Happy 50th!!!

This week, September 10-14 marks the 50th Anniversary of the love of my life..... Bonanza. Yes 50 years ago the first episode aired. They are having a convention in Lake Tahoe, I wish I could be there. It would be me and a bunch of elderly people, but I would LOVE it. I started watching when I was about 7. I don't usually like westerns, but with Bonanza it was love at first sight. I was so in love with Little Joe, ok I'm still so in love with Little Joe. Every episode has a moral to learn, they were such great examples. They had qualities that you never see in any of the male characters on tv these days. Just Fabulous. So Happy 50 years to my beloved show!



Who wouldn't love this face?

On My Soapbox

Today as I drove home I was listening to JD Hayworth. Love Him. He played a clip from a commercial. Celebrity after celebrity saying that they pledge to "Change the World". Most of the things they said, I agreed with, I pledge to be kind, I pledge to love others, I pledge to be the change I want to see in the world...... But then I heard the words " I pledge to SERVE Barack Obama". I think my heart stopped beating. What? What? What? I wanted to cry, I thought I was going to. I was in too much shock to produce tears. It seems like every day I am sad, or scared to death. Everyday I realize more and more that we are heading towards the unthinkable. What is wrong with people? I know that years from now he will be remembered and known as the tyrant, dictator that he is..... but what will happen to us in the meantime?
I might not be a celebrity but I am an American and I can state my opinions too.


I Pledge to work for what I need and want
I pledge to be accountable for my own decisions
I pledge to be kind
I pledge to love my neighbor
I pledge to comfort those that stand in need of comfort
I pledge to laugh at myself
I pledge to love my job and know that I am surrounded by the most precious things in this world. Children.
I pledge that they will know they are loved
I pledge that in my classroom they will not be forced to watch a speech by barack hussein obama
I pledge that I will be forgiving
I pledge to not judge others (well besides the liberals)
I pledge to love and serve my family and friends
I pledge to respect, honor and love my husband.
I pledge that I will not lose my faith in this country
I pledge that I will not stand by while my rights are taken from me
I pledge that I will try to not be so overjoyed that Ted Kennedy is dead. (ya right I hope he burns in hell)
I pledge that I WILL bear arms
I pledge that I WILL NOT go down without a fight
I pledge that I WILL NOT serve barack hussein obama.

Back to the land of the Living

I'm happy to say I am back in touch with the world! We finally got into our house on July 22, leaving us ONE week to gut and get as much remodeling done as we could. Let me tell you..... we freaking kicked butt! By the time we moved out of our apartment on July 30, we had all the flooring and baseboards torn up. Our railing removed, the entire house painted (every room, ceilings, closets... everything!) the bathrooms and laundry room had tile and we had the wood flooring done downstairs. I don't know when I've been so tired. Thank you to Tanner's parents for picking up and driving our more than 5,000 pound order of wood down from Cali! The first weekend Tanner, his dad, my dad, Bj and Tyler worked on the flooring. It looks unbelievable and I can't wait to post our pictures. Thank you to everyone in my family that helped us move! My dad blew his knee out helping us, so crappy! We're hoping it starts to feel better soon. My mom always says that "moving is a four letter word". Well as we were carrying boxes into our house I said to her "Mom, moving might be a four letter word.... but moving in July is a four letter word in front of a four letter word." It was so hot! But we had a lot of help! Once we had everything moved we were living downstairs until the upstairs flooring was done. We had four mattresses stacked up in front of our couch for almost a week, and that is where we slept...... four feet from the ceiling fan. Kristen and Jared came over and worked like crazy to get our baseboards, window and door casings on. All we have left to do is caulk and paint them. And put the wood on our staircase and my closet. Tanner's dad has spent so much time working on the floor! He drives down from Cali for a few days and works with Tanner the entire time.


Our house looks absolutely amazing! All I want to do is sit at home, I love it! I will post pictures soon!


Now you would think that doing all that and then having school start would push me over the edge...... Nope what did it was not having tv since June 12th! And then not having Internet since July 12th! It was fine at first but this past week I've been going insane. We finally took the time to have our cable and Internet set up! Now I'm in heaven!

My family went up to Josh's Cabin this past weekend, we had such a fun time! Thanks to the Taylors for letting us stay there! We missed Savanna who is already back up at BYU.

Hope all is well with everyone! Can't wait to catch up on everyone's blogs!

Throw Pillows

So I never buy throw pillows because they are always so dang expensive. Well I've found a way around that. I came across the cutest, easiest idea the other day. You take place mats, unstitch one side, stuff it will pillow bating and then sew it up! Then you have a fabulous pillow for your couch or bed or whatever! I haven't sewn since I was like.... 11! So I was worried how they were going to turn out. Well I made 5 and I'm in love with them! I still need one more for my couch, then I'll start on a few for my guest room. I went to Walmart and Pier One. Pier One has some fabulous ones to choose from. Here are pictures of 3 of them.

