Christmas is coming.

This has been the most strange lead up to Christmas, what with all the wedding craziness occurring. I mean, I love to spend the few days before Christmas in Mattress stores and sowing the cutest pink flowers but I have definitely felt a lack of Christmas spirit, despite the salt shaker full of bells that I am shaking over my head regularly. True story, cute gift from a friend.
I thought I'd scan over the last few weeks happenings to see if anything Christmasy has occurred and I would say, indeed it has.

The family movie.
I loved this one, very clever. I will be adding to my list of "must watch" Christmas films.

The beloved school concert.
I appreciate this as a way to score parent points for showing up. At around 99 recorders playing "jingle bells", I would say MAJOR parent points. Oh and the 99 is because at least one of them was miming (I taught her that trick)Actually not too bad a performance.


The local Girls Night Out.

My most looked forward too, Christmas lunch with my scrap ladies.



I love these girls, they are my therapy.

Our yearly tradition to see the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestras Christmas special.


These tickets seem harder to get every year but there were tons of empty seats so I highly recommend the standby line if anyone is ever wondering.
Jane Seymour was marvelous, I loved the Christmas story told in a real English accent.

And of course it wouldn't be Christmas in Utah if we hadn't scoured the valley for the best "Griswold" display of lights. I'm drawn to the blue and green but the best award goes to a home just down the road from us, that has a musically , coordinated display which includes the opening sound test, for the dolby digital movie thingy.
Very cool.
So I think maybe Christmas feelings don't come from a store but in fact time spent with friends and family feeling grateful.I know I'm grateful for my Santa baby who has a big tub that he's placed on the very top of our closet and try as I might, I just can't reach the darn thing. That may be the reason for my lack of Christmassy feelings but this morning I grabbed a bag of twiglets and ate a couple of roses (English Christmas necessities) and low and behold, an angel appeared in front of me singing heavenly chords and declaring peace to all men.

A wedding sneak peak

It's only 3 weeks away and my scissors and glue have been going crazy.
I'm so excited for Curtis and Shelly but let me tell you, I would much prefer to plan a wedding for some one else and then have them do this one for us.
I hope us Mums can sit back on the day and enjoy it.
Yeah probably not going to happen.


The guest book is ready.


The brides dress is finished (and stunning)


The bridesmaids will be pink, oh so very pink.


The candy is remaining packaged with the constant cries of "can I have one?"

And me... I don't know what to wear! Any suggestions?

Don't you dare!!!

Have you ever been walking through the mall with your head down and collar up, so as to avoid those people who want to point out how dry and scaly your hands are and how their magic lotion will make it all go away? Bunch of baloney! This is Utah in winter, I have scales within an hour of lotion.

Anyway on my recent trip in which I have to say I've gotten very good at "no thank you", with a smile, I got a....
"Mamm".....Who me?
"could I interest you in our Green tea weight loss.....blah blah?"
OH NO YOU DIDN'T JUST CALL ME FAT!!!!!! (She did, didn't she?)

So off I wandered, after my "no thank you" with a smile, pondering why this stick insect might think I would need her potion.
Sure I had added 20lbs to my awesome rocking "last years" body but it's been a rough year and there was a trip to England with every kind of yummy treat available that I HAD to have. (Including faggots which my kids now request and for some reason we can't buy in the U.S.)
Besides doesn't she know I don't drink tea?

Anyway, happy to report. I have lost 9lb in 3 weeks on the "stop eating crap" diet.
Yep, the same old rules still work.

I petition we ban people selling lotions, expensive curling tools and green tea as well as those darn helicopters that are so cool but break within a day of getting them. It actually puts me off my enjoyment of window shopping the mall.

Time Out

Have you ever had so much to do, that you promptly sit on the floor and do nothing, whilst the whole time thinking, how much better that "nothing doing" would be, if you had a huge lump of cake on your lap? Just wondered.

Lessons from London

When I started to scroll through my 400 pictures, I wondered, how can I possibly blog a trip to England as awesome as the one I just had? I realize after seeing other people's trip pics, that the thing I enjoy most is noting the cultural differences and learning things so that's my plan.
Lesson 1.
Jet lag sucks and that is why I am up at 3 am blogging.

Lesson 2.
Westminster Abbey sits right across the street from the houses of Parliament (never knew that)

Lesson 3.
Cheaper accommodations for tourists are now available in London at the Parliament Square resort.

Lesson 4.
You gotta pay 30p to p.

Lesson 5.
The underground is VERY underground.

