Friday, November 06, 2009

152 INSIGHTS INTO MY SOUL!

Okay, so not 152 but maybe close. So my friend Julie sent me this email forward and while I normally disregard forwards because--well, who doesn't? I read this one and LOVED it. It's like this guy lives in my brain. It reminded me so much of the list-version of this here P5 that we used to know and love. Check it out and tell me what you think:

*More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

*Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

*Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

*That's enough, Nickelback.

*I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

*Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

*Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

*There is a great need for sarcasm font.

*Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

*I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

*How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

*I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

*The only time I look forward to a red light is when I trying to finish a text.

*Was learning cursive really necessary?

*Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

*I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

*Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

*My brother's League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

*Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

*How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

*Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

*What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

*While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

*MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood..

*Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

*I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

*Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

*I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

*Bad decisions make good stories

*Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

*If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

*Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

*You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

*Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

*There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

*I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

*"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

*I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

*I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? ), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

*I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste..

*I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

*Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
*As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

*Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

*It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

*I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

*Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it

*I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

*I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

*The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel fat before dinner.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Christmas Gift Idea Wednesday

So once upon a time I was going to host a class to make these posters. They were almost $50 and I was sure of a way to get them cheaper through Heritage Makers. Found one! This size is smaller than the one I was going to make at the class--it's 18x24 but it's half the price! According to my fun photographer friend Laura you can mount this to foam core, spray it with UV Protection (She prefers the "luster" finish) and frame it without the glass to give it more of an "artwork" look. Anyway, here it is!
I only have access to Mesa, Logan and Boise temples besides this one. Let me know if you're interested!

The haps...

That always reminds me of my dear friend Mark. He was a police officer and I had the opportunity to go on a ride-along with him. Every time we pulled someone over, he'd ask the driver, "What's the haps?" I can't imagine what they thought. I love saying it every now and again. It's my little shout out to Mark in heaven (He was tragically killed during a horrific shoot-out with a couple of brothers when a traffic stop went horribly wrong. He was only 29 years old and left behind a sweet wife and two beautiful girls. The next time you're bugged at a police officer who pulls you over for "nothing" remember how hard they work to protect you and what they put on the line every single day.) Anyway...
Our cute little Elisabeth will be 6 months old tomorrow. Wow. Was it really half a year ago that she came into our lives? I've said it before but it seems like she's been with us forever. We LOVE this little girl! She's increasingly demanding--crying hysterically when she's not being held or talked to (then immediately switching to laughter when we talk to her and ask her what's wrong.) Oh the drama. And it's just beginning. She's really very happy (when she's getting her way) and there is nothing sweeter than to hear her laugh when we're playing with her. So tonight we started solids. We started with Oatmeal Cereal because I didn't think she'd like the lemon chicken I made for dinner. Well, as it turns out, she's not crazy for the Oatmeal cereal either. I made it really thin but she kept gagging on it. Tomorrow night I'll try thinning it with apple juice instead of formula and we'll see if she likes it better. She doesn't sit on her own yet, which is so crazy to me. She rolls all over the place, she gets up on her knees and rocks so I know crawling will start sooner rather than later but she just refuses to sit up on her own. Hmmm..Anyway, so as I'm feeding her she's leaning to one side and ended up getting oatmeal all over her face. So here she is during her very first meal:

The problem, you see, is that she prefers eating.....her toes. Weird little girl. Look at all that chub. My heck I just love her.
In other news, Jack said pretty much one of the sweetest things ever today. It just reminded me how precious these little ones are--that they really DO listen to these things we teach them and it really DOES sink it. So we were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch and he asked me to read him the book I made about Scott's dad. (He calls it the Grandpa Gary book.) I read it to him and every now and then would just get a little choked up. At one point he said, "You don't have to cry, Mom, he died a long time ago." I said, "Yeah, but you know I still miss him a whole lot." He said, "It's okay to miss him but you know that he'll be all better when Jesus comes." Wow. Sweet little peanut. I have the greatest kids!
Okay, that's all for now. I have a bunch of stuff to get done tonight, including trying to decide which project to show you next for Christmas Gift Idea Wednesday. Is this helpful to you at all? Does it give you good ideas? Should I keep doing it until Christmas or do you not care? Your opinion counts.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Christmas Gift Idea Tuesday!

