CHARMING LITTLE GIRL

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So, this is our darling, charming daughter Tiffany. I love this photo

(courtesy of Robin Gibbons Photography http://heartfelt.typepad.com/robingibbonsphotography/)

OK, little miss Tiff, she is our people pleaser, our little humanitarian and yes, our charmer. Tiff could charm the socks off an Eskimo in a -40 below snow storm!! That is why I had to do this layout of her. Such a sweetheart!

OH! And lookie what I used on this LO too!! MY NEW CRICUIT TOOL!! Used it for the lettering and the tag! LOVE IT! (Thank you Ed and Liz, made me a happy girl!)

For your humoring pleasure.....

So, I am certain that you all are ever so anxious to hear about our YMCA workout adventures.... I know you will be. Hey free laughs at my expense, why not? So, here I give you part one AND part two of the crazy workout adventures of DarlaLOU.

Thursday Dec 28, 2006 PART 1

OK, this 'out of shape monkey' had quite the experience tonight.... wanna good laugh, yea, go on and read it all.

So, one of my BIG excitements about joining the YMCA was being able to get involved in the Spinning classes....(if you don't know, this is a stationary bike with a heavy weighted wheel type system). I have always loved to bike, and this would be a huge goal for me to get into this spinning and really excel. So, the past 2 days I have been trying to sneak into the spinning room when no one was there to give it a feel. Try out the bike, just kind of test myself, see if I can even hoist my big ol' bootie up there.
Tonight I did just that. (there was one guy in there stretching out on the floor, no biggie) This is where it gets funny.
So, I shift one foot into the pedal strap, swing my other leg up and over and secrue it into the other strap and OYE! up the middle of my butt crack the pointed, skinny, hard seat goes.......help! I hollar at dh who is standing there looking rather humored, he comes over and proceeds to LOWER the seat while I am still all strapped into these pedal contraptions. Ahhhhh much better, lower seat, still hard, still pointed and still poking up my cheeks, but without the force as abovementioned. OK that is better. So, I sit my (scratch that) I b a l a n c e my butt up there on that hard, pointed, skinny thing they call a seat, and start to pedal.....no problem. Feels good. (aside from the seat situation which at this point is getting REALLY uncomfy ) . So, then I decided to see what happens when you move to the standing position (like they do in classes) so I stand up, pedal some more, get that heavy weighted wheel a spinning hard and fast and then I proceed to sit back down. BAD MOVE DARLA. When you get the wheel going, it REALLLLY gets going, and the gravity of it keeps the pedals a pumpin' at a pretty rapid rate...........so when you sit down and TRY to slow your pedaling, well, it don't work simply because the wheel just keeps on a going at the same speed. What does that do? Well, that YANKS one of yer' feet OUT of the foot strap thing and then basically throws the other leg/foot (that is still strapped in) into that hyperspeed the wheel is still going. You can stop laughing now.
So, I finally get the still strapped in foot to come to a halt and all but fall off the (*&^% bike and very HUMBLED I walk out of the spinning room. Yes girls, I more or less crashed and burned on a STATIONARY BIKE tonight.

BUT now I know how it works (sorta) and I WILL BE BACK and I will try it again and this time I will make sure that no one is watching........especially NOT dh!

Darla

Friday Dec 29, 2006 PART 2

I DID IT! I endured the nasty seat on the spinning bike today and managed to pull off a WHOLE 10 MINUTES on that sucker! Yes, I am sore, and yes, the godforsaken thing wedged it's honory self right up there into my unmentionables but I toughed it out and did a good steady 10 minutes on that SOB! HA who is the chump now?! hee hee (ok, yes, it is me still...)

EmOtiOnS running wild

Feeling a variety of emotions today, not sure what or why. (PMS? maybe - maybe not) Whatever the reason, I am. Some good, some bad, some wierd and wishy washy. So strange.

EXCITEMENT
I know, everyone is sick of hearing about this, but I am sooo totally excited about the new changes coming into our lives. GOOD HEALTH is somthing we take for granted so often, and so even though I have been working pretty consistantly for the past few months, I am really really excited to start on new things. Our membership to the YMCA is going to be a HUGE step in the reality of weight loss and fitness and good health. Also the 'keys' I got as gifts will be a big boost as well, books, videos, equipment........all things to keep me going , keep US going. So excited about it all.

WORRY
I would not be Darla if I didn't find something to worry about. I am a natural worrier....don't know if it is just a woman thing, or mom thing.......? I worry. Right now, I worry about Christmas expenses...I worry about failing at the above mentioned portion of my life... I worry about my kids fitting in, and fulfilling my duties at home and church and with family. I really worry a lot about my Mom right now. I worry our time with her is running out and we are missing out on having chances to see her. We should go more often, we should take every chance we have right now. I dont' want to regret these last chances like I have with other family members in teh past.

GRATEFUL
I am so grateful right now. This Season of Giving has opened my heart in ways I never could have emagined. The sequence of events, the pure and simple coincidences that occured, they were for a reason. I am certain of that. So, my heart is full of gratitude for all the blessings we have and all that we take for granted. Home, family, health, jobs, food, vehicles, friends, all this and so much more. So thankful. So blessed.

WISHFUL
I love that word. Since I am somewhat of a dreamer, an optimist and not really too much of a downer person, I am always wishful of things. I have million and one dreams for my family and my self. I have visions of bigger, better things, always more. Not necessarily physical things, posessions per say, but just 'better' lives. Living better, being better. Being more and taking advantage of the gifts God has given us. That type of thing. Using the blessings we have to be better people and live the way God woudl want us to. THAT type of better is what I mean. I am wishful that we can utilize our talents and blessings to the fullest.

I suppose I could rattle on, but I won't. Just feeling very emotional, good and bad, happy and sad, but it all balances itself out.

Blessings. Darla

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

What a beautiful, fun, happy day we have had. We are so blessed. We have a nice, warm home, healthy children and plenty of goodness and love to go around. So thankful today and all the year through for all the gifts God has given us.

BIG happy fun morning at our home. Started early too... 5:00 A.M.! to be exact!! Had our oldest daughter jumping on our bed at this wee hour and told her to go back to bed for 1/2 hr and then come back. 5:30 A.M. on the nose we had ALL 4 KIDS jumping in our bed ready to open gifts and see what treasures Santa had brought! So fun!

