Fickle Dancer

Here's a video of Reese and her boyfriend!

And, uh, pay no attention to that chipmunk behind the camara. Weird! No idea who that was.

Huzzah, huzzah.

I can't believe that January is almost over- Huzzah! (I've been re-reading Walk Two Moons this morning) And now we are almost to the greatest month of the entire year- February!!!

There are so many reasons that February is the best and my most favorite month. My birthday is one of the obvious ones, celebrating the end of the dullest month of the year is another, but also, for as long as I can remember- before boyfriends and husbands and such- the sight of red and pink and white has filled me with joy! There are plenty of girls who like to wallow in self pity on this fun-filled season ('single's awareness day', blah, blah, blah) but the reality is that there's just something about an entire holiday dedicated not only to love, but paper doilies that somehow feeds the soul. Love it. Embrace it. Take a walk down the holiday aisle of the local grocery store- it's sure to lift your spirits.

So, over the last few weeks I've been snapping some pretty cute pictures of Miss Reese, and am ashamed to have slacked in putting them up for adoring grandparents, aunts and uncles, and any others who appreciate quirky yet endearing character. Enjoy!

Ryan's cousin got married a few weeks ago and before she knew it, Reese was dancing the night away with the cutest little boy. Sometimes she liked it, and sometimes not, but whenever she decided she'd had enough of him shaking her all over the dance floor she would just plop down on the floor.

Poor kid didn't get the hint- he'd just try to heft her to her feet again. :) So much for subtlety.

Sometimes, its just great.

Today I was chatting with a few of my friends over lunch about how many kids we all wanted and how, oddly enough (wink wink), the numbers before and after having any were drastically different.

"I wanted ten. . .now I'm thinking more like five" one said.

I followed it up with,
"Yea, Ry and I are thinking four. But, somedays. . . just one."

Today was one of the latter. Reese is getting a cold and the incessant whining coupled with mood swings more suited to a thirteen-year-old have been wearing me down to a somewhat pathetic frazzle.

But, inevitably, on one of these sorts of days, she'll do something really cute that makes me forget all previous infractions. Example?
'Helping' me unload the dishwasher, sneezing all over the just-washed silverware, then looking up at me with this oblivious smile that says, "I just love helping you Mom."

Maybe a few more isn't such a bad idea, especially if they're as cute as this one.

How hard can it be?

I think I remember hearing once that the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results every time.

Hmm.

Today I bought two packages of bulbs: Tulips and Daffodils. This seems normal, but I have an unusual problem in that I seem to have an ominously black thumb yet I can't help buying new plants, only to kill them off one by one.

There was the domestic potted garden I planted the spring before Reese was born. I just got sick of watering, and let them die. Tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, basil. And that was the beginning of a horrible chain of deaths-

Herbert wasn't really my fault - some kind of tiny bug took over and did him in.

Last January's Amaryllis (I might have forgotten to water that one too),

Plants for my birthday,

Mother's Day flowers,

And now our new banana tree that looked so pretty and green is looking a little. . .splotchy.

But I'm determined to turn over a new leaf (no pun intended there) and do something I've never done before: NOT kill my new plants.
I'm feeling good about this one. It's all about positive attitude, a hopeful spirit, and well, you know... the actual watering part.

Ahh. There's just something about a new year and the clean slate that comes with it.

Feel the Burn!

So a few friends from the ward and I have recently started an exercising group. Following the masses we've decided that January means weight loss, finding more energy, and being healthier. Last week we kicked it with Mr. Supercool Washboard Abs (whose real name somehow escapes me), and did "Hip Hop Abs". The one pregnant woman of the group left us in the dust with her serious skills, but it was actually quite fun, and I'd highly recommend it. We laughed so much that even though it took me a while to really 'hit it' (ahem, lingo) I still got a killer workout.


This morning was "The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max". Yet another great workout- Hello Lunges!! Which of course meant more laughter. At one point I tried to do the jumping lunges- you know, stepping it up a notch, and my friend who was behind me later told me that she thought about doing it too, but she figured she'd probably look like I did and decided it wasn't worth the collapse. :) Ahh, the joys of workout videos! Honestly, I have to say that I love them. They are inevitably full of a wide range of quirky instructors, weird music that's trying to pass itself off as cool, and I'd-never-do-this-in-public-but-somehow-in-the-privacy-of-my-own-home-its-ok attitudes.


Thank you Richard Simons, Jane Fonda, and the entire crew of Mousercise for starting the whole delightful ball rolling!

Nuts, Nuts, Get 'em!

There's a far side I saw a long time ago with a group of chipmunks huddled football-style together on a tree branch chanting, "Nuts, nuts, get 'em!" The title was something like, "How chipmunks psyche themselves up in the morning."

