the andersons

Halloween, etc.

2011-11-02T23:02:00.000-06:00

And a Happy Halloween to you too!

This year we had the Zombie Football Player, the Ran Over Now Dead Crossing Guard and the cutey Tutu Witch.

I'm also feeling like a little catch up post is in order.

Who is still blogging these days anyway? ::ahem::

JBird just finished up his second season of tackle football. He caught the only completion for BOTH seasons during their fourth game this year. The kid is money. I don't get why they don't pass to him every time. He also had fun taking down kids twice his size (which is almost every kid, btw) on defense. As one super cheesy/lame football commentator said once.... "They forgot to measure his heart."

He was also elected Student Body Vice President due to his genius campaign posters (such as the one below) and super funny speech. Oh, and because he is Chrissi, Shelly & Stacey's nephew.

TBone has finally (after 6 years) decided that Pokemon might not be as awesome as he once thought it was. And this is the outfit he chooses to shovel snow in (snow day TODAY... no school!). No socks, in case you were wondering.

He has also turned into a reading FOOL this year. He read the entire Lightening Thief series in about 4 weeks. He would walk around with his nose in his book like he used to do with his Nintendo DS. We often go up to bed at 11:30 or midnight and find this going on:

But how can you get mad at your kid for READING? You can't. So that's annoying.

Beebs started Kindergarten this year and was sad today was a snow day because she "misses school." She's doing the usual 5 year old girlie stuff like gymnastics, dance and getting her Dad to do anything she wants.

She also has taken to posting signs on her door and laying out her clothes (complete with accessories) the night before. This only worries her mother a lot.

Feeling all caught up now?

Good. I feel sad at the cobwebs over here... and they aren't Halloween decor.

School House Rawks

2011-08-09T18:51:00.002-06:00

I now interrupt this blogging silence to inform you that I am officially a "mother of school-aged children." This past week all three kids headed into the public school system as our summer came to an abrupt but not altogether unwelcome end.

Judging from this picture, this will be one heckuva year.

Tbone: 4th Grade, has same teacher JBird had. This should be interesting.

JBird: Big 6th Grader, they switch classes throughout the day to "mimic middle school." I might mimic the fetal position thinking about my little JBird in middle school next year.

Then, on Wednesday, a little sweetykinz became a Kindergartener! What's funny is she has the same teacher that both TBone and JBird had. She likes having her two brothers there and asks every adult she comes in contact with "Do you know my brothers? I look just like Tbone." The librarian told JBird all about it.

She is in the afternoon class and that morning of the first day of school was torture. She asked me if it was time to go every 5 minutes. I finally had to threaten that if she asked me again she wasn't going to kindergarten. Thank goodness she didn't call my bluff.

There was a mom there who was crying. She was wiping the tears away under her sunglasses.

This emotion on such a glorious day is foreign to me.

I high-fived Standsmom and got the ayche outta there.

Hooray for school!

AI: Best Night Ever...

2011-05-24T21:30:00.001-06:00

...for that fiddler dude.

Did you see him and his highlighted bob haircut??? He was in 5 out of the 6 songs! Earlier this season when I told him this wasn't about him I was wrong.

He made it to the finale

And he played that fiddle like...well, like a fiddle.

So congrats to him.

As for the rest...well, you know my feelings on the matter.

The one bright spot? David Cook and that 4 second shot of David Archuletta in the crowd. Made me long for the days of yore.

AI: Top 3

2011-05-19T14:39:00.000-06:00

I'm in a bit of a shame spiral right now.

I actually liked Scotty's first two songs last night.

I didn't want to. But his boyish charms won me over. For two songs. Then the last song I hated which felt good. My guess is he will win this thing. If he can make a curmudgeon like myself smile in spite of myself, what did he do to all of America? Oh well. I did love being reminded Baby Lock Them Doors though. I laughed and laughed. By myself. So....anyway.

Haley. Was. Awesome. I LOVED her dad out there. It made me get a little emotional thinking about how amazing that must have been for them both. Her songs were cool. She is cool. I can't even believe she is the same person who had that red lipstick smudged all over her chin from the microphone. She was practically a baby then! Now she's all growed up. Her fall was nervous-making for me but the judges were so good about it. Steven Tyler made me cry a little too when he said "It's not how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up." I know it's cliche but it was a totally cute thing to say right then. And she did carry on with very little disruption. I'm always worried about those girls bounding up & down those stairs in those crazy heels though. FINALLY my worries were for a good reason! Loved her Stevie Nicks song too. And I liked the chorus of You Outta Know but the verses seemed a bit low for her. I have no idea what kind of album she'll put out. Should be interesting.

Lauren. First song = two thumbs down. Second song= I can't even remember what it was cuz she's so forgettable. Third song= ANYONE can sing I Hope You Dance and sound good. That's why people like it so much. Even I can wail that song in my car and sound amazing. I give her no props for that one.

So, the bottom line is LAUREN better be gonzo tonight. Because if we have an all country finale I just might shoot myself/not blog about it.

AI: FINAL FOUR

2011-05-11T23:46:00.000-06:00

Topic #1: Randy is mean and stupid. And a bad dresser. But mostly mean & stupid. Proof of stupidness ... if he says "in it to win it" one more time I may throw whatever is near by through my TV. If he says he feels like he's at one of the contestant's concerts again I may groan myself to death. Proof of meanness... him saying after round one that it was a tie for first between everyone but Haley. I don't even think Simon has ever been so mean. Gty said it reminded him of a time when his friend Matt said to another kid "One of us stinks, and it's not me."

Topic #2: Lady Gaga is skuuurrrrry. I bet Scotty was scared out of his mind to go have to look at her royal creepiness. Why was I thinking she would show up there looking half way normal? Yikes. And gross.

Topic #3: Leiber & Stoller... your songs are lame.

Topic #4: I'm sorry I didn't blog about last week's performances. Especially since it was the one we have all been waiting for.... buh-bye Jacob!

Now, let's proceed to some random thoughts on each contestant tonight.

James

By far the winner tonight (not even tied with Scotty & Lauren). He killed Don't Stop Believing. I was actually glad that Stupid Mean Randy (as he shall henceforth be known) pointed out the difficulty of that song because James makes it seem so easy. I loved it. Even his rocked out version of Love Potion #9 had me smiling. He is Adam Lambert without the.... you know (::whispering:: guyliner).

Haley

She looked like she was so pissed she was going to cry there after her first song. Stupid Mean Randy totally piled on the criticism unnecessarily BUT she shouldn't have been arguing her case with the judges. Just smile and say you did your best and you were moved by your song and that's it. But she has some spunk which I like. That song was a terrible choice though. Really... of all the songs you pick that one? It might show some poor judgement (like her unreleased Gaga song she did...why?). I did enjoy her dramatic I, Who Have Nothing song though and I've never heard that one before. I hope America remembers that one the most.

Scotty

I've gone from tolerating the lad to despising him in one show. That Alan Jackson song is everything that I hate about country music. Lame, cheesy, unoriginal lyrics combined with an unbelievable amount of twang. I had to kiss my own cross when he finished because I felt so yucky. And then his second song?? What in the County Fair was he doing? Totally lame, cheesy & unoriginal. Yes, he & country music were made for each other. I wish them well.

Lauren

I can actually handle this kind of cross-over country stuff. I thought Lauren looked great singing Anyway by Martina McBride and she sounded really really good. I liked it. The second song? Notsomuch. Really bad outfit I couldn't take my eyes off of and really cheesy performance. Plus, did Leiber & Stoller not write any other songs that didn't have the word "evil" in it? I mean, if you're that uncomfortable with it, pick another song, right? That was weird and, once again, reminded me of her subpar personality.

Bottom Two: Lauren & Haley

Going home: Lauren (hoping she & Scotty split the country votes)

A Mother's Day Questionnaire

2011-05-08T17:43:00.001-06:00

{photo taken today after church}

Happy Mother's Day! This has been "one for the books" as they say.

This morning started out fairly awful as I had a "run in" with TBone. What it was about is unimportant but, needless to say it ended with me freaking out and taking away everything that is near and dear to him... namely his DSi. He was screaming "I hate my family!" and the like for a good 20 minutes afterward. I know these things happen but when it happens on Mother's Day it is an immediate and sharp reminder that I suck as a Mom. I had no business reacting the way I did and I felt awful. But I was still mad. Things were not looking good for Mother's Day 2011.

We then go to church & TBone glared at me from the stand as the Primary sang their Mother's Day songs. Awesome. (Luckily JBird and Beebs were smiling and pointing at me as the words said "all flowers remind me of you.")

But then, during the last hour of church, someone tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a Mother's Day Questionnaire TBone had filled out during his Sunday School class. Due to our current standing with each other I was very nervous to read it...not to mention my guilt over that morning was at an all time high at that moment.... and here is what I read (I left the spelling as is):

Why did God make mothers? To be helpfull
How did God make mothers? He mixed awsomeness with hair
What ingredients are mothers made of? sugar and spice and everything nice
Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? we're both crazy
What kind of little girl was your mom? I have no idea
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him? How he would raise the kids
Why did your mom marry your dad? she was crazy
Who's the boss at your house? Mom
What's the difference between moms and dads? ones a girl ones a boy
What does your mom do in her spare time? blog
What would it take to make your mom perfect? zero
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be? zero

Zero.... I started crying and didn't stop. He then came in to find me after church and handed me a card he had colored in class. All it said on the inside was "Sorry Mom." I hugged him, said I was sorry too & we've been best friends ever since.

Ah, motherhood.

So, how has your day been?

AI: Carole King Week

2011-04-27T23:55:00.000-06:00

Carole King and Babyface. Of course. That makes total sense.

This will be my abbreviated thoughts on the subject at hand tonight. And I won't be putting on their pictures. If you don't know these people by name now then I don't know what to tell you.

JACOB

"Oh No, Not My Baby"

No amount of decent, in tune singing and distracting plaid sport coat will get rid of that personality.

LAUREN

"Where You Lead"

Who told her to pull some random guy out of the audience? I hate that. It's distracting. The whole time I'm wondering "What is he going to do now? Sit there?" and "How long will he be there...is she going to go back to him at some point?" "Is that her brother or something?" "Will she tell him when to leave or what?"
I was so distracted by the dude I don't even know how she sang the song but the judges loved her voice cracking. Wha?

CASEY & HALEY

"I Feel the Earth Move"

Um yeah.... they're doin' it.

SCOTTY

"You Got A Friend"

This was actually quite refreshing. I was sooooo sick & tired of the same ole, same ole from him. Babyface worked a miracle here.

JAMES

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"

Jimmy has a man crush on James.
I'm developing a bit of a regular crush on him myself. He was so nice about Scotty and then gushed about his wife afterward... plus the singing & guitar playing.
This is where he differs from Adam Lambert. AL could never have pulled something like this off.
I loved this performance. He might be my favorite at this moment.

LAUREN & SCOTTY

"Up On the Roof"

Um yeah.... nothing is going on between these two adorable virgins.

CASEY

"Hi-De-Ho"

Entertaining & edgy but so not my thing. I would never turn this on in the car. Never.
I still like him but..... eh.

HALEY

"Beautiful"

She is blossoming right before our very eyes!! I think Casey is probably the cause.
I really liked this performance, minus the intense arm waving she had going on.

JAMES & JACOB

"I'm In For Something Good"

Two dudes should NEVER sing a duet together. Especially if one of the dudes is Jacob.

BOTTOM THREE:

Haley

Lauren

Jacob

GONZO: JACOB

AI: 21st Century

2011-04-20T23:50:00.000-06:00

I must address that opening number from the cast offs.

::said in british accent like Simon:: What. Was. That? Abysmal with a capital A.

Why did they feel the need to put us through that? First of all, I had all but forgotten every single one of them. Three of the girls I didn't even recognize, let alone remember their names. And Paul. Oh PAUL. Wha? The only words he even knew were "I wanna start a fight!" at the end. The rest he just mumbled. Off key. Terrible.

K, let's hop to it. It's late.

SCOTTY

Swingin' by LeAnn Rimes

Good: the low part. His deep voice is a force to be reckoned with. So glad they mocked the way he holds his mic, btw.

Bad Stuff: The eyebrow waggling. Why must he? Stop it. He's a 50 year old trapped in a 17 year old's body.

Whatever Stuff: Yes, it was "safe" but if that's not the very word that describes country music then I don't know what is. Country music panders to the lowest common denominator in this country. Not to generalize here but I'm talking rednecks, back woods honkey tonks and white trash. Ha! I kid. (not really tho) What I'm saying is there are no unsafe country songs. Try and name one.... see? All safe. It's what they do.

JAMES

Uprising by Muse

Good: I may be a bit biased because I LOVE that song but song choice was huge here. It fit him like the proverbial glove. Very very cool performance. I found myself smiling through the whole thing.

Bad Stuff: That get up he was wearing seemed so out of place with his normal colored mouse-brown hair.

Whatever Stuff: Were the marching band people really necessary? ::shrugging shoulders::

HALEY

Rolling In The Deep by Adele

Good: I think this is the first night that I've thought to myself "She belongs here." I really like how distinct and different her voice is while still being really good. She is growing on me in a big way. Loved her dress & hair too.

Bad Stuff: I got nothin'.

Whatever Stuff: Are she & Casey really dating? Someone send me a link. I'm too lazy to google.

JACOB

Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross

Good: I got nothin'.

Bad Stuff: I have lots of "this explains things" jokes but I can't use them because I'd look like a jerk. I have a sneaking suspicion that at least 50% of his "emotions" up there were fake. He is the divaiest divafied diva to have ever graced the AI stage. His tears were out of frustration because his ear piece wasn't playing the right thing...nothing to do with his Dad.

Whatever stuff: Did he call everyone a "sweetie pie?" He's lame. And un-creative.

CASEY

Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5

Good: I rewound and watched and laughed my head off at the part where he slaps James and chases Scotty about 10 times. That kid killlllls me. He's so Jack Black-y, which I love. Maybe he can find a less attractive partner and they can be the Tenacious E? Loved what he did with the song. Very cool.

Bad: Kissing JLo. C'mon Casey. That was....weird.

Whatever stuff: Casey is the guy who I look at and wonder what he's going to look like 5 years from now after being in "the biz" for a while. Will he be all clean cut, chiseled and Hollywood-ized? Or will he go all Nick Nolte/Marlon Brando? Cuz there is no in between. He will be changed. We just don't know in what way.

STEFANO

Closer by Ne-Yo

Good:

Bad Stuff: Oh my gosh. No no no. Bad bad bad. Gross gross gross. Was I the only one disgusted by how schmoozy and greasy he is with the ladies?? And then his facial expressions on stage? And his "moves?" Yuck. And the judges didn't call him on any of it. Tonight I missed Simon. He would have had NONE of that.

Whatever Stuff: I needed to take a shower after watching that.

LAUREN

Born to Fly by Sara Evans

Good: Her hair looked good and that outfit was cute.

Bad Stuff: Eh....she's so booooring. Forgettable even. The song was so-so. I think she has zero personality too. It could be an age thing but really, I just think she's boring. She's lucky she has Stefano this week to take the fall for her.

Whatever Stuff: Someone needed to have a little sit-down with that fiddler player and explain to him that this performance had nothing to do with him. He practically elbowed poor Lauren out of the way.

Bottom Three: Lauren, Stefano, Jacob (hoping people aren't all mushy over the dad dying thing)

Going home: STEFANO (easiest pick I've ever made)

AI: Guest Blogger!

2011-04-14T01:01:00.000-06:00

In an act of true heroism, my underbar SIL is filling in for me this week at the very last second. I haven't been able to watch this week's AI yet, let alone mock it. You people were probably dying for a fresh perspective anyway... well Chrissi delivers!

Thank you, Chrissi. You are the wind beneath my wings. And I love Joe's inputs as well.

I didn't know I was going to be the guest blogger until after it was over, so it's going to be the take-away, not the in the moment details. I would appreciate if Tiff would add the pictures, but please not the one of Jacob as the devil, since I wouldn't go that far. :)

Might I first begin with a few notes about Pia. There has been all sorts of buzz about changing the voting so that America votes and the judges make the final decision. Even Pia in an interview said she thought the judges should have some say. Okay, that would be, in the voice of Antoine Dodson, "so dumb, for real." It would ruin the show. They did have their say, like when they did a billion auditions and selected the top 24 and then 3 bonus people. Pia was pretty, she could sing, but if you didn't already know the song, you would have no idea what she was singing about. She sang words, not stories or feelings. no connection.
You need to be quirky in someway to get a passionate voting fan-base, and she was just too boring.

Soooo, I will now discuss who I think has fans that will sit by the phone for two hours and hit redial.

Jacob: Loved that Jimmy what's-his-butt lectured him on not lecturing America. Jacob looked humbled... and then sang about his troubled waters. His voice. my goodness, that voice. that range. crazy incredible. In my 9 yr old's words last week, "He's emotional."
He will not be in the bottom three this week, because his fans were so frightened by his close call that they will redial in all their holy southern glory.

Haley: Ridiculously dumb song. There are a total of three words, and three notes in the song. dumb. But that outfit was By Far her best ever. If I looked like her and could wear stuff like that, I totally would. She's been safe for two weeks, and her fans are not as passionate as they once were. Joe think she has Pia's votes. I think Pia's peeps quit voting. Bottom Three

Casey: The judges did a standing-O because they wanted to trick America into thinking that was an awesome performance. He is a brilliant musician For Sure. He plays that base without even thinking about it, but the vocals This Week were lame. I think his fans love him as much or more than some of the other fans love their person, but I don't see Jazz people sitting by the phone for two hours. Still, safe.

Lauren: her worst performance. She's good, but I just don't see a star in her. not sure who's taking the time to vote for her, really. the country folks are voting for Scotty, I'd think.

James: Not his best. I think he's probably a favorite of many. I don't see the 40 somethings voting (Joe is a great example. He likes him a lot, but has not picked-up the phone once).
This is not meant to be rude AT ALL, but I'm sure the autistic kids will sit and vote for 2 hours. He is to Autism and Turrets, as Jimmer is to Mormons. I would sit and vote for Jimmer for two hours. In fact, I did. and I cheered and cried and wondered if he'd like me if we met. James is safe.

Scotty: Not his best, but his fans started calling yesterday.

Stefano: I thought, originally, that he had the David Archuleta girls, but Stefano is not adorable like I had thought. He is not engaging like he wants to be. I don't know if you can learn to be engaging in a week; he's just cute and can sing. Bottom Three

Paul: I still love him, Joe hates him. I think his fans will keep him safe tonight.

So Bottom: Stefano, Lauren, and Haley (Joe thinks Paul here, for the record)
Stefano goes home.

loves to you all!!! Chrissi

AI: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Week

2011-04-06T23:38:00.000-06:00

This should be good. Let's get right to it....

Jacob

Man In the Mirror by Michael Jackson

Oh no he di'int just try to guilt trip America into voting for him!!! "If I'm in the bottom three this week, it won't be because I didn't sing well....it'll be because America isn't ready to look at themselves in the mirror." I hate you Jacob. I love that song but I hate you. I may go vote for everyone BUT you since that's as close to voting against you as I can get. He's dead to me.

Haley

Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin

I liked it. It showed her personality a little more and it suited her voice. I don't really know what else to say. I think her being a "contender" is probably an over-statement but she did well tonight. I still don't think people click with her but who knows.

Casey

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? by CCR

Oh. My. Gosh. I love the upright bass. I love it. It's the whole reason that one guy is my favorite in the Bare Naked Ladies. It has to be done right though. It has to seem like the person barely even knows it's there and yet their fingers just go go go. Casey did it right. Loved it. Not to mention his little grunts and crooked mouth like he's up there telling a joke. That boy is thoroughly enjoyable.

Lauren

Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin

Christian Slater is a fan. So that's good. She is a great singer. Really really good. I will say, however, that Gwen Stefani's clothes did her no favors. Everything is black except big poofy pockets right at her thighs? No. And she is not a fauxhawk type. P!nk? Yes. Gwen? Yup. Lauren? No. It was unsettling. I like her dimples though (on her face).

James

While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison

I'm calling this his "Tracks of my Tears" moment. Sitting on a stool. Guitar player by his side. Textbook Adam Lambert. I wonder when he'll have his "Born to Be Wild" moment. And then his bird cage shoulder pads moment. Eeek! Let's keep him around a bit longer, ok? He reminds me of my cousin Ben a little. I know there are only a few of you who will get that but it needed to be said because I just figured it out. If he ever sings "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden I will FREAK. OUT.

Scotty

That's All Right, Mama by Elvis Presley

Those girls running up? I told you he was the Southern Beiber. I thought this performance was cute. His Elvis Halloween costume was the cutest thing I've ever seen. I kinda want one of my boys to develop an Elvis fascination. They've seen Lilo & Stitch though and nothing has happened. I'll figure something else out. But I digress.... my only complaint with Scotty (other than the fact that I would NEVER buy one of his songs in the future) is how he holds that microphone. The off-to-the-side-with-just-the-fingertips-on-the-one-hand thing? Lame. Someone needs to coach him on that. Will.i.am shoulda stepped in there rather than doing his math equations (Country + Rock = Country Rock).

Pia

River Deep Mountain High by Tina Turner

It should be illegal for Gwen Stefani to make clothes. Worst. Outfit. Ever. Singing was good. You can add more commentary on her in the comments if you have any. I don't.

Stefano

When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge

Ok, so here's how it's going to be with Stefano. It'll be a roller coaster ride. Some weeks he'll be cheesy and lame and other weeks he'll be pretty good and mostly tolerable. Ok, it's more like a kiddie roller coaster but still, it's enough to keep us on our toes. This week was pretty good and mostly tolerable. He nailed that key change, didn't he? Good week, Fano. Let's see if it'll be enough.

Paul

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash

Well that was fun, wasn't it? Somehow, though, the lyric "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" doesn't have quite the impact when those pearly whites are grinning at you but he can't help it. He's fun. I liked it.

So, there you have it. Here are my picks. Please leave yours in the comments.

Bottom Three: Haley, Lauren, Jacob (wishful thinking)

Going Home: Haley

AI: Sir Elton John Week

2011-03-31T15:02:00.000-06:00

My apologies to anyone who was worried for my health because I haven't posted anything about American Idol this week (that would be AV and my parents). The fact is that I'm on spring break with the family and didn't even watch it yet! What kind of AI Blogger am I? A sucky one.

I'll be back next week.

In the mean time, if you have anything to say about this week please feel free to do so in the comments. My dad claims everyone one was stellar and any one of these people could have won the whole thing on any past season. Overstatement?

Who sang Tiny Dancer? At least tell me that. It's a perennial AI favorite of mine.

AI: Motown Week (um....)

2011-03-23T23:37:00.000-06:00

This is the week where I question why I do this.

Why do I watch this show? Why do I spend my time blogging about it? Why does AI inSIST on doing this to me? I don't want any more Motown weeks. Who can I write a letter to? Srsly. Someone get me an email address.

Ugh.

But let's make the best of it I guess.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to say a little bit about the fact that the contestants have these amazing producers working with them this year. I LOVE it. And I'll tell you why.... the comment I hated the most from the judges (and it was nearly every song) was "I don't really like what you did there with the arrangement" and every variation of that comment thereof and forthwith, etc and etc. What, praytell, does that have to do with ANYTHING??? I got so sick of hearing that when this was not a "who can arrange the song the best way" contest, but a singing competition (<---that's another phrase I hate but only when other people use it, duh). They insisted the kids "make the songs their own" and yet would thrash them if they tinkered with it in a way they did not approve of. It was maddening. So, long story short, I'm so glad they have these producers helping the kids out. It takes that whole aspect out of it & the judges can't say P. Diddly Squat.

Now, on to ::deep breath with eyes closed::...Motown week.

Casey

I Heard it Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye

Ok...he's got the semi-slicked back hair which gives me just a hint of what he might look like "cleaned up." Not bad. I mean, not great, but not awful. We all know Casey is not about his looks anyway but still. As he was groovin' through the audience he suddenly made me imagine him as some kind of Will Farrell character. And Markie's comment that he was just another Taylor Hicks has stuck with me & has tainted me. Thanks a lot, Markie. I now see him as entertaining but am constantly wondering about his marketability. The fact that, as JLo said, there is no one out there like him may not be a good thing. There's no one out there like a lot of people. For a reason. Buuuut, I liked him. Of course.

Thia

Heat Wave by Martha & the Vandellas

First of all, loved her dress tonight. Cute & age appropriate. Not modest, but still, I can appreciate it without letting my daughter wear it. I'm good at separating like that. Secondly... why did it seem like she forgot some of the words? Were those ooooohs on purpose? Confusing. But the judges didn't mention so either it wasn't a big deal or she didn't forget anything. Anyway, what she did sing was great. I still feel like she doesn't have a ton of personality but she tried and was pretty much successful. Much better than her Pocahontas crap from last week. Oh wait... I just ffwd'ed through the commercials and she does admit to forgetting the words there in her backstage thingy. Good. Glad to know I wasn't going crazy on Motown week.

Jacob

You're All I Need by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Dangit. Shoot. Now I'm ticked. Shoooooot! I actually really liked this. Like, a lot. Why did he have to use restraint? Why did he have to be a little silly? Why did he stay right on pitch? Dang you Jacob. Now what am I gonna do? It even made me kind of like Motown week, fhs! This is getting bad. I may have even watched it twice because I liked it so much. Now I'm not saying I'd like the "future Jacob who puts out original music" but tonight, I liked him. And his eyebrows are perfection.

Lauren

You Keep Me Hangin' On by The Supremes

TBone: I like this girl. You can't even hear her accent when she sings. It's like she's just a regular American.

I remember hearing Phil Collins talk when I was about 11 and freaking out. What?? He's BRITISH??? It blew my mind. So yeah, I get it Tbone. Back to Lauren, she done good. I loved her dress as well. She had some attitude. She walked around. She sounded good. What else can I say? Lauren is solid. And yet seems fragile. I'm not sure how she'll hold up in this business.

Stefano

Hello by Lionel Richie

Obviously I was alone with this inside my mind. Doesn't he have a single FB friend that posted that? And did he really mouth "I love you" at the end??? Nooooooooooo! Please no!!!!!!!! So yeah, can't take him seriously. Weirdest song choice of the night. ::stepping off the Stefano Train:: Yikes.

Haley

You Really Got A Hold on Me by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

I really wish they wouldn't say "We've been working on her eye contact and walking more confidently" because then the whole time I'm thinking "she practiced making eye contact and walking." I think there are people who connect with America and there are people who don't. She don't. She has an interesting voice & it's decent enough but I just don't think there's anything there to make people vote for her. Sorry! ::said in a British accent like Simon::

Scotty

For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder

Well, he certainly "Scottyed" the crap outta this one, didn't he? The song was practically unrecognizable. I wish I knew how many people in America have a Randy Travis album on their iPods because then I could give you a ballpark number of how many votes he's going to get each week. Again, not my thing but I think he does my non-thing well. If it were my thing and I was 15, I'd be dialing & redialing and voting online like a maniac. I'm assuming he's the South's Justin Beiber.

Pia

All In Love is Fair by Stevie Wonder

Bobblehead Pia. Someone make one now and I will buy one. While listening to the judges her head does not stay still. It's awesome. She's good. And, like Jacob, it annoys me. Why can't I be head over heels gaga over her? Someone please explain this to me. She's an amazing singer. I'm wondering if next week when she "kicks it up a notch" if it'll be good or cringe worthy. I just can't see her bebopping all over the stage. But I guess we shall see as she is going nowhere this week.

Paul

Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

I loved this. With all my heart I loved this. His guitar and mic stand kept him in one spot which was huge. I was worried when he first said what song he was doing because I thought Adam Lambert's version was nothing short of genius. I didn't think Paul could do as well or top Adam's but I really think he did. Very singer/songwriter-y. Like a seasoned veteran. He seems completely unaffected by the whole AI thing (read: opposite of Lauren) Memo to Paul: More of this please. Maybe even sitting on a stool next week, mkay? More of that "tear in your voice" as JLo said. You'll be glad you did. Love, Landee

Naima

Dancing In the Street by Martha & the Vandellas

::cut to tomorrow night:: Ryan Seacrest, "Naima....Steven Tyler said it was 'E to the Z, ooh twiddly dee. Jlo said you gave her goosebumps. And Randy said everything you did was 'smart.'" Dangit. Again, I was completely taken off guard by enjoying her tonight. Motown, what are you doing to me?? I was even waiting around prepared to hate the African dancing and then I didn't. It even made me smile. Which bugged. I'm not joining the Naima Fan Club or anything but tonight was fun. Oh, and she sounded great too. It's like Bizarro AI tonight. PS She is the black Hilary Swank. K, I'm done now.

James

Livin' for the City by Stevie Wonder

If James ever shows up with bird cages on his shoulders I'll know his transformation into Adam Lambert is complete. Well, that and some "persuasion" issues. I reeeeeally liked this. Again, he knows when to hold back and when to let 'er rip. He's comfortable. He doesn't make me worried about what he's going to do. All good things in my book. I just noticed he has sunglasses hanging off his shirt in his promo pic up there. I wonder whose idea that was. <---just trying to think of something to criticize about him for once.

Sooooooo.....::getting serious now:: I'd like to apologize to Motown week. I should not have said the things I said earlier. You were very enjoyable and I think I forget that every year. Aside from Stefano, you nailed it. You can come back to AI again, if you want. Again, I'm sorry.

Bottom Three:

Haley

Thia

Stefano

Going Home:

Haley

I just don't think she did enough to win America back.

Yikes, this is hard this week, you guys! Can't wait to hear your thoughts....

Because They're Nummerz....

2011-03-21T17:46:00.001-06:00

Make these. Love these. You don't even have to give me credit.

White Chocolate Orange Cookies
[makes 3 dozen]

1 C. butter (not margarine, never margarine)

½ C. white sugar

½ C. brown sugar

1 egg

2 ¼ C. flour

¾ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

2 T. grated orange peel*

2 C. white chocolate chips

Mix butter & sugars until creamy. Beat in egg. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix in. When you have a good dough consistency, add the orange peel and the white chocolate. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on wire racks.

*I would be remiss if I didn't say thank you to my Pampered Chef microplane tool here. It makes grating orange peel a joy. An honest-to-goodness joy. And no, I don't sell the stuff but I do believe in praising a good product when I find one. So next time your sister-in-law is hosting a PC party and you can't figure out what to get to support her & help her get some free stuff, pick one of these bad boys up.

AI: Birth Year Funtivities

2011-03-17T01:08:00.001-06:00

First things first... a big shout out to Steve B there on the east coast! I welcome and applaud you.

Second things second, JLo's hair is scaring me. A small woodland animal could be living in there and we would never know. Plus I guarantee she loved Pia's jumpsuit. She may have even designed it.

Ah, the week where they sing a song from their birth year... this is also known as "Make Landee Feel Super Old" week. Geez. Thia was born in the mid-90s??? Wha?? Just shoot me.

Naima

Year: 1984

Song: What's Love Got to Do With It? by Tina Turner

Ok, so she's not exactly a spring chicken. ::feeling a little better about myself:: Is she married? I may have missed that bit of information as I was too distracted trying to memorize that lullaby she sings to her daughters. I've also just had the realization that she is Bizarro Katherine McPhee. Her mother was a singer too. Her mother is living vicariously through her daughter too. Bizarro parts are, obviously racial. But also, Katherine had talent. I ain't gonna lie... this was no good. They were being nice by simply calling it "pitchy." Even with all her edgy clothes, interesting look & supposed personality, she lacks something up there when she's performing. She doesn't even leave me wanting... it's just like eh. But apparently "she gon bring it. Das all she can do. Bring it." I'm guessing she won't though.

Paul

Year: 1984

Song: I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John

Oh, fhs. Get this boy a chair and glue it to him so I can concentrate on his singing. The cameramen must dread it when it's his turn. Especially the close-up camera guy. Geez. That aside, he is decent. He's like if James Blunt were to have started out on AI. There is something cool about a distinctive voice and he's happy & nice. I don't want him or his bollo tie to leave just yet.

Thia

Year: 1995

Song: Colors of the Wind by Vanessa Williams/Pocahontas

(This is the part where I go and check my crowsfeet and convince myself that I would never want to be 15 again and have to relive all this glorious life over again. Probably). Ok, so yes, it was safe. Yes, she sang another ballad. But, honestly, I thought it was pretty good. At first I was annoyed with all her smiling (I know Pocahontas didn't smile that much singing it). But then when the violins swelled up there I was happy for her. Like, I may have even done the Mom Proud Face. I'm convinced Randy is dead inside and set the tone for the judges. I don't think it was as bad as they claim.

James

Year: 1989

Song: I'll Be There For You by Bon Jovi

::singing tauntingly:: "Jimmy has a dolly, Jimmy has a dolly..." What a girl!! Just kidding. TBone had a Spiderman baby he used to put diapers on...and he asked for a stroller when he was three... oh, and a Dora house.... ok... let's move on. I liked this. It's not my favorite Bon Jovi song but I looked up that album and yeah, that was the best of the bunch from that year. Had he gone the Aerosmith route as Mr. Tyler was bemoaning, he could have done either "Janie's Got A Gun" or "Love in an Elevator." Both superior to "I'll Be There For You" but Mr.-Too-Big-For-His-Britches seems to think he's making it to the finale to sing an Aerosmith song so whatevs. I hope that works out for him. I think. The reality is I'm still on the fence with this guy. I definitely don't hate him but love? Too soon to commit to anything. I'm still shopping around.

Haley

Year:1990

Song: I'll Be Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston

Ryan ruined my lipstick on the chin bit. Jerk. Anyway, so yeah, considering the cardinal sin on AI is to sing a Whitney song, I think she did pretty good with it. She made it a little interesting here and there. She um.... well, she also.... I, uh, think she was wearing black pants? Seriously, I got nothing else on her. ::cursing Ryan for messing up my bit again::

Stefano

Year: 1989

Song: If You Don't Know Me By Now by Simply Red

I take by my statement on his father...it's not Tony Danza... it's Howie Mandel!! Exciting! Ok, ok, ok, he grew on me with this performance. He kinda Bruno Mars-ed it, if you know what I mean. At first I was like "Really? THIS song? I'd rather you sing Hangin' Tough!" But then I saw the error of my ways and jumped on the Stefano train. I don't now if I'm a permanent passenger. I may get off at the next stop but the ride was very agreeable tonight.

Pia Diarrhea and her Jumpsuit

Year: 1988

Song: Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Whitney Houston

I canNOT WAIT until she is on Real Housewives of Queens. That is gonna be awesome. In the mean time we will be subjected to her poor fashion choices and horrendous accent here on Fox. But fine, she can sing. I wish she sucked. But she doesn't. The older voters love divas too so she is not going anywhere just yet. But really, think for one second about what kind of album she would put out. Right? Pure crap. But no one ever thinks that way at this point in the game. I'm very "big picture" obvs.

Scotty

Year: 1993

Song: Can I Trust You With My Heart by Travis Tritt

Naked fat baby alert!!! Dang he was cute. As his mother, the Elvis thing might have weirded me out a little but, you know, it all turned out ok. He did a great job tonight....if you're into this kind of thing. I guarantee he'll go on and do very well in Nashville. He'll probably win some CMAs, become the spokesperson for NASCAR, throw out some opening pitches at Braves games.... and I will have never heard of him again after the AI Finale. He'll only be known to me as "you know, that deep voiced kid on AI... Jenny called him Babylockthemdoors....remember?" But I wish him well in all his endeavors.

Karen

Year: 1989

Song: Love Will Lead You Back by Taylor Dayne

"Don't like another prize only my Karen." Oh my gosh. I think I'm gonna cry. Could her mom be any cuter?? She doesn't even want an Oscar! Just her Karen. Adorable. As for Karen's performance... it was aaaaaight. I mean, I think she's good but again, she doesn't play into my interests. She won't be some Karen from the Block. She'll end up being some female version of Julio Iglesias with a tenth of the popularity and no hawt son. Do you see what I'm saying here? Where does she go in her career? Truly, I want to know.

Casey

Year: 1991

Song: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

I can honestly say that this is the first time I've ever known what the lyrics to this song are. Load up on guns... that's really the first line? And there's a mention of a mulatto? Interesting stuff there, I'm sure. I'd look it up but I'm too lazy and plus I need to finish this up. Bottom line: Love Casey still. Love his parents. Love that he keeps trying new things and keeping it funky fresh. Compare this to Thia's Pocahontas song, for example. Can you even compare? No.

Lauren

Year: 1994

Song: I'm The Only One by Melissa Etheridge

Lauren's parents are the opposite of Casey's parents in that I'm fairly certain they must have had her when they were 12. How young does her dad look? 30 tops? Weird. She & her flu did a fantastic job tonight. She sang well. She seemed comfortable enough. She twanged it up without going all Scotty Tritt on us. I liked it. Sadly, I must conclude she is dumb as a rock though. I refuse to allow this to be a factor in my opinion of her. Let's just acknowledge it and move on. ::nodding at you curtly and walking over to the next contestant::

Jacob

Year: 1987

Song: Alone by Heart

Lusk-y Stank. He said it, not me. Leave it to Jacob to make me hate one of my favorite songs of all time. He, once again, took me on that ride which I did NOT want to go on. Hated it. Hated pretty much every second of that, really. Randy, he caressed nothing...he took that song and brutally murdered every note. Blaaaaaaaah. I don't know if I can take another week of that. If next week all you see is "Jacob ::ffwd::" then you'll know I reached my breaking point.

Bottom Three:

Naima
Haley
Karen

Gone: KAREN

Plzthanks chime in. I hate sitting here talking to myself.

A Newborn Blog

2011-03-13T20:59:00.001-06:00

Ok, ok, ok.... I just decided to go with Landee See, Landee Do. I really should not have put that kind of pressure (to name my blog) on anyone else but me. That was my fault. Forgive me?

But now there is something you can reeeeeally do for me. And it requires zero thinking. Can you pop on over and click the "follow this blog" thingy? I only need a few followers to not look like a complete lose-dog. You don't have to actually FOLLOW what I'm doing over there, of course, but just putting your little profile pic over there on my sidebar would be the greatest birthday present you could ever give me... and over a month early!! You're so on top of things getting your b-day shopping for me done in March!

I'll love you forever & ever. And I'll try not to ask you for anything else ~~ever again~~ for a while.

PS Wanna see how famous I am? Go HERE and scroll down. This must be what it's like to be Angelina Jolie or something.

Brainstorming Session

2011-03-12T11:55:00.002-07:00

I've been thinking lately about making my own little "projects" blog. I adore all of my IRL peeps but my obsession with all things crafty/home decor-y/homemaking-y has taken on a life of its own. And I have it on good authority that my IRL peeps aren't that interested in all my little projects I've been working on. Some are... but some aren't. Which is fine. I can continue to use this blog to rant about American Idol, post pictures of the weird things TBone does and brag about JBird's athletics. And I'll then have my other blog to post projects and connect into that super supportive "crafty blog community" who have no real interest in my personal life as they probably don't want to hear about TBone giving that kid a wedgie, ya know?

Anyway, I need all you geniuses to come up with a fun name for my new blog. You were perfect at coming up with the brilliant name of the short-lived but oh-so-popular podcast series iLandee.

::sigh::

Those were fun.

So I need you to help once again.

Here is what I'm thinking.

Nothing that would pigeon hole me into any kind of "crafting" in particular. As you probably know my interests range from photography to cooking to card-making to home-de-lamefying.
I'm open to sticking with keeping the "Landeelu" persona or dropping it. It is nice, however, since anything with the word Landee in it is always available to use. And, you know, it's kinda been my online name since 1998-ish when my sister would make me go into chatrooms with her to mock people.
Nothing with "bird" or "Mom" in it.

Imagine if YOU were to come up with my new blog name and then in a few years, when you see me on the Nate Berkus show or my new line of products at Michaels you can be all "I came up with that name!!!!" This is ground-level and, I dare say, ground-breaking! Just kidding about the ground-breaking. I will have very few readers. But it really doesn't get any more ground-level than this.

Here are some of my ideas so far. You add your own in the comments. Then I'll post a poll and we'll all vote. I'm a fan of democracy, after all.

1. Landee See, Landee Do: This would just put it right out there that I am a fantastic copy-cat crafter. I won't have many/any original ideas but I can certainly take an idea and work it.

2. LandeeLoves: You know, a collection of everything I love creatively speaking. This is a little cheesy, admittedly, but whatevs. I could then really post about ANYTHING that strikes my fancy and no one could yell at me.

3. Peanut Butter Dandys (or Dandies?): This is where the generic, non-Landee stuff comes in. This was Gty's favorite little treat his mom would make growing up. It's a cute name. And the URL is available for either spelling. Yay!

4. Yoga Pants Ambitions (or Yoga Pants Creations or something): I thought that'd be funny cuz that's usually what I'm wearing as I do these things. Well, most things actually that don't require a public appearance.

Ok? Are we all thinking along the same lines? I'm depending on you as I stink at coming up with this stuff.

No name will be refused, but only one can be chosen.

AI: Season 10 Inaugural Post

2011-03-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

::moment of silence for Brett Loewenstern::

I didn't even get a chance to talk about how he has two of the most attractive parents I've ever seen and yet.... he was adorable though. In his own quirky way. Sad to see him go.

::moment of jubilation that the AI posts are back!!!:: Please feel free to add your two cents in the comments as this is the first time we've discussed this season!! I've missed you.

A quick word about the judges before we get started.

My mom loves Steven Tyler. <---- this is a sentence I never thought I'd think/write/ type/believe. But how can I blame her? He is nice. He is fun. He can even be tender (do NOT remind me of him hugging what's his face's girlfriend in the wheelchair. I've cried my tears and I can't go back to that place). During auditions, if he didn't think someone was good, he'd usually just say "No" rather than the degrading, one-liners we are used to from that Brit Who Must Not Be Named. Glad Mr. Tyler is here. The following is an actual conversation between a friend and his dad. The Dad: Wow... Paula looks awful. The Friend: Dad, that's Steven Tyler.

JLo: Sincere. Knowledgable. Kind. Helpful. Gorge. Not on pain meds. I could not have asked for a better female judge. Nigel Lythgoe is a genius of epic proportions for bringing her in.

Randy: Oh boy. Randy is trying to be the "bad guy" and is looking like a doof in the mean time. But what else is new? It's actually kind of comforting. Like your favorite bwankie that you got to bring with you when you slept over at Gramma's house. Makes it seem like home even though things are different. I'm glad he stuck around. Every panel needs a doof.

And no, Ryan is not a doof. He has grown on me over the years. No Ryan bashing.

Now, the contestants. Love the theme tonight, btw.... "SONG BY THEIR PERSONAL IDOL" This will show me the kind of artist they wanna be & I will then be able to hate/love/mock accordingly. They make it too easy.

First up....

LAUREN ALAINA

Personal Idol: Shania Twain

Song: Any Man of Mine

Is it just me or did that look like I was watching the talent portion of a Toddlers & Tiaras episode? Too much winking, fluffing her hair and cheesy smiling. She's cute and she's talented but I can tell right now her taste and mine are not gonna get along. You all know my aversion to country. Plus, ::checking clipboard:: yup, we already have a Carrie Underwood. Sorry Lauren.

CASEY ABRAMS

Personal Idol: Joe Cocker

Song: A Little Help From My Friends

I. Love. This. Guy. He is a genius. There, I said it. It's out there now. And I don't think it's an overstatement. He has yet to let me down going all the way back to his audition. The perfect song choice to show off his personality and sense of humor. And he has a great voice which is exponentially more pleasing that Joe Cocker's voice. This makes for a beautiful, nay I say, magical thing. Absolutely my favorite this season. You know, so far.

ASHTON JONES

Personal Idol: Diana Ross

Song: When You Tell Me That You Love Me"

So the hair is because of her love of Diana Ross? Or she's doing Diana Ross because her hair looks like that? I'm confused. But yeah, she was obviously nervous. Then was better toward the end. She's definitely pretty. I don't know how much she & I have in common musically but I don't loathe her.

PAUL McDONALD

Personal Idol: Ryan Adams

Song: Come Pick Me Up

Too much movement up there. It's disconcerting. It almost comes off as him being so nervous he doesn't know what to do with himself. He skipped at one point fhs. I really want him to tone it down though because I do like his style and musical tendencies. Does he play the guitar? Cuz I'd love to see him sitting on a stool with a guitar. Not moving. At all.

PIA TOSCANO

Personal Idol: Celine Dion

Song: All By Myself

Yes she done sang that song. Hit all the notes. Showed the right amount of emotion. "Slammed it" as Mr. Tyler said.... and yet.... ::sigh:: I don't know. Can't get past the cape. And can't get past the name Pia. It shows poor judgement is in the genes. ::chanting "Pia, Pia, diarrhea" in my head and can't stop:: Not scratching me where I itch. I'm realizing this is my feeling for all the girls though so don't hold it against her too much.

JAMES DURBIN

Personal Idol: Paul McCartney

Song: Maybe I'm Amazed

::checking clipboard again:: Yup, we already have an Adam Lambert. ::reading fine print:: Oh wait! But not a straight one with ADHD. Yay! You can stay. No, not one of my favorites but I do find him interesting. He did a great job with this song that I enjoy. And, as Jenny has mentioned, he never takes it quite over the top. You think he might...then he doesn't. He's teasing us. I think 86% of America likes being teased so he's not going anywhere for a while.

HALEY REINHART

Personal Idol: LeAnn Rimes

Song: Blue

Hmmmmmmmmm.... interesting. She kinda made me like country and yodeling for 2 minutes. Is that weird? And this is the best she's ever looked by far. But I agree with Randy a bit... she's confusing me. Only 8% of Americans like being confused so we'll see how this shakes out.

JACOB LUSK

Personal Idol: R.Kelly

Song: I Believe I Can Fly

This boy has dressed up in drag before. I would bet at least $20 on it. He would give RuPaul a run for his/her money. I don't judge him for that but I just wanted to let YOU know that I know. A GOSPEL CHOIR ALREADY???? That's supposed to be finale material only! What the? He can only go down hill from here. Unless he brings in bagpipes or something. I'm personally not a fan of this one. This is an example of taking it over the top & making us all go with him even though we might be prone to motion sickness. Ugh. I felt woozy afterward. Next.

THIA MEGIA

Personal Idol: Michael Jackson

Song: Smile

I liked it. I reeeeally liked it. This girl is good. I didn't even hear the "pitchy" that the judges talked about. I thought it was perfect for her age and persona. I'm not sure she has much of a personality but I can't be picky when it comes to the girls this year. If I don't curl my lip or get up and go do something else while they sing then they are deemed "good" this year. And so it must be.

STEFANO LANGONE

Personal Idol: Stevie "You Are A" Wonder

Song: Lately

I'm so glad Tony Danza's son is finally getting his chance to shine. The first part was weird. Then the end got better. He's adorable but not in my top three guys. I have nothing else to say about him. Which speaks volumes.

KAREN RODRIGUEZ

Personal Idol: Selena

Song: I Could Fall In Love

If she didn't have those Selena barbie dolls I would think this was a blatant attempt to kiss JLo's butt. Side note: That movie was the first thing I remember seeing JLo in. I remember at the end of the movie they showed pictures of the actual Selena and I was like "Wow, she is buttugly compared to the actress that played her." I was literally shocked. I kinda wanna see that movie again now. Side note over. Oh boy this was bad. It had a couple of nice moments but they were fleeting. No chance of her having a fan club let alone getting killed by the president of it. <--- super bad Selena joke. My apologies.

SCOTTY McCREERY

Personal Idol: Garth Brooks

Song: The River

Now this is come country music I can get on board with. This little 12 year old George W. Bush looking kid done stoled a piece of my heart. Doesn't it sound like his voice is being dubbed in? I mean, that voice can't be coming outta him. I don't believe it. It makes me laugh liltingly with enjoyment. And eeeeek! Did you go back and pause it on his baby pic?? His widdle red cowboy hat?? C'mon! I won't buy a single one of his songs later but I love him. I do.

NAIMA ADEDAPO

Personal Idol: Rhianna

Song: Umbrella-ella-ella-ay-ay-ay

Woooooooow. That was... um, something, huh? Little piece of advice Naima, show us you can sing first, dance moves later. We are still getting to know each other here. Too soon, N. Too soon. I didn't hate the Snow Patrol-esque bit though. It was definitely the highlight. The rest was lame. And anyone over the age of 16 and under the age of 14 is gonna hate it. Thirteen contestants may have been one too many me thinks.

BOTTOM THREE:

ASHTON

KAREN

NAIMA

GONE: ASHTON

Your turn.

I Can See It In Your Eyes...

2011-03-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Brilliant.

Not-So-Extreme Home Makeover Pt.2

2011-03-02T00:37:00.000-07:00

Wait, I forgot I was calling it "Landee De-Lame-ifies Her House 2011." Oh well, you know what I'm talking about.

So my next project after the entry way was our completely vanilla half bath. I jumped to it so quickly because I wasn't even half way through Pride & Prejudice on my iPod....and I wanted to finish it... so I started painting. Plus, once you have your painting clothes on, why not, right?

So here is the before. Told you it was bad. Wave at Landee there in the mirror! I did recently get that cute rug from Target and it helped a little. Before it was just a plain cream-colored rag rug. Bo-ring.

Another before...

And um, neveryoumind that patch job over there on the wall. I may have bent down and ripped the toilet paper holder right off the wall with my butt. And that may have been about 2 months ago. You can see where I moved the TP. It's much safer over there now.

So I came across this tutorial of how to frame out your blah builder's grade mirror. I knew it would add a little something more to this bathroom which, as you can see, has a giant mirror. When my brother would come to visit he'd take a 2 minute break from playing Fifa Soccer on the Wii with Gty & JBird and use the bathroom. Every time, without fail, he'd come out of the bathroom and say "So, I just watched myself pee again." So yeah, the mirror takes up that whole wall.

Anyway, here is the after.

I think it adds a little something-something, no? I painted the walls a nice green, which I'm very happy with, before putting up the frame. And it really was quite easy. I had to buy a miter box since we have no power tools to speak of (except a power drill) and even that didn't make this project difficult. Liquid nails and I are BFFs now. And I'm fully aware I need to accessorize. That will be an on-going process I'm afraid.

Here is my BEST corner:

And here's my worst:

All in all this probably cost me about $70. I wonder how much a framed mirror of this size would cost...$300+?

PS I'm almost done with building some floating shelves for that big wall over there partially behind the door. I'll post when those are done (because if I don't blog it, it didn't happen, duh). They really only took about 2 hours to build but I need to paint and hang them. I'm sure you won't get a good night's sleep until you see them so I apologize.

My Feelings Will Not Be Repressed

2011-02-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have now watched three cinematic versions of Pride & Prejudice. And I must discuss.

1) The BBC/A&E Version from 1995 starring a young Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.
2) The $28mill Universal Studios production from 2005 starring Keira Knightly as the witty & spirited Elizabeth Bennett.
3) Pride & Prejudice: An LDS Comedy, filmed in 2003.

I also have in my hot little hands, thanks to a friend, the Bollywood version "Bride & Prejudice" which I will be viewing soon. Oh, and I've put in for the more recent BBC version at the library which I believe was produced in 2004.

But, for the purpose of this discussion, let's just focus on the first two, mmkay?

In short, the BBC is hilarious, brilliant, sigh-inducing, follow-the-book-almost-to-a-T, charming & I will be watching it again. The Keira Knightly version (henceforth known here as the KK Version) is a piece of poo with a few bright spots scattered throughout. I will most likely not watch that one again.

The Best Things About the BBC Version

As I mentioned, it follows along with the story almost exactly. The lines are straight from the book. They obviously figured, and correctly btw, that they should not mess with an already perfect manuscript.
Colin Firth is knuckle-biting hotness in this thing. Wow. And, with all the close ups they put in there of his perfectly set jaw and adorably curly hair, they knew it too.
Mary.... oh my gosh. I giggled every time poor Mary made an appearance. She was truly as homely and socially awkward as described.
Mrs. Bennett. Yes, she's annoying but she's supposed to be! I'd put Lydia and Kitty here too. All fit their characters perfectly.
Mr. Bennett. I love this man. And this actor & his delivery of his witty lines nailed it.
Elizabeth Bennett. Jennifer Ehle is truly the perfect Lizzie. Charming, happy, witty, spirited... she made me believe that was really Elizabeth. What more could I want?
Mr. Bingley made me laugh. Was he the happiest guy or what?
Mr. Collins. Bwaahahahahaha! His combover hair & mannerisms were perfection. My favorite was when he'd be speaking and Catherine de Bourgh would start talking and he'd put his finger up to his lips to hush himself, lest he speak over her. I adored him, in the he's-so-annoying-he's -perfect, kind of a way.

The UnBest Things About the BBC Version

Jane. I mean, she was nice and all, but the most beautiful Miss Bennett? I think not. Definitely Ed Rooney as a woman-ish.
Production quality was obviously not up to what films are today. And sometimes when Elizabeth would be thinking back to something Mr. Darcy had said his head would suddenly appear in the mirror or a window quite startlingly. I got used to it but it was a little cheesy.
I wish they hadn't shown Mr. Darcy going to London to hunt down Lydia & Wickam. I mean, isn't that ruining the element of surprise? Aren't we supposed to find that out later?

The Best Things About the KK Version

Obviously the cinematography, costumes & sets were far superior to the BBC.
Jane was, at last, the beauty I had imagined.
The balls were more fun to watch.
Dame Judy Dench far surpassed the BBC Lady de Bourgh.
I didn't hate when Darcy was walking across that misty field that fateful early morning.
I also didn't hate the tension in the "rain scene."
And, even though it wasn't in the book at all, I wish it were....the part at the end when they are all casual at Pemberley and he keeps calling her Mrs. Darcy and kissing her. This far surpassed the post-wedding kiss in the carriage the BBC gave me.

The UnBest Things About the KK Version

Sorry to say, but KK herself. She was annoying for 90% of the film. Plus, rather than thinking "Elizabeth is doing this..." I'd think "Keira Knightly is doing this..."
Mr. Darcy is wholly and completely unattractive. Really? Of all the British actors this is who they go with? Bad form, Universal, bad form.
Mr. Bennett is barely even funny. It's not Donald Sutherland's fault either. It's the lame script.
Wickam's ponytail bugged and Mr. Bingley was positively giddy the entire film. Garret (who had never seen it, doesn't know the story line but was kind enough to watch with me) asked me what happens when they find out he is gay so....yeah.
THEY SCREW EVERYTHING UP. Including the most famous line when Mr. Darcy professes his admiration and love. The word "ardently" never even comes up. What the? WHY?? Jerks.
Mrs. Bennett isn't nearly as embarrassing as she should be.
Mary was barely even mentioned and got zero face time.

So there you have it. My compare & contrast report on the P&P movies.

Agree? Disagree? Let's hear it.

Also, have any of you read this? Do I WANT someone telling me what happens a year later? I can't decide.

Entry Way ReMixx

2011-02-27T19:41:00.005-07:00

**** If you're here from a fabulous link party, please go HERE to see this post in its proper home!****

My house was boring me to death. Not literally, but almost.

Blah.

Taupe every where I looked. I can't live in a taupe world. I just can't. At least not for more than 4 years and 10 months, apparently. I'm on a bit of a re-decorating kick so here is the first submission to the "Landee De-Lame-ifies Her House Project 2011." It's a bit of a mouthful. Sorry.

So here is our entry way as it was last week.

Are you falling asleep yet?

Its only saving grace was the curvature of the wall. Otherwise it was choking on neutrals, coughing them back up and then gagging on them again. Sorry to put it so graphically but people, c'mon! How boring can walls be? Nary a color nor an accessory to be spotted anywhere.

So I put a plan in place and set off to complete it.

We had to rig our ladder to reach up to that right hand corner up there. The left side of the ladder was resting on the railing at the top of the stairs and the bottom part was wedged between the spindles. We then zip tied it to the railing on both ends, zip tied a board to the top flat part and away I went.

And if you don't think that is scary up there then you are ~~an idiot~~ wrong. It was the scariest thing I've done in a long while. I could sit on the top of the ladder and be fine, but up on my knees and stretching up? Yikes. I would break out in a sweat and shake the entire time. I could only be like that for about 3 minutes at a time so that top part took a while.

But I persevered.

After it was painted (it's sort of a robin egg blue bordering on turquoise color), I went and downloaded a template from here, printed it and cut it out of cardboard and set to work on my "painted wallpaper." When I came across this design/technique I knew it was the perfect marriage of funky & traditional I was looking for. Plus, it saved me $50 for a stencil. Free is always better than $50.

I had to get an action shot. Had to.

I decided to use a metallic white paint for the design. I love the shimmer it gives off. Just a touch fancier than regular white paint would have been. It's reflecting off the flash in the above pic so it looks taupe but it's not, just FYI.

This girl camped out under the ladder for the duration of the project. She was busy making cards for people, asking me how to spell things, and talking my ear off. Sometimes when I was freaking out reaching up to the tippy top I'd have to ask her to please stop talking for a few minutes so I could concentrate. It was fun having a little "helper" though.

After the kids were in bed was when I'd listen to my audio books and paint into the wee hours of the morning. It was really quite enjoyable but it did take a while.

So here is the big AFTER reveal.

I am so excited with how it turned out!! After consulting with my long-distance design consultant, Memzy, I opted to not do the design down below. She said it would be "too much" and I said "good cuz I'm lazy" and that was that.

That table and the pillow are from the living room and that chair was from our guest room (I would prefer a cushy upholstered one there but I'll need to keep my eye out for one). I got that mirror at Goodwill for $4. It is plastic and was crazy shiny gold. 10 minutes and some spray paint later it was the perfect shade of white. I also painted a picture frame for that small table with the same metallic paint.

Here are the before & afters side by side.

I now smile when I go up & down the stairs rather than get sleepy. Not bad for 1 gallon of paint, a couple of small craft paint bottles of "metallic white" acrylic paint and a $4 mirror, huh?

Success.

I Ardently Admire & Love You...

2011-02-25T00:34:00.001-07:00

... but I'm mad at you.

Why did no one INSIST I read Pride & Prejudice? You guys are mean.

I've been working on a few projects around the house (posts on that later). They require time, not thinking, so I downloaded a couple of books to listen to as I worked. As my FIL says, I paid someone to read them to me.

The first was The Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie. It was this month's book club at the Smart Remarks Book Club and I knew that if I did not listen to it, it would never get read. Delightful. And it made the tedium of painting my walls almost enjoyable.

So, when I finished my first project and started the second I decided it had to include another audio book. I don't know if I was on an english accent kick or what, but I figured, for some random reason, that now was the time to delve into the world of Jane Austen. A world I know NOTHING about. No books have I read, no movies have I seen.

Until now.

::sigh::

I loved this book.

I now get it.

The beauty is how applicable it is to society today. I swear I could name someone from my own life who mirrors every character in that book. It made me laugh. It made me sigh repeatedly. It made me wish I were one of the sisters of the Longbourne estate. I am positively in love with their father. Hilarious.

So here are my questions for those of you more well versed in the world of Miss Jane Austen:

1) I now want to watch one of the movies, of course. So which one do I watch first?

The BBC version (I think it's, like 8 hours long).

Or the Keira Knightly one? (I'm sure Markie is biased toward this one)

And are there others I don't know about?

2) How long should I wait to read this?

Like, I'm sure it's funny if you grew up on P&P. But, as a newbie, should I let the original sink in for a while before taking on this? Lemme know.

3) Which Jane Austen should I read next? Emma? Sense & Sensibility?

I await your advice on the matter.

Regards, etc, etc.

Miss Landee of Landerson Estate.

Emotional Outburst

2011-02-15T21:49:00.001-07:00

Some emotions have been surfacing lately. I've always considered myself quite dead inside but I think I'm morphing into a ball of goo. This isn't a bad thing....it's just something.

One event which has spurred this on a bit is the reality of my favorite MIL being diagnosed with breast cancer. We've been on the complete cycle of emotions with this. Shock....denial...greif....acceptance...determination.... that's where we are right now. She had her surgery yesterday to remove the cancer & lymph nodes and, after recovering from that, she will begin chemo/radiation treatments for a few months. The surgery went well. No surprises. The doctors expect the treatments to work splendidly with no further complications. I will keep you posted, of course.

Gty's sisters, mom and I had a "Girls Trip" planned to Vegas but that needed to be changed due to the recent events with Mary's health. So we switched it up to the weekend before last in SLC. We stayed at the Embassy Suites down by The Gateway (free made-to-order breakfast!), went out to eat, and chatted for the entire weekend. It was thoroughly enjoyable. 4am two nights in a row did take a good week to recover from but it was totally worth it.

Anyway, on Sunday my MIL and SIL needed to get back to Logan and left at about noon. My other SIL flew out at 2pm. That left Shelly & I to putter around SLC until my flight left at 5pm that evening. So we set out on an adventure to find Elizabeth Smart's house. K, not really, but we did want to go drive around her neighborhood because the homes there up by the University of Utah are amazing. We did manage to find Larry Miller's house and it did not disappoint. Yowza.

Then, as we were driving back down out of the neighborhood, we happened upon a cemetery. Shelly thought this might be where some prominent LDS leaders had been buried.

Shelly was right.

We saw this:

And this:

Which were amazing. But then I walk around a corner and BAM I see this...

... and apparently this image immediately pops into my head...

... because I immediately start bawling. Oh how I love that man. Apparently more than I realized because the tears would not be stopped. It was truly amazing to stand there looking at his headstone. If you are ever in that area I highly recommend you find that cemetery and experience this for yourself.

Here I am standing by the larger marker:

I also thought of cute Marjorie who I adore as well. I want to be her when I grow up. I love this quote from her:

“I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk’s lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

How could you not love her?

Anyway, I don't want to say it was better than attending church on that Sabbath day, but it was better than some church meetings I've been to. That is for sure.

In the mean time I've recently acquired this image and have big plans of getting it printed & framed somewhere in my house. I can't get enough of these candid shots.

Speaking of emotional meltdowns, I dare you to go HERE and read this blog post and not bawl your eyes out. Do not scroll down and breeze through the photos. READ. EVERY. WORD. Watch it unfold. Do not cheat yourself out of this one. It's a 7 minute novel.

Landee Style V-Day

2011-02-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: After years of not liking Valentine's Day, I've come to decide it's one of my favorites. It's the perfect sized holiday for me... enough to make the kids feel special with out going completely over the top (budget-wise and time-wise). Oh, I've also decided to make it a "family holiday" versus a "couple holiday." That helped flip the switch for me as well. We have our anniversary for that. Oh, and every day of our extremely romantic marriage. ::snort::

Anyway, so I decided to do a little decorating for this sweet holiday for the first time ever. But I was determined to spend $0.00. So I made this garland out of strips of card stock I already had and fishing line. Beebs was super impressed.

And I hung some from the light fixture in the kitchen.

I saw these adorable little treats on several blogs and decided to try them out. Strawberry marshmallows dipped in chocolate? Yes. I made them for my new little Sunday School class and, needless to say, they adore me now. They took me about 10 minutes to make an entire bag's worth and Beebee helped with the sprinkles. And all were happy. Amen.

I will probably be making them again soon with Easter-type sprinkles due to their extreme versatility.

This morning I had a little gift out for each kid for when they came down for breakfast (no time for a Valentine themed breakfast but I put some extra love in their cereal). They each got a book and another small thing. They were thrilled.

{Gty & I then had a little lunch date, in case you were worried.}

Then tonight we made heart-shaped homemade pizzas with heart-shaped pepperoni! And I've also decided that no matter how you do it, pizza looks disgusting on film. But believe me, it was delish.

We then proceeded into the FHE portion of the evening where in Gty gave a little lesson on "Love One Another" and we decorated some heart sugar cookies I made earlier.

Someone (Tbone) was having a bit of a tude and did not want to participate. We begged him to please come to the table and just decorate one cookie. This was his cookie.

"Can I go now"

Gty quickly crafted a response cookie.

Tbone then countered with this.

::shudder::

JBird decided to smile for me like this.

And then Beebs made this too-cute-with-those-eyelashes cookie and posed like this.

And thus ended the Valentine Cookie War 2011.

Valentines COMPLETE!

2011-02-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

I was happy I thought of this (the head thing) because, truth be told, JBird kind of scowled at the idea of holding a sucker in his valentine this year. Apparently he's getting too big for such things?? But I think this morbid take on an old favorite is doable. Even for a big 5th grader like himself.

Maybe next year we'll get even more gruesome and have the sucker killing them dead. Or have it say "LOVE HURTS" or something? I'm open to suggestions.

For now I adore them immensely & intensely.

Also, PS and an FYI, using an exacto knife to slice the openings is better than using a small hole punch. It lays a bit flatter that way.

Use Your Imagination Valentine

2011-02-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know you all remember last year's Valentines. I stole the idea from the internet machine. I'm stealing it again but this time from myself....cuz I did it last year and stuff. I am shakin' it up a bit with the boys too. Photos taken about 2 hours ago. This is practically a live blog post!

First, the little sweetiekinz. Who wouldn't want this in their doily covered tissue box? {This is where your imagination comes into play.... imagine the sucker in her hand.}

And for the boys I thought I'd stick the sucker through their HEAD!

::high fiving myself::

{again, imagine it...perhaps at a bit of an angle?}

I'll upload a pic of them finished later. Just in case your widdle heads can't take all this imagining.

I loves me some Photoshop Valentines.

My Fave Craft-y Blogs

2011-02-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Someone asked for these, didn't they?

Well, even if they didn't, here they are.

Let me just say that since I've started perusing these blogs my confidence in a few things has grown....confidence in things such as: doing a class party for my kids, making throw pillows, decorating for even the smallest and lamest of holidays (I actually WANT to make something for Valentine's Day...VALENTINE'S DAY!), making little things for my Visiting Teachees each month.... you get my drift? It's changed me. In a good way. While I'm not that CREATIVE, I can certainly copy stuff. Like, really well.

Warning: They are highly addictive. End of warning.

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

This is a good one to look at because she pulls together all kinds of ideas/projects/recipes from all over the web in one spot. It's a good jumping off point for craft blogs.

http://brownpaper--packages.blogspot.com/

She doesn't post a ton but I've really liked all the things she has done and her all around style.

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/

More of a home decor blog but i like her style and she does some crafting from time to time. All while being budget conscious.

http://www.crapivemade.com/

The name of this blog makes me laugh. And she's funny and is quick to say if something she is making turns out to be lame or ugly. It's hilarious.

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/

One of my absolute favorites!! LOVE these sisters' style. And they always have such fun printables.

http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/

Her writing style is almost unbearable (an lol every 2 seconds) but I love her style. I'm thinking about doing the treatment she did in her pantry {here} to the backsplash in my kitchen. It might tide me over until I can do some fancy tiling there.

http://lesscakemorefrosting.blogspot.com/

Love her style (houndstooth anyone?) and she's funny.

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

Classy & cute projects and I love here simplistic style.

http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/

I've found some cute stuff on here too.

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/

This is Kim's go-to "joke" for craft blogs..."What, did you see that on Little Birdie Secrets?" so yeah, gotta check that one out.

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/

Similar to tipjunkie in that she pulls together some fun projects from all over the web. She does some of her own as well.

Do you have any favorite ones that I missed? Please share. But also know that by sharing, you are enabling my addiction. And you'll have to just live with that.

::breathing sigh of relief::

2011-02-01T12:05:00.001-07:00

Every year I forget the "January Craziness."

I always think that once I get through Christmas then I'll have a little time to relax and snuggle in for the winter. I'm an idiot.

How do I always forget that I birthed three babies in January?

But now, on this, the First day of February, I am actually seeing that relaxation and said snuggling in my future. But it takes on the form of cleaning out and organizing closets, cupboards and doing some redecorating. Still, relaxing takes on many forms.

But let's get to it.... we had some birthdays this month.

January 13th

::said in quiet, golf commentator voice:: I've chosen a black & white depiction to represent the moodiness/teenageris of the gifts JBird asked for and received for his 11th birthday.

::normal voice now:: He got a guitar and lessons with a cute kid in our ward (SolidGold's son, remember her? Oh, and former ward ::humph::) and a phone as his main gifts. Now if only some of his friends would get phones so he would have someone to text besides us.

January 25th

TBone asked for every form of Plants vs. Zombies he could think of. I was able to find him a PC version and a DS version. It has kept him busy. He also got some Heelies but took a bad spill and has sworn them off forever. ("I broke my back! I broke my back!" he was screaming as he walked over to us. Traumatic. But no broken back, obviously).

And here he is sharing his day with his little sister. Something I always feel bad about although I know I had zero control over it.

At least they each get their own cakes.

So this year we did a combined birthday party. And when I say combined, I mean COMBINED. With TBone...JBird.... and Standsmom's boys, Link & George. All born within days of each other. It was brilliant, if I do say so myself. We could invite 25 kids for the set price. What kid, may I ask, has 25 friends? I can see if maybe you had a ton of cousins around or something, but we don't. So each kid invited 6 friends and it worked out perfectly.

Not so perfect, however, was the lighting since it was a "glow party." So I got some pictures that are, um, artistic.

This brings us to this last Saturday when we had Beebs' party here at the house.

It was the first party Miss B has ever had. And, combining that fact with my current obsession with craft blogs, you get a veritable pink explosion.

Here is my party committee. Syd, Stands, and Taybay. The girls helped with setting up, the party activities and clean up. And Stands did the mini-cake and cupakes. Eeeeek! <---I made that exact noise when she walked in with them. And of course you remember me discussing these adorable cake plates {here}.

Tutorial on these napkin flowers {here}. These really were fun & easy to make.

For that cute circle garland I just punched out adorable paper with my 3" paper punch, put the circles back to back (so it wouldn't matter if the circles flipped over) and sewed them together. See? I knew buying my sewing machine wasn't a total waste of money.

Tutorial for these crepe paper rosettes {here.} This. Took. FOR. EVER. And I made the bunting with paper, letter stickers and bias tape. More sewing, you gize!

We made bracelets. We decorated cookies. We painted nails. We girlied it up.

Beebs got the diva treatment....Tay doing her toes while Syd does her fingers. Girl heaven.

(I just like Tay being creepy in the background here. And Sarah looks cute too, of course)

January was fun. But I'm glad we are done now. I have 11 months to recoop.

Decorating Advice Wanted*

2011-01-27T21:09:00.002-07:00

I am having an intense urge these days to spruce up the house. Like, it’s over-whelming. After 5 years in a house I NEED SOME CHANGE. I’m not used to this stagnant lifestyle.

Anyway, so a major project I want to do is take the stairs and make them a bit more exciting.

(crappy night time iPhone pics coming at you due to laziness--there is no pattern/weird sponge painting on that wall, FYI, that is just the reflection from the light)

I want to paint that little section of the wall there that curves. Stencil it too. And possibly continue it down to that little alcove below. I neeeeed some pizzazz lest I die of boredom. I will also eventually be ripping off the lame carpet, painting the stairs, painting the railing. But that's all in good time. For now let's just focus on the wall.

Here is where you come in. I need some advice. Which direction do I go here?

A bit of a traditional damask but in a fresh color such as this (but on the wall, not the ceiling, doyee)?

Or a bit funkier pattern?

Just as a reminder, here is the room right to the right of the stairs. It's a little more formal but hopefully not stuffy. I have plans for in there as well, but it will continue in the direction of formalish-not-stuffy-ish. I would totally paint that wall too but the 2-story ceiling in there is a pain in my buttocks. But enough about that.

Even if you've never commented here I really need your input. I'm paralyzed with indecision.

In the meantime, next week I'm going to do this to my lame builders grade half bath mirror. Eeeeek! I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. Looks easy enough. ::famous last words::

But seriously, here is the TUTORIAL I found. Who can't cut molding in a miter box and use liquid nails? ::more famous last words::

I'll keep you posted.

I also have some birthday posts to do and blah, blah, blah... I know you can't wait.

*Landee may or may not adhere to what is voted upon depending on her mood at the time the final decision is made. Thank you for understanding. Your vote is very important to her tho.

Oh, Hello There

2011-01-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, hi. How are you? Good. Good.

Secondly, is it too late to make some New Year's Resolutions? I mean, I've had them since January 1, but is it too late to post them? Since I can't hear you I am going to assume you said no and move forward with this post.

Landee's New Year's Resolutions

(these are not binding in anyway, shape or form and must never be mentioned again by anyone if they see me failing miserably at any of them)

1) Be better about keeping up relationships with friends and family members.

These days it is NOT HARD to write someone a quick email, write on their FB wall or give them a quick call, send a text or leave a comment on their blog. Anything to let them know I haven't forgotten about them. This will be particularly important this year as I am 99.9% sure some ward boundaries are being re-arranged and we will be one of the few families moving over to a new ward. I'm trying to look at it in a positive manner ("We will double our friends!" "We get to go to the new/beautiful church building!") but in the mean time I've been fighting back the tears and being unsuccessful. This brings me to #2.

2) Look at things in a more positive way as much as possible.

I recently came across THIS article on housekeeping. And I must say, aside from the weird naming of the house thing, I agree with it 100%. It is all in how you look at things. The paradigm shift. The attitude adjustment. The gratitude for the things that mess up your house in the first place. All good things I will be working on.

3) Be more environmentally aware and try to reduce my carbon footprint (even just a little).

I'm in love with my little reusable bags I bought at the grocery store. I love carrying in the empty ones and coming out with them filled. And don't even get me started on how adorable they look all lined up in the back of the minivan. They hold a TON of stuff (normally this same trip to the grocery store would have used at LEAST 20 plastic sacks). Their long handles make it so I can sling a few up over my shoulder to carry in the house rather than lining them all up on my forearm and causing me extreme pain.
We started recycling our soda cans almost a year ago. Wow. We drink a lot of pop. K, it's mostly me. But I at least don't have to feel guilty about tossing all my DDP cans into the landfill anymore.
Do you think I could get Sonic to fill up an empty Sonic cup that I bring back? I mean, I'll pay full price (half price at Happy Hour though) but I want them to reuse my cups. Those styrofoam cups are HUGE and I throw them away all the time. Dang. Guilty feelings returning. Maybe I'll get a Prius to offset that.

4) Do more of this kind of stuff with the kids.

Over the holidays we had an elf come and visit us everyday for the last 12 days leading up to Christmas. His name was Clarence and he left us little presents or activities to do every day to make the count down to Christmas go by faster. One of the things he brought was this 1000 piece puzzle. I had forgotten how much I love having a puzzle out to work on a little here and there. At any given time you could look over at the dining room table and see anywhere from 1-4 people sitting there working on it. I should have one going at all times. Why not I say. Why. The heck. Not.

5) Get Crafty On Your Hineys!!! Or at least on my own hiney.

No, I'm not going to turn this into a craft blog or anything like that. But I am currently OBSESSED with craft blogs. I don't know what my deal is but I've added about 100 of them to my Google Reader and I LOVE reading them. It reminds me of the couple years after I had completely stopped scrapbooking but would still read my scrapbook magazines cover to cover the second they arrived in the mail. I'm not going to make hardly any of the projects but I love perusing them for some reason.
I did, however, have a couple of my adorable YW come over and we made these "anthropologie inspired" necklaces. I ganked this picture off of their FBs. I think their little sister took it with one of their cell phones? Anyway, it was such a fun afternoon and we've decided we will try to do something "crafty" once a month (plzthanks see #1 and try not to remind me that I will no longer be in the same ward as these two cuties in about 72 hours).

6) Not a resolution but check out my awesome milage I had for exactly 1 mile yesterday. It felt magical.

7) Somehow figure out how to spruce up the house. We've been here for almost 5 years and some things need to change.

I need new carpet for the family room. This is my minimum requirement for 2011.
I want to lower the bar betwixt the kitchen and the family room. It is so high I would have to special order bar stools. It is so high it causes a strange division between the two rooms that I don't like. It's so high it's literally good for nothing. I want it normal bar height ASAP.
I'm wanting to do some painting. If I do you can expect before & after shots. Don't worry, my pretties.

8) Double our temple attendance from 2010. I won't tell you how many visits this will require but believe me, it's veeerrrrrry doable. We suck.

9) Find a homeless guy with an amazing radio voice, take a video of him speaking, post it on YouTube and get him an announcing job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wait, wha? K, nevermind that last one. Apparently the Cavs already have an announcer.

Bossy Bosserson

2010-12-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

Why does he think someone was going to? Geesh.