Santa.........what a guy!! He sure knows us kids well, doesn't he?? Clothes and music for the older kids, paint ball guns for the 'boys', baby dolls and train sets.....and for Momma??? A CRICUIT!!
http://www.provocraft.com/products/index.products.php?cl=cricut So many other cool things too, but those were the "highlights" of our morning. Tons of gifts and hugs and "thank yous" going around the tree in those wee dark hours of the morning.

After we got our gifts all opened and the kids setteled down a bit, dear hubby Ed and I headed back to bed for a mid morning nap! Hee hee! MUCH NEEDED NAP that is. Then we played and visited with our kids, watched some TV, did some cleaning up, got the pies baked and the turkey roast and stuffing in the oven. The kids even ventured out to go sledding for a bit (didn't last long at all) .

The rest of the night will consist of our family dinner (minus 2 kids who left to go to friends houses :O( bummer ) and some family friends coming to visit for a bit. Totally lazy evening I hope! hee hee!! Going to have to clear a spot for MY new toy down here on my desk!! WHEE! I can't wait to play some more!

MERRIEST OF CHRISTMAS to each of you my friends, blessings to those in need and hugs to those who need them most. Remember to be thankful for all we have and to pray for those who don't have this time of year.

Darla

DaZed aNd ConFuZeD!!

MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!

So, don't ask me why, but dh and I got this wild and crazy idea to hold off on our Holiday shopping this year. WHY? So, we did buy a couple things in anticipation of the Season, but only really 2 gifts. WHY? We saw and dreamed of what we wanted to get the kids, all four of them, but we hesitated and did not pick them up at the time. WHY? We talked about what they wanted, took thier Santa lists with us to the mall to see Santa, then dropped them into the Santa mailbox down town. WHY?

OKOK I guess that will be enough of the beating us up for not shopping in advance! Yes, we did the obviously STUPID by not shopping until now. Yes, our weekend is now a whirlwind of shopping, lines, noise and chaos. (not to mention picked over toys BIG TIME) But, in the end, we are still having fun shopping and the kids will be thrilled with their gifts and toys. I am sure of it. However, lesson learned. I will NEVER wait until the weekend or 2 days before Christmas to do ALL of my shopping EVER EVER EVER again.

Merriest of Holiday Wishes to You and Your Families and Loved Ones. XOXOXO
Darla

Making Christmas Cards....

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OK well on to happier things now.... (flu bug is subsiding finally).

I had taken these pictures a few weeks back as I was mass producing these cute lil' tree Christmas cards to send out...
I had "lifted" the idea 100% from Cynthia (aka rnjetta) from one of my chat groups and she was even so kind as to send me out stencils of the cute tree so I could cut them out for my own cards!! I was tickled pink I tell ya! So, I made 45 cards total.......3 trees per card, hand traced, cut, then chalked and glued to the card...plus the three little buttons on top of each tree... and cutting and folding my actual cards, and then the filling out of each card and then stuffing into envies and actually getting them mailed and handed out. NOW THAT is work. I had a blast making them, really I did! I am so glad another year of cards is over. LOL But well worth it.

Darla

24 Hour Flu Hits Home

Happy freakin' Holidays, right? Yes, my poor household is flu-struck! What a perfectly IMPERFECT time of year for this dang bug to hit us. This past weekend our older daughter had gotten it, Sat night all day Sunday and then lazy recoup time on Monday....... and last night I started to feel icky too, by 9:00pm I was full blown sick. Up and down all night, miserable. Well, then first thing this morning our youngest lil' guy came wandering into my "sick bed" and told me HE had a tummy ache too, and soon after began the course of cramping, pukies and the like. So, my little man and I snuggled in bed all day long, sipping slurpees (courtesy of Aunt Lisa) and Sprite little bits at a time. I just have to say, if I HAD to be sick, at least I had a little buddy to snuggle with.......misery loves company? Ha ha. Well, I am finally feeling a tad better, but lil' guy is still miserable. I feel so bad. Now just praying that the OTHER 1/2 of our household does not get sick too!!!

Off to Lysol and Bleach everything... HEALTHY wishes to you and yours!

Homeless. Homeless, like the Christchild was.....

OK I know I have made reference before of this talented singer/songwriter, but once again, I need to give a big kudo's to my FAVORITE musician out there. http://www.michaelmcleanmusic.com/ This man is SO talented and his music touches my heart in so many ways.
This time of year I have to listen to his CD's over and over.....especially THE FORGOTTON CAROLS which is a story / musical about the people who were all in attendance of Christ's birth and their words and feelings from the outside looking in. VERY touching music. One of the songs is entitled "HOMELESS" ....

" homeless, homeless, like the Christchild was, we are not homeless, homeless, there is hope because, he lived his whole life to lead us, we know he'll never leave us, homeless, homeless, for in his heart there is a home......."

Just incredible music, really touches your heart and mind. I think especially of this song today because of an incident that happened to me yesterday.

Late afternoon yesterday I was headed to take my son to work after school.......yesterday was our coldest day (yet) of the year here in Eastern Idaho...below 0 temps. As I stopped at the gas station to put my last few dollars in the gas tank and then climbed back into the warm van, a scruffy looking man wandered up to the trash can by my van. At first, I immediatly locked my doors. Then as I watched, I saw that he was rummaging through the trash.......I assumed he was looking for aluminum pop cans..to recycle (common occurance around here). Sadly, he was not looking for cans. Instead, the man began pulling out bits of food from the trash, finally setteling on a partially eaten sandwich , which he carefully placed on a paper plate that had also been pulled from the cold, dirty trash can. My jaw dropped, my heart pounded in my chest and I immediatly teared up. Broke my heart, right there in the drive through gas station I watched a grown man, freezing cold eating trash in front of my warm, cozy car. Mind you, I had just put my last $7 in the gas tank and aside from some pennies and nickles in my wallet, I had nothing. Not a check, not a credit card. I was so guilt ridden I wanted to just die.
I drove away, there was nothing I could do and it about killed me. I spent the next 40 minutes between conversation with my son and on the phone with my sisters reliving the whole event, trying to figure out what I could have or should have done. In the end, I did make some phone calls to try to help, my sister even drove by looking for him to see if she could drop him some warm food, but she could not find him. Honestly , the bottom line was that I felt like I needed to do something, but it was too late.
So, I am sure the feelings of hurt that I had yesterday will show themselves in other ways, the bell ringers outside of the WalMart stores, extra friendly hellos to strangers as I go about my days. I just wish I could have done something for that one man. Was he a showman? Is he a professional panhandler who really has a lot of money? or was he someone who was mentally ill or maybe unable to work for some reason? For all I know, he had lost his job, his home and his family and was totally desolate. I don't know. I probably never will. But, this all brings the song I mentioned above to heart. I just hope that if that man has nothing else in his life right now, no home, no warm place to stay and no food.....I hope and pray that he has Christ in his life and that love and spirit will warm him until he can get back into a good place in life.

Blessings to all my friends and family and loved ones this Christmas.
Darla

Dieters Check In

Well, since the monkey mb is not working right now....? (dang msn!) I figured I had to be 'accountable' somewhere for my weekly check in. Here goes.

Really mad and frustrated with myself and the lack of self control with food. Totally went off teh deepend with cookies this weekend.....also went out for Chinese food one night and then made stinkin' taco's for dinner the next. And could I eat just ONE silly taco? Ohhhhhhh no. Totally mad at myself. Need to be more consistant with good food choices and portions. My biggest downfall is always the food.

Now to pat my own back. I have been VERY good about my workouts. I worked out all 6 days last week leaving just Sunday as my day "off" and felt like I deserved it. I did the treadmill each and every day, including my arm excerisizes, some resistance band workouts and leg, arm and abs too. Increased my intensity on the treadmill as well as the time length.......felt great! Go me.

So..... with my workouts cancelling out my food and my food cancelling out my workouts... my wiegh in this morning was to be as expected. I was up .06 oz from last Mon wiegh in, more or less the same. I am bummed, I really wanted to be down a couple pounds, just didn't happen. I so need to get a grip on the food. Makes me so frustrated.

Darla

Getting in the SPIRIT of Christmas

Well, I must admit, with everything going so haywire this year, I have not been in much of a Christmas mood. On top of the things going on with family, health and busy schedules, housework, chores and taxi-ing everyone... we have NO SNOW here in Idaho Falls! UNREAL? yes. it is. Here we are just a week or so away from good ol' Santee' Clause comin' and NO SNOW?! ick!

Well, rather than be a nasty ol' scrooge of it all, (which I think I have been - just ask my kids)... I figured I needed to find something to brighten my Holiday spirits. Little did I know it would be tonight.

This evening I went with a friend to pick up "Secret Santa" gifts for some local families. This gal works both at a pre school and a large retail chain and some years ago they started a small Secret Santa deal between the two and now it is HUGE! They put out tags in the retail store for employees and customers to take, they then buy the gifts and return them to the store and they are put together in pkgs for each family of the preschool and then given to them. We got to go pick up the pkgs tonight and sort them and tag them for each family........SO MUCH COOL STUFF these people are getting! Makes your heart swell to know there are so many great, loving, giving people out there who are willing to sacrafice to make another families Christmas brighter. Talk about putting you in the Christmas Spirit? Ohhh yes. Absolutely. So no more bah humbug for me.....I am sending the ol' Grinch back up the hill and pulling out my bestest Cindy Lou Hoo voice to start singing Holiday cheer!!

Happy Holidays to you too!
Darla

Funny Mommy

OK So it is no big secret or suprize that I LOVE Stacy Julian (SS Magazine). The woman is totally incredible, creative, inspiring, heartfelt and just COOL! Well, amongst my other BLOG reading adventures each day, I always visit her BLOG too. http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/
Well, she is just a hoot........and yesterday she posted this GREAT Holiday "funny" on us Mom's...
thanks Stacy.

Funny, Funny Mother!
See Mother.See Mother laugh.Mother is happy.Mother is happy about Christmas.
Mother has many plans.Mother has many plans for Christmas.
Mother is organized.Mother smiles all the time.Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.See Mother smile.Mother is happy.The shopping is all done.
See the children watch TV.Watch children, watch.See the children change their minds.
See them ask Santa for different toys.Look! Look!Mother is not smiling.
Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.See Mother sew.Mother will make dresses.Mother will make robes.
Mother will make shirts.See Mother put the zipper in wrong.
See Mother sew the dress on the wrong side.See Mother cut the skirt too short.
See Mother Put the materials away until January.
Look! Look!See Mother take a tranquilizer.
Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.See Mother buy raisins and nuts.
See Mother buy candied pineappleAnd powdered sugar.See Mother buy flour, dates, pecans, Brown sugar, bananas and spices.
Look! Look!Mother is mixing everything together.See the children press out cookies.
See the flour on their elbows.See the cookies burn.See the cake fall.
See the children pull taffy.See Mother pull her hair.
See Mother clean the kitchenWith the garden hose.
Funny, funny Mother!See Mother.See Mother wrap presents.
See Mother look for the end On the Scotch tape roll.See Mother bite her fingernails.
See Mother go.See Mother go to the store Ten times in one hour.
Go Mother, go.
See Mother go faster.Run, Mother, run!See Mother trim the tree.
See Mother have a party.See Mother make popcorn.See Mother wash the walls.
See Mother scrub the rug.See Mother tear up organized plan.
See Mother forget gift for Uncle Harold.See Mother get hives.
Go, Mother, go!
See the faraway look in Mother's eyes.Mother has become disorganized.
Mother has become disoriented.
Funny, funny Mother!
It is finally Christmas morning.See the happy family.See Father smile.Father is happy.
Smile, Father, smile.
Father loves fruitcake.Father loves Christmas pudding.Father loves all his new neckties.
Look! Look!See the happy children.See the children's new toys.
Santa was very good to the children.The children will remember this Christmas.
See Mother.Mother is slumped in a chair.Mother is crying uncontrollably.
Mother does not look well.Mother has ugly dark circles Under her bloodshot eyes.
Everyone helps Mother to her bed.See Mother sleep quietly Under heavy sedation.
See Mother smile.
Funny, funny Mother!
Ha!

To all of us Mother's out there..............MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WOW! Lots of exciting things to share!

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First off, I have to share my Holiday Cyber Crop creations from Wed with you. On my post yesterady I told about our online ladies having a "cyber crop" and what fun it all is. I was SO happy as I got THREE layouts done! So cool. The one I posted on yest post.....it is all about me and my scrappy obsession. Then there were these 2 challenges..... so fun! The green one was to use 3 different pattern papers but no cardstock, also you could use any premade emblessishments and you had to title it "I Believe"... and you had to have hidden journaling on the page too! ( Mine is under the tag with the star) The second challenge was to pull out three photos from this past year, then do the who/what/where on them and then you could use one pattern paper and one cardstock and all the ribbon you wanted. This one was hard for me, I like to mat my photos and with only 2 papers that was difficult to do. I love how they both came out though. THANKS JULES for the push!

In other news, Ed and I went to his followup and "first breakfast" at the New U clinic this a.m. Things are good, we are both losing weight pretty well and we got lots of instructions to keep us on our toes. One REALLY EXCITING thing was that the excersize physiologist (who is a hottie I must say) gave us each an excersize band (stretchey tube thing with handles) and a sheet full of moves to do with them for strength training!!!!!!!!! I am SO happy about this! He is such a nice guy and so willing to talk to me about my goals even though I am not in the program with them all. I can't wait to get the bands out and use them! SO COOL!

Today I am going to get lazy. No where to go, not much to do and no car so I am going to do a quick HOUSE HOP and then a nap! (I have avg'd about 4 hrs a sleep per night for over a week straight now) I did get up early again today and did the treadmill........feels SO good to get it done and it also get's me going in the mornings!!

OK that's all for now. More later...........

me

Cyber CROPPIN' Oh Yeahhhhh!

OK see all this STUFF I have???? Yup, I am a scrappin' nightmare..... LOL all the goods, all the fun toys, and no time to scrap lately. Well TODAY is changing all that! Today is my happiest day for a long time bc I get to sit down and SCRAPBOOK!

My online buddies are holding a fun filled day of CYBER CROPPING for all of us to scrap and chat together... challenges, games, prizes, just like a real crop but long distance !! How much more fun can things get?!

So, I am up and at em' early today, got kids and dh gone to school and work, got my treadmill time in (go me!) and even have had a good healthy breakfast. I am set up and ready to create!

Merriest of days to you, I know mine will be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darla

** I just added the first Layout I did today.... it is a page about ME and my scrappy obsession!! I used the new Rob N Bob superblab papers and stickers and lots of fun deco scissors!! The journaling is in a tag behind the bottom photo. **

We WISH You a Merry Christmas .... We WISH You a Merry Christmas...

We WISH You a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

What a FUN evening we just had! Middle dd Tiffany and I just went on a wagon ride with horses in bells and all in the snow and rain to carol through our neighborhood for Church! It was SO MUCH STINKING FUN!! We had two wagons, BIG ones, each held about 30 people....... we rode around for about an hour singing all along. SO FUN! Really put me in the Holiday spirit!!!

Hon'.....do these make me look FAT?

OH MY GOSH!!!

So, I decided after all the nice comments today that I needed to look and 'compare' for myself. Here is what I found.....


The photo in the sepia tones is back in May 2006 at CKU Provo, the one in color is from in late August 2006 and then the one in black and white is just last weekend. The group photos at the top were from back in Sept (the outdoors one) and then just last night with my family. HOLY COW!!! I do look a TON different, even just in my face! If nothing else, my complexion is 1000000000 times better and I actually do have a chin!! Imagine that! My eyes look brighter, my smile is more genuine and I just look healthier! Wow..if those pixtures are not incentive to keep going I don't know what is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am down ALMOST 25 # now since August..... I will be at 4 months on Dec 23, 2006. I cannot believe it!

Holiday Mahem!

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WOW! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!
I can say that NOW I can really feel like the spirit of the season is here. Last night we hosted my side of the families annual "Brother and Sisters" dinner. I am the 'baby' of 12 kids in our family, being that there are 101 different marriages there are really only small "batches" of siblings with the same parents, but since we were all raised up together, we are family 100% if you ask us! (lots of 1/2's, steps, ect) So, a few years ago we decided that it was fitting to start having this sibling pot luck to see everyone, the new kids, the growing ones, all that fun stuff. We ended up with 36 people in our house (if I counted right) and it was FUN!!!!! The photos tell it all.........lol (thank you Liz for taking pix all night for me). I don't know how these will show up in the final format, so here is a descriptive listing for you ! Ha ha!

-Red sweatshirt with the three kids in navy blue is my sister Lisa and her 3 kids
-Family of 5 all dressed in browns, with the 2 GORGEOUS girls and the "surfer boy" is my sister Carlee and her family (these are the soccer crazies I talk about all the time)
**Carlee and Lisa are my two FULL sisters**
-Big group photo of all the adults, siblings, some of their kids, anyone over 18 was in this shot
-Big group photo of all the kids, everyone under 18 was in this shot.....TONS of my neices and nephews and GREAT neices and nephews
- Group shot of the 6 siblings that were there, across the back, Lisa, Carlee, Sandy, Darla and in the front were Gordon and Linda (they are the 2 oldest siblings)
-And the shot of my sis Lisa, in the red, chatting with our brother Gordon in front of the fireplace.........lots of these photos going on all night, but liked this one best! :O)

We were missing 6 siblings last night, and their families for various reasons. My older brother Bobby who passed away several years ago, missing him a lot. Sherann, who lives in WVirg who obviously couldn't be here. Then our Step Moms' 4 kids, Don, Joyce, Mig and Linda.... they have never come to this gathering, but doesn't seem to hurt anyone's feelings?

Hope this whole thing comes out....... and I hope that you can define who is who in the photos.
I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Merrry Christmas!
Darla

(God Bless Robin who says I look skinnier in these pictures!!!!!!!!!! Ohhhh thank you!)

A few more photos.....

A few more Holiday photos to share too...

The kids at thier 'progressive dinner' with the fancy table settings..... they loved the folded napkins, were'nt quite sure WHERE they went obviously? (Funny thing was, after dinner, they were all still folded up and they set them on top of their wine glasses! LOL) Also a fun photo of Chris figuring out the lights on our Christmas tree......love that shot! And last but not least, a pix of my stack of homemade Christmas cards as they were in assembly line fashion. Happy Holidays Everyone!

First Dance....

Tonight was our local area "Mall Ball" aka all area Christmas dance. My oldest ds Chris' first "real" dance!!! He went with is good friend Merilee and another couple, Erin and Jason. (Chris is in the striped tie) They all looked so sweet all decked out and ready to go! We had dinner at our house (more pix to come) and then then headed out after that. I'll tell more later, but wanted to share these pix with all my friends asap! Isn't he handsome!!??

Darla

BIG Holiday Weekend Here

STRESSED OUT.
Oh yes, and Happy Holidays to you too. hee hee. OK seriously, this weekend is a megga stress for me, lots going on, but IF and WHEN I make it through I can sit back and pretty much relax up till' the actual Christmas Day celebration. Ok...yea, right, whatever.
TODAY is a megga super duper house cleaning extravaganza around our home. We have bedrooms to clean, laundry to catch up, floors to mop, dusting and organizing to be done. TOTAL house cleaning makeover going on here. Kids are pitching in to help out (thank goodness) and I hope that we will have everything in order quickly! (and it stays that way for 24 hours!!)
TONIGHT I get to play "chef" ala' Darla/Mom. Our oldest ds Chris is going to his first formal dance with a DATE and they will be having a nice 'fancy' dinner HERE at our house......... on me. There are 2 couples coming, they will be feasting on chicken teryaki , fruit/veg kabobs and fried rice. They are doing a 'progressive' dinner date before the dance and I volunteered myself for the main course. FUN! I even bought a new satin tablecloth and got out my Christmas dishes for the occasion!
TOMMORROW our oldest dd Dani will be speaking in Church....... that is an exciting thing for her and for us since we are pretty new to this Ward. I am proud of her!
TOMMORROW EVENING we will be hosting my family Christmas get together. :O) JOY! No, seriously, it will be really nice, crowded in my little house, but nice. We will have all my brothers and sisters and thier families (kids, grandkids) at our home for a quick get celebration and pot luck dinner. Looks like we'll have about 40 people all together. OYE! Ham, turkey, stuffing, potatos, salads, all kinds of goodies galore I am sure. We all exchange goodie plates and cards and get to visit and catch up on life. It will be a nice time for everyone I hope. My main concern is 19 KIDS in my house.....eeey gads! Scary!

Then Monday we will be back to the normal 'grind' of things........work , school, etc. DH won't be able to drive for a few more days so I will get to taxi him to/from work, but that is ok. Just can't wait to loose all this added stress of the weekend.

Until then..... Happy Holidays?

Ed came through with flying colors

WHAT A LONG DAY!!!!!!!!

Dh went in this morning at 6:30 am to our hospital for his surgery on his stomach. I , of course, had to be with him, (that sounds wrong, I WANTED to be with him), and so I also was up and going in the wee hours too. So, we get there, sign in, get all checked out and he goes to the surgical suite about 8:00 am. At 10:00 am -ish, the Dr comes and reports to me all is well, dh is in recovery for about an hour. At 11:00 am I went up and got to be with him in his room. We were there until after 5:00pm tonight!!! It was a very very very long day. Finally got him home and then had to run and pick up Rx' from WalMart.....then home to fix kids dinner..... after dinner I lost ALL my mojo/energy/oompfh! and now here it is only 8:30 pm and I am so ready for bed. ack!! But, dh is ok, he is feeling pretty good and that is what matters most, I am so glad he is OK and starting to heal and get on his way to a healthier life. XOXOXO to Ed!!

Terrible No Good Rotten Very Bad Day !

<<>

OK you know they say when it rains it pours, right? Yea, well today is getting to be "one of those days" really quickly. Morning started off great, no biggies, no stress... no worries. Then the little things all started in on me...and basically now I just want to run away to a beach somewhere. Danggit! I hate days like these. Hate them. BUT being the optimist that I am (99.9% of the time) I am certain all will be well and everyone will have a happy smile on their faces by dinner again.

BTW anyone want a hunk of junk piece of crap minivan that is a non stop money pit? Yea, I don't know how much I want it anymore either.....

me

Finally got ONE gift done for Christmas!

Well, you can't see them all that well...but here is the 'set' I made for one of my sisters for Christmas. There is a clipboard (large photo) and then a mini notebook, some family recipes and then a small photo album with photos of us three sisters in it (that I bought at Michaels dollar section). I love how they came out, I'd like to have done a whole recipe box that coordinated with it, but time did not allow it so I at least got in the family recipes for her. I hope she will like it..... love that paper (the Daisy D's red barn/sunflower) so much, it was quite the quest to find it...had to go to Utah!! to get it! LOL

Hope you like.
Darla

PS Yes, the tree and decor' pictures are still coming.

Coming soon to a blog near you ...

THE TREE.
(and all it's trimmings)

Photos
Story
Humor

It's the hap- hap- hapiest time of the year....

Oh, that should read the buz- buz- busiest time of the year.... Happy Holidays!!! I can "officially" say that now, right? Thanksgiving is over and CHRISTMAS is next, then a whole NEW YEAR too! WOW!

Well, things around here are MORE than crazy these days. Just tons going on, kids activities, preparing for the Holidays, and more. Today I have a 4:00pm Dr appt, Parent Teacher Conferences for the kids and a7:00pm meeting for Church. Crazies! Upcoming week will be just as crazed as we need to get out and put all the Holiday decorations, prepare for dh's surgery next week, we also have a Church family party and clean house and prep for a big family get together in 10 days and so much more. Cooking and baking, card making, shopping, gift wrapping.... Just the normal hustle and bustle of the Holidays I guess?

One thing I did want to share is our newfound love of the old cardgame UNO! A couple weeks ago the kids friends brought it over to play, our youngest ds Micheal always gets left out bc he can't play the games.......he totally picked RIGHT up on this one and it has been non stop ever since! While SIL and her family were here over Thanksgiving they bought us our own deck of the cards and now Mr Micheal thinks we ALL need to play UNO with him 24/7 !! (oh and he also calls it "dos" as in uno, dos, tres... LOL) So, I included a photo of the kids all playing UNO over the Thanksgiving Holiday too. FUN times. So glad we have family to share the holidays with and make memories with. How blessed we are.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland.....

These are pictures of our house this winter holiday season.....the BEAUTIFUL window painting was done by my SIL who came for Thanksgiving... she did an amazing job, so pretty, all free hand! She is awesome! She has been painting windows for the Holidays all over the Boise Idaho valley! I am so proud of her... The other picture is our newly put up Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Our oldest ds Chris (15) put them up with his buddy last night, all 20 BOXES of them......... aren't they pretty?

Thanksgiving review...

YUMMY! This was some of our Thanksgiving dinner.... and snacks from earlier in the day. LOOK AT THAT BIRD! Isn't she purdy!?

Growing Up WAY Too Fast

Holy moly this boy brings so much happiness to our home! This is Micheal, our "baby" boy... he will be 6 yrs old the first of the year and I do not know where on earth 6 years have gone! I know that with him being the youngest, our last, we are noticing more things as he grows, we are relishing in his achievements, watching every little move.

This is him at my sister's house a few weeks ago helping his Uncle Tony cut tree branches, such a little man!! So cute! Amongst other things, Micheal is learning to read (wow it goes fast!) and is loving kindergarden. I am so thrilled to watch him learn, he is amazing and catches on to every little thing so fast. Reading and writing, letter and number recognition, all of it, he is on top of his game!
He is still 110% BOY and loves his cars, trucks, trailers, boats, planes, trains, bike, wagon and anything with wheels or that is mobile! Also being a boy's boy, he loves puppies, bugs, and creepy crawlies... mud, football and sports. Such a boy. Growing up so fast. Love him so much.
Sweet boy. My baby boy....

Well, we are winding down here...

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Now, honestly, this photo is several months old, it is my ds Micheal and our pup Libby (who is not longer with us ...) but I thought it looked like a great way to end a day with a full belly of turkey!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving!! Had SIL and her family here from across state, she, her dh and thier 3 kids have been here since Tues evening and will head home sometime tommorrow. We have had a blast. Today, of course, was the best part, tons of food (I am talking TONS of food), family time, games, football on tv, more food, more fun, more great memories! On the menu at our home was the following:

Appetizers-
Deviled Eggs
Cheese ball with crackers
Meat and cheese with crackers
Veggie tray with ranch dip
Sausage stuffed mushrooms (YUMMY-O!)
Egg Nog
Sparkling Cider

Dinner-
Turkey
Stuffing (in and out of the bird)
Mashed potatos and gravy
Rolls with honey butter
Cranberries
Fruit salad
Olives

Dessert:
2 pumpkin pies
2 dutch apple pies
1 bannana cream pie
1 chocolate cream pie

and that is what I call a good day! YUM! Hope you all had as good as a day as we did, so blessed with family, home, food, and great memories.

Darla

In a few short hours....

Our home will be bursting at the seams with nearly double the normal 'occupancy' ... ahh yes, THE HOLIDAYS are here.

Sister in law and her family are headed our way from across state. They will be spending 2 days at a local hotel and then one night here. We will be feasting upon great mountains of turkey, stuffing and the like. WalMart certainly entertains our budget this time of year.... food for double families is not cheap! LOL

Besides the blessed food and nourishment that awaits.....we have had our track shoes on running a miracle marathon cleaning and preparing for our family to visit. Laundry piles under control (or hidden away), every last dish, fork and bowl clean and sink polished and shining... the carpets all freshly vaccumed and nar'e a farkle to be found. Beds fresh with linens, bathrooms smelling lemony fresh and floors mopped and clean. Ahhh yes, the clean, pristine home of a family of 7 - soon to become the home of 12 for a few days and alas, the maid will have left the house and chaos shall reign. There will assuredly be clothes, toys, dishes, and other misc things strung from hell to high water and yes...we will all sit back and visit and have fun. Oh and I am certain that everyone will in fact remember that at one point YES the house WAS clean. LOL

Why do we do this again?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

If you have found my mojo please call...

1-900 HELP ME!

OK now that is out of the way, seriously, hee hee, I am just drowing in lack of energy yesterday and today. MIGHT be due to the fact that I got up at 5:15 am both days (which is SO not me) and my sleep pattern is a mess? Not sure but DANG! I need a kick in the patootie!

Yest (Friday) I babysat all day, cleaned and re cleaned my kitchen like 3 times, entertained a Kirby vaccume salesman (and got my livingroom carpet cleaned for free) and basically did a whole lot of nothing. Today I played taxi, went grocery shopping, took the kids for a walk at the park and yea, that's about it. I NEED to get my butt in gear and get some serious house work done as we have family coming for Turkeyday next week and somehow I need to clean every nook and cranny before then. Where DID my mojo go? hmmmmm

(if you find it let me know please)

Have a great weekend! me

My fat butt.

OK you may or may not want to read this... but hey, I am more documenting for myself than sharing so if you want to go ahead, if not. Stop now.

Back in Aug, I went to a seminar about weight loss surgery. Not the traditional gastric, a newer fandangled thing. Suffice to say, it scared the BEGEEBERS out of me. Nope, not what I am looking for. So, starting in Aug I began a weight loss lifestyle change of my own. Small baby steps. No running out, buying shakes, Atkins diet kind of thing. I began slow, and have continued slowly, little bittty baby steps. The reason I am posting this is that I wanted to "list" all these baby steps and show myself just how HUGE they really are.

- Cut out pop (diet or reg) completely 100% no longer a soda drinker
- Started drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day (8 oz each)
- Began eating MUCH more veggies, salads, whole grains, and lower fat and calorie foods
- Started walking, excersizing and moving several times a week
- Increased my walking endurance by LEAPS and BOUNDS
- Have been able to actually JOG (for just a min or so) on the treadmill (THIS IS HUGE!)
- I have lost to date almost 20 pounds AND over 25" of FAT off my body
- I feel great! Look great! (or at least better) and I am not tired all the time!
- I have been able to get into some old clothes
- My skin on my face is clearer and my "monthy" time is not as bad

really, I could go on and on, but the bottom line for me is that I CAN do this on my own and I AM doing a great job. Yes, it is slow, I'd love to be loosing 20 # or more a month, who wouldn't? But realistically, I am doing things the way I should and I feel really really good about my choices.

HUGE THANK YOU to my family and friends and sisters who are backing me up and pushing me forward to keep on going. YOU GUYS ROCK!

The SKINNY Chicken Darla

My first "babies"

Arean't they so cute? These are my 2 neices, Megan(in the jacket) and Bea (Beatrice). I got the awesome opportunity to live with thier family when they were babes.....and thier little brother Teddy too. I got to spend Megans first month of life with her and I was there when Bea was born and stayed for 2 weeks. When baby brother Ted was born I was living with them and I got to be much more than just an Auntie to him for the first yr or two of his life. So, (aging myself here) now Megan is almost 22 yrs old and Bea just turned 19....Ted just turned 17 too. I got to go visit them in Twin Falls (and Figo the pup) a couple weekends ago, it is rare that I get to see the girls....so it was a great treat when they BOTH came to visit me while I was there! So pretty they both are. I could tell stories on these girls that would curl their hair....hee hee but I won't. However, I just had to brag that I am indeed the "Aunt Noo Noo" (aka aunt lou lou) to these 2 beautiful young ladies..... "GOODNESS GRACIOUS PEACHES CLAIR!" Love you girls.....

Wow, another week closer to the Holidays.

So, a couple of years ago my sister got this cute teeny tiny little pup of a thing (looked like a yorkie terrier) and named him FIGARO (like the music, Feeeeeegaroh! LOL) Now, here it is a couple yrs later and Figo the dog/mut is quite the king on his castle. Now, my sister and her family are dog lovers. They also have 2 HUGE German Shepherd dogs, Gonzo and Lady, and then there is lil' Figo the mut. WHO rules the roost? Who nips and nags and yappy yaps at the big dogs? WHO gets HIS food or snack or treat first? WHO gets to rid in Momma's Mercedes? And you can only imagine who eats up his kibble snacks then taunts the other dogs for theirs?? LOL Love this lil' mutley doggie.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just realized out of the clear blue skies today that Christmas is coming in like a MONTH! Granted, I still have to make it through Thanksgiving, but hey, CHRISTMAS IS COMING! I have ONE gift sort of put together, that is it. I am making lists and starting to consider who and what and where...... but honestly, I am so not ready. OH and on top of all this sudden "realization" I also almost forgot I am "hostessing" a family get together here on Dec 10 as well. OYE!

Happy Holidays Anyone?

LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW.......

LET IT SNOW!

OH I could not be any happier than I am right now here at this moment! I have SO NOT been in the Holiday spirit (even though WM has been trying for 3 weeks now). I have not had a mere' thought of Christmas in my head, more of a dreadful fear of it creeping up too fast. I have been trying to put together my Thanksgiving menu and plans and just have not had my heart in it. BLACK FRIDAY sales? not even a wish or want to go..... BUT NOW LOOK AT THIS !!!!!
WE HAVE SNOW ON THE GROUND!!!!!!!!! And it looks like it is going to stay! We got a couple good inches last night, (oh yea, dh almost slid us off the road but handled it like a pro) and it stayed down in the 30's overnight so it stuck! Today we have more chances of SNOW and tommorrow chances of SNOW and RAIN (ick) But the temps are down all week to come so hopefully we'll see more white stuff! I am so rockin' over this. Ready for lists, baking goodies, making hot coacoa and more! BRING IT ON WINTER......I am ready! hee hee Darla

(top two are our backyard and a babysnowman dh built, the tree is our front yard, just taken this morning!)

OK I know, I am late....about 2 weeks late.... but I still wanted to share. :O) These are our family pumpkin's from this HALLOWEEN. The 'baby' one is Michea's (Daddy made it) the middle one is Dani's (Mom made it) and the biggest one is our oldest ds Chris pumpkin he did all himself. Tiffany painted her pumpkin at a Church activity with Daddy (not pictured) and it was cute! I thought this was one of our BEST YEARS ever for pumpkin carving.... I love Chris' pumpkin, he did a great job, he free handed it and did a really creative job!! Fun stuff.....

Super easy LO to share...

So I was doing the daily Blog Browsing yesterday and Ali Edwards http://aliedwards.typepad.com had the most amazing LO on there. Super easy, basic, simple, whatever, I loved it. So I sort of "lifted" the idea, didn't do the exact page (bc I didn't have all those COOL stamps) but I did my own version and I really like it. Got the opportunity to really journal and play.Photo of my 'baby boy' Micheal sleeping, so tender and sweet. So creative, so fun. Love it. Darla


(Click for larger image)

Friday.......longest day of the year I swear!

THAT is how I feel today .... pooey on it all! Friday can kiss my BUTT!

Scrapbook Anon Group Layout for Nov 6

Well here it is. I have slacked off on the past few sbanon challenges, just been too busy. This one was hard for me too because I did not have any 'skeleton leaves' or pressed flowers to use. ( I had skeleton leaves and gave them away! )
So, after much digging to improvise I used an old SU! set of stamps on vellum and made a folage style border for my lo. (hope that counts Gina) This is a LO of my dh (dear this time) Ed. I used Crate papers and a ton of misc other things. There is pocket journaling behind the photo and the title letters are not as "orange" in the real LO....they sure scanned wonky. Anyway, there ya go. Thanks for looking. Darla

My desk is not a mess .....

I was reading Donna Downey's blog this a.m. and she made a really profound statement that I promptly made into a sign to hang by my desk.

MY DESK IS NOT A MESS AT ALL...
IT IS IN MIDST OF
"CREATIVE CHAOS! "

Thank you Donna. As you can see from THIS photo, I am in creative chaos right now. (and dear lil' Micheal is lost in there too!) I had challenged my Monkey girls to clean up thier scrappy areas this week so that this weekend we can all focus on a clean workspace and create like the artistic wonderwomen that we all are. Point in case, my desk. I have been very busy this week with lots of projects and creating card kits and sorting through LO's to submit and 101 other things. It all sort of just piles up. Can I work in this mess? yes. Can I be my best creative self in this mess? no. It makes me feel frumpy and crowded and flustered and ultimatly I loose my creative mojo because I can't deal with it all. So.......this afternoon I am going to be doing some definate major scrappy cleaning so that I can actually WORK on some projects!!

