Really, It's Christmas Tonight!

So my sister sent me a present along with some material. It said, "don't open til Christmas" and I hounded her about it everyday! So, finally, tonight she gave in. Here's my super cute new purse. It's totally retro - it even smells like the salvation army! Hooray!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Tonight, for family night, we decided to put up our christmas tree. Well, we couldn't find our decorations in the storage closet, so we'll do that later. Here's a fun video of us putting it together and then the finished product. Enjoy! (We sure did!)

Church is Dangerous! ;)

Ok, so church isn't dangerous - really. But, man, we had some mishaps. So, a couple weeks ago I was walking across the gym. It was just after sacrament meeting and because it was the primary program, there were overflow chairs set up in there. I was walking across to get to sunday school and didn't notice the rack that the chairs go on. You know the ones that go under the stage? Anyway, I tripped over it and cut the top of my foot and it got all swollen and bruised. Here's a picture from about a week after the incident. It hurt much worse than it looks! So, this Sunday, Eva was being strange on the benches. Not unusual. Well, she sorta fell forward and hit the top of her eye on the bench. Ouch! She was purple instantly. This isn't a great picture but it's hard to get her eye closed enough to see the purple.
I am thinking about taking a first aid kit in my church bag - or at least a "feel-better-bear."

7 Random Things

So my friend, Karen (whose blog link is on my blog), tagged me. Thus I have to tell you seven random things about me. I left my camera at her house yesterday during Thanksgiving dinner - so I probably have to do this so she doesn't hold my camera for ransom.

"There may be a difficulty...You'll be limited to number..." ONLY SEVEN?

1. I have recently rediscovered Tea Tree Oil. I have had this canker on the tip of my tongue for like a week. You know how you never notice your tongue until it hurts? Well, let me tell you what the tip of your tongue does: it cleans around your teeth when you eat, it moves the food around your mouth, it licks your dry lips (especially when you live in the high desert), and it helps you spit more accurately - like when you brush your teeth. So, finally on Wednesday when the prospect of not enjoying our Thanksgiving Feast and five pies was a real threat, I sent DH out for Tea Tree Oil. I remembered that my mom had some when I was in High School and it worked great on cankers - but I hadn't used it since. Well, the one ounce, $6 bottle was worth every penny. By Thursday morning, the canker was mostly healed but more importantly, it didn't hurt. Oh, man, I LOVE Thanksgiving food!

2. I love to shop for fabric. It's rediculous because I have no time to sew. And I already have too many projects I want to do. But I love the possibility that some soft and inexpensive fabric has in store. Did I ever mention that I bought some beautiful satin fabric for a "Emma"-style dress - and all the notions that it needs? Only problem - it's so beautiful that I don't dare cut it. My body rebels against the "normal" shape of dress patterns and I'd hate to waste it.
Along those same lines - I love to look at beautiful paper and imagine it's possibilities - but I never buy that - I can't justify it as someting useful - like I can with fabric.

3. I like to play games - but I really LOVE to win. Sometimes I'm a total party-pooper if I'm losing too much. Once, DH and I had to ban speed solitare from our house because we'd get too mad at eachother. You know, the adrenaline rush from trying to think and move fast at the same time and then - you are positive that you put YOUR card down FIRST! Anyway, we decided we loved eachother more than that game. We haven't played in like 7 years. So, I like games I'm good at. If I have a possibility of winning, I'll play. If I get stomped every time I attempt - I'm apt to protest that particular game. Sorry Honey:)

4. I love to shop with my sister. It doesn't really matter what we are shopping for or if we buy anything. We always have so much fun. We don't usually spend a ton of time at one place (except maybe JoAnn;), but we have a good time making fun of ugly things and commenting on cute things, and when one of us is done, we go home. I don't think I'm much of a shopper - probably because I rarely buy anything that costs more than $5- but I'll shop with her anyday.

5. I'm kinda shy. I know my family would always laugh at me when I would say this, but it's true. I have been here in Santa Fe for about 3 1/2 months and the friends I have are those that have been brave enough to introduce themselves to me. I am so grateful for Karen because she just does what she wants. She invites new people over for dinner all the time and even forced the Bishop to meet us:) Anyway, I think because I'm not comfortable or confident in my current position, I'm shy. Give me some time and I'll probably be comfortable and confident again.

6. I really dislike pants. I like to wear pants, but it is rare that I find a pair that fits me well. I probably find one pair every few years. I love skirts. They are much more forgiving to my figure - and they are feminine:) I'm not really good at BEING feminine (think belching), but I occasionally like to FEEL feminine.

7. A few years ago, I went on my first real backpacking trip - I mean, I was novice. I didn't even know how to pee in the wild - not well, anyway. I got some tips from my friend before we went:) It was a "girls - only" trip, because we didn't want to have to live up to male expectations. I was so excited - and out of shape;) We found out when we got there that the only campsite we could get was 15 miles in. Well, I wasn't expecting this, but I was excited to say I'd done it. So, I trudged along with encouraging words all along the way. It was beautiful! I was completely beat and dying - but every step brought us closer to our destination. I love the Tetons. I have to say, that I love a big challenge when I can see the results - a breathtaking vista at the top of a glacial cut valley. It was such a great feeling to know I could do it - and to see the work of God's hand so explicitly portayed. I wonder where we'll go next?

Ok, so, I don't even remember what I wrote...
This is me.

a day at the park

This is what the rest of us do while Bettie's at work...

Eat sandy lollipops...do heavy construction...
make sand angels ...
play hide and seek ...
and, occasionally, growl at each other.

Hooray for visitors!

Some of my in-laws were kind enough to visit us even though our apt is so small and boring - hence this photo:
I'm sure it wasn't boredom, but exhaustion from having so much fun. I'm sure you are all now very anxious to come visit;)

Just before I moved, I decided that I needed to make my girl's room cute. Well, my sister convinced me to buy these letters of the girl's names. (A big splurge on my part;) And then we bought paint for them, too. One day at IKEA we saw these mirrors for only $2 a piece and decided we should paint them and put the letters on. I was sure I didn't have time for any of this project - by the way. Oh, and when we saw this cute light and they were out of stock - I made it my mission to find one. My SIL was living in AZ and I asked her to check her IKEA. She found one there the day before she moved to NM! What an angel! And so, after months of doing a bit here and there - I (and my tall friend) finally hung these mirrors. It takes a village...
(By the way, you can see my school shirt in the middle, bottom row mirror - "RU")
My sister informed me that I need more pictures of Isobel - so this is the pose she gave me:
She said, "Did you see my pony tail?" Did I ever mention that she cut part of her hair? A small chunk of hair is as long as these front pieces hanging in her eyes. I was so shocked! She never tried to cut her hair til she was 5! (Maybe it's because I was so adept at hiding the scissors:)

Happy Halloween(er)!

Well, last week JoAnn fabrics had too stinkin good of a sale. I had intended to make the girls find something to wear for Halloween, but then this sale...

Isobel had asked to be Belle and Eva wanted to be - of all things - an elephant. So I took Friday off work last week so I could sew like crazy. Well, I didn't even get Isobel's dress done. So I sewed all day Saturday, too. (I kinda forgot to eat in the meantime.) Saturday night Isobel's dress was wearable - but the neck ended up being too low. So it just had to be pinned for our ward party. Eva's outfit was done but she didn't have a hood - which meant no ears or trunk - so she dressed as a 50's girl (what Isobel was last year). Sunday I felt really ill - probably due to the lack of good food and too much stress. Long story shorter, I didn't finish both the costumes completely til Wednesday (Halloween) at like Noon. All that work and Eva wore her costume for like 40 minutes:) Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (I hope you can see the lipstick on my teeth;)