A VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW

Larry J - guitar and longboarding, especially sliding....

Laird - juggling and longboarding, especially sliding...

Landon - riding his bike and playing the DS (and Wii)....

Lach - growling, picking flowers and blowing dandelions....

Larry - woodworking and longboarding...

Laura - photography and saying the alphabet backwards and wishes that riding a unicycle and doing a cartwheel were on her list.

If you do a family talent show, let me know - I'd love to see!

Click here to see Sherri's...

STAKE WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

was Saturday afternoon and I was asked to decorate the church gym for the luncheon.
I decided to do a whimsical garden party.
All the linens were white, 4" pansy pots were placed in white bags, chairs had white covers with 9" wide light green tulle strips tied in a bow at the base of the seat, all 32 tables had a bouquet of white balloons and all eating utensils and glasses were clear...

Ruth and Kim helped me with the linens, tulle and place settings Friday morning and Stephanie helped me bag the pansies and do the balloons Friday night and in the wee hours Saturday morning.

We may have watched She's The Man twice while decorating Friday night and there may have been some helium incidences.

A huge thank you to Al's Nursery in Woodburn who had a wonderfully huge assortment of gorgeous pansies and were kind enough to pull all the ones I needed, were thoughtful enough to pick them so they were all the exact same color of velvet purple and gave us a wonderful price.

I was so impressed with their customer service and assortment of beautiful plants, they will be the nursery I go to for all my gardening needs.

If you're local, it's worth the 20 minute drive to Woodburn. They were amazing!

PRESENTS, FAMILY AND CAKE

were in abundance tonight at Landon's birthday celebration.
He was super excited to see his cake and was in rapture with gifts...

We may have had a lot of helium sucking going on.

And, the wee-est of the wee may have been super sad the birthday presents weren't for him.....

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Landon's birthday....

Landon is smart, handsome, funny, sweet, a whiz with computer games, DS, Wii, etc..., loving, a jokester, has the cutest laugh, makes me laugh numerous times a day, loves to take photographs and videos, would eat macaroni and cheese (Kraft) everyday if he could, is a great brother, gives the best hugs and luckily for me still loves to snuggle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDON!!

A MEMBER OF MY MAN CLAN IS TURNING

5 on Saturday, so sister power was activated tonight. We're a great team and like to burn the midnight oil.
Inspiration for the cake came from this post, but I used this fondant recipe..

Last night I made the fondant and let it set up overnight.
Then earlier today I made two 9x13 cakes, layered them with buttercream frosting and cut them into a number 5....
Tonight, many dye jobs later, much like my sister's hair, we had a multi color assortment of fondant shapes....

Fondant was smoothed on the cake and shapes were put into place. It's hard to tell with this lighting, but the base fondant color is sky blue...

Our finished product is a cake that will surprise the birthday boy.

We just hope he isn't disappointed it isn't Luigi on top - his favorite but he was sold out.

It would have taken me FOREVER to finish this cake, (my first solo after this class), thanks Steph for all your help - you are the best mushroom maker!!....

CATCHING SNOW FLURRIES

on your tongue... What's better than that in Kid Land?

DAY 9

of Mustache March.
He has chosen to sport a Fu Manchu .... Only 22 more days to go.....

I'M LOVING THIS

double wrap watch.....
Has anyone seen a similar one around at a reasonable price?
This one from hermes is hugely out of my price range.....

MONOCHROME MONDAY

WHEN YOU COMBINE GRANDMA

and Grandpa Joan, cousins, a sombrero, a penciled moustache, homemade tamales, a (virgin) margarita machine and Perfourm Putty, you have the makings for a fun evening....

The boys made their own bouncing balls and dinner was delicious!

What a great night.....

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Derek's birthday......

Derek is loving, has a contagious laugh, he used to be my motorcycle riding buddy, but sniff - he moved away and sold his bike, he is caring, spiritual, kind, thoughtful, loyal, funny, super fun, a great uncle and brother and is awesome in cake eating contests.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK!

I'M REGISTERED

for The Sellers Retreat in San Francisco in May and the best news is that Steph registered too!
Yay! for FINALLY being able to go to one of Nicole's workshops that I hear nothing but raves about!

Yay! for marketing direction for entrepreneur endeavors!

Yay! for a sister's weekend!

Three cheers for May!

I'm a smidge excited......

I AM A CREATOR

who is expressive, romantic, intuitive, nonconforming, impulsive, sensitive, emotional, creative, has a great need for self-expression and is constantly learning something new according to this color career test......

via How About Orange

I thought it was spot on....

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED A PEN PAL?

A couple of weeks ago I signed up with the Pen Pal Club over at ReForm School....
The first meeting is on March 15 in California but it's open to everyone.
I got an email today saying they are not limiting spaces and they need more people, especially international.
They want to go global - everyone is welcome!

If you would like to participate too, email the following info to rollcall@reformschoolrules.com:
name
age (optional)
address
hobbies/interest
married/single
kids/no kids

(please be brief.. save the good stuff for your first letter!)

Pen pal match ups will come a few weeks after the first meeting.
I'm so excited! This will be so much fun!
Want to do this with me?

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE

premiers this Friday on NBC and I'm soooooooo excited for this show!
The series' will start off with Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Broderick, Susan Sarandon and Emmitt Smith.

On a clip I saw, Sarah has a connection to the Salem Witch Trials.

Who knows, maybe we have the same grandma or it could be her accuser!

You never know......

DID YOU KNOW

photo by me - it's one of the fountains you'll see walking downtown Portland.

Article info via Shape Magazine, March 2010 pg 35

that if you notice yourself feeling irritated, try taking a swig of water.

Turns out quenching your thirst isn't just good for your health - it also boosts your mood!

Studies have found that people who were mildly dehydrated felt angrier and more confused than those who had their fill on fluids.

How much is enough?

The standard eight 8oz glasses a day should do it.

So, for a good time, drink up!

A SISTER DATE

was tonight for Stephanie's birthday.....

and she chose for us to see Leapyear.

LOOOOOOOOVED this movie!

I smiled throughout the entire movie and now I want to take a trip to Ireland.....

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Stephanie's birthday....

1979 - Ivon, Me, Stephanie, Michael in our backyard in England

Stephanie is talented, thoughtful, interesting and interested, caring, loving, funny, kind, has the best contagious crying laugh, fun, a great sister and an incredible aunt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!

RED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

is a delicious and easy recipe I got from Sherri.....4 chicken breasts- cooked and shredded
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves –minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chilies

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add rest of above ingredients and simmer on low.

Meanwhile combine:

2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1c sour cream

Heat and blend. Fill corn tortillas with chicken mixture in 9x13 pan. Cover with sauce
350 for 30min. Garnish with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc....


Mmmm, mmmmm, good.....

LOVE DARE - DAY 40

Love is a covenant.

It's the last day of the love dare! Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.

The challenge for the last day is to write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps, if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God's eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.

SPRING BLOOMS,

is there anything as lovely?...

Spring is officially here in 19 more days.....

LOVE DARE - DAY 39

Love endures.

Love never fails. Never.

The challenge for day 39 is to spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of commitment and resolve to your spouse. Include why you are committing to this marriage and that you have purposed to love them no matter what. Leave it in place that your mate will find it.