There you have it...my mess..er' , I mean my CREATIVE CHAOS . Carry on ladies....carry on.

BUSY CRAZY TUESDAY !

Well holy moly today is going to be a crazy one... I have tons to do, I mean TONS to do. I am really behind on the house, laundry, yard, projects and stuff. Today is going to be a workin' day for me!
I had a great weekend, hung out Fri night with the family, Sat we did some yardwork and rented a couple of movies. Sun I got to go to Twin Falls to visit my sis for the day and I LOVED it. Monday I had to get my car into the shop (again) for the tranny, looks like a major repair or relpacement (thank goodness for our warranty) so I am down my van this week. :O( Luckily we have a 3rd car and dh can drive it. (I have my Dodge Caravan, he has a Ford Explorer and then he and ds have a Firebird Formula- play car) So with all the running and stuff the house has been sorely neglected, it is bad. Today will be my makeup day! :O) Hope the work goes quickly. On my agenda:

- clean house thouroughly (mop, dust, vac, all that) *HOP HOP HOP for Darla*
- work on laundry through the day
- get leaves raked up and bagged (this will be an afterschool job for me AND the kids)
- work on a couple crafty Christmas gifts
- squeeze in a workout or time on the treadmill
- finish up some card kits for a class at Church tommorrow night
- and try to figure out something for dinner tonight

yup, that is all. Let's see, I was up at 7:00am, it is now almost 8:30 am, I still have a good 6 hours till' my younger kids get out of school!!

So, the above photo is my card kits thus far for the Church thing, I am really worried they are too simple/basic but on the other hand I know most of the gals going are not "big" scrappers and they might get overwhelmed with harder projects. I am waiting some feedback from my mb buddies so hopefully that will help.

Off I go to conquer my TO DO LIST for the day! Take care and happy voting day to you!!!!!!!!

I did THIS tonight....

My BIG Friday night date.....my scrapbook desk and a few goodies! LOL
Seriously, it was nice to just sit down and play a bit, got this page done of my niece and I really like it. I realize it is a VERY busy page, sort of a collage-like look? Artsty - fartsy? Eclectic, ahhh there, that sounds better. Anyway, I like it.

I used lots of My Minds Eye (pp and tag) and Making Memories products, We R Memory Keepers and Foofala pp, some 7Gypsies rub ons, Prima flowers, and misc ribbons and lace. It was a lot of fun to put together. Loving it.......

Just wanted to share my latest lil' project! Thanks for looking!

FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY Where'd the week go?

Well, I can hardly believe it is Friday again.....man the week goes by fast sometimes. Different activities with the kids, all the awesome tv shows on this time of year, just everything going by so quickly.

This week was a wierd one too. Tiffany spent three days home sick from school, I did take her to the Dr on Tuesday and it is just an upper resp virus and a mild ear infection but man, she is coughing up a lung and it seems like she just starts to feel a bit better then bam! she is down again. I made her stay home one more day to just be sure she is getting better. Hope her makeup work at school isn't too bad. Poor kid, the one who LOVES school...

So HOLY COW I AM HOOKED ON TV this fall! There are so stinkin' many cool shows on right now! Survivor and ER are rockin' my world as is The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, Friday Night Lights (wayyyy awesome show!) , and Extreme Home Makeover. DH is into Lost, Jericho, Heros, CSI and some others too! Let me tell you, TV ADDICTS we are in this house!!! ack!

This weekend is sort of a DO NOTHING time around here... no big activities, just relax and hang out. I want to get the last of the yard cleaned up (hoses, leaves, ect) for winter and I'd also like to deep clean some parts of the house. We'll see what really happens though LOL! I honestly have about 10 pressing scrapbook related things to work on (isn't that nuts) so I will be spending a lot of time at my desk I think too. I need to catch up, but that is the story of my life!!

Guilty! I missed going to the Church Gym twice this week.....! HOWEVER, I did do two workouts at home so I don't feel too bad, I just had a hard time getting up and going in teh mornings and with dd Tiff home it just made it worse. Still, I should have gone. That's all.

Guess I am done rambling for now... not that I dont' have 1001 other things to be doing, just felt like journaling and catching everyone up on my crazies. LOLOL Hope you all have a great weekend and maybe I'll h ave some new fun things to show you on my next posts!

HAPPY FRIDAY! me

November leaves are falling...

Can't hardly believe it is actually NOVEMBER already! Yikes, where has this past year gone? So much crazy busy life going by with kids, family, school, dh work, and more. I cannot even fathom that the Holidays are upon us...heck, I am still recovering from the festivities in July! LOL

I do love fall though, one of my favorite times of the year. I made this cute lil' scrap page border for a contest, but it also would / could be put on a wooden base as a cute door hanger too... change up the AUTUMN to WELCOME and voila'!! I can't wait (shhhhh don't tell dh) to get the Halloween decorations down and put away and get out the fall decorations instead LOL! Shame one me, he enjoys that so much, but I am ready for some pretty fall things instead of screeching witches and stobe lights! Much more 'peaceful' to have a nice tablecloth out with a basket full of flowers and such, don't you think?

Well, all my scrappy buddies are headed up to the mountains tommorrow for a retreat. Sort of bummed I am not going, but I really cannot complain as I did take nearly a whole week this past spring to go play. Just wish I could have gone, going to be some great fun classes and tons of cropping time too. Bummer. I hope they have fun and TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES to show me (hint hint ROBIN!) .... fun stuff.

Lots to do on the scrappy circuit this weekend. Need to do some card kits for Church and also some scrap kits for prizes from a contest. Have a few challenges to work on and some circle journals that are needing to be passed on to Robin too... (oops!) I am sure I'll keep busy, always do!

Until later..... happy FALL ya' all! ( I have always LOVED that saying!! ) hee hee Darla