what happened to november?

Is today really the 28th? When did this happen? This whole year is zooming by.

Anyhoo I thought I'd pop in and at least have one post in November. Goodness. We've been busy, having fun, enjoying the last of the good weather...

I'll have to find the picture of Tates costume for Halloween. He was a race car driver. I made his costume from a cardboard box. He had a blast. But he's the only kid I think that made it up and down one street and declared "I think I have enough candy now Mom" It wasn't even that cold because we went out before the sun went down. It may be a good thing he didn't get loads of candy because we had bought loads thinking we'd have a ton of kids here. There weren't that many that came by but Tate had fun handing out candy and asking what the other kids were dressed up as. It was fun.

For Thanksgiving we had an 11 hour car ride up to WA to visit my parents. We were going to see my inlaws too but my hubby ended up getting some sort of bug that wouldn't let him get too far from a bathroom. Other than that it was a good visit and I'm really glad my kids enjoy riding in the car. It only gets hard when the sun goes down and they can't see anything.

Better get back to the madness that is today. I'll see if I can't find some time to find some pretty pictures later...

weird child

I have a strange kid. A kid that thinks you need to be leaving the house to wear pants. A kid that loves to play with anything resembling a vehicle. A kid that informed me the other day that when he gets big he wants to wear a dress. A kid that sings the alphabet while sitting on the toilet. A kid that will do almost anything for french toast or pancakes. A kid that asked me just a few minutes ago what held up our stairs. I have no idea where he comes up with these things. He's a nut. But he's a stinking cute nut.

I must be crazy

Really I must be. I have a gagillion projects and hobbies and then I go and decide I need another one. I've seen a ton of really cute really comfy looking knitted socks. I've decided I need some. Could I buy them? Probably. But I want to be able to say "I made these!" Yeah, I'm insane. So I got a teach yourself knitting book at jo-anns that also has a couple sizes of needles and other bits and some patterns. No sock patterns but some others that I may try. I have tried knitting in the past but haven't gotten along with it because I was doing something weird in how I purled so when I went to knit the purles no matter how loosely I did them they were horribly tight and almost impossible to get the needle in. In the past few days of practicing I figured out what I was doing wrong! I was so happy I was telling my hubby all about it. I'm sure he just keeps me around for entertainment value :) Anyway my dream of knitting socks is so close now! I even went and got some bamboo needles and some yarn. I'm hoping the yarn will work. I'll most definitly be checking gauge (something I've never really had to do before). I'm so excited it's not even funny. Blogger won't let me do pics right now. I'll see if I can later. I'm off to knit some more!

makin me feel better

I have 2 kitties. I relate to this. They really aren't too mean though. Especially this past week that I haven't felt good they've been helping me. Their idea of helping is laying on me and generally being velcro kitties.

an hour and forty five minutes

Thats how long I spent at the doctors office today. With 2 energetic boys. Oy. They were running slow plus had people like me that they just squeezed in. At least everyone in the office was nice. Good attitudes really make a difference. Anyhoo turns out I have strep throat. Not fun. I'm hoping my family doesn't get it. Then on top of having a really sore throat, I'm also dealing with cramps from Hell. If it's not one thing it's another.

moms aren't supposed to get sick

eeh. I've felt crappy for a few weeks now. It started out as just allergies then I'm sure I had a head cold and now the past two 3 days I've had a nasty flu bug or something. I wish I could just lay around and rest and get better but there are 2 little boys that make that very difficult. ugh. sorry for the pity party. I'm going to go have some soup now.

periwinkle, olive green and red orange. oh my

You Are Periwinkle

You're very intuitive and sensitive. You often know other people better than they know themselves. You're also quite optimistic, and you think well of yourself and others. You know your dreams will come true.

What Color Blue Are You?

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

You Are Red Orange

You are a very genuine person, although it takes a while for you to show the true you. A bit introverted, you desire respect and affection from those close to you. You are quite empathetic, and you have a true concern for the well being of others. Many people have warm, heartfelt memories of you - even if you don't remember them well.

What Color Red Are You?

Maybe I should do something productive? Let's see... go do laundry.... or see what color brain I have.....or what kind of pet I'd be...

I'm an apricot

You are Apricot

Soft and sweet, over time you let your provocative nature shine through. You are definitely unconventional, but you don't broadcast it. You offer people a fresh perspective on life - so fresh that it can be shocking!

What Color Orange Are You?

Provocative nature? Not so sure about that but this was fun anyway. :)

cool table

Technically this isn't done yet. I still have to screw the suitcase to the base and do something with the inside but it's sat this way for months and months so I figured I'd brag about it. I'd seen people make cool tables out of suitcases so I wanted to try one too. I've also wanted to try mosiacing. And then I also wanted to get in on making something out of paint chip samples so I decided to combine all of that together. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Mr. Clean

Tate came up to me today and started telling me that when the guy comes to our house he was going to help him. I asked what guy? He says the guy that has the scrubber and they clean things and throw to the other person.... all this is said with many hand motions and dancing around. Finally (it took quite a while actually ) I figure out that he saw a Mr Clean magic eraser commercial.
Now I want to know how I get Mr. Clean here to clean my house. That would be soooooooooooo nice.

Where did Summer go?

It goes by way to fast. I hadn't even really started to complain about being hot and now it's cooling down. We've had a good summer though. My stepdaughter was here for about 3 weeks. That was trying at times. But we got through it. Then my inlaws were here for a weekend. Now I'm just trying to get things back to normal. Whatever that is. Hopefully soon we'll be back in the swing of things.

m&m's and books

I was just sitting here at the computer eating a handful of m&m's when Tate comes over and informs me I'm eating them wrong. Apparently you have to have all the m's facing up. I had no idea. All my years of eating m&m's the wrong way must be what's wrong with me. ha ha ha.
Actually I do have a problem. I have a thing recently (since november when we moved in here) for gardening type books and for crafty books.

I have all sorts of grand plans in my head for a cool landscape. And then I go to the thrift store and find all sorts of books with pretty pictures and good ideas. I keep collecting them. I can't seem to stop. I don't really want to stop but I should because I really do have a ton of other things I've started. I used to be so good at doing one thing at a time. I couldn't start another project until I finished what I was working on. Not anymore. There aren't enough hours in the day for all I want to do.

I've always liked to make stuff but since we moved to our very own house it's like I have another excuse to make things. I like projects, I have about a million things started, and a ton of things I want to learn. If I live long enough to get all the things I have started done, and learn everything I want to I'll end up being about 270.

The Pond

Here is my pond in all its glory so far.

It's still a work in progress. I still need to decorate around the pond. And I need more plants. It's hard to find any now though because it's the end of the season. But being the end of the season I have scored some deals on what I got. And some things were free. We went to a landscaping place a few weeks ago and got two 5 gal buckets full of pea gravel to put in the bottom of the ponds. Because that's such a small amount they didn't even charge us anything. Then on sunday we went for a drive up logan canyon and picked up the flat rocks to put around the rim. I didn't put any on the front there because thats where Tate likes to sit. I'd been keeping my eyes open for a statue to put in the back. I wanted something with a little bit of height but I didn't have anything in mind for the subject. Then the night before last we went to the grocery store to get some milk. They had a end of season garden section set up near the door and I saw this little girl feeding 3 ducks. It was only 20 bucks and the ducks came too so I snagged it before I could talk myself out of it or someone else grabbed it. It looks like she's feeding the fish and the ducks now.

This has been a ton of fun to put together. Lots of work, but fun.

Who are these kids and why do they call me Mom?

My little boys can be so strange sometimes. Out of the clear blue today Tate says to me "mom, i like watermelon" It was funny because he doesn't like watermelon and we haven't had one or seen one in weeks. And when he wanted a purple elephant. I finally got him made and Tate named him zoo zoo. No idea where that came from. Now he wants a purple giraffe to go with the elephant. He wants to name the giraffe zoo zay. Oh boy does he ever keep me laughing.
Last night the boys were playing in their room. My hubby poked his head in just to see what was up. This is what he found.

Tate was so proud. He looks at dad and says "look, I made a slide out of my bed for me and dillon!" They had such a blast playing like that. This is one of Dillons favorite places.

He likes the puppys box. What a nut.
So I finally found the camera and the cord but the hubby changed the memory cards and some of the pictures I wanted to put up here are on it. I have no idea where he put it. I also have some pictures on my phone I want to see if I can get off but I'm not the technical one in the house.
I guess I'd better go make a giraffe and see what else I can get into today.

things and stuff

I hate when I'm at the thrift store, see something I like, talk myself out of it and then when I get home and it's too late to do anything about it I wish I had said item. I did this to myself about a week ago. I saw a really ugly, yet really comfortable, green chair. It was only 18 dollars. Why didn't I just get it? I don't know. But the next day when I went in, it was gone. Now I keep having dreams about it. I don't really need another chair, which is probably why I talked myself out of it. sigh
I finally got the pond up and running. We even put some goldfish in it. Now if I could only find where the camera and the cord has run off to..... I'm working on a couple of metal chairs now I found at a yard sale to put by the pond. When I got them they were a primer grey and had no seats. Now they're nice and shiny black. I have to get some plywood to make the seats but I went to jo-anns and got some fabric and some clear vinyl to cover them.
My 4 year old picked out some purple fabric while we were at jo-anns that he says he wants to make an elephant out of. He is such a nut. Now I need to find a little elephant pattern. This is why I don't get anything done. But I do have a couple of happy little boys. Someday he isn't going to want to play cars with me or things like that. Maybe I'll get all my chores done then.

House name

So when my sister was here we were chatting about our houses. She was saying how she was trying to think of a name for her house. Strangely enough I've been trying to think of a name for my house too since we moved in, in Nov. You know like Green Gables or something like that. I've even been trying to think of just a name like, Clyde. Unfortunatly all the good names have already been taken. Like the Shire for example. My house was built in 1906 so I'm thinking it needs a good old fashioned name. My sister and I are weird like that. We have houseplants with names too. She has a christmas cactus named simon. She gave me a piece off of it years ago to grow. I named it simonson. Yeah, we're strange.
Well, I didn't get my pond finished. I ran out of bark. So on the list of things of things to do is get more. Also on the list is find where the camera cord thing ran off to. Ah, too much to do and not enough time to do it and I'm sitting here playing on the computer. Better get at it.

hot day....

We had a good time yesterday. My sister drove up from Salt Lake City and hung out for the day. Her hubby went with his brother on a fishing/camping trip so she was alone. It was fun. We hung out and chatted and ate a ton of steak. Then when it got dark we lit some fireworks. Mostly little things that Tate would like. This year he wasn't even afraid of them, we got him to hold a sparkler even. He had a blast. I should have tried to take some pictures but it wasn't until later that I even thought of it. Isn't that the way it goes.
When talking to my sis, I was telling her what I'd like to do with the house and the yard and things. The only problem is that we really don't have much money. My sis was saying the same thing as they just bought a new house. Then we were lamenting the fact that we don't have any reletives with any money and we would have to win the lottery to get any. The problem with that is there isn't a lottery here in Utah. sigh...
Today was really hot. I just about melted. I did get a little work on the pond done and got a sunburn in the process. Maybe tomorrow I'll get all the bark done and some water in the pond!

Happy 4th!!!

Happy Birthday America! What a wonderful place to live. I sincerely try to never take it for granted that I live here.
I've been slowly puttering around the wonderful blogs that took part in the Pikes Peak Project. It makes me wish I could visit everywhere!
Well, just thought I'd pop in. I'm off for some playing outside, bbq steaks later, fireworks, visiting with family and enjoying every second of living in a free country!

From sea to shining sea: Utah

What makes Utah great. I've been thinking about this since I volunteered to write about it. I guess there are tons of things especially if you enjoy being outside.
If you like to hike there are mountains galore. I'm here in cache valley. In just a short drive I can be up in the mountains. Its funny how with trees around you it seems as though civilization is miles and miles away. It seems like there are campsites around every corner.













Or if you like to be on the water it's also just a short drive to Bear Lake. You can swim, rent jet skies, play on a boat... and they have really good raspberry shakes. And ice cream. And hamburgers. Boy is that making me hungry!
There is also a place up Logan Canyon you can park, walk up a ways and then tube down the river. This is something I have yet to do but for some of the locals here it's a summer tradition.
You can also find many places to go rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding, miniature golf, shopping and various other fun things to do. I also shouldn't forget that in the winter skiing is a big past time.










And talk about just pretty scenery. Just going for a drive and looking at the views is amazing. It surprises me just how many different landscapes are in this one state. There are mountains, flat farm land, cities, lakes... it almost seems as though there is something for everyone.
There is also tons of history here. There are places close to Moab where you can see petrogliphs. Also close to Moab is the Arches National Park. This is a truly amazing place to visit.






And in Vernal there are dinosaur exhibits galore. And of course there is the history of the Mormon pioneers that traveled and settled here.

Wow. When I started this I thought I'd have a hard time. There really are a million and one things that are great about Utah. There are so many more things I didn't babble about. I can't believe how lucky I am to live here. And to live in America. Writing this post has really helped me to see that. I am very grateful to Firefly for this idea. I'm so glad I was puttering around and found her blog when I did. Hopefully my meager ramblings can help. I can't wait to see everyone elses corner of this great land. Now go:
north
west east
south

Where does the time go?

Seriously, the days are getting shorter or something. My youngest turned 1 yesterday. How did that happen? We had a good day. Nothing too exciting just hung around the house. And then of course we ended it with a mess of chocolate cake. Dillon had a blast. I'll have to get some pictures up.
This last weekend we went camping up in couer d' alene for a family reunion. It was a long drive but fun. Except for the part where we ran out of gas. The hubby was sure we could make it but we didn't. 8 or 9 miles away from town the truck decided it was done. Luckily we didn't have to sit very long. And now I can say I told you so because I had said we should stop for gas.
Well I should go do the laundry. That's one of my least favorite chores. Actually the putting in the washer and dryer isn't so bad, it's the folding. I HATE folding clothes. I would rather clean the toilet. And I suppose I should just be grateful that I don't have to wash my clothes by hand. When someone invents an automatic folder I will be first in line.
Ok enough ramblings for now.

Busy

I have been kinda busy. I made this chair cushion a few weeks ago. The chair was found at D.I. and the cushion on it was gross. Besides being gross it wasn't even meant for this chair. It was for lawn furniture. We lived with it for quite a while but it was in need of a change. So I got some fabric and made a newspaper pattern and went to town. Amazingly enough it turned out better than what was in my head.

This table was a little unfinished wood table that I got a michaels for 5 bucks. I also bought a pack of scrapbook paper at the same time. I took it all home and assembled the table. Then I painted it black. While that dried I found a paper I wanted to use that had dragons on. I cut out the bits I wanted to use and mod podged them on. After that was all done the table still looked like it needed something so I painted around the top and on the legs a pink that matched the paper. The pictures don't really do it justice.




















I'm also pretty sore from moving around blocks for my pond. We got a load of bark mulch to fill around the pond forms yesterday too. I need to get some pictures taken of my progress so far. It's going to look goooood! (if i do say so myself)

Bleh Monday

And it is a monday. My little baby boy is sick and his big brother is driving me crazy and I won't even get out of the house for belly dance class tonight because my hubby has to work late. Aarg. Not to mention we need to go grocery shopping but I don't want to take sick boy out but we don't have any milk....
ok. now that I've vented some...
We did have a pretty good weekend. Nice weather for some yard sales. We didn't really find any big treasures but we got a few new story books for Tate. And then later on Sat the boys went fishing. Didn't catch anything but they had fun.
well, here's hoping this day gets better!

Rainy day

Today is rainy. I guess my plans for puttering outside just got canceled. That's ok I suppose. I finished a fleece blankie yesterday just for me so today can be spent snuggled under that with a cup of hot chocolate.
Yesterday was spent sewing a fleece blanket kit from Jo-anns. As I was sewing it I was wondering why with the warm weather was I making a blanket in the first place. One reason was because I'd had the kit for quite a while and I'm trying to finish projects I already have before getting new ones. And maybe I knew today I would need a nice snugglie blankie.
Maybe later I'll get some pictures up. About a week ago I sewed a new cushion for a glider rocking chair I've had for a while. I should show off some of the things I've done. But right now hot chocolate is calling me.

Treasure

I didn't get to any yard sales this weekend but I did find these bowls at the D.I. They are definitely handmade but I like them because they're slightly wonky. They aren't perfectly round and they aren't even the same height. I thought they would be perfect cereal or ice cream bowls. And for 1.00 for both of them I couldn't resist. They're almost so ugly they're cute.

And in other news I'm rather sore from hauling a ton of retaining wall blocks to go around my pond. For mothers day I received a preformed pond so now I get to put it all together. I'm excited for it. I've wanted a pond for a long time. I'll get pictures of it up as it comes together hopefully. My plan is to make myself a little secret garden by the side of the house. That's my project of the moment, I'd better get back to it!

First post!

Well, I finally hopped onto the blog bandwagon. I don't know why really except it looks like so much fun to post pictures and babble about things. I see so many other pretty blogs and think to myself...
self? I bet I could do that.
So, here will be my attempt at that. I don't know really why I'm even trying to explain why I'm doing it. I tried to explain something to my hubby the other day and it ended up with him calling me whimsical. He says I get whims and just jump into things sometimes. I don't really think it's a bad thing and he didn't mean it in a bad way. I kinda like it.
So there ya go. The name of my blog pretty much sums things up.