Finished Projects

Well this will come as no surprise to anyone, but here we are July 8th and we still haven't closed on our house. I'm to the point that I don't care anymore, when it happens it will happen I guess. Being pissed and having a bad attitude has gotten me no where so now I'm just indifferent. The good news however is that I have finished almost all of my "projects." I only have pictures of three of them, I will post the rest later.

These are going into my guest room. I was going for Shabby Chic but it's turing out to be more "Shabby Chic/ Vintage Antique". This room has been so much fun decorating. My house is very Tuscan with lots of browns, blacks and creams, so making my guest room pink and girly is awesome!


This is "The Aids Chair" as I call it. I bought it for $5 at a vintage shop in Hollywood. The store was called "Out of the Closet". Most of you are probably thinking that sounds like a Gay store, well you would be right. Only Janae, Sara, and I just thought it was a really cute name. It wasn't until we were in line buying our stuff that we noticed the several transvestites walking around the store. The guy at the cash register informed us that all of their proceeds go towards Aids research. So that is where my chair got it's name!
Before

After


I bought this desk for $10 on craigslist. It had knobs but they had been painted over so my dad had to knock them off for me. I bought the new knobs at Anthropology. They have tons and tons and they are all fabulous, it took me forever to decide on four of them. Thanks Katie and Janae for being so patient while I made my decision! I doubt I could have gone wrong with any of them but I love the ones I picked and I love how it turned out! I wish the camera would show the detail of the knobs better, but I'm sure you get the idea!
Before

After

Now this mirror has taken a while to do. I started collecting the pieces of jewelry over a year ago. I had seen a mirror similar in someone's house and fell in love with it. It took patience and a lot of looking. It's still a work in progress, I'll be adding more pieces to the top as I find them. I had to take like 100 pictures before a got an ok one. I don't feel like the picture does it justice. It is absolutely beautiful in person! The sanded down "textured" look combined with the jewels is amazing. I'm in love with it! Oh and on a side note.... I took these pictures after I had packed up my apartment, so excuse the drab, plainness you see in the mirror!
Before

After

A Sad Day

I was going to post this this morning but I'm glad I didn't because now I can do two in one.
First my tribute to Farrah Fawcett



I grew up watching Charlie's Angels. I loved it. I think that Farrah Fawcett is one of the most beautiful women ever. I adored her and as sad as I am that she has died, she isn't in pain any more and I'm glad. Rest in Peace!




This is the poster I bought a few years ago. It will eventually go in my "media" room.



I must admit that for the past few years I haven't been a fan of Michael Jackson. But when I think of him back when he was so amazing, it makes me very sad. I had hoped that this tour he was starting would be a come back for him, that he would remind us of how truly talented he is. He is and always will be iconic. What makes me truly very sad is that I don't think he knew just how talented and phenomenal he was. For some reason he felt he had to continually change himself. We all loved the Michael that sang Thriller, Billy Jean and so many other songs that will always be a part of our childhood. Rest in Peace.

Well thus begins my last week of being the laziest person in the world. Next Friday we close on our house. It was supposed to be June 12th but we pushed it back so we wouldn't have to pay for both the house and apartment this month. Then our AC unit was stolen out of the backyard. I guess that's the thing these days, go to empty houses and steal stuff. Anyway the bank is getting a new one put in.

When school is out I get into my "sleep all day up all night" schedule. I hate it. But this is how it goes every summer. AND we only have our one car so I can't go anywhere even if I was awake and wanted to. I was really hoping to get our house in early June so that I would have something to do during the day. My family spent the last three weeks on their annual "Back East Trip". We couldn't go this year...... we thought that buying a house should come first. Since my parents were gone I've been able to use their cars, that was fabulous. I'm sure I would have gone crazy by now if I hadn't had them.

I have gotten some things done.
#1 I used my dad's truck to move over all of my "projects". I covered my classroom in plastic and repainted everything. A headboard, two mirrors, two desks, two nightstands, a chair, a metal shelf/rack thing and a table. They are looking amazing. Thank you Craigslist! Actually I still have to paint the desks, just deciding on the colors. I'll post the pics when I'm done.
#2 I have taken everything off my walls and shelves..... I can't stand living like this, but I figure that all my time and energy will need to go into fixing up the house so I might as well get some of the packing done now. I just know that the next time someone wants to come over I'll have to fight the urge to put everything back up. I don't love empty white walls...... But what can you do?
#3 I have done serious research on cleaning walls and cabinets. And have now bought everything I will need and am ready for next Friday. (if anyone has any cleaning tips that have worked well let me know! The more prepared I am the better.)
#4 I've been able to run errands with Janae. They just moved into their new house last weekend. They've been staying in James's grandparents house while they're on a mission. Janae has had to take care of three houses, their grandparent's, their rental and their new one. Insane! But I think things are finally slowing down for them. Hopefully. She's been buying supplies for all three houses. We go shopping and she has a cart and I have a cart. My cart holds the kids and her cart holds whatever she's buying. I love it because I get to be with the kids a lot. Oh and Janae. :)