Lesson 6.
Rush hour lasts, well most of the time.

Lesson 7.
Platform 9 3/4 is no longer on the platform at Kings Cross Station but in a shed around the corner with a wait line for photo opps.

Lesson 8.
When in a hat store, you must try on all the hats.


Even when someone else thinks hats should be of the baseball type.

Lesson 9.
I should really go to bed and get over this jet lag.
More to follow.

Book Review and Give away.

I have never been much of a reader. Since discovering Dyslexia is hereditary and comes in all shapes and sizes, I have wondered if my lack of comprehension or inability to focus on a book, has had something to do with this.
Last year I won a kindle and since then, I have been ploughing through many fun reads. Mostly short, chick lit. Nothing I would recommend ;-)except to a few special friends who enjoy the same junk as me but I was recently inspired, to pick up an actual paper book and was very pleasantly affected by it's content.
I would like to share with you a book that was written by a neighbor of mine. I am sharing, not because she is my neighbor or because she asked me, she didn't but because I really enjoyed the book. I read it in a day which is an absolute first, possibly last, for me and was very impressed with the way Stephanie was able to capture the very easily sidetracked, mind of mine.


I thought at first, this book might suit the teen to young adult reader but once finished I realized I learned a lot about myself and how I might view people in certain situations.
In brief, it is the story of a senior in high school, with a great future ahead of her. She makes a mistake which unfortunately can't be hidden away and repented of in secret. The author shares the emotions and reactions of those around her including the other party involved. The book left me wanting to read on but since this was based on the authors own experience, I kind of know how it turned out.
Anyway, I loved the book. I encourage you to watch the you tube trailer.


The author, Stephanie Worlton, is a fantastic woman with a great family.She does tons for the scouting community and can work a power tool like no other. I admire her and appreciate her sharing her story. I hope she writes more, she really is a great writer.

Anyway go to the link to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJ0E4ReOH8

http://hopesjourneybook.com/


The author is giving away a signed copy and I would like to add mine to that prize. leave me a comment and I'll randomly pick someone to send it out to.
I will close the contest Nov 16th 2011.

As part of Hope's Journey's blog tour, they will also be giving away an autographed copy of Hope's Journey to one lucky winner. To enter, simply visit the author’s blog and leave a comment on the BLOG TOUR page.

http://stephanieworlton.blogspot.com/

Plus, for a few bonus entries, “like” Hope's Journey on Facebook or become a follower of Stephanie’s blog. It's that easy!

Halloween for Dummies.

1.Don't bother to decorate your house when you are going to be gone much of October and have to put it away the day you get back.
2. Don't use scarce, valuable, free time to make crafty Halloween things when you should be planning things to do in London or Packing.
3. Halloween will still happen, even if you don't have that cute banner you saw at Miss Shelly's house.

4.Halloween Decor can be purchased quickly and cheaply at walmart and doesn't require a specialty fabric store that carries giant ric rac , amongst other extremely cool stuff like vinyl fabric.
5. Get king sized candy and you'll be the bomb, whether you decorate or dress up your whole yard or not.

So now that the rules have been clearly stated, and I have established that I am a Halloween dummy.
I have to share.
I've see these cute fabric banners all over and figured I didn't need to reinvent the wheel. Just do a "case" study. Copy And Steel Everything.How hard can it be? How long can it take?
I made a huge mistake when I walked into Material Girls, a little store in South Jordan. I was so blown away by all the fabric that I immediately started planning in my head about 20 years worth of projects.
Anyway, I grabbed what I needed, went to town, ignored the fact that I have a family and any other responsibilities or things to do, like plan and pack for a trip.

Love my cricut. Love even more that Boyd could fix it after I dropped it.

Fabulous Fabric and several hours later.

I didn't like that the letters were too dark to show up so...you guessed it. I went for round two.

We always do better the second time around. (Don't tell that to your first child though, not cool)
Then I couldn't possibly put a lonely banner up so I dug out the decs and and got festive.




and just so you know I am a total dummy, I WILL NOT buy king sized candy!

Heart on a sleeve.

They say you wear your heart on your sleeve and if you are Justin Bieber, that is true, trust me I know, since that is our Halloween costume request this year.(I draw a line at the haircut though)


But I would have to say, I am wearing my heart, in plain view, on my butt...and upper arms....a little in the legs and...well you get the general picture.

Why is it, that when things blow all out of control, that we turn and punish ourselves, by doing the one thing that we are 100% in control of, namely taking care of our physical health?

That being said, this picture is not a witches concoction, to zap all who hinder my happiness but a sweet young gal, helping to add to my growing heart exposure. Also know as Sub zero.




Oh and this is my therapist, who flies here every September to keep me company in my search for sugar. Love you Mum.


Have mercy on the weak.
All I can say is, ignore all previous posts where I tell you to de-clutter and get rid of clothes that are too big. I need pants.

Craftaholics Annonymous

Friends,
Today one of my favorite blogs to follow, is featuring me as a guest. Well actually, my crafty space. Go and check it out.
But I have to warn you, this may also become your favorite blog and turn your house into a mass of glued stringy things and beautiful pillows. I got the "How to" for these rosettes from "craftaholics anonymous"


Enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday

Public Transport

Having grown up in England, I love public transport. You can get anywhere you want in the country and the journey can begin within a few streets of your home.
For high school, I would jump on a public bus at the end of my street, which took me to the town center, where I would hop on a bus or train and head to all kinds of adventures in Oxford or London. From there you can catch a train to France and on to anywhere else in Europe. It is such a common thing that by aged 12 or so I was quite comfortable with timetables and the Tube (underground train) map. It is actually easier to get around this way than trying to navigate a car through the city, much of which is a no drive area now and then parking is a nightmare with nothing less than a months salary to pay for it. (exaggerated)
When I took Asha to England, she had quite a fascination with all the options, so we did them all. Train, Tube, double decker bus and of course the famous black taxi.

Why am I sharing such worthless info you say, wheres the up to date pics or the sunshiny, summer happenings of a Utah family? Well, the trax has been extended to Daybreak so we took the kids for a ride.

We hopped on at Day break, paid $12 for a ticket that covered all 4 of us for ALL DAY, trax, frontrunner or bus and headed up to Trolley square.
We hopped off, walked a couple of blocks to the English store, stocked up on good chocolate and when I stay stocked up, I mean, enough to last a month but we finished on the trip home. We walked a lap around whole foods. I had to get out quickly because I could feel my pit hair growing, so many "healthy" people in there and it might be me but why does everyone look so sickly?
Anywho, we walked back to the trax, hopped on and headed home.
The kids thought is was like Disneyland and are bugging us to go again, any day of the week.
I love that my kids will have freedom to head to some really cool places downtown without the stress of traffic and parking.

First Day of School

I used to dream of the day I would have time to myself, the kids would be all safely delivered to their various schools. I'd do all those unfinished projects, uninterrupted by someone with a lego shoved up their nose or actually clean up the house and have it stay that way until about 3:05. The reality of that day is nothing like I imagined it.

I find myself walking around all sad the day before and then when the morning whirlwind begins and I jump to the pre school business of drill sergeant ( HAIR? check, TEETH? check, do you have your books,your pencil case, tissues, lunch, duct tape, well you never know) all whilst making crepes and getting some pictures taken. Then we drive off in plenty of time, only to realize that, several hundred other people, will be driving the same street, for the same drop off time.
I deliver first, big boy to his very first day at a brand new junior high.

Then park, to walk in my baby, her request, to her very first day of a new school.

We head in to her classroom and find it still. In this school the kids all gather in the gym and line up. The teacher comes down to collect them.
So I have to leave her there with a hug, which was my request, knowing she doesn't know another sole, and this will be the hardest school year yet for her.

I try to keep it together as I walk back to my car.
My heart hurts.

Wordless Wednesday

The sidetracked home executive.

Do you ever find yourself heavily involved in a task, say working on your budget numbers, since your dog just cost you 320 unplanned dollars, then realize you have a huge pile of other bills and papers that need sorting?

Interruptions from hungry kids, annoying phone calls or before mentioned dog and a hour or so passes.
You need the loo and on walking into your room your greeted with this..

Oh yes that's right I was folding laundry before I got the sudden urge to check on a bill. So as I'm now taking the laundry back to the laundry room (for people to collect) where it will sit until they run out of something to wear, I almost trip on this....

because lets face it, putting the vacuum away obviously is not part of the instruction to vacuum up all the cereal you just spilled. So whilst collecting parts to put away, I notice something on the table,

can you see it? Must fertilize.

So here I am, much later, shoving the piles of papers across my desk, so I can finish my budget but "squirrel" the computer is so much more colorful and full of pretty pictures of other peoples pretty lives (have you discovered pinterest?)There goes my productivity. Does anyone else get easily sidetracked?