Hmm...it's been awhile!

Does anyone know where January went? I can't believe that here we are at the end of the month already. I've gotta quit blinking!

We tried finger painting the other day - as i'm sure you figured out by the pictures - Zane really liked it and Rhett really wasn't thrilled. I had to actually put his hands in the paint for him. It was rather comical because he just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the paint on his hands....maybe a few more months.

I also included a picture of my "just because I love you" roses from my hubby. Sigh. How can you not love a guy like that? The've been blooming for over a week now and I just love them. And yes, I'm spoiled.

We haven't done anything exciting - too busy hiding out from the blizzard and the bitter cold. Brrrr!!! I HATE the freezing temperatures. I told Cliff that after we've flipped enough houses we can buy a nice little house down in Huntington Beach so when it's like this here we can go on vacation to our nice "warm" house. He just laughed at me. Well it's a nice dream at least.

We've decided to put our house up for sale this spring....probably April. We have a lot to do before then! Finish painting trim, stain transitions, figure out where to move half of our furniture....big list but it will be worth it. And then it's on to the next project.

I went to a baby shower on Friday...oh the sweetest tiniest little girl. She was born at 34 weeks and is just over 5 lbs....so little and fragile. I got a nice long hold and yes I was definitely thinking that we need a pink one while I was holding her. Everyone brought clothes and of course the majority of them were pink! Everytime the mom opened one the whole room would chorus "ahhh" as she held up the newest and of course cutest addition to babe's wardrobe. It was fun to be out with the girls. I got to see lots of friends that we don't see very often and had good chats with everyone.

I'm busily trying to finish a baby blanket for one of my friends so I can start on a couple more. So many good friends are having babies this year....hard to keep up with them all! Good luck to everyone...can't wait to meet all the new additions!

And that's really about it. I'm not feeling anything profound....just happy the sun is shining brightly today....maybe it will help me get over my winter blahs!

Technology

I have decided that one of the loves of my life is technology. You can unraise your eyebrows all those who are thinking about how UN savvy I am when it comes to technology. I'm not talking about being the first to know how to use something or being right up to date on everything...I'm talking about loving how it blesses my life and makes things easier for me. I have said it before but I'll say it again - I would not have made it as a pioneer or a woman in any earlier time than widely used indoor plumbing and electricity. Me and dirt and outdoor toilets are just not friends. But I'm getting off on a tangent. Here's a list of things that I love: (the obvious electricity, plumbing etc) Internet, ipod, van, DVDs, convection ovens, digital cameras....and my new favorite is USB ports and the zMate Pen that I bought for it. (There are lots more to list but you get the idea). Back to my new favorite...my CD burner on the computer has not been cooperating and I've been having a really hard time getting all of my pictures off of my hard drive and onto something for a backup. I have everything printed but I'd be devastated if I lost my pictures. It finally dawned on me that the pics are stored on my computer as info so I should be able to just transfer them to something else and I was right. I got a great deal on my zMate Pen so I bought 2 and was able to transfer a whole years worth of pictures onto it and wipe them off my computer in 20 minutes! It was fabulous! I'll never go back to burning pics on CDs again. Oh, and if someone knows a different name for my USB thing please tell me. I'm assuming that the zMate Pen is just the brand that I bought. Again, I'm so not savvy to these things...just like it when it works to my advantage.
Other than that things here have been pretty quiet. Cliff and I went out with some friends to a fantastic Italian place in Red Deer. I'm not even going to attempt the name of it because I always get it wrong. It was so much fun - great food, great company, wonderful music and no kids. Perfect night . Oh, and I got a great pair of dress slacks for the date and a few other things coming up.
Cliff has also convinced me to buy an electric smoker. We borrowed one from Trail (perks of having a hubby in the business) and smoked some pork loin on Sunday. Oh so yummy! And so easy... I think. Cliff did all the work for the meat but it didn't seem like he was overly strained by it! Anyways, you can do just about anything you want in it. So we're planning on one but not too soon.
Life is good!

My Bigger, Deeper, Post

Happy Birthday to me....Happy Birthday to me.....Hmmm...two birthday pics a year apart. I'm thinking that my 27th year is starting out a lot better than my 26th! But I shouldn't knock my 26th year....I did a lot of things that I'm very proud of and experienced a lot of new things to. I flew for the first time, got a second honey moon with my hunny, we bought a house, I lost 60 lbs....yep some pretty good highlights if you ask me!

As most people know I am not terribly subtle. So when thinking about what I wanted for my birthday (always tricky as it's so close to Christmas) I decided that what I really wanted was some time with Cliff and no kidlets. This ended up working out great 'cause Grammie S came home with us after Christmas and was kind enough to watch the boys. So with the boys taken care of I booked us a temple session and off we went to Edmonton to do a session. Now here is where my confession comes in. We have lived in Central Alberta for 2 1/2 years....and this is the first time that I have been to the Edmonton Temple. I've attended quite a few sessions in that time but always in Cardston. It was very exciting to me...almost like the first time I went through the Cardston Temple. But anyways off we went. I was really surprised by the size...I knew it was a small one but I've only ever been in Cardston and walked around the LA one and both are huge. However, as soon as we entered the doors the same sweet spirit filled me and I was still so excited to be there. We both really enjoyed our time there and after the session we headed for lunch at Montana's. (Easily accessible and courtesy of gift card!) We had a yummy yummy lunch (ate sooo much but enjoyed every bite) and lots of good conversation. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't discuss the kids...only other things and I did pretty good. I think I slipped a few times but I was really proud of myself. We were supposed to finish off the day with a trip to Ikea, but we missed the exit - Cliff thought there was one more a little further up but there we were on the hi way headed home. Sigh. Next time.
My mom was leaving Saturday morning so we just hung out Friday night and watched a movie - lots of fun. Oops....forgot to mention that we made the yummiest stroodles on Thursday. Yum. Just thinking of them makes my mouth water. Thanks again mom!

