I am so Excited!

I just can't hide it!

I am about to lose control and I think I like it!

I am off to hopefully

•  attend one full class on campus - be and BYU and going to class do mix well.
  
• eat a mint brownie
• find one of those pink frosted cookies at the gas station
• eat soup out of a bread bowl
• get a shake that you can only get in utah where there is more coming out of the cup than is in it
• walk through a craft store
• laugh all night long

• 
  

getting ready!

So here is a looky loo into one of my suitcases- and yes it is full of ribbon - totally full! This is one of the door prizes for the Blog Party on Saturday night and I am flying all the way there to be there. Can't wait.  Do you have a chance to win this 100 yards of ribbon? have you R.S.V.P yet?

Super Saturday.

Why was my Saturday Super? well because I went out for a run and found out that it was a neighborhood garage sale day in my neighborhood. I only went 4 miles but hit 18 garage sales! Another two of my worlds collide - running and garage sales - this is the perfect combination! Woo hoo. It was so fun. One lady who I had met at a garage sale last September, whom I have not seen since, said to me, did you run the marathon? I was thrilled to tell her yes. She invited me in her home and I got a bit of fresh air before I went out for more running and shopping.
I didn't have any money with me and the $10 bike and tennis rackets were gone when I went back with money and a car, but the girl selling ALL of her Littlest Pet shop gear sold us all almost everything she had. This whole jar of guys (about 70) for $15.00. The kids are in heaven!

telephones, Cell Phones, and Second Hand Chat

Thank You Mrs. Spade for writing one of my favorite books I have checked out this year. I need to return it this week to the library and thought I would do my cell phone post that has been in my head for two years. I can't believe I am doing this the week before reuniting with friends and meeting so many of you in Utah this week - i think if I was smart I would wait till next week but here it goes.

Here is #31 off my 100 list.

#31 I have serious cell phone issues and don't like using them. My average minutes used per month is 50. I would lose a lot of friends if I told you how I really feel.

Cell phones drive me CRAZY! there I said it. Just the other day I was talking to a girlfriend face to face and her cell phone rang and she picked it up and started talking to the person on the phone right while I was talking to her. I thought "when did this become OK"
I rarely ever used my phone while driving - but that is because I have a hard time concentrating on the road at the same time. I am always bugged when someone is on the phone while I am in the car and thus why Kate's comment on Second Hand chat was so welcomed by me.
anytime I almost get hit by a car the person is on their cell phone.
Before anyone jumps down my back - for safety and convenience yes they are great but they still drive me crazy. I am amazed at how much kids use cell phones and I for one do not believe that is "just the new way kids communicate" Many of the kids that use cell phones a ton are because they see their parents on them all the time - (I said many not all)
So there you have it, my real feelings about cell phones.

I would LOVE to know what you think!
How many minutes do you use a month?
Do you just love to be on the phone?
Have you ever asked someone to get off a phone or quiet down while talking?

Here is Kate Spade's chapter on Cell Phones.

When you call - Most calls should be placed between 8 am and 10 pm on weekdays: 10 am - 10 pm on Saturdays and noon to 10 pm on Sundays

Call Waiting - Unless you are expecting a call, let the second call go into voice mail. If however, you decide to answer a call, it should be done only to inform caller #2 that you will return the call. If you are in the middle of a serious conversation don't pick up call waiting.

Returning calls - Personal Call should be returned the same day or within twenty four hours. (this is my biggest weakness. I am HORRIBLE about returning calls, I just checked my messages on Sunday night from last Wednesday! I am amazed most of my family and friends still talk to me)

Cell phone do's.....

• for economy and convenience
• when you are on the go and need to confirm or change appointments, reservations, film schedules
• keep the conversation friendly
• when you enter a restaurant, a shop or a museum, set your phone on vibrate; better still if it is not essential, turn it off
• children and babysitters - being reachable is a worthy use of a cell phone
• for an emergency - this goes without saying

and DONT'S.....