It's like a pre-game show, okay? ;o) Actually, I know I'm going to be really busy tomorrow so I thought I'd hurry and post this tonight so I don't have to catch up again like last week.
This week's gift idea is actually a little "pre-Christmas-y" It's a postcard from Santa! This is from our gorgeous template gallery and is so easy to make! You can buy postcards in packs of 10 and send them to all of the kidlets in your life or if you want less than 10, just let me know and I'll make and send them for you. It's a cute way for your kids to be reminded that Santa is watching them! (You might want to remember this idea in July!) Anyway, here's what they look like!
(This is the front and this is a preview so just keep in mind that the finished product won't have the red line around it!) It even has a December 2009 postmark!! Okay, now here's the back:How stinkin' cute is that??

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Christmas Gift Idea...uh, Saturday?

Sorry, kids, that it took me so long to post this week's Christmas idea. I'm especially sad because this is a gift that we're giving to Jack this year and I am SO excited for him to see it and to be able to experience its lasting effects. This is a board book! It's 8x8 and has 32 pages. This is actually one of the customizeable templates that we have in our awesome template gallery. (There is a pink one for girls as well) The idea with this template is that it aknowledge's a child's place in the family and builds his/her self esteem, which in my opinion is an invaluable gift. I think of all the mistakes I make as a mom. Sometimes I'm too busy, too impatient, too tired or distracted to really get down on my sweet boy's level and tell him just how much I love him, that he really makes a difference in our family and that he's just what the book says he is--A Very Important Person. I've asked each of our family members to tell Jack why they think he's a VIP. I'm so excited for Christmas Day, when we read his book to him and I know it'll end up at Show and Tell in school. I can't wait! Oh, you want me to shut up so you can SEE it? Well then! Here it is!

So you punch a hole in the corner, use a binder ring to keep them together and every day in December, you can read one of the cards. This is a great way to keep the true spirit of Christmas in your home. For those of you who are not LDS, I can change the verses/songs for you. They're pre-made, I just have to order them and they're $15 per set. I will need to order them for sure by November 10th to make sure you have them in time for Cmas so let me know ASAP if you want some!
Loves and hugs and all that jazz!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Awesome Christmas Gift Idea Wednesday

Hello everyone! So each Wednesday I've brought you some fun ideas for unique Christmas gifts that everyone on your list is sure to love! I am so excited about the gift idea this week. (Siblings, keep this one on the downlow. It's our Christmas gift to Mama Stevenson) Anyway, without further ado, I bring you...PLAYING CARDS! These are so fun and unique and you can just do anything with them!! This is a regular deck of cards, but I'm in the process of making a deck of cards for Jack that has pictures of our family members on them (including those who live out of state) with their names, birthdays and something interesting about them. The idea is that we can use them to play Go Fish, Old Maid or Memory. He's going to LOVE them! They come in a hard plastic case. Let me know if you have any questions. Our Online Template gallery has a ton of cute templates for playing cards if you need some inspiration or can't be bothered to design them yourself. Check it out here! Here are the playing cards I made:

Thursday, October 08, 2009

ADORABLE Swatch book!

In the grand tradition of sharing a new idea for Christmas gifts each week, here is this week's edition! The finished product looks something like this
It is the perfect size to fit in a purse or church bag! Super cute!! It also has an opaque plastic cover on the front and back. More info:

  • 5.75" x 3.5"
  • 10 double-sided pages (non-expandable)
  • Rounded corners
  • Full-bleed images
  • Velvet, acid-free, lignin-free paper (surprisingly sturdy!)
Anyhoo--this is what MINE looks like: