31 July 2012

OK!! It's the end of July and time to report on my {Operation Reduce} for this month. My goal was to declutter 310 items from our house this month - I ended up decluttering 296 items!! And that only includes the items that I took to the thrift store - not the stuff that just got thrown away. When I factor in those items I'm sure I had well over 310!! WOOHOO!!!While I still have a LONG way to go - this has helped so much to motivate me.

30 July 2012

Is it Friday quitting time yet? This is gonna be a long week - I just want to be home watching the Olympics:) And I noticed I missed posting one day last week - that REALLY bums me out. Completely slipped my mind. GRR!!!! Oh well - only missing one day out of 31 isn't bad. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to my handsome Dad!! I love you Dad!

29 July 2012

Hubby is itching for a new mountain bike. We stopped by the bike shop yesterday for him to drool for a while. Miss S found a great way to amuse herself while we waited.

28 July 2012

Hubby has been waiting a whole year for this to come around again - the NM brewers guild IPA challenge. Miss S and I dropped him off at the brewery and did some shopping. Now we are back to pick up tipsy Hubby. :)

27 July 2012

It's official!!! Wednesday night this sexy man of mine finished his master's degree!!!!! Woohoo!!! I am so proud of him. He said he won't fully relax til he gets his grade but he was seriously all smiles when he walked in the door after his final.

25 July 2012

It's no secret that I have an old soul - I would feel most at home in the 40s, 50s or 60s....I imagine myself being Rosie the Riveter during the War, kissing my soldier as he returned from fighting, living a quiet country life and living it up during the folk movement during the 50s and 60s. Once of my favorite duos is Simon & Garfunkel - just look at Paul's bangs in this picture!! SO darling. Did you know they started making music together in 1957? I was listening to one of their albums on my way home from Santa Fe yesterday and fell in love again with the song My Little Town:

In my little town
I grew up believ--ing
God keeps his eye on us all
And he used to lean upon me
As I pledged allegiance to the wall
Lord I recall
My little town

Coming home after school
Flying my bike past the gates
Of the factories
My mom doing the laundry
Hanging our shirts
In the dirty breeze

And after it rains
There's a rainbow
And all of the colors are black
It's not that the colors aren't there
It's just imagin-ation they lack
Everything's the same
Back in my little town
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town

In my little town
I never meant nothin'
I was just my fathers son
Saving my money
Dreaming of glory
Twitching like a finger
On the trigger of a gun
Leaving nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town

Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town

24 July 2012

First of all Happy Pioneer Day to all my fellow Mormon folk :):)

I wanted to share one of my projects for my July reduce the crap goal. I completely cleaned out this shelf which previously held one big bin with all our medicines and extra toiletry type stuff. I was inspired by Pinterest (the photo marked Ask Anna) and culled and organized our remaining meds. The categories I have are Sun, Dogs, Misc, First Aid, Pain Relief, Cold/Flu/Allergy, Lotions and Body Wash. Doesn't it look so great and organized!

23 July 2012

Happy happy Monday everyone!! I got nothing more to say than that. Love ya!!!!

22 July 2012

One more pic from Scottsdale that I found on my phone.

21 July 2012

This is why I spend so much money at Target.

20 July 2012

Our neighbor has a gigantic sunflower growing in his yard. I noticed last night that it had finally bloomed and screams at Hubby to come look. The thing has to be at least 9 feet tall and the bloom is at least a foot across. I took the second shot to give a little perspective. Our fence is probably 5 1/2 feet tall and it just towers over it.

19 July 2012

I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about this - striving to live and serve as a woman of God. Day by day, little by little, I work on improving my choices and strengthening my faith.

18 July 2012

I have a running joke with my co-worker - who doesn't know the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars and once thought George Harrison was George Takei:) Holy crap we had a good laugh over that one. I adore Star Wars, but deep in my heart I am a Trekkie. Love, love, love today's t-shirt on Teefury. What a great mash-up of the current (or perhaps never-ending) fascination with dinosaurs and Star Trek.

17 July 2012

I happened upon this funny scene on my lunch break today. Two fat little prairie dogs on the side of the freeway exit. They were making a feast of whatever was dumped on the side of the road.

16 July 2012

Look at this crazy little puppy of ours. She was under the couch and kept poking her head out. Time for another haircut for her. We swear Izzy is part kitty cat cause she acts just like a crazy cat sometimes. Mr. Fu is part coyote and Maxwell is part piglet and part tigger. What a rag tag little pack they make.

15 July 2012

Half way through my own personal daily posting goal for July. It feels good to share little bits and pieces everyday instead of occasional super long posts. Miss S left today for girl scout camp. Wish I could go with her. It would feel
so great to be in the cool woods for a week. I can't wait to hear all about her adventures this week.

