What are the odds that Jeff and I would park right next to a car in Boise, Idaho last weekend and even NOTICE their license plate? Pretty slim. But not as slim as the odds that their license plate would be one that was MORE "ME" than any other I've ever seen. I simply couldn't RESIST getting down on the ground and taking a picture next to it...even in a dress! LOL! Are you KIDDING me??? SQUATCH??? (Click on the word "SQUATCH" in this entry if you don't quite know me well enough to know the significance...) HIT IT! Oh bless. Love the fun "little things" that God throws in our paths JUST to make us smile. How GOOD He is to us. Love this picture that my sister Pulsie took of me giving my baby a reeeeally BIG "SQUATCH" to celebrate this awesome find!!! *sigh* Happy day.
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16 entries from January 2012
{ham with cheddar/broccoli rice and scrambled egg surprise}
Looking in Jeff's almost bare cupboards and refrigerator last night, we immediately spotted a package of Lipton Cheddar & Broccoli Rice, a few eggs & almost 3 week old ham from Christmas Eve with my family..smiled at each other and said, "Nahh...we don't need to go to the store! We're good!" Loved talking and laughing in the kitchen with Jeff's arms around me (oh my heart, I can't tell you how much I love that...) while I whipped up our mystery dinner. And as it turns out, "3 week old Ham with Cheddar/Broccoli Rice and Scrambled Eggs" is surprisingly delicious. LOL! Just one more thing I love about us... :-D
{hair feathers....who would have guessed}
So many things going on in my life at the moment. I SHOULD have a lot of editing to do tonight. And yet, due to one of those "many things going on in my life at the moment," (losing 2 TB of memory on my external hard drive, which included 2 years of personal photos and professional photo shoots), I now, ironically, have very LITTLE going on tonight. And, since sitting here remembering in detail JUST how much I lost on that hard drive isn't the most uplifting or productive use of my time, I decided that I needed a good distraction tonight. And so, I've have decided to turn my attention to HAIR FEATHERS!
I have actually been meaning to blog about hair feathers for quite a while...and now that I have had all of my work taken from me, 'twould seem that now is the ideal time for it. :-) Quite a few months back, a good friend of mine e-mailed me with a link to his daughter's new hair feathers business, "CHEAP FEATHER HAIR EXTENSIONS." Those of you who have known me for longer than about 3 or 4 years have watched as I've had my own little "Extreme Makeover" with my weight loss, dress and even accessorizing. That long ago, I didn't wear ANY jewelry or accessorize in ANY way. I didn't even have my ears pierced yet. Up until a few years ago, I depended HEAVILY on my girlfriends (who are fashion divas! LOVE THEM!) for fashion advice as I went through a pretty major transformation to UNCOVER the woman I was always meant to be - the woman on the OUTSIDE, to match the woman on the inside. ;-) Through the years, I have enjoyed finally taking care of myself and learning to accessorize in MANY different ways. The moment I saw HAIR FEATHERS, I have to admit....I got a few butterflies in my tummy. I...LOVED....THEM. At first, I wasn't sure if I could pull them off. I slapped myself immediately and reminded myself that I am not 87 years old and even if I was....."you are NEVER too old to look FABULOUS."And so, just recently, I approached my friend's daughter Janae (above, on the right)..who is GORGEOUS and such a sweetheart...and decided to get my very first bonded set of hair feathers. I actually ended up getting two beautiful bonded sets - a neutral set and a more SASSSSSY set (with pinks and turqouise). I decided to start out with the more neutral set...just to see how I liked them. Janae is so sweet. Since hair feathers are an accessory that is so completely new to me, I felt like I needed a little coaching. And even after a little coaching, I was not completely confident that I would install them so that they looked natural. At that point, sweet Janae drove out just to install them FOR me. I was SO grateful. It took me about 87 seconds (or less) to realize that I was completely IN LOVE WITH MY NEW HAIR FEATHERS!!! (And Jeff seems to really like them too....which makes me happy.)
Oh my goodness.....they are SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!!! I have had them in my hair now for just over 3 weeks or so, and have had NON-STOP compliments on them. They wash easy, they dry easy, they brush out easy...and they look FABULOUS straight OR curled!!! This may sound so funny, but I have never had an accessory that single-handedly makes me feel SO sassy, young...and beautiful. A very small price to pay....for such an amazing feeling. There are some days (like today actually), when life gets a little heavy...and I forget how fun and young I am. Who would have ever guessed that something as simple as HAIR FEATHERS could lift my spirits and remind me of that?! Love it!!! (Below is a picture of me on Christmas Eve with my beautiful niece...sporting my awesome new hair feathers. The other pics are obviously NOT me. LOL!)I looked into hair feathers a little bit before I really settled on these particular ones. As you know, I generally like to know everything about things I invest in. I don't have much as far as "expendable income," and wanted to make sure that if I was going to invest in these for a little "treat" for myself, that they would be good quality. I very quickly learned that although you can find feathers for cheaper elsewhere, you will also end up getting cheap quality that won't last...and will end up being a huge waste of your money. Cheap Feather Hair Extensions sells HIGH QUALITY FEATHERS at extremely affordable prices!!!! I still can't believe the price for a set of bonded feather hair extensions (5 feathers, bonded together - like my set....NATURAL FEATHERS)...and the fact that they have been in my hair for over 3 weeks and still wash, dry, brush, curl, etc....over and over and look FABULOUS!!!!
Oh my heart...how I love my hair feathers!!! I love how glamorous they make me look when my hair is curled...and how sassy and fun they look when I throw my hair up in a ponytail! Listen to me...I sound like an infomercial. LOL! But it's true. Ladies...you know how it is. It's funny how something so small can truly lift you and make you feel beautiful. Hair feathers have done that for me. And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sharing things that lift me!!! I knew right away that I wanted to blog about these fun accessories as soon as I saw them ON me!!! And so, I approached Janae a week ago and told her I was going to share the AMAZING NEWS about her new business and fabulous products and asked if she would want to give a set of hair feathers away when I decided to post my entry. Not only did she decide to give away A set.....she has generously offered to give away 8 SETS of BONDED HAIR FEATHER EXTENSIONS (5 individual feathers in EACH set)....4 SETS EACH....to TWO OF MY BLOG READERS!!!! And that's not all. Janae has offered to include all of the tools necessary to install your hair feathers....a loop, beads and even a set of pliers to EACH of my two winners. HOLY HANNAH!!!!!!! I have to admit....I'm actually a little envious of whoever wins them!!!!!
And so, as has been customary in the past whenever I do any giveaways here on my blog, I had to come up with a fun way to choose a winner. Due to how hair feathers make me feel, coming up with something was actually very simple. If you'd like to be entered in the drawing for 4 SETS of BONDED HAIR FEATHER EXTENSIONS & INSTALLATION TOOLS (I will have TWO winners!!), all you have to do is leave a comment here on this blog entry before THURSDAY NIGHT at MIDNIGHT. But not just ANY comment. I want you to share something simple that LIFTS you when you are feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. It can be something you wear, somewhere you go, something you read, something you listen to, etc. SHARE with me what LIFTS your heart...and you will automatically be entered to win one of these TWO amazing prize packages from CHEAP FEATHER HAIR EXTENSIONS.
Many thanks to sweet Janae for helping me with my new set of hair feathers......something simple that has made me feel young and beautiful. Priceless. For how much these simple things have lifted me, and for what awesome service Janae provided, I am honored and happy to share her business with you. Not only have the feathers themselves brought LIFE to me....but writing about them has made me forget, even for just a few moments, the challenging day that I had today. Hair feathers. Who would have guessed?! Such a blessing. :-)
{a house of order}
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order,
a house of God.”
-D&C 88:119-
During the holiday season, both Jeff and I decided that we wanted to start 2012 with both of our homes in order. Jeff recently moved into a new place and wanted to make it feel like home. In his case, it would be a matter of decorating and organizing. IN my case, I wanted to complete gut my cute little home and live more simply than I ever have. When I moved into this basement apartment that I love, I was forced to get rid of so much, simply because of lack of space. However, I still held on to things that "I just might need someday." My home is just not big enough for really any storage...at all. Therefore, I decided that it was time to get rid of everything that I "might need someday" and really simplify things to make our home even FEEL more open, just by getting rid of things. While the little ones were with their Daddy over the holidays, Jeff and I spent a long evening in my home and completely gutted it. Jeff worked so hard with me...but more importantly, he was there to reassure me that it was okay to throw things away and/or give them to D.I.
The majority of the time was spent in my little kiddies' bedrooms..and mainly in their closets. We ended up filling 4 boxes and 6 garbage bags FULL of toys and clothes that I ended up taking to D.I. After going through my own things, I came up with another 4 bags. I gave the majority of my clothes to a dear girlfriend of mine, but donated a TON of things to D.I. Everything I gave away, I just might need again someday. I gave away every glass bowl, every platter...everything. Jeff told me that D.I., in a sense, would act as my VERY inexpensive storage unit. WHEN I do need those things again, I can go there and purchase what I need, for PENNIES...contrary to what I would spend on a storage unit. Love his support and rational thinking. Oh how LIBERATING it was to THROW...THINGS....OUT and GIVE....THINGS....AWAY!!!! We just didn't have room for everything we had.
My little ones are so wonderful at keeping their rooms clean, but with SO many toys and clothes, it was becoming a challenge for them to do so. Understandable when you have MORE "stuff" than you have space. We got rid of at LEAST half of what was in their rooms. I was a little worried about what their responses would be when they came home. BOTH of them felt EXACTLY what I did.....FREEDOM! Neither of them have even NOTICED what is missing. It was such a good feeling to clean things out, leaving them more room to play. HAPPY DAY! (P.S. Mama...my new vacuum is a DREAM!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!! Thank you so much for the fabulous Christmas present!!! LOVE YOU!) :-)
Making Jeff's house into a home has been something that we have both thoroughly enjoyed. We have worked so hard the past month and a half....making home decor, purchasing and assembling a LOT of IKEA furniture, painting his dining room table, etc. etc. etc. Who knew that assembling furniture, etc. could be fun?! It doesn't matter what we do....if we are together. Truthfully though, Jeff and I thought it was interesting that we both actually DO enjoy putting things together. There's something awesomely satisfying about taking something that begins in a million pieces and building something awesome out of it. :-) Together we transformed an empty apartment into a very cozy home with SUCH good energy. I love beautiful homes that just FEEL good. When I walk into a home that is beautifully decorated with "stuff," I am impressed. However, what I love even more, is when I can walk into a home WITHOUT the person present who lives there...and get a very good sense of WHO THEY ARE....simply by what their HOME tells me about them. Have you ever thought about that? What does YOUR home say about you? I love that we created together, a home that says SO MUCH about Jeff...without a single word being spoken.
Since I designed the beautiful print of Jeff's last name in Chinese quite early on in our relationship, I was excited when he favored the idea of an Asian-themed bedroom. So much thought went into this room...and I don't think it could have turned out more perfectly. I was so pleased that the vision I had had for the room was something that Jeff really loved. His bedroom is, by far, my favorite room of the house. It is so well organized and serene...with SO much of Jeff in the room. I love that the artwork displayed all over the room is not just a collection of pictures we found at a store. Every photograph in his room, in his entire house actually, are pictures that HE took himself. I was so thrilled to find that Jeff is a natural photographer. He didn't take a LOT of pictures on all of his amazing trips and study-abroad visits....but every shot he took is QUALITY. I did spend time editing his images to give them a more "artsy flare"....but my goodness...I had amazing pictures to work with from the start. So impressed. Hard to believe that all of the shots he took are with a little 5 megapixel "point and shoot." As pleased as I am with how everything came together (even down to the little water fountain and beautifully PERFECT "Asian-esque" candle sconces above his bed that Little New Year brought him)....I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know how much JEFF loves it. *sigh* I love that.
Jeff's sister Lindsay and her husband Lyndon were Jeff's first house guests...and the first to get the grand tour of his new home. We invited them over for dinner on New Year's Day. I admit, I was a little nervous, since Lindsay is the first member of Jeff's family that I was to meet. All of my worries were for nought, however, since I was immediately comfortable around BOTH Lindsay and Lyndon and loved them both right away. It could also be because of the circumstances of how I greeted them...which was Jeff's idea...and an idea that we both thought was too ridiculous NOT to do. LOL! When Lindsay and Lyndon arrived, I greeted them and mentioned to them that Jeff had stepped out for a second and should be right back, but had told me to go ahead and give them the grand tour of his home. We chatted for a bit in the living room...on into the kitchen and into the bedroom. After giving Jeff the "code sentence" we had discussed prior to their arrival, I took Lindsay and Lyndon into Jeff's bedroom...where we found Jeff meditating by candlelight in his calm and serene Asian sanctuary...accompanied by soothing Chinese erhu music. LOL! So silly. Love us!
What a fun evening we had with Lindsay and Lyndon, chatting over dinner at Jeff's and then heading over to their house to watch a movie. Such a blessing to meet some of Jeff's family...and to feel so welcomed by them. What a great night!
