TRUE SIGNS THAT THE WEATHER IS GETTING NICE!

My St. George house with the yard landscaped by my talented hubby. He has people knock on the door to tell them how amazed they are. Today he even got a letter in the mail addressed to: "Beautiful Yard" with a sweet thanks you note saying how much they appreciated the gorgeous view. What a nice note to receive!

My Davis house neighbors aka party animal Frat boys from Theta Xi. Wow! That is all I can say about this one! They would FREAK OUT if they knew I took pictures, but they were passed out and never knew I was even spying!

BAKERSFIELD, CA SPANISH SPEAKING LDS MISSION

This darling girl has the patience of Job for sure. She kept her call for TWO WHOLE WEEKS waiting for me to get time off work so I could be home to see her open it. 

The emotional moment that she has been waiting for, a Mission call to serve and teach of Christ.

YES! Spanish speaking, which she is really good at after 5 years of Spanish, which also means she will only spend two weeks in the MTC and she will join her group and leave with them to     "B-town"!

The "support" group and Hannah fan club! She is so excited!! She knows this call is especially for her. She is a bit disappointed that people can't believe she is really going to Bakersfield! She can not wait to meet the Hispanic people of this area and teach them a life changing message! Hannah  is so beautiful inside and out and has the kindest heart of anyone that I know. (I am not biased  as her mother either, anyone that knows Lissi will immediately vouch for her kindness!)



A few of my VERY FAVORITE people in life call Bakersfield home!! The Waite Family and The Nilsson Family, both who will take very good care of my girl. And who can forget Dwight Yokum singing about Bakersfield? I think my sister and I are going to do a "missionary version" of this song! (may be to frightening too publicly post)

CONGRATULATIONS MY AMAZING DAUGHTER!!

PICTURES OF MY PEEPS

It is once again the tradition time of Peeps. I hope you have your package bought and ripped open so they can dry out for a few days before eating (honestly it is the best way to eat them! perfect texture.)

A few of my favorite Peeps dioramas so far:

(Peeps going political and plastic surgery peeps)

HAHA! The best right? I have a feeling this Peep doesn't have as much trouble breathing in her Spanx as I do mine. (but totally worth it with such results)

Seriously. The dog was JUST FINE. It didn't care, it was going on vacation!

WHOA! What amazing results! The trending thing to do now days!

March on little Peeps!

GIFTS WE HAVE LOVED... WHO YOU CALLING STRANGE?

You may remember this bad boy from our Thanksgiving trip to Park City. It was an awesome gift given to Shawn's brother Jeff, but his very thin wife thought it was for her too (she works out at least 2 hours a day) and they were ticked off! It was the best! We put it under their tree with a tag from Shawn's mom, they were not happy and of course we let them mull it around all day before confessing that we gave it to them. I wish I would have filmed their rantings!

Who wouldn't be so excited for this? Knit your own bicycle seat kit! So I snagged this for Lissi, at the bargain priceless price of $1.99 at Urban Outfitters.  I think she is hiding her excitment or maybe saving it to take on her mission if she goes in a biking area she will look so Mormon and hipster!

I LOVE this even though my sweet daughter called me pathetically unromantic!  I thought it was so great for my dear husband! I can imagine lots of fun with this "Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure". Unromantic? Pshhhh...what do you know anyway Lissi?

Another family favorite (and dirt cheap at Amazon) Remote control flying shark. It is filled with helium and swims just like the motion of a real great white! Super cool! Young and old alike adore this one!

This lovely and functional "Cat Butt Pencil Sharpener" was a gift for me from my kids.  Insert pencil,  sound of life like meowing and the shavings fall into the "litter box". A true conversation piece that any home would be better off with!

Parker is the king of quirky, and this was perfect for him.  Trust me, just get your own and read the fascinating cards covering everything from foreign movies to raw food. Very white.

HANNAH'S HEART ATTACK

My sweet 15 year old Parker surprised Hannah (as parents we were baffled and pleasantly surprised also). Before Hannah came home from work on Valentines day, Parker (all on his own and without being bribed, provoked or compelled) decided to do some fun quotes and decorate Hannah's room. Chandler did not want to miss out and put ballons everywhere. The quotes were very much true to Parker's fun sense of humor. I captioned some of the quotes because his family is pretty much the only ones that can interpret his handwriting (sometimes).

"I have sister issues and parent issues and all sorts of  things"
Kim Kardashian

"I grew up believing my sister was from Neptune and was sent here to kill me."
Zooey Deschanel

MY ISSUE WITH MAGAZINES...

Don't get me wrong. I love magazines. I do not read them cover to cover ever (but really, who does?) and one quirkly thing about me, I usually always read them from the back to the front. I have no idea why or where I picked up this habit. At work when I am waiting for my next patient to arrive I love reading (emabarassingly), mindless magazines like People (the trashy side of me I suppose!)
Some of my favorite magazines that I actually subscribe to are Sacramento Magazine which has great ideas of the latest and greatest hapenings in the area. Also National Geographic is one of those that I adore reading. But, like many of you, I can't seem to get out of the check-out at the store without grabbing a magazine while waiting behind the line that seemed the fastest and turns to the slowest the minute I get into it. Anyway......here are a few of my magazine issues: (get it, that was a pun.."issues" haha!) I crack myself up!

FUNNY! The  8 reason's my diet isn't working? Duh, Because I likely made the dessert and devoured 8 portions!

Walk off 10 #'s! Yeah right, I will do that right after I make this Brownie Ice Cream Sundae and eat it. It will take me about 4 solid weeks of walking to burn the calories in the dessert!

And  gotta love this one, "swimsuits that fit" Sure! Any swimsuit can fit if you have ENOUGH FABRIC! But after indulging in the above recipes, the fabric needs to increase!

Yep! Doing the cookie recipes, then worry about the article about being more confident if I have time!

"The best new Jeans and flats" Perfect, because after making recipes I will need new jeans. However the flats are the ONE thing that never changes sizes in my wardrobe, hence my shoe fettish!

Ok, this one I may try the "Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes" but let's be honest, the one I know I will try is the not so healthy treats that jump off the cover and beg to be made. Good thing I kept the  above issue to get more jeans that flatter!

I swear these magazines set me up for failure. Bipolar magazines= diet article combined with decadent recipes and how to find clothes that flatter? Why do I continue to buys these? See, I have issues!

I WANT THIS SONG AT MY FUNERAL

SERIOUSLY, I WANT THIS! I want everyone to dance and clap their hands and tell silly stories at my graveside service while this is played!  Not that I am planning to go anywhere soon, but no one ever plans on it really. Once I helped with a funeral and the only thing they wanted played  was "Black Velvet"  (very loudly) and they were all wasted from drinking Black Velvet alchohol, a story for another time, just a little side note).  This song makes me happy. I have listened to it over and over again. I don't know who chooses the music for my favorite show "Parenthood", but the have really great taste in music! ENJOY!

LYRICS:

When I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards

Gloria, like some other name we kept on calling ya and waiting for change
But I belong to all of your mysteries

And all of us, we’re meant for the fire, but we keep rising up and walking the wires
So when we go below don’t lose us in mourning

’Cause when I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards

Oh my love, don’t cry when I’m gone
I will lift you up, the air in your lungs
And when you reach for me, we’ll dance in the darkness

And we will walk beyond
Our daughters and sons, they will carry on
Like when we were young, and we will stand beside and breathe in their new life

’Cause when I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards