Pet peeves from a reader

I love to read. I love the feel of a new book in my hands, the stacks of books around me that I may never get to but still insist on adding to, and the swirl of my download icon on my Kindle when I put something new on there. I don't always get as much time to read as I would like, but that doesn't stop my from plowing through as many books as I can sneak time in to do. (if you are a reader and you would like to peek at my opinions on books I have read go to Shelfari to do so).

Over the years however, I have developed a few strange pet peeves over books.

First-the DREAM sequence. You know the one, when you are reading along and suddenly there is a freaky scene happening with all these 'symbolic' meanings and events, and the character awakes with a new found understanding, or not. I hate these.

Why can't the author just write that angst/knowledge/fear etc. into the story? I always feel dreams are a cop out, with very few exceptions. I hate them. A book always drops down a notch or two in my eyes if there are dream sequences in them.


Second- I hate repetitive phrases. When I read The Work and The Glory (don't judge me people) I thought I would scream if I read one more woman "looking up at him through tear-filled eyes" or one more man "turning on his heel to leave". Remember the book The Memory Keeper's Daughter ? Loved the book- except for the 3 or 4 times she described the baby as having a 'starfish hand'. How creepy is that? Starfish are so weird when they slime across an aquarium tank....and she used that one several times. I don't know why these stick out for me, but they do. And I roll my every time I read a certain phrase of words repeated in a book.


Last, but most important of all, I hate stickers of any kind on a book. From the Oprah O ( which is now mostly printed on the book), to the sale sticker, even the price tag. When I buy a book the first thing I do is sit (usually in the car in the book store parking lot) and peel off any and all stickers. If they are super sticky I get a tad bit anxious until all the gummy goo and remnants are gone. Just me......I need a cover unmarked by any annoying stickers of any kind. Is that too much ask?

Am I the only person these things bother?

Random daily wrecks

We all have these moments......these moments of emotional meltdown when we realize we are weak. Some days we bounce back...other days we climb back in bed and let sleep help us forget... here are 3 random thoughts of life today, now that I made it out of bed to type them:

My sweet son who used to tease me, joke with me, and yes...sit by me and talk my ear off , has turned the teenage key. His answers are grunts. My suggestions followed by an eye rolling, or worse, nothing. Dropping him off for school today he didn't even acknowledge me the whole ride (well- it is a block, and he was holding a poster.. but still!). He will always be my baby. Do I have to rock him after he has fallen asleep? I know teenagers are supposed to hate their parents, but I somehow figured my diligent love and steady flow of parental attention would make my family rise above it. I was wrong, and it hurts.

The caffeine battle has been won...by caffeine. I quit buying Diet Coke. I started munching on extra snacks instead....I was so tired I would sleep..... I was hungry all the time.... I could not get enough sugar, I swear, and I had no energy...and my eyes..they hurt to hold open. I am tired of putting on weight, and my house has suffered. The kitchen- the laundry, all of it. I am considering Diet Coke once again as one of life's sweet mercies. I will try not to start it at 7:00 a.m., and I have vowed to drink more water, but for now, for the sake of my sanity and marriage and kids, I am back to the sipping of the soda.....

Also- don't stop by and visit me today if you just drank alot. My bathroom door hinge broke and I can't close it. It will be open for every bathroom break, shower, and bath. Old houses are so cool. (And my teenager is furious about it.)

Yep....I'm That Loved (and that cool)

So as Mother's Day rolls around I always look forward most to what sort of little hand made gift my kids will come home with. I have been given flowers, pot holders of woven yarn, photo holders and even a bracelet made of buttons...(anyone who knows me well knows this gift was a very traumatic experience...I still wear it once in a while, out of love).

The cards are the best..they prove how your kids really feel. Here's the first, from my sweet 4th grader.

....and in case that simply doesn't prove my awesomeness here you go.......

It says..."Roses are red, violets are blue, I love u more than kung fu"

Best Card Ever

Introspective.....

What in your life is calling you?
When all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned,
the lists laid aside,
and the wild iris blooms by itself
in the dark forest,
what still pulls on your soul?

In the silence between your heartbeats
hides a summons.
Do you hear it?
Name it , if you must,
or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?

~taken from the Terma Collective ~

Art Chix challenge of the week

Okay, so I'd like to say I call myself an artist, but the truth is I haven't sketched or painted anything in years. After blogging for awhile I started to discover blogs devoted to art and all things artistic, and it gave me hope. Maybe I'm not too old be creating frilly and silly things that make my heart race with satisfaction.

