CA Girl

Yesterday was my sweet sixteen....wedding anniversary! We celebrated by going to the very Temple in which we were sealed. The San Diego Temple. We had dinner after, just the two of us. No kids. Imagine that. Special thanks to my mom and my sister for taking care of my kids and my extras! I met Rich at bar of all places! It was a Country Western bar. I was wanting to learn how to line dance. It was the perfect type of dance as it doesn't require a partner. Something I was not interested in at the time. A few guys asked me to dance who I promptly turned down. Who knows which guy Rich was, guy #4 or guy # 7 whatever. He asked me to dance and I said no. My friend said I had to dance with at least one guy before I left. Fine. So I did. And the rest was history. So what is it about him that has kept me for 16 years? Well I will tell you. When I met him, he was serving in the United States Coast Guard. He served 20 years and 9 months. He retired as a Chief. I love a m...

I am not one of those people who have a perfect house, that is always perfectly perfect. You know the kind I am talking about. You walk in the front door, and there is nothing, and I mean nothing lying around. Not a toy, not a shoe, nor a scrap of paper can be seen. Where did they hide it all? Are you like me, and get a sudden urge to go snooping in their closets or rooms that are closed off to the viewing public? I have been in houses, where there are in fact children and even the play room is not in udder chaos! How is this accomplished? I am not known for my housekeeping skills or my organizational skills! Rich would likely tell people that I am good at both. If anything, I am average at best. How I long to be orderly. There are so many methods out there designed to help people like me. One such method is designed by FLYLADY . I am follower and I get the emails, problem is, I don't apply the methods. What's worse is I start a pile here and a pile there and pre...

Twelve years ago at 5:43PM, I had my first child. A girl. She was a teeny thing. She was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long. Yep, she was long and skinny. She still is. She was never a fat baby with rolls of fat on her legs. No chubby arms or chipmunk cheeks. But she was the cutest baby I ever saw. She had the biggest eyes. And how curious those eyes were. She wanted to know what was going on all around her all the time. She was a colicky baby. I literally have little or no memory of the first 6 months of her life. I remember the day she laughed for the first time. Dec. 31, 1997. I was having a pity party that day. And whatever I did amused her and she laughed at it. My day was grand after that. Now 12 years later, she is full of life and energy. She sings and has a definite flare for drama. She loves all animals. Even the slithery ones. She has the gift of gab and a kind and gentle heart that she wears on her sleeve. I won't go on too much as I don't w...

I am not sure what the proper etiquette is here--heck I wasn't even sure how to SPELL etiquette!!! However, I won a giveaway. I was so excited. I already claimed my prizes! The giveaway came from Rachel Sue . And the prizes are from The Little Bowtique. They have some really cute stuff and for very reasonable prices. Check it out.

Kristin is closing in on her Faith in God award. In my church the boys and girls ages 8-12 set and achieve specific goals ranging from developing talents to serving others. Well tonight it was Kristin's turn to serve others. She volunteered to make treats for the boys who are moving from the children's program to the "young mens" program. They are the boys who are turning 12. She made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. She did about 75% of the work. She measured and mixed all the ingredients. She wanted help taking the cookie sheets out of the oven, so I did that. She is also a little funny about getting her hands gooey or icky so I scooped the cookie dough onto the sheets. She did a good job and I am pleased with her efforts. The cookies? Oh they are yummy! And here is the recipe should you want to try them. 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1/2 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1 egg 1 1/...

Chaos: ~noun~ a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order. My personal definition of chaos would be: eight girls(7 of which are 12) all under the same roof for a birthday party! I suppose I could end this post right here, but where would the fun be in that??? We decided when our eldest(the 12 year old) turned three that throwing a birthday party every year was no longer an option. We didn't get friend parties every year. We survived. Who made up that rule anyway! So we do the big ones. 5, 8, 10, 12, 16 etc. So the milestones. That being said, Kristin has known and made it known--to me--that she was having a party. Yes, I know child of mine. She originally wanted a slumber party, but she was naming way too many girls. I admire any woman who can host a slumber party with more than 5 kids! I say 5 because that is my personal limit--this means my daughters plus 3 friends. So we decided on a party with dinner. I came up with a few ga...

I am following on Emmy's coattails, and I am going to participate in this writing prompt from Mama's Losin' it! I have just now decided that, "Mama's Losin' It" will be my stolen...errr... borrowed... creed. I have had a crazy couple of days. Today was craziest of the two. I have been up for nearly 16 hours now, on about 5 hours of sleep. In those 16 hours I think I have spent a total of 4 non collective hours at home. So, without any further ado.... If you give a mom a moment...she might catch her breath. If she catches her breath, she might be able to think more clearly. If she can think more clearly, she might remember why she went into the garage in the first place. If she remembers that she was supposed to be getting the meat out of the freezer, she will also remember that the milk needed to be replaced. If she remembers the milk needs replacing she will remember that the cereal is low. If she remembers that the cereal is low she will remember...