The Simple Things

Encyclopedia: H

H is for Hot Chocolate

There is no treat I love more than a nice cup of hot chocolate. And I love it just as it's pictured above...stuffed full of mini-marshmallows. I don't like the fancy, expensive kinds of chocolate. Regular Nestle or Swiss Miss is my hot cocoa of choice. This is not a winter only treat for me...it's year round, 24/7. Mmmm...I think I'll go make myself a cup right now!

Encyclopedia: E

E is for Electrolux Pronto

So this beauty is my new favorite thing. I bought the Electrolux Pronto for the soul purpose of reducing the amount of times I sweep the kitchen floor each day. Imagine my surprise when the 2-in-1 meant that there was a dustbuster on it too!!! I can't even tell you how it's changed my life.
Uses for the Dustbuster:
-Clean out highchair after Claire's had finger foods
-Clean edges and corners of floor
-Clean out carseats after Emilie spills Lik-A-Stick powder everywhere
-Clean crumbs off of Claire's highchair tray
-Clean Baby Powder residue from bathroom after husband uses way too much
-Remove lint from Emilie's sweater

I love it and use it several times daily. If you're in the market for a floor sweeper/dustbuster, I give it 4 stars! It ROCKS!

Encyclopedia: D

D is for Desperate Dave

Everyone knows that of course my first thought when I got to D, was my brother Dave. But, I didn't want to overdo the whole "sappy family posts", so I opted to talk about Des Moines. However, I couldn't do it. Dave is worth a post.
However, this is not a normal post. This is a plea for help...a call to arms, if you will.
Dave will turn 26 next month and is currently the Hulk.

Single, alone...destined to wander the earth alone forever.
That, my friends, is the tragedy!
You see, Dave is no ordinary guy. Funny, attractive (or so he thinks), smart, always up for a good time, Dave is a catch!
Here are some reasons why Dave is perfect marriage material:
1.) He's always up for a good adventure.

See, when Ben started a new job and was unable to be my partner for the Stake Youth Conference Handcart Trek, I immediately called Dave. Without any hesitation, Dave jumped in and we had a great time! Three days of hiking around, pushing a blasted heavy handcart probably isn't the ideal definition of fun. But it was one of my most favorite times with my brother.

2.) He's like a fine wine...gets better with age.
Dave is a cute guy, but it wasn't always that way. Some of my favorites choice photos include:

(I especially love the year of the Butt-Cut Hair - bottom right corner)
But the point is, he turned out okay!

3.) He's great with kids and is a true family man. 

My girls LOVE...no ADORE their Uncle Stinkpot. He's coming to visit on Sunday and it's all Emilie can talk about. Dave is great with kids...maybe because he's still part kid himself. No doubt about it, he'll make a great dad.

4.) Dave is more than a brother...he's my best friend.
I know that's totally sappy and I apologize for that. But really, it's true. Growing up it was just Dave and I.
 
Nighttime Stories...

Summer Paper Routes

Discovering New Things...

On Vacation...

Or just hanging out...
We really are great friends.

BUT...I would be happy to share this friendship with someone who is willing to take this Menace to Society on.
So, faithful blog readers, if you know of someone who would be a perfect companion to the HULK, please contact me. Dave's at BYU-Idaho, but would travel down to Utah for the right person.
It's either that or he can continue to walk the earth alone forever.

See Dave...don't say I've never done anything for you! 

Encyclopedia: D

D is for Des Moines

Four weeks after Ben and I were married, we packed up a u-haul with what little we had and left everything familiar to us and headed to a place called Des Moines so Ben could attend Law School. I remember the night we arrived there...we were in a hotel and I looked at Ben and burst into tears. I was terrified.
However, the three years we spent in Des Moines hold some of my favorite memories.
-Our first house
-Our first (and second) dog
-Our first child
-Great friends
-Fantastic ward with incredible opportunities to serve

It was a wonderful place. Looking back, moving to Des Moines was the BEST thing that we could have done for our new marriage. It forced us out of our comfort zones. Forced us to leave behind friends, family and everything familiar. When we got to Des Moines we only had each other to lean on. It was just what we needed and was the perfect start for our marriage. It was our "rice and beans" phase...I'm still not sure how we got by. But we made ends meet and made a great life there.
Des Moines really was such a wonderful time in our lives.   

