wheeler farm..the experience of a lifetime..

last week i was able to go with olivia and her first grade class, on a field trip to this local farm--Wheeler Farm. first, let me say, that i've lived in the salt lake valley for most of my life--well, at least half of it. and while i had heard of Wheeler Farm, I'd never been. But really, lets face it; if you know me, then you know that i dont like bugs, dirt or stinky animals. period. so i've never had any interest in going to this place. But now that i'm older (gasp!), i think that i'm now actually able to appreciate nature, and find beauty in all things--whether or not they are stinky. Anyways, I was pretty excited to go, since usually its Art that goes on the field trips.. I couldnt wait, and neither could olivia.

So, lets fast forward to me getting to the school: its a little chilly, kinda overcast, but not too bad. I grab my sweater, just in case. I mean, we'd been experiencing pretty nice weather in the mid 70's. I thought I was thinking ahead. Anyways, I get inside, and Olivia sees me. The first thing out of her mouth is "mom, we have to wear tennis shoes, you know, we're going to a farm." Um, yeah I know where we are going. But like I said, its been warm, so I was wearing my flip flops--duh. We get to the farm, after an excruiatingly long and LOUD ride on the bus. Seriously?? who the hell crams 60 1st graders on one damn bus? I was ready to push out the emergency window and throw myself into the traffic on I-80 at that point.

Anywho.. we get there. Its a little windy--not too bad. The teacher casually mentions something about rain, but I'm not really listening or caring. The clouds arent THAT dark. We walk around for about 10-15 minutes, when all of a sudden--and I do mean sudden, there is a torrential downpour. I'm talking ginormous rain drops. Everywhere. We run for cover to the nearest place with a roof--the chicken coop. Yup. Me and 20 first graders with 3 class moms whom, by the way, dont speak English. Luckily the teacher had brought some garbage bags that we used to turn into make shift rain coats for the kids. Then we just stand there. Us, and chickens. This lasted for about 15mins before we made a run to the big barn--where the other classes had been. So yeah, we stayed there for the better part of the field trip..we didnt get to see many animals at all--but it was still fun. Even though my feet were covered in dried up dirt/mud, my hair was frizzed beyond belief. Olivia was right about the tennis shoes. Who knew?

some of the best news ever..

so i havent posted much about my mom lately--mostly because I've just been super worried about her. yes, she was in remission. actually, she still is. but they wanted her to go through radiation. on her brain. and i about freaked. radiation is serious. not that chemo isnt. because it is. but radiation? yeah. i didnt take it well. so shes been going everyday for about 2 weeks now..and while i can tell that it is taking its toll on her, she has been a trooper, always being upbeat and positive. but still, i could tell that she was scared, and that really scared me. anyways, she got the best news yesterday..this friday will be her last day of radiation, instead of having to continue for the next 2 weeks! i'm so happy that she is responding to the treatment so well. it was such a relief!

so that is my good news for the week--hell maybe even the year.
xoxo

it was a pretty day..

and also the perfect day to meet up with chastity and her friend mark. me and chas started talking a few months back at sistv, and a friendship formed. only problem was she lived in tennessee! but, lucky for me she has lots of friends here, so she came to visit this last week. it was so fun to finally meet her and to do some scrap shopping. and we really couldnt have planned it better, since it was national scrapbook day on saturday, so we got lots of stuff on sale! i even tried something new--chipotle! it was pretty good, but i can't say that i'd replace it with cafe rio, they will always be my fave.
and sadly, even though i did pick up a few things while shopping, i STILL havent scrapped in months. i need more time!! seriously. just last week i got a promotion at one of my jobs, so hopefully once the girls are out of school, i'll be able to quit the other job--which means lots more time! i can't wait! i sooo need a vacay. and i miss scrapping.
xoxo

its been about a month..

so i figured i'd better update! ha.

i was just blog hopping as i usually do, when i came across this clip from cz's blog that got me thinking..


Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.

i wish i could write like that. like, when i read postsecret on sundays, i think to myself, gosh, these people can write. and its not like a novel--just the simplest, most powerful words. i wish i could do that.

reading these inspire me. to be better, to live longer, healthier, happier. sounds corny i know, but i've really been trying to take stock of my life and figure out just what i'm wanting out of it--and of course how to get there. i want to know how to live my life and feel like i've not wasted one second of it. to fully enjoy every bit that is handed to me, and to live with no regrets.. maybe i'm just feeling all introspective because i havent had much time to myself lately. i swear all i do is work and sleep.
maya begs me everyday to not go into work. it kills me to leave the girls. but i have to. at least thats what i think--but then i get to work and i wonder, is this really more important than spending time with my family? i hate being a grown up and having to decide between supporting my family and being there for my family.

anyways, maya has been sick the last few days so i took the morning off work to spoil her a bit. she's now wrapped up like a mummy in her bed watching spongebob and eating toast. she didnt have a fever this morning and i'm sure i couldve taken her in to work with me anyways, but to be honest, i was looking forward to a little snuggle time with her myself.
xoxo

busy busy busy

wish i had something more exciting to share! but i've been so busy with work..and work that there hasn't been much time for anything else. this pic was taken about 2 weeks ago when we took the girls to see the disney princesses on ice. it was so fun! i actually enjoyed it as much as the girls did--and the cotton candy didnt hurt :)

hope all is well with everyone in blogland!

xoxo

so i remember, not so long ago, when i truly wished that i was busy. that i actually would have a reason to get up and get dressed. someplace to be. and now, i can honestly say, that i wish that i didnt have anywhere to be, or any reason to get up out of bed. about a month or so ago i took on a second job--so i'm rarely home besides the weekends. i'm so TIRED. but mostly, i miss having time to do things that i want to do. i'm never satisfied i tell ya!

so..i've had plenty to update about, just havent had the time. and i know that i was tagged by joce a little while back, so hopefully i can get to that this weekend. i really miss having the time to even comment on blogs! but i'm going to really try to get back in my groove :)

happy friday!

i've got a plan

so i actually scrapped. the first time in a couple of weeks! this was a 'get real' challenge, where we had to just scrap something real. and well, this topic has been on my mind for a while . it was super inspired by post secret.it was fun to join in on the challenges over at sis--i've really missed the connection with my friends. and i love having a reason or topic or something. i can always rise to the occassion when there is a time limit imposed lol.

xoxo

saved by the bell

so, i didnt have to do jury duty! phew! i was so worried when i heard my number on that little recording. but luckily, right after my number was mentioned, the nice lady recording said i didnt have to come in! saaaaweeeet. totally made me feel so much better.

friday i went out and played poker for the very first time. and can i just tell you..when i told these boys that i'd never played before irl--they SO did not look too happy lol. but i think i did pretty well and held my own! i was proud of me. i wasnt the first one knocked out, so that was rad. GO ME!

saturday was what i was looking forward to most. the crop with the mommy group at this local burger joint. its so fun going and just laughing and eating a burger and just creating. but i have to admit, there was this one lady, that totally got my panties all up in a bunch. i dont know what i ever did to her, but she really seems to go out of her way to make me feel unwelcome. i hate feeling like an outsider. and i'm always sure to be on my best behavior so as not to come off wrong to people who don't know me. but this lady, she just wants me to feel like the outsider i think. i hate feeling like that. but..i didnt let her keep me from scrappin! here is one of the pages i did that night:





so now i'm sitting here all warm and snug in my house while its almost like a blizzard outside. it was so warm this weekend (like in the 40's)..and then it started to get windy so you totally knew a storm was coming. anyways..thats whats going on in my neck of the woods!!
xoxo

my civic duty

i always wondered how people got chosen for jury duty--is it off voter registrations, i'd wonder? or maybe its off driver's licenses. who knows. but whatever it is, they got my number. i've been calling every night after 5pm (as instructed by the postcard), and so far so good. but i think my number is up. they are really darn close to calling me in, and i'm nervous as heck. i've only been to the courthouse once before. i HATE undergound parking. i always seem to forget where i parked..yeah. i'm that girl that loses her car in the parking garage. anyways, i'm crossing my fingers that i dont have to go, not just because i dont know what to expect. (even though thats a big reason) but also because that means that art would have to take the day off to take care of the girls. such a PITA. seriously.

in other news, i've been sick the last 2 weeks or so. at first it was like a cold and now its not so much..but i get these waves of dizzyness that just plain suck.i'm so over this cough too. blech.

so because i've not been feeling well, i've not been feeling like scrapping. but guess what i signed up for? something that i've just been wishing and wishing someone would do so that i could learn how to use PSE. i mean, i've only had it for 2 years lol! Adrienne Looman is offering this artistic edge class..i was so excited! i ran right over to etsy..and guess what? it sold out. yeah. just my luck. but luckily she saw how popular this is, and offered more classes! yippeee! I so can't wait. Sure i can maneuver around PSE, and i can do digi stuff. but i really have no clue how to use it to edit/enhance my photos. so now, my job is take lots of photos before the class so i have some stuff to work with. so psyched!

