We *heart* Catalog Living

"Gary, we were having such a lovely afternoon with the Andersons until you decided you just had to show off your string ball."

You MUST start following Gary and Elaine's adventures in Catalog Living...Hilarity under every picture.

Am wishing for...

...a moment to sit smack in the middle of this photo and cuddle up with my laptop to visit all my favorite places on the web. (How much do you love this? I don't even know the source but am in la la love.) I'm home from a wonderful trip to the midwest with my mom and my sisters but am anxious to get settled back into my routine. Until then...

The Final Product

One last photo of this year's donation to our
neighborhood service auction.

Spotted: Old Navy

My sister in law Chris reminded me that spring must be somewhere out there (despite near zero temps and loads of snow in our yard) because stores are starting to stock some warmer weather gear. Check out these Old Navy umbrellas. Boden look, Old Navy price, no? Too good to pass up.

Call Me Sentimental...

Ahhhhh...yet another reason to MELT.

A Proper English Morning

Enjoyed a very civilized morning of scones and lemon curd with Max and Josie at Elizabeth's Bakery and Tea Shop on 7th East. And by civilized I mean wiping snotty noses, taming Josie's stroller joy ride, and fending off questions of why we can't have one of everything. All in all - a lovely start to our day :)

Wisdom

My mom was cleaning out her files and sent me this article. It is a gem.

From her column, "At Wit's End" by Erma Bombeck:

On a rainy day last week I met my past.

It was a chance meeting. As I rolled over in bed and listened to the thunder outside, I declared for myself a day off from the typewriter. To do what? What was it I used to do before the deadlines, the travels and the mail? How did I spend my time before I became a "fulfilled woman," before my worth measured by a credit line, before I got my black belt in goal setting?

I sat at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee. It was 8 a.m. By this time in my first life I would have had three kids who smelled of spray starch and vitamin breath off to school with a lunch box and thermos of soup which they wouldn't bother to open.

I would promise myself that I would knit until 9 and then I would absolutely get dressed and bring the house up to minimal health standards.

During the years, I would remember birthdays with approriate celebrations, clothes that were in the cleaners, pets to be fed, doctor and dental appointments for everyone, homework that was due, science projects to be started, bills to be paid, overdue books returned, deposits made at the bank, and five bags of fertilizer for the lawn.

I would remove spots, add water, scrub toilets, write letters, polish shoes, clean ears, plant trees, knot shoestrings, mend wading pools, and blow up balloons.

I would hustle food, keep laundry moving, volunteer in the community, decorate the house, keep staples in supply, dispense chores, counsel, discipline, mediate arguments, hand down decisions and listen. I would listen a lot.

As I showered I wondered if I could go "home" again. Home to that domestic treadmill that I had fought to escape. I called my mother "just to talk." I called my best girlfriend and we dumped on one another. I called our kids and invited them to dinner and proceeded to fry chicken, bake biscuits and snap fresh green beans. We ate laughed, argued, talked and disagreed.

By present-day standards, it had been a non-productive day. I hadn't earned a dime. Hadn't made an impact on anyone or put down anything on paper for posterity.

Then why did I feel at peace with myself? Like I had done something special that day that no one else could do? It was the way I used to feel when I bedded down three kids between clean sheets and they all had clean feet and no one's nose was running. It was my turf and I knew it.

Lying in bed I thought about that person of the past and her day. What had she done that made her feel so important, so vital, when she herself had categorized it all as crud detail.

Then it hit me. My turf. Wouldn't it be ironic if my turf yielded the most important commodity being grown today...a family. A crop of children, seeded by two people, nourished with values, protected form disease and emotional storms and in 18-20 years harvested into worthwhile human being to go through the entire process again.

Nothing else I would do would equal it in importance.

Wouldn't you have thought someone would have told us?

(At the bottom of the article, my mom wrote "I'm telling you. xoxo." So dear friends and readers and family and strangers who are in the thick of it like I am...carry on. We have the hardest, but best job in the world.)

An Oldie but Goodie

found this picture on my friend Halli's blog and I just had to share. Can you guess who the hottie in the pink jumpsuit is?

-amr

First Order of Business...

...is a stop here this morning for some vanilla Divas and some Breakfast at Tiffanys. Can you guess why?

-amr

Seen and Heard

If you haven't seen or heard, "The Tale of Despereaux" is coming to theaters this Christmas. Ohhhh I am so excited. If you haven't read this sweet book from Kate DiCamillo, you must! It is a great gather the family around and read kind of book. Let's hope the the movie lives up. Either way, I'm going! Who doesn't love a good family movie to go to over the Christmas break...

-amr

My Find

Picked myself up one of these prints at the Oneity sale today. I can't wait to frame it. You can find more Sarah Jane Studio things here.

-amr

The Olympics

We are getting so excited...only two days left! Our love for the Olympics was really magnified in 2002 when the Olympics were here in SLC in our very own backyard. We went to the opening ceremonies in Rice Eccles stadium (just a few blocks away) and were able to attend many events around and outside the city. It was an amazing, electrifying and absolutely memorable experience.

To help celebrate the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing, here are a few fun ideas.

1. Check out library books on the Olympics. I've found some great picture books for the kids including one called "The Summer Olympics Encyclopedia for Children." It explains the history of many of the events.

2. Use this opportunity to learn a little more about Chinese culture. Use the internet, library books, newspaper articles, whatever is available to beef up on your world knowledge. I thought a trip down to our China Town market might be in order. Don't you think a few paper lanterns hung around the house might help set the stage?

3. Use this website to help track and find your favorite events...or find a new one you've never even heard of!

4. Take the night off from the kitchen and order Chinese take out!

5. Find a great red, white, and blue craft to make with the kids here. (I'm thinking about making up a U.S.A. pendant for each of the kids to wave during the final events we watch...still looking for a pattern...)

6. If you're feisty like (Kalli J) stage a protest. She's planning on making some signs and "protesting" in our family room during opening ceremonies about China's violations against human rights.

7. For the little ones, take some time to talk about good sportsmanship.

8. Host your own back yard olympics as the perfect finale. Come up with a few events, find some medals (I just got some at Dollar Tree), and get moving!

Now go on, and go for the gold!

-amr

Summer beauty

The heat has me going au natural on my face this summer. What's the point of even applying makeup if its going to be runny by noon? I've heard quite a lot about this Tarte Mascara, which is supposed to be more like a stain than a mascara. It boasts 4 days of wear, which is highly doubtful and more importantly quite unnecessary. But I'm willing to give it a try - seems to be the perfect product for 100 degree days.

-amr

Pizza Fresh!

We headed down to the farmer's market last Saturday and got some gorgeous produce and herbs which Bryce put on some homemade pizza that night - arugula for the blue cheese and steak pizza and fresh basil for the pizza margherita. Here is one of my favorite hints if you happen to live in my neighborhood: Emigration Market sells a pressed and perfect pizza dough ready to be topped and cooked for only $2. It makes homemade pizza night that much faster and that much easier. Now you can spend your dinner prep time on the fun part - experimenting with delicious and interesting toppings. Mamma mia!

-amr

Buzz Off

Today my friend and neighbor Jane is expecting her sister all the way from England for an extended holiday. I thought it might be fun to have a little treat waiting for her, so I wrapped up one of these with a note saying "Hope you enjoy your little "buzz" here in the Beehive state."

Now, what I wish I would have given her was one of these, with the same note of course. Maybe next time :)

-amr

Golden Caramel Corn Nuggets

These are a favorite new snack. We munch them during movies, I put them in cute containers and give them to friends...they are even good enough to save for dessert. I have only ever been able to buy them at our local neighborhood market. I am so excited to share that I have found them online for half the price and now I'm off to order several bags to go stash in my food storage.

-amr

Voss Darling

My water bottle always generates a lot of buzz wherever it goes. It's sleek, simple and holds a perfect 12 oz. For those of you who've asked, here's the Voss scoop. My favorite thing about the bottle is of course its sleek design, the fact that it is glass (and reuseable and won't leak any plastic chemicals into my H2O), and it seems to keep water at a much cooler temperature than plastic bottles. B tends to bring them home from bistros/cafes for me, but I've also seen them at World Market. Happy hydration.

-amr

From One Adventure to the Next...

This week I cashed in my Mother's Day gift and went to the Red Mountain Spa in St. George. I could go on and on about how incredible the experience was; but I'll try my best to limit myself. My most thoughtful B surprised me with the getaway and I was able to go by myself. I was nervous at first to be alone for the week because I am such a social person and generally love to do these sorts of getaways with my girlfriends; but the time I spent with myself was absolutely invaluable. I was able to do a lot of contemplating, studying, relaxing, reading, exercising...all on my own timetable with no one else to worry about. How long its been since I've been able to live such a self-indulged existence! (I did meet a ton of great people from all across the country in my classes.) I logged over 10 miles in hikes, took meditation classes, read my book in a hammock, did tai chi and yoga on the red rocks in Snow Canyon...the list goes on and on. I hope to share some of the wonderful things I learned in future posts. The resort/adventure/experience earned *****/***** stars from me. I would recommend it 100% with no hesitation for everyone. The bottom line is, it was one of the greatest things I've ever done for myself and would have never done it without B's thoughtful gift and preparation. (He stayed home for the week to be Mr. Mom.) If you want to see little bits of my adventure, I kept a flickr journal of the week with my iPhone.

-amr

Old Time Rock and Roll

I apologize. I just had to do it for the kids. They are OBSESSED with this commerical. Buggie says, "I'd love to rock out with this guy." Meanwhile the girls are oogling, "He's sooo cute!"

-amr

Making me Happy

(Indulge me in my list-making obsession, won't you please?)

• kids having fun at the Bonneville Bash
• placing my red and white flowering pots on the front step
• dreaming about the porch that will replace that silly stooped step (try saying that 10 times fast)
  
• this bird and her sisters that I purchased at the Beehive Bazaar
• Ikea
• lunch dates
• Josie's peach fuzzy hair
• blogging
• my marriage
• all the fabulous reactions to my "I saved a dog's life" story

-amr