Encyclopedia: D

D is for Deadline

I had a HUGE deadline at work today. So no posts today. Tomorrow there'll be more D's and E too! Just what you wanted.
Off to bed...

Encyclopedia: C

C is for Claire

Around our house, C stands for one thing...CLAIRE! This post is especially fitting since Claire will celebrate her 1-year birthday this weekend! Really, it's hard for me to describe how much I adore this child. She has been and continues to be the greatest joy in my life! She was a perfect baby...slept through the night at 7 weeks and continues to still be a great sleeper. Let's face it...she still takes 3 naps a day and goes to bed at 7:00 each night. Bliss.
Claire has the most pleasant personality...she's laid back, patient and happy to just be.
She loves dancing and has moves that I've never seen a baby do before. It doesn't matter what the music is...she feels it and has to move!
She is a snuggler...lately she's crawled over to me and pulled on my leg. When I pick her up, she just lays her head on my shoulder and snuggles. I love every second of it.
C is for our Claire Bear who is CUTE!

Other C's I love: Clinique, Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears, Crafting 

Encyclopedia: B

B is for Bono

I really tried to get through my "B" day without posting about Bono. But I can't. I love him. The older I get, the more I love him. I would choose him over anyone, except Ben. Unless he's in black leather pants and dancing on stage. Then,...it would be a toss-up!

Encyclopedia: B

B is for Bedding

One really weird thing about me is that I need to change my bedding every season. Not just wash the sheets (don't worry...I do that weekly), but change out the entire bedding set. I am getting a bit better though. When we first got married, I changed it every season...spring, summer, fall and winter. And it started to get pricey. New husband did not understand my need to have new bedding and started to think I was crazy.
So I scaled back a bit. Now I change it twice a year...once in Spring and once in Fall. Each time it's something new...I never recycle bedding schemes. Sometimes it's a new duvet cover for the bed, other times it's the whole sha-bang...comforter, bedskirt, sheet set, shams, etc.
Here's a picture of our new set:

I love it, not only because this time I got the "whole shabang", but because the thread count of the sheet is so unbelievably high that I feel like I'm crawling into a bed of soft happiness each time I sneak into my bed!

Other B's that I love: The Bachelor, Barlows, BYU, Babystyle, Bozo and of course, Ben. (who would be completely embarrassed if I did a whole post on him. So click here...)

Encyclopedia of Me...

So I used to be really crafty. I loved scrapbooking and all of my extra time was spent preserving my family's memories. During this time I came across a class called "Encyclopedia of Me". This class was based on this book by Amy Rosenthal. It is all about documenting who YOU are at this point in your life. What you love, what you don't. What makes you who you are. I wanted so badly to take this class, but just didn't have the time to dedicate to it.
Fast forward 3 years and scrapbooking is something that happens maybe once or twice a year, unfortunately. But, this blog is like my journal, and the closest I'm going to get in the next couple of years of scrapbooking who I am right now.
So I'm jumping into it. Each day I will post about me...because I know you are all dying to get to know me even more better!
I'm already so excited about some of the entries and even more excited to break out of the posting rut that I've been in lately!
World, I give you the Encyclopedia of Me!

Encyclopedia: A

                                                             A is for Annoyances

There are tons of things in this world that annoy me. But when I thought long and hard about the thing that bugs me most, it was a clear winner.
Unsolicited Repetitive Motions.
I know...it's pretty defined. Things like hiccups, tapping foot on the back of my chair, etc.
I know exactly when this started. I was on a date to the movies (surprisingly I remember that it was Deep End of the Ocean with Michelle Pfieffer) with a boy. It was our first "date" and right after the previews he grabbed my hand. And proceeded to rub his thumb in a little circle on my hand through the ENTIRE movie. Over and over and over again. I tried sneezing, I tried to eat more food, but nothing I did caused him to release his ninja Kung-Fu grip on my hand.
I walked out of that movie totally over him and completely bothered by repetitive motions.
Even today, it drives me crazy when Ben gives me arm scritches, or holds my hand and rubs his thumb around. He knows and doesn't do it anymore.
But what I can't control (and drives me most bonkers) is when the baby has the hiccups inside of me. Talk about driving me batty.
That will do it!