Super Girl Party

For my 4 year old's birthday party, we had a "Super Girl" or "Super Hero" theme. She had her little friends dress up as Super Heros, some just wearing a cape, or a pretty sparkly dress. We had masks for each child, pizza and super juice. I found some Super Hero fruit snacks at Walgreens, used some glow sticks and a Super Suckers from the dollar store for their goody bags.

The mini-cupcakes came from my mother-in-laws' co-worker. They were easy and very yummy. I found the mini cupcake tin at Walmart. After making the cupcakes, use cool whip and cream cheese flavored pudding mix. I used a frosting tube which I also found at Walmart and the smallest tip. Insert the tip into the top and just put a small amount of mix into the cupcake. Then frost the top. Very easy and yummy!!!

My Bucket List

1. Train and complete a tri-athlon.
2. See the countryside of Austria, Switzerland and Italy from a the window of a train.
3. Climb to the top of Mt. Timpanogas
4. Run a 1/2 and full marathon.
5. Learn how to swim and dive into a pool.
6. Take fabulous pictures of my kids.
7. Become more organized.
8. Take a sewing class.
9. Take a cooking/baking class.
10. Become a fabulous cook and enjoy my time in the kitchen.
11. See the fall leaves of Eastern USA with my family.
12. Rent a home on a Hawaiian beach and stay for extended period of time.
13. Start a charity for less fortunate children.
14. Change someone's life for the better.
15. Raise my children to be the best they can be.

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

JUMP-Glee music video

Look at this fun family!!!

How to know...

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE READY TO HAVE CHILDREN

MESS TEST
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick
behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST
Obtain a 55-gallon box of LEGOs (or you may substitute roofing
tacks). Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a
blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream
because this would wake a child at night.

GROCERY STORE TEST
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them
with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for
anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net
bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend
from the ceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to
insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while
pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on
the floor.

NIGHT TEST
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12
pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00 p.m. begin
to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 p.m. Lay down your bag
and set your alarm for 10:00 p.m. Get up, pick up your bag, and
sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more
and sing these too until 4:00 a. m. Set alarm for 5:00 a.m. Get
up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

INGENUITY TEST
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint,
turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn
it into an attractive Christmas candle. Use only scotch tape and
a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a Ping-Pong ball, and
an empty box of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel
Tower.

AUTOMOBILE TEST
Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream
cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a
dime. Stick it into the cassette player. Take a family size
package of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat.
Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There, perfect.

PHYSICAL TEST (Women)
Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your
clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10 of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (Men)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask
the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store.
Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be
directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home
and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how
they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet
training and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can
improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their
children to run wild. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last
time you will have all the answers.

Iron_Chin.mov

This is my sister-in-law's brother. He tried out for America's Got Talent.

picture of the week...

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Peanut Butter Cup Cake
1 devil’s food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing – I used 2 bags)
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter
• Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper.
• In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.
• Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 for about 30 min. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool cakes completely.
• Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.
• Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.
• Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set. Remove and serve.

One of the Worst The Price Is Right Players Ever

Crystal Bowersox & Lee DeWyze Duet Top 4 American Idol 2010

MOM ARRIVING WITH CAKE

Dancing boy in the red shirt

Totally made my day :)

Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor
gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
blank.. Just before class ended, one student asked if
The last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor. 'In your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had
broken down and she d esperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s'.. The man
took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a
knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A
special note was attached..

It read:
'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway
the other night. The rain drenched not only my
clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
husband's bedside just before he passed away.. God
bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
others.'

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,
a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the
waitress was growing impatient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins .

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice
cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress
came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.


4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been.. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacl e presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness.. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would
be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath an d saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will
save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his
face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.

Funeral Talk

My brother recently died, and I talked at his funeral. Here is the talk I gave:

We as a family have been so blessed this week. We may not be perfect, but we have felt a much closer bond during this hard time. I am grateful for this past week I’ve had to spend time with my family at my parents’ home. Another blessing I’ve seen is how my little brother,
Carey was and is loved by so many. Carey was everyone’s best friend and made friends easily. Carey had the biggest and best bear hugs around. He had a very fun, loving and contagious spirit about him. He always had a smile or a compliment for those he came in contact with. My mom was just saying last night how she’ll miss it when he would call her up and say, “hello, beautiful”.
These are some comments from various friends and loved ones about Carey:
• He was such a kind hearted person,
• I will always remember him watching out for me. He always protected me. He always had so much love and compassion for everyone around him. I was blessed to have him in my life.
• He was one of the funniest kids I knew, always had a smile on his face, I’m just glad I had the opportunity to be his friend. Carey, will be missed. He was one of the nicest kids I know. I always loved his genuine smile.
• I love you Carey! You’re the best friend anybody could ever ask for! I will miss you so much! You’re such a good person everybody you have ever met knows that.
• Carey, you touched people lives like no one ever could have done.
• He was certainly one of a kind. I will miss you with all my heart, care bear.
• I just hope God has a bike up there for you so you can cruise the long highways and never have an empty road to ride. You will be greatly missed and hope that one day we can ride the roads together and blaze our own trails
• And these are only a few of the comments made about Carey.