• Don't use a cell phone as a panacea for boredom
• don't use a cell phone to talk in public about personal or professional problems, financial woes or health worries
• don't swear or conduct an argument on a cell phone in public. Nothing excuses bad behavior
• don't assume it's okay to speak loudly because you think what you are saying is impressive to those around you. Keep your voice low at all times.
• don't assume it's okay to speak at length while on a train or airplane.
  

Second Hand Chat

secondhand chat is right up there with secondhand smoke. By the time you've finished looking in a boutique chances are that if someone is on a cell phone, you'll wind up knowing her shoe size, what she's shopping for and her budget. You'll probably even know the name of her date. This is selfish and boring. Please, don't blow smoke in our face or talk in our ear.

"I have a like/dislike relationship with my cell phone. The ease and freedom it gives are great, but like a lot of people, I'm not used to being "connected" so frequently. When people use cell phones in public, such as on the street, while shopping, or in a doctor's office, I wish they would use more discretion and be considerate of others around them. " Kate Spade

I would LOVE to know what you think!
How many minutes do you use a month?
Do you just love to be on the phone?
Have you ever asked someone to get off a phone or quiet down while talking?

Some serious blog Catchup!

cute photo of Caroline I took a few days ago

thanks again Denise for the Ketchup bottle, I had no idea how many times I would need it. Here is my attempt to do a little catch up for my weeks worth of all the ideas and events in my head.
Caroline loves the days she goes to school. I snapped a photo of her waiting to get picked up in the morning with her backpack.I finally took a photo of Sally Jane with her build a bear. I can not believe they had a yellow one. She loves this guy!
one night this week we ate grapes for dinner and this is her grape face

this is her stop taking pictures of me face

with the weather being so warm, much of the girls afternoons have been searching for worms and making potions out of leaves and such they find on the ground. Caroline has a special recipe she says on how to make it.
She serves the soup up on bark and tops it with a special yellow flower. They are always sitting on our front porch and are free so feel free to take one - the bark soup not my kids.

Caroline has got in her head she needs to go for a run everyday. So now she packs up a stroller and then runs in the circle in front of our house. hmmm maybe I do have a good influence on my kids after all!

Silly Sally!

I have no idea how I think I am going to shave one second off my marathon time if I continue to eat this everyday for lunch. My favorite sandwich. White Rainbow bread, sliced bananas, the new peanut butter that has honey in it, grape jelly and salt and vinegar chips smashed inside. oh my it is so good!
some of the worms from outside have moved into the mini Polly pocket homes. They seem a bit homesick, as each morning one of them is dead.
The news lately has all this information about Americans hording food and that there is going to be a food shortage. It is interesting. Our church has encouraged our members to have a years supply of food for at least 30 years (anyone know when The LDS church started encouraging it's members to do that) We have been slowing working on accumulating food to have in case of an emergency for us or our neighbors. I have asked for a wheat grinder for mother's day and am hoping for a Bosch mixer too sometime soon. One of my pace projects this year to slowly increase our food storage. This photo is one of my trips to the commissary a few weeks ago. I had two full grocery carts. $400 worth that lasted us about 3 1/2 weeks as well as the cans and supplies added to our storage. not too bad I think - but then again I am the WORST grocery shopper.