so thats it from me.

xoxo

oh and p.s.

please cross your fingers that if i do have to go in tomorrow for jury duty that i dont lose my car. thanks :)

she KICKED cancer's ass

my mom. she is amazing. i know i dont tell her that enough. but its true. she is.

just 9 months ago she found out she had cancer. at first glance because of where it was located, they told her it was ovarian. but after surgery and biopsies..we found out it was 4th stage lung cancer. i was so terrified. but she was brave. she said she was going to kick its ass. she's been having non stop chemo since may (when i was there to visit her)..and now she is done.

last week she had a PET scan (and some other tests i think) to see how the mass in her lung was looking. her doctor called her and told her everything looked NORMAL. she told me that-- and its unbelievable. i mean, i've been trying to get myself to believe that she even HAD cancer. now to hear that she has actually survived..has beaten it. crazy. good crazy.

she goes in this week to get re-staged and to talk about whats next. she is so excited. and i'm nothing short of proud. to say that i've been pessimistic during all of this is an understatement. i'm a realist. i know that people can't just be cured. but i believed in her. i knew that she wouldn't give in. or give up.

so, that was the big news over my weekend. nothing could top that.
happy monday :D
xoxo

the best LAUGH ever.

if you need a laugh..you must watch this. me and art just sat here laughing uncontrollably <---see i can't even spell i was laughing so hard there were tears.



xoxo

got bored..

so the other day i was a little bored, and realized it had been awhile since i'd taken any self portraits. so kelly prompted me to take some; especially since i got my haircut about a month ago. yep. i'm sportin bangs. i think in the course of my 29 years on this planet, i've tried them quite a few times. but you see, me and bangs just dont get along. i dont know if its because they have attitude and just wont sit the way they are supposed to, or if its that i can't quite get used to them being semi in my eyes..and all over my forehead. so anyways, the bangs in these pics are brushed to the side, which is about as 'bangy' as i get. i like it because i look a little different, but not too different, kwim? change is fun sometimes. and now i really see the resemblance between olivia and i. funny it took bangs to see it!

and today, i recieved my very first studio calico kit. man. its pretty. and i really am in love with those collage press papers. seriously. i've played around a bit with some other lines, but i really love this grayson hall stuff. so..i have some pics printed, a new kit, and hopefully i'll actually make something out of the two!

xoxo

looking back..

i feel like over the last year, so much has changed. my girls have grown from toddlers into young ladies. i've stopped taking this hobby so seriously, and have tried to let myself start enjoying the creative process again. in doing that, i have found myself stepping back from mb's, not submitting for calls or DT's. and i feel okay with that. sure some days i feel disconnected with the friends i'd made online--but overall i feel good. heres to another year of growth!!
xoxo

i actually got it up in time!

i know, hard to believe for those that know me, because i procrastinate so much. but yes, the tree was up in time for christmas. i actually got it up with 2 days to spare lol. i have to admit that putting up the tree is one of my least favorite things to do (ranks right up there with taking it down)..but once we do get it up and decorated, its just beautiful. and i could sit there for hours and just look at it. which i usually do, becauase i'm a dork like that. :P

christmas was a blur, as always it came too fast, spent too much, ate too much and didnt sleep nearly enough. i swear, i went to work this morning as a zombie! and i even had the luxury (not!) of taking the girls with me, who were surprisingly well behaved. i am really blessed to have an employer that understands the life of a working mom! every friday maya gets to go with me into the office for a few hours while i get stuff done. but since both girls are out of school for xmas break they had to come in with me today, which is fine as long as they stay quiet or i can't concentrate. plus i dont like them to bother other people, otherwise they may not be as welcome next time, kwim?

so now i'm home for the afternoon and i can't decide if i should nap or eat some of the goodies leftover from xmas. i'm thinking nap..but the girls keep asking me to open up more of their presents so they can play with them. i have boxes everywhere..and those damn little grey twisty things. you know the dumb things they put on the EVERY toy ever made to keep it from shifting in the box. i hate those. they suck. but today i was feeling generous (ha!), so i opened 2 toys for the girls. here are some pics of the girls opening some gifts xmas morning::


maya got a new gameboy for xmas as they had been
sharing my old one...so they both also got gameboy games

the 'big' gift was this little 'city' for their LPS toys

olivia writing in her new journal that grammy lisa
sent. the girls and i cried as i read the letters that
she wrote to each of them. we missed her a lot this year.

