Catching up Continued... On to February

Ok, on to February with my catching up... Not a lot happened in February other than working, and the weather being cold. But my office did decide to do a Valentines party. Any chance we get we throw a party, usually we do a pot luck salad bar and then those that want to bring treats. I brought my cherry almond kiss cookies...

 They are delicious! and I just took a random pic... I love the color of my hair in this one and my hair just seems to get curlier and curlier! 

I made a Star Wars cake for a friend from work, her little boy was having a birthday... she had Leggo starwars figurines to put on it... so I just made the cake...

it turned out okay.. but later the Talon told me he didn't like the frosting....Oh well, you can't win them all!

And of course February 20th is Sarah's birthday, she turned 26 this year! and came home for the weekend. I made her a cookies and cream cake and tried to make a shoe out of gumpaste...

 it was ok.. but not my best gumpaste decoration but the cake was yummo!

 She loved her cake! We had a little party with mom and dad! and of course a scrabble game too!

 Love you Sarah!

and my friend Katy from church asked me to make her little boy a Toy Story cake... I had the most fun with this cake! Sarah helped me find the figurines to put on it and this is what I came up with.

Mr. potato head and the etch a sketch are from fondant. the other toys we bought, the bed posts are gumpaste. It was way fun!

 And we ended February with snow and more snow.... but at least the sun was shining this day.

 It got rather deep in places... but not like I remember us getting.

and that was our February of 2013. 

Catching up............

Ok, seriously, the year is about over and I haven't even written about New Year's and things clear back in January! So the next few posts are going to be my year in review! and I can't believe, I haven't even ordered a blog book for 2012 yet. Good grief...does time seem to be going by faster than ever?
Any way, 2013 came ... with a bit of snow! This picture is New year's Day....

 This picture is from January 2nd, was cold and everything was covered with frost! Beautiful!

I can't even remember what we did on New's Eve and Day, I know we probably tried to stay up till midnight but I usually fall asleep. Seems I got up and made homemade Chinese food and took to Mom and Dad's since Brian and Jennifer and their family were here for the holidays. I made Mongolian beef, sweet and sour chicken, and chow mien... Yes that's what I did because mom and dad had gotten a rice cooker. I think Jim and I went out to dinner somewhere.... Happy 2013!

January went as usual, with work, and Andy was back in school at BYU-I and loving it. Sarah was back at UVU and seemed to be doing great. Andrew's birthday is January 20th, and this year he was soooo happy to be back at school that he didn't even want to come home ! So I thought I would make him some birthday cupcakes and take to him for so he could share with his roommates. He and his roommates have really been into game nights and they even joined a 'Bronie" club,(stands for brothers who like Ponies, as in my little pony.... there are video games they play and a comic book or something .. I know, silly but that's what he is into) so I found little 'my little pony' figurines and some comic book character figures for the cupcake toppers... 

They turned out pretty cute! So on Andy's birthday we took the cupcakes and met him at the Verizon store in Idaho Falls. We got him an I-phone 5 for his birthday. He needed a new cell phone for sure! Then we took him to dinner at a restaurant of his choice. He picked Garcias....he LOVES fried ice cream!

Happy Happy 24th Birthday Andrew! We LOVE you!

Over the weekend it warmed up enough and was perfect for a snowman...

 Can't remember what I named him... but he was a cute one! I made him by myself.......

The next weekend was Kylie and Jordan's birthday. They lived with Mom and Dad for their senior year of high school since Brian got a job in Fort Collins, Colorado, and moved the family. They wanted to finish school with their friends. So I made them a red velvet cake with cream cheese filling....

                                                                   It was delicious!

 Happy Birthday Kylie and Jordan!

I also crocheted a little in January... I made this uni-scarf....

 and these cute little booties for a friends baby shower gift.

We had a super bowl party at work this year... so I made these cookies for the party. We always have a super bowl pool where everyone chips in 50 cents for a square on the score board sheet. It's kind of fun to break up the monotony of January. 

And that was my January in a nut shell. I love my family and the fun things we do together. I like work ok and having office parties. Anything you can do to enjoy life I say just do it :)

Autumn Time

I LOVE Autumn time! The crispy air! the changing colors of the leaves.... baking apple pies...pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies.... soups and homemade bread! the way the house smells while baking anything with cinnamon... I could go on and on.
I will miss my garden though, and the fresh veggies... but I have canned LOTS of beans and made tomato salsa, tomatillo salsa... and now I have two boxes of apples to make apple pie filling! MMMMMMMMM
Today is a rather chilly day.... only 27 degrees! Frost covered everything! no more beautiful flowers! and my bird bath was a bird skating rink!
But with the end of summer comes the thoughts of Holidays and family.... and Conference! Don't you LOVE conference weekends??? Listening to our leaders give us good inspirational talks?? and most of all just being able to stay at home with family... cooking and baking! LOVE it ! No rushing around....So glad it comes twice a year!
just thought I would ramble a bit.... Happy Autumn!

things change a little....

As you know I was planning on going to school this fall, beauty school, so no one could sing the "Beauty School Dropout" song from grease to me anymore.
As time got closer to going, it seemed like a big financial burden, especially with me and my kids all getting out of school at the same time, and student loans having to be paid back, and me having to start a business and having that expense.
I have prayed soooo hard for help in making the decision whether or not to really go... after all, when I was little I dreamed of being a hair dresser, but now as I'm older I'm not so sure it's really what I want to do... I don't know what I want to do....sometimes I wish I could have a little bakery... but around here I don't think I would make anything... People aren't willing to pay what you need to charge in order to run a business.
I have been sooo confused....Then at the end of the July, my hands have hurt after lots of use, I did have carpal tunnel surgery back when I worked at the bakery, about 14 years ago I think. My hands and wrists have hurt off and on and I don't have any strength in my grip since then so when they hurt I didn't really think about it. Until July, they REALLY hurt. I couldn't grasp much... which got me thinking, is this carpal tunnel again?? trigger thumb??? I wasn't sure... I didn't want to spend lots of money on hair school if I wouldn't be able to hold scissors....and roll curlers...So I went to an orthopedic surgeon for an opinion. An  EXPENSIVE opinion but an opinion none the less....I got my hands ex-rayed since he said Carpal tunnel doesn't usually come back, and it didn't hurt when he pressed on my hands, wrists, and thumbs, where it should have hurt for this other syndrome (french word that I can't remember) so it wasn't that. He said the only thing it could be is arthritis!! I can't have arthritis I"m only.........49. Ok, not that young anymore. So I got an ex-ray... which astounded the doc since it didn't show arthritis.....now what??
The doctor suggested an MRI....since it was a lot cheaper than school tuition. Said it should show something! and that way I'd know if it was something that would worsen and make hairdressing hard. So I got my MRI done on my left hand which is usually worse. Have you ever had an MRI?? Don't know why they have to be so noisy! I felt like I was in a Zombie Apocalypse or something! Scary!
But after waiting for the results for a week..... I finally got called back into the doc. And guess what??? Nothing... The doctor was flabbergasted... said it must just be the beginnings of arthritis. So if that's what it is doesn't arthritis get worse? as you age? and if so how bad will it be?? I LOVE doing things with my hands now! like crafting, painting, blogging, crocheting, cooking, cake decorating........and what about beauty school??  so for now, I called and put my school application on hold.... while I think and pray.. and try to be less confused and have Heavenly Father help me with an answer...maybe my hands hurting is my answer??
I'm not sure what to do in life.....other than live each day and enjoy it. :)

Hummingbirds

 I love hummingbirds............and I think hummingbirds love my flowers!

 There is a cute little couple of hummingbirds that visit my pots out on my back deck every morning just about! I feel lucky when I get to see them. You can see one on the right... and then if you look closely on the left side at the bottom edge of the flowers you can see his little friend in the picture above.....

I remember the day I went to get my tonsils out when I was 8.... My mother and I were walking into the hospital together. I was nervous and afraid of my surgery and on the way in the bushes we saw a hummingbird. My mom said it was lucky that we were able to see a hummingbird, and that hummingbirds were lucky so that meant my surgery would go well. I felt better. And you know? my surgery did go well, I didn't bleed much and got to go home that afternoon and didn't have to stay in the hospital overnight. I was lucky!
Now every time I get to see a hummingbird I smile to myself and remember that day and I feel lucky!

I'm still here...

Where does the summer go??? and where does the time go??? I've had a good summer so far. I got called to be the assistant camp director and was ready to say no and then I thought I had better go and help the camp director. It's a big job, you start at the beginning of the year going to meetings, and planning , making up skits, menus, and getting stuff organized.
I am not a camper... I don't like sleeping out, and I have to get up in the night to use the bathroom , and I wasn't close to the girls, and the other leaders since being released from Young Women's and being put in Relief Society.
But that was where my summer went ... planning girls camp, practicing skits and all that.
To be honest I was praying that camp would be cancelled. .... but then I thought, ok.. that's not realistic. I was called to that position for a reason... so I changed my prayer to help me do what I needed to do, to get through, that we'd have the best camp site for us (close to porta potties) and shade... that I'd get to know the girls more, and the leaders..... and to get through it all.
Camp week came, and we finally had the trailer packed, all the food bought, and we made it there... got the tents up, and we were there....
I love the girls camp meadow... the spirit you feel there, and just enjoying nature is wonderful. The nights are beautiful and it was close to being a full moon. (i found the above picture just random on the internet and it reminded me of the full moon at night and the pine trees)
I had fun... the food was good and we had plenty... I always worry about running out of food when I feed a crowd.... I slept good.. only got up once all 3 nights.. and walked in the quiet moonlit night to the porta potty.... I got to know the girls a little better and the other leaders......
I learned some good lessons....
some of which are----don't judge people by what others tell you.... they are really good people. They just have different personalities... and don't join in gossip....I have decided to just say good things about people... and if people don't like me... well that's ok and if someone does something that's irritating I"m keeping it to myself. You can't have everyone like you... there are people that I like more than others... but we are all just living life and trying to survive. I learned that some people that are the hardest to live with are going through some really trying times in there lives..... I've learned that the world does not revolve around me and not everyone cares about every detail of my life or how I'm feeling... but I know some one who does... and all I have to do is get down on my knees or whisper a silent prayer and He's there... and sometimes the answers to those prayers comes through others .. that bring you a diet mountain dew at the right time.. and who make you realize there are good people out there... or a nice little surprise of a 'thank-you' in the mail box instead of a bill.... or a nice little message  on fb when you need it....
sometimes the people you least expect too, answer your little heartfelt prayers...
sometimes the things you didn't want to do and prayed wouldn't happen are the little tender mercies that help you grow and change and maybe become a better person.....
I hope I can be the kind of person that was I was shown at camp... and help others when I get a little prompting...and not worry so much about the me's and the 'look at what I can do's' in my life....
anyway.. that is what I learned at camp....