note* I met a blogger in the commissary who stopped me the other day. Elaine I am so glad you said something it was nice to meet you. She lives in the area, our husbands work at the same place and we go to the same church(different building). I have had 4 people now who I didn't know read my blog recognize me in town, it always makes me embarassed at the time but then am so glad they said something.
Girls camp accumulation is well under way. this was some stuff I bought the other day along with some groceries and two new goodwill purchases. Sometime I feel like such a consumer!
one of the goodwill purchases was this $5.00 popcorn popper. My kids were going nuts. Annie Kate even asked after I poured in the kernels "So what are we making" she had no idea that this was popcorn. Oh my what have I done to my child. They loved watching it pop and it reminded me of being a kid watching home movies while eating popcorn.
Jeff officially told me he thinks these shoes make me look like a Ninja and to get rid of them. He has maybe told me this about two other items of clothing I have had. He is always right with almost everything (darn) so I said goodbye to my troll-ninja like shoes.
Caroline learned about Noah's Ark in church on Sunday. She goes to a Presbyterian preschool and was so excited to bring this picture to show her teachers. "my teacher loves these kind of stories mom" So she slept with it under her pillow until Tuesday morning so it would be safe. Hearing her retell the story from what she learned in class was so hilarious. She has a great memory and told every detail down to the "white bird finding the leaf and then God sent a rainbow!"
Here is my SPT for the week. I am sorry to say that the only new green thing about me this year than last year is my green rain coat that I wear all the time. I have had a desire to start a compost pile in my backyard and do some plastic recycling.

Running

the weather is putting in me in such a better mood! Yea this is my secret path were I practice crossing the finish line. I was so happy to see it greening up.

the tulips are growing everywhere along the path.

and just taking a second to look up in the sky made the best picture

the pink blossoms in front of the church are lovely

i had never noticed this house on my runs and the cool bridge they get to cross to get into their house.

I love these peeling trees by the lake on my route.

This street haunts me. it is not even that big of a hill but I can not seem to run up it. I have done it once but Jeff was in front of me pushing me to go. Gatestone I will conquer you this summer!
sometimes I feel like the only person in my neighborhood that does not have a nanny or a maid. These cars are everywhere in my neighborhood and some days wish it would magically stop at my house.
Last winter I splurged on a now updated baby jogger shade. Best money ever spent. today was the first day it really made a difference. It now goes down and completely blocks the sun and not more soupies coming along to hang down in front and then getting lost on the road. It can also detach and cover the front all the way. If you own a baby jogger check on their site and see if they have one for yours. I love that stroller.

Cooking

On Sunday I made homeade rolls - new recipe and used some of the dough to make cinnamon rolls. oh my! heaven. Some of them turned into towers when the were rising. i made a maple icing and they were yummy!

Girls Camp

Saturday we had a leadership training for Girls camp where we learned to make Lasgna in the dutch oven.it was yummy, but also good to get going with camp and meet some of the ward leaders. Oh my i have so much to do and am starting to freak out a bit!

Kennedy Center

The field trip to the Kennedy Center was really great. I am not a big fan of riding on the buses with all the kids, but Annie Kate really wanted me to go.

we sat in the back and I heard the boys behind me tell all the same jokes that we told when we were kids. Annie Kate was a snuggler with me and slept most of the way there on my lap and slept again on the way home.

she didn't want me to take many photos but agreed to this one of us.

The Kennedy Center is one place our family had not been yet.

They had a great music through time show for the kids and the last song was from Harry Potter and the kids went nuts.

Their bathrooms win cleanest in the city by far. They even had the rotating plastic to keep everyone's bum sanitary!

I am amazed at the field trips Annie Kate has been on and will get to take in the next two years here. They still have two more awesome ones before the end of they year, but at $17.00 a pop it gets so pricey. Is everyone else paying that much for field trips? when I was a kid they were like $2.00

And last but not least my thank you note to Lilly Pulitzer.
Thank you Lilly for selling your darling dresses at Costco for $19.00...

even though you have the exact same ones at Nordstrom right now for $70.because if you had not I would have never gotten these cute photos of my girls in them!

This is Caroline growling it me asking me "why are we in the rain taking photos?"

yep they were much happier once we went inside and had some yummy juice!

Super Sister Power!!!

Ok so how did I do am I all caught up? Just need to get my goodmail together and then I think I am good for the past week at least. Need to do Spring break and Sally Jane's birthday!

• do you want to make the rolls, here is the recipe
• did they have Lilly dresses at your Costco?
• do you think my elf-ninja shoes are that ugly?
• have your kids seen popcorn been made at your home?
• do you smash chips in your sandwich?