Oops!

Ok I know I said I would update a long time ago. All I can say is oops! I have so much to update on I don't even know where to start. We road tripped all the way across country, went to Disney world, and started living in our new location. I guess pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll start there. These are pictures I took on my phone from Disney. I'll post more pictures when I can get them off my camera.

Chaos

I know it’s been forever since I posted…time just gets away from me.   Here’s why: my husband has been offered a new job, which we have to move for, packing like crazy and going through everything we own, we’ve been looking for renters for our house, we’ve been busy enjoying life and summertime, and… I just ran out of excuses.  So, once I get my pictures loaded onto my computer, I will share our chaos.

What is a Family?

This is an interesting article.  Check it out.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110623/ap_on_go_ot/us_census_white_minority

I especially liked this part:  "The decline of the traditional family will have to correct itself if we are to continue as a society," Perkins said, citing a responsibility of individuals and churches.

I Love...

I love...
My husband
My children
My parents
The gospel
Ice cream
Learning
Sunshine
The outdoors
Movies
Food
My friends
Excitement

I love life!

into the mind of joan

I've been reading a lot of blogs that have been very personal and intraspective lately and  this has caused me to reflect a little bit about myself.  Here are a few things about myself that few people know:

1. I go through scenarios in my mind all the time about what I would do in certain situations and they can get very violent and graphic.  It's usually if someone threatens me or my kids what I would do and how I would kill my attacker.  Sick, right?  Well, at least I'm somewhat prepared if I'm ever in a situation like that.  NO ONE messes with mama bear's cubs.

2.  I have only a hand full of people I call friends.  I am a very loyal friend and would do just about anything for the people in this category.  I also take a fairly long time to make friends.  It's just not that easy for me.  In fact, I don't think I made a single real friend in college, which was really hard on me because I was away from home and all alone.  This was the hardest time in my life.

3.  I secretly love cheesy romantic comedies.  If you ask me to go to one I will go, but 'reluctantly', and then grumble about it the whole time.  If you ask me about this post later, I will deny I ever wrote this.

4.  I have a hard time forming opinions because I am able to see both sides of an argument.  And there always seems to be an exception to every rule.  Maybe this makes me wishy-washy, but maybe it just makes me tolerant of others and excepting of everyone no matter what their opinions are.  I try not to judge others, although I catch myself from time to time.  And even if I catch myself thinking judging thoughts, I really try not to voice them.  Hence, the no opinion thing.

5.  I think I must be a little OCD.  I never seem to be able to do anything unless I have a tidy work space.  If there's something out of place, I first have to straighten up before doing anything else.  It just makes me feel like there's chaos inside myself, if there's chaos outside myself. 

That's all for now...I need to save a little mystery.

Sweatin to the oldies

Some of you may know that I am in a fiddle group.  Well, if you didn't know, now you do.  We had a concert tonight and it was a lot of fun.  I like to keep up my playing because it's really relaxing and helps me to take my mind off of things.  It's my "me" time and it rejuvenates me.  Anyway, we played at an assisted living facility and it was great.  I absolutely love the elderly (well, most of them anyway).  Are you wondering about my post title yet?  Well, we were in an old folks home and they keep it like ninety million degrees in there.  And there's old people in there, so we were sweatin (and playing) to the oldies.  He he he.

Portobello Pizzas

I just finished day 4 of the Biggest Loser 30 day jump start meal plan.  I love this diet so far because it's not about depriving yourself of food, it's about eating healthy.  You actually consume about 1500 calories per day, which when you're eating the right kinds of food, really fills you up.  It's not empty calories, it's nutritious food that tastes surprisingly good. 

I made a goal when I started that I would try everything at least once.  I never thought of myself as a picky eater, but a couple of weeks ago my dad called me out on it.  He told me I eat like an eight year old.  I laughed and told him playfully to shut up.  But then I started evaluating the foods I eat and he was right.  I used to be able to eat anything I wanted and it never mattered, but I've discovered as I've gotten older, that this is no longer the case.  I really want to be healthy and set a good example for my kids, so I started this diet to help me lose weight and learn some healthier habits.

So tonight's dinner was portobello pizzas.  Like I said, I told myself I would try everything at least once.  I really think mushrooms are disgusting.  I haven't really had them before, but they are slimy and look kind of gross.  But, I cooked them up and took my first bite and to my surprise they weren't too bad.  Actually they were kind of good.  Maybe my tastebuds are more refined than I thought.

If you're interested in trying these tasty "pizzas" here's the recipe:
You will need:
4 whole portobello mushroom caps (about 5" diameter), stems removed
1/2 cup low-fat marinara sauce
1/2 cup lean turkey Italian sausage, cooked, drained, and crumbled (I used lean smoked turkey sausage because I couldn't find lean turkey Italian sausage)
4 tablespoons shredded fat-free or low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wipe mushrooms clean of any dirt.  Place them on a baking sheet, gill side up.  Spoon sauce over each cap, then sprinkle on the sausage and cheeses.  Place the mushrooms in the oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 97 calories, 10 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates (2 g sugars), 3 g fat (1 g saturated), 22 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 305 mg sodium

Look Who's Stacking!

Eli is into Lego type blocks and he is building the tower of babel!  He can go eight blocks high and I'm so impressed.  I showed him how to do it one time and now he's a pro.  I think we have an engineer in the making.

 Tower of babel

 Look at that concentration!

 And there's the Leaning Tower of Pisa

A Day At The Zoo

Last Friday we had to go down to Children's, so we went to the zoo afterward to make the trip down there worthwhile.  And it was a beautiful day.

