brick home just for me and my cute hubby.

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tablecloths and napkins- y/n?
napkins (paper)- yes! every meal! tablecloths... not so much!

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under the kitchen sink- organized or toxic wasteland?
for the most part it is pretty organized

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vacuum- how many times per week?
i try to vacuum at least once a week... but that doesn't always happen.

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wash- how many loads of laundry do you do per week?
well, kevin does all of the laundry, but we typically do 3-4 loads a week.

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x's- do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
that is totally my system. i would say that i have a list almost everyday!

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yard- y/n? who does what?
we have a pretty good sized yard. ann and julie are my "lawn care providers". and they do a fantastic job! they are worth every penny!!! (and then some)!

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zzz's- what is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
making sure that all leftovers are in the fridge.

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ok... now wasn't that fun?! now i tag... everyone who reads this! leave me a comment and tell me about your abc's of homemaking!

Happy Birthday Maryruth!

happy birthday maryruth!

i hope that you have a super duper day! i met maryruth 2 years ago at the ckc nashville show. some mutual friends and i were going to nashville a few days before the show and tada! we were friends!

we have so many fun memories... lots from that first meeting in nashville. we fell in love with josh turner (wow! what a cutie! and a voice... makes my knees go weak! ) when we went to the grand ole opry. we had great seats and couldn't miss the photo opportunity!

our next show together was in novi, michigan. this was the first show with just the 2 of us! what a great time! i am not sure how much work we really did! but we sure did have fun together! this is the booth! we don't actually set up a booth anymore for the ck shows... but the good ole days... man, they were good!

tear down isn't necessarily fun, but we sure did try to make it that way! these big crates housed our bookcases for the booth. hard work... that is for sure! if i recall, this was the show where we were the LAST vendors off of the show floor. i am positive that the truck drivers were a "little" bit frustrated with us!

last fall maryruth and i decided to stay a few extra days after the seattle show. we had a blast! one of the days we went to snoqualmie falls. it was amazing! so beautiful!

it did rain the ENTIRE time that we were in the seattle area! good thing we "borrowed" a few umbrellas from the hotel! thanks sheraton! we definitely got our moneys worth out of them!

one day we took a ferry over to banbridge island. we had the most delicious lunch and shopped at an amazing bead store. we got yelled at by the lady on the ferry and almost got blown of the ferry because of the wind and rain!

this was just a couple of weeks ago, again, in nashville. we were exchanging birthday and christmas gifts. it was sooooooooo good to see her! she is such a great person!

maryruth! thanks for being such a great friend. you are such an amazing person. extremely talented and outgoing. i want to be like you when i grow up. you inspire me.

love ya!

Sweets and Sours

hi there! here are my sweets and sours for the week!

Sours:

1. had a rough visit with my brother, sam. got some not so great news, we all (me, mom and sam) were pretty upset by it.

2. kevin got gout.... again! (i will post more on this later...)

3. i am still not working out yet!

4. my house is a disaster zone! not one single room is in order!

Sweets:

1. got to see my brother! he looks great! what a good kid he is! i love him sooooooooo much!

2. got to spend a whole day with my mommy! she is the best!

3. my pampered chef order came in! i got some awesome things! i used to sell pampered chef and i love it! they have wonderful products! one of the new things i got this time was the easy read mini measuring cup, it is a great companion to the easy read measuring cups! i love them!

4. i also ordered some mary kay and it came in too! my best friend, ann, sister is now selling it and we placed an order! i love the satin lips stuff! so great! you should try it!

5. kevin is home and we get to spend the entire weekend together! i didn't get to see him last weekend because of my quick trip to manchester. and this weekend he doesn't have to leave until monday afternoon! instead of sunday afternoon! wahoo!

6. i got to see annie on thursday night. i went over to give her a little gift. and i also got to cry on her shoulder about the situation with sam. she is the best! have you ever had someone in your life who helps your life makes sense? she is that person for me! without her... i don't make sense! my very best, good friend! for over 26 years!

7. i got to talk to my cousin, carrie, several times this week. she is an amazing young women! i am proud to be related to her!

8. blogging is so fun! i found a few more blogs this week that i am really liking! it is so fun to get to know new people through the stories they tell about their lives. what a great time we live in.

9. i have some extra time this morning and i am going to attempt to conquer a couple of my disaster rooms! wish me luck!

well, that is my list! sweets and sours for the week! what are yours?
tell me! tell me! tell me! :)

on your mark!

get set! go!

do i have a fun adventure to share! ok... last wednesday morning i got a call from my good friend kris from scrapbookpal.com at work. ( i travel to scrapbook conventions around the country for them ) anyway... she said that they had had a mini crisis in the family and needed me to travel to the ckc- manchester new hampshire show. i would need to fly out the very next day!!!!

i told her that i needed to make a few phone calls and i would get back to her. i called kevin and he said "do it"! (he is sooooooooo good. he knows how much i enjoy traveling) and then i checked with my team at work. they were great and said that they would be ok if i left.

so i called kris back and off i go! i flew out thursday morning at 8am! what a quick trip! it sure was fun though! our booth was right next to our good friends, marsha and sandi, at paper loft! they are such great people! and their product in dang cute! be sure to check it out and ask your local scrapbook stores to carry it!