Well seeing how it's 1:30 in the afternoon and Tanner will be home in about an hour I should probably put the computer down, throw off the covers, get out of bed and get dressed. But then again seeing how he's been up since 3:30 he'll probably want me to lay down and relax with him for a little while...... so maybe I'll just stay here and wait. :)

Loves to all!

Heading to Cali

I decided it was time to clean out my purse.....

And I wonder why my shoulder always hurts. I call it my "Marry Poppins Bag" now you see why. This is after I threw away all the paper, receipts, and trash. And it's not counting the $6.35 in change I found. Oh well, it will look the same when I clean it out again in a few weeks. I never learn.

ANYWAY!!!
We've decided to take a quick trip to Cali! We haven't been there since last June, so we're very excited. We used to go every couple of months but just haven't made it over for a while. Tanner's parents live in Huntington so we get to stay with them while we're there. They just finished putting in wood flooring throughout their entire house and since we've decided to do the same, I'm excited to see it. Have a fabulous weekend and I'll think of you all while I'm enjoying the beautiful weather!

Thinking about Kamber

I thought it was time to change up my background.... get it all summer-ready. When I saw the flip flops I knew I had to have it. Then I thought that I would dedicate my summer blog to sweet Kamber. She is known as the "flip flop queen" so it seems only fitting that it be in honor of her. Plus I changed our picture to a beach photo and one of my favorite and most vivid memories of Kamber is being at the beach. When she could hardly even walk Ethan or Jen would let her stand in the water, a wave would come up on the shore and knock her down. They would grab her arm and lift her up out of the foamy water, then stand her up to do it again. Every time she came up out of the water she had this little grin on her face.... She loved it. I've never known a child that loved water as much as she did. Tanner's favorite memory of her was being at the pool in Vegas. We would go every June. She would jump in the water with no fear, Tanner and Ethan would toss her back and forth in the air and let her land halfway in the water. And if you know Tanner and especially Ethan you know that they would throw her as high as they possibly could. She would just laugh and laugh.

As (what I am sure is) Kamber's favorite season is approaching, we all have to face it without her, and we have to face the last of the year marks. Next Monday will be one year since the last time I saw her. We were at Village Inn for Candi's birthday, and Kamber wouldn't sit on my lap. Ethan was trying to convince her to, but I just held her hand and said "that's ok maybe next time" I guess the "next time" will take a little longer than I thought. One year since Tanner played with her in the pool in Vegas, and one year since we got the phone call.

SO! As I pull out my swimsuit, suntan oil and most important my flip flops.... I will do it with the memory of Kamber in my heart, the daily thought of her family on my mind, the hope that she sticks close by them and makes her presence known, and the knowledge that she is happy, lucky and loved. I'm sure she's in the part of heaven that is summer all year long!

Kamber we love you, we think about you every day. Jen, you continue to amaze me. Not just because you're so strong but because you are such a wonderful mom to your girls. They're so lucky to have you!

Oh my gosh Help!

Ok we have a situation, we are making the final decisions on our house. I really wanted wood floors, but we decided against it a few months ago because I only want dark wood and apparently it's a huge pain to keep clean. It shows any dirt or dust so you have to constantly sweep it. So we decided to put tile in our entry way, kitchen, laundry room and half bath. Then put carpet everywhere else..... (I don't love carpet).

Now I'm second guessing myself, I think that dark wood is the most beautiful flooring in the world, I love love love it! I'm in the process of pricing everything but I'm fairly certain that once it's all said and done wood is going to cost less because Tanner and the rest of the guys can lay it them selves. The tile we would probably just pay someone to do it. (the guys think they can lay the tile, but I think it's more of a headache than it's worth.)

So here is where I need help...... if it turns out that we can do the wood for less there are still a few issues.


Is it hard to keep clean?
Do you put it in the kitchen????? If anything leaks, the wood will be ruined. Is it worth the risk?
If we did wood everywhere but put tile in the kitchen, have you ever seen it where it blends really well? I think that the wood to tile transition looks so terribly tacky! Have you ever seen it done well?

If you have wood or know someone that does maybe you can give me your advise.
I'm stressing so any help would be greatly appreciated!