a little something...

i have been dying to share on my blog that i am PREGNANT!! i'm only about 8 weeks, but i am bursting with excitement. i have been sick, sick, sick...oh and then sick some more. ugh. i've pretty much turned into a useless lump on the couch. i have spurts of energy and can do some things, but for the most part, laying on the couch is all i can manage. pathetic, huh. i am not one to handle sitting around very well. i can't stand to have my house in dissaray. can't stand to have piles of laundry. can't stand to let someone else do the dishes. but, i have had to rely completely on my family. and they have been awesome!! noah pretends to be a doctor and takes care of me a lot. so sweet!
here's the little bundle all tucked up in my tummy. i had my first doctors appointment yesterday and through this ultrasound we saw the baby move around and the flutter of it's tiny heartbeat!!! i couldn't be more thankful, or feel more blessed!

mini album. semi finished.

here is a mini album i am currently working on that will include all pics (or most) from the fall season. i scanned these, and the scanner distorted some of the color, and cut some of the pages off a bit. i love mini albums. for me they totally work because i need to compartmentalize my photos. it's nice to have them in their own neat little homes. not all jumbled together. i am not AT ALL caught up with all my photos. not by a long shot. my philosophy is, do the ones you are inspired to do. either way your kids, and ancestors will appreciate anything you do.
these go in the order of the album (which i made out of chip board and large rings). starting with the cover:

the color got really distorted on this one. that is a bummer because it is such a brilliant orange pic. it also cut off the "e" from orange.

how lucky am i??

i feel like i post lots of pictures of noah, and that is mainly because he is home with me during the day. the two older kiddos, ben and kyle, are of course in school, or playing, or off somewhere. they aren't even teenagers yet and already i scarcely see them! ben turns 12 next month!! yikes! where did those years go?? 12 is a very important age for a boy in the latter day saint religion because he enters into young mens. i seriously cannot believe that time is pretty much here.

i love moments like these:

ben is so good about helping kyle with his homework, mainly math. he is much better than i am. but is warms my heart to see them working together (even if it is because i've asked him thousands of times!). we have started letting ben babysit noah for small bits of time, to get him ready for potential babysitting gigs. he is very patient and good with him, but is also still learning that a four year old is like the ocean...you DON'T turn your back on it!

yep...i am a lucky mommy indeed! :)

the perks of being married to a chef

oh so many perks! he is no ordinary "line" chef. no. he is an amazingly talented chef. an artist. i totally believe this and know it to be true. yes, i am biased. regardless...it's true! when we were dating he dazzled me with his brilliant skills, and continues to do so. i have been begging for his yummilicious egg rolls for quite some time. tonight, he appeased me. these were vegetarian. mostly cause i am a huge fan of tofu, and almost always have some in my fridge. so i thought i would post pics for you to drool over. they were most delicious!


step 1) chop desired ingredients and mix in a large bowl.


step 2) wrap in won ton wrappers, sealing the edges with an egg wash so they don't open while cooking. he also dusted them with corn starch. i'm not sure why.

step 3) either fry in a wok or they can be boiled (they healthier option) but healthy, smealthy!! i wanted mine fried baby!

step 5) keep said egg rolls warm while making delicious fried rice. mmmm......

step 6) plate your food to dazzle your whole family *wink*

step 7) devour and ENJOY!!! i didn't take a picture of this because i was too busy enjoying the fruits of his labor!! thank you stephan! :)

my word for 2008

one of the blogs i read is ali edwards. she is an amazing artist, and i look to her for a lot of inspiration. not only is she talented with scrapbooking, she shares her process and sources that inspire her. something she did last year, and has done again this year is chosen one word to inspire, uplift, etc. she can explain it much better than i can, so go here:
http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2008/01/the-words.html

i have given it a lot of thought and the word that keeps coming up for me is: be. i have a feeling this year is going to be big in our lives. lots of changes are on the horizon. the word "be" reminds me to be calm. be joyful. be in the moment. be thankful. be happy. be relaxed. be confident. be myself. just be.
expect to see some projects with that word in them. i already have journaling/scrapbook layouts dancing in my head!!

in the year 2008 i will BE!

what i do with my spare time..

i stay home. stay home with my four year old, noah. it's a great joy to be able to do this, and despite what some may think about stay-at-home mommies, we do not have a lot of spare time during the day. the spare moments i am able to steal here and there i have various things that i fill them with. these include:
napping
reading
scrapbooking
thinking about doing laundry
writing
making things for my store
making jewelry
here are a few of the pieces i have made in the past few days (all except the last use the beads my sis brought me back from china. all of these i will keep. can't bear the thought of parting with them and selling them.)

red coral bracelet


turquoise, silver and a beautiful brownish stone which i have no idea the name of.

black obsidian, blue czech glass and fresh water pearls

jade, fresh water pearl and a silver pendant which says, integrity.

if you want a really good laugh...

here are three (my top 3) favorite shows:
(arrested development is no longer on the air...but totally worth buying the dvd's!!!)

1) it's always sunny in philadelphia (as i said in a previous post, edgy and out there, but funny - oh so funny)

2) arrested development (sadly it is no longer on air, but available on dvd)

3) the office (most people are privvy to the hilarious nature of this show. i also love the bbc version, which i believe was the first one)

where art is made...

i would apologize in advance for the mess you are about to view...but the fact of the matter is, i like my mess. i am, in most other areas of my life, very o.c.d. about how organized and clean i am. but when it comes to my "studio" space, where all of my creative endeavors become real, i think the mess is simply honesty. it shows that my space is being used regularly, and for lots of things. i have grown to love it, really.

i thought i would post some pics of our new years eve adventure in estes park. we stayed at the holiday inn, and well, fell asleep at 10pm. but, the next day we visited the stanley hotel and saw a gorgeous heard of elk roaming about. i just loved being in the mountains, if only for a little while.

a list to start off the new year...

here are some things (in no particular order) that i am loving right now:

1. calling you by blue october (i CANNOT get enough of this song!!)
2. the twilight series by stephanie myer (so, i really didn't want to jump on the 'lds women who read and talk about these books like it's the only thing they've ever read' bandwagon - BUT, alas, i have. i love, love, no more than that...adore, these books!!)
3. the beads my sister brought me from china (see the pic below)
4. snow
5. warm and cuddly dogs
6. playing the Wii - A LOT!
7. diet coke (can't shake it, despite many vain efforts!)
8. listening to my ipod through my radio connection in the car
9. panteen restoratives shampoo and conditioner (they've done wonders to my poor, tortured, styled-to-death hair)
10. my new planner and making mini-collages in it.
11. art journaling
12. it's always sunny in philadelphia (thank you nichole for getting me hooked onto this hilarious, albeit a bit edgy, show. i can always count on you nic!!)
13. dreaming of paint and new decor for our new house
14. photography
15. my adorably quirky family!!!!!!


look at this stash!!!! i don't know what i did to deserve it! well, except for being an amazing sister. love ya nikki.

we had a really low-key birthday dinner for noah. he's FOUR now...i can't believe it.

noah and logan shaking their little money makers at pre-school, to who let the dogs out. awesome!