one of the fun highlights of the show is attending the saturday night crop! we always go and visit our cute friends, micaela and doris! we sure love those ckc girls!

anyway... so fun! very quick trip! i don't think that i have ever done anything THAT spur of the moment! i also read 2 books and loved them both... one of them, twilight, was amazing... i will do a whole post just about it soon!

well, there you have it! my fun adventure... stay tuned.... i am going to buffalo, new york next weekend.

sorry...

still no update of last week. i am heading down to salt lake city tonight to see my mom. i am going to stay at her house tonight and then tomorrow, bright and early, we are gonna go see my little brother, sam.

i am sure that i will have more to share when i get back. but for now... enjoy your night.

ok... i am back!

sorry i didn't post last week! it was a truly crazy, but fun, week! i am going to post ALL about it tomorrow...

but for now... just know that i was thinking about ya!

have a good night!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day! Today, I dedicate to my Beautiful Mommy! She is the best! Let's take a walk down memory lane... shall we?

This is my first "mommy and me date"... My mom is so pretty! I think I was like... 17 days old!

Have I mentioned that my mom was a wild hippy chic? This is part of our "glory days"! I totally love her t-shirt! She is the coolest!

These are 2 of my Favorite women! My great mom, and my truly classy grandmother, Nanny. The cute babe is my little brother Sam! My Nanny came out to help mom when Sam was born. I look pretty happy, huh?

One of the things I love about my mom is that she taught me the joy of reading a good book! I will always remember her loving way of sharing who she was/is with my brother and I. This was just one of those memorable days in the yard reading a book. So great!

The family! With my mom at the head of everything. I am so grateful for her dedication to us.

We are soooo good lookin! I was in high school and it was very important to "match". So... I picked pink! ??? What?! My poor little brother! Oh well, we are still pretty cute! Don't you love our 80's hair!

This was Christmas 2005. Sam hadn't been home for Christmas in a long time and we were thrilled to have him home. This was an amazing Holiday. Very emotional for us, but very special!

I love this picture! Last fall my mom and I had the opportunity to go to women's conference together. It was so incredible to attend such a spiritual meeting with my mom!

She is an inspiration to me!

Mom, I dedicate this to you! For the mom you were when I was growing up, for the friend you are today and for the inspiration you will be tomorrow.

Sweets and Sours

Last summer at girls camp we, the leaders, would play a game everynight before bed called Sweets and Sours. We would name all of the good and bad things that had happened that day. I loved the idea and now Kevin and I do it too! It is so great to remember the good things that happened throughout the day and take a moment to be grateful about them.

ok... so here are the Sweets and Sours for the week....

(oh... i always do the Sours first...)

Sours:

* this was a rough week at work. it seems as though when it rains in pours. not too many things went right for my team (colleen and nels) and i this week. let's just say we were very grateful for friday to come! i was even to a point where i wasn't sure that i even wanted to go back to work. so... i created a "things we love about Sam's Club" mini album. i got input from my team and it is now sitting on my desk at work!

* i didn't do much cleaning around the house this week.

* kevin was gone all week for work (he usually is, so this is a constant sour for both of us!)


Sweets:

* i got my hair cut and i really like it!

* i got to hang out with ann and julie this week. that always brightens my day!

* i ran into an old friend, marla, at the event on monday. it was great to see her! i even went out to dinner on wednesday with she and julie! we had a fun time getting caught up!

* kevin came home!!!

* i sent my mom flowers for mothers day. i think she liked them. they were really fun, blue iris's and pink tulips.

* i got a letter from my brother sam this week! he is so great! i love hearing from him!

* i get to teach in church this sunday. the lesson is on "righteous traditions". i love traditions, so it has been a really fun lesson to plan. i also wanted to do something for the ladies that i work with in this position. i am the only one who is not a mom, and i wanted them to be able to enjoy this mother's day and not have to worry about planning a lesson too!

* i got to scrapbook a little this week. i was in the mood... so i did it!

i have so much to be grateful for! i am happy to see that my sweet list is longer than the sours.

what about you? what are your sweets and sours for the week?

the new do!

ok... so here it is... my new do!

what do you think? i was having a rough day at work and this new haircut just perked me right up!

i always like to take pictures, cuz i am never gonna be able to do this on my own! anyway... i like it and wanted to share with you!

have a good day! and "do" something for YOU!

Ryan's Place Park

I have to tell you about an amazing evening that I just had! My best friend, Ann, her roommate, Julie and I went to a terrific event!

Our local community is building a park in memory of a 2 year old boy that died last summer in lake powell with his family. His name was Ryan Adams.

We went to a dinner and entertaining event that was hosted by the Pauni Family. This was the family that was given a home from the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team in October last year!

What an evening! It was filled with lots of love and laughter! Dinner was amazing! The entertainment was fabulous and there was lots of money raised to help this good cause! We are going to volunteer this week to help in anyway that we can!

check out the site to see what you can do too!

calling all readers...

is anyone reading my blog?

please log on and leave a comment... (nice ones, preferably...)

i would love to know if anyone reads it...

thanks!
jen