Saturday after Grammie left me and the kids just hung out and had fun together. Leslie and the kids came out for the afternoon and then Dave joined us after Cliff got home. We had supper together, put all the kids to bed and enjoyed some couple time. Very nice. Zane was so funny all Saturday - he'd come running up give me a big hug and kiss and wish me a happy birthday. He's such a sweetheart. He even made me a birthday card which he shoved under my door while I was changing out of my dress on Friday. He makes me giggle.

So Cliff bought me some wonderful books from the LDS bookstore for Christmas and one of them is Stragling Your Husband is NOT an Option by Merrilee Browne Boyack. He said he bought it because of the picture on front - hubby with a remote staring around his wife while she stands in front of him with hands on hips. It's actually a book about improving marriages and I have loved it! Now neither one of us is worried about our marriage or anything like that - Cliff was a little concerned about how I would take it - but I figure since we're in this for eternity I'll take all the advice and tips I can to make our progression quicker, faster and less painful. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and I'm re-reading the last 3 or 4 chapters because it is just filled with such good stuff. Poor Leslie and a few other choice souls have had to endure me reading them random paragraphs and such because I have loved it that much. Did I mention that I love this book?

Changing directions a little bit...I have been blessed with several wonderful spiritual experiences lately and feel so blessed to have the life that I have and to married to the wonderful man that Cliff is. I am excited about some of the things that I have been told in the Temple and in blessings and know that this coming year is going to be just as exciting as 2007 was. I am so blessed to have the family and the friends that I have...thanks for putting up with me!

Working on it....

I promise I am working on a wonderful post in my head....the problem is that I have so many good and greater things to do every day. Today was our first day back to preschool routine and me teaching piano lessons - with squeezing in an extra one that missed yesterday. Plus getting a call for a meal for compassionate service (I was supposed to be tomorrow but the lady wanted to switch) and then the gal didn't even want me to bring it over after I'd already made a huge pot of stew...and I just made stew last week for my fam. They weren't terribly impressed. Oh well. At least I can give you a few pictures to enjoy until I'm ready to do a really great post! Oh and thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a great one but i'm not giving details yet - that's part of the great post!

Keep Moving Forward

I know, I know. You all thought that I got on board the holiday train and decided never to return.....I considered it! However, here we are back in Sylvan Lake and slowly getting back to real life.

First a quick holiday summary: We left on the 21st for Barnwell and stayed there until afternoon on the 24th. Poor Rhett came down with the stomach flu the night before we left so missed our own Christmas (sacked out on the couch...poor kidlet) Anyways, we had so much fun with Cliff's family...ate so much good food...and got spoiled rotten with time, attention, fun and gifts by everyone. On the afternoon we packed up our still sickly kids and headed for Raymond. Shortly after we got to Raymond Santa Clause showed up and surprised the boys. The night was a little chaotic but lots of fun and the next morning we had everyone up except for Zane. Daddy went and woke him up and then the fun began. We had a great day opening gifts and playing with new toys and games and stuff. We just relaxed and played and enjoyed being with our family. Cliff left for home on Boxing Day and the boys and I stayed until the 30th. Then we brought Grammie home with us....and now she has the flu. Oh, did I mention that Grandpa Dooley got sick too? He never learns not to share his whip creme with Rhett when Rhett's not feeling good.

So now we're home and the gifts are put away, and the decorations are down and stored away for next year and we are on to a brand new year. I've worked really hard since June and the Thursday before Christmas I hit my 60 lb mark....yep, I've lost 60 lbs! I am no longer considered over weight and I really can't put into words the joy that day brought me. I was so proud of myself and happy for the results. I've gone from a size 16/18 jean to a size 6 or 28 waist. I've gone from a 2xx shirt to medium or large. It's really mind blowing some times and I'm never going back....I love my new body and am excited to reach my last goal....15 lbs to go!

And of course, with the new year and the new me I've been thinking about things that I want to do and improve on. I've really got quite the list and as I've been thinking about it a phrase from the movie "Meet the Robinsons" popped into my head : Keep Moving Forward. There are a lot of things that I have started recently and some not so recently that I want to keep going with. I want to keep moving forward in developing my sense of me....in becoming a better wife....a better mom....sister, daughter and friend. I want to keep moving forward in our real estate journey...I want to read all the good books I got for Christmas and apply the advice to my life and my family. I want to look on my failures as steps to success and see just how far I have come....not only in my physical health but also my spiritual and mental health as well. So that is what I am aiming for. Not a big to do list, or 10 new resolutions. Just the determination to keep moving in the direction that I feel good about.

We have lots of pictures....mostly from Barnwell as we video taped in Raymond...haven't chose my favorites yet. Maybe next post! Hope everyone is having a wonderful new year!