Christmas Ornaments

This is what I've been working on lately:



You see, the Baker Family girls get together every year & exchange ornaments. This year these are mine :)
I got the idea here, and am so grateful for a friend pointing out this blog.
Breakdown of cost:
-10 spoons @ 25 cents each (Gotta love DI)
-Elastic silver cord @ 99 cents
-Martha Stewart silver glitter @ $4.99 (Seriously overpriced but it's what I had to work with)
-Mini Silver Hearts @ $1.99
-Krylon 12oz Burgundy satin spray paint @ 5.99
+tax = 17.42
Everything besides the spoons I found at Michael's
And of course I still have the leftover spray paint, glitter & cord with which to do crafts in the future :)
I'll be sending them with the quote she added from Elder Russell M. Nelson.
I'm so grateful for other's brilliance :D

Late nights & baking

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the houses.... Frantic preparations were still being completed.
Ok. So it doesn't exactly rhyme. At all.
But you cannot tell me I am The ONLY one who is still awake, with eyelids propped open, waiting for this last something or another (in my case, dinner rolls) to finish cooking/baking/being ready. Because of course you can't just wait til tomorrow to do it because the turkey will be occupying the oven & other 'last minute' foods that really do have to be last minute, will be hogging all the counter space & dishes.
So here I am sitting at the computer in an attempt to stay awake long enough to finish tonight.
Meanwhile my darling hubby heads off to bed to catch some shut-eye, (he hasn't been feeling well today so I can't blame him,) and I get the couch with the alarm set for when I need to yet again punch down the dough & wait another hour for it to rise so I can punch it back down again :P
All for the name of a feast of food.
Oh for the love of Americans & their obsession with stuffing themselves.
On the more serious note,
This coming day IS in remembrance of a time when our forebearers didn't have enough food.
I guess.... if you care to put it into prespective like that, waiting til 2 in the morning to go to sleep because you're preparing to celebrate the blessings of food, home & family, is a little more tolerable.
Right?

Car troubles

Someday..... we will again have a vehicle that doesn't require repairs every few hundred miles. Someday.
Until then, we will drive around vehicles that have windows that can't roll up or down, vehicles that the milage meter doesn't work, there is no stereo in, & no hazard lights button. Vehicles that have the clutch go out on them, vehicles that lose their timing belts because the tensioner seized up, vehicles that don't have much for power steering, etc etc.
At least we have something to get around in.

Have You Done Any Good in the World Today?

Today is Saturday. It's a chilly, rainy-looking day & I am off to go help my sister paint her house :)
Later my mother & siblings will be coming over to help finish harvesting all the grapes still left on the vines next to my house. It'll be a good day & I just wanted to share with you a little of that greatfulness & gratefulness. I wish you all the best too!

It's Hot!!

Really truly. I don't know if it's just that I've had to do a lot of driving today (no A/C makes a vehicle VERY warm) or just what all, but I feel like I'm melting into a puddle.
Well, it again has been way long since I've even been able to look at a computer with internet, let alone take some time to jot down my thoughts, so here are a few things that have happened, & will be happening, in the next little while:

- I'm currently babysitting my five siblings while my dad is at scout camp with the three oldest boys, and my mom is heading up to Montana with her baby, mother and sister.

- I got to attend the homecoming of one missionary friend & missed another's because we were camping. :/ oh well.

- We went camping with the Reynoso Family :D Love those people!!!

- We will be moving from the in-laws to my grandma's at the end of August/beginning of September, that will be good.

- Leon & Taylor will be coming home in September. Totally been missing those guys.

- Sam is working up in Taylorsville on a three-story senior living apartment complex.

- I'm still working Monday's and Friday's at the dental office but they are getting busier!! :)

- We just found out my cousin & his wife are expecting a baby :D

- I got to go to the geneology library for the first time ever & had a VERY enjoyable time there with my aunt :)

- Another cousin will be leaving for Mexico in a week, for a long time. It should be great & I'm rather envious honestly. Haha

- My brother-in-law's girlfriend got into an accident and should be dead. But she's not :) Thankfully.