Sometimes you just have to go for it...............

It may seem as if I've fallen off the face of the earth the way my blogging has gone. I've been trying to catch up and for last year  I just need to write about Christmas but life is still going on and I have tons to blog about for this year. Just being behind on my blogging has made me not want to write anything at all.... but today I felt like I needed to get some of my thoughts out even tho I haven't written about Christmas, or our birthdays... or Sarah and my road trip to Arizona, or the fun times I've had playing scrabble with my parents, or those special moments when I've gotten even closer to Jim, or my kids... or planting gardens or well life in general.
Today I thought I would just blog about my thoughts the last little while. I've been struggling with being happy, oh I'm happy for the most part, but struggling none the less. I have a job... but not one that makes me happy, sometimes it seems to suck the life right out of me..... I have a nice home, Lovely yard, and my family makes me happy so I wonder why I'm not happy??? Maybe it's because my kids are grown and living lives of there own... and I used to live my life for them. I've always been a working mom but tried to spend every other moment of my life for them and my husband. Now that their gone sometimes I"m bored. I sit on the couch like a slug and don't want to do anything and I don't really have to. This was especially easy while Jim was taking his on line class.... which he got done with and now has his Bachelor's degree. Yay for JIM! I"m proud of him.
I've tried to be happy at my job, it pays pretty good, has good insurance and if my kids needed help well, I was able to help.... but I have felt smothered lately..... I've tried going on walks around Jensen's grove to help my mood, which it did for a while... I've tried exercise... I've tried ignoring some of the things about my job that bother me.... I've tried everything.....
Then I had a meltdown at work.... I came home and cried my eyes out and I realized something.... I'm a people person... not the kind of person that likes to sit in a corner and type on a computer all day... I'm happiest around people and helping people and talking to people I don't even know...that's what I liked about working in the Bakery at Albertson's for 18 some odd years..... I remember talking to a lady about a cake once and she started laughing and said I better go have a piece before I drooled.... LOL. I liked giving little kids cookies... I liked giving people warm chocolate chip cookies to try when they came out of the oven .... I like making people happy and feel comfortable....and like well... like they matter. And then I had a thought...why not go back to beauty school...I know I know... beauty school has nothing to do with handing out cookies at a bakery but continue reading......
I remember doing my dolls hair my whole younger life at home.... I loved feathering it...I always wondered why my barbies had frizzled hair while my sisters barbies looked like they just came out of the box. I had dolls that hair grew when you pushed their belly buttons... I would braid their hair over and over again sometimes figuring out how many little braids that I could make then braid again and again until I ended up with one big short fat braid. I had dolls and little 'easy curl' rollers that I'd do hair on and make look like fluffy Farah Fawcett curls.... I had a doll head that was made for doing hair and practicing make up on... which eventually ended up with a short boy cut bob with fingernail polish permanent makeup.....oh the memories. I liked doing hair on my dolls because my hair was always so curly I couldn't do anything with it other than the ringlets my mom would curl around her fingers... or an afro..... I often would imagine I was a princess with long hair to my knees and was the envy of all the other girls.... and the prince's would fight over me.
But anyway.. that was the heart of my grade school age self....
I've decided to do it... I'll go back to beauty school so I can help people with their hair... and let them escape and pamper themselves for a moment in their busy lives.... I might even have cookies at the counter for them to eat while under the hair dryer... and we'll talk about life or watch tv or I'll play lovely music while their getting their hair done.....
Sometimes when I'm extra blue or tired from work just doing the dishes while listening to beautiful music.... lately I have LOVED instrumental music with Cello's and violins...it  makes my heart soar..... one day I looked out the window at my beautiful yard and just listened to the music... and there in the sky was a hawk... just soaring around  in my view ... it was grand... Moments like that make me realize there is a Heavenly Father that loves and listens to our heart felt prayers and those little moments are his way of telling you that you are loved, and He's made these beautiful moments just for you.... and life can go on. And you will get through the next day and the next... because that is life.
So for now, I have decided to change my life and see where it takes me.... I'm going to school in September, it will be scary and it will be hard, but I hope my dreams will come true, I will be able to help ladies escape their life and feel better about them selves and yes... maybe even enjoy a cookie now and then, because what happens at the beauty salon....stays at the beauty salon.....
And that is what my thoughts have been lately... and I"m going to be brave and make my dreams come true. And I know I can with earnest prayers and faith..... I can do anything :)