Our Christmas Kardashians

2010-12-23T22:13:00.002-07:00

I don't know why I titled this post that. I couldn't even name all the Kardashians if I had to. Poor attempt at cleverness?

Anyway, this year I was in a bit of a quandary. I couldn't decide between two Christmas cards (colorful & fun or black and white & chic??) so I sent them both out. Then, today I had about 20 left that needed to go out and then Beebs accidentally pushed them off the kitchen counter and into a sink full of soapy water. They didn't survive. But believe me when I say this is just as good. It's not like I write a little handwritten note in my cards or something. I don't hand address them either. It's strictly printed computer labels. I don't even write a letter of any kind. So really, this is better! And, if you got one, here's the other... if you got none then here is TWO!

We here at the Landerson household wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas!!

And a Happy Festivus while we're at it.

Landee's Andes Mint Deliciousness

2010-12-10T18:11:00.002-07:00

I don't want to sound bossy or anything, but you need to make these today. Or maybe go to the grocery store for the ingredients today (if you don't have them on hand) and then make them. Either way is fine, I guess. But they do need to be made. In your kitchen. By you. And then write me a thank you note, cuz you'll want to (Wondering about that cute pedestal plate? More on that later).

Chocolate + subtle mint = taste bud heaven.

LANDEE'S ANDES MINT COOKIES

3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. water

Melt above ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and then add:

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, stirring until completely melted.

Cool for 10 minutes. Pour into a mixing bowl and beat in 2 eggs.

Add:
2 1/2 c. four
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together and chill for about 45 minutes (do NOT make the dough the night before and think you can put it in the fridge and do the rest in the morning. The chocolate chips reconstitute forming a chocolate dough BRICK. You've been warned). Roll into smallish balls (like 1 – 1 1/2 inches big), flatten slightly, and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

When cookies come out of the oven, place an Andes mint on top of each cookie and allow to melt for a few minutes. Swirl the melted chocolate like icing. Allow to cool.

Just FYI, this is a fabulous basic chocolate cookie for just about everything. It's perfectly soft & chewy, firm but not crunchy. I tried THIS recipe from Pioneer Woman last year (can you tell I enjoy the chocolate/mint combo?) and the chocolate cookie part was disgusting. I like the idea though. I may try again this year with this recipe.

Anyway, as I was looking in the baking aisle for some other confections, I happened upon these little puppies.

What? Yes. Yes. And yes. They looked like the perfect way to make these delectable cookies a bit more festive. As Beebs said, as she ate these out of the bag, "I think I like these too much." Agreed, my padawan learner. Agreed.

This time I melted some white chocolate (it's basically an adhesive here) and put it on top and then sprinkled on the Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips.

Fantastic.

Are you noting the adorable plate they are on? I thought you might be. My awesome, amazing SIL showed me these when we were at her house over Thanksgiving (that link is to her business website, btw, she does the cutest stuff). If you're looking for a fun way to deliver goodies around to friends and neighbors this holiday season while, at the same time, giving them a little gift, this is the answer! And it can be very inexpensive if you do it right.

Find a plate. Preferably adorable and on clearance.
Find a cute pedestal...this could be anything from an upside-down ice cream dish (pictured above with the original Andes mint cookies) to a candlestick. Thrift stores are literally overrun with possibilities. I saw some candlesticks at Wal-Mart for $4.
Gorilla Glue the found pedestal to the bottom of the plate. Hot glue pops off fairly easily though it might work in a pinch.
Tie cute ribbon/tulle/whatever around it!

Imagine the possibilities with these, people! You could tier them like nobody's business. Large plate on bottom, stem, cute coordinating smaller plate on top. Do cream colored plates and switch out the ribbon to change it up for any decor. Whatever. The world is your oyster with these babies.

PS I told you I was now a food blogger. But I bet you didn't see that craftiness comin' did ya? I'm full of surprises.

PSS Here is my "haul" from the cookie exchange aka The Reason I Go.

Diversity: White, White & Super White

2010-12-07T23:14:00.000-07:00

My SIL sent me a link to this. And I thank her.

That Time of the Month

2010-12-07T00:05:00.000-07:00

No.

Not THAT time.

It's time to clean my wood floors.

I'd rather have the other time of the month, to be honest with you.

Even with my patented-no-bending-over-or-using-a-mop technique, it is still a royal pain in the butt.

And I hate it.

So I want this for Christmas.

Here is the LINK to buy it for me. I know it's a skosh pricey but if someone takes the reins and organizes this it wouldn't be so bad. You only need 10 people to kick in $20 or 20 people to donate $10 each. Or even 40 people to contribute $5. FIVE DOLLARS! That's nothing. Please. Someone. Make this happen.

Thank you in advance.

Look What I Made!

2010-12-02T22:25:00.001-07:00

In related news, spray adhesive and glitter are the devil.

The end.

We Are Their Good Luck Charm, Duh

2010-11-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Too School for Cool

2010-11-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

For all the amateur and professional photographers out there, everyone's desire to be creative and artistic in their photography and to "capture the essence of the person," there's still nothing quite like the classic school photo.

The mottled, multi-colored background.

The sitting straight on a stool.

The head tilted just so.

It's all perfect.

This year's crop of photos did not disappoint. They also happened to have arrived about the same time as parent/teacher conferences.

Allow me.

JBird

5th Grade

Model student. In the advanced reading and math groups. Loves school. Is loved by his teacher. She put her hand over her heart and let out an audible sigh when attempting to describe what it's like to have him in class. One thing he could work on: Not socializing so much during class. It doesn't help the situation that his BFF is in his class, but he promises to work on it. Conference ends with more accolades and descriptive words such as "joy," "adore" and "amazing kid."

TBone

3rd Grade

Doing well in all subject areas. Mrs. Teacher is aware that, despite his two trips to the principal's office this year, he really is a good kid and just had some unfortunate circumstances (and reaction to those circumstances) come his way. He is fun & creative. "What's his room like at home? Because his desk is atrocious. You can't walk past it without something falling out of it." Needs to work on organization skills. Mrs. Teacher recommends a large exercise ball for TBone to sit on during class (rather than a chair) to help with the "extra energy issues." She would much rather have a little bouncing all day than large outbursts of energy later. I walk out grateful for a young, energetic teacher who really seems to "get" Tbone. I know I won't always be this lucky. ::writes "exercise ball" on Walmart list::

Beebee Girlerz

4K Preschool Class

Her teacher called for a telephone conference a couple of weeks ago to check in and let me know how Beebs was doing. She is great with her letters & numbers. She's in the early stages of spelling (she can spell the names of everyone in our family plus the pets and has my & Gty's cell numbers memorized). She plays with everyone and is kind. She loves "school days" (Mon-Thurs) and loves her teachers. One thing that Mrs. PreschoolTeacher said that she can work on: helping clean up after their various activities. Apparently she & Sarah try to get out of cleaning up all the time by "needing to go to the bathroom" or hiding in a different room until the clean up is over. When I mentioned this to her she gave me a look like "Um, how do you know about that?" and then could not get over the fact that her teacher knew her telephone number and could call her house. She promised to help from now on and it's her goal for Mrs. PreschoolTeacher to deem her The Best Cleaner Upper by the end of the school year. We'll see how that goes.

Smashing Pumpkins

2010-11-03T23:51:00.000-06:00

Every Halloween I walk a fine line between what I want to do (not celebrate Halloween/pretend it doesn't even exist, not find costumes for the kids, not carve pumpkins, not buy $50 worth of candy to pass out to the neighborhood brats, not pick up wrappers for weeks afterward because my kids think the space between the couch and the ottoman is a garbage can, etc.) and what I really don't want to do (cause permanent psychological damage to my children surrounding the celebrating of this pagan holiday).

I think this year I managed to balance it out pretty well.

Due to Gty being out of town the week leading up to Halloween, and my extreme to intense hatred of carving pumpkins, I figured out a way to do pumpkins this year with out having a sore arm afterward. We painted pumpkins and then the kids stuck on some foam pieces in the general configuration of a face.

(Note: We don't get the paper. So I had no newspaper to put down on the table. I decided to stick a couple pieces of Press-n-Seal down in front of each kid. Yeeeeah, no. I still have some residue on the top of the table from that stuff. You've been warned.)

Here are the final products.

You can't see but the "pumpkin princess" does have a nose that you can't see (pumpkins are heavy, you gize!). That balloon is supposed to be her blowing a bubble gum bubble. Oh, and that line of circles is a necklace. I'm sure that was obvious though.

I'm guessing we will be doing this again in the future. The kids loved it seeing as I can count on two fingers the number of times I've let them paint something in the kitchen. And no scraping out pumpkin guts. Ding! <---- bonus sound.

Some People Wait A Lifetime...

2010-11-03T00:09:00.001-06:00

... for a moment like this.

--Kelly Clarkson, American Idol Champion, Season 1

Some facts to consider:

The last time the Giants won a World Series it was 1953. They were the New York Giants at that time.
The Giants moved from New York to SF in 1958.
They hadn't won a World Series since.
Gty was born in 1971.... so, you do the math here.

Other items of note:

Gty's email address (since email first came out) has been gagiants.
Every year, Gty, his dad and the boys go to SF to see a couple of Giants games.
Last year, JBird was Tim Lincecum for Halloween.
Gty's grandma (now 93 years old) has loved the Giants FOREVER and has missed watching very few games. She's the reason his entire family are huge fans.

So, that is why there was much whooping and hollering in our house on Monday night. The boys acted like they too had waited 39 years for the Giants to finally win a World Series. Tbone was particularly boisterous in his cheering even though he had been rooting for the Phillies in the the series before just to tick Gty and JBird off. Thank goodness he came around for the last 20 minutes of Game 5.

Here is what they wore to school the next day. Tbone earned it, I think. Those twenty minutes when he cared were stressful.

A re-enactment of the aforementioned whooping and hollering.

Any guesses on who our favorite player is?

Gty wore his jersey around today too claiming he had waited his whole life to wear his team's jersey the day after a championship win. He felt he had earned the right to collect congratulatory remarks from passersby. The older people volunteering at the voting place today did NOT disappoint. They were very impressed by Gty and his ability to wear a Giants jersey and hat and laid it on real thick. He could not have been more pleased.

All Hallow's Eve

2010-11-02T00:46:00.000-06:00

So have you all tried the Pumpkin Crunch recipe? Cuz apparently I didn't want to do another post until every. last. one. of you had tried it.

So you loved it?

Good.

I figured I'd better post what the little goblins dressed up as for Halloween this year. We had an eclectic gathering of characters & time periods.

First, Al Capone:

Next, cowboy/TBone's Frontierville Character:

That's his "This town ain't big enough for the two of us" look.

And finally, Dorothy:

The Toto in the basket prop was the deciding factor in what she wanted to be.

Due to Halloween being on Sunday this year, we had less candy this year than we've ever had which is perfect. They had their class parties at school, of course. Then we had the ward Trunk-or-Treat on Friday night. We also went around to a few members' homes on Saturday night. We thought the kids would complain about not being able to go out on Sunday night but they actually really liked handing out the candy to all our "customers" (as Beebs called them).

I'm Now A Food Blogger

2010-10-20T16:53:00.001-06:00

You know I don't usually post recipes, but what I like to do is keep this blog fresh. Keep you on your toes. What will Landee do next? You just don't know. Today I am doing something CRAZY and posting a recipe. So there.

Mother of Stands casually mentioned this recipe she had seen on her SIL's Facebook. Pumpkin Crunch, you say? My ears perked up and my back straightened slightly. There may have even been a raising of the eyebrow, not sure. Sounded delicious. Just from the title. So I quickly copied it down in my handy-dandy Family Organizer and went about my business. "My business" being heading straight to the grocery store to get the ingredients for this and then going home and making it.

It's a fancy (and EASY) twist on the ole fall favorite, pumpkin pie. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie myself. I'd much rather have some banana cream. But this, THIS, my friends, will be added to the Thanksgiving feast. And will probably be made weekly from about mid-September to the end of November. It's my new "Fall Is Officially Here" treat.

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
1 1/2 C. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Combine above ingredients and pour into greased 9x13 pan.

1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 C. melted butter

Sprinkle cake mix on top of pumpkin mixture and pour melted butter over top.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

This is what it will look like fresh out of the oven.

Your house will smell amazing and the second you taste it you will realize, fall is officially here.

Fall Mentionables

2010-10-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

We just finished up Day 4 of "Fall Break," otherwise known as two weeks of torture. This break is so completely unnecessary that it makes me angry. The kids had JUST hit their stride in their routines and schoolwork and then BAM! Two weeks off. And my house is trashed. It looks like I've got toddlers again. Except without the added benefit small children give you of never having to leave the house. I miss the days of no practices, no extracurricular activities, no annoying friends over to play. I'm rambling, but to sum up, Fall Break is for the birds (who should be flying south by now).
Fall TV: Glee and I are about to break up. The songs haven't been amazing and they are soooo pushing it. The religion episode was highly offensive to me. They basically spent an hour mocking religion. I wouldn't think too much about it except for the fact that this show is very appealing to and geared toward teenagers who are right in the midst of trying to figure out what they believe. Glee is using this "power" they have for evil & I'm hating it. I'd much rather have an entire show dedicated to trying to make underage drinking seem cool rather than a whole show whose end goal seemed to be to shake a person's core beliefs. Couple that with this week's scene of Britney S. Pears and Santana making out on the bed and I about threw the remote through the TV. That's two strikes, Glee. Two.
Fall Decor: Due to the fact that I've completely redone the color scheme in the living and dining rooms I've had to tweak my fall decor a bit. Gone are the reds and golds in there. It's all now turquoise blues, greens and pale yellows. The orange pumpkins and fall foliage looked gaggy. So I had to go with these types of pumpkins this year:

Pumpkins are kind of "my thing" as I'm not a fan of the cheesy Halloween decor. I'll put a little porcelain skeleton guy and a sign that says BOO on my mantle for Halloween week, but that's about it. Plus who has the energy to change all your decor every month between September & January? Not me. No sir. This is it until I have to psyche myself up for pulling out all the Christmas decor.

Tbone got sent to the vice principal's office last week. It was for, get this, singing in the bathroom. Wha? Yes. According to him he was "excited Fall Break was getting close & singing Dynamite in the bathroom cuz it was fun." According to the school's secretary he was being super loud, slamming doors, and not stopping after a few minutes so she called to him to come out and told him they were going up to the vice principal's office. Mmmmmkay? My questions are 1) was he asked to stop and refused? 2) Was he hurting another child? 3) Was he being disrespectful to an adult? 4) Are you TRYING to make my kid label himself as a trouble-maker?

Answers: 1) Not asked, thus no refusal. Give the kid a chance people. 2) No. He was alone. 3) No. 4) Apparently. I went along with it this time, apologizing and saying I'd talk to him, etc. but I promise you, if they attempt to punish him for something this ridiculous again there's gonna be a meeting betwixt myself and the VP and it won't be pleasant. No one should be punished (he lost two days of recesses, btw) for singing their favorite Taio Cruz song. The acoustics in the bathroom are amazing. Everyone knows that.

TBone's Favorite Holiday

2010-10-10T23:40:00.000-06:00

Someone was more excited about it being 10-10-10 than anyone else I hung out with today.

Here is a pic of my computer screen at 10-10-10 at 10:10 pm and 10 seconds. (Psssst....Flem, I forgot the key strokes to do a screen shot. Do you remember even though you've gone PC again?)

And this same someone insisted I take a pic of him by the clock and holding the family calendar.

How did you all celebrate this momentous occasion that only happens once every 100 years?

I'm going to have to top this next year on 11-11-11.

PS Two week Fall Break starts now. We have no travel plans. No plans of fun of any kind. I want us to all clean out the basement. Wish me luck.

Jammie Church Activity

2010-10-03T16:04:00.001-06:00

Here is what Jack and I did during General Conference this year. I felt like I was back in 5th grade again.

Depressing, Things I Find

2010-09-30T22:04:00.007-06:00

People who buy things simply because they are on sale. They’re going broke saving money. It’s sad.
Watching young stars flush their lives down the toilet, thus proving everyone right.
Walmart
When my Costco membership is due & then added onto my already large-ish total at checkout.
Seeing old friends on Facebook and seeing how much our lives have gone in completely different directions.
Anyone over the age of 19 standing on street corners, twirling signs and advertising for a pizza place or a “HUGE CLOSEOUT SALE!” at the nearby electronics store. If I do see an older person doing this I pretend like they are the owner/manager of the business. See, they just wanted a break from the doldrums of their office so they told the 18-year-old-or-under kid whose job that really is to take an extra break that day and he’d take over for a while. You know, just to get some fresh air. I have to pretend this or the tears start to well up.
Seeing I have less than 1/3 of my Chipotle burrito left and I hadn’t been absolutely savoring every bite.
Phone calls from the vice principal.
Purchasing toilet paper, deodorant, tampons and other non-fun necessities. Such a waste of good, hard-earned cash.
Driving by the new Ikea that is being built 5 minutes from my house, reading the huge sign that says "COMING FALL 2011," doing the math and realizing that is still an entire year away. I go even further and imagine the insane crowds that will be storming that place day & night for the first year (at least) it's open as well. That makes a good two years before I'll be able to handle going and purchasing all the cheap but stylish things my little heart desires.

Exercising, My Internal Dialogue While

2010-09-29T00:18:00.001-06:00

5 minutes in: This isn’t that hard today.

10 minutes in: Geez. This sucks. How much longer?

15 minutes in: Ugh. Slow down. I’ve only done 15 minutes. Shoot. Pace yourself. No one knows how much resistance you have on your bike. Simmer down.

20 minutes in: ::start thinking about other things and don’t realize 8 minutes have gone by almost painlessly:: Sweet!

30 minutes in: K, half done. But I’m gonna pretend I’ve only done 15 minutes because then when this ends ‘15 minutes early’ it’ll be awesome.

35 minutes in: Nevermind. I’ve got 25 minutes left and now we’re in countdown mode. I’ve done more than I’ve got left. I've earned every minute of this.

36 minutes in: ::imagining myself walking out of the gym after it’s all over:: That’s gonna happen here in just a bit. Keep going.

37 minutes in: I don’t have to be here, you know. I can leave whenever I want. It’s not like this spin class is for college credit or anything.

38 minutes in: I could just look at my phone, act like I got some super important/shocking/gotta-get-outta-here news and then take off in a hurry.

40 minutes in: There’s only 20 minutes left. Maybe I won’t die. ::abort Operation Cell Phone Frenzy::”

45 minutes in: Only 15 minutes left!

46 minutes in: Only 14 minutes left!

47 minutes in: Only 13 minutes left!

{continue this pattern}

55 minutes in: Only one, maybe two songs left. Ooooh, and I like this one.

60 minutes in: I did it. That was so easy.

Zip Codes

2010-09-23T21:08:00.001-06:00

I've lived in my fair share of zip codes over the course of my 35 years.

83706- Boise, ID Birth-1991

While I lived in a few different zip codes in Boise, this is the main one I remember. It's the one in the Lakewood area of east Boise otherwise known as "the place I grew up" in my mind. We moved to Lakewood from "the bench" when I was in third grade. Jefferson Elementary to Garfield Elementary if you're in the know. I was devastated at the time but quickly made friends, got my first crush (John King) and fell in love with my new neighborhood. It was one of these planned neighborhoods with trails, small ponds, parks and "secret passages" galore. Absolute heaven for a kid on a bike. Not to mention the sheer numbers of kids roaming the neighborhood at all times. We lived there until we moved to New Jersey the summer before my junior year of high school.

07869- Randolph, NJ 1991-1993 (my parents continued to live there until 1999)

If I thought I was devastated when we moved across town in third grade, it was nothing compared to the despair I felt at the move to New Jersey. First of all, I had never been on an airplane before this OR been east past Wyoming at this point in my life. Not to mention the life long friends I would be leaving behind, including my best friend Jill but also including some of the cute boys we ran around with. I also had an athletic "career" I had been working on since the 5th grade. The coaches knew me. I knew all my teammates. Junior year would have been a huge year for me in both basketball and volleyball. I distinctly remember, shortly after learning we were moving, attending a girls varsity basketball game with some friends. As we were leaving my Sophomore coach sees me as I'm going down the stairs and he's going up. He turns to me and points and says "That'll be you next year, Jeppson!" I turned and ran down the rest of the stairs bawling and continued to bawl for about an hour after that.

But, as with most things in life, it all worked out for the best. Moving to New Jersey was an amazing experience. I went from a place where being a Mormon what everyone was or what the other people hated to a place where no one even knew what a Mormon was. I don't think I had ever met a Jewish person before moving there and ended up having several close Jewish friends. And I quickly learned that just because someone's last name was Cohen didn't mean they were related to all the other Cohens at my high school. Duh. One thing I didn't expect when moving to Randolph was how welcoming everyone would be. Most of these kids had grown up together and had been in the same classes since Kindergarten. A new face was something of a novelty and everyone was beyond kind to me from the second we got our boxes unpacked. And, of course, with my "street smarts" outweighing my "book smarts," there would have been absolutely NO WAY I would have gotten into BYU had I applied from Boise, ID. New Jersey definitely gave me an edge there.

84602- Provo, UT 1993-1994

Freshman year of college at BYU. Deseret Towers. S Hall. 2nd Floor. Room 211. Right side of the room. And who occupied the left side? None other than my amazing best frousin, Memzy. What a year of learning and growth that was. I loved every second of it. I weep for any freshman at BYU who opts to not live in the dorms. It is such a unique opportunity that you can never re-create after your freshman year is over. It's also where I met my life-long best friend, Flem. Unmeasurable happiness bubbles up inside when I think of room S-211.

84604- Provo, UT 1994-1998

Sophomore year included a move to "the Riv" and into Apartment #8 (also known as the coolest apartment ever, to us). Imagine Memzy, Flem, Colleen and I all living under the same roof....and now we have a kitchen and a family room! It was magical. The fun of my Freshman year paled in comparison to the fun I had my Sophomore year. Roommate Sunday dinners, surprise birthday parties, boys allowed in the apartment!, our bead curtain leading back to the bedrooms, Hart's next door, getting people to loan us their cars, watching Conference on wall-to-wall mattresses in the front room, dance parties/cleaning checks (Holiday drum solo anyone?), and on and on and on. Also, as an added bonus, this was where I met the love of my life.

We also did some time at "The Hood" but I won't go into that. Ugh.

Gty and I were then married in April of 1996 leading us to live in a variety of places around the Provo area. A condo owned by some family friends in New Jersey for the first few months of marriage. A little one bedroom apartment waaaaay south of campus which required an elaborate car pooling system with our friends who lived there to get us all to campus every day. A short stint in some other friends' condo up in Orem while they were trying to sell it (they sold it a month later). Then finally, we had a good year in the cutest brown house ever on 500 West. During all of these moves we were working at Covey Leadership Center (Gty was), attending school (that would be me), applying to business school (Gty again) and loving hanging out with other newly married couples (both of us). Again, it was a time in our life never to be duplicated again.

47906- West Lafayette, IN 1998-2000

Gty is attending The Krannert School of Management at Purdue University at this time. We were so excited to move out of Provo and see what the "real world" had in store for us. I became the family bread-winner working at Great Lakes Chemical as the admin for the LINX team there (that college degree sure paid off, huh?). During these two years we acquired a dog (Maggie) and a baby (that'd be JBird). I needed to go back to work a bit after JBird was born in order to keep our benefits so Gty was able to work his classes to take care of JBird while I went to work. It's funny to think about that now but we somehow made it work.

12211- Loudonville (Albany), NY 2000-2002

Gty accepted his first job out of graduate school with Owens Corning and we head out to Albany for him to work in the management of one of their plants there. This is where we bought our first house for $150,000 (seriously??) but never furnished the living room or dining room. It had the squishiest, softest blue carpet in there and made for a perfect ball field for JBird to run around on. We also added TBone to the family there in January 2002. 9/11 happened while we were there which made it feel a little too close to home.

43551- Perrysburg (Toledo), OH 2002-2004

After paying his dues in the plant and on a sales rotation, Gty got transferred to the home offices of Owens Corning located in Toledo, OH. Now, obviously, Toledo isn't exactly at the top of the list for places people want to move to, but, as with all places we have lived, we learned to absolutely love it. We purchased our 2nd house here and it was my DREAM house (as my dreams were at that time). Brand new, gorgeous bright kitchen with an island, amazing master bathroom (the Albany house had no master bath, if you can believe it), huge backyard, and on a cul-de-sac where JBird would eventually learn to ride a bike. In stark contrast to Albany where no one would even make eye contact with anyone else, we could not get out of our new neighborhood without at least ten waves. Perrysburg is a classic mid-west town. Happy & humble people. Nathan & Annalisa moved to Michigan (about 3 hours away), and hated their apartment, so we saw them all the time on the weekends. We loved our ward there which always makes a huge impact. I will always remember our years there fondly.

29803- Aiken, SC 2004-2006

Wow. Talk about a culture shock! Not only is Aiken in the south (a place I never dreamed I would live) but it's a small town in the south. The confederate flag is still waved proudly in front of homes and bumper stickers with sentiments such as "Happiness is a northbound Yankee" ran amok. Our realtor's accent was so thick we often needed her to write things down so we could understand what she was talking about (example: "heeding an eyelighter" really meant "heating and air letter" See? Yeah.) Despite having an "interesting" ward, we loved our time there. I meant one of my dearest friends there (Heather) who, being from Ohio herself, ran up to my Ohio license plate sporting car in carline at the boys' preschool and explained her desperate need to have a fellow Yankee to hang out with. I agreed we must stick together and a life-long friendship ensued. With both the boys in preschool, Gty and I met often for lunch at our favorite restaurant of all time, Malia's. That is, until Beebs was born and then the three of us met at Malia's a little less often. We owned three palm trees and a hot tub there. And the wisteria just dripped from everything during spring and summer.

COLORADO 2006-Forever, hopefully

Before Colorado, we averaged about two years in each location. At the end of those two years I was always ready to move. I can honestly say that these past four and a half years have FLOWN by here. I have never felt more at home in a place as I have here. It scratches us right where we itch, as Gty loves to say. Weather? Perfection in all four seasons. Our ward? Dreamy. So many fun people to hang out with. Big city nearby but we live in a smallish town. Proximity to family? We can finally drive to visit family rather than fly! I can see us being here a long, long time. I want my kids to go to college and be able to say they're from Colorado.

Habits

2010-09-22T20:49:00.000-06:00

Habits are like a superpower that can be used for good or evil.

I have my fair share of villainous habits. That 3:30pm dose of Dove chocolate, for example. Also my need to have a beverage in the car at all times isn't helping stave off osteoporosis either (no, it's not milk I'm drinking). My hand just gravitates toward the cup holder several times during any given drive. When nothing is there I feel disconcerted, disgruntled and suddenly thirsty as heck. It's just better for everyone is there's a giant drink there, trust me.

Other habits of note (good, bad, and neutral):

Checking my back pocket several times an hour to make sure my phone is still there. When I'm wearing yoga pants or other pocketless apparel and my phone is stuck in my bra (another habit I s'pose) it causes several fast & furious panic attacks as I check my non-existant back pocket again & again.
When I take off an article of clothing I think I might wear again later that week (before laundry day), I drape it over the side of the dirty clothes hamper. I want to keep it aired out. If it gets bunched under some nasty, sweaty work out clothes then forget it. It's dead. The problem is, at the end of the week the tallish laundry basket is nearly falling over due to the fact that I've piled about 20 things on the edge in hopes of wearing them again.
Bedtime routine: hair back in headband & pony tail. Brush teeth. Wash face. Get in bed, plug phone into charger (it's usually nearly dead by then), and proceed to check Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader and go my turn on any waiting Words With Friends games. Once I decide to go to bed (anywhere from 10:30pm to 2am) I rarely vary from this.
I make my bed every morning. I have to. I'm not sure what drives me to do this, other than the fact that I love getting into a made bed at night. If, for some freaky reason, I don't make it in the morning, I will make it at some point through out the day. Even if it's 10 minutes before I go to sleep at night. Crisp sheets = my own personal heaven.
Lists. I make lists about everything. I can't shop without one. I don't even get how people can do that. If I have more than three errands to do I have to make a list or else I'll most likely forget one.
I always put my sunglasses on top of my head. There have been many times that I'll go up to do my aforementioned bedtime routine only to realize my sunglasses have been on my head since early that morning.
After I laugh at something, I'll usually tag on this strange noise at the end. It's like a mix between a heavy sigh and a light moan. I have to believe it's some kind of a "wind down" I need after a big laugh. I really can't explain it any better than that. But it is annyoing, no question. "Hahahahahahhahahaha....::sigh/moan wind down::" See?
When I drive I drive with my left hand. My right hand is usually resting on my gear shift or tucked under one of my legs. Apparently I'm not a "10 & 2" driver.

Last Maui Post, Pinky Swearz

2010-09-20T00:47:00.002-06:00

I figured I'd just post the rest of the trip and then we can alllll be done with it. I'll forever have the memories & will cherish them always. But no need to drag you along for what must be the most boring walk down memory lane. I realized today that this is equivalent to the olden days when people would get slides made of their photos, invite you over, and force you to look at them up on their family room wall while they commentated. Torture. And I apologize in advance. But since you're here...

More cute pics of Gty boogie boarding.

But lookie what he did to his super expensive boogie board we got at the local grocery store.

This may have had something to do with it? (Plzthanks ignore my super annoying laugh, but it was really funny)

This here is a pic from Big Beach. Around the corner is Little Beach which is also the unofficial nudist beach of the island. Gty & Cal "accidentally happened upon it" whilst snorkling. Shya right. Anyway, the waves get so big at Big Beach the lifeguards make scary announcements as soon as whiteys like us walk onto the beach. Things such as "If you don't have experience in the water, DO NOT GET IN." and "We will send a swim team out to get you if you get in the water right now." and "Srsly, don't get in the water. We aren't kidding." It was fun to watch the local guys boogie board in these waves though.

Taken with the timer. Don't I look like I was casually reading my magazine rather than having just ran back to my chair after pushing the button? We had many a beach days. Typical schedule...wake up. Go to beach. Get lunch. Go to different beach. Take shower. Go out to eat. Go to bed. Best vaycay ever.

On the last day we had to check out of our place at 10am and then we were all scheduled on the red-eye back to the mainland that night at 9:30pm. We didn't really want to be all "beachy" on the red-eye so that day we did what is called the "Road to Hana." It's this all day "adventure" where you drive on this jungly, curvy, lush, beautiful drive on the other side of the island. The road TO Hana is fun with stops along the way and fun things to see & do. The road BACK from Hana (same road) is a bit annoying, however, as you don't stop, you've seen it all already and you're in a rush to buy souvenires and catch a plane. I dry heaved from car sickness. That's all I'm saying.

But again, the Road TO Hana = super fun. First stop. Some overlook thingy place.

Can you imagine living here? I mean, reeeeeally living here? People do. It's gorgeous, no question, but LIVING there? I don't know if I'm the type.

We stopped at an arboretum along the way. I LOVE these Rainbow Eucalyptus trees. I HATE the jags who carved their initials in them. HATE. Who does that?

[sparing you some intense amounts of photos of scenery, us in various poses, upclose pics of vegitation, etc. You're welcome]

We then went a little beyond Hana (one lane roads at times, one lane bridges all the time) to some state park I will look up later, where we hiked to a freakin' waterfall! Aren't we adventurous?? We weren't really "dressed for hiking" per say, but we managed.

Loved these tree roots we hiked over.

Gty enjoying one of the overlooks along the hike. It was a good 2 miles up, and 2 miles back btw. My glutes were talkin' the next day.

Huuuuuge Banyan Tree. Photo op! I got up ok. Kim had "issues" getting up. Gty racked his family jewels pretty good getting up. And Cal spared the poor girl waiting to take our pic some time and opted out of getting up. Totally worth it though. Obviously.

Cool bridge leading to the bamboo forest.

Bamboo forest!

And the big pay off! Waimoku Falls.

Can you see my little Gty just a sittin' there contemplating life? He didn't mention but I'm sure he had some deep thoughts.

Me + watefall

We then looked at our watches, ran back down the trail and had to skip seeing the Seven Sacred Pools. Here is what they look like from the road though. I'm sure they are lovely upclose too. Freshwater pools right there on the ocean. But again, we were in a rush. Tshirts to buy and stuff.

So we then flew all night long. These $6 neck pillows I bought at the BigK there were an absolute life saver. I slept the entire 5 hour leg from Kahalui to LA. I barely even moved. I drooled. But didn't really move. Then I slept for goodly portions of the LA to SLC and SLC to DEN legs. Good thing too because we went straight from the airport to JBird's football game. And then straight to a team party at Five Guys.

Loved every second of this trip. Side note: You never really know what it'll be like to travel with another couple. I mean, you can assume it will be fun because you have fun together in other circumstances but travel is a whole different ball game. Needless to say, I think the Landersons and the Mr. & Mrs. Aweeyum are the perfect traveling match. Similar ideas on how to spend our time & money. No drama. Wives have fun together. Husbands have fun together. It was, literally, the perfect vacation.

I wouldn't change anything.

How often can you say that about an 8 day trip?

Classic Maui

2010-09-15T17:16:00.002-06:00

I'm sure more of you (than just Jespy) were confused by our attire in the last post. One doesn't think of Maui and think rain coats and pants. I admit I wasn't expecting that myself, but we had to do the volcano thing early in the trip so our bodies were still mostly on CO time. 2am REAL Maui time? Fuggetaboutit.

Now let's move on to some more "what we were all expecting" pics, mkay? Starting with the above pic of our view on the beach yesterday. Gorge.

Obviously we were all expecting my blinding white skin to cause some retinal damage.

Here's the obligatory "playing in the Pacific" pictures I'm sure you had on your check list.

Pictures of us at a nice waterfront restaurant were sure to be expected.

Snorkel, anyone?

(Side note: I'm not a huge fan of snorkeling. There is something unnatural about breathing while underwater. It makes me start panicking. Not to mention the creepy sea life that appears out of no where and could do who-knows-what to me. Ick.)

And, (lucky!) look who got to have their 39th birthday on the loverly island! Aren't I a nice wife to give him this trip as his gift? Cuz srsly, that's all he got. The economy you know...

Aloha & Mahalo.

Who Wakes Up at 2am on Vaycay?

2010-09-13T23:52:00.000-06:00

We do.

And (after I just took a 3 hour nap) it was totally worth it. Here we are at sunrise at 10,000 feet atop Haleakala volcano (inactive, of course, like my sister).

We then put on our slickers & helmets and biked down the road to the base of Haleakala. Exhilarating.

Aren't we so romantic?

Maui=highly recommended.

Duh.

I'm The Blue Dot

2010-09-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

This Could Have Been You...

2010-09-09T17:28:00.002-06:00

...if your cake had been better.

The 4 Year Old's New Normal

2010-09-09T06:21:00.003-06:00

Were you worried that Beebs was going to be bored now that the brothers are back in school?

Let me put you at ease.

Her schedule has more mandatory meetings on it than mine does. I'm teaching her early that "being busy" equals "has value in this world." Jaykay. Although you might think so looking at what she's got going on these days. She doesn't know the order of the days of the week but she knows which day is what. For her it goes:

Church Day

School Day

Dance & School Day

Gymnastics & School Day

School Day

No School but the Brothers Are At School Day

Nobody goes to School Day!/JBird Football Day/TBone Soccer Game Day

That's how we talk about the days of the week and that's how you need to refer to those days in her presence, btw. Or she'll get confused.

School Days:

First day of PreK was on Tuesday of this week. It will be Monday-Thursday 12:30-3pm.

Quickly getting to work on mastering shapes. It was sort of an in-your-faces to the other kids.

I won't be here smiling & posing every school day. Just the first.

Her BFF will be though.

Dance & School Days:

Beebs has now moved up to Ballet/TapII which basically means she could go on SYTYCD if she were old enough. Perfect form is all I see here. This will be Tuesdays at 10am.

This pic makes me giggle.

RFTP shot here.

Ah...look who is here again! The BFF!

Gymnastics & School Days:

I can't get enough of her leotards. She shall wear them Wednesdays at 10am.

The BFF is in this class too but I don't have any shots of them together. I will remedy that soon enough.

Now seeing this 4yo's schedule all laid out like this I'm realizing it's ridiculous. I think I need to work on changing a couple of those days to "Nap Day" and "Sit Around & Watch Tom and Jerry Day."

"I Like You"

2010-09-07T22:46:00.000-06:00

This is a common phrase said around our home.

I like you.

For whatever reason, it means more to us than the more customary I love yous.

Yes, we say "I love you" often enough, but it's the "I like yous" that really dominate. Everyone loves each other. We are family. Of course we love each other. I've given birth to some of us & married the other. Others of us are siblings.

Love is a given.

But like? Do we have to like each other simply because we are in the same family? Is like a given because we were married in the temple? I've seen plenty of people who don't particularly like their kids (or one of their kids perhaps). I've seen plenty of couples who, while they love each other in every sense of the word, don't particularly like each other.

Like is on a whole different level.

I'd even venture to say I love every single person in my ward... in a "wardly love" kind of way. But like? Now you're pushing it. Like implies you enjoy spending time with them. Like means you find them interesting. Like consists of enjoying their personality and wanting to talk to them regularly.

So, when I see TBone being kind to Beebs simply because he wants to, I'll look at him and say, "TBone, you're a good kid. I like you." And when I'm lecturing Gty on this & that and complaining about stupid little things he'll smile at me a little, rub my arm and say, "I like you." I usually roll my eyes & tell him to "stop patronizing me and just listen!" but secretly I like being liked. Who wouldn't?

Star Witness

2010-09-05T23:10:00.000-06:00

Occasionally, when I'm out in a public place, I get this feeling I should start taking extra notes as to my surroundings in case something suddenly "goes down" and I am needed to testify in a court case later. I start making mental notes of makes and models of the cars in the area. Perhaps I even try to memorize at least one license plate or a "partial plate," as I've heard it referenced on cop shows. I size up passersby according to height, weight, and other distinguishing features. I also take note of the time of day (as to-the-minute as possible).

I then picture myself on the witness stand several months down the line testifying in great detail of the things I saw at that moment of [insert heinous crime here]. "Yes, and in the northwest parking lot of the Littleton Target, there was a pearl toned Suzuki XL7. It was all alone except for the 5'10" man walking toward it with ash blond hair and a slight limp. It was approximately 2:57pm on Thursday, August 26th 2010."

My amazing attention to detail, of course, places the accused at the scene of the crime at the exact moment he needed to be placed there in order to secure a conviction (Prosecutor: Do you know who it was you saw in that parking lot that day? Me: Yes....yes, I do. It was him ::pointing at ash blond man in defendant's chair::). As a matter of fact, without me, he would have walked out of that courtroom a free man. [applause]

I wish I were kidding about all of this, but, sadly, I am not.

The Evolution of a Saturday

2010-09-04T17:53:00.000-06:00

I remember growing up, Saturdays meant two things....chores and playing. Chores always coming first, of course.

Then, as a college student, Saturdays could be anything from a study day to watching movies all day with roommates to prepping for a dance that night.

As a newly wed, Saturdays were "Clean The Apartment" day. I remember I could clean our apartment top-to-bottom, with a lot of attention to detail, in two hours flat. I loved the feeling of sitting in a completely clean home. And, with no kids, it would stay that way well into the next week.

When motherhood came along and we had toddlers and babies, Saturdays were a family day where we usually stayed home and played with the kids and maybe ventured out in the evening to a kid-friendly restaurant, bed by 8:00pm.

Now that those kids have grown up considerably, Saturdays are spent watching them in their various activities-- and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Saturdays at this point in our lives. I hear some people complain that their "entire Saturday is spent watching this sport and then running another kid to another venue for yet another game, blah blah blah..." I want to ask them what else they could possibly be wanting to do? What's better than watching your child perform in something he or she has been working hard at in practice? This is 80% the reason why I even had kids fhs.

This brings me to today.

Jbird's first football game of the season a.k.a. Heaven on Earth for this girl. ::pointing at self::

That's my boy there with his signature One Finger stance. He started on offense and defense and played almost the entire game. He plays tight end on offense and...um, I'll get back to you on his defensive position. I forgot.

ACTION SHOTS!

Running his route.

(can anyone tell from ^^^ what position that is??)

NON ACTION SHOTS!

Gettin' a pep talk from Dad.

I tried to refrain from telling him how freakin' adorable he looked in his uniform but was unsuccessful a couple of times. It couldn't be helped.

So excited for all my Saturdays through November (but sooooo sad we will miss next week's game. Grandma & Grandpa will be here though so that's good). TBone also started his first season of soccer! More on that later.

Tan, Our Obsession With Being

2010-09-03T14:45:00.001-06:00

As I'm prepping myself mentally for heading off to Maui next week my mind keeps wandering to a sad place. I don't go to that place very often. Actually, I flat out ignore that place. That place involves my skin and its inability to tan. My skin has other issues too, but failing to be tan is one of its worst faults.

Why is being tan associated with being attractive? Is it because tan skin hides flaws? Is brownish skin more slimming than white? Does it mean you lead a life of luxury, laying by a pool all day...and somehow that's attractive? Is whiteness associated with severe blood loss and imminent death so people shy away from it? Does extreme fair skin imply that you never leave the house and are, therefore, lazy?

I don't know the answer. But I do know, given there are no other differences, I'd much rather look at a tan person than a pasty white one. And, as a pasty white person, it's infuriating.

It's particularly annoying when, despite the appearance of having a "healthy glow," being tan is actually horrible for you. Premature wrinkles being at one end of the spectrum and dying of skin cancer at the other. No amount of exposure of this reality has seemed to lessen our desire to be a bronze beauty come swimsuit season either.

We need more Nicole Kidmans and less....everyone else.

Good News, Bad News

2010-09-02T20:28:00.003-06:00

Good news (maybe): My blogging is going to become more regular. More frequent. You'll be learning lots about me (perhaps not the best news there).

Bad news: My blogging is going to be a bit stranger & more random. My posts might not entail flourishing intros and summaries. Sometimes my entries might be a paragraph long or go on forever. I really can't say.

"Why are you doing this to us?" I can hear all four of you screaming as you pound your fists on your keyboards.

I'm working on a new project, that's why. And you'll just have to come along for the ride (by law you have to, srsly).

I'm taking an online workshop by Cathy Zielske. Back in the day, when I was big into scrapbooking and subscribed to all the magazines, Cathy was one of my all time favorite contributors. Her style is clean with very few embellishments. Most of her aesthetics come through how she type sets her words and which fonts she uses. I loved it. She's also quite funny, which is always a good thing. Not cheesy. And not LDS (I don't know why that makes me like her more, but it does...probably because then she's not cheesy as I mentioned before).

Anyway, I stumbled upon a workshop she is starting next week called

Me: The Abridged Version  

She based the workshop on a book called Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Take a peek at it here and read Cathy's conception for the workshop here if you're interested. I just started reading it and I find it hilarious and brilliant. It's exactly my kind of writing. She just gives her "take" on little things in her life in a fun & witty way. And she went ahead and alphabetized them creating an encyclopedia of sorts. It's perfect. Truth be told, it's the book I would have loved to have written.

Tangent: I love the description on the book jacket: I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. I have not witnessed the extraordinary. This is my story. Though I have managed to write half of a half of a novel, I fully believe that those that create the best art and literature are those who have experienced amazing things or had exorbitant amounts of pain in their lives (i.e. Sylvia Plath, VanGogh, Eminem, etc). My life is ordinary, happy and, let's just be honest here, mundane (which is just how I like it, btw). This book by Mrs. Rosenthal speaks to me. It's my life. With a few of the details changed (and a few less F-bombs....not sure why those are even in there but there are a couple).

So anyway, I'm creating a book of my own similar to Rosenthal's encyclopedia with the help of Cathy Zielske. No, not for publishing purposes. But certainly for my own enjoyment and maybe, if they care, my posterity. I think it will at the very least be a fun exercise in creative writing and make blogging a little more interesting.

Which brings me back to my original point.... things might get weird around here. I'm currently in the process of making lists under each letter of subjects I might want to write about. This book will be all about ME and MY thoughts on things rather than a travelogue or description of the cute things my kids did or said (though they'll probably be mentioned from time to time). The subject matter will be random and silly and maybe even heartfelt from time-to-time. Who knows, right? But I'll be putting it all here on the blog. I'll then label it with the letter it will be filed under making it easier when the time comes to compile & print my book.

Does anyone wanna do this with me? (except you and your bad attitude, Memzy) I think it'd be awesome if a few of us were doing this together and could share things as we went along. I'm guessing I'll be using a few of my past posts as well (and put them under a letter I'm struggling with). I think your kids would love it....your husband would probably love it....and I bet you'd love making it if you gave it a shot. No pressure tho. Plz?

Photogenetics

2010-08-31T14:30:00.002-06:00

What have I been doing this past week?

Taking some senior pictures of some beautiful people, that's what. Well, two beautiful people anyway.

I've said it before, senior pictures are my absolute favorite to take. The part I feel bad about is that these guys left it up to me to document this time in their life rather than someone who actually knows what they're doing. Imagine how fabulous they would have looked with a real photographer. I mean, right? Look! Gorgeous.

First, my beautiful Micah. One of my Laurels. She is the sweetest girl on the planet. And I'm not exaggerating. You know how I hate exaggerating. She's always helpful and nice and upbeat and she's a huge fan of GITYD which always helps (::teehee::). Her mom said she was the "perfect baby & toddler" too which is no surprise. And look at her...it's like she can't take a bad picture. Even when she'd look away to "regroup" I'd keep shooting due to her extreme beauty. Loved spending this time with her one-on-one.

Next up, the ward heart-throb, Dallin. His mom (CIP) is a good friend of mine so we had fun posing Dallin in uncomfortable ways & making him STOP doing Blue Steel so we could get a few good pictures. Sorry ladies, he recently changed his FB profile to "in a relationship" so you're outta luck. I'll keep you posted though, if you're interested.