As for the rest of the house, we kept to the red/black/grey color scheme, but with little variations here and there. His bathroom is simple, but so classy and masculine. He even has a new black robe to match. (Jeff loves his fluffy robe so much....it makes me smile just thinking about it. There's something about it that makes him feel luxurious and...awesome. I love that.) And to both of our surprise, the picture of the Chinese bathroom is such a fun and even classy "finishing touch." :-)
At first, Jeff's front room seemed a little bit of a challenge. Jeff is "babysitting" two of his Mama's prize animals that she shot herself. They are beautiful...but they are HUGE...especially in a small area. However, with some brainstorming between the two of us, we were able to not only work around them...but create a really AMAZING space that not only reflects beautiful places Jeff has traveled, but also his most favored past time....HERPING. By adding some GORGEOUS plants that we found at IKEA and SMITH'S MARKETPLACE, the animals look SO at home in this space.
A few weeks ago, I downloaded some of Jeff's favorite herping pics and edited them to bring out the colors, etc. I am amazed...utterly amazed...at the AMAZING pictures that Jeff and his friend Devin have taken on their many herping adventures. These are, without exaggeration, National Geographic quality. How AWESOME to have these beautiful pictures that reflect one of Jeff's greatest passions, up on his wall!! Pictures that HE took!!! Love that SO MUCH!
We carried over that HERPING theme into his kitchen with pictures on top of the cupboards and on the countertops. Who would have thought that having SNAKES and alligators as HOME DECOR would not only be acceptable...but BEAUTIFUL!!!! Love it!!
My personal favorite (oh heavens...it's ALL my "favorite"...but this is ONE of my many favorites) is the display that we designed for above his dining table.
I fell in love with all three of these shots the moment he showed them to me. With some editing, these beautiful shots from Jordan and Egypt very literally look like gallery prints. The mosque picture takes my breath away. LOVE IT!!!! We were able to purchase all of Jeff's frames (16+ frames, including the HUGE frame for the print of the mosque) at IKEA for about $80! AMAZING.
After many discussions about seating ideas for Jeff's living room, he settled on the idea of a LOVESAC. Loved that idea...and we were thrilled to find an $800 LOVESAC with a beautiful BLACK CORDEROY COVER on KSL for only $175...which we ended up getting for $150. After dry cleaning the cover and airing out the sac, it is LIKE NEW..and the PERFECT finishing touch to his living room. He may still choose to add additional seating in the future, but for now, the LOVESAC is perfectly adequate...for us. :-)
Overall, we are both so pleased with how beautiful his home is...and my heart is so happy that HE FEELS so at home there (as do I). There is a wonderful sense of pride every time we spend time together there...knowing how much work we put into it. We started out at the beginning with a vision and the hopes of making Jeff's first "real home" (on his own) a place that truly FELT like home, reflected his personality and passions and was warm, welcoming and had good energy. After a little over a month of brainstorming and hard work.....Jeff's home...is all of the above..and more. He is so happy. And as a result....my own happiness is SO great!! What a blessing for each of us to spend so much together in hard work and preparation to begin the new year with "a house of order."
{new year's eve: far better than any dream...}
I have to admit, I've always been a little bit of a dreamer when it comes to New Year's Eve. Before I got married, it seems like I was always dating someone either BEFORE New Year's or AFTER, but never ON New Year's. Valentine's Day has never been a really big deal to me, but there has always been something magical about New Year's Eve. It just seemed to me like it would be something beautiful to start a new year with someone you shared a deep and passionate love and connection with. Unfortunately, even while I was married, I never had "that New Year's Eve"....until now. (As I am sure you have also noticed....I'm learning that though I have experienced SO many things at such a young age, there is still so much that I hadn't ever experienced...until now.)
The original plan Jeff and I had for New Year's Eve was for me to make us a romantic dinner at home and then spend the evening just being together. It sounded so perfect. Little did I know just how perfect it would be....so SIMPLY perfect. Things ended up being a little crazy for me that day and I was rushed to get over to Jeff's on time. Since I was running much later than I had planned, I decided to pick up Thai food. That ended up being a fantastic idea....and one that we both thoroughly enjoyed. After dinner, we got ourselves ready and went over to Jeff's friend Devin's house and spent a little time visiting with Devin, his wife Diana, and their new little baby. It was so great to meet them for the first time after hearing so much about them for so long. After we visited there for a few hours, we headed back to Jeff's house so that he could finish assembling his new TV table and I could finish painting the dining room table. It's funny....I am fairly certain that painting and putting together furniture was never in my original "dream" for the perfect New Year's Eve. And yet....oddly enough....it WAS perfect. I know I've said this before...but it truly doesn't matter WHAT we are doing...as long as we are together.
At about 11:45 PM, we started making our way up to Mom & Dad's for waffles....a New Year's Eve tradition that Dad has kept going since Kim was in high school, I believe. I didn't care WHERE we stopped at midnight...as long as we were able to have a moment just for us. I am fairly certain that, knowing the desires of my heart, God timed everything PERFECTLY....just for me. For us. I've learned that even our simple dreams and the righteous desires of our hearts that are important to US, though they may seem silly to others, are important to our Heavenly Father. As we started on our way, I tried to think of where a nice spot to stop would be, since midnight was very quickly approaching.
As we headed up 9400 South, I suddenly remembered how beautiful the valley is from Alta View Hospital when all of the fireworks are being set off. We pulled into the parking lot of Alta View Hospital and into the most perfect spot overlooking the valley with 2 minutes to spare. As we sat in the car in each others' arms, listening to "The Day Before You" by Matthew West, I was instantly filled with the most intense warmth. My heart pounded and felt so full that, without thinking, I noted that I had placed my hand over it...just to make sure it didn't explode. :-) As I looked into Jeff's eyes, and listened to the beautiful lyrics of what has now become one of "our songs," I was so overcome with emotion as I realized that what I was feeling was the purest and most sincere feeling of gratitude. I have been grateful for Jeff every day since he came into my life. But this was gratitude for something else. I felt instant understanding for everything that I had been through. For years, I am ashamed now to admit that the thought had crossed my mind now and again that God just might have forgotten me. In that moment, sitting with my sweetheart, I knew right then JUST how aware He had been of me. My loving Heavenly Father knew exactly what was in store for me....and the REWARD that came after the REFINING. I was suddenly so eternally grateful for EVERYTHING in my life that had brought me to Jeff. Everything. Through the many tears that accompanied this beautiful breakthrough, I expressed my unfailing love and gratitude to Jeff and tried so hard to adequately describe what I was feeling. I realized in that moment, that if God were to ask me to endure everything I had already endured OVER AGAIN...for the next 10 years, with the knowledge that Jeff would be at the end of the road...I would do it again. I would endure anything if I knew that Jeff would be there waiting for me. We held each other so close as we shared our hearts, both shedding tears and sharing sweet kisses as fireworks literally exploded across the entire valley. Words could never express the beauty of this sweet memory or what I felt that night. But these words come pretty close....
"The Day Before You"
by Matthew West
I had all but given up on finding
The one that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for
Less than love and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
Oh, but that was all the day before you
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
In your eyes I see forever
Makes me wish that my life never knew
The day before you
Oh, but Heaven knows those years without you
Were shaping my heart for the that day I found you
If you're the reason for all that I've been through
Then I'm thankful for the day before you
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
Was the last day that I ever needed alone
And I'm never going back
No I'm never going back
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
No I'm never going back
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
After we sat and watched the fireworks and held each other for a while, we continued driving to Mom & Dad's. So fun to find Dad, Kim, Kristin, and almost all of Jill & Derek's family there waiting for us (my sweet Mama hadn't quite been able to make it that long and was sound asleep. :-)). It was Jeff's first experience with Dad's famous "specialty waffles"....and he LOVED them. Delicious, as always. We had SUCH a fun time talking and laughing over a yummy 1 AM New Year's Eve breakfast. On the way home, Jeff and I kept commenting on how much fun it had been. What a blessing it was to share this perfect night with family that I love so much. (Love these pictures from such a great night. We honestly tried to get a nice shot of me and my sisters...but we were laughing so hard, that this is as close as we came. LOL! I love us!)I am not certain what I had dreamed of exactly, when it came to my idea of the "perfect New Year's Eve." What I do know is this....that no dream I have ever dreamed, whether in my sleep or in the form of the most sincere hope in my heart, has even come close to the REALITY of the miracle of the relationship that Jeff and I have. As Dr. Seuss so wisely stated, "You know you're in love, when you no longer want to fall asleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams." With Jeff in my life....the hopes and dreams that I have had for so very long, are now a beautiful reality. Ironically, there are times I have very literally had to reassure myself that I am NOT still dreaming. This is real. This man is real. The way he looks at me is real. The way he loves me is real. This relationship is real. Our connection is real. This feeling of being so in love that it takes my breath away, is real. And above all....God's love for me, for us, is so overwhelmingly real. And this blessed reality is far better than any dream...