and here is art with his new electric razor thingy.
gotta love that million dollar smile!



and i guess that about sums up the last couple of days! now i'm hoping for some relaxing time..and then maybe i'll feel like cleaning up my desk and getting to work on some projects
for crop addict!

hello december..

seriously, can we just rewind back to october? this year has just gone by terribly fast. especially the last 13 days. today i'm no longer the mama to a little girl and young lady. today, i'm the mama to 2 young ladies. yes. maya is 5 today! i can't believe it. something about her just always made me think that she would always be my baby. and i know she will be..but i dont know if i'm ready for her to grow up just yet. i could definitely settle for a slow down. so today she is having a cupcake party in her her pre-k class, while i tend to olivia having head lice. grr. but now thats all taken care of :)

after i pickup maya, we are coming home so that olivia can make her a special birthday card, then its off to toys R us. maya has been anxiously awaiting this day so that she can pick out a toy. then i think we might have a fun birthday lunch. we dont typically celebrate big on the actual birthday, since it usually lands during the week. so sunday will be the party day. lots of stuff to do today, fun stuff thankfully.

last night i made a few christmas cards..and i might actually get them sent out before xmas! here are a few::

7 years ago, yesterday

i said i do. and i meant it.

my boyfriend became my husband, my lover, my confidant, my best friend, the man i would have children with.

i wont say we havent had ups and downs. lots of downs actually. but i hope that most of the turbulent times are behind us. we deserve some good happy times. 7 years is a long time...and i hope we have 5x more ahead of us. he is a great daddy. and a fantastic husband (most of the time lol).

i have been blessed.

holiday trees

can you believe the boutique is here?! geez, this week just flew by!

here are two of the four 'holiday trees' i have made for the boutique..the blue one measures about 12inches high and the red one measures about 18inches. the other two that i have are also of the red/green color combo..and they are also 12inches. they were super fun to make, but seriously time consuming at first! but now i think i've got the hang of it! whats funny is i've been calling them topiaries, and no one knows what i'm talking about, and appearantly these arent really topiaries anyways :P so i have christened them 'holiday trees'. to get the supplies for the trees you can just head on over to out on a limb :D

anyways, there will also be lots of cards and picture frames as well, but i havent had time to take any pictures, so you definitely need to come check them out tonight!!

xoxo

been gettin crafty..

for this! its been in the planning stages with some other local moms for the last month or so..and me, being the procrastinator i am, just barely got most of my stuff done today :D but so far so good. even had carolyn come over to help with a few things. so, if you're local, i'm hoping you'll be there!! there will be tons of stuff, plus you can grab a burger at hires! whats better than that? i will have almost all the cards that are on my etsy, plus quite a few christmas cards, and home decor items like picture frames, a mirror or two, and some topiaries.



in other news, we are in the process of buying a house, so thats super fun. NOT! it is super stressful though. but i'm really excited to have our own home again. and we just got a new car last month, and i love it. its so nice to not have to rely on carolyn to drag my butt everywhere lol. plus i think the last time i enjoyed this much was when i first got my license lol. the girls love the new car too..they are constantly asking if we can go somewhere fun..so last weekend we took a trip up Big Cottonwood. Too bad we missed the fall colors :( but it was fun to just spend an afternoon outdoors. the girls even got to play in some snow. i havent had a chance to edit them yet..but here are a few pics::

so hope eveyone is having a wonderful veterans day weekend..and i'm hoping to post some pics of the projects i've been working on for the boutique in the next couple of days :)
ciao!

i'm a cherry girl!!!

i met kate and lindsay about a month or so ago at the local scrapbook expo. i can't even explain how excited i was to find a lss that actually carried hambly, bam pop and love elsie. seriously. and then to see that they actually had *new* product at the expo was just icing on the cake. for reals. i so can't wait to get started!!

come check them out!

out on a limb scrapbooking

today

the girls got to dress up in their costumes for school. :) olivia is a witch, and maya is a bride. then after maya was done with school she came with me to work for a halloween potluck..and can i just say..sometimes other people's food just doesnt live up to your own expectations. :P

but the desserts were good :)

after olivia finished school we headed to the park and looked at ginormous leaves..climbed the monkey bars and rode a horse. not a real horse though..just a little bouncy one. it was nice. and cool. and just..nice.