I entered the chipmunk zone today. That's what Ryan likes to call it anyway. It's the 'laying up in store' fever that's been hitting lately. I honestly can't tell you what it is, accredit it to too much Utah if you will, but I'm getting the biggest kick out of getting a respectable food storage, finding healthy alternatives to regular, store-bought food, and learning how to make things that I would normally buy because:

1-) They are ever-so-much healthier, no yucky bad for you additives and

2-) They're cheaper too, and who doesn't love saving money? ("Who doesn't love the zoo?!" Points to the person that can name that trivia)

So after a trip to the health food store (their bulk section is my new favorite place), and a quick but thorough showing-off of my purchases and savings to my ever-supportive yet snickering husband I made granola, and homemade instant oatmeal packets. I'm such a nerd, but it was fun, and I suppose I'm secretly proud that my family eats mangos n' cream oatmeal while the rest of the unfortunate world has to settle for plain old peaches.

Here's the recipe for the granola if you're interested to try it. So very yummy!

6 c. rolled grain- oats, wheat, etc.

1/2 c. wheat germ

1/2 -1 c. bran

2 T. vanilla

1-2 T. almond flavoring

1/4 c. each sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and sesame seeds

1 c. chopped almonds

1/2 c. coconut

1/2 c. canola oil

1 c. water

1/2 c. honey (you can add a little bit more for more sweetness)

1 c. raisins, golden raisins and/or other dried fruit (craisins, apricots, blueberries, etc.)

Mix grains, nuts, and coconut in large bowl. Mix oil, water, and honey separately and pour over grain mixture. Stir to coat evenly. Pour onto two well-greased cookie sheets and bake in oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Stir, rotate pans (move top pan to bottom, and vica versa), and bake another 10 minutes. Add raisins and flavoring, stir well, and bake another 5-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in jars or ziplock bags- this recipe freezes well. Serve with milk or yogurt and fresh fruit.

Enter the Artist!

For Christmas Ry got me this watercolor set, and the last few days I've been working on it. Seeing as how the last real art class I took was back in 6th grade with Mrs. Bittner, it was a little difficult. Especially since I seem to have almost no patience for actually LEARNING how to do it, it was all I could do to get myself to read the instruction book before picking up a brush and having at it. And of course there was frustration-- each of my grunts were followed by Ry saying, "I'll show you a few things about perspective next time." Or something like that. :) He knows all too well my impatience and "I don't need to learn, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it if I'm just really determined and MAKE it work." attitude. This is what I took inspiration from. :) Notre Dame.

All that being said, I have to say that this, my first painting, is coming out very well. I haven't finished yet, but I just keep looking at it on my little eisel (sp?) and sighing with utter satisfaction. Look what I did! Yay! I'm so proud!

drum roll please. . .

I'm worse than a kindergartener- "Look Mom, look what I drew!!"

That is all. I hope that you are aesthetically pleased, each and every one of you.

Ahh. . .January.

I thought I'd write an Ode to January, a difficult task seeing as it is definitely my least favorite month. Isn't it funny how all the snow and chilly weather that was a must-have for the Christmas season is suddenly unbearable once the clock strikes twelve on New Years Eve? Darker days combined with that never-ending list of New Years Resolutions ( I have recently heard them deemed "aspirations" and I like that much better) can feel ever so heavy.

As I was thinking about this yesterday (definitely a dull, blah day for me) I happened upon this excerpt from The Phantom Tollbooth. Anyone remember that one from elementary school? Anyway, with the constant flutter of snow coming down lately and the less-than-cheery overcastness of it all I think we can all relate to Milo's visit to the Doldrums. So even though the sun has begun to shine this morning and I'm feeling much more alive and ambitious, I decided to make this little snippet my Ode to January, the Doldrumiest month of them all! Happy Reading!



"Well, if you can't laugh or think, what can you do?" asked Milo.
"Anything as long as it's nothing, and everything as long as it isn't anything," explained another. "There's lots to do; we have a very busy schedule-
"At 8 o'clock we get up, and then we spend
"From 8 to 9 daydreaming.
"From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap.
"From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay.
"From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap.
"From ll:00 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch.
"From l:00 to 2:00 we linger and loiter.
"From 2:00 to 2:30 we take our early afternoon nap.
"From 2:30 to 3:30 we put off for tomorrow what we could have done today.
"From 3:30 to 4:00 we take our early late afternoon nap.
"From 4:00 to 5:00 we loaf and lounge until dinner.
"From 6:00 to 7:00 we dillydally.
"From 7:00 to 8:00 we take our early evening nap, and then for an hour before we go to bed at 9:00 we waste time.
"As you can see, that leaves almost no time for brooding, lagging, plodding, or procrastinating, and if we stopped to think or laugh, we'd never get nothing done."
"You mean you'd never get anything done," corrected Milo.
"We don't want to get anything done," snapped another angrily; "we want to get nothing done."
"You see," continued another in a more conciliatory tone, "it's really quite strenuous doing nothing all day, so once a week we take a holiday and go nowhere, which was just where we were going when you came along. Would you care to join us?"
"I might as well," thought Milo; "that's where I seem to be going anyway."

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster