The Graduate

This past weekend was the best.

We took a quick trip to UT to attend Britt's graduation.

This is only a smidgen of the pictures - Austin took some really great pics, which he put on a disc for us, then Billy-my-hero kindly stored the disc in his laptop which is currently with him a work.

That won't stop me from posting.

Hopefully Britt will get around to posting details and pics on her blog... soon.

She still has a busy couple of weeks ahead PLUS a new puppy (who is doing great, btw).

Britt, we are so proud of you!

There's a lot more to share about the weekend (we packed it in). New posts coming... soon.

I cut hair.

Starting in May, I am going back to the business of hair.

Am I excited? {YES}

I am also a bit nervous.  It's been a long time since I've actively pursued my own business and promoted myself.
I am the first to admit I do not gush confidence. 

I have complete confidence in my education.

I have confidence in my ability.

I have confidence that this is what I am supposed to be doing

(after 3 or so years of off-and-on denial that THIS was my answer, mingled with stints of being overwhelmed by the roadblocks every time I ventured to pursue it).

It's taken me a while to get here.

I listened to this talk a hundred times before I finally heard this phrase:

"Our own desires, rather than a feeling of "Thy will be done," create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time."

So, without going into deeply personal detail, let it be written that I know this is what I am supposed to do.
I have only been denying it because I lack courage. I've dragged my heals a bit.
I told God He would need to make it easier, and He has lovingly complied.

So.

Premise Agreement signed.

(turning in today)

Suite-share arrangement made.

(on a hand-shake with a super easy-going guy)

Business cards ordered. 

(partial card shown above)

Facebook post written.

(waiting to post until I get some feedback from my business advisers, Bill and Steph

-because I lack confidence)

Watch for it.

I can relate to Maria in The Sound of Music, so maybe I just need to sing my worries out!

(Which, btw, I used to belt out as my sister and I would sing along to our LP, hiccuping when the needle would run over the scratch on the well-loved record.)

I have confidence in sunshine...

I have confidence in rain...

I have confidence that Spring will come again 

(or not - snow on the ground today)

Besides, which you see, I have confidence in me.

A {big} thank you to Steph, Rebecca, and Bill, my confidence boosters.

Wish me luck!

Our Latest Addiction

Tuesday, as I was in a rush to do the grocery shopping with my very specific list of items needed, I ran across a couple of can't-pass-up deals in Sam's Club, one of which was this:

Extra large cans (87 servings, for goodness sakes) for $1.91.

My mind raced through the possibilities.

• Food storage - but these were in cardboard cans

• Would the ward need this for any upcoming activities?

• Maybe we could gift these to neighbors, VT and HT families at Christmas

(best by date of 9/30/2014)

I WAS in a hurry, and with my new-normal-brain-fog, I couldn't decide how much to buy, so I packed a dozen 14 (2 for good measure) into my cart. I wasn't sure if I would regret the purchase, or regret not getting more. I noticed a recipe on the side of the can for Iced Hot Chocolate, and made a mental note to try it, since we might be needing to chug 1218 servings before Oct 2014, and some of those months in-between would not be conducive to HOT chocolate.

I returned home to questioning looks from the girls, and a thumbs-up-this-must-be-food-storage from Bill.  When I told them what I great deal I got, and mentioned we could possibly use them for neighbor gifts when Christmas rolls around, Bill told me to go get more.  Unfortunately, I did not made it back, and feel quite certain that some other deal-seeker has snatched up the rest of the lot by now.

A day or two later, I decided to give the Iced Hot Chocolate a go, not because it was hot outside, or even a little warm (hello, Spring, is it me you're looking for?), but just because. 

(In case we needed to chug 1218 servings by 10/14.)

It was delicious. Delightful. As good as Starbucks' Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Creme, minus the chocolaty chips (according to Mar and Shi, who have enjoyed several in the past month or so, thanks to a $25 Starbucks gift card that Bill won in a drawing at work). We went through a gallon of milk in no time, and bemoaned the fact that we had to wait a whole 1/2 day (oxymoron) before a new gallon would appear not-so-magically-we-pay-good-money-for-that-service on the doorstep.

I'm sure it can be made with any hot chocolate mix (except maybe Starbucks brand - that stuff is kind of different), and, of course, I have adjusted the recipe a bit (the original says to just pour over ice vs. blending the ice in).  Try it, you'll like it!

Iced Hot Chocolate

Put in blender:

2 cups cold milk

5 Tbs. Hot Cocoa Mix (more if you like)

approx. 2 cups ice cubes

Blend.
Pour into glasses.

Starbucks fancy style (but totally unnecessary unless you are blending to impress):
top with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolaty syrup.
Drink with a straw.

Makes 3 servings.


Britt graduates from BYU next week with a degree in Exercise and Wellness. I think she would approve of this double-hit-calcium drink, since I remember her telling me that one of her professors said chocolate milk was a great recovery drink after exercise. (Britt, you can correct me if I'm wrong, sometimes my new-normal-fog-brain gets things a bit jumbled.)

Just in case you are a curious person, and want to know what my second bargain at Sam's Club was that day, it was Quinoa. One solitary little bag left on the shelf. $2.91. That should last me a good 5 years, since I prepare quinoa so often.

Meet Conan

We've been sitting our grandpuppy (Jack and Ava's little brother) until we can send him to his new home (Britt and Austin's) on Saturday (via Lex).  (Read the whole story here and here.)

When we found out we could get him last Sunday, of course the girls were begging and pleading to get him asap.  Around 8:30pm Sheila and her kids came to drop him off.

Conan.

The cutest pictures of him are on Shi and Lex's Instagrams (and a dozen of their closest pals').

I think he's adjusted pretty well, considering Little Dude was ripped away from the only life he's known (Mom, Dad and Sis - his other litter-mate-brother had been taken away a few days prior), only to spend nearly a week with two very loud, curious, and rambunctious older siblings he had never met, and a boatload of various strangers, mostly of the female sort, who smother him in cuddles and kisses.

Little Dude is my nickname for Conan. For whatever reason, the past few months I've called Jack "Dudie"... "Little Dude" was just the natural progression for Conan :-)  I've tried to call him by his name when I'm talking to him (although I've slipped a few times), lest I give the little dude an identity crisis.

(Obviously I like to take sleeping dog pictures. Maybe because I love sleeping dogs.
I totally get the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lie.")

Lex has been visiting over the semester break this week, and offered to have Conan sleep with her at night. That was great {for me}, but only lasted a couple of nights. We had to put Jack and Ava in the basement at night because they would go crazy hearing Little Dude upstairs while they were tucked in their kennels. Once they had two stories between them, we all slept more soundly.

After the second night, Lex said she was exhausted. We decided to put Conan in his kennel in the basement, with Jack and Ava upstairs.  This arrangement has worked amazingly well (so far). Conan doesn't cry for long before he drifts off to dreamland, and Jack and Ava have been able to stick to their regular nighttime routine. 

We're loving Conan (literally), and are so happy we (and Jack and Ava - keeping it in the family) will get to see him every now and then.

I am, however, quite happy to send him on his way. Puppies are a ton of work!

Mt. Rushmore - A Pictorial (for now)

Mauri spent part of Spring Break on a fun trip to Mt. Rushmore with the Billats.  She's been pretty busy lately, so I'm posting her pics (from her ipod... or phone... not sure which), and will have her fill in the commentary when she has a few extra minutes.  I think they are pretty self-explanatory.

Thank you, Jeff, Rebecca, Lauren, and Chase for letting Mar tag along!
I want to go. Someday soon, I think.

A Funny Thing Happened...

I just had to quickly write about my embarrassing moment of the day.

I ran to Old Navy because I had one of those {dumb} reward coupons for $30 off my $75 purchase.

I figured I could find a good deal (or two) and come away with a bargain.

Or not.

I've decided that they give you those to trick you into thinking you're getting a good deal, then they take everything off sale, so you're really getting the same ol' sale as the week before. You would think I would have learned by now.

Anyway.

I went looking for a few sweaters for Mar, who happens to be in that crazy stage for girls that makes it tremendously difficult to find clothes - between little girl (not) and "junior"-sized. And I figured that it might be a great time for a deal on sweaters with warm weather around the corner. Nope.

I found two on the clearance rack (sorry, Mar, mint green and red were my ONLY choices).

Then I needed to find something to fill in my $49 gap. No pun intended.

I tried on a few pairs of jeans, and a couple of sweaters. I had to return to the dressing room numerous times with adjusted sizes, as I hadn't shopped for myself at Old Navy for a very, VERY long time (before last week I hadn't even stepped in an Old Navy for a good 2 years), and forgot that they have their own kind of sizing thing going on. I came away with a pair of cropped jeans in a size 12 (eek!), and a pair of white jeans in a 6 (wow! I haven't been that size since I was.... 14?). Regardless, it was a pain in the hiney to keep going back to the dressing room to disrobe/re-robe/disrobe/re-robe, if you know what I mean.

Once I had selected my purchases (Mar's two sweaters and those crazy-sized jeans), I headed for check-out. I felt lucky to have hit the line at an opportune time when there was only a short wait before I was called to the register. I noted that the line had grown a bit behind me as I whipped out my coupon, satisfied that I was getting at least a reasonable deal.

About two minutes into my transaction, a kind lady tapped me on the shoulder.

"Your sweater is on inside-out."

Perfect.

I thanked her several times for letting me know as I quickly took it off, turned it right-side-out, and put it back on. The people waiting in line smiled and chatted in hushed voices amongst themselves. I wanted to ask my oh-so-helpful cashier if he had noticed it and neglected to mention it, but I didn't. I was VERY appreciative of the correction before heading off to run more errands.

It's made me smile a few times today, as I wondered how long I had worn it around the store that way.
A reason to smile is a good thing, so I thought I would share.

Up next: Mar's guest post. 

Unless something else too-good-not-to-share comes up.

Easter 2013

For the first time ever we had a day-by-day "Holy Week" scriptural review (from here).

(Why have I never done this before?)

I put it together a little last minute (of course), so I plan to embellish it a bit next year.

I hope that once my children have children that they will plan to incorporate it into their celebration.
It was awesome to focus all week on the Savior's life, the Atonement, and his Resurrection.

For the first time ever we made home-made chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs.

(What was I thinking?)

I wanted to do something special for my VT sisters, since I couldn't-for-the-life-of-me remember if I had visited them late in February or early in March and wanted to make sure they felt remembered without having to ask them when our last visit was (total brain fog). 

(Marshmallows. Homemade. In need of a dusting and a trim prior to dipping and drizzling.

Not so over-the-top delicious that I ever need to make them again. Just sayin'.)

Since there weren't quite enough eggs to go around (Bill needed some for HT, too), I made some quick cookies (recipe here), and dipped some Peeps.
Bill delivered our message and goodie plates while the girls and I headed to the broadcast of the General YW Meeting.

Afterwards we colored eggs.  Our usual quick and easy way. (Method here.)

(This was Mauri's favorite egg. The one I absolutely accidentally dropped down the disposal in the sink, cracking it. 
Mar did a great job keeping the meltdown in check, shedding only a tear or two. You can't even tell, right?)

The next day (Easter), the girls hunted eggs before church, leaving the basket hunt for after.

While we waited for Bill to get home after church, the girls and I snapped a few pictures and worked on dinner.

We tried to figure out how to fold bunny napkins, attempting at first with cloth napkins, then paper. Mar, the origami queen, figured out a way to make them work.

The menu:
Ham (overcooked - I seem to either get it done too quickly, or we are all waiting around for it)
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes (the best I have ever made, btw)
Carrot Soup
Pear and Blue Cheese Salad
Rolls (thank you, Rhodes)

Once Bill got home, we enjoyed our cold yummy dinner, hunted for baskets, took a nice long walk (it was a beautiful day), sipped sherbet floats, and played a couple rounds of Aggravation.  We chatted with Lex on the phone, and video chatted with Taylor and Lynnea, Austin and Britt. Perfect.

(It was a little strange with only four of us. A bit reminiscent of our first Easter after moving to Colorado.  We were a tad lonely then, and the girls and I were a tad lonely this year as we waited for Bill to come home.)

Coming up next: a guest post by Mauri.
She spent part of Spring Break at Mt. Rushmore, the lucky duck.