I am so happy to have finally finished another challenge by Helga at Art Chix. This challenge is to make an ATC or other small collage that somehow includes birds. Sunday afternoon was lazy with a drizzle of rain...no better time to make a mess cutting, gluing, and dreaming of artsy things. Here is my finished product.
The best thing about this little piece is I have an actual place for it...an old mirror with a little frame that has a hideous rose painted on it. I have wanted to put something cool in there forever (well, my husband might not think it is cool, but it's not like a monster truck would look any better!) so now this little collage has a home.

Sometimes it feels good to get back to the things that we once spent hours wasting time with before the world required us to be grown ups. For me, art does the trick.

Flashback Friday-My Oldest

As if my last post wasn't a flashback enough, I have been pondering how our children grow so strangely fast right before our eyes. Case in point: my oldest son. It honestly seems like yesterday he was a feisty little toddler, being sassy and independent and driving me to tears because I was sure I was failing him as a mother. Our last little jaunt to Moab reminded me how many times we went when he was little- with a lot of 4-Wheeling in my hubby's Bronco.

Please note the OH SO COOL Dr. Martins with the slouchy socks. Man, I rocked those boots! But enough about my shoes.... here I am with my oldest. I am pretty sure he was telling his father he WOULD NOT look at the camera and smile. But look.....see his little hand curled up in mine? See his little legs, his tiny little teeth in his rebellious smile? See? He is 2 years old or so here.
And then now.....

Fast Forward 12 years- he is almost 14, as tall as I am, swaggering home hours after school surrounded by boys looking for a snack and girls who won't even sip a drink. He got a new DSi and scrambled around the hills of Moab taking pictures of everything he saw. To my surprise he stood still for a quick shot of us without saying "No...that's stupid!" and the result was this little photo. I know....I am a baby, but it has already made me cry several times.

For those parents reading this I know you can sympathize with me on this one. For you non-parental readers, just nod your head and say "Why yes...that does sound completely traumatizing. YOu must feel like your life is slipping away. "
Thank you.

Random pieces of my past

I have always been obsessed with TV and pop culture, but only by my own choice. here are a few of the heartaches that propelled me through my youthful years and kept me striving for the high life.

I owned this lunchbox and loved the show just as much....
I remember pretending I was the Bionic Woman as I cleaned, jumped down the porch steps, and babysat. I would swish my hair behind one ear (even if it wasn't long enough) in a mannerism just like Lindsey Wagner's.
I even taped my top lip in a fold for a few nights hoping to get a little flaw like her scar. It didn't work.









Marie Osmond was also a dear obsession of mine. I remember her lips always being glossy shiny, and I just loved the way she laughed at Donny. So carefree and beautiful, her face always glowing and her smile so big. I tried to stretch my mouth and practice smiling, which of course never looked like Marie's. To this day I have issues with my small teeth and little mouth. I blame it on my young obsession with Marie. The fact that she was a Mormon just made me that much more like her. When we moved to Utah I prayed someone from the show would 'discover' me on the streets of Provo and ask me to be an ice skater (it didn't matter that I don't know how to ice skate) I just knew it COULD happen.....




I can never say enough about Ricky. Oh Ricky...sigh...heart beat...sigh. I loved him more than any tween has ever loved an idol of any sort. I dreamed about him. I sang to him, I wrote shows which included me as his love interest/guest star. I sketched his cute little face and freckles secretly. When he called himself "The Rickster" I melted. I loved him so. I will go as far as admitting my first dream about making out involved Ricky Shroeder. He unlocked the passions of my sad little pre-teen life..... when I heard he married a Mormon girl I was shocked to think "But the WRONG girl!!" My heart still skips a beat when I see him on TV, although I have never followed his acting career as an adult.

Somethings are better left as memories.

Ahhhhh. These memories make me smile.

It's a Win-Win (Win)

The lucky ducky winner of my necklace made with love is CB2 of the Egocentric Mediocrity blog. I was thinking he had a good chance, as he out numbered any one elses entries by about 8 to 1, and I was right, it paid off. So please e-mail me or send me a little message on Facebook with your mailing address so I can get the necklace to you. Yay! Winner!

Now I am a winner because I made it through actually 6 days of being in bed (that is a long time to be sick as a grown up) and recovered in time for this:

Why, yes! That is me on the edge of a random high cool cliff in Moab. Spring Break took us there and to Mesa Verde, for miles of hiking and exploring- with hours of recovery in the hot tub, of course. It was the kind of trip that reminds me the great wonders in life are free.





That is where the final WIN comes in. Like Pam on The Office reminds Michael, I am reminding you ...there are Win/Win/Win situations all around us.

Now go find a sunny spot and soak up a little bit of life's simple pleasure. Sunshine.
(Who knows when the next snow storm will hit.)

Oh my lucky Blog!

You see giveaways come and go on the lovely blogs you stalk. Occasionally you may actually win a little something. Just check out my loot of recent blog giveaways....


Yummy chocolate carefully packed home from FRANCE by Erin at If You Give a Mom Moment (great blog title, right?). Super artistic handmade vintage rose and snow dipped glove ornament from Lee at Weber's World art and life blog (frankly, her blog opened my mind to the possibility of letting blogs inspire me artistically) and the beautiful and yes, so cool, wooden necklace is from Jillene at Jillene's Journal. If you have looked around on my pictures you have noticed this lovely thing gracing my neck here and there with style.

Thanks to all the bloggy contests! I have entered many, and these few wins are enough to make a girl want to share the love. So, here is a little picture of a necklace hand beaded and designed by ME. Now, before you go thinking I am crafty please note I made this in a workshop type of setting where I spent more time trying to make the women at my table laugh at me then actually finish my jewelry. One teenager thought I was hilarious...the others, well, not so much.

BUT I am giving this away. (Not the rose, just the necklace in it's cool Golden Ration kind of way). Even if you think it is hideous let me remind you, Mother's Day is fastly approaching and your mom might love it! All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me something happy or nice. It can be about your day, it can be about your life, it can even be about me and my blog. (Shocking! I am fishing for niceness? I would never do that!) You have one week to leave your niceties, and you can leave as many seperate comments as you like. I will draw a name next Monday and post the winner.

By the way..... my spring shopping splurge ended up being a new dusty blue Down East T-shirt to layer under my brown shirt. Bleh. What is wrong with me?

I need to get out of bed

How do I know when I am really, truly, pitifully sick? When I don't even have the energy, or focus, to hold a book and read. When I actually feel better when I am crying. When nothing sounds good to eat (except for the blessed enchilada my sister brought me for lunch today, bless her soul!) and when even TV takes effort to manipulate.

I have laid in bed for 3 whole days now, and simply can not do it for one more. Ibuprofen and caffeine finally got me up late today, enough to get the kids dinner (first time all week) and start the dishwasher. I hate being sick.

Now tell me- which of the following is a valid reason to buy a great outfit for Easter Sunday?

A- I have been deathly ill all week
B- I have to speak in Sacrament Meeting on Easter
C- I have to do Sharing Time for the Primary on Easter
D- Every outfit I have is strangely Black or Brown (not very springy or festive)
E- Who needs a reason? Just go buy something...aka All of the above!

Thank you for all of your moral support. Now let's just hope I can find a minute to sneak away and miraculously find something cute within my budget. Shoes....a bonus!
Oh yeah....I also need to put together my talk.
And Sharing Time.
And kids Easter baskets.
And eggs for the family hunts.

Hmmmm. Maybe this wasn't the best week to get sick.

Flash Back Friday

Take 30 seconds and remember the hotness.....




Oh yeah.....you're welcome.

A few more pics.....

All pics are form the photo shoot we had with Carrie at DC Photo Booth and I wanted to just note a few more favorites...and why.

Carrie has a thing for feet and shoes, which is great because it gives me a reason to put on my favorite peep-toe pumps besides church. I love that my boys have these big old bulky shoes, and I am all alone in the feminine genre. I also love that you can see my youngest's little fists in his pockets, because seeing those little curled hands also tells me what his little face was doing at the time....smug, no doubt.

This pic is one that made the cut to her website, much to my son's excitement, but honestly, this kid has grown so fast...crap, I am getting all teary eyed just writing this...it seems like he was just a little toddler trying to manipulate me! Even if this had been the ONLY picture from the shoot I would have been satisfied. That is how much I love it.


Now, really, being honest, I was very disappointed in myself because I kind of look sleepy in all my pictures, but I have had to just get over it and deal. I had to include a family picture, we got a few very great ones, but the wall here was gorgeous and I love our little relaxed state of being. She definitely captured a snapshot of our lives. Looking at these pictures still brings me mucho happy feelings and contentment.

The best money I have spent in a long time.

Kitty Litter anyone?

Go ahead and dig in!










I don't get hugely into April Fools Day jokes (surprising, I know), but I do like making a silly treat every once in a while. Here are my younger two being good sports and enjoying it.....















Funny thing, though, my oldest son just didn't think it looked that appetizing! What do you think?