Some recent snapshots...

One minute makes a big difference

Let's say I have to be somewhere at 6:00. If I look at the clock and it says 5:36 I feel like I have plenty of time. Almost a half-hour, right? But if the clock says 5:37 I'm a complete mess and already feel late. I'm not sure why that one minute changes things so much.

$173.47 not well spent

While my Mom was in town last week we thought it would be fun to head over to Nordstrom and check out this eyeshadow/eyeliner product that one of my friends was raving about. We went to the makeup counter and were shortly greeted by a sales lady. I told her what we were looking for and she showed us around. Neither one of us usually buy our makeup there so we were a bit lost. The sales lady offered to show me how to apply the eyeliner and then proceeded to finish my eyes off with several eyeshadows she picked out. I liked how my eyes looked and knew that I was running low on my makeup at home so I decided to buy everything.

This is when things started to go from good to bad. We walked over to the register and she began ringing everything up. As I saw the prices my heart starting thumping out of my chest and I felt like I was going to throw up. Now, I was prepared to pay more than what I normally shell out for Covergirl but I had no idea makeup could be so expensive! Do people seriously pay 26 bucks for a brush to apply their eyeshadow? I'm not sure why because I am perfectly satisfied using the applicator that COMES WITH my eyeshadow! And don't even get my started on paying anywhere from $18-25 for a single color of eyeshadow!

Needless to say, while I was handing over my credit card all I was thinking about was how I was going to get my money back. I was mad at myself for listening to a woman wearing bright pink lipstick and sparkles all over her face and I even started to resent her.

After we finished the transaction my Mom and I walked around the mall. It was hard for me to have a good time because my mind was only on the tiny bag of overpriced eyeshadows and brushes shoved in my purse. I felt so sick. The amount of money I had just spent was more than half of what I spend on groceries and toiletries for a month! I knew I had to take them back.

We went back to Nordstrom and because I was too embarrassed to deal with the same salesperson again we went upstairs to customer service. Much to my relief the lady at the desk returned the items even though she said I was suppose to do it downstairs. I have never been so happy taking something back.

Now, I know all of this was completely my fault. If I would have asked the prices before agreeing to buy them this would have all been avoided. But is expensive makeup really worth
it? Because after I told Blake what had happened he looked at my eyes and said, "I can't even tell she did anything different than what you normally do!"

My simple novel

Blake was introduced to a band a couple weeks ago and fell in love immediately. Lucky for him they were in town Monday night. He bought tickets for the show early last week and I was a little surprised when he said he had a ticket for me. He usually goes to concerts with his other music-loving friends. Not that I don't love music. It's just that I don't necessarily love Blake's music.

Fast-forward to Monday night. Blake and I drove up to Salt Lake with the intentions of eating before the show. We parked in a questionable part of town by the venue where the band would be performing and started walking to find a place to eat. We walked into the first place we saw and picked out what we wanted to order. Just as we were about to order, the guy behind the counter tells us that everything is vegan and that all the meats and cheeses are fake. Right at that moment my hungry, just getting over the flu stomach became full. After asking what "meat eaters would like," Blake ended up getting a grilled cheese and we both got Italian cream sodas. The bread on his sandwich was good but everything else (including the drinks) were not. We left for the concert carrying our untouched drinks because I didn't want to hurt the feelings of the guy that made them for us. We threw them away in the first garbage can we came across.

I knew the night was getting more interesting when Blake was patted down before we entered the venue. That couldn't be a good sign of what was to come. We walked into the dark, dirty room full of college kids and I felt out of place. We found some stools and sat way back in the corner next to the only couple in their sixties that were attending the show.

The show started forty-five minutes late. The opening act was strange and horrible and the main band was okay. While inhaling second-hand smoke from the rude man standing in front of me, I listened to the lyrics of the songs being performed and watched the sweaty audience mindlessly jump up and down in front of the stage. I compared this scene to the two sweet, innocent girls sleeping at home and realized that I am really happy with my life.

I like how simple my life is. Some may say it's predictable for a girl of my beliefs and situation (get married young, have kids soon after getting married, and stay home without pursuing another profession) but I am happy. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Sure the vegan-eating, concert-going life is for someone but not for me. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I prefer my hair to smell like Thermasilk when I come home from a date with my husband instead of cigarettes. That's all.

Things I wish I never had to say

While speaking with the receptionist of my dermatologist, these words came out of my mouth:

"I have a couple moles I need him to look at but does he remove warts, too?"

I have never felt more beautiful.

Different days, same pose

Shame on Milton Bradley!

I have had lots of fun introducing my girls to things I loved as a kid. I've put glow-in-dark stars on Sadie's ceiling, forced her to love Ariel, and have rocked out to the Best of Wee Sing while driving around town. Another one of the things I was excited to buy for the family was Hungry Hungry Hippos.

I bought the game and here is my review:

It took 20 minutes to put together and less than a minute to figure out I had wasted $17.49. The first disappointment is that you have to snap the hippos onto the board and take them off to fit the game back into the box. Second is that there aren't very many white marbles. The third and biggest downfall is that the hippos jam when you hit them. I barely had to push on my pink hippo before it would get stuck. It was frustrating because isn't the point of the game to be able to smash those hippos as fast as you can? I mean, that's how you win the game! If your hippo stops in the middle of the competition, where's the fun in that? This cheap version of the game is no where near as fun as the one I had when I was a kid. What a shame.

More pictures...

Homemade yogurt is good

I recently bought a yogurt machine because Sadie downs the stuff. I thought it would be fun, cheaper and healthier to start making it from scratch. I ordered my machine online and made my first batch last week. I was more than happy with the results. It was so tasty that I served it to my family for dessert with berries on top. Here's the recipe I used if anyone is interested:

Vanilla Yogurt

Ingredients
4 cups milk (your choice whole-skim)
1/2 cup powdered dry milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4-6 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
1/2 cup yogurt starter (unflavored plain yogurt with active cultures)

Directions

1. Set 1/2 yogurt starter out to warm to room temperature.
2. Heat the milk to almost a boil. (I microwaved it in a glass bowl for 5 minutes on high then 2 minutes on medium). Cool the milk to barely warm.
3. Add dry milk, vanilla and sweetener of your choice; stir well.
4. Stir in yogurt starter (do not whip but mix very well!).
5. "Cook" the yogurt using your preferred method and time. Longer makes a firmer, more tart yogurt. I cooked mine for 12 hours. Chill 4 hours before eating.

Catching up

If I had been blogging the last few weeks here is what a few of my posts would have been about:

• Did you know that the best way to cut brownies is with a plastic knife? I tried it and could not believe how much better it worked!
• I've had several people tell me that Maddie looks healthy. This is the nice way of saying that she is fat. Yes, at almost 16 pounds she is definitely getting enough to eat.
• Even though I promised myself that I wouldn't get into this season of American Idol, I have fallen in love with David Archuleta and Brooke White.
  
• It's taken me this long to realize that the tune to "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" is the same as "The wheels on the bus."
• Reese's Snacksters are my new favorite afternoon treat. I still can't get over the fact that they are only 100 calories per pack!
• I have started using my straightener on Sadie's hair. It looks so cute! Plus, after I'm done she always says she looks like a princess.
• Going to bed last night at 8:30 felt great.
  

Our first cruise

We went on our first cruise last week with our friends Mark and Lindsey. Even though the late night Chocolate Buffet was completely disgusting, we managed to have a really good time! We weren't very good about taking pictures but here are a few snapshots of our week in the Western Caribbean.

Here is where it all began. The red-eye flight was a bad idea.

Our first stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Here is the view from our boat.

Blake with the Mexican flag behind him.

Me & Blake on some beach in Cozumel. Here is where I tasted the second best pina colada I've had. The first was on the boat.

Lindsey & Mark in front of the bluest water I have ever seen.

Me with one of the many towel creations that was waiting for us after a long day of eating.

Our second stop was Grand Cayman. We decided to be a little adventurous at this port and took a boat several miles from shore to swim with stingrays and snorkel by some coral reefs. Here is Blake swimming with the stingrays. I chose to stay on the boat and watch at a safe distance. However, I did snorkel and found it to be quite enjoyable.

Our residence for the week. When I first saw our boat in Florida I was quite concerned. I didn't think a boat that was painted like that could be a good sign of what was to come. I was pleasantly surprised once boarding it though. It was beautiful inside. Our rooms were MUCH bigger than I expected.

A picture of one of the sunsets from the boat.

This is Mark resting on Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. Can you tell he didn't want to get sunburned?

The waters of Grand Cayman.

There was a photographer on the boat that would show up every night while we were eating dinner. The funniest part was that he would take a picture of each couple and then he would take individual portraits. Blake and Mark made it interesting by striking ridiculous poses. You could buy a 5x7 for $12.95 but to save a few bucks Blake was creative and took a picture of our pictures.

This was another stolen photo of one of Blake's finer poses.

What is wrong with this picture?

Girlies in pink

Here are the results of the photoshoot I attempted this morning. The girls are wearing their matching sweaters that Nana & Papa gave them for Valentine's Day.

One good thing about all this snow...

Last week the girls and I met up with Kyra, Susan and their kids to play in the snow. Here are some snapshots of the fun. Thanks Susan for the pictures!

I will miss you