Eyelashes no more

A new year is a good time to start out fresh right?? I don't know why but I decided to take off my eyelash extensions. Don't get me wrong. I really loved having them most of the time. But, some days, I wanted to pull them all out one by one!! And it wasn't all that fun to keep up with them. The girl who did mine was quite reasonably priced but it usually took 1 1/2-2 hours to get them filled about every month.

It was quite a shock to look in the mirror at first. But,  now---almost 2 weeks later,  it isn't as bad as I thought. I may actually keep them off for a while. 

A little procedure

So I have had this ugly varicose vein since I was pregnant with Emerson. I have gone in to the doctor probably 2 or 3 times to see about having it removed. However, I have never actually followed through with it for one reason or another (timing, recovery, out-of-pocket cost). This year I finally did it. After Indy's major surgery, we had met all our deductible AND our out-of-pocket limits. So basically it was free.

They made about 14 tiny incisions and actually pulled the vein out. Laser therapy wouldn't have been as effective in my case. Luckily it was a surface vein which made for a pretty easy procedure. They just numbed my leg all along the vein, pulled it out and I was done in about an hour. 

Goodbye ugly vein!

Tender Mercies

I'm feeling so grateful today for tender mercies. Montana has been having a hard time these past few weeks. I didn't get to chat through email with her last week because of some Google problem. So I've been stressing all week about how she has been doing. But I am amazed how prayers are answered through other people. This past week, of all weeks, so many people have called or texted to ask for her email or address. I KNOW that she will be okay and she will make it through this challenging time with the love and support of so many people. And I am so grateful for those around me who are in tune enough to hear promptings to do something-----especially something for my sweet missionary daughter. 

Puzzles

I've been on a puzzle kick lately. This isn't unusual for me but I don't normally break them out at home. I usually do them at the ranch or during a holiday break. But we took the kids to Gardner Village on Monday for FHE and bought a new Halloween puzzle. I had to get go work on it immediately. 

Tonight Kurt headed down to the ranch again to finish up some work. Normally I would be a little bugged to have no date for my Friday night. Not this time. I ordered my favorite massaman curry, got a dirty Diet Coke and settled in for another puzzle (I had finished the new Halloween puzzle by the next day.....).

Done and done!!

Today we are finally done with braces!! Emerson was so excited to get those things off. For about 2 weeks we would catch her randomly smiling or giggling. When we would ask her what for, she would say "I get my braces off in ____ days!" Funny girl.

Technology.....

.... a blessing and, in this case, a curse. 

My addiction

Yes, I am addicted to Diet Coke. You don't think you're addicted until you try to go without it for any amount of time. I didn't intend to try and stop drinking it but I went one day without one and didn't notice it too much. Usually if I miss even one day I have a raging headache. But this time the headache didn't come until about 4 days out which was a surprise. And it wasn't too bad. 

Since today is Friday and the start of the weekend I rewarded myself for going 5 whole days without a drink (ha!) by getting a drink. Baby steps right??

Yoga and running

I have been wanting to try yoga for a while now. So about a month ago I bought a pass to 3B Yoga in the Riverwoods. I am really loving it. It's a good workout but in a different way than my normal gym workout.

I am hoping it will help my IT band issues I have been having for years now. I haven't run for about 7-8 weeks trying to get rid of some of the tightness. I meet again with the physical therapist on Thursday and he's going to give me a running schedule to get me back up. Hopefully I can be prepared for St. George in October!

Personal Records

Yesterday I gave a lesson in YW on Personal Records. I never would have thought that this particular lesson would cause such strong emotions in me but it did! I was reminded over and over again as I prepared that the records that we keep are not necessarily for us but for those who will come after us. The lesson also referenced a 2007 conference talk by Elder Eyring called O Remember, Remember.  And I DO remember listening to this talk! He talks about how writing things down is a way for us to see God's hand in our lives and to be grateful for those things. 

All these reminders were a confirmation to me that this blog is my way of keeping a journal and that it is important not only to me but to future generations (as trivial as many things on my blog may be...). 

I'm hooked!

I have almost finished Season 1. And it's a good thing Season 2 is already on the iPad because I can't get enough of it. This series is right up my alley!

I'm afraid to say it.....

...but I'm feeling caught up today. I guarantee that feeling will change by tomorrow. However, it's nice to feel that even for one day. I can't remember when I felt this way last....November maybe??!! I'm not kidding either. Life certainly has a way of passing you by in a hurry.

Here are some random thoughts that I should document somewhere:

I was called as YW 2nd Counselor at the end of January (the day we left for Costa Rica in fact!). That may be one of the reasons I can't get caught up...

Our snowblower has not been used ONE (not even ONE) time this winter season! I may be speaking too soon but hopefully not. It has snowed but not enough to have a need to snowblow it off the driveway.

Kurt wrote a script a while back called Osombie. He ended up selling it to a local production company who produced it for the Sy-Fy Channel. It has gotten a lot of buzz lately. Not sure when it will air on tv yet. The same company has also asked him to write another script in the next couple of months. Kind of exciting!

I haven't been doing any catering for a while. While I enjoy it, it has actually been kind of nice to have a break for a while. The other job I have (besides my mom job) seems to take more of my time than I would like. Since July I have been fulfilling product orders for Halestone. It's a good part-time job. I can work whenever I want and I'm basically my own boss.

I don't know what weird format this blog is doing lately but it's not doing what it used to and I don't know how to fix it!

My newest must-haves

I have never been a real girly-girl. I don't think I wore make-up through half of high school. And my wedding pictures---UGH! I'm glad I at least wore some mascara for those... Note to self: make sure daughters wear makeup for wedding.

But lately I have been obsessed with some girly stuff like nails and eyelashes! Kurt, it turns out, actually LIKES it when my nails are painted. I don't have the most attractive hands but when my nails are super short and have cute polish---not so bad. Gel polish is the only way to go. I learned quickly that doing lots of dishes the day after a manicure will ruin that manicure in a heartbeat! The gel polish lasts for weeks. I'm pretty sure I'm hooked.

As for the eyelashes, I think I have the shortest lashes on the planet. Last year in Costa Rica all the other ladies on our trip had eyelash extensions and always looked so pretty with no makeup. So I decided to try them out before our trip this year. I think I'm going to have a hard time ever NOT having them. I love not wearing mascara. Yes, they can be pricey but I think they are worth it. How sad is it that my lashes with extensions are not quite as long as Montana's natural lashes with mascara... Who gave her those genes??

21 Years

Hard to believe it's been 21 years that we have been married. I really do feel like the luckiest girl around. Kurt is thoughtful, patient, kind, talented, creative, loving, righteous, honest, non-judgmental and too many other good qualities to mention. Looking forward to growing old(er) together. Love you babe.

Day 27 of Gratitude-Daily Routine

I am the kind of person who likes a daily routine. But I like to be spontaneous as well. I think a good balance of both is what works best for me.

My daily routine these days is to wake up about 6:50 am, wake up Indy and Emerson, do what they need to be out the door by 7:30 and then enjoy the peace and quiet when everyone is gone! As soon as they are gone I can do my studying. Then I start laundry, pick up the house or do any other little things that need to be taken care of. By 9:30 or 10 I am off to the gym or out the door on a run.

If I can do that part of my daily routine, I don't usually mind how the rest of the day goes. And once the kids get home from school there is no real routine at all!

Day 23 of Gratitude-In My Closet

My closet is SMALL! With a closet this size I have to stay pretty organized. Thank goodness there are lots of drawers and shelves to help me stay neat. I just wish I had a little more room for shoes....

AT LAST...

We have hardly seen the Youngs all summer. We even had two different family vacations overlapping in the same place and were not able to connect. Finally, last night, we made time for a trip to Yogurtland! They were still missing 4 kids and we were missing 2 but we did it! Love them!

Reality Check

I just dropped Montana off at UVU so she could catch a bus for Cross Country camp. I had a teary moment as I drove away. She is officially a freshman in college. She moves in to her apartment next week. I'm so excited for her and a little hesitant to let her go all at the same time.

Why I got sick on the way to Hawaii

So I posted about how I was so sick on the plane ride to Hawaii a few weeks ago. I thought maybe it was food poisoning but wasn't sure. Well, unfortunately for me, I found out what made me sick when we were in Laguna Beach last week.

I went to Costco and noticed they had the 64 oz. bottles of Naked Juice which are so good. I had had a bottle of Green Machine with my lunch the morning we got on the plane. So I was so excited to have some after my morning run. Well I did and it tasted just as good as I remembered. But about an hour later my stomach started to hurt and I was feeling so nauseous (sounds familiar...). Sure enough I started throwing up again and continued throwing up for about 3 hours or so. It was a good thing the sun didn't really come out at the beach that day because I was stuck in bed sick as a dog.

Apparently something in the Naked Green Machine Juice does not agree well with my stomach. So here are the ingredients:

2 3/4 apples

1/2 banana

1/3 kiwi

1/3 mango

a hint of pineapple

spirulina

chlorella

broccoli

spinach

blue green algae

garlic

barley grass

wheat grass

ginger

parsley

I'm doubtful that it's any of the fruits or vegetables that would cause a problem. And I'm not sure what spirulina or chlorella even are??

Needless to say, I will not be drinking any more Naked Juice anytime soon.

New Hobby

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but my new hobby is couponing. We spend so much stinking money on food with 4 teenagers in the house that it drives me nuts! So saving even a little amount of money on our grocery bill is good news.

Sugar Rush

First of all, I am currently obsessed with these! This new desire for marshmallow has only started happening in the last few years. It started with Peeps--gross, I know. This year they have chocolate-covered Peeps! Those will do if it is all I can get but who can resist Hershey's chocolate over a marshmallow?!

The Hershey eggs are replacing sugar cookies--which were the obsession of the last few previous weeks. The sugar cookies are not as easily accessible especially when you have to drive to Draper to get my number one favorite cookie.

Top 3 Sugar Cookies (in my opinion-not including homemade)

1. Hagermann's in Draper

2. Dear Lizzie in Highland

3. Kneaders

Unfortunately, all these obsessions may soon be falling by the wayside as I may be starting a new eating plan come next week. I once thought I was addicted to caffeine but I now know that sugar is my true addiction. Yes, I have a problem!