- I turned twenty *gasp!!*

- We are going as chaperone's to the youth camp, way excited for that :)

.... And I think that pretty much covers it :) Oh, and I'm really in love with life, it's pretty amazing.

Best of luck to all of you & God bless!

I am so blessed

It's true. Just to name a few of the wonderful things in my life:

The blessing of good health.

The blessing of a wonderful man who loves me more than words can say.

The blessing of loving a wonderful man more than words could ever say.

The blessing of having married into a wonderful family & trying to find ways to add to the love and unity there.

The blessing of being raised in a family that I absolutely adore.

The blessing of friends.

The blessing of knowing God's truth & light.

The blessing of having a roof over my head and a bed every night.

The blessing of clothing and food everyday. Of running water & refrigerators.

The blessing of a dental assisting job.

The blessing of a car

The blessing of revelation.

The blessing of inspiration.

The blessing of knowing my life is in God's hands

The blessing of having the ability to recognize beauty.

The blessing of smell, taste, touch, sight & sound.

The blessing of dreams.

The blessing of situations where I must learn patience.

The blessing of the ability to express myself freely.

The blessing of thought.

The blessing of LIFE.

Today, and everyday, I should be making a point to remember these blessings and not to abuse or misuse them. Thank you God, for all my blessings :)

I am accomplished!

Yesterday was a spectacular day as far as getting things done.
I headed down to Mount Pleasant at eight in the morning, to make my 9 am appointment with the physical therapist. A great guy by the name of Ben... I want to say Robinson. He works for Therapy West and when I started seeing him back in October I was in A LOT of pain. A car accident back in August only set on edge what had been becoming a problem for a few months before the incident. Therapy West has a few offices and while I have not been to any but the Mt Pleasant one, I have to say the people there really know how to take care, and care about, the people they work with. Anyway, got there, and since everything looked hunky-dory with a month (give or take a few days) between my last visit and now, I was able to be released with a clean bill of health. YAY!!!! And I even got a free t-shirt to prove it!
Then ran home, grabbed a few things Sam had forgotten and wanted me to send to him (camera, wet suit etc,) our 'love plant' my aunt gave to us (with the strong admonition to never let it die) that was rather rapidly deteriorating due to the lack of attention it was recieving with us always being gone, mail and food.
Headed over to fax one of Sam's bosses info that she needed, ran down to Ephriam to visit a good girl friend and picked up a turkey in Moroni on my way to Nephi to pick up my sister from school at 2:50.
Then came home and worked out on the Wii for about 45 minutes. Go me!
Today has been significantly less note-worthy, just mostly lazed around, took a nap, worked out in the Wii again, mailed away a package someone had bought from us on Ebay, and made Stir-fry. Which, if it had been from a package I wouldn't feel even half so proud of the adventure. But it was honest-to-goodnessly (I don't know that that's a word, but if it's not, now it is :D) HOMEMADE. From scratch. And tomorrow I get to cook my first turkey.
Yay for learning!
I know it might appear like I'm braggin myself up, but honestly, what's wrong with being happy about accomplishing lots?

It's January

Nothing quite reminds you of that more than the smog currently inhabiting the valley floor right? I was driving to my sister-in-law's baby shower last night and it was amazing the difference between Salt Lake and Utah counties. This morning there wasn't much of one, but still, I know what I saw, and it WAS clear in Utah county last night. Makes me grateful I don't live in this yucky air all the time. My grandma's house (where we are staying currently while Sam has work up here) is smack dab in the middle of the city, but excepting the fog you couldn't really tell, here on this sleepy dead end road of a street. I've always loved her house. Just pick it up and move it into the country where it truly belongs (and where it was, a mere 40 years ago) and I would be content to spend the rest of my life is such a house as this.
The wisdom and love from the amazing people who have made this house a home has crept into every nook and cranny of this lovely rambler and it's home to many a pleasant memory for me. It's where I learned the art of cookie making, the joy of the sound of a piano, where I got my first ballet lessons, cake decorating lessons, and so many more lessons on the nuances of life, both adolescent and adult. This is the home that has hosted so many Easter egg hunts, 4th of July celebrations, Christmases and Thanksgivings, and so many more gatherings, even once holding our family as we grieved the passing of a beloved uncle, son, brother, and friend. Yet there was laughter there too, as we recalled so many memories now engraved in our hearts.
This is a place I run for solace, when the world has gone crazy and I'm unsure of myself and the path I should take. For here I regain my bearings and recommit to myself and who I am becoming.
Isn't that what January is all about? Recommiting, rededicating, and recentering.

Ten days and counting!

Well. It's been a while hasn't it?
And we are now down to the last ten days of my single life. Oh goodness! I can't even tell you how wonderful everything is and has been this past month.
Everytime I look at Sam I thrill inside to know that soon I'll be marrying my best friend and most wonderful sweetheart. The man I can support and love for eternity. He is such a constant strength and has been the whole time I've known him. I can only pray I'll be as good for him as he has been for me.
We'll be moving down to Mount Pleasant, into a house with his brother Taylor and his wife LaRee, they are such wonderful people and I am so grateful that we'll have the chance to learn from their examples in such close contact. God has been so gracious and continues to guide our lives, I cannot praise His name enough.
Our family and friends have all been so supportive and helpful with everything in preparation and I continually marvel at the wonderful people God has placed in my life.
Thank you everyone :)

Consider the Lilies

It's an early morning Tuesday and I just want to thank God for work. This week is slated to be completely full. Which, especially in a dental office of a beginning dentist who still has his schooling to pay off, is a definite boon.
Add to the fact that I've figured the hours, and I will have completed my 300 hours needed for interning by the last day of June. With about a 24 hour cushion if perhaps something comes up between now and then. YAY!!!! A year and a half after I began the course, I'll have finished it. Honestly, the 300 hours are relatively easy to complete, but when you're working full time as a teacher like I was- it makes even 6 hours a week an exception rather than the rule.
God works miracles, even tiny ones. The least we can do is give him credit and our gratitude.

Summertime is soon!

I just found out that we're hiking Timp this summer! Pretty super excited for the chance :) I've never been before and hope that I can handle the trip. The only other really long trip up to the summit of a mountain that I can remember completing was about four years ago, to the top of Mt Nebo. It was hard, and I wanted to give up, but my dad talked me into finishing. Boy was it worth it. Exhausting. But worth it for sure. Nebo is easier than Timp and I'm pretty sure I was in better shape then, so we'll just have to see how this all goes down.
This is the last full day of school, the other five are all half days. Crazy to think it's all done and over with. Or almost at least.
I'll miss these kids, the constant interaction with them has lent me the opportunity to know them better and for that, I am grateful. They have taught me a lot, about themselves, myself, human nature, and teaching. I only wish they could know how good they've been for and to me.
Maybe someday they will.

Any Reason Why?

TGIF, thank GOODNESS it's Friday!
Seriously, the thought that this is our last full Friday makes me super happy. At this point I'm not even sad. Although I was talking to Chelle and I'm almost sure I'll roll out of bed at six-thirty two weeks from today, and feel like I've got to be doing something school related.
Instead, I will be heading off to interning all day long. That will be an adventure :D
Last night I babysat for James and Lisa, they went on a date. Good for them. The only part that was even slightly difficult, was getting them to bed. It's always funny to me, kids who need nightlights, mostly just because it needs to be absolutely dark for me to be able to sleep usually. The exception being when I'm exhausted.
This wasn't always the case, but you see, my sister and I shared a room when we were younger (and have almost all our lives) and we'd spend much of the night hours chatting away about everything. The only way to get us to shut up was to shut the door leading to an open, lit hallway. So we grew accustomed to darkness. Also, my dad has always been one to research things, or notice little random facts, and I guess some study said it's taxing on the eyes to have light while sleeping because they will seek the light. Over time it's contributed to ruined eyesight.
Or something along those lines. Either way, no more nightlights.
That's the same thing with bananas, we aren't really allowed to eat them after noon, one of his coworkers (from India I believe?) maintained that they are poisonous after the morning hours. Speaking of which, I forgot to eat my banana this morning.... I think I should go do that. J/k Dad ;)