 See the resemblance?

Name Change

I've been trying to think of a proper name for my blog for awhile now.  I knew "Joan's Blog" would be temporary, but I couldn't think of anything fitting for a permanent name.  Then Andrea came up with a new name for her blog and it got me thinking again about my blog name.  I finally came up with "And it came to pass".  The name has meaning to me and it's fitting because my blog is where I write things that come to pass in my life.  So, stay tuned for "And it came to pass"...

Genealogy

I have been really working hard on my genealogy lately to prepare for a SLC Family History Center trip my mom and I are taking.  I'm so excited to go on this trip, but I am also very nervous at the same time.  I have never left my kids overnight before and I'm leaving for 4 days and they are staying here.  Their dad will be here with them, but he's not accustom to doing everything by himself.  I have a system down that works and routines that I follow.  I trust him completely, but he just doesn't have the same experience as I do with that kind of stuff.  What if he forgets Daniel's meds?  What if Eli decides he won't eat unless he can nurse?  What if Matthew is taking care of Daniel and Eli gets into something he shouldn't?  What if...what if...what if...!!!  I am SO nervous!  I know I'll be calling home a couple hundred times a day to make sure everyone's ok.  I just hope I can also enjoy myself and learn a lot while I'm away.  And hopefully this experience will give Matthew a glimpse of the kind of work a mom does everyday.  Not that he doesn't already appreciate the work I do, but he will definitely have a better understanding of it.

Face Lift

I thought my Blogger page could use a face lift.  What do you think of the new and improved page?  Could anyone help me figure out how to put multiple pictures side by side?  Every time I add pictures they are always stacked and never the size I want either.  I'm fairly new to all of this, so any help would be appreciated.  Thank you! 

Spring Continued...

I finally got the pictures I took of Eli off of my camera and onto my computer.  Here are a couple I took the other day reflecting my last entry.  It hasn't felt like spring lately though.

And look!  A Stick!

Spring

Didn't it feel like spring today?  I took Eli outside to play for the first time ever.  He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but the sun was shining and it was quite warm.  I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.  He cautiously crawled across the patio to the edge of the grass and tentatively put his hand out to touch the long blades poking up out of the ground.  He quickly pulled his hand back and made a loud squeal of excitement.  He repeated this several times and then thought it would be a good idea to taste the grass.  After making it quite clear that grass is not for eating, Eli decided that my reaction to him eating grass was a great game and thought it very funny.  That was the end of our outdoor adventure.  Next time the sun comes out maybe I'll just ignore his desire to be a goat and hopefully he'll decide it's not so fun a game after all. 

Hit the Gas

Today I put gas in my car when the tank was only half empty.  With the way the prices have been going I figured it would be better to fill up more frequently then to wait until it was time.  I'd rather pay for a half a tank now at $3.60/gal than a full tank down the road at who knows how much.  This morning when my dad filled up it was $3.52/gal.  When I filled up (at the same place) at about 1:00 it was up to $3.60/gal.  It's been going up like crazy!  $.08/gal or more per day!  CRAZY!  I think I will be going less places for awhile.  No more going into town just to look around because I'm bored.

Cutest Redhead

Whenever I'm feeling down, all I have to do is pick up my favorite redhead and he makes everything all better.  He has the best smile ever and even though he can't say, "I love you, mama", I know he does, and that's all that matters.  He snuggles right up to me, buries his head in my chest, and gives me a big hug.  Then he looks up with his perfect smile and those loving eyes and my heart swells with so much love in my chest I feel like it's going to burst right out of me.  Then I know that it's going to be a great day.

Computer Annoyance

You know all that stuff that comes up on your computer when you first log on?  The stuff you just ignore and close?  That stuff that just really annoys you when you just want to get to what you logged on to do?  Well, apparently it's really important stuff.  Like antivirus software that says you need to update or else...Why should you need to update anyway?  I mean, don't people have better things to do than hack other people's computers so they have to be annoyed with updating pointless (ok, we learned that it's not so pointless) antivirus software?  You may have guessed that I got a virus on my computer.  That was more annoying than the update reminders.  Lesson learned.  Fortunately, my wonderful husband was able to download the most recent Avast and our computer was restored to its former glory.  Hallelujah!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

My nine month old is like a big sponge.  He soaks up everything he hears and sees.  I'm sure when he starts to talk, he will say something very embarrassing.  Probably right in the middle of church and loud enough for everyone to hear.  He also copies everything he sees.  If I open a cabinet, he wants to do it too.  If I'm eating something, he expects to get a bite of whatever it is.  Or two, or three, or four, or...I've just gotten in the habit of making twice as much as I need.  Wherever there's food, there he is too.  I see him watching me constantly.  Everything I do is observed, evaluated and stored in his memory for later.  I just know it's going to come back to bite me.  I know it's a great responsibility and privilege too, to teach our young ones.  And so important to let them see us doing the things that are most precious and dear to our hearts.  You can talk all you want, but what it really comes down to is teaching by example.  Monkey see, monkey do.

Toy Envy

Why is it that a toy is more interesting when it is unavailable or currently in use?  And how on earth are you supposed to explain to a nine month old that, no he may not rip said toy out of his brother's hands?  And when said toy does become available, it is no longer appealing?  Do we not do the exact same thing?  I think it must be human nature to want what someone else has or what we can't have.  And when and if we do get what it is we thought we wanted, we no longer want the thing we thought we couldn't live without.  Next time you have an urge to buy something or covet that which you can't have, stop and think about why you think you need that particular thing.  Maybe you really can live without it and get by just fine.