14 July 2012

Spending a few hours getting pampered with Miss S. She leaves for
Girl Scout camp tomorrow for a week. Shell be sporting a fabulous mani/pedi while in the woods. :).

13 July 2012

Happy Friday the thirteenth!!! Enjoy this picture of our brand new bed! Woohoo!! We had our previous bed for 19 years and it was finally time for an upgrade. We even upgraded to a king finally. However, I am hating everything else in our bedroom right now. Too much clutter. Too many mismatched things. No grown up style. Grrrr. I hate it. I'm bumping "bedroom redo" to the very top of my project list. Now I just gotta find about $500 to do everything I want.

12 July 2012

There's a new baby kitteh at my brother and sister in laws house. She is super tiny and probably only a few weeks old. She was found with some litter mates under someone's trailer with no mama kitty anywhere :( We had fun playing with her this last weekend. She would eat til her belly was swollen, then run and play, then pass out. Makes me miss having kitties.

11 July 2012

I Walk by Faith
I will prepare to make and keep sacred covenants,
Seek promised blessings of the priesthood thru obedience,
Live my life to claim the blessing sweet of exaltation,
My testimony growing each new day.

I walk by faith,
a daughter of heav’nly parents.
Divine am I in nature by inheritance.
The Spirit whispers of my mission, my individual worth,
So I seek for precious knowledge,
for learning, and for growth.
I understand the meaning of accountability;
Ev’ry choice for good or ill is my responsibility.
I want to build the kingdom and good works is the key
By doing what I know is right I show integrity.

I walk by faith,
a daughter of heav’nly parents.
Divine am I in nature by inheritance.
And someday when God has proven me
I’ll see Him face to face.
But just for here and now I walk by faith.
Yes, just for here and now I walk by faith.

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs - by LDS composer Janice Kapp Perry. I've been thinking about faith a lot lately - do I have enough of it? Do I really believe? Am I making the right choices? Am I teaching my daughter to make right choices? In short...no...I think so....not always....I really need to work on that...I need to get my butt in gear.

 

10 July 2012

I have unofficially declared this my "Summer of Reading". I've been averaging at least one or two books a week which is making a nice dent in my bookshelf. I've been reading lots of easy reads though and taking a little break from my normal rotation of WWII books. I've breezed through a bunch of James Patterson and the first seven books of the Sookie Stackhouse series. It's a great series and a good filler until the next episode of True Blood is available on DVD (I know, I know - we don't have HBO or any cable for that matter). 

 

What are you reading this summer?

 

 

9 July 2012

We have finally found a forever home for our Little Buddy - the stray we found in March. An older couple from church fell in love with him. They've kept his name as Buddy and here he is with his new pack mate Chloe. They are already best friends.

8 July 2012

Some last random shots from Scottsdale. Hubby was happy that we got to check out some local breweries. I sampled some local root beer. I sported fabulously hideous vacation hair. And the pool where we spent at least 30 hours.

7 July 2012

My birthday morning dawned bright and beautiful and hot. We made a big breakfast at the timeshare then headed to the pool. We also caught the shuttle to the Westin hotel pool. We swam, played, snacked, swam, lazy rivered and rode a couple water slides. That evening we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. So yummy!!!! June 19, 2012 was a day full of love and memories. Tons of birthday wishes on Facebook, texts and calls from family and friends and even a call from my dad and step mom in Fiji. I spent it with my handsome husband and with my best friend Tammy - two of most favorite people in the whole world.

6 July 2012

The first of my pictures from Scottsdale. Check out our unit! Swanky to the hilt. And they spoiled us rotten. It was glorious.

5 July 2012

My best friend and her girlfriend met us in Scottsdale for our recent vacation. I was able to hand deliver her 40th birthday present to her - I had it laying out on their bed to surprise her. She absolutely loved it!!! The blocks are from a block exchange group I used to swap with. It's backed with a vintage sheet I've been hoarding for years.

4 July 2012

 

STAND BY THE FLAG.
Stand by the flag! on land and ocean billow;
By it your fathers stood, unmoved and true;
Living, defended; lying, from their pillow,
With their last blessing, passed it on to you.

The lines that divide us are written in water.
The love that unites us is cut deep as rock.
Thus by friendship’s ties united,

We will change the bloody past
Into golden links of union,
Blending all in love at last.

Thus beneath the one broad banner,
Flag of the true, the brave and free,
We will build anew the Union,
Fortress of our Liberty.

Bayard Advocate (Bayard, Iowa) Jun 29, 1916

Happy Independence day to the United States of America!!! I found this beautiful poem on a vintage poetry site - I'm not really one for poetry but I just loved the sentiment of this one. After almost 100 years, every single word of this poem is still true. I hope you're enjoying your holiday today with friends and loved ones.