Russell M. Nelson said this: “In speaking at a funeral of a loved one, the Prophet Joseph Smith offered this admonition: “When we lose a near and dear friend, upon whom we have set our hearts, it should be a caution unto us. … Our affections should be placed upon God and His work, more intensely than upon our fellow beings.” Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. Prior to our birth, we dwelled as spirit children with our Father in Heaven. There we eagerly anticipated the possibility of coming to earth and obtaining a physical body. Knowingly we wanted the risks of mortality, which would allow the exercise of agency and accountability. “This life [was to become] a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God.” But we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven.”

Our Savior, Jesus Christ said it best: “Be not afraid, only believe” as he told Jairus, a man who came to the Christ as his daughter was dying. Another example of Christ’s compassion was when sisters, Mary and Martha lost their brother, Lazurus. Their friends and neighbors tried to comfort them but failed. Their sorrow was so great that upon seeing them Christ was filled with compassion and wept with them. We can perhaps imagine how Martha felt when the Savior told her, “Thy brother shall rise again”. Her response reflected a certain understanding of the plan of salvation: “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day”. The Lord’s answer to Martha reassured her: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die”.

The Savior also gave these comforting words of heavenly companions: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”
We may also ask ourselves: Do I believe Jesus’ words about immortality and eternal life? Do I believe in a happy reunion with my loved ones who have passed away? To the extent that we allow these truths to permeate our lives, we will also respond with great faith and a fortified testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Prior to His ascension from the Holy Land, the Savior pronounced a unique blessing: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.

I know Carey had a lot of trials in this lifetime. I know he is at peace now, and I pray for those that are struggling at this time that you can turn to the Savior and find the peace you are searching for. Our Savior is there and will comfort you in time of need.

dark and quiet theater

I really need to go to a movie. And not just any movie, a real tear-jerker movie. And I really need to go by myself. I want to sit in a dark, quiet, empty, theater with no one I know and watch a movie all by myself. I've decided I'm going to do that in the next couple of days. My friend, Kara, does that a lot. She loves to go to the movie theater by herself and I never understood why until I had my own kids. I am just finishing the book, "My Sister's Keeper" and I am going to go see it on the big screen. I've already been told that it doesn't follow the book, but it is still good. I always try and read books before the movies come out, just for that reason, unless it's the Harry Potter series, and that in itself is one big jumbled up mess to me, anyway. Sometimes, it's just nice to get away and have some time for yourself. I also had some nice time by myself on Monday while I went and got the tires rotated and balanced and the oil changed on my car. Oh, and I made a quick stop to use my birthday gift card for a pedicure. It was fabulous to go by myself, leave the kids at home with my sister and just have my alone time. Fabulous. Sometimes that's all we need is a little regrouping and time alone. Ok, very random thoughts from me. :)

Book of Mormon Chart

"May we all be faithful in doing the day to day ordinary things that prove our worthiness, for they will lead us to and qualify us for great things."
--James E. Faust, "Some Great Thing", Ensign, Nov. 2001, 46

I've been a huge slacker when it comes to reading my scriptures. I decided last night, that I needed to show a little more faith and so I am going to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I went online and did a search for a reading chart and found this great site: www.bookofmormonchart.com. I added my start and finish date and it calculated how many verses I needed to read daily. And then, it lets me read them online and keeps a tally on my progress. LOVE IT!!!

5 days of ups and downs!

Yesterday I finished up my last day of the Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet. I heard many times that it wouldn't be easy and that was the truth. Physically, mentally and emotionally you are drained, yet changed. I can now see how people can become emotionally connected to food. And I also have a testimony of how important eating fruits and vegetables and right foods is to our bodies. I crave those good foods and I think not eating for 5 days has really showed me how important I need to treat my body better. I can say I am glad I did it.

3rd day is the hardest day....

which I agree with. Today has been a rough day. I don't have much energy in the morning to work out and I've been grumpy today. Michelle is also doing this with me and she has been a fabulous support today. We met up at Sunflower Market to get more lemons and syrup. She was very positive, which I need. My husband has also been a great support for me and has juiced the lemons for me every morning. I realized that the one good thing about this crazy adventure... I don't have to make dinner for my family, now! I'm down three pounds. Let's hope tomorrow is a better day... I think once I get through the weekend, then I'll start feeling better about the whole thing.

2nd Day

I'm on my second day and I'm not hungry. I did dream about food this morning, though. And my husband ate a bag of popcorn last night while we watched American Idol, which was torture. But, overall I'm doing ok. I have had a headache since yesterday and I'm not sure if that is from not having any real food since yesterday or from being in the sun too long yesterday. Anyway, I'm feeling ok, but hopefully, I'll feel much better tomorrow. I didn't get to go out and excersice today, which I was bummed about, but I know that my energy will return and that I won't need to be near a toilet as much. I did the salt cleanse today and that really threw my body for a loop. I really don't like that part at all! Well, off to the store, where I can hopefully get my mind off food.

Lemonade Diet Day 1

Day 1

Started the Master Cleanser Lemonade Diet today. This will be interesting.... can't wait to see how the day goes.

Happy Life

I found this on another blog and I loved the meaning behind it.