Blending

Yesterday, here's what our blender looked like:


Today, here's what it looks like:

Yesterday Ty decided he wanted to make a smoothie.

The glass jar was broken in the process.

I did not over react, not even a little. Okay, maybe a little. Okay maybe a lot. You see...

...Steve and I use our blender a ton. Mostly for smoothies. Sometimes that is what we have for dinner if we've worked out right before. Sometimes it's how I get my chocolate fix. Sometimes it's how we use up our fresh strawberries. Sometimes I just want a smoothie.

So my ever resourceful husband, while online looking up replacement parts, saw the tip that a mason jar fits in our blender.

Problem solved.

Happily.

It actually works even better because when the food on the inside gets stuck, we can just take the jar off and shake it because there is no open lid.

What's your favorite "make do" tip?

Blog Hop - Favorite Photo

Seriously, I can't select just one favorite photo, I mean do I go with--the kidlets, my hubby, or holdiays--in the end, this is the one I going with:

"Food for Thought"

I love this photo for several reasons. First and foremost, it reminds me of the fairytale overnight excursion to San Francisco that my husband surprised me with last summer. So amazing because it involved my husband packing my clothes for me, an airplane, a romantic restaurant, amazing memories, and in a "place" that brought out the best in me (totally relaxed and not intense)!

Also, from a culinary point-of-view, isn't it beautiful?

I LOVE food.

Blog Hop for Tuesday, July 07, 2009: If you are participating in the Blog Hop, be sure to enter YOUR link to your blog post in the list below! If you are not hopping with us, you are missing out on the fun, new traffic for your blog and search engine exposure.

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This is How We Celebrated...

...by being together.

With these boy cousins...
...and these girl cousins.


...with food. Thanks Mom and Dad for a delicious BBQ. The potato salad and baked beans were so yummy too. I made the dessert below. They are similar to cakepops, but are called cookie dough truffles. Hence they have cookie dough in the middle. They are yummy, but if truth be told we (Steve, Tyler, Ethan and I) like the cakepops sooooooo much better.















...with a talent show from the children. The kids look forward to this each year. Tyler made the most excellent M.C. (This is my favorite part.)


With a tug of war......Steve lost! But won the second round with the help of his brother.

...with a jump rope. (This is my favorite part.)

...with a fire pit.

...with a fireworks show.

...with hugs at the end of the night and promises to see each other the next night.

Celebrating My Independence to...

I was busy making our treats to take to our annual 4th of July picnic at Grandma's house and sharing this moment with my darling Ethan. He asked me what the 4th of July is all about. Here's basically what I told him.

That we live in one of the greatest countries in this world. That tomorrow I was celebrating that we:

Worship Who We Want: Due to the strength and perseverance of others, I live in a country where a 14 year-old boy wanting to know which church he should join, could receive revelation and then a few years later restore the gospel as it was when the Savior walked the earth.

That we don't all have to worship the same deity for us to be happy.

I am celebrating that I can focus on the common beliefs with others in other churches and can feel my testimony grow because they love the Savior too.

Marry Who We Choose. I know that my track record with some of the guys that I dated wasn't great. I wasn't choosing guys who brought out the best in me. However, that was my mistake to make, and to more importantly, learn from. And, I did learn. With a little divine guidance, I married a man of my choosing, but who ultimately is better for me than I thought a man could be. I am celebrating the fact that I could choose Steve all over again, if given the chance.

Birth as Many Children as We Choose. I am so glad that I have my 3 kidlets. That they are all valued equally: boy or girl. I know when Steve and I started planning our "perfect" family, it didn't look the way it does today. But, experience has taught me that what I have is the "perfect" family for me. We've traversed our fair share of heartache and tears about getting our last one here. That was my journey to take. I am celebrating that I get to choose how my family photo looks.

We Can Say what We Feel. I value the fact that I can say whatever I want about anything, or...specifically a negative comment about a President of our country. That during one of the most intensely interesting election years of our country, I can publish a post like this.



I love our country and what makes it great. The list is too extensive to enumerate here or with my inquisitive son; but, I am confident that he will learn it as he grows and experiences life.

I am so proud of our early American ancestors who stood for something. And value the loss that they experienced so that we could have a better America today.

What freedoms are you celebrating?

We Are Family

Tiercy, Alayna, Liesel, Ellen

I love my family.

I also love my extended family.

Luckily, my extended family is pretty close to each other.

We always know what is going on in their lives for the most part...either through direct conversations, word of mouth (passed along usually from talking with the moms) or through technology ( Facebook) We are always willing to help each other out. For example, my cousin was driving from California to his new home state of New York. So, one of his pit stops was in Denver where he was graciously hosted by our second cousin, Katie. And this past Friday night, my aunt Ellen (my mom's sister) and her new hubby, Dickie, are making the same trip with the same start and end only with different destinations in between. Yahoo. That means I got to see them. They were staying the night at my cousin, Liesel's brand new Park City home. So, Laney and I headed up to Park City to shop at the outlets and to dine with family.

Liesel's new house was designed by her brother-in-law, who has been showcased in several known architecht magazines. Her house has a very modern feel. Because it was built in the wetlands, it couldn't touch the ground, so it is built on large steel ??? thingys. I am sorry I don't have a picture of this to show you. But here is her house from the outside:
What isn't shown is the guest house to the right.

Here is what I love about her house:

This is her dining room.

Ah..mazing! I love the floor to ceiling windows. When you are inside, you hardly feel like you are inside because of these windows. And the fireplace that you see in the top picture serves both the dining room and the living room.


This is her living room. Did you notice the window? the placement of it??? Pretty cool huh? I guess that her brother-in-law is known for these little details. The window is placed there so that when you are sitting on the couch it is the perfect height for still being able to look out the window.

There is something poignant about this scene for me.

If you are sitting in one of those chairs, here is the view you see. Ah..mazing! In the distance is The Canyons ski resort. My camera was zoomed, so before the bushes you have more wetland which you can see in the picture above.

Oh yeah, here are some pictures of us:

I Conquered Unity Pass!

But, I'll get to that in a minute.

First I want to introduce you to my new best friends.

I was especially fitted for these shoes, Nike women's air pegasus.  I went to a store where they measured, measured again, then I walked, I ran, I ran again. Actually, those had to be returned to the store because Steve found the same shoes online for $40 less, and the store wouldn't price match. I made him take them back for me.

Although today because of the rain storm that ended only minutes after I made the decision to run, I wore my other shoes; you know, the ones I am cheating on. They are dependable and I knew I could count on them. I knew I needed all the help that I could get. I also didn't want my new ones to get wet or muddy from the rain.

Okay, back to Unity Pass...

Today is starting what I consider to be the longer runs for the training program for my first half-marathon. 7 miles. I know. Awesome. (If you are just tuning in to my blog, you can read here for the start of this journey.)

At first I was going to zig zag around my neighborhood to make up the seven miles. Then I decided that was making it way too difficult when I could just persuade Steve to drive me seven miles away and drop me off or just kick me to the curb. After all, my cousin's husband does it for her, surely mine could do it for me. Luckily he was totally willing. (phew) We brought Laney with us.

So, our drive started out ordinarily enough. Until...

I started realizing how far we were going.

At this point, I started talking (I talk when I am nervous).

Me: So, if I'm not back in an hour and a half you'd better come looking for me.
Steve: Why, what are you thinking by saying that?
Me: What if I get a cramp? Or, you know, there was that mountain lion seen in the neighborhood last week.
Steve: Seriously...(add a look of total disdain here)
Me: Just know that you will be the last thing I am thinking of as I get devoured.

A minute later...
Me: We have gone so far, this can't only be 3 miles. I think the odometer is wrong.

Silence. A minute later...
Me: This is sooooo far.

deafening silence...
Me: Okay, seriously, look at this "hill"...with a runner's eye. NOW doesn't it seem impossible?!

Only sound is Laney's darling, senseless chatter from the backseat...
Me: Oh no, I think I have to go to the bathroom.

He's not even looking at me...a minute later...
Me: What if I need a tissue, for my nose or worse what if I need toilet paper?

More silence...
Me: This is soooooo far.

...wait for it...
Steve: You are worse then a kid!!

I love how he doesn't even need to contribute to the conversation, but I still keep going.

He had no hesitation about leaving me there. He just drove off. Even with the ominous gray clouds floating overhead. I didn't even see a tapping on the brakes, at all. Nope. He's gone. With Laney's little arm waving at me from the backseat.

The best route for me on these longer runs traverses a mountain. I'm not kidding. I didn't say Utah mountain, but definitely what passes as a mountain, back there...in Maryland where I grew up. I think it is about 1 1/2 mile of incline where some parts are steeper then others. It is one tough "hill." And, I did it. Yay me!!!! The name of the trail that I ran on was called Unity Pass, but I think of that really hard mountain as Unity Pass. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down. And to concentrate on my breathing. I have found that a long deep breath in and two short outs keep the side stitches away. Any hoo...I conquered it.

And, I ran it all in 66 minutes. It took me 40 minutes to run the first four miles, which included that blasted mountain, and then 26 minutes for the last 3 miles. I was totally happy with that.

Since the beginning of June, I have been running on the open road. Running outside has been great as I have seen progress. But, it has also brought it's fair share of challenges:

• more aches and pains to my legs
• getting a little discouraged because I can't run as fast
• dealing with elements of the weather: wind, rain, heat, sun, and bugs
• never knowing exactly how far I have run

But, I know this is the best thing for me as I prepare for my half-marathon. I am so excited to have this experience in my life. Thanks again to Michelle and Emilie for getting it all started.

My Girly Girl

She is such a girly girl and I LOVE it! I can't wait until she's older and and she and I can get manicures together, say when there is a father's and son's campout, or a birthday, or just because. We are at the stage now where she loves to play in my makeup. So, suffice it to say, it takes me twice as long some mornings to get ready. I will lightly dab my lightest colors and then lightly dab on her so she feels like she is wearing makeup too. What is it with little girls and makeup?

She also loves lip gloss. She is constantly going through my purse or church bag to find one of a dozen lip glosses that I have. I love her darling little pucker as I will put it on her. Although lately she has insisted that I place it on her finger. I wonder who taught her that? Any thoughts, Steve?
Can you tell what she is doing?

That's right, "plucking" her eyebrows.

I thought it was hilarious when she climbed up on my bathroom counter and got both the mirror and the tweezers and started imitating me.

So, I don't know if you remember the post where I outed myself? One of the things that I didn't out myself for, but would have if I had thought about it is that I didn't start plucking my eyebrows until later in life. Until after I was married in fact.

Who knew it made such a difference?

BEFORE (taken right after Laney was born):















AFTER (our Valentine's photo shoot this year)
Can you see the difference?

I can, and I love it!